Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

From,

The Andersons

Merry Christmas Eve!

We had our annual photo shoot with Kelly at the beginning of December for our Christmas card picture. Here are a few that we didn't use, but will probably use in some other respect. I will post our Christmas card pictures tomorrow. Wishing everyone a magical Christmas Eve!

  

Fisher is ONE!

HOPPY 1st BIRTHDAY FISHER!

Poor Fisher.... this post is LONG overdue! He's practically 13 months and I have posted nothing about him turning one. Here it is... better late than never.

On November 10, Fisher turned ONE! We had a Hoppy Birthday for him on the weekend after his birthday. It was a frog themed party including all things bouncy. Fisher got a Bounce House for his birthday, so we set that up in the garage for the kids to bounce. I think Cooper enjoyed his present more, but Fisher will get more out of it by this summer.

 My friend, Julie, made a super cute and tasty frog cake and smash cake (seen below). My friend Nicole made the Table Critters (The little potted frog decor next to the cake) to add some froggy festiveness. Nothing like getting a little help from your friends!

 

Fisher dug right into his cake and it was all fun and games until he got frosting in his eye and then the world was ending. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

 

 Many special people in Fisher's life came and he received many great presents, including this Bouncing Turtle. Thank you everyone! Fisher (and Cooper) are really enjoying the presents.

In other Fisher news...
He is doing so many new things every day. He is walking along things now and behind walking toys. I think walking on his own will be on the horizon. He also talks like crazy. He has very extensive little conversations, including hand gestures in his own baby language. It is quite comical.
We are working on weaning him from the bottle, but so far that has not been going very well. Overall, he's a pretty easy going little guy and we couldn't enjoy him more!

Here are his one year stats:
Weight: 21 lbs (23%)
Height: 29 in. (33%)

Halloween 2010

 Yee-haw! It was a rootin'-tootin' Halloween for us this year. We had a 'lil cowpoke and his trusty horse. It was the first year we actually went trick or treating in the neighborhood. The weather was great and Cooper LOVED it. He ran up to each door by himself and said "trick or treat". When we turned the corner and Cooper saw our house he said, "Oh no, not my house!" He had fun giving out candy to the trick or treaters too though.
Earlier in the week we went to Packerland Parents Playgroup's annual Trunk or Treat where you decorate the trunk of your car. Our trunk actually won first place this year. So, I kept it in tact for trick or treat, opened the trunk, turned on some spooky tunes and added a little ambiance to our neighborhood trick or treat experience.

Overall, it was an awesome Halloween with lots of festivities and LOTS of candy!

Fisher- 11 Months

On the exciting date of 10-10-10, Fisher turned 11 months. Would have been cooler if he turned 10 months, hey? Anyway, in just the past week or so he seems to be growing up so much. This morning I went into his room to find him standing up in his crib.

He's eating more solid foods. He really prefers that. He gets fussier when we try to spoon feed him. Today he ate chili. I hope to be on all table foods by this time next month.

Fisher is still generally happy and pretty easy going. He's much more interested in his brother and what he's doing. I'm not sure Cooper is a big fan of that. However, Cooper is learning to keep things that he doesn't want little brother to ruin up on a table.

The planning has begun for the big ONE! I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. We have a not so  little Fish anymore. See you in a month for a recap of the year!

Cooper & Fisher- 2 1/2 Years and 10 Months

Both Cooper and Fisher hit milestones in the last week or so. Cooper turned 2 1/2 and Fisher turned 10 months.  A lot has changed in their lives this month and I've actually seen a lot of growth in them in just the few weeks they've been in day care too. I think day care has been a good thing for them. I'm quickly learning that your kids will comply for other people much more easily than they will for you. So, let's run down some quick milestones and stats....

Cooper-
Weight- 25 lbs. 6 oz. (6%)
Length- 37 in. (71%)
Head Circumference- 47.5 cm. (13%)
I have seen the most growth with Cooper since he started day care. He talks much more now and is putting together sentences. He tries new foods and is more meaningful with his play, staying with an activity for a longer period of time. He went potty on the toilet at day care once too. That was exciting to hear, although it was probably just a fluke because it hasn't happened again. He's also getting good exposure to a new world of germs at day care. He's already caught pink eye and a cold and had an ear infection.
Cooper loves any types of vehicles (trains, trucks, diggers, etc.). He also loves music! He even sang his first song yesterday "Rain, Rain Go Away". He makes everything into a drum (or nobiehock, which is a word that's now sweeping the nation). He's a happy, fun loving and outgoing kid. Temper tantrums seem to be getting a little better, but I think that since his vocabulary is expanding, that is helping with his ability to express himself.

