Our annual Junior Cheer Camp was this week and it was so much fun! Fun: 5 evenings with 110 5-12 year olds, lots of cheering, dancing, jumping & going bananas. Maybe I meant to say exhausting. Actually it is so great to watch my girls basically become heroes to their "campers". They are so, so good with these kids. They manage to teach a group of 5 year olds a cheer & a dance! I can't even teach Chloe to stay off of the couch, so this is massively impressive. They all added "Miss" in front of their name this year. "Miss Lauren is going to show you a toe-touch." It was hilarious. To end the week, we had a pancake breakfast at Aubrey's. I had my girls harass Kyler, since he is going to be in a high school in a week! We all loved it.
I missed Anderson so he came to school a few times to visit. The cheerleaders really wanted to do the Rafiki thing from Lion King and I, of course, let them. I am pretty sure that Simba's belly wasn't hanging out like that in the original scene, though.
The week ended with a visit from Aunt Manda, Kyler & Noah! Poor Uncle Zack had to work & missed out on the festivities. Anderson was spoiled with gifts, play time and lots of kisses!
Anderson was really intrigued by Big Cousin Noah's face. Poor Big Cousin Noah got sick on Saturday, but was still alive on Sunday so that was a relief.
I have discovered that the odds of 3 males cooperating in a picture are pretty slim. We tried anyway.
I would have some pics of the Dixie Stampede here, but we didn't realize you have to make reservations 6 years in advance. Apparently it sells out daily. There are 3 shows & each show seats 1000 people. Yes, that is 3000 people a day who attend the Dixie Stampede. My guess is that if Dolly had invented this 145 years ago the South probably would've had a better chance.
Cute little shorts from Aunt Manda.
Bop made balloons for prizes at camp. They were a hit. Actually, too much of a hit. A few little girls were crying the 1st night because they didn't win one. Everyone got snacks & treats every night & even a tshirt, but I guess a balloon duck topped the list. I was silently thankful that football camp probably doesn't have drama like this.
Another Lily Loan: these cute little net things to put fruit in before he can chew. I'm sure they have a more concise name, but I don't what it is. Anyway, he LOVES watermelon. Makes a huge mess. So stinkin cute.
He totally forgot about this toy. Was pumped.
On an unrelated note, I recently stumbled upon this awesome coupon website
http://www.southernsavers.com/ It's great because they list all of the weekly ads & match up newspaper or printable coupons to go with the sale price! I consider couponing one of my talents, but this is letting me take it to a whole new level. I got the above for $7 at CVS last week by combining coupons, rebates & extra bucks. I got the below today at Walgreens for $11. People always tell me they "don't have time" to use coupons, which I guess means they are billionaires because I am not sure who doesn't have 5 minutes to save money. The point is it doesn't take long at all! Anderson & are the first people at our chosen drugstore on Sunday, since he gets up so early.
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A little video of him crawling. You can also see how good Gabs is with him. I realized that when I mentioned the vet labeled her "Will Bite" it sounded terrible. People probably think I shouldn't allow my baby around her. To clarify, she only falls in this category when we are in the room. When we aren't, she doesn't have a label because she doesn't care. Sweet girl just wants to protect us. Chloe, on the other hand, is "special" all of the time.
As the 3 people who are reading this know, Nicole & I are very close. This tends to happen when you start out as the same person/egg/gross-not getting into a biology lesson- and are born 4 minutes apart. Now, we are on the path to oldness. I see this as a great thing. So many really fun/awesome things happen each year that I wouldn't want to wish any of them away. For example, we are 8 years older than the above picture, and my life is clearly better now as I no longer live in a dorm. Not that I didn't love the 4X4 room that was Massey, but a bathroom is a nice thing.
Happy Birthday, Nicole! This is why people love my sister. While everyone else was skanked out in their costumes for some date party, she went as a bathtub.
We are always shocked that we weren't recruited at an early age by a modeling agency.
Go IC!! Oh, how much simpler life would be if everyone was required to wear a uniform. I know it supposedly stifles creativity and all that mess, but the ease of getting dressed (ie:laziness) trumps that.
