State Fair 2012

On Sunday we went to the State Fair with my parents.  Mid-70's and sunny.  A lovely day :)  Anderson seemed to notice the animals a little more this time, but I don't think we can call him "excited" yet.  He was pretty snugly and a little sleepy throughout the afternoon, which worked well since crawling is not a good thing to do at the fair.  He'll hold a hand and walk, but not for too long.  So between his stroller and being held, he was a pretty happy guy.  Towards the evening we did come upon a "natural" play area for little ones.  Anderson could stand at the table and stack slices of wood, acorns, leaves, pine cones.  He really liked it, and it was a good way for him to have a little break.

As a side note, that morning I had taken Anderson to the nursery at church for the first time.  I love having him with me during the service, but he's old enough he'd rather play than sit quietly on my lap for an hour.  Still, I was near tears dropping him off.  Turns out he did great.  He was so comfortable that at about 10 (an hour before his normal nap time), he laid down on the floor.  Cathy, who keeps the toddlers, picked him up and said after a couple of books he was all cuddled up and asleep.  :)  I was glad he felt so at home, but he completely messed up the nap schedule I had so carefully planned for our fair day.  With no real nap all day, as I said, he was sleepy/ snugly throughout the fair.  Not sure that was a bad thing, though........ :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our day:

 Right as we walked in, there was a petting zoo.  Anderson was most interested in the goats.  However, they had a long-horn, camel, and even kangaroo, too!  

Taking advantage of my good-natured boys again :)  Aren't they cute little cows??

Grandma helping Anderson see the grizzly bear demonstration.

Family photo...see the goat under the bridge?

A corn-box was a fun surprise.  Anderson was a little unsure of the antics going on in the rest of the box, though...

Taking a break and playing with spoons with grandma.  Wild-man face below!

Cute picture with grandma and grandpa- and the spoons  (we tried again without spoons, but this was the best one anyways :) )

Walking with grandpa

Second family photo-op

Let's all take a moment and think how CUTE Anderson would have looked sitting here and smiling all by himself.  As you can see, HE did not like my idea at all :(

Playing at the park

One of our favorite things to do these days is go to the park near our house.  We moved on from just swinging to climbing and sliding at "Toddler Town".  To be fair, my mom was the first one to brave the slide with Anderson, and he loved it.

Here are some pictures from this morning's excursion:

Our cute little park

Crawling around

Check out that dirt :)  The slide was wet, too, but we figured what are "play clothes" for?

With a little balance-assistance from Mom,
Anderson was having fun picking up and
throwing the mulch and leaves.  Every once
in a while he tries to eat the mulch, but other
than that, fun for all.  

Some more exploring

                           

The path back home.  There's a little creek under the two bridges that is fun to look at.

Checking out what just splashed.

September news

Oh bother- I cannot keep up with my blog to save my life!  Ever since school has started, I've been pretty worthless after Anderson's bedtime (which is back to 7:30-8), and I've rarely stayed up past 9:30 myself.  But lots (!!) of exciting things are happening, and we've had a lot of fun weekends lately.

Anderson is quickly becoming a toddler.  Well, by quickly I mean he is slowly and steadily progressing towards walking.  It must be just around the corner- he loves to push his walker, or a hamper, or his play table around the house.  A couple of days ago we took his walker out to the cul-de-sac so he could walk straight for a long time, and he thought that was really cool.  He even got his first (slightly) skinned knees.  Took it like a champ. :)  Mommy will feel better about walking on asphalt once jeans weather has arrived!

Anderson really is the sweetest one.  He is so cute and especially snugly in the mornings before school.  And he loves books, both "reading" them and being read to.  He is also all of a sudden very opinionated, and he does not hesitate to chuck a book out of my hands if it's not the one he wants.  He tends to have a few favorites for a week or so, and then the favorites change.  Frequent favorites include: "I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean", "But Not the Hippopotamus", "Happy Hippo, Angry Duck", and "Happy Pig Day".  He likes the ones where he gets to turn the pages frequently :).

We're going through some grumpy phases, especially at dinnertime, and we're learning the best ways to love and encourage, and sometimes correct, our sweet, sweet (almost) toddler Anderson.

NEW BABY BOY :)
Even as Anderson gets bigger and smarter and funnier, it's still hard to picture him as a big brother.  But we pray every night for our hearts to grow bigger and bigger to make room for New Baby, and our prayers are certainly being answered.  I'm feeling him move and roll throughout the day.  I definitely feel the most moving and shaking when Anderson's on my lap.  In fact, the first time I ever felt him for sure was a couple of Saturday mornings ago when Anderson and I were reading "Snuggle Puppy."  So I guess that's new baby's favorite book.

I have been so sure our New Baby was a boy ever since our 16 week appointment- everything this time around has been so similar to my pregnancy with Anderson.  Anyways, I was right :), and we couldn't be happier!  I see visions of bunk beds and baseball games and two (well 3 counting Ryan) precious baby boys to love and to love me.  It feels so right- which is saying something, since New Baby was such a shock/ surprise in the first place.

We took a 20 week picture to compare to the 20 wk photo when I was carrying Anderson.

Hard to imagine what 36+ weeks will look like!  I ended up nice and big (!) with Anderson, and I'm clearly ahead of the game this time.

GREAT VISITS
Two weekends ago we went to DC to meet cutie Colin and hang out with Liam, Chris and Sarah.  Liam is fun as ever- and Anderson noticed more this time around, too.  He kept smiling at Liam, who seemd to look at Anderson to say "Well, c'mon- get up and play!"  Soon, soon.  Colin was a sleepy little guy at only two weeks old.  Sunday Liam and Anderson joined Colin for a little nap at the zoo.

