Here are a few pictures of my experiences this week. All week I have had this pile of ironing that has needed to get done and I've avoided finishing it for various reasons. Today is the day to finish it.
Yesterday I set Anders in the middle of the living room floor in his high chair with no clothes on so that he could enjoy a very messy teething cookie. Those things are like clay when they dry! I'm trying to introduce "chew" foods so that I can just cut things up and give it to him instead of pureeing everything or buying it.

Today Kristy and James came over for a swim day and while we were eating lunch the boys found great amusement in the Tyra show. We might as well be asking for our kids to grow up to be ADD!

JUMP-N-JAMM'N!








Today was especially fun. Kristy and I took our little guys to an indoor play park called Jump-n-Jamm'n. There is a section just for tiny tots where they can crawl and todder around. Everything is cushy so that they can fall to their hearts content. They had a blast even though they both missed their very important morning nap time. Anders was a little overwhelmed at first but James led the way and soon he was venturing out and trying to climb up the toys. I'm sure that next time we take them they will even have more fun! They both fell asleep as soon as we got in the car to drive back home.
It was a relief to get out into a new fun environment where Anders could crawl and play in a safe fun place.

Here are some hilights from last week with Chris' mom visiting. The pictures are of our trip to Dana Point from Monday-Wednesday. We stayed at the Blue Lantern inn and enjoyed every minute! Anders got a new Teddy bear from Grandma Jensen which he loves to snuggle with. Gma J. was able to spend lots of time with Anders, and Chris and I were able to have some relaxing time together ALONE! Thank you Eloise!!
One of the things that surprised me about going on vacation was all of the stuff that was needed for just two nights! The top picture shows how stuffed our car was.


Anders enjoyed seeing new places and most of all enjoyed holding my keys.... simple pleasures.
Not only is the Teddy bear a hit but so is the bow. It apparently tastes like chicken!

I just wanted to write a list of attributes that I appreciate about my mom. Now that I'm a mom I TOTALLY appreciate everything she did for us over the years. (And all the things she put up with!) Here they are.




You are creative, extremely patient, hardworking, practical, a very good teacher, pro-active, thoughtful, loyal, interesting, interested, you read to us until you lost your voice every night, you kept a clean house despite us, all of the hours spent sewing cute clothes for us, all of the fun trips you planned, you made good memories with us, you were and are always willing to help with whatever we need.

Thank you mom!

Here are a couple of pictures that I took of Anders at around 7:45 this morning at a local park. I decided to get some cute pictures for mothers day. Hopefully my mom and mother-in-law won't see this post before Sunday! I took tons of pictures but these were my favorite expressions.

We had two fun milestones this week with with Anders. First, he went into the big pool with dad for the first time. He loved it! Second, today he started to crawl forwards which was a big one because for a long time he either couldn't get over one leg and so he would rock back and forth. Or if he did get over that leg he would crawl backwards and be extremely frustrated. The picture below, I took today and I find it funny that I put all of his toys into the hallway to play and that is where I used to put Bubba the Chinchilla! It really is the perfect play area for baby or beast.

I finally am writing about the last few weeks after a bit of a blog silence. We have been busy as always with work, baby, and life but along with that we found out that we were expecting again. We actually found out the Friday before Easter. There were some mixed emotions about having another baby because for one, we are still getting used to the first baby! I also wasn't sure about how my body could handle another pregnancy so soon after my first experience. I had just resolved to work one more day a week and try to earn a little more money and Chris has been looking into a couple of different job options. So finding out that another baby was on the way was a surprise. We were planning on trying for a baby when Anders turned one so we weren't too far off from our goal.
Last Wednesday was my first pre-natal appointment and I was glad to be going because I had had a little spotting and I was worried. The doctor said that it probably was nothing to worry about and did the exam. We didn't do the ultrasound because we didn't have our insurance yet and the procedure would have been expensive. It did concern me that we wouldn't get to see what was happening but I figured that we would find out eventually.
For some reason I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and by Friday I was really concerned. I had started cramping a little and the spotting continued and was a little worse. So, around 4:00pm I took Anders over to Grammy and Pa Pa's (my grandparents) along with a few diapers, pj's and a bottle and dropped him off. Chris was working in Burbank which is about 45 min away without traffic. I called him and he started out to meet me at the ER. When I got there I checked in and they took some blood and alot of information and sent me back out to the waiting room to wait for a room to open up. I ended up waiting for a good two hours and thankfully Chris showed up somewhere in there. By the time I was shown to a room I was having full blown contractions and was VERY uncomfortable. I never did go through labor with Anders because he was so early and we had a c-section. So this was quite new. Of course Chris was extremely supportive and surprisingly helpful and I was sooo grateful to have him there. The nurse came in an tried to give me an IV but couldn't get a vein so he brought in another nurse to help. Eventually after a few failed attempts they found what they were looking for. Within a half an hour my body did what it was trying to do and I miscarried. Immediately my contractions stopped and despite the sadness of the loss I felt much better physically. After lots of waiting around I was wheeled up to the ultrasound room to see if I would need any more procedures. We were blessed to not have any complications and I was able to be sent home at around one in the morning.
The thing that surprised both Chris and I was our broad range of emotions. We were sad, yet also a bit relieved. I don't think my body was ready to carry another pregnancy yet and for some reason I knew that and had been worried from the moment I found out about the baby. There was a sense of rest in the fact that we weren't in control of the situation. It is difficult to process a loss and we are trying to talk about it as we need to. We have a good support system around us and we are really grateful for each person that has already been so kind and understanding.
We are looking forward to eventually trying for another little one but probably not until Anders is a tad more self-sufficient!

