Treasure Hunt!

We have such fun play groups. Xiana is such a lucky little girl. She got to go on a treasure hunt on the Hansen's property. I remember as a young girl playing in the mud, or getting stuck in it on the Hansen's property. It was a different location in those years but yielded great fun nevertheless.
Xiana dressed herself and apparently thought that fur lined boots were a great choice for 90 degree weather... go figure!
There was an exceptional turnout and everyone had a really wonderful time.
Xiana has so many little friends in our ward. It's so nice to have great people to spend time with, to send Xiana to, and to know she is safe and well cared for in my absence.
We tried to line all the kids up for a jump... it was not very successful.
But they were still cute...
Rachel made clues to go to each stop and then her two little girls led the way to the location. All the kids ran. At one point Xiana was lagging behind the others (surprise surprise :) and I heard her yell, "wait, I'm not there yet." She wanted Rachel to wait for her to read the clue which was funny because it is not as if she knew where anything was anyway. Still, Rachel obliged.
The kids were all very attentive and eager to find the treasure.
They chased each other, chased lizards, found a treasure in an actual treasure chest (filled with candy)...
And brother did what he does best...

Great Blessings

Brian blessed Kolton on June 5th, 2011. This reminded me that we have been fortunate to have many blessings. This year and last have been red letter years for us. We were married.... and then weeks before Kolton's birth sealed. Brian's ring is really the ring of a giant!
It is more blessings than imaginable to have a loving husband who honors his priesthood so that he is able to give Kolton and others blessings. Additionally we are blessed to have amazing families that love and support us. We also have an incredible ward family that meet all of ours and others' needs. We are blessed with a beautiful home with a spacious yard where our children can run, play in dirt, play on the trampoline, and where Brian can provide fresh produce for us with his enormous garden.
We are blessed to have grandparents close where we are able to go and enjoy delicious meals, and share with the rest of our family luncheons and BBQs. We were so fortunate on this blessing day to have Brian's family over to my parent's house for a tasty meal. We are blessed with a ton of baby clothes, gear, contraptions that make child rearing far more comfortable than I imagine those in other countries or in other times enjoyed.
We are blessed with each other, the gospel, freedom, jobs, vehicles, faith, education, and more things than are imaginable at times.
We are blessed with a hard working dad, a house that is finally (okay almost) completed, and a wonderful life.
We are blessed with beautiful weather, all four seasons, gorgeous sunsets, rich soil, laughter, kisses, snuggles, entertainment, lakes, sandy beaches, desert hills, air conditioning, warm fires, but most of all... love.
Kolton James Andersen you are blessed with love...and so is your family!!!

All things Kolton........ and Xiana

Kolton continues to be a sweet little guy. He is very strong and very stiff. He is not the most cuddly baby I have ever met, but when he's sleeping he will dig pretty deep into your shoulder. Despite all the gidgets and gadgets we think we need these days for babies, he prefers to lay on a blanket on the floor above all other things. He likes his swing too. Mostly he likes to eat. When he nurses he holds his little legs straight out. He rolled over once already too, though I'm sure it was a fluke. His daddy walked at 7 months and I think he might be interested in following his footsteps. He is more and more alert and spends more time awake daily. He smiles now too though he is somewhat stingy with his grins. It's funny because he doesn't make eye contact or smile very regularly so it's not uncommon for tears to spring from my eyes when he does. He makes me feel so special... like he just does it to appease me!
Xiana loves to kiss her brother in the morning. Beyond that I think she is really looking forward to him being a little bit older and more able to play. Still, it excites her with the rest of us when he coos, caws, and smiles at her.
Xiana will tolerate baths with Kolton... but she is terrified of a repeat offender of the crime of peeing in the tub.
I bought him these tiny little socks and they are knee highs!
Oh so sweet.
We are starting to see eyes in pictures now which is a lot of fun. We think they might stay blue though feel it is still too soon to be sure. He still sleeps most nights for at least one 6 hour stretch. Rarely does he wake hourly. He is very serious and looks like he is taking it all in. He loves to look at lights and listen to music. He likes to take naps on daddy's chest when he's home, but he's also content to sleep in his little bassinet (thankfully). For a long time he was power feeding from about 6-9 every night which was exhausting, but he seems to have developed more of a routine with feeding and sleeping. All in all, he is a wonderful baby. I feel so blessed to have such a good one. He is very calm and chills a lot. He rarely cries and when he does, he doesn't get all that worked up. He has a very quiet cry that is actually hard to hear. He grunts a lot. Brian teases him and says we should have named him grunter. Even when he wakes in the night and morning, he doesn't really cry, he mostly just grunts (often I think to try to escape his swaddle).
Everyone around here adores him.
And he's finally starting to fill out some of his clothes. He looks handsome doing it!!!!

The adventures don't stop for long

We took a couple of weeks off of the mountains and outdoors after Kolton was born, but he's a tough little bugger. He may be small, but like Xiana, he's small like dynamite!
So we head to the hills, and Brian seasons Kolton and Xiana to one day join him on his hunts...
And to embrace the outdoors...
and guns... even in a skirt!

