Ella Rocking Horse

I thought this was too cute. Ella got a new rocking horse from Nonni and Pop for Christmas that makes the trotting sound, shakes it's tail, and makes horse noises. She wasn't sure about it at first but then she mounted the horse and started rocking it like a champ. Must be her Cal Poly Mustang roots..and look at that pony tail and jeans. Go Ella!

Link: http://sharing.theflip.com/session/0984b5769db715fcc87a7dae0ef68600/video/8592057

Merry Christmas

Hi all! Well we wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and what's Christmas without a crying baby Santa picture. Ella wasn't having anything to do with his beard and strange appearance but we've got the memory for years to come and hopefully each year she'll warm up to the guy. We are very busy this month as I'm sure most families are. Jake is wrapping up the year with his sales targets in full gear. Caitlin is also doing the same with Intel as we bring this 2009 business year to a close and try to ship out all the product on time. We are excited to have our first real Christmas with Ella (last year she was just a 3 month old peanut) and I think she'll have a great time opening presents and playing with new toys. We just spent the weekend in San Francisco for my 30th Birthday! Yes, can't believe it. Grandma and Ella hung out and Jake and I went to dinner and saw Wicked in the city and stayed in Union Square. It was really fun. Then we were off to brunch at Scott's Seafood with the MacDiarmids to keep the celebration going. We're also in the midst of finishing the office/playroom upstairs to make it a fun place for the kids to play and painting Ella's new bigger room at the same time. Then we'll move Ella's stuff over and decorate the nursery for the baby...Whew! All by end of February. Caitlin's last day of work is early February so it's coming up soon. The baby's name has also already been announced so for those of you that don't know this new little boy will be named....Dean Campbell Anderson. Dean is my Mother's maiden name & Campbell is the name of the Scottish clan that MacDiarmid is a part of so he has a little bit of both sides of his Mom's heritage. Dean is healthy and kicking away like crazy and Mom is growing bigger as we enter the third trimester. We'll keep you posted as Christmas continues and we head into the New Year! Merry Christmas to all of you!!

The Strawberry!

Hi all, I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. We had a bit of a camera issue (ie: it broke) so we're back up and running with a new one and I'm behind in uploading all these cute photos from October. Here is a picture of Ella in her halloween costume as well as a cute one of her holding a pumpkin that I just love. We had a great month. We went to the Folsom Zoo for the first time together and she loved all the animals. She was really excited! We also went to Apple Hill with all of our friends which was fun as well checking out the pumpkins, seeing the petting zoo, and having a picnic lunch with all her little friends. Then for halloween we went out trick or treating with Ella's friend Megan in her care bear outfit in the little red wagon. It was a good success overall considering they had no idea what was going on. Ella was just excited that we taught her how to put candy in her basket so she would clap everytime she did it like "I did a good job right?" Ah, precious.

It's a BOY

We had our 20 week ultrasound this morning and found out that the new little baby that will be blessing our lives in March 2010 is a BOY!! We were both surprised and excited that we are going to have a daughter and a son. It's going to be so fun to experience the differences and similarities between them and see Ella interact with her little brother. The baby is healthy and happy and was moving around all over the place. We'll see if that's a sign of things to come... Jake and I celebrated with Ella and went out to dinner tonight and bought our first little boy outfit like we did with Ella when we found out she was a girl. It's time to get the Anderson planning into gear and start decorating two rooms this time (moving Ella into a bigger room and redecorating the nursery to be boy ready). Fun times ahead and thank you to all who have shared in this excitement with us.

One Year Pictures

Ella took some cute one year old pictures recently that I had to share. She is becoming such a little kid it's just crazy to see how fast it happens after she started walking. She loves to give hugs now and walk toward us with her arms open. Today I dropped her off at day care and she waved her hand good bye and then walked over to me and gave me a big hug and went off and played with her friends. Oh my gosh...melted my heart. She does these little art projects at school which I've already displayed proudly at my desk of course. She is a little social butterfly as well (definitely Andersons genes). We watched Monday night football at our friend's house and she was all over the place loving all the attention and wrestling around with Daddy. Her giggle is just awesome and she smiles all the time. As for me, things are progressing great with the new baby. I'm 18 weeks already (flew by this time) and we find out if it's a boy or girl in 2 weeks. Can't wait to see if Ella will have a brother or sister and to start decorating and planning:) October is a busy month filled with fall fun activities with friends and family. I just love this season and we're taking full advantage of the perfect fall weather we're having right now. Ella is going to be a strawberry for Halloween so you'll have to wait for those fun pix! Happy October.

