Henry's Blessing

Miles at his blessing 10 weeks old

Miles

Miles

Henry at his blessing 10 weeks old

Henry

Henry

Our Family at Miles's blessing 2010

Our Family at Henry's Blessing 2012

Our Family at Elly's Blessing 2007

Elly at her blessing 7 weeks old

Elly

This past weekend was a big one for our little family.  Elly had a dance concert, in which she danced beautifully.  Henry was given a name and a blessing by his father, which was very touching.  Mima and Papa were in town to help celebrate; we had such fun with them and wished we all lived closer together.  Aunt Madelyn, Uncle Cody, and Cousin Greta were in town; we all fell in love with Greta and I had such fun with my sister.  It was Mother's Day and we had good food and fabulous presents and an all around great time with family and friends.

Here are some fun pictures of our children and our family from each of their blessings.  Elly was blessed in Visalia, California (Visalia 3rd ward) in 2007 when she was 7 weeks old.  Miles was blessed in Provo, Utah (BYU 93rd Married Student Ward) in 2010 when he was 10 weeks old.  Henry was blessed in a different ward in Provo, Utah (Slate Canyon 11th ward) when he was 10 weeks old.

Henry at 4 months

Our sweet little Henry man is 4 months old and we love him so much!  He is a very mild mannered, content little baby and brings us so much joy.  This past week, we have "sleep trained" him, letting him cry in his bed until he soothes himself and learns to go to sleep on his own.  Henry is a champ and learned very quickly.  He cried for about an hour and a half the first night, but slept for 8 hours after that.  The second night, he didn't cry at all and went right to sleep (it helped that I made sure he was VERY tired before putting him down in his crib).  Then, he slept for 12 hours!!!  Mommy is loving the extra sleep she gets and I think Henry is too.  Take a look at that baby chub- this baby does NOT need to eat in the middle of the night!

Elly and Miles love him to pieces and they are the sweetest older siblings.  They each love lying by him and playing with him.  Miles lies down by him and looks up at me "This is my best friend, Baby Brother."  It melts my heart every time.  Elly is such a good protector and babysitter.  She has a special touch with Henry and we call it "Sister Magic".  Since he was born, she's been able to calm and comfort him when I need a couple of extra minutes to do something.  She mostly sings to him, but talks to him too.  He adores her.

Henry has a couple of nicknames, just like all the children born to their Father (he is really good at making up names for them).

Henry Benry (that one was mine- not as good or cute)
Baby the Man
Babies the Man
Shweety the Man
Shweety Le Mon
Goo gee
Googs
Goo genhiem (that was a new one yesterday)
Googie the Man
Googie Le Mon


Googee is our favorite little baby man and we are so glad he came to live in our family.  Whenever you smile at him, he smiles right back.  He is very happy and makes us want to just have more little Anderson children come live with us!

Family of Five!

Did we mention that we have another beautiful child now? Henry is a wonderful addition to our family and we love him!

Miles Quotes - Simon Says

We often play Simon Says with Miles as we change his diaper to keep him occupied (especially his hands).  Today Miles was being particularly antsy.

Brandon:  "Miles, Simon says touch your head."

He did, but reluctantly.  Then he fought to get out of my hold.

Brandon:  "Simon says touch your ears."

Then the kicking and back arching started.

Brandon again:  "Simon says touch your ears."

Miles, looking right in my eyes:  "Simon says NO!"

Snow!

Brothee and His Baby

Cowboy

I don't know where he gets these ideas, but this is the outfit he was rockin' today.

Christmas Dinner

As drawn by Elly...

Stuff I like about it:

• Everyone's clothing is accurate- Mom and Dad in jeans, Doc in a grey suit, K-ma in a dress, Elly in a shirt with a flower on it.  
• Miles' hair is just like Dad's, except brown instead of black.  
• Doc has grey hair and his hospital name tag around his neck that says, of course, "Doc". 
• The coat rack in the back with Dad's hoody hanging on it.

Elly Quotes - Santa and Fire

At the dinner table tonight...

Elly (looking at our fireplace):  How will Santa come out of our fireplace?  It has a cover on it.

Lacy:  He's magic.  He can just come through.

Elly:  Oh.  The cover is there so the fire doesn't come in our house and ruin everything right?

Brandon:  That's right.  Fire is very dangerous.  But it's also very useful.  Do you know what useful means?

