Naw sis

The girls and I were playing together in the sun filled playroom the other morning, with all 82+ stuffed animals as well as all of their doll friends.  Hadley had decided that they all wanted to play Potato Head together, and we were busy squeezing them around the ears, eyes, and mustache pieces.  Piper was taking directions very well from her big sister, and was helping to pile them all up.  I took a quick break with Pipey to run her into the bedroom to change a very soggy diaper.  While changing her she kept telling me, "Naw sis."  As a speech therapist in my 'former life', I like to think that I understand nearly everything my kids say!  So, I was rather stumped when I couldn't figure it out.  Piper must have told me, "Naw sis" seven times before Hadley finally hollered from three rooms away, "Rhinoceros, Mom!" with just a tiny bit of annoyance in her voice as if to say, duh, Mom! 

Rustic Drive

We took the girls just south of town this weekend, to a beautiful area of the state I used to frequent daily on my way to work in the rural WI school districts. A little nostaligc for me, and very scenic for everyone else.  We met up with the Risler Clan, all 3.5 of them - Randy, Mandi, Blake, and Baby #2 due in May.  We hit an Amish Pancake Feed for breakfast first, where the girls definitely ate their share (and more)! Note Hadley's full mouth in the picture below...  

And from there we took the Rustic Drive (truly the name of the gravel road we took!) on over to Govin's Farm where we were met by some of the cutest baby animals around - ponies, puppies, lambs, chicks, and piglets.  Hadley was surprisingly only apprehensive initially, and then seemed to forget all about her fear of animal noises.  She was enthralled by each and every animal, and talked to them like they were her very own.  Piper also thoroughly enjoyed all of the animals (especially when Kyle put a chick on top of Hadley's hat without her knowing it!), but due to the big crowds of people I held her most of the time so she wouldn't get trampled  (hence the lack of pictures showing Piper holding animals). 

 

Outdoors Fun

We are loving this early and hopeful appearance of spring! The girls wake up from their nap every day just itching to get outside and play in the yard. Sometimes the swingset, sometimes the sandbox, and sometimes even the front yard with the neighborhood kids. My personal favorite... watching the girls grow in strength, independence, and maturity each time they step outside. It's amazing to watch them delight in the simplest of things - the sky, clouds, crows, flies, pinecones, dead grass, and even just watching each other.

For the Love of the Cat

While all of the animals in our house our loved (and by other animals, I mean the dead, stuffed ones on our walls or dressers) our gray tabby striped cat, Benelli, is the most loved.  The love affair between Hadley and Benelli goes way back...

Hadley is all of 12 months in this picture, but has an obvious affection for her furry friend she called "Baba."  The affection has been mutual since the very beginning, and even when Hadley was in the tail-pulling stage, Benelli never made a complaint.  Piper was not to be outdone by her big sister, and had eyes for Benelli even as a baby...

We have a chubby cat, but that was one chubby baby! 

While stuck indoors last winter (with a baby sister), Hadley came up with her own games for her and Benelli to play...

And finally, after many furry attempts, Hadley has figured out how to catch and sort of hold Benelli.  While Kyle was gone last week, this is how I found the two of them...

Getting Away

After a long cold and snowy winter indoors, both Kyle and I had the opportunity to get away for little while.  Unfortunately, it was not together, but hopefully we'll make that happen soon.  As mentioned in a previous blog, Kyle took four days down in sunny Cabo with his BFF, Randy.  Looks pretty rough, huh...(that's not a postcard photo either!).

And I got to spend a fun filled weekend in Minneapolis with a fantastic group of women!  We shopped, ate out, laughed, shopped some more, and just had a great time being together.  While Kyle obviously had a better location for his vacation, I know that I had just as much fun (if not more!).  Nothing seems to refresh the soul like time spent with women you care about.

Pictured from L to R: my cousin Katie (sweet baby Audrey is hers), my aunt Nancy, my aunt Patty (holding Audrey), me, my mom, my aunt Kristin, and my sister-in-law Heidi!  And for good measure, here is a recent picture of the girls...

Things That Make You Go...

...Hmmm???  How does she fit in there?  And why, with a playroom full of suitable sitting objects, would you choose that to squeeze yourself into? 

...Hmmm???  Does a family of monkeys live here?  That's a 6 day supply. Good thing they are cheap, huh.

