Jaxon's First Christmas!

Jaxon with his stuffed bear
Jaxon fell asleep right after we started opening presents, maybe he was just too *dazzled* by his dad's incredible bed head...

Jax in his Christmas PJ's

Looking startled in a Santa Cap...

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, and our little Jaxon made it even better. We figured this would be the only year that we could get away with getting him something practical, so we started him a college fund account... which exactly what every two month old wants for Christmas. (The real joy is that two month olds really don't know what is going on yet, so a college fund account really is an acceptable gift!) We also started a children's book library for him (another thing he was super excited about.) Jaxon ended up falling asleep two minutes into our present opening and didn't wake up until we were almost done with Christmas. Something tells me though that he will NEVER be this quiet at Christmas again...

Ugly Sweater Party

This year we were introduced to the joy of the "Ugly Sweater Party." Our friends the Scarboroughs threw the party and it was the hit of our holiday season. Chad, of course, took the theme very seriously and went to a total of four thrift stores until he found the perfect ugly sweater. He finally settled on a pool themed sweater complete with large 8 balls and pool sticks. The sweater also came with a bonus cigarette and old man scent that smelled just about as good as it looked. As it turns out, his diligence paid off and he took home the prize for the ugliest sweater of the night. Although my sweater didn't win, it was also a peach... the best part of the sweater was the tight wrist sleeves that flared out mid forearm and the off balance shoulders which were a result of a missing shoulder pad.

We had a great time at the party and very much enjoyed the food, company, and of course, the theme... We hope we are invited to an Ugly Sweater Party every year... hint, hint.

Snow Day!!

Last week I was walking around without a coat on and thinking to myself, "Hmm, I wonder if we will have ANY snow for Christmas?" Let's fast forward to Wednesday when it started snowing around 8 am and hasn't stopped snowing for 24 hours.... The news stated that we woke up this morning with 23 inches of snow! This is a picture taken from inside our garage and is of our big Dodge Dakota truck that is so tall that I needed to take a flying leap to get into when I was pregnant. It is pretty covered.

All the schools in the area are closed and the news stated that police officers "don;t want to seee anyone out on the roads unless it is an emergency. Chad is still waiting to see if he needs to go into work today... hopefully not. I guess the answer to my question is, "Yes Megan, there will be snow for Christmas!"

Jaxon's Smiling!

Doesn't he look like a concerned politician in this picture? Or maybe a barber shop singer... You decide.

Mom and Dad got Jaxon this cute church outfit. We were going to wait until Christmas to put it on him, but we just couldn't stand to wait that long. You can't really see it in the picture, but he was wearing a little tie. So cute!

This was a joyous occassion... Jaxon actually fell asleep in his chair rather than our arms!

This was the best picture I could get of Jax's smile... sometimes it is really big... and cute. :)

So, about twelve days ago we had a new development in the Anderson household... that's right, Jaxon started to smile!! Chad and I now spend the majority of our day speaking in REALLY high voices and pulling faces just to see our sweet baby smile at us. It's the best entertainment we've had all year! And within the last few days he has also given us a slight sound whenever he smiles. Is it indigestion? NO! We are calling it a giggle, even if the sounds more like an Ewak (spelling? you know from Star Wars...) than an actual laugh.

Plus, the really good news... Jaxon has started to let us put him down. Two days ago he even fell asleep in his chair! This is huge, because he NEVER falls asleep anywhere except our arms. We took a picture to commemorate the event and the flash woke him up... opps. Next time I'll just take a mental picture.

Back to Bethlahem

Jaxon was wrapped in a swaddle during the production, but went back to his puppy pj's for pictures.

One December 5th, our ward had its annual Christmas party. This year, we had a "Back to Bethlehem" theme and our family was asked to play the nativity family. The Activities Committee did a fabulous job of making the gym look like a market place in Bethlehem. Everyone had to bring a can of food as our "taxes." In exchange for the food we were given a bag of coins that we could spend at the different stands in the marketplace. The stands were mostly dedicated to food and included a fruit stand, a pita and humus stand, a lamb and rice stand, and a dessert stand with toasted nuts and candied orange peels. The food was outstanding!

