A Few Vance Facts

Vance loves anything and everything that is silky. A lot of times we go over to my parents to play games and lay Vance down to sleep. My mom's pack-n-play is in her closet. Almost every time we got to get him out, he is sleeping with one of her silky shirts. She doesn't even have very many, but he always manages to find the right hanger, pull of the shirts, and suck on it while he sleeps.


He still loves his thumb and blanket. I really think that it is magical. It has become a game to see how fast he puts his thumb in his mouth once you give him his blanket. It's cute very time!


Homeboy loves to eat! He will eat vegetables, fruits, meats, treats - whatever you put in front of him. If you have food you can guarantee that he will be grunting for it the minute that he sees it. It's not because he is hungry, he just loves food!


He loves to play peek-a-boo. He has just figures out how to cover himself with his blanket. The funny part is that he raises and lowers the blanket so fast that you end up just saying peek-a-boo a thousand times. He laughs every time, so I guess whatever!


We are trying to do sign language with him. We aren't really hardcore or anything but I do about 15 words and figure one day he might catch on to at least a couple. He isn't even close on most signs, but we'll see. However, he attempted his first sign over New Year's weekend - more. It doesn't look anything like what it is supposed to, but we both know what it means and that's the goal.


He loves to wrestle with his dad. I can't ever get Vance to laugh as hard or as long as Chad can. He just loves his daddy and I love to watch the two of them play together. Hopefully they will always get along this good!


Vance also loves my mom. As soon as he sees her he starts coaxing for her. Hands down he would choose her over me everytime. I like it though, she feels special and it gives me a break.


He is still SO loud. He is being good, but his babbling is not like any other kid's that I know. He reaches decibels that have to hurt his own ear drums. I think that it is funny when we are at home, but not so much at church! My whole family thinks it is just hilarious to talk back to him loud because then he just thinks it is a game of who can be the loudest. I don't think that it will be so cute when he is 8 and obnoxious!


He has many nicknames. These are just the ones that I can think of off the top of my head: Vancers, Vancy-Poo, Vancent, Vance-skee, V-dubs, Vancey, Vancey-Pants. He answers to all of them so I guess it's okay.


I'm sure that's way more than you cared to know, but I wanted to take a second to write down the little things that I don't want to forget.

Cabin Fun!

The afternoon of the 26th Chad and I headed up to Mount Charleston to spend the weekend with my family. My brother-in-law's family has a cabin up there that we were able to borrow. I use the term "cabin" loosely because this is definitely a no-frills place. There are no bedrooms, and for most of our stay, we had no water in the kitchen or downstairs bathroom. However, it is better than the cabin I own! We played so many games and ate way too much food. Everyone hauled up all of their Christmas goodies and we did way too good of a job at eating them all. We had a Perfection tournaments, and I came out as the winner (yes, I know we're losers)! We also played cards, Yahtzee, texas hold'em, and so many more that I can't remember. We sent the kiddos upstairs with playstation so they kept busy too.

We also did makeovers one night. All of us girls brought up our make-up and Jennie bought this amazing book that tells you depending on your face and eye shape how you should do your make-up. It's really great for anyone who feels make-up retarded. We wanted to test it out so we all washed our faces and then Jennie did our make-up. Below are some of our before and after pictures.
On Saturday we all went sledding. We found this great place and played forever. The kids had so much fun. They could really get some speed by the bottom of the run. We tried building a berm to stop them, but instead it was a jump that made for some funny falls. Some of the kids even tried snowboarding down the hill.

Vance got to wear his snowman outfit yet again - he has got to be sick of this thing, but it did the job and kept him warm. Aunt Leslie gave Vance his own little tube ride. At the end of the video below, she throws him down the stairs. He wasn't sure what to do, but you'll see his reaction!

Vance pretty much ate the entire trip. I swear that little boy will eat as long as you let him. We took his walker that he got for Christmas up to the cabin and he actually walked with it - well sort of. He looked like a drunk man but I am counting it as using the walker correctly ;) I had looked for one of those hats with the fur inside all season long and I finally found one before this trip. Doesn't he look too cute?

We had so much fun - thank you Leslie and Joe for making it all happen!

The celebration continues...

The day after Christmas we went four-wheeling with the Waldron's. It was freezing outside and I didn't feel great so I didn't last too long, but we still had fun. Macie hit her head on the dash of the Rhino and got a fat lip, so we took a picture of her battle wounds! Thanks again Waldron's for letting us use all of your stuff - we had so much fun!

