The Andersons have had a wonderful and blessed year. 2007 was a year of big events: the birth of our son, the first full year with Miss Emery Jai, moving to Tennessee, my first year as a SAHM, and Josh changed jobs twice. As grateful as I am for all of the momentous occasions I am just as in awe of the little things. When my husband hugs me out of the blue. Seeing Emery Jai's ear to ear smile. Watching Guice change so quick, almost hourly. All of these tiny moments made for a wonderful year. I am looking forward to what 2008 has in store!

Emery Jai talking about her Birthday....

She is so excited about her big day! We have to talk about it several times during the day. She is very excited that there is going to be cake. Last year I did not do the cake thing, she had yogurt (cruel and unusual). She is looking so forward to her big day.
Hope to see everyone at the party!

Emery Jai....

She loves loves loves to read! We honestly read books all day. This is one of her favorites.

Emery Jai "Reading"!

Emery Jai "reading" with NeNa! She got this book from MiMi for Christmas, E.J. loves it!

5 Months Old!

Guice is 5 months today! He has changed allot in the last month. He is growing so much socially. Guice is making his needs well known! He is sitting up for longer periods of time and can play a little while sitting up. Guice is also reaching for people and toys he wants. The other night he reached to get into his exersaucer! He has also reached out from his wrap and grabbed strangers! I don't think he has gained weight, his clothes are still fitting the same way. This is a good thing maybe he can wear something more than a couple of times! He is wearing 12-18 months (of course brands vary but generally speaking). So we have purchased complete wardrobes from 0-3 to 12-18 months in just 5 months! Every time I went to put something on him it was too small, but he has worn a few things more than 3 times this month, maybe we are slowing down a bit. He still will not take a bottle because of this he went to the movies twice this month. I think he knows if he takes a bottle he will have to stay home without his Mommy :). He was very good in the movie, Guice just kept smiling. He never went to sleep in the first movie he was afraid he would miss something.
Guice is amazing and he is simply wonderful!
Guice Brewer Anderson 5 months!

Look What I Did!

I cut ALL of my hair off and colored it! I really like it! The color is not showing up very well in these pics, it is a mocha brown with a hint of red. It is a very drastic change, I was very overdue! Before I got preggers with E.J. I changed my hair all of the time. It has been every color pink and black included. I grew tired of the mom pony tail and needed to cut it off. The blond highlights were also on my nerves. I had that style for way to long, 3 years or more! The cut is very very short in the back and longer in the front (reverse mullet), think Posh Spice ( I am sure people are going to mistake me for her all of the time now, that will be such a hassle :). Anyway, I love being a mom it is the absolute best thing. However, I do not want to look like a have kids! And for awhile now I think the fact that I am a mom was all to apparent to everyone! I think my new hair cut/color takes away a little bit of the mommyness from my look. Now I just need to lose this extra 30 lbs of baby weight and I will be good to go :)!
I was going to wait and shock Josh but I decided to post it on the blog so he could get a sneak peek! Josh says that if I ever decided to divorce him, he will find out from a blog post :)! This is a safer bet anyway. This way Josh can think about what he is going to say BEFORE he says it. And I am going to make an effort not to read into what he says.

A Post For My SNL!

As most of you know I am a huge advocate of "wearing" babies. I love my Maya Wrap. In the how to video it shows how to carry two babies. My sister in law Jessica* and I were talking about it. I thought I should give it a try. In case you are wondering, it is not comfortable (50 + lbs of babies strapped to me) and I can not move my arms.
Here you go Jess- 2 babies in slings! I could have been in the baby Carl video**!

*** *my snl and i have the same name! how crazy is that! we also have other things in common: we are both very tall 5 10 and 5 11, we worked in hospitals until we quit to stay home, we had baby boys within three weeks of each other, and we have brown eyes (i am 97% sure of that) and brown hair (sorry to ruin the illusion, i color my hair, for those of you who thought i was a natural blond:)).

**the baby carl video is a must see, it is supremely funny!

***i cut my face out on purpose, it was hideous! i set the timer on my camera and took the pic all by myself!!!!!!!!!

Guice Rolling Over!

Guice rolled over the first time awhile ago, put has only rolled over sporadically. Until now! He is rolling over all of the time and so fast! He is growing up so fast!

*i finally learned to upload just to blogger yippee!

Emery Jai Singing!