The big boys perked up soon, though, and enjoyed checking out the animals.  Liam especially got into it.  Anderson's still just as interested in the people walking around as the animals.

Then last weekend, Lauren and Kyle came to visit.  Kyle was interviewing for a potential residency in DC, and Lauren was claiming her rain check since not being able to fly in for Anderson's birthday.  They hadn't seen Anderson since Christmas, so he had changed a lot!  Lauren was a cute little auntie and set her alarm for 7:30 so that she could hang out with Anderson and I during our treasured early morning time.  Here are some Saturday morning pics-

Anderson was shy on and off throughout the weekend, but he was perfectly himself during the morning.  Uncle Kyle had him laughing to the point of snorting.  Even when he was being shy with Lauren, he would follow her if she walked somewhere he couldn't see. 

Later that day we went to Maymont and admired some other animals that Anderson doesn't quite care about yet.  We really enjoyed the Japanese Gardens, where we took a little break.

Bahamas so far

 So far so good at the Bahamas!  Ryan, Anderson, my mom, and I arrived Friday afternoon, and my dad joined us yesterday (Monday).  We figure this is our 5th time to Freeport- we've stayed at the Mayfield every time, and we really do love it.  It's not fancy, but it's clean and quiet and has a million dollar view!

Anderson is not a water baby.  It's just not in him.  I believe that New Baby will be, since he or she has been in the ocean a lot, and Anderson never had (inutero).  But that's just a theory :).  Anderson has tolerated the ocean some and the pool.  We get some smiles in the pool as long as we are sufficiently entertaining.  But he does love all of the attention that comes with 4 of some of his very biggest fans all sharing one living room for the week, and he LOVES all of the snacks that he's had this vacation.  If you ask him, I think he'll tell you he loves the Bahamas, too.

Here are some photos of the first half of the trip:

Our view

Exploring and finding out how not-baby-proofed the Bahamas are

Ready for the beach!

Yea Mon

In the ocean with Grandma

Strolling (napping) with Grandpa

Anderson's First Birthday party!!

Anderson's birthday party weekend started with a total bummer!  We were all so looking forward to Auntie Lauren flying in for the festivities.  I was eager for Lauren to play with Anderson, now that he is so grown up, see our new house, hug her sister.... AND I was going to put her to work with party prep for sure!  BUT all three Harden girls were teary Friday night as not one but two flights from Boston to Richmond were cancelled, and Lauren had to take her suitcase back home.  :(  It was somewhat stormy, but I couldn't believe our luck.  Lauren was soo missed!

Mom showed up at 10 am Saturday morning to help me with party prep- I would've been in trouble without her!  The party began at 4:30, and I think it wasn't until 4:35 that 36 cupcakes and one beehive cake were baked and frosted, Winnie the Pooh decorations were all set up, outside picnic tables ready, I was showered and dressed, Anderson (skipping his afternoon nap) was dressed, and food was on the table or in the oven.  My grandma, dad, Chris, Sarah, and Liam showed up just in time to help me get the final decorations and food finished.  Grandma and Sarah got the "piglets in a blanket" rolled and ready.  Chris was allowed artistic license with the balloons, and he did not disappoint!

One Hundred Acre Wood sign, thanks to Grandpa!

Honey pot party favors in picnic basket

The kitchen before most of the food made it on the table, but you get the idea

Party guests began to arrive.  McKenzie was the belle of the ball, playing with Anderson and Liam.  Poor Anderson was the only one who wasn't up on two feet yet, but he didn't seem to mind. :)

More family arrived, and we all ate and visited, and tried to stay in the shade.  Luckily the temperatures were in the 80's, so it was warm but we could enjoy the backyard.  The menu included piglets in a blanket, vegetables from Rabbit's garden, baked "bee"ns, Roo's chicken nuggets, Kanga's famous mac and cheese, "Pooh"tato salad, and "Tea" is for Tigger.  I completely forgot to put the 120 chick-fil-a nuggets out, but luckily Sarah remided me before we were finished eating.  An honest mistake, really... of course I didn't want to eat all 120 myself... really ;)

Great-Grandma Ives, Nannie, Toby, Augy, and Heather

Sarah, Chris, and Liam

Grandpas

Katelynn and Great-Grandma

Michael, Amanda, Jerry, Grandpa, Cassons

Kelly, McKenzie, Steven

Ryan and Casey

Kelly, McKenzie, and me

After eating, it was time to open presents.  Anderson is one lucky boy!!  He now has his own rocking chair and outdoor bench, so many new fun toys, some really cute clothes, and a new favorite book ("Where's Spot?").  He also got a special gift from mommy and daddy (you may have to take a second look....)

Cousin Augy helping out

A new puzzle

Birthday glasses from Great-Grandma.  Looking goood!

Trying out his new bench... Anderson looks smitten :)

Daddy acting like he was surprised by the gift, too.  Nice try ;)

In case you missed it. :)

The birthday boy was fading fast, like I mentioned his afternoon nap didn't happen.  We did our best to perk him up with some birthday cake.  He was mainly interested in the birthday icing, and got good and messy like every birthday boy should.  The cupcakes were bumble bees, and the cake was a beehive, to go with our Winnie the Pooh theme.

No big smiles, but plenty of "mmm"s to let us know he was a happy boy!

What a wonderful day to show Anderson how loved and how special he is.  We love you so much, Anderson!  You are more amazing than I ever imagined.  In the words of Christopher Robin...

" Promise me you'll always remember:

 You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." 

We love you forever!