Today is a good day because.... ba ba ba baaaa! We are getting our apartment sprayed for ants!!! As some of you know, last year was a bad year for ants. I was constantly finding trails around my house and it didn't help that Anders was just learning to feed himself and food would get dropped. It seemed like no matter how clean my kitchen was they would find some random crumb and attack it with all of their special forces.
The last couple of weeks I have been finding little ants out looking for something to feast on. In the past few days I have had some major frenzy's and so I decided that I won't live like I did last year. So we are vacating the house for the day maybe the night depending on how toxic the poison is and I'll be crossing my fingers that it really gets 'em! Right now I'm waiting for the poison sprayer guy to get here and I'll have fun showing him exactly where the ants are coming from!
I'll write an update on this subject when I find out if it really works.

As you can see we have been enjoying the Wii. This week has been busy and we are finally all feeling better after a vicious cold that it seems like everyone has gotten. For a couple of nights Chris had to sleep on the Aero bed that we have for guests. It's pretty comfortable and it is handy when one or both of us need a good solitary nights sleep. My energy level returned by Friday and I spent the whole day catching up on cleaning, laundry and settling back in after a busy couple of weeks.
On Friday morning Chris and I were sitting at the breakfast table with Anders sitting in his highchair next to the table. He was screaming and wining and making the sign for "more" while demanding "MO" "MO". Chris looks at me and says "he's spoiled isn't he." We decided that we needed to do some things differently and we set out a rough game plan for future behaviour issues. During that breakfast whenever Anders would start screaming we would look away and start talking about something else. We also started working on saying "please". At one point he got really quiet and was staring off into space with the contimplative look of a deep thinker. He was really considering what what was going on and he quieted down pretty quick.
We realize that raising children will be filled with these moments. Reevaluating how things are going and what is working and what's not. The toddler years are good practice for that!

O.K. so I have to address a MAJOR pet peeve. During this political season I have been hearing from a few people that I respect, some pretty big scare tactic stories. In this case about Barack Obama. These stories have been sent out on the internet at different times and they are easily tracked by using snopes.com or politifact.com. The thing that bugs me the most is that it makes (in this case) Christians or conservatives which ever comes first, seem really naive, alarmist, judgmental, uneducated, blind, let's see.... I'm sure there are even more adjectives.

The incident that pushed me over the edge was this past Saturday. I was chatting with a client about the current political possibilities and the subject of Barack Obama came up. Now, I'm pretty conservative and although I like Obama as a person I don't agree with most of his political views and I most likely won't vote for him. So that aside, this person says, "you know that Barack Obama was sworn into the Senate using the Koran". My response was "Hmm that's odd because he professes to be a born again Christian." She came back with a very assured "well he did!" At that moment I couldn't research it but I had a feeling that if it were true there would be A LOT more drama. So I googled it when I got home and OF COURSE IT'S NOT TRUE! The other story that is circulating is that he is a radical Muslim in disguise. So, let's not make fools of Christianity or ourselves. Research "factual" e-mails. Don't believe everything you hear without checking the facts.

Berry Carnage..... Berries are a huge favorite of Anders especially blueberries. We get the big bag of frozen mixed berries and heat up a bowl of them. They are a major hit although the blueberries always get picked out first! While in Texas I discovered the wonders of V8 Fusion juice. It has a ton of veggies and fruit in it so I have been giving that to Anders mixed with water instead of Apple juice. It makes me feel better about giving him juice knowing that it's so packed with good stuff.

I just got home last night from a week long visit to Texas. My cousin Chad got married on Saturday in Dallas so it was the perfect time to get caught up with my sisters and their families. Anders had so much fun with his Cousins although I don't have any pictures of him and the newest cousin Garrett. The kids had fun playing outside and watching dvd's. Anders was in heaven because he loves "eedee" (tv).

Some of the highlights were getting professional pictures taken with all of the kids, buying a Wii along with the DeHarts and the Barnes' (Chris set it up last night!), and spending some quality time talking and hanging out as a family.






The down sides were not being able to have Chris there due to work, traveling by myself with an active toddler and having a nasty cold most of the time I was there. Actually, the traveling part was extremely horrid. We decided to save some money and not buy Anders a seat and I will NEVER travel that way again. My flight was cheap and I found out why once I got on the plane. We stopped in Pheonix as well as New Mexico. The up and down on the plane was tiring and Anders Cried every time we landed or took off. The worst part was when the plane was full I had to put him on my lap and that was.... hmmm how do I say this..... miserable. He fought me the whole time and kicked the seat in front of us. It was pretty stressful and the forte of our flight home was when we pulled into the Burbank terminal he threw up. Luckily we were home and I was able to put everything into a plastic bag provided by the kind gloved flight steward. We were the last ones off the plane and by the time I climbed down the stairs on to the tar mac and retrieved my stroller, I was shaking and about to cry. We made a beeline through the terminal into the helpful and loving arms of my husband. Man was I happy to see him!
Although the traveling was hard it was worth every moment!

