Brigham City Temple Walk

I used to wonder before I was a blogger why some people didn't keep their blog updated all the time. Now I know! It is hard to stay up on it with two kids! However, I have made the time to share some of the pictures that I took of Haken in Brigham City today. We went into Brigham to get the windshield on our car replaced because we have to register it this month and it won't pass. So, I decided that while we waited for them to fix it we would take a walk. I usually don't bring my camera with me everywhere, but packed it at the last minute. We walked around Brigham for about 45 minutes with Jack in the stroller and Haken walking. His poor little legs were tired and we took a lot of breaks. I think it was a good thing for him to walk because he was tired enough for a nap today. It was a nice day, a little chilly, but not too bad.
Right across the street from the glass place was the construction site of the new Brigham City temple. We walked all the way around it and took some pictures in the viewing area. Haken was fascinated by the big cranes and machinery. Right now you can see the walls of the 4 corners up. We are so excited to have this new temple close by. Every penny that Haken finds goes towards building the Brigham City temple, after paying his tithing of course. Although he has only put about $2 towards it, I hope that it gets him excited for the completion of the temple. Although we already have 2 temples only 30 minutes away from us (yes, we are spoiled). It will be nice to have one 15 minutes away that we can run to in a hurry. We shouldn't have any excuses now for not going. What a blessing this will be!

If you want to watch the building of the Brigham City temple you can go to www.brighamcitytemple.info and see construction pictures.

Yes, he is licking the fence. I'm not sure why he has to have his tongue out all the time lately. Licking fences...picking his nose with it....


A view of the 4 corner walls that are already up


My cute little boy. I can't get enough of that smile sometimes...even when he is a stinker



Content little Jack in his warm suit. He stayed asleep the whole time all nice and cozy in the stroller.

Our New Toy

This year we finally got the Mac computer we have been waiting for. I think Haken has been just as excited about it as we have been. It has been fun trying out all the new programs and figuring out how it all works. Today we discovered the "photobooth" where we can take pictures and make videos of ourselves. Haken wanted to share this video with you all...

Shad's Christmas Break Project

I think I would be ungrateful if I didn't share with everyone what my husband did for me during his Christmas break from school. I have been wanting a toy storage/bench in the back of my family room since we moved into this house over four years ago. Our family room is kind of an awkward long skinny room and the space hasn't been utilized in the best way. We have been using the back of the room as a toy room for Haken. However, in the past year it has started to get a little out of control with all of the toys that he has been acquiring. With all of the money I have been making doing curtains for people I decided that I wanted to makeover our family room. I mentioned the bench to Shad last week and I have to say that he got more into it than I thought he would. He drew precise plans on graph paper, researched the best wood, and took two whole days building me a bench that was truly professionally made ("Amish quality" as he says). It fits perfect in our little corner and has more than enough space for all of Haken's many toys. I am so glad that space is actually being utilized now. I can sit on the bench instead of the floor while I play with Haken (this really would have been helpful while I was pregnant, but at least it is done now.) I still need to cover the foam cushions and make a few pillows to add some color, but it will still be used until then. I thought about leaving it as a "built in" if we ever move, but after all of the work that he put into it, it will definitely be coming with us to our next home. Now we need to add beadboard to the walls, curtains in the windows, and pillows on the couches to make the room complete. I will have to post pictures again when the entire room is complete. I'm glad that I have a husband who is not only an artist, but is an up-and-coming carpenter as well.


Bench with the lovely green foam cushions. Don't worry, they will be covered soon.


The toy chest with a lid in the corner with tons of storage for all the sports toys Haken has.




Haken enjoyed the "male bonding" as well

"Mom"

This morning Haken informed me that he was going to call me "mom" now instead of "mommy." I don't know where he got this idea. I guess he feels like he is too old to call me "mommy" since he is a big brother now. All morning he kept saying "mommy" and then correcting himself and saying "mom" instead. It makes me a little sad that he wants to grow up so fast. When I came home from the hospital with little Jack it seemed like Haken grew up overnight. Not only did he look huge to me compared to Jack, but he acted so much older. I feel like it was just last week that I brought him home from the hospital. Next thing you know I will be sending him off on a mission! Time goes way too fast when you have kids.