How cute! I love how instead of lay down his sweet head she says take a nap! Emery Jai usually sings allot more but I think she is camera shy!

Guyboo sugars!

He is so ticklish!We are so lucky, E.J. was also a happy and good baby (she is making up for the good part now:).
If you listen closely you can hear Emery Jai and my Mom singing in the background.

Pics From The Last Couple Of Days....

Daddy hanging out with the kiddos! So cute!

So tired! A failed attempt at getting Guice to take a bottle of breast milk. Josh & I went to the movies on Christmas Eve we thought we could go for a little date, we were wrong. Guice would not take a bottle for anything he gaged and pushed it away. He went with us to the movie, to our surprise Aunt Mimi and family were there. They held him for most of the time. He was a very good boy at the movies!
On Christmas morning Josh & I sing We Wish You A Merry Christmas to Emery Jai as soon as she wakes up. This year she was in no mood! She covered up with her blanket as we started singing!
Emery Jai & Guyboo!

A little sweeter!
Emery Jai in her Christmas P.J.s!
Eating at Cracker Barrel!

Family Tradition!

As part of our Christmas, Josh and I eat at New China. We have done it every Christmas. It is so fun to remember the past years and talk about how much things have changed! Last Christmas the main topic was if we were having a boy or girl. I knew it was a boy but I could not convince Josh without an ultrasound! Our 2nd Christmas I was hoping the food put me in labor, I ate every spicy thing I could! Chinese food at Christmas is a quirky tradition but it is ours and we love it!

Emery Jai loving her ice cream! Josh!

Guice in his highchair! Mommy & Emery Jai!

Christmas Day!

We had a great time today! We spent it with the Hoggard's, it is always a blast when the cousins get together. Emery Jai and Guice love it because they are the center of attention :)! Emery Jai got two baby dolls, one from NoNo the other from Anette, she has not put them down! She also has read the book Aunt Mimi got her about 10 times. Guice loves his gifts also. The highlight of the day is the dirty Santa game, we almost came to blows over a gift!
NoNo & Guice in his Baby's First Christmas outfit (I had such a hard time finding one that would fit him) Such a precious Christmas baby!
Kristen & Blake!

Enola's most eligible bachelor! Hurry ladies he wont be for long :)!
Marcus made the blog!

Matthew & Guice!

Emery Jai playing football!
Emery Jai with her baby doll!
Aunt Mimi & Guice!
Josh & Jess!

Christmas Celebration!

We did our "big Christmas" on Christmas Eve. Pop and NeNa have to go into work in the morning and they did not want to miss the big event. Because we do not worry with the whole Santa thing it was not a big deal at all. We had so so much fun! Emery Jai was great and Guice woke up just in time to unwrap gifts! This year I had the best of both worlds a baby's first Christmas and a child who was very excited to open gifts! The big gift was a pony! Emery Jai was elated to say the least! She had been asking for one for a long time. It was so funny, when we took her and Guice out to see him she said "You brought my pony out, my pony come out!" The video is hilarious! Emery Jai was very happy to have him but not at all surprised that she got one, she is a mess! This is a gift Guice will have to grow into, but he will in no time! The pony's name is Levi, he is a haflinger. He is broke to ride and to pull a buggy. He is very gentle yet spirited. Levi is 6 years old. It was so amazing to see the excitement in E.J.'s eyes, the look was priceless. First Christmas' are very special but I have to admit now that Emery Jai can actually participate it is truly magical!
The Anderson's Christmas 2008! Emery Jai opted out of this one but it was so cute I still posted it!

Best Present EVER!!!! Emery Jai handing out gifts!

Emery Jai working her puzzle she just opened!
Guice, Emery Jai, and Mommy!

Daddy's little present opening his gift!
Emery Jai and Guice's pony, Levi!
Emery Jai riding him for the first time! She loved it! Guice's first pony ride!
Emery Jai giving him sugars!

Christmas Past!

Josh and I are celebrating our 4th Christmas together! I wanted to take a quick look at Christmas past!

