Anderson Avenue

The mother load

2011-10-15T13:50:00.004-05:00

Meribeth was out the door at 7 this morning to go to a sale near by that had advertised boys clothes for Levi. She came back with all of this stuff for $15!!

And we thought we had a lot of snow...

2011-02-08T23:20:00.002-06:00

from: youlookmarvelous.tumblr.com/post/3137738978/youngna-in-honshu-the-japanese-alps-where

Iowa Storm

2010-06-19T21:01:00.003-05:00

We had quite the storm last night in Eastern Iowa. The clouds rolled in, the rain came down and the lightning and thunder was abundant. Seth took this pic off our deck afterwards when it started to brighten back up.

Etiquette

2010-06-03T17:32:00.001-05:00

On our way home from a visit to Grand Rapids this weekend, we stopped at our favorite place for custard goodness:

While we were sitting at the booth waiting for our food Levi let out what we call at our house, “a pop.” Hoping that Levi has learned some of the manners we have been trying to implement, I said, “Levi, what do you say?” He turns and says, “I popped.” With as straight of a face as I can muster, I say, “and then what do you say?” He matter-of-factly says, “I popped in my chair.” What a proper little boy.

Look what I can do now!

2010-05-07T22:52:00.001-05:00

Our biggie girl can sit up for a few minutes at a time before falling over. She seems to like to view the world from this new angle.

Levi is in to ‘catching’ lightning bugs these evenings. He won’t pick them up himself, but he loves to point them out!

Big Boy Bed

2010-04-24T17:42:00.001-05:00

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this twin bed for Levi! Although we have known for a few months now that Levi is just too long for his toddler bed and needed a twin bed, we were concerned about him being able to get out and roam freely. Well, with this bed, he still cannot get out and I love that! Sounds cruel but I figure since he really has no need to get out and doesn’t seem to mind at all, it works! This bed (from Wal-Mart of all places) is a bunk bed that can be separated into 2 separate beds. So, we put him in the bed that would be on the top and used the wooden rails on just one side, since his bed is against the wall. Seth’s sister, Hannah, has been visiting us this weekend and she helped Seth put it together, as well as went to Sam’s Club with him to pick out a new mattress! Levi took a great nap in his bed today and I’m sure he appreciated all the extra room he had!

Here are a few pics from today:

His old toddler bed (which has a crib sized mattress) looks so small compared to his new bed!

Sleeping so cute :)

Awake and recharged! :)

What his room looks like now!

CL Visit and 6 month photo shoot

2010-04-23T16:37:00.001-05:00

Wow – one post in the month of March and this’ll be the first in April. We’re doing pretty well with this blogging thing. Anyway, this past weekend we went to Seth’s parent’s new condo in Clear Lake for a long weekend. We had a great time. Levi had a ball with Papa and Nama throwing stuffed cats, chasing real cats, and throwing croquet balls around the yard. We went down to the lake and played at the park and threw plenty of rocks back into the lake. We had beautiful weather and it was so nice to be down by the water and watch Levi enjoy it so much.

Chloe is Six Months Already!

A little update on what Chloe is up to these days:

Usually eating 2 – 3 times per night between 8 pm and 7 am though she’s given us glimpses of better things to come
Finally over her RSV she got back at the beginning of March though she still coughs occasionally
Not the biggest fan of rice cereal or any solids for that matter!
Can roll both ways and perch up on her elbows
17lbs 7oz and 26.75 lbs
smiles so easily to both people she knows and strangers
naps 2 –3 times per day. Lately she sleeps roughly 10 to 12 and then 2-4 with a “nurse-nap” to get her through til her 8 pm bedtime (but really no set schedule yet)
has her two bottom teeth (got them 4/13 and 4/15)
such a happy baby and loved so much!

Easy Supper

2010-03-01T22:30:00.001-06:00

We found this recipe at allrecipes.com for Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork. It was delicious and made a ton! Make sure you toast your rolls. It makes it even better!

Home Studio

2010-02-11T23:00:00.002-06:00

Props to our friends the Chidisters for the inspiration and reminder use to Picasa for our image editing needs. Meribeth had fun taking these pics of Chloe today. A picture we didn’t include on the blog was Levi up in her grill during the photo shoot. We do still occasionally take pictures of our first child. :)

Peach Tea

2010-02-07T15:32:00.001-06:00

After church today we had a simple lunch so we could get Levi down for a nap by 1. As lunch was finishing up, I pulled a Snapple Peach Tea out of the fridge and started drinking it. Of course, Levi sees it and decides he is parched as well and asks for some. I decided it wouldn’t hype up his little system too much to give him a little taste, so I give him the bottle. He proceeds to chug it like it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted. I take the bottle from him and turn to Meribeth and say, “Was that a bad choice to give him some?” Levi then points at the bottle and says, “Mo, mo, mo, mo bad choith?” Once I stopped laughing I had to let him know this stuff was called Peach Tea and not ‘bad choice’. None the less, he helped me finish it off and took a good nap despite the natural caffeine running through his veins.

