tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92088719373406107982012-10-11T07:37:11.438-06:00The Many Adventures of the Modern Hippie MamaThe ever so interesting ramblings of reality from a naturalist woman who belongs in the 1970's... Or maybe just the wilderness.Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.comBlogger446125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-31110581749141905542012-10-10T12:09:00.000-06:002012-10-10T12:41:46.775-06:002012-10-10T12:41:46.775-06:00What I'm Loving Wednesday! October 10, 2012I know I did not do yesterday's Toddler Talk Tuesday but we are very busy now, as to be expected. :) I did, however, feel quite compelled to do today's blog hop simply because I have so much to love and be thankful for today. Not too much is going on for us today, just packing and then I have hiphop class. We will just be reviewing the 5 step for breakdancing and maybe learning a new freeze, I have not decided yet. But I am still a very happy little mama! All is definitely good in this neck of the woods! <br />
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Here is this week's What I'm Loving Wednesday!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that we got <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/10/we-got-our-house.html">the okay</a> on our house yesterday! We will be moving in hopefully this weekend!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that this weekend is also my cousin in law Maddie's baby shower. I am doing a Pinterest project for her present! Onesie cupcakes to go with the diaper cake my mom is having made for her!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Anna already has her baby shower outfit picked out! It goes perfectly with the theme. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Alan had a playdate with his buddies Kelton and Teagan at Chuck E. Cheese yesterday. And I got some much needed adult time with Kelsie, Kourtney, Chelsea, and DesiRae. Anna even got baby time with Miss Harper! A win for everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that my neighbor recently has befriended us. She's about ten weeks pregnant and it will be nice to get to know her before we move. I love having friends all over town! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I just received a text from a good buddy about a free grill her dad is fixing up. Uh yeah, we will take it off your hands! I love grilling! And we have a place for it now! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that it snowed over the weekend and I got some beautiful fall meets winter pictures of the vines out front of our house. I will miss their beauty. Look at that red!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Anna is gaining weight again and is healthy! Thank goodness, I have been working so hard to make enough for her!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that we did a small amount of grocery shopping yesterday, thanks to my parents! We did not have alot for groceries this pay period because of the move and it is so nice to have choices for lunch and dinner now! Thanks Ma and Pa!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> Alan's facial expression in this picture! Love my little cheeseball, he is always so happy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that we are so close to being fully packed right now! We really only have the essentials out still. All we need to do now is MOOOOOOOVE! :D</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that tomorrow is my new blog change and my two year blogiversary! Wow I cannot believe it has been two whole years. I think blogging has really opened me up as a person and taught me some new things about life. I hope my family's blog continues for years to come!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> my job, my friends, my family and my life. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-3111058174914190554?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-62071483326889809782012-10-10T06:08:00.000-06:002012-10-10T06:08:00.220-06:002012-10-10T06:08:00.220-06:00WE GOT OUR HOUSE!!!I know I said that I would have my update on Anna soon but I <em>must</em> post about this first! For all of you interested though, Anna is doing very well now. We are no longer too corcerned about her weight gain, we just expect her to always be a little smaller. Just as long as she is getting everything she needs and is healthy. :) <br />
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I got the phone call last night. <strong>We got that house!!!!</strong> The one I loved so much, the one I've been dreaming about, <em>the one I cannot stop thinking about.</em> Our new landlord said that there are some minor fixes to the hot water heater that are being worked on right now and it will be done by the end of the week. We can hopefully sign the lease and start moving in Saturday!! <br />
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<em><span style="font-size: large;">Let me take a moment to let out a biiiiiiiig sigh of relief...</span></em><br />
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I am so glad we got this place. I was starting to get a bit worried. We had to put in our notice this month and I was so scared that we might have to find another place last minute. Not to mention that I would have been soooooooooooooooo heartbroken if we had not gotten this place. <strong>It was perfect.</strong> It has a private front yard with a tree! And a mud room to leave all the shoes at the front door. The living room is big and has hardwood floors. No more waking Anna up when I have to clean the floors! Sweeping and swifering make NO noise. Alan's bedroom has two doors with windows in them, something I love for him so I can let him play alone in their safely while I am in the living room. And he gets his independence! Bonus! There is also a cubby hole in the wall that his bedroom shares with the living room, so we will also be able to hear him while he is in there. Our kitchen is adorable, with lots of natural sunlight! There's a back door and a small basement, with our own washer and dryer! <em>No more laundry mat or our parent's house!</em> Hallelujah! Our bedroom is a nice size, big enough for our bed and a bassinet/crib. Once again, perfect. The bathroom is small but that means I do not have alot of space to clean lol. I hate cleaning bathrooms. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Its a perfect house for us at this point in our lives. I am so happy we got it!</span><br />
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Thank you to everyone who sent us good vibes, said prayers for us, or just kept us in your daily thoughts. We appreciate all the good energy we recieved. <strong>We believe it helped us get this house!</strong> Thank you, we love you all! Back to packing I go! <br />
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Please excuse my abscence for the few days until we are fully settled in, I will be sure to post the update on Anna tomorrow but expect me not to participate in all the blog hops. I will also post some of my back up posts from my draft section. They are still interesting posts and outlooks on life. I hope you enjoy them! I will try to post some pictures of our new place asap too!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Estimated Moving Date: </strong>Saturday, October 13</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-6207148332688980978?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-16840825673458171542012-10-09T14:25:00.000-06:002012-10-09T14:25:00.077-06:002012-10-09T14:25:00.077-06:00Three Bean Chili Made My Way!Chili is one of those foods that everyone has their own way of making it. Some people believe chili has beans in it, others think its only made with different meats. Me, I like my chili a specific way and that's my way lol. :) With beans, but with meat and veggies too so that you get a full meal in one serving. That way my kid eats it lol! Mmm, as I type this I am finishing up the pot of chili I made the other night. It is so good, sometimes even better the next day! Yum!<br />
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Here is "my way" to make three bean chili! I encourage you to try it out, it only has five steps and takes a half an hour to cook!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Three Bean Chili</span><br />
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1 pound of ground hamburger (we also use deer meat sometimes, you could probably use turkey)<br />
1 pound of kidney beans (dark or light, sometimes we do both)<br />
1 pound of black beans<br />
1 pound of pinto beans (if you don't like pinto, use another kind of beans)<br />
2 tomatoes<br />
1/2 an Onion (or a whole, my family just doesn't like onion that much)<br />
Taco Seasoning of some kind<br />
Basil leaves<br />
Thyme leaves<br />
Garlic Powder<br />
Pepper<br />
Cheddar Cheese<br />
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<strong>Step One:</strong> Brown the meat in a pan. Cut up tomatoes and onions into small bite sizes. Cut up the basil and thyme leaves too, into small pieces.<br />
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<strong>Step Two:</strong> Mix together the three beans. Put in tomatoes and onions. Put in the meat and stir.<br />
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<strong>Step Three:</strong> Put in package of Taco Seasoning. Season some more with basil leaves, thyme leaves, garlic powder and pepper. Stir pot some more.<br />
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<strong>Step Four:</strong> Heat on lowest setting for about ten minutes. <br />
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<strong>Step Five:</strong> Add cheddar cheese to you liking. Enjoy!<br />
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I like my chili best with some yummy cornbread! Mmm, my favorite! How do you make your chili???? Comment with your recipes, I would love to try out some new ways to cook it! Chili is very popular in this house! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-1684082567345817154?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-35820408884436035752012-10-08T13:54:00.000-06:002012-10-08T13:56:46.507-06:002012-10-08T13:56:46.507-06:00The Week the Women WentToday is a busy but uneventful day. I have several errands to run around town with the kiddos, Anna has another Lactation Consultant appointment, I plan on trying to take Alan to a park at some point, and I have to teach dance class tonight. I have been seeing my LC quite a bit this last few weeks, I will write a whole post detailing that later this week. Spoiler alert: I am now renting a hospital grade pump that <strong>I love!!!!!!</strong> But for today, I am going to post this review I did a while back and have been saving for a rainy day... Which is hilarious because it is sort of a rainy day today. :) So here you go, enjoy! Don't forget, only three more days until my blog's new change! Be sure to check it out!!!<br />
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Have you seen this new show? Its on Lifetime and basically, I'm addicted to it! :) It just recently started and I think I may be hooked lol.<br />
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Its based on the idea of "the grass is greener on the other side" but mostly that men would be nowhere without women and that women run the world. As a social experiment, all the women in Yesamee, Tennesee left their lives for one whole week, leaving the men of the town to run things. Several families are followed, including a bachelor who now has to watch his girlfriend's three teens and a family owned restaurant that now will be run by a fourteen year old girl and the dad with the adopted 15 month old twins. This is some crazy stuff!<br />
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I was looking for some pictures from the show to put up, and found out that this experiment has been done before in Canada. Twice! How interesting! I might try and find these episodes on YouTube and watch them during my free time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The women leaving town</td></tr>
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I think this would be a totally cool social experiment to participate in! What would be cool is if the parents totally just switched places! :) I dunno if Lon would be down for participating lol but I would for sure!! I would be worried about him being left alone with the kids though! He doesn't normally watch them and has never had both of them alone. He is a good dad but it could could still be a disaster lol! I don't think it would be too hard to do both his jobs but who knows? It could be! And it would be very trying and exhausting at the very least! My husband works his butt off! But of course being one of the women and getting to go on vacation lol, I would be okay with just participating in the regular show too. :P<br />
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Alot of people tend to not think about other people's point of view. You are always told as a kid to put yourself in other people's shoes but then when we grow up, we forget all about that. Life is definitely hard. Its hard for you and its hard for me and its hard for that guy outside walking down the street by himself. Everyone has their own problems and their own struggles and their own worries, thoughts and fears. Everyone is just exactly like you, but with their own life. So if someone is a little short with you instead of getting horribly offended at them, stop and think about what maybe happened in their day. Maybe their car broke down, making them late to work and they got chewed out by their boss? Maybe their mother is dying and their hours got cut at work and now they are worried about rent? You don't know.<br />
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This goes with waitresses and other employees like that too. Don't look down upon them and talk down to them. How do you know that they didn't graduate valedictorian from highschool then worked on Wall Street for several years before moving in with their elder parents? What if they lost their job as a surgeon due to the Recession and the only job they can now find is one as a waitor? How do you know that they aren't a starving musician or artist, maybe even the next Picasso?<br />
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The key thing here is: <strong>YOU DON"T KNOW</strong> what people's lives exactly are like for them, day in and day out, even if you know them. I don't know exactly what Lon's day is like or even Alan's day is like and I am with Alan every single day! But I don't know how he's feeling, what his perspective is, what his mood is or exactly what he experiences. <br />
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So why would anyone ever be rude to other people? Why would anyone ever be jealous of other people? I just don't understand. We need to remember what our parents used to tell us as children and just be nice to others because there's no gaurentee that you aren't the only nice thing that happened to that person. My mother used to tell me, "Everyone always has it worse then you, you just need to realize it." That has alot of truth to it, everyone is always going to have struggles and alot of times their struggles are alot worse then yours. We need to also remember that our own lives aren't so bad. We are alot more blessed then we realize.<br />
