Anya, My Little Personality

Now Anya has developed quite the personality. In fact, I think I've caught a glimpse of what I'm going to be dealing with when she is a teenager and frankly I'm a little nervous. But she is so darn cute and she has so much personality I can't help but just laugh at her most of the time now. The one good thing is she seems to have a desire to help mom, so hopefully she keeps that up through the years. You can see that here as she is helping me to unload the dishwasher...yeah, she needs a little practice. She loves to do ANYTHING her brother does, so she is learning all sorts of tricks like somersaults and wrestling. She already climbs fairly large slides and goes down on her own (she is actually quite coordinated and careful). She also likes to read books and walk the dog (we found the perfect dog her size at a party we were at one day). She wants to try everything...she even hung from a pull up bar by herself at my father-in-laws house for about 15 seconds when she saw the bigger cousins trying to do pull ups...it was hilarious and I wish I had the picture to post. Anyway, enjoy some of these little ditties.

Jonah is a Pre-schooler

So, this September Jonah started pre-school and he was so excited to be going to school. It's funny becasue I was going to send him to one that was run out of a person's home, but he didn't want to go there becasue it wasn't at a "real" school. He definitely wants to be a big boy. So we stocked him with the necessary Spiderman lunchbox and sent him on his way and he has never looked back. When I came to pick him up the first day of school he actually glared at me. I guess there will be no tears necessary when I send him off to Kindergarten as I have so often heard of other moms and their kids. It made me kind of sad, but I'm glad he is enjoying himself so much. He is learning to write his letters and to write him name. He has actually known how to write his name since he was two, but now he is learning to write it in a straight line and not all over the page in 5 different sizes so that's good. He says he likes the Arts and Crafts part of school the most. I personally think he just likes to use scissors becasue he is always cutting things up. He also started soccer about the same time and loved that too. Although, when I tried to get him to practice at home he said, "why, I;m already really good." So now we have to work on humility. Anyway, he is actually quite good at ball handling and he is a good listener. So, that is the update on my little man.

Grandpa's Visit to CA

OK, so this new is a little old. My dad came out here to CA to visit when he came home on leave back in August. We did some really fun things and Jonah especially loved the bonding time. It was so sweet to see him cry when he had to tell Grandpa goodbye. We definitely look forward to seeing him more often when he FINALLY gets home and STAYS home. We took him to the Jelly Belly Factory where they make all of those crazy flavors of jelly beans. I guess Ronald Reagan was a big fan and so they made a picture of him out of jelly beans. I thought it only appropriate to get a picture of my dad with it since he is one of his heroes. We also got to take him to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Turtle Bay, and he got to take Jonah fishing. We didn't catch anything (not like the big catch we got in NY...an assortment of crappies and sunnies), but it was still a beautiful day. Thanks for the memories Grandpa!

Thursday Market in Chico

So in most of the bigger cities around here they have an ongoing event in the summer called Thursday Night Market where there is entertainment along with fresh produce of course. We met up with one of Aaron's best friends from high school, Wes, who lives in Chico along with one of his other best friends from high school, Lane (who lives in Redding), and their wives and kids. (In the picture L - R: Abby & Ayana (Lane & Julie Carlson's kids), Anya, Jacob (Wes & Carolyn's kid), and Jonah) The kids had fun running around together...and dancing. It was really funny. And talk about dancing, although I did not get this on video, unfortunately, Anya and I were watching the belly dancers and Anya was trying to copy their moves. It was really funny to watch. Especially when she would place her hands behind her head and turn around to see if everyone was watching. She is such a ham!

Anya's Antics

Anya loves playing superhero with her big brother. I don't know if she truly understands what she is doing, but she likes the idea of running around with a cape (hooded bath towel) on like her brother and insists that I put it on her at some point most mornings.




She has also decided she likes to eat with utensils now like a big girl. She will eventually get frustrated and give up most times half way through the meal, but this time she did really well. Unfortunately, what you don't see here is she got it all over her face by the end of the meal...and everywhere the oatmeal touched there was a big red splotch on her face, so I'm guessing she was allergic to something in it...I guess I won't be giving her that anymore darn it.

Jonah Turns 4

Jonah turned four years old on July 17th, so this past weekend we threw him a party at the gymnastics center that he loves to go to. I can't blame him with all of the trampolines and foam block pits and things to swing on. Its a hyper active kids dream, and even the adults enjoyed bouncing around, except for the fact that it was 109 degrees that day and even with the airconditioners and swamp cooler on we were all sweating like crazy. But it was a nice stress-free birthday for me at least, which was my main goal since we invited about 15 kids and I was not excited about the prospect of having that many kids running around my house for a couple of hours. Well worth it.

Anya is an Athlete

Well, my baby is officially a toddler, although I feel like she has been one for a few months now. She is definitely one coordinated little girl. She can climb up slides and slide back down, climb up climbing walls (with some assistance in finding the foot holds), and she even plays baseball and soccer now. If it wasn't for her fascination with pink sparkly shoes I would think she was a total Tomboy.

Anya Turns One!

Anya turned one on July 7th. So, for her birthday I attempted my first creative cake. It turned out ok I guess, but it was too stressful and I don't think I'll be attempting that again. But here are some pictures for proof. I did TRY to live up to my name and bake. When we sang to her she didn't really get it, but the next day if anyone sang it she would try to sing along too. Here she is with her cousins and Grandpa Dave and opening presents as well.

