The Andersons

4th of July

2011-08-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe it's been 4 months since the last post. A BIG appology to those of you looking for updates. We've been keeping busy with work, school, and family. Shane is continuing his Information Technology program at University of Phoenix and is doing well. We're both still enjoying our jobs. Parker is the highlight of our life. He is so full of energy and we love playing with him.

Sorry we don't have many picture. We've been looking for a new camera with audio videos so you can hear Parker's adorable voice.

These pictures are from the Fourth of July. I had my good friend from work, Korttney, and her new boyfriend, Chase, over. We had a BBQ, played games, and set off fireworks in our front yard.

Here is Parker being concerned with the fireworks and wondering what the heck we're doing.

Looking for me to make sure he's supposed to be there.

Found Dad.

My beautiful friend Korttney.

Shane, Chase, and Korttney.

Shane lighting fireworks.

Parker watching Daddy. Isn't he getting so big? It's nice to see his hair finally coming in.

This was Parker getting ready for church back in June, I think. He is such a handsome little man.

Parker is finally in nursery and is really enjoying it. He loves to run and climb on things. He can now climb onto the kitchen table and the bathroom sink. The doctor says he's tall and skinny for his age. His favorite things to say are: "ready, set, GO!", "Please!", and "Bye". He waves and gives great hugs and kisses.

He's showing some signs of being ready for potty training so I bought him his first potty just to get used to seeing it in the house. It took all of five mintues for him to figure out how to take it apart. He loves to help me clean. We bought him a little vacuum and broom. He likes to crash his vacuum into mine and he still prefers the big broom. Such a silly boy.

Some Updates

2011-04-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

The other night, while Shane and I were eating dinner, Parker started crying and reaching for our plates. I didn't understand what he wanted because he was eating the same thing as us. Finally I realized that the only I had, that he didn't, was a fork. As soon as I gave it to him he was happy.

Here's a picture of him eating his french toast with a fork. Since then we bought him some baby utensils. He loves them.

He is a very curious boy. He likes to get into the kitchen drawers.

Shane celebrated his 27th birthday on February 24th. I took him out to dinner the night before and a movie the weekend after. Happy Birthday Shane! We love you!

Parker enjoyed the cake... a lot.

During the Christmas holiday I worked hard on different art projects. Here are some of them:

My coworker, Alma, had me paint this picture for her husband. We traded and she watched Parker so we could have a couple date nights.

A lady from the Thanksgiving boutique I took part in hired me to paint this picture of her son. Below is a picture she gave me to draw of her baby. Below that is the drawing I did for her.

Here's Parker wearing his winter gear he got from Grandpa Anderson. He's such a cute boy.

Parker updates:

Parker is 15 months. He has 14 teeth. He is average for weight and head size, slightly above average for height (hopefully that will continue). He loves to talk his little baby language. His favorite real word is "uh oh". He understands a lot. He knows what binkie, blanket, bottle, kiss, and brush teeth means. When we need to leave for the babysitter I say "I need my baby" and he runs over and holds his arms up so I can pick him up. He eats everything except for cheese and tomatoes. He runs now instead of walks. He can climb stairs. Sometimes when he's hungry he'll go and sit in his baby chair. He thinks it's funny when Shane or I say the dinner prayer. He likes to pet animals and babies. And he just started to be cuddly again. We love our Parker. He is such a fun spirit to have as a part of our family.

Sal's Wedding

2011-03-29T11:07:00.001-07:00

On December 30th Shane's brother Sal got married. We were so excited to be there to witness the happy day!

Here's the family getting ready for the ceremony.

Parker and cousin Kylan.

Grandpa Pablo and Blake. Beautiful Sierra.

Sal, Maddy, Trevor, Chase, and Summer.

The perfect couple. Sal and Brenda.

Brenda being walked down the aisle by her dad.

The beautiful ceremony with Santiago as the best man.

Brenda and Sal.

Me and Parker.

Cutting the cake.

We couldn't be more happy to welcome Brenda into our family. She is a great addition.

Congratulations Sal and Brenda!

Early Christmas

2010-12-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

We knew we would be spending Christmas with our families. So we let Parker open his big gifts Christmas Eve morning. That way we didn't have to pack them in the car.

His big gifts were an ATV and dragon.

Dad and Parker getting ready for presents!

This video is so funny. It's like he knew what was going on.

Parker's 1st Birthday!

2010-12-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

One year ago, on December 24th, Parker Easton Anderson was born. In just one year our tiny baby has grown into a little boy. He has brought so much happiness, laughter, and entertainment to our lives. I cannot imagine life without him. We are truly blessed to have our little Parker.

He can run, say "Mom, Dad, and No". He waves, sometimes. He laughs and smiles a lot. He already thinks he's hilarious. He likes to get in to everything, like the trash, toilet, kitchen drawers. He has 10 teeth and is growing in two more. He thinks it's funny to bite me and Shane. He is now giving kisses and hugs. When Shane or I call each other he smiles and trys to lay his head on the phone. He eats EVERYTHING and then some. We love our Parker!

Here is Parker on his first birthday.

We celebrated at my parents. He loved the hats and kazoos.

"It's a party. I'm gonna celebrate!"

His first choo choo from Aunt Rachel.

Toy dinosaur from Uncle Nate.

He got this interactive computer that you can hook up to the TV. Thanks Nana and Papa!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday! (Sorry for the angle change)

He sure does love that cake!

Parker and Papa.

All done!

Happy first birthday Parker! We love you!

Christmas Morning "Williams Style"

2010-12-27T17:54:00.000-08:00

Parker was so cute on Christmas morning with his little penguin pj's.

We spent the night at my family's and had Christmas morning with them. One weird thing about my family: we love our blankets. Before we started opening gifts I looked around and saw all the boys with their blankets. I had to take a video.

