Summer Fun

Anderson's favorite place right now is outside! He loves going out in the backyard and front yard. As soon as anyone says "outside" he is pointing or heading toward a door. We've been playing in the back with the water a few times. Anderson had loads of fun with the water hose. He just kept inspecting it and playing with it trying to figure out how that water kept coming and coming.

Today we took Anderson to the local pool/water park near our house. They have an awesome kids area. Even though it was crowded and water is splashing everywhere, Anderson had so much fun. He got right in and wasn't afraid at all. He was walking everywhere through the water and if he fell down and got his face in the water, he just got right back up. He loved the fountains shooting water up and enjoyed the slide the most. Here are a few pictures from our fun at the pool today.

Lately, Anderson has really gotten into identifying body parts like his belly, ears, nose, feet, and hands. He is fascinated by his shoes. He tries to put them on, take them off, carries them around, etc. Anderson is also everyones best friend that we pass on the street. He will wave at people unprompted and has gotten quite a few smiles in return for being so darn cute.

We've been attending some fun BBQs with friends lately. Here are a couple of pictures of Anderson playing with his friend Nathan after dinner one evening.

Recent Videos

Hi all! I've been without my laptop for a few days (virus) and it's still on the mend, but I wanted to post a couple of videos we took of Anderson recently. He's walking full-time now with his favorite jaunt being up and down the sidewalk of our block. He loves to stop, bend over, and pick up leaves and rocks to carry with him. Now that he's fully mobile he seems to be getting into more and more things. All drawers and cabinets that aren't locked are fair-game. His favorite activity while we are getting dressed in our bathroom is going through our cabinets and pulling out all sorts of fun things like bottles, hair clips, dental floss, etc. Now we just need to figure out how to get him to put it all back. He's also a huge fan of climbing. If it can be climbed, Anderson will give it a try. He'll hike that leg up and pull, pull, pull himself as hard as he can. Therefore, his newest word is "up". Once he gets up, he then gets back down and starts it all over again. Enjoy the two videos and make sure you turn up your volume nice and loud for the second one. ;)

It's been awhile....

Sorry for the long pause in posts. Things have been crazy around here lately!

So, first, an update on the family members who we are praying for. My step-dad, Billy, is doing great. We've been able to see him the past two weekends as he and my mom were in Dallas visiting Macee and his mouth looks great. You can't even tell he had all those stitches! Macee is doing much better. She's still recovering after her surgery for her broken pelvis. She's at a great facility here in Dallas, so we've been lucky to have Nana B and Grandpa Billy here for the past two weekends. Hopefully she'll get to go home to Lubbock soon to continue her recovery. Reese's father is home and is doing much better. I know he was anxious to get home so he could oversee the redecorating going on at their house! We can't wait to see the final results Grammy and Gramps!

Two weekends ago my brother, Dustin, and his wife Sarah brought their kids to visit for the weekend. Carter and Kate were so much fun to hang out with. We went to ride the carousel at the Frisco mall, went to Going Bonkers (an indoor play facility), had some nice pictures taken, and had lots of fun playing. I know Anderson wishes his cousins lived closer so he could see them more often! Here are a few pics from the fun weekend:

Dad, Anderson & Mom at Going Bonkers

Carter, Anderson & Kate Mother's Day was great around here. My mom was in town so it was nice to share the day with her before she had to leave town. Reese gave me a book, a sweet card, and a promise of fresh chocolate covered strawberries next time we go to the mall and walk past the gourmet chocolate shop. (I always stop to look at them and say how yummy they look!) Of course, my sweetest gift of all was hugging and kissing my Little Buddy. I thank God everyday for bringing him to me and making me a mother.

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day 2008

This past weekend Anderson was under the weather so we spent most of the time at home. He had an awful sore throat and fever so it was very hard to see him in pain. His appetite (or ability to swallow) is bouncing back finally. Poor guy! He was not a happy camper.


So, Anderson is walking now. He's still in that "wobbly drunken" state, though. It's really funny to see him trying to gain control over those legs and keep it all in sync with the rest of himself. He still actually seems to prefer crawling when he wants to get somewhere, though.

Prayers for the Families

Reese and I had a fabulous weekend. Thanks to Anderson's Grammy, we were able to get away for a day and night. We spent some time at the spa being pampered, had a relaxing lunch (where we actually tried to figure out the last time we had lunch together out, just the 2 of us), and then went to see Dave Matthews Band in concert. Anderson did great with Grammy and even got to hang out with Aunt Reagan too! Lucky Guy!

Some unfortunate events have happened this week with our families. Reese's father is currently in the hospital with some blood pressure problems. We are praying that the doctors are able to find any problems and put Ray on the right path toward healing. On the same day, there was a terrible accident with my Step dad, Billy and their dog, Macee. Macee jumped out of a moving vehicle and suffered a broken pelvis which required a trip to Dallas from Lubbock for surgery. When the accident happened, she was in shock and uncharacteristically attacked Billy on the upper lip while he was driving her to the vet. Billy is recovering and is of course more worried about Macee than himself. We are praying that Macee's surgery goes well tomorrow and that her recovery is speedy. We are also praying for Billy's recovery and know that he is already looking forward to the day that Macee will be standing at their back door ringing that darn bell for the thousandth time.

