Vanderwalker Family

Family Pictures

2012-01-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

After 3 years, we FINALLY got legit family pictures, and I LOVE them! A guy Tim works with is getting into Photography so he lent us his expertise and did a family session for us. We went to this really cool place called BayTowne Warf and there is tons of shops and restaurants and boats and a very nice resort. It's so nice down there and totally open to everyone. We went back the next week. I gotta admit I was kind of proud that I didn't have to buy anything new for the kids or us to wear. There were a lot of good ones and here is a few of them.

This one might be my favorite. It's that stuff on the bottom of the playground and just happened to be the same exact blue as Ivy's eyes.

This is a favorite too...Andy is so nice to his sisters. He told me he wanted another baby sister...jokes on him :)

Justy did a great job...too bad we already sent out Christmas cards:)

DisneyWorld

2012-01-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

It only took as 5 weeks of living in Florida before we took our first trip to Disney World. Tim had to go to Orlando for work, we got a super cheap deal on a hotel through my sister's time share ($30/night) and if you are a Florida resident, you can pay for annual passes monthly. So we went for a week, while Tim was at work, I went with ALL 3 KIDS...kill me now. I went back to the hotel and let them nap, picked Tim up from work, then we went back at night. It just so happened that a long time friend I grew up with was there with her family the same week. We met up quite a bit and my kids loved having hers there too.

My camera definitely does not do the castle justice...it is huge and because we went after Thanksgiving, it was all decked out with lights. Disney does everything over the top, just how we like it.

Minnie LOVES Snow White, so when she met her, Snow White kissed Minnie on the cheek. She still talks about it now.

We met all of the characters...A LOT! And, surprisingly, the kids were fine and not afraid at all.
Then we saw the Princesses....Andy was mortified....seriously. Everyone in line was laughing and saying how cute it was when he hid the WHOLE time when we saw Belle, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

This was the first one, he hid under Tim's jacket and REFUSED to look at the camera. Typical boy...
I think the kids may have loved riding the tram from the parking lot to the park just as much as the rides.
Phineas and Ferb is always a HIT!
For the record, we do have a little girl named Minnie. She is not named after Minnie Mouse, it is after my Great Grandma who was very close to me. And, for the record, I do feel a little weird yelling out, "Minnie" at Disney World or Disneyland. But, it is soo cute when Minnie walks up to Minnie Mouse and tells her what her name is. I love it and it never gets old.

Crazy eyes...
This was probably the most fun I had WITH the kids at Disney Parks ever. My kids have been to Disneyland A LOT and usually we have to have the "stop crying, we ARE HAVING FUN" here talk quite a bit. This time, they loved it. They loved the characters, the rides (for the most part) and the shows and parades. Ivy, the greatest baby of all time, was soooo great. But I must say there is something about Disneyland that you can't beat in my book. Maybe it's that I grew up going there. Maybe it's that everything is packed into one place. Maybe it's that the workers are OVERLY nice and I have my favorite food spots. Whatever it is, I don't know if it will be beat. But, I'll take Disney World any day!

More October Craziness

2011-11-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

October was a crazy month. First I went on a girl's trip with my family, Tim's parent's came to town, we met Tim's brother's family in Nashville, I spoke in church (for the 2nd time in 6 months....BOOOOO!), I went to AZ with all 3 kids by myself (almost left Minnie in Phoenix) and then we moved to Florida. Holy crap I need a nap.In Nashville, we went to a train museum and checked out some trains. This is Tim, Tim's brother Matt, and his dad Tom. Nashville is pretty cool and I would really love to go back. Anderson and Minnie LOVED hanging out with their cousins Lexi, who is 9, and Anna, who is almost 7. They loved playing and hanging out in the hotel room.
Tim and his brother Matt...every time Minnie sees a picture of Matt, she says, "Mom, there's dad."
We also had another exciting development...Minnie got glasses. Wow! She starting getting a lazy eye so we had our home teacher check it out, then to the Pediatrician, then the Pediatric Ophthalmologist...and a week later voila! She actually does pretty well with them and really only takes them off when they need to be cleaned. I promised her pink glasses but who'd a thought they wouldn't have ANY pink ones. The selection was rough...plus she's not on our vision insurance (seriously who puts their 2 yr old on their vision insurance just in case), so we just got some to last us till the new year.
Tim's parents came and we went to see the ducks at the Peabody. I love the inside of the Peabody and think it is so cool, a definite must if visiting Memphis.
We went to Boston for our girls trip and it was awesome. One day we drove up to Gloucester and Rockport, then back to Cape Cod. This is a lake we happen to drive by and stopped to take a picture. I have NEVER lived in a place where the leaves change and it is soooooo great! When we drove to Florida, we went through Alabama and it was beautiful!
Probably my favorite part of our trip was a "Ghosts and Goblins" tour we did at night around to the different grave yards in Boston. Our tour guide told us scary legends and tales about the Boston Strangler and places that were haunted. We eat that crap up! Plus, while you are waiting on the trolley, creepy people holding gross creepy animals come up behind you and scare you. It's hilarious.
Me and Kaci on the trolley. Her 4 month old Maggie came and was a trooper!
Kelli, Me, Kaci and Grandma Maxine. She was a TROOPER...she is 82 and didn't miss a beat.(It's not letting me delete this picture for some reason) We ate, laughed, slept, and ate some more. We Coombs' are pros at those 3 things. My dad tagged along too, being the history buff that he is. It was fun to have him come, although I'm pretty sure he won't want to join the next one!

October Craziness

2011-11-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

So we moved again...this time to Florida! Tim had a great job opportunity with his company so they transferred us. We were only in Memphis for 7 months! His office is in a place called Destin, FL which is a big tourist place and is 1/2 a mile from the beach. We have to wait a few weeks for the house we are renting to open up so we are staying at a beach condo, 200 yards away from this:So we took a Sunday walk along the beach. We love it. We will be living in a place nearby called Niceville (yes, that really is the name) and went to our new ward today. The kids went to class no problem, Ivy and I roamed the halls the entire time, and we met some really nice people. We will miss Memphis but are really excited!

It's been so long...

2011-08-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

So my parents came to visit us at the end of June, and actually were here and had to leave on my 30th birthday. I have to admit, turning 30 was kind of sad...at least more that I expected. Anyway, now I'm 30, still look 16...with 3 kids. So we did lots of fun things. This is us touring downtown in the trolley. My parents got a hotel room downtown so the kids could swim and getaway and it was a hit!

My mom is quite an Elvis fan. We had tickets to go tour Graceland (his home in Memphis) but it didn't work out for us to go as far as weather, babysitter, and kids go. So, we will have to do it next time. But, we did drive by and get out and take some pictures. My mom was so fired up!

This is a park in downtown that was the sight of a civil war battle. They still have the stone wall up with cutouts where the cannons went.

We met Tim for lunch at the Cooky Canucks which was a restaurant on "Man vs Food" (I think it was called Big Foot then or something else). They have like an 8lb burger on the menu that is free if you can finish it. And, they have BBQ pork nachos with beans, BBQ sauce, pulled pork, and a cilantro ranch dressing. They are real good. I like to make them at home with the "Cafe Rio" pork and cilantro lime dressing.

Grandma and Grandpa waiting for the trolley.

"Not so Little" Ivy, I like to call her, is now 7 months. She is sitting up and rolling around like crazy. No crawling yet, which I am TOTALLY ok with. The kids love her and she is the BEST baby.

Andy starts pre-school in September. I can't wait...he can't wait. We all can't wait! He always brings me things and tells me he is going to show his teacher. Good luck Mrs. Gerianne:)

This little one re-visited the Terrible Two stage last week. It seems if you disrupt her sleeping schedule too much, she just can't recover. We went to the Charlotte area for about 10 days to stay with my nieces and nephew, and she had a hard time towards the end. I'm sure the people of the Nashville airport are grateful we will not be returning for awhile!

Still trucking along with the baby food thing. 7 weeks and counting and we are still struggling. But, she doesn't cry the whole time anymore, and for the most part, she'll open her mouth without me shoving the spoon in there. Hopefully she'll get it soon. Ivy is so chill and easy. I've never had a kid that will just sit on my lap in church or where ever and be totally content. I love it! She has chubby cheeks! We used to think she looked just like Andy but she is changing and looks like nobody now...probably more Tim than anyone. She's fun to have around.

We are doing well here. We made it through the Heat Wave, which I like to call Sweat Wave, and it's starting to cool down....in August.....already. I can't believe it. I am going to freeze to death this winter I think! Seriously, never in my life have I lived in snow. My kids have never touched snow and only one has actually seen it in real life. It doesn't snow too much, but more than good old C-Town. I can't wait for fall and the leaves to change!! It will be here soon:)

2011-06-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Don't adjust your eyes...that is Ivy's chins. At least I can make some good milk, right!? We have been busy here with life. Tim turned 30 on May 30th and we celebrated by going to the car show at Graceland (that's right, the one and only home of Elvis) and to the Sunset Symphony on the shores of the Mississippi River complete with the Memphis symphony playing, a air show over the river, and a fireworks show. It was pretty fun. It did take us 45 minutes to get out of the parking structure afterwards though. Happy Birthday to Tim! He does not like cake so we did a brownie cake with candles.

Last weekend we woke up and decided to do a day trip to Nashville. It's only 3 hrs away and we had not been there yet. We really like it there!! I can't wait to go back and visit a lot. They have a temple like ours on the Stake Center parking lot and we went to Franklin, a town about 25 minutes outside of Nashville. It is AWESOME! The main street/downtown area is soooo fun to walk around and we loved all of the cool houses there. It's been fun to be able to go visit new places and have the time to do things like that here. We are sad we missed the Coombs' annual San Diego trip but have already started saving for next year. And we can't wait for Grandma and Grandpa to come soon!!

For the record, it is summertime, and everyone has told us, "Oh, are you guys sooo hot?" or "Oh, the humidity is way worse than the dry heat." Well, as of now, it is not as bad. The kids can actually go out and play outside in the afternoon or evening, it cools down at night and is not 100 degrees at 10:00pm. Today it was 80 degrees. Sure I am more sweaty, and my hair is a permanant frizz ball, but 115 is 115. Hopefully it doesn't get too much worse.

We are alive!

2011-05-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

We are alive, we are not underwater like everyone has called to ask! Memphis has been crazy because of all of the floods. Tim and I went downtown last weekend and the Mississippi River is packed with people just taking pictures of how much water there is. It's the highest it's been since like the 1930's. Everyone here does say it is unusual to have this much rain. The weird thing is that it stopped raining like a week ago, but is still getting higher. There is an intersection downtown that is closed off bcause it is half way underwater, and it's started to come up on the street on some parts. I've never seen anything like it. But, we are surviving fine and haven't been directly affected by any of it. So, things are same old same old. These 3 are making me a little crazy this week, not gonna lie. Ivy just started rolling over and the kids get so excited. We chant, "Go, Ivy Go" until she does. Maybe she can start to burn some calories and get that double chin in check:)

We have also been hanging out with these kids. The Thomas family is in our ward, and they have really helped our transition to Tennessee a lot! It's weird to feel so comfortable around people we just met but I am so thankful for them. My kids love their kids, they are close in age, and they know all the ins and outs of living here! Brennon is Minnie's age, Jadyn is 6, and Hadley is 4. They are so fun!

