David is very intent on getting every last drop. He keeps his hands clasped while he is all business. And that is why he is a 1-month old boy, now wearing 3-month clothes.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Good Eater
David is very intent on getting every last drop. He keeps his hands clasped while he is all business. And that is why he is a 1-month old boy, now wearing 3-month clothes.
Friday, February 27, 2009
David Loves to Swing
Especially now that we have batteries for it, Mom and David both are fans of the new swing.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Here's a Shout Out!
To our Angel Birth Mother. Thanks for making the blanket for our son. He feels the warmth. And the love.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tummy Time
Since birth, David has had a very strong neck. He usually lifts his head if he is on his tummy. The only exception to that is if he is tired and is being soothed--with cuddles or a binki. The binki was my trick to get him to be still long enough for the camera to capture a clear picture of him. David loves tummy time!
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Merman
David still like his legs to be folded up together; he is also growing more accustomed to stretching them out. So occasionally he will fold them up, then when he stretches them back out, they both end up on the same side.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Our Lil' Valentine
I wish we could have taken a picture with all of us together--then I would have captured both of my valentines in the same picture. Our hearts were bursting on the day we celebrate love! Plenty of that in our home with David around.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Cuddle Time with Daddy
Daddy and David have had some good man to man time this past week. And Daddy has already promised David that if he is good at the upcoming baby shower with all those girls, afterwards they will have some man to man time again--you know, like wandering through the aisles at Lowe's or finding a construction site and watching the big trucks at work.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Our Itty Bitty Baby is really quite BIG!
Those cheeks and that belly helped him weigh in at 9 lb, 1.4 oz at his two week appointment. Thanks to his really great eating skills, he blew past his birth weight of 8 lb 3 oz--which is where the docs wanted to see him at 2 weeks.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The People We Love in Washington
While we were in Washington, our visit was made more marvelous by the dear people that hosted us.
First, our birth mother's family was so kind to us. They made the week that we welcomed our first child to our family very special. We started the week together in the delivery room. By Friday night, Sam and I were able to attend a session at the temple with her parents while birth mother cared for David in the lobby. Afterwards, they treated us to the Crab Pot--a restaurant that gave us a table full of seafood to enjoy (literally--a table full!).
Between birth and placement, we stayed in our birth mother's home town. We were graciously hosted in a private apartment over a neighbor's barn. I wish we had a picture of Andy and RoseMary, but instead I will share with you the master piece they gave to David as a momento of those who love him because they love his birth mother. Isn't this quilt to die for?!? I plan to put it up as a wall hanging behind his crib once we have everything organized. Oh, it's not a quilt. It is affectionately called a "woobie" in those parts.
After placement, we stayed with my mom's cousin, Cheryl. It was such a treat to be among family, and to see the Andersen traits shine through in Cheryl's kindness and hospitality. She and her husband Dave blessed us with some very fond memories.
One of my former mission companions--Emily Hart Cummings and her husband, Jeremy--were in the area, and graciously had us to dinner. They are expecting their first baby in 6 weeks, so it was especially fun to introduce them to David. I don't have a picture of the visit with the Cummings, but I have to say that Emily came through for me with a fresh outfit after our first diaper bag crisis--lesson learned on not having enough changes of clothing with us at all times!!(And my vision for keeping a decent sized diaper bag vanished that night.)
We were also able to travel to Puyallup to visit my former roommate and her family (Kirsten and Daniel Wells), and she invited over another roommate that lives in the area (TJ & Danielle Hoisington). It has been 10 years since I have seen these girls--and I loved loved loved spending time with them and their families. We were roommates for three years while attending BYU. Now we have eight children between the three of us.
First, our birth mother's family was so kind to us. They made the week that we welcomed our first child to our family very special. We started the week together in the delivery room. By Friday night, Sam and I were able to attend a session at the temple with her parents while birth mother cared for David in the lobby. Afterwards, they treated us to the Crab Pot--a restaurant that gave us a table full of seafood to enjoy (literally--a table full!).
Between birth and placement, we stayed in our birth mother's home town. We were graciously hosted in a private apartment over a neighbor's barn. I wish we had a picture of Andy and RoseMary, but instead I will share with you the master piece they gave to David as a momento of those who love him because they love his birth mother. Isn't this quilt to die for?!? I plan to put it up as a wall hanging behind his crib once we have everything organized. Oh, it's not a quilt. It is affectionately called a "woobie" in those parts.
