MONKEYing Around!

Living in a cardboard box.

2010-11-15T18:34:00.005-06:00

Our washing machine finally washed it's last load... unfortunately, before it was finished rinsing and draining. Ugh.
The bad news, I had to hand rinse & ring out all the JEANS AND SWEATSHIRTS that were in the washer, which was FULL of water! That was fun.
The good news, this gave us good reason to buy a new washer/dryer set!! WOO HOO!

And what do you do with a huge cardboard box when you have an 18 month old? Well, duh! What do you think!?

She L-O-V-E-S it! Thousands of dollars worth of toys, and she likes the cardboard box the most. Of course.

Little Miss 18 Months

2010-11-15T18:17:00.005-06:00

Little Miss Emily is 18 months old today! My, how time has flown!

Here's a cute video of her from this afternoon:

Is it just me, or is she DAMN cute!? :)

(NOTE: The box from our new washer has doubled as a play-house for Emily... she L-O-V-E-S it! It may not be pretty, but if a gigantic cardboard box in the middle of my living room is what makes my little girl happy, then bring on the cardboard!!)

Halloween

2010-10-31T19:58:00.004-05:00

See a difference?

Emily was Abby Caddaby for Halloween... her favorite character on Sesame Street. For all you old-schoolers, she's a fairly new character... get it, fairly? She's a fairy!! Her mommy is THE Tooth Fairy! Which is crazy, because so is Emily's!!! Well, at least I will be in a few years!

Emily only went "trick-or-treating" to our neighbor's houses, but she had a great time! She got lots of candy (for mommy and daddy to eat), a cupcake, and two apples! Guess what she liked the most?

THE APPLES, OF COURSE! She LOVED them!

Her tiny teeth did quite the number on the poor honey crisp! She didn't want to give it up... she wanted to take it to bed!!! That's my girl!!!

------------------------------------

On a differet note, today was not exactly a "happy" Halloween. It is with great sadness that I type this... my best friend's sister... my very good friend, and basically my sister, Brynn Rae Thornburgh passed away this morning. After an almost 5 year battle with auto immune Hepatitis (liver failure), the great Lord took sweet Brynn into his loving arms. The world lost a wonderful person today, but Heaven gained another angel.

I love you, Brynnica! I will miss you more than I could ever express!

Skeletons and Corn

2010-10-18T19:52:00.005-05:00

Little Miss Skeleton Jammies

Such a poser...

Giggle muchkin

Lounging on the couch...

On Sunday, we took Emily to a local farm to get some pumpkins. She didn't take long to find the box 'o corn!

With Daddy!

She loved all the different pumpkins and gourds. Of course, everything round was "ball."

I picked this up to show Toby... and Emily ran up to me, pointed at the gourd and said "Dadda" -- I died laughing!

O.C.D.

2010-09-23T09:56:00.002-05:00

Emily is O.C.D.

Example #1
Gramma Nancy (who watches Emily while I'm at work) just called me... Here is the conversation:

GN: I hope you don't have any plans for Emily to be a brain surgeon...

Me: Why...?

GN: I was in the kitchen when I heard her grunting... I came around the corner to find her on the floor, under the school desk with her dolly's blanket... SCRUBBING THE FLOOR!

Me: Not again!

So I was only joking when I said "not again" -- but every time Emily can get her hands on something towel-esque, she starts wiping things down! The window sill, the floor, the table... the couch! The girl loves to clean!

Example #2
A few days ago, Emily and I were reading books. As we'd finish one book, I'd set it aside. After a few books, we had a small stack of them. We finished a forth book, and I went to fill up her milk. When I came back, she had stacked that book underneath the top two books... so that the four books were stacked BY SIZE!!

Oh how cute, my little O.C.D. child is!

Acorns

2010-09-15T19:42:00.003-05:00

Emily went for a walk with Gramma Nancy and brought me something back...
This is the first "gift" Emily has given me... and I'm sure, the first of many!

Thank you, Emily! I love them!

Recent Pix

2010-09-15T19:36:00.003-05:00

At WalCo Fair 2010, rockin' her first Lake 961 Staff shirt!

At WalCo Fair 2010... with Mommy and Auntie Jo!

Chillin' at Great Uncle Jamie's

Bath Face

16 Months and Counting...

2010-09-15T19:16:00.002-05:00

Little Miss Monkey is 16 months old today. She has grown SO MUCH since the last time I blogged... that it'd be impossible to cover everything! So here are just a few things:

She loves cleaning. She'll go over to the basket her diapers, etc are kept in... get a wipe or two out of the dispenser... then walk around and wipe things down. The table, the windows, the floor, her toys... you name it, she'll try and clean it.

She loves brushing her teeth. Anything brush-esque, she'll try to put in her mouth and brush her teeth!!

She loves animal sounds. Monkey, sheep, elephant, cow, dog, cat, mouse, snake, horse, pig, and more! She does them all! (The best is the pig... she kind of snorts, but it sounds more like she's trying to clear her sinuses).

She loves food. We have not found a single food that she won't eat. Hope she stays that way.

She is Miss Independence! She wants to do everything by herself! Eat... walk... cross the road... climb up the stairs... brush her teeth... walk down the stairs... it won't be long before she insists on picking her outfits!

So that's just a quick update on a few of Emily's latest "ism's"... she is such a little character! I absolutely love her litte personality... and even her attitude! Every day I am amazed at just how much she's grown up. She's honestly like a little person. She's not a baby anymore, that's for sure!

I will try and post a few pics and video very soon! Cheers!

MONKEY MINUTE: What does a monkey say?

2010-07-13T21:01:00.007-05:00

This is really a Monkey TWO Minute... to make up for my lack of posting recently.
Enjoy!

14 months of fun!

2010-07-13T20:23:00.007-05:00

Sorry for not updating this more often. I've been crazy busy chasing Emily around! She's walking, running, climbing, jumping... you name it, she can do it! She'll be 14 months old on Thursday! Wow.

She now has EIGHT teeth, so she's constantly chewing on her finger... or anything else she can get ahold of!

She's talking up a storm! She's mastered Mama, Daddy, Bahdee (Bailey), Kittie, Bah (bath)... as well as many other sounds. She can make a monkey sound (ee ee, ee ee), a sheep sound (baaaaaa), a pig sound (snort), a dog sound (woo woo), and a few others. But monkey is her fave!!

She's great at pointing out items in her books... she'll bring certain items to you shen you ask her... and she loves dancing! Any tune, she'll bust a move! If you say the word dance, she'll throw her hands up in the air and shake her butt!

Here are a few recent pics. For more, just visit http://www.tobyanderin.com/ and click on Photo Album.

so studious

her future is so bright

No, I don't have anything in my mouth...

Let's get this party started!

The Monkey Minute: Laundry

2010-06-02T14:23:00.002-05:00

The Monkey Minute: Walking

2010-06-02T14:19:00.003-05:00

Mac & Cheese Mask

2010-06-02T14:14:00.004-05:00

Apparently she heard that mac & cheese is good for the skin... Who knew!?

(Love the devil-ish smirk!)

The Monkey Minute

2010-05-24T17:58:00.003-05:00

Here's a new addition to Monkey-ing Around... The Monkey Minute!

These minute-long videos will feature your's truly, Emily "Monkey" Simpson!

Monkey Minute #1: Emily's first pool

(Side note: This video is proof of how far we have come from the little girl that went through a phase of screaming bloody murder every time she even SAW the bathtub, even while walking past it to get to her bedroom... she HATED the water!)

Boat Life

2010-05-20T10:05:00.004-05:00

We went out on Aunt Sandy & Uncle Buddy's boat... and Emily loved all the geese lying on the shore... she especially loved the swans with their four new babies! She kept waving at them.

Then she was reaching for them and was getting frustrated that we wouldn't get closer and let her touch them... little does she know those beautiful swans can get very mean!

Mommy & Daddy swan have lived on our lake for quite some time now... and they've raised many babies in that time! And it's great to see yet another set of babies!!

Driving with Uncle Buddy

EVERY TIME Little Miss Monkey hears music, she dances! And it's so funny when she puts one hand in the air!! (This video is crappy quality, but you get the idea...)

Her first ATV ride!

Emily sandwich!

Emily's 1st Birthday... and Baptism!

