O.K. so I may have spoken a little too soon. There is no taste of fall in the air. It was at least 100 today and it hasn't cooled down much by 8:30 in the evening. It is hot, humid and very stale. According to the weather forecast we have at least another week of this. And then back to the typical 85-95 temps.
The only difference that I can tell is that the onslaught of summer ants has stopped and I haven't seen one for over a week now. That is a huge relief since my summer was practically defined by constant ant murdering.

All I can say is PLEASE, FALL HURRY UP AND GET HERE!

Yeahhhh sister Heidi posted and if you're interested you can go here! The beginning of the school year is upon us and there is little different feel to the air even though it is still in the 90's here in La Habra. Could it be the first stirrings of fall?? Ahhh, I am excited about holiday's, spending time with family, rain and cool air.

The haircut was much needed although I was a bit sad to see those red wispy curls fall to the floor. Luckily we saved a few for his baby book!




Anders was pretty proud of himself when all was said and done.

Today was a big day starting with Anders first hair cut and ending with a three year old birthday party for Anders friend Jett Godwin. The party was "worker" themed and the kids each got a ride around the yard on a tractor. While Anders was eating a cupcake he decided to wow us with his strong man face. It was all very fun.

Anders has been discovering the joys of food variety and I am on a constant quest to keep ants from devouring the leftovers. Two of his favorites are pasta with either tomato sauce or cheese and fruit. Mainly cherries.

I'm thinking that he is outgrowing the sink bathtub.

Well, I haven't posted much lately because we have been busy. My camera has been on low battery so I'm finally charging it to get some new pictures taken. Anders is getting so big and grown up and is looking more like a kid than a baby now. His hair is filling in so much and we are going to give him his first real haircut tomorrow if my schedule allows. I realized he needed one when I noticed a "bad boy tail" growing in. That's gotta go.
Some of the new things that he as been doing are saying "bye bye" although it sounds more like "ba ba" and he only says it when he wants not when the time is right. He also has hit the stage where he realizes what his muscles can do and he will clench everything up and his face gets all red. We call it "strong man". Today he discovered that his middle finger can "snap" at the knuckle and he spent a good five minutes with one hand up in the air "snapping" his finger up and down and watching with intensity. It was pretty funny to watch and Chris and I watched out of the corner of our eyes trying not to let him know he was being watched.
I'll post some more pictures soon. Probably of his first hair cut.

So today was an extremely hot day and Anders and I got to experience it fully while at the Santa Ana zoo. I woke up this morning and was antsy to get out and do something interesting. We've never taken Anders to the zoo and I wasn't sure if he was old enough yet to enjoy it. I did a little research and the Santa Ana zoo seemed small enough and interesting. (they have a little train that goes around the perimeter of the farm area.) It was all very exciting but really hot and muggy. Chris and I will probably take him back again soon on a cooler day!
When we got home we went for a swim which was extremely refreshing!

On another note one of the blogs that I read regularly has had a discussion going about a Southern Baptist seminary that is offering a 23 hour course on homemaking offered only to women. To get the whole article go here. Anyways, everybody is riled up about it and I have to say that the tone that it is presented in is distastefully legalistic and self-righteous (in my opinion). But it has made me think more about the subject especially because I am the primary house cleaner, cook and child caregiver in our home. I have noticed that even the women I know who work full time, take most of the responsibility of the home life on themselves. Now, most husbands that I know share some of the responsibilities around the house as well but that's not their primary focus.
As a side note, Chris and I were discussing this and he made an interesting observation that since the women's lib movement, the economy has grown and become dependent on two incomes and therefore much more expensive and difficult for the one income family. My sister Erin pointed out that we also have come to have higher standards of living. Thus making it difficult to make due when money gets tight. In my opinion this is directly related to the major problem of over spending and maxed out credit that much of America is dealing with now.

Anyways, after some thought I am of the opinion that the support and encouragement for wives to take homemaking more seriously is extremely important not just for the good of families but for the economy as well.
I believe that the tide has started to turn because frankly women are realizing that they are ones being shorted by going to work full time and having to come home and give undivided attention to kids, husbands and laundry. I haven't mentioned the problem of extra money shelled out for house keepers, babysitters/nanny's, gas, work clothes and pre-prepared convenience foods.
So, although I cringed a bit at the tone of the article, I really agree with what they are advocating. Teaching and encouraging women in the task that they will have whether they stay at home or work outside the home.

Well, as you can see Anders is missing Amelia. Actually I'm missing having the Mullins around and Anders is just amused with that cute little girl on mommy's computer!
Over the last couple of years I've had two cousins and their families and two sisters and their families move out of state. It's been a mass exodus from California and we understand but we don't necessarily like it! It seems like the trend lately. A lot of young families are moving out of state in search of affordable housing and a more relaxed way of life.
Although we are missing our extended family we have been enjoying spending more quality time with my parents and grandparents and seeing Anders get Grammy and Papa all to himself one day a week! He is getting a chance to really know his great grandparents in a way that Chris and I never did and we love that!