NEW anderson family website!

I was accused recently, by my dear friend Joey, of being intentionally hard to follow online. He said that all of our information was spread out over so many places that he found it difficult to keep track of us...and as Hannah's godfather I guess he does reserve a certain right to know what we are up to...

That conversation made me begin to think of a way to pool all of our "information" in one place: a one stop shop to find what we are up to and the most recent pictures and videos of us and Hannah. The result of this is our new website:

www.theandersonfamily.me

Turns out that it is relatively cheap to buy your own domain name (about $9 a year). This will give us one place, one website to bookmark and see what we are doing. Having our own domain name will give us the ability to update it as we need to and you the ability to have everything in one place.

So, this will be the last post on andersonstandardtime.blogspot.com. You will find the new blog attached to the website. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions as we get used to updating the new site!

smile

Today and yesterday, Amy and I were tasked with making Hannah smile and take a picture of it. This is a task that is easier said than done. While Hannah smiles a lot of the time and we know what things can make her smile. When we need for her to do it for a picture, she refuses. At least most of the time.

I added an album to our flickr photo stream tonight that includes the best of the shots that we got from Hannah's photo shoot. We did end up getting some smiling pictures, but aside from that we also got some other really good ones. They do a really good job of showing her current range of emotions and abilities.

We have fully moved to start using flickr to keep our photos online. You can bookmark that site and check it when you like for updates. You can also see thumbnails of the most recent photos on the right of this page. When we update it, we will make sure and post a not here on the blog so that no one misses any pics of the cutest baby in our house.

On flickr when you are viewing the picture, you can click where it says "all sizes" and download your preferred size to use for printing, life size mock-ups, desktop wallpapers, or any other preferred shrine to Hannah. That way you can all add pictures to your collection as we put them on flickr...pretty sweet huh!?

As I transition to a stay-at-home dad/worship leader/videographer/photographer for the summer, I am going to try and update the internets more often with pictures, videos, and various other updates of our exploits. Stay tuned!

happy mother's day!

oh, how things can change in a year!

mother's day 2009:


mother's day 2010:
and yes, this is one of the only pictures I have with my daughter on mother's day. would it be nice to have a pretty shiny picture of us all dressed up? absolutely. but this is what it means to be a mom every day -- so it's perfect!



dear hannah,

one year ago today, I took a test that would forever change my life. it confirmed what we had been suspecting for a few days -- that you were growing inside me! oh, what a mother's day that was! I was SO excited to get that news, especially on that day.

hannah, this year has been so crazy. somehow, you started off just a tiny little thing --

-- and grew and grew, and on January 20th, we got to meet you for the first time in person. and every day since then, you have taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. it has been a crazy ride so far, baby girl, and I can't wait for tomorrow and the months and years to come!

I'm not going to lie. the first six weeks of mommyhood were not exactly a walk in the park. you were brand new in the world, so you didn't know what you wanted or needed any more than we did. we had our struggles and our hard days, and there were a lot of sleepless nights and LOUD evenings. but we had our share of happy times, too!

(although sometimes those happy times turned into scream fests)

one of my favorite parts of the past three and a half months of being your mama has been seeing you be SO loved by our church community. from the very first day you came to church with us --
-- the big kids have loved you and lined up to hold you! I swear, you are a celebrity baby the second we step foot on the church campus. but it all comes from love. and you deserve it! you are such a trooper, and you have been to more crazy places than any baby I have ever heard of.
basketball games, lacrosse games, softball games, school plays, talent shows, high school and junior high Sunday school, youth group nights at church, at home, and at the mall, and this weekend, your first church retreat.
the way our lives work, we ask a lot of you, hannahbelle, and you always exceed our expectations. you are the BEST baby, so easygoing and calm and happy. you make me smile and you are teaching me how to have joy in every moment. when you wake up in the morning, you give us the biggest, happiest smiles I have ever seen. you are just so happy to be alive, and it inspires me! I know it's probably weird to be learning life lessons from my infant daughter, but it's true. you are teaching me how to live the way that God wants me to live, and I am so grateful for that.


but, oh baby, you have your dramatic moments too. you absolutely hate being burped, and you scream bloody murder like all the food in the world has disappeared when we take your bottle away for those few minutes. you have the most dramatic fake cough, and it makes me nervous for when you hit your teenage years that you're already trying to get our attention in crazy ways! you know exactly what you want most of the time, and we had just better give it to you! fortunately, we have found the one thing that will ALWAYS calm you down, no matter what: "imma be" by the black eyed peas. it's like magic! you love standing up, and playing on your playmat, and sitting on the couch with us while we try to entertain you with crazy faces. just like your daddy, you love all sorts of screens -- computer, tv, ipod -- and you also love watching the fan.


one of my favorite things about being your mama is when we're in a big group of people who are passing you around. you usually do GREAT for quite a while -- smiling, laughing, talking, flirting with boys -- and then you hit a point when you realize you don't know anyone and you don't know where you are and you have a little meltdown. and all it takes for you to calm down is just to be in my arms. I don't do anything different than anybody else was doing -- you just know you're with me, so you calm down. oh hannah, that makes my heart so full of joy. I love knowing that you feel safe and loved with me. I love the days we get to spend together (even if about 4 o clock when dad comes home I need a little break from you!) and I love watching you experience and try new things. you are exactly what my life needed, and I didn't even know it.
hannahbelle, I promise that I will always love you and take care of you. I promise to be the kind of woman I want you to want to be -- strong, confident, loving, gentle, patient, passing on the grace that God has given me. okay, I can't really promise I will be all of those things all the time, but I will try. your smiles make every hard moment worth it. and every day I have with you is a gift. be whoever you are, baby girl. chase your dreams, pursue your passions, and know that me and your daddy and our God are right behind you, ready to encourage, support, and push you to be everything you were made for.

