Life in the Eyes of a Two Year Old

In case you have missed any of my Facebook posts over the last few weeks, I've had my limit of adventurous activities from my wonderful two year old, Rianne.

Nate and I call her our little "Pigpen"--in reference to the Charlie Brown character. Her skin seems to exude dirt. From the second her towel hits the floor from a nice, long bath, everything she touches has her mark on it. I have NEVER met a kid who can get so dirty, so fast, and leave a trail of evidence behind her. From fingerprints on everything she touches to absolutely no hand-me-downs left for her little sister, she leaves her mark.

I've just about suffered from an aneurysm trying to deal with the consequences of her actions recently. So I decided today to look at things from her point of view and see if I can get some clarity on the day-to-day hustle-and-bustle she calls, "Life."

To start off with, door handles must be the object of her affection. It doesn't matter what kind; as long as she can reach it, she's in love.

• Refrigerator doors: they are a slight challenge to open, but when you do, there's a whole new--and chilly--world at your fingertips. Ketchup, salad dressing, and chocolate syrup are all within reach. Not to mention being able to get to the milk gallon by yourself and prove you ARE big enough to pour your own cup of milk. If the whole gallon goes on the floor, it doesn't matter as long as some milk made it into the cup!
• Dressingroom doors: they are a lot easier to open. If you act fast enough, while Mom is in between taking off one pair of pants and trying on another, and you don't worry about closing the door behind you, you can get to the front of the store before she can catch up to you!
• Bathroom doors: last but definitely not least. They come with locks! You can get to the shampoo bottles or toothpaste and SQUEEZE 'til your heart's content or squirt out a considerable amount of Febreeze in the time it takes Mom to get the door unlocked. Either way, it sure smells fresh for a nice, long time in there.

Second, she must love physics. Especially the law of gravity. The gravitational pull between a writing utensil--preferably a Sharpie--and the walls/cabinets of this house is more than she can fight. They seem to always find themselves "drawn" to each other.

Third, being bumped from the "baby sister" spot is no excuse to have to grow up. If the baby gets to sit in Mommy's lap to be fed every time, you deserve the same treatment. This is the one thing she's held on to and that I've noticed she doesn't want to give up. It's like the "green-eyed monster" comes out at mealtime.

And lastly, having a cute smile might not get you off the hook immediately, but in the long run, everyone gives in sometime.

My beautiful, bright-eyed, always smiling--even while doing wrong--little Rianne keeps me on my toes everyday. Sometimes I just want to scream, but, as a friend at church taught me today, this is the only time throughout all of eternity that she will have to be a child and experience these adventures. So I should just go along for the ride and be happy there IS life in the eyes of a two year old.

Thank Goodness for Bus Stops

So, my family has been living in our yellow house on the corner for six years now, and we only occasionally have spoken to our neighbors the whole time. With the positioning of our house, we don't see anyone when we are outside except the house across the street (that is a rental and never occupied). It has been very strange being in a neighborhood without knowing our neighbors.

Alas, our problem is solved. At the start of the school year, Braelinn started riding the bus, and now we know all the families around us with children in elementary school. There are actually two families, two houses up to our left and three houses down to the right, that have boys in Braelinn's kindergarten class. The family behind us has another kindergartener, and the little girl, who we did know, has parents! I know it's crazy, but I honestly didn't even know some of these kids existed.

Last week I was able to have the moms over for breakfast after the kids got on the bus. And today we made cookies for all the families. The kids were so excited to make the cookies for their new friends--yes, Danen has a new buddy that moved in about two months ago next door!--and see the smiles on their faces when they got cookies.


It's amazing what a bus stop will do to bring a neighborhood together.

Certain Things Every Son Should Know

As I sit here, stuck on the bathroom floor, waiting for Danen to use the potty, I have been thinking about all the things I have left to teach him in life. Some, I'm hoping, won't take this long, and some I know I will instill until my last breath. I am grateful for the chance to raise this little man to adulthood, but I am overwhelmed with all the things he must know to love himself and be a successful husband and father.

Here is my list, so far:

Be grateful for what you have and tell the Lord thank you at least once a day. Whether you drive a Pinto or a Porsche, live in a cardboard box or a house on a hill, He gave you everything. He should be able to take it all away, and you should still be happy.

