Oh BOY.....He's here!

We are so excited to announce that our sweet baby boy Jace Bennett was born on Monday September 22nd at 11:18 am. He weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Here's how it all happened....... I was scheduled to be induced the morning of the 22nd. Something I was not excited about at all. I really wanted to go on my own. So I was very excited when at 3:00 in the morning I woke up with contractions. My Dr. had told me that if I started on my own at any time to get the the hospital very quickly because they wanted to start the antibiotics as soon as possible (for the Group B Strep). So as soon as I knew they were real contractions, I called my mom and as soon as she got to our house we left for the hospital. We got there about 5 am. They took me straight to a room and started my I.V and got the antibiotics going before they even checked me. When they did finally check me I was dilated to a 7 and was completely thinned out. The nurses were a little worried because it looked like I was going to go pretty fast and wouldn't get the medicine I needed. Well within about 30 minutes of arrival my contractions pretty much stopped. I would only have one like every 8 or 10 minutes. In the mean time of all this happening I got a epidural. This is something else I was not excited about. I kind of wanted to try natural, but man the contractions reminded me of why I had epidurals with my other kids. They came into do my epidural and I just didn't feel good about it, but let the Dr. do it anyways. Should have listened.... It felt really different and not right. The Dr. was extremely fast. Well my left leg got tingly and then went numb, but that is it. Nothing else. So I told the nurse who told me to go to my right side and pushed the button for more medicine. The left leg went even more numb and nothing else. So we waited to see if it would slowly take effect. So since my contractions pretty much stopped they were not to hard to handle which turned out to be a blessing because it bought me the time to get all my medicine in my IV. As soon as the IV was done (a little after 10) my Doctor came in, broke my water to see if it would jump start my contractions again, and oh man did it ever. Almost instantly I was having major contractions, and yes my epidural never took effect. So now I am getting the natural birth I kind of wanted with a totally numb dead leg that I couldn't even wiggle my toes on. They called the Anesthesiologist in to see what he could do, he tried pulling the line out a little and said that if that didn't work within 10 minutes and I hadn't started pushing that they could repeat the epidural. That Dr. must of though I was crazy if I was going to let him anywhere near my back again. I said screw it and we went on with labor. I dilated to a 10 like that and once I started pushing (which sure made the contractions not hurt as bad) 3 contractions later I had him. WOW! That natural stuff is hard, but I am glad I got to experience it at least once. Jace is happy and healthy has no affects of the Group B Strep. He is such a cutie and is such a good baby. He is easy going, but when he is hungry he wants to eat right then and he lets you know about it. He already sleeps really well for a newborn. The kids just love him and are always wanting to hold him and kiss on him. Things are starting to settle down now a little and we just love our new little guy!
Here is Taelor and Makinley holding Jace for the first time. They were so excited to see him.
Dennin got some help from Dad with Jace. Tyler is showing him how to be soft. I don't think Dennin even knows the word soft. He is such a boy and it will take some time and work. He is doing really well with him for the most part.
Jace decided to open his eyes for me to get a little picture of him. Sorry I don't know how to turn the picture around.
Here is my little angel having a little nap. He is 5 days old here. He is so much fun. I just love you baby Jace!

Prego Update

Well it has been awhile since I posted anything, and nothing is really going on here in the Anderson home so you all get a prego update since that is about the only thing on my mind right now. I am officially 38 weeks and 3 days. If I make it past today this will be the longest I have been pregnant. All of my other kids would have been born by now. I am not one to complain about being pregnant because I have great healthy pregnancys, but I am DONE! I am ready for the next phase. I think my house is the cleanest it has been in a long time, because I am constantly cleaning trying to help this baby along. At my Dr. appointment today I measured at a 3 (which I have been for 3 WEEKS now) and 80% thinned. I also tested positive for Group B Strep. I didn't even know what it was. I have never had it before, so that throws a whole nother kink into my plans. Not something I am very excited about. So now if I don't go on my own by Monday my Dr. wants to induce me. Which really I am ok with except that I really don't want to be induced and I really don't want to wait till Monday! So all of you think positive thoughts for me this weekend because this waiting game is really getting on my nerves! Hopefully the next post will be a happy, nice, upbeat, new baby arrival post. Now I am off to go get a Pepsi free and some chocolate.........

First Day of School

Taelor started First grade today! She has been counting down the days for a while. She was so excited. She was also a little nervous about being gone all day, then she reminds herself that she gets 3 recesses and lunch and she gets over it pretty quick! We walked her to school and I dont think we could have gotten there fast enough for her. It was so cute to see her go right into her room, and find her desk with her name on it. I had to pry a hug and kiss out of her. When I got home the phone rang and it was Taelors teacher telling me that she was a little overwhelmed about the lunch choices for the day. I started laughing so hard. Tae is known to be a picky eater. She put Tae on the phone and I asked her what was wrong, she said she didnt want either of the options for lunch and didnt know what to do because we didnt pack her a lunch. I told her not to worry about it and I would bring her a lunch over and put it in her backpack. She was a happy camper after that and enjoyed the rest of her day. Her teacher was so sweet to her about it. Taelor is going to love her. She had a fantastic day and cant wait to go back. I love you Taelor!
Here is Taelor after school with Zach, a friend of hers from our ward. Our familys are friends and they get along great together.

