Another fun week!

 If you look closely, you can see his tooth!

 Winston's first time wearing jeans!  And this is how I slick down his hair nearly every morning,

 and yet somehow it ends us looking like this!  Oh well.  And this is how Winston almost crawls, every day.  I just know one of these days he's going to surprise us and figure it out, but for now this is as close as it gets.

 Thursday I made this stew, with Whit's step-by-step instructions.  Somehow, his still tastes better!  But this batch turned out alright, and we met our friends up in the canyon for dinner.  It was super fun to see everyone and the canyon is gorgeous with all of the fall leaves.  But of course I didn't take any pictures!  Next time I'll have to be better at that.

 Then on Saturday we went down to Spanish Fork.  We took our queen bed out of the spare room, and gave it to my sister who is living in Springville.  Then we went to my grandma's in American Fork and picked up another queen bed that she gave to my mom and dad.  So we took that one to Spanish Fork.  By the time we were done with all of that driving, loading, and unloading, we were pooped!  So we went to the temple :)  My parents and sister took Winston to a picnic and Whit and I went to the Provo Temple to do sealings.  We had such a nice time, but we were so tired!  It was a busy day.

 Sunday we stayed in Spanish Fork for the morning so my mom could watch Winston while we went to the Brigham Temple dedication.  We all ate lunch together after, then we headed home.  That night we enjoyed a nice walk and hanging around the house.  We've been trying to teach Winston how to drink with his sippy cup.  He is just fine if someone is holding it, but he can't quite figure out how to do it himself.  Well, he was just playing on the floor, rolling around, and when I looked over at him I saw this!  Yay!  He's finally got it.  Now we'll just have to see if he can do it sitting up :)

He sure is one happy, drooly, baby!

The happiest and most exciting and unexpected week!

Monday I went in for my first pregnancy check-up. Since I wasn't exactly sure how far along I was, they took me in to get an ultrasound to measure the baby.  I thought I was about 10 or 11 weeks along, but when they got the baby up on the screen the doctor said I was a bit further along, I was 16 weeks along and they could tell the sex of the baby!  He asked if I wanted to know, and I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should wait until Whit was there.  But I couldn't wait and figured Whit would forgive me, so I found out we were having a girl!!!  So exciting :)  And her due date is February 25.  So when I got home it was all I could do to not call Whit and tell him to come home from work early!  So I kept myself busy by making pink, heart shaped sugar cookies, and I took Winston shopping and we got a couple of outfits for his little sister.  So I laid everything out on the kitchen table by the ultrasound picture.  I didn't say anything to Whit when I picked him up from work, so we got home and he walked into the kitchen and saw everything and got super excited.  It was a fun time.  What a great surprise!

 Winston doesn't look too excited, but we know he is happy on the inside :)

 Then on Saturday we got to go to the Brigham City Temple open house.  Of course this is a special temple for me, since I grew up in Brigham City and have so many happy memories there.  It is so neat to see such a beautiful temple there now!  It's almost as awesome as Winston's pants in this picture, they are almost up to his armpits!

 Whit thinks this picture is funny because it looks like he has a yellow flower earring :)  

Winston did pretty good going through the temple, as always he was fascinated with all of the lights and kept looking up at the ceiling.  By the time we were done and walking back to our car, he was falling asleep.

 He was out as soon as we put him in his car seat.  So much excitement for such a little boy!

I know you can't tell, but in this picture he is smiling because he hears his dad's voice.  Winston is lying on the floor in the living room and Whit is upstairs.  When Whit comes down the stairs he starts talking to him, and Winston just starts smiling.  He sure loves his dad!  :)  

And in other exciting news, Winston's first tooth broke through the skin this week!  Yay!  It still hasn't come all the way up yet, but it is getting so close.  And the one right next to it is just about there too.  Hooray for teeth, the Temple, and baby sisters!!!

