I WANT my Paci!

So today we had a big moment for Aaron. He was a bit fussy at nap time and he does this weird whining moaning thing to put himself to sleep. It doesn't bother me - he is a great sleeper and if that is the way he starts to snooze then fine by me. I could tell the A/C repairman was a little creeped out though. He obviously could not concentrate on balancing our system until I took care of the moaner. I carried Aaron into the kitchen to see if I could find a paci. I found an unopened package of 2 and proceeded to prop Aaron up in a sitting position supported by my chest while we opened the package together. He grabbed the package with both hands and once the package was opened he grabbed the paci and put it right in his mouth!!! Then he sucked on it until he fell asleep WITHOUT me holding it! Now this is not an event I even remember happening with my girls. It seems like they started doing this at birth BUT with our little man we celebrate every milestone. Before Aaron, I had no idea how much muscle coordination and cognitive skills it took to actually lift a paci and put it in your mouth. Not to mention the muscle tone required to actually keep the paci in your mouth without your protruding tongue kicking it out of the way. So you go Aaron! I have never been so proud of anyone sucking a pacifier before. Now - let's hope he does not form a habit:)

Santa Sighting

We attended Wimberley Market Days as a family and happened to run into the Big Jolly Man himself! This is the VERY first year that Allie went and sat on his lap willingly. She whispered that she wanted a Barbie for Christmas and could not stop grinning. Where were Ashlyn and Aaron you might ask? Aaron was fast asleep in the stroller and I was not about to wake him up for a Santa Sighting and Ashlyn was tucked neatly between my legs. She was yelling at Santa that she wanted a Barbie too but she was not moving ANY closer!

Aaron is 6 Months Old!

I know - I can hardly believe it either! He is getting so big - so fast and time is just flying. Sometimes I wish I could pause the clock for awhile and at least get caught up or relish in every special moment. Aaron's check up went well. He is thriving, weighing in at 18.5 pounds and 27.5 inches! Our little man ranks in the 75th percentile of typically developing kids and is off the charts on the Down Syndrome Growth Chart. We are still meeting with Gayla, for developmental services through ECI and have now added Physical Therapy to his plan. He is doing well and seems to be staying on target for the important milestones. His only battle so far is the ears and we are meeting with an ENT tomorrow. He is on his second ear infection already and we want to do everything we can to keep those ears clear for speech development. Aaron is quite possibly one of the happiest babies on earth. In fact we are never quite sure what to do when he cries. He loves smiling and laughing and just wants people to interact with him. He is beginning to develop his own little attitude and was sure to show it when he received his vaccines yesterday!

Please keep the prayers coming - they are working! Aaron is healthy and the rest of his family is doing pretty OK too :)

Blessings....

I cannot believe I have waited so long to post an update. Life just gets busy sometimes and with three little ones under 4 1/2 it seems a bit crazier at our household lately! As we pass through Thanksgiving on our way to Christmas I am reminded of just how many blessings we have in our lives. We are married to the love of our lives, have three amazing children, are surrounded by an incredible group of friends and family, have food every night on our table and a very nice roof over our heads! Although 2009 has been extremely challenging and we have had some difficult situations to swallow, we find great happiness in every one of our blessings :)


Since October 9th (my last post), we have had a ton of fun! We took our very first Anderson Family Vacation to Port Aransas and I got to go to the So You Think You Dance Tour with some girlfriends. We celebrated Wurstfest (more food on a stick), Halloween, many friends Birthday Parties (both young and old), the Downtown Tree Lighting and Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures to get everyone up to date. Enjoy!


Shayne and his kiddos at Port Royal

Steph and the kiddos on the boardwalk after our late night walk on the beach

Aaron's first "dip" in the ocean - Not sure if he really likes it!!

Our two "princesses" dressed and ready to trick or treat

Aaron is VERY happy to be a puppy dog - just wait until he learns about the candy!!!

Shayne and Allie on the Merry Go Round at Wurstfest

Two sisters enjoying the Thanksgiving chapel and lunch with parents at school

Allie, Hannah (10), and Ashlyn at the Tree Lighting

Grandpa and Shayne helping the girls to get a good view of SANTA!!!!