Fisher- 
Fisher didn't have a check up this month, but he did have to go to the doctor for pink eye as well last week, so they weighed him and he was 20 lbs. and a some odd ounces. He is going to catch Cooper very soon. I'm even thinking that they might be wearing the same size clothes in no time.
Fisher is crawling all over and is able to stand up while holding on to something. He started eating some table food too. He enjoyed pancakes, cooked carrots, Cheerios and bread so far. Fisher is very curious and doesn't like people to "forget" about him. He has a good pair of lungs that he uses to scream and use his voice often. At day care, his teacher writes the things he does everyday (played with the farm set, jumped in the Jumperoo, painted with yellow paint, etc). This week she wrote, "Yelled during story time (He could tell the story better than we could)." I just had to laugh. We might be in for it with him and his personality.

Cooper and Fisher are interacting and "playing" together much more these days. Generally, Fisher just tries to steal whatever Cooper is playing with and Cooper gets upset. However, Cooper is learning how to interact with his brother and has learned that hitting his brother is not a good way to solve problems. He likes to give Fisher hugs and kisses and sometimes he covers him with his coveted blanket. Those things just my my heart melt. I think seeing those loving interactions between siblings is what life is all about!

Playset Makeover

BEFORE

This is the only "before" picture I have of the playset and it's not completely assembled. We bought the wooden frame with slide for $50 last fall from a woman I formerly worked with.

AFTER

This summer, we finally got around to fixing it up. We stained it and added a tarp on top, spindles along the sides and new play equipment too (swings, steering wheel, ball tubes and rubber mulch pit). I think it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. 

Bring it, Rainbow Play Systems!

First Day of "School"

Today was Cooper and Fisher's first day of "school" at Bright Beginnings. It really was their first day of day care, but we have been calling it school to make it seem really important. We have been trying to prepare Cooper for awhile now. He's been going to the Kid's Corner at the YMCA all summer and has become very good at the separation. We went shopping for a new backpack, which he is very proud of. We got some new school shoes too. We visited a couple times and talked all about how fun "school" was going to be. Fisher doesn't have any separation issues yet, so I knew he'd be fine.

Last night, Cooper was excited about going to school. He was extra snuggly at bedtime though and wanted me to stay with him until he fell asleep. He kept taking my arm and putting it around him. If you know Cooper, this is sort of uncharacteristic for him. He's not much of a snuggler. I certainly obliged as this was our last night before the life as he knew it was going to change. I looked at him as he fell asleep and thought about how wonderful it had been spending 2 1/2 years watching him grow and learn and being there every step of the way. I got a little teary-eyed.

I know that I'm lucky to have had all of this time with Cooper and Fisher and in many ways it will be good for them to go to day care to socialize and learn new things. Still, I'm sad that someone else will get to spend more time with them on a daily basis than I will.

This morning, when I woke up, I already started getting choked up about taking them to day care. We got up extra early and were ready to go, Cooper with his backpack that's almost as big as he is, on his back. Once we got there, the director took us to their classrooms. First we went to Fisher's room. That drop off was easy. My eyes "watered" a little when we left the room though, seeing him playing on the mat with a toy and not even noticing that I was leaving. Then, it was on to Cooper's classroom. Miss Candice, his teacher, is very nice. She showed us around the room and Cooper jumped right in, playing in the kitchen area. Miss Candice said, "Wow, he's seeming comfortable already!"

Well, then it was time for Todd and I to leave. Cooper grabbed onto Todd's leg and wouldn't let go. There was quite a bit of screaming and crying and a little crying on my part as well, even though I was trying my darndest to hold it together. I know that just leaving is the best, from several years of working with small children... it's sort of like ripping off a band-aid. It's best to do it quickly! So, Todd and I scuttled out of there and I let out a good cry by the car. I cried for a little while driving in the car too, but soon got caught up in my daily duties and wasn't dwelling on them being "gone" so much anymore.

I called the day care mid-morning to check up on them and make sure Cooper settled down. My mind was put at rest when I talked to Miss Candice and found out that Cooper stopped crying about a minute after we left. Phew! I couldn't wait to pick them up at the end of the day to see their smiling faces and hear about their day though.

Three o'clock rolled around and Todd and I went to pick them up. I was brimming with excitement and had a new Curious George fleece blanket to bring Cooper to put in his cubby for nap time. I was hoping he'd be excited about that waiting at school for him every day. We went to Cooper's room first. He saw us and a big smile came across his face, accompanied by a running hug. Then he "introduced" us to Miss Candice and her helper by pointing to us and saying, "A Mama!" It was really sweet. Miss Candice said he had a great day! He followed directions, took a nap on his mat at nap time and played with the other kids without one meltdown all day. I was so relieved. You hope your kids are going to behave when you aren't around, but you never know. At least today he did. I hope that continues.

