11 Months

So I am a few weeks late in posting this, but the actual photo was taken on her 11 month “birthday”, which was Christmas Eve. She has started moving ALL over the place in the last month. She is crawling, and pulling herself to stand on everything. Time to start baby-proofing every last thing again! It’s fun to be “reminded” that I can’t leave cups on the coffee table, or my magazine on the couch, without someone finding them. She is so fun and her little personality shines through more each month. She doesn’t like, but will tolerate baby food, and is pickier than Owen ever was. She has quickly learned how to shake her head “no” to foods she’s not interested in eating. It is very easy to tell if she doesn’t like something, because she gets a huge puckered look on her face and does full-body shudders. It’s funny.
She is a delight and I am just eating her up everyday!

My sister Gail makes these darling hooded towels and sent one for Olivia recently. We LOVE these and Olivia is so excited to have this one...as you can see...

Jordans’ wife, Samantha made (yes MADE!) this dress for Olivia for Christmas. We were trying to get out to Utah this year, and the idea was that Olivia and Elanor would wear matching dresses...that would have been even cuter. But I just had to show off this dress. She wore it to church on Sunday and it was a big hit.
PS this picture was taken on January 1st, which is why you still see a Christmas tree up in the background. 

Christmas

This year we spent Christmas at the Puzeys. We had a great time! On Christmas Eve, after our dinner, the kids put on a Nativity, under the direction of Morgan. It was really cute! Kate and Owen were Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus was played by one of Kate’s dolls, Olivia played the angel, Morgan Narrated and Carter and Zac played innkeepers, shepherds and sheep. They put it on in the basement, and when they got to the “stable” Mary and Joseph sat down in beach chairs and laid baby Jesus in a milk crate. It was awesome! Here are some pictures of the cast.

After making every last preparation for Christmas morning, Nate and I headed to bed, where we found our cute little guys (hogging our bed) in their Christmas PJs, fast asleep. Why does it feel so good to see your kids sleep? 

What makes Christmas morning so much fun? Playing with all of your presents...even simultaneously! I had to snap a picture of Owen, playing with his new kitchen, while riding his new bike...the cutie can’t help it, he comes by it honestly.

I knew Owen would be a lot of fun to watch on Christmas morning, but what I didn’t anticipate was how much fun it would be to watch Olivia. She was crawling around between her toys, the boxes, ribbons, stockings, everyone else’s toys just playing with everything. I honestly think she was down there playing for at least 3 hours. It was so fun to see her enjoy Christmas just as much as the rest of us did. I love the holidays!

Gingerbread House

Here is how our little gingerbread house turned out this year. This was a really fun activity that we did the Saturday before Christmas as our advent activity for the day. Owen was THRILLED by the idea of decorating with the candy. He was really proud and I think it turned out quite cute. We are into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse right now...can you see our Mickey’s on there?

Visiting Santa at Lennox Square

As you can see from the expressions on their faces, my children didn’t quite know what to make of the whole Santa Claus experience this year. This is the first time Owen sat on his lap, without crying. He told Santa what he wanted for Christmas, and then as we left he wanted to know where his present was. So we told him how the process works...elves and all!

Raking Leaves

What is the best part about raking leaves? Jumping in them, of course. We have had plenty of piles of leaves in our front yard the past few Saturdays, and plenty of chances to jump in them.

Park Day

We actually still have a few of those in December in Atlanta! I know I have over-blogged about it in the past, but this airport park is still our favorite. We were out that direction running errands the other day and I took some pictures of the two of them. Then later that same week we met Kristen and Mark there with the kids. Here are a few pictures...

Field Trip to the Fire Station

We took a little field trip with our preschool friends to the fire station a few weeks ago. We had a great time! We got there and took a tour of the fire station and truck, and while we were there they got a call and headed out on the truck! It was perfect! The kids all had a great time and seemed a bit overwhelmed by the experience. I had to carry both Owen and Olivia a few times because he was a bit nervous about the whole thing. It was really cute and fun. Here is our picture with Fireman Cronic:

Charlie Brown Christmas

We are going through a Charlie Brown phase around here right now. We showed Owen the Great Pumpkin, and he loved it, so we’ve been watching all of them lately. Recently we pulled out the Charlie Brown Christmas, which is also a hit and the other day after we put up our tree Owen ran and got his blue blanket to put around the bottom of the tree. I thought is was so cute I had to take a picture...

