Off again!

Tomorrow morning we begin our vacation!! Florida here we come. We will stay with Kit & Laura (Ryan's brother & sister-in-law) tomorrow night to break up the drive. Since we don't get to see them very often, we are really excited!! I think we'd be excited even if we got to see them all the time! They're awesome siblings to us & role models for Sydney. Saturday we'll head to Florida, Ormond Beach to be exact. I have been looking forward to this trip ever since we began thinking of it!! I LOVE the beach. Since I believe Ryan is ADHD, he has never been very eager to take a beach vacation. This one just kind of happened & I have been thankful for it!

The three of us need some much needed time away. You say, but you live in a city without anyone around you. "Time away" doesn't mean from people this time. It means from Ryan's work & school. He's been working so hard that we all feel we need some serious play time!

I've been looking forward to the sunrises & sunsets seen from the beach. The days being lazy by the pool & beach and then I see...weather.com had forecast rain EVERY DAY we're there!! Ah...hurricanes! It seems that we will be there just in time for the hurricane to make it's mark on Florida. No, the hurricane won't hit Florida, but it looks to bring plenty of rain. So, now I'm praying for some sunshine!! PLEEEAAASSSSEEE!!! I'll give the full report when I get back.

Laundry fun

Last night I was getting caught up on our laundry from our trip so that I can begin packing for the next trip--FLORIDA!! When I pulled the clothes out of the dryer, I noticed there was something on the inside of the dryer. It looked like tons of black marks...then realized there must have been an ink pen in there some where. Sure enough! I found a very nice black gel pen that was now empty. I then franticly started looking at all of our clothes. Yes, the full pen was now emptied all over our favorite clothes. Normally we would have that many of our favorites in one load, but since I was doing laundry from our trip & we always take our favorites on trips, they were all in there. I was really upset. I called my mom to see if there was any way to get ink out of clothes. She didn't know, but gladly got online while I was hanging up my wet clothes outside to dry. I get a call back. The verdict: dab rubbing alcohol on the clothes with a white towel under them. If that doesn't work, use fingernail polish remover & rinse thoroughly. So, I began work on the clothes. After a several minutes, I realized that this process is going to take a very, very long time. So, I told Ryan to begin looking online to see how to get the dryer clean. Shortly after asking Ryan to do that task for me, my mom called back with the verdict. It was the same as the clothes only using a cotton ball with the fingernail polish remover. My advice to you: use the fingernail polish remover first. It works much better than the alcohol. Now my dryer is clean, except for the felt feeling part that lines the back of the dryer. That is still coated in ink. I need to work on it some more. Although I'm completely saddened by our clothes being ruined--some maybe salvaged, yes, but mostly ruined-- I am realizing that they are material objects. Perhaps they were some of my favorites, because I didn't feel fat or look pregnant in them. However, they are still material objects and can be replaced. No, definitely not all at one time! But they can be replaced. This morning I am not as upset or saddened. I am just seeing the task at hand...FINISH CLEANING THE DRYER SO THAT I CAN PACK AGAIN!!! Now I'm off...

This weekend was an awesome weekend!! We left Friday evening for Paducah. Saturday morning we headed to Lincoln, Il. My grandmother's sister (Billie) and her husband (Mac) were expecting us by 12-12:30. We arrived in Lincoln by 12:30. Quite shocking for the Anderson clan!! We did plan to leave much earlier so that when we did actually leave we wouldn't be late. Anyway, our trip was planned to visit family. Plus, we were going to my aunt & uncle's surprise 50th anniversary party. They were genuinely surprised!! It was so much fun seeing their faces & how happy they were that day. My cousin's wife, Lisa, planned the whole thing & did an amazing job!!! After the party Saturday afternoon, we all headed back to Billie & Mac's where we ate dinner & reminisced. I LOVE hearing old stories. Since my mother's mother died when she was a teenager, I never got to meet her. It is neat to see pictures and hear stories of those who came before me. I could sit & listen for hours! We did not have many hours though. We went to church with them on Sunday morning. I always love attending church with blood family. Church family is awesome, don't get me wrong. But, it is neat having a whole family there together to worship God! Not many people can get to do that, so it is a huge blessing to me when I get the chance. After church, we went to Cracker Barrel for some good country eatin'. We did eat good this weekend!! Anyway, that is my weekend in a nutshell. I will post pictures as soon as I get some in.