Funny (HaHa + Grr) Kids

2010-01-31T09:51:00.001-06:00

We have some funny kids. Levi was funny haha yesterday and Chloe was funny grr. Meribeth made a carrot cake yesterday for our church luncheon today. I guess we don’t have cake enough around here because Levi watched Meribeth put it on the kitchen table when it was all finished and grabbed his bib and said “chair” as he tried to get into his highchair. Then he looks at Meribeth and says, “Happo Bithdee Cake” hahaha. It was so cute. Poor guy. Hopefully it’s not all gone when we go through the line today at church.

Then, last night at supper, we were just sitting around the table eating and Levi says out of the blue, “Go Hawkeyes!” We got an ornament for Christmas that sings the Hawkeye fight song and yells “GO HAWKEYES!” which he absolutely hates. We got a kick out of that too.

Chloe has been funny in the sense of going to sleep at night lately. Last night she would NOT go to sleep and kept waking up in her bed after we’d get her in asleep. This went on until 1140 or so last night. The night prior she was asleep at 1010 and we didn’t hear from her again until 430 or so. We have no idea what makes for a good night and what doesn’t, but we’re sure she’ll grow out of it soon enough.

Reading the mail.

3 months and counting!

Pepperoni

2010-01-18T20:04:00.001-06:00

At one point we were worried about Levi’s speech development. Now he’s whipping out four syllable words like pepperoni. It’s so cute. Guess we can cancel those last two speech appointments!

Quite a Day!

2009-12-21T16:01:00.003-06:00

I was updating our tumblr blog today with new counters along the right side. Noticed that today Chloe is 2 months old and Levi is 2 years, 2 weeks, and 2 days old! I thought it was neat.

Pizza not puppy.

2009-11-26T14:04:00.003-06:00

Last night Meribeth made pizza for supper as she often does when we need something delicious and fast for supper. Later that night we were talking to Levi, and one of us said:

“Levi, what did we have for supper?”

Levi thought for a second and said, “puppy…..PEE-tah!!” It was pretty cute as he cycled through his ‘p’ words to get to the right one!

The other weekend, when I took Levi to the park, I took some pics of him that I stitched together below. You can click on it to make it bigger.

1 month old already!

2009-11-21T21:22:00.001-06:00

Chloe turned a month old today. She still has her rough nights, but things are getting better on the whole. We took some cute pics today of her in her crib. It’ll be a while until she’s sleeping in there, so for now, we just use it as a photo op:

Seth took Levi to the park today in the 45 degree weather. His nose got a little rosy, but judging from the pictures, he had fun.

New Words

2009-11-17T13:24:00.001-06:00

Here are some of Levi’s new words these past couple of weeks with his version in brackets:

tractor - [tra-co]

tree - [tree]

heavy - [eh-vee]

water – [wa-wa]

video - [vee-va]

TV - [vee-vee]

honey - [ahnee]

music - [me-me]

happy - [happee]

Hi baby - [Hi Baby!]

reach - [reesh]

push - [psh]

fish - [fsh]

cookie - [coo-kee]

We were walking out of an appointment today and the lady at the front desk heard him jabbering coming down the hallway. She said, “He’s quite a talker!” That’s not something we ever heard people say during the first 22 months of his life!

Chloe Elizabeth is here! (And almost 4 wks old!)

2009-11-15T22:16:00.001-06:00

It’s safe to say we are terrible about keeping up this blog, but how could we not write a post about our newest addition to the family!! Chloe Elizabeth was born October 21st and it’s hard to believe she will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday already! We are so proud of her and think she is the sweetest baby girl we have ever seen :) A little bit about her . . . She loves to be swaddled and is easily soothed by a combination of the vent fan in the kitchen and us holding her and jigling her round and round (hard to describe but if you are around us very much. you will see it! :) She pretty much only sleeps in her swing or bouncer seat and is NOT a fan of the bassinet due to its flatness (we think). She eats every 2-3 hrs during the day and has gone as long as 5 between feedings at night. She is growing at a faster rate than her brother did. . . was up to 9 lbs 2 oz at her 2 wk check-up and was discharged from the hospital at 7 lbs 15 oz. Levi, on the other hand, left the hospital weighing 8 lbs and was just 8 lbs 12 oz at his 2 wk check. She does a good job at letting us know that she hates the car seat, is bored, or hungry! Her cries are so shrill and desperate and we really don’t remember these cries with Levi. But, she is easily consoled for the most part and a walk to the kitchen fan can sooth her most fussy moments :) We love her so much and are so thankful that God has entrusted us to be her parents! Here are a few recent pictures of our little sweetie:

Wipeout and Haircut

2009-10-18T14:18:00.001-05:00

The other week we drove over to the mall to pick up some stuff. Seems like we’re always picking up random things to get ready for baby sister’s arrival. It had been a pretty cold day, so Levi hadn’t been outside all day. So, when we pulled into the parking lot, we put him on the ground to let him walk in by himself. Well, he started off in a full-out run. The lot is a little slanted, and he got going a little faster than he could handle. And, before either of us could react he fell down, caught himself with his hands, but his inertia kept him going forward and he smacked his lip and chin into the cement. He bit his lip pretty good, and scraped his chin up, but otherwise escaped unscathed. We were thankful as it could have been much worse.