4th of July

So here is a brief recap of our July so far. It is a busy month between the holiday and the birthdays, but it is also alot of fun. I'm so greatful for our two beautiful children. We are truly blessed!

So for the 4th of July we went to Burney Falls, a couple of hours away and went hiking. We found out AFTER we got there that they didn't allow dogs, so we couldn't actually hike the falls like we hoped, but we snuck down for a picture and then hiked elsewhere.

Afterwards, we went to the Redding fireworks display, which was actually really good. We sat at the baseball field across from where they were putting them on right along the baseline between second and third (like old times dad). I was anxious to see what Anya would do. She watched them transfixed for about 30 seconds, then she was more interested in running around and trying to visit with the neighboring people and just enjoying her freedom outdoors. I must say I spent more time chasing her then watching them myself, but it was still fun. Jonah just sat with daddy and enjoyed them without being scared for once so that was good.

Anya is Walking!

Anya started walking a couple of weeks ago. She is still a little unsteady and needs to build some strength in her legs because they start to wobble after a while, but for 10 months I think she's pretty good.

Jonah's Gymnastics Recital

This was the end of Jonah's gymnastics semester and they put on a small recital for the parents.

Jonah Helping to Set Up the Pool

Jonah is so excited to be able to start swimming again this season. He even helped daddy to set up the pool.

Anya Having Fun

Anya definitely likes to have fun...I mean she doesn't want to sit still...ever. But along with this little trial/blessing comes the reward of her being very observant and interested in trying everything, including brushing her teeth...and I must say she is pretty good at it for her age.

Grandpa's Going Away

Here are a few pictures from when we were saying good-bye to Grandpa...Again! He is back off to the Middle East for another deployment where we won't see him for another year. We were definitely blessed to be able to go to NY to see him off though. It was interesting because for the most part on the trip, Anya didn't really want grandpa holding her, but she must have sensed something was going on because she was sure good at the goodbyes.

Anya and her Wheels

Anya loves to ride anything she can get her hands on...rocking horses, tricycles, anything that moves, even if they are for bigger kids (actually, I think that's why). She wants to jump into everything she sees her brother doing (and some things he won't do). She is quite fearless. Luckily she is careful though.

Batman Jonah

Jonah LOVES to play superhero, so I got him this Batman sleepwear. Well, as you can imagine he loves wearing it (and still tries to wear it when it's 90 degrees out). Sometimes he combines them and he is SpiderIceBatman or things like that. The really funny thing is he has never seen an episode of any of them and if Aaron tries to put on one of the cartoon he doesn't want to watch it...go figure.

Sleeping Butter Babies

Anya always has to cuddle up to someone when she sleeps, I love it when its her brother.

Easter Pics

OK, so these are a tad old, but they look so cute in their church clothes I have to share.

New for 2009

So, I have not been on my blog yet since the New Year rang in and not much has changed with the family, except of course Anya, who will continue to change daily over the next few months. Just a quick update...Anya is now crawling, and standing, and dancing...and she LOVES to take toys away from her brother. She has no desire to play with her toys, but goes straight for his every time. Jonah is a great big brother and although he shows mild annoyance at his sister's precocious ways, he is very gentle and loving. He loves to play with his cousins and friends and is now very sad when he does not get to see them on a daily basis. He has become fond of helping me in the kitchen and can get everything out for his own breakfast when its cereal (although I still prefer to pour the milk), he makes his own PB&J sandwich (although I still prefer to spread the jelly for him), and he makes pancakes and knows all of the ingredients that go into it by heart. He has recently added egg salad to his repertoire of things he can make (see the picture). He is also taking gymnastics still and loves to do Kung Fu...which is also his favorite movie of the moment (Kung Fu Panda). Aaron is still plugging away at work and has become our baby girl's go to guy. I am still trying to stay ahead of a clean house and keep my children intellectually stimulated, as well as myself. I have also been running on the treadmill and it appears as though it is finally paying off...phew, I'm tired! Well, here are a few recent pictures and videos.

Jonah and Anya Playing

I dusted off my guitar the other day to show Jonah and teach him how to play a little. He plays it more like a sitar, but it works for Anya. She loves it.

Anya Dancing

OK, so this is a little embarrassing, but Anya like American Idol. I put it on the other night and she started bouncing in my arms, so I put her down and this is what she did.

My Little Band

Anya has a special relationship with our dog Darby. She loves Darby so much and the dog can sense that so even though she knows she is going to get poked and tugged on she will still gently crawl over and put her head on her lap. It is very sweet!

Anya and the Fish

Some of these fish were as big as her, but she loved them. She sat in front of that watching them for a long time and looked very small.

Anya Meeting Thing 2

We recently attended a Cat in the Hat showing at Barnes and Noble. I couldn't get Jonah to go near anyone with facepaint, but Anya sure was curious.

Jonah Making Egg Salad

I'm SUCH a Good Eater

Anya loves to eat, but she doesn't like being fed...she wants to do it all by herself, so we have had to give her as much big people food as her little system will allow so she can grab it with her hands and feed herself, otherwise...look out!