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I know I have been rambling and preaching alot today, but I will close with this. Here is one of my favorite Buddhist mantras, and it goes perfectly with all that I am talking about. <br />
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<em>Accept disgrace willingly,</em><br />
<em>Accept misfourtune as the human condition.</em><br />
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<em>What do you mean by "Accept disgrace willingly"?</em><br />
<em>Accept being unimportant.</em><br />
<em>Do not be concerned with loss or gain.</em><br />
<em>This is called "accepting disgrace willingly."</em><br />
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<em>What do you mean by "Accept misfourtune as the human condition"?</em><br />
<em>Misfourtune comes with having a body.</em><br />
<em>Without a body, how could there be misfourtune?<br /><br />Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.</em><br />
<em>Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.</em><br />
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I really do hope this opens some people's eyes. And if you have Lifetime, be sure to check out the episodes of The Week the Women Went. It is quite the interesting show. :) Have a wonderful day everyone!!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-3582040888443603575?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-89283531337329615862012-10-07T19:23:00.000-06:002012-10-07T19:23:00.492-06:002012-10-07T19:23:00.492-06:00Anna Ariel: Three Months OldToday Anna is three months old. It is just crazy for me to think that on this day, three months ago, I was about five cetimeters dialated and on my way back into Labor and Delivery for the second time that day. And now she is this big three month old baby, wanting to sit up and crawl and eat food and talk to me! What a tenacious little girl! <br />
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At three months old, Anna Ariel:<br />
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*Weighs nine pounds and nine ounces and is 25 inches long.<br />
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*Has pale, grayish blue eyes and dark auburn that goes down to her little shoulder blades. And no bald spots on her head! Yes!<br />
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*Crunches her little abs when she is sitting up supported, like she is trying to sit up completely on her own. It always knocks her over on her side and makes her sooooooooooooooooo mad lol. :)<br />
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*Talks to us all the time with "ooos" and "coos" that are just too sweet! I love her sweet girl voice!<br />
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*Likes to stand up with Mama holding her under her armpits. She will support a little bit of her weight too. Getting those little legs strong and ready for some walking and more importantly, <strong>RUNNING!!!!</strong><br />
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*Does not really like any of her "baby equipment." She does not like her bouncy chair, swing or carseat and will barely tolerate her stroller. She is a baby wearing and arm holding girl! Just the way her Mama likes it! That way, we can both feel the love! :) Is a little hard at night when I just want to go to sleep though. I have been spending alot of nights in the rocking chair with her.<br />
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*Is a drool queen! She is always drooling on everything and sucking on her hands! Silly little girl, if I did not know better I would think that you were teething!<br />
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*Loves to watch big brother and daddy move around and just exist. Or anyone for that matter. She is a definite people watcher, my girl, just like her Mama and her aunties. :)<br />
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*Excels in tummy time! We do it several times a day, pretty much whenever she wants to play. She can lift her chest so high up now and has started pushing with her feet. I cannot believe that I am already saying this but I think she is just a few weeks away from army crawling! What?!?!<br />
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*Can roll from her back to her belly, but does not consciously realize it yet. She does it so rarely that it really scares her when she does do it lol! But I am still proud!<br />
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*Is getting better at reaching for and grabbing at things. Her movements are getting less and less sporatic and more refined.<br />
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I love you Anna Ariel, I cannot wait until you grow up!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-8928353133732961586?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-36436313937716890382012-10-05T14:46:00.000-06:002012-10-05T14:46:17.202-06:002012-10-05T14:46:17.202-06:00Five Question Friday!! October 5, 2012Happy Friday everyone! And it is a happy Friday indeed! I recieved a call from our potential landlord this morning, pretty much wanting to know when we could move in!!! :D WAAAAHOOOOOO! Oh thank goodness, thank goodness! I am so happy, he said that he still needed to finish through our application and fix the water heater but that we will know for sure by the end of the weekend! So I am calling on you one last time, prayer warriors, help us get this place! My heart sings when I think about this house, it is the perfect new dwelling for my family! I am honestly tearing up a little just thinking about it lol. I know, total dork! Please, please, please may we get it! <br />
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In other news, it did not snow today or last night like I was supposed to. I am not sure if I am happy about this or not yet. Probably the first just because of the cold that comes with snow. I know that I am <strong>NOT</strong> ready for that yet!<br />
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Here is this week's Five Question Friday!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What album/cd/download are you embarrassed to admit you have?</span>
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I guess you could say all of my dance music, all the Kids Bop and old Britney Spears and Michael Jackson, James Brown and such. However, it serves a purpose so I do not find it embarrassing to admit. In fact, I proudly tell parents that this is the type of music I play for hiphop, instead of that gross modern crap. <em>Yeah I was taught by a true BBoy, not just some mainstream punk.</em> I have tribute that I must pay to. Much love to my old teacher Remind, may we always remember the old school!!!! No one dances to Beyonce or Flo Rida here!!! :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What's the one thing your spouse does better than you?</span><br />
Totally already know the answer to this one! He is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better at putting babies down to sleep without waking them than I am! I seriously suck at it! At first, I thought maybe its was just with my own children and was because I nursed them and they could smell the absense of milk. But now I have worked at a daycare with babies for over two years and nope, still cannot do it! I somehow always wake them up! Lol it soooooo frustrating sometimes! Especially after like the twentieth time of doing it!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When do you start buying Halloween Candy?</span><br />
We only usually get one bag of candy each year for Halloween because sadly, ever since I have moved out of my parent's house every place I have lived in is a bad area for trick or treaters so I will only ever get one or two. Each year! One year I remember (Alan's first Halloween) I called my mom sobbing at like 9 at night because we were all dressed up and we did not get even <strong>ONE</strong> trick or treater. We had already been over to visit them for the night but I apparently sounded so devastated on the phone that my family came over just to trick or treat at our apartment. <br />
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With that being said, my husband is addicted to candy somewhat. Like seriously, I have to hide candy from him for holidays if I want to save it. Or he will eat it all. Its crazy lol. He has even started finding my spots and still eating it. I wonder somedays if he is a kid lmao. :) So oftentimes I will just buy the candy the day before the holiday, just so I only have to hide it overnight. That way it does not get eaten and we have candy for that holiday! Yay! We usually end up eating all of our Halloween candy ourselves anyways though. Maybe this year I will just get a few big candies to give away. Watch, then the word will spread and I will have over a hundred kids this year lmao! :P<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Family closets - Yay or nay?</span>
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We currently have two closets for the four of us. Alan and Anna share a closet in his bedroom while Lon and I share the closet in our room. It is out of neccessity, not desire and let me tell you I do not enjoy it but not because of me. <br />
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Alan and Anna have too many clothes! They have so much clothing I swear, they could each have their own closet and be set, if we had the storage. Right now, we do not. But we are moving and I have been pinning on Pinterest and found the perfect solution!<br />
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Its called a costume closet on Pinterest but we will use it for Anna's baby clothes. And I have an old beat up dresser with the drawers broken out of it. Instead of a drawer at the bottom, we will put two little baskets for her socks and headbands, diapers, whatever we cannot hang up. I love this idea because it can go in our room, instead of Alan's and Alan can have his own closet at the new place! It is perfect!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Which home/cleaning chore do you hate the most? Why?</span><br />
You know, it really is a tie between laundry and doing the dishes. I absolutely hate doing both of them, with or without a machine (and yes, I have both with both) but I realize how much of an absolute neccessity they are to our daily life. So I continue to do at least one load of dishes (handwashed currently) and one load of laundry (handwashed currently too, but not for long) each and every day. For my family. Because I love them and because someone has to. Do their laundry, not love them lol. But maybe the other way somedays too. :P<br />
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I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Ours will be full of packing! Tune in on Monday to see if we got our new place! Keep your fingers and toes crossed for us please! We want this house!!<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-3643631393771689038?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-13879863800036985802012-10-05T09:36:00.000-06:002012-10-05T14:12:43.368-06:002012-10-05T14:12:43.368-06:00Baby Wearing is Everywhere!!I just love to wear my babies. When Alan was little, he didn't like it too much unless he was tired. Then he would let me wear him all over lol. But he was too big for the wrap we had by the time he was only four months old. As for Anna, she loves to be worn. I wear her all the time at home and have worn her several public places. I just love how calm she gets when worn and how close I feel to her. I also love that I am hands free and can get stuff done around the house or play with Alan but she is still near me and happy. We use the Moby Wrap but I would love to explore and try other wraps! I have been looking at the Ergo Wrap because its for over thirty pound children. This would have been perfect for Alan, in fact he probably could still fit in one! :)<br />
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Baby wearing is such a wonderful, empowering thing for a mother to do. And it is everywhere. Baby wearing has existed since the beginning of time and even animals technically baby wear. Here are some pictures of beautiful mothers (and fathers too) wearing their babies. Enjoy!<br />
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Here of course, is a picture of me wearing Anna. No, I am not nursing her right now even though it looks like it lol. I have not been able to figure out how to properly nurse her in the wrap yet. Regardless, I love baby wearing! I plan to do it with all my children! :)
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-1387986380003698580?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-21285842456898740022012-10-04T19:02:00.000-06:002012-10-04T19:02:07.885-06:002012-10-04T19:02:07.885-06:00Month in Review: September 2012September is also another one of those birthday months for us lol. I know so many people who have children that were born in September, sometimes the same year but oftentimes different years too! It also is the beginning of fall, one of my favorite seasons of the year! Who am I kidding lol, <strong>EVERY</strong> season is my favorite season, it just depends on which season we are curently on! :P But I do just love fall and all that comes along with it. Here are some of the things we did this month!<br />
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Being a part of the What to Expect group has its benefits, one of the main ones being all the empathy and support you recieve because you are venting to moms going through the exact same age. I love my WTE mamas! This of course means that I know <strong>a ton</strong> of people born in September and alot of them are the same age as Alan. So we celebrated so many birthdays this month, it was crazy! Here are the main ones I wrote about: <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/happy-third-birthday-alan-mikael-and.html">Alan's third birthday</a> was in the beginning of this month. He had an awesome Bubble Extravaganza party at Pioneer Park for it. It was also <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/happy-birthday-ryana.html">Ry'ana's third birthday</a> (the were born on the same day, in the same hospital) that same day and we went to her <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/ryanas-birthday-party.html">birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.</a> Great Grandma Marcia had <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/grandparents-day-2012.html">her birthday</a> this month too and we all met at Denny's for her birthday brunch. September 11 is also my cousin <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/toddler-talk-tuesday-september-11-2012.html">Blake's birthday,</a> so we spend it as a day of memorial and love. We also celebrated Alan's good friend <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-circus-birthdays-and-baby-showers.html">Colton's third birthday party</a> towards the end of the month. It was an adorable Mickey Mouse themed party. We had a blast! For <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/our-labor-day-weekend-3-parks-in-3-days.html">Labor Day weekend,</a> we did not go camping anywhere with family as is tradition but instead the kids and I went to three different parks in the three day weekend. Alan had a wonderful time and Anna enjoyed watching him!<br />
