So, next month is Anders two year old birthday and we are getting geared up for a full on Thomas the Train birthday party. The two year birthday is coming at the just the perfect time for the two year old behaviour to start. I have to say that we have a VERY good boy. He is sweet and contemplative, loves babies, "buppies" and his teddy bears, listens really well to instructions and follows them with gusto. He loves to run and get me a diaper and bring it to me and then lay down on the floor to be changed. This is a very useful and welcome step in his growth. Yesterday he made it clear that he wanted to sit on the couch and watch a movie while I got ready for the day instead of sitting in his high chair like I normally would have him do. When I told him that I needed to get a shower he ran over to the couch, climbed up on it and said "stay" with a very firm nod of the head. So that's what he did! It was WONDERFUL. When we are out driving he looks for every truck or bus and hollers it out "TUCK" or "BUTH" along with an occasional "BIG BIG" thrown in. I love it.
Along with these new developments there are a few not so fun ones. Because he can't really talk yet there are a lot of winey sounding grunts and noises along with a lot of shrill screaming. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of making dinner or doing dishes he comes up behind me and hugs my legs and then NIPS me. I feel like I'm in the movie "Jaws". It's a little creepy. He now knows that he can run away from me when I ask him to come to me, the word "NO" is an answer to most anything. He is really getting more independent which is very good and he's trying to do more climbing and balancing. Tonight we were over at my Grandmas house and he had given me a good nip and so he was in time out on one of the kitchen chairs. He tried to stand up and fell face first onto the hard kitchen floor. So not only was he in trouble for biting but he was hurt and surprised as well. Luckily he recuperates pretty fast!
So, I welcome a new year with new accomplishments. I welcome a child that can talk and communicate with me, and most of all I look forward to the day that I won't flinch every time he comes up to give me a kiss hoping that it doesn't turn into a bite!

Quick update on my last blog. We didn't see anyone famous but we saw a lot of paparazzi wandering around looking for famous people to harass! Later in the evening I was looking at an entertainment site and I saw Kelsey Gramer (s)? on camera in the parking lot where we were parked earlier in the day. Although we go to Malibu every week it is rare to see someone famous. I'm sure I wouldn't recognize anyone if I bumped into them in Starbucks.

On another note the weather today is MUCH cooler and I have all of the windows open to let the cool air in. At the moment I am looking out the window at the sky and it looks like we may get some drizzle at some point! It would be nice if we had some spring-like days before summer truly sets in!

Chris and I just got in the door from a pleasant night out at Downtown Disney. We are both soooo tired and the weather has been freaky hot which is part of the reason for the fatigue. Yesterday was at least 95 if not 100 degrees and today was more of the same. It feels like the middle of July. So weird for the middle of May! If this weather holds out it's going to be a long long summer here in La Habra. For now we are running our air conditioning at 11:04 in the evening and I'm hoping that Anders isn't to hot in his stuffy room with the window open and the fan running.
Tomorrow will be spent in Malibu which will be cooler and prettier. We are going to meet some good friends for lunch down near our church and hopefully spot some stars while we're at it! If I see anyone famous I'm sure I'll have to write about it!

Finding the moon in the afternoon.....

We had a very relaxing afternoon at the park today. It's a tradition with my parents to spend most of Mother's Day at Penn park and escape the craziness of the restaurants and other public places.
Chris and I weren't so smart this morning and decided to go out to brunch before the park. Luckily Chris found a replacement sound tech for the church job and we were able to lounge about a little. Then we called the place that we wanted to have brunch and they were booked up of course. So we made the short trek to Polly's pies, a place where I have lots of good childhood memories. The wait was about 45 min. Breakfast was... "Grill scraping and eggs" according to Chris. There were a few pieces of unknown crispy, fatty somethings swimming around in it and Chris says that he was still nauseous thinking about it. Mine was pretty good although I did send back my waffles once do to them being burned and cold, something I normally would never do.
My mom assured me that this is why they NEVER go out on Mother's day. So next year we'll actually take my mom's recommendation and hunker down and enjoy breakfast at home.

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day.

Yesterday Anders was sitting on my lap while I checked my e-mail, uploaded photos and talked on the phone. My camera was on the desk and he wanted to play with it so I thought I'd take a picture. Chris noticed that I was wearing my apron and mentioned that I looked a bit frazzled. I was a little. We had a busy fun day yesterday and before the picture was taken I was trying to get ONE thing done for the day. That ended up being the kitchen which had begun to look like a playroom/science experiment/office/farmers market/.... you get the picture. It was in need of a good scouring.
After getting the kitchen cleaned, we went out to buy Anders some new shoes in Uptown Whittier. There is an adorable children's store called "The Wishing Well" that has every cool and fun toy imaginable and some pretty cute clothes and shoes. Anders feet are really wide and he had started to complain about the tennis shoes that he wears everyday. They were a little big length wise but too narrow. The other pair of shoes that he owns have so many holes in them he might as well be wearing socks. So, I broke down and bought a fairly expensive pair of sandals made by "See Kai Run". They are super cute and seem wide enough.
After that we went to my parents house for dinner and a visit. When I told Anders we were going to Grandma and Grandpas house he said "bolf"? and then put his finger in his mouth to try to make a popping noise like my dad does to amuse him. Of course we had a great visit and the golf club was swung many times and there was a lot of "mouth popping".

See below posts for descriptions.

(I'm having trouble posting pictures so I'll do a couple of posts without writing just pictures)



Today we had a fun visit with Kristy and James Caver. We all went to the Santa Ana Science Museum where they have a big dinosaur exhibit. The play yard was a huge hit although Anders loved the weather and other exhibits in the main area as well. He especially liked one with a bunch of balls that would fall from the top onto various tracks and slide down. He and James seemed to hit it off better than they have before mostly because they are a little older now and can actually play together!



Of course I had fun visiting with Kristy as usual. I'm hoping to get a Disneyland pass sometime soon so that Anders and I can have another fairly inexpensive activity to do during the week. Most of my friends have passes including Kristy so we'd have plenty of company.
He is free until three so we are going to try and take advantage of that this year!