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!

On the move :)

I know everyone says "Be careful what you wish for," but I have loved this crawling stage!  We had to get the baby gate up and outlets covered, but other than that Anderson's easier than ever.  It's so fun to see where he wants to go (especially if it happens to be Mama's lap!).  I feel like he's learned so much in the last couple of weeks from crawling.  At first, as soon as something (most likely a ball) rolled out of sight, Anderson would stop chasing it immediately- it was gone forever.  But now he'll get flat on his belly to retrieve a ball that's rolled under the couch, and he'll definitely chase a ball beyond a blind corner.  So cool to see his brain learning.

A couple of things are recent favorites of this crawling boy:

1) Crawling INTO things.  He has a little easier time getting into than out of, but he's figuring it all out.  Pictures below show what I mean:

Under high chair (He "drove" it around the kitchen a while before he could climb out- ha!)

Under his table

(My favorite) into his racetrack

2) I mentioned chasing a ball.  I think he would happily throw/ roll a ball and chase it all day long if he could.    He's so determined.  If it rolls all the way into another room, he just starts crawling away.  So far he doesn't get frustrated easily, and laughs if it bounces or rolls differently than he expected.  He has started to fuss if it gets caught under somewhere he can't get to, though, so Mama gets to help out every now and then.  Glad to know he still needs me ;)

Here's a video of the ball-chasing-wonder-boy:

He crawls!

It seems like this weekend our baby became a big boy!

 Friday night he was working really hard to go forward.  By Saturday afternoon he was officially crawling, and on Monday (today) he seems like he's been doing it forever.  Here's a video from Saturday night. :)

Ryan and I have settled into a delicious routine of going to Moe's on Sundays for tacos and nachos...mmmm.  It also so happens that Moe's has "Kids Eat Free" on Sundays, so this weekend our "kid" (aka sweet little baby) got his very first kid's meal!  A cheese quesadilla seemed like a safe bet, if not the healthiest.  He loved it! 

He's been sitting in restaurant highchairs for a few weeks now, but this time he seemed to think it was especially fun.  He kept looking at the pictures near our booth (of Michael Jackson and Buddy Holly look-alikes, ha) and smiling and laughing at them.  

I know some of his lunch did make it into his mouth, but we got a good laugh seeing how much of it ended up on the floor (and in the highchair).  :)  We did clean this up, btw...

The last "big boy" event of the weekend was switching his infant carrier car seat for his new convertible car seats.  No photos of this yet, but I am happy to report he does still look like quite little in his new big car seats. :)  

Update

Anderson's fans have spoken, and I am WAY behind on the blog. Sorry :) As I told Michael P, don't worry, he is still really cute!

We have been busy! In the last few months, we bought a new house, moved, and found renters for our old house. Change of address cards are on their way, but here's our new address in case you want to come see us in the meantime (please do!):
                   ******

It's actually really close to the house my family lived in before my parents moved out to the country. We'll have a pool we can join for the summer, and we've already loved the pretty sidewalks and parks nearby.  We plan to be here long-term for sure.  We are pretty much moved in, but there are plenty of projects to keep us busy for a while!

Anderson has been so easy-going about the move, and he seems to like his new room and house. :)  He really has been at the perfect stage for moving.  He's old enough to play independently, but he seems to be in no hurry to crawl.  So he's happy to sit and play (and roll) for a little while at a time, and I've been able to clean or put away in 10-15 minute intervals.

So like I mentioned, Anderson is not yet crawling.  There are lots of things he's really, really good at:
     Being SUPER cute
     rolling 
     giving kisses
     Saying "mama", "dada", and his newest: "whoooaa"
     Laughing
     Picking up things (lately crunchies or pieces of cheese or other new foods!)
     I could go on...
So far crawling isn't on the list.  He's working on it!  See below:
(P.S. I let him go pantless thinking it might allow for more friction, haha)

Booty up

Head up

Everything up

And when all else fails, roll....

Here's one more close-up of the cutie. It's also a sneak preview of FIRST BIRTHDAY INVITATIONS, which have been ordered!! :)

Snow Day!

Today was supposed to be a teacher work-day, so I was planning a lunch date with Anderson and my mom.  However, it is still a welcome snow day!  Anderson woke up hungry around 5:30, but then was happy to sleep in until 8:15- woo hoo!  Those mornings are few and far between. :)

Since the forecast is back up to the 70's this week, it is very likely that this is the last (and practically first) snow of the winter.  The tags were still on Anderson's snow suit, but we decided to get all bundled up and head out to the snow while we could!

It was bright and pretty cold, but Anderson was a good sport.  He had two fuzzy boots on, but one was already missing by the time we made it down the stairs.  Oh well, no running in the snow today!

 After a few "accidental snow angel attempts", we headed inside. 

New tricks

7 1/2 months- Anderson is so much fun these days!!

He is an excellent roller, specializing in all directions. Sometimes he has a clear destination (most likely something that rattles when you shake it). And sometimes he's definitely rolling just because he can. Now that he's even rolling in his sleep, I think he's officically a pro.

Action shot ;)

He's so proud!

Also, my FAVORITE of Anderson's new tricks is smoochin.  He has received thousands of kisses from mommy in his little life, let alone daddy, grandparents, etc.  Recently McKenzie and Sadie have laid a couple of good ones on him (which he does not seem to mind).  So he's decided to return the favor.  It's drooly and wonderful :)  God is so generous!

Anderson is trying lots of new foods.  Oatmeal and rice cereal are favorites, along with carrots and pears.  It takes him a little while to warm up to most any new taste.  So far, Puffs are a definite no-go.  I've tried them twice, breaking one Puff up into 6  itty bitty pieces to give to his toothless self.  The reaction is somewhere between mad and sad :(.  This second time we knew we'd better get a picture of it.  Poor thing.

CHRISTMAS!!

We LOVE Christmas!  The following photos are from Christmas day only ... We have a lot more I want to post, but I need to get them from other people (like the people who actually remember to bring their cameras when we need them!).  In the meantime, here is an incomplete collection of Christmas 2011:

Anderson has been such a good boy, and accordingly, Santa came!  Anderson was excited to see his gifts (or as excited as a 6 month old gets, I would guess).  There was some smiling and reaching and arm-waving. Ryan and I were both thrilled :).  (We have plenty of video, too!)

"I wanna hippopotamus for Christmas"

Anderson really liked this one because the baby in the mirror was sooo good looking!

The boys are excited to haul things in Anderson's new wagon!

The race track was from mommy and daddy; the rest were presents from Santa :)

 Christmas Eve, we had spent time with Nannie and Papa.  We visited Santa (like I said, more photos to come!), and Anderson got to open a lot of great presents.  We were all especially excited about this...

Anderson loves it; perfect for a baby boy who's eager for more and more independence.  And now that we've stored the pool table at my parents' house, Ryan's man-cave is all set to double as a playroom with space for Anderson's new toys.  Good thing Anderson's totally worth it.

We finished Christmas in Montpelier with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-grandma.  It was a quiet day, and we were all very happy to be together.  There's never been a doubt, but Anderson is one well-loved and lucky boy!