I Can't Draw... And Other Randomness

I think that Weston has learned that Daddy can draw things that look like what they are. The problem is that he seems to think that, naturally, Mommy must be able to, too. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I CANNOT DRAW.

Case in point: one day, Weston and I were looking at a picture book of deserts. Then, we started drawing, and he drew a squiggly line that he said was the desert. Then he asked me to draw a picture of the Cave of Wonders (from Aladdin) next to his desert. For your information, this is what the Cave of Wonders looks like:
So, I made my absolute, 100% best effort to reproduce the Cave of Wonders next to his desert drawing:

Yeah. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. I showed it to Tim later, and he said that it looked more like a cat-luchador (thanks, hon). Being the loving, supportive fellow that he is, he even fleshed it out for me a little better:

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In other news, Tulsa got LOTS of snow this week:

Fortunately, a tasty, tasty surprise from Grandma helped dispel the cabin fever (thanks to daMawma!!!):

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Here's that 25-week belly (we're gettin' good and fat over here!):

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And finally... this is how we found Weston, asleep, one night around midnight:

(We had to shove him inch by inch towards the wall as we attempted to open the door. Finally I managed to squeeze into his room to take a picture!)

Double Threat?

Look out, Hollywood.

He dances (to Vanilla Ice's "Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go," no less):


...and he sings (to Mommy on the phone):


(If you only have time to watch one video, I suggest the second. It's pretty great... and it took me way longer.) :-)

Let Us Compare, Shall We?

I remember wondering a couple weeks before our Pennsylvania trip if I should pack regular clothes or maternity clothes. Haha!! There was NO doubt that I needed maternity clothes by the time we were actually leaving. How did I pop so suddenly?? I don't remember it being so sudden with pregnancy #1. Maybe one morning I ate a whole, intact honeydew and just forgot.

So, on that note... let us compare!! I arbitrarily started taking pregnant-belly pictures at 22 weeks with Weston, and then taking them every three weeks after that. So, that's the plan again. And to make it a little more interesting this time around, I'm going to try to wear the same shirt for all the pictures (that reddish one, which is my current favorite maternity shirt). Haha! It'll be fun to watch my bulging, bulbous belly bulge. I am going to be SO HUGE by the end... heh heh. :-)

Anyway, here I am at 22 weeks with Weston:
And here I am at 22 weeks with Pumpkin-Bukki-Megamind:

(Makeup schmakeup. ...Actually, I take that back. I am SO much cuter in the first picture.)

Just as my wise mom friends foretold, I am definitely rounder with this newest little fella. Whee! And by the way, "Megamind" is his latest nickname, thanks to Weston. Weston has offered a few name ideas for the baby, but while we were in PA, he decided that baby's name should be Megamind, and he's actually sticking with it. He refers to the baby as "Megamind" now. Awesome.

Christmas a la Anderson

What a Christmas vacation!! Suffice it to say, we desperately want to go back. Here's why:

-It was splendid to see the families again. It's been a WHOLE YEAR!!!
-The two-day, 22-hour drive actually went really well. Tim and I were shocked. All I can say is, thank the heavens for portable DVD players and snacks, snacks, snacks!!
-It snowed! Weston was so excited. He mostly just wanted to "make footprints."
-We did lots of fun things and thoroughly enjoyed our week in PA. Hooray!!

And I suppose there were some slight downsides...

-I was sick pretty much the entire trip, and I'm sure I gave it to LOTS of people (sorry Tricia... Dana... etc...). Some day I'd like to visit PA and just be HEALTHY.
-The drive went amazingly well, but it was looooooong. (Dear God, please let our next relocation take us a teensy bit closer to PA...)
-We only got to visit Hearth Baker once because they were closed on New Year's Eve. Oh, turkey hoagie... how I miss you.

Anyway, on to the photo recap!! Here are a bunch of the highlights from our trip:

1. The Archie Thingie

I finally got to see the Archie Thingie in St. Louis. (... What's that, Wikipedia? It's actually called the Gateway Arch? Whatever.) 2. Christmas Morning

It always brings out one's true attractiveness... The Snuggie made its debut in the Anderson home this year: Santa came! But I'm not sure what exactly Weston's facial expression is conveying there... Dana totally delivered. The Andersons now have an ACTUAL ham in a tree:

And, let's not forget Christmas afternoon with my family (photo not found). WOW, why did I not bring my camera with me?? At least I have fond memories of delivering lots of chocolate to my family and of Weston stalking the kitties and discovering my old Barrel of Monkeys toy!

