7 Months Later…

A 7-month blog hiatus…yikes. Not impressive. I realized today that our thousands of followers, who have faithfully been checking daily for a new post these past barren blog months, must have really given up on us. Don’t despair! We’re still here…but I can honestly say that I do not know where those 7 months went. I’m so thankful for a life that is so full of wonderful things that have kept us so busy. A great kind of busy that is filled with blessings of all sort.

So what’s the latest with us? At this very moment Scott is taking a nap in his “big boy bed” for the FIRST TIME! I have literally been walking around the house for the past hour in amazement, so sure that he would be bursting out of this new, unrestricted bed at any moment. All my worrying about moving him to a new bed and new room, and here he just takes to it like it’s nothing. Maybe it won’t always be this easy, but parenthood moments like this sure surprise me a lot.

Why the new room? To make way for baby #2, of course! It’s coming up so quick that I have officially started my countdown to maternity leave (6 weeks away, if you’re wondering). Baby is due 2/28, 4 days after Seth’s bday…Seth liked the idea of possibly sharing a birthday with his son or daughter until it crossed his mind that it might mean sharing baked goods.

Another post coming soon with pictures and more updates…I think I’ll continue to wander around the house in amazement now…

 

 

Lindsey’s Baby Shower

One of my best friends is having a baby! Lindsey and I have been friends since middle school when she moved to California with her family. We’ve been through sleepovers, calling boys, figuring out “Instant Messaging,” Dr. Peppers galore, school dances…and continued our close friendship through college, marriage, living in different time zones and now BABIES! I could not be happier for my lovely friend and her hubby Mark.

As they are having a little girl, I jumped at the chance to have some pink in my life (It’s okay Scott. Just this once!). Originally the theme I had in mind was “modern safari,” but it really just evolved into a lot of pink with a few animals here and there. Such fun!

Dessert Table

Block Painting

Delicious food by Shelley

The Mom-to-Be giving hugs

Mom-to-be and Grandma-to-be

I forced Lindsey to take a "belly shot"

Molly, Lindsey and Emily

Opening gifts

Foothill ladies (plus Scott)

Sisters

Obviously Lindsey looks gorgeous…just look at that cute little baby belly. I had so much fun planning with Shelley and Michelle, and even people that don’t know Lindsey helped me out (Claudia created all the signage and Narineh received multiple dessert-related (panicked) calls and even came over for an in person lesson on swiss buttercream frosting). Thank you all, you are fabulous.

I can’t wait to meet Baby Lesar in September!

Easter in San Diego

We don’t travel much anymore. With everything we have going on, the amount of stuff we need to pack and prepare, and the added bonus of a sweet little boy who travels best at night (when he sleeps), a trip really has to be good to make us go the distance. Easter in San Diego certainly fit the bill!

We hit the road, destination La Jolla, to visit Uncle Tim, Auntie Jen, Grandma, Pop-pop and the whole Grazda clan for an Easter get together. On Easter day, Scott got to go to a new Sunday school, complete with ball pit, while Seth, Pop-pop and I enjoyed a great Easter service and beautiful worship. Everyone got together for the traditional Neiman’s (yes, everyone in this family will forever call it that) brunch in Carlsbad. Scott decided that was not the time for him to sit and eat quietly, as toddlers sometimes do, but we still had a great time seeing everyone. At least he looked quite dapper in his Easter outfit from Grandma. Oh, and we put gel in Scott’s hair, which I will be hard pressed to do again ANY time soon. Bad idea.

We were also so excited to celebrate Tim and Jen’s news that they’re having a baby girl! Scott’s first cousin…we can’t wait. Jen will decide on the BOB stroller any day now…the ultimate baby decision for a top triathlete.

Other highlights included just hanging out with Tim and Jen, checking out their new place, enjoying delicious meals and desserts by Jen, singing Stolat to Tim, and the ZOO!

Yes, Grandma was itching to take Scott to the zoo. The San Diego Zoo is huge, a lot to cover before a midday nap, but we set out early and were able to hit most of the highlights…including the gorillas and elephants. Grandma got t-shirts and stuffed animals for Scott and her granddaughter on the way, and it was apparent how much she loved being able to do so. What a great day, and a great trip.

Easter Brunch

Easter egg "hunt"

Rooftop hangout

Cruising the zoo

Checking out giraffes

Elephants..."Cool!"

So sad to leave

We did not abandon the blog

Somehow it’s the end of March 2011…can someone please explain where the past three months went?

Seth has been hard at work doing his paramedic internship, and should be done by mid April. There will definitely be a celebration at that point…this internship has been extremely challenging and stressful. The good news is that Seth will be a paramedic at the end of it all!

All that aside, we are having such a great time watching Scott grow up. He is in full toddler mode now…running all over, exploring, getting into everything. He is a very sweet little guy, always giving kisses and wanting to be in the action. We signed up for “school” for spring, which is a class through the SLO Adult school in which parents bring their tots in for a giant playdate…including play dough, songs, “washing hands” (a big highlight for some kids), snack and playing outside. Scott loves it, of course, and gets to hang out with his buddy Brennan from around the corner.

Other Scott highlights include a visit to the animals at Avila Barn, a new sandbox that Seth built for Scott, visits to the library, a LOT of time at the park, learning new words and being really really into trucks, tractors and busses. At his doc appointment this week Scott was in the 92% for height and 85% for weight…which I think is why other moms are always guessing he’s two years old.