Here he is the next day after getting ready for church!

Levi’s hair was getting a little shaggy and unruly, and with the new baby on the way, we figured it was time for a new cut. There was a salon nearby that offered half price for the first cut so she decided to take him there. He did so well. She used the buzzer on his neck and head and clipped away without any problems. We think he looks like such a little 5-year-old!

Well, he doesn’t realize it yet, but we sure do. Baby sister is arriving awfully quickly! She is officially due the 21st, but there are no signs thus far of any forward progress. So, we’ll see how things go. Meribeth and Levi are sick this week, so it’s a good thing in a way that she hasn’t decided to emerge yet. We’re praying mommy and Levi heal up and daddy doesn’t get it before the baby comes. Here’s a nice snot shot of Levi!

Dingleberry Rd

2009-09-19T16:19:00.001-05:00

Today we decided to take a family trip down Dingleberry Rd. Meribeth had been there earlier in the week with MOPS and wanted to take me back and take some pictures and pick some more apples.

Down Dingleberry Rd is Wilson’s Apple Orchard in Iowa City. It was packed with cars and people. The weather is starting to turn cooler here, but it was still pretty warm carrying 36 lb Levi, a diaper bag and a bushel of apples!

Levi had such a great time toddling around and picking up rotten apples off the ground. We had to keep reminding him which ones were ‘yucky!’ He didn’t catch on :) They even had pumpkins there. He, of course, thought he could pick them up like the decorative pumpkin we have in our living room right now.

We had a fun time as a fam, took some good pics and Levi even got to practice his new word.

Apple from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

It's been forever

2009-09-10T22:46:00.005-05:00

This is Seth trying to get us back on the blogging train. Meribeth has so much fun reading other people's blogs and yet we don't contribute to the blogosphere like good netizens. Let's see, what's been happening since we last blogged 2 months ago....

We moved into our townhouse after paying incredible amounts of money to have the dog pee cleaned from the downstairs carpet. Disgusting. The first few days were a whirlwind as we tried to get as many things done as possible while our parents were still here.

I started residency and started to adjust to the life of a radiology resident. I must say, it's much better than the life of an intern. No more endless rounding, no more H&Ps, and no more sleeping in the hospital waiting for that pager that inevitably meant a sleepy walk to the ER. I get all of my weekends off, and usually just try to read about an hour a night, which is more of an aspiration than a goal I am regularly meeting.

Levi is growing up before our eyes. He can say mamma, dada, na na (banana), up, op (amen), ite (eat), aht (hot), yeah and sign for more, please and all done. He has such a great little personality and is a joy to watch busily tear around the living room getting into everything he can get his hands on. He just moved into his toddler bed, which I must say, was a pretty easy transition. Meribeth moved the bed to such a wall so that we could put a bed rail on one end, use the intentioned headboard as a footboard and make a headboard which we attached to the wall. So, he basically has a crib with shorter legs and shorter siderails. He seems to really like his new khaki room and the big Elmo that sits in the reading chair.

Our friends just had their baby and we had a chance to visit them at the hospital. It was really great to see and hold a newborn and see the place where our new little one will be entering the world in just 40+ days!

He seems to be adjusting nicely :)

All moved to Clear Lake

2009-06-16T17:38:00.001-05:00

Over the last couple weeks, Seth has had a pretty easy schedule at the hospital to end his internship. He’s been on ophthalmology which has been a cake walk compared to ICU and medicine. Since he’s had half-days and weekends off we were able to get most of the packing done before Seth’s parents came with the truck and trailer from Clear Lake to pick us up.

It’s so crazy to think we’ve been here a year. Levi has grown up so much in this year, and Seth has learned so much and been through so much. And, we’ve found out we’re having another baby during our year here. That didn’t come out too clearly….we found out in Fargo, but she’s coming in October! :)

It was pretty tough packing with a 1 1/2 year old running around pulling things out of boxes as we’re putting them in! Definitely different than packing a year ago with a 5 month old in the house!

With Seth’s parents, one of his co-interns and a friend from church, we were able to get all the heavy stuff into the trailer in one night!

The next day we went to church and some dear friends from Bethel took us to the country club for brunch. It was so delicious and Levi even got his own plate of french toast! We got all the little stuff that takes forever packed up and were able to go to bed that night knowing everything was done except cleaning in the morning.

