The most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas is full of so many good things!  Here are some photos to remember this sweet Christmas and the festivities that led up to it.

Ryan, Anderson and I ventured out to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens for their big light display.  Ryan and I went just the two of us 3 or 4 years ago, and we thought this year Anderson would like it, too.  He cruised around in his stroller a lot of the time, but he got out for a little exploring too.  

This was the "kids area", so I let Anderson point to the different colors.  I was a little paranoid that someone was going to come fuss at us, but he was loving it, and he was very "gentle". 

Daddy and Anderson checking out the lights garden.  That's a giant watermelon-light behind them to the right.

Lauren and Kyle drove into town the evening of December 23.  With Anderson's bedtime to consider, we all gathered at our house for some pizza and -most importantly- our annual sugar cookie decorating contest.  Our official judge, Grandma, was in AZ this Christmas, so we all had to anxiously await the results over night.  As a regular favorite, but never-before-Champion, my dad got the W this time.  We've all figured this thing out, though, as the last 3 or 4 years the Nativity submission has won.  Next year it will be a battle of the mangers ;).

My mom's house

Kyle's pregnant angel (we are now discouraging thinking outside of the box ;) )

Lauren's soldier/ nutcracker

My train

Ryan's "Polar Express" train

 And the winner.......

Dad's Nativity, complete with marshmallow sheep :)

The next morning was Christmas Eve.  Anderson and I played at home (and he took a great nap, good boy) while Ryan worked until 2.  Then we booked it over to the 3:00 church service with Ryan's family.  Anderson was so good throughout the service.  We've been trying the church nursery (which has resulted in tears for most of the service 2/3 times :(  ), so I was very happy he did so well staying (relatively) quiet with all of us in the service.  Goldfish were crucial to this success.

After church, we hurried over to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop (last year we learned that the Legendary Santa Ryan grew up visiting heads back to the North Pole at 2, leading us to visit Bass Pro Shop).  We called ahead and everything to make sure Santa would still be there.  We were assured that Santa was leaving at 5.  So we hustle in at 4:40 .  We are told by 6 employees who are literally standing in a circle chatting that Santa has an appointment and is gone.  Clearly Santa was not gone, as we could all see him.  We plead our case (I may have whined a bit, but it was for the sake of my baby and Santa!), and they said we could go (they also let the next 6 families go ahead without any trouble.  You're welcome fellow-last-minuters.)  Santa himself was lovely and jolly and seemed very happy to see us.  Anderson not so much.....

Poor baby.  But after I fought to get him on Santa's lap, we were getting that picture!

We figured group shots weren't really an option, so we took a few with "Frosty" before heading out.

We had dinner and opened lots of presents at Nannie and Papa's house.  We forgot our camera, but picture TONS of cute toddler boy clothes, a Little Tykes basketball hoop, a train, lots of books for Anderson.  Plus clothes, PJs, shoes, a purse, etc. for Ryan and I.  And this was all before Santa came!

Speaking of Santa, here are some of our favorite photos from Christmas morning.

The race track from Mommy and Daddy was exciting to play with right away.  Anderson was pretty much content to just play with one or two things, so we had to keep encouraging him to open more.  We had fun, and he was a happy boy!

Santa must have known that Anderson loves LMNO peas and had "loved" the H I J page right out of the book.  As you can see, Anderson was very happy to have a fresh copy of one of his favorite books.

After a yummy breakfast brought to you by MY Christmas present from Ryan...

mmmm... we went with Chocolate Chip waffles this morning, and they were delish!

We had a quick visit from Nannie and Papa and then got ready to head to Montpelier for the rest of Christmas day.  

Happy to be with Grandpa and Grandma!

Sweet boy

Opening presents from Aunt Lauren and Uncle Kyle

Playing with the giraffe from L and K.  It was a hit. :)

Great-grandma sent Chuck the Truck!  We've all been wanting this ever since we saw Liam get one for his second birthday :)

Lauren and Kyle helping get dinner ready.  I was feeling really pregnant (as usual these days), and I wasn't all that helpful :)

Reading with Aunt Lauren

and Grandpa... please notice Grandpa's Christmas present (from my mom), which was a huge hit!  Brookstone sure knows how to make a foot massage-er!  We're all a little jealous...

And our entertainment for the evening...

The next day we took a trolley ride all throughout downtown Richmond.  It was a fun way to see lights beyond our normal "West End" stops.  Poor Anderson wasn't feeling great.  Just as his RSV was getting better, it turns out an ear infection was starting (as we found out at his doctor's appointment the next day).  So he was as snugly as ever.  He did perk up and eat his dinner on the trolley, and he pointed and "oohed" at some of the lights.

Our cute ride

A little nap along the way

Some of the lights

At the James Center.  It was soo cold at this point!

Finally got a group shot of the Harden family.  This was a little Christmas miracle- one shot and everyone's eyes were open!

We ran back up to a great view in Church Hill so that Ryan could get a great sky-line shot.   I've stolen it for the blog. :)

I realize this is a super-long blog, but it's full of lots of happy memories.  AND we're not really finished celebrating yet.  The Parker family gets together for a Christmas party this Saturday.  Even if Ryan and I can't manage to get out the door with a charged battery, memory card, and camera, we can ALWAYS count on Michael to be there taking amazing pictures.  

Merry Christmas!!!   

Thanksgiving pics!

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving 2012.  We got to spend the day with most of the Parker (Ives) family, my parents, and all of our Cassons. :) 

Lunch was at Jerry and Colleen's house with most of the Parker family... 

 Looking at a Tin Man bird feeder with Papa

Such a pretty day!  Lots of the kiddos got outside to play.  Here we see Toby (with Papa), Parker and Augy  (with Jerry). With Jonathan's family unable to make it, sweet Phoebe was far outnumbered by all of the boys!!

Our little guy joined in some, but he was also happy to hang out with the flower bed for a while :)

Nannie and Papa with Anderson and Toby

Relaxin

Then over the river and through the woods to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner.  The Cassons were with us, which was very happy.  But they were all here because at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend Sarah, Chris, Liam, and Colin started the move back to AZ...  not happy for us Hardens/ Ives!

Michael, Sarah, Colin, Chris, Liam, Me, Anderson, and Ryan

At this point Anderson was a few short days away from walking, but he had a grand time playing chase with Liam anyways!

Liam playing :)

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