(even if sometimes that means making you burp when you don't want to.)
I love you more than I will ever be able to express, hannah. thank you for making me a mom!

love forever,
mama

happy easter!

Hannah's Baptism

Here is the video from Hannah's Baptism a few weeks ago...sorry for the delay!

Also, New pics and a better quality version of this video have been added to this website!

the many faces of miss hannah

i have been working on a birth story post-- but it is long so it's taking a while! in the meantime, let me introduce you to the many faces of our crazy little girl...




where am i?

wait... i am cold and ANGRY!
hooray!

one day i will pick my own nose. until then, thanks dad!

okay, my dad is a weirdo.

dumbo ears!

welcome to my life.

GIVE ME WHATEVER I WANT RIGHT NOW!

sweet dreams

i don't want to wake up yet.

concernicus.

seriously trying to stay asleep

sleepy sleepy baby!

life with a newborn is...

tiring

rewarding

surprisingly full of laughs

(and also crying. sometimes hers, sometimes mine)

frustrating

all about figuring things out

(then figuring things out again when the things you already figured out no longer apply)

savoring sweet baby wake up time

surviving i-don't-want-to-sleep-but-i-need-to time

throwing any kind of routine out the window

eating lunch at 3 pm

changing diapers in a fast food booth

becoming the center of attention at the grocery store

changing 2 diapers at a time because she loves to pee in clean ones

kissing little feet

snuggling up close

making up nicknames and silly songs

taking adventures to costco and target

really thankful to have a partner in all of this

(and sometimes a margarita)

so full of love we couldn't imagine

and always, always worth it

one week old!

yesterday our baby girl turned one week old! we can hardly believe how different this week has been than last week was! hannah is a great baby and is really taking it easy on us, for the most part. she is eating well, sleeping great, and loves riding in the car. she has already been out to eat breakfast and dinner and ice cream, and yesterday she had her first bath at home! this morning she experienced a VERY important milestone... her first trip to starbucks. 'our' baristas have been very interested in us throughout the pregnancy, and when we got there today, they said they figured we must have had the baby because we hadn't been there in a week and a half!

we are still in the process of collecting pictures from the grandmas' cameras because our battery died about 2 minutes after she was born (of course) and then we misplaced it for a day and a half as soon as we got home (i mean seriously!). but here are some highlights from the past few days!

headed home from the hospital in a pink velour jumpsuit that one of the girls in my small group gave her -- she was kind of swimming in it but it was too cute!! this is her gangsta look.

chilling at home with dad!

hanging out with gramps

and uncle jake

my dad is crazy.

today she took a nap in her crib for the first time and she LOVED it! she was out cold for 2.5 hours... i can't even believe how tiny she looks in there! in the bottom left corner you can just barely see the awesome quilt my mom made-- we'll have to take more pictures with her so you can see the whole thing

a picture for perspective... and a very special bear! my dad gave me that teddy bear when i was little, and it's time to pass it on to hannah! (okay seriously, i might be biased but isn't she just the cutest little munchkin?!)

she is here!!!

so sorry for the delay in posting... we have been a little busy with our new little bundle of joy!

hannah kay anderson
5:43 pm, wednesday, january 20, 2010
7 pounds, 5 ounces, 20.5 inches long

she is absolutely precious and we couldn't have asked for a better baby! last night we finally got our new parent hazing night and she was very fussy... but other than that, she pretty much only cries when she needs something, sleeps a whole lot, and eats great! (knock on wood)


i will post the whole birth story later when i get a chance to sit down and really remember the details... the short version is, we were scheduled to be induced but she decided to come on her own time before they could call us in. epidurals are awesome. she also thought she knew a better way to come out than straight down, but eventually she got it figured out and came out to meet us!


we are both doing great, due in large part to having my mom here last week and brian's family here this week to help us out-- i'm not quite sure how the cooking and cleaning and having time to shower will happen once it's just the two of us, but i'm sure we'll figure it out! we are just totally in love and so happy to be hannah's parents!

game time.

As I write this I am sitting in the delivery room waiting to welcome our first child into the world. Amy is feeling good as the fantastic medications are helping her not feel pain and relax. Not quite the way she pictured this day going, in a good way! We are getting excited!

They just came in a broke Amy's water! It shouldn't be long now!

Check back later...we will try and post pictures here and on facebook after she is here!

baby watch 2010

okay... this child needs to come already...

I mean, the due date is over a week away... regardless, we are getting antsy.

This waiting patiently thing is not something that I do well. I sorta reminds me of our wedding day when I was in the grooms area and not allowed to leave because Amy was getting pictures around the church. I couldn't do anything to make it come quicker I just had to wait until game time...

As I think about it, his situation is a bit different...

There are allegedly ways that you can make a baby decide to come sooner. This evening we will be trying as many of those as we know of... Here's what we have so far...

• We will be walking to a Mexican Restaurant nearby and eating very spicy mexican food.
• Amy will be walking up and down the stairs until she gets tired.
• When she gets her energy back up she will bounce on an exercise ball.

If these don't work, I will be making this recipe for dinner very soon for dinner.

any other ideas of way that we can get this baby to come??

**UPDATED**

after a read of all of these success stories from the Scalina's website... I am making eggplant parm for dinner! We will just have to go for a walk around the block...here's the recipe on their website if you want to make it for yourself and join us!