Am I a 10, or what?

I'll admit it, I was being a bad mom yesterday morning. I was putting on my make-up and got really in to The View. I failed to notice Anders run up and snag my mascara. I'm usually quick to react when he does that. In my defense, he had his back to me the whole time. It was really hard to get mad at him because it was so hilarious! I thought it was so funny that he knew exactly where mascara goes. There is just that little cluster of perfect little dots around one eye. It was amazing he didn't get any in his eye. It was even all over his eyelids.We stood him in front of the mirror and he thought it was hilarious too. What did I learn from this?

1. Anders knows how to unscrew caps (my worst nightmare).

2. I need to do my make-up in private. He's way too interested in it.

3. Never buy waterproof mascara!

Danger's NOT his middle name!

We had a FABULOUS day at the gym today! I've been bragging to my mom about the MAJOR progress I am seeing in Anders since I've been taking him there. We've been a total of 4 times and he is already hooked. All day, everyday, he is pulling us to the door saying, "I pay balls." We can't even say the word, "play" in the house anymore because he thinks we're telling him we're going to play balls! I was able to sneak a camera in today (my RAD new cell phone) and snuck some pictures. Like I said before, I didn't want anyone to see me taking pictures because I didn't want them to think I was a rookie. However, I did see another mom sneak a picture on her cell phone too! I am just so proud of my boy! If only I could videotape his progress from his first day to now. He's an extremely cautious child. If it's not something he's done before, he refuses to play any part of it. Some people think that if he watches someone else do it first, it will help. Oh no, that makes it worse because he now sees how terrifying it must be (hmm...who does that sound like, Carly?) Basically, our first day consisted of me dragging Anders to different things and him saying, "no no no." Here are some pictures of what he did today!

This is Anders on the uneven bars. Don't be alarmed, his feet are only about 2 inches off the padding. You wouldn't be able to tell that by the terrified look on his face. The first day of the gym, he wouldn't hang on. Today, he wanted to do it over and over again. Isn't he such a risk-taker?

These pictures are the ones that make me so proud. Up until today, I had to stand right next to him, holding his hand so that he would walk up and down this ramp. Eventually, he was cool with just holding my pinkie, and then it was me holding the back of his shirt. Finally, yesterday, he shrugged me off when I tried to help him walk down. However, he still needed my support walking back up. Today, he shrugged me off completely and is now completely independently walking up and down the ramp. As you can see, he is so proud of himself and watches himself the entire time in the mirror (does this sound like anyone, Kenny?). I tried so hard to get a picture of my favorite part. When he made it all the way to the top, he'd turn around, wave, and say, "hi mom!"

Here's the ball pit that I can't get him away from...ever. The first day, he was really nervous when I stuck him in there. He was stiff as a board and did not move a muscle. He would say, "no no no, out." Well, these pictures are of him jumping in all by himself and letting me cover him with balls. Anyone who knows Anders, knows that covering him with balls would normally be completely out of the question. Now you can see why I'm so proud of my boy. He's overcoming so many challenges already and is so proud of himself. He still has a long way to go to be able to keep up with RyRy when he gets home. Don't you worry RyRy, we're building you a daring, crazy, risk-taking buddy to play with!

Happy Fathers Day to...me?

I wanted to post this amazing opportunity I had this weekend. For months, my grandpa has been wanting me to get up a time to get together so he can teach me how to make two very special recipes for our family. The first one was my grandpa's VERY famous lasagna. My grandpa is a fantastic cook and just about anything he makes is fabulous, but his lasagna is to die for! I'm not going to share this recipe because it's very special to our family. Okay...if someone begged me, maybe I would. I've just never had lasagna that I actually like, except his! He also wanted to teach me how to make his mom's homemade bread. Yes, these are pictures of me making bread from scratch. I love to cook, but I hate to bake. Afterward, we gathered the whole family together to sample my first attempt at my grandpa's fame. Success! It takes exactly the same! Now, all I need to do is practice. I can't put in to words how much this occasion meant to me. I cherish every moment I have with my grandpa and am so excited he trusts ME with his pride and joy. We spent 4 hours, slaving in a hot kitchen and Anders just played with toys and had a blast. What a very special Father's Day weekend it was. Lots happened, but nothing topped this moment. I love you Grandpa!

