Lots of Random Pictures

So, I've had trouble getting posts up, but we have been taking pictures. These go back to before Anders' birthday.

The Sawbill sweatshirt from Will's childhood finally fits Anders and it was cool enough for a sweatshirt a couple of days in August. I'm actually not sure if this was ever Will's sweatshirt. It may have been Rob or Betsy's.

Anders likes to do a lot of climbing on things. He thinks it is especially fun to rock in this chair standing up.

A little light reading...this also helps diaper changes go a lot better.

He really likes going for rides around the yard in his Tonka dump truck. It is kind of hard on my back though!

And playing in water is still a favorite past time.

Ok, this next series of pictures may make me seem kind of vain since I'm posting several pictures of us, but the progression of goofiness cracks me up. This is on Anders' birthday.

More climbing on things. Apparently he is very much like his dad was.

A ball rolled under the entertainment center, so what does he do? He goes right up to the entertainment center and rolls another ball under it! Actually, I think they are still there.

Anders has also gotten way into sitting in his walker wagon.

He ate half of my post run breakfast smoothie. It is hard to not share with a face like that!

I love this picture. He loves to watch Will leave for work in the morning. He stands there and pounds on the door and blows kisses. It is really cute. I found out today that it is fun to be on the other side of the door as I left for work.

We've had these sunglasses since before he was born, but he wasn't into them until this week. Apparently last night he was so into them, he wouldn't go to bed without them on. This is first thing this morning.

And this is what happens when he just takes them off and randomly drops them as you are walking through the kitchen. They landed right in the flour, which Will had open as he was making waffles for the two of them this morning.

Will called me before they left for the Montessori today and said that he happened across Sesame Street and Anders basically froze in front of it. It was his first time seeing it. I hadn't really planned on exposing him to TV yet, or rather, TV geared specifically for kids (he gets way more exposure to the Daily Show, Steven Colbert and sports than I ever dreamed he would) but apparently he loved it tons. Will says he was very needy and didn't want to be put down and then this came on and he was spellbound. Hmmm...sounds kind of tempting.

This Past Weekend

I feel like this past weekend was really busy. Anders and I started Saturday with a quick 3 mile run and then I went to get my haircut. I stopped in at my favorite Twin Cities yarn store (Crafty Planet) and almost bought some more yarn. Luckily they didn't have 3 skeins in one dye lot. I certainly have enough knitting projects, but I kind of wanted to do something for myself. Anyway, after that I rushed home and got my bike and Anders ready and about 10 minutes later we rode over to the park to meet up with Beth and Will, giving Will some peace and quiet in which to watch Iowa crush Iowa State.

I think the park is called Mississippi North Regional Park. We went there in June with Sarah, Mike, Zach and Drew. Beth and the boys and I ate a little lunch at this cute little picnic table. It was just the right size for Anders McClimbs-a-lot and Will, who was very good about hanging out and eating his lunch, that is until he decided to go exploring.

There was lots of sand to play in. The boys really seemed to like it. I was pretty surprised to find no sand in Anders' diaper when we got home though. Sadly the little wading pool was closed (I guess most pools get closed in MN after Labor Day), this was too bad because I know Anders would have loved to play in the water.

Will demonstrated his survival skills and showed us that he knows how to find edible snacks out in nature. This is good as he is sure to have many outdoor adventures in the next several years with his parents!

Despite being at the exciting park, Anders decided to spend a fair amount of time with one of his favorite things - the bike trailer. Bikes are special favorites for him, but really, anything with wheels like a bike really catch his attention. You may notice that I only have one bike shoe on the ground there. That is because he had already put the other one in the trailer for me. This was after he took Will's maraca out of their stroller and put it in the trailer.

Will decided to get in on the action.

And then decided it wasn't all that exciting after all.

They did some swinging. Will especially seems to be having fun here.

And Will got some sand on his face. This was after Beth had cooled him down with some water. We looked over at him and he was covered in sand. I'm not sure how it happened, but he didn't seem to mind.

This look cracks me up. We were packing up to go. This is a combination of "I'm not ready to go and I need a nap." Anders was almost asleep when we got home - it is about a 10 minute ride, so we did a quick diaper change and put him down for what I thought would be nice long nap after all the fresh air and playing in the sand. Hah! Not quite. I had just enough time to do a much needed mopping of the kitchen floor and he was back up. I bet he slept for maybe 45 minutes and then was visited by the Poop Fairy. Oh well. It was a really nice time at the park - thanks for meeting us Beth and Will!

