Feierabend FUN!

Oh what fun!  Tonight Jenn and I were able to have some time to chat while our boys played together for a couple of hours.  Being home with Anthony has been wonderful, but it's been an adjustment to not have regular day to day conversations with some co-workers and friends like Jenn.  Getting the chance to connect tonight was wonderful.  Our topic of discussion was wide open as always and I was reminded again of how much I've missed her and how thankful I am to have such a great friend.

The boys played with Rylan's car collection before we sat down for dinner.

Yummy!  The boys started off with some fresh fruit and then we had some Papa Murphy's pizza. (Nice and easy for the moms!)

After supper we went downstairs to explore the plethora of fun toys waiting to be played with. Ry and Anthony had a great time on the slide.  They did a good job taking turns and there was lots of laughter to be heard.  Ry even taught Anthony some new ways to go down the slide! How fun!

The tent filled with balls was a BIG hit.  Ry and Anthony had fun going in and out as well as throwing balls everywhere.  Cam-a-roo definitely wanted to join in on the fun, but was nervous about getting tackled as you can see. The older two are a blur because they were GO GO GO the whole time.

Check out Mr. Gap boy with the beautiful blue eyes!   Being with Cam is a quick reminder to be thankful for being a special part of his life as well as his family.

 

We love you Feierabend family!  Thank you for a great night.  

GET BETTER SOON, JENN!! We'll continue to pray for you and hope that your back gets back to its old self.

Wednesday's Adventure

This morning we stuck to our potty "schedule".  After breakfast we played a bit and then headed for the bathroom.  I started the timer for 15 minutes and we began to read books, play with cars and work on our body parts game.  (Where's Anthony's nose?  Where's mommy's nose?  Where's Anthony head?  Where's mommy's head?  Etc.  He's getting REALLY good at it and today he pointed out his elbow and knee!  Yahoo!)  Towards the end of the 15 minutes he started to PEE in his potty chair!  Of course I started to sing, clap, give high fives and go all crazy.  He just sat there staring at me.  I picked him up, continued to sing and started dancing around.  He just stared at me.  We went out into the kitchen where I get him a "potty cookie" and a sticker for his bathroom poster.  He's now eating and just staring at me.  We then went back into the bathroom where he puts his chosen sticker on his "Anthony used the potty" poster (I know I'm a dork...) and I continued to make such a big deal out of it.  HE JUST STARED AT ME with no expression on his face.  

Isn't he suppose to be the one super excited?  Perhaps I'm taking all of this a bit too seriously? Or maybe that genuine excitement will "fire him up" for more potty moments?

I'm hoping today I can find some Sesame Street stickers or poster when I head into Monticello. Maybe that would be way more exciting than his mom going crazy?

Yummy Num-Nums!

Last night's meal wasn't a feast by any means - just a simple penna pasta recipe.  However, Anthony thoroughly enjoyed his meal and brought messy to a whole new level.  As you can tell by the picture he was pretty pleased with the amount of spaghetti sauce he got on his face and took time out from devouring the num-nums to smile for daddy.  (NOTE: If you double click on the photo it will enlarge the image.  Then you can get a good close up of the wonderful messy face.)

Sesame Street

Sesame Street has become a new love in our household.  His buddy Cole gave him an Oscar the Grouch book that he absolutely loves reading.  In the book it has other characters from "the street" - Cookie Monster, Elmo, Burt and Ernie, etc.  Anthony also has a Tickle Me Elmo that he got from the Feierabends and a gigantic Elmo that Grandma Kathy brought down.  I decided that he could watch 10-15 minutes of Sesame Street each day during Elmo's World.  (Yes, I know kids aren't suppose to watch television until they are two... I'm hoping this small amount won't be too detrimental to his development.) Needless to say, he LOVES his almost daily dose of Elmo's World and gets beyond excited.  He starts off by pointing at Elmo, talking jibberish and jumping up and down.  Then he finds his big Elmo, milk and  heads for the couch so he can see what Elmo and Dorothy are up to for the day.  His big Elmo plays the theme song for Elmo's World and after I shut off the tv he'll keep pushing it and we dance around.  It's really quite cute!