3. Weston in his Glorious Cuteness

Knife in hand, he learned much from my cousin Sarah:

A shot of a great smile on Killian, plus an even greater plumber's cleavage on Weston:

The uncles never disappoint:

Weston had to make a very important phone call to Daddy during our museum lunch in DC:

Killian and Weston engaged in one of their typical, overly aggressive cousin-hugs:

4. Tim's Brothers

Need I say more?

Preparing for the annual exploding-of-the-gingerbread-house tradition on New Year's Eve:

This is... well, this is just Chris:

5. A Few Endearing Family Photos (which are very rare, thanks to our chronic anti-social behavior)

The National Gallery of Art

The Museum of Natural History

The charming and lush National Mall:

6. LAURI!

I got to see one of my favorite girls, Ms. Lauri, and I got to meet HER favorite girl for the first time -- the adorable and oh-so-cuddly little Miss Finley!!

(P.S. Lauri of Lalee Photography took this photo of Weston during our get-together. Needless to say, it is one of my favorite pictures ever. Yes... Weston is STILL obsessed with spatulas.)
7. Hoboken Cupcakes

That's right... CARLO'S BAKERY from Cake Boss! (Thanks again for the treat, "Jermery"!!)

8. Adrienne, the Lady Friend

Young love on one side of the table... frazzled parents with rambunctious, butter-knife-wielding toddler on the other...

9. Big, Giant Bugs

The Museum of Natural History is AWESOME:

10. Philly Soft Pretzels

Yes, these beauties came back to Tulsa with us:

And finally... I saved the best for last!

11. Tim's Many Phases of Increasingly AWESOME Facial Hair

Phase 1: The Galifianakis (aka, the Giant, Bushy Beard)

Phase 2: The (Smarmy) Civil War General

Phase 3: The Handlebar

Phase 4: The Cop 'Stache

Merry (belated) Christmas from the Andersons!

The Newest Thing

"Hello, my name is Weston!! And I like to do drawrings!"

Haha! Weston's thing right now is drawing, and I'm very happy about this. (Much happier than when his thing was pulling all the DVDs off the shelf or refusing to sit down in his carseat when we NEED TO GO).

This, finally, is an actual interest that we can nurture and develop. He doesn't seem to like sports, he HATES crafts, and he has little tolerance for musical instruments (except to pretend that the sticks are swords). It may just be a phase, but he sure is cute when he gets all focused and starts scribbling. Plus, I'm really glad that he's taking after Tim, because honestly, I have no skills to offer besides loving French things, cooking up some really great cabbage soup, and maintaining an insanity-inducing stubbornness.

Originally, he would just use piece after piece after piece of scrap paper (with markers or pens) until we had no more scrap paper in the house. Then, in a stroke of genius, I pulled out an old marker board for him to use with dry erase markers. He loves it! He uses it a couple times a day, and it even occupied almost all of his attention during Sacrament meeting on Sunday (with occasional breaks for a snack, a tantrum, and a potty trip). I foresee a new multi-color marker pack for his birthday next month, because Mommy is getting a teensy bit sick of just red and green all the time.

He actually smiles for pictures sometimes now... another HUGE development.

The most surprising thing is that Weston is actually starting to draw humanoid-type shapes. He draws a circle for a head, with two dots for eyes and two lines for lips. Then he draws two lines for legs and two lines for arms (extending from the head, of course). I should probably take a picture of these little humanoid drawings, but I haven't yet. However, this is kind of what it looks like:

The first time he did it and told us that he'd drawn Daddy, we were so proud. Most of his drawings are still scribble-scrabble, but occasionally there are people (like above) or mountains (a bunch of zigzag lines) or cookies (circle with dots) or doughnuts (circle with hole).

Another highlight of his existence right now is the Magna-doodle that Santa brought him. I LOVE this thing - a big drawing space with an attached magnetic pen and NO MESS. He uses this a lot, too. This afternoon, he drew a picture that he was especially proud of, and I said that I would take a picture:

What a nice face

Then I told him that it looks like a very nice rainbow, and he corrected me: "No, it's a monster footprint." Gotcha.

[Editor's Note: Yes, it's been almost THREE WEEKS since I blogged. Remember when I used to be such a good, timely blogger? I don't. Ha! But coming up next... the Christmas-in-PA recap! Whee!]

[Editor's Note part 2: I love you all. Thanks for reading my blog today.] :-)