We're pregnant! Baby #2 coming in March 2010!

Yes, we are pregnant again and expecting our second little addition to our family in March 2010. I am in my 15th week of pregnancy already if you can believe it (wow, time flies) and everything is going very smoothly. I'm getting a bit more energy in the second trimester and we're getting really excited in a few weeks to find out if it's a boy or girl. Ella is doing great. She is walking everywhere and just has such an amazing smile it makes us so happy. She loves to be chased around the couch and just giggles whenever we catch her. She got to spend time with Nonni this week going to the Folsom Zoo and having lunch with the ladies. She just transitioned to the toddler room at day care where they do arts and crafts, sing songs, and play outside which she loves. Here are some photos of her in her birthday hat from Great Aunt Sarah (hand made) and eating watermelon at our annual neighborhood labor day BBQ. We'll keep you posted on the happenings but that is the latest exciting news in the growing Anderson clan!

Happy Birthday Ella!

Well, our baby is officially one years old tomorrow. I can't believe it. We just got back from a great family vacation at Stinson Beach, California where we rented a cute little yellow beach house with a beautiful garden and relaxed as a family of three for a week. We kicked the week off with a family get together with the folks from the Bay Area for Ella's first birthday. Here is a picture of the beautiful tu-tu that Aunt Chandry bought her to put in her first dress up box. So cute! It was so great to celebrate with close friends and family and kick off the week with a little party. The rest of the week was about naps, beach time, cooking good food, and just relaxing. We had a great time! Ella is walking all over the place now. She is drinking from sippy cups, eating all real food, and pretty much taking one nap a day most of the time. She is very happy and has the best laugh you've ever heard. It's got some gutts to it which I love so I try to replicate it often. She loves for us to chase her around the couch or play hide and seek. She started really liking climbing all over the couch and hanging out in man made forts that Daddy puts together. We're so proud of being her parents and feel blessed every day to have her in our lives.

First Steps!

Ella is walking (well, taking 10 steps at a time) but it's official! She took her first step at Grandma's house in the Bay Area on Friday July 24th and has been on the move since. Today she is officially 11 months old and we're so proud of her. She really has grown up in the last month or so. Her hair is growing longer (as you can see in the fun photo), she is getting her teeth on top (one is already half way there), she is taking steps and standing up, and eating real food. What a big girl! This is a picture of her with her favorite toothbrush because she loves to brush her teeth. She copies Mommy and I tell her to stick her tongue out and say ahh and even though she doesn't know how to stick her tongue out she opens her mouth and makes the noise. So cute! We're all doing well and just enjoying the great weather we've had lately as we stick around at home for the next few weeks. Happy Summer!

Happy 4th of July

Wow! I am way behind this time. June was a busy month. Jake and I were traveling a bit for work. I was up in Portland to see my Dad and visit the Intel office up there and then in Santa Clara. Jake is driving all over the bay area and helped open his first Castrol Premium Lube Express in El Sobrante (a big deal to close that one!--great selling sweetie). Jake and I also went on a weekend away where Jake had planned the whole weekend driving a new Land Rover on loan from the Marin dealership. We went to Point Reyes for some beach walking and a small hike, then to Santa Rosa for some wine tasting and to a nice dinner. The next day we went on an outdoor adventure on an offroad Land Rover course in Bodega Bay. It was beautiful. Ella spent time with Nonni and Pop and had a great weekend in Danville (she event went on the boat!) The next weekend we went to a family wedding in San Diego and took Ella along. It was a fun family trip and she did great on the plane. For July 4th we just hung out with friends and did a little parade in the morning and a BBQ at our house in the afternoon. It was a very nice weekend and we're enjoying being at home together as a family. The weather has started to cool down as well so it's been great to enjoy our outdoor patio and have lots of BBQs. Ella is 10 months old if you can believe it. She is crawling everywhere and still pulling up and now standing on her own for 10 seconds or more. Jake's walking prediction is 11 months and 5 days but we'll see...

