Grandparent Connections
Kennedy is really grasping the Grandparent connection. She says to Joe, "You are Susan's dad."
Last night I was talking to Mema and Kennedy asked "Who is Mema to you?" I said Mema is my mom. "What about Papa?" she asked. When she said hello to Mema on the phone she said "Mema, you are my Abuela." That's Grandma in Spanish. We've been reading a Dora story about Dora's Abuela.
Kennedy's also connecting events, future trips, and people together. She told Mema that we would be flying to Aunt Shelly's soon and will go see the Nutcracker Ballet!
Labels: Bean, Grandparents
25 Weeks
Tomorrow marks the 25 week mark for the newest Anderson. We still haven't really settled on a nickname for this little guy (sprout, Bean too) so we mix and match based on whatever comes to mind in conversation. We had our OB appointment yesterday and all is going well.
Baby's heartrate was in the 140s and momma's weight - well, let's just say it's growing healthily, ha!
Next month we'll get to do another ultrasound to make sure that the placenta has moved away from the C-Section incision line. (With Kennedy - after 32 hours of labor I ended up having a C-Section. Turns out that my bone structure is a bit too narrow to allow the baby through - so that takes all of the guess-work out of this next little guy.) The silver lining is that we get to see him again on film before his big debut.
We have guests arriving this evening - we're thrilled to see friends Martina and Dan and meet their 1 year old boy. Pictures soon...
Labels: Bean Too
Gifts and Goodbyes
Granny Kay has gifted Kennedy with a
Nutcracker ballet dress again this year. It's a beautiful dress and perfect for the event.
Patrick, Niki and River left this morning, continuing on their journey to California and eventually Mexico. Here's a photo of Kennedy and River sitting in Kennedy's makeshift "Princess Castle."
Labels: Bean
More Kennedy Photos
For a 3 year old, Kennedy has nice perspective with the digital camera. This one, a photo of Susan and Niki, is taken from the back in the car seat.
Yesterday we went to Granny Kay's for a family Thanksgiving meal and Kennedy took this shot of Granny holding a toy, Elliot.
Labels: Bean
Budding Photographer
Kennedy has become more and more facinated with the camera lately. As things were winding down on Thanksgiving, Kennedy got into an artistic mode and took several pictures with the camera. It was great to watch her determination and steady efforts and she worked to capture the image she had in mind. Below are a couple of the shots that we think came out great.
This is a close up of the skin of Sheryl's new drum.
A study in condensation:
Labels: Bean
The Readers
We had a houseful of folks over for Thanksgiving. Company, to Kennedy, equates to extra readers in the house. Here she is reading with her Uncle C.K.
After filling our stomachs to the max, we settled in and watched the movie 'Elf'. After that break, Kennedy insisted on more reading; here she is reading with Holden. We love it that Kennedy love books so much.
Labels: Bean, C.K.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Uncle C.K. is coming over. To honor how special he is and how thankful we are to have him in our lives we are happily foregoing the cooking of a turkey and cooking instead a deluxe gourmet meatloaf with three kinds of meat, ketchup glaze and bacon on top. Nothing says I love you to Uncle C. K. more than a good homemade meatloaf. The Anderson family will have turkey this weekend at our family gathering so it's no huge loss to us to not have to cook and eat one today. In fact, we're pretty happy about not having to cook one. We are having some old fashioned turkey day sides though with mashed potatoes, corn, glazed carrots, stuffing and hot rolls. Of course there will be pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert. Happy Thanksgiving everybody, and we love you Uncle C. K.!
Labels: Bean, C.K.
The Cold Shift
Early in the week Kennedy was able to leave the house in just her rain coat, as in this picture below, and no hat required. There's been a shift. Since yesterday we've had to put on our big coats when going outside. Beenies are also back in favor.
Labels: Bean
Chasing River
Here's another photo from the zoo showing Kennedy and Niki chasing Patrick and River around the big lawn. After a few minutes several other kids appeared and joined in on the chase.
Kennedy picked up a cold and has been
snot central the past few days. Last night we had to wake her up several times to get her to blow her nose. On the good news front, she's really good at blowing her nose.
Labels: Bean
23 Weeks and Counting
We've reached the 23rd week of the pregnancy of the newest addition to our family. This little guy sure likes to dance around; his movements are getting stronger and easier to feel. According to the stats, he is about 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (yeah, tell that to the scale!).
Given the short span of my pelvis - I often feel like I look like I'm a lot further along than just past the half-way mark. When asked when I'm due, I feel a bit sheepish saying early March because it seems so far away. Of course, now that we're in the holiday period fast lane, it's sure to be January before we know it.