Scott with some goodies from the candy store.

Our gift to Scott. A shirt. "If this shirt isn't sweaty then I am not gaming hard enough".

Shirts from Shane. He's really good at picking clothes out for me. I opened those pj bottoms the day before.

We gave Mom a purse.

Dad's "Birth-mas" gift (His birthday is the 29th). A top-of-the-line lap top.

Our gift to him was a gift card to LOWES.

We got Nate a T-shirt too. "Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now."

To be honest, I don't even know what Shane is holding here. But he looks happy about it!
Shane's big giftsthis year: Circular saw, electric razor, and a camera. Hopefully that one has sound for our videos. =)

Rachel got Parker this little puppy. He took it out of my hands and gave it a big hug.

Mom made Rachel this jewelry.

Parker, Nate, and Mom.

I got a lot of bling.

My big gift from Shane this year was a jewelry armoir. I love it!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas With The Pedrazas'

2010-12-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas day we went to Shane's family's house. We had the sibling gift exchange, Christmas dinner, and celebrated Parker and Uncle Ron's birthday. Uncle Ron's birthday is Christmas day!

Jenny, Parker (enjoying Skyler and Lindsay's gift), Maddy, and Uncle Ron.

Cute aviator outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. They also sent a puzzle with musical instruments that make noise when you put the pieces in. Thanks!

Interactive phone. Parker loves this. He's been playing with it non-stop since we've been home.

Card from Great Grandparents Durham. He's waving "thanks"!

Picture of the birthday boys. They're holding a birthday Mickey that plays "Happy Birthday". Parker saw it at Disneyland. He was happy to be reunited.

Some of the gang.

Some of the rest of the gang: Sandy, Pablo, Ron, and Chuck.

Sierra, Toni, Devin, and Sal.

Thanks guys! We had a blast!

Ugly Sweater Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T18:18:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving at Heather's house. She went all out for the festivities. She rented a bounce house and bought everyone ugly sweaters so we could have an ugly sweater party. The food was so yummy and we all went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. Thanks for such an eventful day Heather!

Our immediate family was joined by Brett's parents, two of his sisters and their families.

Here's a shout out to Grammie. She's one person I know for sure who checks our blog. Sorry for the dry spell. I hope this makes up for it. I took these videos tonight especially for you. We love you Grammie! Love Jenny, Shane and Parker.

So You Think You Can Dance!

2010-11-28T18:10:00.001-08:00

A few months ago Heather and I bought tickets to So You Think You Can Dance. We've been anticipating it ever since. We weren't disapointed. It was such a fun experience. I'm glad I was able to share it with my awesome sister.

Heather and I outside the Jobing.com arena.

In front of the stage. We scored seats in the middle section only 16 rows from the stage. We ended up sitting next to Robert's brother who gave us back stage passes. We were so lucky!

Robert was the first dancer we met backstage.

Me and Adechicke.

Dominic. I was trying out my "cool" face. Didn't work out so well.

Heather and Kathryn. Her favorite dancer.

Me and Russel. Season 6 winner.

Robert and Heather.

Thank you SYTYCD for putting on such an amazing show!!!

Chucky Cheese

2010-11-28T18:02:00.001-08:00

For our niece, Maddy, and our nephew, Cooper, we all went to Chucky Cheese to celebrate their birthday. I stole these picture from Shane's step-mom Kim. Thanks Kim!

Parker had a blast riding the kiddie rides

...and going down the slide.

Ok. It doesn't look like he was having a blast here.

Ignore the situation in the background. Our nephew Blake got cake on his pants.

My favorite boys.

Happy Birthday Maddy and Cooper!

Scott's Birthday

2010-11-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

On October 22nd Scott turned 19. I can't believe how fast he's grown up... even though I see him all the time. Right now he is finishing up the semester at the local community college. He is thinking about majoring in Culinary Arts.

Me and Parker

Here's o ur beautiful mom.

Brother Nate

Birthday boy Scott

My mom had this awesome pirate cake made for him.

Our Halloween Turtle

2010-11-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

Parker was a little turtle for Halloween. And a dang cute one I might add.

On Friday evening we had our ward's Trunk or Treat. He was so tired that he just let us push him around in his stroller while he hung on the basket as people put candy into it.

The second night was a little different. He was so wired that he kept dumping out the candy and munching on the basket. He even ate a hole through a kit-kat. Trick or treating didn't last so long that night.

You can really see his hazel eyes in this one.

Acting so cool. He loves being the center of attention. He must get that from Mom. =)

At nine months, so in September, Parker started to walk. It was a few steps at first then before we knew it he was off and walking. Here are some videos. Sorry if they switch angles and that there's no sound. But we hope you enjoy!

Disneyland!

2010-11-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

My blogging is so far behind...

In September somehow the entire family decided to join in on Heather and Brett's trip to Disneyland. We're sure glad we did. It was just over the weekend but we had a ton of fun.

Heather and Brett

Rachel and Tori

Parker stealing Tori's balloon.

Halloween Time at Disneyland!

Me and Parker with the Mad Hatter.

Thanks Heather and Brett for letting us ambush your trip!

My b-day

2010-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

I celebrated my 24th birthday with the fam. We had a great time. Here are some pics.

Scott and Parker

I got a lot of bling.

Here we are playing the "What If?" game. It's a ton of fun.

I had a lot of candles to blow out.

Thanks family! We had a good time!

All Parker All The Time

2010-08-29T20:31:00.001-07:00

At seven months Parker started to learn how to crawl. He gets easily distracted by the camera so I had to put my phone in front of it to capture his crawling skills.

Right around the same time he learned how to pull himself up. Shane bought him this awesome toy which he LOVES.

8 MONTHS:
Our little baby loves his naps. I had to get a sleeping picture because it's been a while.

This was after he woke up.
"Mom, can we turn the flash off please?"

