Potty photo shoot

Our good friends the Watsons have the coolest little old fashioned potty for their kids to potty train on, and ever since Andi has been able to sit up on her own, I've been wanting to take some pictures of her sitting on it naked :) Yesterday it finally happened ... thanks for letting us use it Jo! The potty is a true bathroom throne, it even has a little magazine rack and toilet roll holder! Also fun, Andi even actually went and peed in it :)
Here's a few pictures from the shoot! Because of course this is the internet, and you never know, I went and drew in a little bikini on the pictures posted here to protect our little girl:


This is a pretty potty!


Examining her environment...

hey, wait a minute...a roll of toilet paper!

Oeh, this is fun!

Yay!

Relaxing.

Tee hee ... tinkle, tinkle!

Giggle piggies.

This whole week is a big week of firsts...not only the first time peeing in a potty (though by accident), but, today she clapped her hands in excitement while playing with daddy, and she also started crawling!!!! Pictures or a video of crawling is soon to come too, I'm sure :)

Edit: short videos of her crawling on her blog!

Hey Ma! Rubes ...

11 Months

Andi is 11 months old today!

Buddies.

She's getting so close to crawling, and showed us yesterday that she is able to go from a sitting position to laying on her belly and back up to sitting again. January 30th marked a big day as it was the day we noticed her first tooth coming through! I still nurse her about 3-4 times a day (depending on whether she wakes up at night), and though I'm still just fine with that, we will see how long this continues as I'm learning that nursing and teeth don't mix :)

I recently looked in my old babybook to see how Andi and I compare, and here were my stats: fully weened at 8 months, 2 teeth at 9 months (4 at 11 months), crawling by 10 by months, I walked holding someone's hand at 12 months and walked alone with confidence at 14.

Watching a movie with Dad

:)

Wait, how did this get in here? Ben having fun shaving his head in preparation for the first weekend of OCS in Guernsey.

Watching the Superbowl with the Ennists, Linds and Watsons!

Baby romance

Ever since Andi was born, we have joked about her betrothal to little Mr. Weston Ennist, including how many goats should be included in her dowry. Little does Weston know though that he has some pretty strong competition in form of his brother, bigger Mr. Tyler Ennist. Though the relationship between Weston and Andi doesn't go much further than taking toys from eachother, and maybe Andi looking in envy at Westons ease of moving about the room (and maybe his pearly whites), Tyler will never let an opportunity go by to give Andi kisses, and has even (though for reasons we are not quite sure of ... you will have to ask Debbie about those ...) asked Ben for Andi's hand in marriage (Ben told him to ask again in a couple of years). Yesterday we went over to watch a movie at their house, and I had hardly taken Andi out of the carseat or Tyler was there, asking if he could hold her. Because initially Tyler didn't have a very good grip on Andi, I asked him if he was able to hold her ... mistake! ... he looked at me like [DUH], and said "I'm 4 years old!". Debbie and I helped him get a better grip on Andi, and within no time they were twirling around the room together! Tyler didn't just want to hold her, he wanted to dance with her! Probably the cutest thing I have seen in quite a while!
We tried to quickly get a shot of it on our cameras, but by the time I was ready, Andi was already sliding down. Maybe Debbie has a better shot? I do also have a video a few seconds long.... (sorry it's sideways)




One thing these little ones haven't learned yet is that sharing kisses also means sharing cooties, which has resulted in them all having a nice cold. When I was a teenager, I remember my dad telling me once that if he saw me with a cold sore on my lip, he would know I had been kissing too many boys. I was always very very glad that I never got one :)
Andi will have to learn too (or maybe not I guess :) ), because the way she wakes up now every morning, you can definitely tell she's been sharing kisses: boogers everywhere!

Mid January already

Mid January already ... time is just flying by. How fun when you have the best job in the world! It seems to be a common frase on any parents' blog I read, but we are still amazed at all of Andi's new developments. She is so incredibly close to crawling, but for now is only inching her way forward on her bum. Sometimes she gets a little frustrated that she can't move to where she wants yet, but when you hold her she will surely point you in the direction she wishes to go. :) She loves to stand on the couch, leaning on the seat and looking out the window to see what's all happening outside. Bathtime is her own little party every morning, and playing with dad when he comes home from work is the best. More and more different sounds are coming out of her mouth, and she loves to wave at others or herself in the mirror.
Before we had Andi, whenever I would watch other parents give food to their youngens in their high chair, I'd be a little afraid if I would ever be able to handle the incredible mess they create, smearing food EVERYwhere, including all over themselves. Well, Andi is getting to that age now, and even though during most of her mealtimes I still carefully spoon it into her mouth, keeping the bowl out of her arms' reach, sometimes I just let her go at it. Because, I realised, it is just too much FUN to see her experiment with her food! Worth cleaning up all the mess she makes. Besides, Andi doesn't have all that much hair yet anyway, so it is still relatively easy to clean up :) It is also quite fun that when for the moment I turn my back to her chair, Sage will be right there licking Andi's hands clean, making her giggle in delight.

10 Months. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain the standard monthly shot with Andi and Slungel, as she just loves to wrestle the little guy...