A couple more Super Bowl pictures.

Here are a few pictures of our visit with Chris' dad and Superbowl Sunday. =0) We really had a great time with John and it was fun to get together with my parents to watch the game! Anders had fun at Sunday school showing off his natural talent on the drums....


Anders had fun trying on Grandpa J's hat.


















Chris and his dad relaxing and enjoying the SuperBowl.

These pictures are mainly for Grandma Jensen because she sent Anders this adorable cowboy hat. He really has gotten alot of milage out of it! So cute. =0)

Howdy!

Today is one of those perfect blustery days that feels like fall in any state other than California. The wind is blowing it's cold (brisk 53 degrees), and the leaves are gold, red, and brown. The sky is a clear blue with big puffy white clouds edged with gray and in the distance you can see the mountains covered in snow. This kind of day is rare and glorious and usually only comes after a lot of rain which we've had for the past week.
Because of this I took Anders to the park and he ran and threw leaves and pine cones and the wind whipped his hair all around. He looked so rosy and happy it made me want to move somewhere cold just so that I could see that picture more often.
I had a goose hiss at me. Did you know that Geese can hiss? It's pretty creepy sounding. The geese at this particular park are very aggressive and we've been chased before for not producing bread or not producing it fast enough or for running out. Scary stuff.
Anyways, we're trying to get lots of energy out before more rain comes again. Which we are hoping for!
This Thursday Chris' dad is coming out to visit and we are really looking forward to spending some quality time with him. He stays until Monday and then on Wednesday Anders and I fly out to Texas to visit my sisters and to attend the wedding of my cousin Chad. It's so fun that he is getting married to a Dallas native. It looks like it will be a nice family reunion.
I'm dreading the flight with a toddler but I'm hoping to find a portable dvd player to borrow and I'm sure I'll bring some kind of sleepy juice (ie benadryl) just in case. I'm sure I'll share my experience when it's all over!

It's not a little Yoda.....







It's just Anders Enjoying the rain.


May the force be with you....... =0)

Today we went over to Laura Blackwell's house to play with Abby and Megan. Megan is a little younger than Anders and they seemed to get along pretty well. Although at this age they just kind of play next to each other not with each other. At one point Anders kept trying to swipe Megan's sippy cup so as you can see in the pictures we had to keep them seperate!



Anders had alot of fun playing with new toys and Megan and Abby's dog Cherry who followed him around licking his face.

Here are some pictures of our trip to the Santa Ana zoo on Friday. We went with our neighbor Kathy and two of her boys Roman and Sabastian. They all had a great time although Anders fell at one point and scraped his face on the gravel. He pulled through pretty well. =0)





Lately Anders has been sticking out his tongue alot. I think that he is practicing a certain sound.










The off road jeep that was on display was a hit with all of the boys.







The best part of the day was the train ride around the farm animal area. The conductor was great and Anders kept looking up at me and making kissy faces to show his approval.

This week has been a busy one. It started with a much needed one year check-up for Anders. We just got heath insurance after a long scary stint without it. Luckily we all stayed relatively healthy during that time. I also found out that I could take Anders to the doctors and just pay for the office visits. A little more than a co-pay but worth it.
We found a highly recommended pediatrician that is just down the street from our house and I was very happy with him. He was a good listener (always a plus) and he seemed to be pretty thorough. We found out that Anders is healthy and a little above normal for height and a little below normal for weight. Heidi pointed out that he probably just had a growth spurt....
The downer was that we need to take him to a urologist on Monday to talk about fixing a lousy circumcision job thanks to Kaiser. I am NOT looking forward to that process!
After visiting the doctor we went to the park where Anders promptly fell and bumped up his chin. I had to hall off a screaming bleeding child while a group of loud and crass homeless men watched the scene with interest. That was a long day.
The rest of the week has been filled with cleaning, shopping, playing with friends, a visit to the DMV, work, and soccer. Yes, Anders is showing a propensity for sports. Actually anything to do with a ball is a hit. We've spent almost every afternoon this week playing with a new soccer ball out in front of our apartment. He's getting the kicking down and I'm having fun getting some exercise.
Lately, sports on T.V. has been a hit. It started at Grandpa's house with golf and was confirmed with football over the holiday's. He now points to the t.v. and says "ootbul", eedee (tv), and brings me the remote saying "emote". I'm not sure how to feel about this new love of "eedee"....
Tomorrow is the zoo and I'm sure I'll get some good pictures to post soon.

