Christmas Card

So, not that I've ever been good at this, but I thought since we have a child this year, we would send out Christmas Cards (I'm not too fond of sending one out with a picture of just Tim and I). But with Tim graduating, trips, and Holiday stuff, there is no way I have time. So, consider this your Christmas card.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE VANDERWALKERS!


As you can see, Anderson's scrunchy face was in every picture, so I thought I'd put a few more good ones of him after. I took these yesterday.



He has started in the last couple of days to pull himself up. Now he wants to do it everywhere and on everyone. He's getting pretty good. Still army crawling though (for like 4 or 5 weeks). We can't get his to do the regular crawl. I've given up!

Easy Gift Idea

My mother-in-law taught a class at Enrichment on how to make these. I hadn't seen them before and thought they would be a very easy and inexpensive gift idea. The letters are just stickers from a craft store, and the ribbon and flower can be found anywhere. I'm not sure where she got the picture, but I thought it turned out nice! Too bad my Christmas shopping is done.

Pee Pee Tee Pees

Speaking of changing diapers, I ran across this picture when I was going through things. This is Anderson a few weeks old. He kept peeing on us (and pooping) while we changed him so Tim and I found these "pee pee tee pees" online and bought them. They are like tiny tents you put on the baby to prevent getting doused. And, you can wash them and re-use them. They are a funny shower gift and pretty affordable. You can find them on http://www.bippityboppitybaby.com/peepeeteepee.htm. (Sorry for the graphic pictures)

The Squirmiest Boy There Ever Was

I'm sure when you "veteran moms" read this you'll say, "Oh please! That is nothing. What a wimp," but I'm going to tell it anyway. The other night, I fed Anderson and then gave him a bath. He has recently figured out how to pull himself up on things, as long as he can get a good grip on them. So the entire bath time, I was pulling him off of the side of the tub, while he tried to turn around and dive into the water at the same time. Frustrating, but no big deal right. When I got him out of the tub, I took him to his room to put a diaper on him and get his pj's on. It took me 15 minutes and I still had a naked baby. He would cry, fight, turn over, jump away from me, and scream if I tried to hold him down. I sort of gave up and tried to put his diaper on backwards while on all fours, which I couldn't do either. I called Tim, to see where he was (because I was about to leave Anderson naked until Tim got home to pin him down) but he was too far from home to risk it. It took me 5 more minutes to get the diaper on. Then, the SNAP pj's were next. Ridiculous. Tim, being the engineer that he is, offered to build a changing table with arm (and possibly leg) straps to help me out. I'm seriously considering!

Back from the Carolinas

Tim and I got back today from North and South Carolina. Tim's brothers live in both, but are only 25 minutes apart. It was a good trip. We are exhausted. We've been up since 2:30 a.m. Arizona time. As for Anderson, let's just say I almost put him up for adoption during the first 15 minutes of the plane ride home. Not surprisingly, no one wanted him. Once we got him to sleep, he was fine for the rest of the ride.

This is Jessica, Spencer, and Anderson. We never get to see them so we had to get a few pictures. They are so funny and loved Anderson!

This is me, Lexi, Anderson, and Anna. Anna serenaded us with Twinkle Little Star all weekend!
This is Tim, Matt (Tim's bro), his wife Brandi, Spencer, and Anna. Tim and Matt were mistakened for twins all weekend.

I've literally never seen a red tree in Arizona. I am jealous of places that actually have seasons!
We had a lot of fun but are glad to be home!

Tagged--3 times

As a young kid, and as a PE teacher, I am very fond of playing tag. Usually, I am fast enough to not get tagged at all, or I can tag back so quick that I'm never it. I guess that doesn't help in the "mom-space" world (that is what Tim calls the blog scene). So Marci, Chelsea, and Coartney tagged me, so I'm combining and doing 10 things I'm thankful for, and hopefully there will be 6 things you didn't know about me in there somewhere.

