The weekend.

Friday afternoon after work we and the Ennists headed up to Guernsey and stayed with Debbie's parents (John and Kathy) for a night because the guys wanted to install a hitch (that John had) in the back of their pickups. I guess this is the place to install a hitch, because not only is John an excellent mechanic, but apparently he also has a shop many men dream of, with a tool for every job. Of course while the men worked, us ladies and kids did our own thing, and at mealtimes all of us were treated to absolute feasts prepared by Kathy.
I can see why Debbie loved growing up here, because the place is absolutely gorgeous: rolling hills of green, fields of wheat and fields of prairie with cows, small canyons in between, all with snowcapped mountains in the background. Of course it is still in Wyoming and it was quite windy, but that is beside the point.
Saturday morning Debbie's grandpa took us ladies and kids all in his pickup to go feed their cows. Quite the little search hunt to find all 67 cows to feed on such a large chunk of land! It was a beautiful drive. Andi didn't like the ride that much, since it was bumpy and during her naptime, but as soon as we would spot a cow coming up over a hill, she'd start smiling and pointing her little finger in excitement! It really was fun to see all those cute little baby cows walking alongside their mommas!

Andi sitting on the back of the pickup next to Debbie, pointing her little finger at the cows, with Debbie's grandpa feeding the cows in the background.

Cutie.

Little miss tongue and I

Debbie feeding the cows. Moo...

On the ride back home to Laramie, Tyler wanted to ride in the pickup with us. After a little while though we noticed things sure got quiet on the back seat:

One more random picture from the weekend...the little ruffle butt playing in the kitchen drawers:

Leaving the mess a mess.

I firmly believe that during spring time in Wyoming, when a surprisingly beautiful, sunny, calm day appears in between days of (forecasted) wind and snowstorms, it is perfectly OK to leave the house mess a mess, and head outside to the park to play! So that's what we did today :)

Princess in her ride:

Playing with sticks:

On the swing!

Some tongue action:


Wohee!!

(videos here)

Because really, who likes being stuck inside?

(taken last week..cold and windy! And yes, my windows are covered in Sage slobber)

Springtime update

Ahh, spring is in the air, and Ben's weekend of stress (OCS and the PE exam) is behind us, so time for a blog update!
We have been enjoying several gorgeous spring days outside already. Andi loves to be outside, and always starts squealing when we have to go back indoors. We take walks with the stroller, go to the park and sit in the swing, or take her sheep bike or walker out on the driveway and sidewalk in front of our house so she can explore on her own...yay rocks and sticks!

Sunday: who has time to eat lunch (bib around her neck) when there are rocks and sticks to play with!


Monday afternoon: Playing outside with Sage


The girls watch as daddy washes the truck.


I tried to capture some of the fun on video here, but I'm always a little too late :)

Of course it is still spring time in Laramie, so days of sunshine and warmth come in between days of snow, wind and cold, so we still play inside a lot too. Andi still races around the living room in her walker, loves to empty out every drawer she can get to, and is now very good at pulling herself up, and is starting to take steps along furniture and climb the stairs. She also loves music and dancing, and as soon as any type of rythmic tune comes on the tv or radio she starts bopping to it. Last week though I cought her sitting on her knees, with her hands behind her head in her neck, twirling her little hips to the music...though it looked too cute, that sort of dancing seemed a little inappropriate for her age :) (of course you never have a camera on hand when such things happen!)
Some more pictures of this week -
Playing in the tub:


She loves to dip down and eat soap bubbles.

One of her favorite drawers....so much fun all those poker chips, napkins, and mom's chocolate making tins!