Out Thanksgiving Feast - we sure enjoyed the company and the food! (Mary Ann is taking the photo)

Little Man Update!

Aaron Shayne is 4 months old! At his Checkup he was 25 3/4 long and 16 lbs 15 oz. He is a chunk! He is around the 75th percentile of typically developing kiddos and 95th percentile of kiddos with Down's. He continues to develop well. We had some poopie issues we are resolving with a little bit of Apple juice and we are working on Aaron using his upper arms a bit more. He is not real interested in grabbing a toy - but will happily play with it if you hand it to him! We could not be more pleased with his progress and continue to be blessed with his good health. He is off the nebulizer for now and the cold is gone so we will continue to pray for his health and well-being through this nasty flu season!


Aaron was able to start cereal which was an exciting event for the Anderson household! Here is his first bite....


Not sure if he likes it.....

Of course, Allie and Ashlyn had to get in on the action. They think it is so cool that he is eating "real food" now!

Shayne and I attended our first Down Syndrome Support Group Meeting. It was not quite what we expected but definitely had some good information. We left feeling a bit overwhelmed at the amount of information we still need to learn and at how this diagnosis is life-changing for our family. It is very easy to live in the moment but the diagnosis becomes quite overwhelming as we look beyond the baby stages. We believe that Aaron is going to grow up to make a difference in this world. I am just now able to read about Down Syndrome without crying so I am going to begin to take in as much information as I can so Shayne and I can help Aaron reach his true potential. Continued thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support. Please keep it coming. We are so blessed but realize the road has only just begun :)

OctoberFest 2009

We have a tradition with the Blackburn Family and the Jenkins Family to attend Octoberfest in Fredericksburg each year. This was our third annual trip and the kiddos had a great time once again! It's another event for food on a stick, cold beer and lots of fun for the little ones!


We borrowed Rilyn's hat for a picture with Aaron. I kind of think it makes him look like a gnome!


Ashlyn and Ella waiting patiently for the chicken dance!

Rilyn loves some Octoberfest!

This was a BIG year for Ella - her first adventures with Face Painting at Octoberfest! She loved it and looks beautiful!

Of course - all of the kiddos had to do it! Monkey see, Monkey Do!

Here is Landry as Batman!

Allie as a Rose Princess...

and Ashlyn as a Rainbow Kitty! What Else would she be?!

Even though it poured down rain - the kids managed to have fun in the sand - I mean mud!!!!

Our friend turns 3!

Some moments and pictures are just priceless! Ashlyn is giving Ella a great big Birthday hug from one 3 year old to another!

The Official Start to Food on a Stick Season in New Braunfels!

The Comal County Fair kicks of our local eating on a stick season! Good food, cold beer and lots of fun for the kiddos. New Braunfels closes down for the Comal County Fair parade and Fair day(you cannot even go to the bank!) It is an awesome little fair and fun for the whole family.


Ashlyn is her parade at First Protestant School...

Allie in the First Protestant School parade. Doesn't she look excited?

A favorite - the pig ride at the fair!

This is what Aaron thinks of the fair - just wait until he can ride rides!

Daddy got to ride the horses this year - looks like fun for the whole family!

Last day of Schlitterbahn

No...Schlitterbahn is not still Open. It closed for the season in mid-september; I am just a bit behind in posting the pictures! We will attend Schiltterbahn this Christmas season when they decorate the park with millions of lights and freeze one of the pools for ice-skating. You gotta love New Braunfels!

Allie, Ashlyn and Ella yelling "Schlitterbahn!!!!!!"

Ashlyn is all tired out....

I tried to be the healthy Mom!

Since I am currently at home I figured that I have no excuse not to focus on the health of my children. The girls are always hungry when I pick them up from pre-school so I pack carrots. I had to pack ranch dip also because this is the only way we get carrots into Ashlyn's hand. Little did I know, Ashlyn refused her nap that morning at school. She dived into the ranch with both hands, spread it all over her and then fell asleep. The next day I just took chips!

Aaron is Rolling Over!