"Mom... MOM!"

Ready to be out of his crib.

REALLY ready.

This was last Sunday. He was trying to help Dad make lunch.

Playing around with Mom at night.

I love this picture because you can see his beautiful green eyes.

He likes to kiss the baby in the mirror. =)

Showing off his standing skills.

"What?"

Here's Parker crawling just a few nights ago. It's crazy how fast he is now. He was going to pull himself up on the wall, but then remembered he was showing off for the camera.

He just recently discovered his wrists. Here he is showing off his rattle.

A new development, which I'll soon have to capture on camera, is that Parker is trying to stand by himself without holding on to anything. He can stand for 10-20 seconds before trying to grab back on to something or fall on his rear.

Hope you've enjoyed the Parker updates!!!

4th of July!

2010-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Before we headed out for fireworks.

Sporting our flag tees.

Dad and Parker

Parker and Mom. He was mesmorized with the fireworks. Look at his eyes.

Happy to be home. What a great smile. (I love his silly toes)

We love this baby.

Happy 4th!

6 months!

2010-07-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Parker is 6 months old! Time flies! I'm constantly amazed at how fast he is growing and how quickly he is learning!

The other day Parker thought it would be hilarious to poop up the back of his outfit. It was so bad that I had to wash him off in the sink. I think that was his plan all along. He loves the water.

You can barely see in this picture, but Parker has this little tuft of hair in the back of his head. It was cute for a while, but then it started bugging me. So he had his first hair cut and is still as bald as ever.

He loves his binkie. When I was changing his diaper he found the second and decided that one wasn't enough. He cracks me up.

He makes the funniest faces sometimes.

About a week ago Parker learned how to scoot on his tummy. That's when he discovered the underside of the coffee table.

I was trying to upload some pictures of him scooting... but the computer didn't like that idea. I'll try again soon.

5 Months

2010-05-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Bath time. After Parker's bath the other day I left the room quickly to grab something. I came back to find him like this:

Apparently he was wondering where mom went.

Parker has finally learned to roll around. He started off on his blanket and ended up here.

As of May 24th Parker is 5 months old. Here he is commemorating the day.

He likes his fingers.

He's already grown out of his old sandals. Here are the new ones. I bought these for him when I was still pregnant. I can't believe he can already fit into them!

Here he is learning to sit up with the boppy. He can now do it by himself for a minute... before he gets distracted and toppels over.

We found him this cute swim suit the other day and on Tuesday he was able to wear it on his first play date!
These are his new friends; Caleb and Kellan.

He fell asleep yesterday morning and I wrapped him in a cocoon. I just had to take a picture. Yes, he still sleeps with one arm up. =)
As you can tell we love our little (maybe not so little any more) Parker. He makes us laugh all the time and we love spending time with him.

Hope you enjoy the pics!

Recent Updates

2010-05-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Parker has been loving his jumper now that his feet can finally touch the ground. He'll last a good 20 minutes before he gets bored.

About two weeks ago he learned how to roll onto his stomach. Now he just flips his little over over like it's no big deal. Next to learn: how to turn back over.

He does this silly thing when if you smile at him he turns away all shy. That's what happened with this picutre. You can tell he's smiling too.

I found a gift card for a hair cut in my purse that expires this month.. so I used it. Here's the verdict:
You can tell that Parker is thrilled that I was still taking pictures.

The Zoo!

2010-05-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we went with Shane's family to the zoo. They got passes from their work and we were able to get in free because we're Bank of America members. (They get in free the first weekend of every month)

This was Parker the first half of the zoo trip.

Here are some of the animals we saw:

He eventually woke up.

We had to put the towel on his head because when we turned the sun would be on it. But you have to admit... either way he looks hilarious.

Mama monkey with her babies.

"wide load"

All in all, we had a fun time at the zoo with our family. Thanks zoo!

Zig Zag Toes!

2010-05-14T07:59:00.001-07:00

You may be wondering what zig zag toes are.

THESE are zig zag toes!

I'm obsessed with Parker's little toes. I think the actual word for them is "stacked", but I like zig zag better. I can't help but to kiss them!

One happy boy! Parker likes to watch Mom get ready in the morning. (Can you see his eyes changing to green?)

Getting ready for the babysitter. He is very tired.

Chillin' with Dad. Can you believe how huge Parker is getting!?!

He loves the camera!

Look at my cute sandals!

It's been a long day.

Parker and Mom. Don't you love how he stares at the camera. He cracks me up!

4 months!

2010-04-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Our little Parker is growing so fast. He's four months now! I swear he goes through a growth spurt every day. He can roll onto his side. He likes to stick out his tongue and laugh. When he wakes up he tries to talk to me or Shane. He's getting better with controling his hands. Sometimes he'll hold onto his binkie and can put it back in his mouth.

We always get the comment that he looks just like both of us. He looks a lot like Shane when Shane was a baby- he's even getting green eyes! But he has my ears, smile, and eye shape. He is such a joy and we love having him as a part of our little family.

Last Sunday with his new shoes. =)

Today in his swing.

Sorry it took so long to get new pictures. I have a lot on my phone, but have yet to figure out how to get them on the computer.

We love you all and thanks for reading our blog!

Happy Birthday Shane!

2010-04-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Shane had his 26th birthday on Feb. 24th. We just celebrated with our little family. It was a good time.

Happy Birthday Shane. We love you!

Parker's Baby Blessing

2010-03-13T19:06:00.001-08:00

On February 7th we blessed Parker at our ward. It went really well. Shane gave a great blessing and Parker didn't cry. =) Afterwards we went back to our house for some food and the superbowl. It was tons of fun. Thanks to all of our family who was able to make it. We love you!

Here's the whole gang!

more newborn pics for your enjoyment

2010-03-13T18:35:00.001-08:00

Parker Update

2010-02-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

4weeks old and ready for church

5weeks and lookin' sharp.

