Happy Birthday to Maggie Moo!

I haven't done much with this blog.  So much has happened to the Anderson's in the last 2 years (since I last posted): moving out of my Mom's house, buying our first home in Kennett Square, missing West Chester, becoming pregnant with Maggie, Maggie being born, Lucy starting preschool, and about a thousand other things that have really shaped our lives.

Poor Maggie hasn't even be introduced on this blog.  But she's here, and she's amazing, and since today is her birthday, I wanted to give her a little blog love.

*****

It never ceases to amaze me how fast one year can truly fly.  It seems only yesterday we were transitioning to being new parents at the arrival of Lucy.  And yet, we've survived not only parenting one child, but two.  Two beautiful girls.  Two total blessings.

Maggie, you are a true delight.

One year ago today, you came into this world.  It was a bit of a surprise, as you weren't due until January 14.  But at my 38 week check up, they were a bit worried about my amniotic fluid level and your low heart rate, and had me go for further checking.  Upon a stress test and ultrasound, it was decided it was in your best interest to be born ASAP.

I might have cried.

Mainly because I wasn't ready. I was ready for you to come in a week and a half.  To go into labor on my own. But instead, I found myself walking out of the appointment with little 2-and-a-half year old Lucy tugging at my hand.  It was freezing cold that day. I had nothing ready!  My bag wasn't packed!  Daddy was at school!  What would I do with Lucy? 

After calling Daddy, and thoroughly freaking him out, I dropped Lucy off at Briana's house.  I was grateful for the group of people who came to stay with you and take care of you while we were at the hospital.  I took a pill every few hours to start labor, but all was quiet until about 4am.  Contractions started, my water broke, and pain levels skyrocketed.  In the next 2 hours, life became blurry.  Traffic of nurses and doctors in and out.  The arrival of my epidural. My epidural not working. No one believing me.  Needing to push, and being completely scared to do it without pain medication.  But at 7am, you quickly arrived shortly after pushing. 

I can't remember pain, only taking you into my arms. You were beautiful.

And you've been beautiful ever since.

I went into your first year thinking I'd have the parenting thing under my belt.  I thought I would know how to do everything, how to address every situation. I knew there would be an adjustment: figuring out life with two, overcoming the rush of hormones, the healing of my body.  And in some ways, much was the same. I knew how to deal with crying, how to change a diaper, how to handle illness.

But you've taught me so much in the last year. You've showed me that parenting is an ongoing class, and there is never an end to learning.  You have a very different disposition than your sister. You communicate differently. You learned to sleep differently. You like different things, dislike others.  I learned how important it is to embrace differences and uniqueness instead of trying to micromanage things to be exactly how I want them. 

Maggie, you light up a room.  You are such a happy, delightful girl who smiles all the time.  You love people, and quickly warm to new friends.  I love how you embrace life, explore and adventure.  And although she really gives you a run for your money, you are so completely in love with your big sister, Lucy.  Sure, there are scuffles over legos, pushes and shoves.  But when Lucy comes in the room with her gusto and big personality, you squeal with delight and can't take your eyes off her.  We could give you any number of toys, but you would always rather be into whatever Lucy is into (much to her dismay).

Give her time - I trust you and Lucy will become the best of friends.

You love your Daddy.  When he comes home, you toddle as fast as your little legs will take you, babbling "Dadadadadadadada" and lift your arms up to be held.  You often don't like being taken from him, and he can make you laugh life no other.

You are a cuddle bug.  You like to fit your head into the nook between our heads and shoulders, nuzzling up to our necks.  Before bed, after you've had a bottle, I turn off the light and sway with you while we pray and sing.  No matter how awake and alert you were when the lights were on, you instantly lay your head on my shoulder and cuddle. At any given moment, you might come over to one of us and just lay your head down.  It may only last for a few moments, but it's like you want us to know we are loved.  As you are loved.

You are so sweet.

This year, you learned to roll over at 6 months, sit up at 7 months, crawl at 8 months and walk at 11 months.  Talk about keeping us on our toes!  I loved seeing your first smile around 1 month.  You have an amazingly contagious grin.  We were taken off guard by seeing your first tooth at 7 months.  Lucy didn't get her first tooth until almost 11 months, as did both Daddy and myself.  You really like to keep us thinking! And while we aren't hearing words yet, we get glimpses.  You say "Dada" for daddy, sometimes we get a "Mama" for mommy, but not consistently.  You've held a phone up to your ear and said something along the lines of "ha-oo" for hello.  And every once in a while, we hear "zhee zhee" for Gigi!

