Change is Good

Yesterday I decided that I needed a change. So I became a brunette. Today Heather was nice enough to take a picture of me and the boys at her house. We were there to celebrate her son Lucky's 3rd Birthday!

Dinner time at our house

Now that both of the boys are capable of sitting in their highchairs we have been trying harder to have family dinners at night together. It is still pretty typical though for either Dave or I to end up holding Preston with one arm and eating with the other by the middle of dinner. But for the 10-15 minutes Preston does sit in the chair it is nice to eat with two hands. I have taken a couple of pictures of the boys while in their highchairs over the past couple of weeks. So I am just going to put them all in here together. I hope you like them. I personally think the boys look adorable.

January 21, 2010

The is the very first picture ever that Connor said "Cheese!" to get his picture taken. I think it turned out pretty good too!


January 22, 2010
These were too cute to not post!




January 23, 2010
Connor is starting to become a picky eater, which we are trying hard to not allow. We have found though that he loves the Pasta Pickups by Gerber, specifically the ravioli. So we tried an experiment this day, putting plain ol' Kraft Mac-n-Cheese in the ravioli bowl to see if he would eat it. And he did! It was a big victory for us since he normally turns his nose up at mac-n-cheese unless it is the more expensive Gerber kind. So yes, we lied to our kid to get him to eat food. But as you can see from the pictures below, I dont think it permanently damaged the kid.

Story Time

It is no surprise Connor loves books. Right now one of his favorite books is an "Old McDonald" book Chevron gave him as a "big brother" gift when Preston was born. We have read/sang that book a million times. Connor can tell you what sound each animal makes in it and even asks you to read it to him by saying "Moo?" Dave took a picture one night of me reading the book to Connor and Preston. I am just glad he did not film it. I can get pretty animated while singing the animal noises!

Before Connor goes to bed at night, Dave usually has story time with him in his room. It is a ritual that they both seem to love and look forward to each night. Tonight I filmed a small portion of it since I thougth it was so sweet. The second video though shows you what Connor's real love is though, motorcycles. Just like his Daddy.



And just to prove how much I do love my husband. I did film Dave singing "Old McDonald" with Connor but will not post it for all the world to see (at Dave's request). But I want it on the record, Dave is a great singer and Connor LOVES it when Dave sings "Old McDonald" with him.

5 Months Old

Today Preston is 5 months old. He is doing wonderful and becoming such a little boy with his opinions and personality. He is very talkative and tells you about everything he is looking at, just in his own little language. He is much more observant of his surroundings and loves to hangout in his swing, in his Bumbo chair or on the playmat and just observe the world.

He is also starting to get more active now too. In December he started rolling over from his stomach onto his back and he is about 90% of the way in rolling onto his stomach from his back. He just needs to hold onto your finger to pull himself over. I know he will be rolling over on his own very soon! I personally think one of the reasons he is taking a little longer to roll over is that he really wants to be sitting up all the time. Sitting in his seat, on Mom's lap, in his highchair, basically anywhere. He is almost strong enough to sit up on his own for very short periods of time. But right now it is the small milestones we count!

He is almost sleeping through the night now. He will sleep through the night sometimes and then the very next night we are up 2 times for feedings. So he has given up glimmers of hope for sleep-filled nights but he is not consistent yet. Which is understandable, he is a growing boy! He eats alot and does not sleep too much. I hope you like some of the cute pictures I took of him this month. As you can see compaired to his giraffe he is getting to be a big boy. And if you look back on the blog posting from Connor at 5 months you can see the similarities and differences in how the boys look at this age.

Preston's Bottle Handling Skills

Preston has gotten good at holding his bottle for himself. Dave and Traci had been telling me about it for a couple of days since they are the ones that feed him using a bottle. But I finally got to see his new skills for myself today. I was very impressed at how well he did. In the photos he was watching football with Dad. Such a little man.

The Start of Potty Training

Connor has shown a real interest in the toilet since he was about 18 months old. So we have been very slowly letting him sit on the potty and go when he says he needs to. But now we are finally thinking he is ready to actually potty train. I still think we will have a ways to go but I am ok with that. He alerts us each time he is going to the bathroom but we are working on him learning the signs that he needs to go to the bathroom. He is still pretty young (only 21 months old!) so we are not in a huge rush to get him potty trained. But we also did not want to miss out on his interest in sitting on the potty.
Today we were sitting on the potty and reading books to pass the time since it appeared Connor was actually trying to go to the potty but just needed more time. And honestly he looked so cute that I had to get a picture of it. He looks like a little grownup reading his book.

