Toy Story 3

Last weekend we went to see "Toy Story 3" in the movie theater. It was the kids first movie! They love "Toy Story 2," So we thought this would be a good match. They loved seeing Buzz and Woody onscreen, but there were a few parts that Jack thought were kind of scary. The twins weren't heavy enough to keep the theater seats down, so they sat with Matt and I. The cuddling was nice, and the kids liked it too! Lots of popcorn and fun!

Father's Day Camping Trip

This year for Father's Day, we joined Aunt Kim's family on their annual Father's Day camping trip. Matt went the year I was pregnant, but I wasn't up for hiking, or sleeping on the ground that year, so I missed out. We just went for one night, but the kids loved it. What's not to love about dirt, rocks, hiking, waterfalls, camp food, and sleeping in Grandma and Grandpa's trailer? We got there early on Saturday, and played for a little. After nap, we all went to Rickets Glen, for a hike by the waterfalls. The kids were troopers, and loved walking in the waterfalls. Jack loved, loved, loved Kim's sister Erin, and stayed by her side the whole walk. Sophie was happy to have Grandma and Grandpa carry her around. After the hike, we had dinner, s'mores, and then bedtime. Unfortunately there wasn't much sleeping going on. But after they got to bed, the adults played boccie ball with flashing balls(talk about a headache), and taboo. When we got up in the morning, we had a breakfast at the camp, and packed up to go home. It was a fun trip, and the kids are excited for more camping! When we got home, both kids fell asleep on Daddy, and we had a Chinese food dinner with Grammie and Grandpa. I'm pretty sure Matt had the best time of all of us.

Dear Sophie Right Now

Right now you are:

• In love with polka dots, or "go-dots." You have more polka dot outfits than any one person should own. And you throw a fit if I suggest an outfit that doesn't include one.
• Into dress up clothes. You also love to put on other people's shoes, and walk around in them.
  
• A sweets eater. Just like mommy. And you are always up for ice cream. We discovered that peanut butter ripple is your favorite, after you ate Grammie's cone instead of your own.
• A little mommy. You love to feed your baby, and after she eats you rock her and kiss her.
• Very dramatic! You let us know how you are feeling, happy or sad.
• Love girly things like dresses, shiny shoes, and nail polish. How did that happen? I am way out of my league.
• A Daddy's Girl. He melts your heart, and when he gets home after work you ask him to cuddle under a blanket. Don't tell anyone, but you have been melting his heart since the day you were born.
• Assertive. You like to tell Jack what to do. Maybe I should just say you are bossy!
• Shy. We are working on this one, but it always takes you a few minutes to warm up to a new situation.
  
• So sweet. You love to help Jack out, and give him toys to play with.
• Have quite the little attitude for such a little girl. You are spunky through and through.
• Into art. You love to color, draw, and play with play dough.
• The love of our lives. We don't know what we would do without you. We love you more than you know
  

Dear Jack Right Now

Right now you are:

• Cracking us up with all of the silly things you say. Sometimes I wonder where you get the things you say!
• An early riser. Just like Daddy. But truth be told, I can say you only sleep in about two months a year. Let's work on this one.
  
• Into how everything works. You love watching your Grandpas or Daddy when they are using tools.
• The ring-leader. You lead the pack, that's for sure.
• Into trains. Especially the new Lionel magazines your Daddy brought home.
• Love when Daddy watches you play soccer.
• Are cuddly. You love to be "cuddled up" beneath a blanket with Daddy and I. I know I won't have this one forever, so I will take all of the kisses and cuddles I can get right now.
• Love to play rough with Daddy.
  
• You are quite the mommy's boy...but shhhh...I won't tell anyone. You make me kiss all of your boo boos real and imagined.
• Go crazy at the playground. You are in your element running, jumping, and screaming. And eating sand, just like all boys should.
• Can be really sweet to your sister, giving her hugs and kisses.
• Into everything. I swear you have eight arms like an octopus instead of just two like a normal little kid should have.
• Are a dirty little boy. When I tell you that you are going to take a bath, you tell me, "I want to be a dirty boy!"
  
• Are the love of our lives. We love you more than you will ever know little one. Our life wasn't the same with out you in it.

