The Big Announcement!

It's here! It's finally arrived! The BIG ANNOUNCEMENT we've all been waiting for. The Anderson Circus will be expanding! That's right! On or about January 22, a new member will join the cast here at the circus. Will we have another acrobat? A tight rope walker? A lion tamer? A contortionist? It all remains to be seen. But stay tuned for further details...

Remember when?

I thought I would start doing some retro photos of oh so long ago when Josh and Miri were just babies. So without further ado...

Josh just after he was born.

Newborn Miri right after a bath.

Josh with Miri in my belly (shortly before she was born!)

Josh and Miriam's first morning together at home - they were actually both crying.

Garden Time!

Could you guess how old the last video was? I'll give you a clue...Look at Miriam's hair! Today has been crazy so far, and promises to be more so after naps. The Ringmaster made breakfast this morning (Yay, Daddy!) then I went to the garden store and got lots of plants. Then Josh and Miriam got to help me plant them! Josh really enjoyed digging in the dirt, but Miri got bored quickly and went off to sit in her little car. We planted a herb garden, with basil, rosemary, parsley, chives, lavender, marjoram, and oregano. We also planted a flower bed with lots of sunflowers, marigolds, and pansies. Then we planted tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers in our vegetable garden. Hopefully I don't kill everything this year!
After nap we're going to a church picnic. We made yummy Reese's squares (http://www.recipezaar.com/29679) and coleslaw (http://www.recipezaar.com/120602). Josh liked the food processor. The picnic is at a big park, so here's hoping Dave and I get to eat in all the craziness. It's always hard to keep an eye on them and do other things, like socialize and eat. I'm not comfortable yet letting them run free without keeping a constant eye on them. Josh will stay with a group of kids and play, but Miri still likes to run off by herself and get into things. And she always insists on climbing on whatever giant playset and playground has, which always gives me heart palpitations as I follow her around, standing right underneath of her so I can catch her. But she hasn't fallen yet...

Just to show you how long the dancing has been going on...

Another video of Josh dancing!

And Miri dancing!

Josh Dancing

Some Potty Training Pictures

Here's some pics from the days we were potty training.

They were hiding behind the shower curtain and Josh said, "Take a picture daddy!"

Here Miriam decided she'd rather wear a bucket than pants!

Sunday Funday!

Today the Anderson Circus had a very fun day! We went to church, then after naps, we got to go to Sarah's house - Matt's fiance. We had a lot of fun with Uncle Matt and Aunt Sarah and Aunt Megan and Uncle Sam and Lisa, Sarah's mom. Josh and Miri got to play with two dogs, which they absolutely loved. The only problem arose when I saw brown stuff on Miri's fingers and smelled it, at which point I realized it was dog poo! Gross! So after thoroughly sanitizing Miriam, we had a really good time. And a very busy day! The kids just now went to bed, so a little late, but they had to have a bath tonight.
Also, Josh had two accidents this morning, but other than that stayed dry all day. He even went on the big potty at Aunt Sarah's house, which was hard for him, but he still did it. Yay Josh!

And so it ends...

Successfully for Josh, but Miriam will get to wait a few weeks and try again. She doesn't seem to have the control yet. Josh made it all day today without any accidents! He gets a bucket of popcorn and a ride on the elephants. Tomorrow we'll see how he does at church...

And potty training continues...

It's gone surprisingly well. Josh only had one accident last night, and a small one as he got out of bed to run to the potty during nap time, but other than that he's done great. Miri has been having a little more trouble. She seemed to be doing by the evening yesterday, but so far today she's had about 3 accidents. But we'll just keep at it...

More Potty Training!

Well, today is the big day. We're going to take the plunge and take the diapers completely off for the weekend, and hopefully forever. I told Josh that after nap, his diaper would come off and not go back on again. I just hope that I can handle it. He's been promised that if he can go a whole week with no accidents, he gets to take swimming lessons. He's very excited about that. On top of that, he gets M & Ms and stickers. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me! Now if he can just keep up with his side of it...
We're going to do Miri at the same time, so I'll have my hands pretty full. I'll try to post progress reports as the weekend goes along.
Still have BIG news coming!

