Christmas 2011

After attending Christmas eve service at Bethany Lutheran Church, we went to Grammy and Grandad's house for Christmas eve fun with the Anderson-Gilbert group. Christmas Day was spent at our house and we had everyone (minus Uncle Gabe and Aunt Kari who left for Phoenix on Christmas Day) over for dinner and Wits & "Waggers".

Below is a photographic summary of our family's Christmas celebration -



Team Anderson

Mollie and Sawyer at Grammy and Grandad's.

Ready for Christmas eve fun!

Decorating a gingerbread house with Uncle Gabe (not pictured).

To eat or to decorate...that is the question.

Christmas morning at our house before the little ones came downstairs.

The Little People Zoo Madelyn ordered from Santa.

It IS as much fun as she imagined.

Sawyer's first ride on toy. Wee!

Our family has changed so much in the past year. We moved, welcomed Little Brother Sawyer into the world, and watched Sweet Madelyn turn from a toddler into a little girl. Life moves quickly and I wish I could blog more frequently. But, I know I'm capturing some of the moments in their childhoods that will be looked back on fondly by all of us.

Six months old!

Vital stats from our appointment with Dr Marc -

Height: 26-1/2 in, or 55th percentile
Weight: 17 lb 14 oz, or 55th percentile
Head: 44 cm, or 80th percentile

I can...

* Sit unassisted
* Laugh, coo, gurgle, and say "bah"
* Interact with my big sister
* Roll front to back and back to front.
* Hold an object with my hands and pass it from hand to hand
* Flirt with anyone who'll give me the chance

So, this post is almost a month late BUT better late than never! Happy six month birthday, sweet boy. How did six months go by so quickly?!

Things that go bump in the night

Sawyer is almost ready to sleep through the night. But, we're not quite there yet. At any rate, every little, or not so little, noise wakes me up these days. Last night was particularly goofy night at our house. I'm pretty sure there wasnt a full moon either.

230A. I was awoken by the pitter-patter of little feet running across the tile downstairs and someone yelling, "It's Christmas!" I'm not sure what I was most concerned about -- one of the outside doors being opened and the house alarm going off instantly, the gifts under the tree being torn into and me having to re-wrap them all, or Madelyn injuring herself. I found my sweet little muffin by the kitchen table, brought her back upstairs, and tucked her in bed. There she stayed for the rest of the night.

515A. I was awoken by the sounds of toys falling. Assuming they were falling down the stairs, I got up expecting to find Madelyn headed back downstairs. But, no. I peeked in her room to find two cats. Nemo was under attack! Sadie cat, the look out, had already fled, but Felix was holding his position firmly on the dresser next to Nemo's bowl. The water was sloshing around and the toys on the dresser were all knocked off. When Madelyn and Griff got Nemo a week ago, I swore I would have nothing to do with it. However, I also don't want to clean up dead fish and stinky water. Nemo will be finding a new home within our house so that he can be better protected from cats.

On a side note, Mr Sawyer slept until 615A. Progress!

PS I do have six month pictures and stats to post but afternoon naps haven't been longer than 30 minutes lately so I'm a wee bit delayed.

Yummo

We started solids with Sawyer almost two weeks ago.  At his four month appointment, Dr Andy said we could go ahead at anytime.  So, with spoon and bowl, bib, and high chair ready, Sawyer enjoyed his first bites of solid food on October 17.  The video is from day two of rice cereal.

No one really enjoys rice cereal but, of course, we're all too young to actually remember eating it.  The cereal went fine.  When we switched to oatmeal last weekend, Sawyer really started to like eating.  He now opens W I D E in between each bite as if he wants to say, "Here! Put it in here! I'm ready, Mom!"

Next up, sweet potatoes.  Yum!

Museum

This morning, Madelyn, Sawyer, and I went on a field trip to the Museum of Nature and Science.

On our last visit, we were introduced to the Discovery Center.  This room is awesome.  It's all about fun Mr Wizard-style science tricks children can experience themselves.  While I didn't capture two of Madelyn's favorite activities in the room -- the dancing stage and the floating scarves -- I was able to get a few of them.

"I made an elephant!" Check it out. It actually does look like an elephant.

Archaeologist in training.

She has the dig guide out as well in order to help her identify the fossils she uncovers.

Sometimes I'm not fast enough to get her picture.

However, she was moving very fast in the animal section and yelling, "Mommy! Look at this!"

There's no moose-ing around. This guy's BIG.

Possibly one of my favorite views of Denver.

Ha! I caught her!

I've told Griff (again) that he needs to come to the museum some time with us. Now, the travelling exhibit is "T. Rex Encounter: You vs Sue the T. Rex." They've got robotic dinosaurs which use face recognition technology!  Does this mean the dinosaur might actually eat one of us?  And, something tells me Griff would enjoy the space exhibit much more than me.

At any rate, the museum is awesome and we had a great day.

Fall Fun

With no football games this past weekend, it was a good weekend to partake in some Fall fun.

We visited the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield [http://www.botanicgardens.org/content/our-gardens-chatfield-location] pumpkin patch.  Chatfield State Park is just a short drive from our house and nestled right up against the foothills.  It's a pretty cool place and we plan on returning again some time.

