Getting Ready for Christmas

I am finished! I turned in my last report this past week, which means I have finished my last class for my degree in Chemistry. What a wonderful feeling it is. For celebration we went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Jeff and I both like Chinese food and we knew that Scott would eat it also. Scott loves Chinese dumplings.

We are getting ready for Christmas. This year we are going to Ohio. I have sent all the presents to my family already, it feels good to almost be done with the gift giving part. Scott and Iris got to be part of a cousin gift exchange for my side of the family, they have no cousins on Jeff’s side of the family (we are waiting for Brian and Stacy to have a couple). He was so excited when I told him we could go to Target and pick out a toy for cousin Danielle and Christian. Iris was just happy to be along for the ride.

This last week Iris has decided that she can stay up as late as Scott does. Before this week Iris would go to bed at 7pm and then we would put Scott to bed at 8 or 8:30. Scott would then stay up and play in his bed until 10pm (he reads books and talks to himself). Iris would always sleep through Scott’s loud noises, up until last week. I don’t know what to do. She doesn’t wake up and cry, she wakes up and plays. I think Scott really enjoys it. We often hear her laughing at Scott. Maybe it is just a phase? At least they are in their room instead of running around the house. Last night was the worst, they didn’t go to bed until 11pm. Jeff and I were in bed wondering when they would quite down so that we could go to sleep. The joys of a having a small family in an even smaller apartment!

Scott has been learning how to take pictures with the camera and to my surprise some of the pictures actually turn out. I will post some of the ones that he took.



Jeff and Scott went to the train store to see if they could get Grandpa Anderson's train fixed. Scott loves trains, but he had to sit through a boring adult conversation before he could go around the store and see all the trains (see first picture).




The three pictures above Scott took by himself. The first is a close-up of the Christmas tree, the second is his foot, and the last is Iris.




Iris, even though she is a girl, wears a lot of Scott's old PJ's, she doesn't seem to mind!

Holiday Pictures part 1

Iris can crawl!

December 2008, how the year has flown by. I can remember last year at this time being very pregnant or at least feeling very pregnant, and wishing time would go faster.

Thanksgiving was great. We spent it in Ohio with Jeff’s family. Scott was so excited to go. I had all the bags packed and waiting in the front room. Iris was pulling on one of the bags about to pull it over, when Scott got upset and told her “NO, Grandma’s house” meaning don’t play with that it is going to Grandma’s house. Having two children is way more fun and way more interesting than having just one.

Iris crawled yesterday! She has been trying extra hard to crawl for a few days and she finally mastered it! She is just adorable and the happiest little girl.

I will be finished with my class on Monday. Oh how happy I will be.

We bought Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Wal-mart black friday sale and watched it the other night. After Charlie gets the golden ticket and brings it home he tells his family that he is going to sell it and use the money to improve their impoverished state. The grandfather then says something to the effect that money comes and goes, but there are only five golden tickets. I was listening to a talk by Sheri Dew from women’s conference of this year in it she talked about the divine role of women and how Satan wants to confuse us of this role. The world tells us if we are not thin, beautiful, famous, and rich then we are women of no value. Satan tells the world that the work that women do in the home is demeaning and unimportant. God tells us that the work of bearing and nurturing children is divine and therefore one the most ennobling things we can do as women while on this earth (see the “Proclamation to the world on the Family”). I am graduating soon and was offered a job. This job would give me an opportunity to advance my position and to earn money. I seriously considered the opportunity and then reflected on my choice to become a mother. I decided to take Charlie’s grandpa’s advice and choose my children over money or position because those often come and go, but Scott and Iris will only be little once and this opportunity to be with them as they grow will never come again. Lucky for me I have a husband that agrees with me 100%.

We have some pictures of Iris crawling but we haven't put them on the computer yet. I will post them asap.

What is going on?

Here are some things going on in our lives:

Iris – She is still short and stout, we call it “fat and happy”. She wants to crawl so bad. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth and then plops onto her belly. It is very easy to get her to smile, which is different from Scott at that age. She sleeps through the night, but doesn’t take as good of naps as I would like her too, but maybe my expectation is a little high. She just got done with the spitting phase and has moved onto breathing heavily out her slightly open mouth, kind of like Darth Vader. Some days her eyes are blue in color and some days they are more hazel. She is also starting to eat more solid food. She loves Cheerios especially when she can get them from her hand to her mouth. She loves getting attention from her brother.

Scott – We are so impressed with how well he has done with all the changes of having a new sibling. He has been in his toddler bed since he was 16 months and still doesn’t leave it after we shut the door. He sleeps through most of Iris’s crying and our coming in and out to comfort her. He loves to push Iris’s head down into the floor when they are playing. Iris seems indifferent to the whole head pushing experience, but I have to imagine that it kind of hurts her so I usually make him stop. He LOVES his Duplo blocks and plays with them the majority of day. He especially loves making train bridges with Daddy. He is getting better with using the potty. He has learned to pull his underwear on and off, so he doesn’t have to run around naked anymore. He is also mastering the skill of pooping in the potty instead of a diaper. Naptime is now diaper free, but I think I will keep the night diaper for a little longer.

Jeff – He is doing great. Still loves his research, though it is going a little slower than hoped. He loves his new calling as the young men’s president. He is really impressed with the young men in the branch and is excited to see them accomplish goals and progress.

Mary – I am painfully close to finishing my degree. I am in the last few weeks of finishing my last class. Half the points for the class are due just after Thanksgiving. This was certainly the hard way of finishing college, but I think I appreciated more the opportunity of an education. I love being a Mom and I can’t imagine anything more wonderful. I am a primary teacher and I love it. I love singing the songs, being with the kids, and knowing all the answers to the questions (it makes me feel like I actually know something about the gospel). I also serve with wonderful people.

Happy Thanksgiving week! As Mr. Kytle (high school language teacher) said before that much longed for thanksgiving break “The thought of turkey is dancing in my head” or something to that effect!

The Zoo and Underwear Head!

We love going to the zoo here in St. Louis. It is free, which fits perfectly into our budget. Jeff took Scott and Iris the other morning while I ran in Forest Park when I was done I met them at the zoo and we went to the dinosaur exhibit together.







We are potty training Scott, it is going semi-well. To encourage him we have bought lots of really awesome little boy underwear. The pair that Iris is wearing has spider-man on it.