Cute Ayden sayings...

Here is just a sampling of some of the funny and cute things Ayden is saying and doing that I want to remember...


"Look at me, momma, look at me!!" while doing something he deems to be cute or funny :)
A simple "no" will not do anymore. He must say "No way momma! No way!"
When we go to bed, he tells us "Night night, sweet dreams!" at least 15-20 times
Often says, "I wanna go to Walmart"
The other night as I was leaving for work he said, "Bye momma. Merry Christmas"
"Momma, I see Christmas!" anytime he sees Christmas lights, trees, or decorations
He has "The Going To Bed Book" memorized and recites it when we read it EVERY night :)
If he coughs or sneezes and you don't notice, he will say or shout from another room "I'm okay!"
He LOVES to hide things and then come ask us with a serious look "Where did __ go?"
He can sing the ABC song and count to 17 by himself, 20 with a little help :)


He keeps us laughing and entertained 99% of the time. Who knew 2 could be so much fun?!!

Farewell to another blessed year...

2009 will soon be a number in the history books. I can hardly believe it. I remember when I was a kid and someone talked about then ever-so- distant future, like the year 2010, I immediately conjured up images straight out of Back to the Future movies- flying cars and skateboards and silly things of that nature. And while we don't exactly fly to Walmart yet, I will say the advances made in just the last 20 years are pretty amazing. In my opinion, the internet and cell phones are 2 things that I don't know how we ever did without! I am actually old enough to be able to say, (even if it was for just a short part of my life) "I remember a time when there was no internet and you used a pay phone when you weren't at home." Will that be what was considered "the good ole' days" when I am old and gray? I guess time will tell!

Anyway...I am rambling, when what I really want to do in this post is talk about what a blessed year this has been for the Andersons and list a few of the resolutions for the coming year. 2009 was our first full year living in Northwest Arkansas. We both have settled in nicely to our jobs and made a few friends. We still really enjoy living in this area and I think if we were going to have regrets, we would have by now! We love Bentonville and are very excited about eventually buying a home here and raising our family in this very nice community. With the economy taking such a downfall this year, we have never been more grateful for our educations and our jobs, something that I will admit we have taken for granted in the past. We both work very hard at our jobs and both feel as if we are needed and are making a difference for our companies, but we also realize that no one is safe! Every paycheck truly is a blessing.

We have also been relatively healthy this year, especially me, although I am superstitious enough to believe that if I ramble too much about how I haven't been sick much this year, I will be struck with pneumonia tomorrow! (It's a nurse thing---we are insanely superstitious. I could write a whole other post on that topic!!) Ayden has had a few run-ins with ear infections thanks to being introduced to the world of other snotty toddlers via Mom's Day Out, but the benefits of him being in that program far outweigh the risks. His little immune system has gone to battle for him several times this year and always wins! In the process we have also found a great pediatrician who takes great care of our little guy. Chris was diagnosed with type II diabetes this year, but that in itself was a blessing because he has probably had the disease for years and now he has a wake up call to do something about it before it causes permanent damage. To date, I have lost 102 pounds or the equivilent of one 5 foot 11 inch supermodel, LOL :) I will say that starting a new year without the resolution to lose a huge amount of weight is very refreshing. If anything, losing this weight has opened my eyes to several other areas of my life that need "resolved" that previously have been masked by my overwhelming desire to lose weight. I will go into these resolutions in just a moment...

Although our life is far from "perfect", I believe it is perfect for us. There are many areas we need to improve upon individually, as a couple, and as a family. But overall, we are happy and maintain optimistic attitudes about the future. That is one of the qualities that makes our marriage what it is- we both are "the glass is half-full" kind of people and if either one of us gets in a "glass is half-empty" kind of mood, the other one calls it out immediately. There is no room for negativity or pessimism in our home!! God has given us more blessings in our 28 years of life than we could have ever hoped and dreamed for, and it's up to us to stay positive and use our blessings to impact the lives of others in whatever way we can.

So now, on to the resolutions for the big year of 2010!! (These are in no particular order...some are kind of random, most are my own personal resolutions, a few are resolutions we have as a couple. As for Chris' personal resolutions, I guess he needs to start his own blog if we wants the world to know :) )

1. Watch TV less often.
2. Attend chruch more often.
3. Drink more water!!! Specifically at least 80 oz per day.
4. Cut back on my most recent vice--Dr. Pepper!!
5.Open a second, separate savings account in a separate and less convenient bank with no ATM card or online access to funds so all the money that goes in actually gets SAVED! :)
6. Exercise 3 x a week minimum. No excuses.
7. With my significantly reduced stomach size...make every single bite count towards my daily nutritional requirements. (No more days of eating nothing but a bowl of cheerios and a Dr. Pepper in 24 hours. Yes, this sometimes happens, and no, I am not proud of it. )
8. Be a more patient wife and mother.
9. And last but certainly not least, spend a dedicated amount of time every day in devotion with God. Let my little light shine for God everyday.

Okay, so there they are-- my resolutions for 2010. Half the battle is admitting the areas that need work and then publishing them for accountability, right? Good luck to the rest of you and your resolutions! HAVE A FABULOUS 2010!!