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Alan, Anna and I saw <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/retail-therapy-at-its-best.html">my good friend Tanya</a> this month and were able to go out to lunch and out for yogurt with her! It was nice to see her, she goes to school here but goes back to her hometown for summer. We had missed her! I also started working again this month, <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/on-becoming-dance-teacher-again.html">teaching hiphop</a> to children ages four to eight. I love that I am teaching dance again! September is <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/september-is-childhood-cancer-awareness.html">Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,</a> so I posted an informational post and spoke of Alan's good friend Jack, who is bravely fighting cancer. We got current <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/family-photos.html">family pictures</a> taken by my friend Kelsie at Norm's Island. Thanks Kels, they turned out fantastic! <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-circus-birthdays-and-baby-showers.html">The Ringling Brothers Circus</a> came to town the same weekend that was Alan's friend Colton's birthday party and my childhood friend Ali's baby shower. That was a busy but fun weekend for us! My bestie Jenelle is graduating from college this year with an art education major, so we went to <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/jenelles-senior-art-show.html">her gallery showing</a> this month. It was themed <em>Manifest Destiny</em> and the artwork was simply stunning, as to be expected from my favorite artist! Thanks JJ, I loved your work! And it was wonderful to see you too! Alan also had his very <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/alans-first-trip-to-dentist.html">first trip to the dentist</a> and I am proud to say that he has no cavities! He was fantastic with the dental hygienist and doctor too! We are so proud! Anna also made several trips <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/our-recent-scare-with-anna.html">to the doctor</a> because of a minor medical scare. We are so glad she is (and always was) okay! <br />
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I wrote about alot of different things this month, once again. I think that's what happens when I sit at home with the kiddos all day. I think about things alot. I have yet to finish the Hunger Games, thus restarting my book reviews but that is for this month! Last month, I wrote about my upcoming <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/and-finally-some-thoughts-on-blogging.html">new change</a> to my blog (coming in less than a week). I bragged about my <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/i-just-love-consignment-stores.html">recent consignment store buys</a> and how much money I saved on all those clothes. I still cannot get over it lol! I showed everyone how to make mini cakes with Alan being my photogenic little helper. They were delicious! I remembered <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/911-in-eyes-of-child.html">how scary</a> it was to be younger on 9/11. I also wrote about some recent <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/struggling.html">stresses</a> my husband and I have been experiencing lately, ones that I had not been sharing with you. I'm sorry! Forgive me lol? I hope so! I expressed my extreme need to run the <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/color-me-rad-and-become-my-life-changer.html">Color me Rad</a> race the end of October. If you have not checked it out yet, you need to! And I put in my two cents about <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-duggars-do-they-really-need-20-kids.html">the Duggars</a> trying for their twentieth child. I love them to death, but I do not feel it is right for them. :/<br />
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Anna finished up her Darling Dozen posts this month! :/ How sadly awesome it is that my baby is growing lol, this is how I feel about it: <em>happy that my big girl is growing up but sad that my sweet baby is getting older.</em> I have a feeling every parent battles with this lol. At least the good ones. :) By the way, here is her <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-darling-dozenweek-by-week-eighth.html">eighth,</a> <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-darling-dozen-week-by-week-ninth.html">ninth,</a> <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-darling-dozen-week-by-week-tenth.html">tenth,</a> <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-darling-dozen-week-by-week-eleventh.html">eleventh</a> and <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-darling-dozenweek-by-week-twelfth.html">twelfth week</a> for the Darling Dozen post. I also continued with <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/toddler-talk-tuesday-september-11-2012.html">Alan's Toddler Talk Tuesday.</a> Alan sure is a funny little guy with <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/toddler-talk-tuesday-september-18-2012.html">smart little ideas</a> and <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/toddler-talk-tuesday-september-25-2012.html">things to say</a> lol! What a cutie! <br />
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Alot of great things happened last month. Another wonderful chapter with my family is closed. Now we are looking towards all that October will bring us: Uncle Aaron and Lon's birthdays, pumpkin patch trips, <em>MOVING, </em>corn maze adventures, Alan's Halloween costume reveal and then trick or treating on Halloween! Happy fall and happy October everyone!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-2128584245689874002?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-50224609338126266832012-10-04T09:50:00.000-06:002012-10-04T13:41:50.183-06:002012-10-04T13:41:50.183-06:00Happy Happy Birthday Daddy!<div align="center">
Today is Lon's 25th birthday. It is also the four year anniversary of me quitting smoking ciggarettes, his 21st birthday present from me. :D Happy birthday Lon! Alan, Anna and I love you forever and ever! Kiss, kiss!</div>
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I met Lon about four years ago. I was originally friends with his two brothers Tyler and Chase, when they introduced me to him one sunny day. I remember my first thought about him was how beautiful his long, curly blonde hair was <em>and boy was it LONG, down to his shoulders, and CURLY, they were each perfect ringlets and so pretty.</em> I was instantly crushing on him and so glad that I had decided to wear my sexy red gaucho pants that day. To this day, Lon only remembers those pants from that day lmao! Wow! :P He must have been embarrassed because he stole my sunglasses from me and wore them, hiding his goregous eyes. Seriously, I thought that one of Michaelangelo's sculptures had come to life or something! He was so handsome! <em>I really wish I had a old picture of him to show you readers. Let me look and see if I can find one later!</em> I hung out with him and Tyler at my house a few days later and gave him my number. He longboarde everywhere and was into the Flaming Lips too, I pretty much thought he was the coolest guy <strong>EVER.</strong> I was so school girl in love with him them, looking back I think its silly. We started spending <strong>ALL </strong>of our time together, he even unofficially moved in with me. I had issues with that roommate, so we eventually moved in with his parents until we were able to get our own place. I remember those times, those first few months we were together, they are so precious to me. We were so young and so in love back then, it was crazy. Our love has matured more now but I do enjoy looking back on those days before Alan and Anna. How young and innocent we were.</div>
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Even those first months with Alan are so special to me. I remember being so scared about being a new parent and yet, Lon was so comfortable and so sure about it. Its like the minute Alan was born, Lon was his dad and knew how to give Alan everything he needed. He was my biggest supporter, with breastfeeding and my postpartum anxiety and everything. I do not think I would have made it without him. Still to this day, Lon is a fantastic father to Alan. Now that Alan is growing older and needing his father to teach him boy things that Mama does not know how to teach him, Lon has been such a great father. He is currently teaching Alan to pee standing up (Yay), how to transform Transformers, the art of wrestling (we are gonna need to get Alan a brother now) and the basics of Lego building. The things Mama needs help at lol. And even though Lon works around thirteen hours a day seven days a week, he is still willing to help out around the house and with the children when he is home. Thanks baby!</div>
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Miss Anna just loves her daddy too. He will wake up late at night with her sometimes so I do not have to, even though he has to be up at five every morning. He is never afraid of even the poopiest of diapers and is brave enough to help me potty train Alan. This amazing dad has been peed on, pooped on, sneeze on, thrown up on and everything in between. And he will still do it all with a smile on his face and love in his heart. My goodness are my children and I so lucky to have him in our lives! He brightens our day and can always make us laugh. Lon, thank you for always being there for me and being my one and only.</div>
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Happy 25th birthday Lon! I hope today is a good day for you even if you still have to work. Alan and I are going to make you a card and a birthday cake for when you get home today. I will also make whatever you want for dinner, your choice babe. Then I owe you a dinner date sometime later this month, you pick the place and time. Just you and me. :) Hope this year is even better than the last! And how could it not be? With your two wonderful children and your wife! Yay! Alan, Anna and I love you so very much.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-5022460933812626683?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-36499693359429397292012-10-03T14:24:00.000-06:002012-10-03T14:24:00.456-06:002012-10-03T14:24:00.456-06:00Happy Birthday Uncle Aaron!<div align="center">
Today is Uncle Aaron's 23rd birthday.</div>
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Uncle Aaron is Lon's little brother. They were born almost exactly two years apart from each other, only seperated by a day. Yes, Lon's birthday is tomorrow. :) I went to Senior High with Aaron but we did not know each other back then. In fact, I did not meet Uncle Aaron until I had moved into Lon's parent's house like November 2008. Uncle Aaron is a pretty cool guy, he and his wife Nikki love Alan and Anna. We have not seen them since the Montana Fair, when we had Uncle Aaron give us a tour of a military fire truck. We live in completely different parts of town and are always busy so we do not get to see them alot. But we hope that he has a great birthday! Alan even drew him a card that we will have to send them! It is too cute!</div>
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Happy birthday Uncle Aaron! We all love you so much!</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-3649969335942939729?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-18575358581764485062012-10-03T11:45:00.001-06:002012-10-03T11:54:25.388-06:002012-10-03T11:54:25.388-06:00What I'm Loving Wednesday!! October 3, 2012Today is a great day! I have dance class tonight and I am teaching them some BBoy moves and some freezes. Alan and Anna also have a doctor's appointment and we are going to play with Kelsie and Kelton hopefully at our house because it is trying to snow out lol! It is currently 34 degrees outside and <strong>COOOOOOOLD! </strong>Oh well, the current rain outside makes it very nice and cozy inside. :) I think I will enjoy this packing day. Speaking of packing, we are getting so close to finding out if that place is ours. Oh I just cannot wait, please keep praying for our family! We just need to wait for the application to be processed and then it should be ours! Let's put all the good energy we can into us getting this! I love this house so much, its perfect for my little family!<br />
Here is this week's What I'm Loving Wednesday!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that today is Uncle Aaron's birthday today! And that Lon's birthday is tomorrow! Yay for birthdays!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Lon's birthday also marks my four year anniversary of quitting smoking cigarettes! Go me! I am so proud!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that last night Lon's high school buddy and old roommate came over to hang out and then took Lon long boarded like the used to in the old days lol. He also brought us a delicious looking bottle of wine! Yay, thanks Uncle Chris!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span> that while packing up our many belongings this week (think we need to do another declutter and donation before moving again) I found my Buddhist prayer bracelet! Yes!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> the Hunger Games. I am about halfway through and am just addicted to it! If I was not so busy with my kiddos, my nose would be in that book 24/7! Just ask my mom lol! I used to do that with books in highschool and college. It drove everyone in my family insane!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that next weekend (October 13) is my cousin's baby shower for his little boy due around Thanksgiving! It is Winnie the Pooh themed, so I must find some cute Winnie the Pooh stuff. My mom and I are also chipping in on a diaper cake to be made by Korrine (the same gal who made one of <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-baby-shower-through-pictures.html">my diaper cakes</a> and <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-circus-birthdays-and-baby-showers.html">Ali's diaper cake)</a> too so that will be fun! I cannot wait to do all the fun baby stuff! I love baby showers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Anna used her Bumbo chair for the first time yesterday! Big girl, we were so proud! She still needs some work with her little neck but she is getting there! She enjoyed it for about... five minutes lol, before she started screaming bloody murder! Oh well, its a start! :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Lon got a wild hair to make fried pickles at work the other day, and he brought home several for me to enjoy! Oh yummy, if there's one thing I love more than pickles is fried pickles! Thanks baby!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that fall is here! You can see it in the trees and feel it in the air! Alan, Anna and I have been getting our fill of fall this week, and we cannot wait for a few more weeks when we get to go to the pumpkin patch! Wahoo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that even though we still have a day or so to find out about this place, we are already pretty much 75% packed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> these cute outfits this week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving </strong><span style="font-size: small;">that I am almost done with this cold! And I am the last one in the house! Yes!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving </strong></span><span style="font-size: small;">all of this rain and snow going on this week! Makes my house feel warm and comfy in this fall weather! I just want to snuggle with a good book, my favorite warm fuzzy blanket, hot chocolate or chai, and my sweet kiddos all day long!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that we could potentially be <em>MOVING</em> this weekend! Wow this is intense, we have not moved in over two years and have never moved with two children. This will definitely be a new adventure! I am so excited too, I keep pinning all this cool projects for our new house! I will totally post pics of it once it is all unpacked and decorated too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> these awesome Pinterest finds this week (yes, now that I know how to use it, I am officially Pinterest addicted lol) for my family and household!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totally doing this for Maddie's baby shower!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing this on a wall in our new house!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new use for my extra clothes pins and ribbons! Yes!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I have a birthday party (for real lol) this weekend! Yay I have not worked one since before Anna was born! I cannot wait! We always have so much fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that our last dance class of the month is on Halloween. So we are all wearing our costumes and then I'm going to teach them Michael Jackson's Thriller! Whoo! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving </strong><span style="font-size: small;">my family, my friends, my job and my life!</span><strong></strong></span></div>
