Firehouse Visit
We visited and toured the Belmont Firehouse last week. The fire house is a great place and we learned a lot about fire safety. Here's a photo of Kennedy ringing a fire bell.
Oliver started to pose in this firefighter's suit but he really just wanted to chew on it.
Labels: Beans
The Cat has No Chance
As much as Elle the cat loves boxes, the kids do too. We brought our carseat boxes in the house the other night and the kids went right after them.
Naturally, wherever Kennedy goes Oliver gladly follows.
Labels: Beans
Brunch with Friends
We went to brunch with friends this past Sunday. Kennedy always enjoys it when her friends Morgan and Jason are there too. Here they are having a cornbread snack.
Our friends Becky and Shaun, ever thoughtful, brought a gift for each of the kids. This tractor was Oliver's gift and he loved it.
Labels: Beans
Birthday Parties Galore
The moms' group that Oliver fits into is experiencing a lot of kids with first birthdays. Consequently, there have been quite a few parties. At one of the parties this past weekend, Kennedy wore a dress from Mimi, seen here.
It's hard to believe Oliver will be 1 soon. We are working on sign language skills with him. He is very good at
all done and decent at
more. He is also using his voice and is getting better at
Elle (the cat),
Kennedy (sounds like Endy) and
All done all done all done!
Labels: Beans
New Play Room
We converted our guest room into a play room. Kennedy and Oliver love it and in particular enjoy this IKEA swivel chair. Here's a photo of Sheryl preparing to spin Kennedy as she holds on to Oliver.
Labels: Beans
The Very Real Looking Doll
Mimi gave Kennedy a doll when she was younger. The doll is very real looking and has even been used by Uncle C.K. in film auditions. Kennedy likes to dress it up and put it in the high chair or the entertainment center or, as in this photo, the car seat. Here's Oliver as he is about to hug the doll and give it a big slobbery kiss too.
Labels: Oliver Del
Enjoying the Sunshine
The days are getting longer (and can we just say that is an awesome thing) and ever so often we get days full of sunshine. We had a few of those last week and we headed to the park to play. Kennedy likes to push Oliver in the swing and he just loves that too.
Labels: Beans
Infected Ears Part Deux; Chair Bouncing Fall
Here's a pic of Oliver before he went to the Pediatrician again this week. He is on his second round of antibiotics for the ear infections. He seems to be doing better but is still feeling a little fragile.
Little Miss Kennedy bounced her way off of our living room chair head first to the floor. She had quite a scare and a small goose egg on her forehead for her trouble. Totally unrelated, here's a picture taken on the bus ride at the San Diego Zoo.
Labels: Beans
Movie Goers and Uncle C.K. the Producer
When we returned home on an early morning flight from San Diego, Uncle C.K. met us at the house and helped get our luggage in and coral the kids. When they get home they get excited about their toys and play with them as if they had never seen them before. Uncle C.K. took Kennedy to a Sunday afternoon movie at
Academy theater. They saw
The Tale of Despereaux.
Here's Uncle C.K. and Oliver on the couch with Elle the cat.
Uncle C.K. is more than just a movie buddy for Kennedy. He is a Producer. He made his way to Wisconsin last night for the
Beloit International Film Festival. Two films C.K. produced, Raymond Steers'
Sum of the Parts(http://www.sumoftheparts.com) and Vincent Caldoni's short
Rifle Workbook are playing. Wait, there's more:
Rifle Workbook is also playing in Mississippi this weekend at the
Magnolia Independent Film Festival.
Labels: Beans, C.K., Elle the Cat
San Diego Zoo Bunny, Balloon Butterflies and Mexican Jumping Beans
The San Diego Zoo definitely lives up to its reputation. Oliver slept in the ergo pack a good deal of the time. Kennedy was all over the place. She had a bunny painted on her face.
After the zoo we returned to our favorite eating place, the Old Town Mexican Cafe. Since it was Valentine's Day we had a long wait. Once inside Kennedy got what the baloon artist called a flutterby, I mean a bufferfly, I mean a flybutter, I mean a blyflutter, I mean a butterfly...
Carl picked up some Mexican Jumping Beans in Old Town and we had fun with them at the hotel. Kennedy only wanted to pick the winning jumping beans, not the losing ones. Here's a photo of Carl and Stacey watching the beans. Stacey is in the background feeding Oliver his bedtime bottle.
Labels: Beans
San Diego with Stacey and Carl
We met Stacey and Carl in San Diego for a brief visit before they flew off to their new home in Hawaii. The days went fast and the kids played hard. Here's Kennedy sleeping on Stacey at dinner at the Old Town Mexican Cafe. Kennedy slept in Stacey's arms through the entire meal.
Here's Carl with Kennedy during dolphin feeding at Sea World.
We watched a number of shows. Here's a photo of all of our favorite kids.
Sunday evening back at home Kennedy got really quiet. When asked if she was okay, she said "Yes, I was just missing Stacey."
