The Best Christmas Present

Well, for those who don't know Mark and I are expecting another baby this summer. It was sort of a planned surprise. We were under the impression it would take a while since it did with Weston but we were wrong! Thankfully. I am so excited and so is Mark. We will find out what we're having in February...but don't worry - I already know it's a boy. =)

Also, I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. It will be a while before you hear from me because we are leaving to go to Brazil for a week. So be sure to watch for my next post. It will be full of Christmas and vacation!!

Anderson Christmas Party

My sisters and I all got together with our families on Friday night. It was so much fun. The cousins exchanged names and opened their gifts. Then the sisters exchanged names and we also did our new tradition. Each adult brings a gag gift from the dollar store and we each pick one to open. It was hilarious. Here are some of the best gifts.

 Amy got these silly face glasses. 

Sarah got "flarp" which was a little baggie that exploded to smell like the word that rhymes with flarp. We figured we'd better do it in the garage and it's a good thing we did! I've never smelled stink like that!! It was hilarious.

Miss got a bright orange laundry bag labeled "soiled".

There were lots of other good ones. Becky got a pair of miniature horses that were supposed to be "room decor". They were hot pink and bright orange. Lynn got an "intruder alert" that will warn him if someone breaks in. Aaron got one of those towels you can wrap your hair in but it was broken! And Mark got some "warming lotion". Yep, all from the dollar store. 

I love my family and I am so glad I have such great sisters. Here is a picture of the five of us. From the back left, Sarah, Becky, Amy, Miss, Me

Hey Santa

For some reason unbeknownst to me, my husband has become totally against crowds and lots of people. You would think he didn't live in California for EIGHT years! Sheesh. Anyway, this newfound phobia led to him saying there was no way he would go to the mall to have Weston sit on Santa's lap. Santa was of course at our ward party but we forgot all about it and didn't bring the camera. Plus the line was incredibly long. So, Miss and I decided we would take Weston and Makoy together since she has some time off work. And for the record, there were only about four people in front of us in line to sit on his lap. I was a little worried that Weston would have a total melt down but he was fine. He just fussed when I backed away to take the picture and pointed at me to let me know he wanted me, not the weird guy whose lap he was sitting on. =) Unfortunately he looks pretty uncomfortable in the pictures I took though! Anyway, it was pretty cute and I'm glad I took him so I could get a picture.

Another birthday and some silliness

I mentioned I was making a special cake for Wes last Saturday. I don't really like how it turned out but I suppose that's just because I know what the one in the book looked like. Weston loved eating it though and made a huge mess. It was pretty funny.

Also, Mark used some tape to take Weston prisoner. It was loose - don't worry. But it was pretty funny and Weston was just walking around like nothing was on him. His daddy is silly.

Happy 1st Birthday Wes!

I can hardly believe it but my baby boy turned one today! I did good until I was holding him right before I put him to bed...then I cried! He's such a good boy. He is so obedient (for a one year old boy at least) and has been such an easy baby. He has been walking everywhere for the last month and is officially off his bottle. He loves to make people laugh and his little grin can melt anyone's heart. We are so blessed to have him and I honestly don't know where I would be without him. I love you Fussy Britches!

Anyway, for his birthday we didn't do much since Mark works nights. Once Wes had lunch though I gave him a huge sugar cookie to eat. I'm making him a special cake for Saturday when his aunts come over and I wasn't up to making two so he got a different treat instead. After he took his first bite he looked up at me and slowly smiled and said , "num num". He made a huge mess but it was great.

Unfortunately he did have to go in for his one year well baby check and get shots. =( We're going to Brazil on the 26th and the nurse said he should have his immunizations for as long as possible before we go. The doctor's office was actually one of his favorite things of the day though because he played with the little round chair the doctor sits on for about 30 minutes. He was having a blast! He weighs 23 1/2 pounds and he's 31 1/4 inches long. He's growing great and has reached all the important milestones he should have by now.

Here is the huge mess he made after opening his presents. It was fun to watch him. He got an alphabet train from Grammy which he loved. 

Here he is opening a new flap book. He loves them so much and they're about the only thing I can read to him since the flaps keep him occupied long enough for me to actually finish a page before he turns it! 

This is the toy train my parents got him. It's cute and he really likes it. He also got two wooden puzzles and last night Miss gave him a cute toy dog. He's a spoiled little guy and it has been fun to watch him play with all his new toys!

The most wonderful time of the year

So on Saturday we got all of our Christmas decorations up. And when I say "we" I mean ME. Mark did help move the bookshelves though so I appreciated that! I love getting my house ready for the holidays. I feel such an added measure of the Spirit and I love having that feeling for as long as possible! 

This is my nativity set and I just love it so I had to post this picture of it. Sarah gave it to us for our first Christmas and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it!!

Here is our tree and our new addition to the family...a piano! It's Sean's actually and he is letting us borrow it because I am going to start lessons. Hopefully this week. I love it. Our tree is kind of Charlie Brown and this picture doesn't show the decorations on it very good. We are against fake trees but we had to get one a few years ago because Mark was in Missouri for Christmas and I flew out to see him for a week and didn't want our tree to die. It seems like now there's been a reason to use it every year since then! This year is because first and foremost we have NO room in our tiny apartment for a big tree and also because we are going to Brazil for a week the day after Christmas and I didn't want to come home to a dead tree.

I turned the flash off on this one because it was glaring off my book case so sorry for the yucky coloring. But here are our stockings. Fussy doesn't have one yet because his from last year says Baby's First Christmas and it's not so I have to get a new one!

I also love this time of year because of the fun projects. My sisters came over last week and we made wreaths together. It was the funnest thing ever! Here are pictures of all of them and one of mine. You can't really see much detail...it looks more like a Christmas tree threw up on my love seat. =) 

Mark's birthday and Thanksgiving

I am such a bad wife! I meant to do a special post about my hubby on his birthday (the 24th) but I totally forgot because I didn't get the picture I wanted of him when he was younger! Anyway, despite his groanings of being 27 I think he had a pretty good day. I surprised him and met him at work at 9:30 pm to have dinner with him on his break. Here is the picture of his cake. It didn't turn out quite the way it was supposed to but Mark liked it so I guess that's all that matters.

Anyway, there wasn't really much to take pictures of on Thanksgiving. We had a fun but busy weekend. We went to my parents house around 10:00 and had lunch and then at about 3:00 we headed over to Mark's dad's house and had dessert. Then the day after Thanksgiving we went to Shelley to spend time with Mark's mom and the rest of his siblings playing games and eating even more turkey. It was fun but the best thing about Thanksgiving is just taking the time to realize how blessed we are and all that we have to really be thankful for. Things are great for us right now!