A Day Out With Thomas

This past Tuesday, Thomas the Train came to Stasburg. The kids got to ride a regular train, Thomas the Train (much like the regular train, except with a Thomas engine), a rail cart and a miniature train. We also had a picnic in the grass and watched the trains.

More "Heard Around the Anderson House"

I thought all three of you that read my blog(Grandma P and Grandma A!) might like to hear some more silly things heard around our house. Besides, I like to write these things down, so that we can remember them FOREVER! But I will say that my mom remembers enough embarrassing things that I have said, without writing them down...ahem..."Handsome and Griddle." My parents used to call them "Amyisms." But enough about me, here is what the twins have had to say recently:

Jack broke a plastic cup while playing in the pool, and when he showed it to me, I asked, "What happened?" He quickly told me, "I happened!" Which coincidentally is the story of Jack's life...he "happens" all over the place!

Sophie says something that Matt and I can't understand, so we ask Jack to clarify it for us. And visa verse. They are usually pretty good at understanding each other.

Jack took lots of toys from all over the playroom, and threw them in a pile. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "I'm making a party!"

Jack now calls Sophie, "Peep"(Little-Bo-Peep), "Princess Attas," "Andy"

Sophie new silly word is "peanut bunner"

Jack's new silly word is "mastatocused" (may I be excused)

Sprinkler Fun!

Last week we had some really hot days! We decided to beat the heat by taking the sprinkler out after we had dinner. The kids were unsure about the sprinkler last year, but this year they loved it. They ran all over the place, and got soaked. Then they moved all of their toys underneath the spray of water, to see which ones filled up. Matt and I sat in our lawn chairs and watched the action. We only got a little wet when Jack moved the sprinkler. And then when we were done, Matt put on Sophie's butterfly towel and pretended to be a bee and chased the kids all around. All in all it was a good time!

The Patch...

This is pretty much how Sophie feels about her patch. She hates it. I feel so bad for her when I have to put it on. She definitely gets to the point when wearing it, where she just gets mad, and frustrated, and then doesn't really do much of anything. So we try to put it on for around an hour in the morning, and then another hour in the afternoon. We aren't sure if it's the patch or the glasses, but we are really seeing improvements in her eye strength! Praise God!

Just like Daddy

The kids adore their Daddy, and love any chance they get to be just like him. Saturday, we stopped by a soccer shop, and they had these little kits(soccer uniforms) that were just the right size for the kids. Ok, really they are huge, but if I stitch up the back of the shorts they will fit just right, with room to grow. When Matt walked in with the kits, Jack started hoping up and down, saying, "Oh, my! Oh, my!." Then, both kids started taking off their outfits to get into the kits. Jack was Messi, and Sophie was Rooney. They ran around the house kicking soccer balls, and yelling, "GGGGOOOOOAAAALLLLL!" Just like Daddy.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Matt and I celebrated six years this past weekend! Yay! To celebrate, we went to a local park, and had a picnic, and then went out to dinner. It was nice to get out and relax a little. After we had lunch at the park, we got out the camera, and turn on the self timer, and snapped a couple of pictures of ourselves together. These are my favorites.

I won't show the pictures of what Matt really thought about this process(or the fact that I left the camera stand at home), but he loves me, so he humored me!

Glasses

Last Friday Sophie got glasses! She has had a lazy eye problem for a couple months now, so we made an appointment with the eye doctor. It turns out that her vision is very poor, and she is extremely near-sighted. One eye is 400, and the other is 500. Sophie was using her good eye so much, that the muscles in her weak eye grew so weak that she wasn't really using them at all. That is what was causing the lazy eye. The eye doctor put drops in Sophie's eyes to dilate them, and apparently they sting a lot. I lost it at the doctor's office. Out of all of the things that Sophie and I have been through together, this was probably the mildest. But when the doctor put the drops in her eyes, I started crying immediately. Good thing Matt was there, because Sophie loved being held by her big, strong Daddy, and I was able to try to compose myself so she didn't get upset. We waited in the waiting room for her eyes to dilate, and the poor thing kept tripping and loosing her balance. The doctor said her glasses would be really thick, and all I could think of was kids' glasses that I had seen when I was little. Instead, we got to pick out really cute square frames, and the lenses were ground down, so that they aren't too thick, and her eyes aren't too magnified. I think she looks like a little cutie, but I am sure I would think that no matter what! She loves her glasses! Sophie also has to wear a pink patch that goes over her glasses, and that is the real point of contention. She hates that "pink mousey" patch! She only has to wear it for 2-3 hours a day, but she gets so mad! We are praying that her eye will heal quickly, and she won't have to wear it for much longer. She really does like to wear her glasses, but already in the first week, they have gotten bent. We just have to take them back and get them fixed, but really, how am I supposed to take care of these things for her? It's going to be a challenge! Here is a picture of Sophie in her new glasses, making her "cheese" face.