I have also gone on a couple of (shorter distance) stroller runs with Andi again, and I'm so glad she enjoys those! I {heart} running outside, and hopefully some day she will run right beside me :) Once a week, usually saturday morning when Ben can stay home to watch Andi I go on a long(er) run all by myself...glorious! I guess I overdid it a little bit this week though, as I'm currently sitting here with a bag of ice on my shin because of shin splints...darn shin splints...even just walking hurts. Guess I'll be taking a few days off :(

Easter 2010

For Easter this year we decided to get away the three of us, and we spent the weekend in a small cabin along the Poudre River in Colorado. Ben and I had spent Easter in that area before, and that year we had a great time in the sunshine along the river, so I was hoping the same for this year, envisioning Andi playing with the rocks by the riverside. Well, so much for living in this part of the country and being in the mountains, because instead we got hammered with wind and snow. I guess we truly got our money's worth out of that cabin, because we spent a lot of time inside it :) We did have a great time though, and I think Andi thought it was the greatest, being in a small space, playing with mom and dad ALL day! We ate lots of yummy food, and just relaxed. The temperature wasn't too cold, so we did go out for a little bit, exploring the area around the cabin. We had been itching to try out this new backpack that we got from good friends the Mortensons after Andi was born, and it rocks! I love it! Can't wait to take Andi out in it on a real hike this summer!

Our cabin:

The happy family. Andi's not too impressed having to smile into the wind :)

By the river.

Awesome backpack!

The cabin we stayed in was a 1 bedroom, so Andi 'slept' in the room with us. Night times didn't go too well as it always takes quite a while before Andi gets used to a new sleeping environment, so by morning time, Ben and I both exhausted, Andi came in bed with us, snuggled lots and finally fell asleep = smiles on our faces.

Easter morning we celebrated Jesus' resurrection together and had a glorious breakfast. After that we hoped to get out for at least one hike that weekend, but instead we got pummeled with lots of snow, and while it felt like we had packed our entire house for just that one weekend, we hadn't actually packed the snowsuits and snowshoes, so we just drove home. I guess Andi was tired from all that not-sleeping, and she took the best nap in the car:

With dolly.

Look at that face :)

Just to throw in some Andi updates: It's been so fun lately as she just loves to cuddle! She'll gently rest her head on your shoulder when you hold her, and will completely melt your heart when she also pats your shoulder, giving a true hug :) Her girly side is coming out as she will also do this with her dolly...she will pick her up, and hug her and pat her back!

She's getting better and better at pushing herself up to a stand, and with help can pull herself up, and is getting eager to learn to walk along furniture.

Sometimes though a little too much personality is coming through and she can get quite upset over not having her way, especially when sweets are involved :) I guess she can't help it with a mom whose babybook is full of things like "Wiesje likes her sweets, and would love to start the day off with a breakfast of lollipops and licorice." Oy.

See also new short videos of Andi here

Andi's first Birthday party

A photo report of Andi's first Birthday party!
We had lots of Ben's side of the family come to celebrate (Tom, Marilyn, grandma Maynard, grandma Bryan, aunt Melody and uncle Fred, aunt Kim, uncle Les, Anna and Stephen, aunt Lori, Mike, Jen, Abby, Tyler, Isaiah, and Aubrey) and friend Eric.
It was a great party! At first, Andi was a little hesitant with all the people and noise in the house, but after a while she warmed up to everyone.

Unwrapping a PILE (!) of presents with Dad:

2nd cousin Aubrey likes to help.

Her first birthday cake! A smiling strawberry lady bug, with red velvet cupcakes. We won't mention how long it took mom to frost these! ;)

In her pretty dress by the cake.

She's a professional cupcake eater now!

Hap!

Clap, clap, clap. Smear, smear smear!

This time it also ended up all over her head and in her ears :) Mmmm!

Did I mention that ever since those delicious tastes of cake and frosting, our little miss Andi has pretty much lost her interests in vegetables? Why bother?! Haha.

And a couple of pictures of the fun presents she got:

A pink dump truck, and a barn to learn a few colors, letters and animals;

A little table filled with excitement and to help her learn to stand and walk;

A bunch of clothes for the coming summer and fall! She's going to be way better dressed than mom and dad!