Paint Job

We made our very first furniture purchase of our marriage! We bought a new couch and love seat and also a new bedroom set. The day after we bought the couch we thought, (I thought) "Wouldn't it be nice to repaint the family room and our bedroom before our new furniture arrives?" Repainting the upstairs is something we have wanted to do for a long time and now we had a great excuse. So we cranked it out in two days. We decided to three-tone the family room. I love the way it turned out. It looks like a new house. We didn't quite make it to the bed room yet. We are still deciding on what color to use. So those pictures will come later. So here is the before and after pictures of the family room. Now I need a new rug and new things to hang on the walls that match our new room a little better.

Love the Mountains

We went up to the cabin again. I just cant get enough of this place. My parents came up along with my brother Jesse and his wife Jody and Devin and his girlfriend Hayley. We stayed over night and had a great time. My kids love going for rides on the 4-wheelers and seeing the deer and moose. Here is Ty with Kinners going for a ride to look for animals. Dad got to ride Grandpas brand new 4-wheeler. Lucky guy! This is Grandpas new toy and it is just for him. My dad is the only other person who got to ride it.
Sitting around the campfire making biscuts on a stick. Our family tradition. Taelor is getting really good at making her own and doesn't like help anymore.
I caught this cute moment with the kids actually being nice to each other. Taelor was out on the deck and had a pop. Dennin and Makinley wanted some and without being asked Tae took turns giving the other two drinks from her can of pop. It was one of those "Awww" moments for a mom. Maybe I am doing something right after all! They were so cute. I just sat and watched them for a while. It was so sweet. Hopefully this isnt our last time up to the cabin for the year but with the new little one coming it could be. Thanks again Grandpa and Grandma!

Pool Party

My Aunt Jana has a pool in her back yard and lets us use it whenever we want. It is so nice to have family connections! All of my family got together and we packed a lunch and went to the pool. The kids are pretty fearless now in the water. The girls swim all over the place with their arm floaties on. Taelor even practiced some things she learned in swimming lessons. Its nice that they can swim around on their own and don't need my constant help, swimming isn't one of my favorite things to say the least. That way I got to enjoy soaking up some rays instead. All the boys got into a fierce basketball game. My dad was knocking down shots left and right! Its nice to see Dad put the other guys in their place every now and then and let them know he still has it! (Not that he ever lost it)

Summer Fun

This summer we decided to put Taelor is swimming lessons. She is a scardy cat in the water. She hates to get her face wet. She did such a great job. By the end of her lessons she was putting her face completely under the water and was floating on her back! She loved it and I think it helped with her fear of the water a little. Good job Tae!
My kids love to play or swim in the water so we did that this summer as much as possible. Here is just one of the times we played in the water at Grandmas house. My mom got out some cups for them to use to water the flowers with and it turned into a big water fight thanks to Dennin.
Taelors face says it all as she is hit from behind by Makinley! Kinners was laughing so hard. I think the kids got more water on the grass then they did each other. They would chase each other with full glasses and by the time they would throw there cups of water on each other they didn't have much left in them.

Grandpa came out to watch the fun and sneaky little Dennin thought it would be funny to throw a cup on Grandpa. My dad jumped out of the way just in time. The look on Dennins face and his little naughty laugh was so funny. I just wish I had caught it on camera. Grandpa avoided getting too wet and went back inside to avoid further damage!

4th of July Fun

Its that time again for my favorite holiday. I love the 4th! To start the day off, instead of going to the parade like we usually do we went to the South Ogden splash park. It was my little niece Ava's 1 year birthday party. I forgot to take my camera so you are just going to have to use your imagination! The kids had a blast. Then we took the kids home for a little nap and I headed down to my little bro Jaxon's 3-on-3 basketball tournament in West Point. (again forgetting my camera). His team took the championship! Way to go Jax! Then we all went to good Ol' Fisher Park in Clearfield to watch the best firework show around. I LOVE fireworks. We went early and got our spots and had some pizza. We got some card games going and Bocci and alot of visiting done. My whole family was there as well as Tylers parents and one brother and some good friends of ours in our ward that just moved here from out of state. They were impressed!
Here we are hanging out in our perfect spot. My family is huge card game fans and we play any chance we get. My mom looks so happy because of course she winning! (she always wins, its not fair) The fireworks were as always FANTASTIC! I was enjoying them so much I couldn't even look away to grab my camera to take some shots. What a great ending to a fun day!