Laugh for the day...

Tonight while Chris was reading the Sunday paper, Ayden grabbed a few of the sale ads to "read". After a couple minutes, he brought me the Kohl's ad opened up to the ladies bras page and asked me to read him, and I quote..."The naked book"

LOL LOL LOL!!

Private

Yes my blog is now private, it's not big deal--I have made it private for the same reason our facebook accounts are private...I don't want just anybody in the world to see my family pictures, where we live and work, etc. There are psychos out there! I should have done this sooner! Of course you can only read this if you have been invited but if you know someone who reads my blog and wants to be added tell them to e-mail me @ jessicadiane55@yahoo.com I am not purposefully excluding anyone we know!

Playroom makeover!

This afternoon while Ayden napped, Chris and I tackled his extremely messy and cluttered playroom to make space for all his cool new toys! We boxed up tons of stuff he rarely plays with anymore and moved in his new things. He was very excited to start playing when he woke up!

Christmas 2009

Our very first Christmas staying home was picture-perfect! My parents and brother were able to arrive before the bad weather started and we all enjoyed a cozy Christmas Eve in front of the fireplace watching It's a Wonderful Life and eating yummy snacks. Then, my brother read his annual "Cunningham/Anderson Night Before Christmas" poem that highlights all the major events of the year for our family. He always has us rolling with laughter and this year was no different! Before bed, we made/burned cookies for Santa and then read the original Night Before Christmas. Christmas morning we woke up to a white blanket of snow covering the ground and spent the morning opening gifts and watching Ayden delight in all the attention and gifts he was receiving! We then enjoyed a Christmas breakfast including my first attempt at sticky buns, which turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! Then we spent the day relaxing, watching Ayden play with his new toys (which included a tricycle, kitchen, tent and tunnel, and cars and trucks among other things) playing board games and dominoes and finally enjoying a Mexican fiesta of enchiladas, fajitas, seven layer dip and salsa. It was a fantastic day full of great memories! We were sad to see everyone go, but I am looking forward to many more years of hosting Christmas at our house! Here are pics from our day!! (Blogger uploaded the pictures crazy as usual, so I wasn't able to insert captions on most pics, but they are pretty self-explanatory!)



Christmas Eve

Mom opening her new laptop from dad :)

Homeade sticky buns! (thanks for the idea, Melissa! :)

White Christmas!!!

A sweet little boy looking out at the snow...

Mena Christmas-palooza!

This weekend we took a mad dash to Mena for 4 Christmas celebrations in just 48 hours! We got little sleep but had lots of fun! We started out celebrating with my BFF Jenny and her husband Kyle and daughter Finleigh, where Ayden got to open his first Christmas present of the season, and he knew just what to do! Then we spent the night at Chris' dad's house, followed by a Christmas lunch with them the next day and then on to a Christmas dinner with all my grandparents. Next we headed to Chris' mom's house to spend the night there and went to church with her Sunday morning followed by a Christmas lunch at her house afterwards. I am getting tired just typing it all out, lol!! But it is definetely more of a blessing than a burden to have so many people who love us and Ayden, I just wish we had more time with everyone! It was so fun to watch Ayden playing with his cousins and having such a great time! They are at the perfect ages to play so well together. Thanks to everyone who made this a special weekend for all of us! Here's a slideshow of our weekend!

Chris' birthday weekend!

Yesterday Jenny and Kyle came up to NWA for a visit and Jenny and I surprised our hubbies by sending them off for a day of golf (in the cold rain, but they didn't mind!) while we cooked a big meal and baked birthday cakes for them. Chris turns 28 on Monday and Kyle turns the big 3-0 next Friday.Jenny's sister and brother-in-law and my brother joined us for the fun too! We had a wonderful time, but found ourselves laughing at how much we have all changed over the years...our parties are not quite what they used to be! We each had only a couple drinks, watched a Christmas movie, spent most of our time reading storybooks and playing with Finleigh and Ayden, and were all ready for bed by 9! Quite a change from 5 or 6 years ago!! It's amazing how age (and kids!) change you, lol! Here are a few pics from the party!

Thanksgiving 2009

We just got home from a great 5 day Thanksgiving break in Mena! It was nice to have more than just our usual couple of days to spend there and see everyone. Ayden had a blast playing with his cousins and spending time with his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents! I did not take even a fraction of the number of pictures I normally do, but it's because my child is ever-so-active and catching him being still before the camera flashes is next to impossible :) I also didn't take any pics of the very cute babies we saw over the weekend (Evergrace, Daxx, Finleigh, and Gavin) so you'll just have to take my word for it--they are all super adorable! I will try to remember next time to take more pics because they are all getting so big! Here are a few of the random great shots from our trip!

Thanksgiving Family Pic

My homeade Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies :)
3 super-cute cousins!
Emery Jai, Ayden, and Guice

Playing with the big kids!

2 cute boys!

Playing in the leaves!

So much fun!

Playing at the park

Cutie Emery Jai!

Me getting ready to drive my dad's new camaro!