I tried this hat on him again. It obviously didn't fit any more.

He really didn't like it.

Ready for our first stroller ride outside.

Sleeping with his arms up again.

6weeks. This was after we got home from his blessing. We'll have more pictures of that coming soon.

What a silly boy. We love love LOVE him!

More pictures...

2010-01-22T16:02:00.001-08:00

He loves to put his arms up when he sleeps.

He makes some crazy faces.

So sweet.

Another crazy face.

Parker's 1st Photo Shoot

2010-01-12T10:43:00.001-08:00

Heather took these cute pictures of Parker when he was 4 days old. I love this face!

New Year's Eve!

2010-01-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Eve my family came over to celebrate with us. We ate yummy food and played games. Thanks for coming over family!

Parker says "Happy New Year!"

Parker (yawning) and Scott.

Shane dealing the cards.

Me and my precious Parker.

Nate, back from NAU for the holidays.

Rachel and Mom.

Some of the gang.

Happy New Year!

Parker Easton Anderson

2009-12-29T10:39:00.001-08:00

Here are pictures of our Christmas Eve angel.

Right after he was born they put him on my now smaller tummy.

I was in such awe of him. I'm very happy that he's here.

What a sweet face... even with all the gunk.

Thumbs up.

Grandma and Grandpa Pedraza were the first to visit.

Followed by Grandma Williams.

What a perfect face.

Wrapped in the blanket Grandma Williams made.

Dad and baby. He's the best dad already.

First family photo.

Santa Baby. We got this cute outfit from my mom.

"Mommy's Little Deer". Outfit complements of Shane's mom.

Birth Story

2009-12-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

Parker Easton Anderson was born at 10:28am on December 24th at 7lbs 9oz and 20in long. Here is the story on how he got here:

On Wednesday night at about 11pm I started having contractions about 8 minutes apart. Shane and I decided to go on a walk to see if we could get them stronger and closer together. They started coming about 3-5 minutes apart. Once we got home and rested they were every 2 1/2 minutes. Even though they were really light I wanted to go to the hospital and hopefully get admitted (I was 4 1/2cm dilated and 80% thinned at my doctor's appt earlier that afternoon).

We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 Thursday morning and I was sent to Triage to check my contractions. They were still coming close together but I hadn't dilated any more. Luckily I knew the triage nurse from work (she's a patient at the Chiropractor's office) and she admitted us at 3am. By then I was 5 1/2cm and 90% thinned.

They hooked me up to my IV and started my first dose of antibiotics (I tested positive for group B strep). I got my epidural at 5am and the doctor broke my water at 5:30. We rested until about 7 when our delivery nurse, Seanna, came. I got my second dose of antibiotics. My contractions were coming about every minute. At 8:30 I was 9cm and 100% thinned.

At 10:00 our doctor came in and I was ready to push. I pushed for half an hour and Parker came at 10:28.

Everything went so smoothly. The best part was that I didn't have any pain at all. Parker was healthy and didn't have any signs of group B strep. We were able to go home Christmas afternoon.

We're so thrilled that he's here now. He's perfect! He barely cries and is the cutest thing ever! Welcome Parker! We love you!

Pregnant Pictures!

2009-12-18T04:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T09:52:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Shane's side of the family. This year it was held at Unlce Tim's house which, thankfully, was is Queen Creek. We had lots of fun and tons of food!

Here I am at almost 36weeks (8months) pregnant.

Here's the crazy family!

Me and Shane. We love each other. =)

On black Friday we woke up early in the morning with the rest of the crazy shoppers. We found some great deals on clothes and movies. Surprisingly we only spent about 5 minutes in line at each store. The only down side of the morning; having to throw up. Sorry Kohl's parking lot!

We have so many things to be thankful for:

Our house

Our great jobs

Our wonderful family and friends

and a healthy baby boy on the way.

The countdown continues

2009-11-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Exactly one month from today is our due date for baby Parker. We can't wait! Hurry up and get here Baby!

Baby Showers!

2009-11-17T10:19:00.001-08:00

33weeks pregnant!

The 1st baby shower was at my house Nov.7th and the second one was at my parent's house Nov. 14th. Heather, Mom, and Lindsay did such a great job with the food, decorations, and games. Thanks guys!

They had a pumpkin theme. =)

The center piece!

Me with my basketball belly, Whitney, and Mom.

Sandy, Shana w/ Blake, Summer, Grandma Durham, and Lindsay.

34weeks pregnant and eating. What a surprise.

The string game. Everyone had to cut a piece of string to the length they thought my belly was. Stacy won. =)

Baby blanket. Soooo soft!

Onesie from Summer. "Handsome Devil (just like Daddy)"

Little toys and burp cloths.

We got so many great gifts they barely fit in our car! Among them was an AWESOME car seat from my mom and dad.

The morning after. Heather thinks it's funny that I have such a big belly. I can't blame her.

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to the showers! We had so much fun and got a TON of stuff we need for Parker. We can't wait to use everything.

THANKS!!!

My Birthday!

2009-11-17T10:10:00.001-08:00

The Birthday Flamingo came to visit me. Thank you Relief Society!
The Birthday girl! 27weeks pregnant!

Little Tori enjoying the party.

A card, m&m's, and gift card from Shane's family. Shane is holding nephew Blake. Soon this is what we'll look like with a baby. =)

Some of the gang.

Thanks to our families who came to my birthday party. We had a blast!

Week 32 Ultrasound

2009-11-04T11:30:00.001-08:00

This week we had our last Ultrasound and it was really neat to see just how fast Parker has grown. He is such a cute little guy. The Ultraound tech said that he is 4lbs 12oz. That is a little better than normal for 32 weeks. He was measuring at 34 1/2 weeks in some of the pictures. He just might be tall like me.

