December Update

What a month has been December! Here we go: photo blog (plog?)!

SJ's favorite part about the season? The decorations!

Moving? Box everything up!

When moving into a new home, a baby needs a safe place to stay out of the way!

The reason Mom was praying for a white Christmas -- sledding with Toby!

So much fun at Grandma's for Christmas. SJ had never seen so many babies!

The best part, of course, was the tree. Grandma was fun, too!

Quality time with Uncle Jake and cousin Noa, who SJ is finally starting to get comfortable with.

Since our new home has a walk-in closet, guess where SJ got to spend the night when we had guests in her room? This is how I found her in the morning when I opened the door after hearing some commotion in there. Definitely a morning girl, like her Daddy!

A stylin' cousin Luke with his mommy!

SJ matched Uncle Tyler!

The beautiful line-up. Babies included!

And the picture of the evening: the woman of honor, and SJ together in sparkles!

Tory S. Birthday 2012

On the way, I could hardly wait. Why have I never associated fall colors with my birthday?

We found some beautiful views overlooking the canyon.



Cat Tails have always made me happy. They remind me of my Grand Father's house.



Sarah-Jane loves crunching wrapping paper, so leaves seemed a natural addition. They were fascinating, but I'm not sure she knew quite what to do with them.

SJ having a Rip Van Winkle moment; how long has she been asleep for?





My girls with a beautiful backdrop.



The range of colors was stunning.

What a great birthday!

Baby On Blog!

I've always been a morning person, in the same way my lovely wife has never been one. But the question remains, which way will Sarah-Jane go? So far, it seems she is coming with me. And that's one more reason it's good to be a morning person right now.

Well might you ask, what exactly is she doing right there, and why is the picture so blurry? Well, it's blurry because it's early, of course, and you haven't cleared your eyes out yet. And no, I don't just get her up so she can suck the polish off the table. Mornings are a writing and study time and what Sarah-Jane lacks in literacy and typing skills, she compensates for in mandibulation and salivary deposits.

The real task, you see, is blogging! At 6 months old, it is high time that Sarah-Jane started contributing to the family blog. She understands typing quite well, really; she sees Dad with both arms outstretched banging away on the table (I've always been a noisy typist; maybe that's one reason she's up in the mornings) and she is more than happy to follow suit, patting away at the wood and stretching for the computer.

She's going to be a well-rounded child, hacking computers and horses before preschool!

I was wondering about that...

We found the book that answers all of our questions.

One Great Step for Baby-kind

There comes a time in the development of every human that progress leads them to a new state of independence; they move out of the home, get married, have children of their own; they graduate, achieve, and die. Our little Sarah-Jane has today reached such a milestone. You see, today she has taken the first steps of self sufficiency by holding her own bottle!

This is no trifling matter. The progression is obvious: first, learn to get the food into your mouth. Next, learn to prepare the food. Next, learn to hunt the food! We are confident that she is well underway.

Now, as any good Student of the Way learns, you must watch and study the Way. There are bound to be frustrations along that path -- such as when the bottle slips from your mouth.

Sometimes, all faculties of bottle, hand, and eye seem to turn against you, and there is no good way to get the life-sustaining Rice Milk into your mouth! (hopefully it's good for your eyeballs, though)

But, as in any case of life, there are loved ones standing by to help you get the de-lipped food back into your mouth and, if necessary, to even give you a break at the end, tipping the last few drops into your mouth. The result? You will be that much stronger next time, prepared for the next heavy bottles and agonizing challenges that will trouble your mind, body, and soul!

Why yes, we are still alive! And things have changed around here. For one, we have a baby now. But then, I suppose most of you knew that.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to attend our first Scottish Festival. "Anderson" is actually the 8th largest name in Scotland, but our Anderson's are not Scottish (rather, Danish). However, Tory also has Balentine blood, which is full-blooded Scottish. Unfortunately we didn't recall that fact while at the festival.

Above you can see my girls at the start of the festival, watching one of the pipe contests. This was a pleasure and it was fun to see the group. Notice anything different about Beth?

 The Scottish uniforms look good, but only if you pull them off right. Kilt, vest, and an appropriate cap, if any. Some people had kilts with regular t-shirts or baseball caps, and those just spoiled the look.

 Yes, they even had some women out in the group. They were looking very sharp.

 It turns out that the Scottish festival is a gathering for everything and everyone who is interested in European pre-Renaissance fantasy glory -- swords, skulls, corsets, hip flasks, long hair, beards, etc. Some of it sparked crafty ideas in Bethany.

 Yes, that guy had a real sword strapped to his back. Now, the edge wasn't sharp (of course), but it was a big sword! Nothing less would do for a true Scotsman, I suppose. This is definitely more manly than the Chinese stars in the tent you see there; like I said, gathering place for all kinds of stuff :)

Finally, some of the women's outfits were really cool. But oh, the scandal! As opposed to English sensibility, here the corsets are worn on the outside! What is this, Barbados?

All the buildings were beautiful and ancient, or at least ancient in style. In one they actually used pieces of wood and twigs to write out the characters.