a toasty bath and a frosty snow!!

This week has been very exciting as Anderson had his first real bath & his first real snow!!

The bath went over very well-he seemed to enjoy it even though he was definitely a little confused! Thanks Auntie Clare for the tub and Aunt Cole for the frog cover thing-that turned out to be the key to him enjoying it, I think!

Here is a video-don't worry, I don't show anything that could cause future embarrassment....

The bath was fun, but not nearly as fun as the snow!!

Technically Anderson's first snow was the day he was born but since we were in the hospital and unable to play, we are going to count this one instead! I feel like he is a pretty lucky little guy because he has already brought 2 snow days to Knox County!! If he can keep up this trend, he will definitely be worth it:)

Here he is...ready to go play in his snow outfit from GG!! Yes, I brought my 3 week old into the snow and he loved it!

sleep when the baby sleeps. or never.

I know for certain that the person who coined the phrase "sleep when the baby sleeps" does not have children. There is no way because anyone who has ever had a newborn knows that this is the worst advice ever. I have a suspicion that this is the same person who came up with the"glowing skin" business regarding pregnancy. (Unless the glow was from my collective zits...) First of all, this advice when given to pregnant women is deceptive and misleading. It made me think that I would have some amount of control over my new life..."Oh, that makes sense...I will just sleep when he does!" Before I realized this was garbage advice, I actually stressed about it-adding it to my mental to-do list...shower, change diaper, feed him, change diaper, sleep when he sleeps...this is obviously a joke as anyone who has had a newborn knows you don't actually have time to shower..but I would get all nervous when he fell asleep and try to make myself sleep only to be interrupted by dogs barking, phone calls or the most frequent event-Anderson waking up! See, we are forunate enough to have a baby that loves to sleep. He will sleep anytime and anywhere, as long as someone's arms are involved. He will sleep with you sitting, standing, rocking him, bouncing him, walking him around Target wrapped in your fleece because you forgot to bring a blanket and he threw a fit in his carseat while you were in the pharmacy line....What he will not do is sleep actually laying down. This poses an obstacle for the sleeping when he is sleeping advice.

Here he is asleep in the baby carrier snuggling against me. I'm pretty sure that if I fell asleep with him in here it would not go over well.

This is pretty much the only option we have for sleeping...he loves it. (both of them!)

Here he is sleeping on his GG with creeper Uncle Curtis in the background...

A variation of the sleeping on the couch position

Sleeping in the car seat...we are oviously driving and therefore cannot be "sleeping while he sleeps"

A moment of calm before he realized he was not being held and started screaming. Of course he is so ridiculously cute you don't really mind it:)

As you can see, he is a ridiculously good sleeper...but notice that he is being held and there is no way that I can sleep through this!

new things.

Having a newborn, it's pretty handy to have a niece that is 9 months old. Right when I think that I am so overwhelmed I get a hilarious picture or story that reminds me this is what Anderson is going to be! The male version, of course.


Speaking of overwhelmed...a bit of the conversation when I was talking to Nicole the other day..

"So, Lily has been acting so weird today...she isn't hungry...kind of clingy...What is that smell...Oh, God Lily there is poop all over you...slow down, it's dripping down your leg...don't sit down, please don't- Oh, God-....I'm putting you in the tub and hosing you off...clothes and all....what is that-oh, it's all over me...Oh, God..."

I say conversation but it was really just her talking and me cracking up. Oh, the things to look forward to. Lillards is better now and here she is in her adorableness.
So, when you are 2 weeks old, everything is new, which means this post is not really that exciting. It is fun for us to have something new to look forward to each day, so I guess that is exciting!

Checking out the mobile in a gown that is way too big.

This is definitely a new thing. You will notice that I am dressed-hair brushed & everything. A good day.

Playing on Lily's mat with Dad.

Story time with Dad. It's Harold & the Purple Crayon-obviously one of Anderson's favorites.

Definitely the best new thing-his first Golden Girls marathon! You will notice his favorite character, Sophia, in the background.


The last new thing- the swing! I had big plans for this swing involving lots of sleep for everyone. So far that is not really happening, but I am still hoping... Based on the energy in my voice, you will figure out that this was recorded last week.

the sisters.

Probably the question that I was asked the most often while I was pregnant (besides "are you miserable?"-I mean, why do people ask this?) was "What are you going to do about your dogs?" I was never quite sure how to answer this question...what do you mean? what am I supposed to be doing? After a few seconds of confusion, I realized the obvious...oh, their dogs are not their children. How sad. See, in our house we already had 2 children-daughters. A special Chloe and a perfect Gabbi. I still haven't quite figured out what we are supposed to be doing with them, but it has been entertaining (and, yes, a little stressful) during this transition into having a brother. Chloe has obviously missed the point of the picture, as she is expecting a belly rub. This is going to be a good lesson on sharing for her.



Gabbi is pretty much always around checking everything out. I like to think it is because she is protective of him already because that's just how she is. I don't have a picture of Chloe with the mat because she found a little leftover food stain from Lily and was busy trying to lick it, so I was distracted trying to stop her. That's just how she is.

This shows that we have obviously adjusted our living arrangements, as there are 4 of us asleep in the bed. Those of you who are thinking of judging me for having dogs in my bed, go ahead. Your dogs are obviously not your children either. How sad. Chloe is determined to sleep right beside me now, something she was not interested in before Anderson. Since she gained about 15 lbs during the pregnancy, she does not fit very well.

