Avery Nichole Anderson

We knew that having a girl would add some drama to our lives, but we had hoped that wouldn't be for another 13 years when she became a teenager.  But Avery wanted to initiate us early.  Avery Nichole Anderson was born at 3:58 PM on September 11 at Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, VA.  I had hoped to avoid the 9/11 birthday, but there was no getting around it!  She is such a tiny little one at 6 lbs 5 ozs and 18 3/4 inches long.  So here is a recap of her story:  After my water broke at my regular doctor's visit the day after my due date (the best possible place to have your water break in public at least), we made the short trip to the hospital.  After being at the hospital for only about an hour and a half my doctor started to notice some variables in Avery's heart rate (probably a sign that the cord was being compressed for some reason), which continued to get worse even though we were still pretty early in labor.  After trying several things to improve her heart rate, including an amnioinfusion, which adds more fluid back to the uterus to help add more cusion and hopefully take some pressure off the cord, her heart rate continued to drop to the 50's with each contraction and was taking longer and longer to recover.  So things then moved really quickly and we were rushed to the OR.  I hadn't had an epidural yet and Avery's heart rate was looking bad enough that my doctor decided we didn't have time for the epidural, so they had to do it under general anesthesia.  The happy ending is, about 5 mintues later Avery made her entrance and she is beautiful, healthy and perfect and I am feeling much better, and so blessed to have a healthy baby!  Our doctor said she didn't have a cord around her neck or anything, but it was wrapped around her shoulders, so that may have been the cause of her dropping heart rate.  It was a very scary experience for a little bit there, but we are so grateful that Avery is healthy and happy!  Ethan is loving his baby sister and the first thing he did when he came to see her was give her a kiss and since her little hand was clenched into a fist he said "I think she wants a poundsies mom" (you know the little fist pound).  He is such a cutie and a great big brother.

Ethan's First Day of Preschool

We are doing a coop preschool this year with a group of about 5 moms and 6 kids.  Basically, we each take turn teaching from a curriculum we purchased.  The kids are in "school" 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hours.  It was so fun to see Ethan headed off to school with his little backpack, but a little emotional because it is a reminder of just how big he's getting.  I just don't know how I will cope when he heads off to kindergarten in a few years!  My baby is getting big!

Prince William County Fair

This was our 2nd trip out to the Prince William County Fair and as long as we live in this area it will definitely be a tradition!  It is so much fun.  The best part, as you may recall from last year, was again the demolition derby!  Ethan loved it even more this year, seeing all of the cars crashing.  It was alot of fun with several cars catching on fire and on car somehow managing to continue driving despite a tire that had fallen off.  Love it.  We met some of our friends there and Ethan and JP checked out all the animals and we all downed a good 3 days worth of calories in fried food and funnel cakes.  Good thing the fair only comes once a year!

Cooking with Mom

Ethan is such a big helper these days.  He loves to be involved with everything I do and he is just so cute!  This day he strapped on his cute little apron (thanks aunt Jaime!) and helped me make a carrot cake.  But of course his favorite part is licking the mixer after making the icing.

One Last Family Vacation!

We figured this would be our last opportunity for a little vacay with just the 3 of us, so we decided to drive out to Rehoboth Beach, DE and enjoy the water and sand for a day.  The waves were crazy this day because of a hurricane out in the ocean, but the weather was ideal, not too hot, not cold.  Ethan had a blast of course playing in the sand.  He absolutely loves playing in sand and dirt and so the chance to hang out all day playing in the sand is like a dream come true for him!  

Girls Night Out

We had a fun girls night out in honor of our good friend Kristy, who is leaving us to move to Russia! We will miss her so much!

Our Birthday Boy!

I can't believe Ethan is 3! Here are a few pictures from his birthday party, which we had at the Water Mine (our favorite place this summer). It is a fun water park with lots of slides just about Ethan's size. The kids all had a great time and it was such a great way to celebrate Ethan's big day, with some of his favorite friends!