We've also been doing a lot of coloring. Surprisingly, Anderson requests it a lot. He is getting excited about writing letters and his name. I signed him up for pre-school and he asks me alllll the time if he is going yet. I hope the enthusiasm doesn't wear off when he actually starts in September.

This one is hamming it up as usual. If you ask her what her name is now, she says, "Minnie Mouse." I actually heard them call her that in Nursery at church. She's so dang cute sometimes, and is so crazy other times. Last Sunday Tim spoke in church, so , I had all 3 kids on the bench by myself. Happy Mother's Day to me, right. And, it'll be the same this week for Stake Conference...2 hrs...kill me now. Minnie just walks around to the benches behind us and makes herself comfortable with whoever. We are gearing up for summer time, interested to see the dry vs. wet heat! Wish us luck...the Coombs' sweaty genes will not be helpful here...

Easter

2011-04-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter. Ours started at 3 am when Anderson woke up and found his Easter basket and ran in to tell us that the Easter Bunny brought him a new monster truck. It took some doing but finally, I got him to leave it alone and go back to sleep. We went to church, burned our dinner, smoked ourselves out of the house, and made some memories....good or bad right?! Since we live out of town, my mom and dad want pictures, so here you go! We did a mini photo shoot in the backyard. I think we may start Ivy on a diet tomorrow.

Our First Visitors

2011-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

The last few days, we had Tim's brother Justin's family in town with us for their Spring Break and we had such a good time. We were able to go downtown and check out all of the touristy spots, eat at the recommended restaurants, and even take a river boat on the Mississippi River. My kids LOVE their cousins, and they were no exception. I promised I didn't even see Anderson for like 4 days. He was Spencer's little buddy and Spencer was so good with him. This is all of the kids in front of the Gibson Guitar Factory. You can do tours, but you have to be at least 5 years old because of the level of sound during the tour. So, the big kids did that one without us.

Little buddies on Beale Street. Beale Street is the main street to hit here with all of the Blues Clubs and night life. You can't even drive down the street. It's pretty crazy.

And the girls. Minnie was in heaven too. They also came bearing gifts...Minnie got a new stroller and doll that she LOVES and Anderson got 2 new nerf dart guns that we used for a few "gun games". At one point, we had all of the kids (including 3 of my friend's kids that we were watching) all lined up along the fireplace vs. the adults. It was fun!

While they were here, I had the pleasure (just kidding) of speaking during church. And it was just me, not Tim. Weird, right?! I'm glad it's over, and that we had 6 helpers to keep my kids quiet in church. That was barely enough.

Anderson has been begging to wear his tie and church shirt with his "white pants". He asked me if he could wear his church shirt to bed tonight. Geez, must get it from his dad. (see the stroller in the background...she LOVES IT. It has to be parked next to her bed every night).

I learned a few things about Memphis this weekend. Half the time I forgot I lived here...

#1 Justin Timberlake grew up here...who knew? I love him...mostly because he is HILARIOUS on SNL

#2 Man vs. Food comes to Memphis a lot! We ate somewhere where you could order a 6 lb hamburger and try to eat it with another person in under 60 min. I think it's only happend 2x

#3 A guy in my ward went to High School with my mom...how RANDOM is that?

#4 There is full on tornadoes in Memphis. Like, it's no big deal to have the craziest thunderstorms and have to go in the hallway with the kids underneath a mattress. Who knew? Tonight there was 70mph winds in the area. Crazy! Guess I need to get batteries for my flashlight!

Anderson's 4th Birthday!

2011-04-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today Andy turned 4! I can't believe it. He's getting so old. We had "birthday donuts" (our little family tradition we started...when we lived a mile from Krispy Kremes). Then we got ready and went to the Memphis Zoo. We have been told to just get a membership so we can go whenever and I think it's totally worth it. We loved it. These are the tigers that we saw as soon as we got there. They had a lot of different animals that we don't have at the good old Phoenix zoo and it was nice weather and the kids were really good. This is the area that is like Yellowstone. Ivy was asleep in the stroller by the random lady who took our picture. They had timberwolves and bears and elk here. It was really cool. The kids love the zoo. We rode the train around the petting zoo area and saw polar bears for the first time. They are HUGE. We will definately be going back. Minnie and I rode the carousel and she kept asking to go see Minnie Mouse and Snow White. I guess we trained her well. I had to explain, for probably the 10th time, that Snow White and Minnie Mouse were far far away.

After the zoo we came and did cake and presents. Andy made out and got everything his little heart desired...except a pogo stick. Do they still have those? He's been asking for one and I have no idea where he even saw one. I did look at Target and didn't see one. Weird request, right?

He was so fired up all day and had so much fun. He's done so good here and for being used to playing with his cousins A LOT, he has adjusted well. We've made some good friends here that he loves to play with, and I'm so grateful for that. I signed him up for Pre-School and he is soo excited. Anderson is a handful at times, but is starting to grow up and is a good big brother to his sisters. I will always have ENDLESS stories of his shenanigans though!

We moved!

2011-03-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

So we did it. We moved to Memphis. I'm exhausted! Tim drove out with his friend Tyler and both cars. They had Anderson and surprisingly, the busiest kid in the world did great. The whole trip (a 24 hour total drive), he watched 45 minutes of one movie. He just sat in his seat and watched the window. Tim said he kept asking if he wanted to watch a movie and he would say no. I guess he just needs to be strapped in once in while. We also blessed Ivy before we left on our last Sunday in my parent's ward. It was nice. Because things have been so crazy with Tim's job and selling our house, I haven't been able to really enjoy Ivy yet. Now that things are starting to calm down, we get to play and enjoy having a little baby in the house again.
While unpacking, it was like Christmas for the kids all over again. They re-discovered their long lost toys and were happy...for about 2 seconds. There are too many other things to mess around with and play with in a new house to worry about those boring old toys. Finally I ended up saying, "Don't touch anything that is not a toy". I'm sure you can guess how long that lasted.

Tim, Tyler and Andy stopped at Cadillac Ranch on the way. Crazy.

This was our backyard last week. Now the trees are getting green leaves. This is a sight I've never seen before as a AZ lifer. It's so pretty and green. It's been in the seventies if not lower since we've been here. Definately will take some getting used too! It snows a few times in the winter which I've never done before. Anderson and Minnie actually have not even seen snow yet. It's going to be crazy!

This is my view as I sat in Relief Society last week. The Memphis Temple is a smaller one built on the grounds of the church building. You have to make an appointment if you want to go other than the already set session times. I can't wait to go. It's awesome to be able to go to church every Sunday and see the temple right there. Our ward was super nice, and much smaller than we are used to. We already were invited to someone's house for dinner and made a few friends. Seriously, how or what do people do when they move somewhere and don't have the church? How do you meet people? Who do you call for help? I am so thankful for it and wouldn't know what to do without it! Especially now that we will be relying on ward members and visiting teachers and home teachers much more:)

Later AZ

2011-02-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

For the last 6 months, Tim has been working 2 or 3 days a week. It's enough to keep our benefits (THANK GOODNESS considering I had a baby during this time) but also enough to make us (more me) go crazy stressed. We have had D-land passes for the past year and would go when Tim had to go to Irvine for work. This way, we tagged along on a work trip to minimize the expenses. Last week Tim only worked 2 days. So Tuesday afternoon, we decided we needed one more Disneyland Trip. We left that evening, pricelined a hotel for $35, and went to Disneyland Wednesday and Thursday. You know you have taken your kids to Disneyland too much when 1) you only take one picture the ENTIRE trip (this Goofy one was from when we went in October...the one of Minnie below is from this trip) 2) your kids have opinions and where they want to go and what they want to ride 3) your 3 year old doesn't ride ONE ride the entire day...and is totally fine 4) you recognize the "day workers". It's been 15 days in the last year or so. I think we've had our fill for a while.
So Tim finally got a job in Memphis, TN! He is transfering within his company there but will be doing some of the same work and some different work too. Also, we sold our house and close in a couple of days. I cannot believe it is all lining up with each other. Tim and I and Ivy will go out there in a week or so and find a house to rent and then as soon as we can get all of the logistics taken care of, we are moving. We've wanted to move away for a long time, which we understand is probably not the desire of most people. So we are giving it a shot.

We told Anderson we were moving to Tennessee and he said, "Do they have a playground there?" He will miss his cousins but will be able to make some new friends too. Little Minnie (who rushed into Terrible Twos the day she turned 2) said, "no, my Tennessee". Typical 2 year old. She finally let me put pig tails in and they lasted a good 20 minutes. I guess she likes having a clown wig in her face all day long.

We are excited and a little nervous, but looking forward to change and the new things to come!

Andy

2011-01-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

The other day I rushed through Target to get some well needed groceries and supplies, first time with all 3 during the day by myself, and had to stop at the bathroom for Minnie. In stores, church, or any public place she likes to pretend she has to go potty to be able to flush the toilet and wash her hands. As I'm getting her on the toilet for her false alarm, Andy spots something on the FLOOR in the corner of the BATHROOM STALL. He says something about nuts, bends over, and before I can stop him, eats some stranger's left over nuts from the bathroom stall floor at Target. As I sternly told him, " Don't eat food from the ground, it will make you sick" I thought I can only imagine what the lady in the stall next to me is thinking. I always tell him that and he NEVER gets sick. My kids must have the best immune system of all time.

Well Needed Good News

2011-01-20T09:22:00.000-08:00

We got some good news last week!! Tim passed his Professional Engineering test and he is

now a licensed PE (Professional Engineer) in California! The reason he took it in California is to get it early. In Az, you need 4 years post graduation and in California you only need 2. Woo Hoo! I needed to hear some good news:)

Ivy...3 kids

2011-01-14T21:41:00.001-08:00

This is Minnie's pirate face...not sure why but she thinks anything that looks scary is a pirate.
Ivy looks a lot like Anderson did as a baby, so we are trying to imagine what he will look like as a little girl :)

I kinda hate taking pictures of little babies before they can smile, they look so serious and concerned...

I can't believe we have 3 kids. Ivy has been pretty good. Someone told me the 3rd kid has to be good and easy or else everything else would go down fast. Between nursing, taking Minnie to the bathroom, making sure Anderson is within sight, sleep deprivation, and c-section recovery, I feel like if I make it through the day and everyone is alive and fed, that I did ok. I usually leave the house at least once a day and my kids are definately used to it. Since I can't drive for a bit, and try to keep Ivy home for the most part, I don't want to get my kids dressed because then they want to leave. So we stay in our pj's and watch movies all day and play. I'm sure I'm not up for mother of the year, but like I said, surviving is key right now! I do have awesome sisters and family who help take Andy and Minnie so I can sleep and they can play with someone other than me with a baby attached to my chest. I know it's only been a week and a half but, when do they sleep through the night again? :)

Ivy Mae Vanderwalker

2011-01-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

Baby Ivy is here. She was born January 5th at 7:45 and was 6 lbs 12oz. How is it that I gain 40lbs with Anderson and Ivy and they weigh 6lb 5oz and 6lbs 12oz and I gain 30lb with Minnie and she is 8lb 1 oz. Weird. Surgery went good, recovery is rough as always but I'll survive. Thank goodness for Tim and my parents who help out a lot. We've been home for a few days and the exhaustion is beginning to set in. Andy and Minnie love baby Ivy and Anderson begs for her to open her eyes so he can see them. We are all doing well and enjoying the new baby.

