Patterson's!!

What more can I say about Patterson's that I haven't already? I love it there! This is definitely on the top of my list of things I will miss in Ohio. The weather was so nice and the leaves were beautiful! It really was a prefect day to go. Which is what everyone else was thinking too....it was packed!

Cruising around :)

He thinks he needs our hands to walk, but we are pretty sure he could do it on his own if he really wanted to.

This year they planted a big sunflower field. It was so pretty.

Anderson thinking he's a big boy.

Anderson played in this sand box for so long. Until he started eating it by the handful. Then we decided it was time to get out.

I have a picture of Jack on this tractor from two years ago. You will have to look at it and see how much he has grown! So sad.

I feel like the leaves haven't been as great this year, but it was still so beautiful out there.

We will miss you Patterson's!!

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Botanical Gardens

We went to the Botanical Gardens with our neighbor who lives across the street. She had been there before but I cannot believe this was our first time. I hate discovering new things in our last year! It is right down by the dental school and also by Jack's school. There are outdoor gardens to walk through, and a children's garden. Jack and Anderson loved the big sand pit. They were so dirty after, but I guess that means they were having fun, right?

Little Birk was so good and slept through most of it.

His middle name is Anderson. :)

The boys LOVE him! Jack is always wanting to see baby Birk.

They have an atrium inside with TONS of butterflies. You walk through and there are butterflies everywhere. It is so fun! The picture above is all of the cocoons waiting to hatch.

It was such a fun place. Too bad we haven't known about it the past three years!

Presents

Anderson was too tired to actually enjoy opening presents on his birthday so we saved them for the next morning. He was so happy and very cute to watch. Of course Jack was right there with him "helping" him open them. :) That first picture looks kind of funny with my hair hanging down by him but I thought his smile was too cute to miss!

He was loving it, and we were loving that face! So cute!

The whole time Anderson was opening presents, Jack kept saying, "Look what Grandma sent me!!" He didn't quite understand that even though he does get things in the mail from his grandmas a lot, this time, it was all about Anderson.

Thanks for the presents everyone!

One

October 2, 2009

How is it possible that Anderson in one? I just cannot believe that it was a year ago that we brought this sweet little guy home and into our lives. He has been so wonderful and such a great baby.

I remember how bad we wanted him to have lots of dark hair but we were so surprised when he actually did.

We couldn't decide on a name right away and it wasn't until we had to fill out the papers at the hospital that we actually came to an agreement. Anderson Kade :) It was cold and rainy the day he was born, exactly like it is today on his birthday. We showed up early to the hospital, things went smoothly, and by 3:30pm he was born. I felt great, he was healthy, and things were good. And now here we are, a year later and he is just as sweet as he was the day he was born.

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

He still doesn't have any teeth. He cruises around the furniture and will stand for a few seconds on his own, but can't walk without help. He LOVES his brother Jack. They play and laugh and scream at each other. Anderson has quite the scream, and Jack loves to copy him. He loves to play with phones, remotes, balls, and cars. He is now climbing the stairs, and has fallen once, but Justin was at the bottom to catch him, thank heavens! He loves Justin. A lot of the time he will prefer him over me, depending on his mood. Especially right when Justin gets home. He hurries over to the door and doesn't want Justin to put him down. If you ask him what a specific animal says, he will usually growl. Unless you ask him what a doggy says and then he will make a little barking sound. His hair is growing at a rapid speed and is in need of a second haircut. He has always been small as far as weight goes, and I am anxious to see his stats at his 12 month check up and find out if he has made it past the 5th percentile yet. He is getting pickier with his foods and does not eat as well as Jack did. I have to secretly give him veggies or he will not eat them. He is still taking two naps a day and is usually very happy. So far, in his first year of life he has traveled to Seattle, WA (2x), Salt Lake, UT, Las Vegas, NV, Disneyland, Washington DC, Boston, MA, Palmyra, NY, New Port, RI, Nashville, TN, Erie and Pittsburgh, PA, and various parts of Ohio. It has been a busy year, and so much fun.

Thanks for being such a sweet boy Anderson!!!

Hopefully you stay sweet and innocent for a long time. :)

Anderson is ONE!!!

Wow....this last year was the fastest year of my life!! Our sweet little Anderson is one today. We had a small little celebration with homemade pizza and cupcakes. Anderson wanted to invite his friend, Eli. :)

We was really tired when we were doing cupcakes, so I am glad he made it through with a smile.

Love the curious face.

"What is that bright thing on the top of my cupcake?"

"Hmm....I've never tasted anything like this before...but I think I like it."

Yummy!!!

Jack sporting the party hat.

We were trying to get a good picture of Eli and Anderson, and this one was by far my favorite! Even though Anderson isn't paying any attention, Eli's face is priceless!! Does it get any cuter than that?! He looks like he is a dental ad or something, showing off those pearly whites and cute smile. The funny thing is, Anderson is just barely older than Eli and he still has no teeth. Zero! Jack was 11 months old when he finally got some, but Anderson is trailing behind.

Anderson found a bowl of mini m&m's and we found him going to town on them. He has never had any candy or anything, so between the cupcake and the bowl of m&m's, he was loving life....

....until I took the bowl away. This is him climbing up my leg crying, and begging me to give them back. I'm a mean mom, I guess. One cupcake and a half a bowl of m&m's is probably enough for one day buddy!

We didn't open presents yet because he was too tired, so we will do that tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Anderson!!!

We love you!

Soccer

Jack had his first soccer game this morning. He is beyond excited to play and he is even more excited that Justin is his coach. After the game, we got in the car and he says to Justin, "Thanks for being my coach!" It was so cute. We did have a small meltdown this morning when we were putting his shin guards on. I should have tried them on him earlier so he could get used to it because he did not want to wear them. After we convinced him that if he wore them, they would make him kick the ball really hard and run extra fast, he was ok with it. :)

As you can tell, my camera is high quality. Especially with action shots. Ha! Every single picture was blurry. Oh well.

He had a lot of fun during the practice time when they were doing drills and other stuff. Once they started the game though, he would go after the ball and with 20 3 yr. olds, someone usually got there before he did and kicked it first. We had a small break down towards the end of the game, when he said with a few tears, "Everyone keeps taking the ball from me!" Overall, he had a blast. It was cold and rainy but fun.

Go Jack, go!!!

Sulphur Springs

A little while ago, we had a really warm day and decided to head out to Sulphur Springs, near Chagrin Falls. I am so glad we took advantage of the warm weather! Especially since today was 52 and rainy.

We tried to hold Anderson the whole time but about ten seconds after we got to the water, he would NOT stay in our arms. He wanted to get down so bad, so we let him get in, even though he had his clothes on and he had a blast. He was so cute kicking his feet through the water and picking up the rocks and throwing them.

I love his little straight smile :)

We were all having so much fun until we got to a slippery part and Jack fell into the water. He wasn't sure why I was just standing there taking a picture and not helping him. He makes a pretty good sad face.

It is so beautiful walking through the water with all of the trees all around.

This is one of the many places that I will miss when we leave Ohio. It is still 7 months away but every time we visit somewhere, I think about how much I am going to miss it.

Feeling much better after we started to dry off. :)