New Look

Yes, you're seeing this correctly. I (the not-so-great-blogger) have added a fancy new Christmas background to the ol' Anderson blog. In the spirit of the holiday season, I will confess that I stole the idea from my friend Suzanne. There. I've said it. I'm a copycat blogger.

Granddaddy's Birthday

We made our second trip to Ruston last weekend for Granddaddy's birthday party. He turned 80 years old and most of our family was there to help him celebrate. We had a big family photo taken Saturday afternoon and a wonderful dinner at Granddaddy and Vergie's house on Saturday night. We also got to see PawPaw, who came over from Jackson to spend the day with us, and Grandma, who came over from Minden to see us.

Buster came home with us after his trip to "camp" at Lovey and Big Sam's house. They were working with him on some slight behavioral issues. He seems to be a little better, but I think he misses being with Brandy and Bubba. Maybe he'll go back to camp soon...

We don't have any photos from the party, but here's a cute shot of Harper getting ready for the party. We've almost grown out of Lovey's sink.

Congratulations to the Audi Family

Just a quick congratulations to Kim and Daniel Audi on the birth of their son, Josiah Daniel. He is so precious and has a head full of beautiful red hair. Congratulations!

Our Little Lobster!

This post is, of course, long overdue. Harper was a lobster for her first Halloween, and I have to say I think she made a pretty cute one. We didn't actually go out trick or treating this year, but we did have lots of kiddos come to our house asking for candy.

Harper enjoying her time as a lobster. Uncle Christopher thinks we should say it's a crawfish...

When she finally figured out this wasn't really all that fun and started wailing.

Harper and Big Tex

This is a little late (surprise), but here are a few photos from our trip to the State Fair a few weekends ago. We're not sure if Harper enjoyed it or not, but we sure had fun eating fried pickles and funnel cake. Daddy even won Harper a Nemo toy...after she became suspicious that the Denver Broncos football and Jayhawks basketball he won weren't really for her.

Daddy and Harper with Big Tex

Harper's First Trip to Ruston

Well, it was actually her first trip outside of Dallas. We packed up (seriously, there was so much baby gear in my car I could barely see) and headed to Ruston for a visit last week. It was a very fun visit as I got to introduce Harper to some very special people. Although Harper can't really verbalize it, I'm sure she had fun. It could have something to do with Lovey spoiling her every chance she gets. The posts below are some of the highlights from our trip.

Louisiana Trip - Sunshine and Cullen

This was a big moment for Harper...she finally got to meet Sunshine. Ms. Charlene is a very special lady and I was very excited for Harper to meet her!
We were also glad that Cullen was spending the day at Sunshine's house. Here he is playing with his new toy. Isn't he cute?!

Louisiana Trip - Granddaddy gets an award!

We were glad that the timing of our trip worked out so that we could see Granddaddy receive his Outstanding RHS Alumni Award. We are very proud of him! The majority of my family members are RHS graduates, so it was really neat to take Harper to be there for the event. She even got to hear everyone sing the alma mater!

Louisiana Trip - Lindsey and Drake

Another highlight of the trip was getting to meet my cousin Lindsey's new baby Drake. He is too cute! And he is already good at sharing - he gave Harper one of his magic pacifiers and we will forever be grateful!

Louisiana Trip - Meeting Heather

Here is Harper with Mommy's friend Heather. We were very excited to meet Heather, although it doesn't show with Harper's wardrobe choice. Next time we see Heather we will wear one of the cute outfits she gave us.

Louisiana Trip - Angie and Sarah Kate

Harper finally got to meet Mommy's friend Angie and her precious daughter Sarah Kate. We think they will be great friends - Sarah Kate was already holding Harper's hand! Harper was impressed by Sarah Kate's head full of hair and was thinking she might like to have hair some day too!

Louisiana Trip - Harper and Grandma

Grandma and Papaw came to spend the day with us and brought homemade gumbo and chocolate pie...yummy!

Pumpkin Patch

I was dying to get Harper to the Pumpkin Patch to take some cute photos, but kind of forgot it might be a little difficult since she can't hold her head up yet. We propped her up against the pumpkins and managed to get a few cute shots. $50 worth of pumpkins and an upset baby later, here are a few pictures.

Harper's 2 Week Photos

So, this is a little late but for those of you with a little spare time on your hands, Harper's two week photos are online. My friend Jill came over and took some great photos of Harper. She was so patient and easy to work with...especially when Miss Priss peed and pooped everywhere during the "naked baby" shots.

You can see the slide show (or order pictures if you are so inclined) at www.jillybeanphotography.com. Go to Galleries and click on Harper. The password is Anderson.

Whew! Five posts in one day! I think I'm caught up now and will try to add posts regularly in the future.

Have a great weekend!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In case you haven't heard, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a cause that has become even more near and dear to my heart since my mom (also affectionately known as Lovey) was diagnosed with breast cancer this year. She had a mastectomy and has completed her chemo...all while keeping an incredibly positive attitude and strong heart. She's amazing! So, here are two things that caught my attention while I was feverishly catching up on the daytime TV I've missed over recent years.

