Dear family and friends, How can it be that Grace has doubled her age since I've last blogged -- it's not that we don't want to share our stories with you, it's just that blogging hasn't been made our top priority. So having said that, let me bring you up-to-date.
After reading what I wrote, ummm, 7 months ago I can only write that A LOT has changed -- Grace has advanced from rice cereal and avocados to salmon, portabella mushroom burgers, raspberries, strawberries, and asparagus to name a few. In other words, she eats what we eat.
Re: her teeth. . .she has gone from 2 teeth to 10 teeth (she most recently cut all 4 molars at the same time)!
Grace started crawling during g'ma Bonnie's visit around the middle of February (at about 10 months) and has become quite the agile mover. Crouching and cruising are now soon to result in walking. We are anticipating our lives getting ready to change yet again!
Grace turned one on April 4 and we celebrated with many of her new friends, mama and daddy's friends and g'ma Bonnie and g'pa Stosh who flew out from WI! She started swim baby classes shortly after our last blog update last October and took a sign language class in January. She currently does about 15 signs and says at least as many words. Her latest success at lunch time was signing: "want" "more" "cheese" (a true Wisconsinite)! She is now enjoying her Music Together class and loves to dance and sway to all music, including daddy's whistling.
I am finishing my 3rd quarter of teaching German at Clark College and Fred continues to work as project archaeologist/geoarchaeologist. We are both looking forward to summer and our annual Wandke Door County visit and Anderson Family Reunion in Telemark.
We were just reflecting on where our lives were a year ago and are amazed at all the joys there are that come with being parents and how hard it is too. We are finally getting out on some dates and doing things that we did pre-Grace, like. . . we have started playing ultimate frisbee again at a park 3 blocks from our house and have met a really great group of people. I just dusted off my road bike and took my first short ride this evening. We get to the Columbia River Gorge and the coast as often as possible to take advantage of living here in the Northwest.
We also feel fortunate to have as many visitors as we do -- and to get back to the midwest at least 3x a year. We have an open door so for any of you still interested in seeing what Portland and its environs are all about -- we encourage you to do so!!
We will add some photos of Grace and attempt to capture what the past 7 months have been like. . .
We hope you enjoy! Love to all -- Lisa, Fred and Grace
Halloween pumpkin
October 31st, 2008
Grace will be 7 months on Nov. 4th!
Aaaacckk -- I am falling behind on keeping up with Grace's blog and photos -- so with an extra hour this evening I'm dedicating myself to this cause!
There are many exciting going-ons in the Anderson household recently -- Grace started eating solids a few weeks ago and loves her rice cereal, avocados and sweet potatoes! We also felt the beginnings of her lower two teeth a couple days ago as she was nibbling away on our fingers. Her hair continues to get lighter and lighter -- it was black when she was born and is now very light brown, interesting!
For Halloween, we dressed her up as a pumpkin and she was a darn cute one at that.
We have already moved as a family and thanks to my parents, Bonnie & Stosh, (who came out to visit for 10 days in Oct.) we are happy to say that we are settled in to our new place and love it! (Photos of our place included in the slideshow.) It is in a happening neighborhood with lots of cool places to go walking with Grace and close to many of her new little friends.
We spent 10 days in WI (in August) visiting with Fred's family for the Anderson family reunion in Telemark and my family in New London. We had Grace baptized in my parent's backyard -- a beautiful summer day.
We had a nice visit from Fred's mom, Lorna, mid-September and Grace enjoyed spending time with her. I started teaching German at Clark College in late September which has been exciting for me (and a lot of work!) and Fred is getting to do some geoarchaeology work with his firm, also good (but hard because he is on the road for 4 days for 4 weeks).
We have gotten out on a few nice hikes and the fall has been really nice this year -- with little rain, lots of sun, wonderful color, and mild temperatures!
There is more I could say, but for now, we'll let the photos do the talking.
Love to all of you from us!