Although I do not have access to a picture of first Christmas, we look very young and very thin :). Our first Christmas as a couple would have also been our first one married (when you know you know) but my Grandmother got very ill and we postponed the wedding. Our first Christmas was spent in Mena with Josh's family. We were not going to make the trip because of the ice storm that year. Josh was very upset about not spending Christmas with his family so at the very last moment we made the decision to go. Josie (my German Shepard) made the trip with us, she loved it. A few days before Christmas we had gone "window shopping", Josh bought me EVERYTHING I said I liked. As most of you know just because I say I like something does not necessarily mean I actually want it, but it was still very sweet. Josh has learned his lesson! We left very early Christmas morning to head to my Grandmothers house. Because of the road conditions we did not make it in time to celebrate with the family, it was my Granny's last Christmas.

Our Second Christmas was a double whammy, our first married Christmas and we were expecting Emery Jai! It was a great Christmas but I was disappointed that I was not cradling a newborn in my arms. There was not a single soul that thought I would make it past Christmas! I heard all of the time how there was noway I would make it to January 14th (I went all the way to the 24 to be induced). I even bought a newborn first Christmas outfit! Even without a special bundle we had a great time!
The Anderson's Christmas 2005! I was HUGE and still went 4 more weeks!The third Anderson Christmas was, again, very eventful. Christmas 2006 was Emery Jai 's first Christmas and I was expecting baby #2! I will always remember this Christmas! Emery Jai was scared of her gift, and that is allot considering she had never been of anything scared before! I had found a rocking horse that I thought would be prefect. When Josh and Pop started pulling it out of the box it was huge! We call it a Clydesdale. E.J. wanted nothing to do with it! She cried when I put her on it. Josh still gives me a hard time!
The Anderson's 2006! Emery Jai has changed so much in a year, but I think Guice takes home the trophy for most growth :)!

2007, our 4th Christmas together! It was a wonderful time! We consider ourselves blessed in so many ways! We really enjoyed watching Emery Jai this year. It being Guice's first Christmas made it so very special. Emery Jai loved her gift and Guice will grow to love it! I fear the bar has been set a little high. I do not know what we will get them next year!

The Anderson's 2007

We are looking forward to the next 50 or so!!

23 Months Old!

WOW UNBELIEVABLE Emery Jai will be 2 in just a month! I am not sure I am old enough to have a 2 year old :)! I am just doing a very short 23 month update: she is wonderful beyond words and we are beyond blessed to have her in our world!

Christmas Eve Gift!

One of the Herring/Hoggard family traditions is to yell Christmas Eve Gift at anyone and everyone in the family Christmas Eve morning. We all take part in the tradition, but no one knows why we yell it. Other than to "get" the other person. We take it to extremes and other holidays, Easter Gift for example. This morning I have gotten Josh, Emery Jai, Guice, and Erica (via blackberry). I am planing on getting my Mom and a few others. I am sure Christmas Eve Gift has already been shouted in the homes of my aunts and uncles. I should mention in order to get the full effect, Christmas Eve Gift must be repeated numerously and at a higher than normal pitch. I googled the meaning and found who ever says it first gets a gift from the other person! I never knew the origin of the tradition but from what I found out by doing a very basic search it is a long standing Christmas tradition. I honestly thought that my Granny's family had invented it, apparently not. I am so thankful for a family rich in love, history, and tradition! Thanks Granny & PaPa!

and............

CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT! CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT! CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT! CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT!

Christmas With The Brewers!

Last night we celebrated Christmas with the Brewers, we had a wonderful time. It would have been better if Josh had gotten to attend, he will be here late tonight and I am very much looking forward to it. Emery Jai had a blast! We started talking about the Christmas party earlier in the week and discussed it all day. When anyone would ask E.J. what she was getting she would say a pony. I had to keep telling her she might not get a pony, she might get a doll or some clothes or maybe a book but probably not a pony. I made a point of telling her that no matter what she got she was to say thank you very much after each gift. The highlight of my night (week) was after she opened her first gift she looked up and said "Thank you so much!". It was so sweet. I wasn't entirely sure she would get the whole opening gifts thing but she most certainly did! She even opened Guice's! Emery Jai, Guice, and I had a great time visiting with family. I am sure Emery Jai is counting down until it is time to open more gifts!
My little penguins! Emery Jai & Christmas Tree

Allison & Anna Lee
Opening a gift (it was from NoNo, she got the kids outfits and a book a piece. NoNo gets them a book each year, I think it is so sweet) Still opening
Emery Jai talking on NoNo's blackberry. E.J. was taking care of an urgent scheduling issue :)!
Such cute little penguins (it is a good thing Guice is not delicate)!

Here is Josh a sneak peek at his loot :)!