Two going on Three!

Big things have been happening around our house... Big boy things, that is, such as no longer sleeping in a crib. Anders has been climbing out of his crib for at least a month, acrobatically I might add, and so we finally decided it was time for him to move on to a bigger bed.... his big boy bed. He always loved his crib and it's coziness (filled with 99 animals as you can see below), so that's why we waited forever. But here, on the verge of three, it seemed like time, so last Sunday, we made the big move.... Here he is saying bye to the crib:

Note bite marks on crib from teething in the first year...

It is a "convertible" crib, so moving Anders required some work on the part of his handyman dad (Not to be confused with Handy Manny, though with similar traits)

Almost there

Finally! Thanks, Erik for devoting an afternoon to this bad design....

Happy big fella

Something I have learned about Anders being almost three -- It's impossible to really capture the beauty of this age and the joy of the discovery process and learning to talk. The language development process and how new phrases are incorporated with sudden ease and elation. I said to someone "We're going to visit the Chings" and an hour later I heard him tell someone "We're going to the Chings!" There are so many examples and only 24/7 cameras would capture them. So many people have told me this is their favorite age -- goofy things are said, questions asked, and with such sincerity. He said: "I was brooming at Grandma's" (sweeping); he keeps calling his Dad "Erik," and asks so many good questions about the world around him. He picked up a bunch of sticks in the yard and said "Now we are ready for guests to come over." I also love contraction-less talk - "We will go for a walk, and then we will go swing." "Would you like to go to the pool?" "No we will not," he says. He also is thoroughly enjoying learning how to use because:

"The sky is blue because the bird is in the tree because there's a tractor in the sandbox."

Dear Anders - I also want to remind you (when you are possibly reading this at age 14 or 15) that there was a time when you loved to windex the windows, pick up sticks in the yard, sweep the front walk, rake with no abandon, and help Dad spread mulch.

Sweet Halle is doing well too. She is seizure-free for the most part right now and we are just working on trying to pick up a developmental milestone or two. She is loving her new iPad with colorful fish and fireworks to watch. She also has gotten a new caretaker named Catherine who we all really like. She enjoys kicking her feet and being hugged by Anders.

Also, I can't believe I don't have any photos of her yet but Aunt Nissa moved one week ago from WA to SC!! This is BIG NEWS!! We're so very happy to have her here. She has spent time with Anders at Mickey Ds and Furman and the park and held Halle many an hour already. It's so nice to get to see her regularly.

Halle and her Dad watching baseball

Sweet kiddos

Here's Halle with our new sweet little neighbor Lena, Lucy's baby sis

Lucy and Anders eating dinner...

Anders napping

Grandma and Halle in one of their many snuggles

Halle sacked out in Mama C's arms (Forgot to mention we got a week of Mama C time while Pops was in Singapore -- lucky us -- we had such a great time.

Anders totally sacked out in the red chair --

The Animal Kingdom

Anders with his good buddy Isabella - Blanca's granddaughter! They have a great time together.

Going on a walk... Halle isn't so sure she wants to go

Halle's special friend Lori -- Halle was showing off her neck muscles here!

Her new stander..... big girl here.... not so sure about the stander but tolerating it

Also, Erik and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on July 2. We got to go to dinner at the Purple Onion in Saluda,NC, and had a really wonderful evening and pretty drive up the mountain. As most married couples say, it really doesn't seem like that long ago that we were on Vancouver Island celebrating with our families -- but it really was. But, what a great time we have had.