We checked out with the ladies at our apartment complex and got on the road by about 11:00. Grandma and momma and Levi road in the Pacifica together, Grandpa manned the truck and trailer minus the right side mirror, and Seth took the Lumina. Every vehicle was jam-packed full of stuff. I can’t believe how much stuff we have.

Levi did so well on the road. Grandma read him books, he looked out the window and was just generally a happy guy. We pulled into Clear Lake about 7 hours later. So happy to be done with the packing, loading, and the long drive! We’ll be here about a week and then we close on our house in Coralville.

Here’s a shot showing how long and wavey Levi’s hair has gotten. He got a haircut today, but we don’t have any ‘after’ pictures yet. Check back soon!

Happy Mother’s Day.

2009-05-10T22:11:00.001-05:00

Today was a wonderful Mother’s Day. The day started with breakfast made by Seth and getting to go to church as a family for the first time since March. Levi cried going into nursery and coming out, but apparently he did well in between. We attempted Granite City brunch but there was a quarter-mile-long line coming out the door. So, we went home and Levi had a 2 1/2 hour nap while we snacked and caught up on The Office and Parks and Recreation.

Once Levi woke up, we had a nice lunch at Johnny Carino’s. Levi ate his weight in gorgonzola penne pasta and chicken scaloppini. He even used his crayons for their intended purpose!

Then we headed over to the mall and looked at the big fish tank and the puppies for a while. Levi just loves the fish and squeals in delight when they come into his view. After a bit, we walked down to the Stride Rite in our mall and had Levi’s feet measured. We were shocked to discover he was measuring a 6 1/2, so the lady said we shouldn’t go any smaller than 7. The terrible thing is, he’s been wearing size 5s from Target for the last 6 weeks!

We looked around the mall, then found some we liked and that Levi seemed to have no difficulty toddling around in. They look pretty cool on him even if they are a little bold! They were on sale at Scheels.

All we had were the blue and khaki grippy socks from when he was learning to walk, so we had to find him some cheap socks at Target. Johnny Carinos left all three of us parched for some fluids, so we got a mango smoothie that Levi couldn’t get enough of.

Mango Smoothie from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

He’s got rhythm.

2009-04-28T18:49:00.001-05:00

Levi feels the beat. He's felt the beat since he was 8 or 9 months. We think it’s hilarious. We finally captured it on video yesterday.

Dancin' from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Atlanta Trip

2009-04-19T15:04:00.001-05:00

Levi and I just got back from an 8 day trip to Atlanta. My parents drove down for part of the time from GR. We had Easter dinner with Katie and Todd and did lots of other things. We went to an aquarium, the self-proclaimed best in the land….

… we chased kitties around Katie’s house….

….chased puppies around the park…..

…and snuggled with grandma.

Levi even learned a new move with his face:

Happy Easter!

First Swing of Spring

2009-03-22T13:25:00.001-05:00

Yesterday it was 42 degrees outside and relatively calm. Seth had the day off from the ER, and Levi and I were sick of being inside all winter, so we decided to take a walk down to the park near our house and try out the swing. We are under a flood watch here in Fargo during the next week as all this snow melts and the water starts to accumulate. We still needed a hat and a spring jacket outdoors, but it felt nice to be out there. Seth and I had to carry the stroller over a couple snow banks that were in our way and our toes got wet wading through all the puddles. Levi had a good time on the swings though. He was so little the last time we were on them. We had a fun time together.

First swing of spring. from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Ruby Tuesday’s

2009-02-22T17:23:00.001-06:00

Nice coupon I found today on fatwallet:

Shrimp & Angel Hair with grapes

2009-02-20T22:57:00.001-06:00

Tonight Meribeth made shrimp and angel hair pasta with garlic and olive oil. It was really delicious. Ridiculously delicious. It was the first time Levi had shrimp, but I think he really liked it. Lately, he’s been loving grapes. Not half grapes….whole grapes. You give him a half grape and he sticks his finger in the middle of it until there’s a hole in it and then nonchalantly flips it to the side. You give him a whole grape and he will chow it down and ask for another while the first is still being processed. Tonight we took some cute pictures at supper. He’s such a cute little guy, especially when he’s eating!

Career outlook

2009-02-12T21:46:00.001-06:00

to the tune of Just the Two of Us

Sometimes I wonder

What you gonna be?

A general, a doctor

a plumber, maybe?

Hungry Fella

2009-02-10T07:03:00.001-06:00

We’ve been trying to teach Levi how to say more with his hands. We never know when he’s full because he just keeps eating and eating and eating and seems to never stop. Well, yesterday, he finally got the hang of it. Turns out, he really never is full….

More Please from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Fourteen Months!