After placement, we stayed with my mom's cousin, Cheryl. It was such a treat to be among family, and to see the Andersen traits shine through in Cheryl's kindness and hospitality. She and her husband Dave blessed us with some very fond memories.
One of my former mission companions--Emily Hart Cummings and her husband, Jeremy--were in the area, and graciously had us to dinner. They are expecting their first baby in 6 weeks, so it was especially fun to introduce them to David. I don't have a picture of the visit with the Cummings, but I have to say that Emily came through for me with a fresh outfit after our first diaper bag crisis--lesson learned on not having enough changes of clothing with us at all times!!(And my vision for keeping a decent sized diaper bag vanished that night.)
We were also able to travel to Puyallup to visit my former roommate and her family (Kirsten and Daniel Wells), and she invited over another roommate that lives in the area (TJ & Danielle Hoisington). It has been 10 years since I have seen these girls--and I loved loved loved spending time with them and their families. We were roommates for three years while attending BYU. Now we have eight children between the three of us.
No More Empty Car Seat
The rumbling volcano 150 miles southwest of Anchorage was kind enough to not erupt, so we are now safely home. We brought an extra box back with us with air filters, window seal kits, air masks and goggles just in case it changes its mind. And first order of business on Sam's mind was to beef up our long-term water supply. Check.
David won the hearts of everyone as we made our way through security, the airport, standby ticketing, and then onto the plane. At eight days old, he was the perfect traveller. He slept the whole way. Just for being so cute he was awarded his very own digi-player by the flight attendant (which his parents happily borrowed while he slept).
He was also privy to a back stage photo shoot in the cockpit after the flight. He woke up for the photo shoot, and looked around at all of those lights and buttons.
By the time we reached baggage claim, David had something to say about being left in charge of all the carry-ons while we claimed our suitcases. (Really Daddy was claiming the suitcases, and I was right there with David.)
Then we introduced him to a 3-second blast of Alaskan air in the dead of winter. We tried to tell him that 6 below was nothing--he'd get used to it someday--but by that time his lungs were doing all they could to take in all that Alaskan air in between his screams. The taxi driver stepped on the gas and had us home in a flash.
So now we are trying to fit our new life into a new routine with a new little boy. Our hearts couldn't be happier. I am so enamored with having David to care for that his Daddy hasn't yet had night time duty between 10 pm and 7 am. When Sam returned to work today, his co-workers noticed that he looked well-rested for being a new father. David and I would have to agree!
David won the hearts of everyone as we made our way through security, the airport, standby ticketing, and then onto the plane. At eight days old, he was the perfect traveller. He slept the whole way. Just for being so cute he was awarded his very own digi-player by the flight attendant (which his parents happily borrowed while he slept).
He was also privy to a back stage photo shoot in the cockpit after the flight. He woke up for the photo shoot, and looked around at all of those lights and buttons.
By the time we reached baggage claim, David had something to say about being left in charge of all the carry-ons while we claimed our suitcases. (Really Daddy was claiming the suitcases, and I was right there with David.)
Then we introduced him to a 3-second blast of Alaskan air in the dead of winter. We tried to tell him that 6 below was nothing--he'd get used to it someday--but by that time his lungs were doing all they could to take in all that Alaskan air in between his screams. The taxi driver stepped on the gas and had us home in a flash.
So now we are trying to fit our new life into a new routine with a new little boy. Our hearts couldn't be happier. I am so enamored with having David to care for that his Daddy hasn't yet had night time duty between 10 pm and 7 am. When Sam returned to work today, his co-workers noticed that he looked well-rested for being a new father. David and I would have to agree!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Our Birth Mother's Gift
To us, she gave a little boy to call our own.
At placement, we gave her this quilt. It is an Alaskan scene of a glacier, made extra soft and with a lot of love so she can cuddle with it when she gets cold.
We love you, Angel Birth Mother!!!
I love this picture. She is holding our gift to her and her gift to us:
At placement, we gave her this quilt. It is an Alaskan scene of a glacier, made extra soft and with a lot of love so she can cuddle with it when she gets cold.
We love you, Angel Birth Mother!!!