Although we've faced many trials in 2011, you were by far the brightest and bestest thing that happened to us this year.  You made this year good just by being in it.

I can't wait to see what more you have in store for us.

We love you.

Happy first birthday, Margaret Jane!

In Which Lucy Talks. A Lot.

I initially started this blog as a way to chronicle (hence the name) my life with Bill and the then-upcoming addition of a baby. I had low hopes for my ability to consistently update the blog.

I know myself all too well.

To be fair, I've actually become quite adept at blogging, and I spend most of my time on my other blog, posting for the WCGM Blog, while also being a new contributor to The Philly Moms Blog. It keeps me pretty busy.

Although I don't keep up with this regularly, I do hope to update this blog from time to time mainly for Lucy. Because I love her. And she is awesome. And we don't keep a baby book. And one day we will need this collection of prose to prove Lucy did, in fact, once exist.

Today is January 6, 2010. When I was first born, that sentence would have sounded like the beginning of a science fiction movie. Did really, did we think the world was going to last this long (flashback to "2001: A Space Odyssey")? Anyway. The weather is abominable (literally. I'm pretty sure I saw a Yeti. Or an albino Big Foot) as we endure what Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz is describing as the SECOND BIGGEST SNOW STORM in Philly HISTORY. Until today, December 19's snowstorm ranked second only to the massive blowout we had in the early 90's. So we are hunkering down, enjoying Wii (Bill brought home his school projector, so we are projecting it up on the wall and having a BLAST), eating Monkey Bread and resting comfortably.

Lucy is exactly 18 months old today (well, she will be tomorrow, but does 1 day really matter?). I can't believe time flies so fast. When you have a baby, people tell you all the time, "Enjoy every moment, because it will fly by so fast." And new parents are like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. But she cries a lot and I haven't slept in 4 days." But, friends, it's true. It slips away so quickly. And with every moment that passes, I fall more in love with this gift of Lucy.

I was amazed at how much mental and emotional growth happens between 12 and 18 months. Lucy resembles a little girl more so than a baby. She runs, climbs, falls (but not quite yet able to jump). She laughs. I love it when she laughs, and luckily she laughs often. Even as a toddler, her personality is very apparent. She is rambunctious, but sweet. Energetic but snuggly. She is opinionated and sometimes a little bossy. She is adorable.

When Lucy was little, and just starting to coo, someone remarked that she would eventually become one of those non-stop talkers. Even as a cooing baby, she made noises and desperately attempted to communicate all the time. The older she got, the more her inflections mimicked real conversations. Although we didn't speak Baby, Lucy had some very important things to say, and it was obvious. Without words, Lucy could tell you a funny story. Lucy could tell you when she was angry. Lucy could ponder philosophical things.

And now that Lucy is speaking, she truly talks all the time. It started with one or two words close to her first birthday. There was a lull for a few months, and I wondered when she'd being saying more (you know how we first time parents worry). A book I was reading said that between 15 and 18 months, many kids have a language explosion. I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I would soon find out.

At 16 months, Lucy had added a few more words to her vocabulary. She earnestly observed others while they spoke. And she attempted more words. But just in the last month, Lucy has catapulted into the realm of Talk. It's amazing! Every day, she says more words. Words that I had no idea she'd ever encountered before. Without any help, she is able to connect words to objects. She is able to communicate what she wants ("Eat! Peese!" "Upppp!" "App-oool!" and the ever favorite "No no no" - always spoken in a set of three).

Toddlers blow my mind. While Lucy is bright and precocious, she is only following the same path worn by babies who have gone before her. Maybe I am just floored by how intricately we are woven, and how obvious that is when we can watch a little bean of a baby turn into a beautiful little girl in the matter of 18 months.

God is good. And I look forward to the opportunity to watch Lucy grow even more over the next year. Decade. Lifetime.

Hopefully more to come in the near future (UPDATES, people! Not babies. Atleast, not quite yet. Famous last words, right?)