Messy Faces

Today was day two of Anders' birthday celebration. He started the day with blueberry pancakes and apple cinnamon pancakes made by Uncle Rob. He liked them.

The big breakfast he ate led to a big nap - 4 hours! Much of which occurred while Rob, Carrie, Will, Mike and Zach and I were at the Iowa-UNI game. It was an exciting game. On the way to the game a chipmunk tripped me and Carrie as we walked down the sidewalk. It came out of nowhere and tripped me first (I thought it was somebody trying to trip me from behind by kicking my foot). Then as I was trying to avoid stepping on it, it got under Carrie's feet. It was very crazy.

After the game it was party time.

Grammie made Anders 2 cakes. The chocolate train cake with the candy cargo was a huge hit. Eleanor and Baby D are scoping it out and laying claim to a piece with gummy bears on it.

Anders and Drew showed off their Iowa team spirit with Aunt Sarah.

And there was lots of game playing - Anders even joined in the fun.

Since the angel food cake was so close, Anders decided to start with that cake, first by dragging his finger through the frosting. He was very civilized and used a fork.

Then all hell broke loose. He enjoyed the chocolate cake as well. His favorite thing to do was play with the cake and throw it overboard. He was having lots of fun.

Next we all moved on to the rides. Everyone started with a train ride on the City Park Express.

Anders got a new engineer hat to wear for the ride.

Then there were rides on the carousel.

And the mini ferris wheel.

Next we opened presents. Anders really liked this one from Eleanor.

Unfortunately, the balloons escaped out of an unnamed uncle's sunroof on the way to the party. When we got home, the balloons were in the tree across from Uncle Rob and Aunt Carrie's house. The unnamed uncle felt very bad, but at least we got a picture with them! Thanks everyone for coming to the party!

Birthday Boy

It is really hard to believe that a year ago we were suddenly new parents. How could a year have gone by already and how in the heck did we survive it? It is also interesting to consider the things you forget. As I was looking for a picture from last September, I'm reminded of some of the stuff we experienced those first few weeks home.

So, we are down in IA - originally to go to a football game, but it worked out that it is Anders' birthday as well. We started the day at Uncle Rob and Aunt Carrie's house, playing with cousin Eleanor and her toys. For some reason we didn't have the camera out, which is too bad because Eleanor was wearing some great Hawkeye PJs. After a quick morning nap, we headed out to Grandpa Bill and Grandma Kathie's house for some good times.

Always the bike enthusiast (lately one can find Anders climbing on bikes in his room or in the garage), Anders was interested in the Big Wheel. He is obviously too small to use it, but it was fun to sit in and crawl on.

Speaking of crawling, it is still his preferred way to get around. He does like to stand up and use furniture or walls to get from place to place, but he is very cautious when it comes to walking. He normally crawls on his hands and knees, but every once in while he finds a surface that he doesn't want to put his knees on, such as the driveway.

His present from Grandpa Bill and Grandma Kathie was a beautiful, handmade set of blocks. Grandpa made them and a nice box for them to be stored in. Anders was very interested in taking them out of the box. He likes to toss stuff over his shoulder as he empties whatever container he is emptying. This can be kind of pesky when it is a basket full of newly folded laundry. These blocks are made from 9 or 10 different kinds of wood. I cannot remember all of them right now - cherry, bloodwood, walnut, oak, cedar, poplar and that is all I remember. Anyway, they are beautiful - thanks so much Bill and Kathie!

Anders also enjoyed standing and looking out the window.

And riding the chair up and down the stairs with Grandpa.

He wrapped up his day at Grandpa and Grandma's hanging out on the deck and checking out the yard. It was kind of cute.

Next it was back to Uncle Rob and Aunt Carrie's house for some Pagliai's Pizza and more birthday fun.

Anders finally got a wagon! This was from his Grammie Jean and he loves it.

Eleanor and Baby D even joined him on a ride, though Eleanor was a little concerned that Anders was going to tackle her and give her kisses.

He finished his big day with a big drink of bath water - yuck. When I took it away from him he was very, very mad.

He is wiped out and this was without the birthday party. Happy Birthday baby!