eww gross...

Gage ate a dead cockroach today. I got half of it out of his mouth, and boy was he mad. I really do feed him! But.. apparently he prefers other food. ewwwww....

And the final decision is...

We are headed "up north"! Derek is accepting a job with a great firm up there, so we will be moving next year! I have mixed emotions about the move... most of our family is in the southern part of the state, so it will be hard to move away from them, but I have met LOTS of great families that are in the northern part of the state, so it will be fun to live near them. We also have a little bit of family living up there right now, so it will be so good to be able to see them more!

Get comfortable... it's a long one!

So, I'm super sad. I have tried so many times to upload some of the CUTEST pictures and they just won't work! Has anyone ever had this happen before? I guess I am going to have to try a few more times and then maybe I will have to start a new blog or something if it doesn't work? If you have any advice... please let me know! I want it to work!

Just over a week ago, Gage and I headed up to Salt Lake for some appointments he had at PCMC. We left early Monday morning so we could get to Emily's house for a get-together! Of course, this is one of the things I wanted to post pictures of because this was about the cutest bunch of kids I have ever seen! If you look on Emily's blog, she posted pictures of it all! It was so much fun, thanks again for the great times everyone that was there! And especially Emily for having us over. I can't wait for next time!

Another kodak moment I have some adorable pictures from is the sleep study that night. Last time we had a sleep study, Gage was soooo good. The nurses kept complimenting him and were loving it! So this time... I was worried. I know Gage sure has grown up since then and knows what he likes... and DOESN'T like! I was more than pleased when he acted like an angel again! Yes, he was trying to crawl all over the bed as they were sticking all the annoying things on him, but he wasn't fussing or crying or getting angry at all! The first half of the night, they had the room quite warm, so Gage didn't sleep very well. Once I had them cool it off, the rest of the night was alright... I guess as good as it could be during a sleep study! All those annoying wires, I don't think I would cooperate as well as he did! We are still waiting on the results though, hopefully we will get those at the beginning of next week.

The next morning, they woke us up bright and early. We stayed at the hospital since we had a cardiology appointment just an hour later. Gage had to get sedated for his echo, and it was a pain, as usual, for then to get in the IV. Poor kid! I must say, I HATE holding Gage and watching him as he is sedated. I really never want to watch that again, it was so hard for me. After the echo, we were heading up to recovery and Gage was SO out of it, but still tried waving to all the nurses as we walked past. It was so cute, he is such a flirt! Recovery went smoothly, so we only had to wait an hour before we went to wait for the doctor. We ended up waiting quite a while for him... only to get the news I didn't want to hear. It ended up being a really hard day for me. You know how we kept Gage on oxygen 24/7 for 6 months? Well, that was to try to get rid of the pulmonary hypertension. When the doctor came in, I was really scared because I was afraid of the news he could give me. Unfortunately, Gage's pressures are the exact same as they were way back in March. No change at all. Not even ONE number less. So the doctor and I had a heart to heart about our options. Derek and I had decided already that we are done with oxygen. Gage is so much happier without it, and so are we. It felt good when the doctor agreed with me and told he would have made the same decision. Please keep Gage in your prayers, I know that even though the doctor doesn't think his heart is going to get better, Heavenly Father has his own plan! I sure hope we get good news in January, when we got back again for another appointment. Sorry for the sobs, I just know that some of you have been wondering about how it went. Thanks so much for all your support and good wishes.

Last weekend, we got to go to St. George to hang out with our family. My brother and sister-in-law were down from up north and it was great to see them! And even better to hear their good news, I finally get to be an AUNT! I am so excited for them, they are going to be such great parents. We love you guys and can't wait to meet the baby! :)

On Tuesday, Gage's occupational therapist came over. It was just the second time he has come. The first time, he was doing an evaluation to see where Gage was at. As he had Gage do different activities, he kept asking me for different things to try. I kept thinking it was weird that he didn't come with the things he needed, but eventually he told me he just didn't bring a lot of the things because he didn't expect Gage to get as far into the "test" at his age as he did! I was so proud of him, he really is doing so well. But the other day when the OT came again, Gage wasn't too excited to cooperate, I guess that is the way it goes! Come to find out, he was getting a fever and has been sick the past few days, so I don't blame him. We took him to the doctor today and it looks like something viral, so hopefully he will get over it soon!

Gage picked up a new sign today, he says "more"! I love the way he personalizes each of his signs. I will have to get them on video and upload them (yeah... if I could ever get it to work!!). He signs "more" "dog" and "alligator". He also says a few words vocally... but no, it isn't mommy and daddy. He says "kitty" and "Jesus". It is too cute. Eventually he will say mom, right?! haha He also broke his 9th tooth today, poor kid! Maybe that plays a part in why he hasn't been feeling good.