December Advent

My friend Laura has the greatest ideas, and one of my favorites is her December Advent idea. She doesn’t wrap a bunch of little gifts to be opened each day, or a piece of candy to eat, she puts a little tag on each day of her advent calendar and does a little Christmas activity each day. How fun is that? We have come up with a list of things and I will be posting as we go.
Day 1: we had FHE and read our little book about Baby Jesus while letting Owen and Olivia play with a little nativity we have. We set it up in their room.
Day 2: we made snowball cookies. We made lemon meltaways and then shook them up in a baggy full of snow (powdered sugar) and enjoyed them (see picture above).
Day 3: we visited Santa at Lenox mall. By the way, if you are interested in visiting Santa, he is a good one...real hair AND beard!

Sam the Lovesick Snowman

The kids and I went to a puppet show a few weeks ago at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts. It was a lot of fun and they were both mesmerized by it. Olivia (who does NOT sit through movies for even a nano second I recently found) even watched quietly (for the most part). It is about a snowman who falls in love with a stove...too cute. I only got this one picture of the stage, because I found out after I took it that there is no photography allowed...oops. So I took a picture of them by a display of Fraggle Rock...those guys in the background are doozers! :)

Happy Thanksgiving

...so many things. This year a few weeks before Thanksgiving we had a FHE on gratitude and we made this list. Every night before bed we asked him to name a few things he was grateful for. We had to prompt him a bit, because sometimes he would just look around and say...”this pencil?” We are grateful for pencils, but we also wanted to try to bring out a few more things too. Far from comprehensive, here is the list (still on my fridge).

While the Hiltons were here in town visiting for Thanksgiving, we were able to celebrate Mark’s birthday. We went out for some mexican food, and the very best thing about celebrating your birthday at a mexican restaurant is:

10 Months

Olivia is 10 months old now and I just had to take another standing up picture. I never stop giggling at these...she is saying “mamamamamamam” which I interpret as “mom” as any mother would. She is scooting, but not yet crawling. She still hates baby food, but is branching out a bit with her tastes. Ice cream seems to be a hit, as well as cheerios...She is still very much a mama’s girl, but is branching out to include a few others...namely dad. We just love her to pieces!

10 months

...this girl is my favorite girl on the planet. She is so sweet and pleasant and I can’t believe she is 10 months old! That’s NUTS! I am still munching on those awesome cheeks everyday and loving it. She is still not officially crawling, but wiggles all around. She is so fun and I just love having a little girl.

Boundaries

I remember while in Oslo, at a viking museum (of course I threw that in to be obnoxious...)I saw a quote on the wall. I can’t remember who the author is now, nor can I quote in verbatim, but the sentiment is this:
Boundaries: I have heard they exist in the minds of some people,
but I have never seen one.

I thought of that quote the other day when I saw Owen’s creation with his train stickers (Thank you Simon!). I just loved that the train, that started on the page, took it’s own route onto the table! I love to see what comes out of his creative little mind! After all, it is more about the train than the piece of paper anyhow, right?

Happy Halloween

So our ward trunk or treat was this Saturday night and I decided to dress up too...as Sarah Palin. Here is my take on the governor. It turned out to be really funny and I got a lot of comments from everyone, mostly favorable. :)

I am pretty sure I’ve never typed that before...not since I started a blog anyway. Well, weeks late, but here they are. Some of you may have seen his costume on Cheryl’s blog (same-day-blogger!) already, but I am ONLY 17 days late here! :) Slacker...
Anyhow the story is this: I asked Owen what he wanted to be for Halloween this year and he said a Blue Witch. I wasn’t sure what that meant, or how to go about that costume, until one day we were watching Fantasia, and I asked him if THAT was the blue witch and he said yes. So he wanted to be a wizard! Not that he will answer to wizard, he is a BLUE WITCH. Much like me, when I’m at the hospital I won’t answer when someone calls me nurse (because I’m female). He will correct anyone who tried to call him a wizard ... crazy people ... can’t they see he’s a blue witch! This kid is a blast. I looked high and low for a blue wizard costume in size 3T. I finally found one that was purple at Old Navy and just had to get something. He, of course noticed, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He still asserts that he was a Blue Witch, but will throw in a comment about purple from time to time just to make me feel a twinge of guilt ... I can’t make them all come true ... but I think it turned out really cute and he ended up having a great time.
We went trick-or-treating with the Puzeys this year in their neighborhood, which was just perfect! Thanks Puzeys!