It was so neat getting to see Sydney interact with cousins. All of the cousins she's met have been older. She hasn't had any that she could sit in the floor and play with. She had a blast!! I think they did, too. Hopefully this weekend will help us keep our ties strong & not let so much time go by before another visit!

On the way home from this trip, I was driving while the other two in my little family were sleeping. I began thinking about how lucky I am. The ladies in my family commented on how lucky I am to have Ryan. They could see how amazing of a husband he is! I completely agree with them!!! I went from thinking about my blessings with Ryan to thinking about my parents and brother. Then from them to my extended family on both my mother & my father's side. I am truly blessed to have such amazing people around me. It isn't common these days to have most of your family be Christian. Mine are & I am so thankful. I have people around me that love me despite my flaws. I couldn't ask for much more than that.

Family weekend

In just a few hours we will be heading to Paducah to begin our family weekend. Tomorrow morning my parents, Nathan, Ryan, Sydney, and I are heading to Lincoln, Il to visit some of our extended relatives. Most of the time when I'm talking about my extended family I am talking about my father's family. This weekend is all about my mom's family. I haven't seen them in 8 years!!! Since my wedding was a quick wedding (For those of you who don't know, Ryan was called up shortly after 9-11 and we married before he shipped out. I planned my wedding in 36 hours!), my family was not able to come to it. We all have been horrible about keeping in touch! Recently though, we have started trying and have pulled together for one weekend. They have not met Ryan or Sydney, so it should be a lot of fun. Plus, one of my cousins has had 2 kids that I have never met. This weekend is just what we all need! I'll be sure to post when we get back on Sunday!

Only 7 more days until our vacation!!!!!! Whoohoo!!!

Daddy's sailor girl

I don't even have to blog on this one! The pictures say it all. They're just adorable!!!!!

Disclaimer: I LOVE being a stay-at-home-mom!!!!

Staying at home has come as a challenge to me in one way. You don't get the job approval that you do in a paying job. In a paying job, there are certain tasks that you must perform. At least once a year you have a review in which someone tells you how you are doing at your job. Being a stay at home mom, you don't have that luxury. You just do what you think is right and keep your fingers crossed.

Well, this past Tuesday was Sydney's 9 month check-up with the doctor. She is weighing 19 lbs 1 oz and is 28 1/4 inches. Both are exactly average. The doctor commented on that and asked her if she's been reading the books and knew that's where she should be. That made me feel good. Then he told me that she is performing above her age and said "You must be working with her. It really shows." YES! I never get any confirmation of what I am doing! I was so excited!! Now, I'm not really saying this bragging on her or me. I haven't really been working with her. I just encourage what she starts. I have seen some moms who really work and come up with things to help their kids learn. I hate to say it, but I really haven't been doing anything like that. But it was good to hear that what I have been doing has at least not been hurting her!! My goal is to not screw her up too much!!! If I can accomplish that, I will consider it a job well done!! :-) Anyway, I thought I would share my sigh of relief with you.

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We (Sydney and I) just got back from Paducah. We had a great visit with Nini & Papaw and Gran & Pops. We even got to spend an entire afternoon with Grandma! It was a great few days. Tonight Daddy comes home! Yay!! I know we're both excited about it. Sydney has even learned to say "Hi Dada!" Now, it's not always when you want her to, but she can say it!! I just hope she'll say it for him tonight when we pick him up at the airport. I'm sure she won't. She never does anything on que. I guess another example that she's mine! :-) Babe, we can't wait for you to be back. We've missed you!!

Off the bottle

Here she's almost 3 months old.

