Baby Ultrasound. It's a.. ... ... (keep reading)

On Friday, Jen and I went to her doctor for the baby's first ultrasound and to find out whether it was a boy or a girl. Now for those of you who would shun technology and say you would prefer not to know what you're having... I say bullcrap. People have been trying to find out the sex of their baby for millennia. That's why you have all of the other lovely devices to predict your baby's sex at an astonishing 50% clip - you're carrying high, you're carrying low, heartbeat is fast, heartbeat is slow, you dangle a needle over the belly and it spins clockwise, etc, etc, etc. Besides, if you dislike technology so much, what are you doing on a computer in the first place? Shouldn't you be reading a book by candlelight? :)

So, seeing the baby was really an amazing thing, but a bit surreal. I *knew* that what I was seeing was right below Jen's belly button but there sure still seemed to be a disconnect in my brain about the reality of it all. It was like I was watching a weird science experiment and I didn't get really excited about what I had seen until about 2 minutes after it was over. The baby didn't cooperate at first about letting us see what it was. It was laying on its belly with its back toward the ultrasound machine and in the classic fetal position... so we couldn't see where we needed to see. So the nurse checked all the other items that she needed to check... and it was still in the same position. So she started jostling Jen's belly saying, "C'mon, move, move" and after what seemed like forever the little guy decided to roll over and show us all he had... It's a boy!

The first picture is what we saw on the ultrasound. However, for clarity, since people always have a hard time picking out detail on ultrasound pictures, I have also provided a "rotated" view AND a photograph of Peyton Manning in approximately the same pose to help you visualize..

We honestly would have been happy with either, but it is nice to have a boy for a couple reasons. Number 1, my grandpa wanted a boy to make sure the name "Halsey" keeps getting passed down. All of my male cousins with the name "Halsey" have thus far had daughters. Also, Jen's parents presently have 6 granddaughters and only 1 grandson. So 1 more grandson will even that out a bit and give Jen's dad another boy to do boy things with.

And, not to forget about Sanders, we'll leave you with this sad little picture. It happened about 2 weeks ago when Jen trimmed his nails. Afterward, we walked into the kitchen and saw BLOODY PAW PRINTS everywhere!! So Jen got out some corn starch and I poured it on his little paw to stop the bleeding. It was quite the site after he tried to eat the corn starch off the floor.

Also, in the mail the other day we got a pair of doggie snow boots Jen ordered for him. Let me let you in on a secret. DOGS DO NOT LIKE SHOES! We put them on him on Thursday night when they arrived and trust me... hilarity ensued. Here's a funny video of him walking in them!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

So this morning I woke up to let Sanders out to go to the bathroom. He proceeded to take 4 'hops' out the door, and 4 'hops' directly back in through the door. He gave me this look like "You want me to squat and pee in this stuff?" So, I was suckered in from looking at those puppy dog eyes, and shoveled him a path to a spot in our backyard to relieve himself. And he actually used it. Then he proceeded to want to run and play in the snow. He loves it. The only issue is that his hair loves it too. Snow sticks to his hair the way that lint sticks to a lint brush. Needless to say, he always comes in soaking wet after a little play time. But it is OK, because look at how cute he is!!

Cool Art

Tony made the piece of art you see above. He made the box/stained it that the corks are in. Then he arranged 2 layers of wine/champagne corks into the box. The group of grapes in the center are made out of the corks from bottles of red wine. The leaves are cut out from labels from the wine bottles. The tendrils are made from corkscrews. He is amazingly talented, isn't he?

Sanders loved the corks too. Every time we weren't looking, he would sneak into the spare bedroom where Tony was assembling/laying out his creation and would pick up one or two corks and carry into the living room. He didn't normally chew on them too much!

Hannukah and Christmas time!

Our friends, Anat and Kevin, had a Hannukah party this year. I learned a lot about the Jewish traditions, including that Jelly Donuts are a tradition! My neighbor Brooke helped me make some of these yummy donuts to take to the party!Below are Brandi, myself and Anat at the Hannukah Party.

