Thanksgiving 2010

When asked about the highlight of Thanksgiving, the girls are quick to answer, "Grandpa A's big buck!"  Scoring in at 163 with 13 points, it is a big one.  In fact, the largest any Anderson family member has taken off their land, ever!  Much to Hadley's delight, she and Piper were even able to be apart of the gutting & skinning (I will thoughtfully leave those pictures off the blog.  Piper's exact words were, "Bith. Ba-lood." Whereas Hadley sobbed when she thought she had missed out on the gutting). 

Despite the pretty chilly temps, Kyle took Hadley out to his stand 2 of the 3 times he got out hunting over Thanksgiving (what a great Dad!). She could not have been more thrilled.  While they didn't get much for deer action, they certainly enjoyed being out together.  She's sipping on hot cocoa in the picture below. 

Don't worry though, I did my best to balance out all of this blood & guts stuff, and made sure to sprinkle in some shopping & coffee with Grandma A, Auntie Kim, and Auntie Kara.  Hadley even asked if this special girl time was something we could do everytime we come up.  Whew, shopping is as cool as guts.   

We were able to see Brooke hard at work at her great little local coffeehouse job on one of those girl excursions.  The thoughtful owners were kind enough to let Hadley & Piper decorate some beautiful Christmas cookies with Brooke's helpful hand. 





The holiday would not have been complete without some rough-housing playtime with their cousins, Sydney & Ava.  Thankfully no arms were broken this year (that is the very ottoman that Piper slid off of last Thanksgiving and broke her little arm on).

We capped off the Thanksgiving weekend with two Christmas concerts.  First, with the annual Ladies Night Out (with my 3 sister-in-laws, 4 nieces, and mother-in-law) to see Lorie Line's Christmas Extravaganza.  It was lovely as always - the food, music, costumes, but especially the company.  And Kyle & I had an official Date Night (thanks to Paige babysitting!) to see my personal holiday favorite, Tonic Sol Fa. 

We have much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to in this up coming Christmas season!

Birthday Cousins

The girls and I got to spend the weekend in Southern MN with my parents, where the girls got some serious Grandma & Grandpa love!  And in the 'true' tradition and spirit of Hadley's birthday Kyle spent his hunting  (thankfully, he wasn't called away because I was in labor this time!).  Hadley was thrilled to celebrate her birthday with her cousin, Brooklyn, who turns 5 today.  The last time the girls got to celebrate together was in November of 2008...

As you can see, both have grown into beautiful little preschoolers.  But even more importantly, both have really grown to love being with one another...

They weren't the only cousins who were happy to see one another... Savannah & Piper were awfully cute little buddies too (they are 15 months apart).  Piper even told Grandma, as she was getting out two highchairs, that now she and Savannah could visit together in them!

We also managed to squeeze in a baby shower for Heidi over the weekend!  We shipped the boys off, Jeremiah included (he really was there over the weekend, despite the lack of pictures of him...I think Nathan & Heidi might need to have a little buddy for him?), and had a grand and girly time! Only 9 weeks left until her due date, but who's counting!

Happy 4th Birthday,

We have a tall blondish 4 year old walking around our house today!  Who's kid is she, anyway? Tall and blond? Oh yes, her father's!  Honestly, there are times when I look at her beautiful blue-ish hazel eyes next to mine, and I wonder how on earth I ever got so lucky.  Not because Kyle's pure Swedish blood obviously prevailed over my mixed (mutt, as Kyle would say) blood, but because Hadley is so loving, silly, and sweet and so obviously worth the wait.  She fills our days with true laughter, made up games, tight squeezes, random songs, and so many rhymes that we often feel like we live in a Dr.Seuss book.  We love you, Hadley B, and are SO thankful for your first four years and look forward to so many more! 

Red Neck Beauties

I am often amused and even astounded when I quietly listen in to one of the little conversations between Hadley and Piper as they play throughout the day.  Most of my astonishment has to do with my speech therapy background and their overall use of language.  But the other day I found myself wondering who's daughters they were anyway?  Take a listen, and let me know what you think...