One fine day

In June my girl went out to play...
Gotta love Reno weather!

One week apart...

I know it's hard to believe, but these two are, in fact, 1 week apart. They were exactly 3 lbs different at birth. They are vastly different in size. They are darling together. Kate and I were pregnant the entire time together and it was fabulous to commiserate with one another. We thought we were so clever having babies at the same time.
As it turns out... we would have been smarter to stagger them by about a month because this first 6 weeks we have both been lost in the void of motherhood... about 3 miles away. We would have been much greater help had we been about a month apart. Instead we have resorted to calling and missing each other repeatedly and seeing each other a grand total of 3 times.
Still, I have high hopes for this summer. The dust will settle eventually and then we will be able to hang out in the backyard together with our kids and our newborns and not feel left out when all the rest of our friends are at Wild Waters.
There is something absolutely beautiful about newborns hanging with each other. We have to assume that they were very recently hanging in the same place and now, here they are, embarking on the same journey.

Palomino Valley

We took a little family outing to Palomino Valley when this little guy was 2 weeks old. This is what he did...
and we enjoyed the drive, the fresh air, the scenery, and the picnic.

Straight Haired Girl

Before church on Sunday with all three kids. They are so cute!!
I straightened Xiana's hair and she looked like a different girl. She kept saying, "my friends will say, 'who is that girl?'" It was pretty easy to do with a flat iron. It only took about 10 minutes which she will be grateful for when she gets older. I still like her better with curls, but it's fun to have options.
I spent the morning straightening her hair and curling Ekco's... such is this life :)
I can't believe how many highlights she has in her hair. The curls disguise the blond streaks.
She looked beautiful. She kept running through the house and it was so bizarre to see her hair trailing in the air behind her.
Daddy and his girls.
too cute.

Princess Party

The night of Kolton's birth Xiana went to a princess party. I am so grateful that my parents were willing to get her there. It was a major priority for her and I think helped with her little emotions tremendously. Lindsey took these adorable photos.

They certainly are princesses!!!

Kolton's firsts of many

Kolton is such a sweet baby. He sleeps wonderfully and seems good natured in his awake time. He is growing as he weighed 6 10 at his two week check up which is encouraging. He loves to go outside with his daddy and take a little cruise around the property. Brian does this multiple times daily and I imagine it will become something of a tradition for the two (sometimes 3 if Xiana feels like it) of them. He's so cute. I love when he stretches his little arms. He looks like such a little man. He is a voracious little eater and so far, likes his swing. He's not a big fan of being swaddled at night and fights it for the first little while after he goes to bed, but the blanket usually wins.
Ekco and Xiana love to be big sisters and Ekco is especially interested in holding him. She is at a really good age to be able to enjoy and remember his baby days.
We thought we would take a picture of Kolton next to mousy just for a size comparison and Xiana wouldn't think of missing out.
This picture truly brings a little pang to my heart. He is so darling next to that little mousy. He is scarcely larger. I love the way his hands are moving in the air. Kolton is very strong. He can almost roll over and already has great neck control. He is a perfect little creature. So far his most prominent expression is sucking in his lower lip. He's done it since the day he was born.
He wasn't a huge fan of his first bath... well, in the water he was fine, but after we took him out is another story... I guess this doesn't come as much of a surprise because he hates to have his diaper changed or to be naked. Xiana loves to tell everybody this and then follows with, "when I was a little baby I wanted to be naked all the time." And she did. He fights the diaper coming off... she fought the diaper going on!
This picture doesn't exactly illustrate his contentment in the tub but, believe me, as long as he's in the water he seems pretty darn content.
Sissy loves to feed him a bottle. However, I think she gets bored with it pretty quickly because she didn't complete this one and hasn't asked since.
This is another of the adorable outfits Ekco picked out for him. She did such a good job. He is an adorable monkey.
And greatly loved.
Seriously he is too darling! He had his pictures taken by two photographers thus far but I can't figure out how to post them. As soon as I can I will. The first wanted the little naked shots and he pooped and peed on her 9 times! Likewise both visits to the doctor resulted in a nurse wearing his poop and pee. What can I say? He likes his diaper to stay on!
For our first FHE after his birth we went to Yogurt Beach. It was delicious.... he slept :)
I'm sure he will love going to get ice cream very soon. I forgot how much time I spent nursing in the early weeks. It's amazing. It consumes half of every day. I know that he will grow more efficient in time but for now... I am successfully catching up on all kinds of tv.
Ekco picked out this outfit too. I swear that girl has some good taste!!! Please disregard the massive mess... I expect to dig my way out in roughly 3 months.
Another great success is that he likes his swing which affords me all kinds of impossible things.. like showers and cleanups!
I am so in love again. He is the sweetest baby. He is a lot of work, even though he is such an easy baby, but he is wonderful. Completely, utterly perfect! I feel blessed.