So one last thing before I end this forever long post with no cute pictures added! Tomorrow is a big day for our family, we find out where we are going to end up next year after graduation! I am so proud of Derek and all the hard work he has put in these past few months while recruiting has been going on. He has had more interviews than anyone I know of, so I think that says a LOT! I couldn't be more proud of him! I love you babe!

...

Just letting you all know... we are still here and I have LOTS to post about! But I have some super cute pictures that I want to post as well, and it won't let me :( I have tried like 3 or 4 times! So.. stay tuned, cute pictures to come... eventually!

Our little guy's name!

A few days back, Cathy tagged me in a post asking how we came up with Gage's name. Yes, I know it took me a few days to post, but better late than never!
Derek and I decided that we weren't going to find out if we were having a baby boy, or a baby girl. So we had to come up with names for each. We both "agreed" on a girl name, although Derek would beg to differ. The boy name was harder for us though. Derek was set on one name. I'm not going to say what it is though because I would hate it if someone came across this blog that I don't know and happened to have a child with that name. :) It wasn't that I hated the name, I just really didn't see it as our little boy's name. So really, the way we came up with Gage's name was while Derek was searching for names on the internet! When he brought up the name, I knew that we already had a family member with the same name, but since we both liked it I knew that was what it was going to be! So I just later told my mom's cousin that if we had a boy, we were going to have sons with the same name! So, really, Gage's first name didn't come from any great family history or anything, we just liked it! Gage's middle name, Russell, is a family name though. Derek and his dad both share that middle name, so I really wanted to have it be our little guys' middle name. I think his name flows so cute, I just love it!
Gage Russell Anderson

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I watched this video and fell in love. I am so excited to see what Gage's future holds!

You Caught Me!

The picture pretty much says it all! I lost track of him for like... 30 seconds while cleaning up breakfast and this is where I found him! Like a good mom, I let him continue his snack while I grabbed the camera! :)

HUGE news!!!

So I have been trying to get another sleep study aranged for Gage, since the doctor told us he wanted one done 3 months after Gage's last surgery, to see if the tonsils and adnoids were causing any of the sleep apnea Gage was having. In order for our insurance to consider covering another sleep study, they require a home oxymetry test to be done. So on Thursday night, we hooked Gage up to the monitor we have at home and took off his oxygen to see how he would do without it. Then yesterday morning I took it in to our home care facility to have them read the results from it so they could get sent back up to Primary Childrens. After the results were read, I asked them for a copy so I could see how he was doing. Back during his last sleep study, Gage was having an average of 24 apneas (periods where there was a decrease of oxygen saturation by 4% or more during no more than a 3 minute period of time). Pretty much, he would stop breathing about 24 times an hour. Looking at the results from Thursday night, they pulled information from 6 hours of the night. Gage had a TOTAL of 29 apneas the entire night! That is an average of almost 5 an hour! So he went from 24 an hour down to less than 5!!! Oh I probably don't even have to tell you how happy I was about this!! 10+ apneas is considered severe apnea. 5-10 is considered moderate apnea, and 1-4 apneas is mild. That puts us right on the edge of mild sleep apnea! And last time, Gage spent about 12% of the night below 90%, and Thursday night he only spent .3% of the night below 90%! I just really hope that the official sleep study shows this great of results again!

So that is my good news for the day, so exciting huh!!!

Here I Come!!

Well, I'm not quite sure where Gage got the idea to start doing this, but I am so proud of him!!

On Thursday, Gage's PT came over like she does every other week. As we were finishing up, she commented on how he was doing really well and she guesses "he will be crawling in a month or so!" So with that mindset, I was very surprised when Gage got up on all fours and started moving towards his magnets on the fridge the next day! He keeps being able to go further and further, and is getting the hang of it!

Our Weekend... a couple weekends ago!

A few weekends ago, Derek, Gage, and I headed up north. We went up Thursday night so that I could go to a MAJOR scrapbooking warehouse on Friday morning with my friend, Megan. Sadly, we got there and they had closed it down until the next week. But then, this fabulous lady came and opened it up and said we could shop since I had come all that way! :) Oh how I loved her! If only you could see all that I scored for $50, then you would understand the love I am talking about! I swear I left feeling like I had just robbed her, except for the fact that she helped me load it all into my car!! Derek also got to go fishing on the Provo River on Friday and had a fabulous time as well. We got back to Derek's uncle's house just so excited to tell each other how perfect our days had turned out! Uncle Tim kept laughing at us the entire time, telling us we were like little kids just waiting to get our stories out! Yeah, it really was that good!
Our friends also got married that day, so we went to their reception to see them. They are both accountants, too. Cool, huh! So we have had lots of classes together and it has been fun!

