We are delighted to share two great pieces of news: we sold our house on Rohde and we’re going to have another little Anderson pretty soon!
Selling the house was bittersweet–sweet to finally be free to settle in South Bend but bitter because it was the house that Matt, his family, and I poured so much of ourselves into rebuilding, the house that became a home when we got married and the home that we brought our girls to. So many memories! But, we have so much to look forward to here…not the least of which is the arrival of a new baby! We don’t know the gender yet but we’ll find out sometime around June 2nd. In the meantime, we’ve enjoyed looking at houses here in the Bend with an eye out for our future ‘forever’ home that will last the lifetime of raising our kids.
Stay tuned, more exciting news to come! Below is a virtual tour that shows the fruits of so much labor, enjoy!
The winter weather has turned out to be much milder than we thought. We’ve only had to shovel the driveway a total of 3 times so we feel really spoiled! However, it has been too cold to play outside or go for walks and with a very active 2 year-old and newly mobile 1 year-old I’ve had to get creative to keep things interesting. In addition to a quick and delightful visit from Grama Kris, here are a few of the projects, activities, and fun we’ve been having while we wait for spring to hatch!
It is truly hard to believe that Ruthie is already a year old but she shows us everyday that she is doing her best to keep up with her big sister. She decided two weeks after her birthday that she could walk and she started walking every where right then and there. She’s been climbing up on stools, tables, beds, and anything else that will give her a lift to a high height. To top it all off, she is chatty! She is constantly babbling, squealing, or jibber jabbering away so it sounds like she is having a full on conversation with anyone who will listen. Her first word was ‘Go!’ along with the sign from the Baby Signing Time DVD that we watch from time to time. Pretty fitting!
We celebrated her first birthday with cake, presents, and singing. All of which, she loved. Maggie was pleased as punch to see that now she and Ruthie BOTH have a bear and similar baby. Maggie took it upon herself to show Ruthie how she was to care for her baby. She is even more thrilled that Ruthie is walking and able to (somewhat) keep up with her. Maggie is desperate to play with someone these days so whenever Ruthie is around it sheer squeals of delight from those two!
We had a great Thanksgiving with good food and good company and a wonderful Christmas with the four of us staying home to open presents and eat sour cream coffee cake (or ‘Happy Birthday Jesus’ cake, as Maggie called it). St. Nick brought Maggie a tricycle and Ruthie a walker wagon–which they both loved and rode all over the house for the rest of the day. We finally had to put the tricycle in ‘time out’ so it could ‘take a little rest’ since that’s exactly what Maggie needed. Although she still hasn’t quite figured out how ride her bike using the pedals, she manages quite well! Ruthie loves walking with her wagon until she reaches the end of the line (hits a wall) and looks around for someone to turn it around for her. All three of us girls have immensely enjoyed having Matt home for the week to hang out and goof off. But we’re looking forward to the New Year and curious as to whether the rumors that a terrible winter is still in store will come true or not! To be continued…
It’s hard to believe that Maggie is already two years old! It’s been such a wonderful and exciting adventure having her in our lives. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t inspire us to laugh, teach us something new, or enrich us in an unexpected way. We marvel at how she throws herself into every activity with unbridled passion and full force. She doesn’t walk around the house, she RUNS every place she goes. She is excellent at picking up toys and putting things back where they (generally) belong. I will often turn around to pick up discarded dirty socks, unorganized bills, or grocery list I was making only to find the dirty socks put away in the drawer with the clean laundry, the unpaid bills in the recycling bin, and the list with every box checked off and scribbled over heavily, telling me exactly what we need. She is most handy in the kitchen where she shoves and pushes her chair anywhere that someone might be chopping, stirring, cooking, or baking so she can take a nibble with one hand and stir the pot with the other. She is my little shadow and a joy to us both!
Here’s what we’ve been up to since July…swimming lessons, playtime, walks in the rain, ‘cooking’ in the kitchen, pumpkin carving, book reading, and much more. Maggie and Ruthie have just really started to discover how to play with each other the past few weeks. Watching them interact is so heart warming and sweet. It mainly goes like this: Maggie looks at Ruthie. Ruthie looks at Maggie. They both start laughing. Repeat. And repeat. Repeat again! 10 minutes of this passes. It’s wonderful.
Maggie is starting to express her own mother hen tendencies with Ruthie by feeding her snacks, giving her toys to play with when she cries (or wants Maggie’s toy), and letting her know pretty clearly that she should not be touching certain things–like plugs, night lights, and outlets–with a big ‘NO! NO Roofie!’ Maggie is starting to play with greater intensity, for longer periods of time and she knows the alphabet, how to spell her name, she can count to 12, recognize colors and half a dozen shapes. She’s started memorizing the books we read her as well as the prayers we say. It’s a joy to hear what she’s learning and how quickly!
Ruthie continues to delight us with her contagious smile and laughter. She is hilariously LOUD! She loves to hear herself talk and shout and she’s very determined. She works hard to keep up with Maggie but is still very independent so we often find her exploring the house and playing on her own. She is a big fan of music, clapping, and playing with the instruments we have. She’s starting to stand on her own and can walk while holding just one our hands so it’s only a matter of time!
Life in South Bend continues to keep us busy. We’re settling into a wonderful rental house that has a huge backyard and a lovely little four seasons room, perfect for the girls and the dogs. We’re all feeling more at home here in this house with all the space it has to offer. The summer weather has been a welcome change from the unbearably hot and humid Florida summers. Although we’ve had some 90 degree days, most days are pleasant so the girls and I have been spending time at the local zoo, feeding the ducks on Notre Dame’s campus, or just hanging out in the backyard blowing bubbles and watering the plants. On rainy days, we put on our boots and go to the library or splash around in some puddles. Maggie’s vocabulary is just exploding and she is desperate to talk to us more and more everyday. Our favorite words that she says right now are ’socks’ (sockas!) and ‘blast off’ (bwas toff!) both said with limitless enthusiasm! Ruthie is 6 months old and working really hard on her crawling, much to my surprise! She started hoisting herself up on all fours and rocking back and forth a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure that I’m ready for that but she’s clearly proving herself to be a girl on the go! More to come soon!
Ruthie is almost 5 months now and she is such a sweet, smiley, and happy baby. She only cries when she’s tired or hungry and, even then, she can push through and still come up smiling. Here’s a little video of her contagious giggles.
A couple of months ago I attempted to take a sweet and touching photograph of the girls to put in a frame I had purchased for Matt’s birthday. With a 3 month old and an 18 month old as the subjects of my session I have to admit that I was pretty naive about how this was going to turn out. The following series is a sort of ‘flip book’ that documents a full on melt down in action. Enjoy!