Hadley: Next time Daddy gets a bear tag, I will be old enough to hunt too, Pipo.  So, I will shoot you a bear for your room.
Piper: Oh, dat sounds gooooood.  It would be soft?
Hadley: Yes, Pipo. The bear on my wall is really soft.
Piper: Gooooood!  I would touch it.
Hadley: (Thinking) Well, maybe I could shoot you a deer soon for your wall.
Piper: Yaaaaaah!  A daddy deer, Haaadley?
Hadley: Um, probably a mama or a daddy deer.  Not a baby fawn.
Piper: Bummer.
Hadley: I would need help dragging it out of the woods. Maybe we could both grab the legs and drag it out together?
Piper: Oh, dat sounds gooooood!  We drag it out.
Hadley:  Then we'd have to gut it before we brought it home. Do you know how to gut it, Pipo?
Piper:  Yaaaaaah!
Hadley: Then we could bring it home and hang it on your wall, would that be good, Pipo? 
Piper:  Ya (interuppted)
Hadley: Oh, we would have to go to the taxidermist first though, Pipey.  You would like it there, there are lots of animals!
Piper: Oh, dat sounds goooood, Haaadley!

We Are On Our Way

Well, we are on our way to becoming a diaper-free household!  I say 'On Our Way' for two reasons: First, as not to jinx us (haha), but Secondly, because potty training is a bit 'tricky-bicky' as Piper so nicely put it.    

Planning is everything, right?  So, Kyle & Hadley took a special trip up North this weekend to work on some deerstand repairs before the big hunt over Thanksgiving. Specifically leaving Piper & me alone so we could spend quality time with the 'big-kid underwear.'

Saturday morning dawned hopeful, as my 'Go Potty in the Chair, and NOT in Your Underwear' Boot Camp began.  Piper was a champ during the morning, guzzling green bug juice (and no, we do not actually eat bugs at our house to stay healthy, but I had you all thinking...) and miraculously making it to the potty 6 times before naptime all the while still wearing a sparkly pair of puppy underwear.  Mind you, we did read 63 books (The Little Engine that Could twice!) and played 3 board games over the course of the morning, but it was a great morning and Piper could not have been any cuter.  I may have even been feeling a little bit proud of us...  

Ummm, after naps was not so much a success.  At all.  It was time to tackle number two.  And let's just say, the afternoon smelled a lot like poop.  I could hardly wait until dinner was done to get her into the bathtub. Yes, because her little butt and legs had seen some carnage during the day, but mostly because I just wanted a break from having to so closely watch her little face for any expression of a push or a grunt.  How terrible!  

We both got a fitful night of sleep, but awoke early this morning.  Who scheduled Dailylight-Savings Time over my Potty Boot Camp anyway?  It was a morning of false alarms. I honestly think we visited the potty upwards of 150 times before lunch. Poor Piper; not wanting to get her precious big-kid underwear wet but ultimately still really needing to poop.  It did finally happen right before lunch, and I swear I pulled a muscle in my stomach because I jumped so high!  The look on her face was of complete surprise, but was quickly followed by a request for an M&M.  I would have given her the whole dang bag had she asked.  

So onward we trudge.  In my perfect little daydreamy scenarios, the Boot Camp would end today with Kyle & Hadley's return.  And the only evidence of the weekend would be extra little tiny pairs of underwear in my laundry basket each day. But I know that learning to go potty in the chair and not in your underwear, really can be a little tricky-bicky at times. 

(She's on the potty in this picture!)
  

Hallow-Day Weekend

Our Halloween weekend was full of fun festivities.  It began with Grandma & Grandpa A coming down on Saturday to help the girls carve jack-o-lanterns! 

Piper's ended up with a toothy grin, and (thanks to a little help from Paige) Hadley's pumpkin ended up with a ballerina on it!

Meanwhile, I was enjoying Mothers & Daughters weekend Take Two!  I met my mom, aunt Nancy, cousin Katie, and her daughter Audrey to do some serious Christmas shopping.  We had a blast, to say the least, and I am not sure my trunk could have held anymore!

And then of course, on to the trick or treating!  Hadley knew exactly what she wanted to be this year.  Kyle thought he'd be able to convince her to be a hunter, and while she did think that was pretty cool, she had eyes only for Cinderella (she's at her pre-school party below). 

Piper settled for a costume we already had in the dress up box, but was truly thrilled to be a puppy. She was not, however, real happy about the masked people who kept showing up at our door! She would turn her back and plug her ears, and then once the door was safely shut ask me again why they were wearing a "sa cary face?"

We'll finish up our Hallow-Day weekend today by celebrating Kyle's 34th birthday!  And just in case you were wondering (or had remembered from last year's birthday post) he has not yet been pulled over today.  Maybe he can count his little 'warning' pull over from just two days ago though...