It has been awesome to see him move around inside Jenny's tummy. He is gonna be a either a swimmer or a soccer player because that kid can kick. Jenny keeps saying that she can't wait until she doesn't have to pee every 30 seconds and there isn't a baby kicking her in the ribs.

Here are the Photos. Enjoy!

It looks like he is sucking his thumb

This one looks like an alien baby!
This one is a little strange. It looks like he has a pig nose

Looks like he is sleeping here

Almost Done!

2009-10-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

We're almost done with Parker's room. We've painted the furniture and finished the last zoo animal painting to complete the trio.

These will go on his wall behind the crib.

Changing Table

Before

After!

Dresser

Before

After!

Crib

Before

After!

Nearing the end

2009-10-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 31weeks pregnant. We're getting closer! We're so excited to welcome baby Parker into our lives. We've been painting the furniture for his room and we're almost done! We'll post pictures when we are.

Belly Shot

2009-10-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Pic of me at 29weeks pregnant. Please excuse the bedtime face and bad photography. =)

Hair Cut!

2009-10-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I like to get a little creative with my own hair. Conference weekend I thought I would try to fix the ends (they were bothering me). As time went on my hair found itself getting shorter and shorter. Let's just say that it did not turn out the way I planned and it had then gotten too short for me to cut it in the back. I promptly put it in a ponytail until I could remedy the situation.

On Monday during lunch I was able to get it done at a salon with someone who was capable of seeing the back of my head. I think it turned out much better than my attempt. Here's how it looks!

Olds Family History

2009-09-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you may know now I have been researching our family History and I found some more information on Grandma Valeria Ruth Anderson's side of the family. Her family name is Olds. They came from Minnesota and as far back as New York. The family info that I found was on a couple of websites. There are some good little articles that explain about the towns that they lived in and shows the records from a church that Grandma and her family was baptized at. Below are the Hyperlinks and I hope that you all enjoy them. If anyone knows anymore information please let me know so we can get our family history completed.

This is the home of James Henry Olds which

is Grandma Anderson's grandfather

This is the Olds family around 1914-15

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnaitkin/welk_ts.htm#2

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnaitkin/swatara.htm

Anderson Family History

2009-09-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks I have been really interested in my family history. It all started when my friend told me about getting his Line of Authority which I really wanted so I ordered a copy of it. I was unsure of a few names on there so I researched them and asked my dad. As I was conducting my research I decided that it was time to get some genealogy work started. I started by looking up my grandpa Thomas Leroy Anderson Sr and from there I was able to trace our family back pretty far into the 15 and 1600s. It was really neat to see the transition between generations and all the silly name changes. Well I was a little more curious and I stumbled upon a blog that had information about the Abelin and Christiansen family. That is my great grandpa Angus Anderson's family on his mother's side. The blog was full of family pictures that allowed me to see who these people were and how they looked. Well I hope that I can find more information about our ancestors and pictures would be great too! If anyone is interested I listed the blog site on our contacts under family history and the website is

http://crfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/

http://lott.philip.googlepages.com/CHRISTIANSENFredrick.htm

Grandpa Angus is the little boy on the Right

Marion, Rosetta, Ada and Angus Anderson

Belly Update

2009-09-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of me at 26 weeks pregnant.

Paint

2009-09-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

We were able to paint the baby's room the other day. It only took a few hours. We're really happy with the way it turned out. The curtains help to put a finishing touch on it.

I was also able to finish some paintings for the walls in the baby's room. What do ya think?

Two Years!

2009-09-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

Shane and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on August 25th. We shared gifts and a nice dinner out.

Shane and I on our anniversary.

It's been an amazing two years. We've gotten new jobs, a new house, and a baby on the way. We have been so blessed and feel so lucky that we get to share our love with each other and our growing family.

Here's to an eternity of love!

Furniture Finds

2009-08-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

We went and hit up some garage sales this past weekend in hopes of finding furniture for the baby's room. Boy did we strike big. Here is what we found:

A changing table: $10

crib: $20

And dresser: $10

We made out like bandits.

Now we just need to paint them so they all match. It makes us so excited to have our little baby. Parenthood, here we come!

Leaving Home

2009-08-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we helped Nate move some of his stuff up to NAU. He started class yesterday. It was nice to be able to see him off and see his new house. I'm excited for him to venture off on his own. We wish you the best Nate! See you in a few months!

Me and Nate. We went to Arby's before Shane and I headed back home.

On Sunday we went and visited Shane's family because we hadn't seen them in a while. I hadn't even seen our new nephew Blake. He was such a cutie. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of him. I did, however get a picutre of this:

It's a picture of me that Sierra made out of playdough. If you look close enough, you can see where she added the baby in my tummy. =) Thanks Sierra!

22 week Ultrasound

2009-08-25T12:37:00.001-07:00

We had our 2o week ultrasound a couple of weeks ago where the US tech confirmed that our baby was 150% a boy! =) We didn't get any good pictures on the CD they gave us to put on the blog though. So you'll have to settle for these. Because of the way he was positioned they weren't able to see his entire spine. They had us come back for another ultrasound last Friday and said that everything looks great and, yep, still a boy. We're so excited for our little boy and can't wait until we can see him outside my tummy.

In this pic you can see his arms around his face. That's his little nose and lips. Then his big round belly.

They measured his heart rate. A healthy 141bpm.

Yay for baby boys! Now all we have to do is decide how to paint the room. =)

Happy Birthday Heather!

2009-08-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we celebrated Heather's birthday. I'm not gonna lie, she's getting old. ; )

We hung out with our family at my parent's house.

Mom, Tori, Rachel, Shane, Dad, Nate, and Brett.

Tori had some crazy clown hair goin' on.

Me and Scott

It's kinda hard to see, but this is me at 21 weeks.

