Little Dude

Chills a lot

  And sleeps... a lot.

And anywhere, really, but preferably always with Mom.

He has a little buddy named Landon. They like to study each other.

 And sometimes laugh and talk to each other.

He has a whole host of uncles who adore him. 

 And who spend lots of time with him.

He is big enough to sit up in a shopping cart,

But still has a ways to go to do it on his own.

"It's just not comfortable Mom!"

 So he sits in his bumbo seat a lot.

And loves it.

 

And smiles.

 After all, life is pretty great!

Josh & Kayla

June 20th, 2015

Redding, California

They said "I do"

With oranges on trees behind,

And a pretty pool beside them.

I bawled...

 

But I'm super excited for them. 

 Two people from two families...

Now have a best friend with whom to spend their lives.

I love you guys! 

In Honor of Dads

I may not have a perfect dad, but I have a really awesome one and for him, I am thankful!

He set my picture of who a man should be and he tried hard to set an example of who our heavenly Father is. My dad spent my childhood with the goal of investing his life in his kids and that's exactly what he did. We didn't have to beg for him to spend time with us. He wanted to!

These two songs have always made me cry for the children who grow up with a daddy who doesn't care and they make me more thankful for my dad who cares so much!

Now that I'm a parent, I'm crazy thankful for Blake and how much he loves his little son. 

He's devoted, he's caring, and he's attached.

 And I love that.

 I can't wait to see Shane grow up and become attached to his daddy too. I want to see him become a man of integrity and strong character and if he follows in his dad's footsteps, he will. 

We love you Blake! You're the best dad that Shane could ever ask for!

Amusing Moments and Such

I had to scrub hard to get the grease off of Shane's legs when I gave him a bath yesterday. In fact his suit was so greasy that I had taken it off of him because I was embarrassed that he looked so dirty. It was easy for everyone to just assume that he was miserably hot, because, well, he was that too. Seriously though, why would anyone let their 10 lb baby get so dirty? Well maybe it's because there are just so many hard working people who like holding the little dude!

Blake sold the motor out of our truck this week. The truck that we drive every day. The Chevy. The nice white Chevy that doesn't often break down but is just strangely reliable for us. Yep. Sold. The reason? Well some nice guy needed a motor for his truck and this way we can build a better one for ours! Well... that was thoughtful! (Shoulda seen the look on my face when I wrote the estimate up and realized where *that* motor was coming from!)

We figured out that letting Shane lick an apple slice is about the most fun thing ever. He sits there with this perfectly blank expression and rapidly sticks his tongue straight out and back in indefinitely. Food will be fun... But hard to wait!

I love seeing people's reactions to seeing my baby with me at work. One regular came in and saw the baby swing and informed me that he "likes what we've done with the place!" :)

The best is when Shane is lying in his favorite place - flat on his back on the desk. It kinda surprises folks if they look over the edge of the counter! 

I like having a kid because we can share the blame. We backed into the side of the shop with my new-to-me Ford. The guys laughed so hard because I dented the bumper and they had previously marveled that it was the only part on the truck that had not one dent. Well thanks a lot Shane!

(Jason informed me the next day that when he backed a truck into his bay that morning, "it went right in between the door sides and never hit the wall!" Well now isn't he good?!)

With that, I'll go back to my baby's smiles before something else must be done. 

Proof

Even babies can have those unphotogenic moments. 

Mom.

I'm

trying

to

stretch.

Thank you!

We Introduce to you:

My favorite little person. 

And when I say little person, I really literally mean it because he was the tiniest, teeniest baby I have ever held in my life. 

4 lbs 9 oz. 

And if that doesn't seem small to you, pick up a bag of flour and compare it to your smallest child.

 "Oh yes, that would be tiny" 

 Tiny enough to easily be stuffed into Daddy's boots.

Tiny enough to not be able to fill up the newborn insert of his car seat. 

Tiny enough to not even be able to fill a newborn baby hat.

Tiny enough to stay in NICU for two days.

And yet... he was big. 

 Big enough to have plenty of emotion.

 And big enough to want to suck his thumb. 

And big enough to hang out with dad in the recliner lots.

 Big enough to capture our hearts. 

 And big enough to just smile like he adores us.

Meet our little Shane Anderson. 

We love this little buddy! 

Thankful for the Basketball

Pregnancy sucks. There just is no other way to describe it and I informed my mom a week ago that I am done being pregnant now. I've tried it and I hate it. She just laughed and told me that she said that every.single.time.for seven pregnancies.
Why would you keep doing this? I don't know. I just hope that I like the kid really well! 

Despite the miseries that seem to envelope me every single day, I'm trying to find positive things to focus on. After all, there really is no other way to get thru the next four months anyway! I don't want to be so caught up with the *bad* that I miss the good. I really have tons for which to be thankful!

~~~ This guy!~~~

Seriously, he is the best part about this pregnancy. I honestly don't know how I would be alive without him. Granted, he's always been sweet and caring, but he tries extra hard to help me now. For instance I get up from the supper table and curl up on the couch and feel sorry for myself and he clears the table. He's awesome like that. He tries really hard to find ways for me to sleep that will be comfortable for me. Nothing will ever replace being able to sleep on my stomach, but he seriously tries his hardest! I'm really thankful for him. :) And since I'm pretty sure that pregnancy has got  to be harder on the husband than on the wife, I really am thankful for how he takes life all in stride. 

~~~ Holidays~~~

All those Xs on there represent days where I would normally have been at my desk answering the phone and stuff and instead... we were closed. It. was. blissful! Granted, we still worked a lot, but we did lots of different stuff and we slept a lot. This is the third year we've closed for that long and that is my favorite week of the year, I'm pretty sure of it!

~~~ Paint~~~

I love the stuff! Especially green. My living room area has the most beautiful shade of green ever and... It's cozy! The whole main floor of my house is finally painted. It's good that I didn't ask my husband's permission before I bought all the paint because he informed me when the job was done that paint is expensive and the only time that he would ever paint would be just before he sold the house because it'd be worth more. Considering that it hadn't been painted in years, the paint was all flat, and I'm not planning on selling my house for a very long time, I'm so glad that it's better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

~~~My midwife~~~

She seriously is great! She's laid back, knowledgeable, and pleasant. I had such trouble finding anyone who was available and I wanted a home birth so badly that I was to the point where I just would take any midwife. I was thrilled when I met her because I not only had someone who was available to take me on, but I also really liked her!

~~~Cheeseburgers, Blueberries, and Pickles.

Those three are the best foods out there currently. Potatoes are pretty amazing too, but not too much can top a cheeseburger... with pickles on it. :) 

~~~Aaron Shust's music~~~

This song is my favorite. 

Come To Me. 

Learning from Christ who is gentle and humble in heart. I want that. 

~~~Friends~~~

I have the greatest group of friends. My sisters are amazing. Those girls who are not my sisters by birth or marriage are also amazing. On my week off I got to talk to sisters and walk and visit with friends a bunch. Lots more than normal! And it's been really refreshing. I am so, so thankful for each one of you!

~~~ Pregnancy~~~

There is nothing good about it, but there is also nothing that has been bad, so I need to be thankful for it too. I have been quite healthy and so far everything seems to be going normally. The basketball on the front of me is for a good cause and some day I will be able to bend over normally again.  My baby moves constantly and has a strong heartbeat. What more can I ask for right now besides the next four months to go really, really fast?! 

So for all that, I am thankful.