Anderson Adventures

Monday, January 21, 2013

That Little Boy!

Did I ever mention how cute he is! Uncle Brik got a new printer and Jared was LOVING the box. He climbs over everything.

Jared loves to get into my make-up and make a huge mess.

I love him! :)

Friday, January 18, 2013

We have been spending A LOT of time indoors lately, mostly because I don't want more sick kids and I DEFINITELY do not want another hospital stay. I'm sick of the hospital. For the most part, the kids have been lovely. I don't think I've ever seen a little girl play with Lego's All. Day. Long. like Claire does, but I'm grateful for those lovely little princess legos! (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!) We have our little system down of rotating through all of our toys and I couldn't be happier that Christmas came with an abundance of toys to keep us occupied through these days of below zero temperatures.

So, the strangest thing happened. I don't know if heaven has entered our home, if all the prayers from when she was sick are still in effect, or if she's just grown up a little, but Claire is...well, she's NICE! The sweetest little angel you could ever imagine. You know what? It's wonderful! Those terrible two's really hit her hard last year and I've been anxious for her to outgrow them. Don't worry...I'm not getting my hopes up yet, but I sure love this "being sweet" business. I just have to write down some of the things she's done.

For starters, Jared is her new best friend. Sadly we haven't had any friends over because I just don't want her to get sick and I just know she will if we start in on the play dates. We aren't taking her to nursery for a bit either. Anyway, she loves him so much. They have to be together at all times.
I took her to the mall yesterday to play on the indoor playground. At first she wouldn't stop clinging to my leg. (I'm sure she was thinking, "who are all of these people"). She did the same thing the first time she was in the hospital. Seeing no one but family makes her really shy. Then, little Maelie came up and became her new best friend. They didn't know each other, but they sure hit it off. The first time Claire went down the slide she was so elated that I couldn't imagine a bigger smile. She ran and played and had a great time.
Jared has a major case of diaper rash (thank you antibiotics) and he screams like a banshee every time I change him lately. Poor little guy! During one of his many, many changes yesterday Claire came up and tried to calm him, "It's ok, Jared...It's ok." Sorta melted my heart.
I put our puff blankets out for them to play on. Jared sat in the middle and Claire ran around in circles screaming, "Mommy, this is fun! This is so fun, Mommy!" Too bad I was teaching piano or I would have either joined in or gotten video of it. Later, I did join in. I carried Jared at Claire's level and we chased her. Jared laughed when we tagged her and Claire did the talking for me. "Go get her, mommy!" (meaning herself)
Claire fake-sneezed straws at Jared and they laughed their guts out.
After her bath last night, Claire got out shivering. We always say "brrr...chilly" when we're cold, so she got out and said, "Brchree" over and over. I wrapped her up in a towel and then a blanket and we sang princess songs together for a good 20 minutes. I asked her if she wanted to go to bed and she said, "No! I want....I want...hugs (gave hugs) and now kisses! (gave kisses)." Now are you ready? "No! I want hugs and kisses from Daddy!" Then she was ready.
I love it when she says, " 'Mon, Jared. 'Mon!" I love that they're pals.

I'm hoping this lovely little girl stays in this body of hers! It's so nice to have such a smiley little sweetheart around the house! Here's to hoping it stays!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Jared- 9 Months

My little man doesn't have his 9 month check-up until Tuesday, so I'll post the stats then. He's growing....but doing so at a very slow pace. I was looking at him in the tub the other day and thought, "He does look like an almost one year old...by his head. His legs and body look much smaller." :)

Height: 27.2 inches - 5.16%

Weight: 17.08 lbs - 7%

Head:18 inches - 64.67%

Seriously, he's tiny. He's always been 2 lbs less than what Claire was. I think he has a little more Anderson genes in him, especially by how skinny his legs are. :) I think his head size takes after me. Big.

Jared LOVES his baths. He actually got into the bathroom and climbed (fell actually...onto his hands) into the shower with me, fully clothed. He looked so proud of himself when I scooped him up and set him back on the mat. He loves to splash and loves to stand. He'd rather play with the faucet over tub toys any day.
He loves that sister of his. I know he misses her terribly since she's still in the hospital. Even though he gets a little jostled around by her and screams at her, I know he loves it. He hasn't been as happy at home with her gone.
He is a major nurser. Brian wants him to be weaned so badly, and I think Jared knows it. He got a HORRIBLE cold (possibly RSV) this week, so weaning is not in his cards until he's better. We've got to keep the poor guy hydrated. We're trying bottles with juice, but he's lazy at sucking, so it's an interesting feat. He loves to point when he's eating, play with my earrings, and poke my face.
The worlds best hair puller. He'll twist his fingers and hands around my hair and yank as hard as he can. He'll do this to Claire and she'll scream, "DON'T PULL MINE HAIR!"
He will fall asleep on Daddy, but not Mommy. I guess he things mommy MUST give him food before he sleeps.
Speaking of sleep, he doesn't let me get very much. He's been doing better since I started the scream-it-out thing, but I fear that he's going to be terrible after this cold is over. We've been sleeping on the floor in the living room together. It's so cold in their bedroom, so I'd like him to be where it's warm.
He loves to crawl! He'll stand on everything and wants to walk along anything he can, but I can't get him to take those first steps. He'll even stand on his own for quite some time, then he'll smile and slowly sit down.
He is kind of a tough cookie to crack. He's a little serious sometimes, but will always laugh for mommy.
His favorite games are hide-n-seek and chase Jared around the house. We'll run away from him and then get down on the ground to crawl after him. He gets really excited and crawls away as fast as he can.
He eats everything off of the ground. I have to vacuum several times per day and he still finds things. Sheesh, kid! I'm starting to think he's a dog and burying things for later.