The Love/Avon Army of Women group was on the Today show this week with a great message.
Check out their website if you have a few minutes. And sign up if you're eligible!
Their goals are:

-To recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all.

-To challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women.

http://www.armyofwomen.org/

Also, Ellen DeGeneres is raising money for Susan G Komen on her show and website. She has "Laugh, Dance, Cure" t-shirts (and some other items) if you're looking for a cute way to support the cause.
http://www.ellentv.com/

Just because...

More Special Visitors

This week Harper got to meet Granddaddy and Vergie. They were in Dallas to celebrate Vergie's birthday and took us to a yummy dinner at Mi Cocina.

Nana and Papa Come to Visit

Nana and Papa came all the way from Colorado to meet Harper. We had a great time during their visit. Papa fixed a lot of things around the house and Nana made sure we were fed and happy. We can't wait to see them again!
Harper meets Nana and Papa

Harper Update

So, I know I promised to keep this updated and I will try to do better in the future...we've been just a little busy the past 3 weeks!

Harper is doing very well. We went to the pediatrician yesterday for our 2 week checkup (just a little late, as she's now 3 1/2 weeks old). She now weighs 9 lb 2 oz and is 21 3/4 inches, so she is definitely growing.

Here are a few of her firsts over the past few weeks...


Leaving the hospital for first car ride and trip home. Thanks Aunt Kathy and Uncle Andy for my pretty pink dress!


First doctor's visit...

First doctor's visit continued. Note the wardrobe change, which was a result of the first major poop. Fortunately, we didn't get any photos of that.

First bath, which Harper enjoyed and Mommy was terrified of. Luckily Lovey and Daddy were there to help.

First photo shoot. Lots of fun for Mommy and Lovey. We're not sure if Harper enjoyed it quite as much.

She's here!

Harper Alise Anderson joined us yesterday, August 29th at 4:19 pm. She weighed in at 7 lb 8 oz and measured 20 1/4 inches. We couldn't be more excited to finally have her here and can't wait for her to meet everyone!

AHB Baby Shower

Today was the baby shower hosted by Jenn's sweet bosses, Jody and Ana. The entire office and several clients met at Mariposa in Neiman Marcus for a high tea luncheon. Yummy food (especially the desserts!) and great company made it a special treat. Baby Anderson received LOTS of baby gear and cute outfits, so she should be all set. Thank you everyone!

Check out all of the gifts...and the super cute diaper cake that Laura made. There were gifts in every tier...and she even used the "granola" diapers!

Baby's first Halloween outfit. Too cute!

Dessert towers!!

Caroline Gets Christened

Just a few photos of Caroline Stewart's Christening this weekend. She looked like a little angel and was very good through the whole ceremony. It has been so fun to watch her grow and develop her cute little personality. We can't wait for her to meet Baby Anderson!

34 weeks...and growing...

Just 6 weeks to go! We had our 34 week checkup this week and everything looks great. We'll hopefully have a sonogram in the next few weeks to see if we can determine how big Baby Anderson is.

Baby Shower

What a fun weekend! Lots of friends and family gathered at Mi Cocina for a wonderful baby shower. Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate...especially those who had a long trip. And a special thanks to Mysti, Kasey, Lacey, Lauren and Lauren for being such great hostesses. You, too, Catie Carlyle - we missed you!

Wonderful hostesses! Lacey, Lauren, me, Mysti, Lauren and Kasey

Marilyn, Lori and Taylor came in from Denver for a girls weekend. We loved having them here and appreciate the long trek they made...in the July heat!...to be with us for the weekend.

Mom and Grandma came in from Louisiana. Baby makes 4th generation!

Kasey and Mary rubbing the belly - believe it or not the belly seems to have grown since this weekend...

Daddy carrying the first of many pink presents for his little girl!

Nursery Update

Just a few pics of the bedding and nursery. We still have some finishing touches to put on the baby's room, but at least she has a place to sleep now!

Nursery Decorating

Just a few pics of Daddy, Lovey and Big Sam painting the nursery. Thanks for all of the help guys!
Plus one of Topher putting the crib together. He did a great job!

Welcome...again!

Obviously it has taken me a while to send out the email notifying our nearest and dearest about the blog. I originally wrote the Welcome entry on June 5th. Today is obviously not the 5th, but the 20th. Hopefully that's not an indication of how often I'll get around to future updates...

Today marks Week 29...less than 3 months to go!

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome the our new blog. Several people have asked if we were planning to do something like this so our out-of-town friends and relatives could keep up with the baby news. Well, 27 weeks into the pregnancy, I've finally gotten around to it. We've been big fans of several of our friends' blogs for quite a while - especially Baby Caroline Stewart (although we suspect she's not creating those posts by herself) - so we thought we'd give it a shot. Feel free to check back often for updates...I'll try to keep new photos and info updated regularly.

Enjoy!