Labels: Beans
Back Home
We returned to Portland yesterday all tired out from our brief vacation to San Diego. We'll have pictures from the trip soon. In the meantime, here's a photo of Kennedy from last night drinking hot chocolate from the cocoa cup Mimi got her at Christmas. Kennedy said the hot chocolate was "really yummy."
Labels: Bean
Family Vacation
We're taking a brief family vacation. Posting will resume next week.
Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry
An Evening with the Grandparents Anderson
Grandma and Grandpa Anderson came for a visit this past weekend. Kennedy and Oliver were glad to see them and especially to have such good play partners. Here's Grandpa playing dominoes with Kennedy.
Kennedy took this photo of Oliver during the evening. He was tired and ready for bed but she can usually get a smile out of him anyway.
Labels: Beans
Our Ear Infected Beans
Here's Kennedy in her new dance outfit found at a local second hand store. Score. As you can see, she's still carrying that yellow belt around with her. She's much better after a few days of antibiotics to ease her ear infection.
We ended up taking Oliver to urgent care on Saturday. Guess he didn't want his sister to be alone with her ear infection. Both of his ears were infected. Here he is playing the piano which we have moved into a new kid-friendly and accessible spot in the house.
Labels: Beans
Kennedy in New Dress and More Tow Mater Fun
Mema Sanford gave Kennedy this dress and jacket as a Christmas gift. Today was a perfect day (weather wise) to wear it to church service.
Oliver and Kennedy continue to have a lot of fun with the tow mater that Uncle Eric and Aunt Peggy gave Oliver for Christmas. Kennedy has figured out that she can sit in the back and push Oliver around the room.
Labels: Beans
Uncle C.K.
I meant to add a photo of Uncle C.K. from last week's post. Here he is getting Oliver ready for sleep.
Labels: C.K., Oliver Del
Elle the Cat Art
Here's our resident artist Kennedy drawing a picture of Elle the cat.
Labels: Bean
Spring Fever
A hint of Spring was in the air earlier this week so we headed to the park. The sunshine was amazing.
Oliver's cold was still in full swing so he stayed in the backpack but still picked up a good dose of vitamin D we hope.
Labels: Beans
Yellow Striped Belt, What's for Dinner and The Amazing Uncle C.K.
Kennedy received her yellow belt from Sensei at class this week and she was so thrilled that she didn't let the belt out of her sight all evening!
Uncle C.K. came by for a visit and dinner. He would be the first to tell you that he likes meat, but he is more than happy to sit down for a plant based animal protein free dinner with us. We had broiled tofu marinated in a sauce (1/4th cup teriyaki, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsps soy sauce, splash of sweet brown rice vinegar, 4 fresh pressed garlic toes, 1 tbsp brown sugar), long beans, chuka soba noodles tossed in leftover marinade and mexican corn salad--more about that below.
Mexican corn salad is awesome stuff. This version consists of roasted corn, jicama cubes, peppers (green and pasilla in this case), diced fresh tomatoes, cilantro, chives, lime juice and salt all cooked in a nonstick pan. It was prepared early in the day then put in the fridge to cool.
Kennedy spilled some sauce on her karate outfit (gee). Normally she doesn't eat dinner in her gee but we were all so excited by the new belt we forgot to have her change. So, let's talk about the amazing Uncle C.K. After dinner he helped with the dishes, put Oliver in pajamas then fed him his nightly bottle before putting him to sleep. He then took Kennedy's gee to the laundry room, took care of the stains and proceeded to wash, dry and fold a load of whites including the gee! He is, from now on, to be known as The Amazing Uncle C.K.!
Labels: Bean, C.K., Food
Oliver Two Teeth
Oliver has been sporting a companion tooth in his lower mouth. With his new tooth came a cold that he hasn't quite recovered from as of yet. Still, his spirit has not been dampered, as you can see by this smile.
He really enjoys playing the piano and frequently crawls over to it, pulls himself up and pushes whatever keys he can reach.
Another favorite activity is to find Elle the cat. Here he has found her in her favorite warm spot, directly on top of the heating vent and near her food and water.
Labels: Oliver Del
Portland Tram, Finally
We finally decided to make riding the Portland Tram a reality. On Saturday afternoon we biked down to the waterfront and followed the greenway trail all the way to the tram. Here's Kennedy holding our fare ticket and waiting for the tram to descend.
The tram is bigger than you'd think. Watching it dock was fun.
Here are Kennedy and Sheryl in the tram.
Labels: Bean
Belt Test and Academic Achiever
Kennedy woke up on Saturday she said in both an excited and anxious voice "This is a great day." When questioned why she said "Because it's belt test day!" Her class had a celebration and belt test day. It was great fun to watch. Here she is prior to the event.
We won't know about the belt test results until next week, but one very special patch Kennedy received today along with many of her classmates was the Academic Achiever one. Go Kennedy!
Labels: Bean