And, a rocking horse that grandpa Tom and grandma Marilyn made!

Now it is on to year #2! Looking forward to seeing what it will bring!

Happy 1st Birthday Andi!

Big day yesterday: Andi turned one year old!

Since she was born in the afternoon, the whole day I kept thinking about what it was like one year before: getting induced, how my contractions were progressing, pacing the halls of the hospital, trying my hardest to manage the pain by bouncing like a mad woman on that exercise ball having Ben there with me, and then, finally, pushing, and getting to meet our girl. What a miracle!

Anyway...enough with memories, on to the big day! Here's her 1 year shot with Slungel!

When Andi woke up in the morning, both Ben and I went into her room, and sang "Happy Birthday" to her while she was laying in her crib. She just looked at us with a straight face like: "Mommy, daddy, you guys are weird. What's all this?" Ben left for work, and I made us some blueberry pancakes for breakfast... she wasn't all that interested in those either :) So much for a birthday feeling. She did however show some interest in the birthday sign and balloons that were up. :)

At lunchtime, she got her first present: A lamb walk bike from her Grandma and Grandpa Mooiweer! Though her feet don't touch the floor yet, she loves riding on it, being pushed forward, and holds on for dear life.

In the evening, grandma and grandpa Bryan came over for dinner. After dinner, it was time for presents! More pictures here. Since she loves emptying out my purse, I sewed her a little purse of her own. From Aunt Liselotte she got a cute wooden tea set and loves to play with it. Of course, Navy people Uncle Grant and Aunt Sara had to give her a Navy shirt and doll that say "beat Army", and from grandma and grandpa Bryan she got a cool electronic book.

After the presents, it was time for the highlight of the evening...Andi's first cake! Because we are having a bigger family birthday party on Saturday that I am making her real birthday cake for, we just had some delicious red velvet cupcakes to celebrate. By now Andi was already getting a little tired, cranky and ready for bed. However, when this little thing came in sight, with candle and all, her interests were once again spiked....

A little hesitant she poked her fingers into the cream cheese frosting, and ...

... as soon as that first taste of sugary frosting hit her lips, it was All Systems GO! "This stuff is delicious!" It was hilarious to watch her absolutely devour her cupcake :)

How can I get this stuff in my mouth any faster?!

Then, the sugar hit her blood stream, and on a sugar high she went! What a ride! Smearing, splatting, cake everywhere! So much fun :) She definitely has a sweet tooth, just like her momma!

And, she gets to do it all over again on Saturday!

This morning we had her 1 yr checkup with Dr. Horst. Everything looks great. She is right on track developmentally. A little ahead on her fine motor skills, and neither behind nor ahead (;)) on her large motor skills (she crawls, and pushes to a stand, but doesn't walk along furniture (let alone by herself) yet). Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs 5 oz - 35th percentile (down from 50th %)

Height: 28 inches - 18th percentile (down from 30th %)

Head circumference: 49.7 cm - 70th percentile (up from 65th %)

Still a pretty short girl! Everytime we go in the doc says he's waiting for her parents' genes to kick in and see a growth spurt :)

Some of her latest developments: Besides crawling and pushing herself up to a stand, she loves waving "bye" or "hi"; she claps her hands; she says "Dadda" when she wants her daddy, and "Mama" when she wants her mama; and, when you ask her "Waar is je voet?" or "Where is your foot?" she will promptly touch her feet :). Yes, my dear friends, this little girl is bilingual already. A post about that is to come soon! It is so cool to see that your little one is actually starting to understand what you are saying, and responding to it! This, and Andi's new found mobility certainly also opens up a new world of discipline. It comes as no suprise that we are noticing that she has a gentle heart ... the other day I had to tell her "No" about something, and immediately her lip started quivering, and the crocodile tears came out...sad face :( It would be nice if it stays that way, and she doesn't become defiant! Haha!