<img height="96" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kvo2ncjqrdQ/UGx2BjdKs_I/AAAAAAAADmU/d3aAR2Xvr54/s320/1.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 772px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 5060px;" width="72" /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-1857535858176448506?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-27173950222942225742012-10-03T11:20:00.000-06:002012-10-03T11:20:00.424-06:002012-10-03T11:20:00.424-06:00Guess My Halloween Costume!Every year, one of my blogging friends Sarah hosts <a href="http://whatgoodarethewords.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-great-halloween-costume-guessing.html">the Great Halloween Costume Guessing Game</a> on her blog <a href="http://whatgoodarethewords.blogspot.com/">What Good are the Words.</a> I enjoy seeing the clues and guessing along with everyone. Its actually alot of fun. So this year, I decided that I would do this with Alan on my blog (Anna will not be wearing a costume, she has a cute Halloween sleeper Alan picked for her instead). Every year I like to kind of "make" Alan's costume. I use parts of old costumes and clothes and such. So much more original then just bought costumes! Those of you who know me in real life, thus already knowing what he will be, cannot guess! Only online blogging friends! I will try and figure out some sort of cool Halloweeny prize to give out too. The clues will be every Wednesday and I will give the answer away on November 1st. Okay so here we go:<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Clue #1</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He was once a man...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan and I, Halloween 2010</td></tr>
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Be sure to tune in next Wednesday for clue #2!! Happy guessing!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-2717395022294222574?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-60887803297281347682012-10-02T11:20:00.000-06:002012-10-02T11:20:00.361-06:002012-10-02T11:20:00.361-06:00Toddler Talk Tuesday! October 2, 2012Attention readers, I bid you warning, <strong>STAY AWAY FROM MY HOUSEHOLD!!!! </strong>We have caught the dreaded cold going around! And it is kicking <strong>ALL </strong>of our butts! I always know how a cold travels through our household, usually through my husband or Alan. This time, Lon passed it to Alan, then Alan gave it to me, and even though I tried <strong>SO HARD, </strong>after a few miserable days I gave it to Anna. :/ As of right now, just the kids and I still have it. Lon was pretty much over it after the weekend was over and Alan only really coughs at night now. But it is kicking my rear pretty badly. My nose is plugged, I'm congested, I have a horrid cough, I have sinus headaches and am soooooo miserably sore. Ugh!!! No fun! Anna thankfully only has a runny nose and is very grumpy. I hope she will get over it fast!<br />
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Not much else is going on today. Tomorrow I have Alan and Anna's well child checkups (a whole month late lol). Pretty sure they will not be giving Anna her two month vaccines because of her cold so we will be even more behind on her schedule. Oh well lol, I wanted to do a delayed schedule for her, guess I am getting what I want to the extreme! :) I also have a playdate with Kelton and his mama Kelsie tomorrow and its Uncle Aaron's birthday. Then Thursday is Lon's. I plan on taking him out to dinner this weekend, but will make him a nice dinner for his actual birthday.<br />
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Here is this week's Toddler Talk Tuesday!<br />
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I have recently introduced Play Doh to Alan at home (he has played with clay before but not Play Doh). This morning he came up to me and asked, <strong>"Can I play Dohdoh Mama? You know, Dohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdohdoh?"</strong> I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked him. He stamped his foot and stated, "Play Dohdoh! Play Dohdoh Mama! I want to play Dohdoh!" Then he pointed to the stack of Play Doh colors we had. I was so confused before that lol! How funny is he???<br />
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I was writing a blog post and both kids were playing on the floor next to me. Alan looked over and asked me what I was doing. I responded with, "Working on the computer baby. Why?" Alan smiled and replied, <span style="font-size: large;">"I dunno Mama. Do you like to play on the buffutor?"</span><br />
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Alan's favorite part of his bedtime routine is storytime. He always picks the same book, 10 Little Dinosaurs, and practically knows all the words to it himself. Sometimes I have to feed Anna first and he falls asleep before I can read to him. This makes me a little sad but I still let him sleep. One night, I told him to lie down and I would be right back and he frowned at me, saying, <em>"Mama but if you leave, I will just fall asleep and not get my story!"</em> I did not think he remembered that!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZX_PFGobBo/UGp6OsxgKlI/AAAAAAAADc8/36FFpRblKDY/s1600/61AYA6YXY7L__SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZX_PFGobBo/UGp6OsxgKlI/AAAAAAAADc8/36FFpRblKDY/s320/61AYA6YXY7L__SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan's favorite nightime book</td></tr>
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What funny things does your toddler say????<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-6088780329728134768?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-71181774377842425342012-10-02T10:48:00.000-06:002012-10-02T10:48:00.062-06:002012-10-02T10:48:00.062-06:00Fall is Finally Here!You can see it in the leaves on the trees! Oh I just love fall, its one of my favorite seasons! I love the colors and the weather change and wearing warm clothes and all the other traditions of fall. We have several with my family. We play in the leaves, make ghosts with our raked leaves, go to the cornmaze, go to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins and going trick or treating. Now that it is October, all those fun traditions will be coming up soon! We do most of them the weekends before Halloween, so in a week or two! Wow! We got a wonderful taste of fall Friday night at my parent's house.<br />
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Anna was napping and my mother agreed to watch her for me, so I took Alan for a little walk around their block while he rode his trike. Usually I have to push him the whole time but this time, he was peddling all by himself! He peddled and peddled all the way around the block, then back and forth in front of my parent's house for over an hour! I was so proud of him!<br />
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After our little bike ride, we decided to help out Grandpa Kevin by raking the leaves in his front yard. Uncle Kalvin and his friend Kale helped some by sweeping the leaves on the driveway and helping rake some too. Then we had a fun little leaf pile photo shoot as the sun was setting lol. It looked something like this:<br />
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The next day was SaturdayLive, a fall tradition for the schools in our town. My mother teaches in our town, so we decided to go to support her and the schools! We had a blast too! Aunt April went with us and Anna stayed home with Grandma Melanie. Alan enjoyed his little date with Mommy and Auntie, he felt quite special! We let him decide where to go and what to do. He loved being in charge!<br />
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The first place we went was the food court. We were starving and no one had eaten lunch yet, so we all got a slice of pizza. Alan did not want to eat, he could not wait to start playing but we convinced him to eat at least half. He inhaled it and was ready to go! We checked out the Harley Bike booth next. Alan was able to pick out the motorcycle he wanted and take a picture on it with Mama! He thought that was awesome! He chose a big blue bike and did not want Mama anywhere near him for the picture. We compromised because I did not want him to fall off lol. Then Alan shot some basketball hoops and won a water. Which was perfect because we were already thirsty again lol. We went for a little walk to explore after that and found a big inflatable slide. You know that Alan and I went on that thing at least five times lol! He wanted to go alone but was too young to go by himself. Once we started the long climb he was grateful for me though! He got tired halfway up and would have never made it all the way on his own! Silly independent guy! :)<br />
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After the slide extravaganza, we crossed the creek to look for the sand art. Aunt April had heard about it and wanted Alan to try it out. We found it up the hill a ways, in a nice shaded area. It was really hot so it was nice to get out of the sun and do a little project. Alan loved pouring the sand in and then tapping the top of the container to settle the sand. He was so proud of the finished project, he would not let me carry it. :) We wandered around some more until we found the "Rock Star" booth. There was karaoke and rock star items. Aunt April refused to sing even though I begged her but we bought Alan some cool shades and an inflatable guitar. He looked like such a hambone lol! <br />
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We also found a piggy bank painting booth, so we spent the last of our tickets there. Aunt April and Alan then spent the next half an hour painting this little bank. Alan covered Aunt April in paint lol! I found it quite amusing, although she did not. Oh well, that's the life of an aunt. :) Then it was time to go home. We had quite a blast and I can't wait until Alan is a little older and can do different booths to!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What's your favorite part of fall?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-7118177437784242534?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-92064629501903314202012-10-01T14:07:00.001-06:002012-10-01T14:08:41.647-06:002012-10-01T14:08:41.647-06:00Alan and Anna: A ComparisonEverytime people see Anna and I together, they tell me how much we look alike. Which I find crazy! I think that she has alot of my features but I think she looks more like a female Alan if anything. So here is Alan and Anna: a comparison.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan at 2 weeks- 9/12/2009</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna at 5 weeks- 8/13/2012</td></tr>
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I mean, Alan is a little chubbier but she will probably always be tinier then him. And that's okay. He also has less hair then her but its the same color as hers is. And I would hope my girl had more hair then my boy. I think they definitely look more alike then her and I do. I will have to find a baby picture of myself to compare though. For another post! :)<br />
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What do you think: do they look alike? How about her and I?<br />
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Remember, if you liked this post and this blog, please click on the link below to vote for my blog at Top Baby Blogs. I am now currently at Number 153, but it would be the coolest to get down to 150 or lower.... :D Thanks to everyone who is voting for me! You are all awesome!<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-9206462950190331420?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-51908564063434433542012-09-29T00:25:00.004-06:002012-09-29T00:34:53.723-06:002012-09-29T00:34:53.723-06:00The Darling Dozen:Week by Week! Twelfth WeekIt is pretty late. Anna is up again cluster feeding before she falls asleep. I feel like she may sleep for longer than seven hours because she has eaten so much this past hour. So I figured I might as well do my Darling Dozen post for today. This is the twelfth and last week of the Darling Dozen. I simply cannot believe that Anna is already twelve weeks old and that in a little over a week she will be a three month old. Wow! She is just so big and so ready to be bigger, I joke that she is twelve weeks going on twelve months! She is so determined to sit up and crawl and move around like her big brother! Its amazing! <br />
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So I have total mommy brain. Went to sub that art class yesterday and I expressed my excitement about finally having a birthday party tomorrow. My boss was instantly confused and after looking through our records, I realized that I was just crazy and had made up a fictional party in my head lol. No, my first birthday party is October sixth! Okay, so today we just have the Color me Rad meeting and then we will probably go to a park later with Kelsie and Kelton. We will see! By the way, art class was amazing! We made butterflies with coffee filters and pipe cleaners. Then we watercolored them and used salt to add a cool affect. I had alot of fun making my "Fall Butterflies" with the kids! It was great because Alan got to play at school too! Win for both of us!<br />