2009-02-05T22:01:00.001-06:00

Tonight I came home to a sleepy Levi who looked like he had just got up from his nap. He was standing over by his table that makes all the noise and bouncing up and down to the music as he often does. He looked over the couch at me when I came in and gave me a big smile. I just love it when he does that every time I come in the door. He always comes crawling over and then stands up by pulling on my pant legs and says “oh oh oh” up at me until I pick him up. Then I usually show him my badge from the hospital or my cell phone and carry him around a bit. It’s really great. Meribeth took some really great pictures today:

Don’t have to imagine what he’s doing back there!

Our little baby turned 14 months today! He’s growing up so fast!

New Video

2009-01-27T07:15:00.001-06:00

Meribeth made me this special video with pictures from this past year + in Levi’s life. I really like it.

Daddy Video from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Yesterday, when I came home from the hospital, Levi wanted to play with my cell phone like he usually does. This time though, when I would give it to him with the screen dark, he would hand it right back to me and put it in my hands. If I would turn it on, he would take it right back with a big smile on his face. When I would turn it off when it was in his hands, he would quickly put it back on my lap until I would turn it on again. It was pretty cute. We’ve come a long ways:

Fun on the car.

2009-01-24T09:02:00.001-06:00

Chatting while driving. from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Levi has found a new word to repeat all day long. Even when we ask him to say mama, he immediately says dadadadada. It’s pretty cute.

First time sledding!

2009-01-18T21:08:00.001-06:00

This weekend was supposed to have nice weather and plenty of sun. A nice break from the sub-sub-sub zero temperatures we’ve been having thanks to the Alberta Clipper that came through. So, we decided to borrow a sled from some friends at church and hit the slopes today. The temp on the sign outside our deck said 25F so we went for it. We got Levi all bundled in snow pants, sweater, winter coat, hat, mittens and scarf and headed to the sledding hill near our house. Our parking is underground so we don’t experience the weather until we step outside of the car. So, when we got there and stepped out, we realized it was really cold! The wind was howling, but there were plenty of kids sledding so we thought we might as well give it a shot since we’ve made this much of an effort!

As you can see, he can’t see. :)

Really getting into this sledding thing!

Picture taken post-sledding experience as demonstrated below.

Hitting the slopes from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

We were pretty crazy going through with it seeing how cold it was, but it was fun. We’re going to give it another go one of these next few days when it’s not so cold and we can stay longer!

Blackberry shake

2009-01-17T20:19:00.001-06:00

We made blackberry shakes the other night while we were watching TV. As usual Levi was clamoring all over us to have some, so we obliged.

He wouldn’t stop asking for bites until both of our glasses were finished. It’s pretty safe to say he’ll eat anything he can fit in his mouth, including the wood finishing buttons from our chairs, the cap to the chapstick, rocks from our shoes in the entry-way, seeds from lemons he finds in the carpet, and the hanger ribbon from Meribeth’s sweater!

You wouldn’t believe it if I told you..

2009-01-15T22:01:00.001-06:00

This morning I woke up and got ready to go to the hospital and saw this outside our deck door:

While walking from my car to the hospital, in the span of 3 minutes, my nose hairs froze to each other, the sidewalls of my nostrils froze together, and the moisture off my chin accumulated in my gotee and froze together so I couldn’t move my chin freely. It was cold!!

- Seth

It’s been a picture taking day!

2009-01-14T22:12:00.001-06:00

Levi and I didn’t go anywhere today. When we got up this morning it was –22 and never warmed up past –7, so who could blame us! But, it was nice and sunny so our apartment was very bright and. . . perfect for picture taking! I’m kind-of obsessed with taking pictures of Levi. He’s just changing so fast and I love the thrill of satisfaction when I can say ,“that’s a good one!” and the challenge of keeping up after a FAST crawling Levi! I’ve also been really inspired by a local photographer – her website is amazing and I would take Levi there in a heartbeat. BUT, it’s insanely expensive. It’s ok though. I’m having a blast trying to get the perfect shot! Here are some of my favorites from today.

Yawning like mom and dad.

2009-01-09T20:17:00.001-06:00

Yawning like mom and dad. from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Thinker

2009-01-05T22:22:00.000-06:00

Contemplating the meaning of life and what might be for dinner.

Fun in the Snow

2009-01-03T17:37:00.001-06:00

We have about 6 inches of snow on the deck due to the vast amount of snow Fargo has received this winter. Actually, it’s the most snow they’ve ever received up to this point in the winter. Something like 36” during the month of December. I guess we picked a good winter to be here! We’ve had 10, 20, 30 and even 40+ below temperatures with the wind. It’s crazy how warm 0 feels when it’s been that way for a while! Today it was 16 outside, so we decided to bundle up Levi and put him in the drift on our deck. He wasn’t so sure about that cold, fluffy stuff.

Next year, I’m sure he’ll enjoy it quite a bit more. Hopefully, we can get some sledding in this year too!