Aaron has been trying to roll over for several weeks now and actually mastered it once and then stopped for about 2 weeks. Yesterday, September 10th was his big day. He can roll from his back to his belly over either his right or his left shoulder. This is a HUGE milestone for Aaron and one more reason for us to be so grateful for his progress. He is quite amazing. ECI gave me a growth chart and rolling over is in the 6-9 month section. In my "What to Expect the 1st Year" book, rolling over (one way) is in the "may possibly be able to do" section for the third month.
Go Aaron Go! Now we just need to work on him flipping the other way. Once he is on his tummy he gets mighty frustrated!

The stress of school pictures

For some reason I did not realize that the stress of school pictures starts so early. I really thought I would not have to worry about these things until they were in at least Junior High, but no Allie wants to take a GOOD school picture NOW - in preschool. First of all they do pictures early. I had to have her there at 8am which is a stretch for us (Kindergarten is going to kill me next year!) Then Allie wanted to pick out her dress and actually asked me to iron it (How does she know what an iron is? We never use one!) Then we had the stringy hair dilemma and Allie solved the question by suggesting foam curlers. Strangely enough we have some so the girls got all dolled up for bed. Getting them to lie down on the curlers was a whole different story!

Get your Guns Up!

September 5th was the opening day for Tech Football and the Anderson Clan was dressed and ready for the game! Aaron seems more excited about the ceiling fan that in participating in a Guns Up family Photo!

Celebrating the End of Summer

We ventured out on "Grumpys" (that's what the kids call Shayne's Dad) deckboat on Canyon Lake to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of "food on a stick" season here in New Braunfels!

Aaron loves the boat. This year life jacket - next year waterskiing!!
Ashlyn and Hannah going for a ride. Ashlyn kept saying "Go a little bit fast now!"

Allie and Hannah in the tube. Allie did NOT want to go fast!

Sisters enjoying some fun in the sun...

WAIT LADIES..... He is TAKEN!

The "Yes I know I am WAY behind" update!

Where does the time go? July and now most of August have come and gone in a flash. There is much to tell so this will be a long post! We have been busy spending time with friends and family and enjoying all of what summer has to offer. Heat and More Heat! We have enjoyed Pontoon Weekend, a Sip and See for Aaron, a Trip to Dallas, Swimming lessons, A Weekend at the Lake, a Trip to Seattle, Aaron's 2 month Appointment and first Big Boy Bath and the girls going back to pre-school. The Anderson family is getting used to a family of five and happy to say we will begin settling into the school year. We are still hanging out in limbo land, waiting for the house to sell and to see if I will be heading back to work but we have faith that all will work out in the end. We just pray that the "end" is near. Of limbo land that is - not the real end :) OK - let the pictures and stories begin!



How big is Aaron? "So Big!" Aaron had his 2 month appointment on Aug 10th and gained 4 pounds and 3 inches in 1 month! WOW! He is 13.4 pounds and 24 1/4 inches. He is ranging 85% on the "normal kiddo" growth chart for height and is off the chart on the down syndrome growth chart.

We are so excited to see his growth. He is holding his head up and REALLY wants to roll over. If he could figure out how to get some momentum then he would be gone. We will be setting up an appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist to get a baseline for Aaron's eyes. We have not seen any issues yet but it is part of his preventative care for the 1st year. We continue to be blessed with his health. We went to the Dr. with his 1st fever on Tuesday. I was certain he was going to have an ear infection. Children with down syndrome have an increased risk of ear infections because the ear canals can be narrow and small and can be blocked easily. His ears were clear though - just a case of mommy overreacting!

The Andersons and the Jenkins celebrating the 3rd year anniversary of Anderson-Jenkins Signature Homes, Ltd. It has been a WILD 3 year ride and the guys are doing great. Rebecca and I are so proud of their hard work and of the success of their business. And yes - that is a mexican martini in front of me - MY FAVORITE!!!!!

