Life has been busy

There is no excuse not to blog except for the fact that I love being a mom and every second is spent with my baby girl. My mom has wanted me to update the blog so here is is.

On Dec. 17, 2008, Brian, Kate, and I experienced our first California snow in the high desert. We received about 18 inches of snow. For you Utah folks, that is a lot of snow for the high desert. The normal amount of snow each year is maybe . . . none or a half an inch. The first few hours of watching the snow fall was fun, but it just kept coming. It took Brian 2 hours to get home, which is normally a 20 min trip. Also, we did not have any fun plowing our driveway. Thank goodness this only happened once this winter. So far . . .

Then there was Christmas. Kate was our little gift. This is the first bow that Brian has allowed on Kate's head. We borrowed it from our cousin just for this fun pictures. Brian says she looks like a reindeer.

We decided to bless Kate while everyone was in town for Christmas . She had all of her uncles, except uncle Jason, stand in her circle, as well as both of her grandfathers and two of her great-grandfathers. Brian gave her a great blessing that she will seek spiritual education and learning, follow the example of her mother (oh dear), be an example to those around her, and for her to know that she will always be loved. After the blessing we had the family over to our new house for dinner. Our house looked liked we had opened a cafeteria, even the missionaries came.

Kate has been working on her neck strength. This picture was taken at the beginning of January. She has improved since then.

I just couldn't resist putting these sunglasses on her. She is so adorable! She is one cool California chick!

At four and a half months she was ready for some rice cereal. Mom and dad are still learning how to feed their little monster. But she enjoyed the experience. No tears, except from me who is realizing that her little girl is growing up.

This is Kate's rain coat. We had a cold winter's day and I decided to bundle her up. Then she wanted to play peek a boo. I just love her beautiful smile.

We bought her a bumbo (a little chair that helps her sit up) so that she can practice sitting. She is getting really good at holding her head up and sitting. She loves playing in her bumbo, especially while watching tv.

Just recently Kate received a gift from Sister Foltz, a woman in my mom's ward. It is so cute. On the front of the sleeper is a bear. The footsies also have bears on them and Kate tries to grab them. The outfit also came with a beanie. We had to take these cute pictures of Kate.

Kate is doing very well and keeping her family busy. She likes to go visit her aunts, uncles, grandpas and grandmas. She is sleeping well, but not through the night. We love her so very much and we are grateful she is a part of our lives.

For Brian and I, we are doing good as well. Brian goes to work Monday through Friday and stays busy while Kate and I stay home and play with toys, sleep, go on walks, and relax. I have the best job in the world!!!

Kate Loves to Swing

I am so grateful for Kate's swing. When Kate gets fussy, she calms down in her swing. When Kate is sleepy, she falls to sleep in her swing. When mom needs to do chores, Kate just swings. The other day the batteries died on the swing and I was worried that Kate wasn't going to be happy. So instead of going to the store to buy batteries, I tied a ribbon to Kate's swing and pulled the ribbon to make the swing move. Brian was going to tell me that I was lazy for not going to buy batteries, but he could not tell me that since I was making more work for myself by pulling a ribbon to make the swing move. I thought that I was pretty intelligent for coming up with that idea. When Brian got home he had batteries in hand and made life happy again. Do they make indoor swings for toddlers?

Kate's First Trip to Utah

For the first three years of our marriage, Brian and I lived in Provo Utah. We lived at the base of the Wasatch Mountains at the foot of Provo Canyon. We loved watching the trees change color, playing in the snow, enjoyed the spring tulips and overall enjoyed Provo. We made some really good friends and had many memories. When we moved a year and a half ago we left behind friends and family.

Although Kate was only 7 weeks old she did very well on the drive. We had to stop twice on the way to Utah so that she could eat and stretch. She does not like being stuck in her car seat for very long, she is a mover. Also, she does not like being in the car seat when the car stops for any reason. She does very well when the car is in motion, but stop at a stop sign and its doom.

As soon as we got to Provo we went and visited with family.

We visited Aunt Ashley. We visited Uncle Todd.

We even got to visit with Uncle Eric for a few seconds. I hope Kate remembers how much she is loved.