...Hmmm???  Caught in the act.  That would be the alive cat eating the grass around the dead cat.  Now, how did she jump into the 'protective' laundry basket and lean herself over, without tipping the whole shabang?  PS - the bobcat is up high enough that it is actually touching the ceiling!


...Hmmm???  One suitcase?  One passport? Yes, Kyle is in luxuriously warm Cabo without me right now.  He and his BFF, Randy, are enjoying a little time beaching it, fishing it, and golfing it.  I am happy for him, just jealous.  Who wouldn't be, right?  I am guessing Randy's very pregnant wife is also  :)

....Hmmm??? In the tub with grape popsicles, post pigtails, and prewash. Bad combination, but pretty darn cute!

...Hmmm??? 
'Story hour' in my bathroom?  Of all the rooms in the house, why is this the best place for the 'library'?  Got to admit, pretty creative.












And last, but certainly not least...Hmmm???

A 3 year old's toliet, after a record breaking night of 'needing' to go potty a few times.  {Special thanks to C&C Music Factory for the "Things That Make You Go Hmmm" lyrics, that have not gone through my head since 8th grade volleyball!}

Loved

We felt incredibly loved yesterday!  Grandma & Grandpa, from Minnesota, drove over and spent the whole day with us!  Spoiling us rotten really, with food, treats, books, new twirlers (dresses, for the layman), and lots and lots of love!  Kyle was gone (more on that later...) so the extra time and love was much appreciated by all three of us.

I am not sure who is cuter on that swing, Piper or my Mom!

There was no getting Piper into this picture...she was way too afraid of Grandpa's beaver hat! Grandma might add that the rest of the family has been in agreement for 20 years now :)











This next picture is particularly fun for me, as I have a very similar one of Hadley at the same age (18-19 months).  The first one is of Piper from this weekend (who was delighted to be walking on the grass, for the first time really, as she didn't learn to walk until last October), and the bottom picture is of Hadley back in the summer of 2008.

Spring?

I don't know about you, but we can definitely smell spring in the air around here!  We spent a great weekend out and about breathing, or maybe more appropriately gulping, that fresh 'spring' (fingers crossed!) air.  During a casual walk through the neighborhood on Saturday, Hadley informed us that she could be an Olympic champion because her pants were so nice and tight (see below).

On Sunday, we barely even needed coats as we hopefully got our last sledding adventure in for the winter (fingers crossed again) out at our land.  We also invited the Shoberg family from next door to join us.  Pictured below with the girls are Carson (4.5) and Bennett (2 years).  The girls anxiously await nearly every day in the summer for these fun little boys to arrive home from daycare so they can play together before dinner. 

Much to Hadley's delight, or relief maybe, Kyle found a slower hill this time and no one flew out!  In the right corner of the above picture is where we hope to one day build... and in the picture below you can see the view we'll have from that house! (Note the Daddies doing all the hard work :)

And after much tipping, whining, trudging, and carrying, THIS was deemed the best and happiest way to travel back up the hill (Yes, Piper is actually lying right on top of Hadley). 

The Latest

Anderson happenings of the past week:

*Eating 12 pounds of bananas in 6 days (no kidding!)
*Piper's "NO" is almost as prevalent as Hadley's "Why" now
*Much to the girls dismay, our south facing snow-woman lost her head to the warm weather, but thanks to Dad has a new body in our north facing backyard
*Piper has really gotten into bird watching, and is constantly yelling "Card" and "Honk" as she looks out into the backyard trees (for cardinals and geese)
*Hadley is really into rhyming, and even though we have found it quite funny, we've had to discourage her from rhyming with yucky :)
*If Piper doesn't like something (anything) she now tells us that it "Huts" (hurts!)
*Hadley broke an Anderson Family record for 'needing' to go potty 5 times in ONE night (we are working out the kinks on that one!)
*Thanks to the Olympics the girls have been luge-ing as they slide down the living room chairs, and Hadley is often heard trying to sing her (very cute) version of our national anthem
*Benelli (the alive cat) has been depertately trying to get onto my dresser to eat some of the grass that surrounds the (dead) bobcat and then pukes it back up again
*Both girls now strain to see the pile of mail every day, just in case there is another Superman letter from Uncle Mike
*Piper somehow has round two of the ucky snotty nose
*And Hadley has decided that, "Pipo, is the most funniest in our family!"

So, while we are all itching for spring, and I'll admit to maybe being just a little crazy in the head, we are still having a fantastic time doing our usual daily thing each and every day.  SO much to be thankful for.