Since we haven’t blogged in so very long, I will just include a whole bunch of recent pictures to check out…

Rat Pack Toddler (new hat from mom...I think I might be a little obsessed with baby hats)

Mom and Dad get a night out...2011 LEVEL Kickoff Party

"wawa!"

Building

A visit to Avila Barn. Scott likes to say "wheel! wheel!"

It's Dada's birthday and I'll cry if I want to.

At Farmers. Still chewing on tri tip from Firestone.

Farmers is fun!

Staring down the scary bear who keeps waving at me.

Lunch break during the sandbox build with Dada.

My sandbox! Now I just need some sand...

Wine tasting at Baileyana with Mom and Dad.

Wheee!

 

Christmas 2010

It’s January…sigh…that somewhat sluggish, gloomy time period. You don’t like the cold weather anymore because it’s not adding to your festive, Christmas mood, not to mention Christmas is over, and you’re wondering where the last year went.

Good thing you have all the memories of a wonderful Christmas to get you through. We so enjoyed visiting with family, a date in the city (Nutcracker and 54 Mint!) and just a little downtime. A big highlight was my best friend Brienne getting engaged!

Here’s some pictures from our Christmas celebrations…

A litte Christmas gathering with some of our awesome SLO friends, including the newly engaged Dan and Stephanie!!

"Family" pic in front of the tree - standard.

Excited to open presents!

Checking out his new "Polar Express" book from Mom and Dad

Loving his gift from Auntie Jen and Uncle Tim!

Sweet flannel from Grandma N and PopPop

Super excited about her new watch from Seth!!

Scott in the high chair refurbished by PopPop. Tim and Seth used this high chair!

Blocks with PopPop

Playing with Riley

Helping Grandma and PopPop open their stockings

With Gramps! Notice his hair twirling? He does that when he's going to sleep.

Scott relaxing in his new chair from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson

The amazing cheese platter Seth made for his parents.

Christmas Tree!

We had so much fun getting our Christmas tree this past week! Getting our Christmas tree is one of my most favorite Christmas traditions. We usually just pick up our noble fir at Home Depot, but this year we opted for the “experience” of getting one at Avila Valley Barn. I suppose that you are more likely to do those sorts of things when you have a little one to enjoy it. Here are a few pictures from our tree outing…

"Which tree should we get, Scott?"

"I like that one!"

Helping Dada trim the tree branches.

Thanksgiving

We were so excited to host Thanksgiving at our home again this year! Thankfully everyone was healthy and could all make it down to SLO. We were fortunate enough to have both sets of parents, Gramps and my sister Jessica for dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, glazed carrots, sweet potatoe casserole, homemade bread, apricot-cranberry sauce were all on the menu…and I can’t not mention the pumpkin and apple pies. The challenge of having one small oven was ever present, but with one year of experience under our belt (and a somewhat less demanding child this time around), everything was ready and warm at the same time. Hoohaw! Thank you to everyone that was able to be here!

"Oh Grandma I have SO many things to tell you about!"

Salute!

Scott's first pumpkin pie...he LOVED it.

Happy Birthday Scott!

Our wonderful son turned 1 this past weekend. I honestly can hardly believe how fast this year has flown by, and how much he has CHANGED! From a little goo that was swaddled up all tight, doing nothing but nursing, sleeping, crying and spitting up, he is a little person now. And a happy little person at that… full of smiles, loves to laugh and meet new people. Scott David is an amazing blessing in our lives and I so look forward to what’s to come.

We threw a party at our house for Scott, it was wonderful to have so many family and friends in attendance! A big thank you to everyone that drove a good distance to be here, and also to my extremely talented friend Narineh who made and put together the entire dessert table. We were having such a good time visiting with our guests that we didn’t do a great job taking pictures…but here’s a selection to check out.

Yes, it got crowded. Thank you rain.

Scott getting loved.

But I don't wanna take a four generations picture!

Sweet Wagon!

Weee!

Trick or Treat

The trick-or-treat gang: giraffe, dog, cowboy. And this is as good as it gets when taking a picture of 3 kids under 2.

Scott had a great time trick-or-treating! Well, technically we were just tagging along since, well, he can’t walk or say trick-or-treat or eat candy. Did that stop us?! No! We joined our friends the Augustines and the Bianchis for a short and sweet trip around the neighborhood. We really only made it to about 10 houses before the smaller ones in the caravan began to break down, but Scott loved getting the chance to hang out with Brennan (dog) and Giovanni (cowboy). I can only imagine how much more fun it will be when he can trick-or-treat for REAL.

Seth was working, so since there was no one to man the door, I left the bowl of candy on our porch. According to Seth this was a big mistake… and indeed the entire bowl of candy was gone when we got home. I felt so bad turning off our porch light and being a Halloween scrooge; I’ll have to get backup candy next year!

Avila Barn Pumpkins

I’m a total sucker for Avila Barn. It’s contrived and even a little hokey, and I love every bit of it. So, of course I had to take my baby out there for some baby in front of a pile of pumpkin pictures! Scott, Mr. Smiles, refused to give us any of his grins…but we still snapped a few good ones…and Scott enjoyed visiting the goats of course.