Be confident in who you are. There's no one else out there to be you.

Embrace everyday as if it is your last. Danen was named after a dear friend of mine who lost his life, much too young, at the age of 19. One thing I thought about at his funeral was a saying by Abraham Lincoln that says, "It's not the years in your life that count; it's the life in your years." Danen lived a very full life in his short amount of time on this Earth; I can only hope my Danen will enjoy it as much.

Be honest in everything that you do. No matter if you can get away with it or not, you can't lie to yourself.

Follow your gut; it's actually the Spirit guiding you.

Know when to make your own mistakes and when it's okay to learn from someone else's. Of course you will need to do somethings and grow in the process, but you don't have to experience everything firsthand.

Learn to be an "indian" and a "chief." People will need you as both during different events in your life.

Never turn down someone who makes the first move. What's one dance or date going to hurt if someone else went out of their way to ask?

And to go with that, gracefully say no, the second time around, if you're not interested. It's rude to lead someone on.

Opening the door for women never goes out of style. Neither does standing up when one walks in the room.

Learn to play the guitar. It can get the attention of a crowd or of that special someone.

Treat everyone with respect but don't let them walk all over you.

It doesn't matter if someone else is looking, always do the right thing. Being cool only matters though high school anyways.

Go after your dreams. If you reach them make higher ones.

Don't always think you have to take the straightest road from A to B. Most of the time, the things you remember in life happen when you take the scenic route.

The next three go hand-in-hand:

Human touch speaks every language and gets your point across. If you like someone--just out of respect, as a friend, or more--show them. Shake their hand. Give them a hug. Put your arm around their waist. It will get you what you want. (I have a great friend, named Peter, who has mastered this. I wish he taught lessons!)

Learn to dance--WELL. There have been many times I have wanted to dance and not had a partner to dance with. Women are always waiting for someone to lead them in a dance. I can't think of anything more romantic than an unexpected slow dance.

Think pro-actively. Don't wait for someone to tell you what to do. In work. In marriage. In service to others. You don't know how much more it means to get something done without having to ask for it. I saw an elderly man giving a talk from a pulpit once. In the middle of it, he became too weak to stand on his own, but he wanted to finish. Out of nowhere, another man (without the promptings of his wife) went to his side and held him around the waist until he finished. I thought at that time, "What a wonderful mother this man must have had to teach him to help even when he's not asked." It still brings a lump to my throat thinking about it today.

And last but not least, make it fun wherever you are. Don't rely on someone else to have a good time. Enjoy yourself!

Man! I have a lot of work ahead of me. Lol.

The Blessings of a Dirty House

Apparently I am not as multi-talented as I though. If you were wondering, "What's been going on in the Andersons' lives over the last year?," so is everyone else. You didn't just miss an update. I haven't done one. I realized I wasn't as organized and task-oriented as I needed to be in order to keep up a blog and my daily duties. Therefore, the last entry really was a year ago.

It has been a humbling experience to have to push aside the OCD and take things one at a time. It has taken almost this whole past year to get things back in order from being on bed rest for 4 1/2 months. Everything has to be done 4 times thanks to the quickness of 3 children. Just when you think, "There. The livingroom is clean. I'll go start a load of laundry." You walk upstairs to get the hamper and come back to a room dirtier than it was before you started.

After a few months of stressing out, I realized each dirty room is a blessing. My kids had a great time making each mess, and I helped make their day a little more fun.

Don't get me wrong, I still have my non negotiable quirks--the Tupperware must have its lid on before going into the cabinet, the characters/flowers on the blankets must be facing you when you walk through each bedroom door, all the clothes on the hangers must be facing the same direction, etc.--but going to bed with only a pathway from the door to the stairs means I have one more thing to be thankful for in my prayers that night.

Since I've had this epiphany, I'm turning over a new leaf on my blog as well. Along with a different address, my posts will be slightly different. Everyone gets to see my love or frustration in daily life through Facebook posts, so I'm going to try to use this as a way to record my blessings and find good in even the hardest places. Our Savior lived His life this way--finding good in those whom society cast out and making each bad situation a learning one--hopefully, I can try as well.

