IT'S MY PARTY...

I can cry if I want to...

cry if I want to...

CRY if I want to!!!

Poor Gage. We had a birthday party for him on Thursday and he was not happy one bit! This really isn't like him, but he had a good excuse. On Tuesday, he got his one year shots. He ended up with the fever they warn you about, but it lasted for about four days. During his party, it was at about 102.5 degrees. Yes, I was terrified and called the doctor and they said he was fine. But then Friday morning it was at 104 degrees!! I was so nervous. Luckily, Derek and I were able to get it to drop and he got better from there. Poor Gage!!

All he wanted to do was snuggle mom... so I ended up covered in more cake then him!

As he opened presents he was pretty happy. Ribbons and wrapping paper, what baby wouldn't be happy!

Gage was totally worn out after his big party. What a tough day!

Thanks so much to EVERYONE who came to Gage's party to celebrate with us! He got spoiled like crazy and he is a lucky boy to have so many people that think the world of him. We love you all!!

Just for the record, Gage is doing lots better and is about back to his normal self. Until next week that is. Gage's surgery will be next Wednesday, so if you would like to keep him and the surgeons in your prayers we would appreciate it so much!

Birthday Boy!!

Gage is ONE year old today!!

Happy Birthday BIG BOY!! We love you so so much!

For some reason, I couldn't figure out how to make the video flip the other way, so just turn your head a little! :) I had to get this recorded because I
am so proud of Gage and I LOVE the sound he makes when he tries hard to do something! It is like the sound his dad makes when he is lifting weights! Usually, he does this by starting out sitting on his bench, but today he just decided the bench was over-rated! You can tell he is so proud of himself, and I think he has every right to be! (Oh, and yes, he does try to eat himself in his mirror, as you can see by all the slobber on it!)

This past week, my mom & I took Gage to Primary Children's to meet Gage's Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor. He was a really nice guy, and I was so happy because he just sat there and let me ask a million questions like I do! Pretty much, he confirmed everything we had been expecting. He said that about 1 in 3 kids that have Down syndrome and get their tonsils and adnoids removed to help get rid of sleep apnea have 100% results and no other actions have to be taken. I hope SO BAD that this is the case with Gage, but if not, we will do whatever it takes. He did say that Gage's tonsils are really big, so it makes him more hopeful that this surgery will help resolve the problem... we have our fingers crossed! Gage's surgery is less than a month and a half away. Not going to lie, I get teary-eyed just typing that. I hate that I will have to let him go for another surgery, but I know that his other surgery was extremely successful and the people there know what they are doing. He is such a tough boy, I know he will be okay and it will help if not totally resolve his problem.

A couple weeks ago, my parents took Derek & I to go see Brian Regan for our graduation gift! It was SUCH A BLAST!! Brian Regan is a hilarious comedian that our family just loves. And to make it even better, we got to watch him out at the beautiful Tuachan theater.
Thanks again, mom & dad! We had so much fun and were so happy you got to come with us! And thanks again to Grandma & Grandpa for watching Gage while we enjoyed our evening out!

This was just too cute to not get pictures. We were having spaghetti for dinner the other night and I figured I'd let Gage attempt it before I fed him.

I think he liked it!

And this picture I took after he fed himself pancakes. He is doing "BIG BOY!" It is so cute, he gets so excited! And now, he claps for himself after he does it because that is what we always do! haha it is so cute, I need to get it on video!

Odds & Ends

Look how ADORABLE this "paper-bag book" is! This is the craft that Candyce made for us for the "first 5" post! I am SOOO excited about it! Now I have to get to work on what I am going to make for mine... I don't think I'll be able to meet how cute this thing is! I put pictures of all the bits and pieces of it following this... check out how cute!

These pages go all the way through the alphabet, and there is velcro on each for a matching game!

Recipes! Dinner, Desert, & the Recipe for Friendship!

These are magnets for Gage to play with! The recipes and the magnets are in the "pockets" of the opening of the paper-bags (does that make sense?)

Thank you SOOO much Candyce! You are so crafty, I just love it! I will get you yours soon :)

So tonight after bath time, I had to take pictures so I could do before and after shots of Gage in his adorable bath robe! Look how crazy! ..... here is the one of when he was just tiny ....

and NOW! I can't belive how big he is, he has grown into his robe!

On Sunday, Matt, Shari, & Justin came to visit us, so of course I had to get some pictures of the boys playing! Justin was showing Gage how it's done!

It was so fun seeing them again, thanks for coming over guys! :)

WE DID IT!!

Yesterday was a FABULOUS day! Derek and I both graduated with our Bachelors' Degrees in Accounting, we are so happy!! Derek doesn't feel a whole lot like he graduated, since he starts summer school tomorrow... but I am so proud of him! He will be taking 16 credits JUST during the summer... crazy! He has so much determination, he amazes me!

Doesn't Gage look ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE in his cap and gown?! Lolo & Lola (Grandpa & Grandma) Cox made the entire outfit for him so he could match his mom and dad! SOOOO CUTE!! Thank you again Grandma & Grandpa, you guys are the best!! There were SO many people "oohing and ahhing" over Gage, everywhere we went! They thought the outfit was so cute!