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Here is the last Darling Dozen!<br />
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<strong>Week:</strong> Twelfth Week</div>
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<strong>Weight:</strong> 9 pounds and 9 ounces</div>
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<strong>Height:</strong> 24 3/4 inches</div>
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<strong>Diaper Size:</strong> Only at Size One, and I believe that she will be there for some time still. They are very big on her little hips still!</div>
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<strong>Clothing Size:</strong> She is on her last week of Size N. I know that I said that last week but we were able to squeeze another week in there. Good too because I still want a picture of Alan and Anna in their baby shower shirts!</div>
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<strong>Eye Color:</strong> They are starting to look alot like Alan's light blue eyes. Very icy light blue yet still very welcoming and warm. I love how much alike my children are! And how much they are like me! :) Both of them have my eyes!</div>
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<strong>Hair Color:</strong> A dark redish auburn. I think it look nothing like my hair and is the shade of my mother's hair but I have heard several people say that it is the <em>exact</em> shade that mine is! I will have to check again lol!</div>
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<strong>This Week's Developments:</strong> Anna will begin to develop her vocal patterns, based on voices she hears around her. We are reccommended to read and talk alot around her so that she will develop an ear for the spoken laungage.</div>
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<strong>New Achievements This Week:</strong> Anna now will not let you hold her laying on her side, unless she is asleep or nursing. She needs to be upright and looking around. If you sit her on your lap, she will do what we call "baby crunches," where she pulls her head forward and contracts her abs, pulling herself to a curved sitting position where she supports herself. It is a little obnoxious, mostly because it is so hard to hold her that way but I allow her to practice. Next week for the Bumbo chair! She also moves all over the play mat now, on her belly or back! She is such a mover, it reminds me of Alan. </div>
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<strong>Breastfeeding:</strong> I am so very thankful that I found <a href="http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/pumping_decrease/">this blog post</a> on my breastfeeding support group on Facebook this week! I no longer will stress about only pumping an ounce or so. I will no longer have such high expectations for pumping! Oh how liberating this is! :D Currently, my freezer stash is very good. I have about twelve ounces in there right now, which is not alot but is just the right amount for how much I work. I am so glad! As for Anna, she nurses every two to three hours for about ten to fifteen minutes (she picked up the extra five minutes this week, think she might be growth spurting) in the daytime. As for at night, she lets me sleep for about five to seven hours before needing to eat, and then will eat for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Not too shabby and she is definitely growing! I was thinking how awesome it is that I am the only thing feeding her, helping her grow. What a special bond that gives her and I. I love it so! How amazing breastfeeding is!</div>
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<strong>Colic:</strong> No colic here! Just very particular and insistent babies who only cry when they need something or are bored with the view. Yes, she is already getting bored with her views lol. What?!?!</div>
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<strong>Differences This Time Around:</strong> I thought Alan was a fast developer but Anna seems to be hitting each milestone a week earlier than he did! I credit alot of that to the fact that Alan is around, he is her big brother so she admires him and wants to do what he does. But she just seems to want to do everything earlier than he did, and I thought he did things early! It is just crazy to me!</div>
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<strong>Sleep:</strong> Sleep has been horrible for everyone this week, but this is not at all Anna's fault. I am pretty sure that the three of us (Lon, Alan and I) have caught some sort of cold. Alan is up all night coughing, so we have had everyone in our bedroom this week. Lon cannot breathe either and he needs to get up often at night to blow his nose, waking me up everytime. I do not blame him, I am a light sleeper. I just hope this cold is kicked soon! As a family, we do not take medicine but we are all trying several natural remedies and of course our best bud, the humidifier. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what happens when you are up all night!</td></tr>
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<strong>Anna's Personality:</strong> Anna is one of the most loving little girls ever! I can just see it in her eyes when she looks at Alan, Lon or I. There is so much love for us in her heart, I cannot believe it! I know that before I said I was not fully sure but now I am. When she looks at me, her eyes say, "I love you Mama. I trust you to take care of me fully." Ooooh I just love her so much!</div>
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<strong>Places Anna has Been:</strong> Children's Clinic, Walmart, Albertson's,
Grandma Melanie's house, Grandma Amber's house, Village Inn, 5Star MMA, Pioneer
Park, Applebee's, Rimrock Mall, Scheel's, Victoria's Secret, Oasis Waterpark,
Geyser Park, North Park, YMCA, Metra Park, Texas Roadhouse, Norm's Island,
Pioneer Park, Chuck E. Cheeses, Salad Creations, U-Do Yogurt, Vanity, Rue 21,
Maurice's, JCPenney's, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Denny's, Zoo Montana, Altana
Federal Credit Union, Stuart Park and Legacy Dental</div>
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<strong>Bathing:</strong> We have added another actual bathtime to her routine, with only five washcloth baths scattered throughout the week. We also got a bath sponge, similar to the Blooming Bath Flower I mentioned last week but not as expensive. Haha! :) It makes her alot happier during bathtime because she is not in water, she is on a sponge. So much easier for us! We might start just doing that daily!</div>
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<strong>Best Moment This Week:</strong> Anna talking with the dental hygienist and the doctor on Tuesday and also Anna watching Alan play in the leaves last night at my parent's house (post to come next week).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan showing me how Anna plays!</td></tr>
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<strong>How's Mama:</strong> Feeling sick but otherwise okay. I am defintiely looking forward to today and tomorrow, where I can get some help from my mother and family and hopefully Lon, if he does not have to work, and getting a little bit of a break. Last night was awesome. I will tell more next week but I enjoyed getting to spend quality time with just Alan and he showed me something really awesome! I am so proud!</div>
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<strong>How's Big Brother:</strong> Alan is doing good. He is sick as well, which has made this week a little hard for him in the big brother department. His biggest challenge? Not kissing Anna on the face or sucking her paci off like Mama and Daddy do. We have to keep reminding him to keep his distance because he is sick, and he is doing good with it, he just gets sad when we tell him. But he understands that it is only temporary. I am also super proud of him for being so brave at the dentist this week! He did so great that he deserves another park date! Like today lol!</div>
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<strong>How's Daddy:</strong> I think Lon had been hit the hardest, only because he gets very little sleep. He is still working just as hard and thankfully yesterday he was able to come home and relax for an hour without children because I went to teach. I hope he has most of today off and all of tomorrow off so he gets more of a break! He needs to recover from this cold! </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-5190856406343443354?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-21045479523572375832012-09-28T12:24:00.000-06:002012-09-28T12:32:11.884-06:002012-09-28T12:32:11.884-06:00Five Question Friday! September 28, 2012Happy Friday everyone! I just cannot believe that tomorrow I will have a twelve week old. She is getting so big so fast, it is just crazy to me. Today I am subbing as an art teacher at the YMCA. Its only one class but it will be nice because I miss teaching art! :) There's not much else going on here, except for I was finally able to complete a load of dishes this morning! It has been a rough week for Anna for some reason (I think we might all be kinda sick with a common cold) so I have gotten <strong>NOTHING</strong> done around the house. Including the dishes lol. Fail! I also realized that this is the week that everyone in the house forgot to rinse their plates off because dishes took me around an hour to do. And Anna was not at fault. Another fail! :/ Yay, glad they are at least done!<br />
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Scratch that, I am <strong>sure</strong> that at least Lon and I have a cold. And probably Alan too... So maybe everyone but Anna? Because I have not seen any symptoms from her, except for all around colicky and anger lol. But that could be other things too. I know that I have a cold though, I have been so achy and grumpy lately. And every morning I wake up with a sore throat and a cough. I have noticed that both Alan and Lon have had coughs in their sleep as well. I have been giving Alan honey at night to help with his cough but it has not done too much. We do not take medicine either. Oh well, just gotta wait it out I suppose! This is probably just the family's annual one virus we catch lol. At least its early in the year this time! Yay positive thinking!<br />
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This weekend will also be mostly uneventful. I get to do my first birthday party since having Anna on Saturday and afterwards I have a team meeting for Color me Rad. Sunday will hopefully be spent with the family whole and at home. Lon so far does not have to work either job but you never know, things usually come up and he gets called in last minute. Keep your fingers crossed for us! Also keep your fingers crossed for us that this house goes through! We still have a few more days before we hear back on it, so make sure you keep my family in your prayers. We need all the positive energy we can get!<br />
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Here is this week's Five Question Friday!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you prefer to drive to your vacation spot or fly?</span>
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Drive. I am a little paranoid of planes, even though I used to fly all the time with my dance company when I was still in school. I only dealt with it then, never really enjoyed it. As an adult though, they scare me. The idea of something so big and heavy in the sky seems so unnatural to me. And all the recent plane crashes? Okay well not recent but still... no planes for this family. <br />
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With that being said, the furtherest vacation spot we would drive to with these kids right now is maybe... Townsend. Red Lodge would be more preferable lol. Because let me tell you, Anna <strong>does not</strong> like her carseat. She will scream the whole time she is in there, unless she is asleep which is hard to do and is thus usually a rare thing. So car rides to vacation spots are kinda out of the question right now. Which is just fine because currently we do not have a vehicle that could take us on the highway. Our jeep is a beater lol, and I would not trust it with my family on the highway.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you could live any where in the world, where would you go and why?</span>
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Right where we do now, except for in a different house. I love the town we live in for several reasons. These reasons are important enough to Lon and I that we will probably never move. The main reason is because our family is mostly located in this town. My mother and father live here as well as most of my siblings. The same goes for Lon. I also have a handful of aunts, uncles and cousins who live here as well. It is nive to be close to all of them.<br />
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But let me give you an idea of my dream house for my family right now:<br />
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A two bedroom one bathroom house, on the smaller side so I do not have alot of space to clean. I want it to be a color of some sort, like blue or green, but definitely not a white house. A decent front yard but a <strong>HUGE</strong> fenced-in backyard. Several trees in each yard with one big tree in the front, and preferably some bushes and a gardening area. An attached garage with a long driveway for riding bikes. Inside there is a big living room with a dining room area attached. The kitchen has a double sink set up and a dishwasher. Downstairs is unfinished but has laundry room with washer and dryer. We would turn other unfinished room into winter time "outdoor" play area. Back upstairs, the two bedrooms are in short walking distance of each other (like under ten steps). The bathroom is by the bedrooms <strong>NOT</strong> the kitchen, like its set up at this apartment. <br />
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Aah, I hope this new place is at least <em>close</em> to my dream house! Lon is going to see it for the first time tonight! It sounds very close to it! :D Keep those fingers crossed! <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Should grown women wear leggings?</span>
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I don't see why not. I do not personally own a pair of leggings myself but I know that both of my sisters are pretty big legging wearers and they are 20 and 13 years old. So as long as you (and this is the <strong>KEY</strong> here) <em>wear them the appropriate way</em> for your body type, then there should be no issue. But yes, the women who wear them as bottoms (leggings are like tights people, do not wear them <strong>ALONE)</strong> or who wear leggings three sizes too small, are inappropriate and thus disgusting. Come one people, have some common sense please. If your mother is going to be embarrassed to go out with you, do not wear it in public! Children are <strong>EVERYWHERE!!!</strong><br />
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Okay, okay, rant done...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you could change your name to any other name, would you? And what would it be?