I was just going through my blog role and I had to put up a link to my sis Erin's blog. Last week they had there very first Texas Tornado experience. It was hair raising to say the least!
Another favorite this week was Friar Tucks blog about an interesting road trip. If you like road trips you'll enjoy this one!
Have fun reading blogs!

Today Anders is with Grandma and I am taking the opportunity to whirl around and try to bring order to the house once again. I'm waiting for the three loads of laundry to finish washing so I can transfer them to the dryer. Doing laundry is an ordeal for me and I really loathe doing it. A while back I realized that I needed something with wheels on it so that I could haul bigger loads of laundry in one trip. I found a cart that is made for hauling leaves, and other outdoor debris and has these great all terrain wheels on it so I can bump it up and down our stairs with no problem. Chris thought it was a bit over the top but I have to say that it was the best purchase ever!
Next on my list is the pile of clothes in our bedroom (all mine) and straightening up Chris' office.
One of the best pieces of news I received this week is that we are at the top of the list for a down stairs apartment! There was some kind of miscommunication between the management and the owners about whether or not tenants could move from a two bedroom upstairs to a two bedroom downstairs. There had been a list and we were on it and then some how somebody thought that it was against the rules so the list got tossed out. I was totally discouraged because I was sooo looking forward to less stairs while I haul baby, baby gear, groceries and laundry back and forth. So, it looks like we are just waiting for the right apartment to open up!
Ok, I'm back to cleaning now.

Lately Anders has been really proud that he can hold on to things and stand up. He is trying to pull himself up but can't quite master the art yet. So I prop him up on various pieces of furniture and let him stand there until he lets go. His balance is pretty good and he is really showing a desire to get around more. So it looks like I will have to pull out the plug protectors and other baby proofing devices fairly soon.

Thank goodness for park days with friends! Last week on Thursday me, Ariana, Kristy and the kiddums walked to a nearby park in Whittier for a little picnic. Amelia and Anders still aren't getting around yet but James is a crawling machine and kept trying to grab whatever was near to stuff in his mouth. Kristy had her hands full!

Yesterday was spent at my mom's house making a few batches of baby food. It was really an enjoyable afternoon and I was happy about all of the food we made for not very much money! Gerber is convenient but the cost can really add up. We made turkey with onions, peas and carrots, butternut squash and sweet potatoes....lucky Anders! It is in the freezer at my parents house until I see them probably tomorrow.


Anders was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day. It's hard being nine months old!

Easter was spent at Gma and Gpa Seelye's house. Anders felt pretty awful most of the day due to an ear infection which we didn't get diagnosed until Wednesday. So Sunday was pretty miserable for both him and me. He a had a fever and was mostly inconsolable most of the day except for a few lovely hours at the party! He is better now due to daily doses of antibiotics.
He was pretty intrigued by the "cheeto carrot" that aunt G. brought!

It has been a while since I posted! We have been busy as usual with parenting, work, trying to keep up with the house, Easter, and much more. I was going back over some of my old posts and realized how much my energy level has changed since I've had Anders. I find myself being much less creative and a lot more utilitarian. I now post for the sole purpose of sharing Anders growth with family that can't see him regularly. And of course for the interested friends and family around here as well!

