Christmas in Utah

This Christmas was the first time in at least the six year’s I’ve been an Anderson, that all of Gavin and Jill’s kids were home for Christmas! This year there were no missions, kids who moved away (read: us), or flying away to visit in-laws (except: us)
We had a great time! Here are the family photos we took of the whole gang, for Gavin and Jill’s Christmas cards. I’ll post more photos from the trip later.

Goodbye old friend

A moment of silence and gratitude for our honda that finally quit this month. Thank you for 7 years of no car payments....sigh. This was my first car, given to me by my sister in 1999. It’s been a good little car for us and has travelled with us from Utah to Richmond to Atlanta. Good bye to no air conditioning, bi-monthly oil changes, musty smells, worthless windshield wipers, and a damp trunk. Fond memories.

Santa

To Owen it was not so magical, but it was JUST like being put into an oddly dressed stranger’s arms. I didn’t really care whether or not we did the Santa photo thing, but I wondered if one day I would want this photo, or if one day Owen would care (that day was clearly not today). So, in fear of opportunities lost or childhoods unfulfilled, here it is, in all it’s cheesy glory: the Santa photo.

Family Photos

Recently we had some family photos taken. Here are some of the shots that I really love.
Photos by Kristen Alexander

Gingerbread House

We built this gingerbread house with the Puzey kids on Sunday. It was a lot of fun to see them all get into decorating (and tasting) it. Unfortunately, these prefabs are not as delectable as their homemade neighbors, but every bit as fun!

Not impressed

Owen has mastered the “Here’s what I think of your __________” (go ahead and fill in the blank with anything) look. We get this when we’ve given him the wrong food, tried to make him laugh after taking a cell phone away from him, or introduce him to someone new. It is really funny how a one year old can somehow make you feel like you are soooo immature.

Walking

That Owen is now walking? He decided one day about 2 weeks ago that he wanted to walk. It was as simple as that. Since then he’s been delighting himself (and his parents) with his darling little strut. We just love to watch him toddle around the house. I can’t believe how quickly he is growing and changing. We love our little man.

1st Shiner

Last Sunday in nursery, Owen took a book to the eye when one of the kids in the junior nursery (where Nate and I are “teachers”) tried to get it out of his hands. Not sure exactly how it happened, but here is the result: our first shiner. Just in time for family photos too...

Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot

A favorite Atlanta tradition for the Anderson’s is going up to the Puzey’s for the Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot! The dads all dress up like turkeys, and the kids dress like pilgrims and indians and shoot the turkeys with paintball guns. It is quite a riot! We had a lot of fun this year. Our turkeys were Doug, Jason and Nate (hard to tell who’s who in a cardboard box and a beak!). The Puzey’s are so creative in their efforts to make holidays special and memorable. (I think the welts and bruises on each of our “turkeys” will help them remember for quite a while...) We had a really great time!

Baby Boy in a Bucket

I tried to take some photos of Owen for a Thanksgiving card. The idea was to have him in this bucket with his apple hat that my mom made. If you have seen any of my previous posts, you are likely aware that Owen is not fond of hats. You can see this in the photos below as well! We are both so persistent in our wishes.

A Couple of Cards

Another fun Puzey moment: building a house of cards. Little did I know that Zac and Nate were such experts at building a house of cards. The “house” ended up being several stories (almost 20!) by the time they finished. The true test of quality workmanship is how much stuff it can hold on top (see photo). Maybe one day they’ll take this show on the road, but for now, you’ll just have to enjoy the photos.

Backyard Fun

Owen and I spent the day up at the Puzeys last week and here are a few shots of the kids playing in the backyard. Owen LOVES to play with other kids and fits nicely into the Puzey lineup. Zac hooked up the wagon to the Jeep and we strapped Owen in. He really seemed to enjoy it, so much so that he didn’t have time to look at me for any photos.

Happy Halloween

this year was Owen’s 2nd halloween. I can’t believe we’re already on his 2nds! Last year he didn’t wear a costume (at only 6 weeks old) but we walked around the neighborhood with his cousins, Owen in the bjorn and fast asleep. This year he had two costumes. Both of which he hated, but both of which looked ADORABLE! One I borrowed from my sister Kristen (aforementioned cookie maven) the other was a gift from a friend. We loved them both and had fun snapping pictures of him! 

