Aidan's Birthday present!

Aidan got this trampoline from his Grandma Hutchens for his birthday and he loves it. It is so much better than jumping on his little toddler bed. I was worried he would break it before Ethan was able to use it as a crib!


Aidan on his trampoline! from jaclyn on Vimeo.

Ethan is a little PORKER!

Ethan loves food! The other day Ethan was literally screaming at me when Aidan and I were eating french toast! He wanted some so bad, so I caved and fed him some. No joke he closed his eyes while he chewed his food and then proceeded to scream at me for another bite! He looked like he was savoring every bite. He ate about half of my french toast when I just had to stop. He WILL NOT eat his Gerber food anymore. He HATES it! He spats it everywhere. So now I just have to feed him everything we eat and mind you he only has two itty bitty teeth on the bottom! What else am I supposed to do. It kind of worries me because baby's aren't supposed to have any dairy before a year old not to mention other things and I feel like I have no choice. I even tried salt and peppering his Gerber chicken dinner one time because that stuff is so bland and he didn't buy it for one second! He has gotten to the point where you just have to say "that's enough" otherwise he will eat and eat and eat! He is now in the same size diapers as Aidan and is only about 4 lbs lighter then him! Here are some pictures from January when he used to eat his Gerber food!

New Year's Eve

Every New Years Eve since Ben and I were married has always been very low key. I kind of like it like that. It's easier too when you have little ones. This year after the clock struck midnight, we sat in our living room and all participated in a little "OT" (outrageous toasts). A little tradition Ben and his friends started back in the day. You toast or anti-toast to things that happened during that year and you drink some sparkling apple cider to every toast. Eventually everyone has drank a whole bottle of Martinelli! It's not the best feeling in the world but lots of fun!

Aidan's 2nd and Carmen's 11th Birthday!

Aidan was born on his Aunt Carmen's 9th bday, the 27th of December. Since we were in Vegas for his birthday we waited until we got back to celebrate it. We all went out to dinner first and then came home to have cake and open up presents. As much as I kind of hate that his birthday is so close to Christmas it's always so nice to be able to spend it with family!

On another note...Aidan had his 2 year check up earlier in the month of December and here are his stats:
weight: 25 lbs.--21%
length: 34.5 in.--64%
head cir.: 19 in.--42%

Aidan is not really your typical two year old I would say. For the most part he is really good. :) I do have some of those temper tantrum days but he does listen most of the time and can be very helpful. He is really mild. I am really glad that I haven't had to deal with him hitting or biting yet which I hope never comes. He likes to shoot people with his hand though which is better than the above. He can be rough with Ethan but more obnoxious to him than anything. Aidan loves his movies which are pretty much almost all the Pixar movies! First it was Finding Nemo, then Monsters Inc., then it was Cars. Now its Wall-E and Ratatouille. He will watch those movies over and over. He absolutely loves them. I love the way he pronounces them too. His speech is coming along. He says two to three word sentences which is normal for his age. He's not much of an eater as you can see but he loves his "hoot naks" (fruit snacks), hot dogs and his apple juice! I try not to be too picky with what he eats because he himself is so picky. We love him and enjoy seeing him grow up and reach these milestones!

Jillian Anderson's Wedding!

Well like you know we were in Reno for Christmas but Jill decided to get married on the 27th of December. Kathy, my mother-in-law, was so kind to buy us round trip tickets to Las Vegas for the wedding. We were supposed to leave early on the 26th so that we could make it in time for the family dinner. Well to our dismay when we arrived at the Reno airport we found out our plane was delayed at LEAST 3 hours. It wasn't because of weather in Reno but because of Chicago's weather. We eventually made it to Vegas but missed the dinner for the most part. We arrived just as everyone was finishing up their meals! At least we didn't miss the wedding though. It was a beautiful wedding and the reception was great as it always is in the Anderson family! Thanks Kathy and Belmont for all the hard work that was done! We love you!