Labor Day

 Cascade Springs is one of my favorite places!  I remember going there as a little girl, and thinking it was the most beautiful place on the planet.  I have seen prettier places now, but I still think it's so fun.  I was a little disappointed there weren't more leaves changing colors, but we did get to see lots of fall colors on the drive there.  We are so lucky to live near such beautiful mountains!

 So we met my parents and sister there Labor Day morning, and had fun walking around.

 The whole gang minus the photographer :)

Winston wasn't super happy to be out walking around, we got there right at his nap time.  But after we walked around and saw what we wanted to see, we got back in the truck and drove on the dirt road that ended up by Soldier Hollow in Midway.  Winston slept on that whole ride!  We stopped for a picnic lunch in a park and had a great time eating and talking.  Then we drove through Provo Canyon on our way home.  It was such a beautiful drive.  The rest of the day we spent at home relaxing, and then on Tuesday Whit started his new job!  Yay!!!  No better way to celebrate Labor Day than with a new exciting job to labor at!  :)  Ha ha!

 I kept trying to get Winston to smile for the camera, and this as as close as we got.

Go Utes!  It's a little big still, but since we lost his other hat I couldn't pass this one up when I saw it at the store :)  It was perfect because he got to watch the U game with his dad.  Too bad they lost though :(  I'm sure there will be many more games for these boys in the future though!

So that's about it.  Another fun week with the Anderson clan.  Oh, and the day after I bought the hat, we found his old one--of course!  :)

End of Summer Fun!

 I have a fun neighbor that I go on walks with.  Her little boy is a couple of months older than Winston and they enjoy staring at each other in their strollers while we walk.  We have the same pack of onesies and every day we joke that they are going to end up wearing the same one, someday.  Well, that day happened and this Friday they were twinners.   Aren't they cute?

 Friday night we went to the drive in!  We have talked about going all summer, and it finally worked out!  We met some fun friends and got our spots set up right before the movie started.  That's the full moon in the background, not a light.  It was such a beautiful moon!

 Winston fell asleep on the way there, that's what we were hoping for!  So Whit set up the foam mattress in the bed of the truck and we got all cozy for the movie.  Then I realized my water bottle was still in the cab of the truck, so I went and got it.  The light woke up Winston, so he ended up joining us for the movie.

He was pretty good for the most part and we all just hung out in the truck and watched the Odd Life of Timothy Green.  It was a pretty fun movie with a good message.  I'd recommend it :)

 I was hoping Winston would sleep in after being up so late the night before.  But he woke up at 7 am, a little earlier than he usually does!  He was super grumpy and I was still so tired, so I resorted to turning on Saturday morning cartoons.  Just to see if he would like it.  And he did!  He was completely mesmerized, for about 10 whole minutes.  :)

 Later that morning we went for a walk.  He wasn't too thrilled.

 Then we ran some errands and went shopping.  He had fun being wheeled around in the cart by his dad.

Then we came home and Whit grilled some awesome hot dogs for lunch and we made home made fries.  It may not look very good, and perhaps it's weird to put dill pickles and tomatoes and bbq sauce on your hot dogs, but they were so delicious!  Best lunch ever!  And a pretty fun weekend :)

10 month stats and Happy Birthday Bryce!

 Here's our happy little 10 month old, crazy hair and all!  We had to switch pediatricians because of insurance, so we were a little late on his 9 month check-up.  But at 10 months he weighs 22 pounds 14 ounces (88%) and is 29 inches long (51%).  We are so glad he is healthy and happy!

 He still loves to put everything and anything in his mouth,

 is making signs that he wants to crawl--but he still hasn't figured out how to do it,

 and is babbling all of the time!  This is him saying "da da," his favorite phrase.  Sometimes he even says "hi dad!"  It's super fun to hear and will be even funner when he starts saying mom!