I find it fun to compare the similarities and differences between this pregnancy and that with Kennedy. I was about at this stage in June of 2004. Key events that month included selling our old house, buying our new house, traveling to a friend's wedding, and acquainting myself with edema. (Luckily - this fall has proven kinder to the ankles so far...)
We're excited about Kennedy's debut in the Christmas musical at our church in a few weeks. We're starting to practice some of the songs with her at home so she'll be ready - it's so surreal that it's all coming at us so fast!
Labels: Bean, Bean Too
Pig Tails
Kennedy actually asked Niki to fix her hair and put in pig tails. It's a rare event when Kennedy asks for her hair to be done.
Labels: Bean
Dresses and Movies
Kennedy is still displaying a strong preference for wearing dresses. This one, with a matching purse, was a gift from her Mimi Clark.
Like good Portlanders we've picked up some movies to get us through these early dark evenings. We've been watching the Parent Trap (the original); The Love Bug (the original and the new version); Cinderella III; Speed Racer; Meet the Robinsons... Here's a photo of Kennedy holding Mommy Sheryl's hand while watching
Jack and the Beanstalk. How cute is that?
Labels: Bean
Happy Birthday to Sheryl!!
Happy Birthday to my fantastic wife!! Our day today started with presents and singing this morning. Kennedy and I got Sheryl an awesome drum called a Djembe from a local shop called
Rhythm Traders. We're all excited about having this new toy to play and Sheryl is looking forward to lessons.
Then, the seemingly routine day took a 180 degree turn when the daycare called with the message we knew we'd get someday... Kennedy thought it would be fun to stick something odd up her nose and by 'something odd' I mean an eyeball. And not just any eyeball (that would be weird) - the crazy googly eyes that you find at the craft store for art projects.
Anyhow, after a trip to the doctor and lots of blowing and tweezering, the eye came right out! Kennedy has now assured both the doctor and her mommies that she won't stick anything up there again; we'll see...
This photo is from this past weekend where we took advantage of the dry day to escape to the zoo. Note the gorgeous tiger in the background.
Labels: Bean, Mommies
Park Fun
It's been just nice enough to use the park. River likes the swing; good thing he likes it because he gets pushed pretty high.
Kennedy is always begging to be pushed higher. "High to the sky" she says.
River, 13 months old, can crawl super fast--turn your head for a second and he's gone!
Labels: Bean
Visitors from Montana
Our dear friends Niki and Pat and River are visiting. River is 13 months old now and we are very excited to see him in person for the first time. Kennedy and River are having fun playing at the art center.
They are having good fun together. They both love music. River attended our Music Together session ealier this week. He was a music together student in Montana so he knows all the same songs we do! This is the first time he's heard Kennedy playing her guitar though...
Labels: Bean
Autograph Book
A big thing to do at Disney World is to get autographs. Here's Kennedy carrying her autograph book.
We managed to get an autograph and picture with her favorite mouse, Mickey.
We also found Tigger along the way. By the time we got to Tigger we were a little weary of standing in autograhp lines, so we didn't pursue many autograph opportunities after that.
Labels: Bean
Princess Belle
By far one of Kennedy's favorite things was visiting the Princesses at Disney World. Here she is with Princess Belle.
We took Kennedy to the Bippity Boppity Boutique on our last day at Disney World. This is where she got her princess costume to wear on Halloween. She chose the Princess Belle combo. Here's Kennedy all dressed up giving Jiminy Cricketts a hug. There's some intersting info about
Jiminy Cricket on wikipedia.
BTW, we won't be posting for a few days. We have guests coming and other activities planned.
Labels: Bean
Animal Kingdom
We ate lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe at Animal Kingdom. Kennedy wasn't so fond of the place--loud with scarey gorilla sounds--but she did like the water shooting elephant statue outside.
Animal Kingdom was a lot of fun, especially the Safari Ride. This is what the guide called an "Upside Down Tree." It's roots are on the top.
Labels: Bean
More Disney World
The Castle has beautifully detailed walls. There are so many people bustling about it's hard to stop and pay attention, but it's worth the effort if you do.
We rode the carousel, a favorite of Kennedy's, a few times while we were there. Kennedy got really good at riding by herself.
Labels: Bean
Digital Self Portrait
Kennedy has shown interest in the digital camera and has taken quite a few photos. Here's one she took of herself while sitting in her car seat.
Labels: Bean
Big Plastic Characters
Even the big plastic characters were fun at Disney World. Here's Kennedy posing with Mickey and Minnie at Downtown Disney.
We took this picture of Kennedy eating her rainbow swirl while waiting for the big parade at Magic Kingdom.
Labels: Bean
