Four Months

Giggly
Drooly
Chubby
Strong
Rolly
Splashy
Spazzy
Smart
Grabby
Cuddly
Sweet

Motor Skills

She knows how to keep a tight grip on things and she knows she wants every thing in her mouth but she doesn't always know how those two things can work together. Bless her heart.

Also, definitely thought Sophie the Giraffe was over-hyped just because she's French but I take it all back, always gets a smile/frantic kicking over here.

Thanksgiving

We took the bus down to Maryland for Thanksgiving. It was delightful. We ate delicious food while wearing a variety of handmade headwear:

 

We helped the Calls pick out a Christmas tree:

 

And in true "Andersons during the holidays" fashion, we did a lot of this:

Are those sweet cousins or what? Who can blame me for deciding last minute to stay 3 extra days? We had more shopping at big box stores and parking in parking lots and eating at fast food restaurants to do. Dream come true.

A Walk in the Park

When November gives you a 63º day, you take it and run! 

(i.e. walk leisurely)

Three Months

  

And then someone got sick of her bunny:

So many smiles, a couple laughs 

(now that we've had a taste, our main goal in life is to make her laugh)
Rolling over to one side and working on the other
(can't leave her on the couch while I do the dishes anymore)
Great night sleeper
Working on the daytime sleeping
Babbles almost all day long
Drools all over everything
Makes our world go round

Nor'easter Week

And this week we've just been laying around talking to each other while it snows and we dream of a world where dads don't have to work all day every day.

p.s. What do I do with a baby that only sleeps for 40 minutes at a time during the day but acts like she wishes she were asleep for much longer? It's driving me a little bonkers.

p.p.s. Did one of you send us this book forever ago? We love it but it had no name attached to it in the package.

Hurricane Week

I don't know what to say about the hurricane last week except that it was scary and we were very lucky when lots of other people were not. It's a strange feeling because lots of the devastated areas are pretty close to us but we didn't even lose power. So it's sorta surreal to see pictures of wiped out neighborhoods, etc. I don't think it really hit me till the weekend how serious it all was. So anyway, lots of sad stuff around but also lots of people doing good things to help. It's like that insurance commercial always says "when things are at their worst, humans are at their best." It's nice to see.

So as guilty as it makes me feel, we had a wonderful week spending time together with all of our amenities intact. Regan worked from home and it was so nice. He/we were due for a break from his crazy schedule. And although I would rather it didn't come at the cost of a hurricane, that's how it happened. We'll call it a silver lining?

So now that the truth is out, here's what I baked while we emptied our Hulu queue:
Apple Cinnamon muffins - easy and good
Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cake - cake was good but too many flavors so nothing shined
Apple Braid Bread - my first time, easier and tastier than it looks
Frozen Hot Chocolate - very delish, maybe I made it twice

Please bless all hurricanes leave us so lucky.

Happy Halloween

Gwen chose to be a caterpillar/striped sleeping bag/baby Shrek for her 1st Halloween.

 

We didn't win any awards at our Chili Cook-off party this year. And Gwen lasted about 10 minutes in her costume before it was too sweaty and annoying. I have a feeling that's just the way things are gonna go for a few years. 

She must have seen a scary kid run by in this shot-

  

And her new favorite position-

Two Months

 

Tons of smiles (which make for tons of double chins)

Almost rolling over (therefore spending half the day stuck on her side and mad about it)

Coos and gurgles and yells

Still lots of kicking

Still a good eater

Still a good sleeper

Still can't believe she's ours (ahhh)

p.s. Thanks Hannah for giving us what is now our official photoshoot blanket.

Blessing Day

October 14, 2012

 

 

This beautiful dress, bonnet and booties were made by Regan's aunt. Unfortunately Gwen ahem, defiled it before we got any pictures of her in it. So these are "makeup day" shots.  

As For Me

I never pick the right one of Gwen's naps to take a shower during. I can't tell you how many times I hear her yelling the second I put the shampoo in my hair. Talk about a trap.

I think so far I'm pretty much the mom I expected to be. Except I thought I'd bathe her more often.

I know this is a tale as old as time but I really hate how early it gets dark in the fall/winter. I don't like going out after dark alone so now I have lots of dark indoor hours in the evening. :(

I cannot figure out how to make a Boppy useful in my life. It's taking up way too much space to not be useful to me.