Halloween Sugar Cookies

This is my favorite halloween treat. A thick sugar cookie, with a great icing and candy corn. It is enough sugar to make one dizzy, so I make it only once a year and try to give away as many as possible.
My sister, Kristen, first introduced me to this intoxicating cookie. She is my cookie mentor. I can make one or two great kinds of cookies, but she makes dozens of kinds of fun, creative and delicious cookies.
I know it’s late for this year (maybe) but I thought I’d share the recipe anyhow. These are a little messy, but fun.

Sugar Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla

cream sugar and butter. add eggs, vanilla and dry ingredients. mix thoroughly. chill for 30 minutes. roll out to 1/4 inch and cut out a pumpkin shape (i use a glass and then reshape it a bit). Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Icing
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
milk

cream butter. add sugar, then vanilla, salt and food coloring. add milk and powdered sugar until you have your desired consistency. decorate.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin “patch” at a church with the Puzeys to take some fall photos of Owen. He was more interested in playing with the pumpkins than looking at the camera, but we got a few good shots. The church was trying to be a bit creepy for the holiday by putting on their front sign “This house is possessed by the Holy Ghost.” So I think they succeeded. It was a crisp, beautiful fall day. I love fall.

Fits

Owen has a typically happy disposition and is for the most part an easy-going kid. He is also, however, known around here to throw a good fit now and again. It’s pretty funny. He gently throws himself onto his back, kicks out his little legs, showing his disproval and then rolls around. This may play out in ones arms with an arched back maneuver. Typically this happens when he has hurt himself or when I’ve taken something out of his hands... Luckily, it is still fairly easy to distract him back into a good mood.

Spaghetti

One of Owen’s favorite foods is shells with spaghetti sauce. Which he thoroughly enjoyed the other day. It is so funny to watch him eat, and to see what he likes and what ends up on the floor (which I interpret as a “dislike”). He is just such a happy and fun boy and I love to watch him learn and grow.
Some of his new puppy tricks include: pointing at things he finds interesting, blowing kisses, repeating intonations and some words we say, walking up and down the hallway with his push-along hippo, wanting to be pushed up and down the hallway on his new bike, playing with the water in the sinks (in the photo you can see his face in the faucet), throwing fits when we take something (like scissors, cell phones, ipods, etc) out of his hands, waving hello and good-bye, laughing and shaking his head when we shake OUR heads and say “no” to something, pulling open the oven (it is now taped shut) and climbing on the door to play with the buttons, getting into every drawer to empty it.... It’s pretty funny. He has his “spots” all through the house that he systematically disorganizes. I am sure every time I reorganize it, he thinks I’ve just set it up for him to play again. What a great mom.

29

Yet another birthday celebration in the Anderson family: Nate turned 29! The last year in his twenty-somethings... To celebrate Nate took the afternoon off work on Friday. That night we went to dinner and a movie with our friends, the Hansens. Saturday we went to the Greek Festival in Atlanta (Atlantacropolis). We ate delicious Greek food and enjoyed the atmosphere. Sunday we partied with the Puzeys. It was a great weekend for us to celebrate our favorite Nate!

Atlanta Braves

Thursday night we went to see the Atlanta Braves play the New York Mets at Turner Field. Since this is the last week of the Brave’s schedule for the year, we thought we’d take in a game and enjoy a night together as a family at the ballpark.
Nate was able to get some really great tickets for us through one of his contacts at Turner, so we sat in the front row next to the dugout! It was fun. Owen loved all the lights and noises and clapped with the crowd every chance he had.
Even though I am not really a sports aficionado I really love to go to a live game. It is fun to take in all the enthusiasm of game day. Here are a few pictures we took while there:

Owen's 1st Birthday

I can’t believe Owen turned one year old already! It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that we were bringing home our little guy. This past year has been wonderful. Owen is a happy, fun, spirited little boy & has spoiled & delighted us with his cute & easy-going personality. We celebrated his birthday 3 ways: 1. by going to Disney, 2. with a pancake breakfast on his actual day, & 3. by having a party at the Puzey’s on Sunday! Between all 3 events, we were able to make him cry 2 times by trying to put hats on his head. Silly parents.
It has been a fun year of firsts for Owen & for Nate & I. We just love to watch him learn & enjoy his little life so far. We love our boy!

