January

Abe's 36th Birthday!!


We ended up being in Utah again for Norah's birthday this year, so I promised her that she could have a friends birthday party, since she never gets to have one. We did an "Adopt a Beanie Boo" party. Each girl got to pick a new beanie boo from the adoption bin and then they had stations to bring their pet too. I kind of wanted it to be similar to build a bear. They got to get their pets a color, give them a bath in lots of tiny marshmallows, decorate a pet carrier for their pet and lastly get a checkup with the VET and get a certificate of Health and Adoption. It was a hit!





































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Random pictures throughout the month....

Anders started climbing on everything and also into the bathtubs and can turn on the water (yikes)







Cute little things hanging on the school walls from the girls





Playdates



Snuggling our friends puppy





Norah picked out her birthday present from Grandma Barker





Pizza Night



Kids being cute at the grocery store


The girls became obsessed with Star Wars


Anders became eligible for Nursery! I'm sure I *should* have been happy, but it was quite a depressing day for me that my baby was actually old enough to attend class!




Abe and Anders working on my studio


Meika turned 4!! Let me tell you, I am so so happy that she is 4 now. Three year old (girls at least) are no joke. Meika has always been a dream, but as soon as she turned 3, she kind of turned a little difficult. She got really stubborn, sassy and threw tantrums over dumb things like there was no tomorrow. The closer she approached to 4, I could tell that we would soon get our little dream boat Meika back.... and I was right! Love this girl to pieces. For the past year, she has been begging for an American doll just like her sisters. When we were up in Denver about a week before her birthday, we went to the American doll store and let her pick one out. We had to warn her that we would wrap it and she wouldn't be able to open it for her birthday, since that was pretty much one of the only things she was getting. Margie and Dale bought part of the doll for her birthday too. She begged for "Kit's" accessories which included a little hat, purse and a bracelet, so she got that too. We wrapped the doll up and Meika carried her present around everywhere until it was her birthday. She even took the box with her to bed and tucked it in. It was pretty cute!

Here is Meika in her Ana coronation dress from Nana and her doll from Grandma and Grandpa Barker and us... she was so happy!!

Anders at 18 months

Everyday that we go and pick Norah and Adeline up from school, he has to stop and say hi to Sophia the turtle and see what she is up to.


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Holy cow this boy has stolen our hearts. He is just the sweetest thing imaginable. I am so sad that he is getting older and the kids say to me all the time, "I don't want Anders to grow up!" Me either!

At 18 Months Anders:

Can finally go up and down the stairs safety... for the most part!
loves his sisters and is always running up to them and giving big hugs
still is obsessed with balls
starting to show interest in cars
Is in love with a raggedy old black stuffed animal cat that used to be one of the girls
Quite obsessed with his binkie and I am trying to make a conscious effort to not let him have it while not sleeping or in the car
Loves finding books and sitting down while looking through them
He is a pretty good eater, but every once in awhile won't eat or try something... then he will be back to eating well
Loves chocolate milk and sometime demands I add chocolate to his plain milk
If you give this kid graham crackers, he insists on dipping them in milk. So grown up!
Such a good boy and goes right to bed. Sleeps pretty well and rarely wakes up in the night
He makes the funniest faces and has a little sense of humor
Says: Dada, Mama, ball, ginkie (binkie), gink (drink), keke (kitty.. as in his black nappy kitty), hello, football, nana, grandpa, makes airplane, dog, cat, and dinosaur noises....
He is jibber jabbering all the time and it's so cute. Hopefully soon we can understand something he is saying!

I really cannot imagine life without Anders. He is the perfect addition to our family and makes every day a little brighter.

Anders 18 Month Stats:

Weight: 20.28 lbs 0%
Height: 31.25 inches 20%
Head: 47.6 cm 44%