Anderson wanted to send his love to Gramps, Grandpa Billy, and Macee so here's a few of his favorite pictures.

Anderson admiring Macee's collar

Grandpa Billy introducing Anderson to Santa Gramps and Anderson looking oh so cute

Weekend Roadtrip

We loaded up the family and drove to Houston this weekend to visit my brother, Dustin and his wife, Sarah. The best reason to drive there, though, was to visit their kids, Carter and Kate. Anderson did great on the drive down there. It's a long time to sit strapped in that car seat! On Saturday we all (and I mean ALL) piled into the AggieMobile to drive to College Station for some baseball fun. It was a tight fit with 3 car seats and 4 adults, but it went surprisingly well. Except for all the times DQ and Reese had to let Sarah and I out of the back. The baseball game was great and it was fun to catch up with some old friends for the day. It was easy getting all the cousins down for the night when we got back to Houston. They were exhausted! Sunday morning brought some playtime and posing for pictures with the cousins. Then we were on the road back to Dallas. Anderson did awesome on the drive home. We didn't even have to sit with him in the back the whole way! We had so much fun and only wish we lived closer so we could see them more often! Here's a few pics from the weekend.
Carter, Anderson, Kate, and Peyton enjoying the game.
Kate and Anderson having a chat over some morning Cheerios.

Carter, Anderson, and Kate

Here's a picture of Anderson playing with his water table outside yesterday. He loves the spraying fountain and being able to splash water everywhere! Thanks for the great birthday gift, PaPaw, Grandma Ellen, and Uncle Ryland!

Recent Developments

So, life with a one year old is just so much fun. I know I've said it before, but I just love being able to see Anderson change day by day and figure things out.

Current words: dog, duck, daddy, yi-yi (which I think is Riley), ball

Hugs Are Awesome~ Anderson is a good hugger. Yesterday after his nap, though, I picked him up and he hugged my neck so hard that tears came to my eyes. I could just feel so much love in his little arms wrapped around my neck.

Riley Cuddles~ Lately, when we've had to go wake up Anderson from a long nap, Riley follows us upstairs to get him. We've put Riley into Anderson's crib and he just gets so excited and hugs her. Riley just lays down and enjoys the cuddles from Anderson . It's so cute.

Riley's Game~ Anderson has developed a new way of playing with Riley. He takes off his own socks and holds them out for Riley (teasing her). He then places the sock in his mouth (because that's how Riley carries socks) and waits for Riley to play tug. Riley gently comes over and puts the other end of the sock in her mouth and proceeds to play tug with Anderson's sock in both of their mouths. It's hilarious.
Favorite toys~ Anderson loves to play with his slide and ball pit that we got him for his birthday. We've put the ball pit at the bottom of the slide so he has a nice, fun place to land. He also loves the activity station that Aunt Reagan got him. It's full of buttons to push and makes lots of noise!

Following Directions~ He's doing great at following a few directions. Put the ball in the bucket, throw the ball to Riley, push the button to close the garage, etc.

Walking Soon~ Anderson's taken 8 steps without falling. He's not walking consistently at all, but he is standing on his own very frequently.

Teeth are coming~ He has 5-6 total now. It's hard to tell because he very much dislikes us to try and look. However, we know they are there because he's taken to chewing on the rail of his very expensive crib. We had to go and buy a gummy-type rail guard to help protect it. Hopefully, that doesn't ruin it even more when we try to remove it later!

I'm sure I'll think of many more things I could write after I post this. I'll try to post some new pics soon as well. It's nearing nap time!

Time flies when you're having fun

Over a year has gone by since we got the website set up, and I'm finally just now getting to post on it. Fortunately Allison does a great job with this site, but I figured that I should finally get something on the board.

After being out of town for just one night, I came home today and thought that Anderson looked much older. Playing with him this evening also made me think that his balance had improved so much since the weekend. On the one hand, I feel like I've missed 2 incredible days in Anderson's life. On the other, I feel a bit fortunate to have the opportunity to have seen such a tremendous change by stepping away for 48 hours.

Life is an amazing thing. I've found myself wondering if we all change this much on a daily basis, or if this change slows down as we get older. It's unfortunate, on the one hand, that we all can't step back from our lives and observe our own changes. On the other, I'd hate to give up any days of my life to do that.

Hopefully this is the first of more frequent posts from Dad's computer. Anderson's not sleeping well tonight and I think he's getting a new tooth. This would be #6. In a week we should be able to see it. How crazy is that...one week, 5 teeth. The next A WHOLE NEW TOOTH. Amazing.