Trip to Washington

So, as promised, I have a report on our trip to Washington. The day we took off has a story of it’s own, which I will share later. Our first full day in Mount Vernon, Missy and her cute kids took us to Gordon’s Pumpkin Patch. We went there last year too and I wanted to put it on our List Of Things We Must Do In Washington (it’s a long list...getting longer every time we go...). Here are a few pictures we took there. I also got a really cool print of Gordon’s Pumpkins from Missy, which I have framed (I’ll post a picture later...).

I know, I know...I have been terrible at posting lately...my apologies and I promise to do better. I have a lot of catching up to do, so let’s get started. Back to our trip to Washington last month. Again, we had a great time. One of life’s greatest pleasures is to introduce a new family member to your family and this trip we were able to do just that! No one in Washington (except my mom and dad) had met Olivia, so that made the trip even more fun. Here she is in my little sister Heather’s arms, wearing her bunny coat from Aunt Missy. We met up with my mom and some of my sisters at the co-op for lunch and then meandered around their little shop for a while. It was a lot of fun and I wish I could do lunch with them more often! I miss you guys!

Cute Karen and her daughter Jordan showed up one day at my mom’s house bearing gifts for Olivia: a new outfit with matching sweaters for Jordan and Olivia. Aren’t they so cute? I had to snap a pictures of the girls. It was so fun to have my kids play with their cousins. Olivia was held and held and held and held and she loved it and I LOVED it!

When my sister, Kristen, and I talk on the phone, she asks me if my kids have any funny new puppy tricks. While in Washington I discovered a new one: when the red-eye reduction goes off on my camera, Olivia smiles. She, at the tender age of 9 months, knows how to “say cheese!” How funny is that? I was going through all of the pictures I took in Washington and there were at least 20 pictures of her on there, so I could show everyone her little trick.

One of life’s great pleasures is having your family fawn over your children, and we had so many opportunities for that in Washington. One such opportunity was in our visit to Slesk Acres...Jamie’s house. We spent a few days at Jamie’s house last year too, and this year while we were there Jamie and Billy hosted Oktoberfest 2008. All of my family members (in Washington) came to her house and Jamie had an itinerary packed full of FUN things like: face painting, making cider with her press from apples in her yard (YUM!!!), decorating sugar cookies, building a greenhouse in her garden, visiting the Appel Dairy Farm and a pumpkin patch. It was super fun and we had a great time. Thank you Jamie and Billy! Here are a few pictures from Oktoberfest, and there are more on Jamie and Karen’s blogs...

8 Months

Actually more like 8.5 months...I cannot believe how quickly she is growing! She is the sweetest baby ever! She is just such a happy girl and she looked so cute on Sunday, I had to snap a few shots to share...

Bounce

Our neighbors recently bought (yes, bought!) an inflatable jumping castle. This Saturday they put it up in their front yard and by so doing, thus invited all the kids to come out and play! We happened to have a huge bag full of plastic balls to add to the fun. It was a little kid’s dream come true. Thank heaven for neighbors.

Oatmeal

Olivia has officially be started on cereal. We tried rice at first, and just like Owen, we had some GI upset with that one...so we tried oatmeal and are loving it. Owen wants to feed her, which makes a really messy job, REALLY REALLY messy, but very cute to watch. We are now getting more oatmeal in her mouth, than on her. Our girl is growing!

Happy Birthday Nate

Happy Birthday Nate

Here are just a few reasons I lvoe you:

1: words cannot express. i love that those were the first words you used to try to tell me how much you love me. i agree whole-heartedly: words cannot express…

2: you have the most wonderful heart. i feel so happy at the place i and our kids hold within it.

3: you are fun. you are young. you enjoy the here and now, which especially is endearing now that we have our little people.

4: speaking of those little people, you are an AMAZING dad. i always knew that i was giving my children [to be at the time] the greatest dad in the world, when i married you. boy was i right. you are amazing.