 It's just so much fun to see all of his different expressions and see how he entertains himself.  I think he sometimes gets tired of all of the pictures though :)

 I just love the leg chub!  He's getting tan on his legs but it's still white in between his rolls.  So he always looks dirty.  Awesome :)

 Saturday we hiked up to 9990 in Park City.  That is where my brother Bryce liked to snowboard, so we hike it every year on his birthday.  Except this year we were a day early since his birthday was on Sunday :)  We hung out at the top and ate snacks and enjoyed the beautiful scenery for awhile.  There is nothing like being on top of a mountain!  But since I am honest with my fellow men, I must confess that we didn't actually make it to the top!  We got almost there, but decided we best not chance it the rest of the way with Winston.  The trail gets a bit tricky and there are parts that you have to scurry across rocks while holding on to a rope so you don't fall down the cliff.  Whit didn't know how that would be while trying to balance Winston on the backpack, and we figured we would just call it good.  The fact that I was already pooped had nothing to do with the decision at all :)

 It was a great hike though and fun to spend time with family outside.  I wish we could go hiking every weekend!

It wore little Winston out!  He fell asleep on Grandma's lap on the gondola ride back to the car.  He's such a trooper.  What a fun day!

Goodbye Grandma!

My Grandma Christensen passed away last week.  She has been sick for quite awhile, and has been a widow for 9 years, so it was a happy and sad time for all of us.  I was remembering what a neat lady she is and pulled out some pictures from my trip with her to Georgia.  I went in 2005 I think, I'll have to check my journal for sure :)  But I flew out with Grandma and we stayed with family, close to where Grandma grew up.  I had such a wonderful time seeing where she spent her life until she met and married my Grandpa and moved "out west."  This picture is from when we went to the Atlanta Temple together.  She loved going to the temple and whenever I would visit her in Brigham, I would take her up to the Ogden Temple so we could do a session together.  She is such a great example to me and I am so grateful that I got to know her as well as I did!  And I'm grateful we could get together as a family this last weekend and remember her at her funeral.  It was a really nice service and just a good day :)

When we were growing up, we would go to Grandma and Grandpa's house every Sunday for ice cream and games.  My cousins Kari-lynn and Kimiko just lived a few houses away, so we would have so much fun playing together.  They moved to California when I was in the 7th grade, but we've all stayed really good friends.  They both came back here for college, and we took this picture when we all went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Peach Days in 2003.  9 years ago!

And this is us at Grandma's funeral.  We don't get together every week like we used to, but we sure do have fun together when we do make it to the same place at the same time!  :)  Isn't family the best?!  And speaking of family,

ours will be getting another addition in March!  We feel so blessed and are as happy as can be.  Just think, Grandma gets to meet our little one before we do!  I'm sure she will shake her finger at him/her and let them know what a great family they will be a part of :)

10 months old!!!

 Hard to believe, but he's growing out of his infant carrier!  So we got a new carseat and it came this week.  I think it looks pretty plush :)  We'll see how he likes it, once we get it put in the truck.  Hopefully he'll still sleep in the car, that has been such a nice thing!

 Here's our little Alfalfa, I just thought this picture was super funny.  He makes the silliest expressions!

Friday one of my dearest friends got married.  Congrats Holly!  :)  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures.  But she had a fun photo booth at the reception and we tried to be funny but mostly I think we just look weird.  But I love Winston's expression when we are kissing him on the cheeks.

I think we're a lot for the little guy to take in sometimes.  We went for a walk Saturday morning and he fell asleep halfway through.  I'm just glad to know he will fall asleep in his stroller too!  We are making progress :)

 Saturday night Whit suggested we go for a picnic :)  Winston got his own chair and was fascinated with the tag in the cup holder.

 We went to a little overlook by our house.  This is where Whit and I had one of our first dates.  It was fun to go back and remember those days :)

 We are so blessed to have each other and our fun little guy!  Even though I like to complain a lot and think about how much better things would be if certain things were to happen, I have it really good.  I'm one lucky girl!