Josh's funny sleeping habits

Josh has gotten into a habit lately of not sleeping in his bed. Instead, we usually go in there at night or nap time and find him under his bed. Want proof?





He turned away after the flash went off. These are at night.






This was at nap time.



We don't know what his fascination is with being under the bed right now. I think he is pretending to hide. He's also going into his closet, and under the dining room table. Miriam usually follows him into those places!

Josh and Miriam running around the circle

Here is a video of Josh and Miri and playing. Hopefully it comes through okay! He fell at the end, but he was fine!

Circus children love hats!

Today we went to a playdate at the park. The kids and I had a lot of fun, but it was very, very warm (Today in Michigan the temperature is supposed to get up to 90!) Josh was wearing his hat, and his poor head was covered in sweat. He also got a little pink, even through all the sunscreen! Anyhow, here at the circus, our children like to wear lots of hats. Not just regular hats. See for yourself!
This actually is a small bag we use for Josh's cars.

Here is the block bucket - they fight over who gets to wear this.

Here's Josh in my gardening hat!

Potty Training Madness

Yes, we are potty training. Yes, if you've talked to us recently, you know we've been attempting this for the last four or five months, without very much luck. I've read books on potty training. I've tried M & M's. I've bought two different potties and about 20 pairs of underwear and one pack of pull ups apiece. But while we can get #1 occasionally, it still is not consistent. And forget about #2!
So today, I rolled up the rugs in our house, took off the kids' pants, and said "Okay children, we are going to use the potty." It turned out it was a very good idea to roll up the rugs, though Miriam didn't go there either time. She took off her pants in nap time, wetting the bed, then again during dinner. Don't ask me how she got out of them while she was sitting in the high chair. Our little girl is like Houdini. We were wondering if she would get out of them while in her car seat, but fortunately for us, that didn't happen.
So, we're still not potty trained. Maybe tomorrow!
Look for a big announcement to come in the next few days!

For your viewing enjoyment...

Here's a little series I like to call Children in Hats.

Miri in her pink hat

Josh in his baseball hat

Miriam, not to be outdone

"Look at me! Look at me!"

Mama, whose hat is better?

Spiky haired Josh

Tonight Josh came out of the bath with his hair all sticking up. But when I told him he had spiky hair, he cried out, "No spiky! No spiky!" So we thought we would let you decide which you like better - spiky Josh





or smooth Josh.

Some pictures from Mamaw and Poppy's house!

Fun at Mamaw and Poppy's!

This weekend the circus traveled south to Ohio. Lots of fun and excitement were had by all! Mamaw and Poppy had a five way graduation bash - congrats to Ringmaster Dave for finally finishing his masters! Now he is truly a master of rings. Josh and Miriam loved seeing the horse - Miri kept running to the window to look out at him! Just like her Aunt Meggie! Josh got to play basketball, or at least throw the basketball into the air after snatching it out of someone else's hands. There was one exciting moment when a turkey decided to come out of the woods and visit Josh. Dave took him right up to the bird, and the turkey just sat on a branch, gobbling and preening itself. It turned out it was good that Dave did not take the J any closer, as the turkey later hurled itself after the dog! Fortunately, Uncle Matt and Poppy were quick on the stone flinging and getting Matt's dog out of the way before either party was injured. The rest of the evening, the turkey just hovered in the back of the house, watching us all with it's beady little eyes...
Pictures to arrive soon!

Wild weather and children!

Hi all! We're doing well here in gloomy old Michigan. We've had several days of rain, which is always good in the springtime! We had a very bad storm on Tuesday. I ended up taking the kids down to the basement after the tree branches started flying. Ever since then, Josh keeps going to the window and saying, "Branch fall down!" He thinks it's going to happen again. Of course, they were both in front of the window when the storm started, so he saw these huge branches blowing down the street. Probably pretty traumatic for a little guy!

Miriam has now entered the temper tantrum stage, and boy, does she have a temper. She's such a smart girl, and I think she gets frustrated when we don't immediately grasp what she wants and give it to her. So she's been throwing herself on the floor, screaming, hitting Mama (a big no-no!) and whatever else takes her fancy. But on the positive side, she's starting to potty train! Hopefully in a few more weeks Circus Mama will have a little less dung to shovel!