Backyard Bird Sanctuary

Sophie and Jack love to watch the birds and animals that fly and scamper through our back yard, so we recently bought a bird feeder to place right outside the three-season room. The kids can get pretty close to the birds, without scaring them. Since putting it up about a week ago, we have seen cardinals, robins, finches and other birds I can't identify. We also have been visited by squirrels and bunnies. The kids love it! They are learning to be quite and still so that the birds won't fly away. Sophie picked this bird feeder out. It's called "the chalet." I guess I should mention that after a week, I hit it with the lawn mower, and destroyed it. Matt was nice enough to pick up a new one at Walmart, and we are back to having our own little bird sanctuary.

Jack helping Daddy put the bird feeder stake into the ground.

Checking it out.

This is the crazy face and squeal that Sophie makes when she sees a bird. Hence the reason they need to learn to be quite and not scare the birds!

A-Mazing!

On April 16, I checked the weather, and a storm was predicted for our area. I told the kids about it, and we anxiously awaited the storm. They kept saying, "A 'torm is coming." Over and over and over. And I reminded myself that next time I shouldn't tell them that a storm is coming until it is closer to the predicted time. I also talked to them about how God makes the thunder and lightening, and storms, so there was no reason to be scared of them. When Matt got home, we watched from the front window as the clouds and wind rolled in. Unfortunately, we were disappointed because it only rained, and there was no thunder or lightening. We could see the sun start poking out through the clouds, and Matt and I thought it was perfect rainbow weather. We moved to the back of the house, out on the porch to try to see a rainbow. Sophie told me, "Mama make a rainbow." I told her I couldn't make rainbows, and asked her who makes the rainbows. She told me, "God." At that very instant, a huge rainbow opened up in the sky behind our house. It was breathtaking and amazing. God certainly did make a beautiful rainbow for us!

Snippets and Tidbits

Heard around our house...

Jack to Sophie: No Wofie, don't do that.

Sophie to Jack: I not Wofie, I Rodie.

Sophie was talking at the dinner table, and Jack looked at her and said, "What are you talkin bout Wofie?

On the way home from my Grandmother's, Matt said, "We're home!" and Jack said, "Home, home, giggity gig." (I say the nursery rhyme, "Home again, home again, jiggity-jig.")

Jack gave Sophie her lovey, and she said, "Thank you." He said, "Yooouuuu'rrreee welcome," and stretched out the word.

When they want to watch t.v., they say, "I want to watch "yee-yee."

Sophie tells Matt and I, "I love you back the moon."(I love you to the moon and back.)

Jack says, "I love you too." even if you haven't said I love you first.

Sophie says, "I Rinderella."

Jack to Sophie, "Dance with me Rinderella, I prince."

Some of the silly words the kids say-

Jack-Dondut, mac-a-pony(I think he gets this from reading the Yankee Doodle poems), Nighting(Lightning), he calls Sophie, Wofie, haaammerhead(with a soft "a"), and my favorite, pepdaponi

Sophie-Godots, she calls herself Wodie, she calls her bunny Peegee-funnybunny(P.J. funny bunny)

These pictures were taken in February, and for some reason I really love them. They really show the kids' personalities.

She insists on wearing the crown this way.

The little sinker wouldn't turn to the front, so I got a mugshot instead.

I asked them to kiss each other, and this is what ensued.

And my absolute favorite.
I hope they always love each other this much!
<3