2010-05-19T12:59:00.004-05:00

Emily turned one on Saturday... and was baptized on Sunday. Then, Sunday afternoon, we had a big party to celebrate both milestones. Grandad Jim and Davina even flew across the pond to share in the special moments!

EMILY WALKED!

2010-04-26T15:10:00.002-05:00

The date: Saturday, April 24th
The time: 7:00pm

SHE WALKED!

Easter Dress

2010-04-06T14:47:00.002-05:00

Our little model... in her Easter dress.

Spring has sprung!

2010-03-29T14:45:00.006-05:00

Spring is here! And it's finally nice enough to spend time outside... thank God! Here are some recent outdoors shots...

A common face of hers... she's gurgling!

Helping Grandma plant stuff...

Ooh... leaves!

I like leaves!

Mommy & Emily

Two pooped babies...

Playing with Bailey...

What book should we read, Bailey?

Here's a cute video from Saturday...

Bailey

2010-03-23T10:52:00.003-05:00

We took the leap and got a dog! EEK!

Bailey is now 9 weeks old... female, pure-bread Beagle. She's only 3.5 pounds!!

Emily loves her... most of the time. Sometimes Bailey can get a little rambunctious and that pisses Emily off. But for the most part, they're getting along very well!

TINY TINY

THE CATS ARE MAD AT US

BAILEY AND DADDY

SUCH A CUTIE!

More to come...

WALKING!

2010-03-01T18:53:00.008-06:00

Emily got to play with one of Daddy's old toys today! Here they are with the little wooden cart and blocks that Toby's Grandad made for him... it even has a little plaque on it that says TOBY. Emily really enjoyed it!! Daddy would stack the blocks up... then Emily would knock them down. And put every-single-one-of-them in her mouth, of course!

Is this what I'm supposed to do??

She figured it out fast! And now she's walking!!!

YIKES!!!

Mmmmm Food!

2010-02-23T10:55:00.006-06:00

Three words: EMILY LOVES FOOD!

The girl can't get enough. Eggs... cheese... crackers... noodles... veggies... fruit... toast... you name it, she'll eat it. And she'll like it. We haven't found anything that she won't eat. She even says YUM YUM when she eats!! So cute!

Here are a couple pics Daddy took with his phone...

Mmmmm eggs!

Blue eyes feeding her face.

And then here are some random photos. Can you believe she's nine months old!?

Sledding

She likes snow.

Playing with her trumpet.

Daddy and Emily

What's this??

Monkey in a tu-tu!

Zonked.

With Daddy at Olive Garden for Mommy's 30th Birthday. (eek!)

The Simpsons on 2/22/10

2010-02-10T09:12:00.005-06:00

The past two weeks have been full of milestones... Emily started crawling, and then two days later she started standing! Plus she'll play peek-a-boo with us now, instead of the other way around! She's learned to turn pages on her touchy-feely books and likes to feel all the different textures in "That's Not My Monkey" and "That's Not My Snowman." She loves brushing her teeth/gums... and loves feeding herself. (She actually just sucks on the toothbrush and spoon... but at least she gets the right end in her mouth!)

It's hard to believe she'll be nine months old on Monday! And Toby and I notice every day how quickly our little girl is growing up; she's turning into a little person instead of a baby. And she has quite the personality!

Here are a handful of random pictures from the past few weeks.

Standing. Yikes!

Rockin' her new shades.

Damn messy biscuits.

Let me out of here!

Playing with Colie at Grandma Nancy's 60th birthday party.

With Great Uncle Jamie

Buddy Belly!!

Enjoying the comforts of her new "big girl" car seat!

Super Bowl Sunday. She's been watching football since she was born... but this is the first time she touched a football... she was really excited!!

And last, but not least... the only way we can get her to go to sleep now. If we lay her down in her crib or cot, she insists on sitting up and crying. But, if we put her in the swing...

Emily Crawling!!

2010-02-01T13:58:00.004-06:00

Emily crawled for the first time on Jan 27th... Grandma Nancy's 60th Birthday! Here's a video of her THIRD time crawling... the first two times, she was crawling TO my phone that was laying on the rug. So this time, I had to put something else down for her to crawl to... she didn't do AS GOOD of a job, because she wasn't nearly as excited to crawl to a piece of paper! But she still did a good job.
I'll take some more video tonight... she's come a long way in just a few days!!!

I'm glad Emily was kind enough to share this experience with the girls at Creative Xpressions Salon in Lake Geneva... they love her! And they were so happy to be part of this moment!

Laughing Emily

2010-02-01T13:46:00.003-06:00

There's nothing better than a laughing baby... especially when it's Emily!! ENJOY!

Operation: Baby Proof

2010-01-29T09:28:00.002-06:00

The time has come to baby proof the house.

Emily is crawling.

She can also pull herself up from sitting to kneeling... and soon, will be standing.

It's a blessing and a curse.

EVERYTHING needs to be moved. Ugh.

(Stay tuned for video and pix.)

Chief Monkey Butt

2010-01-16T21:02:00.005-06:00

Little Miss Emily has a new "trick" -- her Indian call.

She also LOVES celery sticks. Wierd child.

8 MONTHS OLD

2010-01-15T11:31:00.005-06:00

Today marks eight months old for little miss Emily! And it's amazing how much she has grown in that time!

She's ALMOST crawling... we can tell she really wants to. She'll be sitting there and start to get into the crawling position and then sit right back up. All the while with a look of "should I, can I?" on her face. I'm sure that any day, she'll just go for it... and be off! Then there's no turning back! So for now we'll enjoy the fact that she's not getting into everything. Yet.

Her teeth are coming in! She already has the bottom two, and yesterday Toby noticed that the top two seem to be starting. And she's drooling and sniffling up a storm! Gotta love teething time! Thankfully we have found an AWESOME pain reliever for little Monkey. The mesh teething feeder has been a life saver for us! Ice cubes, frozen peaches, frozen mangos... Emily loves them all! And we can tell it really soothes her teeth pains. Poor little thing!

She's got lungs! She's "chatting" up a storm... although nothing makes sense. She says "bahbahbahbahbah alot"... and when she's crying, she says "mamamamamamama" but that's about it. And when she's not "chatting," she's "singing" which sounds like "ahhhhhhhhhhhhahhhhhhhhhh"... and she can get LOUD! And when she's excited, she shreeks. We really hope this is a phase. High-pitched, piercing shreaks. Ugh. Gotta love girls.

She's gonna be a "socca playa"! This little girl has the strongest legs. She's practically standing all by herself. She can't crawl... she can't walk (by herself)... but she can stand. She loves standing and holding on to the ottoman... or her Fisher Price Incrediblock that she loves. She's constantly motoring around in her walker or bouncing up a storm in her doorway bouncer. She loves being up on her legs! I'm sure she's going to be a soccer player! I'm sorry, Toby... I mean "football."

That's enough updates for now. Soon I will post some adorable video of her newest trick... her Indian call!

MONKEY IN A BOX

(this is one of those pictures that we'll always look back on and think "awwwww")

Emily's First Christmas!

2009-12-26T18:03:00.002-06:00

Toby, Emily, myself and Grandma Nancy all flew across the pond to England... to spend Emily's first Christmas with Toby's family. Here are a couple pictures of Emily on Christmas morning.

MANY MORE PICTURES TO FOLLOW!

Hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas! (And Happy Boxing Day!)

FIRST TEETH! AND FIRST SANTA!

2009-12-15T09:35:00.006-06:00

WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL TOOTH SIGHTING!

Emily's bottom two teeth are here! And the top two aren't far behind!

Here are some pix I took for our Christmas card... little did I know that I was going to get some good shots of her teeth!!

Christmas is right around the corner, and we are all very excited to go to England! We leave a week from today!! SO EXCITED!

(Lucky us... 9 hours on a plane with a teething baby! Eek!)

Speaking of Christmas, Emily saw Santa for the first time this weekend... she was very intrigued with his beard!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Emily's First Christmas Tree

2009-12-04T09:42:00.006-06:00

The tree is up! And Emily doesn't really seem to care... she was amused by all the action of putting up the tree, ornaments, decorations, etc. But now that's it up, it's no big deal.

I thought for sure she'd be mesmerized by the lights and shiny things, but no. She still prefers the action of her excersaucer.

SIX MONTHS!

2009-11-23T09:29:00.002-06:00

Little Miss Emily is now 6 months old.