Big smile...eating a cookie! ....Mmmmm!

Helping mom and dad pick out the right movie for the evening

This past weekend Ben went birdhunting with his dad at uncle Vern's in Ogallala, Nebraska. Besides having just a great time together, they had a good hunt as well, and came back with all the geese allowed per hunter per day. We have enough goosemeat now to try a bunch of different recipes ... any suggestions? On Sunday the hunt was on for pheasants and quail. This proved a little more difficult, but Ben shot the one pheasant of that day! We'll be cooking that one up tonight: in the oven, wrapped in bacon and stuffed with apples....I can't wait!

Nice birds!

Some of the loot

Ben and his pheasant

Hunting hillbillies

Of course as the men were out hunting, us ladies got together, and had a relaxing time watching a movie, eating yummy food, and playing a game.

Next up on our agenda is Ben's laser eye surgery this Thursday! Though I kinda wish they had a two-for-the-price-of-one deal, I'm excited for him! Besides, he gets to be the guinea pig :) He's not the only one going, because good friend Sean also gets his eyes done the same day. Perfect opportunity for a little Bryan/Ennist outing: getting a hotel room, and we'll see how much evening partying can be done in the Denver area with two little ones in tow :)

Christmas and New Year's in Wijster, NL - 2009

We got to spend a great almost two weeks with my family in Holland over the Christmas/ New Year break. For once we decided not to race all over the country to see places and do touristy things, but instead just enjoyed a relaxing time at my parents house, having fun with family, and making a few small outings. We must have brought the snow back from Wyoming, because for the first time in forever there was a white Christmas in the Netherlands, which made everything look so beautiful. I forgot how cold the Dutch winters can get though! Even though the thermometer doesn't indicate something too threatening, all that moisture just makes for a wet cold that goes straight to your bones...BRRR!
The first week we visited my sister at her place in Wageningen one afternoon, where she is kicking butt working on her Master's degree (a place regarded the largest food & nutrition research development area in the world). We had fun walking around town and along the 'uiterwaarden' of the river Rhine, but it was just a little too chilly to be out too long. We also went to see my brother and his wife and their kids in Heerde, where I got to meet my youngest nephew Tesse for the first time! It was so fun to watch the three cousins play together, the boys very willing to share their toys with Andi, and before we knew it she was surrounded, almost coverd with all their cars and trucks :).
On Christmas day, my brother and his fam, and my sister and boyfriend Dennis all came over and we enjoyed a fantastic 7 course dinner prepared by my parents...Yum! We had fun unwrapping Christmas presents, and just hanging out.
The next week, my mom and sister and I had a chance to go to the city of Zwolle for a day, and go shopping together: Always good times! On New Year's, everyone except my brother (who was back at sea for work) was at my parents' again, and we got to ring in the new year with some fantastic fireworks courtesy of Dennis. Other than that, we just relaxed, played a game, chatted, went for some walks in the area, my sister and I got to go on two runs together (she kicked my butt...she is fast!), and enjoyed fantastic food prepared by the best cook, my dad. Of course Oma and Opa also got plenty of snuggle time with Andi :)
Andi did pretty good on her first plane ride... no major cry fests or painful ears. She didn't fall asleep easy though, so she'd get overly tired and then a little bit fussy, but eventually did manage to get some naps in our lap. Then after naps and food she'd be back to her happy smiling self, and flirt with everyone in the cabin :) I took some pictures of her first plane ride, but for some reason they are not on my camera, so who knows ...
Here are a few shots from our vacation:

The best place for an after travel nap: in the hammock by the fireplace.

With dad in the hammock

Sleepy on mommy's shoulder

Ready to taste some of Opa's cooking!

Tesse and Andi by the tree

Ivan and Andi by the tree

From her sweet aunt Liselotte, a late traditional Sinterklaas present: her first initial in chocolate (for mommy to eat of course ... yay!)

Ivan in the apron I made him

Mmmm eating a Dutch pancake at a pancake house.

Playing bilingual Scrabble with Dennis and Liselotte. As you can see, my sister and I take it very seriously :) She won.

Our bilingual board...quite interesting to play it that way...we even turned Dutch words into English ones, and vice versa :) Of course Ben was at a slight disadvantage only knowing one of the languages

Ah, the boys just can't help it. Killing things on the PS3

Sitting on Oma's lap

The whole fam. (clockwise from top: Dennis, Opa, Oma, Bastian, Ben, me, Andi, Erika, Tesse, Ivan, and Liselotte)

My brother and I and the kids

The three cousins playing together

Playing on the floor with Opa

With great grandpa Mooiweer

Playing with uncle Bastian

Playing with uncle Dennis

Excited about food!

Sittin' on the rocking horse.

My sister and I deepfrying Oliebollen for New Year's eve.

Ben with Andi, and my brother with his youngest, Tesse.

Auntie Liselotte playing with Andi.

My beautiful sister and my little doll :)

My parents' thatched roof house


Going back home - Early morning at Schiphol airport, watching the planes with daddy.


Back home in Laramie ... exhausted and too cute :)