Sorry Bachelor Fans!

I now have to confess that I am a "fan" of the reality show The Bachelor. I really don't like to admit this because I really can be doing something better than spending 2 hours on a Monday night watching some guy try to find his wife. It started the very first episode when I was folding laundry and just needed some type of noise to distract me. Instead of turning on the radio I turned on the tv and started watching the first episode. Before I knew it Brad was sitting there watching it too. We rarely watch tv so I was surprised that Brad joined me. After laundry was finished I decided we should turn it off, but Brad insisted that we continue to watch it. It would be a date. Well, we are a little hooked now, especially since we have friends, who are friends of friends of Jason's...or something like that. In one of the early episodes Jason took Stephanie to Lego Land. He gave her a rose but did not give her a real rose and instead gave her a Lego rose. For my birthday Brad searched and searched to find a Lego rose and had no success. He was ambitious and last night went with Brody to the Lego store where he created this beautiful rose and vase. Sorry Bachelor fans....this Bachelor is taken!

Jeep Rides

Sometimes it is hard to tell who is having more fun in our house, Brody, mommy or daddy. One of Brad's favorite things to do is to take Brody in his jeep. Even if it's a process to move Brody's car seat Brad will do it. When we arrived back at the airport from our trip to Colorado we had to take both cars. Since Brad had his jeep he wanted Brody to ride home with him. It was past midnight and I was sure Brody was going to fall right back asleep. He didn't. Instead he stayed awake and listened to his favorite jeep music Santana. If you ask Brody what he likes to listen to he will tell you "Santana" and what song he likes he responds with "oye como va". As the mom it really melts my heart to watch Brody get so excited and to see Brad truly enjoy his son.

These are pictures of one of the first jeep rides when Brody was 16 months. In one of the pictures you can see Brody signing more, more, more.

Exersaucer & Rolling Over

Colt has had a lot of action these past few days. Brad took the exersaucer out of storage. We dusted it off and wiped it down and put Colt in it. He LOVES it and I think I LOVE it more. It's a great place to put him while I am playing with or cleaning up after Brody. It's nice to know he is being entertained. Colt also rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time (2 days ago). He hasn't really done it since but he's definitely continuing to work on it.

George's 4th Birthday

We had the privilege and opportunity to travel out to Denver to celebrate our cousin George's 4th birthday. ("We" refers to mom, Brody & Colt. Brad was on a business trip and then had to work an extra long weekend....and we are truly thankful for the hard work he does.) Papa Bob, Grandma Shari, Aunt Jessie, and Gunner joined us for our flight. It was nice to have an extra hand to help out with our 20 minute security check. We had nothing wrong with us, it just took us that long to get everything unloaded and shoes off and to walk through the security gate with 4 adults and 3 kids. Thankfully we made it and survived the plane ride with only a five minute time span when both Brody & Colt were having meltdowns. Colt was getting tired and Brody was VERY tired.

Our week was filled with playing and hanging out. Brody loved playing with his cousins and was very generous with all of his hugs. Most of the time his cousins would hug him back and if they didn't Brody kept on hugging them. The highlight of the week was George's Thomas the Train birthday party. Aunt Jenny did a wonderful job creating games and ensuring that everyone at the party was having a fun time.

We were sad to leave and are more excited to see our cousins again....hopefully sooner rather than later.

Bathtime with the boys!

Many people have said that having babies close in age is fun when they are older because they play together so well. We are starting to see the truth of this in so many little ways. Brody will often say "Come here Coltie, Come here." And Colt will just watch Brody with such wonder and smile and laugh at everything Brody does. Now that Colt is getting bigger we have been putting him in the bathtub with Brody. Brody is definitely a little curious about every single part of Colt's body, but really enjoys pouring water over Colt's feet. Colt is never phased by Brody's water pouring but just loves to watch Brody play. We do have a few pictures of both boys that are inappropriate for this family website.

Christmas Part 2 & 3

This has certainly been a very extended Christmas holiday, but we won't complain because we are thankful we can continue to celebrate Jesus' birthday. We traveled down to Papa Bob & Grandma Shari's for New Year's Day to celebrate Christmas. We had a wonderful time hanging out but are always disappointed when the entire family is not there. We did get to see our snowboarding Uncle Jason and Brody always loves that. One of the highlights of the day was Brad's introduction to Rock Band. He left wanting another Christmas gift, but instead we have Rock Band on loan to "try it out." Two days after that we went to Uncle Roy & Aunt Vicki's (that's Papa Bob's brother) to celebrate with the Andresen clan. We always have a fun time! An Andresen christmas is not complete without singing Christmas songs, enjoying each other's company and participating in a white elephant gift exchange. Without Jenny there the gift exchange remained pretty calm. :) This year's Christmas songs included Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin' to town, Joy to the World, and of course The 12 days of Christmas. And a special treat for this year was the accompaniment of Brody playing his tambourine. It was truly a wonderful Christmas. I can only wonder how magical the very first CHRISTmas was.

Colt's Follow Up Appointment

We went back into the doctor to follow up on Colt's 4 month check up. He is now up to 12 lbs. 8 oz. While he isn't topping the charts it is at least more than what he was last time. His ears were also clear which is always a good thing. Although the doctor did warn me that babies who develop ear infections before 6 months tend to get them a little more often. We will just have to teach Colt how to tell us he has an ear infection. He continues to be a happy little boy.