The picture below is of Georganne riding the little kid four-wheeler down to the gas station so we could all have full tanks of gas. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this awkward moment. She is always good to do whatever needs to be done!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning Chad and I woke up before Vance. We decide that we would go down and start opening our presents and just focus on Vance when he woke up. We both spoiled each other! I got biking gear, riding gloves and goggles for the sand dunes, Brighton jewelry, Mac gift card, cd's, a purse, and more. Chad also got biking gear, movies, cologne, church clothes, Mariokart for the Wii, and more. Below are some pictures of us wearing as many gifts as we could put on!

We also did something really fun this year. We each gave each other 6 gifts of time together so that we would have one fun thing to do every year of the month (an idea that I stole from a friend - thanks again katherine!). We wrapped something up to symbolize the activity. These are just a few - some are simple and some are more elaborate:

Mamma Mia tickets

Hiking at Zion

Dancing lessons

Logandale Carnival and Fair

Bingo night

Footloose at Tuacahn

Picnic at Lake Las Vegas

It was so fun to see what we each had thought of and I look forward to the new year!

We finally went up and got Vance. He was pretty upset when we got him out of his bed, but his mood changed quickly once we got downstairs. Santa had set up all of Vance's toys around the room, so that everywhere you looked was another toy. Vance was so excited that he could hardly focus on any one thing. He would play with something for a second and then move on to the next toy. I was really surprised to see how excited he got. I had planned on Vance being fairly boring this Christmas, but we had a blast with him!

Vance got WAY too much - especially considering that he has no idea what was even going on! Some of his presents: tonka trucks, big legos, hotwheels, balls, walker, dancing tower thingy, tools and work station, shoes, and more. Vance was definitely impressed.

After we got done opening our presents, my mom and dad came over to see what we got and we made some Christmas crepes. My idea of Christmas morning is that you should stay in your pajamas and make a delicious breakfast, so that is what we did this year. I had never made crepes, so I was a little nervous but they were SO good. We had to hurry and eat them so that we could make it over to the Waldron breakfast in time though.

We got to the Waldron's at 9:30 and had breakfast. Since Chad and I already ate, we just enjoyed everybody's company. Then we did our gift exchange with them. Rand and Georganne got me and Chad a really nice digital picture frame that I was so excited about and they got Vance a Little Tikes sandbox. I know that Vance is going to have so much fun outside (although I do dread the sand then I'm sure will find its way inside).

Vance also got some cute clothes from Aunt Mariah and a baseball toy from Aunt Trisha and Uncle Josh. Everyone loved their gifts!

After breakfast the extended family came over and we all made gingerbread houses. Chad was on Vance duty, so Brent and I teamed up together. We decided to have a handyman theme so one of our gingerbread men was holding a hammer. The other had climbed up the candy cane ladder and fell off the roof. We had other elaborate plans, but Chad and I had to leave to be on time to the 3rd breakfast of the day.

We went to my Aunt Laurie and Laurie's to see all of my dad's family. It was really mellow, but it is always nice to see everyone. In my family we always go by everyone's house on Christmas day to see what they got for Christmas, so after the Sutton breakfast we made the rounds to see what everyone got. Later we went back to the Waldron's to play games and then back to my parent's house to play games.

Eventually we made it home and had a good night's sleep! What a wonderful Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve!!!

Beware this is long!!

I love Christmas Eve! My mom always makes it so special. As you will see the more you read, this Christmas season included A LOT of juggling families. On Christmas Eve day we had family pictures with the Waldron's from 3:00 - 4:15. Dinner with my family started at 4:30 and we had to leave early to make sure that we got to Chad's family's house by no later than 7:15! And that was just Christmas Eve - Christmas day was another busy day but I will get to that in another post.


Now for the details about each event:

Pictures went really well. My mother-in-law hired the same photographer that did my family's pictures last month. I was nervous that Vance was going to be awful because it was right in the middle of his nap time. Also we did the pictures outside and it was FREEZING! Vance was great though. He didn't stop yelling and smiling the entire time. I think we got a lot of cute shots that I will be posting as soon as I get the proofs!
Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's is just about my favorite part of Christmas. The picture above is my dad with all of the grandkids. He bought all of them Santa hats - I think it is so cute! We started with appetizers. Amy made these delicious jalepeno pinwheels and I was in charge of bringing bread (that I bought from panera) and some fancy olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and bread seasoning.