Elly:  It means something you can use.

Brandon (super proud):  That's right!  That's exactly right!  We can use fire for lots of things.  Can you think of some uses for fire?

Elly:  Candles on birthday cakes.

Brandon:  Yup.  That's one.  What else?

Elly:  Uhhhh...I don't know.

Brandon:  What do we do with fire in the backyard.

Elly:  Oh!  Roast marshmallows!

(We discussed some of the more practical uses of fire as well, but none seemed as interesting or important as those relating to sweets and treats.)

"Sisters"

This is what life would have been like if Elly had a little sister instead of a Brothee.  This is Elly's doing, and Miles just plays along.

Garden

Elly just turned 5, and she also recently started reading and writing really well.  She loves sounding out words on her own, both to read them and to write them.  The other day she drew this garden.

The garden signs read (from top to bottom):
Squash
Carrots
Apples
Strawberries

Then she lists the family members, of course, with "Noo Baby" at the bottom.  Her initials - ECA - are apparently how she signed this particular piece of art.  She also threw in a little portrait of her and me.

Elly Quotes

Lest any of our readers think that Elly is a perfect angel child all the time, here is today's Elly Quote:

Elly: "Mom, I want to play with new toys this morning."

Me: "Great, where are they?" (Meaning the thousands of new toys she got for her birthday two weeks ago.)

Elly, with a confused look on her face: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Where are all the new toys you got for your birthday?"

Elly: "No. I mean NEW toys. New toys that I don't have yet."

Ugh. Do you think we spoiled her a bit?

Elly's Art - Surprise Birthday for Brothee

Elly just turned 5.  She's always loved making art, and now she also loves reading and writing.  She made this "card" for Miles completely by herself - no help at all!

"Surprise"

"Dear Miles, Happy Birthday. To Miles. From Elly."

Isn't this amazing?

Our Sunset The Other Night

Baking

Elly Quotes - Persuasion

We had just finished building a fort for Elly and Miles...

Elly: Dad, you can't fit in here. You're too big.

Brandon: Yeah. That's OK.

Elly: Well, you need to build your own fort.

Brandon: No thanks. I'm good.

Elly: Then you'll have to sleep outside.

Brandon: That's fine.

Elly: Well... It's gonna be raining. Do you want to sleep in the rain?

Fall

Elly's 5th Birthday- Princess Party!

Elly turned 5 last week. I can't believe it. We had so much fun planning birthday fun for her!

On her actual birthday, she got to take cupcakes to share with her school friends. I brought them to her class when they were already seated. Miles didn't skip a beat; he just found an empty chair (nowhere near Elly), sat himself down, and waited for his cupcake like the other kids. He's ready for preschool!

After school, K-ma and Lily came from Salt Lake and the four of us (Thank you, Karen for taking the Boy home for a nap) went to Color Me Mine. It was so much fun! Then, we went to the Pizza Factory for some birthday dinner. They made a personal pizza for Elly in the shape of the number 5! She opened presents from
K-ma & Doc and Keri & Lily.  We went home and opened one million teeny tiny pieces from her Littlest Pet Shop, Strawberry Shortcake, and Arial sets.  It looks like a lot of presents, but I think they are just big packages.

The Birthday Loot from Mommy and Daddy, K-ma and Doc, and Keri and Lily

On Saturday, we invited her friends to dress like princesses and come to a Princess Party! It was so fun to see all the girls in their princess attire. But, the best part of the party (according to Elly, herself) was that the REAL Cinderella came to her party!!! She made a grand entrance and all the girls were completely shocked! They just stared at her in amazement. It was adorable. She read them a story and taught them how to be princesses, including how to be kind to everyone, walk like a princess, and dance like a princess. Then, we took a photo of each girl with Cinderella and she had to get back to the castle. They were all thrilled that she came in person!

Guess who would NOT let Cinderella leave without getting his picture with her, too?

A friend of mine has a small cake business out of her home and she is AMAZING! She made this awesome Castle Cake for Elly and I was floored with the amount of detail work. She is awesome. Thanks, Caytee!

We sure love that 5 year old!

Just like Daddy.

Happy You You!

Elly's birthday is on Wednesday, and we've all been pretty excited.  Miles has been learning "Happy Birthday", which comes out as "Happy You You".  It's pretty funny.



http://youtu.be/U47TovgXMBw