Sunbeam

2011-01-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

Oh boy. Today was Anderson's first day in Sunbeams class, and lets just say he was less than thrilled. He loves nursery and all week we kept hyping up the fact that he was going to primary and going to be a big boy, blah blah blah. He just wants to play with trucks. Surprisingly though, he went without a fight. We teach the class behind him so we were right there to witness him in all his wiggly glory. Overall, he did better than expected, except...in the middle of class he had his first potty accident in forever. Seriously it's been a LONG TIME and I was surprised. So I had to head home and change him for the last little bit. We made it through though. Since I am a terrible mom and don't have one picture of Anderson on his blessing day (which is totally ridiculous considering he is my first child), I decided to take one today for his first day in primary...
and to document the last Sunday these 2 have before another one joins the bunch. I had pretty strong contractions on New Years Eve. I had to call my sister to ask how far apart they should be before I do something about it. They lasted a couple hours then stopped. Too bad, adding one more child to the tax return would have been mighty helpful:) Oh well, Wednesday it is.

The final countdown...

2010-12-28T20:14:00.000-08:00

Jan 5th is the big day. The beauty of a scheduled c-section is knowing exactly when it is going to happen. That also means you are counting down the hours until it does. The downside to having a c-section...I don't want to talk about it. I hope that I can make it with 2 kids to take care of!! I'm not ready for no sleep, and adjusting to 3 kids, and if we can all fit into our car it will be a miracle. Wish me luck!

Knock on Wood

2010-12-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

So, I don't want to jinx myself, but we've been potty training Minnie for a few weeks now and I think she's got it down pretty good. During the day she has been totally fine, and only a few

wet mornings every once in a while. I am a mom who doesn't truly consider my child fully "potty trained" until they go a SIGNIFICANT time where I know they truly get it. At home, she mostly will run to the bathroom and look at us like, "are you coming?" or she'll just take off her pants and undies and run right in. Of course, for us, getting them to tell other people (who are watching them or at nursery) usually takes a bit longer. But, I'm happy that I haven't bought diapers in 3 weeks, and won't be buying 2 different sizes come Jan. 6th!! At least I don't feel like I'm on "crotch watch" all day long and that I can leave the house without rushing to get back home where there is a bathroom handy!

Merry Christmas Card!

2010-11-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Vanderwalker's! I do have cards I could send out, but lets be honest, way too much work at this point. So, just to keep up with technology, my Christmas card is on the world wide web...cards next year if you're lucky. The dynamic duo is up to no good as usual.

Mom is busy resting, eating, and counting down the days till she is not pregnant anymore (I mean until we recieve the wonderful gift of life into our family).
Dad is working and busy relieving mom when she needs it, which is more often than not. He has a sad face because this was the last time we went to Disneyland for a while. Like 13 days in a year hasn't been enough!
This little sassy one is busy going potty on the toilet...she's doing well but we aren't completely out of the woods in my book. She also loves to pose for pictures and wrestle with her brother.
This little boy is the same as always. I'm convinced his curiosity will never be satisfied. He so kindly sprayed half of my perfume (don't be surprised that I own perfume...it was a gift from Tim:) on his blankets and filled the house with the concentrated scent of Flowers. Thanks Anderson:) He's also avoided a few public exposure charges recently as he felt free to whip it out and relieve himself at the TOP of the bleachers at a high school football game (facing the crowd no less) and at his cousin's flag football game. Hopefully he's gotten that out of his system. Andy never ceases to amaze me.
We are hanging with my parents until Tim can find a job...either with his current company in Cali or somewhere else. Sorry AZ, we've grown apart. I know most people LOVE it here but we are ready for a change. The baby (most likely Ivy Mae) will be here Jan. 6th, unless Santa brings her earlier so we can get the tax benefits:) We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

It's our funeral

2010-11-19T13:33:00.000-08:00

We've decided to take the plunge and potty train Minnie. To me, there are too many good things

to doing it earlier than later: it's done before the baby comes, it's done before we can hopefully move (sometime soon hopefully), no 2 babies in diapers, and the Minnie Mouse undies are too cute. I can't resist. The way I look at it, we have to either do this now, or in 6 months. Either way, she has to figure it out. Wish us luck!

Why I LOVE Being Pregnant...

2010-10-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid and my dad was released from the Bishopric, he came up with the "top ten reasons you know you have been in the bishopric too long" and of course, read them from the pulpit. Real typical of the Coombs' and so funny. So I was thinking about the "top ten reasons why I LOVE being pregnant".

1. I really enjoy going pee every 5-10 minutes (day or night). Who doesn't enjoy a little quiet bathroom time to themselves?

2. I really love the first 5 months where the thought of eating anything makes me want to puke, yet not eating anything really will make me puke.

3. I really love gagging uncontrollably at the smell, and sometimes even thought, of something gross.

4. I really love having to change my bottoms when I sneeze...if you know what I mean.

5. I really love only being able to sleep on my side, especially when I usually sleep on my back or stomach, not to mention switching from side to side 10 times a night.

6. I really love not being able to take any medicine that would normally kill a headache fast, or a cold, or any other illness. Knowing that when your sick, you just get to ride it out, is so nice!

7. I really love being woken up in the middle of the night by what feels like an alien in your stomach trying to break free.

8. I really love the joy of going to "weigh in" every month and finding out you weigh the same 6 months pregnant as when you delivered the last baby. Why do I try to convince myself that if I took my shoes off before I stepped on the scale that the number would be much better?

9. I really love not being able to fit in any real clothes, and not even my own husband's clothes because I'm pretty sure he is so skinny that I surpassed him a long time ago in the weight department.

10. And the thing I really love about being pregnant is knowing that most likely, unless I can convince Tim otherwise, that I get to do this all over again. Phew! I thought this may be the last time.

And being pregnant isn't the best part, after the baby comes the real fun starts!!! :)

Long Random Vent

2010-10-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

I found this old picture on my parents computer. It's Anderson a year ago. Sometimes I have to look back at pictures of my kids to remember when they were sweet:) I consider myself a pretty real person. I am not afraid to say my true feelings about life and motherhood and my kids.I don't know if this is a good quality or not. And more than anyone, I really appreciate when other people are honest, and don't try to live up to an expected image that seems to be the norm. I am fully willing to admit when things are tough, and they are tough right now. It seems easy to focus on the bad things that are going on, when kids misbehave, current temporal circumstances, being pregnant (I know...probably shouldn't be on the "bad" list) or anything else that seems to go wrong. Having your own pitty party is sometimes a hard thing to snap out of. I loved President Monson's talk in the first session of general conference. It reminded me to be grateful and show gratitude for the things we are blessed with. This makes things a lot easier to endure and always draws you closer to the Lord. I always wonder why you always try to do everything right when you are struggling with something, but then become somewhat laxed when things seem to be running smoothly. Why isn't it like that all the time? How much better would I be if I tried this hard always? Sorry for the spiritual soapbox.....just need to vent a little.

2010-09-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Another pose for Minnie...just last Sunday. Things are kinda crazy

here but nothing to report. Just surviving...I think!

Cabin

2010-08-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the cabin this weekend. It was nice and cool. Minnie perfected her camera pose while we were there:)

Baby #3

2010-08-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

These two will officially be outnumbered. The doctor is 95% sure we are having another girl. Typical girl, she wasn't being totally cooperative but we will check again at a later date.

STRESS

2010-07-24T17:14:00.001-07:00

This is how I feel lately. Stressed. Why is it that when it comes to this, when it rains it pours? And why is it that you are always pregnant and sick when it's pouring? I find it so easy to tell others (and I believe it 100%) "it will all work out and be fine" when they are in stressful situations. But that becomes a little harder to put into practice when I'm there. Time to man-up I guess and practice what I preach.

Vacation

2010-07-08T14:59:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to San Diego with my family! We had been going as a family when I was growing up every summer, but we hadn't all been back together forever. Anderson wasn't a fan of the water but the sand kept him plenty happy. He is also in heaven playing with all of his cousins. Minnie loved the water and would have ran right out there if we let her.

Anderson and his cousin Leah. She is 3 1/2 months older than him and they are always playing together.

Grandpa and Grandma made it to the beach but not in the water this year. I will say it is freezing!

Anderson ate lots of oreos. This was his perfect mustache.

Minnie girl loved the sand too. I'm still finding sand in their ears.

I can't wait to go back next year. Next year we'll have another little booger to watch in the sand. At least that one won't be able to move yet.

Ohhh Anderson...

2010-06-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to Tim! Anderson gave us a Father's Day surprise this morning as he came down before we woke up and poured a half a bottle of CHOCOLATE SYRUP on the carpet.

Will his curiosity and busy-ness ever be satisfied??????????

Whoops....Surprise!

2010-06-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Jokes on me....I think #3 is on the way. I haven't been to the doctor yet, I'll go in a couple of weeks, but 3 positive tests, no "monthly visitor", two weeks of constant nausea, and an already noticeably protruding stomach is convincing me that it's true. You think Minnie looks surprised here....

you should have seen Tim and I. Moral of the story: Be Prepared (if you know what I mean). As my mom told me, they don't do much good sitting in the drawer!:)

Nerd Alert

2010-05-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

NERD ALERT!

I guess they take after their Dad...

Disneyland Extravaganza

2010-05-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

So, for the last few weeks Tim has been working in Irvine on a project 3 days a week. After one week of me being home and wishing he was home, we decided we'd go with him. So we bought annual passes to Disneyland and I've gone with him the last 2 weeks. So during the day I take the kids (by myself) to Disneyland. Around nap time I head back to the hotel, let them sleep, then pick Tim up and head back to Disneyland for the night. Tim's office is 10-15 minutes away from Disneyland, and our hotel is so close that he can walk to work. It's been pretty crazy and takes me a good 2 or 3 days to recover when we get home. But being there by myself wasn't as bad as I expected. The first week Marci and Joe (one of my bf's who is also married to my cousin) and their boys were there so that was fun. And luckily, everyone at Disneyland is the nicest ever and will put my stroller where ever it needs to go while I lug a 15month old baby around. It's been really fun. Anderson asks to go everyday, even when we are home. It's funny that some days he prefers certain rides and won't do others. He does LOVE the Jungle Cruise and I'm pretty sure I could write my own cheesey material and be a boat captain. And yesterday he actually wanted to go meet the characters instead of being afraid of them. Our passes have the most blackout days, but we don't like to go when it's busy anyway. I feel like I live there, which I would love to do! I'm starting to recognize the workers...that's a little embarassing.

Long Days in the Mom Department...