At her doctor check up, she weighed out at 18 lbs 4 oz... with a length of 27 inches! Doctor said "that's perfect for a six-month-old." Yep, that's right... she's perfect! ;-)

Here are some recent pics of Little Miss Perfect. Also known as Little Miss Blue Eyes.

SHE'S VERY HAPPY TO BE SIX MONTHS OLD!

The next Miles Davis

2009-11-11T09:15:00.003-06:00

Now Emily has a trumpet just like Mommy! Well, Mommy's is a little bigger...

She didn't quite get the idea at first... just something else to suck on.

There we go!!

Tooting her horn!

She looks like she's really getting into it!!

Sitting Up

2009-11-10T08:51:00.004-06:00

Emily's latest accomplishment is sitting up! She started a week ago... and Grandma Nancy was quick with the video camera to catch this moment...

She's so proud of herself!!

Here's a video from last night... it's a little dark, but you get the idea.

Again, very proud.

Thanksgiving Observed

2009-11-09T10:31:00.004-06:00

This Sunday was my family's 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Observed. It's easier for everyone to get together at the beginning of the month... then we can all do our own family things on actual Turkey Day.

Toby was hunting all weekend, so Emily and I, along with my mother, drove up to Rob & Marlene's house on Saturday night... and stayed for the festivities on Sunday.

Here are some pictures from the wonderful family gathering!

Emily in her "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving" bib!

Uncle Kim was off hunting up north... about an hour from Green Bay... so he drove over for the meal. He wouldn't miss turkey and all the trimming's for anything! Emily loves Kim!

The twins, Kate and Charlie, LOVED playing with Emily! They also loved all her toys... they kept asking "can I go in it now?"

Happy Baby!

Emily's first beer. (Don't worry... she didn't drink any! But she wanted to! Takes after Daddy & Mommy!)

Mommy & Emily

Pregnant Heather and baby Matthew (in the tummy) -- he's due December 15th!

Emily sandwich! Mary and Kim used to do this with me all the time when I was little!

Nice shades, Emily!

Enjoying the ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL weather... sitting around a campfire in Rob & Marlene's backyard.

Sleepy Oscar... Marie & Chris's newest addition... born 2 weeks after Emily.

Sleepy Emily.

Passed out after a long day of food and fresh air! The diaper/burp rag is blocking the bright lamp. Her head is turned to the right, so no... she's not suffocating! ;o)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Great Grandpa's Blanket

2009-11-02T21:09:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures of Emily from today... sitting on the back deck with her favorite blanket. Grandma Tricia made it from old shirts of Emily's Great Grandpa!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T21:00:00.003-06:00

For Halloween, Emily dressed up as... you guessed it... A MONKEY!

We went "trick-or-treating" around the area to a few different friends houses... basically so they could see Emily in her cute costume... and so Mommy & Daddy could get some candy!

Emily's costume had an extra plump belly, so it was funny getting her into her car seat! I don't think she was very amused!

When we got home, Unlce Putz and Aunt Monica dropped off a little gift for Emily's 1st Halloween... and it just happened to match her outfit!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Jump! Jump! Sleep.

2009-11-02T20:53:00.004-06:00

As I've said before, Emily LOVES her doorway jumper. She's always happy in it... and she's constantly jumping and bouncing around! On October 30th, she was jumping around like crazy... as per the norm. I was doing dishes and straightening up around the house when I realized I didn't hear the "squeak squeak" of the bouncer on the door frame. I looked over at Emily and this is what I see...

SHE WAS SO CUTE!!! I HAD TO TAKE A VIDEO!

A big shout out again to Brandon & Brenda... Thanks so much! Emily LOVES this thing!

Monkey

2009-10-22T13:32:00.004-05:00

Monkey Hat

Monkey & Daddy

She LOVES Elmo!

Her future is so bright...

2009-10-21T13:15:00.004-05:00

New Videos

2009-10-20T16:32:00.008-05:00

Enjoying some time in the doorway bouncer... thanks to Brandon & Brenda for this awesome find! She loves it!

Tickle tickle with Daddy...

Recent Pics - 5 months

2009-10-20T12:54:00.005-05:00

Emily is now 5 months old! She's rolling around, scooting, chatting, humming, and almost crawling! Her latest favorite toys are her new walker, her keys and of course, the awesome Exersaucer! She can't take a nap w/o Ella (part stuffed elephant/part blanket)... and she loves to have her feet free! If she's grumpy, we just take off her socks and voila... happy baby!

She just started eating 2nd foods... her favorite so far is mac & cheese! Go figure! What kid doesn't love mac & cheese!? She did not like turkey & gravy AT ALL! I tried it, and it was really gritty... I'm guessing she didn't like the consistency. Maybe we'll try and different brand and see how she likes that. I hope she likes meat... Toby and I LOVE meat!

Toby called her a "bloody left-handed vegetarian" yesterday! Hahahaha!

So far she's definietely favoring her left hand, and neither of us are lefties... as a matter of fact, the only lefty in either of our families is my late father... so that would be great if she is a lefty! That means part of my dad is in her!

Tonight we'll give another meat a try... mabye chicken noodle... yummmm!

Here are some pictures taken in the last couple days.

Playing with her feet...

Daddy's Hunting Buddy cap...

Chilling out with Mommy at a Longaberger event...

It's a little big, but it's so cute!!

With Grandma Nancy...

Go Packers!!!

Watching TV... she looks shocked!

Her sexy pose.

5 Months Old

2009-10-14T09:45:00.005-05:00

Emily will be 5 months old tomorrow! Wow!

As a "Happy 5 Month Birthday" present, Grandma Nancy surprised Emily with some NEW gear!

Emily's been trying to walk lately... so now she can!!!

Had to take a break to play with Binky...

SHE'S ONE HAPPY BABY!

4 Months Old

2009-09-17T09:28:00.003-05:00

Emily is now 4 months old! At her check-up, she weighed out at a whopping 17 lbs 2 oz! And she stands at 25" long! She's a healthy girl!!!

Yet again, the doctor was very impressed with her physical abilities... and couldn't believe that she stands almost on her own! However, we have to get her to crawl before she starts walking!!!

Here are some pictures I took on 9/15:

Recent Pix

2009-09-09T16:58:00.009-05:00

Sleeping Monkey

She's standing! Of course she has to hold on to something, but she's still standing! Today she stood for at least 30 seconds before leaning and tipping!!!

Getting squash from Daddy! She LOVES food!

At Walworth County Fair

Doing push-ups

She LOVES her Excersaucer! She stands straight up! She knows how to make the music play, and has recently figured out that she can bounce and rock in it!

Hello!

Passport

2009-09-04T17:23:00.001-05:00

ENGLAND, HERE I COME!

Blue eyes

2009-09-04T11:07:00.005-05:00

Look at those eyes...

(This was taken during Emily's neck-problem-phase, hence the leaning to one side.)

All better!

2009-09-02T21:21:00.002-05:00

Emily went to see the physical therapist on Monday, and she's been given a clean bill of health. The doctor can see signs of what WAS there... for example, Emily has a small raw area on her neck, where she was bending it... in the fold of the neck.

But other than that, she has no more signs of Torticollis. Apparently it came and left with the cold she had!

The doctor still recommends doing a couple different stretches with Emily every day, just to make sure that neck muscle stretches out.

So she's all better! Whew!

First "solid" food!

2009-08-26T19:21:00.004-05:00

Emily has been acting hungrier than normal lately, and since she's so advanced in her development, her doctor recommended introducing "solid" foods to her diet. So, today we tried rice cereal! Obviously it was VERY watered down with formula... so it was VERY messy!

At first, Emily wasn't too sure what to do. But four to five spoon-feeds in, she was getting the hang of it. Then she started looking forward to it. I'd take the spoon away to fill it up again, and she'd turn towards the bowl like saying "Hey... I want more!" It was very cute! She even tried to grab the spoon!

Here are some pix. Video to follow.

The Diagnosis

2009-08-26T19:08:00.004-05:00

As I said in the previous post, Emily has been holding her head funny... tilting to the right.

We took her to see her pediatrician this afternoon, and...

Emily has Acute Torticollis, which is basically just stiffening of the neck muscles. It is a very common condition, and some people are born with it. However, Emily wasn't. The doctor think it's from her cold... torticollis can come from a virus or infection. Or she may have just bent or twisted her neck too far. So the good news is that's this is common and not something to worry about.