OK - Most of you know I am a wee bit crazy but I thought it would be fun to take 3 kids by myself to visit Dad, Ann and Abby in Washington. My reasons included the fact that it is roughly 30 degrees cooler in Seattle, Aaron had not met his Granny Annie and Grampy yet and my sister Abby was headed off to college. For those of you that remember Abby being the 4 year old that came to visit me at Tech - YES we are OLD! She has started school at Carol College in Helena, Montana and is majoring in nursing. We were able to visit with family, attend my great Aunts 95th birthday, see the Children's museum, go to the beach, pack Abby for school and have a ton of fun.

Here is our "row" on the plane. You should have seen people's eyes watching us and hoping we were not sitting next to them. Actually - the flight attendants were great and everyone was very helpful. No Aaron did not ride here - he sat in my lap :)

We had a few funny things happen. Aaron had a blowout as we were pulling away from the gate. Allie had to throw away a pair of panties in the airplane bathroom and Ashlyn got left at the top of an escalator because she would not step on the "machine." Other than that everyone did really good and were very well behaved.

Ashlyn and Allie roasting smores at Grampy's. Notice Allie in a sweatshirt - AWESOME!

The Everett Children's Museum was incredible and so much fun for the girls. To my New Braunfels friends - the Mckenna Museum is good - but this one blew it away!

Ashlyn milking a cow - it really worked!

My little farm girls - seems like they feel right at home!

Ashlyn on the bridge of the tree house looking for Allie

Allie in the cave looking for Ashlyn

Mommy and Aaron making wind chimes with the girls in the Art room at the Museum. Miraculously those did not make it back with us on the plane!

The museum had an amazing roof top playground. Here is Ashlyn playing hopscotch.

And Allie playing the Xylophone.

A view of the roof top playground - so cool!

Great Grandma Kate, Dad, myself and Aaron at Grandmas house.

One of my favorite places to go when I visit my Dad is Mukilteo. When I was little and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa I would always ask where Grandma was and Grandpa always replied, "she went to Mukilteo." I never thought the place was real. It is and it is a beautiful beach, boardwalk and playground with some great seafood at Ivars. This time we got fish and chips take out and had a picnic with the kiddos.

Here is Aaron under Granny Annie's Hat.

Allie and Ashlyn balancing on the drift wood logs

Mommy and Aaron in front of the Sound. I am in a sweatshirt in August!! Hallelujah!

Dad, myself and Aaron at the Logan's backyard BBQ.

We enjoyed our second Annual Lake weekend with Chris, Gena, Alyssa, Mom and Mike. It was fun, relaxing and great to visit with everyone. The kiddos had a blast. Allie even road on a jet ski!

Here is my adventuresome Mom riding a Jet Ski with Chris. Go Mom Go!

Alyssa, Ashlyn and Allie - catching some rays

The kiddos - hanging at the Lake House

OK - while we were in Seattle...Shayne with the help of Gregg installed an electric fence. Apparently our yard became the hang out of the baby cows. Ahhhhh cute. So cute except for when they eat the grass and leave behind cow presents!! My girls named these babies Allie Cow and Ashlyn cow - so creative!!!

Thank goodness for swimming lessons! At the end of July when the girls and I had seen enough of each other we had two weeks of fun in the pool! After the first day of lessons, Allie looked up at me and said "I still don't know how to swim!" Some people have no patience! The girls did great and learned a ton. They are both swimming under water now - as long as it is shallow!

The kiddos and I made the trip to Dallas to visit Andrea, Nicholas, Sophia and Marcus for Nick's birthday weekend. We had a great time and the little ones got a long well.

This is Ashlyn and Sophia eating at Mi Cocina at the Galleria.

Andrea and Aaron

The girls posing on the Galleria playground.

Lucy was very protective of baby Aaron. Only authorized adults are allowed near the baby!

Nicholas 6th Birthday Party! Allie and Ashlyn had so much fun at the Jump Zone that they want to have their parties there. Not at the jumping gym in New Braunfels, but at the Jump Zone in southlake - not sure how that is going to work!

Thank you to my Awesome hostesses for a beautiful Sip and See. It was so much fun showing off Baby Aaron and we received so many amazing gifts. Little Boys things are so much fun! From the Left: Rebecca Jenkins, Ann Byrd, Stephanie Anderson with Aaron, Heather Blackburn, Rebecca Greebon (with Emry in belly) and Casey Allen.