I'll leave you with a few recent photos of our Little Boo.

Getting Armpit Flabbers from Daddy.

She is laughing uncontrollably in this picture!

Ready for the Big Snow of January 2010!

Pigtails!

Giving Daddy a "Welcome Home From Work" kiss

through the screen door.

At the WC Public Library for Storytime with Momma

Until next time - stay warm!

Lucy's New Word

Joining the ranks of "apple" (sometimes known as "app-ee"), "Ball" (sometimes known as "bah"), "Star" (dah), Mamamamaa and Dadadadada, we can announce the newest vocabulary addition:

"Uh.....oh"

...said with a considerable pause between the 2 syllables. Often used before and/or after she has dropped a sippy cup, thrown cheerios, ripped another page out of a book or...just because.

Make Me a Bird so I can Fly Far, Far Away...

Hear ye, Hear ye, Bill and Steph will be heading out this very night on their first Weekend Away ALONE.

After 15 months without a true vacation, we will be heading HERE for the night. Good eating and shopping are on our list of "to-do's," as well as sleeping in a bit! We will miss Lucy SO much, but we also know it is good to get away once in a while!

Wish us luck, and pray that Lucy has a good weekend with Grammy and Granddad!

October 2009 Update

It's been a while.

I know.

I've been really enjoying the blogging opportunities I have had on the WCGM Blog and my Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Mom blog, so I've let the Anderson Chronicles fall by the wayside. Luckily, I have a wonderful and dear friend named GWYNETH who lives in Africa, and she always encourages updates here. I also love updating here, because it's the closest thing I have to keep record of Lucy (no, I don't have a baby book for her. Don't judge me).

A lot has been happening in our lives, which has contributed to the lack of posting. Here they are in no particular order:

1) My sister, Melissa, is getting married TOMORROW. That has required some time and energy over the past few months, particularly THIS month. Especially THIS week.

2) We are moving. Big decision. Last you heard, we were buying a house. That fell through, and we were suddenly in financial position to not buy a house. That's ok. We can handle it. We prayed a lot about it, looking for discernment about our next move. To fulfill our dream of being homeowners (especially if we EVER want to welcome another baby into our family), we will be moving in with my mom. That's a hard decision - sacrificing independence and autonomy to BE dependent again. For a short time, anyway. But short term sacrifices are worth it for long term rewards. While it was a hard decision, both of our families have been outstandingly supportive, and we are grateful that my mom is welcoming us with open arms.

3) Bill started his first FULL year as a teacher at Henderson High School. I am continually amazed at how gifted he is as a teacher. Teaching was something Bill was made to do. He loves his job and he really enjoys WHERE he is teaching. I am so happy for him! Bill has an added responsibility this year: overseeing the Warrior, HHS school newspaper. This has proved a great challenge, but Bill has tackled it gracefully.

4) I've started babysitting Monday nights. Friends of ours, the Weebers, have 3 kids, ages 8, 5 and 2. They needed a babysitter Monday evenings (3-9), and I wanted to try to get a part-time job. So far, it is working out great. I love the chance to learn how to "parent" older kids, since I will eventually HAVE older kids. Learning how to discipline, play, do homework, get these kids ready for bed has been fun and an education!

5) We have an almost 15-month old. This is exciting, tiring, challenging and a joy! Lucy is a beautiful girl, inside and out. She is energetic, rambunctious and very talkative. Most of her words are indecipherable, but "Dadadada," "Mamamamama," "bah" (ball), "doh" (Dog), "dat" (that...we think?) and "hah-pull" (apple, or anything that resembles an apple). She can identify her nose, mouth, ears, head, hair, tummy, hands, feet and elbow. I'm intrigued at how much she can comprehend despite not being able to speak. I can ask her to get something or pick up a certain toy - and she knows exactly what I am asking. I'd like to try to work on sign language more and more, as I feel that will bridge the communication gap. Lucy snuggles and laughs and tickles. She is a joy and we LOVE her more and more every day!

So....that is the Anderson Update. Perhaps we'll be able to update more in the future. Until next weekend, though, we will be out of commission, as our official move date is October 31.

Wish us luck! And we'd love to hear from you!

Happy Birthday, Lucy Love!