Hospital Visit

2008-12-30T22:51:00.000-06:00

Meribeth and Levi visited me at the hospital a couple days ago when I was on call. It's sure nice to see some familiar faces when I'm there 24 hours plus. As you can see, Levi was impressed. :)

Happy Birthday Meribeth

2008-12-16T21:32:00.001-06:00

I was on call this morning, but, when I was done with the hospital at noon I ran over to Wal-Mart to get a present for Meribeth that I had shipped site-to-store. Bad idea. I stood there for 15 minutes waiting for someone to help me and finally was able to pick up her chopper that she wanted. When I got home, she had lunch on the table for me which was so nice of her on her birthday. She had taken this picture today, which I thought was so funny:

She told me she checked to make sure he was still breathing, which seems appropriate! He must have been sleepy!

I got a couple hour nap as I had a pretty rough night (about an hour and a half of sleep), and then we got ready and dropped Levi off with one of my co-interns and his wife. We went out for supper at an upscale Mexican place downtown Fargo called Juano’s. It was very tasty, and nice to be able to talk without spooning Levi food every other sentence. Since Meribeth was the birthday girl, she earned us a cheesecake to split for dessert. Afterwards, we walked outside in the bitter cold to a local boutique with all sorts of antique children’s toys, vintage baskets, fancy soaps and stuff. It was a great night. Happy 28th Birthday Meribeth!

Brrr it’s winter.

2008-12-14T13:58:00.001-06:00

Seth and I woke up this morning to the Blizzard of 2008 in Fargo. He braved it into the hospital, jumped up on the median on the way, plowed through some drifts, but made it safely. He was there just a couple hours to round on a few patients, but then had to turn around and come back! He got all the way to our apartment, but got stuck in a snow drift outside the underground garage. So, Seth and I bundled up and went out to get the car unstuck while Levi took a nap.

We don’t have a shovel to our names, so we used the only thing we could think of…..a cookie sheet - - to dig ourselves out. I was the driver and Seth dug us out. He would take breaks and come in the car and his eyelashes had huge icicles on them and were partially frozen shut at the corners! We got inside and checked the weather and it is –40 F with the wind. No wonder!

Back to the Blogging – Take 2!

2008-12-09T21:20:00.001-06:00

A little while back, Seth updated our blog and we were determined to keep writing on here. Well, that obviously didn’t happen so we will try this again! So much has changed since our last post! Levi turned ONE this past Friday – I can hardly believe it! I keep playing the '”last year at this time” little game in my mind as I recall all the joy and excitement of his birth : the day my sister Katie came to help us out and be there for me during labor, going to the hospital to be induced, the pain of labor, the joy and awe I had when he finally came at 10:40 am, the day we went home, the day my parents came to meet him --just so many memories that I relive now as the one yr mark comes and goes. To say it’s amazing how that little newborn that I held one year ago is now a laughing, crawling, 28 pound little man is such an understatement!

Just two weeks old above.

Look at him now!

New Doc.

2008-07-06T15:59:00.001-05:00

There’s a new doc in town. He will diagnose you but won’t be able to tell you what it is.

Noises.

2008-06-30T11:57:00.002-05:00

Goodbye Grandma and Grandpa.

2008-06-26T18:47:00.001-05:00

Today we said goodbye to G & G F. as they left to go back to GR. It was so fun to have them here for the week. Levi really took to them and would smile whenever he even looked at them. It was such a relief for us as he doesn’t see them very often except for Skype chats.

After they left we are left to deal with “I don’t want to lay on the floor and not be played with.” :) It’ll be ok. He’ll get through it.

Free Thomas the Train from Toys R’ Us.

2008-06-20T19:40:00.001-05:00

Toys R’ Us is giving away a free Thomas the Train in-store only from 6/19 to 7/5 if you click here and print off the coupon! Can’t beat that!

Silly faces.

2008-06-19T13:24:00.000-05:00

Silly faces. from Seth Anderson on Vimeo.

Swinging in the park.

2008-06-19T13:22:00.001-05:00

I love this picture we took of Levi at the park. It was his first time in a swing. As you can see, one arm is going through the leg hole, but, oh well! He had fun.

Sitting up.

2008-06-17T21:14:00.001-05:00

Levi is doing such a good job lately of sitting on his own. He’ll occasionally fall to the left or right, but he’s really caught onto this concept in the last week or so.

This also mean less back breaking bath times. It’s so nice that he can sit on his own in that slippery plastic tub. It helps to have him sit on a wash cloth too. Today he seemed to actually be enjoying his bath rather than tolerating it like he used to.

Back to the blogging thing.

2008-06-16T17:21:00.001-05:00

We decided to pick up blogging again. We haven’t written anything on here since the day Levi was born. It really is amazing how fast he is growing and the new things he is doing every day. For instance, this morning we found Levi in his bed on his belly swatting at his bears. He hates his tummy. It was pretty cute.

He’s getting to be quite the little man. We love his smiles and his giggles and especially the way he holds his toes. It’s incredible to think he’s going to be a walking, talking little being in just a little while.

Levi is Here!