*****

Last Saturday we hung out with Heather, Brett, and Tori. We had lunch at Joe's Farm Grill. It was very yummy. Tori kept trying to chase after the birds and Heather and Brett kept trying to chase after Tori. All in all, a very entertaining lunch. Thanks guys!

Heather, Tori, Brett, & Shane

I love her outtie.

Heather and Tori

Very Harry Obsessed

2009-08-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Shortly after seeing the 6th Harry Potter movie I started reading the 7th Harry Potter book. I am simultaneously proud and embarrassed to say, that after three weeks, I have finished the book.

I'm so obsessed that I started having dreams about Harry Potter. That wasn't too weird to me because I usually have dreams about things I've done the day before. I had a dream that I met the cast of Harry Potter and became friends with the character that plays Draco Malfoy. What can I say? I have a very creative imagination.

So here's to you Harry!

The sign of the Deathly Hallows

Baby Bump... and kicks!

2009-07-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'm finally starting to look pregnant. It's a much better alternative to frumpy. I'm about 18 1/2 weeks now. We're so excited about our little baby. It seems like every day Shane says he can't wait to meet him. We have another ultrasound next Friday where they're going to either confirm or deny the gender. We're pretty sure it'll still be a boy.

This picture was taken on our 18 week mark.

Just this week I started to feel him move and actually distinguish those movements from food digestion. Shane had his hand on my belly and felt a really good kick. It was like Baby was saying hi! Things like that make us so excited to finally be able to hold him in our arms.

Wicked!

2009-07-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

On the 25th Shane and I, along with Heather and my mom and dad, went to see WICKED! It was everything I hoped it would be! I loved every minute of it! We spent the rest of the day singing the Wicked songs. I can only hope that one day I'll be as talented as Elphaba and Glinda.

Camping!

2009-07-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went to Flagstaff (Fort Tuthill) to go camping with my family. It was so nice to get out of town and the weather was excellent. As soon as we got to Phoenix I wanted to turn around and go back. It's way too hot here. But we had a blast!

This is the sign to the Lava River Cave. It's underground and completely dark. We had to take flashlights.

Dad, Shane, Rachel, and Mom walking to the cave. This is what it looks like above ground.

This is what the cave looks like when you come up to it. The black part is the opening. It goes straight down for like 10 minutes until the ground starts to even out. It's very cool.

Nate, Rachel, and Shane around our fire.

Yay camping!

Out with the old... in with the old?

2009-07-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

So we decided to sell my motorcycle since I'm pregnant now... and I never ride it any way. With the money we decided to buy a new (well used) car so Shane doesn't have to drive his motorcycle to work during the summer.
It was a lot of work finding something we liked and that was in our price range, but I think we finally did it! We got a '98 Oldsmobile. (I'm sure Shane will explain it much better.)

**Pictures to come.

Week 14 Ultrasound

2009-07-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know, Jenny and I are having our first child. We are so excited and there is so much that we are finding out and learning. On June 18th we went to The Fetal &Women's Center and we had a level II ultrasound. It was really neat. The ultrasound technician measured the babies spine and made sure that it didn't show signs of downsyndrome and that he/she was growing at a healthy pace. She also asked us if we wanted to determine the sex of the baby. We said yes so she began to look around and she said that it looked like it was a 95% chance of being a boy. We were both stoked because we thought it would be awesome to have a boy but either way we would be just as happy. Everything else went well and Jenny is now in her 16th week so we are looking forward to the day that we have our first child.

Here are some of the ultrasound pictures:

Freedom!

2009-06-14T19:26:00.001-07:00

So our dogs are not the best listeners. We tell them to be quiet and they never listen. It got so bad that our neighboors called animal control on us. Since then, we have let them out of their kennel and they haven't done anything crazy. That is, up until last week when Holly thought it would be a riot to bark... every night... from 10pm to 4am. Sometimes I wish dogs would loose their voice.
This was a great addition to my pregnant aggression issues. So for the last week we've been trying to get rid of them. And I am happy to announce... WE ARE DOG FREE! Mwa ha ha! Hence the freedom. So our neighboors, as well as my pregnant body, should get the much deserved sleep that we need.

That is... until the baby comes. =)

Ultrasound day

2009-05-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

Jenny and I went for an Ultrasound last week and it went great. The ultrasound tech told us that the baby's due date was still for Christmas day so we are very excited about that. Jenny was probably the happiest to be done because they wouldn't let her go to the bathroom until afterwards. We were excited to see our little baby and hear it's little heart just beating so fast. It is just crazy that we are going to be parents. Jenny keeps saying that it still hasn't hit her yet that she's pregnant. Here are some pics of the baby at 7 weeks.

You and Me + 1 = 3!

2009-05-10T19:59:00.001-07:00

On April 21st Shane came home to a little surprise. In it he found this!

A positive pregnancy test!

And little baby booties!

Yep! You guessed it! We're PREGNANT!

We're so excited. And the best part is... we're due on Christmas DAY!

We wanted to wait and tell our families on Mother's Day.

Turns out, Shane had a surprise for me as well.

A little baby onesie that says " I love my Mommy".

On Mother's Day we visited both our families. Mine in the morning and his in the evening. We gave my mom a gift...

This is what the card said and the next two pictures are what she found inside:

She was so excited that she didn't even finish reading the card out loud. Then she opened the gift and showed everyone else. It was a good surprise.

On the way to Shane's mom's we called his dad to tell him the news. Here's how the conversation went:

Dad: Yeah, we were thinking about coming to visit in December to see the grandchildren.

Shane: Well that would be a good time to come because by then you're going to have another grandchild.

Needless to say, he was pretty excited. =)

For Shane's Mom and Grandma, we gave them cards that said "love Shane, Jenny and Baby" They caught on right away... Like my mom, his mom couldn't finish reading out loud and started screaming. Once she got it out everyone congratulated us.