As you can see from the video, Anderson is going to grow up in a very quiet household.

How much fun is this? Gabbi is obviously more entertaining than the mat anyway.

LOTS of footage...

So, the Flip camera is the best thing ever- (thanks Aunt Cole & Uncle Hughes!) We have lots of video of the past week and as much as I tried to condense, it is still 3 separate videos!

Don't worry-there are absolutely no gross/scary clips! Mostly just Anderson meeting his family!

The 2nd one is more hospital footage...his first photo shoot, hanging with the fam...

The 3rd one is his first week home! It is a pretty exciting life.

Anderson Vincent Glover!!!

So, my life is now perfect. Anderson arrived on Jan 7 at 10:52 am. Weighing in at 7lbs 10 oz and measuring 20 inches, he managed to completely change our lives instantaneously. I had no idea that I could simultaneously feel so many things-happiness, awe, satisfaction, contentment, joy, unconditional love-when a little bundle of perfect was handed to me wrapped in a striped blanket. When I was pregnant, people lined up to warn me of the upcoming exhaustion, frustration, expense...of having a baby. Nobody warned me to be prepared for falling head over heels in love.

Little did we know at the time, but the story began on Jan. 6....we went to work, I taught a little colonial history, ran some errands after school, met a friend for dinner since Brandon had SWAT training...then-out of nowhere-I almost died. Another thing nobody warns you about is the pain of contractions. I heard a lot of, "You know, I think I just forgot about the pain" or "It's all worth it" leading me to believe that it was going to be tolerable. Wrong. At 10:45pm Wed night I got my first real contraction. Forgetting I was 39 weeks pregnant, I diagnosed myself with an exploded intestine because the pain was so bad. Then it passed and I thought I was cured. When the second one hit, I began to realize the truth...I was going to die of pain. Time passed...the pain intensified...Brandon was concerned as his hand was crushed every 5 minutes and we decided to head to the hospital about 2am. I'd rather not talk about the hours between 2 and 6, when I finally got the drugs, because it was not pretty for anyone involved. I can say that I am blessed with the most perfect husband ever because there is no way I could have survived this without him. He was with me being wonderful the entire time. Once I was paralyzed, it was actually a rather cozy set up. I had ice chips fed to me and could get even more medicine with a push of a button.

I highly recommend having parents who are willing to drive 6 hours after you call them at midnight to make it to your side by 6am.

Then he was here and everything made sense.

It's not often that you have a picture of the first time you met your best friend. Lily and Anderson connected immediately. Especially after Nicole held Lily's hands to prevent her from hitting him. Love pats, of course.

Aunt Manda proved her photography skills by setting up Anderson's first photo shoot on my hospital bed. Preciousness.

A louder version of preciousness.

Not my most flattering look, but I was starving for the next few days and demanded lots of healthy things like pizza, macaroni and cheese and what appears to be blackberry cobbler.

Anderson is so lucky to have 2 sets of grandparents to love him!

Anderson and Aunt Manda-our personal photographer and lover of newborns-she gives lots of helpful (and realistic) advice! We love her.

Uncle Zack drove all the way from Birmingham (in snow/ice...) to see Anderson's first days! We love him so much that he is going to be Anderson's godfather!

So, when you have a twin sister, I suggest calling her early enough to where she can make it for the delivery because it is a little rough if you don't. I was looking out for Lily and the fact that Nicole did not need to drive her in the snow at 3am, so I didn't call until 6am. She was a teeny bit upset. She got over it once she held him. He has that kind of effect on people. I also suggest keeping an Aunt Cole around because she is pretty handy with knowing exactly what I am feeling and need to hear, so she just takes care of that. You know, one less thing.

Noni with the newest grandson. Everyone should have a mom who stays with you for a week-she did all my laundry, cleaned, kept me calm, took care of everything-she even cleaned the toilets. Such love. I guess that's what you do when you are a mom. So many things I have to look forward to...

Anderson and GG-being the first grandchild has lots of perks! Anderson is already so loved by GG as she has spent lots of time welcoming him to the world. She is the best kind of family person because she sees everyone as family-she let most of mine stay with her during his first few days!

Anderson and Bop! We were definitely thankful for Bop, as he took care of Chloe & Gabbi while they were here. This requires a special kind of person due to Chloe's special needs so we were thankful for him!

Everyone needs cousins and Anderson is so lucky to have so many! I think they are all waiting until he is old enough to do something, but they love him!

J Pa and Anderson! Again, being the first grandchild makes you pretty special so Anderson has a spoiled future ahead of him!

Great Aunt Donna and Great Uncle Jeff came to visit and brought presents!

Uncle Curtis!

Great Aunt Lori came to visit at the hospital and when we came home! In addition to all the goodies she has already bought him, she had flowers sent to the hospital!

I just like this picture.

It took forever for us to get discharged, but Anderson looked stylish while we waited.

Because I am so lucky, I have this wonderful extra family in the form of the Farragut cheerleaders who organized dinners brought to us for the first days!

A final shot of Anderson (and Brandon's hand...)-from Aunt Manda's photo shoot. This has a little Elvis flair to it, which just proves his versatile personality.

Our family. Perfect.