Anders and his girlfriend

Last night Anders & I went to an album release party for his girlfriend and one of my best friends, Whitney Duncan. He was such a trooper (we were out way past his bedtime) and we both had a great time. Congrats Whitney & we love you!

Check out Whitney's album on iTunes!

My little garden

I purchased some herbs last weekend while Dad & I were getting other things at Home Depot. Then the next day we searched for some fun, colorful pots at TJ Maxx & Target...which is where we were when the rain was POURING and the flooding began. We kept killing more time shopping in hopes that there would be a break in the downpour. But there never was one, so we got soaked while running around and decided it would be best to just get home (which was a good call since the weather was worse than we thought). On the way home we saw several areas that were already flooded and roads that had alot of standing water. At one point we had to turn around and go another route because the water was too deep to drive through (at least for my car). So anyway, the herbs are finally potted & I added three tomato plants too. So I have basil, rosemary, cilantro, some kind of lemon smelling herb, two jetstar tomato plants and one cherry tomato plant. Here's to hoping I have a green thumb! Oh and since we are on serious water restrictions, I have sacrificed my own bathing in order to be able to water my plants :)

Firsts & Fun!

Anders is almost 9 months old and he keeps having "firsts" that are just showing how quickly he is growing and changing right now. The days of sitting him down to play and knowing that he will stay there and happily play with his toys are OVER! I think house chores like laundry & emptying the dishwasher are going to be harder for me to keep up with. He is now scooting/crawling all over the place and discovering everything (he can't get that tummy off the ground yet). He loves door stops and Bella's toys. He will haul it over to a Bella toy any chance he gets and chew on it (don't worry I get them out of his mouth quickly & I wash them often).

Here are some firsts from the week:

1. We think that Anders officially said "Da-da" this week. He has been jabbering for a while but we couldn't really claim that any of it was words. But I really think he kept saying "Da-da" this week when he was trying to gets Todd's attention or when he was in the room.

2. He opened his first kitchen drawer while scooting around the kitchen floor and acted surprised when it slid open.

3. He had his first popsicle when Todd shared his lime fruit juice popsicle -- Anders loved it but I think what he really liked was that it was cold. I don't think he really got much of the flavor.

LOTS of PICTURES FROM THE WEEK...

Escaping from his activity mat, nothing will keep him in one place anymore!

NAKED picture -- He squirms like CRAZY on the changing pad now and wants to either play with the faucet, mirror or anything he can reach...

Playing with Mommy (who has not showered and just got back from a walk)...

Anders has started putting both hands over his head like this, it is so cute when he does it...

Wearing Daddy's baseball hat & looking cool...

Just like Papa

So Mom & Dad are in town for my birthday weekend...

They bought Anders a baseball cap while they were killing time & shopping at the Hill Center in Greenhills. I had dropped them off to walk around with Anders while I went to a dentist appointment -- figured I needed to take advantage of my babysitters and get things like that done. So I also went to the spa for my birthday and had a wonderful, relaxing time.

Here are the two with Anders in his new hat, don't they look so matchy-matchy!

Hanging out with Papa on the back deck...

Grilling out with friends & Anders' morning bed-head

On Tuesday night we went over to Warren & Elisa's new house for dinner. They had JUST moved and I couldn't believe how much had already been accomplished and put into place! Tripp & Anders played a little before Tripp went down for a nap. Anders loves getting to play with "new" toys, and he just entertained himself while all the adults ate dinner.

Here is their sweet baby boy...

While they were playing, Tripp rolled over to Anders and decided to hang out in his lap. Anders didn't know what to think about it all!

One morning this week...Anders and his rockin' bed-head.

This week with Anders

So Anders is on the verge of crawling but hasn't done it yet, here are some pictures of his efforts (doesn't he look determined!)...

Today I let him scoot around the kitchen & explore a little, and he found the bar stool. I helped him stand up and hold on...

This afternoon Bella let us know that 4 wild turkeys were right across the street. So Anders & I walked outside to check them out -- when they started gobbling it got Anders' attention and he watched them walk up the street.

Looks like Thanksgiving dinner...

Funny story to share

So Mom & Dad gave me a bag with swim diapers in it from Julie that we could have for Anders this summer. I got it home and pulled the diapers out to put away and found a T-shirt stuffed down at the bottom of the bag. I knew it was Haley's shirt and so I called Julie to see if she had known it was in the bag too. She said that she gave Haley a bag and told her to pack up the swim diapers that they were going to give them to Anders because she does not need them. Haley was worried that he was a boy and could not wear her diapers but Julie explained that boys & girls can wear the same diapers and besides it would be underneath Anders' swimsuit. Julie didn't know anything about the T-shirt and couldn't wait until Haley was done with Preschool to ask her about it. So when she did ask her, Haley responded "well I couldn't find a yellow one." She also thought that Anders would like it because it had a ice cream cone on it. Isn't Haley the sweetest to think of Anders this way and want to share!?! But Julie explained that Uncle Todd would probably not like Anders wearing a shirt with pink ruffles and a pink & purple design on it -- Haley agreed. So since Todd is not home, I thought Haley needed to at least see Anders in her shirt, so I took these pictures this morning. NOTE that Haley wore this shirt last summer when she was 3 years old and it fits Anders pretty well at 8 months!

I think he is thinking, "Mom, can you tell me again why I am wearing pink?"...

Then he is thinking "It's Haley's shirt? Okay then, I'll wear it!"