Headed out to the pumpkin patch.

The all important debate over which pumpkin(s) are the best.

Sawyer in his pumpkin cart pondering whether he wants a round or oval, big or small pumpkin.

A girl, a boy, a pumpkin cart, and three pumpkins.

I thought this was cool just because it showed the grandness of the patch.

"I'll do it."

The pumpkin probably weighs half of her weight and is as large as her torso.

Our house is mostly ready for the great Halloween holiday.  All that's left is to pick up our candy and get out for some trick or treating.

Ahhh BOO!

Vital stats

Sawyer's vital statistics from today's four-month check up with Dr Andy -

Height
25-1/2 in, or 75th percentile

Weight
15 lb 8 oz, or 50th percentile

Head circumference
43.0 cm, or 90th percentile

Guess who? - Round 2

Guess who?  This round, to me, seems easier than the first round.

I look at the pictures of Madelyn and Sawyer at equal ages and think they are spitting images of each other in some of the pictures.  Makes sense, I suppose.  At any rate, as Sawyer gets older and runs out of the neutral clothes, this game will become harder to put together.  So, enjoy!



Three months old!

I can...

...sit propped up against the sofa.
...smile for the camera.
...hold head and upper body upright on my elbows.
...grasp and hold onto my toys.  Morty the Moose is one of my favorites!
...giggle and laugh when you talk to me.
...face out in the Baby Bjorn.
...bathe without using the newborn sling.

Cheese!

That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!

Seriously, are we done with this yet?

The last month has really flown by.  I often think back about when Madelyn was an infant.  With her, this was the week I returned to work and she started at Knowledge Beginnings in Stapleton.  Time really flew after that.  I'm sure it will with Sawyer, too, from this point on but I'm excited to see what the next month brings.

Happy three month birthday, Sawyer!

Tired babies

This morning, Sawyer, Madelyn, and I went swimming with Poppie and Honey.  Honey sat with Sawyer while Madelyn, Poppie, and I swam.  School is back in session so we had the indoor and outdoor pools mostly to ourselves which was a real treat.

We started at the indoor pool and went around the lazy river several times.  After a short adult swim (or safety break as they call it), we played briefly in the fountains and then went outside.

Outside, Honey and Sawyer found a nice table in the shade.  Madelyn, Poppie, and I played with an orange ball, did motorboat, kicked, practiced back floats, and jumped in the water among other things.  We swam until Madelyn got cold and then ate our snacks, cleaned up, and came home for lunch.

At 100P today, both of my babies were tucked in their beds and sound asleep.  This at least 30 minutes earlier than our usual nap time.  Additionally, it included no nap time shenanigans from Madelyn.  SO, it would seem as though if I really want to wear out my kiddos, all we need to do is pool it up real good.

Tomorrow's outing - Museum of Nature & Science.  Hopefully we have the same luck!

Two months!

Our Sawyer is officially two months old!

I can...

...follow Mommy around the room with my eyes.

...almost sleep through the night.  I only wake up once to eat between 300 and 400 a.m.

...coo and smile.

...hold my head up.
...hold a ring toy in my hand.

Height: 23 1/2"

Weight: 12 lb 14 oz

How has two months gone by already?!  In some ways, it feels like just yesterday.  But, in other ways, I feel like you've been with us all along.  Happy birthday, sweet Sawyer!

Tiny Town

A week ago, our cousins Emery and Camden, Aunt Sandi, and Uncle Jerky were visiting from San Diego.  One of our day trips was an outing to Tiny Town, Colorado.  We have wanted to go to Tiny Town for a while now and the family visit was the perfect excuse.

We saw trains, lots of tiny houses and buildings, played on the playground, rode the train (twice), and enjoyed ice cream cones.

FEE, FI, FO, FUM.

"I'm coming in!"

"Two tickets for Cars, please." 

Good thing there's no porch furniture or else she wouldn't have fit!

Oh, and she's covering her ears are because the train was too loud.

A true daddy's girl, she loves Home Depot.

Choo choo! 

Ice cream is the perfect end to a perfect day.

Sawyer slept for our entire outing.

Guess who?

Let's play a fun little game and see if you can guess which baby is which.  Madelyn or Sawyer?  Or, is it multiple pictures of the same baby?

Seriously, which is which?!

July pictures #1

July pictures #2

Father's Day

Yes, it was last month.  But, we just finished our Father's Day gifts for Griff over the weekend.

This year, we wents the arts and crafts route.  Madelyn and I purchased two stepping stone kits (in May) for Griff.  One for her and one for her soon to born little brother.  With Honey's help, we made hers in May and hid it at Honey and Poppie's house until we were ready to gift it to Griff. 

As for Sawyer's, rather than try to complete it after Sawyer arrived and before Father's Day, we decided to gift it un-made so Griff could help put it together.  It sort of seemed like the kind of thing Griff would enjyoing doing anyway.

So, on Saturday morning, the project began.

And on Sunday morning, the completed stone was placed in the yard next to Madelyn's stone.  The two look perfect together.  Madelyn and Sawyer get bigger every day but their hand and footprints won't change.  They will forever remind of us 2011 and our first year in this house.