Then we went to Fisher's room. He had just awoken from his nap. He had a great day too. He ate, slept and played... your basic 9 month-older's day.

Both kids got a little "Daily Report" sheet that told about their day... What/when they ate, when they slept, when they pottied, their moods, what they did. It was really fun seeing that. I'll look forward to those everyday. I appreciate it too because as a teacher myself, I can understand that writing those out for each child every day is probably a lot of work.

So, overall the day went well. I am anticipating that drop off time will still be hard for Cooper for awhile and probably for me too. I hope that by the end of the week, I am not crying anymore though. That's my goal!

It's a new chapter in all of our lives... stay tuned.

Fisher- 9 Months

I couldn't decide on one picture of my little 9 month old Fish, so I went with two in this update.

We had Fisher's 9 month check up today. Here are the stats:

Length: 28 in. (42%)

Weight: 17 lb. 6 oz. (7%)

Head Circumference: 45 cm. (42%)

Currently, Fisher is the same length, but 2 lbs. heavier than Cooper was at 9 mos. It's strange to me that Fisher is still so small comparable to other babies because he seems so much bigger than Cooper was at this age.

Fisher has made a lot of growth in many areas in the past month. He is army crawling all over the place and is getting pretty speedy. He can finally sit up unsupported now too and play for quite awhile in that position.

He's eating 3 hearty meals, including some meats. Although, we have to hide them in the veggies because he's not a fan by itself. I don't blame him. Those baby food meats smell like cat food. He's starting to self feed himself puffs too! That has been nice during meal times.

Fisher has 2 bottom teeth now, as you can see from the picture above. I think that makes him look a little older. No more teeth seen on the horizon yet.

Fisher is happy, playful, loves to clap and hear himself talk and scream. He'll repeat syllables like, "Mamamama" and "Dadadadada". He also likes to get into his brother's things from time to time. Said brother isn't really a fan of that.

Fisher has a big day in 2 weeks... first day of day care! I know he'll do fine, as big brother will too. Mommy is going to be the one struggling.

Shawano Lake 4th of July

I'm a little behind, but I thought I'd quickly write and post some pictures from our weekend at Shawano Lake for the 4th of July. If you are on Facebook, this is going to be a little redundant. I apologize. However, I know there are some people out there that are surprisingly still not on Facebook (you know who you are) and might be interested.

In a nutshell, we went to Todd's parents cottage in Shawano for the weekend of 4th of July with Kelly, Jon, Barney and The VanRemortels (the family of the children I watched this year). On the actually 4th of July, some of Todd's work friends and other friends came for the day as well.

We were lucky that for the most part, we had good weather this year. It was windy, but we were able to be outside most of the weekend. The 4th of July was a little rainy and pretty windy, which was a bummer though.

We spent the weekend boating, swimming, going to the park, playing in the sand, having bonfires, eating and just relaxing. July 3rd, we watched fireworks over the lake. We went to the Bonduel parade on July 4th, which was a big hit and on our last day, we got a behind the scenes tour of the Sundrop factory and museum (which is not yet open to the public). Our friend Andy has family in the business and hooked us up.

It was one of the best 4th of July's that I've ever had. Such great memories and we hope to do it again sometime.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the weekend... mostly of the kids.

Fisher- 8 Months

Yesterday, Fisher turned 8 months. I probably sound like a broken record with these posts, but I really can't believe he's that old already. This year has seriously been in fast forward or something.

In the last month, he's been eating much more food. I'm making baby food this time around again. He's had several veggies and is just starting to move into fruits. He's eating 3 meals a day now. It took him awhile to get the hang of eating, but we seem to have it down now.

He's rolling around like crazy. He can roll across a room pretty quickly and can scoot himself forward on his stomach, but he's not up on his knees yet. That's fine by me.

Fisher is sitting up much better now. He still needs someone to be right there because his balance isn't perfect, but he's getting there. I can't wait until he can really sit up on his own. I feel like my life will be easier then.

We've been able to do a lot of water activities this summer and it seems that Fisher is aptly named. He is a little fish! He does not tire of the water and kicks and splashes. That has been fun.

Sleeping is going well. He is getting about 10-11 straight hours on a regular basis. I had to dish out some tough love a little while back and let him cry it out. It took him one night and now he's been a good sleeper. He seems to finally be getting himself into a nap routine too.