Disney World

This past weekend we went to DISNEY WORLD with the Puzey family. It was Owen’s first trip there (clearly) and since Nate hadn’t been in 10 years, and I hadn’t been in 20 years (!!!) we thought it was time to make a trip. We had a great time. We loved hanging out (per usual) with the Puzeys. It would not have been nearly so fun without them. It was great to watch their kids gush with enthusiasm! Owen liked the park, but hated his EARS. We couldn’t get him to keep them on for more than a few seconds...
We spent one day at Animal Kingdom and one at Magic Kingdom. It was so much fun! It was so, so hot, and I think next time we’ll plan a trip in October.

6 year anniversary

This past week, on September 7th Nate and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! I can’t believe it’s been 6 years already. I still remember when we were introducing ourselves in our BYU ward, saying we’d been married 2 weeks. It has been a wonderful 6 years and I love sharing every minute of it with Nate.
We went out (without Owen!!) and had a great time. Even though every minute hasn’t been perfect, I wouldn’t trade even one.

Puzeypalooza

Nate, Owen & I spent this past weekend with the Puzey kids, while Cheryl (my sister) and her husband went to SLC for a wedding! We had a great time. They have 4 kids, so with Owen in tow it was a grand total of 5 kids! We love to visit and hang out with the Puzeys. Owen really loves to be surrounded by other “little people” and loves the commotion of family! Here are a few pictures taken while there. I didn’t get as many as I’d like, but I do love bathtub photos!

Raleigh, NC

Last weekend we went to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit our friends, Robyn and Andrew Bywater and their two little guys: Sophia and Oliver. It was a fun road trip weekend and we were able to hang out with our friends.
We went to their volleyball tournament on Saturday (they took 1st place!) and ate all sort of our favorite foods (including the famous Bywater Caramel Corn). We went to NC state, where Andrew is going to school, to see the beautiful campus.
We also had all sorts of fun with Robyn’s new business: GraffitiCHIC. It is creative vinyl home decor. I’ll post some of the things I’ve done with the vinyl she made for me later, but you can check out her before and after photos on her website and blog. So creative and fun.
Owen and Oliver are only two weeks apart, and it was fun to watch the two of them scooting aroung together and getting into everything. Sophia loved to carry around Owen, who is about the LENGTH of Oliver, but has a bit more weight, so it looked pretty funny! So fun to watch kids together. Owen LOVES to play with other little people, and gets so excited!
Here are the pics of our trip. We tried out Nate’s new camera, so we need a bit more practice with that...some of the photos didn’t turn out as well as we’d like!

Washington

Okay, I am getting tired of doing kitchen entries for now...I’ll post more as we finish more projects. For now, I wanted to share about my trip out to Mount Vernon, Washington: my home town. Owen and I flew out to Washington from July 27-August 3. We were able to visit and enjoy my many family members there! My parents and 5 of my sisters (and their families) live in Washington. It is always so fun to see everyone, and we always end up wishing we didn’t live so far away, because it is hard to get out there very frequently. We were able to go to the park and play with the kids, have family dinners, anniversary and birthday celebrations, help my mom set up her OWN blog, meet the new babies, Rylee and Claire, play at grandma and grandpas house, go shopping, have sleep overs with cousins, get haircuts and, of course a bout with a stomach bug. While there I watched my sister, Karen’s children while they went away to Chicago! Here are some of the photos we took from that visit.

It is always fun to rediscover your home town with your “grown up” eyes and see things differently. Mount Vernon is a really lovely town, and for me, full of great memories. It was funny to drive by my old high school and see that it looks more like a college campus now! I also (as always) made a trip to See’s candies for some chocolate, and discovered a delicious new panini recipe (I’ll share that later...) from one of the grocery store delis there. So much fun, we wished we could visit more often.
I love my family.

30

Today I turned 30 years old!
    Yes, the big three-zero. I am finally old, right? I love birthdays and this one was fun. My friend Carolyn Hansen and I share the same birthday, and we celebrated together (see photo). We went to dinner and a movie with our hubbies.
    I had a couple of tough moments, and 30 came with a bit of a dose of reality that my birthdays are not ONLY about me anymore (the definition of growing up?), but over all it was a great day. I am actually the type to make July my birthday month...which just means I get to choose what movies we see or where we eat. (For example, we went to see the Devil wears Prada on my birthday.)
    So I still have a few weeks left to party and bring in my 30s era of life appropriately.

