Jasper speaks

Me: So, Jasper, did you like swimming today?
Boy: Yeah mama, me like blue water.
Me: You liked the blue water?
Boy: Yeah. Blue water my fav-rite water me evah seen ... whole world ... yeah.
Boy: Me like outah space too. Blue.


and Josie, on Christmas, repeatedly throughout the day says:

"I'm Happy."

and also is quite pleased that she asked Santa Claus for 'whatever else he'd like to bring' her, since she was so pleased with her haul.

Christmas lights

We've been driving around taking in the neighborhood displays on a regular basis for the past few weeks. I remember that over Josie's second Christmas season we would drive around and she would sing "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells..........way" as we drove. When she saw one she liked she was enraptured, then would chant "mo wights! mo wights!" until we found the next. Her third Christmas brought an infant Jasper for our rides and she would have a more discerning opinion, labeling each as either "colorful" or "tasteful" in the Anderson family tradition. This year Josie and Jasper clearly prefer the more ostentatious displays with multiple strings of variously colored, preferably flashing large colored bulbs, plastic effigies of Santa, reindeer, or snowpeople, projection nativities, etc. Needless to say our little white-lit pine garland isn't to their liking. Really though, Jasper prefers the "boo wights!"

favorite book: Jingle Bells by Veronika Vasylenko and Olivia's Christmas by Ian Falconer
on the cd player: track 8 (a.k.a. 'woo--woo-woo-charlie-brown-kismas-song-woo-woo-woo-right mama?) Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi
catchphrases: Josie - ginormous! Jasper - wight mama? uh-huh. Adelaide - delighted squeal!

oh, and it's just started to snow as Jasper and I eat our Mackyroni and Cheese.

Adelaide smiled today!

So you've decided to check on our blog to see if there might be a new post. Sure, it seems like we we only post every six months or so (gulp!), but there might be something. Then you see this and wonder "who is this Adelaide, and where does she fit into the family sandwich?!?" Well, the last six or seven months feel pretty lost to me since we found out (three months along) that we were expecting another little gherkin. A surprise to us all, and it took me a solid six months to get over the initial shock. Thus, I'm so pleased to announce the birth of Miss Adelaide Jane Anderson, born October 27 at 1:36 pm. She was 19 inches, 8 lbs 14 oz, much bigger now! She gave me a big smile today after trying to work things out between mouth and brain yesterday. Everyone here's a big fan of the little dear, and even 5 1/2 weeks later Josie and Jasper can rarely be dissuaded from waking her up from a little nap to play with her/hold her on their lap/make her cry. She seems to be a very calm baby, generally not fussy except in the evening, and a stellar sleeper. If some of that sleep could move into the middle of the night it would be nice, but I really can't complain! She's also got a very strong neck and torso like her siblings did. At just five weeks she can easily lift her head and shoulders while lying on her belly, then roll onto her side from there.
Here's a requisite photo (not her best, but what can you do?):


So it doesn't look like I'm playing favorites, here's one of my favorite little boy too:


As for Josie and Jasper, there's just so much to say. I'll have to make another post just about them. Truly, it's amazing just how much they've grown lately (mostly in the 48 hours that I was at the hospital--Jasper felt much bigger and Josie so much taller!). Josie's taught herself to read, Jasper's nearly potty trained himself...there are Halloween pictures to post, a trip to feed the giraffes at the zoo (we saw walla-beeeees too!). You'll have to hear about what Jasper's afraid of (scuba divers, peacocks, and planetariums), Josie's love of her best friend, Carter, and I have to tell you about Jasper's surgery.

Yeah, uh-huh. Right Mama?