2010-04-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Anderson woke up yesterday morning and came right into our bed before we got up and fell right back asleep, which almost NEVER happens. He slept late and woke up and asked for some medicine. I could tell he wasn't feeling good, but sometimes he asks for medicine when he is totally fine. That cherry tylenol must taste awesome. I gave him some just in case, he didn't eat much breakfast and layed around. Then he told me he was feeling good and seemed to be much better so I ventured to Target for some necessities. I put them in the stroller because I wasn't in the mood to not have them strapped down somewhere. I bought fruit snacks for Anderson and he didn't eat any. He started to look rough so I asked if he wanted to lay down in the stroller. I put the seat down, grabbed my stuff, headed for the check out and the next thing I know, a volcano of throw up was gushing out of him. It was all over him, his blanket, his shirt, the stroller, and everything. I put my stuff back on a shelf and tried my best to clean him up a little before we went home. Gross. I don't know what it is but once you have smelled the throw up smell once, you can't get rid of it! That is seriously like the second time he's ever thrown up. I feel like it's a form of potty training, trying to train them to throw up in the actual toilet. He was much better after that and felt fine the rest of the day...but still asked for medicine.
This one must have taken lessons from her brother. She climbs EVERYWHERE. On Sunday Tim was giving the kids a bath and we usually take Minnie out, put a diaper on her and stick her in her crib while we get Andy out. I was downstairs doing dishes and I hear a huge thud and Minnie freaking out. I run upstairs and she had climbed/fallen out of her crib and was hysterical and walking toward me. I couldn't find any sign of serious injury, and luckily we were still able to move her matress down another notch. She had gotten the blankets and pillow in her crib stacked and used that to step on. She climbs on the kitchen table a million times a day and into the TV cabinet too. When am I going to get one that just likes to relax?! Sometimes I don't mind if they are sick because then they sit still for a while. That's terrible.

I have to write these down

2010-04-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

I have to write some of this stuff down so I don't forget some day. Anderson just turned 3 April 2nd and he is saying the funniest stuff (as all 3 year olds do). So I figured I should write some down so I have them and don't forget.

The other day out of the blue he was eating and said, "Mom, Jesus Christ is coming back" I said "he is?" He said, "Yeah, Jesus Christ is coming back...he had to go get his car. He had to go get his truck." Thank you nursery teachers!

Yesterday we were at my mom's eating dinner. I kept telling Andy he could go play outside after he ate his dinner. My mom was across the counter from him and Anderson said, "Grandma, look at me...I want to go play outside."

Obviously we love all things Disney around here, and the other day Anderson said, "Is Jesus going to Disneyland?" I figured at least he knew 2 important things we try to teach him! I'm glad he thinks about both!

What are the odds?!

2010-04-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

About six months ago, my dad went to the Eye doctor and they told him he had a detached retina and to go immediately to the hospital to get surgery to re-attach it. It was pretty bad and so after the surgery, for the next WEEK (I'm not kidding), my dad pretty much had to be facing the floor the entire time. He had to be parallel to the floor or his eye may have to have the retina re-done. This was him at Halloween with part of this glasses taped so he wouldn't be bothered by it. He couldn't go to work for along time...let's face it those BJHS Bulldogs need all the supervision they can get! Well, about a month ago my mom went in to the eye doctor and guess what...detached retina. Luckily, her's was not as bad as my dad's so she had to sit up for a few days instead of stare at the floor! Seriously what are the odds?! I don't know about this eye doctor they are going to (just kidding Tricia!) Between the two of the them, they have a pair of good eyes and can't drive at night until they can fully see...good grief. Tim and I were laughing because during our family prayers we were praying for lot's of eyes (Grandma, Grandpa and Nash:). Recovery is going well and hopefully they will be able to see soon (it's really hard to keep track of Anderson with 2 good eyes, let alone a pair of good ones between the two of you).

We Made It!

2010-03-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

It's official, 7 full weeks of ZERO days off for Tim or I is officially over. His class is done! We are not free yet though, his test is next month and if he doesn't pass, he takes the class again. If that happens, this may be it for me and these two...just kidding (kinda).

Minnie Girl

2010-03-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

Minnie is such a poser. When Tim gets his camera phone out, she totally stops and smiles for the camera. Great, that's all I need.

So most people tell me that Minnie looks just like Tim. I'm never good at figuring out who kids look like, but I think it's Tim's dark hair that seems to sway people. This is me when I was a baby, and believe it or not my hair is pretty close to as dark as Minnie's. I am the only kid in my family with blue eyes and light hair. My brothers and sisters used to tell me I was adopted, and of course I believed them. My mom says we got a new home teacher (classic joke, right?).

Two more weekends of Tim's class. Hopefully me (and my kids) can make it alive. If we do, I will consider it an accomplishment.

Mrs. Complainy Pants

2010-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Tim is preparing for an important Engineering test in April with a Review class that is ALL day (I mean 9-7:00pm and 8-5 all day) on Saturday AND Sunday for 5 weeks. This is the second weekend and lets just say I am already not a big fan of these husbandless weekends. Sometimes I feel like a wimp and get caught up in the poor me, this is so hard, blah blah blah. In reality I have it pretty dang good. There are so many people out there who are struggling and have much more real issues to complain about or have to deal with than me. I am working on not complaining. I stopped myself from texting Tim saying I don't think I'm going to make it today. I'm already preparing myself for the longest Sacrament meetings of my life the next few weeks. When I stop and think about all of my blessings, I am embarassed for even feeling like this. I know, suck it up right.

2010-02-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

We've had a busy and kind of random last couple of weeks. Minnie turned one on the 5th! We sang and did the cake thing on Saturday night with my family after my niece's baptism. Then on Sunday we had Tim's family over for cupcakes and cheesecake and sang to her then too. She loved the cupcakes and also loved putting the frosting everywhere in her huge head of hair!

Last weekend I threw a baby shower for my sis-in-law Courtney who is having a girl in April. I took this picture for Marci (who has one tomorrow--Sorry Marci) so she could see the table. I am not very appreciative of stores who totally hike their flowers prices during the week of Valentines day. Even Costco, where you can usually get 2 dozen roses for $12.99, let me down and had a dozen roses for $15. And, no good pink ones. So I found these tulips at Wal-Mart for $5 a bunch and they worked great. Courtney got a lot of good baby stuff and I am very excited for Minnie to have a cousin that is actually younger than her (I didn't think that would EVER happen) and it to be a girl.

And finally, we made it to Disneyland. I am proud to say Minnie is TOTALLY done nursing!! And, she loves milk (in a sippy cup too). So we left her with Tim's mom, and drove to CA Monday night. We pricelined a hotel for that night for $40. We went to Disneyland the next day and the clouds were not very friendly. It rained off and on for the first few hours in the morning. Then it stopped for a while so we did a lot of the outside stuff. For example, probably Andy's favorite thing he wanted to do was ride the "big truck" (which sometimes doesn't come out so clear as big truck if you know what I mean:) that rides down Main Street. At like 3:00 it started POURING and didn't stop for a few hours. I was surprised they kept it open. We were going to leave and decided to ride a few more things. After that, it stopped raining around 6:00. Everyone had left, so we rode a ton of stuff that last couple of hours. We were totally by ourselves in our own boat on Pirates of the Carribean and Small World (which we only went on to warm up--it's a long one for us). We maybe waited 4-5 minutes at the most the whole day. We pretty much walked on to everything, and it was completely free! We already want to go back...not till next year though. Hopefully Disney will keep us this "Free Day" Promotion stuff next year! I would HIGHLY recommend doing the Give a Day Get a Day thing. Check out the disneyland.com website and follow the links. It's totally worth it!

Busy Busy

2010-02-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

It's official, we did our Give a Day Get a Day and it was soooo easy:) We went to MCC and "pruned the rose gardens" which means we pulled leaves off of the rose bushes for 2 hours. We got free donuts and were in and out in 2 hours. In the next couple of days we got an email that said we could print out our passes. So, on Monday, we are driving to California and going to Disneyland (all of us FREE) on Tuesday! Minnie gets to stay home with her Memere (Grandma) because she is officially no longer nursing (HALLELUAH).

On Friday Minnie turns 1! This was seriously the fastest year of all time for us. She is starting to walk pretty much all of the time right now and is starting to understand a lot more. She is also becoming a sneaky little thing. In true Vanderwalker fashion, I made my millionth call to Poison Control the other day. Anderson had a fever so I thought I was in the clear, since he was completely glued to the couch. I went upstairs and brushed my teeth and changed (which I NEVER do when Andy is awake and healthy) and when I came down stairs, I found Minnie with the reed diffuser dumped on the ground. Of course she smelled like the oil everywhere and her mouth also smelled like it. When I called (hopefully they don't keep track of the number of calls from one household) they said most of the oil contains alcohol so to watch her to see if she starts acting drunk. Thankfully she was fine. And she is now a permanent air freshener everywhere we go! I guess for once it wasn't Anderson being a stinker. Happy Birthday Minnie!

Meltdown's Birthday

2010-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Today is my dad's Birthday. I have the best dad. He is the funniest man. I'm pretty sure half of my friends are only my friend because of my dad. My first day of seventh grade at Bogle Jr. High was my dad's first day as the Security Guard there. He still works there and is a local celebrity! Every time we go out, someone from school yells "Steve!" When I run into people I went to school with, the first thing they'll ask me is about my dad and if he still works at Bogle. I can remember being in my Jr. High PE class and seeing my dad army crawling on the football field trying to catch ditchers.

One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid was go get a "hit" (a Thirstbuster) and a treat with my dad at Kwik Stop. I find myself taking my kids to do the same thing. I remember my dad driving home from San Diego, then driving back the next day to watch me play in the semi-final and final games of my Basketball Tournament. Then turning around again and driving us home after we won that night. I know almost every song that is played on 94.5 because of my dad. I have been to more ASU games and more Suns games than I can count with him. I have so many fond memories of my dad. I'm so happy my kids are by their Grandpa and love to play with him and that they ask to go see Grandpa. Happy Birthday Meltdown!

This picture was taken Easter 2 years ago right before Anderson turned 1. I guess one of the perks of being a Jr. High security guard is the cool "bling" you find from kids.

Cardiologist Visit

2010-01-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

Has there ever been a cuter little girl? (don't answer that) I took Minnie to the Cardiologist to do a follow up about her PFO (I think that is what it is called). It's a tiny hole in her heart that should have closed before she was born but didn't. It doesn't hurt her or really affect her and is quite normal. There is a possibility that it would have an effect when she was older. The last time I took her in they said it was "abnormal size" and we will check again and if it is big enough, they may have to go in and close it when she is 3 or 4. Today, the doctor said it is still "abnormal size" but is tiny and getting smaller and should eventually close on it's own or stay tiny enough to not be a big deal. I was definately relieved! We don't have to go back for another 2 years. I don't know what it is, but there is nothing more sad than seeing little babies with wires hooked up to them or tubes sticking out everywhere. I'm so glad we don't have to do that! Now if she could just quit nursing, life would really be GREAT!

Random

2010-01-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

So Tim and I, seperately, had the same idea. We want to try to take Andy to Disneyland before we have to pay for him. He turns 3 in April, so we signed up for Disney's Give a Day Get a Day program where you do volunteer work for certain organizations and you get a free day at Disneyland. So, Tim and I will be free, Andy will be free, Minnie will either stay here or be free if she comes with us. And, Tim actually works for their office in Irvine, CA (which is like 15 minutes away from Disneyland) so if we go to Disneyland one day, he can stay and work in his Irvine office the next day. So basically, we can take our family to Disneyland for the cost of gas money and food...for sure we'll take that! Anderson asks every other day or so if we can go to Disneyland. And he is obsessed with the music from Pirates of the Caribbean. We have a cd with the music from the rides at D-land, and we go back and forth between that one and the Tiki Room.

So Minnie has crazy hair and lots of it! But she won't keep any sort of clip in AT ALL. But, she will wear this styling 80's head band. And she loves to wear it like a sweat band. Whatever keeps those crazy bangs out of her face...she pulls them down and they are long enough to reach her mouth. I can't bring myself to cut them though.