2 Cute 2 Be 4 Gotten

I wasn't going to post again so soon, but I just wanted to share the cutest things that Anders said today! I don't know what it was, but he was on a roll!
-I took him to Ikea (our favorite store) and we were walking by the kid's beds. He stopped when we got to the toddler beds and wanted to get in. He even got up all by himself! I helped him get between the covers. He immediately said "Eeee," which means binkie. I just laughed and told him we weren't really going to bed. He looked over at the crib next to him and said, "baby nigh night" and then patted the toddler bed and said, "A-you bed" (A-you is how he says Anders). It made me so happy to hear him trying so hard to communicate to me. Does this mean we need to start considering switching him from his crib to a toddler bed? I just don't know if I'm ready...Anders sure is!
-This morning, I was giving him a cup of fruit, but I was trying to feed it to him so I didn't have to put him in the highchair. He, of course, was not having that and starting to through a fit because he wanted to do it himself. I finally gave in and gave him the spoon and he said, "Dank ooo Mom!" I was shocked. He says thank you and he says mom, but never together. He said it several times the rest of the day.
I absolutely LOVE the stage Anders is in. At times, it can be difficult (like when he poured his whole cup of sprite in his lap in the car today). However, these cute things that he does totally make up for it. I'm afraid Christian is even more whooped than I am! It's only a matter of time that Anders will figure this out.

Information Overload

So, I have to take a second to brag. This last month has been one of the toughest months of my life. We have been struggling since about March to open our new stores in the Newgate Mall and the Fashion Place Mall. I had no idea how big of a deal it was going to be! The owners all moved away for the summer to do their summer sales and I foolishly thought I could do it all on my own. Words cannot describe the unbelievable stress this has caused. I never thought I would see the end of this long process. Finally, (after working constantly for 2 months straight) I was able to see my completed project. Our stores are now all open and doing really well. I have such a feeling of accomplishment that I never thought I'd feel. My biggest fear was failure, and I came close a couple of times. I had many break-downs and paniced phonecalls to my brother and he totally kept me grounded. He never seemed quite as paniced as I was...thank goodness. Christian has been such a support to me throughout my "craziness." He became a single parent for a lot of the time. I also had to send Anders to Grandma and Grandpa Larsen's house for a couple of days while I opened one of the stores. It killed me. Anders had a great time though! I just kept promising Anders that when it is all over, it will just be me and him. So, this is my effort (Day 1) of just me and the boy! I enrolled Anders in this fantastic gym called My Gym. We went today for the first time and Anders had a blast! Of course, what would any workout at the gym be without a donut stop first?? I'm pretty sure it was Anders' first donut. He was in heaven. It will be so much fun to take him throughout the weeks. It's a structured toddler class, so we sang songs, danced, played, and learned new activities. I would recommend it to any parents looking for something active to do with your kids. It really isn't that pricey. I heard they're actually building one in Layton! I wanted to take pictures of Anders actually playing, but I was a little embarassed. All the other moms seemed so routine. I didn't want to be the rookie.

Memorial Day

This proves how behind I am in my personal life. These are our pictures from Memorial Day.

Fun in Fairview

Okay, so I am ashamed to admit that this actually happened about three weeks ago! Every year at about this same time, Christian's mom puts together a piano recital with all of her students. We try to go every year to show our support to our favorite piano teacher. I actually like to go because it takes me back to my piano days. I got so nervous for my recitals and I love watching these kids go through the same thing. It's also so fun to watch the proud parents who were also so relieved that they didn't have to hear the same song over and over again! We are so proud of Grandma Larsen for her dedication to her students.
Anders also got to spend some time with his cousin, Braxton in Fairview because Grandma and Grandpa were babysitting him. We got to experience our first Fairview Elementary Dance Review together. Anders absolutely LOVED it! Can't wait until next year!