After appetizers we had a little program. We used to act out the nativity, but there are just too many kids that can't sit still and be quiet that long. This year we had more of a talent show. All of the kids had a little something to show us. Jennie's kids pretended to play the piano to a CD. It was hilarious. I really needed my video camera to capture the moment. Leslie's kids sang a Christmas song. Amy's oldest kid played a song on the piano. It was so cute to see such a little kid playing.

Vance and Colton just sat and looked cute. I bought the boys matching Christmas Eve outfits - hat, shirt, and slippers. I also bought Vance a bib that said, "What Santa doesn't bring me, Grandma will!" The sad part is that's true.


After the program we had a yummy dinner. My mom made chuck roast and steak. We also had salad, potatoes, rolls, and vegetables. We were all so stuffed because everything tasted so good.

After dinner we had a white elephant. My mom always buys all of the gifts. It isn't a traditional white elephant full of silly presents. My mom usually buys pretty cool stuff. Vance ended up with a little toy dog which he loved. I got these super comfortable slippers and Chad got some Billabong stuff. After the white elephant it was time to head over to Chad's parents' house.


We got to the Waldron's just in time to watch an old family video - I am talking 25 years old. It was hilarious to see the older family members in Christmas's past. Since then Chad's grandpa has passed away so it was nice for everyone to remember him too. After the video we ate dessert and just visited with one another.

We decided we needed to go home to prepare for Santa to come! Chad and I and so much fun getting everything ready. We didn't wrap very many of Vance's presents so we had a lot of setting up to do!

Before we went to bed we opened our Christmas pajamas. Our tradition is that we switch years in regards to who is in charge of buying the pajamas. This year was Chad's year. He got himself these really cool patchwork pants with a thermal shirt. He got me sweat pants with a matching shirt from Victoria Secret. I was so excited because I have always wanted some, but I am too cheap to buy them myself. My favorite were Vance's - Chad got him silk pajamas because Vance loves anything silky. The best part was that when we went to wake up Vance Christmas morning, Vance had taken off his pants and was sucking his thumb with his pants rubbing his face!


I told you this would be a long post!

Weekend at Brian Head

Last weekend Chad's parents rented a condo up in Brian Head. We decided to go visit them on Friday and Saturday. It was so nice to just relax. Space was a little cramped, so Vance was getting into EVERYTHING!

We played a lot of games and ate way too much food. Chad's mom always brings the food for everyone and she brings a TON of it. It is just one of the many things that we love about her. We also just relaxed and took a couple of naps.

We played out in the snow Saturday afternoon. Georganne was nice enough to watch Vance so Chad and I could go play. We went sledding, made a snow angel, had a snowball fight, and ate the snow. Vance came out for a little bit and got to wear his fantastic snowman costume again. He made one run down the sledding path and then we called it a day.

There was this huge dancing snowman in the lobby that Rand wanted to show Vance. He loved it. We probably just sat in the lobby while Vance crawled around for like 1/2 hour. Sometimes it is nice that there aren't too many grandkids on Chad's side of the family because they really love watching Vance's every move (plus that gives Chad and I a little break too).

Later we headed into Parowan for some dinner and then came home. It was a quick trip but it was really nice to just get away and relax. Thank you Waldron's for inviting us up!

Ode to the Christmas Sweater

Last week at church, a little boy Vance's age had a Christmas sweater on. That's when Chad's brilliant idea got started (thanks again Danielle!).
Chad decided that he should get his very own Christmas sweater to wear to church Christmas Sunday. We ended up borrowing a sweater from my grandma and he wore it to church. I forgot to take a picture of him wearing it, but you can picture how hott he must have looked. Oh - he also styled his hair in lovely comb-over fashion to go with his Christmas look!
Sorry ladies - this man is taken!

Boys Sleepover

Last week we had all of my nephews spend the night. There were six boys plus Vance in all. We played the Wii, ate Top Ramen for dinner, played basketball, ate cupcakes and ice cream, and took forever to fall asleep!

Then when they all woke up they had their favorite breakfast - donuts and chocolate milk. This has become a tradition at our house. All of the kids know that when they stay the night at Aunt Alli and Uncle Chad's house they get donuts and chocolate milk the next day for breakfast! We had so much fun with them even though it definitely got crazy at times.

Service at Tent City

This year my mom wanted everyone to do an act of service that we could tell about on Christmas Eve. Chad and I decided to make PB&J's for the homeless. Well, everyone in my family ended up joining in. We made lunches with a sandwich, granola bar, chips, Capri Sun, and a pass along card from the church. We also had socks and a few hygiene kits to pass out.