I love this picture. She is holding our gift to her and her gift to us:
The Arrival
On Friday evening (Jan 23) we received a call from our birth mother to let us know that she had been in and out of false labor for two days. We needed to prepare to leave on a moment's notice. We tried to tie up a few loose ends, but really it was very hard for me to focus on the details of packing when my heart was anticipating the pending arrival of our son. I was very grateful that I had made lists to follow when my mind was in a calmer state.
Then on Sunday morning, Sam arrived back at the house after his early morning meetings at the church. We usually have a 20 minute window when he comes home from his meetings, then we leave again for church together. He had been home only 5 minutes when our caller ID showed that our birth mother was again calling. She had been having contractions for three days at that point, and she was going to the hospital to see if they would admit her. She and her mom would call us once they arrived at the hospital. In the mean time, they recommended that we pack up and leave for the airport, then wait for another phone call before we checked into a flight. Before we left for the airport, I had a sense that whether or not the hospital admitted our birth mother, we needed to get on the next available flight. I would much rather wait on the other end of our plane ride than to keep wondering if we were going to make it at the last minute.
It took us an hour and a half to prepare for our extended leave. Call the neighbor that would be checking on our house. Call church members and let them know that we would not be there to fulfill prior commitments that day. Clean out the refrigerator of all left overs. Arrange for a rental car at the airport. Change our flight to the next possible departure. Pack any last-minute items. Double check that we have everything included on the lists for the baby. Triple check that we have the camera. Needless to say, it was a complete frenzy. We felt grateful that we were together when we received that phone call, because at least we didn't have to travel across town before we could meet up and tackle the details together. I would have been a wreck if Sam hadn't been there from the very beginning to share in the details we had to work through. And we got everything done. Except for tidy up the house. We will be greeted by the tornado that we left when we arrive home. Sam was building shelves in a closet on Saturday, and we had a lot of things pulled out in an attempt to organize and rearrange for David's arrival.
We were able to get on the 1:30 flight. As we went through security, they saw us approaching with a car seat. The lady directed us to the "family" lane and said, "Kids this way." In my all-business mindset, I looked over and replied, "It's not a kid yet." Then just kept marching forward. Sam slowed me down a bit at that point, and we had a good laugh at that notable quotable. There were many people that saw us with the car seat, and peeked over the hood with an adoring look. That quickly turned to confusion when they saw it was empty and neither of us was carrying the baby in arms. Sometimes we explained (and were awarded with much oohing and awwwing for our explanation) and other times they just wondered. We boarded on time, and our flight arrived 20 minutes early at 5:25. It felt like a forever wait to drag our luggage and car seat all over the airport before we finally arrived at our rental car. We left the airport at 6:30 and arrived at the delivery room by 7:30. It wasn't until we were in the car that I realized we should probably call the birth mother to see how she was progressing. At that point, she was still walking the hospital halls to keep the contractions coming.
We arrived at the hospital, and within an hour intense labor was under way. It seemed like slow going. She was only dilated to a 3 and I was preparing for an all-nighter as they gave her the epidural (which we really wished had been more effective!). Two and a half hours later, they checked her again and she was at a 10. Now we just had to hang tight for Dr. Ho to arrive. It took only a few pushes and our son arrived at 12:57 am on Monday, January 26, 2009. Sam cut the umbilical cord just like a Daddy should. David's apgar score was 8 at 1 minute after birth and 9 at 5 minutes after birth. And within an hour, he downed 2 oz of formula. Of course this just confirmed our suspicion that we had been blessed with a perfect little boy.
By the time we had all greeted the new baby and moved from delivery to post-natal care, it was 3 am. We were very sleepy but kept going on adrenaline. The head nurse that night happened to be a personal friend of the birth mother and her family through church. She graciously arranged for Sam and I to stay in a room adjacent to the birth mother and David. It was nice to not have to drive anywhere before we found rest for our weary heads. But reality set in when we were invited to the 3:30 am bath and feeding. Of course we wouldn't have missed that for anything!
The next day we spent the morning in the hospital with David in our room while the birth mother rested. It was fun to be just the three of us together for the first time. We just gawked. That afternoon, we left the hospital to run some errands. We returned briefly that evening to kiss him goodnight, then went and stayed in an apartment arranged for us by the birth mother's family, just around the corner to where they live. We returned the next morning to take everyone home after their discharge. We somehow escaped without an instruction manual, but David has no problem with letting us know when he's hungry or needs to burp. The rest of the time he is content to sleep, sleep, and sleep some more. Each day his eyes are getting wider and brighter, and we get a few more minutes of alert time with our son. We couldn't be happier!