The bad news is Emily needs physical therapy. Thankfully we don't have to take her somewhere to get it though. I just have to go to a class, then I can give her the PT... just basic neck stretches, etc.

Emily isn't in pain from this... but she doesn't enjoy it when I try to turn her head and do the excercises. Poor thing.

Here are some pictures of her tilted head:

Emily's First Cold

2009-08-26T10:08:00.002-05:00

There is nothing more pathetic than a sick 3-month-old!

Emily has a cold right now... very congested and has a slight fever. She really doesn't like being congested, and will have periods of bad crying. Which makes it worse, because she REALLY can't breath when she cries so bad. Feeding her soothes her, but then she struggles to breath through her nose while she's eating. Poor little thing.

The doctor recommended Little Noses nasal spray to break up the congestion. I don't know what 'genius' thought that spraying something up a baby's nose would be an easy process!

On top of it, we think she pulled a muscle in her neck. How? I have no idea. She has a doctor appointment this afternoon to see what's going on. She's holding her head to the right, sort of tilted. And she won't even let us bend it to the left. She doesn't seem in pain... and she doesn't cry when I move her head around. But it's odd that she's tilting to one side. We shall see...

3 Months Old!

2009-08-16T21:18:00.005-05:00

Emily's a quarter of a year old already! My how time flies! It's hard to believe that 3 months ago we were welcoming this little one into our life... I was excited, scared, happy, nervous, anxious... the followed by exhausted, stressed out, overwhelmed.

Now everything's great! Routines are starting to form... she's eating at pretty much the same times every day... she's sleeping all night... which means Mommy & Daddy are sleeping all night! She's eating great... she's always smiling and chatting away. She's a very happy and easy going baby! We're so lucky and happy to have such a great little girl in our life!

And she's changing more and more every day. Over the past few days, she's started transferring things from one hand to the other... mainly her keys, that she never puts down! I think she's trying to tell us that she wants a car.

She's chatting all the time... as a matter of fact, about 30 minutes ago, she was chatting up a storm... talking her to her stuffed elephant that she was playing with. Toby had gone to bed, but had to come down to see what all the commotion was about... he could hear her all the way upstairs in the bedroom!

She's smiling ALL THE TIME... we call her Smiley Simpson.

She's been sleeping all night the past few nights... anywhere from 8 to 10 hours at a time!

She's getting really strong and loves to do push ups.

She's a great eater... but we think we'll have to start feeding her rice soon. She's starting to act hungrier... and STARES at us while we're eating. Toby's anxious to feed her vegetables from the garden!

Here are a couple pix from the weekend.

In a great little number from Grandma Tricia.

Relaxing in the pool. (I LOVE THIS PICTURE!)

GRIN!

We went to the Wisconsin State Fair on Friday... and everyone tried the new fad... chocolate covered bacon on a stick.

Emily didn't want any.

(It was gross!)

Passport Time!

2009-08-14T12:09:00.005-05:00

We are going to visit the family (and Father Christmas) in England for Christmas, so Emily needs a passport. Yes, a 3-month-old needs a passport. What's crazier is that this passport will be good until she's five! She'll looking NOTHING like her photo when she's five!! But whatever.

So I filled out all the paperwork, made necessary copies of identification, etc. Mom brought Emily up to meet me at the Post Office on Wednesday to get her photos taken. I go up to the counter, pull out everything, only to find I forgot to get something notarized! Toby couldn't be present, so he had to fill out a "Statement of Consent" allowing me to get a passport for Emily w/o him there... just in case I plan on smuggling her out of the country, I guess.

So, we had to go back yesterday once I had it notarized. So mom came back up yesterday and met me at the Post Office. We had Emily's pictures taken and mom went ahead and left with Emily... only to find out the pictures didn't develop!!

So we had to go BACK AGAIN this morning. Thankfully, after FOUR TRIES, the pictures worked! One of them turned out blank, one was a keeper and these are the other two... she's so cute!

So everything is in the mail and hopefully we have her passport in the next few weeks! Then I can smuggle her out of the country...

IN OTHER NEWS...

Emily slept for 9 hours and 45 minutes last night! WOO HOO!

12 Weeks Old and Swimming!

2009-08-09T20:15:00.013-05:00

Friday was the mark of Emily's 12 week birthday... she's almsot 3 months old!

And this weekend was the first time this summer that we had to use our air conditioning! It was in the 90's and humid! So, what better time to introduce Emily to swimming!

We took her across the lake to our friends, Bill and Sandy's house... they have an in-ground pool. It may have been hot outside, but the pool was still a crisp 76 degrees! Eek! It felt good to me, but I think it was a little cold for Emily... she's used to bath water!

Here are a couple pictures from today.

And here's a video of Emily's first time in a pool!!!

And some more pictures... of a very tired baby.

Her own little language...

2009-08-03T17:28:00.032-05:00

Emily's talking! Well, in her own little language, that is.

Here's a video of her talking... well, at least a little bit. I realize I'm talking WAY to much in it... but at least you'll get a feel for her chatting, smiling and other cute Emily-isms!

Enjoy!

2-2-2

2009-07-31T15:41:00.051-05:00

As of today, Emily is 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days old!
That's 2-2-2!!!

I'm obsessed with the number 22... or 222... so this is a big day!

One could also say that Emily is 11 weeks old. But that's boring.

She's doing great! Smiling more and more every day... and starting to laugh and coo... which is very cool! I'll try to get some video of that posted here.

We also have a little "game" we play... she'll stick out her tongue at me when I do it to her... but now she'll do it to me before I even get a chance to do it to her!

In the morning, when I get Emily out of bed, she'll look at me, smile and then stick her tongue out at me... it's so cute!! (I'm sure it will get old if she never stops sticking it out at me... or at other people. But until we can teach her that 'it's not nice to stick your tongue out at people'... it's REALLY cute!) What's cool, is I can tell she's so happy with herself for knowing how to stick her tongue out! And it's obvious that she loves making us smile & laugh!

Here's a video of Emily playing in her newest toy, The Exersaucer. It has all sorts of colors and textures and lights and sounds... It spins and rocks and bounces... It's quite the contraption!

(Sorry the quality isn't that great... I'm still learning how my video camera and software work...)

Ahhhh... Sleep!

2009-07-28T09:36:00.002-05:00

I slept for 7 hours IN A ROW last night! That's right... SEVEN WHOLE HOURS!

And the night before, I slept for 6.5 hours in a row.

EMILY'S SLEEPING FOR LONGER THAN THREE HOURS!

Knock on wood.

10 Weeks Old

2009-07-27T16:15:00.022-05:00

Emily is now 10 weeks old -- my how time flies!

Here are a couple pictures of her from this weekend:

In her new custom-made onesies to celebrate the neighborhood "uncles"...

It's not my diaper... It's Putz!

For those of you that know Mike a.k.a. Putz... this doesn't need any explanation!

Buddy's Little Buddy

Emily loves her "Uncle" Buddy -- and he loves her!

A cute little patchwork dress... with pink Crocs!

And a beautiful dress that Grandma Tricia gave her...

Baby Chip is a BOY!

2009-07-24T13:34:00.003-05:00

I'm happy to announce that Heather went in for her 20 week ultrasound today... and Baby Chip is a BOY! Yipee!! I know that Lee will be happy to have a little hunter & fisherman!

We're also excited that Emily is still the only baby girl in the family! The twins are still There, of course... but as for new babies, they're all boys... Oscar Seager... Oscar Brown... now Baby Chip Wood! Emily is the only little princess!

Heather and Lee have chosen a name, as well... Matthew Robert Wood. I LOVE IT! If I was a boy, my parents were going to name me Matthew Robert!!!

For those of you who don't know, Heather is my cousin... eldest daughter of Mary & Kim. She's only 6 years younger than me, and has always been like a little sister (as has Amy). I'm so excited that she's going to be a mommy!!! I know she'll be awesome at it!

Oh... and since they're last name is Wood, we've been calling the baby "Chip" -- get it? Wood Chip!? hahahaha

CONGRATS, HEATHER AND LEE! I LOVE YOU... AND BABY CHIP!

So strong!

2009-07-21T20:06:00.006-05:00

Emily is such a strong little girl!! She can hold her head up, put all her weight on her legs, roll over and push herself up from her tummy!!! Before we know it, she'll be walking!!!

Standing... barely leaning on Mommy!

Sitting up... no more wobbly head!

Putting all her weight on her legs!