Well, it happened. Sydney has now been off the bottle for two days. She really did it herself. I gave her a cup instead of the bottle Friday night & she did fine. So, Saturday morning we decided that would be her last bottle. :-( I didn't realize how sad it was going to make me. I felt silly for being so sad & Ryan made fun of me a little. But I was sad. My baby is growing up. I have always heard that they grow up fast, but I didn't realize just how fast. I'm sure there are some of you who are laughing a little. That's ok. And don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the new things that she will be doing. I am just sad that this stage is over. I really enjoyed this stage more than I thought I would. Although there were nights of no sleep, it was neat.



After our trip to Florida at the end of this month, the pacifier is going away, too. I've heard stories of how hard it can be if they still have it after they turn 12 months. So, we are giving ourselves a break & not taking it away before the 12 1/2 hour trip to and from Florida. As soon as we are back though, it is going bye-bye. I don't look forward to breaking that habit. It is going to be a hard one. Although she is only 9 1/2 months old, she is very attached to it. So, I'm sure yet again there will be sleepless nights. That's ok. We can always make up sleep.



Last night I noticed that we have another tooth that has broken through the surface!! That makes three! And the forth is on the way. I can see it just under the gums. That means that we will have two breaking through at the same time, while the other two (the bottom ones) are continuing to get into place. FOUR teeth moving at the same time!! Yikes!! I am very impressed with her. She has been in a relatively good mood with all that going on. I wouldn't be!



Well, that's the latest news! Hope you're all doing well!!

Getting better

Sydney's crawl is getting much better. I don't say that being critical only to say that it is coming much easier for her. Since she is becoming more advanced, she has begun to explore. It is so funny the things that keep her attention--the bottom of her high chair, the bottom of the table, the remotes in the basket beside the TV, the hardwood floor, and the tile floor. It is quite amusing & interesting to see things through her eyes. It makes perfect sense. She's never really seen the bottom of the high chair. It would make sense that she would want to touch it and see what it is like.

I often wonder if how I watch Sydney learn & understand new things that is how God is watching me...with amusement at times. Honestly, I really don't know. I'm still the kid in that relationship. I only hope that he has more amusement as he watches me and less frustration. As mentioned in many blogs before, I have a tendancy to be a slow learner.

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This weekend was a great weekend. We didn't really do anything, but we were together. It seems that there are so many times that we are physically together but for whatever reason we aren't mentally or emotionally together. Does that make sense? With so much going on in our lives and add a 9 month old to it, it is hard to keep connected to each other. But this weekend I feel we actually did that. It was great!! It SO makes me look forward to our vacation that is coming up at the end of this month. We will have 9 days of just us!!! Plus, we'll be at the beach--BONUS! Well, that's a bonus for me. Hopefully Ryan will learn to love it!! :-/ We'll see. I'm just looking forward to spending some time as a family with no other obligations! Whoohoo!

She crawled!!

Granted, it was the weirdest looking crawl I've ever seen. It was a combination between crawling with her feet and with her knees. But she got where she wanted. Since then, the toys have gotten a little further away to encourage her to keep crawling. And she is. She won't go very far--maybe a couple of feet or so. She is well on her way to getting into all of the things that I can see on the floor that need to be picked up!!

Things to do: put cabinet door safety locks on the doors, pick up crap off the floor, finish putting outlet plugs in, and figure out the rest as she gets into it! :-/ Oh how I wish I could anticipate it all, but I know that I will only be following her around going, "I didn't think of that. No, Sydney." Ha!

On a different note, she is definitely my daughter! My mother would say that there is no denying it. Last Saturday she learned how to pick up food & get it to her mouth. She's had the picking up part, but has been missing her mouth for quite a while. When she would miss, she would go on with something else. Now she keeps trying. She's got it down, too. AND she does not want mommy's help. If I try to put the piece in her mouth. She frowns, puts her head down, and shakes her head. If I put that very same piece in my hand, she'll pick it up and eat it. It makes me laugh inside and think, "Yep! That's definitely my kid."