5: you are a SUPER husband. i cannot believe my luck [read: blessing] in that i found you and somehow captured your wonderful heart.

6: you are spiritual and strong. i can always rely on you to give me good direction and advice when i most need it.

7: you listen. to all of us and really try to understand. you are a great listener and i appreciate your always being willing to lend your ear.

8: you hold and honor the priesthood. that is such a comfort and blessing to me and to our little family.

9: you are a very hard worker. and a smart worker and i love the way you think.

10: you have amazing patience for me, for us, for others.

11: you are creative, in every way and to me it is one of your most attractive qualities.

12: you have a great laugh. you know the one i mean. the one when you are watching wipeout and are laughing so hard it hurts. i love to be listening from another room, to your bursts of laughter.

13: you funny nate!

14: you have dreams about the kind of dad you want to be. i love that you dream. i have always been particularly fond of the fact that you have looked forward to reading to our kids at night…

15: you are a perfectionist that knows when to call it quits. i admire your sense of perfection and quality and i appreciate your ability to know when something is perfect enough.

16: speaking of perfection, you love me, even though i am far from the person i would like to be for you and our kids. i feel the same about you.

17: you are comfortable. i love where we are right now with our marriage, our friendship, our relationship and our family. you are the best friend i have ever had.

18: you are good pioneer stock, with a great family. what more could a mormon girl ask for?

19: you inspire me to be better. i admire your commitment to scripture study, prayer, running, parenting, work, happiness and family and it makes me want to be better too.

20: you are thoughtful about everything, especially our family.

21: you are my partner in our little adventure. i wouldn’t know where i'd be without you. i love that we are in this together and there is no one else i would rather walk with [holding hands, of course].

22: you are kind and considerate.

23: you take such good care of our kids. i know it is not easy being at home at night with two teeny kids, but you never complain and you do such a great job of taking care of them, which does my mothering heart good.

24: you make things more fun with your humor. i appreciate that and it helps us to all see the silliness and fun in life.

25: you are methodical in the way you approach everything, even a burger. it is cute.

26: you are really kind in the way you wake me up in the morning, and in letting me sleep in, even when you are really tired too.

27: you make every day a better day just because you are mine and ours.

28: you let me take the best bite, and don’t complain much [sorry].

29: speaking of bites, you are willing to share, and you are really good at it. i love that we share.

30: you are a sucker for your kids, just like me. and they will use this against us at some time or another, but we are just plain suckers for our kids.

31: you are the absolute best and i love you. all 31 years of you!

happy birthday hon.
love, alli.

Owen's 3rd Birthday

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that Owen is 3 years old already! He is growing too quickly and I wish I could slow it down a bit, but he seems to be in a hurry to grow up! Today we celebrated his birthday at one of our favorite spots, the Airport Park. We had a great time. We let the kids run around and play, color, make paper airplanes, watch the planes take off and land, and of course had some cake. I love how adoringly Owen is looking at his cake (above). Here are a few pictures from his little friends party.

7 Months

Olivia is getting so big! She is still amazingly happy and calm, but is finding her little voice lately and enjoying making some noise! She is sitting up like a pro and now wants to stand. I stood her up against the couch to take a picture of her and it just made me laugh, how little she looks!

8 Years

This weekend Nate and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary! I can’t believe it’s been that long, it has gone by so fast. I love our marriage and I am so happy I married Nate. He’s my best friend, an amazing hubby and father, and I love that we are constantly learning from each other and learning together. Happy 8 Day!  :)

Trip to Utah

Day 1: Trip to the Children’s Museum (hours of fun, and that’s just the ball machine at the entry) with the Cornelius family. As a bonus, we saw our friend Laura Buchanan there with her 3 super cute kids. Then we attempted the Olympic fountain at the Gateway, but Owen was a bit too intimidated by it, so we didn’t go in. Then we rode Trax up to the Stadium, where Nana Jill picked us up and took us home. That night we did Sealings as a family at the Salt Lake Temple (we did some of Rosa’s names), and then had pizza from The Pie for dinner. I have no pictures to document any of this, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Day 2: Due to the time difference between Atlanta and Salt Lake, we’ve been getting up early and going on walks. I can’t tell you how much I love the climate here, especially in the summer. We found some very fun neighborhood parks along our way. We spent the morning at Wheeler Farm, with Nate’s sister, Becky, and her hubby and kids. I think I’ll put this on my to-do list every time we visit Utah. The kids just loved it, and it made for a really fun outing. We enjoyed some afternoon naps (why can’t real life be more like vacation life?) Then we packed up our bags for the family cabin. We drove up Weber Canyon to Pine Mountain, where Nate’s family has a cabin and enjoyed good food, good games and (as always) good company. Nate’s brother Jordan and his family, as well as his sisters Becky (and her kids) and Emily made the trek as well.