Okay, time to give our little over achiever a bath...

Shots!

2009-07-17T17:05:00.007-05:00

I took Emily this afternoon to get her shots... and, as to be expected, she was NOT happy! There were two nurses... each took a thigh of Emily's... and on the count of three, while I was holding her hands, the nurses injected the needles... two in one leg, one in the other.

Emily screamed bloody murder!

It was horrible! She turned bright red and cried REAL tears for about 30 seconds... then quieted down as soon as I picked her up and started rocking her. It's nice to know that I'm such a comfort to her -- I thought for sure she was going to keep crying. But no... then after a few minutes, she started up again, but it only lasted about 10 seconds... then she fell asleep.

We're home now, and she's sound asleep after a good feeding and some snuggle time with Mommy.

I wasn't looking forward to Emily's shots... but I was very anxious to see how much she weighs now.

Reminder: she weighed in at 8lbs 14oz at her one-month exam. What does she weigh now, you ask?

DRUM ROLL.....

12 POUNDS 8 OUNCES!!! She gained 3.5 pounds in one month!!!! I guess that's what eating 30 ounces/day will do to a baby!! She likes her mealtime!!!

However, she's not fat... she looks like a "normal" size baby. She's in the 90 percentile weight, though. Eek!

As for length... she's 22.75" long -- which I think was 75 percentile.

And her head is now 39 cm... which is 50 percentile.

While we were there, the doctor had her do tummy time to see how strong she is... SHE DID A PUSH UP AND HELD HERSELF THERE! The doctor looked at her in awe and said "That's 4-month-old developement!"

Yes, that's right... Emily is an over-achiever!

So, she's doing great!

Here are a couple shots from the doctor's office...

2 Months Old

2009-07-15T17:44:00.004-05:00

Here are some shots that we just took of Emily... she's two months old today... and so beautiful!

8 Weeks Old...

2009-07-13T17:08:00.001-05:00

Just a few shots of the little lady...

Smile!

2009-07-13T17:06:00.001-05:00

We've managed to catch a few shots of Emily smiling... she tends to freeze up when the camera's in her face.

Four Generations of Rose

2009-07-13T17:00:00.006-05:00

On Sunday, we took Emily to visit her Great Grandmother, Rose.

Here are four generations of Rose... the original Rose, Nancy Rose, Erin Rose and Emily Rose.

I was so happy to see that Grandma really did take an interest in Emily being there. Normally it's hard to tell if Grandma knows what's going on... but she coudn't take her eyes off Emily!!

She even gave Emily kisses on the forehead!! It was so amazing!

Grandma always loved babies... and she loved being a mother and grandmother... so I know she was very happy to meet her latest great grandchild!

I love you, Grandma!

Look alike!

2009-07-07T09:51:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture from the RRB newsletter from March 1980, when Nancy visited the Board with Erin for the first time.

The picture to the right is a recent picture of Emily at roughly the same age...

Notice any similarities!?!?

Smile!

2009-07-05T09:14:00.001-05:00

Emily is smiling now! She's been doing it on and off for a couple weeks, but now it's becoming a regular thing.

I love this face!

How can someone so little...

2009-07-05T08:59:00.005-05:00

...take up so much space!?

Miss Emily isn't even 2 months old yet and has so much stuff!

A nursery full of furniture, toys, clothes and diapers... a travel system stroller... a bouncer... a swing... TWO play-yards... a gym... a sling... a Chicco baby carrier... a Bumbo... THREE high-chair seats... you name it, she probably has it!

So why, I ask you... after all of that... 100s upon 100s of $$$ worth of stuff... does she like the ONE thing that didn't cost anything!?

Her favorite piece is a simple bouncer that's 30 years old! Our neighbor Sandy lent it to us... all it is, is a metal frame with a piece of fabric on it and a belt. You use your foot to bounce it... which I'm doing AS I TYPE! This is the ONLY piece of baby gear that will make Emily happy 100% of the time... if she's fussing, put her in it. She'll be happy... and probably fall asleep.

As a matter of fact...

Here she is when I went on to the computer about an hour ago...

And here she is now...

Note: The awesome red, white and blue blanket was made by Grandma Tricia -- I love it!

Now... I feel I must say THANK YOU to everyone who gave Emily baby gear... she does use it all... don't think that the only thing she uses is this bouncer... it's just our go-to item for unhappy baby! ;o) Thanks, Sandy!

Monkey

2009-07-05T08:53:00.004-05:00

Emily's official nickname is "Monkey" due to her constantly flailing arms and legs... and very long monkey toes. She's a cute little monkey!

So now I'm always looking for monkey stuff... clothes, toys, etc.

When Grandma Tricia and Grandpa Keith were visiting, they bought Emily a Monkey Gym... a place for her to practice tummy time, play with the hanging toys, etc. It's totally awesome and I want one for myself! As a matter of fact, I think Keith took a picture of me lying on Emily's... so I'll post that when I get a hold of it.

Until then, you'll just have to enjoy pictures of Miss Monkey in her Monkey Gym...

4th of July

2009-07-05T08:37:00.007-05:00

This weekend was Emily's first official camping experience... we only stayed one night while visiting Grandma Nancy at the church's camp-out... but it still counts as camping!

Emily did great... she spent a lot of time in her stroller with the netting surrounding her, since the mosquitoes are HORRIBLE this season! She loved sitting by the camp fire... although she smelled like bacon afterwards! Honestly... she did. I blame Erin Jo and John for cooking brats over the fire... why else would she smell like bacon??!

She only woke up once in the middle of the night... so camping definitely agrees with her! Actually, since then... she's been sleeping pretty good overnight. The last couple nights she's gone 6 hours between feedings! She feeds around 7pm... then not again until 1am-ish. Last night she fed at 7:30pm, went to sleep around 8:30pm, and didn't wake up until 1:45am!! Good job, Emily! Mommy and Daddy like their sleep!!!

Here are a couple pix of Emily from yesterday... Auntie Erin Jo gave her the cute little stars & stripes piece... it's supposed to be a dress, but fit more like shirt since Emily is growing up so fast!

Here she is with "Grandma Judy"...

And with "Grandma Maggie"...

And of course, with Grandma Nancy!

Later on in the day, she changed into a sweet tshirt that says "American Baby" -- I'll post pix later when I get them off of Auntie Erin Jo's camera.

Yes, I realize Emily is both American and British... our little dual citizen... but I thought Independence Day would be a bad day to wear anything NOT American!!!

Back to work...

2009-07-02T14:25:00.004-05:00

After many tears, I went back to work on Tuesday. I REALLY didn't want to leave Emily! It was a lot harder than I thought it would be... I thought I'd be anxious to get away for a few/eight hours a day... but nope, would MUCH rather be at home with her!

Work, 2am feedings, and the serious lack of sleep is definitely wearing on me already... but I'm sure I'll get used to it sooner or later... hopefully sooner!

Here's a recent pic of me & Emily in downtown Lake Geneva, courtesy of Grandpa Keith. I LOVE this picture!

SHE ROLLED OVER!

2009-06-26T08:30:00.004-05:00

I apologize for not blogging more often. As you can imagine, I'm a little preoccupied with Emily... she requires 110% of my time! I'll try to get on here more often, as she's growing so much every day.

Here's her latest accomplishment:

Not even six weeks old and she rolled over on Wednesday! When she first did it, I thought "total fluke -- she won't do it again." So I got out the camera... lo and behold, she did it again!

I apologize for the crappy camera work... I missed part of the roll, but you'll get the idea.

My book says she shouldn't be rolling over until 3 months! She's such a little over achiever! Today we'll work on walking...

More Pictures...

2009-06-04T07:37:00.004-05:00

Sleepy baby.

Nap time with Mommy... this is a common occurence!

Gotta love those lips!

Giving Grandma kisses.

Emily loves sleeping on Mommy's chest.

Update on Emily...

2009-06-01T21:32:00.003-05:00

Emily is now two weeks and three days old... my how time flies!

I'm happy to announce that Emily is doing great! She went to the doctor on Thursday and is over her birth weight... She weighed in at 7.5 pounds! And I'm sure she's gained more since then, at the rate she eats!

We switched her to half breastmilk/half formula on Saturday... I just wasn't able to keep up with her intake. I was literally pumping every two hours and that was just getting her through the day. I was getting so stressed out, which isn't good for her or me... or Toby, for that matter.