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I would not. I used to have problems with my name when I was younger, you know typical teenage angst, but as an adult I really like my name. I feel like my parents put alot of thought and love into choosing my name as well as each of my siblings' names. I almost feel that it would <strike>offend</strike> insult my parents and their gift of love. I would be sad if one of my children changed their names. You know, your name is the first gift your parents give you. And mine was pretty well thought out. <strong>Jillian</strong> means youthful. I like the idea of them naming me after this quality, I feel that I will be youthful even at an old age. <strong>June</strong> is after my Great Grandmother June on my mother's side of the family. I also like this because my daughter is also named after her great grandmother. June is also a summer month. Summer is the season I was born and by far my favorite season. <br />
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So no, even I could change my name to any other name, I would not. I like my name and love my parents for giving it to me.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What magazines to you have subscriptions to?</span>
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Parents magazine and our local Simply Family magazine. Yeah, only boring family magazines lol. :P Its quite a change from the Alternative Press and Dance Spirit magazines I subscribed to when I was younger lol. But every now and then, I pick up a copy of either one of those just for old times sake. Ah, nostalgia. :)<br />
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I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend! Please keep my little family in your positive daily thoughts! We thank you endlessly! Peace and love!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-2104547952357237583?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-73932892866955840982012-09-28T07:19:00.000-06:002012-09-28T07:19:00.582-06:002012-09-28T07:19:00.582-06:00Our Recent Scare with AnnaI postponed posting anything about this until we knew what actually was going on with her. We are still not fully sure but it was diagnosed as a "false menstruation". But Anna is completely healthy and that is what is important.<br />
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Friday morning, I changed Anna's diaper from the night before and there was blood in it. A decent amount, not enough for me to take her to the ER but any blood is enough to call her doctor. We set up an appointment for later that afternoon. I proceeded to worry my butt off. My mother-in-law called me and assured me it was only leukorrhea and she had went through the same thing with her daughter. <br />
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We had her appointment scheduled at the west end clinic, about twenty minutes away from our house. I took both children with me, which was probably why I was about thirty minutes late lol. Thank goodness everybody knows me and my family so there was no offense taken. They were even helpful getting us inside when Alan had fallen asleep on the ride up there. I love my children's doctor office! Anna's doctor was off for the day so we saw the doctor on call. She was a younger looking gal, like she looked <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>really young</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> like I remember wanting to ask her if she had graduated from highschool when she was fourteen or something to that effect. She looked around my age or even younger than me! This did not affect her experience or knowledge at all, she discussed Anna's symptoms with me and then told me her thoeries of what it could be. </span><br />
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To her, it did not look like blood when I showed it to her. <em>Yes, I am <span style="font-size: large;">that parent</span></em><span style="font-size: small;"><em> who saves her diapers if needed to show the doctor. I did and I am glad I did.</em> She thought it looked more like a copper or calcium deposit of some sort which would be of some concern. She honestly did not seem to know what it was and after dilberating with the other doctor there, she decided to issue a urine test. We were sent down to the hospital labs and after the bag was placed on her, we sat in our room for two hours waiting for her to pee. Let me tell you, <strong>it was very <strike>boring</strike> exciting to say the least.</strong> </span><br />
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Alan was bored after maybe ten minutes of being in that room and started his adventure of trying to turn on the sink faucet way out of his reach. I eventually had to hide the stool in the room right outside of the door in the hallway so that he would stop trying to climb it. I had to check Anna's diaper every ten minutes to make sure that her urine did not make the bag fall off, thus ruining the test. She was not very happy that the darn thing was on her in the first place either. She screamed pretty much the whole time, refused the breast and was just an all around unhappy little camper. Needless to say, I did <strong>NOT</strong> have fun. But it gets better...<br />
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After the test had been finished, we were asking to wait in their stuffy waiting room until the results were done. I'm not trying to be mean, even though I am upset they made us wait for four hours, it was actually very stuffy in there. The room was small and it was so obviously stuffy and uncomfortable that halfway through our time there, the secretary opened the door the the hallway. The other uncool thing was that there were absolutely no toys, books or magazines. Not even a darn television was in there. That waiting room had absolutely no stimuli in there whatsoever, so Alan was bored within maybe five minutes of being in there. And we waited for around four hours. At one point, I had to nurse Anna and I was so irritated about having to wait for a result instead of just recieving a phone call that I pulled out my boob and nursed her in front of everyone. I did not care lol. <br />
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I was a little too busy taking care of Alan and Anna to be worrying about the results. But a part of me still worried. <em>What if the test came back positive for copper deposits? What would that mean? Was I giving her copper somehow though my breastmilk? Where was it coming from?</em> We had never gone through anything like this with Alan. We waited for the four hours and then the receptionist came and apologeticaly told us the test was not done yet and we would get a call from them in the morning. I was furious and left right away. The next morning I had to call them for the results after waiting until after the kids' nap at two. Her doctor told me that the test came back stating it was blood in her urine, about three red blood cells per ounce of urine. So just barely not enough to see it except for in the morning. She said she did not know what was causing the bleeding but she wanted to do another test on Monday to see if it was still present. If it was gone by Monday it was most likely false menstruation and if not, it was something that would need further testing. This made me worry like crazy!<br />
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We had a pretty busy weekend, with the circus and birthday party and the baby shower. I felt like I was not able to fully enjoy it because I was worried about Anna. I did not allow anyone besides me hold her, except for my mother and sister. <em>I was ridiculously paranoid.</em> Well, Monday came along and I took her to her appointment. It was supposed to be this quick in and out thing, since it was scheduled last minute on Friday and conflicted with my dance classes. We arrived maybe ten minutes early and proceed to sit in the waiting room for another <strong>forty</strong> minutes! I am sorry for all the complaining but it was just crazy ridiculously how long we waited when we were only in there for maybe a minute. Then the receptionist tried to keep me there while Anna filled the bag again, and when I explained my situation to her and that I had all the correct instructions, she told me that she did not feel I was capable of handling it myself. <strong><span style="font-size: large;">Ugh!</span></strong> Regardless of all the silliness, I was able to get the test to the lab that night and Tuesday afternoon we got the confirmation that it was just false menstruation because there was no more red blood cells in her urine! Yes! <br />
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Now I ask you parents, <em>have you ever dealt with a similar situation with your daughter when she was an infant?</em> How silly am I for worrying so much? I feel like a drama queen now lol!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-7393289286695584098?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-11558206091942567352012-09-27T11:18:00.000-06:002012-09-27T11:18:22.129-06:002012-09-27T11:18:22.129-06:00Alan's First Trip to the DentistBefore I start with this story, I have a small favor to ask you readers. As most of you know, we are trying to move and will be moving by November at the latest. This morning Lon told me of another option for us to live in, one that seems like a very good idea. The whole thing is of course still up in the air, so I am asking you to send positive thoughts and energies our way so that we get this house! We will be looking at it either today or tomorrow, I cannot wait! If you pray, please say a prayer for our little family today. We desperately need to find a place now because we should pretty much be moving already! Aah, its getting to close for my liking. Hopefully we get it! Send us good energy!<br />
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Looking back on my childhood, I remember being very afraid of the dentist which grew to a general distaste to dentists and the like. I have oddly never had a cavity, so really I should have no reason to dislike the dentist. But I did, and I still do. I always thought that maybe it was just me but now I feel like maybe it was the dentist. Tuesday we had Alan's first dentist appointment with Doctor Stuart. Now, we also know Doctor Stuart on a personal level. I am friends with his daughter Alexis and Alan is friends with his granddaughter Melody-Ann. We chose him for this reason, I was hoping it would make Alan less cautious while we were there. I apparently chose the right dentist doctor and the right place because Alan did just wonderful and was not afraid at all. We had a great time!<br />
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I planned on treating him to a park playdate beforehand, so we went to the park behind the mall and met up with Teagan, her mama Chelsea, her baby sister Harper and some other moms with their kids. Later I found out that the park I chose was named Stuart park<em> (what a coincedence lol!) </em>too! How weird and lucky, right? Anyways, we went there for about an hour, Alan played with Teagan while Anna slept in the comfortable shade with me. There were a few times when he needed my help, like for this big rock wall part of the playground. He was scared once he got to the top, yet so proud of himself for being able to do that with minimal help! Good job big boy! I only snapped one picture of him, being victorious at the top of that little rock wall. The rest of the playdate I was busy rocking Anna or helping Alan climb. But we had a great time with Miss Teagan! I love that he gets to do playdates with all his little friends at least once a week! It makes him so happy!<br />
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We had the dentist appointment almost right afterwards. It was across town, in this cute little building complex only a few blocks away from the house I lived in when I started dating Lon. I think I was more nervous then Alan, while we waited in the waiting room, Alan was jabbering at other patients and dancing around the place lol. Then we were taken back by his hygienist, a girl, <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>GASP!!</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> He let her brush his teeth though. The hygienist started out by showing Alan all the equipment she was going to use, giving him a disposible brush head and sucker piece. Then she showed him the chair he would be sitting in and showed him how the electric brush and sucker worked in his mouth. He surprisingly enjoyed it, I thought that he would have been terrified of those two or even the water dispenser. But he liked water being squirted into his mouth and then sucked out by the electric sucker.</span><br />
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The hygienist then gave him a pair of super, cool shades to wear so the light would not bother his eyes. My little stud let her check all of his twenty teeth, even letting her brush and floss them too! The hygienist told me that his teeth looked good and also that he was currently cutting his last two teeth in his mouth. I thought he was done cutting teeth, no wonder he's been a little resistant about having his teeth brushed! Poor guy! The hygienist also found a sore on the inside of his lip from him biting it all the time. It was big and had hardened so much that she had at first thought it was a tooth growing from there! We discussed options with her, either let it fix itself or have minor surgery to remove it. The latter would invovle anesthesia, which is something that scares me with my child. After talking with Lon, we decided to wait a few years to see if it fixes itself and if it has not by the time he's seven or eight, we would discuss our options again. It made me feel sad though because I brush his teeth twice a day and never noticed it! He never complained about it or anything! My poor strong guy!<br />
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We met Doctor Stuart, a great guy, and seriously talked about everything from Anna's teeth to trick or treating lol! He is really good with kids too! I mean, I'd hope so, he has Melody-Ann and Hunter as grandchildren and they are total cuties! :) Doctor Stuart thought Alan was a wonderful patient and was so proud of how brave he was! Alan did not even fuss when Doctor Stuart messed with his little sore! Good job Alan! :) The hygienist took Alan to go pick a prize and we discussed Alan's dental plan. We would come back in March and check on the sore with our usual check up and cleaning, and as long as it had not grown a ton then we would be able to go through with our plan of letting it fix itself. Then it was time to go. I think we had a fantastic first time at the dentist! Way better than how my first time went I'm sure! Good job Alan!<br />
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Here are some pictures from the visit:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Has your child gone to the dentist yet? How did they do?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-1155820609194256735?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-47386334611046958832012-09-26T22:48:00.000-06:002012-09-26T23:50:15.953-06:002012-09-26T23:50:15.953-06:00What I'm Loving Wednesday!! September 26, 2012Today was a uneventful day, I only had to teach hiphop in the late afternoon. I also did not get too much done around the house either because Anna wanted to eat almost all day and I have not felt too good. I do not want to jinx myself by saying it but I think I am getting sick. I'm pretty sure that Alan is sick, he has been coughing alot at night. Ugh I just hope that Anna does not get it.<br />
