Sitting Up

We got McKenna a Bumbo last week and she loves to sit up in it...she is much more involved that way. But now she thinks she needs to be in the upright position all the time...her little stomach muscles are so cute when she tries to sit up from laying down, she gets her head up but nothing else. We have sat her up the past few days and let her try to balance herself, but it always ended in her flopping down. Tonight was different, however, she sat on her own! She thinks she is pretty hot stuff and gets excited about it! - Not to mention how excited her parents are at this new accomplishment. She is growing up so fast...but each day is so fun!

Memorial Day

Since my grandma could not come down to Utah and visit her parents' grave this Memorial Day, Jade and I went to clean off their grave and leave flowers. The cemetery was beautiful...it is nice to know that those people who make a difference in the lives of the living are being remembered.

Our usual warm Memorial Day weekend has been a little chilly, so McKenna had to wear a hat. She pulled it over her eyes and fell asleep on the way home.

The Serpent

Staci just got back from a study abroad in Europe and brought me back this cool piece of jewelry called "The Serpent." It is a long strand of little metal pieces that can be fashioned into many different styles. I am just getting the hang of it, but I love it so far. My favorite way to wear it is as a bracelet.

Spit Up

McKenna was playing with her new baby gym and started to cry. She was very persistent in her crying so we flipped her over and found her face covered in spit up! Being the nice parents we are, we waited to wipe her face off until we got a picture...she acted like we were torturing her. Ever since McKenna has started teething she spits up all the time... I don't know how parents deal with it when they have a real spitter...I am already hoping this phase will end soon!

McKenna's Friend

Kalle and Aaron came over to our house yesterday and the girls were so cute with each other. Maya is crawling all over the place like a pro, so we put McKenna in her seat and soon they were talking to each other...and McKenna was trying to take Maya's nose off...and Maya was trying to take McKenna's bow off. They were so cute with each other!!! Thanks for coming over Kalle and Aaron.

Relaxing

Sometimes when I get home from picking McKenna up at my sister in laws, I place McKenna in the sink while I go to the bathroom - this is when I have to go rather urgently....like you wanted to know that! I took a picture of her the other day because she thinks it is so fun to relax in the sink. As soon as I put her in the sink she lays herself down and puts her legs up!!

Blonde Star

I really hope this is just a joke, but it is funny to think about. I may have my blonde moments but this one tops anything I have ever done - - - I think.

First Tooth

Today, McKenna was chewing on my finger and I felt a little prick. I investigated further and she has a small tooth in the bottom of her mouth. Who, knew? She wasn't fussy or anything. Jade and I are so lucky to have such a fantastic child - I am writing this down now so that I can get through the times when she does decide to be hard and defiant...I know they are coming. These other pictures are of us trying to get a picture of the tiny tooth!

Chunky Legs

My daughter has the cutest chunky legs!!! Now that the weather has decided to stay semi-nice we have been able to dress McKenna in skirts and shorts!
She is so happy in the morning! She giggles when I come to get her in the morning...I guess she will be a morning person.
The ruffles were too adorable not to take a picture of them!
Having kids is so much fun!!!

Miley, the Horse Dog

We just need to get a doogie saddle and many more doggie treats!!!

Mom Test

My mom sent me this story in an email...enjoy! And Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.
'Why?' my daughter asked.
'Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs,' I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, 'Momma, how do you know all this stuff, you are so smart.'
I was thinking quickly. 'All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mom Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mom.'
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.
'OH...I get it!' she beamed, 'So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad.'
'Exactly,' I replied back with a big smile on my face.

Rolling

Today we started video taping McKenna rolling because she will do it kind of fast now. While we were video taping her after a roll, this happened! As you can hear, we were very excited! Now we can't stop her.

Charla's Master's Graduation

I was able to walk on Saturday, May 3rd in Cedar City at Southern Utah University. It was really fun to go and be around all those other people that I went to classes with. My parents met us there and stayed with us for the weekend - thanks mom and dad and Ashley! The hooding ceremony was really neat...we walked across the stage and they put our hood on us! Totally worth the drive to Cedar City! So now that I am done with my Master's, it is Jade's turn!!!

Statistics

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Wow! But I don't know about this information because my book orders from school were getting mixed up with a supposed "Charla Andersen" school teacher from Texas...maybe someone was trying to steal my Scholastic book club number!
There are 9,120 other people that have the name "Charla". I didn't expect that. There are 36,482 people with the last name "Andersen." Unique first name, common last name!
I did this for Jade and it said that 12,161 people have the name "Jade". The poor guy got a girl name though, 99.9% of all people named "Jade" are girls.

The Ear Pulling Has Begun

McKenna has finally come to the point where she is curious about Miley. She stares at Miley and laughs when she runs up and down the stairs. The other day McKenna got ahold of Miley's ear, and she has a good grasp - I have experienced it with the hair pulling! We watched closely to make sure that Miley wouldn't do anything. Our good little dog just turned her head and looked at us like, "Are you going to let her do this?" When she realized we were, she resigned to the fact that her fur and face are going to be pulled on all the time now!