Now that we've switched to half & half... she seems much happier. I'm MUCH less stressed. And I'm able to start stocking up on breast milk for when I go back to work -- which is a great thing! I love seeing milk in the freezer!

Emily seems to be sleeping longer at night now, as well... which is a WONDERFUL thing! We're trying to keep her up more during the day... playing with her, talking & reading to her, doing tummy time... whatever will keep her stimulated. That combined with lots of fresh air from walks and activities outside make for a sleepy baby at night!!

And God bless my mother for being such a great help! She's been coming over during the days to help out while Toby's at work... and she also stays here some nights to help out with late night feedings, etc... it's nice to be able to get some sleep! Thanks mom for all your help! We love you!!!
Okay... speaking of sleep, I think it's time for me to get some shut eye... let's see if Emily agrees???

Love you all! Mu-ah!

Welcome Oscar Charles!

2009-06-01T21:26:00.005-05:00

I'd like to welcome Oscar Charles Brown into the world! On Friday, May 29th, at 2:00pm, my cousin Marie gave birth to a healthy baby boy... 10 lbs 8 oz!!! Yikes!

Here is Oscar Charles with Mommy Marie and Daddy Chris...

Congratulations, Marie and Chris! He's beautiful! We can't wait to meet him!

Yawn...

2009-05-25T18:55:00.011-05:00

They weren't kidding when they said "sleep now, when you can" before I had Emily! Whew! It's amazing how someone so small can a) take up so much space and b) completely drain you of all your energy!

But it's all worth it and I wouldn't trade her for anything!

Two nights ago, mom stayed the night with Emily... we locked them in the guest bedroom with everything Emily might need. I'm happy to report that Toby and I got about 10 hours of sleep!! Now, it wasn't necessarily uninterrupted, because I kept waking up thinking Emily might need me... but for the most part, we both slept through the night! It was wonderful and really helped me start to feel normal again.

I've started to pump breastmilk... because a) Emily wasn't latching on properly, which was causing major issues and b) it's much less stressful for all of us! I totally believe in breastfeeding and that it does wonders for the child and the mother.... and I want to continue to breastfeed her. So I'll feed her normally when I can, but I'm also going to stock up on breastmilk and bottlefeed her when necessary. She's taking to the bottle beautifully and I really think she's likes it better... a lot less fussing around! She eats better... she sleeps better... and she's not as fussy. All good things!

Toby starts back up at work tomorrow, so Mom is staying again tonight to help me out... so Toby can get a full night's sleep! The last couple nights, Emily has been really good with eating then sleeping for 3-4 hours at a time... so hopefully that continues.

Here are some recent pictures of the little Angel...

Love the crossed legs!

Emily's first bath at home

Nap time in the bouncer

Nap time on Grandma

"Great Gramma" Shirley came for a visit on 5/25/09

We visited Great Unlce Jamie and Great Aunt Laura on Saturday 5/23 and enjoyed a wonderful cookout

Great Aunt Carole visited on 5/20

Emily's first Doc appt with Dr. Vivero on 5/21

Aunt Katie Kruz visited and brought Erin nachos from El Palenque! Thanks, Katie... you're a God-send!

Emily's saying "no more pictures!"

Emily and Daddy

Watching "footie" with Daddy

The Story...

2009-05-18T19:51:00.003-05:00

As you know, we scheduled my induction for May 22nd.

Well, at 11:30pm on Thursday, May 14th, I woke up with really bad cramps. I thought "huh... what did I eat?" Then 6 minutes later... more cramps. Another six minutes later... more cramps. Two hours later, I'm still cramping every 4-5 minutes... and they're lasting anywhere from 45-70 seconds each.

At 3:00am, I called the hospital and asked the OB department what they thought I should do. She asked "Are the cramps taking your breath away?" My response: Oh yeah!

She said, "Okay, then come on in!"

At 3:30am on Friday, May 15th we set off for Lakeland Hospital in Elkhorn, WI.

I checked in, got hooked up to the monitors... and was confirmed to be 4cm dilated and contractions occurring every 4 minutes... and getting progressively worse.

At 6:00am, the doctor confirmed I was in labor!

Twelve hours later I was STILL four centimeters! By this time, I had gone on nuemorphine for the pain (highly recommend it!) At 5pm, the doctor decided to break my water and put me on an IV to speed up dilation. At this point, I also opted for the epidural (greatest decision!). Just after 7:00pm, I was 8 cm... and around 7:45pm, I was 10 cm! I started pushing just after 8pm... and at 8:33pm, Emily Rose was born!

Her ambilical cord was wrapped around her neck once, but no problems with that. Dr. Joy did have to use the suction "kiwi" so Emily has a cirlce shaped bruise on the top of her head... but it's going away quickly.

We stayed at the hospital until yesterday morning and got home just before noon. Check out the photo album for pictures of our arrival. I have to give a huge shout out to our neighbors for going through so much trouble to decorate the place! I love you guys!

Our first night home wasn't too bad... just getting use to our new sleeping patterns. I think I'm doing okay... but Toby's another story. He's kind of struggling... that man values his sleep! He'll have to change that! hahaha

Thanks again to everyone for all your wishes and support! If you haven't already, you'll get to meet her soon!

Love you all!

Now time to feed the little one...

A couple videos of Emily...

2009-05-18T19:47:00.018-05:00

Emily's Shifty Eyes...

Time in the bouncer...

Photo Album

2009-05-18T19:46:00.002-05:00

Go to www.tobyanderin.com and click on the Photo Album link for updated pictures of Emily Rose!

The direct link is http://tobyanderin.myphotoalbum.com.

Enjoy!

Emily Pix

2009-05-16T20:22:00.001-05:00

Just a few pictures of Emily Rose...

Video of Emily!

2009-05-16T19:56:00.003-05:00

IT'S A GIRL!

2009-05-16T16:39:00.006-05:00

So much for my scheduled induction...

May I introduce to you... Emily Rose Simpson!!!

Born at 8:33pm on May 15th... 7lb 6.5oz... 19.5 inches long... and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!

More pictures to come soon... Until then, nap time!

The date is set!

2009-05-13T17:19:00.003-05:00

I went for my check up today (yes, a day early) and Dr. Joy would like to induce me early! No, she's not concerned about anything. As a matter of fact, it's the opposite... everything's looking so great that she sees no harm in inducing as early as possible... that way I can stop stressing out about everything... the anxiety is overwhelming. We both just want the baby here!

So the date is set... I go in at 6:30am on Friday, May 22nd. I'm very excited because 1) it's much more "real" now that we have a date... and 2) I will hopefully have the baby on the 22nd!! I'm a 22nd baby... my dad was... I've always been OBSESSED with the number 22... and I've always wanted to have baby on the 22nd. Well, looks like it might happen that way! Pending an incredibly long labor, that is... knock on wood!

The crazy thing is... that's only 9 DAYS AWAY! I'm counting in days now... not weeks, not months... DAYS! Yikes!!! Baby's almost here! Woo hoo!!!

As for my other stats... I've gained a pound in the last week... for a grand total of 33 pounds. Baby's still head down... and I've started to dilate. I'm only about 1 centimeter right now, but dilated still! Blood pressure's perfect. Baby's heart beat is still 140s. Everything is looking good.

So... who had May 22nd in the Baby Pool???

37 Weeks

2009-05-12T17:49:00.009-05:00

Here are the latest pictures of me, taken on Sunday.

It's hard to believe I have less than a month to go (two and a half weeks at this point)! I can't wait to meet Baby "Thumper" Simpson!

And I'm definitely getting to the point of "Get this thing out of me!"

Don't get me wrong, I have fully enjoyed every moment of being pregnant! I have no complaints and am very happy as to how relatively easy it was. I love feeling Baby move around inside of me, and I LOVE the tapping games we play and how he/she responds when I read or sing to him/her.

But the lack of comfort is growing... and the anticipation is getting to be too much!

At my last checkup (Thursday), I still hadn't dialated... but I think that may have changed now. I can feel Baby lower than normal... and there are other signs (I'll spare the details) that things are opening up and getting ready for delivery! Plus I can feel regular/mild contractions now!! I go in for another check up on Thursday morning, so we'll see what Doctor Joy has to say!