Well, that's all for now. He is the cutest little boy as far as I'm concerned and my little buddy. He has to be held constantly and is a little more dependent than feisty little Claire was at his age, so he really still feels like a little baby to me sometimes. I can't believe he'll be one in just a couple months. This year really went so fast!

Seriously, are they siblings or what!?

Jared - 9 months

Claire - 9 months

This is what 2 pounds heavier looks like...in rolls.

Out of the mouth of Claire

Claire was asking me about Hailey nursing. She was sad to find out that Hailey wasn't nursing anymore. She said, "Well, when I am a mommy can you give my babies milk?" Uh...nope. Can't do that. "Why mom?" Well, my milk will be gone (thank goodness) and you'll have to do it. "Oh, well, I want a big, big, BIG family. TWELVE babies! But I don't want the littlest baby to ever get big because I do NOT want one hundred babies." March 2015
Claire: Daddy, do you stink? Brian: Why do you say that? Claire: Because I can smell you. 6/18/14
Claire walked out of her room and this is what ensued: Daddy: "Claire, get back to bed." Claire: "But Daddy, my bed is being crazy!" (We try hard not to laugh). Daddy: "What?" Claire: "My bed is being crazy!!!" He went back, she tangled her blanket so her feet were getting cold. 5/15/2014
Claire asked her sunbeam teacher what "this" was, pointing to something on her chest. She thought she was talking about the pattern on her dress. Claire said, "No, no! These. They are for milk for babies." 5/2014
Eating corn on the cob for dinner, Claire turned to me and asked, "Mommy, are you going to eat some of this YUUUUMMMMYYY corn?" 5/2014
"Mommy, can you do this for me?" She hands me my eyelash curler and I proceed to curl her eyelashes. She bats her eyes in the mirror and says, "There. That's better." For the record...I have never done this, so she didn't learn it from me. 1/28/14
I was doing Claire's hair , combing through it. "Mommy, stop brushing my hair, you're making me crazy." 1/28/14
Claire has a VERY hard time going #2 in the toilet. She will hold it for days and days, so she ends up sitting on the toilet for hours sometimes. This week, she had been in there for a good two hours (and never went). Anyway, during that time she called me in several times, "MOMMY!!!! Come here!!!" And then would tell me nothing. So, after what seemed like the billionth, "MOMMY come here!" shouting, I went in to find her with the ENTIRE roll of toilet paper collected in a heap in her arms. I looked at her and gasped in frustration. I had just changed that roll! Brand new roll. Think of all that! She looked at me, giggled, and said, "Mommy...hehe....I sneezed...hehe." 1/28/14
We had our first ice storm here in Texas. I took Claire to Costco and let her walk on the ice. "Mom, I need to put on my ice skates". "Claire, do you have ice skates?" "No mom, I don't." Good point though sweetheart!
Claire always wakes me up telling me that the sun is awake. The other day, she came in, told me the sun was awake once more and then told me that she wanted some candy. I informed her that we didn't have any, but she said, "Mom, all we have to do is say Trick-or-treat!"
We went camping and I asked if Claire had fun. Claire: "I love camping, but Jared was naughty. We should leave him home".
Me: "Claire, why are you out of bed?" Claire: "Because of this..." She starts moving as if she'll pee her pants. Me: What? Claire: "Because I have the wiggles."
While at the mall bathroom, "MOMMY! YOU DID IT! YOU PEED!" For everyone to hear.
We're still trying to potty train Claire and have her poop in the potty! She says she does it, but can't seem to have it happen and will hold it for days (which is very frustrating). In an effort to get the ball rolling, I said, "Claire! Let's both push. 1...2...3...push!" At that point I did a fake push and she quickly exclaimed, "MOMMY! Don't poop in your pannies!" 7/12/13
Jared was crying and wandering around the house this morning. He popped his head in the bathroom where Claire and I were, and started to cry. Claire said, "Oh Jared, stop whining". 7/3/13
Brian and I were talking about the frustrating expenses of moving. At one point I said (about our debt), "It's all my fault." Claire came to the rescue and said, "NO! It's MY fault! My fault....and Jared's!"
This morning Claire woke up at 5 am screaming, "I WANT A COOKIE!!!!!" I went in, she repeated her sentiments. I promised her a cookie and she went back to sleep. When she got out of bed at 10:30, she jumped into my arms and said, "Where's my cookie?"