That's our little 8 month Fish! I'm sure this month will bring much more to report.

Fisher- 7 Months

Last week Fisher turned 7 months. We are on to the second half of his first year! Things are going to start getting fun now.

Fisher is eating rice cereal on a regular basis now and we are going to start veggies this week. It took him awhile to get the hang of eating. He also sleeps around 10 hours at night on a pretty consistent basis. That has been a godsend. He sleeps in his crib every night without a swaddle now too. We just have to work on napping in the crib consistently. He likes to fight nap time most days.

As I get to know Fisher's personality, I see that he really isn't too easy going. He gets bored easily and likes to be walking around and looking around almost all the time. He's a social being. That gets tiring for a mama on most days. He's a screamer too if he doesn't get what he wants and he's got some lungs! I think he'll be more content once he can sit up and play. (At least I hope so.) He's working on it, but he doesn't quite have the balance yet to sit on his own.

Fisher is a roller now. He can roll across the room in pretty good time. I'm wondering if that will continue to be his chosen mode of transportation or if he will be a crawler eventually.

As I look at Fisher's appearance more and more, I see Todd. He has similarities to Cooper, but the shape of his head and eyes and ears are seeming to take more after Todd to me. His eyes look to be changing colors too. They aren't as blue as they were when he was born. He might be a brown-eyed boy, like Todd. Right now it seems like a mixture of colors.

Until 8 months... which will be here before we know it!

Run... Errr Walk Like a Mother

On Saturday I did my first 10K with my friends from Packerland Parents Playgroup. It was the Bellin Run/Walk and it was huge. Around 18,000 signed up for it this year. I signed up to walk it. Some of the moms in our group walked, some ran and some did the stroller division. Our theme was "Run Like a Mother." We all had cute matching shirts.

I have done absolutely nothing physically active since I was pregnant with Fisher (a year ago), so there was no way I was running. I did no training at all for the walking either. I figured I could easily walk 6.2 miles.

While I did do it, I had no idea of the pace I would be keeping. My legs are short and the pace was brisk. I ended up completing the walk in 1 hour 42 min. even, with an average time of 16:25 per mile. I am pretty proud of myself actually. I don't think that was such a bad time. I give credit to my PPP pals, Sue and Jess who kept the pace. Otherwise, there is a VERY good chance I would have finished in like 2.5 hours or something like that. I'm not kidding!

I'm still sore today, but this has motivated me to get back into the work-out world. I'm returning to Zumba tomorrow and who knows... maybe soccer will even be in the horizon again.

The Bellin was a blast and I intend on doing it with the playgroup again next year! You Rock, Mamas!

Annual Father's Day Picnic

Yesterday we went on our annual Father's Day picnic/hike at Devil's Lake (a week early). We have been doing this for about 5 years now, I think. We skipped one year because of the flooding of Lake Delton though. This year, I didn't do the whole hike up the bluffs. My legs already hurt from the 10K walk I did the day before and I was worried about the steep incline with Fisher in the front carrier. So, I did the hike along the lake and then turned around and went back with my mom when everyone else was ready to do the bluffs.

This was also the first year that my grandparents joined us (for picnicking, not hiking). The weather was overcast most of the day and started to rain just at the end. Oh well, we just HAD to go into the camp store for an ice cream then.

Always a fun tradition for us!

Cooper and Papa A (with Jacob)

Cooper and Papa G

Papa G and "Big Papa"

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend, we went up to Todd's parents' cottage on Shawano Lake. We had intentions of only staying one night, but the weather was so awesome and we were having such a good time that we extended our stay by another night. We worked the family rummage sale, swam in the lake, did some boating and relaxed. Todd's brother's family and parents were there as well.

One of the nights we roasted marshmallows with the kids, which was an interesting experience. Here is what you would have overheard... "Watch where you're pointing that stick!" "Don't run next to the fire!" "Blow out your burning marshmallow!" It was still a lot of fun. Just a little nerve-wracking. After we ate our s'mores, we told "spooky" stories around the campfire and discovered that our nephew, Austin, is QUITE the storyteller. We were cracking up at his dramatics (pictured below) and his scary stories about sharks in Shawano Lake.

Now that Cooper is getting a little older, I can see how he, Fisher and their 3 boy cousins will have many fun memories of their times at the cottage together.

Today we were back home and went to the De Pere Memorial Day parade. It was a really nice parade and I was really proud of Cooper for staying by us and keeping his attention on a pretty long parade. I guess maybe he is growing up.