Gotta love Elmo and the gang, right?!

How Will I Know?

Anthony is in size three diapers right now.  I've checked the packaging and know that they go up to 28 pounds; at his last doctor's appointment he weighed 26 pounds.  I kept wondering when we should switch him over to the next size.  How exactly would I know it's the "right" time?

Sunday after church Anthony was soaked - his onesie and pants.  I didn't think much of it.  I just thought perhaps he drank a lot of milk before the 8:30 service.  Then on Monday morning we went for a quick, less than two hours shopping adventure to the outlet mall and Target.  As we were leaving Target I realized he was soaked yet again.  His onesie was drenched and his jeans were wet in the front and the back.  I felt so bad for the covered in urine boy!  I ended up changing him in the parking lot and he rode home with just his shirt, coat, diaper and socks on.  Poor kid!

I guess I can stop wondering.  He really will let me know when it's time for things like a bigger diaper even though he can't talk.

You can totally tell I'm a new mom, huh?  All you pros out there are reading this and thinking I'm crazy for (1) even thinking it and then (2) for actually writing and posting this on my blog.  It's safe to say that Anthony has completely transitioned into our home and is doing wonderful.  I, on the other hand, am learning new things all of the time when it comes to being a mom.  :)

PS - Does anyone else have Whitney Houston singing in your head after reading the title for this blog or is it just me?

Sunday Thoughts...

Random thoughts to end the weekend with...

Happy birthday, Grandma Carol and Jenn!  I hope you are both enjoying your special day.  I've been thinking about you both all day long.

It's a girl!  This week I found out that our goddaughter, Ella, is going to be a big sister to a baby girl in September.  It was great fun waiting to hear the news on Wednesday and then being completely shocked.  I thought for sure Mol was going to have a boy for baby #2.  I am so happy for them and cannot wait to meet the new little one this fall.

This week marked two months that we've had Anthony and he also turned 20 months old on Saturday.  I wish I could just freeze this time period in our lives; it seems like everything is going by way too fast.  Currently he is in love with Elmo and everything Sesame Street as well as his dada.  He says dada constantly and loves being around Mark. It's so awesome to see. (Although I must admit it still would be nice to hear mama every once in awhile.  I guess I'm not that exciting because he spends all day with me and only sees his dada at night.)

On Saturday morning in less than ten minutes Anthony peed on his potty chair once again.  I was so excited because I thought for sure the first time was just a fluke.  Maybe not?  Again, I'm keeping my expectations low and we'll keep working on it...

This week is also the first time he started to walk up the stairs without crawling!  He's getting to be SUCH A BIG BOY!

Today we became members of a local Lutheran church.  It felt good to do so and know we will be helping to give Anthony a good foundation to his life.   Also, we've set the date for Anthony to be baptized as well as myself.  Cynthia will be coming to Becker to take part in the baptism as well as meet our family and friends afterwards.  I'm really looking forward to that special day in May.

"The Compact"  It is a way to save money, go green, help out the environment, etc. etc.  I first read about it on Kare 11's website and then in today's Star Tribune.  It's all about simplifying our lives and going beyond the act of recycling.  The principles to follow would be (1) You can't buy any new products of any kind (with the exception of food and toiletries) and (2) You need to borrow, barter or buy used items.  I wonder if the Hanson household could go off of the "consumer grid" for 12 months...  Could you?

Firefly Lane

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

This is a must read if you want to get lost in a beautiful story spanning decades between two girlfriends who have their ups and downs. I found myself laughing and tearing up throughout the story and compelled to read more even when the book had concluded.  This was the perfect, somewhat "light" read - especially if you have ever had a friend as close as Kate and Tully.  (My mind often drifted back to my younger years and my "twin" aka BFF as I read.)  Thank you, Erin, for the great recommendation as well as Meade for passing your copy onto me.  

As always, has anyone read a book recently worth recommending?  I would love to hear about it!