2007-12-05T15:05:00.000-06:00

39 Weeks!

2007-12-02T11:44:00.000-06:00

Our Little Guy Has Fat Rolls!

2007-11-28T23:01:00.000-06:00

38 Weeks

2007-11-23T15:24:00.000-06:00

VOTE IN OUR POLL!!

2007-11-23T10:42:00.001-06:00

Baby Class

2007-11-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

Tonight, Seth had the joy of experiencing the "sympathy belly" during baby class. What a good sport he was! Check out those curves!

37 Weeks - Amazing!

2007-11-20T16:40:00.001-06:00

Meribeth's Shower

2007-11-11T20:38:00.001-06:00

36 Weeks - Only 1 month to go!

2007-11-10T22:21:00.001-06:00

35 Weeks - We better get the baby room ready!

2007-11-02T21:33:00.001-05:00

34 Weeks :)

2007-10-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

South Dakota countryside on our trip back from Fargo.

33 Weeks! Wow!

2007-10-18T19:37:00.000-05:00

30 Weeks

2007-09-30T22:23:00.000-05:00

Seth came to visit me while I was visiting my friend in Ohio!

28 weeks and only 12 more to go!

2007-09-16T13:15:00.000-05:00

27 weeks

2007-09-09T16:43:00.001-05:00

25 weeks!

2007-08-26T14:35:00.001-05:00

24 week picture and the new nursery!

2007-08-18T14:31:00.000-05:00

Meribeth's parents came this weekend. They were so gracious to purchase our crib for us and help us get our nursery set up. Mom and I found some great deals on curtains and bedding at Pottery Barn Kids and had lots of fun making the nursery cute. Having the nursery somewhat put together makes me all the more excited for our little boy's arrival! :)

23 weeks and counting!

2007-08-09T19:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a pretty big milestone, especially for Seth! I was laying in bed and Seth was able to feel our little guy kick through my tummy! And now when I look down at my bare tummy, I can see my skin jump up! It's so great to see and feel that because it reassures us that he is alive and kicking (quite literally! ;) ) We continue to pray for his health and growth and are getting so excited for his arrival!

Baby Boy Pictures!

2007-07-30T18:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry these are a little late. We've had them for over a week now!

21 weeks and Happy Birthday Seth!

2007-07-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

Seth turned 27 today, meanwhile little guy turned 21 weeks gestastion. Seth's steak at Texas Roadhouse was 12 oz. -- just 2 oz. less than baby boy!

19 Weeks

2007-07-16T19:28:00.000-05:00

I can feel little one continue to move around more and more each day. I got some really cute crib sheets tonight at Pottery Barn kids. One boyish and one girlish. We'll return one of them next week at this time! It'll be so cool to call it little girl or little boy. My tummy sure isn't very big for having a small zucchini inside!

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T21:47:00.001-05:00

Meribeth and I had a wonderful time in Clear Lake for the 4th of July.

We saw Bill and Hillary at the Clear Lake parade and even walked by the lake. Our little one is the size of a large onion this week. It's still hard to believe that we're going to have a baby in 5+ months!

17 Weeks!

2007-07-01T17:01:00.000-05:00

Felt some flutters in church today. I guess little one likes praising the Lord too!

16 weeks!

2007-06-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

15 weeks!

2007-06-14T20:12:00.000-05:00

Feeling much better now and starting to show! I think I felt some flutters/bubbles that might be the baby moving but it only happened a few times in the last week and a half so I'm not sure if it's really little one or not!

13 weeks!

2007-06-02T13:40:00.001-05:00

Morning sickness is dwindling. My tummy is expanding. Little one is 1 oz today.

12 week OB visit

2007-06-01T06:19:00.000-05:00

Meribeth and I went to our 12 week OB visit this week on Tuesday. Our doctor was super nice and really knew her stuff. It didn't take too long of searching around and she found a little fast heart beat! 163 beats per minute. It was really cool. It made everything very real for us. We are so thankful that everything has gone smoothly thus far and continue to pray that God will help our little lime to grow healthy and strong. Meribeth is feeling less nauseous this week and I'm so glad. She's still hungry all the time but that's ok!

11 Week Picture

2007-05-17T05:05:00.000-05:00

Not 10 weeks

2007-05-15T22:27:00.000-05:00

In lieu of the 10 week picture that we never got around to posting...I present to you through the amazing technology of 2007, a little glimpse of what Meribeth will look like in about 28 weeks! Oh, and also, our little one is the size of a fig this week.

9 weeks!

2007-05-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

Here's my 9 week picture!

Seth here again with another update. This week our little one is the size of a grape. It's going to grow a lot in the next 7 months!

8 Weeks and counting!

2007-04-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

5/8ths of an inch!

2007-04-23T16:14:00.000-05:00

Hey, Seth here - found out today that our little one is the size of a raspberry. And, not only that, but it has developed arm and leg buds, hand plates, eye lids and today eye pigment! That's amazing at only 7+ weeks!