Lisa, Fred and Grace
July 27, 2008
Grace is soon to turn 4 months old. . .
and I can't believe the last time I updated our blog was when she turned 2 months! I know the advice we heard from many is that time goes fast, but really we had no idea. . .
Life is going very well in the Anderson household! Grace continues to charm us with her smiles, her cooing, her increasing interest in toys and us, and it is fun to watch her little personality continue to develop.
I'm going to include three different slide shows in this entry. You may also view these photos in larger format and with captions at this website link: http://picasaweb.google.com/Lmwandke
This first slide show is Grace 8-12 weeks old:
Grace is 2 months old!!
Grace's recent well baby visit revealed that she now weighs 11 lbs and is 23 inches long! She continues to amaze us with so many things from smiling, to first coos, to tracking us as we move through the room and her interest in batting things hanging from her play mat. We are having fun with her and she is now sleeping up to 6 hours in the night. Mommy is the one who wakes her as the need to feed her is more urgent for her than for Grace!!
I am attaching another slide presentation link:
May 20-26 -- visit from friend Teresa
Good food was had this week by chef Teresa! From apricot scones and oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies to poached salmon, asparagus, and rice pilaf, just to name a few, we ate well! Lisa also got to try her hand at nursing in public during her visit. Whew!
Cookies -- yum!
Fresh Alaska salmon -- more yum!
Monday, May 12-20 - Grandma Bonnie comes to visit!
Grandma Bonnie spends a week with us and it is wonderful having her here! This week marks a huge landmark with Grace gifting us with her first real unsolicited smile! Mommy gets more rest time with g'ma here and Grace gets lots of cuddling time. Grace and mommy begin their first baby massage class together.
Smiling Grace!
Play time with grandma
Cuddle time with grandma
Mother's Day -- May 11, 2008
Grace, Fred and I celebrated my first Mother's Day by walking through Pier Park and then exploring Smith & Bybee Lakes Wildlife Refuge -- Fred grilled out chicken, potatoes and fresh asparagus from the Farmer's Market for dinner. It was a good day!
Mommy, Daddy and Grace at Pier Park
Happy Mother's Day Mama!
I love you Grace!
Thursday, May 8th -- Grace update!
In the roles of new parents -- we are finding time to sit down and keep our blog updated a bit challenging. I've decided to try to put together a slideshow of some of our recent photos of Grace. It is amazing to look back just a couple of weeks and see the changes already! (If you click on the lower right hand corner of the slideshow box, it will take you to the actual photo album where you can view the photos in a larger context.)
Today was Grace's 2-week birthday. We celebrated by taking her into Fred's office and introducing her to all of his work colleagues. Then the real topper was her first pediatrician visit. She gained 1 lb (now 8 lbs, 3 oz) and is 21 1/2 inches long. She is a healthy eater :-)
The Wandke and Radtke family members returned to WI on Tuesday. We whole-heartedly appreciate everything they did for us and we miss them already. Responses to our email announcement of Grace's birth have been fabulous. Thank you all for your well wishing and offers of support. Several more photos are posted here. Additional photos will follow as we process them and continue learning how to use this blog spot.
Our first week at home was wonderful, and positively colored by the presence of Lisa's family. They assisted us with post-partum challenges and welcoming Grace into her new home. Bonnie and Stosh helped with everything from washing dishes, taking turns watching Grace between nursing periods (in the middle of the night), Grace's first bath at home, whipping the garden into shape (it is now known as the Stosh Wandke Honorary Garden) and Bonnie's fabulous home cooked meals (breakfast, lunch AND dinner) among other things. On Thursday April 10th, Lisa's sister Sara and her family (husband Scott, and daughter Hannah) joined us. Their presence made our week a rich family experience, one filled with much laughter. Many photo opportunities presented themselves. We will share a few of those here.
We are proud to announce the birth of Grace Irene at 9:54 pm on Friday April 4th, 2008. We are back home now and trying to write emails, send a few pictures and create this blog.