Let's hope Anderson isn't giving Minnie any secrets about getting into stuff. I don't know what I'd do with myself if she is as "curious/busy/never sitting still and getting into everything" as Andy is. By the looks the of the next picture, I may be doomed!

Christmas is OVER!

2009-12-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

I like Christmas just as much as the next guy, but by the end of it, I am so ready for it to be over. Christmas night Tim and I put the tree away and all of the decorations. I love getting my house back and not worrying about the kids getting into stuff. Anyway, Christmas was great. Anderson got things he really liked and Minnie seems to enjoy the fake keys Santa brought her! A couple days after Christmas, Anderson came in after he woke up and said, "Andy open presents?" So we had to explain that it's not happening for a long time!

The highlight of his gifts was his new basketball hoop and new basketball. He has slept with it, taken it to the bathroom with him, and everywhere else. We have set it up inside on the stair rail and he's getting pretty good. I think he gets it from mom...no offense Tim!

Sorry for the blurry picture. Santa also brought Minnie and Andy those little pop-up tents that have a tunnel coming out of it. I don't know who loves it more, but they are in and out of that thing all day.

Here's the loot. Thank goodness they are still small enough to be happy with very little:) Tim and I counted our trip to Disneyland as Christmas for us. We already want to go again before Andy turns 3 so he will be free. We are trying to figure something out...we'll see how it works.

This little girl is starting to walk! She consisitently takes 3 or 4 steps and sometimes more. She's been doing this for a while but seems to be getting better. I'm sure she will be all over the freaking place soon. Crazy. She is going to be one of Febuary 5th. I promise this was the fastest year ever.

Disneyland

2009-12-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Disneyland and it went so fast it feels like it didn't even happen! This was our first time bringing the kids and Tim's parents came with us to help out. They took them back for naps which helped and then Tim and I could do the big rides during nap time. It was really nice. It wasn't that crowded and we waited 15 minutes at the most. Most of the time we walked right on everything!

Of course we had to go see Minnie and Mickey mouse! We got pictures with both and Anderson gave them hugs. He was a little shy but not afraid or anything.

Anderson loved to ride the "horsey" (the carousel) and kept asking for it. There is one in California Adventure too so he rode it a bunch.

This was in the hotel room before we went the first day. It took a while for Anderson to get used to everything but once he warmed up to it all, he was good.

The only big ride he could do was the Matterhorn, which he really liked. He was really only afraid of the Haunted Mansion which he kept saying "all done all done, go outside" but he was fine once we got going. All in all it was fun and way too fast! I want to go back already.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

I sort of dropped the ball on the whole Christmas Card thing this year. I thought it would be funny to send a more "realistic" family picture, but consider this your very own card (via the blog of course).

Merry Christmas from The Vanderwalkers

Bah Humbug

2009-12-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just put our tree up yesterday and I'm already done. You would think this would block any baby. Nope, when I hear the jingle sound I know somehow she has gotten through and is sitting so sweetly right in front of the tree. And, I don't know how many little green ornament hangy things are missing in action, because they pulled the "Christmas Ball" off, and I've stared at the tree and can't seem to find one. We learned really early that ornaments don't bounce on the tile like regular balls. They just shatter...I think I'm just going to get a Christmas tree that can be put on a high shelf some where for the next 10 years.

2009-11-29T13:17:00.000-08:00

A week from tomorrow we are headed to DISNEYLAND for 3 days! Tim (more than me) and I love Disneyland. It will be the first time we bring the kids. My mom and sisters gave me the idea to make a shirt for Minnie to wear, so we did! Thanks Karyn for the transfer paper...I owe you a sheet! I did add some cute flower things later to girl it up a bit, but I think it turned out cute. She STILL won't take a bottle. I try multiple times a day and nothing. I quit cold turkey for a couple days and still nothing. The problem is I am getting really bad migraines and cannot take ANYTHING while I'm still nursing. I've decided I can brave the migraines if I have to, but what about when she turns 1?! I'm for sure done after that. Any suggestions are still appreciated!

No crazy Anderson stories thank goodness! The other day he did start coughing randomly and said to me, " Andy drink gas?" Oh boy. He fell asleep like this one day in the car on the way home from playing at Kaci's. They aren't getting another baby brother or sister until this one goes to school...it's for everyone's own good!

Help Please!!

2009-11-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Any suggestions for getting a 9 month old to take a bottle?? PLEASE PLEASE make any suggestions!

Gas Breath

2009-11-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Anderson took terrible twos to a whole new level. It all started at my sister's house where him and Leah were playing outside. I check on him pretty often because I know what he is capable of. I went to check and noticed the patio was wet, then I noticed the 2 gas cans were tipped over. So we checked and sure enough it was gas spilled everywhere, and Anderson had gas on his breath. So we ran inside and rinsed his mouth out. He was coughing but not out of control. We called Posion Control (who might as well have their own file folder for us) and they said if he continues to cough a ton, and if it is a deep cough, then I need to take him to the emergency room. They said if 1 drop of the gas gets into his lungs, it can be pretty serious. Then, they said to take his wet clothes off and wash his skin because it can burn your skin. They called back in an hour and luckily he hadn't been coughing much and he was acting/drinking/eating normal so we didn't have to go in.

After that incident, we went to my other sister's house. Usually I check on Andy quite a bit because he has ran away and gotten into everything from lotion all over the bed to towels and shirts in the toilets. I kept thinking, I'll just leave him playing, I'm sure he is fine. So I finally go downstairs to check on him and he has stripped down and peed on the carpet. After we got him dressed, he snuck outside in the garage. He was maybe in there a minute or two before I got him. When I found him, he had the windex bottle in his mouth and his hand on the trigger! Then he got on my sister's Eliptical machine and came out with a cut across the bottom of his foot. Then, as I was getting ready to load in the kids, Anderson had beat me outside, turned the hose on and was completely soaked. Just another typical day in the Vanderwalker house. THANK GOODNESS Minnie is a bit more tame.

Halloween is Long Gone

2009-11-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

We had our first "real" Halloween this weekend. By "real" I mean Anderson actually knew what was going on, actually went trick or treating without freaking out after 1 house, and actually came home with a bowl full of candy which we are making our self sick with. Minnie was good old Minnie Mouse of course. I made her dress with a pattern I had and figured she could wear it to church also. The ears are felt I sewed together and glued to the bow. Then I attached it to an aligator clip. Not bad for $5.

Anderson was a train engineer. Right after I had Minnie, Tim and his dad took Anderson to the train park where Tim's dad got him this hat. We got some overalls at Savers for $3 and had a bandana laying around. He looked perfect!

Minnie was really good. We went trick or treating with my nieces and nephews in my sister's neighborhood. By the end, we had Anderson in my sister's double stroller with my niece and strolled right up to the doors, where him and Leah would grab their pumpkin and head to the door.

No my dad was not a pirate! A month or two ago his retina detached from his eye, so his had to have surgery and is recovering. He is slowly getting some sight back, but not being able to see out of that eye was making him have headaches so they taped his lens.

These are the Coombs cousins! They are so good with Andy and Minnie and my kids love to play with them! Anderson is in heaven when they are playing together.

2009-10-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Tim's brother and his wife sent Anderson and Minnie some CUTE Halloween outfits that it is finally somewhat cold enough to wear. They are so cute.

OK, I know it's going to sound dumb but, I am so excited that I finally figured something out yesterday! I usually buy all my clothes at Target, and usually only at the 75% off clearance rack. Sometimes I am ridiculous enough to watch things and wait for it to go to the 30%, then 50%, then 75% off rack (Maybe it's because I go to Target almost everyday). Sometimes, I'm not going to lie, I'll buy an XL girls shirt that's on clearance. So, I found a pair of jeans yesterday for $7.50 and I tried 3 on. Every pair (like always) were so long. I've had this problem my whole life. When you have to find pants to fit the "Coombs rearend" they usually are longer and bigger at the waist. So yesterday, I figured out how to hem my jeans, and keep the hem they already have too! I was so fired up! I used to either keep them long and eventually the bottoms and back tear because they get dragged on the floor. If I did hem them, it was screaming "look at me--I'm home sewn". Now, you can't even tell! I know this is ridiculous to be excited about but this is the best thing that's happend to me all week (It's kinda been a rough one:) So, anyone needing jean-hemming assistance, let me know!! I'll be happy to lend my services!

2009-10-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, the hardest thing about being a mom is feeding the kids. I hate it. It wouldn't be bad if they ate what you fixed, didn't chew it up then spit it out and stomp on it while it was on the ground (Thanks Andy--and it was a peanut butter sandwhich), and ate more nutritous food than treats. Latley I have been totally dredding lunch and dinner. If it's not bananas, Minnie doesn't want it. If it is not cancakes (pancakes) or waffles, Andy doesn't want it. Not to mention the fact that Minnie decided when she turned 7 months that she didn't want to take a bottle anymore, which she was doing fine up until then. Lately I have had it with meal time.

No this isn't from Anderson not cooperating during meal time, but I may be running out of options soon. Just Kidding. Tim and I went to North Carolina to surprise his oldest brother for his 4oth Birthday. Tim was just going to go, then I decided after him that I wanted to come too. We couldn't really afford to pay for Andy, so my sister watched him for a few days and this happend at her house conveniently when she wasn't looking and didn't see what happend (just kidding again).

See what I mean. You would think this was maybe during the first week of introducing baby food, but no, this was a couple days ago. Minnie is 8 months old now. She is lucky she is cute.

Thank goodness Tim gives me a break every once in a while and will take over the feeding duties. Too bad he can't produce milk, if you know what I mean. At this point, I may be willing to have him try!

Firsts

2009-09-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Anderson has been a self-made vegetarian since birth. He hates meat and won't even eat a chicken nugget (not for me at least). So we've started to "bribe" him with things just so he will at least take a few bites, in hopes that once he actually tastes it, he will like it. So, our standby bribes are, if you take 3 bites you can take a bath (works every time!), if you take a bite dad will get the trains out, and on this day he got his first hand stirred milkshake. My Grandma Minnie always made hand stirred milkshakes, so we are high maintenance around here when it comes to those. He loved his first milkshake.
Anderson also got his first tie for church, or as Tim calls it, his first "peepie wiper" (it's a bit long but the selection at the thrift store isn't that promising). I have been looking forever and can't find one that fits him, so oh well. He is focused on another intense episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He now sings along with the songs and can do the roll call by himself.

Minnie turned 7 months the other day and has just gotten her first tooth, and can now pull herself up. The other day I was hanging Andy's shirts up and had some hangers on his mini couch in his room. Minnie pulled her self up and cruised right on over to get the hangers. Her head barely clears the big couch down stairs which she has just started pulling herself up on.

She's pretty funny and a good baby. Her hair kills me.

Projects

2009-09-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

I tried to put Minnie's hair in a pony tail the other day...it was so cute while it lasted! I've been in the mood for projects so we decided to get them done while we still want to.

When you walk in from the garage at my house, you walk into the laundry room. The back wall has nothing on it, and I've seen a version of this before. I've seen molding (kinda like a chair rail) butted up against itself to make a rail. Then you put hooks on it and kids names above them so each person has their own hook. Since this is where you walk in, you can hang your stuff and have it ready when you leave. So this is the beginning. These are doors from an old armoir we had (which has finally bit the dust and all of it's parts have been reused). Tim cut them down to fit. Now I have to finish spackling the holes and gaps and then paint it. Then I'll use some old door knobs that we are replacing, paint them, and screw them on for hooks. So this project will basically cost me whatever the paint to spray the knobs costs.I would use something I already have but I'm all out! Later I'll put the finished product...hopefully it looks good and works.