On Saturday, we went to go to Hogle Zoo with our good friends, Heather and Jordan, and baby Hart! (don't know if it's a boy or girl yet! :) ) We got there after making Heather and Jordan wait for us for an hour because the traffic was so bad, and when we got there it was FREEZING!! And we showed up in shorts and t-shirts. So, needless to say, the zoo didn't end up happening. But we did get to go to a really cute children's museum at the Gateway mall. We hung out with them for the rest of the day, and had a BLAST with them, as usual! And Jordan got Derek hooked on "fat princess." Yes, I'm pretty sure it was that game that convinced him to get rid of the XBOX 360 and move on to the PS3 this past weekend...

This is Jordan and Heather... Aren't they so cute! :) I just love them!


And this was one of the fun areas of the children's museum! Gage loves mirrors, so this was a big hit for him!


On Sunday, we met back up with Megan, Junior, and their little guy Trey. We went to this fun park with a little beach area and lake. The boys had so much fun playing in the sand!!

And yes, that is sand you see all over Gage's face. I know last time when we were in California I said I don't just let him eat handfuls of sand, but this picture kinda marks me as a liar. Really, he is so quick I just can't stop him! He loved playing in the water!

On Monday morning, we had a doctor appointment with Gage's ENT. It was a follow-up appointment from Gage's recent surgery. The follow-up went well and the doctor seemed very positive in his remarks. I seriously can't help but feel that the surgery has really helped, if not healed Gage's sleep apnea. He never snores any more and I never hear him gasp for breath like I used to when he was sleeping. He also hasn't had a stuffy nose since, which he had constantly before the surgery took place. Oh, I just hope so bad that I am right with this feeling!! This little hero has been through enough, so maybe he will get a break here!
After the appointment, we went over to Liberty Park in Salt Lake to meet up with a family I have been so excited to meet! We got to meet Carter and his sweet mom. We also got to meet his big brother and sister briefly, but they were busy having a blast at the fun park with their friends! Carter is absolutely adorable. He is just as happy as can be, and Derek and I seriously couldn't get over his smile! He and Gage have lots in common, and I am excited to see their friendship grow as the hopefully get to spend more time together as they grow up!

They were showing eachother how cool their hands are.
Too cute!!

Like I said, isn't his smile just to die for!!

Sharing the ding-dongs! I kinda was afraid that Carter was going to get a bonk on the head though, so I had to make my move!
Thanks so much for meeting up with us you guys!! We can't wait to see you again!

Another update!

So really, I know I go way too long between updates, then overload... but it's better than nothing, right?! The first pictures are from Grandma & Grandpa McDonald's 50th Anniversary party. It was so so much fun to see all the family we barely ever get to see! The party was at my aunt and uncle's house in Vegas. Everyone did such a great job putting it all together!
This first picture is just so sweet. My grandparents were really young when they got married. They never had a wedding cake, so they had a beautiful cake at the party and cut it together, then fed it to eachother. Too cute!!

Not what you were expecting to see, huh! This was dinner! Haha Everyone was so amused watching the pig be cut up, it was a big hit!

Our happy boy hanging out with Papa Joe! He loved showing off for everyone at the party.

This is our best attempt at a shot of everyone with the tri-pod! Such a fun clan.

This is my family with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa and Grandma are in the front, then it is me, Gage, Derek, Cherri (SIL), Kody (brother), Kaden (brother), Dad, and Mom.

Gage with his great grandparents!

Last week, Derek, Gage, & I went with Derek's family on a trip to California. We stopped to visit Derek's Grandpa Ron and Barbra on the way.
Chanel, Staci, Alyssa, Carly, Grandpa Ron, Jess, Derek, Gage, me, Cheryl, and Barbra.

Our first day in Cali we went to the beach. It was in the evening so it was chilly. I snuggled Gage up and walked the beach while Derek took some gorgeous shots with the camera.

Gage was so amuzed by the sand on his hands! Something new to him!

... and apparently that "something new" tasted pretty good! I really didn't let him just have mouthful after mouthful! I just let him taste it to figure out what it was. And he sneaked a few while I wasn't looking!

Snuggling on the beach

Waiting to go on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride"! I'll explain the facial expression later!

Gage's nickname since right when he was born is "Toad". I'm not sure where Derek came up with it, but it just stuck! So this ride fit perfectly! Our "Mr. Toad" sure has given us a wild ride, but it sure has been fun!!

The "Toady" car!

Alrght, this was hands down Gage's favorite ride! "It's a Small World". Everyone else complained about going on it, but I would have sat on it all day long just to see his sweet face light up like it did! SO STINKIN' CUTE!!

Going on the rocket ride with Grandma Loveless and Tony!

We always get our picture by the "A" at the entrance to California Adventure. It was fun to get to have Gage in the picture this time!

This little guy is so in love with fish! Even if they are fake, he loves to look at them! There were big fake fish tanks in Toon Town so we had to stop and take a look!

This is the facial expression I was talking about!! After going to the Tiki Room, Gage kept doing this cute little face. I think he was trying to do what the birds do. Isn't he just so funny!! I love him!

My favorite boys hanging out in the Tiki Room! We had so much fun in California, it was hard to get back to reality!