So here it is. I'm grateful for my dirty house. First because I have one. Second because I have children(and let's be serious, a husband) who make it that way. And third because I have a Heavenly Father and Elder Brother who love me in spite of it.

Slippin' and Slidin'

A couple of days ago, Nate bought a Slip-N-Slide for the kids. He set it up and showed them how to do it. He was very grateful for the pool at the end, so he wouldn't slide to a stop in the grass.


Braelinn had a blast! She wouldn't go on her belly, but her knees worked just fine.

Danen was not down with sliding (what 19 month old would be?), but he liked to sit down on the tarp and get sprinkled.

They had a great time. By the end, we had tons of neighborhood kids sliding too. Too bad I can't fit in my suit yet.

Okay. It has been a while since my last update. I have been taking pictures, but I've selected to sleep instead of blog. Now that I'm adjusted to less sleep, I can get everything posted.

It is quite funny the things that happen in front of me while I'm stuck in the chair feeding Rianne. This time, Danen was trying really hard to get in Braelinn's Barbie car. Naturally, he tried the door first....

But since he didn't fit, he went through the sunroof.

Next, a picture of Rianne after a trip to Bruster's. She wasn't a fan of the heat!

On the 4th of July, we went to celebrate with Grandpa Clair at his neighborhood block party. Here's Braelinn taking a drink break from all the running around.

Here's Danen pleading with each of us to play ball with him.

Rianne slept the entire time we were out there. So here's a picture back at the house once she woke up.

This is a random picture after church. I thought her outfit was so cute.

And lastly, we had a picnic after church last week. I remembered why I don't do picnics very often. Braelinn is scared of EVERY SINGLE bug that comes around. I did manage to get one happy shot of her.

Danen enjoyed his meal so much, he wouldn't even acknowledge the camera for a picture.

And finally, Rianne was sunbathing (sleeping) through the majority of the meal.

Now that you're all caught up, I'll do my best to post more often.

Does anyone know if there's a PA?

So, it's bad enough to have a kid addicted to one passy, but this is how Danen has been walking around the last few days... And if we try to take them away, he looks crazy like this...

Does anyone know if there's a P(assies) A(nonymous)? I don't think we will ever get them away from him!!

Test Results are In

In case you haven't heard the wonderful news yet, Rianne's tests all came back normal. I spent the majority of the day, Wednesday, at the Children's Hospital at Scottish Rite getting tests run to make sure her kidneys are okay. She got an ultrasound and a test called a VCUG (they insert a catheter and dyed fluid to see if her bladder refluxes fluid into her kidneys.). She was a trooper; she didn't cry at all. Then on Thursday, the doctor let us know everything's okay. We are so grateful for everyone's prayers and concerns for Rianne. She's a perfect addition to our family.
Here's a picture from after church yesterday. Let me tell you, getting 3 kids ready is WAY different than 2. Hopefully it will get easier when Rianne doesn't want to nurse every minute she's awake. I thought I was doing good until it hit 8:30, the time we usually leave, and all the kids were ready, but I was still in my pajamas. We made it in time to take sacrament, but it was close. I pray next week is better. We'll see....

When it Rains...

Things have been kinda crazy since we came home from the hospital. Nate had his final week of school and now has a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. (I'm so glad that is finally over with.) On Memorial Day, we had to take Braelinn to the Urgent Care, and we found out she had strep throat. It was not easy keeping her away from her new baby sister. Then on Tuesday, Rianne had her 2 week checkup, and I had to take her back to the hospital to get blood drawn. Turns out her jaundice level was really elevated, so they sent someone out to our house with a light bed for her to lay on. Well, when I went to pick up the kids from my mom, Danen was running a fever of 101.2*F. So Nate met me as soon as he got off work, and took Danen to the Urgent Care (of course everything happened "after hours") while I rushed home to met the light-bed guy. Danen ended up having a virus similar to Hand, Foot, and Mouth, so he is suppose to stay away from Rianne now, and she has to stay on the lights for 24 hours a day. It has been 4 days of juggling sick kids and a husband whose got the worst case of poison ivy I've ever seen (he actually had to get a steriod shot to hopefully get rid of it). Out of all of this, I will say this light bed is way more humane than the one Braelinn had to stay under in the hospital with the little Batman goggles. Here's a few pictures I snapped of her sleeping.