Big Girl!

Ella is not only crawling all over the place now but she is pulling herself up all by herself on the coffee table, end tables, window sills, you name it..She loves to stand up. In fact I think this crawling thing may get old for her soon as it's really just a means to crawl over to something else so she can stand up. I'll be in the kitchen doing dishes and she'll pull herself up on the end of the couch so she can see me and then she cracks up. It's so cute. It's started to get hot here a few weekends so we got out a little blow up pool in the backyard for her as she loves to be outside. Sierra wishes the pool was hers but oh well, it's a little too small for them to share it. We had a nice memorial weekend at home relaxing with naps, some great BBQ on Jake's new grill, and enjoying the amazing 85 degree weather. It's going to be a great summer!

Ella Crawls!

Ella officially crawled the day before Mother's Day and has been on the move since. What a great Mother's Day present! She loves her new found freedom and is already becoming a dare devil while she crawls over to the coffee table and anything she can grab on to and pulls herself up to a standing position. Yikes...we had to baby proof the house pretty quick. Unfortunately she's been sick the last week or so with a cold and flu, but that is now out of her system so we're praying she keeps healthy the next few weeks so we can get into a routine with the new day care. She is now at Phoenix School and meeting lots of friends and keeping herself busy all day while Mommy and Daddy are at work. She is a very happy baby and we are having SO much fun together as a family. This weekend she went in the pool for the first time (Mommy was very excited for that one) and she loved it. I think she'll be a great swimmer:)

Happy Baby

Well we had to take a photo of Ella in her first overalls. So cute. Daddy bought these for her on a business trip. Ella went through her first week of offical day care this week and did really well. Mom and Dad of course are adjusting but she is really liking the social environment and staying super busy. She poops out at the end of the day but has been taking naps, eating and playing with all the kids. The ladies who work there all say she is the happiest baby and we knew that! She is getting very close to crawling and getting a bit more risky every day in terms of scooching around and reaching for things. Time to baby proof the house! She eats baby food three times a day now and takes two naps (still not the longest napper ever) but is sleeping very good at night. Lately she figured out how to roll over at night so she gets a little out of sorts when she wakes up on her tummy, but I'm sure she'll figure out the right position soon. It is getting warmer outside and we are loving the Spring weather. We bought a jogging stroller for our first family run on Saturday the 16th for a 5k in Folsom. Should be fun!

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter with our family and celebrated Jake's birthday as well! Easter is Jake's favorite holiday so how appropriate to celebrate it on the same day he turns 30! We had a nice dinner the night before with our parents and then Sunday we all went to church and had a brunch at our house. Jake finished painting the whole inside of our house (go Jake!) on Saturday and we did a lot of yard work so we could enjoy the outdoors in the nice weather. It was a great day. I'll post more pictures of Ella in her cute Easter dress soon but here is one I couldn't resist of her in a bunny suit that Aunt Chandry bought. Ella got her first tooth through on Easter too so it was a really big day. It's on the bottom and she's got one coming in right next to it too. She can roll over on both sides now and is very close to crawling as she reaches for everything now and is super busy. She starts in a new day care next week so we're praying everything goes smoothly with that. Wishing you all a wonderful spring and Happy Easter!

Professional Photos

Hi all! Well Ella will be 7 months old on Friday so we decided to take some professional photos at 6 1/2 months to capture the memories as it's happening so fast. Here are two of the pictures that we had taken. We are of course totally biased but the photos turned out so cute. This week was a big week because Ella took her first plane ride up to see Noni and Pop in Portland. She did great on the plane both ways and now we know as parents we can handle the traveling which is nice. We had two big suit cases, a pack and play, and the stroller in tow for a weekend but we made it happen :) It was a lot of fun and we even got to go to the Oregon Zoo so Ella saw all sorts of new animals and things for the first time. She is getting so interactive and has turned into quite the busy body. I think she is going to crawl soon because she gets frusterated if she's not moving and shaking now. I think she got the Anderson gene on that one! Hope all is well and that you are enjoying the first days of Spring like we are. Talk to you soon...