Finally I feel like our room is done, because it's always the last one we get to. I love these things above the bed! They are my new favorite thing. We got the idea from one of my mom's Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine. Basically you use an outdoor rubber mat as a stencil. My mom gave us some left over wood, we stained it, put the mat over it, and spray painted the blue. The mat was $6 at Ross, the stain was $4, spray paint $3 and the wood was free! The best part is you can do whatever color you want to match the room.

When we lived in Glendale we covered our headboard with some brown silk my mom gave us (If any of you know good old Renee, she is quite the bargain shopper--and my sisters and I always come home with something new). We just had it sitting on the floor, so we finally stuck a few boards underneath it to raise it up. The curtains were $2 a yard fabric at Home Fabrics (way cheaper than Joann's, even with the coupon). We have a bay window so I needed 10 yards of fabric! I was too lazy to line them so I made smaller panels of a left over white sheet that was tearing and put them on a tension rod that is hidden by the blind valence. It does the job and makes it as dark as possible in there, not that we could sleep past 6 am even if we wanted to. I've got a few more projects I want to try. Let's hope the motivation stays a little bit so I can finish them. Thank goodness for Tim who will help me too!

The Greatest Invention of all Time

2009-08-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

This is the greatest carpet cleaner of all time. It's called Folex, it's about $5, and it does wonders. Last night I was finishing painting my hallway (which has been in the works for like 6 months) and I had a few drops spill of paint on the carpet. The folex took it right off. Then, I had the extention pole screwed into the roller handle, and as I was rolling, the handle broke. So, the roller dropped on the carpet and then bounced. Tim and I ran and grabbed this stuff and started pouring it on. It got full on paint out of my carpet! It has gotten kool-aid (the red kind) out of my couch, and almost anything I've ever tried. They used to sell it at Wal-Mart, but I can't find it there anymore. It is at Lowe's in the cleaning aisle! Get it while you can!

2009-08-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Minnie is a full fledged crawler as you can see. This is in the very corner of our family room, which is usually blocked by a huge ottoman, and some how, she gets there and just chills under the table. She is getting fast and I have to watch her around stairs, and bathrooms, and everything else. She even stood up today by pulling herself up. She fell down pretty quick, but she is moving way to quickly for me. Something that is not moving quick enough is this dang baby food stuff. One of the most frustrating times of being a mom is mealtime!! Oh man. For about 4 weeks now I've been feeding Minnie baby food, and just in the last few days she has finally learned to eat it. But, forget about her opening her mouth. I feel like I do a song and dance, while shaking a toy, just so she'll open her mouth and I can get a spoonful in there.

Sometimes you just gotta take a picture before church because they just look so dang cute.

Anderson loves Minnie and is always wanting to kiss her and hug her and always says, "Hi Minnie! Doing?" (he means what are you doing). He even tries to keep her from going where she shouldn't (because he is really good at doing that).

So for a couple months now Andy has been fully potty trained. The accidents are few are far between! But for some reason, he sometimes does this same thing when he wakes up. He has a rug in his room with different color squares. So he'll get up, take his pants and undies off, and pee in one specific blue square. Usually, he'll come in without pants on and say "Uh Oh" and we go in his room and sure enough, the square is wet. This time, he managed to get his undies back on. Impressive right? This kid gives us a run for our money! I think Heavenly Father knows our challenges because Minnie is the best baby, and Andy is well, let's just say my sister says if she had him first, she would probably not have anymore.

2009-08-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's official, I am no longer putting bows and clips in Minnie's hair to look cute or distinguish the fact that she is a girl (because apparently when people ask they don't see the bright pink shirt). They are now for taming that mane! I know what you're thinking, oh poor me who has a baby girl with so much hair that you HAVE to put it back. Sorry, it's the truth.

6 Months

2009-08-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Minnie had her 6 month appointment today. She is 14 lbs and 15 ounces and starting to thin out a bit. She is in the 90th percentile for height and everything looks good. I have to take her to the Cardiologist in October for a follow up and if her clogged tear duct doesn't clear up in a couple months we'll have to fix it. It took both of us to hold Minnie down to check her nose and ears because she is so dang WIGGLY! Same thing with the shot. At least she took a good nap later.

Family Pictures

2009-08-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

My sister in law Brandi was in town and took our family pictures a few days ago (Thanks Brandi). They turned out so good. It was sooo hot. For those of you who know me well, one of the Coombs curses is sweating. So I had a couple of washcloths strategically placed under my arms so I didn't have sweaty pit shirt in my pictures. Gross right. So we got some good ones and Brandi had to photoshop Andy's forehead (from the iron incident). Of course this morning, the scab fell off and it looks almost as good as new. Two days too late I guess. Minnie has learned how to crawl, sit up, and sit up from laying down this week. Way too soon for me.

Jokes on Me

2009-07-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

The jokes on me apparently this week. Joke #1, Minnie is so close to crawling. This can't be good considering my day to day chasing Anderson around to keep him from getting into everything. Which brings me to...
Joke #2. This is what happens when you climb on the counter and put your head on a really hot iron. This was after he fell face forward out of my cart at Target and I caught him in mid-air while holding Minnie (I even got some "nice catch" applause from the Target workers). And before he sat in my sister's cart at the store and dumped a carton of eggs and grabbed one and squeezed it in his hand till it broke. Is it ok to strip a 2 year old down in the middle of Fresh and Easy to change their pants? Just another typical day.

Cabin

2009-07-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

I feel about as wasted as Minnie looks here. This is exactly how she woke up this morning. That mane is crazy. We went to the cabin this weekend in Nutrioso and it was so fun. It was cool, it rained, we got to take naps, and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and Sammy (the dog).

This is probably my most favorite thing to do as a kid was go on jeep rides. I asked my Grandma and Grandpa to take us because they go to places where I am scared to drive. We basically went through the woods and literally drove over trees because the roads were torn up from the loggers.

Anderson LOVED to be outside. He chased Sammy so much that she went and hid in a bush to get some free time away. He fed the birds with my Grandma and loved going on rides and just walking in the woods.

I tried to get a cute picture of Minnie and the flowers but all she wanted to do was eat them, of course. The last few days she has been starting to get on her knees and hands. Today she started scooting and I am NOT ready. I want her to sit still and not be able to move. I just keep telling myself that she can't be as bad as Anderson who is still EVERYWHERE. I'm in for it I think.

Minnie's First Haircut

2009-07-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

After a bit of pressure from everyone, and an overall consensus, we cut Minnie's hair. The back was really long and she had worn a bald ring around her head. The bald ring is growing back now, so we just decided to even it out and let it come in. She's only 5 months and the idea of cutting a 5 month old baby GIRL's hair wasn't my favorite, but I like it now.
Before:

After:

Having a hair person in the family is the best!

Tim's Family Reunion

2009-06-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend Tim's Family had a Reunion at a Resort in Phoenix, so we went out there Saturday for the day and swam and visited. It was SO hot and I was afraid Minnie was going to get burned, even though she was lathered in Sunblock, so we went inside for most of the afternoon. This was her first time ever getting in the pool, and as you can see, she was thrilled!

Anderson was more interested in "play grass" (playing in the grass) than the actual pool, so it was a struggle to keep him occupied. What's new.

Even if Minnie didn't like the water, she sure looked cute.

Anderson is starting to pay a lot more attention to Minnie, and asking to hold her. I can't wait until she can play with him. That may free up my toilets!

2009-06-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

The other day Tim taught Anderson to pee while standing up. Apparently, he forgot to teach him the difference between this...

and this.

At least he has good aim.

4th of July Dress

2009-06-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

This is what 2 year old boredom brings...that and flushing a raquetball down the toilet. Luckily my little fingers and hands were the perfect size for fishing it out.

Sorry for the blurry picture but I caught Tim cutting Minnie's nails like that. He wasn't kidding I don't think.

Ok, this is not my idea, I've seen it on a few random blogs but, it's a little girls dress from 2 bandanas and some ribbon. It takes like 5 minutes and if you can sew a straight line, you can do it. These bandanas were from Target in the bins where stuff is a dollar. I cut them a bit smaller or else it would be way too long for Minnie. Not bad for 2 bucks. It's cute for the 4th of July and very light weight so she won't die of heat exhaustion.

It's so much better when they can sit or stand and you can take pictures of them. It's just not the same laying down.

A well needed break!

2009-06-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Tim and I stayed at the Orange Tree Golf Resort in Scottsdale for a well deserved break! Tim's mom was nice enough to watch Minnie and Andy while we were gone. Hopefully, she'll want to watch them again...we'll see. We went shopping and got Minnie a little doll. I know she'll reach an age where she will probably hate us for naming her Minnie (like Minnie Mouse). Minnie was my Great Grandma who I was very close to and lived until I was a senior in High School. I spent a lot of time with her and am really glad I could name my little girl after her. So for now, I'm embracing the Minnie Mouse connection. We'll see how long that lasts!

We got Anderson a few hot wheels cars, which he was truly jumping up and down for us to open them. It's nice to be away, but I'm always glad to get home and get back to a routine. I'm sure I won't feel that way tomorrow.

I'm Losing My Patience

2009-06-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'm losing my patience very quickly with this little boy. In the last 2 days, he has dipped his head in the toilet TWICE, drank water from the toilet once, flushed crackers down the toilet, flushed a micro machines car down the toilet (I'm pretty sure, and it's clogged at this point), unlocked the front door and pushed the chair over to unhook the chain on the top of the door, come in with his mouth covered in diaper rash cream, and pushed the chair to the counter to eat many brownies out of the cookie jar. Not to mention I had to call poison control last week because he drank the ant bait that the pest control guy left in the window. All of this while his baby sister is eating. Throw in the occasional 2 year old temper tantrums and the summer heat trapping us inside and you get one impatient mom.

Recipe Clarification

2009-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

So, Marci asked me about the homemade ice cream recipe and so I'm clarifying. Put all of those ingredients into your ice cream freezer (you know the one with the motor and ice and rock salt) and turn it on. It will stop when it's done! Sorry for the confusion. If you don't have one, you can borrow one from me!

Tim's Birthday

2009-06-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

In Tim's family, everyone's birthday somehow connects to someone else's birthday. They are either on the same day in different months, or same day same month. For example, Tim's brothers have the same exact birthday but 2 years apart. And, their wives have the same exact birthday. So, when I met Tim and we started dating, one of the first things Tim's mom asked me is when my birthday was. I thought it was kinda a weird question at the time, but when I answered, Tim said, "Oh no". His is May 30th and mine is June 30th, so we fit the crazy birthday corresponding....which apparently meant we were suppossed to get married. Anyway, Tim's birthday was Saturday so we got "Birthday Donuts" at Krispy Kreme in the morning and hung out. Then Tim and I went out while Courtney watched the kids for us! It was the first time we had been out for a few months. New babies really kill those date nights. Sunday we had Tim's family over for brownies and homemade ice cream! I have the easiest recipe which requires NO COOKING on the stove. Its:

2 cups milk

2 cups half & half

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tablespoon vanilla

4 cups whipping cream

It was good!