Cabin Fever

A few weeks ago we went up to the cabin for the first time this summer. This is my all time favorite place to be. It was so beautiful up there. All the wild flowers were in bloom and it is still very green. We cruised around on out little ride "Jenny" (that is the name my Grandparents gave it) looking for deer and moose. The kids had a great time. My mom and brother Devin also came up. This was Devins first time to the cabin since he came home from his mission. He was so anxious to get up there!!
This is the kids enjoying some time in the water. They got soaked, and the water was FREEZING, but they still had a ball. They threw rocks and splashed and still my mom managed to stay dry. She is amazing!
My Grandpa and Grandma Schiffman are so kind and generous with their cabin. They love it when we come up and were even a little sad that we were not able to stay the night this time. They love our kids and are so good to them. My kids just love them too! Thanks Grandma and Gramps for the awesome time!! We love you.
Here is "Big D" with "little d". Devin loved taking Dennin on the 4-wheeler. Dennin loved to pretend he was driving and most of all he loved seeing all the deer. This 4-wheelers name is "Big Mac" and as you can see from the picture it is not "Big" at all. It is probably as old as me but man it still gets around and it is perfect for the kids because they can hold onto the handlebars too. What a fun time we had. Cant wait till we go back!

Layton Park

Last night we decided to go to Layton Park and have some fun. My brother Jesse came with us. First we had a good time playing on the toys and swings. Then we went down to feed the ducks. The kids had a great time. We had to keep reminding Kinley and Dennin to throw small pieces of bread because sometimes they would just let the whole slice go flying! It was a great evening.

Taelor, Makinley and Dennin enjoying the slides

What a cute bunch!
Taelor and Makinley chasing the ducks.
The kids love feeding the ducks. Uncle Jesse did a good job keeping the kids out of the water!

Makinleys Birthday

Makinley turned 4!! I cant believe how big she is getting. She is a pill when it comes to taking her picture, she either wont smile, pulls a face or will not look at the camera. These were the best shots I could get from her. She had her birthday while we were in Disneyland so when we got back we had a little family party for her.
Here she is with a princess book. She LOVES the princesses.
This was taken in our hotel in Disneyland on her birthday. We did take a couple of presents there with us. She is opening her new flip-flops. She absolutely loves flip-flops. She has a hard time saying her "f " so she calls them her blip-blops.
Because of her love of flip-flops I decided to make her a flip-flop cake. They turned out pretty good. She thought they were awesome. I cant figure out how to turn the picture yet either!
Kinley blowing out her birthday cake. Happy Birthday Makinley, I love you!

Messed up!

I am still trying to get the hang of this posting thing. All of my disney posts are backwards, so I know it looks weird but I will figure it someday!! Have patience with me and enjoy the mess!

Here is our little family in front of the Castle. This was on our last day in the park.
The whole Reid clan in Disneyland. What a blast we had!
So Makinley and I had our birthdays while we were at Disneyland. Makinley turned 4!! Well if you have a birthday there they give you a pin to wear that says your name and that it is your birthday. So Makinley got some special treatment that day. We were in California Adventure and Woody came along while we were trying to decide what to do and he gave Kinley a high-5 and saw her pin and he grab her in the stroller and took off with her. I managed to get in front of them for a second to take a picture. So we followed Woody pushing Makinley and he took us to a back door and let us in this play that was about to start. So we stayed and watched it and after it was over, Woody came off the stage, grabbed Kinners again and took off with her over to Cinderella (who was also in the play with him) He put Taelor and Makinley right in the front of the line of all the kids and them brought them back to me and gave them a big hug! It was so awesome!! He was so cute with her.
The Reids taking a picture in front of the "R" at California Adventure. What a trip!

Here are the kids with Pluto. Dennin was so happy to see him. He had a Pluto shirt on the day before but we never saw him.
Ok, so we went and saw the Princesses. Snow White was the first one. As soon as Dennin saw her, he ran too her and hugged her and would not let go! It was so cute. I couldn't believe it. She was so sweet to him she just hugged him back and talked really soft to him, and finally I had to practically pry him off she gave him a big kiss on the cheek. He just stared at her the rest of the time we were with the other princesses. (there were three at a time there) Well on our last Princess, Mulan, Dennin was still eyeing Snow White and no one had come around the corner to meet her yet (she was the first princess in the line) she waved for him to come back over and he took off and hugged her again. I was laughing so hard! I don't know what it was about her but Dennin sure liked her. Funny thing is, we never watch the Snow White movie either! Anyways it was quite the experience, and here I thought he wouldn't even want to be there with the girls!
Dennins kiss on the cheek from Snow White, which lasted all day!
All the kids with Snow White.

Disneyland Fun

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Disneyland. We had a blast!! We went with my family; my Mom and Dad, Jesse and his wife Jodi, Devin and Jaxon. It was nice to have more adults than kids! We spent three days in Disneyland and California Adventure. The kids had a ball as you can see. Taelor was tall enough to ride on almost everything. Her favorites were the Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain, Soarin California and meeting the Princesses. She HATED Tower or Terror. She was so brave to try all the rides at least once!! Makinley also loved the Matterhorn and Pirates. Her favorite by far was meeting the Princesses, especially Sleeping Beauty. She rode on all the little kid rides and loved them too. Dennin wasn't as sure about the rides. They made him a little nervous sometimes. He was a great sport though and went on them all. He really loved seeing all the characters and giving them a big hug. He even got a little crush on Snow White. The weather was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better time.
Here is Taelor, Makinley and Dennin posing on the "O" in front of California Adventure.
Don't ya just love his face!!