Day 3: We spent most of the day at the cabin. We had the Anderson favorite, breakfast cake and egg breakfast. Jill, Gavin, Jordan and Nate were working on a few projects, and Sammy and I took the kids for a hike. It was fun, we wore the kids out (always nice) and got some fresh air. It was a beautiful day. We headed back in the late afternoon, down Provo Canyon so we could make our pilgrimage to our alma matter BYU. We purchased a few BYU goods and then made a mad dash to Spanish Fork, to a wedding dinner for Nate’s cousin Ben Anderson, who is marrying a very charming Brazilian girl. Yes, I spoke with her in Portuguese, and while it was a bit embarrassing, she was really sweet and appreciated my effort.

Day 4: We played tennis in the morning with Barry and Alicia. We totally schooled them (not really, but we had fun). Later that day we took in our favorite, CafÈ Rio Salads for lunch with the whole Anderson clan, and then joined Nana Jill, Jordan, Sammy, Ella, Barry and Alicia in a game of bowling. Owen really digs bowling. His score and mine were neck and neck most of the time. We found him a 6 pound ball and he was able to lift it, carry it and put it on the little ramp by himself. He even tried a few without the ramp, and it was funny to watch is roll VERY SLOWLY down the lane. We wrapped up the day with a trip to Nielsen’s for some frozen custard. What is more Utah than frozen custard?

Day 5 was Sunday, and we had the pleasure of meeting Josh Fullmer! He is even cuter in person, if you can imagine, and just adored by his cute parents, Sarah and Andrew. Owen loved going to Sarah and Andrew’s house because they have such an awesome back yard. We had a great time visiting with them!
Later that night, Nate’s Aunt Cherie stopped by with her family. Owen got to play with a few of his second cousins (Brittany’s kids) and we got to visit with Cherie, Natalie, Brittany and James. There are many great things about going to Utah, but seeing our family is the very best. We just wish we could have spent time visiting everyone!
We miss you!

Day 6: Walked to Laird Park in the morning with Nana Jill, to play for a bit and then on the way home, Owen wanted to run. He ran a whole MILE back home! That afternoon, we headed to Temple Square to take in the perfect weather and the perfect scenery. Nate took some really great pictures.
The funniest of the day was at dinner. We went to a restaurant, and before our food arrived, Owen’s head was bobbing. He couldn’t stay awake! That hasn’t happened since he was little. We wore our little guy out.

Day 7: We had a nice leisurely morning, and then left for the airport after lunch. I’d like to say we had a nice, leisurely flight beck home, but that wouldn’t make any sense. Our kids did great, but flying across the country with 2 kids in tow is just a bit of a drag. Neither of them fell asleep for more than 1 hour, until we were driving home from the airport! We made it home safely, and our kids even slept in until 9:30 the next morning.
We sure had a great trip, and enjoyed doing some of our favorite things.

Counting Down

We are going to Utah for a little summer get away and we are counting down the days until we can go. I made the [rookie] mistake of telling Owen all about going on an airplane to visit our family in Utah, and he’s been asking me, “can we go today?” multiple times a day, everyday. So we made this little chain to help us endure.

Rocket

The other day Owen and I did this little project. It was a kit from Target, where we assembled a little rocket and then painted it. He’s shirtless because that is how we paint in our house...well at least how Owen paints in our house. He had a great time and here he is with his finished product.
I love doing art projects with him. There are some kid activities that are lower on my fun-o-meter, such as playing chutes and ladders 12 times in a row. But I always enjoy doing a craft with him, especially if we get to paint!
I just bought a few new books that I’m excited about
1. 101 Things you should do before your kids leave home
2. Under the Chinaberry Tree: Books and Inspiration for Mindful Parenting
3. The Creative Family: How to encourage imagination and nurture family connections
I just got them on Saturday, so I’ll let you know what I think once I am able to spend some time pouring over them.