Chad and I ended up making 150 sandwiches!!! All of the kids helped assemble the bags one afternoon and we delivered the bags on Sunday.

It was really humbling to see the lifestyle of these people. I couldn't believe how many homeless people there were on just one block of the city. We easily gave out all that we had brought. When we were driving we told the kids that this is where these people slept, ate, bathed, went to the restroom, etc. They could hardly believe that what we were saying was true.

We have decided to make this an annual event. Next year we hope to buy more things on sale throughout the year, so when Christmas rolls around we have even more to give! Thanks Mom and Dad for challenging us to give of our own time and money this Christmas season - we had a great time doing it!

The Magical Forest

The magical forest at Opportunity Village is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We had 4 free tickets from participating in the Santa Run so we invited my parents and Amy and David's family to come with us! As always the lights were amazing. Some of the displays are so detailed. The boys favorite displays were with fourwheelers and dirt bikes - how weird right?!

We decided to ride the train since we got in for free. Out of the MANY years that I have been going to Opportunity Village we have never ridden the train. I don't think that I will ride it again. It wasn't that great. Vance and the other kids liked it, but it really wasn't anything too fantastic.

We also went inside to look at the gingerbread houses - another one of my favorite parts about Opportunity Village. This year my favorite was a gingerbread house in the shape of a boot. The picture doesn't do all the details justice, but you get the main idea.

After Opportunity Village we went to Krispy Kreme. It has been tradition in my family to go to the live nativity and then go get donuts, but there was no live nativity this year.

Vance LOVED his donut. He had both his hands full the entire time we were there. He kept smacking his lips and digging in for more. My family all teases Vance because he is constantly coaxing for food! He still eats his vegetables, so I guess whatever works right?!

It was another great Christmas-filled night!

Annual Anderson Tea Party

Every year the girls on my mom's side of the family get together for a Christmas party. All of the moms make lots of cute finger food recipes. We all get semi-dressed up and have a tea party. It is really fun because we don't see those relatives very often.

My favorite part this year was my grandma's gift to all of us. It was a few pieces of her old China filled with candy. I have so many memories of those dished that I was thrilled to get a few pieces of my own!

Snow Day - Part 2

At heart I am really just a little kid inside. I had been dying to play in the snow without Vance. Well, Wednesday night I got my chance. We were at my mom's house and she wanted to hold Vance while we played in the snow. It started out with some innocent snowman building with the kiddos. Then we had a mild snowball fight with the kids.

After that all the weenies went inside and Chad and I continued playing (me in soaking wet Vans and rolled up pants without a jacket or gloves!). Then the neighbors came home and we had a real war against the dad and his two teenage daughters. We must have thrown snowballs at each other for 20 minutes, and we weren't playing friendly. I never knew how much a snowball could hurt!

I loved the snow and it made me want to move even more than I already want to! I don't want to live where it snows half of the year or anything, but a couple months would be so much fun. I also think that it makes everything look so pretty.

For journaling purposes, Thursday was an official "snow day" and school was cancelled - in LAS VEGAS!!! The news said that the last snow day was in 1978 - 30 years ago! In my entire lifetime spent in Vegas, I never remember this much snow!

Grandma and Vance watching from inside

Snow in Vegas?!

It snowed in Las Vegas today! I absolutely love the cold weather. I got to wear a beanie, scarf, and a sweater all day without sweating! I also got to bundle Vance up in his cute winter clothes. There isn't anything that I love more than a little boy with a beanie on!

We weren't planning on playing in the snow, but some friends called and we headed out to Summerlin because that part of town got so much snow.

Vance didn't have any really warm clothes, so we stopped by Babies-R-Us to find something he could wear in the snow. We are going up to a cabin the next two weekends so we thought it was worthwhile to buy something now. I looked around and my only options were a $37 adorable outfit or a $10 snowman outfit. I decided to go with the snowman outfit.

When we got to the park, we put the outfit on him. It was hilarious! It looked really goofy (and cute at the same time), but it did the job. It kept him so warm because he couldn't get his feet, hands, or head out!

It was so much fun to play in the snow. We threw snowballs at each other and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Vance and Sadie weren't quite sure what to think but still had a good time. I kept trying to see if Vance would eat the snow. Every time he would put it in his mouth for about 10 seconds, make a face, and spit it out only to do the same thing in 30 seconds.





Thanks Kip and Mel for inviting us to go play with you! What a wonderful winter day!!!