My Sleeping Buddy

It's a rarity, but occasionally Anderson does pass out on our bed for a little afternoon snooze.  Usually only after I coax him in there with me by telling him I'm super tired and need to rest under the warm blankets while Everett is napping.  ;)  

 Couldn't resist digging up a cute flashback.  Here's Anderson sleeping at ~2 weeks old.

Just like his Daddy :) 

(make sure your volume is turned up)

When I showed this to him he thought it was pretty darn funny.

What Did You Say? ~ Anderson

• Anderson walked into the room to find Everett causing some sort of mischief.  His exclamation: "What in the whole-wide-world is Everett doing?!"  I guess that's his interpretation of the 'Mommy version' (What in the world?!) of What-the-He!!

• Anderson loves observing the moon (Thanks to his outdoorsy Daddy!).  The other day Anderson noticed it already in the afternoon sky.  After identifying it's stage, he said "Thank you, God, for my eyes so that I can see the moon."

• One afternoon Anderson, Everett & I had to make a trip to the train station commuter parking lot to retrieve an important piece of paper that Daddy had left in his car and needed us to scan and send him.  We failed to get any info from Reese on where the car might be parked so we were driving and driving all around the parking lot looking for Daddy's car.  After a few minutes had passed, I heard Anderson's voice from the backseat: "Jesus, I know you can see Daddy’s car, help us see it too."

• "Look!  It's a Babylion!" 

Everett's Favorite Game

At 21 months old, this boy LOVES to play Hide & Go Seek.  Whether it's with Brother, Daddy, Mommy, or just all by himself you can usually hear him walk by whispering "Hide, Hide, Hide" and then see him burrow in somewhere.  He's uncannily good at playing as well!  He will stay really still and quite for a long time, even staying completely under things like blankets or inside dark spaces like the pantry.  He is still a one-year-old, though, so the obvious one-year-old rules apply to him.  You know, "If I can't see you, you can't see me even though I'm right here in front of you" or "I'll keep hiding in the same place over and over again because why not?" and then of course "it's ok if you see me getting into my hiding spot, you still have to count to ten and search".   Here's a video I caught of him playing while sitting right beside me on the couch.  I also caught on video his funny way that he yells "Ma-MY" right now.  No matter in what context he's referring to me or calling out to me, he yells it in that same way.  

IPhone Picture Fun

It's so much easier to pull out my IPhone on the fly and snap pictures of the boys rather than the Cannon.  But, I tend to not upload those pictures as often to my computer so therefore, they don't ever make it here.  So, I figured I would pull a few of my favorites off and make a specific post dedicated just to them.  :)

This is my current screen saver on my phone for the "lock screen".  Every time I see it I smile.  It's a picture from November when we went to pick up something from a bakery.  I bought the boys a cookie and they sat happily on the curb outside to eat.  Everett's expression just fits him so perfectly ~ he's a little Cookie Monster.  ;)

One Saturday morning on the way to swim class we had to take Riley to the groomers.  Anderson really wanted her to sit in his lap.  She was, of course, a perfect "Ri-Ri" and did just that.  I think it made Anderson's day.

In December when we were in San Antonio we headed to Sea World for the afternoon/evening with Grammy and Aunt Reagan.  On the ~30 minute ride there, we had two snoozers in the back.

This statue is outside of the kids' salon where we get the boys' hair cut.  Here's Everett enjoying his lollipop while showing off his short new 'do and his sparkling personality.

The Marbulous Marble Run is the fabulous and incredulous Christmas present that Anderson got from Nana B & Grandpa Billy.  It's 121 pieces that require a bit of meticulous placement which then provides loads of entertainment as the marbles make their way down.  It's quite miraculous that we have yet to loose any of the pieces. (I can't say the same thing for the all of the marbles that originally came with the set)  Here are the boys standing in front of our latest creation which used all 121 pieces- yes, Mommy is proud since I basically built it.

Silly Mater Teeth Lollipops

While taking a rare bath in our big tub recently, Everett decided to taste the large bar of soap.  He reacted as you would expect.  Then he actually began 'blowing' bubbles out of his mouth before he began asking for water. I couldn't get the camera going fast enough to catch the bubbles, but I did catch him showing me where the soap was.  (and, yes- the water is pink. The boys are fascinated right now with these tablets that Santa brought Everett in his stocking.)

Petland Social & Fun With Our Buds

Last Friday, we went with the CECPTA to Petland to see and learn about some different animals.  We got to pet all sorts of fun furry (and spiky, feathered) creatures.  Anderson really liked the hamster and the hedgehog.  Everett liked the bunny the best.  We also got the chance to play with a puppy for a little while.  He was very playful and jumpy.  Everett did not like him, but Anderson thought it was pretty funny when he got got attacked with puppy kisses.

Anderson petting the gerbils.  He's crouched down in the green shirt.  Everett is hanging close to me over in the top left corner of the picture- he wanted nothing to do with those odd little creatures!

Everett petting poking a guinea pig.

Puppy Kisses Galore!

After the tour, we spent some time outside in the beautiful weather with our best buds, Brody and Matthew.

Some impromptu Ring-Around-the-Rosie:

Just being curious and adventurous boys.

~Everett, Matthew, Anderson, Brody~

These boys have literally been friends from the beginning!  Mendi and I met originally in prenatal yoga when we were pregnant with Brody and Anderson, who were born one month apart from each other.  Then we became closer friends in a New Moms group which then led us to forming our playgroup.  Then, we both (surprisingly to each other) got pregnant again with Matthew and Everett at the same time.  Our second boys were also born one month apart from each other!  They've played together since the beginning and have even gone to school together since the beginning.  So fun and special to have such wonderful friends!

Silly Face Time!

Videos from San Antonio & Lubbock

While in San Antonio, Grammy and I took Anderson and Everett to an indoor bounce house arena.  Although there was a special toddler area for children 5 and under, both boys immediately dismissed that zone and zeroed in on the enormous slide featuring Lightning McQueen plastered on the side.  While we were a little apprehensive that Everett wouldn't be able to make the climb all on his own, he proved his status as the tough little brother and followed Anderson with ease.  They both had a ball going on this slide over and over and over again.  

Eventually, Anderson would do tricks as he would come down the slide and Everett would try his hardest to copy Anderson's actions.  It was so fun!

While we were in Lubbock, Everett became enamored with Shadow the Horse, a ride-on bouncy horse that lives at Nana B's house.  He loved riding and bouncing on him and would occasionally even wear the cowboy hat.  On our last day in Lubbock, Everett was genuinely sad to leave Shadow.  He literally tried to drag him to the door towards the car when we told him to tell him goodbye.  Then, Everett got a little mad at Shadow since he couldn't come with us (he got a swat on the nose!), but eventually gave him a nice hug and kiss before saying "bye".  It was really cute.  

Christmas in Carrollton

Santa came to our house on the morning of December 20th since we were leaving later that day for our big drive around Texas to visit family.  On our Christmas Eve, the boys happily put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, which they then proceeded to eat themselves.  

 

Anderson woke up about 6:30ish and hung out with us until we heard Everett awake at around 7:00. Santa had brought exactly what the boys had been asking for:  a Lightning McQueen big boy bike for Anderson along with a Squinkies Dispenser and a "baby bike" for Everett and a toy airplane.  After we opened gifts from Santa, we opened the presents under the tree.  We all had a fun time pausing only for some yummy cinnamon rolls.  After the presents were all opened, we set the boys loose playing with everything so that we could finish packing and getting ready to hit the road later that day.