It was a fun day.

Tuesday is our first ultrasound where we'll get to see the our baby... even if it does only look like a blob. =)

We can't wait to welcome our little baby home.

Jobs, Lasers, and Recent Events

2009-04-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since the last post. But I'm happy to report that I've started a new job! I work for a Chiropractor as the front office person. I started about a month ago and I'm really enjoying it. Plus, I get free adjustments which is a plus seeing as my neck is messed up. So things are going really well!

About a week ago I went in for laser eye surgery. A very bizare experience. I would liken it to being abducted by aliens and them doing experiments on my eyes. Weird. But I'm healing really well and I now have 20/20 vision! It's so AWESOME! Here's a "before and after". My eyesight was actually worse than this. The big "E" on the chart was blurry.

Other things we've done lately:

>Shane's sister's and nephew's baptism (Sierra and Kylan).

>Conference, Easter Pageant, and Easter at my parents.

>Brian Mo's wedding. Congrats!

>Shane's sister's b-day. Happy Birthday Shana!

Adventures in Riding and Paint

2009-03-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to take my intro to riding class on Feb 27th. It was a blast. Although, I have to admit that I struggled a bit. My hands are so small that when I tried to grab for the brake I accidentally hit the throttle. Yeah, I dropped the bike twice. That sucked. However, it was a good insight and made me realize I needed to learn on a smaller bike that could take a beating... This resulted in:

Jenny Beast

I was cleaning the house this weekend and ran across some old art stuff from high school. I had a few paintings I never finished. I had some extra time... so I finished them. Yay! Here are the final projects.

Shane's Birthday!

2009-02-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Shane's 25th birthday at our house on Saturday. Our families came over and we had a great time!

Here's Shane (with Cooper) and all 25 candles. We think Cooper thought it was for him. =)

He got them all blown out! Hope you made a good wish!

Here's some of the family getting ready to see what were in Shane's presents.

A portable DVD player!

And what's a DVD player without DVD's?

Shane got a lot of cards from our families. He likes knowing that he's the favorite son, brother, uncle, and grandson. =)

Gift card to Outback from his mom and Pablo. Oh yeah!

Motorcycle gloves! Thanks Skyler!

Garage door opener for the motorcycle from my mom and dad! Sweet!

Time for cake and cupcakes!

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it! And thanks for all the great gifts!

And a special shout out to Nate for being our camera man!

Happy Birthday Shane!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

Jenny and Shane.

Forever Valentines.

Shane gave me those "love puppies".

But, Oooh. What's in the box?

Rubbies and Sapphires. Thanks Baby! (He loves me.)

I made Shane heart-shaped sugar cookies. They are very yummy.

He loves the little ones.

Happy Valentine's Day baby! I love you!!!

Hail, Motors, and UOP

2009-02-10T15:59:00.001-08:00

It hailed in Queen Creek!!!

It happened Sunday evening. We just couldn't believe it!

This picture is our sidewalk out front.

Yes. This is me... holding hail. It was cold.

So Shane and I decided to be really crazy and buy a MOTORCYCLE! We got it over the weekend. It's a Suzuki Marauder. We are excited to learn to ride.

We went and got our gear today. We think we're so cool.

Shane. He looks like he's done this before.

Jenny. She looks like she hasn't done this before.

But she's rockin' the pink!

My friend Brian, from University of Phoenix, had his going away lunch today. He and I were hired at the same time and in training together. It was so nice to see everyone again.

Jason and Brian.

Dave and Amanda. Dave was my cube neighboor when I worked at UOP.

Me and Andrew. He was also in our training group.

We went to lunch at Native New Yorker. The pizza was yummy!

It's always a good time to see friends again.

Good luck at BYU Brian!

The Job Search Continues...

2009-02-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

*Sigh*

So I was getting pretty annoyed when I started hearing the word "economy" everywhere. It didn't seem like such a big deal here in AZ. I was wrong.

I have a story for you. It's called Jenny the Job Hopper.

Once there was a girl named Jenny. She was a Job Hopper. She worked at University of Phoenix until she was almost fired. "You can't fire me! I quit!" So what did Jenny do? She hopped jobs.

Then little Jenny worked for an apartment with old people.... until they couldn't afford Jenny anymore. So she hopped jobs again.

Now Jenny is working for a company that wants her to work for free. Little Jenny didn't like this idea... so she will continue to hop her little heart out until one day, when she will find Prince Job; the fairest job in the land.

The End

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-02T11:06:00.001-08:00

On New Year's Eve we had my family over for a game night. It was great! We had lots of fun and ate KFC.

Christmas, Wow...

2008-12-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

very busy. We spent a lot of time with our families. Here are some pictures of the occassion. =)

Me and Tori

On Christmas Eve we went to my family's to exchange our "Secret Buddy" gifts. In October we choose a secret buddy and have to make them a home-made gift. Everyone did a really good job this year.

Tori (with the help of Heather) made a chest/cupboard for Rachel.

Rachel (with help from Mom) made this tile for Brett. "Real men can hunt the meat AND cook the meat."

Brett made this '67 model mustang for Shane.

Shane made this wooden train for Tori

Scott made this kitchen cork board for Heather. The sunflowers match her kitchen.

Heather made this wooden stocking hanging and mirrored jewelry box for me.

Dad made this wooden hanging for Scott. "Scott is Important!"

Nate made this calendar for Mom.

Mom made pj pants for Nate.

I wrote and illustrated this book for Dad. "A Bear Holiday"

Our gift to the family was Harry Potter CLUE.

Their gift to us was a sewing machine. "Yes!"

Christmas Day was spent at Shane's family's house.

Sal opened our gift to the family: Cranium

Here are more pictures of the family. =)

Santi

Seth & Sierra

Me & Cooper

Brayden

Santa stopped at our house too!