She finally did get off the bed today. So I'll be getting up some cute pictures in cute clothes soon, I hope. Next week we are going to get all of the tests done to see how her kidneys are functioning. I will keep you posted.

And can I add, on an equally as important subject, did you see the New Moon trailor? Oh my goodness!! I'm so excited, I don't know if I can wait 5 months.

THE BIG UPDATE!!

Hello, Everyone. I've finally gotten a computer again, and it's just in the nick of time. Nate graduated from FLETC one week ago, and he is home for good. We've been trying to get as much done as possible this past week that has been neglected over the last 5 months due to his absence and my pregnancy. And just when I couldn't handle being pregnant anymore, we welcomed Rianne to the world last night. My plan was to get my midwife to induce me yesterday after my check-up. When she did the exam, she said I was doing fine on my own. And sure enough, two hours later, we were heading to the hospital with contractions 3 minutes apart. Don't look too closely because it is slightly obscene, but here is a picture of me in the triage room of the hospital waiting to get checked in.

This picture is obviously after the epidural. Life was much better for the rest of the night.

I'm sure no one wants to see the gross details of birth, so here's Rianne, all cleaned up, weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs. 14 oz.

She has truly been the easiest baby for the last 19 hours. She hasn't cried at all. She just sleeps. And sleeps. She's a very good blend of Braelinn and Danen. She looks like Braelinn while she's asleep, and Danen in the brief moments of being awake.

And might I add, LOOK AT ALL THE HAIR!!!!! She has more hair than Braelinn already. It's a miracle. Maybe it will stay dark and curly, and I'll have some contribution to one of my kids.

Finally, here is our first family picture. Braelinn was so excited to hold her new baby sister. Danen just wanted to honk her nose.

Thanks for all your prayers and help during this pregnancy. We are so grateful for all of y'all.

White Oak Park with Daddy

We've been counting down the days for Nate coming to visit. When he got home last night, Braelinn went crazy! We decided to go to a new park that just opened up down the road from our house since the weather was beautiful today (nearly 70 degrees!). The kids had so much fun. The park equiptment looks like a farm. Here's Braelinn on the section shaped like a tractor.

Here she is blowing bubbles in front of the barn playground. I love this picture because it looks like the bubble's popping on her nose.

Here is the rock wall that she climbed to the top of by herself....

Here's one of my favorite pictures...kisses for Daddy.

Danen had so much fun playing on the little bulldozer for babies. He loved this slide!!
We had a lot of fun playing with Daddy and are so excited that he will be able to visit next weekend also since he gets an extra day off. The last month has seemed very long, so we'll take advantage of our short weekends.

Danen's 1st Birthday!!

Okay. I know I've won the Worst Mom of the Year award, but I promise there is a good excuse as to why this has taken soooo long to get on our blog. The night of Danen's birthday party, I tried to get all of this posted, but our internet was down. The next day Nate left for Brunswick to start his federal agent's school and I haven't had a computer. So here we are.

Two weeks late but just as adorable.

On New Year's Eve, Danen's 1st birthday, we went over to Grandpa and Grandma's house to have a small get-together. Uncle John, Aunt Jamie, and Aidan came back up to get their Christmas presents, so they were able to celebrate with us. Grandma made a cake which Danen LOVED.Then we opened John and Jamie's present. It was a bowling set that moos. Danen had so much fun knocking over the pins.

Then on Saturday, January 3rd, we had his official 1st birthday party. The theme was sports' balls. It turned out being very small as well. (We're going to have to time it before or between football play-off games from now on.) As an experienced cake-eater now, Danen knew exactly what to do...

One of his favorite presents of the day was a popazon chair he got from Grandpa and Grandma. He almost fell asleep sitting in it.

He has been enjoying all of his presents. Trust me, I know; I clean them up all day long. So thank you to everyone for coming and participating in Danen's 1st birthday!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did. We started the morning out at our house opening presents from Santa and each other. We were very blessed this year to get everything we did.

