project

We finally transformed our ugly-but-had-potential tv stand into something that we truly love!  It was quite a job, but nothing that Kyle couldn't conquer.

Here's what it's looked like the last 4 years:

He set up a pretty respectable Dexter kill-room with our freakishly gigantic tarp.

Ruby enjoyed watching.

Um, our new paint sprayer wouldn't work.  UNCOOL.  So we ended up painting the entire thing with these tiny brushes.

The color is Sunken Pool, by Martha Stewart.  I love it.  It changes in the light and is way more complex than "light blue"--we have a ton left over so probably we'll be using it for every project in the future.

 The white hardware really makes it!

It really transformed our living room and made our whole house look brighter.  It inspired us to buy new curtains--and makes me want to buy a LOT more stuff that we probably can't for a while!  I'm thinking new rug and fixtures.

Easter pics with Lucy

I just think these girls are so adorable.  I love their friendship and cuteness.

We miss Lucy every day!

Spring Break

Ruby and I had a great time in California for Easter and spring break.  Mom, Katy, and Lucy were out of school so we had a ton of time to have fun together.

Highlights:

Easter.  Ruby and Lucy had beautiful matching dresses, and we tried taking some pictures of them, but Christy hasn't emailed them to me yet (ahem, Chris).  In the morning Ruby discovered that the Easter Bunny brought her a cute plush Hello Kitty beanie ball, and then after church we had a fun egg hunt.  Ruby loved having her own candy, but didn't go crazy and eat too much. Phew.

Aquarium.  WHOA so much fun.  We got free tickets through the library to the cool San Francisco aquarium right by Pier 39.  Ruby loved parts of it (fish tunnels, baby clown fish, starfish, jelly fish), and was a little freaked by others (sharks and octopus).  The best part was the reaction from the twins.  Lydia was a little timid and didn't feel the need to get up close and personal with the sea life, but Joycie was IN HEAVEN and  I've never seen such an excited child. It was adorable.  Ruby got to touch a starfish so her life is basically made.  I don't really like aquariums because fish freak me out and I think humans aren't meant to go in the ocean because HELLO SHARKS, but it was really cool for the kids.  And sometimes a trip is just MADE by getting a great parking spot, especially in San Francisco.  Then we had fun walking down the pier, eating a fun lunch at Wipeout, and seeing the sea lions at the end of Pier 39.

Zoo.  Holy cow, what a hit.  Lucy was in charge of the map and telling us where to go, and Ruby just ran herself ragged exclaiming over the animals.

She saw her favorite animals.

Got to brush a little goat to her heart's content.

And went on a TRAIN. The whole ride she just sat yelling "This is so much fun! I so excited!" and it was really cute.

Also happened:

She took a nap in Lucy's bed, which shocked me and delighted her.

She bonded with the twins while Lucy was in school the first couple days. Lots of playing at the park, running errands with Christy, and playing at Grandma Joyce's house.

LOVED the wonton soup at Chef Chao's.  Mostly I think she liked the spoon. I liked my fortune.

It was so much fun, but it's nice to be home again.  Kyle really missed us and Ruby was thrilled to get back to him.  She was good on the airplane both ways--the thrill of flying in the sky and seeing the clouds is a big deal.

Name update: Oh dear.  I'm cooling on Penelope, and Kyle never really liked Charlotte to begin with.  We both like Olive but it doesn't go with our last name.  Back to the drawing board.  (Sorry, Christy and Katy. Kyle has absolutely vetoed Betsy.)

THE NAMING PROCESS SUCKS

IT IS SO HARD TO COME UP WITH A NAME.  

At this point in my pregnancy with Ruby, I had already agonized for months.  I am taking it a little easier this time around--I think I'm driving everyone less crazy with the constant stream of indecisive conversation.  I feel like we haven't thought about it enough to come up with every single possibility out there yet, but for now we are thinking about a couple.

Subject to change:

1. Penelope Rose.
2. Charlotte Rose.

Nieman has a niece named Penelope, but she's given us permission on behalf of her brother and sister-in-law to use it.  It's Kyle's favorite so far.  I really love it, but for some reason the name Charlotte keeps coming back in my mind.  A little girl called Lottie or Charlie would be adorable. Kyle is unsure about that.  Rose is a family name on my side and I love it.  Katy apparently called it a long time ago, but she's okay with me using it as a middle name.  I would never use it as a first name because, come on--Ruby and Rose?  Shades of red? Gimmicky.

Okay here's a confession--I also love the name Dahlia.  I think it's adorable and old-timey.  But I also understand that it's weird, and everyone I've mentioned it to lets me know that it's too weird--including Kyle.  So that's probably off the table.  But I can't help still kind of wanting it!

Kyle and I are going to make a list of names to seriously consider.  We're going to try to keep thinking of new names and hopefully we'll feel inspired.  I agonized for so long about Ruby's name--even though I had picked it out months before I was even pregnant.  This time I don't have a name ready so it's harder. Ahhhh.

some things

I have a recommendation:

If you have a toddler who wakes you up early in the morning, ready to play, you need this clock or one like it:

It has been a LIFESAVER.  Ruby was waking me up between 5 and 6 every morning and wouldn't go back to sleep.  I can't go to sleep until 1 or 2 in the morning, so I was really miserable.  I got this clock and it worked the VERY FIRST NIGHT, which I wasn't expecting--I thought she'd have to get trained on it.  It glows green when it's okay for her to leave her room, which is right now at 7--I'm tempted to make it 7:30.  Not only does she follow the rule, she LOVES it.  She always asks about her clock and carries it around with her.  When she comes in my room in the morning, she carries her clock in and is SO EXCITED to show me it's green.  It has a naptime function too that is awesome.  It's been a miracle worker for me.