If you didn't know, Mom got Nicole a piglet for a present. So sweet. She even had a professional portrait taken of them. Seriously, all jokes aside, mom called me "Piglet Mohair" (a weight & hair joke combined) & Nicole was "Boopsie Bear" (it even sounds delicate). Did we have to wear different sizes as babies? Surely we did. I really just can't get over my giganticness.
Not that great a pic, I just like the outfits.
Mom, what are we watching/stalking?
Proof that Anderson is my kid! Look at my tongue!!
In addition to taking a pic with his bear, I take one of Anderson on his blanket each month to see how much he has grown. What seemed like a really cute/calm idea when he was a newborn & sleeping on it has now turned into my workout. (let's be honest, it's really the only one I am getting, so I shouldn't complain...) At first glance, you would think this was still a good idea based on the cuteness of the above pic. Then, I would explain how that was #47 in a series & the only one where I even got a glimpse of a face. 
Anderson is 7 months! This is crazy. He just seems so old. He really is becoming more of a person each day and I love it! I have so many great pics of him thanks to Aunt Manda who set up a photo shoot in GG's yard. 2 truths: she is talented and the boy is cute. (When do I stop saying how cute my son is? I mean, I know I am always going to think it but there is a point where I can't really say it outloud. If my students' parents went around talking about how cute their kids are, I would think they are total freaks. Like a year? 2 years?) Anyway, the above smile happened when Brandon stopped by after work. I guess myself, Aunt Manda & Noni just weren't enough.
He used to be the same size as his bear.
There really is no theme for the pics, just a few random cute ones. I just realized that I have 886 pictures of the last 2 months. Someone has to get another hobby.
Noni got a new haircut! Anderson is very impressed with it. His opinion matters a great deal since he is obviously a fashion guru based on the wife beater sans pants outfit.
Highlight of the week: Anderson voting for the 1st time!! I am a huge believer in the power of a vote & I explained the whole process to him. He is so proud to live in a republic. (America is a republic, not a democracy...common misconception). I love nothing more than an old person who works at a poll & I confused quite a few of them inadvertently in the process of trying to get this pic. They didn't understand at all that I just wanted a picture of his first voting. Parts of the conversation: "I'm a teacher....I don't work for a candidate....I just really like voting....want to capture his 1st time....yes, his shoes are really cute....No, I am not a candidate....He might be president one day, it would be a cute picture... Yes, I know this is not a presidential election....Like I said, I'm a teacher....At 
We visited Bop at 
Jack came by for a visit & Clare brought some basil that turned into delicious pesto! They attempted to play together, which is the start of our future awesome summer adventures!
One of my favorite things about this age is the fact that Anderson is so intrigued by random things. I have figured out that I must keep random objects everywhere to distract him. A bag of pretzels in the car...
Lately he has been bringing his hands together in a kind of champion pose. He moves them across his shoulders too. It is really cute. Speaking of cute, these 
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I heard him yelling and banging around on his crib, so I got him out. He started standing a few weeks ago, so Brandon lowered it basically to the ground hoping it would deter him. Alas. We have spent a few evenings staring at the video monitor watching him stand, sit, growl & try to climb out. It provides great entertainment. But seriously, when will he be able to climb out? It's all fun & games now, but that is a terrifying thought. 
Somebody is pretty proud of himself.
I brought him into the bathroom while I finished getting dressed & he managed to open the cabinet, pull the organizer thing out and start chomping on some makeup. This was while I was in the closet for about 5 seconds.
While I cleaned that up, he crawled toward the shower and climbed in! I couldn't get a face shot because he was busy focusing on his next move. I had to take his onesie off since the shower was wet.
Then I decided to put the dishes up, so I brought him in there. This happened while I was standing there! I was putting a plate up! Was that even 3 minutes? Maybe 90 seconds?
On a related note, the above loot is what I managed to grab in about 3 minutes at a consignment sale I went to with Clare. For $23 I hit the jackpot, I think. (The pink vanity is for Lily-it was $2!)