Jumperoo

Ella is now a huge fan of what we call the "jumparoo." Not sure if that's the right term but who cares. She is a jumping machine. She just figured it out at the end of February when her legs were long enough to touch the floor and man she loves it. The first video is of her jumping up a storm and then she totally wore herself out in the second one:) She is getting to be so interactive now at 6 months old. She still is a very happy baby and smiles all the time. She is eating baby food now like a champ for lunch and dinner (breakfast is still trial and error as she's not a huge fan of rice cereal & not usually super hungry in the mornings). She is sitting up all the time now and picking up everything she can and putting it in her mouth. No signs of teeth yet but she is drooling and chewing on everything in site. She sleeps well at night now going down at 8pm and sleeping until 6am feeding then back down until 7:30-8am. We love her even more every day and just can't wait to see her all the time. She's just such a blessing and brings such joy to our family.

Sitting up!

Well we've hit another milestone. Ella will be 6 months old next week and she can sit up all by herself now! She first did it on Valentine's Day (so sweet) and now she's a pro. It's made things a lot easier to just plop her down on a blanket and she loves sitting up. Along with sitting up she is a growing girl and starting to eat rice cereal in her high chair. Things happen fast around here. It took her a few weeks on the rice cereal but just tonight she opened her mouth and ate the whole thing! Yeah Ella! Everything else is plugging along with the rainy and wintery weather. We had lots of visitors this week. Noni and Pop (Caitlin's parents) came on Monday and we visited Great Grandma, Great Grandad and Ryan, Katie, Macy, and Carter too (Caitlin's cousin and his family). Then Noni stayed until Thursday to watch Ella for her monthly visit. Grandma came on Thursday night and stayed until Saturday and Tanner and Jessica came up Friday night. Whew! Ella's been sleeping good with all these visitors! We love it and hope you're all doing well and we can see you soon.

Rolling over

Well, Ella's first real physical milestone has been reached. She can officially roll from her stomach to her back like a pro now. She's done it before but not consistently and now we can't get her to stay on her stomach for any period of time before she rolls right back over. She is holding her head up great now too so we can hold her on our hip and sit her in the bumbo chair (when she's in the right mood of course). She is grabbing things with both hands and putting everything in her mouth. Her smiles are a lot easier to come by and her laughs just make me tear up sometimes they are so cute. She is still a really happy baby and we are so blessed because she just goes with the flow most of the time. She is sleeping through the night with still a very early morning feed but she'll go down about 8:30-9ish and sleep until the 5am feeding then she's back down until 8am. She takes about 3 naps a day ~45mins to an hour (if we're lucky). Overall she is a great baby and the transition to work hasn't been too difficult. She is very lucky to be staying at our friends and neighbor's house where she gets to play with her friend Gabriella. My job is going well. I've transitioned to a new role which is a bit less demanding than the HP manager so I can maintain a normal level of balance which is working out so far. All in all, the Anderson clan is doing great and now that Ella is growing like a weed I'm sure we'll reach these physical milestones daily which means I definitely need to update the blog more often. Hope everyone is doing well as we kick off the new year!

Happy Holidays

Well I'm sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while. We've had a busy December getting ready for my return to work, trying to get Ella on a schedule, my birthday, Christmas activities and New Years. Christmas was really great. We celebrated Christmas with Grandma up in El Dorado Hills by volunteering at a local women and children's center in Sacramento. We went to Target and bought a bunch of toys for the kids and then wrapped them at the Shelter. It was a really fun way to kick off Christmas and remind ourselves how blessed we really are. On Christmas Eve we went to our church and then hosted a Christmas Eve dinner at our house with our friends and neighbors the Cody Family. On Christmas morning we opened gifts at home and then embarked on a "sleigh ride" to the bay area to hang out with the MacDiarmid clan. We had a beautiful Christmas Day dinner in Danville and a fun time hanging with the family. On New Year's Eve we went over to our friend's house to play Wii and drink champagne while Ella hung out with their daughter Megan who is 4 weeks younger than her (in the picture above). All in all, it's been a great month. Ella is really starting to grab onto things now and laughing and smiling a lot more. She is practicing a lot more tummy time so we can get her to roll over more consistently and we had to do a little "tough love" with the nighttime routine lately but she's catching on. She'll be 4 months old next week and I start back to work on January 5th. Things will be busy heading into this new year but we're all ready to take it one day at a time and enjoy this beautiful family we've created. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Happy 2009!!