Everyone kept asking Derek & I what we got the black & gold ropes for (you get different ropes for honors, grades, etc.) --- the black & gold ones were for "being an Anderson!" We bought stuff to make us and Gage matching ropes with tassels on the ends, it was so fun!

Kenzee, Derek, Gage, my Mom, my Dad, Lola, Lolo

We were so lucky to have family come from both in & out of town to come support us at graduation. Here are a few of us.

Erin, Kenzee, Andrea, Megan
Some of the "accounting girls!" We had SUCH a FUN group of people we graduated with. I guess I have to be honest and admit that I will miss school, but only for ONE reason! I will miss the friends and professors, they are amazing people.

Jason, Dusty, Derek (& Gage)
These boys grew up together... how fun that they all graduated the same day, too!

Watching the graduation!

Gage hanging out with Aunt Jess! He LOVED playing with her necklace and hair!


Thank you so much to everyone that has helped us and supported us as we went through school! We couldn't have done it without you all!

First 5!

The first five...People to leave a comment on this post will receive something made by me. However, there are some limitations:
1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it is going to be - cards, bows, shoes, a bag, frame or a little invention of my own. I may bake something and mail it to you . Who knows? Not you that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. It may blow your mind!
Here's the catch, if you choose to do this. You must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.
Now time to comment and start thinking about what you will be making for someone else! ;)

REALLY do comment! I want to be crafty, so now I will have a reason to be! And still comment if you don't live near me - since most people that follow my blog live far away! I can still send stuff!

Pretty much about food...

Gage got the coolest spoon today, so I had to share it with everyone!

We have been working on self-feeding, so this spoon is perfect. It has a nice grip that fits his hand just right, then there is a "scoop" on both sides, so no matter which way he puts it in his mouth, it is right! It also is "gag-proof" since it has little "walls" on each end as well. How cool is that!!

It has a really weird name though, it is called Baby Human.

His nurse brought it over for him today, I was stoked! Ok so really, I just call her his nurse, but she has to have a title other than that! I hear everyone talk about their OT and DT... so maybe she is one of those? She comes over and checks on his health, weight, eating, gets updated on his doctor appointments, and she does some speech therapy with us as well until Gage is "old enough" to have an actual ST come over to work with him. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? What would her "official" title be? I feel kinda dumb that I haven't figured that one out yet... yes it has been 10 months! haha oh well. When she came over today, Gage and I were out in the back yard playing so she came and joined us outside in the nice weather! It was fun to have our little "meeting" in the gorgeous weather we have been having!

So another thing I have been thinking would be fun to post about was the foods everyone's little ones like to eat! Gage loves trying new things and eats everything really well, but I kinda get in these times where I just make the same things over and over. I was thinking it would be fun to all share our ideas about what we feed our kids so everyone could have more to make! So here I go...

I usually just make Gage whatever we are having, then make adjustments to it if I need to.
Breakfast: He always has some "Yo Baby" yogurt before whatever he has for breakfast. Then I usually make him...
Scrambled egg yolks mixed with cottage cheese
Toast with butter
or Baby cereal mixed with breast-milk, yogurt, and sometimes some babyfood fruit.

Then lunch and dinner just whatever we are having, then I have on the side for him one or a few of these things, cuz he loves to eat them! They are...
Black beans
Rice
Noodles
Olives (obviously sliced up)
Canned carrots (I like the canned kind because they are really soft... carrots kinda scare me!)
Green beans
Peas
Beets
Corn

For snacks, I usually will give him some of the things I listed above, or else the Gerber snacks. Usually the yogurt melts, or the dried fruit bars (I'm not exactly sure what those ones are called). And grahm crackers are another thing I give him for snacks, too. Then I also give him a bottle for snack before he goes down for a nap or for bed.


Haha k sorry, I am pretty sure this is the most random and off-the-wall post I have ever done, but I am looking forward to everyone's responses! :) Gage is too... I'm sure he is sick of always having the same things over and over! If I remember anything I left out I will add it to the comments, then everyone can just check the comments if they want the ideas, too!

Update...

Hey everyone! First, I want to tell everyone thanks so much for your concern with Gage and his sleep study! Sorry I didn't let everyone know more about it earlier, we actually just got the results back today. Unfortunately, we don't have the best news in the world... Like I suspected, the results came back showing that Gage does indeed have sleep apnea. The part I wasn't expecting was when his sleep doctor said that it is SEVERE sleep apnea. And he really meant SEVERE. I guess that to "qualify" it as severe, there has to be 10.. um... I don't know what they are called... so I will just call them "episodes" an hour. Apparently Gage averaged about 20 an hour. So of course I started immediately calling to schedule for an appointment with the ENT our doctor recommended, but I won't be able to make the appointment until tomorrow. Hopefully they can fit us in soon!

So here is my question... Anyone had any experience here or familiar with this at all? I would love any suggestions or information! Thanks everyone!

Well we now have a little 10-month-old on our hands! He is just getting more and more fun, and his personality is developing like crazy! He knows exactly what to do to make us laugh, loves giving HUGE hugs! They are the best!




He also has been busy getting his first tooth! You can tell he thinks it is pretty weird, he always plays with it like, "what is this weird thing that showed up in my mouth!?" The picture is kinda bad, but if you look hard enough you can see it! He doesn't love having his mouth held open, so it was the best I could get! (It's on his left side of his mouth...)