I look forward to the future (not sure when) blogs that branch out from baby life. Of course there will always be plenty of pictures of the little ones because I can't quite get away from being proud of "my young".... Speaking of which I'll be posting some new pictures very soon.

Friday afternoon was spent hanging out down in Balboa beach. The weather has been so pleasant that we had to get outdoors to enjoy it. Anders didn't really mind the hat and he loved the breeze just as much as we did. That evening we drove from Newport beach to Temecula to visit our good friends John and Annie. It took us about two hours to get there but it was rewarded with a wonderful Sushi dinner at one of there favorite restaurants.
Anders got lots of kisses that day!

Today was one of the most enjoyable baby days I've had in a long time. It began with a really terrible night of sleep on Anders part. I was completely discouraged and frustrated and tired this morning and most of all desperate to get out of the house! Yesterday was spent mostly indoors although I did haul the baby down to the pool area to enjoy the unseasonably warm air. But for the most part yesterday was pretty dismal. So I made a decision to actually go out today and do something.
I figured I would call Ariana and see if she and Amelia would like a visit at some point in the day. Ariana mentioned that she was going have to run some errands but that she wasn't too excited about it because of the VERY warm weather. (it was around 90 degrees today). I suggested that we hook Amelia's car seat into my car and make a group trip out of it. So that's what we did! The car was cool, Ariana could just run into each location without unhooking the baby and carting her along and I was able to get out and not spend any money in the process! It was great!
When we got home we fed the babies and put them down for naps and we filled up the kiddie pool out in the back yard of A's apartment.
When the babies woke up we stripped them down and let them splash to their hearts content. The water was a bit cold so we hooked the hose up to the hot water spicket in the laundry room nearby and made the pool feel almost tepid. It was a great way to spend a very hot afternoon. Chris came over with the video camera and got some great footage of Anders first swim party.
After swimming and tending to the babies, Ariana prepared a wonderful dinner of barbecued chicken, black beans and some yummy sides. (Jeff did the actual honors of barbecuing).
It really was the first summer day for me even though it is the middle of March! I'm looking forward to many more days of swimming and outdoor dinners in the months to come.

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday's activities. I mean, when is it not cute to dress a baby up in a cowboy hat?!!

It has been so warm in So Cal lately. Yesterday whenever we would finish a few laps around the track we would stroll over to the pool and look at it longingly. I am really looking forward to using our apartment pool soon!

Today my good friend Rachel and I got together to walk the track at Biola. Afterwards we went back to her house and Anders got to play with Liberty and two year old Jett.

I had a little camera fun today! The weather was so balmy and warm this afternoon and Anders enjoyed sitting on his changing table while the breeze blew in through the window. And of course I had to include a bath picture since it is his absolute favorite activity!

A quick update.
Our anniversary was really nice. We REALLY enjoyed relaxing while we drove up the coast a little ways. The place that we went for lunch on Saturday was about two hours away but the drive was beautiful. After a long and leisurely lunch we took a tour of Ojai and found a nice little winery where we wine tasted and strolled around the property. We did purchase a decent Cabernet which we will save for something special. Saturday evening was spent with some of Chris' good friends at a birthday party in Northridge. We had a very relaxing day on Sunday with a late breakfast at IHOP and then a scenic drive around the Malibu area. We were happy to pick up Anders at Grandma and Grandpa C's house although it looked like he was having quite a nice time with them. I don't think he would've minded sticking around there a bit longer!
It was good to get away but we missed our little guy and were soooo happy to see him!

This weekend will be a milestone not only because it's our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! but we are leaving Anders at Gma and Gpa's overnight! It will be nice to get away and enjoy staying up late and sleeping in. We realized that one year ago today was our rehearsal dinner. What a good year it has been.
The above picture was taken a couple of days into our honeymoon in Ojai California. It's only a couple hours away so tomorrow we will be driving up there for a nice lunch at a great little french restaurant that we loved last year. We are looking forward to a little road trip!

Here is the latest picture from our baby/mommy get together with Ariana and friend Kristy Caver (Sundan). From left to right Amelia, Anders and James. There is a big difference from the last gathering in how they interact together. They also notice the camera now as well!

Here's a new picture of Anders. He is 8 months old now and we are constantly amazed at how fast he is growing and changing.