Brealinn was very excited to get started. She was so grateful for even the smallest things (lip gloss, for example). It was so fun to watch her open her presents. Her two most favorite things were a Tinkerbell tent from Santa and a Taylor Swift CD from her dad. Danen was hilarious. He was done before he really started. We opened his stocking, and he found a clementine. All he wanted to do from then on was throw it like a ball. We could have skipped his presents altogether. He favorite thing was a tunnel to crawl through from Santa.

After we finished up at home, we went to Nate's parents' house to open presents with them and Jamie's family. Braelinn got a lot of great things. She has been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz this year, so Grandpa and Grandma got her a Dorothy doll.

Danen, once again, was happy with the first thing he got. It was a police car from Grandpa and Grandma. You might say that Nate had even more fun with it.

We also went to my grandparent's house on Saturday, ate together, and opened presents. Braelinn got a doggie she can stuff (like Build-a-Bear) at home that goes with a toy Santa got her, and Danen got the loudest drums and musical toys ever.

IT"S A GIRL!!!!

We found out today the baby is a GIRL. We were really worried about finding out before Nate left for school. My appointment was scheduled for Jan. 2nd, and Nate is leaving on the 4th. The doctor's office called saying the sonographer needed to reschedule for the 6th. We were so sad Nate was going to miss out. So Nate asked his friend, who's a sonographer, if she could do it for us on Dec. 20th. She said yes, and we were all set. Well, today, I had to go in for routine bloodwork, and my sonographer fit me in! Nate raced up to the doctor's office, in uniform and all, and we found out today. We actually had her put the gender on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope, so we could open it with family to find out. It was the cutest ever when Braelinn opened the envelope and squealed, "It's a girl!" She's so excited except she really wants the name to be "Snow White." Anyways. We just wanted to get the word out to all of our family and friends. We love you all.

The TWILIGHT Adventure

Last night was so much fun!!!! Although my body is feeling it a little more than it used to, we had a lot of fun partying until the wee hours of the morning. We've been looking forward to this night for months. Twilight came out at midnight last night, and a big group of us from Church went to see it. I think there were 19 of us altogether. Jenny, Kasey, and I rode together. We all enjoyed it very much. Of course, if you've read the book, nothing can compare or live up to the "Edward" of your dreams, but the story was portrayed well. There were some corny parts, but who cares? It was a great girl's (and boy's) night out. Thanks for the fun, Ladies!

Halloween fun...

Halloween night was a lot of fun. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood to go
Trick-or-Treating. Braelinn really had fun. Danen was just ready to get out of the cold. Next year we are definitely taking a wagon.... Danen was a lion. RRRoaarrrrr. He did a great job snuggling up in the stroller to keep warm.

Braelinn was the beautiful Princess Aurora, but no one got to see her outfit because it was so cold. And yes, she walked in the heels the WHOLE time.

Braelinn's 4th Birthday

Okay. I know it's taken forever to put up the new pics., but I said from the very beginning I would have problems. Anyway. Here are the pictures from Braelinn's birthday. Her present this year was to go to Disney on Ice. She really enjoyed it!!We decided to have her party at the park this year since I was not feeling up to hosting. It was a lot easier, and I think everyone had a great time.

Here is one of the only pictures I got. Nate got stung by a bee, so he was incapacitated. Luckily, my friend, Jenny, got some good shots. The wind was blowing so strong, she almost didn't get to blow out the candles.

The Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, the playgroup from our ward went to Sweet Valley Park's Pumpkin Patch. There were so many things for the kids to do there. First, they got to help stuff a scarecrow. Braelinn wasn't too excited about that, if you can't tell by her expression... She did, however, like the scarecrow once he was finished.The kids got to go through a little"corn maze" while we waited for the tractor, and then we went on the hayride to the pumpkin patch.
At the pumpkin patch, the kids got to pick out which pumpkin they wanted to take home.
After that, we got to feed some chickens, pigs, and goats. Danen wasn't too sure about the pigs...
Then Braelinn got to go mining.

Here are the gems she sifted out. She got some "Fool's Gold," amethysts,

topaz, quarts, garnet, and more. She loved it!
The last thing they did was an "I Spy" nature walk. They had to find a few different animals and "Chief Pumpkin's" tee pee. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, but he left them each an arrowhead to take with them.
All the kids had a blast, and we enjoyed watched them have fun.