Then on Sunday morning, Sam arrived back at the house after his early morning meetings at the church. We usually have a 20 minute window when he comes home from his meetings, then we leave again for church together. He had been home only 5 minutes when our caller ID showed that our birth mother was again calling. She had been having contractions for three days at that point, and she was going to the hospital to see if they would admit her. She and her mom would call us once they arrived at the hospital. In the mean time, they recommended that we pack up and leave for the airport, then wait for another phone call before we checked into a flight. Before we left for the airport, I had a sense that whether or not the hospital admitted our birth mother, we needed to get on the next available flight. I would much rather wait on the other end of our plane ride than to keep wondering if we were going to make it at the last minute.
It took us an hour and a half to prepare for our extended leave. Call the neighbor that would be checking on our house. Call church members and let them know that we would not be there to fulfill prior commitments that day. Clean out the refrigerator of all left overs. Arrange for a rental car at the airport. Change our flight to the next possible departure. Pack any last-minute items. Double check that we have everything included on the lists for the baby. Triple check that we have the camera. Needless to say, it was a complete frenzy. We felt grateful that we were together when we received that phone call, because at least we didn't have to travel across town before we could meet up and tackle the details together. I would have been a wreck if Sam hadn't been there from the very beginning to share in the details we had to work through. And we got everything done. Except for tidy up the house. We will be greeted by the tornado that we left when we arrive home. Sam was building shelves in a closet on Saturday, and we had a lot of things pulled out in an attempt to organize and rearrange for David's arrival.
We were able to get on the 1:30 flight. As we went through security, they saw us approaching with a car seat. The lady directed us to the "family" lane and said, "Kids this way." In my all-business mindset, I looked over and replied, "It's not a kid yet." Then just kept marching forward. Sam slowed me down a bit at that point, and we had a good laugh at that notable quotable. There were many people that saw us with the car seat, and peeked over the hood with an adoring look. That quickly turned to confusion when they saw it was empty and neither of us was carrying the baby in arms. Sometimes we explained (and were awarded with much oohing and awwwing for our explanation) and other times they just wondered. We boarded on time, and our flight arrived 20 minutes early at 5:25. It felt like a forever wait to drag our luggage and car seat all over the airport before we finally arrived at our rental car. We left the airport at 6:30 and arrived at the delivery room by 7:30. It wasn't until we were in the car that I realized we should probably call the birth mother to see how she was progressing. At that point, she was still walking the hospital halls to keep the contractions coming.
We arrived at the hospital, and within an hour intense labor was under way. It seemed like slow going. She was only dilated to a 3 and I was preparing for an all-nighter as they gave her the epidural (which we really wished had been more effective!). Two and a half hours later, they checked her again and she was at a 10. Now we just had to hang tight for Dr. Ho to arrive. It took only a few pushes and our son arrived at 12:57 am on Monday, January 26, 2009. Sam cut the umbilical cord just like a Daddy should. David's apgar score was 8 at 1 minute after birth and 9 at 5 minutes after birth. And within an hour, he downed 2 oz of formula. Of course this just confirmed our suspicion that we had been blessed with a perfect little boy.
By the time we had all greeted the new baby and moved from delivery to post-natal care, it was 3 am. We were very sleepy but kept going on adrenaline. The head nurse that night happened to be a personal friend of the birth mother and her family through church. She graciously arranged for Sam and I to stay in a room adjacent to the birth mother and David. It was nice to not have to drive anywhere before we found rest for our weary heads. But reality set in when we were invited to the 3:30 am bath and feeding. Of course we wouldn't have missed that for anything!
The next day we spent the morning in the hospital with David in our room while the birth mother rested. It was fun to be just the three of us together for the first time. We just gawked. That afternoon, we left the hospital to run some errands. We returned briefly that evening to kiss him goodnight, then went and stayed in an apartment arranged for us by the birth mother's family, just around the corner to where they live. We returned the next morning to take everyone home after their discharge. We somehow escaped without an instruction manual, but David has no problem with letting us know when he's hungry or needs to burp. The rest of the time he is content to sleep, sleep, and sleep some more. Each day his eyes are getting wider and brighter, and we get a few more minutes of alert time with our son. We couldn't be happier!
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