Christmas at the Hutchens Home!

After 3 years of not being able to spend Christmas with my family the time finally arrived and we were able to go to Reno! I was so happy to be able to go home and spend Christmas with everyone. It had been about 5 years before the whole family had been together at Christmas time. Ben was able to get two weeks off of work to spend in Reno. We had such an enjoyable time! Of course the time flew by but we loved every minute of it. On Christmas Eve my uncle Glen, who is mentally handicap, dressed up as Santa and the boys loved him! On Christmas Day we woke up to a huge snow storm and within a couple of hours the ground was covered and we got a "White Christmas!" Thanks mom and dad for a WONDERFUL Christmas to always remember! Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

MIA for....3 months!

Yeah I am real sorry about that. I did think about giving up on it for awhile there but don't worry I decided to come back. I have been so busy and it doesn't help that my computer is super slow so it really doesn't make me want to even get on the dang thing! Where do I even start...I guess where I left off last. We went to Reno for Christmas for two weeks, came home for about a week and then I went back to Reno while Ben was in California for 4 weeks. Right when I got there, I got sick along with Aidan and Ethan. Ethan also got pink eye, he eventually gave it to Aidan who eventually gave it to me! This illness of ours lasted for about a week and a half. Came back home after a month of being in Reno, was only home for a few days only to have Aidan get sick with vomiting and diarrhea. Honestly I have never been thrown up on so many times before! It's the worst when they are that little and don't understand the concept of using a bucket or let alone the toilet! Luckily it didn't last too long because then I left to my aunt and uncles house to watch their 5 kids for a week and a half. That actually went better than expected and everyone had a lot of fun! It was fun to see what it would be like to take care of 7 kids ages 16 to 8 months. It really did make me look forward to that time of my life. Sadly enough and not to my surprise Aidan got croup really bad while we were there. Honestly I feel like Aidan has been sick so much this year and we are only in March! That is the second time he has gotten croup. It came on so suddenly that it really scared me. That croup turned into a really bad viral infection which eventually gave him two ear infections. And for those of you who have at least two kids know that when one gets sick the other one usually follows. Ethan is now sick with the same viral infection. I feel so bad because when they are that little there is nothing you can do for them. He has lost his voice so when he crys you can't hardly hear him. Seriously it has been a whirlwind around here. Things are finally settling down except for Ben who goes to work before anyone gets up and gets home after the boys are already in bed! These are sad days for us but at least we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Busy season will be over at the end of May. I will be traveling back out to Reno in two weeks for about a week to celebrate my uncles 50th birthday. Then things will really be back to normal. Don't worry I will work on updating you with lots of pictures tomorrow! Until then...good night!

Ward Christmas Party

Ben and I actually missed our ward Christmas party because Ben's work party was that same night. Fortunately for us we have some good friends who watched Aidan and Ethan and took them to the party to see Santa. Jenn said Aidan was being a little shy but didn't try to get off Santa's lap which is way better than last year! Ethan just sat there and didn't fuss either. Thanks Troy and Jenn for watching the boys for us!

Lights at Temple Square

Last night for FHE we decided to meet Ben downtown at Temple Square and walk around to see all the Christmas lights. It was amazing to see how much effort they put into putting up those lights! Every little branch on a tree right up to the very tip is wrapped in lights. It is just beautiful! Aidan loved it all, especially being able to see "mommy mary" as he calls her! We even got free hot dogs and drinks at the Energy Solutions Arena.

The Annual Anderson Christmas Party

This year we had the party up in Layton at Aunt Laurie's house. It was so much fun! There was TONS of great food all prepared by Laurie, all the little kids dressed up and acted out the nativity scene except for Aidan as you can see in the pictures, and Santa even let his elves drop off some early presents for EVERYONE! The boys of course, like last year, had their Nerf gun fight which they all enjoyed immensely! Thanks Aunt Laurie and Unlce Allen for opening up your home to all of us and for all the work that was put into an amazing Christmas party!