Yesterday Ben decided he wanted his training wheels off. I think he’s been ready for this for quite some time now but every time I asked he would always say no. Yesterday was the day though. He had already bent one of the training wheels up a bit and it wasn’t going to repair easily. I asked him as I’ve asked him dozens of times, “Ben, should I just take them off completely?” I was a bit surprised when he said “Sure!!!”

Amy prepped her camera … I stood by ready to perform the most sacred of fatherly rituals of holding him upright and running beside him for the next half mile while he struggled to stay upright. What happened you ask? I held on for about 3 seconds before he realizes he’s under control then he speeds away and starts doing figure eights in the cul-de-sac. All I can do is watch as he does 3 perfect laps. And I mean perfect. After 3 laps he gets confident and starts doing tricks. Riding with only one hand on the handlebars. Sticking both legs out to the side. Sitting on the frame. He had this down.

The other day Ben disappeared into his room for a while before finding me and presenting me with a note he wrote all by himself. He’s getting really good at de-constructing words and sounding them out but he usually needs a little prompting to do something like this. This was the first time he had ever done this all by himself.

WE YHD 2 D FREZ

Ben (very excited and hopeful): “Daddy, can you read it?”
Me: “Um, sorry buddy but I can’t. What does it say?”
Ben: “We watched the Tour De France. Did I get it right?”

I was very proud of him. He’s so ready for Kinder in a few weeks.

Evan Christopher Anderson was born on at 1:47pm on June 10th.  He weighed in at 9lb 5oz and measured out at 20.75 inches.  Everyone is happy, healthy and recovering.  I’ll update with some pictures once I have caught up on some email.

Things have been pretty crazy around the Anderson household lately.

First, Ben graduated from pre-school and lost his first tooth on the same day. Awesome! He’s such a big guy now I can’t believe it. We are so proud of him.

Then a few days later we lost Daisy, our Golden Retriever, to cancer. That was pretty traumatic as one can imagine. Amy and I adopted her before we were married and she’s been such a close part of our lives ever since.

And now Amy is scheduled to be induced on June 10th. One week from tomorrow. That’s 8 days away. Wow!!!

My lovely wife recently asked me publicly about the things I love. Here’s a quick list.

• Food (I don’t think I’m a “foodie” but I REALLY like food, there’s nothing I patently dislike)

• wine: I’m not too particular but I really like a good shiraz or merlot
• beer: anything but american piss-beer, I really like these brands: Guinness, Duvel, Sierra Nevada, Rahr, Shiner
• cheese: blue, havarti, sharp swiss, blue cheddar (I’m drooling just thinking about it)
• bread: anything crusty, whole wheat, with chunks (that’s for you Amy), pumpernickel etc
• fruits and vegetables: about anything fresh, I’m currently growing: tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, squash, lettuce and watermelon
• Ms Sandy’s snow cones, mmmmm, tastes like summer

• my Ridgid 24V cordless hammer drill, it’s the best cordless drill you can buy IMHO hands down
• my Craftsman radial arm saw, it’s my general purpose work-horse saw, I love it
• my BBQ pit.
  

• U2, Toadies, NIN, Muse, Sparta, Stone Temple Pilots, Chevelle, Metallica, The Mars Volta, Burden Brothers, and many more….

• Davis Mountains, not the most beautiful mountains I’ve been to, but this family place is my zen-spot, my centering place
• our back yard, very relaxing and comforting
• my workshop (or my Man Room as Amy calls it)

• My wife and son are the joys of my life. Period.
• My family (immediate and extended) is incredible and I don’t get to spend enough time with any of them.
• My friends are all wonderful and different. Every time we have a BBQ or gathering I realize how fortunate we are.
• My job and career. I love where I work and what I do. I couldn’t ask for a better team, boss, department or company to work for. I’ve never been happier professionally.

Last weekend we picked up a new member of the family. Sophie Sky Anderson is a 7 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She’s utterly adorable and Ben is about as happy as you could imagine a 4 (but almost 5) year old little boy could be.

And, as usual, we have lots of pictures.

The tail end of 2007 has brought with it a series of both good and bad news.

In October we learned that Amy was pregnant. Shortly thereafter her morning sickness started in earnest. At one point it was bad enough for us to spend an evening in an emergency care facility. Another time her doctor admitted her to the hospital for a few days. Thankfully is has been subsiding though lately for us to enjoy a wonderful Christmas. With some help we pulled off a spectacular feast complete with smoked turkey, cornbread and shrimp stuffed acorn squash and roasted french green beans.

In the last few months Ben has answered answered every Christmas present query with a puppy. Amy and I weren’t quite sure how to answer that request other than to say that Santa makes toys, not puppies. Then we took Daisy (our 8 year old Golden Retriever) to the vet to have a lump on her back looked at. They removed a handful of cancerous tumors from inside her back, neck and leg. X-Rays showed that the cancer has spread to her lungs and lymphatic system. Bottom line, she has roughly 6 months to live. Now we are thinking that a puppy sounds like the perfect companion to help him through losing his best friend. Santa brought (among many other cool things) a dog Encyclopedia so he and Amy have spent several days pouring through it to search for the perfect puppy. Looks like we’ll be looking for a Corgi in a few months. For now though Daisy is fine and has recovered from her surgery with flying colors.

Here’s to a strong finish to 2007 and a wonderful 2008. It may have a few rough spots but we’re looking forward to a new puppy and new baby.

I guess the title is a really geeky way of saying … we’re pregnant. Or more accurately Amy is pregnant and she’s due in mid-June.

Her morning sickness is not at all limited to the mornings but it not nearly as bad as it was with Ben. We’ve already been to an emergency clinic for an IV and she’s been on several different medications. A particular combination of them seems to be mostly doing the trick lately but she’s still having a pretty rough time of it all. It’s been bad enough that she has decided to put the business on hold until she can offer the quality photography and customer service she is committed to deliver.

Anyway, we are all happy and excited. Ben is hoping for a little brother and is already picking out names. Bob and Santa Claus are his top picks at the moment.

If you call us and we don’t answer or we don’t return your call right away, please bare with us.  It’s not that we don’t want to hear from you, it’s just not easy for Amy to talk on the phone when she feels so bad.

Amy is currently attending the TPPA conference in Kerrville. This is the 3rd year she has attended but the first year that she has entered their print competition. This competition is quite difficult because the competitors are all high end professional photographers from all over Texas and surrounding states.

She took 4 prints with her yesterday and all of them scored very well for a first time entrant. This morning she checked on her scores and all of her prints did very well with one earning Honor of Exhibition (a very coveted placement especially for first time entrants).

Congratulations sweetheart. I’m very proud of you.

Update: It turns out that 3 of her 4 entries won the Honor of Exhibition status!

To those readers who aren’t (yet) parents, I apologize. This post is likely to disgust you. This is however precisely what life is like with a 4 year old boy.

As Ben was getting dressed for bed this evening he made me the following offer while standing in his bedroom completely naked:

Ben: “Daddy, smell my finger.”

Me: “Why? What does it smell like?”

Ben: “Like hot peppers, fresh tomatoes and yummy milk.”

Me: “Um, no thanks.”