We spent Christmas Eve with our awesome neighbors, John and Judy, and their daughter Jenn, and their son Joe and his wife Stacey. We had great appetizers and soups!


I had to laugh when Tony got my brother in law a "Maajor Awaaard". Yes, the infamous leg lamp from "A Christmas Story". How hilarious!
Here are some pictures of Sanders having a great time on Christmas!

Somehow Sanders ended up getting gift wrapped during all the excitement of the day!
He loved visiting and playing with Richard and Kaleda.

Sanders got a new rope toy from grandma and grandpa!

Gingerbread House competition!

My friend Mandy and I decided to build a Gingerbread house during the holidays to compete in the Hamilton County Library's Gingerbread house competition. There were about 40 entries. We won the blue ribbon for the Group division, and we also won People's Choice Award! Here are some pictures of our AWESOME gingerbread house. We may have to compete in the Conner Prairie Gingerbread house competition next year.

A couple of points about the house:
-There are pink ribbons on the back (I still have to upload these from my other camera). Those are for breast cancer awareness. Mandy lost her mom to breast cancer this past fall. The words inside the barn are "In Loving Memory of Denise"
-The theme is "Santa left his toys", so Mrs. Claus (dressed in pink) and the elf are waving up to Santa to bring him back
-There are hoof prints in the snow. Not sure you can make them out on these pictures.

-Notice the weathervane. All directions point south...that was Tony's idea!
-Everything on the house is edible!

And, since this blog is technically about Sanders....here he is making himself comfy under the Christmas Tree!

Burrs are the ENEMY!

Back at Thanksgiving time, we went up to Tony's parents' house and spent the weekend. Sanders ABSOLUTELY loves being out at either of the grandparents' houses because of the wide open spaces. He loves to run and see what kind of new adventures he can have. On this particular weekend, he learned what burrs were. We learned how much it sucks to have a long haired dog that likes to run and play in the burrs. Especially when we don't want to cut off his beautiful cords. (They are coming in quite nicely!). When he came in from his fun time of romping outside, we quickly realized that his nice soft coat was not so soft. It was COVERD in burrs. His entire underbelly and neck and feet were COVERED. Tony's mom and I sat down and picked at his fur until the burrs were most of the way out. I think we spent about an hour doing it...guh! He was so good, laying there as we tugged away. (Sorry, I can't seem to get this picture to rotate!) This pile is about 3/4 of the debris we pulled out.

After we got back home, we gave Sanders a MUCH needed bath. Baths normally consist of about 30-60 minutes of washing/rinsing and then 15-30 minutes of blow drying. Unfortunately, the blow drying doesn't really even begin to dry poor Sanders' hair. Every time he shakes, more moisture is wicked to the ends of his cords. So, we are trying to master the 'towel dry' after the blow dry. Many people have recommended putting the dog in a sweatshirt and pinning it up tightly so he can walk around in it. Here he is in my sweatshirt. I think we need to get 2 child size sweatshirts to put him in (1 for each end). I need to get out to Goodwill to find some old sweatshirts that I could use. Isn't he so cute laying in his bed and trying to dry off? [Notice the dampness of the sweatshirt]

New Addition!

Not that this will come as a surprise to any of you that read this, but Jen and I are going to be new parents. Jen is pregnant and the "official" due date is July 6, 2009. People told us when we got Sanders that we'd have kids next. I guess they were right. I suppose some people use having a puppy as an interim step from no responsibility to lots of responsibility. So in a round about way, Sanders is partly responsible for this. He and I will have to have a talk.

We went to the doctor December 22 and heard the heartbeat of the baby for the 1st time. It was incredible (at least for us). A recording of the heartbeat is attached with this post. In late January, we'll find out whether Sanders is going to have a little brother or sister to watch over.