We had a great time at a holiday party that my friend Rachel and her husband Lenny put on a couple of weeks after Christmas. I figured it's about time to put up a currant picture of me and the hubby! Our 1 year anniversary is coming up next weekend... wow I just realized that it is actually NEXT weekend! We will most likely be leaving the beeba with my folks over night so we can get away somewhere not to far but far enough away. =)

Pictures from my trip to my dad's office today. Thanks to Mike Hamilton we got a couple of cute mommy and baby pictures.

Here is a picture that I took today. Anders is lying on the blanket that Auntie Erin and Uncle Jim made for him. Today was a pretty big day starting with Chris taking him to the church nursery while Grammy was at Bible study. She took him home to watch him while Chris and I worked. After I picked him up around 2:00 we went and visited a few people including my dad at his office. Anders hasn't had a good nap today and it's beginning to show! At the moment he is sitting in his "hop n' pop" and letting out burst of screams and spit bubbles.... hopefully this means that he'll go down easily at 7:00 so Chris and I can watch a movie tonight!

Last week Ariana, Kristy Caver and I decided to get together to chat and see how the babies react to each other. Actually I think that these pictures are from the last time we met but there should be one up from last week soon. They are getting more interested in each other as they get bigger but they are still just learning that they exist let alone OTHER babies! The top picture is Amelia, James and Anders. Below is a picture of the cousins (second cousins?) looking at Ariana.

Well, the time has come to blog again. I've been avoiding it for a few reasons; my camera is in Chris' car and we keep forgetting to bring it upstairs, I'm busy living and I have a hard time sitting down and writing about my life when I should be living it and lastly my mind is beginning to feel like mush from too much 24 and American Idol.
At the moment Chris has that bad cold/flu that has been going around lately. My sister Heidi and her family in Dallas are just getting over it and it seems like most people I talk to have had it. So far I've dodged it and Anders only has a slight cold but nothing too bad. Hopefully that's how it will stay!
Anders has been growing alot lately. He's eating three meals of veggies or fruit (compliments of Gerber) a day as well as his regular formula. This morning I felt something sharp on his bottom gum and I'm assuming that all the fussing and squirming is paying off. Thank goodness for teething tablets!
He has been a blast to play with as all of his light bulbs come on and he is really enjoying his world now. We'll be buying another piece of plastic in the form of a high chair within the next couple of days and it will add to the collection of bright un-breakable items that we are building piece by piece. Kind of like an art collection.... except alot less valuable and not as asthetic.
Chris and I are doing well. We are looking forward to going out to dinner tonight to celebrate our first Valentines as a married couple. We're dropping Anders off at the church nursery for two hours of free babysitting. =) It should be fun despite Chris' cold.


Happy Valentines Day everyone!

I was reading through some old blog entries and I came across this on and it amused me just as much as when it happened. What a crazy weekend! It dates back ot July 2005.

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Today I was laughing to myself again over the abnormal circumstances of this past weekend. Starting on Friday, I had three tire blowouts in three days. Not from defective tires but from various pieces of metal picked up in different places.

Friday morning I happily began my day by going to my hair supply shop to pick up products and as I left I remembered that I had left my lunch at home so I ran back to get it. Then I realized that I had enough time to pickup a iced hazelnut latte before I had to be at work. It was one of those really productive feel good mornings that I live for. No sooner had I pulled out of the parking place at the coffee shop, I heard (or felt) the flop of a flat tire. I put on my hazards and made my way into the Chevron station. When I looked there was a large peice of metal sticking out.
I was a little bummed but it really didn't bother me too much. I sipped my coffee, called AAA and work and then waited. I was a half hour late to work but somehow it all worked out fine.

Saturday I got a new back left tire and then proceeded to drive to Santa Clarita to see "March of the Penguins" with my sister and family. Great movie and great company. That evening when I walked out to my car I saw that my front left tire was flat. This time a bolt.
Called AAA again and waited a good two hours to get the spare put back on. I ended up spending the night in Palmdale and getting my tire fixed the next day at Big O tires.
I was on my way home on the 60 freeway and BAM there went my THIRD tire, this time my back right tire had a large bolt sticking out of it.
One of my fears has been having a blowout on the freeway and it wasn't as scary as I thought.
I Called AAA again and found out I'd have to pay 45$ because I'd used up all my free tow truck visits. Oh well. It had to be done. About 10 min later a tow truck pulls up so I get out with my ID and AAA card in hand, and it turns out that this is a free service paid for by our tax dollors. They patrol the freeways and help stranded motorists. So, I didn't have to pay any money to have my spare put back on.
By this time I was giddy with the obsurdidy of the whole thing. I've NEVER had a blown tire in the 11 years since I've had my liscense.