Day at the Zoo

We had a fun Saturday at the zoo a few weeks ago as a family, which is one of our favorite things to do. I snapped a few pictures, my favorite of which is the one below of Owen with the Panda bear.

4th of July

We had a great time this past 4th of July weekend. We spent the weekend with the Puzeys, which is always a great time. Here are some pictures of the fireworks.

The Puzey’s really know how to have a good time. This 4th weekend at the Puzeypalooza celebration at their house, Doug set up a huge slip + slide down the hill on the side of their house. The kids loved it! Owen hopped right on and then could hardly wait his turn in line to go down again. 

Fun in the Sun

The nice thing about summer in Georgia, is that there are lots of pools! We had another fun pool day and I had to snap a picture of my guys in their bucket hats.

Owen and Olivia in the Tub

This was their first bath together and they both had a great time. I love that Bumbo chair! It was fun for Olivia, until Owen’s splashing finally got her in the face...then she was done. Check out the cute graffiti Robyn made for me on the tub!

Father's Day

This Father’s Day I had the challenge of topping last year’s gift: a baby (pictured above). This year I wanted to do something fun as well (not a baby) so I, with the help of some VERY kind and patient friends, sewed matching ties for Owen and Nate, as well as a little skirt for Olivia (I actually didn’t make her skirt, and her outfit actually has a little headband too, but it wouldn’t stay on). I think they turned out pretty cute and made for a fun family picture.

More Artwork

Yesterday we met Nate at IKEA for lunch to look for a few things and I just couldn’t pass by this easel one more time! I’ve wanted to get it since I saw it there at least a year ago, and now we’ve brought it home. Owen was really excited to use it and we created our first work of art promptly after arriving home from the store.

Baby Sunglasses

I love baby sunglasses! We went to the pool today with Cheryl and Co. and had a great time. Although she never set foot in the pool, or even left the shade, I had to put her in her little swimsuit and sunglasses. I just couldn’t stop laughing at how cute she looked.

Art Project

I’ve been looking for different art projects that Owen and I can do together. I found this website, which has a lot of fun ideas. So we improvised a bit and Owen and I made these note cards. I drew the pictures and he painted them with his watercolors. I think they turned out pretty cute. It was a fun, quick project and he really enjoyed it.

My Boy

Owen is growing so quickly. He is so much fun. He has a little doctor kit and his own stethescope. The other day I was leaving for work and he saw mine in my pocket and wanted to listen to my heart.

4 Months!

I can’t believe she’s 4 months already. This little girl is such fun. She is at that delightful age where she is fascinated by her hands and feet. The other night I got home from work and fed her. She stayed awake for a few minutes just studying and clasping her little hands. It was so cute! She is also really enjoying batting at her toys with her hands and feet, and we really enjoy watching her.

Mother's Day

I meant to post this earlier, but I haven’t had the computer this week until today. I just wanted to share some photos we took on Mother’s Day. My two little guys are growing so fast! Olivia is much more social, and Owen is abounding with 2-year-old energy. I love being a mom.

Strawberries

Monday morning the kids and I went out to pick some strawberries at a local berry farm. We had a great time. Owen, as you can see, loved eating the berries, and when I inspected my berries at home, at least a dozen of them had a bite out of them. It was a beautiful sunny day and the berries just melt in your mouth. Yummy!

Tomato Plant

While my parents were in town, my dad planted this tomato plant for us. There is also some basil growing in the same pot. This is my first garden. Owen loves to check on his tomato plant and takes “drinks” of water to it almost every day. He tells everyone, that it is going to “grow tall, like me!” It is almost as tall as he is! He sure makes life more fun.

Go Braves!

Nate was able to get some Braves tickets from work the other day, so we took the kids out to a game. It started RIGHT at bedtime, and we kept them out too late, but it was a lot of fun. Owen was mostly in awe of everything going on around him. We didn’t stay long, but we had a great time!

We Heart Olivia

The other day I went to get Olivia, who had just woken up from her nap, and she had wiggled out of her swaddling and made this cute little blanket origami. It was too cute, I had to snap a picture.