7 Weeks

2007-04-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

Feeling those symptoms . . . loud and clear!!

2007-04-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

So, I know now for sure that I am NOT one of the very few that will not experience morning/all day sickness! I woke up this morning with an internal alarm that sounded, "Put food in me or you will throw up!!" and so I went downstairs as fast as I could and grabbed what I could get! Sad part is, that even after all that I still didn't feel completely myself. I never really do anymore. I'm always either starving beyond any hunger I've ever had, nauseous or just blah feeling. Hard to describe. BUT the great thing is is that all of these not so pleasant symptoms are proof that I do have a little life growing in me which is amazing and wonderful and I cannot even believe it!! Was sooooo close to telling Katie today. Man, it's getting harder not to tell her! I don't know why but it's hardest to not tell her. But I'm so glad I didn't :) HUGE NEWS: Seth and I sold our townhouse over the weekend!! We officially signed the offer last night and are so excited!! ALSO Seth and I looked at a condo for rent today and then drove by a townhouse that looks PERFECT to bring our little one home to and I get to look at it tomorrow at noon with Dru. The rent is spendy but it's just like what we have now only bigger and has a 2 stall garage. Can't wait to see the inside!

Six Weeks In!

2007-04-12T23:25:00.000-05:00

Well, today I hit 6 weeks! I felt more nauseous than ever today. I felt like I was eating around the clock. I talked with some really good friends that gave me good advice from their pregnancies. Well, I better get to bed, me and my little one are tiiiirrreed.

Sesame Seed

2007-04-08T19:22:00.000-05:00

We have known our news for a week now and spent Sat night and Sunday with Seth's parents for Easter. We wanted to tell them so badly but managed to keep our secret :) We found out this past week that our baby is the size of a sesame seed and mom just so happened to be using them in her green bean dish. So I sprinkled a few in my hand to show Seth just how big our baby is. It was funny because both of us knew why I was showing him, but his parents were probably like, "Wonder what the big deal about the sesame seeds is!" Also, at dinner on Sat night, mom and dad served us what they called "unpasteurized honey" all the way from Europe. Seth shared that he learned in his Peds rotation that babies are not to eat it because it can cause some real issues for them. So, I immediately thought, "I shouldn't eat any!" and so I asked Seth (as casually as I could) if I should eat some of it (kind-of like saying "do you think I'd like it") and he played right along but we both smiled and had the hardest time getting back to a straight face. AND I've given up coffee but Dad knows I love his coffee so I had to turn him down in the most polite and "everything's fine" way that I could. Also, we couldn't help but smirk a little to each other when Mom asked what she should be looking for at garage sales for us! Man it is tough keeping this a secret BUT it won't be too much longer before we can tell and we can't wait for that day!!

5 weeks!

2007-04-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

Today I'm 5 weeks preggers and feeling great! The only issue that I have is the most extreme hunger EVER -- even just an hour after eating big. It's crazy but I love the fact that it reminds me I'm eating for two now :)! Talked to my parents today. I can't wait to tell them and have no idea how they will react. It's so exciting! I'm doing good keeping this a secret -- so far I've only told two friends that have been sworn to secrecy ;) Went into Motherhood Maternity and got two shirts on sale for this winter. That was so cool envisioning where my big pregnant belly would be! Man this is fun!!

First appoinment is scheduled!

2007-04-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

I got our 8 week appointment scheduled today with the OB doctors Seth rotated with. It is April 27th at 9 am and Seth is hoping he will be able to go with me. I felt pregnant today -- felt kinda nauseous this morning and was running to the bathroom to pee a ton! I tried to be good today and drink lots of water, but that is tough for me to do. I just can't drink when I'm not thirsty! Seth and I are still enjoying taking our 3 mile trail walks. Below is a picture Seth took that shows the beauty of our walks :) Anyways, not much else new to report. It's only day two of finding out so of course I'm still excited, but OH BOY (or girl) am I!!

Two Little Lines

2007-04-01T13:07:00.000-05:00

After not even three full months of "trying", Seth and I are officially pregnant!! For the past several days, I have had some symptoms that made me think I could be, but I can honestly say that this morning's test was still a BIG and HAPPY surprise! I don't think that the news has fully "set in" for either of us. We went to ABF and church today and survived our first test of not spilling the news to our friends there. However, I know that this will be a tough secret for me to keep as I tend to wear EVERYTHING on my sleeve! The fact that we will be parents THIS YEAR (Seth estimated the due date to be Dec 8) is really hard to believe. We have wanted a baby for such a long time now and can hardly wait to hold our little one in our arms. I am 4 1/2 weeks along and feel great! I will keep praying that I continue to feel this way, but know that morning sickness and all those other not so fun symptoms are very common. For now, I just can't keep from smiling as I think about all the changes that are to come. Seth and I are so very blessed and give God the glory for this new little life I'm carrying! What an AWESOME GOD we serve!!