Because of the intensity of the situation it almost seemed super natural and my big question was and is, what do you want to make of this God??? Is there a reason for this crazy weekend??
I know that It really was a bit of an adventure and I do now know alot more about tires than I did on Thursday.... Maybe that is the big meaning, or it could be that my tires were much hotter in the 100 degree heat that they couldn't deflect a silly thing like a bolt....Today I was laughing to myself again over the abnormal circumstances of this past weekend. Starting on Friday, I had three tire blowouts in three days. Not from defective tires but from various pieces of metal picked up in different places.

Friday morning I happily began my day by going to my hair supply shop to pick up products and as I left I remembered that I had left my lunch at home so I ran back to get it. Then I realized that I had enough time to pickup a iced hazelnut latte before I had to be at work. It was one of those really productive feel good mornings that I live for. No sooner had I pulled out of the parking place at the coffee shop, I heard (or felt) the flop of a flat tire. I put on my hazards and made my way into the Chevron station. When I looked there was a large peice of metal sticking out.
I was a little bummed but it really didn't bother me too much. I sipped my coffee, called AAA and work and then waited. I was a half hour late to work but somehow it all worked out fine.

Saturday I got a new back left tire and then proceeded to drive to Santa Clarita to see "March of the Penguins" with my sister and family. Great movie and great company. That evening when I walked out to my car I saw that my front left tire was flat. This time a bolt.
Called AAA again and waited a good two hours to get the spare put back on. I ended up spending the night in Palmdale and getting my tire fixed the next day at Big O tires.
I was on my way home on the 60 freeway and BAM there went my THIRD tire, this time my back right tire had a large bolt sticking out of it.
One of my fears has been having a blowout on the freeway and it wasn't as scary as I thought.
I Called AAA again and found out I'd have to pay 45$ because I'd used up all my free tow truck visits. Oh well. It had to be done. About 10 min later a tow truck pulls up so I get out with my ID and AAA card in hand, and it turns out that this is a free service paid for by our tax dollors. They patrol the freeways and help stranded motorists. So, I didn't have to pay any money to have my spare put back on.
By this time I was giddy with the obsurdidy of the whole thing. I've NEVER had a blown tire in the 11 years since I've had my liscense.

Because of the intensity of the situation it almost seemed super natural and my big question was and is, what do you want to make of this God??? Is there a reason for this crazy weekend??
I know that It really was a bit of an adventure and I do now know alot more about tires than I did on Thursday.... Maybe that is the big meaning, or it could be that my tires were much hotter in the 100 degree heat that they couldn't deflect a silly thing like a bolt....

Our future Audio Engineer.

Happy new year to all you bloggers and readers. Christmas was quite a whirlwind at our house and we are just beginning to feel slightly sane although still a bit grouchy and out of sorts. We disposed of our sweet little Christmas tree about an hour ago and I welcomed the smell of pine needles that the vacuum gave off as I cleaned.
The holiday was spent with family, Chris' and mine. We pretty much did something every day with family for the week before and after Christmas. It was fun and exhausting and Anders loved every minute of it and was pretty bummed when everything settled down.
The past couple of weeks Chris and I have been wandering around our house that was hit with Christmas chaos not quite knowing what to do with all of the wonderful gifts that we received. Everything has just sat underneath the tree in a pile and neither of us wanted to look at it for fear that we would have to deal with it. Before Christmas I was just beginning to feel like I had a handle on the clutter in our little space. The laundry is always looming but all the other stuff had found a spot. Now, I will be reorganizing and sorting and deciding what precious thing will have to be sacrificed for another precious thing. Should be fun.

Here is a list of some of my favorite gifts.

- a new copy of "Good night moon"
- a very nice picture album of our wedding reception in Ohio
- gift cards to Target, WalMart, Macy's and Starbucks (love, love, love, gift cards!)
- Christmas movies
- spa gift certificates from my generous and thoughtful husband
- a subscription to a cooking magazine
- a whole set of Johnny Cash cd's
- some very fun toys for the bunchkin

I think that my favorite thing about this Christmas was when Chris and I were able to sit in our living room with the lights turned down after all the festivities were over, and look at our pretty tree with it's twinkly lights. During those moments we were able to truly enjoy our first Christmas as a married couple and as new parents.
As overwhelming and as everything was it was fun. Memories were made, pictures were taken and overall everyone had a really nice time spending time together. I look forward to lots more Christmas fun in years to come.