Results tagged “Kyle” from The Path to Lost End

One of the nice things about living in San Antonio, is that even in October, the weather is pretty nice. Kyle's birthday is on October 13 and to celebrate, we had an adventure at the zoo. Kylie had a blast -- a place where she can shriek and run around and no one objects! A child's paradise.

We did have a bit of a scare where it appeared that Kyle had lost his wallet (nothing like the thought of replacing all your credit cards to put a damper on the day!) but all turned out well when we found in in the parking lot by the car's trunk. So we went back into the zoo, only to run into the Spencers! So Kylie and Tara got to have fun together and, all in all, the day was a success. Go Mommy for organizing everything!

(And here's a thank-you to Nana for watching Kylie and Sammy later that night when Kyle and I went out to eat at the Melting Pot Considering that my children do not like sleeping, it was a more arduous task than she expected. But what do you expect from a family of vampires?)

It was a wonderful day. Sorry it took me two months to blog about it!

So I was going through my computer the other day (always a scary thing) and I found all these old pictures that I'd scanned in once upon a time. So I thought I'd share. Hopefully my siblings won't kill me <grin>

So again, on the Weekend of Birthdays. After Jackie's birthday on Friday, Taylor had his eighth birthday on Saturday! We celebrated at Peter Piper Pizza (A little older version of Chuckee Cheese, with lots of arcade games that you play with tokens and win with tickets that can be traded in for dollar-store prizes.) Kylie's a little young for the games -- I think mostly she liked wandering around and just looking at all the people there.

About two weeks ago, we had a weekend of Birthdays. First off was Jackie, who is Kylie's Aunt's Sister-In-Law's Daughter (Say that five times fast.) Jackie was turning... I think it was six? Anyways, we were invited to the Birthday Party at Jackie's house which has (drumroll, please) a gorgeous swimming pool! Kylie, it turns out, is part fish, and she had an absolute blast. Her only frustration was that her Daddy insisted on holding her and wouldn't let her drown herself. Poor baby <grin>.

Forrest Samuel was born on July 8 at 12:37 PM and was promptly christened by his father as "The Funky Raisin". He weighed 7 lb 1 oz, and was 19.25 inches in length. And yes, I know it's been three plus weeks since he was born, but life with a newborn AND a toddler is a little chaotic. But everyone's doing fine, Sammy's growing big and strong, and I'm mostly recovered from my c-section. And at last, here are some pictures.

Food makes me paranoid.

Especially since I have a toddler (and, as an aside, before Kylie I really didn't realize why the phrase "toddler" is so appropriate, but seeing her lurch from side to side like a sailor on a drunken bender, it's all become clear. But I digress...) food has become my nemesis. Not only am I paranoid about what's appropriate to feed her and how much and such, she also has become an incredibly picky eater over the last few months and has decided she'd like to subsist on a diet of milk and occasional apple juice if she's in the mood and I put it into a bottle.

This can be very discouraging.

Part of the problem is that I've always had anxiety about cooking in general. I don't enjoy it. Or, more accurately, I don't enjoy the time it takes. I have all the attention span of a caffeinated-squirrel and I have a bad habit of picking up a book while I'm waiting for a pot to come to a boil, only to realize a chapter later that my stove is on fire. This is not a good thing.

Also, it can be very stressful trying to cook for someone else (i.e. a husband). Because while I might be willing to try something new or even eat something that I've ruined, he might not be in the same mood. And then there's the "I've just got home from work and am tired and don't want to think about food" mood and the "I've just spend all day with a frenetic toddler and don't want to think about food" mood and... well, you get the idea.

I'd like to be a good cook, I really would. I think the first thing I need to do is to change my attitude -- telling myself I will always be a bad cook is probably a self-fulfilling prophecy. And I really want my family to be eating healthily (see this frightening series about childhood obesity in the Washington Post if you'd like some more anxiety in your day) and then there's the frugal nature of eating in, which I've also been thinking about lately. So, conquering my fear is a necessity.

Any suggestions?

Our last night in Disneyland, we went back to the park and watched the Parade. It was wonderful and fun -- especially watching Kylie's face. We were sitting right in front of the train station on Main Street, and while we were waiting for the Parade to start, Kyle took the opportunity to introduce Kylie to churros -- something he'd been planning to do ever since he found out we were going to Disneyland. (Churros at Disneyland are a tradition in his family.) Based on how quickly she sucked at it and how messy she got, I'd say it was a success. <grin>

It was an amazing trip and we can't wait to do it again!