Shane's new bike

We got a lot of new clothes.

I had to make sure he smells good. ;)

I love socks.

We had a very merry Christmas!

Tis the Season

2008-11-29T20:11:00.001-08:00

So I've been having fun decorating our house for this Christmas. It's our first Christmas in our new home and we're really excited about it. This is what we've done so far.

Ocotillo Ward Reunion

2008-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving eve we had one of two Ocotillo Ward reunions. We met up at Rosa's Mexican Grill and had a blast. It was fun to see these faces again. Thanks to those of you who came!

Halloween!

2008-11-04T14:49:00.001-08:00

Halloween!

So this was our first Halloween in our new house. We decided to stay home (and watch the new Incredible Hulk movie)and have trick or treaters come. It was so cute. One little guy, dressed as Batman, ran into our house as soon as I opened the door. It was so funny.

I decided that I really wanted a barfing pumpkin this year. The pictures don't do it justice. I think it turned out really well. (I caught a guy taking a picture of it) =)

Birthday!

2008-11-04T14:41:00.001-08:00

So... it's been a while since we updated our page. My birthday was back on September 26th.
I woke up way early in the morning for work, and when I opened the front door a letter fell onto the floor and a pink flamingo caught my eye. Our awesome Relief Society had wished me a happy birthday in the sweetest way.

Later that day I met up with Mom, Heather, and Tori for lunch. We had way too much fun. Us girls are so silly. The pictures were of us waiting for our table. You can tell the Tori was very excited about waiting in the sun. ; )

That weekend we all (and by we all I mean mine and Shane's ENTIRE family) met up at my parents for my party. It was such a blast to have everyone there. We BBQ'ed and watched the new Brian Regan DVD. Hilarious!!

Thanks to everyone who made my happy day even more happy.

Forever Friends

2008-11-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

I am a firm believer in "forever friends". You know, the friends that you'll always have in your life no matter what. Well, Katie Bean is one of my forever friends.

It's been a while since she and I last hung out. But it seems like whenever we hang out there hasn't been any time lost. I love spending time with her.

This is a picture of us at Gellato's (sp?). We had a blast. Yeah to girls night out!

The Piano

2008-09-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Jenny and I love Craigslist. I look for deals all the time. Last Friday Jenny and I bought a Dresser and we were very happy with it. Nothing special, just a good dresser. Well, I got the bright idea that Jenny and I needed a piano. Jenny loves to sing and I would some day like to learn how to play. It seemed like a great idea. Well after looking half the afternoon we spotted a "Gem" that caught our eye. So we gave the guy a call and he told us that he still had the piano and said that we could pick it up today. The price was a steal but we knew that we would need to get it tuned and tighten the keys. The biggest problem was transporting it. I thought to myself. This piano is not going to fit in my truck unless is take out the tool box in the back and that wasn't going to happen. I thought of every possible way to do it but came up short every time. We finally thought that it was useless and that we would have to settle for a different day. Just then I realized that my brother also was in possession of a truck that could transport said piano to our home. Even better, we were heading for a barbecue at his house that afternoon. It didn't take long before we were planning the whole thing out like an intricate Bank Heist.
The night came quick and we were on our way to get the piano. We got lost a couple of time due to bad directions from a less credible source. We finally arrived only to realize that I was the biggest guy there and that meant that we were in for some trouble. It doesn't take a genius to see that three skinny white guys and an old man were no match for the monstrosity. To our amazement it was a little easier than it seemed, but I knew it would be harder to get the piano out of the truck.
The trip home had a few downfalls, well maybe just one, when the piano fell over in the truck. Skyler and I managed to move it a little by ourselves, just enough to ensure that it wouldn't fly out of the truck. I got the bad end of the deal when the piano slid and my Knuckles caught the bed of Skyler's truck. That's gonna leave a mark. Fortunately they are healing rather fast.
She made it home though and all in one piece. We knew we were in a pickle when we arrived because it was already 10PM and all the neighbors were most likely asleep. I decided to ask the next door neighbor, Tony, and just our luck he had a Big friend there to help. It was a pain in the rear getting that huge thing out of the truck bed, but we managed to lift it out on its side and stand it on the floor. I took a few tries and Skyler almost crushed his fingers. We put it right in front of the window near the door. The first open spot there was. We all came home tired, some battle scarred, mostly me, but it was something I will always remember because I will never let myself do something dumb like that again. Just kidding we love our piano. We hope that it will bring a spirit of warmth, love and happiness to our new home and family.

New stuff in the front room

2008-09-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

2008-09-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

MRI results

2008-08-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

So this is a picture of my brain...

As some of you know, I have chronic daily headaches. My neurologist suggested I get an MRI just to make sure nothing crazy was going on in my head. The results came back and, good news, my brain is fine. Now we get to keep trying medication until we find one that works. =)

Entering the blogging world!

2008-08-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

So Shane and I thought it was about time that we created our own blog. We want to keep in touch with our friends... and let you guys know what we've been up to. Forgive me for the whimpy page now, but it'll be awesome soon enough.

Just to catch everyone up on things:

We're doing great. We're coming up on our one year anniversary at the end of the month and we're really excited. Hopefully we'll be able to plan a trip.

We both work at the University of Phoenix. Shane as a Centeralized Intake Specialist (CIS) and me as an Enrollment Counselor. I just started my degree in Elementary Education and Shane will be starting his degree in Business coming up here soon.

We recently moved to Queen Creek back in March and are loving it. It is so nice to have our own home. Our ward is great and we've made some awesome friends already. Our calling is in the Primary as teachers for the 5-6 year olds. They are the best.

We have two dogs- Trigger and Holly. They are huge and they enjoy taking me for walks. Shane does a good job at taking care of them.

That's all I can think of for now... except no, we are not planning on having kids yet. ; )

We are excited to share our journey through life with all of you!