And I just love this one of Owen giving Charlotte a kiss. So sweet!

Owen's Chart

Owen has a little chart. Nate made it for him, and I think it is really cute. Mostly what I love though, is how motivated he is by a little sticker.

More Grandparents

So after being spoiled and loved by the Anderson’s, we were then spoiled and loved by the Johannesen’s. Does life get any better? We really enjoyed having family in our home and Owen LOVED a new crowd to show off all his little tricks. And Olivia loved being held almost 24 hours a day.
We went to the farmer’s market, which was a really fun trip, and to the park. My dad helped me to plant a tomato plant and some basil that Owen and I have been nurturing everyday. Owen loves to go and check on his plants. My mom gave me a new mother’s greatest gift, TWO free hands, as she loved to hold Olivia and rock her to sleep. She is magical that with newborns! We miss them already.
Here are a few pictures from their visit.

Grandparents

With Olivia’s blessing, we were fortunate enough to have BOTH sets of grandparents come and spend time with our family. The Anderson’s stayed with us the weekend Olivia was blessed, then the Johannesen’s stayed with us the week after. It was a lot of fun and we snapped a few pictures while they were here.
We all LOVED being spoiled by the grandparents, visiting with them, and showing them some of our favorite sites. These pictures were taken at a park at a small airport. It is a fun place to play while small planes are taking off and landing.

2 Months

Here’s my cute girl at two months! My sister, Kristen, sent me this super cute outfit and I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures. As you can see, she is filling out quite nicely. She is an excellent eater, sleeper, smiler and cooer. And yes, the cheeks are great for kissing.

Haircut

We went for another haircut. I promise I won’t post a picture every time Owen gets a haircut, but this one made me laugh. He didn’t freak out, like he did last time. He just sat very still and kept tucking his chin to his chest. He had a very concerned look on his face the whole time. It cracked me up.

Olivia's Baby Blessing

What a great day we had today! It was Olivia’s baby blessing, and we were lucky enough to share it with BOTH sets of Grandparents, as well as the Puzey family. Here are a few shots of the blessing dress, made by Nana (Nate’s mom), and the blanket, made by Grandma (my mom).

Soccer

We love Saturdays. One of our favorite activities is to go to the park, have a picnic and “play” soccer. There is a little field at our favorite park and we go and kick the ball around. I just had to show this picture (below) of Owen’s kicking mechanism. Notice how much his arms are involved. Too funny.

Olives

Owen likes to “play with his food” lately. By this I mean that he has found more fun ways to eat them. Olives, of course, are a favorite, but he also found that if you open up a green bean, there are more little green beans inside. This means it now takes him at least 1/2 hour to eat a side of green beans, but it is really funny to watch (when you’re not in a hurry...). He also found the “little carrot” inside his carrot sticks. Who knew eating dinner could be so interesting?

2 Kids

These two are way too much fun. People ask me all the time how Owen is doing with Olivia’s arrival, and I’m happy to say that he is doing really great with it. There are moments, and days, of course, but over all, it is just darling to see TWO of your own children together. Owen still likes to hold her, and is always checking on her (read: waking her up) while she naps. His hugs are a bit too much for her at times, and his enthusiasm and volume put her over her limit every now and again, but mostly it’s just really cute. I love having two kids. It is a joke everyday trying to get everyone clean, fed, dressed, happy, etc. (and then it only lasts for about 15 minutes), but I feel lucky to have these little munchkins.

Hiding Place

The other day while I was doing the laundry, Owen climbed into the dryer. I just had to run and get my camera to snap a shot because a wave of nostalgia  hit me. There is a picture just like this of my little sister, Heather. I bet she was about the same age too. So cute! After he established it as his little place, he went to the cupboard and grabbed a bag of chips and had a little snack inside. I only let him stay in there (after he grabbed the chips) for a minute (long enough to take a photo) because the last thing I need is a bunch of chips stuck to my clothes.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! This year we had a lot of fun hunting eggs, playing games, and having fun with the Puzeys. Here are the Easter family photos, taken by Doug. (Thanks Doug!) We hope it was a fun holiday for everyone.
PS-I have really been terrible lately at posting, partially because I have been terrible at remembering to take pictures! I have been doing a bit better and have some things to share in the next few days.