Richards Family Reunion

    This past week we were out in Utah for the Richards (Nate’s mom and her sisters) Family Reunion. Nate’s mom Jill has 5 sisters, so our reunion was with her sisters and their families. It was a huge group and we had a ton of fun! Here are some pictures of the entire group. Also, Nate’s Aunt Barbara (who hosted the event) made this HUGE family tree with everyone’s photos on it. She is so creative and talented!
    The reunion took place in Eden, Utah, which is up Ogden Canyon. We hiked, swam, went to the lake, played tennis, painted ceramics, made bracelets, and played games, all while visiting with our family. We don’t get to see many of our relatives very often, so it was really nice to catch up on how everyone is doing.
    This was Owen’s first trip out to Utah and the first time he met most of his relatives there. Jill and Gavin came to Atlanta for Owen’s blessing in October, but he hadn’t met anyone else! It was a lot of fun to let our family get to know our little man, and to watch him enjoy being with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
    We wished we could have stayed longer and had more time to visit. It would be fun to take a month off and just be with family for a while.

Screen on the Green

    Thursday night we went out to Piedmont Park for an Atlanta summer tradition: Screen on the Green. This is (for all who aren’t from here) a fun thing they do on Thursdays in June. This past Thursday was the last one, and since Nate’s softball game was cancelled, we thought we’d go and see what all the talk was about.
    TCM puts out a huge screen in the middle of Piedmont Park and they show a TCM movie. The night we went was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We didn’t stay for the movie, but just went to check things out. The movie starts at sundown (about 9pm) and Owen was too tired to even try that.
    We had a great time taking a walk through the park. It’s a very picturesque way to see Midtown, Atlanta. Also, summer festivals like this are great fun and draw all sorts of crowds. There are about 10,000 people that come each Thursday night!

Getting SO BIG!

Today we went in for our 9 month check up! Owen is actually almost 9 and 1/2 months. I can’t believe how quickly he is growing. He is such a fun kid. We got our stats and Owen has lost his 95%ile status. He now lingers at the 75%ile in height, weight and head circumference. He currently weighs in at 22pounds-6ounces and 29inches in length, for those who may want to know. He is still, as you can see in photos, not a slight kid! We sure love every ounce of him though!
He is very active all the time. He is now crawling, as of this week! It is so cute to see him figure out how to get around. Before he figured out the crawling mechanism he would dive, lunge, roll and reach to get to something. Now he just scoots around and seems to enjoy exploring in his new way. He is still very talkative and says da-da-da-da all day long. He only says ma-ma-ma when he is very tired or needy. Nate gets to be the fun one already! No big surprise there.
He loves to clap his hands and get you to play along with him. He also has found that he can make lots of fun noises with his mouth and hand. He loves to stop and make sure you are paying attention, then laughs at his cute tricks. As promised, I’ll make a video in the next few entries so you can see some of what I’m talking about. I know you are ALL dying to see our home videos!

Sullivan's Island

    We spent part of one day at Sullivan’s Island at the beach. This is just across the Cooper River from the peninsula. It was beautiful. The beach there is great for kids, it has a sandbar, creating a smaller, more shallow pool with no undertow for little guys. Beyond the sandbar you can see the Atlantic Ocean waves crashing on shore.
    It really was beautiful. The weather this weekend could not have been more perfect!  This would be a great family vacation location. It has a beautiful beach, as well as loads of things to do in the city nearby. We love to go to the beach and relax.
    We also stopped in for lunch at a local hotspot, Poe’s Tavern. We’re not really tavern people, but they say this place has the best burgers in Charleston, and we ARE burger people. We tried a burger, which was great, but we think they have the best nachos and fish tacos in Charleston. Great beach food. Nate, of course, got a T-shirt.
    Charleston has a unique, delightful charm of the old south mixed with a caribbean flair. We really enjoyed our trip and hope to visit the city and the beach again!

Cara & Michael

    This past weekend we went to Charleston, South Carolina for a wedding. Our friends Cara Goldberg and Michael Grossman were married. Cara was my classmate at Emory’s PA program, and watched Owen once I started work. It was a wonderful weekend, and a beautiful city. We loved it! The wedding was beautiful. We had never been to a Jewish wedding before.
    The night before the wedding was the rehearsal dinner at Michael’s parent’s home on Sullivan’s Island. Their house is beautiful! It is right on the beach. You can sort of see it from the photo of Owen and Nate. Just behind the shrubbery is the Atlantic Ocean. The entire back side of their home is glass windows, so you can imagine the amazing view they have.
    The wedding was in downtown Charleston, right on the peninsula in a beautiful building. The ceremony was very nice. We (i.e. Nate) ended up having to take Owen out of the room, because he was too enthusiastic about it all. He just kept shouting and chatting. So he and Nate listened from the foyer.
    After the wedding was dinner and dancing. We stayed for part of dinner, but never cut a rug...(we’re not great at dancing.
    Owen was great. We ran him right to the end of his rope for two days in a row and he handled it so well. We had a great time!