After we visited with some family it was time to eat dinner with more family. Kate met Uncle Brian on this trip.

She even met our special friend Tasha on our trip.
After dinner, my brother Brian had a bowling night. He showed off his bowling shirt. His bowling name, "Uncle Brian"!
The next day was my good friend Leslie Aston's wedding. She married Adam Cuppett and is now Leslie Cuppett. She looked so beautiful. We loved going to her reception.



The next day, Kate had her first trip to BYU and ate at the Cougar eat. She was so excited to be at BYU.

I was so grateful that the Brunner family had time for us to come visit. We love Sara and David and their beautiful boys Eli and Ethan. Sara and David were are greatest friends when we lived in Utah and I still call Sara for motherly advise because she is such a great mother. We miss being a block away and we enjoyed spending an afternoon together. Aren't the Brunners a great looking family?

We had a fabulous weekend in Utah. I am so glad that we had this opportunity. We love visiting with friends and family and sharing our Prove vacation with Kate was also really special. I know that Brian and I will always have a special place in our hearts for Provo. It was the place we met and fell in love. I had fun walking around BYU and remembering the fun classes and experiences I had. I also loved being able to go to Leslie's sealing and be a part of her life. I am so grateful for the Brunners and the great friends they continue to be and I am so lucky to have wonderful family who puts up with our crazy life. Thank you Bryan, Ashley, Todd, Eric, Brian and Tasha for taking some time out of you weekend for us. It means a lot to know that you love us. Hopefully we will make it back to Utah soon!

Kate's Four Generations

Kate is fortunate enough to have all of her grandparents living and many of her great-grandparents living. It has been fun getting together with family and taking four generation photos. I still need to work on one, but this is what I have so far. I hope Kate will like looking back to see pictures of her family.
Pictured: Shirley Pawlowski, Diane Anderson, Courtney Marie Andersen, Kate Marie Andersen

Pictured: LuVerna Anderson, Leighton Morse Anderson, Courtney Marie Andersen, Kate Marie Andersen
Pictured: Sylvin McAffee Andersen, Steven Lewis Andersen, Brian Steven Andersen, Kate Marie Andersen

Pictured: Colleen Grace Patten, Kate Marie Andersen

Pictured: Gaylord Penrod Patten

Halloween Fun

For Kate's First Halloween we went to the Hesperia Stake Trunk or Treat with Aunt Kari. We carried Kate around and collected candy. We had fun, but didn't stay long since it was cold outside. Kate wore a pumpkin beanie and Kate and I had matching clothes that said, "This is my costume." Next year when she is older I promise to be more creative.

Kate, Amelia and Miles

Last weekend Emily brought Amelia and Miles up from San Diego to meet Kate. It was so much fun to have all the cousins together. I tired to take a picture of all the cousins together but since all the cousins are so little the pictures came out a little blurry. It is fun to think that Kate is two weeks in this picture, Miles is four months and Amelia is two and a half but in a few years they will all be best friends and be able to play together.

Amelia is such a great older cousin. She was fascinated by Kate's little hands and feet. Amelia liked to kiss Kate. It was so cute. Amelia was very gentle and made sure that Kate was warm and comfy.

Emily and I were amazed at the size difference between Miles and Kate. They are just a few months apart but right now they seem to different in size. Also, Kate is able to roll from side to side already where Miles doesn't want to roll. However, Miles is able to lift his head when he is on his stomach and Kate just doesn't have that strength yet.

Nap Time

Kate is a great sleeper. The older she gets the less she wakes up in the middle of the night. I can't wait until she is sleeping through the nights. She also is a great napper. She loves to lay on the couch and listen to the TV or other noises. For some reason she likes to have her hands free to move around and sometimes they end up behind her head. I also could just watch her sleep all days because she makes the cutest faces. She smiles, puckers, makes an Elvis face and so many more. It is the cutest thing. I often wonder what kind of dreams she is having because she is so animated in her sleep. We do not know all that babies can see, but I just imagine Kate having so many family members who have passed tell her jokes and stories that make her laugh. I know that she is being watched over and protected.