1. My Own Family - It's amazing how you have no idea how much you will love your own kid until you have one. I'm so thankful for Tim and Anderson. Tim and I are complete opposites, but I wouldn't have it any other way (hopefully he would agree). And it is so fun to see Anderson grow up and learn things. I love it!


2. Naps - I love taking naps, and I love when Anderson takes naps. They are few and far between, but also the greatest thing ever. I wish I could do it more often.

3. My Family - I love my family because they are so funny and fun to be with. It's the best to get together and tell funny stories and laugh. My sister's are so helpful and fun to hang out with now that we are all home. I am thankful for my brothers, and hope to make more memories with them both, here or somewhere very different :) I'm thankful for my in laws to and all of my extended family. They are the greatest.

4. MTV - I know, I know, what am I 13?? I am an MTV junkie, I'll admit it. It's really embarrasing when your high school freshman class that you teach is talking about last night's Flavor of Love episode and you can correct them on what really happend (I guess that's VHI but what is the difference right?) I can probably name every Real World season ever, and I secretly love the Hills and Laguna Beach (old school Laguna Beach). Thank goodness for DVR.

5. QT - My friends and I discovered QT years ago, and have been addicted ever since. We have literally driven 13 miles one way just to enjoy a vanilla diet dr. pepper. I'm embarrased to say, the QT cashier new my friend and I by first name (about 10 miles from where we lived) and ended up taking us to dinner at PF Changs one night. By the way, he paid for both of our dinners. Embarrasing right? 3 seconds diet dr. pepper, and 3 seconds vanilla is a deadly combination.

6. ASU - for a few reasons. First of all, we don't have to go there anymore. I graduated from there a few years ago. Tim is about to graduate in a month or so. Secondly, they are 8 and 1 this year in Football! Go Devils!!

7. Church - Obviously this has everything to do with everything we do. I am so thankful for it, and can't imagine being here with out it.

8. Friends - I have no pictures on this computer of my friends, but check my list. I love having friends that I have known since we were little kids. I love having friends who I lived my single days with. And the best part, is all of these people are still my friends now. It is so fun to share our families with each other, and to get together and laugh about funny stuff we used to do, and play games (Christmas party is coming up!). It's the best.

9. My own house and things - It's amazing how much you miss these two when you don't have them!! Hopefully soon we will be on our own again. My parents have been so nice to let us be here, but it will be nice to get our own place again.

10. Holidays - Thanksgiving is so close and Christmas is just around the corner. And we just had my favorite Halloween! What a great excuse to get together with family and friends and just spend time with each other. I love the traditions that come along with these too and can't wait to start my own.

I'm Nervous

So, this week we are flying back to Charlotte, NC to visit Tim's 2 brothers. I am excited, but a bit nervous for 2 reasons. #1 Anderson is quite possibly the squirmiest little boy of all time and will not sit still for anything. I'm in the process of designing/patenting the first baby straight jacket. At church, it's rough. He just wants to move, especially now that he can. #2 The last couple of days, Anderson never stops talking! He is screaming and saying every sound and making every noise he can...ALL DAY! Don't get me wrong, it's cute and funny and all, but I'm just hoping a plane full of passengers at 6:45 in the morning will think the same. Any suggestions?? Marci suggested bringing a dvd player and putting baby Einstein in. Good idea, expect at home he will watch it for 10 seconds before he gets bored and wants to do something else. It's all happy screams and talking, but you know what I mean. Any suggestions are welcome.

I usually put him in here for a few minutes to play, and today he was smashing his face against the side (like kids do to sliding glass doors or windows). It was making me laugh so hard. I tried to catch a good one and this was the best I got.

Halloween with Vanderwalker Cousins

Last night we just went to Tim's parent's house. These are all of the Vanderwalker cousins in AZ (6 are missing out of state). Tim and I were a bust and didn't dress up. The "robot" is in storage/under construction. I did find a picture of the original from a few years ago. It has since been redone, and will probably completely be re-done again. That's what I get for marrying an engineer.