Jamie's Baby Shower

Last night I hosted a Baby Shower for my friend Jamie. Alot of our really great friends came over to my house for a night of food, games, laughter and presents.

Alicia and Jamie, the Guest of Honor.


The first game I had set up for everyone was a diaper raffle. Basically, if you brought over a small package of diapers for Jamie, you got to enter a raffle for a gift certificate. Congrats to Christa for winning the raffle!
The second game I had set up for everyone was the No-"Baby" Game. Basically, each person was given three cloths pins and each time someone said the word "Baby" they lost their pin to the person who heard them say it. And at the end of the night, who ever had the most pins won a gift certificate for cupcakes. Congrats to Chauntelle for winning the game!
The third game I had set up for everyone was a book that each girl had to write what they guessed to be the baby's birthday, weight, length, in addition to the best and worst advice they were ever given about raising kids. When Paul is born, we will see who was the closest on his arrival date and size.



And lastly, I had each person decorate a plain white onesie for little Paul to wear once he is home. It was amazing the level of creativity each of the women and their level of artistic ability! Below are pictures of some of the more original onesies. (Note to all: If I left out a onesie you created, I am sorry. I just could not post ALL of them on here! But ALL OF THEM WERE GREAT!!!!)

The girls decorating the onesies.


Created by Karina

Created by Julie

Created by Chauntelle

Created by Brittany

At the end of the night Preston made his appearance for the group. I think he was held by just about every single person there and he was loving all the attention.



It was a great night with alot of laughing and fun. I really am grateful to have a bunch of friends who make living in Utah so much fun.

Connor and Preston splashing away

This is the first time Connor and Preston took a bath together. They had a great time playing together in the water. I think I just might let them take baths together more often now that I know it can be done without too much hassle. I took some really cute pictures of them giggling and playing together but this is the only one that did not show their little man parts.

Preston's First Haircut

Preston's hair finally became so long that I could not ignore his need for a haircut any longer. The poor kid has needed a haircut since birth but between the holidays and my procrastination, he is just now getting one. He looks so incredibly handsome and like a perfect little boy now.

The very first cut.

Mom trying to make Preston hold his head still. He really was not wanting to sit still for the haircut.

Sandy putting the final touches on Preston's haircut.

At the same appointment Connor was given a haircut too. He was starting to look very shaggy so it was time. I think this is his 9th or 10th haircut so he is becoming an old pro at it. As you can tell he really loves getting his hair cut as long as Kennedy is there to entertain him. That is one of the many benefits to having your next door neighbor as your hairdresser.

Connor's Mohawk prior to the haircut.

Connor being entertained by Kennedy.

Preston has Two Teeth!!

On New Year's Day Preston broke his first tooth and today he broke his second tooth. He has been a little grumpy with a slight fever but other than that he has taken the teeth coming in like a little champ. We are very blessed to have such a sweet tempered little boy.

A look back on the year that was 2009

As I look back on all that happened during the past year, it is easy to say that 2009 was a great year in the Anderson household.

The biggest event in 2009 was the addition of Preston to our little family. On January 16, we found out we were pregnant and on August 25, we welcomed Preston Joseph into the world. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. Preston is now 4 months old and is a bright, beautiful baby boy.

During 2009 we watched Connor grow from an 8 month old baby to a 20 month old toddler. We watched him learn to walk, talk, sing, dance, and play. He is a little man now that can go after what he wants and tell you what it is. He is curious, kind and has grown into a wonderful big brother.

Abby and Jacob are growing up so quickly and this last year was no exception. In 2009, Abby became very involved in her arts class at school and has sent us some very beautiful pieces of art for our house. In 2009, Jacob became involved in Cub Scouts and seems to have found an activity that he enjoys and excells at. Both of the kids completed another grade in school and it amazes us each time they visit how much they know about the world around them.

We are anxious to see what blessings 2010 brings into our lives. The last three years have been full of many big changes for us, so we are looking forward to 2010 being a year of growth without any big changes to our lives. But as we have learned so well, only God knows what is in store for us in the next 12 months.