So after Bugs Life Land (or whatever it's actually called), we mosied on over to the Boardwalk area to ride the Ferris Wheel. Why? Because it's a tradition. Even though the Ferris Wheel makes me want to curl up in a little ball and die, part of me loves the idea of the Ferris Wheel and keeps thinking 'This time it will be different.'

Yes, I'm delusional, I know.

Anyways, after we survived the Ferris Wheel, we went back over to Disneyland and went to lunch at the Blue Bayou (another K.Anderson Family Tradition). We had a little bit of time before our reservations, so we sat down in New Orleans Square, fed Kylie, and people watched. It was perfect.

We strolled over to California land for a while that first day, and paused at the letters right outside the gate for a photo opportunity. Kylie (perhaps unfortunately) has no fear of heights, so her Dad thought this would be a fun photo op.

At the end of February, Kyle, Kylie and I visited Disneyland with the rest of my family. Since Daniel, my brother, had just returned home from his mission, it was the first time in three and a half years that my whole family had been together (It's three and a half years, because my sister Margaret went on a mission, and then Daniel left about a month before Margaret got back. So there was an overlap.)

It's the nature of life to have a few snags going on somewhere, and I have to admit this trip was full of them. I lost my cell phone on the plane during the very first leg of our trip; several members of the family were sick; and pregnancy meant I was tired a lot and unable to go on some of my favorite rides. But we had a grand old time anyways. Kylie's a little young for Disneyland, but she loved the spectacles and rides, even if she didn't understand the significance of anything.

If nothing else, Kyle had fun playing with his camera, as the 220 pictures he took testify (and that's not counting the ones that were deleted right after shooting for various reasons.) Luckily, I promise not to inflict the full amount on you -- only my favorites. Which should still keep me busy for the next few entries. <grin>

Last Saturday, Kyle and I went to a Halloween part at our new ward. (They recently reorganized the wards in our local stake, and so we're in a brand new ward in a brand new building. It's very pretty.) Kyle and I dressed up like Harry and Ginny Potter and actually tied for coolest costumes with the family that all dressed up as punk-rockers. Personally, I think they were cooler, but I'm flattered nontheless.

We put Kylie in her Halloween outfit, partly because we want to make sure to get some good wear out of it , and partly because she just looks so darn cute!

We also were pulled aside by a member of the Bishopric and given a new calling. We're three for three! Kyle and I have been in three wards since we've been married, and we've called to be primary teachers in each ward! We must have "Can Deal With Kids" in our aura or something. This time we'll be with CTR 5 which is the 4 to 5 year olds. An "I'm Thankful for Blank" lesson, prayers, crayons, and some candy, and we should be good to go! <laugh>

And for inquiring minds who want to know... Yes, Kyle took a picture of Kylie and me and no, I'm not going to post it because yes, it's butt-ugly and yes, being in charge of posting pictures means I get to be unfair like that. Heh. <grin>

When Kylie was born, she had almost no hair except for this very dark, long, tail at the back, just above her neck, like a minature mullet-in-the-making. Then, as her hair began to grow out, she would get these incredible long strands on the very top, twice as long as everything else, that would wave in the wind. I was always thinking they were loose hairs from me and yanking at them and cause poor Kylie to cry out in protest. So, last Saturday, her Daddy gave Kylie her very first haircut and now everything is much more uniform. <grin> Afterwords, Kylie and Mommy read their before-bedtime-book, "Good Night Moon". I'm not sure that Kylie really understands what I'm holding in front of her, but I think she likes the rocking if nothing else. <grin>

One of my late-night hobbies is playing around with Adobe Photoshop. I like to find tutorials to play around with and see how the effects come out on my own photos. So here are some examples.

We blessed Kylie last Sunday (June 8, 2007) and everything went wonderful. We had in the circle Kyle, Travis (Kyle's brother), my Dad, Jason (Kyle's brother-in-law), Grandpa Anderson, Gary (Kyle's uncle), and Justin (Jason's brother -- which makes him Kylie's uncle's brother). Little Tara (Erin and Jason's new daughter who's six weeks and one day younger than Kylie) was also blessed.

Kylie went with my Mom during Sunday School and had her first ever bottle of formula. She seemed to do fine with it, but when she spit-up it stained more than usual <sigh>. I wish we could have learned that lesson when she was NOT wearing her pretty blessing dress. Luckily for me, my amazing mother-in-law came over after church and got out the stain. So all is well that rinses well, or something like that. <grin>