1 month

Olivia will be 5 weeks old tomorrow, and I thought it was time to post some pictures! She is such a good little baby. She sleeps and eats really well and we are really enjoying her. I love having a little girl, and have taken to calling her “pink.” Owen is really cute with her and still wants to hold her several times a day. He even fights over her. We went to play group today and anytime the other kids stopped to look at her, he’d yell “MY sister.” We are (slowly) adjusting but happy,

Adorable

Happy Valentine’s Day! Remember this little onesie? I bought it when I found out I was pregnant with this little one. I bought it specifically thinking of this Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's Day Cookies

It seems like each day is kind of a trick: trying to juggle everyone’s IMMEDIATE needs all at once. So I decided to spend a little one on one time with Owen. Today, while Olivia was napping, he and I made some valentines day cookies for our family and neighbors. It’s really funny to watch a 2 year old “help” in the kitchen. We had a lot of fun, my little sweetie and me.

Nana Jill

Here I just have to post a great big Thank You to Nate’s mom Jill! She came into town to help us with Olivia’s arrival. She came into town the night before I delivered, and stayed until this past Tuesday. It was wonderful to have her in town to help us transition, and she took such great care of all of us. Thank you Jill!
She read books, played at the park, went on picnics, went to the zoo, made curtains for our home, made a blessing dress for Olivia, made us all our favorite dinners, did our mending, our laundry, cleaned, entertained, taxied, you name it. She is the reason I have been able to answer “Great!” when anyone asked how we are doing.
Now we’re on our own and we miss her dearly, but are so grateful she could come and be here with us. We love you Nana Jill!

Owen and Olivia

I have to admit, I’ve been a bit worried about Owen and how he would handle all of this new baby, life changing stuff. He’s been really cute so far. He wants to hold her. He holds her in his lap for a few seconds, and then his arms just drop to his sides, indicating that he is done. He also loves to “share” with her (we’ll see how long that lasts...) by placing some of his toys around her while she’s sleeping in her car seat. This is my favorite! Here are a few of the things he’s shared:

Olivia Johannesen Anderson

We are so happy to introduce you to the newest member of our family. She joined us January 24th at 10:01am. Olivia arrived on the scene, following very closely in her brother’s foot steps. She weighed 8 lbs. 1oz. (exactly like Owen) and measured 20 3/4 inches. She is an excellent sleeper and only wakes up to eat. She is too good to us. We are all back home now and recovering nicely. Thank you for all the emails and phone calls of love and support.

Cranky

So I’m only 12 days away from the big day, when baby #2 will make her debut, and needless to say, I’m stressed, tired, cranky, moody, you name it. I’ve been working like crazy, and still have 8 more shifts to go, and am running around with Owen during the days. I love hanging out with Owen and I love that I’m having another baby, but my body and mood are having a hard time keeping up sometimes.
Yesterday I called Nate and had (another) breakdown. I went home and took a little rest and felt a little better before heading out the door to work. When I got home, my cute husband had one dozen roses on the entry table waiting for me. There was a note that said “12 Reasons I Love You” and each rose had a reason he loved me attached to it. It was the best thing to come home to and totally made my day.

Haircut

I decided it was time to get Owen a haircut. I had trimmed it a few times in the past, but my accuracy is not that great, and we needed a little help managing his curls. I took him to a really cute kid’s salon in downtown Decatur, with his little buddy Luke. I thought Owen would be so pumped about sitting in the little red fire truck and watching the movie, but that was not the case. I ended up holding him on my lap, so we were BOTH covered in hair afterward. It looks great and I didn’t have to part with the curls. I’m thrilled!
My definition of insanity this week: trying to out think a 2 year old.

After the trauma of haircuts, we went to the park to let the boys play. There was a whole play structure behind us, but Owen and Luke ran around the park, picking up pine cones and throwing them in the creek. It is hilarious to me how busy they can become in their little projects. I tried to get a photo, but missed it, when Owen stopped dead run and licked the pine cone. Why? Who knows. I just laughed that he needed to know what pine cones taste like.
If you are inside your house freezing cold right now, looking at these photos, you might be a little jealous. It is a balmy 60 degrees here in Atlanta these days. No complaints from me whatsoever! We’ve had a couple of nice days to play outside. One of the perks of living in the South, I guess.