Lucy. You first came into my life 2 days after Thanksgiving, when I fumbled to understand the meaning of a stick bearing 2 lines instead of one. A baby. I was to have a baby. What does that mean? This was not part of the plans! I am so unprepared.

Inside me you grew for 9 months, expanding, rolling, kicking, squirming. At 7 weeks, I saw your heartbeat: a flicker inside a small pouch up on a screen. At 20 weeks, your arms, your legs, your face. This small silhouette on the screen was beautiful. A girl. Our daughter.

Your Daddy and I spent every moment of the summer together: Walking, laughing, driving, chatting. We grew to love each other more, as we shared our joys and fears of the inevitable change that would be coming to our life. Parents. We were going to be parents. To a baby girl. The only comfort we shared was that we’d be in it together. A team. For life.

It was Daddy who came up with the name Lucy. Lucy the Valiant, from the Chronicles of Narnia, a noble character. The name of your great-great Grandmother. A sweet little girl’s name. Lucy.

August 1, 2008 came and went, with no sign of Lucy arriving on your due date. We waited, spending our days as normal as possible. The following Tuesday, we met friends at Landmark Americana, and had appetizers and good conversation. I had a feeling you were getting ready to make your arrival. We went home after the tab was paid. Contractions started, and we went to the hospital at 3am, only to get sent home first thing in the morning. Deflated, frustrated, we took a nap after a long night. The only hidden happiness was the hope you might arrive on your Daddy’s (and his grandpa’s) birthday.

Contractions again, later that night. 24 hours of wondering, “Is this it? Is it time?” 24 hours of fear and anticipation. 24 hours too long. We make the familiar drive to the hospital, finally getting the affirmation we needed: It’s time! Laboring and one epidural later, it was morning, and at 10am, I began to push. Progress was slow, but eventually steady. At 12pm on the dot, August 7, 2008 (your daddy’s 24^th birthday), your lungs filled with air. 6 lbs, 5 oz….20.5 inches long.

You were here.

You were beautiful.

And off we went, you and I, on this adventure of Mother-Daughterhood. I had no idea what I was doing. You were so small. You cried. I cried. Daddy cried. Life as we knew it was over. But what a great life we were beginning. Together.

Days passed. Diapers. Feedings. Napping. Not napping. Sleepless nights. Spit up. A rhythm was forming, and we began to understand one another. We started to get this “family” thing down. Days turned into weeks. 3 weeks, I saw your first smile. 3 months I got a full nights sleep. 4 months, you rolled over. 6 months you sat up by yourself. 8 months, the day after Easter, you became mobile, and crawling became your favorite pastime. Crawling quickly turned into cruising, which inevitably meant a lot of falling. And staying true to your pattern of new milestones every 2 months, you began taking your tentative first steps at 10 months old.

Suddenly, you were no longer a baby. You were a toddler. A little girl. When had time slipped away?

Lucy. Your name means “light.” And “light” defines you so appropriately. You light up a room as soon as you enter it. Anyone who is around you cannot help but smile. Your laugh is contagious. You love life. You love people. While you may be shy in new situations, you quickly warm up. You explore everything: grabbing, touching, teething, pointing. You are quick, halfway across the room before I know you are gone. You hardly ever sit still, and your energy amazes me.

You are independent and emotional. Every need you have, you make known! From day one, you were exercising your voice. Those newborn cries gave way to coos, laughs and babble. Babbling is now slowly turning into words. Putting a cell phone up to your ear, you ask, “Halla?” Following suit of your friend, Aiden, you have learned the word, “Ball,” and point out your bouncy ball every chance you get.

We love to snuggle. Although it usually only lasts for seconds, you lay your head in my lap, you caress my cheek, you play with my hair. Some days, you get to sneak into bed with Daddy and I. You laugh, trying to wake up Daddy. We play peek-a-boo. And in a sweet moment, you lay your head next to mine, and we gaze into each other’s eyes, understanding something unspoken.

I cherish these moments.

You love your Daddy. When the doorknob turns at 3:30pm, you quickly look up from what you are doing because you know who will walk through the door. You love to sit in his lap best of all and read a book. Daddy plays his guitar, and you are mesmerized. You bounce, dance and sing along with him. You love to pat his hair. He is your Daddy Man.