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I'm linking up again with Jamie @ <a href="http://littledaisymay.blogspot.com/">This Kind of Love</a> for What I'm Loving Wednesday. This is my second time linking up with her, be sure to check out her post! Enjoy! <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that when I went to the grocery store today, there was a HUGE pumpkin display out front! Yay for fall!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that on the Katie Couric Show today two moms who breastfed in public came on a spoke about their experiences! Breastfeeding is being realized by more and more people as a normal and okay thing! This makes me happy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that a nurse in is being scheduled at Applebee's for this Saturday at one to honor one of the moms from the show. She was asked by a manager to nurse elsewhere there earlier this month. I am not sure if any moms will be nursing at our Applebee's, I will look into it! I would participate but I have to work then. :/</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I did a hiphop dance to a Bob Marley song today in class and the kids loved it. Score!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> now that we have switched Anna to the Nuk pacifier instead of the Avent one we got at the hospital because Anna seems so much happier now! I think her mouth grew honestly lol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> this new weird song, Gangnam Style. Lon originally was obsessed with it and now has gotten me hooked on it too. The dance is fun too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that Lon's birthday is coming up soon! Its only eight days away. I think I will take him out to dinner that weekend, oh that will be nice to get out just the two of us!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I got a shower in this morning! It was going on a few days <em>(I won't say exactly how many lol)</em> since I had last had one and I really enjoyed taking it. I like to feel clean lol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> these cute clothes that remind me of fall:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I have my first birthday party to host this Saturday. Its been since before Anna was born that I did a birthday party! I am so excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I have started drawing again. Was drawing Miss Anna in her sleep last night. :) So nice now that I have children to draw lol! I had forgotten how much I love drawing them while they sleep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that I have a playdate scheduled with Kelton and Kelsie later this week. We love those guys and can't wait to see them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I'm loving</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> my friends, family and my life. :)</span><br />
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What are you loving today????<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-4738633461104695883?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-78162287029130482052012-09-26T09:16:00.000-06:002012-09-26T09:16:01.196-06:002012-09-26T09:16:01.196-06:00Jenelle's Senior Art ShowGrandma Melanie, Alan, Anna, and I went to Jenelle's senior art show Monday night after I was finished with dance class. I cannot believe that Jenelle is already at her senior year of college, I remember when we were just starting college together and sharing a table at our art class. We used to make fun of our crazy old teacher Jussila and talked about my family alot (she was dating my cousin Garrett at the time). Now we are all grown up, she about to graduate and start teaching art class and me married with two children. I miss those days, looking back. It was nice to go back to the art building and see the classrooms I used to frequent.<br />
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Jenelle is serioulsy one of my favorite artists. Her artwork is so different and unique, I love all the colors she uses. The theme of her show was manifest destiny, so there were various native american styled pieces as well as some western artwork too. Oh, I loved it all! I really enjoyed the native american side the best, I loved all the animals that were incorporated into each piece. She did several self portraits that I found simply breathtaking, my favorite of those was the one with a sparrow flying over her eye. And I just loved the acrylic painting of the native american dancer. Those colors fed my soul and made it so happy!<br />
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I was able to see Jenelle's parents and her cousin. I just love Jenelle's mother Steph, she helped me out so much last year for our wedding. She even lent me her corset for my wedding dress! She was so excited to finally meet Anna and to see how big Alan had gotten. Alan is her little buddy, because he shares his name with Steph's husband. :) Unfortunately, Anna was sleeping the whole time so neither Jenelle or Steph was able to see her beautiful little eyes. That just means we will have to meet up again soon. No biggie! It was cool to talk with her cousin Kayla too. I have not seen her since before Lon and I started dating and we talk on Facebook all the time, so I really enjoyed seeing her and Stefan.<br />
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It was a great little art show and reception. Alan ended up eating two peanut butter cookies, a peanut butter bar and two brownies lol. And only had a couple bites of his actual sandwich. Needless to say, he was a little wired. Ugh lol, at least he behaved himself around Jenelle's artwork. I was very grateful for that. He just decided he wanted to run around the reception hall and dump lemonade down himself. Oh the joys of a preschooler. He thought he was so funny too lol! The show was still very enjoyable, we saw some great artwork and spent time with our loved ones we have not seen in a while. I hope we can do something like that again soon!<br />
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If you are in town and have a chance to go check out her gallery, go to MSU Billing's Liberal Arts Building and visit the Senior Art Gallery next to the Northcutt Steele Gallery. I have long dreamt of having my artwork in this gallery and Jenelle has too. I am so proud of her for this accomplishment! Good job Jenelle and beautiful artwork! We love you so much!
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Remember, if you liked this post and this blog, please click on the link below to vote for my blog at Top Baby Blogs. They reset the blogs so we will have to get me back up there. :) Thanks guys! You are all awesome! It would be the coolest to get down to 150 or lower.... :D Thanks to everyone who is voting for me! You are the best!<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-7816228702913048205?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-66142034163899349722012-09-25T18:21:00.000-06:002012-09-25T18:21:00.730-06:002012-09-25T18:21:00.730-06:00The Circus, Birthdays and Baby ShowersOur weekend was fantastic! We did not get to see Lon too much on Saturday as he worked all day and night but we did go to the Ringling Brothers circus and then to Colton's third birthday party. He had a Mickey party and his mama even tried to make a pinata for it! Homemade pinata with three children of her own? She rocks lol, even if she was not successful! I would not try that with my two lol! Then Sunday was my childhood friend Ali's baby shower. She is having a little boy and the party was themed "Baby Boy Toys". It was too cute! We had so much fun this weekend! We saw a bunch of good friends and family, it was so nice to see everyone again. I love it when we can all get together and have our children play together. So cool!<br />
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Now let me share a little information with you. One of my weird quirks is I am kinda obsessed with circuses and side shows and the such. Especially old time circuses! Oh I love everything about them! I'm not really sure why but something about the circus has always fascinated and intrigued me. When I was little, I always wanted to join the circus. Its probably the preformer in me. I was so excited to go to the circus this time around. The circus was at the MetraPark instead of the Al Bedoo Shrine Audioturium, obviously because it was not a Shrine circus. We usually enjoy the Shrine circus every spring but in all honestly, it is sort of a small town circus. Not that I do not enjoy it, I love the Shrine circus but the Ringling Brothers are honestly at a whole different level of circus act. They have a <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>HUGE</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> show and they have pyrotechnics and all the other awesome bells and whistles a circus has. I enjoy going to the Shrine circus but I actually look forward to when the Ringling Brothers come to town.</span><br />
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<em>Let me tell you, the show was just fantastic...</em><br />
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They had elephants, trained dogs, camels and horses. The acrobatics were breathtaking, they would have several girls up in the air doing death defying tricks all at once. The music was live, the only way music should ever be at a circus. Anna sat in my lap and soaked it all up, her little eyes bright as she moved her mouth in amazement. I do not know what I enjoyed more, her beautiful expressions on her face or the acutal show. Alan's favorite was the strong man, Ivan was his name I believe. He came out and pregormed three stunts: laying on glass with several women standing on a plank on his chest, lifting five women and spinning slowly with them and the worst one in my opinion, laying down and having a car full of people drive over his chest. Ick! Alan loved it though. Personally, I enjoyed the sideshows and the clown the best. Like I mentioned above, I like the classic circus stuff but these both had a modern twist to them that I just loved!<br />
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Instead of before and after the actual show, the sideshows were during the performance but in between acts. The ringleader girls (another interesting modern twist) would come out and introduce several side show acts and then let them preform for a few minutes. There was a fire eater, a woman light as air (my favorite lol), and a controtionist. I thought those were pretty cool. The clown was also a modern Cirque du Soleil twist that I enjoyed thoroughly. Instead of being a colorful clown with an afro and a red nose, he was a nerdy smaller guy with glasses and a suit and tie. But his acting was amazing! He mimed so well and did simply <strong>breathtaking</strong> slow motion movement. Being a dancer, I appreciated this alot more than a silly clown with all the colors. He was just sooooo cool! Now I want to be a clown for the Ringling Brothers lol! I did not take any pictures because I respect their wishes of no photography or videography but we had a wonderful time! I suggest you go to a show when they come to your town! Especially if you have children! They will not be disappointed!<br />
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After the circus, we had Colton's birthday party. It was at his grandparents house, out by the gorgeous Rims. The party was Mickey Mouse themed and everyone got cute Mickey Mouse hats. Alan would not put his on hardly but Anna and I wore ours almost the whole time lol. Kelsie, Keith and Kelton were there and the boys played ball together for a while. Then it was time to open presents. Alan had some issues with just letting Colton open his presents but thankfully each kid got a gift bag. That distracted him pretty well. :) Then it was time for cupcakes. Chelsey made a delicious funfetti cake with crushed oreo topping and mini oreos on top for the mouse ears! They were just precious! Alan tried to have two but I convinced him that one was enough lol. <br />
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The kids then got to play with bubbles and bouncy balls and yoyos. I went inside to nurse Anna out of the wind and Aunt April watched Alan for me. While I was inside, I got to talk with Chelsey and her parents a bit. It was so nice to sit down and talk with them, I have known them for almost all of my life (Chelsey and I used to dance together as children) and yet, have not talked with them in quite a while. It was great to catch up while I fed Anna. I was so glad that we got to see Chelsey and her family. It had been since Kelton's birthday party when we last saw them. That's too long! I wish we all lived closer to each other so that we could see each other more. Oh well, such if life. All we can do is make up for it with our many visits like this. :)<br />
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Sunday was my childhood friend Ali's baby shower. It was at her parent's house, a place I used to spend a ton of time at. I know Ali's whole family, from her step mother and dad to her baby brother Gabe (Uncle Kalvin's friend) and her baby sister Josie (Alan's friend). It was nice because Uncle Kalvin and Alan had someone to play with while we did the whole baby shower thing. Alan had alot of fun following Josie and the puppies around, they even bugged Gabe and Uncle Kalvin some. Ah little kids lol. The party was "Baby Boy Toy" themed so there were baby ducks and rocking horses all over. My favorite was the little elephant on top of her cake. Ali's step mom also made the cute bathtub punch from Pinterest too. You know, the blue punch with foam (bath bubbles?) and the rubber duckies swimming in it? Yeah I thought it was adorable!<br />
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We played four different games- The Baby Name Game, the Diaper Game, the Baby Supply Game and the Jelly Bean Game. The Baby Name Game is the same one we played at Alan's baby shower, you get a necklace and are not allowed to say or spell the word "Baby". Thankfully, I kept my necklace the whole shower but was not talented enough to get anyone else's lol. The Diaper Game is where you check diapers with melted candy in them and try to guess what each candy is. I have to see if I can get some pictures of this, I bet they looked just hilarious! I was only able to get five candies right and I even forgot to put down my favorite candy! Wow! The Baby Supply Game was a fun one, I was really good at that one. You got to look at the diaper cake for a minute and then have to remember all the supplies that were on it. Surprisingly, I won this game! I guess I have a good memory lol. I won some delicious smeling pouperri. The Jelly Bean Game is also the same one we played at Alan and Anna's shower, only we used M&M's instead of Jelly Beans. You are supposed to guess how many are in the bottle. I guessed 776 and there were actually around 1200 in there! Wow!<br />