This weekend surely felt like the beginning of summer. Looking forward to many more weekends like this one!

Fisher- 6 Months

Mr. Fisher is a 1/2 year old already! That's crazy to me.

We had is check up today and got the latest stats:

Length: 27 in. (72%)

Weight: 14 lb. 13 oz. (8%)

Head Circumference: 43 1/2 cm. (43%)

He's sort of tall. How did that happen?

Fisher is smiling a lot more now and really likes to be social. He wants to see what is going on and be a part of things. Last night he slept 10 straight hours at night, which was probably a fluke. Generally, he only sleeps 4-5 hours at a time. I hope he's on to a new nighttime schedule though!

Eating cereal wasn't going so well when we tried a month ago, so we stopped. I think we'll start up again soon and see how he takes to it this time.

Fisher can roll from his tummy to his back, which gets him out of the dreaded tummy time that he hates so much. He does need to work on putting weight on his feet. He doesn't seem to want to do that too much yet.

The doctor did say his skin continues to be really dry. He still scratches at it quite a bit and cuts up his skin some. Poor baby!

He can hold onto his toys now and "play" with them, which generally involves putting them in his mouth and biting them. I can also get him to giggle sometimes if I tickle him in just the right spot on the sides of his ribs. It's so cute!

That about sums up the life of a 6 month old! I'm anxious for him to sit up on his own, which should be happening in about the next month. I think he'll be a lot happier when he can sit up, see what's going on and play.

Ro-Ro's Dictionary

Pictured above is Ro-Ro with his pal, Buck-Buck (as Cooper would say). He is talking more and more these days. It's so interesting to see him figure out how to string words together and which words he decides to say is funny too. He has his own little language. Some words he just can't say correctly and others he made up a completely new word. Just for kicks, I thought I would write a little dictionary of some of his current words and phrases. I'll try my best at spelling some of these "words"... it might be tricky.

Words:

A-mo: More

A-duck: Stuck

Aaa-Aaa: Other (as in "Mama, aaa-aaa cup!"= "Mama, other cup!")

Actay!: Activite! (It's something Diego says on Go Diego Go!)

Alimo: Animal

Appo: Apple

Basketball hoop: He can say this word as clear as day. Go figure!

Bee-ball: Baseball

Beek dik: Big digger truck (this one sounds really bad)

Bire Chuck: Firetruck

Boppy: Bouncing

Bow: Barn

Buck-Buck: Bucky the Badger

Bock: Bike, back or bus

Boo: Blue

Bye: Bath

Chacktow: Tractor

Choo-choo: Train

Chuck: Truck

Die-Die: Santa

Dik: Sticker (again... sounds really bad)

Do: Dora

Dobiehock (sometimes nobiehock): Musical instrument... I THINK

Dook: George (as in Curious George)

Hay: Hands, head or hair

How: House

Hot: Means hot and cold

Jy: Jon

Ky: Kelly

Mama: Mama OR Grandma

Mimi: Marren (the little girl I babysit)

Mine: Blanket

Moo: Moon

Moop: Remote control

Muk: Milk

Mummy: Money

Na-Nigh: A bed, bedtime, anything to do with sleeping

Nock: Snack

Nummy: Yummy

Off: Means off, on, open and closed

Oh-ho: Hello (also what he calls a telephone)

Papa: Grandpa

Pays: Pants

Peez: Please

Pi-Pi: Potty

Po-Po: Purple or Play-doh

Poppy: Pumpkin

Ra-Rye: French fries (also what he calls McDonald's)

Rye: Drive

Ro-Ro: Cooper

Shoosh: Shoes

Tee-tee: Stinky

Whee!: A slide, swing or any type of ride

Wow-wow: Water

Phrases:

Aaa-way: Other way

Beek hock: Big hug

I day: I dance

I die: I'm done

In nare: In there

I no no: I don't know

Ite dare! Ite dare!: Right there! Right there!

Tay-too: Thank you

I know there are others that I'm forgetting right now. He says chocolate milk really funny and I can't remember how he says it now. I just love it when he combines some of the words above like.... "nummy nock", "Ro-Ro Rye?" (No, sorry kid... the answer will be no until you're 16.), "Muk a mine" (milk and mine... the 2 must-haves when snuggling in), or "Papa How". He seems to be asking a lot of questions in his own language lately too. He has the art of raising his voice at the end of a sentence down!

Some words he does say correctly and every animal he calls by the sound they make. I just still cannot understand how he can say basketball hoop, but not Cooper. We're working on it. As much as I want him to speak correctly, it will be a little sad when some of these "Ro-Ro words" go buh-bye.