Christmas Day

Christmas this year was extra special with a newborn. We really didn't need any presents because we got exactly what we wanted 2 weeks early. I don't know if Haken felt the same way as we did. Both of the boys didn't get up until about 8:00 AM. I was up feeding Jack when I heard Haken go downstairs. I found him in the living room quietly reading one of his new books. He didn't even come in and wake us up! It was fun to see him genuinely excited about all of his presents this year. I think this is the first year where he really understood what was going on and was excited about every little detail. Since we were a little tied down this year with a newborn, my family made their way up to our house for Christmas day. Haken loved playing with his cousin Taylor and of course grandma. We also were able to Skype Shad's family on Christmas morning. It was a little crazy with 6 people talking at once, but I really just think it was fun to see everyone's faces.

One of the biggest gifts of the day was my new kitchenaid mixer from Shad. He told me earlier in the week that he really scored this year. I guess he thinks of it as a contest to see who can get the coolest gift. We had set a $50 limit for each of us, but I could tell that he was going to do something sneaky judging by the huge box underneath the tree. I was good and stuck to the budget giving him clothes, but he worked out a trade for a painting so that he could get me the mixer that I have wanted since we got married 5 years ago. I have really gotten used to mixing everything by hand that when it came to making things on Christmas day I had to remind myself that I didn't have to do that anymore. I am so happy to have a husband who is willing to sacrifice his hard earned "play money" to give me what I have wanted for so long.

Christmas Traditions

The week before Jack was born we spent family night making gingerbread houses. I helped Haken with his humble little cottage while Shad built his elaborate gingerbread model of the Kirtland temple. Haken was very good and didn't eat too much of the candy. He even let it sit long enough to let Grandma see it a few days later. Surprising, since he has such a sweet tooth for candy.



Even though our family is still little we have tried to start some family traditions for Christmas. One of those is to dress up and act out the nativity story. This year we did it the Monday before Christmas since my brother Brandon and his wife Megan would be there to help us out. It was a little crazy with a 3-yr-old who wanted to be a ghost instead of a shepherd. However, Jack didn't oppose to being the baby Jesus. I was Mary, Shad was Joseph, Brandon was an angel, and Megan was the narrator. It lasted all of 5 minutes, which was probably a good thing with all of the robes and blankets Shad made us wear. Another tradition we have is our Christmas Eve dinner. For the last two years Shad has taken the responsibility of single handedly making a gourmet Christmas dinner. He made cornish game hens for everyone, potatoes, and of course his special cream sauce to top it all off. It was gorgeous!

Jack Michael Anderson

On December 13th at 1:26 PM we welcomed our second son, Jack, into our family. He came in weighing 7 lbs 15 oz. I knew he was going to be big but I was not expecting an oz. short of 8 lbs. I'm glad he came early so he wasn't a 9 lb baby instead. He was born on Haken's half birthday making them exactly 3 1/2 years apart. He was named after his Great grandpa John (Jack) Leon Baumgarten on Shad's side and great-great grandpa John (Jack) Carl Evans on my side. His middle name (Michael) is Shad's middle name as well as my dad and brother Brandon. He is a well rounded little boy with a piece of both sides of the family. He looks a lot like Haken did, just with dark hair (Haken had just a little blonde peach fuzz). I was excited to see that I really can make a baby with hair.

I started what I think was labor sometime around midnight and ended up driving myself to the Bear River hospital around 5:00 AM. Shad stayed with Haken and I really expected them to send me home, but they kept me since I was almost dilated to a 4 already. My parents made their way up to take care of Haken for the day. My dad took him back to our house to play and my mom stayed to be the photographer at the birth. I'm so grateful to have parents who are so close and can drop everything when we need them. The actual labor was so much easier and less painful than it was with Haken. The hardest part was the pushing phase, but mostly because I couldn't feel a thing with my epidural! Everyone in the room was staring at me waiting for me to push and I honestly had no desire, especially since I knew it would hurt with all the pressure. After an hour of pushing he was here. I think next time I will make it a requirement for Shad to stand next to me and coach me through the pushing like he did with Haken. We went home 24 hours after he was born and I feel great! It is so nice to be able to bend over and sleep on my tummy again.

Jack has been such a joy to have in our home already. It is amazing how much a newborn can change the dynamic and spirit in your home. Haken loves his new little brother and is constantly trying to help with everything. He has been very careful and such a good big brother. We are adjusting to no sleep...slowly. It will take some time to get used to the middle of the night feedings. He has been a very good baby so far although we are still learning what he likes as far as sleeping positions, binkis, and how long for him to stay awake between feedings. I'm just glad that he is a super fast eater so that I can give Haken the attention that he needs. He was the best Christmas present we could ever ask for. (The tax write off this year will be a nice bonus too!)

Proud daddy of two sons!

Our First family photo

Meeting Jack for the first time