I have to put a plug up here for my moms blog. She is such a good writer and I have had fun reading what she has to say.
Yesterday Anders and I had fun going to the "Museum of Science and Industry" with Kristy Caver and James. The boys really are too young to be fascinated by the interesting exhibits but there is a small play area for Toddlers with lots of fun toys. They played in there for a while and then we took a long walk to check out the Natural History Museum that is right near by the other one. We ended up not going in because it was 8$ and it wasn't worth it. I do look forward to enjoying all of the fun exhibits some day!
The thing that I really enjoyed about the trip besides the fun company, was seeing USC and the Coliseum so close up. I had never been down to that area of L.A. as an adult and it really is a beautiful spot. I suppose I wouldn't want to wander around there at night but during the day it was pretty safe feeling. Hopefully we'll do it again soon and get to really explore the museum!

I had to put up this picture of Anders in the tubby. We went on a big walk tonight with our destination being Wal-Mart. It's pretty close but we always drive everywhere and I realized that it could be a very pleasant walk. While at the store we saw a can of "Thomas the Train" bubble bath. He really likes "choo choo's" so I decided that it would make bath time even more fun. The bubbles were fabulous but the berry scent wasn't so hot in my opinion. Anders was VERY impressed by the bubbles and had fun washing his own hair.

The table picture is exciting for me because if you have been over to our apartment you would know that we have been living for a long time with metal folding chairs and a hand-me-down table that used to be Aunt boo boo's. We finally upgraded and I am SO HAPPY. We still have one chair to assemble but I am very happy with the results.



And of course I had to include a picture of laundry day. For some reason I like to document this kind of thing. Don't ask me why.

Today was so productive thanks to my mom who lovingly and willingly took Anders for the day. It's amazing what can be accomplished without a little one clinging to my leg. I tackled six loads of laundry, decluttered our bedroom and Anders room, shopped at Trader Joe's, worked on this blog, vacuumed the floors.... and had a nice visit with mom at the end of the day. Now a chicken is roasting in the oven and there is still a small pile of clothes on the couch that need to be folded. It feels so good to get back on track after the Holidays! For some reason Christmas gets me all out of wack. The house gets extra cluttered, laundry get put on hold and new gifts get piled into corners until they find a new home. Of course surrounding that chaos is a lot of fun and joy so I suppose it's worth the extra work.
Today as I was walking back and forth to the laundry room I started thinking about one of the ways I make the task enjoyable. I live in a nice quiet apartment community. It's gated and it really feels like a safe little village. Most of the apartments have little elements of care put into them like a wreath on the door, some flowers around the outside or other reminders that these are people's homes. I imagine that I'm somewhere in Europe and this place is my town. I have to walk to do my laundry but it's ok because life is so slow and enjoyable and it's just part of the daily rhythm. For some reason this makes the chore of doing laundry seem pleasant instead of an intrusive, tiring, time sapper.

Here are a few more pictures of Christmas. I had to include some from the Seelye family gathering. I also hadn't put up any pictures of Erin Jim and Garrett so here they are!

We really had a good time over at the Stevens house. It was fun to share the event with a family that just came to the States from Rwanda. The father has been here for awhile studying at Talbot and his family, wife and three teenagers just arrived before Christmas. They were a welcome addition to the group.

Sorry about the delay in posting. I am using Chris' laptop now and our photos are on Picasa. It's a totally different way of posting pictures and much more cumbersome. I think that I have it down now.
Christmas was so much fun this year. Having an 18 month old makes Christmas so enjoyable and it was especially fun to see him come out on Christmas morning and see all of his new toys and a TENT! That one was a big hit.
We had Chris' mom stay with us and that was actually really great. It was a more relaxed way for her to visit and we were able to spend some quality time with her. Anders got really good at giving kisses and he seemed to really enjoy all of the attention.
It's been fun to read all of the blogs detailing your Christmas'. So here is to a blessed New Year and a great 2008!

Here are a few of just us. As you can see Anders is getting alot more active and getting a nice picture is more work these days. =0) He really had a fun Christmas and got lots of attention from all of the family.

Here is Heather at Christmas eve at the Stevens. And the bottom picture is Chris and his mom before she left to go back home the day after Christmas. We really had a good time all together.