After everyone mingled in the market place for a while, Chad and I came into the gym dressed as Mary and Joseph. The had me ride this great handmade donkey that Chad pulled with a rope. (I wish I had a picture of it!!) We wondered around the marketplace looking for someplace that would "Let Us In." When we first entered the gym, I was a little embarrassed to be the center of so much attention. However, after a few minutes of meandering our way through people while trying to be in character, I was really touched with how difficult Mary and Joseph's situation was. Soon I was crying and Chad had to stop several times to wipe away my tears. Many people told us how "authentic" we look, but our tears were real. The spirit really touched us.

After wandering through the marketplace, we entered the stage with Jaxon as a narrator read the Christmas story from Luke 2. I was terrified that Jaxon would not be a "meek and mild" baby Jesus, but he did great. The only time he fussed was during the song "Silent Night." The irony of hearing the words, "Silent Night" followed by a crying a baby was actually pretty cute and he was able to settle down quickly.

After the production was over, we had many people come up and ask to have their picture with us. We felt like Santa Clause as the ward's children stood on stage to have a photo with us. Several little children asked if they could see Baby Jesus, and then proceeded to just stand there and stare at Jaxon. When they left the stage, they would say, "Goodbye Jesus. Goodbye Mary. Goodbye Joseph." So cute! We know these kids well, but when we were in costume, they treated us like we were some Disney character. It ended up being a wonderful night.

This is a candid shot... we were trying to get him to calm down to take a family photo. When we saw this picture we couldn't stop laughing... I guess we have the same style of quieting our baby...

Jax's birth announcement. My favorite part is his HUGE wrist roll...

I know we have several viewers of this blog that we don't have physical addresses for, so I thought I would post Jaxon's birth announcement and our family Christmas ard so everyone could feel included. So everyone... Merry Christmas and Happy Baby!

Thanksgiving Fun

Jax in his favorite monkey hat

Just stretching...

Mom and Dad gave Jax this Triceratops when he was born. He already has started to ride it...with his parents help.

Jax's favorite pose... does he look like a Raptor ready to attack to anyone else? Maybe it is just the red eyes...

So, it has been a little while since our last blog... Jaxon has been keeping us extra busy lately because he has grown into his, "I Don't Want To Be Put Down Even If You Have To Use The Bathroom" phase. The past few weeks I have literally had only about 30 minutes a day to myself. I'll admit, it has been a little frustrating to not be able to put on my pants without my baby shedding tears (that's right! He has developed tears!! It is so sad to see, but we are excited for this latest development.) However, whenever I pick him up again he actually makes a "Ahh," sound that just melts my heart. It is fun to know that he likes spending time with us. :)

We just got back from our Thanksgiving trip down to Shelley to see the grandparents. We stayed with Chad's mom and my parents also came up to spend a few days. The weekend was all about Jaxon, as it should have been, and everyone had a great time fawning over our little boy. It was perfect for him because with four eager grandparents, he literally did not get put down once. Chad said that he was having Jaxon withdrawls because he had so little time to hold him. Jax did a great job with the drive and cried for maybe 40 minutes of the entire 20 hour drive. He is such a sweet baby, and was the smash hit of Thanksgiving. To quote one of my favorite children's books, Where the Wild Things Are, we want to "Eat him up, we love him so!"

Cute Baby Picture of the Week

Jaxon's favorite sucking device... Dad's thumb. Look how light his hair has gotten!

Ahh, sleeping like a baby... Jax fights so hard to not fall asleep, but when he finally does, he is out for the count...

Best Birthday Gift Ever...

Chad and Elder Header putting up the shelf... and paying homage to Hitler...?
Chad putting away the goods...

Birthdays have always been a time of joy and excitement for me. Although my birthday is still 5 months away, I have never been more excited to celebrate... That's right- mom and dad gave us a food storage "Shelf-Reliance" shelf for our birthdays (Chad's birthday is in a week and a half). The Shelf-Reliance system is AWESOME. It stores hundreds of cans and works like the soup cans in the grocery store which rotate themselves once you take the first can out so the oldest can is always the one you use first. Brilliant I tell you!