Bathtime

We just love bath time at our house! Owen loves to play and splash around in the bathtub every night just before bedtime. The acoustics are great too, so he yells and jabbers the entire time. He does love the sound of his voice. He talks all the time and has several new “puppy tricks” of late. I’ll put together a video for my next entry. He is still moving all over now, but without the actual act of “crawling” in place. He lunges toward whatever he needs. He is so strong now and is pulling himself up on everything. He is still so happy and fun! We just love our little guy!

Little Man

I just took this photo yesterday and couldn’t resist sharing it! Owen is growing so quickly! I can’t believe he is already eight and a half months. He has a grand total of four teeth now, with four more on the way. I just cannot resist this little smile!

The Beach!

For Memorial Day weekend we packed up and took off for the beach! We rented out a beach cottage with the Puzey family and had four fun days (and bathing suits) filled with sand and sun. Owen is still not a huge fan of spending the day at the beach, but this trip was much better than the last for him. He took his first dip in the ocean and didn’t care for it too much. We took a couple of walks along the beach at sunset with Owen in tow in his little red wagon, which seemed to suit him a little better. All in all we had a wonderful time! Here are a couple of family photos from our trip. Taken by Doug Puzey.

Richmond, VA

Last week Owen and I took a short flight up to Richmond, Virginia to spend a couple of days with Chantal, Jimmy and Ava. This was Owen’s first trip to Richmond and his first time meeting his little friends there. We helped the Thompson’s a bit with the moving in/out they are doing right now, and we said good-bye to the Hatches, who will be leaving for Arizona soon. While we were there Andrew and Robyn Bywater drove up from Raleigh with their little guys. Owen met his new “best friend” Oliver, who is only 2 weeks younger than him, but probably more than 2 pounds lighter too! We had a great time! We miss Richmond and all our friends so much and wish we could get together more often!

Seacrest Beach, Florida

This weekend was Owen’s first trip to the beach. We drove down to Florida and went to the beach along the gulf coast. We needed a little get-away, so we rented a beach house and kicked back for a few days. Owen didn’t last very long out on the beach, but we still had fun swimming, flying our pirate kite, going for walks, watching movies and playing games. We are hoping to get back down there for memorial day weekend and soak up some more sun!

50th Wedding Anniversary

My parents just celebrated 50 years of marriage on March 10th of this year! To celebrate my sisters and I hosted a party for them in Washington. It was so fun to be together as a family for such an important and special occasion. We had some family photos taken of my parents and their girls. I will post those when we get them from the photographer. It was a beautiful weekend and we had a great time watching our parents enjoy all the friends and family that came to celebrate their GOLDEN anniversary. Here is a copy of the invitation I made for their celebration. To see more photos, you can check out the webpage at: http://homepage.mac.com/nateanderson/PhotoAlbum11.html

Charleston, SC

    While we were in town for the wedding, we decided to explore Charleston. We had heard great things about it and were excited to see everything we could.
    We started out our first day by walking down King Street. This street is famous for shopping and antiques. Then we went to the local farmer’s market and arts and crafts fair, which was fun. They make basket there called Sweetgrass Baskets that are a local novelty.
    Then we took a carriage ride through the city. I love to explore cities with such rich history. Owen did great along the way. Again, we wore him out, but he handled all our running around so well. He even took a few cat naps in his stroller.
    The churches and houses in Charleston are just so beautiful and historic. They are happily situated on old cobblestone roads, with narrow alleys, English gardens and views of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. I love the Spanish Moss that hangs from the trees. There are pineapples all over incorporated into their decor as a symbol of hospitality.
    We took a walking tour that guided us through the city’s pirate history...which was a lot of fun. We love pirates. It was neat to see the homes and streets by foot as well.
    Lastly, we took a boat tour. Charleston is a port city and is the 5th busiest port in the nation (per tour guide). It was fun to see the city from the harbor and Owen seemed to enjoy being at sea. Owen is getting so big, you can see why everyone we meet calls him our little football player. That is especially endearing to southerners!
    We had a great visit. We even celebrated Nate’s first father’s day while there. We really enjoyed the time together as a family.