BOOOO Summer

2009-05-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

About this time of year, I start to remember why Tim and I wanted to move away from AZ. It's already been well above 100 degrees, my SRP bill is doubling as we speak, and I now have a 2 year old begging to go outside and actually play in the yard that we did so much work on just in time for it to be "too hot to go outside". Anyway, Minnie is getting big. She is almost 4 months is changing. It's crazy how much faster time flys when you have a second kid to keep you busy.

Tim took Anderson and his cousins to his brother's Father and Sons campout. I was nervous because we are still perfecting the potty training thing but Tim said he did well. No accidents, a few false alarms on the way home, but other than that he didn't need the million pairs of undies I packed for him for one night. It was so nice to just have Minnie. I hung out with my sis in law which was so fun and went to my mom's without having to chase Anderson every 2 seconds.

Anderson loves animals. He chases them. Hopefully they will all be as nice as this one!

Anderson can grow a better goatie than Dad! This is him enjoying "Birthday cake" which we have discovered means only the frosting. He begged for more Birthday Cake the other day when the whole piece was still on his plate with the frosting eaten off. Luckily we have plenty of birthdays to celebrate with the million cousins in town.

So when we started Potty Training, Andy went #2 a couple times on the toilet and #1 has been so easy. Well, then he forgot how to do #2 on the toilet and didn't mind doing it in his undies. He had a pretty bad accident in Nursery and luckily we were prepared. Anyway, this week we have done much better. No accidents at all, and after a few "treat" bribes and a trip to Krispy Kreme today, he has gone #2 on the toilet with no problem! Thank Goodness! I am all for bribery! Whatever works...right?

Potty Time

2009-05-12T14:12:00.001-07:00

So, we decided to take the plunge and potty train Anderson last weekend. I know he's still pretty young, but he had gone on the toilet a bunch of times, and was starting to tell us when he was going. I felt like if we stopped taking him or didn't listen when he told us, that he would just stop telling us all together. Plus, I am thrilled with the idea of not having to buy diapers for 2 kids anymore.

Anyway, Tim took Friday off to help me because since I'm nursing, it's hard to catch him in time at the beginning. The first few days actually went really well. We went through about 5 pairs of undies the first morning. After that, he seemed to catch on pretty well. Tim was really close to him all weekend so we could take him if he started going. We had to go to our parent's houses on Sunday, so we gave him a little distance, and he did tell us at my mom's. He did have an accident at Tim's parent's right when we got there. He hasn't had any accidents in his bed (during naps or the night), and has been telling us. It happens when he is playing with other kids and gets distracted. Overall, it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully it will just continue to get better! He LOVES his Cars and Elmo big boy undies though!

TV Time

2009-05-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a bit guilty lately about too much TV during the day. Since Anderson pretty much NEVER sits still, I use to dream of the day where he would actually watch something on TV. Now that the day has come, I may be taking advantage of his new found hobby. I usually have it on for background noise, but he pretty much asks to watch Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Cars, and Buzz all day. I used to tell myself, when Minnie starts sleeping through the night, then I'll worry about it. Well, that is pretty dang close. Oh boy, I'm in for it I think!

Cardiologist Visit

2009-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

On Monday I took Minnie to the Cardiologist for a follow-up from her hospital visit when she was 2 weeks old. They did an ultrasound to look at her heart and said that the hole between the two sides (I think it's called a PFO) is actually an abnormal size right now (as opposed to a "normal" size). So, after a long explanation, which I sort of actually understood, he said that having this could affect her in 3 or 4 decades and her heart may start to have problems because of an increased volume on one side. If in time the hole is still an abnormal size, when she is 2 they can go in and close it. Or, when she is 4, 5 or 6 they can do a procedure which plugs the hole. He said she would be a much better candidate for that rather than the surgery. I have to take her back in 6 months and they'll look at it again to see what it's doing. I was honestly expecting them to say it was no big deal and never come back. But, this seems to be somewhat common and fixable so I'm not worried. It's not hurting her or affecting her growth so that is good. Her murmur is still there too but she should grow out of that. Anyway, we are happy it is nothing too serious and she is fine and happy! Who wouldn't be with those cheeks?

This girl could be on her tummy all day long! She loves it.

Minnie's Blessing

2009-04-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

We blessed Minnie on Easter Sunday which was kind of neat. Tim did a great job. My sis in law wrote down most of the things he said in the blessing which I was so glad to get. It is so hard to remember, and I am clueless about Anderson's blessing. What a good idea.

After church we took some pictures outside. Thanks Erin for taking the big ones. They turned out great. As you can see we looked more Christmasy than Easter but I'm not a big Easter outfit person, plus these colors were ones we all had.

Don't mind the pacifer ring around her mouth. She was chomping that thing.

This is Anderson right before the big Easter Egg hunt at his Memere's house. He was so excited. This is his first Easter that he can actually walk so he was all over the place, as usual.

Thanks to everyone who came to support us for Minnie's blessing. It means a lot to us and we appreciate all of the love and support from family and friends.

Anderson is 2 years old!

2009-04-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

We've officially entered the terrible twos (could have fooled me, I'm pretty sure it started when Minnie was born). We had my parents and Tim's parents over on his birthday for brownies and ice cream and opened presents.

The next day, we had his cousins and friends meet us at the park for cupcakes. Everytime I do anything outside, it is inevitably ruined by the wind. It all started with our wedding, and has cursed us ever since. It was crazy windy, but I think the kids had fun. Andy loves playing with other kids. He asks for "Friends?" everyday.

This is Mallory, Max, Cru, Andy, Kale, Carson, Grant, Leah, and Marley. Anderson had a blast...and took a four hour nap today because he was so wasted from playing. Happy Birthday Andy Vandy!

Who's In?

2009-03-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Tim and I are in the process of designing a new invention. The Zapper. It's inspiration is this little boy seen here and a bark collar. It will give your two year old not too much zap that it will hurt him, but just enough to teach him. Very handy for nursing mom's who can't get up every time they get into the toilet, unlock the DEADBOLT and get in the garage, throw random stuff in the toilet, climb in the baby's crib, stick pencils and crackers in the cd player, push the chair to every sink to try to wash their hands, and try to fill their sippy cup with water from the fridge dispenser then come in totally wet and say, "It Rain?". Oh yeah, and get your 32 ounce soda from the counter and drink/spill it everywhere. We are accepting any investors who may be interested.

6 week appt

2009-03-18T12:19:00.001-07:00

It took about 2 or 3 weeks of putting Anderson back in his crib a million times for naps and bedtime before he figured out we weren't kidding about him staying in there. I'm so glad he finally gets it. After we got that down, We took the front off of the crib for his bed. The first night every time I checked on him after I fed Minnie, he was asleep on the floor. We put some pillows down to break his fall and I think he's learned. This is how I found him during his nap the other day.
I had my 6 week appointment yesterday and all I have to say is BOOOO! I hate this time, for multiple reasons, but mostly because of the fact that now I feel like I have to start losing the baby weight and exercise. No more eating treats all day and telling myself I'll stop when I can work out. I've already postponed the exercising until next week. I also like to tell myself I need to ease into things because of the c-section. Sure, I'll keep telling myself that.

Random Happenings

2009-03-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have a comb for this little girl? I seriously don't brush my own hair everyday, let alone Minnie's. Can you tell?

This sums up what we've been up to lately: Me chasing Anderson. If you can't see to the right on the floor, Andy got himself some cereal while I was feeding Minnie. I swear he is into everything. My parents watched the kids last night so Tim and I could go to dinner for our Anniversary, and before I even left, my dad had to chase Andy down after he had crossed the street and was trying to climb in the ditch. He figured out how to unlock the deadbolt on the door to our garage so I can't even trust him in our own house. We're going to have to expand our Fort Knox security at home or else who knows where he'll end up.

Today I went to Marci's and hung out all morning. It was nice to have some adult conversation. Minnie and London were hanging out together. We had to take some pictures. Of course they were sooo squirmy while we were taking them.

Looks like they are instant friends though. I'm pretty sure they had just high fived in the next picture. They were probably both planning to make their mom's life miserable tonight and get up a lot. Sneaky little newborns! Thank you Marci for getting the stupid bow to stay in her hair. It is still in there now!

Wow

2009-03-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

All I can say is that I forgot how tired you get with a newborn. If I sat still for 3 minutes I'm sure I'd be out. Not to mention, I'd like to tie Anderson's hands behind his back for the entire day. As long as there is no rope marks, no one will know right?? Just Kidding. It was a sad day the other day at the Coombs house. In an attempt to lower their Cox bill, my parents got rid of their home phone. Yes it's true, after 25 years, it no longer exists. My mom said she cried when they turned it off. My sisters and I told them no one will ever be able to get a hold of us. I'm sure we all remember our good friend's phone numbers from 7th grade...

I can rattle off a few myself. So, if you ever want to talk to Steve and Renee again, you'll have to go through me and get their cell phone numbers. Good Bye 821-5141.

Wasted

2009-02-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

The last 2 1/2 weeks have been crazy and I am officially wasted. It's not like we've had enough excitement in the Vanderwalker home, but last Thursday I took Minnie to the doctor for her 2 week appointment, and the doctor noticed she was breathing a lot harder than usual. He had me stick around for a while to see if it would slow down. Long story short, it didn't and we drove to the other office to check her oxygen levels. After watching her for a few hours, he called a doctor at the Hospital and she said to bring her in for some tests to make sure if wasn't an infection or something with her heart causing her to breath faster. We went to the NICU (to bypass the Emergency Room, that way she wouldn't be exposed to getting sick). The did a ton of tests and after a day and a half there, we got to come home. She doesn't have an infection and everything looks good. There is a few places with her heart that should be fine when she gets older but we do have to take her to the cardiologist when she is 3 months old. Add this to the usual sleepless nights and it makes for one wasted and tired mom. Poor Andy has been passed around a lot lately. It is so great to have plenty of cousins for him to play with and family to help. I don't know how we would do it any other way. I'm so glad everything is ok and they are both healthy!

Hopefully a nap will be in the future...near future. On a happy note, Minnie's first friend was born late last night. Marci had London yesterday. We couldn't have planned it better...2 girls 2 1/2 weeks apart. I can't wait to see them together.

Train Day

2009-02-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

We are adjusting to 2 kids here at the Vandy home. It's a lot harder because I can't lift Anderson or do too much because of the c-section, but it's been fine. We've had plenty of help or else we may have gone crazy. Anderson figured out how to climb out of his crib the day before we had Minnie, so we've been trying to transition him into a bed, and that has been hard. But we are making progress. Minnie had her first bath, her hair was getting pretty greasy.

Anderson got to go with Tim and Tim's dad and Grandpa to a train park in Scottsdale on Saturday. From what Tim said, I guess he really liked it. They rode the carousel and a few little trains.

Anderson's Papa (Tim's dad) bought him this Engineer hat and he loves it. He sometimes wakes up and the first thing he'll ask for is a hat. He'll wear them forever.

Right before bed, he still had the Engineer had on, and put his shoes on too, with no pants of course. He was looking pretty snazzy.

Baby Minnie is here

2009-02-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

Minnie Lucille Vanderwalker

Feb. 5, 2009

8 pounds (yes 8) 1 ounce

20 inches

Anderson is still completely clueless, but at least he is kissing her before sitting on her (which he did to my baby niece while Kaci was watching him).

