A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TANNER ROCKWELL

So there I was, sleeping peacefully, minding my own business, when Mom decided to get a little bit creative on me . . .

She pulled out Daddy's hair gel and started messing with my 'do . . .

and then dressed me up in all sorts of outfits - Thanks Auntie Deb, Cousin Emily, and Aunt Joyce for my bling bling binky and cool outfits . . . Mom just couldn't wait to get me to try them all out.

C'mon Mom . . . leave me alone already!!

Alright, alright, I'll give you a cool Rockstar picture - just for Dad . . . "Rock On!"

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and I need my beauty sleep. All this dressing up really wore me out . . . "YAWN"

Already Drawing a Crowd

Grandma and Grandpa Chamberlain, and Aunties Amber and Elise made the long drive from Utah for a quick, 2-day visit . . . they just couldn't wait to see Tanner.

Tanner is the first grandbaby and nephew in the family and he sure did get a lot of loving attention from his adoring fans.

Here is Tanner, winning over the hearts of grandpa and his aunties.

Tanner's talented grandpa drew this beautiful picture of me and Tanner.

Lucky for me, this gorgeous grandma gets to stay with us for 10 days to help take care of me . . . I mean Tanner. Thanks mom! Tanner and I love having you here with us!!

THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TO VISIT! WE'LL MISS YOU - BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE END OF OCTOBER!

Bringing our Rockstar Home

We were discharged from Cedars-Sinai late Wednesday night and are so happy to be home. The hospital stay was great - we had some really fabulous nurses - but, we were anxious to get Tanner home.

Proof that this little cutie pie is indeed ours

My two favorite guys, just hanging out together, waiting for me to switch out of my lovely hospital attire and into my comfy sweats for the ride home

Tanner, all bundled up and ready to face the world.

Daddy and Son, Home at last.

The last 3 days have been extremely overwhelming, exhausting, and . . . absolutely perfect. I don't know how to describe the joy I feel about having this new, perfect little person in my life.

WE LOVE YOU TANNER!!

T. ROCK

Sporting white plastic trunks, he stands at a strapping 1 foot 8 inches tall, and weighs in at a lean 7 pounds and 9 ounces. He holds an unblemished lifetime record of 1 win and 0 losses. He is the current, reigning and defending, undefeated champion of the Vandermyde home, fighting out of Beverly Hills, California . . .

TANNER ROCKWELL VANDERMYDE!

After waiting at home through 8 hours of contractions, Matt and I finally decided to make our way to Cedars-Sinai Hospital at 6pm. When we arrived, I was already dilated to a 5, almost a 6 - well on my way to having a baby.

I toughed out the heavy contractions like a champ - Matt can attest to my bravery - until 10:30pm, when I received my relief: the epidural. The doctor arrived three hours after the epidural and I pushed through just 3 contractions before Tanner was born - at 1:33am.

Here we are: the proud new parents of a happy, healthy, adorable little boy.

Here are his tiny, precious feet

Here I am with my little sweetheart. I just think Tanner is the most adorable little guy ever. He's got a great head of blonde hair that I can't get enough of.

Matt and I are so excited to have our little Tanner-Man here with us. We can't wait to get out of the hospital and start this new journey in our lives - as the parents of an amazing, beautiful baby boy.

We feel so blessed that Tanner Rockwell Vandermyde has joined our family.

A Few of My Favorite Things

1. The beautiful vase my talented dad made - and the fact that the Flower District is near my house, so I can pick up a bouquet of fresh flowers for just $6

2. These great sketches my dad did of me and Matt - and of what Mini-Matt will look like as a teenager. My dad did a few different caricature sketches of Mini-Matt's potential looks - all based on the characteristics of my amazing husband, Matt: diligent, sensitive, determined, and happy.

3. Mini-Matt's cute little pac n' play bassinet - and the cool, super comfortable bed that Matt built for me . . . for all the nights I'll be up with the our new little man.

4. This great framed picture that my sisters-in-law put together for me and Matt when we got married . . . with a list of the 10 things we each love about each other.

5. This amazing fabric and canvas piece of art that my little sister Elise made for me - to go in the baby's room.

6. This painting my dad did for Matt of a picture Matt took on his airplane ride home from his mission. This picture is hanging by our door and is entitled: "Return With Honor."

7. My amazing husband, Matt. He is my support and my inspiration. I love him and am so grateful to have him in my life. He's going to be the best dad ever!

I just wanted to share these things because I'm feeling especially grateful today . . .

These are all the things I'm going to miss while I'm at the hospital (of course, I won't be missing Matt, because he's going to be there supporting me through the whole thing) . . . that's right, Matt and I are on our way to the hospital to HAVE A BABY!!

FUN BABY PICTURES TO COME . . .

Pregnancy Pictures

Our good friends, Paul and Kristi, were nice enough to head out to Malibu early one morning and take some fun pregnancy pictures of me. Here are some of the cool pictures they shot. Thanks you two!!

Progression of The Belly!!

The Belly started out as an embarrassing little ball of fat that, even at 21 weeks along-and much to my frustration, no one seemed to recognize as a prego baby bump . . .

And proceeded to grow into a 28 week old mini basketball bump that was virtually nonexistent from behind . . .

And now, at 38 weeks, it has progressed to the stages of a fully ripened, prize-winning melon.

Mini-Matt could be coming any day now!!! . . .

A Very Scientific Saturday

Our friends, Brian and Liz, called us up on Friday night to see what our weekend plans were. Brian, unsure of what our reaction would be, hesitantly brought up an activity that we could join in on . . . if we wanted to . . . spending Saturday afternoon at the USC Science Center.

Now, I would like to pause for a moment here to give you all a little insight into my husband: Matt LOVES science. He has always been fascinated with the way that things work. Growing up, he spent much of his time fixing up Jeeps in his friend Tiny's garage. He used to take apart anything he could get his hands on - just to figure out how it worked and how to make it better. (He even did a year of engineering school before he decided to be an attorney).

Now, Matt's favorite show of all-time involves the sign featured below. If you recognize the sign and if your dream job would be to work alongside Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, then you and Matt could just be soul mates.

Needless to say, Brian was not expecting such an enthusiastic response to his Science Museum idea.

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On Saturday, when we pulled into the USC Science Center, Matt could barely contain his excitement. He kept saying, "I can't believe you've never taken me here!!" (little did he know that I had looked into us going before, but the negative reviews kept me away . . . though I should have realized that Matt would have fun anyway).

Science Center Activities:

Creating "Earthquake Matt" on the Seismograph.

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Testing the sturdiness of the High Wire Bicycle - as well as the

patience of the ride's operator.

(Matt's Ride Review: "Best $2 I've ever spent!")

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Listening to the sound of . . . ? . . . something scientific

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Flying paper airplanes in a very intense distance challenge

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Piloting the cool little police helicopter

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Battling with foam airplane wings

(Matt clearly has the upper hand in this foam-winged battle - Go Team V!)

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And, of course, stopping at the "Stamp Stop" to make sure that

our Science Center map had been stamped at the various

locations that we visited.

(Who could resist getting their map stamped at these giant green "Stamp Stop" stations?!)

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Overall, despite the fact that the poor reviews were well deserved and that the free admission probably won't be enough to entice us to the Museum again, we all had a very fun-filled Scientific Saturday.