Another recommendation:

THIS IS AMAZING LIP BALM.  I thought it was totally weird because of its shape--until I tried it. And I love it.  I spit upon all other chapsticks from now on.  I need to get several more, because I know Ruby will eventually ruin this one and I don't want to freak out at her.  So far I've managed to keep it sacred and away from her.  This Utah winter has left my lips drier than ever before but it's not a problem now that I've found this little treasure.  LOVE IT.

Baby update:
I feel her kick now, it's really hard to think of names, and I'm officially too big for my normal jeans.

Ruby update:
Sweeter and sassier than ever.  She is such a Big Kid now.  Her favorite thing to do is clean her room to get quarters.  She gets 2 quarters every day she cleans her room with Dad.  It's totally their thing.  One quarter goes in her piggy bank to save, and the other quarter goes into a coin purse to spend.  She usually spends her money on the Big Bird ride at Walmart, but she's starting to want to buy toys with it.  Kyle has been SO excited to teach her about money and savings.  He was the kind of kid who totally loved money--he ironed his dollar bills in elementary school, and loaned money to his big sisters at exorbitant interest rates.  He is determined that Ruby will have sound financial sense.  It's pretty cute when she counts out her quarters and gets excited about spending it.  She's saved up quite a bit in her piggy bank too--the beginnings of a college fund.  We'll start teaching her about tithing when we use coin denominations that make it easier, and when she can actually understand what it's for.

Me update:
I need a new show to watch on Netflix.

before I watch Walking Dead

I thought that the Zofran wasn't working, or that I didn't need it anymore (because come on I'm 18 weeks along!) so when I ran out yesterday, I didn't panic and call for another refill.  I really, really wish I had.  I've thrown up 3 times today (so far) and have been completely miserable.  I can't eat, because I can't hold anything down.  There is one silver lining though--every time I throw up, I call Ruby to come in and "help" me.  She is so sweet. She rubs my back and gets me toilet paper to wipe my face, all the while telling me "it's okay mommy" "you'll feel better" and then pretending to throw up with me.  Anyways, it's cute.  Still not worth it though, I'm calling to get more Zofran tomorrow.

We're starting the potty training adventure.  Or rather, Ruby decided that she wanted to wear panties and go potty--because Eliza does.  Peer pressure is the key.  She's been wearing panties for 3 or 4 days now, with Pull-ups while she sleeps.  And NO accidents.  It's still early, and I'm not taking it too seriously--I had no plans to potty train right now, so if this is just a weird week long fluke, that's okay, we can do it later.  She's so proud of herself, and the sight of her little bottom in Minnie Mouse panties just kills me.  This picture is from the first day--now the potty always stays in the bathroom.

Kyle continues to take care of me and Ruby constantly.  I felt so bad today---he made an awesome dinner of chicken and potatoes and I could hardly eat a bite.  We celebrated his 29th birthday last week with a kid-free dinner at Texas Roadhouse and cake at The Chocolate.

He was thrilled with the present I bought him--a top-of-the-Walmart-line garbage can.  Romantic!  It actually is really awesome and I knew he's been reeaallly wanting it but couldn't justify spending actual money on a nice garbage can.  It has upped our quality of life greatly.


Every day Ruby wakes up and begs to hang out with Eliza.  Celia tells me that Eliza does the same thing.  We comply because Celia and I love to be together.  The girls are best friends and it just makes my heart happy.

Watching a princess movie

matching Minnies

Playing Red Light Green Light

Yesterday we went bowling with the Broadbents and the Robbins.  It was Ruby's first time and she loved it.
It's so fun that she is getting old enough for these new experiences.  Next I want to take Eliza and Ruby to the Nickelcade.  The husbands are skeptical, but Celia and I know that our little girls will absolutely LOVE putting nickels into the games, pushing buttons randomly, and buying prizes with their tickets.

Last Friday was my 10,000th day.  Kyle keeps track of these kinds of things.  He surprised me with 10,000 calories worth of my favorite candy.  He calculated it down to the half egg.  That dish has 19.5 eggs in it!  I love him.

quick

I have to blog or I'll miss a whole month for the first time since starting this blog in 2007.

I'm almost 18 weeks pregnant and starting to feel better.  I don't throw up every day anymore, and if I do, it's just once.  Ruby is so cute and comforting when I throw up.  I'm still really tired, but I am finding more energy to do things lately--mostly because Celia has moved in to my complex and we hang out every day.  Ruby and Eliza are BFFs.  Our old habit of redbox-ing horror movies every night is back in full swing.

We've been sad lately because one of my best friends delivered a stillborn baby at 26 weeks.  It's been really hard to watch this amazing family go through something so painful and sad, but also inspiring and humbling to see them handle it with such faith and strength.  I've learned a lot from them the past couple weeks.

About a month ago we went on a Disneyland trip with my family which was incredible.  I prayed for the magic of Disneyland to cure my morning sickness, and it worked--at least temporarily.  I didn't throw up the whole time we were there.  I was tired, and couldn't go on the best rides, but it was still a freakishly fun trip.  I enjoyed Disneyland a new way--with a kid.  Ruby was in heaven.  She loooooved meeting the princesses and going on rides.  I want to actually do a whole blog post on our Disneyland trip because it was truly magical for my cute little girl.

Speaking of little girls--how's that for a gender reveal?!  About 2 weeks ago we found out that Ruby is going to get a little sister.  We are, of course, thrilled.  It's just one of those things about Andersons--we only know how to make girls.  ADORABLE girls.

Kyle is excited because eventually the girls can share a room and that will free up some space for an office.
I'm excited because this baby is going to have the hugest wardrobe ever.
And also for the cuteness and sweetness of little girls.