This time the c-section was scheduled and so my mom was able to come in. This is her and Tim before we headed to the operating room. Everything went well with the surgery. Because of the reflection from the light above me, I pretty much watched the whole thing pretty clearly. It took me a few times to remember that it was me they were doing that too. It was pretty crazy.

As soon as they took the baby out, Tim and I kind of looked at each other in shock. The picture below us is Anderson as a newborn. With him I gained 40 pounds and he was a week early and weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces. With Minnie, I gained 32 pounds, had her 10 days early and she weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce. As you can see, they pretty much look NOTHING alike. So it took us a while to realize that Minnie was ours, and we are still trying to figure out where she came from! She is definately a Coombs baby, and has more hair than Tim does probably. Anyway, things are great and we are doing fine. Thanks for all the calls and comments and support.

Getting Ready

2009-01-30T12:24:00.001-08:00

We are just getting ready for the baby around here. As you can see, Anderson may be in denial that he is "being replaced next week" (that is what Tim says--he is joking of course). This is the little mini crib that Tim was in as a baby and his mom gave it to us for Andy, and we'll use it again. Less than a week now. I am having a terrible time sleeping, going to the bathroom every second, and feeling soo tired. I know that it has only just begun with the tired part! Thanks to everyone who came to the showers and brought such nice gifts. Baby Minnie will definately be more stylish than her mother...which isn't hard one bit.

10 Years

2009-01-20T12:16:00.000-08:00

That's right, we've officially been graduated from High School for 10 years! Our reunion is this year, and a blog has been made to update people and find people. Check it out, it's on my list or the site is www.chandlerhighreunion1999.blogspot.com. So, if you are a former wolf, tell your friends. Don't be a bust. And if you are worried, you have until October to start losing weight so you can fit into those high school jeans. Or if you are me, high school sweats!

Baby's Room

2009-01-13T13:12:00.000-08:00

The baby's room is almost totally done. There is still a few things missing, but for the most part, we are ready. I have to brag a bit, that this entire room so far has only cost us $17. Not bad.

My mom had given me a twin sheet set a while ago which I used to make the bedding. I think it goes with the garden room theme, even though Tim thinks it's a bit "grandma-ish". The chandelier I've had forever and got it at Target for like $4 at least 3 years ago. I'm glad I kept it.

It pays to have a husband who is an engineer, and likes to help me with my stuff. This valence was here when we moved in so we just used it to make our own little awning. We were going to do a regular flower box but I had seen this kind in a magazine a long time ago and wanted to try it. My mom had all of the buckets and I already had the flowers. The most expensive thing was the brackets for the shelf. They were $9!

Now all we need is a baby, who won't even sleep in this room for a while...of course.

One more month

2009-01-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

I officially have one more month to go before I am not pregnant any more, I mean before I have a baby. Since I am having a c-section, it's scheduled, which I've decided is good and bad. Good because I can schedule everything else and know when it is and there is no surprises. Bad because I know when it is so I can't wait for it to come. I get just as excited, if not more, to not be pregnant anymore than to have a baby. It's ridiculous I know. Anyway, Feburary 5th is it. Maybe I'll make a paper chain to help pass the time...

Busy Busy

2008-12-23T13:16:00.001-08:00

For some reason whenever we take a picture of Andy or ask him to smile, this is what he does...we don't know where it came from but he should be all set when it's time for pictures at school. I wonder if they still give you a comb in line, and let you keep it!

We had a busy weekend, we went to visit Tim's Grandma in Campe Verde on Saturday. The kids loved playing outside and chasing the sheep. These are the cousins that went up there. We are missing 6 still, plus one that will finally come in Feburary!

This is Andy and his cousin Anna, she is 4 and hilarious. He learned her name and was saying it a bunch today. They are in town for Christmas.

If only we had a fence we could put him in at home. I wouldn't even mind if it was barbed wire either. He would learn his lesson soon enough!

My first "F"

2008-12-05T15:08:00.001-08:00

It's official, I am a failure at the "No TV for a week Challenge". Tim's friend came over last night while I had to go to a meeting, and they watched TV. And when I came home, I didn't stop them. I loved every second Anderson watched "Melmo" on Sesame Street this morning, and I have no regrets. I will try to stick to the no tv on Sunday for a month thing. Hopefully, I'll be better at that! Can you blame me? I am a Coombs...we need our cable. Thank goodness for DVR!! I must admit I did actually watch The Hills on the internet yesterday afternoon. I couldn't wait!

A Rough Week Ahead

2008-12-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the 5th Sunday so the Bishopric spoke in our ward. Since I am in primary, Tim is the only one who goes, so he came home and told me that they challenged all of us to turn off the TV for a week and to not watch TV on Sundays for a month. I am actually surprised he told me about it, so last night we put the remote up. Let's just say it's been a LONG morning. I'm embarrassed how much I watch it. The only way Tim is agreeing to it, is because we have DVR so he knows he can watch his shows next week. As you can see below, we only let Anderson watch the best of shows. See how much he LOVED General Conference?? We'll see how it goes.

A Haircut and a Shave

2008-11-29T15:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever Tim and I are getting ready, Anderson loves to be in the bathroom. So, Tim started giving him the full treatment, and giving him a "haircut" and a "shave". This might be the only time EVER, that he actually sits perfectly still. He loves it. When Tim isn't there, he gets the razor out of the drawer and hands it to me and says, "Please?". So, I have to give him a shave. He is a Coombs in the hair department, meaning he has it everywhere already, and more than his dad.

Project Day

2008-11-14T20:23:00.001-08:00

Today was "Project Day". Kaci came over and we both had some things we were working on. So, Anderson and Leah enjoyed a healthy lunch of peanut butter cookies, and topped it off with a few starbursts. That counts for a protein and fruit serving right? Anything to keep them happy during project time. What good mom's we are!

2008-11-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Isn't it weird how Boys play much differently than girls?? I realized this as we watched Sleeping Beauty the other night and Anderson sat there for about 5 minutes, then went and got his car to roll around the house. Just today he has tried climbing out of my shopping cart twice, once head first (thanks Marci for catching him), dove off the ottoman head first about 5 times, tried to use the cabinet handles on the drawers to climb up on the counter for a cookie, and spun around in circles for about 10 minutes laughing every time he fell on the ground (just missing every sharp corner in the house). Oh please be right ultrasound...we need a girl around here. (Mom is not enough)

Halloween

2008-11-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

Mini-me?? We weren't sure if Anderson was going to be afraid of Tim in his Robot costume, but it didn't phase him.

On the other hand, putting his costume on for the millionth time yesterday did phase him.

He lasted about 2 houses trick or treating with his Vanderwalker cousins. I think he thought we were going to leave him at the house...I thought about it but decided against it.

This is the best shot I got before Andy threw his hat down. These are some Vandy cousins trick or treating together. I didn't live in a neighborhood growing up and we NEVER had trick or treaters, so I was excited to go home and pass out candy at my own house. I've never done it before. My favorite trick or treaters were Cash and Carter! Thanks for stopping by on your way to Seattle Chelsea! It was a nice surprise!

Coombs Family Pictures

2008-10-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

My family got there pictures taken by Marci's sister Stephanie and they turned out really good. Anderson was the worst ever and I was convinced we wouldn't get one at all with him not screaming, forget smiling. But Stephanie worked her magic and we got some good ones.

We tried to avoid the big huge belly at least in this one. Mission accomplished for the most part.

In a lot of family pictures I can remember taking, we are always trying not to laugh because Chris always makes a joke right before they take it.

This is all of the adults, spouses included.

This is the whole family. Notice Anderson looks pretty pissed. At least he isn't screaming. Too bad I'm having a baby in a few months and we'll have to do it again...I don't think I can take it.

Like Father Like Son

2008-10-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tim and I just finished Anderson's robot costume for Halloween. For some reason it won't upload the pictures in the order I want, Oh well. This is Andy's 1.0 Robot costume! He loves it and runs away from us when we try to take it off of him. The only way we can get it off is by putting something on the ground he wants, and he can't bend over to get it so he'll let us take it off.

This is the hat. He loves the rest of his costume but won't even let this touch his head.

This is what you get when your husband is an engineer...

This is not why I titled it Like Father Like Son. Tim does not wear pink head bands when he eats lunch, only Anderson does.

Big Day

2008-10-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

Anderson was all ready for his big day in Nursery for the first time! Everything went just as I expected, it was a huge DISASTER! Lets just say Tim was reunited with his nursery experience because he was in there the whole time, except for the first 20 minutes when Anderson was screaming bloody murder. Can't wait for next week!

Finally Home

2008-10-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

We are home from being gone for almost 2 weeks. We went to Charlotte, NC to visit 2 of Tim's brothers, and then the day after we got home, I went to my Grandma's cabin with my sisters. I'm wasted! My Grandpa told me that he can't see me gaining much weight if I have to keep chasing Anderson around. Hopefully that is true. This is us at this place where you can walk through some Revolutionary War homes, including the house that was in the movie The Patriot with Mel Gibson. They were really cool and they still had workers gardening and knitting on the porches and stuff.
We drove a couple of hours to go to Asheville and take a tour of the Biltmore. This is the largest private residence ever. The square footage inside is the same as the square footage of 4 acres. It was huge and really nice inside. It was owned by the Vanderbilt family and they had a railroad built up to the front door so they could be dropped off there. This was one of my favorite things we did.
This is one of the gardens by the Biltmore. The green house is behind us and is huge and full of every flower and plant you could imagine. It was so pretty. When we went, it was constantly raining or drizzling so we didn't get to walk around the gardens as much.
Other than that, we hung out with family. These are a couple of Anderson's cousins. He loved them and they were so good with him. I think he got watched almost once a day so us adults could go do something fun. We really appreciated that!! His cousins informed me that if you give him his blanket, he stops crying...at least they figured that out. That's better than me.
This is the Anderson in the backyard of Tim's brother's house. It's so nice and the weather was nice and cool. He would wake up and go straight to the sliding door to play outside or to find the dog. Poor dog would get mauled all of the time.
He was much better than I expected on the way up there. There is 2 flights and both got delayed at least 1 hour, sometimes an hour and a half. On the second flight, we sat at the terminal for a good 45 minutes before we moved. One of the engine's that control's the air conditioning was not on and it was 84 degrees and kept climbing. Anderson's head was completely soaked by the time it came back on. I even turned around and saw a guy a few rows back with his shirt off. Yes, full on naked chest and gold chain. I told Tim at least he was skinny. He eventually put it back on. On the way home, we almost put Anderson in the above luggage storage. He was miserable! But we made it and hopefully he can get back on schedule.

2008-09-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last night I got my hair cut. It's the shortest I've been I think ever, except for my Annie look-a-like t-ball picture. We all got hair cuts just in time for our trip next week. We are going back to Charlotte to visit 2 of Tim's brothers. We love going back there and always have a lot of fun. Then when we get back, Anderson and I are going to the cabin for about a week with my sisters. Hopefully by the time we get back, it won't be 100 degrees here. I'm glad it always cools down just in time for Halloween...it's ridiculous it takes that long!

New Fashion Trends

2008-09-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

I was going through all of Andy's clothes to see what fits, what doesn't, and what a girl could wear too. This is how Tim dressed him. Not sure if it will catch on or not...

Forget Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Check out the zipped up house slippers.