In the mean time, I'm very happy for Charlie & Steve... I have a couple pictures of Baby Oscar now and he is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO adorable! Looks just like a mini-Maxton... which would make Oscar a mini-MINI-Steve! Poor kids! Why can't they look like their beautiful mommy? Just joking, Steve... you know I love you!

In other baby news... my cousin Marie is also due soon... May 25th, so I'm really excited for her! I hope she has a boy... it will even out the estrogen-overload in that house (they have two-year-old twin girls). I'll keep you posted on Mama and Baby Brown!

As for Mama and Baby Simpson... we're going to take a nap!

Welcome Baby Oscar!

2009-05-12T15:24:00.002-05:00

I am proud to announce that our nephew was born on May 9th to Mommy Charlie (Toby's sister) and Daddy Steve! His name is Oscar James Stephen Seager... Maxton now has a little brother to play with! And soon he'll have an American cousin to come visit! Here are the Seagers with their new addition...

As for me... two weeks and 4 days away from B-Day... not that I'm keeping track!

Who am I kidding? Yes, I'm keeping track! I'm couting the hours! I'm ready for this baby to be here! However, I think Thumper is very comfortable where he/she is.

I'll keep you posted on my progress towards B-Day!

The Nursery

2009-05-06T18:45:00.006-05:00

After the shower on Saturday, we were pretty well stocked with everything Thumper needs. The few things we still needed, we went ahead and purchased on Sunday with the gift cards I received at the shower. The room is now complete!

The bags are packed and ready to go!

A little outfit that Toby picked out when we were out shopping one day... the baby is going to wear camo, if it likes it or not! (Then again, so did I when I was little...)

Tucker's new hiding spot... under the crib. At least he's not IN the crib!

BABY SHOWER!

2009-05-06T17:21:00.015-05:00

On May 2nd, I had the most wonderful Baby Shower, thanks to my mom, Aunt Mary and Aunt Marlene... you guys rock!

It was held in Fellowship Hall of my church... and was a huge success! I think there were 35 people there... I didn't count. And I thank all of you for coming! For those of you that couldn't make it, I totally understand! I love you all!

Here are a couple pictures... for all the pictures, you can visit: tobyanderin.myphotoalbum.com

Mom- and Grandma-to-Be

Gifts before...

Gifts after!

My cousin Marie and me... she's due 5 days before me!

As you can imagine, Mom was the "emcee" of the day... and she did a wonderful job! She was made for this Grandma stuff!

And, of course... the dreaded string game! I'm not telling what I measured out at!!!

Thanks again to everyone for everything! It was a wonderful day and I loved every second of it! Love you all!

36 Weeks

2009-05-04T08:36:00.003-05:00

Here's the most recent pic of me, taken on Saturday night.

My Baby Shower was a HUGE success! Thanks to everyone for coming and for all the awesome pressies!!! It was a lot of fun and I'm already having a great time sorting everything out and getting ready for Thumper's arrival!

Yesterday Mom and I went shopping with the gift cards I got on Saturday... we are now officially prepared for Thumper's arrival -- we have a mattress! Woo hoo!

I will post pictures and write more later... right now, I should be working! hahaha

Less than a month...

2009-05-01T15:03:00.000-05:00

29 days and counting… tomorrow marks 36 weeks!

I had my check up yesterday… and all is well. Other than the fact I gained FOUR POUNDS in the last week! Whew! And I thought it felt like I had lost weight… boy, was I wrong! So far I’ve gained a total of 30 pounds… not too shabby if you ask me! I know people who gained 60 or 70 pounds!! I’m quite happy with 30 pounds!!

Toby doesn’t like it when I post words on here like “cervix” or any of those ‘womanly words’ – sorry, honey… but it’s all part of this wonderful thing called pregnancy. So if you’re reading this, Toby, don’t read the next sentence: Apparently I passed my mucus plug about an hour ago!!! Crazy, huh?! The doctor says “labor is imminent” now… I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure it’s been imminent all along… I mean, look at me! ;o)

Of course I’m a little more anxious/nervous/excited now… especially since my mom went into labor with me a few hours after passing her mucus plug. Yikes! The doctor says I could definitely still go until my due date or past it… but I could also definitely go early. It’s all down to baby now… come out, come out, whenever you want!

In other news… tomorrow is the Baby Shower Extravaganza… I’m sure it’s going to be a great time!! I’ll post pictures, don’t worry!

Have a wonderful weekend… and don’t worry… I’ll let you know if I have the baby! hahaha

34 Weeks

2009-04-21T18:15:00.018-05:00

Here's the most recent picture of me, taken on Sunday:

I've grown a little since the last picture... but not much. As you can see, I've officially retired my rings, which is very depressing. Not so much because my fingers are getting fatter... that's normal. But I'm very sad that I can't wear the rings that Toby gave me. I wore my Claddagh on the right ring finger, and of course my wedding ring on the left ring finger... both which mean the world to me.

I'm now wearing Toby's Claddagh that I gave him... matches the one he gave me. So at least I'm wearing something that's special to us. But I still feel naked without my wedding ring!

I'm still feeling great... although not sleeping very well nowadays. I tend to toss and turn alot at night... that combined with frequent visits to the bathroom makes for a restless night. Oh well, I guess I should get used to not being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time... I'm sure once baby arrives, I'll have a similar sleep pattern!

Toby's been a busy little bee around the house, like usual. Here are some pictures of him getting the garden ready for planting.

And here a couple shots of the wood duck boxes he put up in the back yard.

Oh, and here's that picture Mom took of me on Easter... I really like it!

Less than six weeks to go!!! The countdown begins!

A pineapple?!

2009-04-16T08:50:00.001-05:00

According to BabyCenter.com…

“Your baby is proportioned like a pineapple when it comes to weight -- a little over 4 pounds.”

A pineapple!?

No thank you! That looks a bit painful!!!

Blue and Pink Eggs

2009-04-15T14:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter, everyone!

The Easter Bunny brought Toby and I an Easter basket, like usual… but this year, he also brought Thumper a basket!! It was filled with blue and pink chocolate eggs!!! Of course, Thumper can’t eat the candy yet, so mommy and daddy are eating it for him/her.

I got home from work yesterday and Toby said “It’s a boy!” Apparently, he took a handful of eggs… some blue and some pink… and then ate them without looking. His thought was if the last egg he ate was blue, it would be a boy… and if the last egg was pink, it would be a girl. A few eggs in, he looked and saw he had 2 blue eggs and 7 pink eggs… not very good odds for the man that wants a boy! He ate a few more eggs… now he had just 1 blue egg and 5 pink eggs. He continued to eat the eggs, only to find the last egg was pink. Poor guy. He got up to get a glass of milk… and returned to the couch to find a single blue egg sitting where he had been… now he’s convinced we’re having a boy!!! A very cute story… especially if it does turn out to be a boy!!!

I went for my check up today, and all is well. Baby is still turned downwards, waiting patiently for the big day! The heartbeat is still great… ranging from 140s to 160s. My blood pressure is still wonderful… and I only gained ½ pound in the last two weeks… for a total of about 25 pounds. Thankfully it’s all in the bump… just looks like I’m smuggling a soccer ball!

On Saturday, the family came over for an Easter cook-out! Toby grilled his famous burgers and the wonderful LG Meat Company’s mushroom/swiss brats! Yummmmmm! I sat in the same place all day and am now sporting a partial tan… only on the right side of my face!!! It looked really nice on Sunday when it was red. I was tempted to wear makeup… just to even out my complexion!

Mom took some great pictures of me out on the back deck on Saturday morning… with my posh camera, of course. I’ll post my favorite in the next couple days… I’ve been too lazy to put them on the computer.

I haven’t been sleeping really well the past few days, thanks to a very active baby… and a snoring husband! Therefore I’m exhausted during the day. Even though my job isn’t physcially demanding, all I want to do when I get home is lay down and nap!

Other than that, nothing to complain about! Still loving every second of this experience! I’m super excited to meet Thumper, but I know I’ll miss the feeling of having him/her inside of me… it’s a very humbling experience!

This Saturday will be 34 weeks… I know I’ve said it before… but it’s crazy how time flies!!!

SIDE by SIDE by SIDE

2009-04-08T10:33:00.004-05:00

15 Weeks... 30 Weeks... 32 Weeks

You can see here that the Thumper has dropped a bit... and getting bigger!!!