Chad and I were so excited while we put together our beloved Shelf-Reliance until the thought occurred to us that we were gushing over a food storage aide... were we really that OLD to be excited over something so practical? The sad truth is, "Yes." It is funny how priorities change over the years. There was once a day when the typical things that I got really excited about were pretty hair clips or new shoes. Today however, it is the everyday practical stuff that I never had interest in before that really gets my heart beating. Last week I almost wet my pants when I learned that JoAnne's fabric was have a huge sale on thread.... I guess it is a sad but almost inevitable truth that at some point you have to grow up a little bit and desire things you actually need... I'm just worried because I'm only in my mid-twenties... what is the rest of my life going to be like?

10 days old

After Jaxon's first bath

Jaxon has reached ten days old already! And he has changed so much in that short time. It took him a few days to learn how to eat and a few more to sleep in his bassinette for more than a few minutes. By day six Megan and I were up to 2-3 hours of sleep at a time, by working as a team. Now he's beginning to work himself up before bed, needing to be rocked and calmed. He's waking up less at night, sleeping a bit less during the day, and starting to make brief moments of eye contact with us. We've only taken him out of the house 3 times: to the doctor for his circumcision, to Braydon's baptism, and to our friends the Dollahites (they just had a baby, too). Jaxon is very sweet-natured and a natural cuddler. After he gets full on milk, he just kind of collapses over onto whoever is holding him. Dad's favorite time is holding Jaxon on his chest while he sleeps. He's had two baths. And he's only gotten really angry once, when the nurse performed the big c. He was NOT a happy baby for a few minutes. But he's healthy and well and we are completely enamored by this new little world-rocking center of the Anderson universe. Here's some more pictures for everyone to enjoy.

In addition, THANK you so much to those who have sent gifts, brought meals, called to check on us, or sent letters. It is so wonderful to feel the support of loved ones during this time of celebration (and exhaustion). The biggest thanks go to Megan's parents, who are finally grandparents (they've been old for a really long time), for staying with us a week, helping out, and getting to know this sweet little boy.

Dad's favorite time

Somehow even funny-looking babies are sweet-looking...

Dad's off to church. This is Jaxon's Mr. Roar outfit.

Halloween

Jaxon's glow-in-the-dark skeleton costume and pumpkin hat, as provided by GG and Pops.

Grandma O with Jaxon, Branson, and Braydon

Grandma O's first few mintues with Jaxon

Cousin Braydon

ROAR!Dad's first time using the Moby.

Jaxon's first nap in his little swing thing.

Sweet little boy.

Another bath photo

Our good friends the Coopers in their first visit with Jaxon. That is their son Michael. We want them to play together, but we'll have to refer to them as Jaxon and Michael, not Michael and Jaxon...

Proud Pops

Another picture of Jaxon napping

Baby Nicknames

When Megan and I were dating, we would often call each other crazy nicknames like "Megs" and "Chadders." I know, we like to live dangerously. But the day we got married, with no seeming effort, we lost our names and started calling each other babe, honey, sweetheart, and other cootie-filled terms. It's a rare occasion when I hear my wife call me Chad. It's kind of weird, actually, when that does happen.

So now that Jaxon is 9 days old, we have been calling him all sorts of cutesy names. Megan uses all these darling sobriquets like Honey-Bear (as in "oh, honey bear, don't cry") and Cuddle-Bug (as in "he's such a cuddle-bug!"). My nicknames for him are much cooler. For example, before eats, he does the rooting and sucking reflex stuff and I simply have to call him suck-face. I mean, his face is sucking and there is nothing there! It's not as mean as it sounds. Try it. "Oh, are you hungry little suck-face?" See, it's cute! Megan and her mom do not really approve. I also enjoy the name Mr. Roar. He has a little hat with a lion that says "ROAR!" on it, and that becomes his nickname when he wears the hat. Another that Megan and I agree on is Little Pteradactyl, cause he sounds like one when he gives us his high-pitched screech.

So to summarize: Honey-Bear, Cuddle-Bug, Suck-Face, Mr. Roar, and Little Pteradactyl. Do you have a favorite? Should we continue to expand the list, or just stick to what we've got?

Loving being a parent, Chad

Jaxon's first pictures!!!