Late summer and Fall Pictures

August 6--Driving Grandpa's car down the street

August 20-At Jumpin' Joeys.  Alex learned how to climb up the ladder and slide down all by himself.

September 10--Tired boy fell asleep at lunch

September 20--Mama came out from a bout with morning sickness and found Buster arm deep in a bag of tortilla chips and watching Ellen.  :)

October 3--Driving an ambulance with Pa at the Firehouse Open House

October 17--At Kerry and Maggie's wedding in Topeka, Kansas

October 21--picking out our pumpkins at Uncle Bill's Garden Shop

October 29--Pa put me up in a tree!

October 30--enjoying the neighbor's massive leaf pile!

October 31--the cutest elephant with his sucker and Grandma

November 14--Playing at the playground during one of our many trips to Cleveland this fall.

November 15--Sorry it's blurry!  Riding in his car up in Cleveland

November 27--Enjoying his first snowball fight on the day after Thanksgiving.  He LOVED the snow!

First sled ride!  

November 22--intently watching Daddy play his horn at a gig on Ludlow.  

Baby #2

Well....in case you haven't heard, Baby Anderson #2 is on the way!!  I'm 18 weeks along, as of today.  Baby is due to arrive on May 7th, 2010.  We should be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl before Christmas.  :)  The first trimester was really rough.  I was very sick and tired ALL the time.  Thankfully, the second trimester is here, and it's wonderful!  I have energy, an appetite, a baby that I can feel moving around, and a little belly.  My husband  is especially grateful for the nesting instinct that has kicked in after such a long time of feeling sick.    

Alex knows that a baby is coming.  He has been super sweet.  He points to my belly when I ask where the baby is.  One day a few weeks ago, Alex came over, lifted up my shirt and put a toy on my belly.  I was a little confused, and then it dawned on me.  I asked  "Is this for the baby?"  and he grinned a huge smile.  He just recently started giving the baby (my belly) kisses.  He will just run over to me, lift up my shirt and kiss the baby, then go back to playing.  So sweet.  Hopefully he's still sweet when the baby is out and taking Mama's attention away from him!

Alex

Alex has become such a little boy recently!  (As opposed to a baby boy...)  He seems to have gotten longer and leaner, except for his cute baby belly :)   Here are some of his recent accomplishments:

~He runs everywhere and likes to climb.  He can climb up on the dining room table, which is oh so much for Mama.   He also thinks he can go up and down stairs all by himself.

~He is starting to make animal noises.  He buzzes his lips for an elephant and says "ow" for a kitty cat.

~He knows where his nose, bellybutton and ears are.  He can sometimes find his toes, but the word is too similar to "nose."  :)

~He learned how to open the basement door.  Again--no fun for Mama.  He also somehow outsmarted the childproof doorknob thing-a-ma-bob that we bought.  I'm thinking that's a fluke, since it hasn't happened since.  Here's hoping!

~He follows commands pretty well.  Such as "bring me a diaper," "throw this in the garbage," etc.

~He loves to clean (pretty sure this is an outcome of his week spent with Grandma...).  He sweeps the dining room and driveway and will take a babywipe/napkin/kleenex and wipe down any surface that's available.

~He has started to use tableware.  He is such a big boy with his plates and bowls and spoons and forks.  It's a little bit messier, but he really does do a good job!

~He washes his own hair in the tubby.  So funny!  Then he looks at his hands to see the soap.

~He loves to draw with both crayons and chalk.  He seems to favor yellow, and Mama wasn't allowed to use the yellow crayon at all today :(

~He LOVES to push his little lawnmower.  Today he took off up the sidewalk all by himself.  I had to run to catch up with him.  Mr. Independent.

~He is a little jokester.  If I ask him to get a diaper, he'll bring it close and hold it out, then when I reach for it he runs away and laughs hysterically.  Repeat about 6 times until Mama gets frustrated and gets up to get it by tickling him.  :)

~He still isn't talking too much.  He has said in the past:  ball, duck, grandma, no, ow, mama, dada, mom-mom, and maybe a few others.  But he doesn't use them consistently.  He does still appropriately and  consistently sign: more, all done and please.   And really, that's all you need in life, right???  ;)

Boulder, Colorado

We went to Boulder, Colorado in mid-July.  My cousin Andrea and her husband Tom graciously accepted us into their home.  Andrea is only a year older than I am, and we have always been close.  It was so much fun to reconnect.  We took a LOT of pictures, but here are some highlights:

A picture to show how close we all were on the plane ride out there.  Buster did okay, not great, but not awful.  He wiggled the WHOLE time.  But, at least he didn't scream :)

Andrea and Tom live on this lake.  So pretty!

This playground was a 5 minute walk from their house.

Goofy boy!

On Saturday afternoon we drove into downtown Boulder.  They have this area with fountains that randomly squirt out of the ground.  He had a blast running after the disappearing water!

Check out that belly!

Warm and snug after tubby time

A picture to showcase the perfect vacation:  Chocolate mousse cake with fresh strawberries and a Bud Light with a slice of lime, all consumed on a beautful deck, with no humidity with a view of the lake :)

On Sunday we went to church and out to brunch.  Afterward we went to this fabulous health club that Andrea and Tom belong to.  They have pretty much the COOLEST pool ever.  See below:

On Monday, we drove partway up the mountain to an overlook.  Here's Tom pointing out the sites of Boulder to Grant.

We went to a cool park after our drive and let Buster play before we had a picnic lunch and took a hike up the mountain.  Do you think he likes the swings??

The stream was frigid!  But Buster wanted to play in it anyway :)

The hiking crew :)  Since Andrea is in infinitely better shape than Grant and I, she offered to push the stroller.

We took a break to get Buster out of the stroller and played in a different part of the same stream.

Totally tuckered out from the hike. Notice the soaking wet, sandy clothes hanging above his head :)

After the hike, we then drove even further up the mountain with Andrea.  Here's a family photo:

Daddy and Buster :)

Such a big boy!  He was so proud of himself sitting in his own big boy chair.

Cracked Daddy-O in the head!!!  HA!

Sunset on our last evening

We decided to walk to the park again Tuesday morning to wear Buster out before the flight.

Buster discovered the joys of salsa on the plane ride home.   He certainly is a "dipper" just like his mama :)  

All in all, we had a FABULOUS trip.  We saw beautiful sights, enjoyed some wonderful relaxation and food, and loved getting closer to Andrea and Tom.  Thank you guys for hosting us and we love you!!!!