32 Weeks

2009-04-05T18:30:00.007-05:00

Yesterday marked the start of Month #8... I know I've said it before... but I can NOT believe how fast time has gone by! It seems like just last week I was at 20 weeks, and thinking "I can't believe I have another 20 weeks to go!" Now I only have eight weeks to go!!!

Thumper will be here before we know it!!! And I'm glad to say that we're pretty ready for his/her arrival. Of course we'll be even more prepared after the main Baby Shower on May 2nd.

Here are the latest bump shots, taken about 20 minutes ago by Daddy Toby.

Hot Mama!

BABY SHOWER #1

2009-04-05T18:14:00.008-05:00

On Thursday, April 2nd, Mary Martha Circle threw me a Baby Shower! MMC is a group of women from church that I belong to. We get together once a month to plan various church activities... but mostly, we just socialize!

Thanks so much to Sue Schowalter for opening your home and throwing a great party! It was a a lot of fun! And thanks for the cake... it was YUMMY!

I'd also like to thank everyone for their wonderful gifts!

Here are a couple pictures of the fine women who attended (Note: Sue is taking one, Ellen is taking the other):

And here are a few pictures of me opening presents...

Newborn diapers are SOOOOOOOOOO cute!

Gotta love baby clothes!

Woo hoo!! Breast pads!!

I love socks!!!

Thank God!

2009-04-02T14:50:00.003-05:00

I'm happy to report that I did go swimming last night... and it helped!!!

Floating around for a good 30 minutes did wonders... it was INCREDIBLY relaxing! And the pinched nerve is better! It's not 100% UNpinched... but it's MUCH better! I can move around, stand up, sit down, lay down... without cringing in pain! Every once in a while I'll do something to spark it, but even then it doesn't hurt nearly as bad!

So thanks to Matt Brill for letting me swim at the hotel... you're the best! For those of you who have NO idea how Matt is... he's Erin Jo's brother-in-law... and he manages a hotel in Lake Geneva.

And thanks to Mom for joining me! She came along to help me float on my tummy... since the big air bubble on my belly kept wanting to flip me over onto my back! hahaha Toby would've come with me, but he was at home suffering from his own pinched nerve... he woke up yesterday with a stiff neck. Poor guy!

I am definitely going to swim again for a couple reasons... 1) my swimsuit is super cute, and this is the only time I don't have to worry about looking 'fat' in a swimsuit, and 2) it was sooooooo relaxing... I could've floated there for hours! Although I'm sure my skin would look really funny and wrinkly afterwards!!! hehehe

32 Week Check-Up

2009-04-01T12:34:00.002-05:00

Today I'm 31 weeks, 4 days... close enough to 32 weeks.

I had my check up this morning, and we're both doing great! I gained one pound in the last two weeks, and my blood pressure is normal.

The doctor did confirm that Thumper is sitting lower and on my right side, accounting for the pinched nerve. She recommended swimming, which I will do tomorrow... or maybe even today after work. She has hope that Thumper will move around sometime soon and relieve the pain... let's hope so!

Other than that, all is well! Thumper's heart beat is in the 140s/150s... so doing very well!

I go back in two weeks for my next check up. The only "bad news" is that I don't get another ultrasound unless the doctor thinks it's necessary. I said "awww... I want to see the baby again!" ...and she responded with "Don't worry... I could always make up an excuse to need to see it!"

Tomorrow night, my women's group at church (Mary Martha Circle) is throwing me a Baby Shower... I'm very excited!!! I just hope I can make it up the step's at Sue's house! hehehe

Pinched Nerve!

2009-03-31T08:50:00.004-05:00

Over the past month, I've been experiencing some pain on the right side of my lower back. After sitting for a while at work, if I'd get up it'd really hurt... but then go away. The pain would come and go very rarely. For the past week, the pain has gotten worse... comes more often and hurts a lot more.

Well, on Saturday afternoon, it got REALLY bad. I couldn't move. I was sitting down and couldn't get up. Thankfully mom was over, because Toby was out shopping... she had to help me up... I cried in agony the whole time. Then it took about 30-45 seconds PER STEP to walk downstiars. Again, I cried the whole time.

So we called my OB doctor. By the sounds of things, she thought it might be an infection of some sort... bladder, kidney, etc. So she had me go to the hospital for some tests. At 7pm, we showed up at Lakeland Hospital (where we'll deliver). I got the hospital bracelet, the gown, the room... the whole 9 yards. I just thought I had to take a pee test -- I was sorely mistaken! The nurse even asked me if I had any restrictions on visitors... and what my religious preference was!

They hooked me up to a bunch of machines, making sure both the baby and I were okay. They monitored the baby for 45 minutes, and thankfully nothing is wrong... heart beat is great, I'm not having contractions. And... no infection.

My doctor thinks it's a pinched nerve... the growing baby is pressing on my shifting pelvis, which is severely pinching a nerve. And, there's nothing they can do about it. So, hopefully it UNpinches itself! Until then, all I can do is use a heating pad and take Tylenol. If it gets unbearable, she can prescribe something stronger... but I'm not going to let it get to that!

Over the past two days, it's gotten a little better... or I'm just becoming immune to the pain. Either way, it's not making me cry in agony anymore. But I do hate the fact that I feel limited... I can't move too much or too fast, bend over to pick anything up... it hurts to sit down, stand up, climb stairs... you name it. And it REALLY hurts to lay down! Once I'm down, I'm fine... but getting there is another story!

This is what I get for having a perfect pregnancy so far. I was doing so well... haven't gained too much weight, not sick all the time, not uncomfortable... really nothing to complain about. Just hope this doesn't last the next two months! I've been doing stretches, using a heating pad, taking it easy... everything I can do really. I plan on going swimming this week... that will take the pressure off and hopefully unpinch the nerve. Fingers crossed!

SOMETHING FUNNY: While at the hospital, mom had mentioned something about "Thumper" -- the nurse said "Oh, that's cute... you're going to name it Thumper?" She was serious! I felt like saying "Yeah, I really love Walt Disney. For our next child, we'll go with Pinocchio for a boy or Snow White for a girl." Did she HONESTLY believe we were going to name our child Thumper!? Oh boy.

Mission: Nursery... Update

2009-03-25T08:51:00.003-05:00

The nursery is getting painted AS I TYPE! Toby's at home slaving away! Last night we taped off the room... and Toby was up at 7:30 this morning raring to go!

It's only getting painted white, but it'll be nice to have a fresh, crisp coat of paint up for Thumper's new room!

I'm excited to start "prepping" the room... getting all the clothes in the drawers, decorating, etc. All I want to do is sit in there, on my glider of course, and read to Thumper! It might sound corny, but I'm really looking foward to that!

And update on me... feeling great! Today I feel HUGE... but that's normal. Some days I feel HUGE, somedays I'm fine. Today's a HUGE day.

Toby's noticed that I've been snoring really bad lately... I tell him it's karma. His snoring has bothered me SO bad sometimes... what comes around, goes around. I also tell him it's not me snoring... it's the baby snoring through me! hahaha

I'm happy to report I haven't had swollen ankles again... thank God! I'm never eating salty foods again!

I'm starting to have dreams about going into labor... and everything's been pretty routine. Hopefully that's a sign. I'm really not that scared about actual labor... women have been doing it for 1000s of years... I suppose I can handle it, too. My main concern is where I'll be when I go into labor. I hope it's not too embarrassing... then again, I'm sure if it is somewhere public, people will be pretty supportive of such a wonderful event.

I can't believe that Thumper is going to be here in less that 10 weeks! It's so amazing!! It's really starting to hit me now... we're going to have a baby!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!

30 Weeks

2009-03-23T17:15:00.014-05:00

My how time flies! I can't believe it's been 30 weeks!!!

Here's an updated pic:

And here's one of me "letting it all hang out" -- looks A LOT bigger without all those clothes!

And I have to mention... while looking through ALL my pregnancy pictures and all of my blog posts, I've noticed that I never showed you my CHAIR!

This was coursey of Tricia "Mil" and Keith. We picked it up while Tricia and Charlie (and Maxton) were visiting in early Feb. I've sat in it every day since! I LOVE IT!

I have found that the gliding motion calms Thumper down... now hopefully it will continue to work after he or she is here!

I must also say, when I'm not sitting in it... Tucker is. He's claimed it as his own.

Thank you Mil and KT! We love you!!!

And, as promised, here is a picture of the Travel System after I put it together yesterday... and no, although tempted, I have NOT pushed the cats around in it... yet.