Some critter, probably our resident squirrel Buddy, left some droppings on our windowsill. Some (or maybe the same) critter got those droppings all over their paws and then all over our window. Halloween prank? Gross, guys.

The other day I sent an empty, unsealed envelope in the mail to my mom. I have no idea why.

Another other day, I fell asleep some time between Regan calling to say he was leaving work and Regan getting home. (This isn't that strange but hang on because what happened next is.) The deadbolt on our door was locked so Regan couldn't unlock it from the outside and started knocking. I didn't hear him. So he called me a few times. I didn't hear my phone. So he started panicking. Luckily(?) our downstairs neighbors were home so he crawled through their window and up the fire escape to our window. He could see me (and Gwen) asleep on the couch so he started knocking/pounding. I didn't hear him. Until finally I did, I guess, because I woke up. But waking up to a man on the fire escape in the pitch black pounding on the window isn't a pleasant way to wake up. (And being the husband pounding on the window and seeing no response from your wife isn't that pleasant either.) I don't know what I did next except stand in front of the window not opening it for about 30 seconds because my brain couldn't accept that it was my husband in front of me. It was bizarre and really scary. I had no idea what time it was or how he got there and was pretty shaken/out of it the rest of the night.

What I'm trying to say is that I think I'm just now getting what they call "pregnancy brain". Late bloomer.

It's starting to seem that there is literally nothing that can motivate me to exercise regularly. A wedding didn't do it, and neither did having a baby.

What kind of pie should I bake for the cook-off this weekend?

If this isn't the life, I don't know what is

Beautiful Town, USA

Regan's parents came to visit! Neither of them had been here and we had a whole week to kill. We spent the first 2 days alone while Regan slaved away at work. Monday we spent here in Brooklyn just taking naps and wandering around the neighborhood, and staring at the baby. Basically my life every day. Tuesday we ventured to the city and rode the Staten Island Ferry, went to the temple, and got a rickshaw tour through Central Park. My favorite part was when Reese knew what the Plaza Hotel was from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Actually, that was sort of his frame of reference for everything. My second favorite part was Gwen screaming for the last 10 minutes of the tour and then some more while I tried to feed her in a Tasti-D-Lite yogurt shop.

Oh motherhood!

 

The only picture I took that day. Kay and the statue.   

Two days was enough city for us so Wednesday we headed "up north". I think we were basically unaware of where we were headed the entire time until we got there and then sometimes I still didn't know where we were. Luckily Gwen ended up being an expert road-tripper so we could all just enjoy the moseying around and we never got stuck 300 miles away from home with a baby who suddenly hates her carseat. (Can you tell I was worried about this?) Reese served his mission in upstate New York so we got to see some of where he'd been. And some church history sites. And some very very pretty scenery.

 

Josiah Stowell home. A friend of Joseph Smith's. Don't worry,
I hadn't heard of him before this trip either.

I think this is where Joseph and Emma were married in Afton, NY.
Which I kept calling Afton, WY. Oops.

 

This is an unflattering picture of us with some Neon Trees.

This is the best climbing tree to ever exist.

This is our cute baby in her first hotel.

 

This is what people's backyards look like up there.  

This is Gwen being a good road-tripper. 

Oh, then we made it to Cooperstown. Cooperstown! The hidden gem and highlight of our trip. This place was so charming and beautiful. It's on this big lake and there are millions of trees and not an ugly house in the whole town. I was very impressed. And the Baseball Hall of Fame! Which means Main Street was filled with punny shop names like "Bottom of the Ninth" and "Safe at Home". I love that stuff.

I never knew about the awesome warm-up cardigans they used to wear
(like the one on the left).

 

Ebbets Field in New York.

 

The original "sand lot" where the first baseball ever was played. Now it's a cute stadium.

 

Gwen

 

and Gwen

It was sorta tough to  capture what we were seeing because most of it was from inside a car. But upstate definitely delivered. Except the Catskills, we drove through them on the way home and
were very underwhelmed. But the Hudson River- very nice! And driving all...the...way...through...
manhattan- also sorta fun. Coming back to the city after being away always makes me wonder again why we are all piled on top of each other when just a few miles away there is a whole ton of fresh air and wide open space. Oh well, all the more fun to get away.