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Even though we did not get to see Lon that much this weekend, we still had a good weekend with family and friends. I just hope that my hubby gets a day off sometime soon, he is getting worn out! My poor guy! :/ Love you Lon!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-6614203416389934972?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-9368467614259059132012-09-25T11:15:00.000-06:002012-09-25T11:15:09.478-06:002012-09-25T11:15:09.478-06:00Toddler Talk Tuesday!! September 25, 2012Today is Alan's friend Colton's real third birthday. If you remember, we went to his birthday party this weekend with Aunt April. We had a wonderful time with them and I hope you tune in later tonight to see our post about it! Happy third birthday Colton! We love you so much! Have a great day buddy! Alan also has his first dentist appointment later this afternoon with my friend Alexis' dad so let's hope that goes well. I have been talking with Alan about the dentist and what will happen there, he seems confident enough. Plus I promised to take him to Pioneer Park afterwards as a treat. Wish us luck!<br />
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Here is this week's Toddler Talk Tuesday!<br />
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This one is a little embarrassing. Well we all know how kids repeat just about <span style="font-size: large;">EVERYTHING</span><span style="font-size: small;"> they hear... Lon is obsessed with this new song "Gangnam Style" by this really weird guy named Psy. Seriously, he watches it all the time! They do this little horse riding dance and at one point in the song yell, "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey sexy lady!" right? Well I thought it was cute when Alan started doing the little dance, especially since in the music video there is this adorable boy who does a little hiphop routine. But the other day we were at the hospital, walking through there halls. Alan was dancing around and we had just heard that song in the jeep. All randomly, he stops and jumps out, singing at the top of his lungs, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey sexy lady!!!!"</strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> Oh my word. I was horrified. The worst part probably was that there were a few women walking a ways in front of us who turned around all embarrassed when he yelled it. Oh my. *Shaking my head* I was so embarrassed! No more of that song for him lol!</span></div>
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For those of you who have not seen it, here is the video: </div>
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Later today, Alan has a dentist appointment, his first one ever. I was talkng to him about what happens at a usual appointment (cleaning, tooth counting, etc) and he stopped me, asking, <em>"Mama, is the dentist going to be a guy?</em> Cos girls can't look in my mouth, its too stinky." Laughing, I told him that it could be a guy or a girl and we would brush his teeth to make sure that they were not stinky. Silly little boy!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What funny things does your toddler say???</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Link up with Brittan today @ <a href="http://ababblingbrunette.blogspot.com/">A Babbling Brunette!</a> :D Have a great day everyone!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-936846761425905913?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-5230233201618029932012-09-24T08:47:00.000-06:002012-09-24T13:49:55.087-06:002012-09-24T13:49:55.087-06:00Family PhotosWhile working on my upcoming <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/and-finally-some-thoughts-on-blogging.html">blog change (October 11)</a> recently, I have discovered that it is not in need of as many photos as I had previously thought. My family had a photoshoot at Norm's Island over <a href="http://www.themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/our-labor-day-weekend-3-parks-in-3-days.html">Labor Day weekend</a> for my blog. We also took the time to take Alan's three year old photos and to update our family picture. Originally, I was going to wait to post these photos until after October 11 but since they are no longer really apart of the blog makeup, I will share them with you. Enjoy! These seriously are some of my favorite pictures of my family!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being silly together</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another tongue picture lol!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Messing around in the tree hut</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first nice family picture together!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to grab the camera</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My big three year old</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan's Hulk face lmao</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another family photo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama's sweet princess</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to do a couple picture for the parents lol</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love him so much</td></tr>
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I am so pleased with the results! These pictures are just beautiful! I cannot wait until I get actual prints of them to put up in my house! Next paycheck hopefully! <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-523023320161802993?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208871937340610798.post-14861206303212225862012-09-22T18:52:00.000-06:002012-09-22T18:54:18.567-06:002012-09-22T18:54:18.567-06:00The Darling Dozen: Week by Week! Eleventh WeekToday is a busy day for my little family. We had the circus in the morning and then Alan's buddy Colton's birthday party in the afternoon. Alan was pretty excited, he woke up with the sun and has yet to stop talking about the circus or the party lol. He could not wait. :) Be sure to check back with us next week to see how it went!<br />
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Here is the second to last Darling Dozen post we will do for Anna. *Sniffle* I cannot believe that she is a week away from being twelve weeks old and only a couple weeks from being three months old. How is that these past eleven weeks have gone by so fast? We are so blesses to have her in our life, what a wonderful little girl we have. <br />
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<strong>Week:</strong> Eleventh Week</div>
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<strong>Weight:</strong> 9 pounds and 6 ounces</div>
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<strong>Height:</strong> 24 1/2 inches</div>
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<strong>Diaper Size:</strong> She is still only size one. And they are just <strong>HUGE </strong>on her still!</div>
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<strong>Clothing Size:</strong> She is still in between size Newborn and size 0-3M. This is probably her last week wearing them too so I went crazy and started putting her in as many of them as I could.on her. I just wanted her to where them all, they are all so cute and tiny!</div>
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<strong>Eye Color:</strong> They are pretty light grayish blue right now. They still have a dark ring around the edge but the inside part of her iris is a very pretty blue. I love them, I think they will lighten up and look alot like mine! Yes!</div>
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<strong>Hair Color:</strong> It is a mixture of red, auburn and blonde right now. Her hair is so long now too, some strands are even longer than my finger! I wanna put it up all the time and put bows in her hair, but Lon wants me to wait until she is a little older. I still sneak a few on her every once and a while lol, but I respect his request. :)</div>
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<strong>This Week's Developments:</strong> Anna's movements are starting to be refined this week. Jerky movements are being given way to more circular movements. She should also start to push with her legs when on her back or belly, a way for her to start crawling. She is already doing this and it amazes me how much she moves around the floor now!</div>
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<strong>New Achievements this Week:</strong> Anna rolled from her back to her belly this week! And she has been moving like crazy, this girl just wants to be able to sit up on her own and walk already! She has also starting this thing where when I sit with her in my lap, sitting up, she will contract her little abs and sit herself up away from me! I think she is almost ready for that Bumbo chair! Exciting! Her movements are more refined and she likes to "help" me prepare to nurse her. Her little hands will find and grab my shirt and pull me to her mouth. She is so smart!</div>
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<strong>Breastfeeding:</strong> Is still going good. And now, pumping is alot better too! I have been able to pump 3-5 ounces on each side now, each time I pump. I no longer am worried about my pumping stash while I'm at work. As for breastfeeding, Anna can now nurse really well, she only needs to eat for about ten minutes on each side. I was worried about her shortened eating at first but researched it and found out that this is common for babies as they get older. They get alot better at getting the milk out of the breast and so it takes way less time for them to eat. Yay! It has made my day open up <span style="font-size: large;">SO MUCH MORE!! </span><span style="font-size: small;">I can now get several things done around the house in a day, rather than just one thing each day. On average, Anna nurses every 2 to 4 hours in the daytime and every 7 to 8 hours at night. </span></div>
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<strong>Colic:</strong> No colic here! Just babies who fuss when they get put down because they love the energy contact! :)</div>
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<strong>Differences this Time Around:</strong> Her weight is still the biggest difference, other than her being a girl. But she is almost three months, only nine pounds and still in newborn clothes. Alan was three months old, almost fourteen pounds and about to be in 6-9M clothes! Wow that is a five pound difference! That's almost a whole baby!</div>
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<strong>Sleep:</strong> Sleep has been okay this week. Definitely a million times better than last week lol! I have only been sleeping for about five hours a night but I cannot complain. Last week I was only getting an hour or so, if I was lucky, in the hard wooden rocking chair. Now, do not get me wrong, I love my rocking chair. Its my mother-in-law's and she lent it to us when Alan was born. Its entirely wooden and engraved with beautiful decorations. I love to run my fingers along them. It seriously is my favorite piece of furniture in our house! But I hated it last week because even though it is just beautiful, it is very hard and uncomfortable to sleep in. But Anna wanted to sleep on me while being rocked <strong>ONLY</strong> so I did what I had to. I will say that I am very grateful that she is willing to sleep next to me in her bassinet this week though.</div>
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<strong>Anna's Personality:</strong> This amazing little lady is already so full of life and personality, she reminds me so much of her brother and even me! She is so smart for her age and we always joke that she is two months going on four years old. We swear that she wants to do everything Alan does, she is just so fascinated with him! She is also very particular and picky. I know I say this alot but she likes things to go her way always. I have adjusted myself slightly to make myself more comfortable and completely ticked her off. She is a little princess but we allow her to be right now because really, you cannot spoil a baby. </div>
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<strong>Places Anna has Been:</strong> Children's Clinic, Walmart, Albertson's, Grandma Melanie's
house, Grandma Amber's house, Village Inn, 5Star MMA, Pioneer Park, Applebee's,
Rimrock Mall, Scheel's, Victoria's Secret, Oasis Waterpark, Geyser Park, North
Park, YMCA, Metra Park, Texas Roadhouse, Norm's Island, Pioneer Park, Chuck E.
Cheeses, Salad Creations, U-Do Yogurt, Vanity, Rue 21, Maurice's, JCPenney's,
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Denny's, Zoo Montana and Altana Federal Credit Union</div>
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<strong>Bathing:</strong> We are still doing the washcloth baths but I have added a regular bath once a week on Sundays. Recently I have been looking online for things to help us with bathing her and her emmense dislike of water. I found this wonderful new thing called Blooming Bath Flowers. They are huge, plush flowers that you stick in you sink to bath your children. And they look amazing! Lots of babies who hate baths in regular baby baths love baths in the Blooming Bath Flower! I am going to look and see what stores these are at and I will do a little post on them sometime next month or so. Here is a pic of one for now though:</div>
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<strong>Best Moment this Week:</strong> Taking Anna to her first circus this morning! She loved all the new things to look at, especially the animals! She did not like the clown though, although he was my favorite! That story to come next week!</div>
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<strong>How's Mama:</strong> I am doing amazing this week! I have been able to get alot done around the house, got my first paycheck since starting work again, got a decent amount of sleep, was able to get out of the house a few times and Lon even bought me a book to read with his paycheck this week! Yeah he bought me Hunger Games. Yes! Pretty good week for me indeed!</div>
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<strong>How's Big Brother:</strong> Alan has done really good this week at school and at home with us. However, he had some issues today at Colton's birthday party. He does not get to see Colton alot anymore and I think it made it hard for him to understand that they were Colton's presents and that he needed to let him open them and then share. But he did good for the most part. He is still my big boy helper, always doing anything I ask him to do. Last week he helped me bake cinnamon rolls and make Kool Aid. I was so proud of him! </div>
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<strong>How's Daddy:</strong> Lon is my trooper. He got sick yesterday and had to stay home from one of his jobs but he was not able to find someone to work for his other job, so he still went in and helped out. He also went into work today even though he still was not feeling well. My amazing husband! Goodness, I love him!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9208871937340610798-1486120630321222586?l=themtandersenfamily.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05592161806739627380noreply@blogger.com0