You love to make us laugh. And in turn, we make ourselves fools to hear that beautiful sound coming from your lips. I would run for days on end if it meant I would hear you laugh.

I am so proud of everything you do.

My old life, as I know it, is gone. Yet, somehow I did not live until you were placed in my arms. What did I do before Lucy? Where did I find my joy? You have been so gracious as I stumbled on this new path of Motherhood. I was really clueless from the start, but I am learning more every day what it means to love you and take care of you.

You are my firstborn. You, and you alone, have made me a mother. A mommy. Mom. You have taught me how to comfort, how to soothe, and how to be patient. You have forgiven me when I mess up, and I am sorry it is (still) so often. You bring me joy. You have shown me how to love. I understand, now, God’s love for me simply because of the love He has placed in my heart for you.

One year ago, my life began with yours. Here’s to one year more.

I love you, Lucy.

You are beautiful.

~ Mommy

So, It's Been A While...

My apologies, Friends. I know that most of you who read this fumbling blog see us on a mostly-regular basis. But, for those who do not (and for the posterity of maintaining some sort of semblance of a historic chronology, seeing as I do not journal and have not kept one lick of a baby book for Lucy), it is important to put some updates and offer and apology.

So, I'm sorry.

It's been a busy few months here in the Anderson Household. Lucy is getting to be quite the Big Girl! I believe that I noted on this blog that she started crawling the day after Easter (April 13, to be exact). Simultaneously, she started pulling herself up and cruising while holding onto furniture. In the 2+ months since then, Lucy has become a speedracer, crawling across the room in the blink of an eye, and even just recently started taking some bold solo steps (mostly 1 or 2, but yesterday she did a solid half room's length on her own!). I'm so proud of her. Bill and I were noting just how FUN she is. Lucy has such a personality - she is chatty, silly and emotional. Maybe "big" personality is more accurate. While it can be frustrating at times to parent this kind of personality (with many more challenges to come, I know, I know), it has given me an opportunity to surrender Lucy to God - praying that God would use her boldness, verbosity and confidence to give Him Glory. What a great way to put a positive spin on something that could be a negative. :) Lately, we love that she loves life - always laughing and learning new things (like putting a blanket over her head to play peek-a-boo, pointing, clapping, looking under things like shirts or blankets for whatever might be hiding underneath, etc). We love her so much!

Oh, and about 3 days ago, we noticed a little tooth trying to come through on the bottom FINALLY (she's only 10 1/2 months old, for goodness sakes)! It's still just a rough corner, but it will be through any day now, with a few more to follow, I'm sure.

Bill finished his first year (well, half year) at Henderson High School. He ended the year with a bang, and I couldn't be more proud of him. He loves his job, and that warms my heart. I wanted so badly for him to enjoy waking up and going to work - which he does. Bill is now on break until...mid-August! AUGH! These past 2 days of being together (and having the help of another person during the day) has been wonderful. I'm grateful for the kind of job he has, which affords us the money we need and a lot of time to spend together. Bill misses the amount he rides his bike (a few months ago, we sold our second car, becoming a one-car family, and Bill was commuting to work via bike with another teacher who lives close by), but is making up for that by setting a plan to brew some beer later this week.

As you can imagine, with such a busy baby and husband, I have been busy as well! Lucy keeps me on my toes, and I am so often exhausted by the time I get Lucy to bed, and am ready for bed myself. I've been keeping busy with my Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Mom Blog, and a new opportunity which has come my way: blogging for the West Chester Grower's Market Blog. Writing for the WCGM is a real treat, as I have really come to love the Market. Somehow, slowly, Buy Fresh Buy Local has become an important cause for me. Supporting local agriculture, our local economy/businesses, and a deeper focus on the environment has really begun to shape my life. Maybe this seems like a big deal to me because I previously was completely ignorant to these things - apart from the random recycling bin I'd bump into from time to time. I am taking small steps, and I know every step makes a difference. I can't say my whole life is Green, but I am working on it. :)

God has been so good to us, and we are humbled and thankful. Our current adventure, which I will keep you up on, is house-hunting. We'll let you know how it goes!

That is what is going on in our household. More updates to come. Here are some pictures of the past few months [The first is a picture of Lucy in May saying "hi" after a nap. The other 3 are from this past weekend, while we celebrated Father's Day (June 21, 2009)].