Anderson Field

Time sure does fly, doesn’t it? Our little bitty babe is now one year old - hard to believe! Let’s see, here are the facts: Crawling like a mad man, close to walking, 7 teeth, climbs stairs, throws balls (and food and toys and shoes) says Mama, Dada, doggie (or something very close), loves cheese, loves beans, prefers lemons over cake, likes when Jeff talks pretend Japanese, and enjoys pretending the bath tub is a pool. We love our little boy more than words can say.

We made a long overdue trip up north to see my family two weeks ago. Charlie and I headed up to see my sister for a few days in western Massachusetts before Jeff was able to arrive for the weekend. We had a great time with my sister and her two kiddos, Thomas & Lauren. While we were there, Thomas lost his first tooth! In the pictures below you can see Thomas decorating an envelope which held his tooth for the tooth fairy. The kids all got along great and Charlie loved having some friends to follow around and watch all day. Back in Wakefield, Charlie got to visit with my parents & Uncle Walter until Jeff arrived. Once he got into town we headed out to Cape Cod to see my Uncle John, Aunt Rosemary & cousin Lisa, who came up to see us from NYC. My parents met us up there the next day. We were able to enjoy the picture perfect weather when we went out on Uncle John’s boat and toured Hyannis harbor for a bit one afternoon. Charlie even got a surprise early birthday cake and presents while there- lucky boy! Enjoy the pics below!

We waited as long as we could…Charlie had his first haircut about 3 weeks ago after his hair was starting to remind us a bit too much of our time in the Redneck Riveria (Fort Walton Beach.) So we said goodbye to our little guy’s budding mullet and hello to our clean cut toddler. He loved sitting in the chair which resembled a race car and we hope future haircuts go as well as this one. Enjoy the pics!

So we have been having a great summer here in Texas, but it sure is HOT! We were able to snap some photos at the base pool a few weeks ago. As you can see, we have a water baby on our hands. After we saw how much he enjoyed the pool, we decided to sign him up for parent/child swim lessons. The classes were held in the early morning, so the temperatures were around 80-85 degrees, which was just perfect.

In mid July, we went to a fun birthday party for my friend’s daughter at a place called “Pump It Up.” This place was impressive! There were tons of inflatable slides that Charlie was able to ride down on our laps. He had a blast and, as you can see in the photos, so did we!

At the beginning of July my good friend Natalie came to visit with her son from New York. We had a great time together and so did our boys. While she was here we were able to go to the children’s museum in New Braunfels as well as Sea World. I wish the trip was longer, but I am so glad we were able to meet up.

Many more posts to come, we have some serious catching up to do.

Time has been flying and Charlie is growing like a weed. Our little guy shot up over 2 inches in the month of May and is up to 30 1/2 inches. He is going to be tall like his dad! We have been having a blast getting out and exploring while the weather has been nice. In March we got some great photos of Charlie in a bluebonnet field by our house. Near the field is a park with a bucket swing, which Charlie is a huge fan of - as you can see in the pictures below. In April we went to the Strawberry Festival in Poteet. Charlie had a fun time watching the pig races and trying the strawberry shortcake.

Speaking of food, he has been gobbling up all kinds of new foods. Among his favorites are cheese, strawberries, watermelon, bread & butter, cheerios, pickles, lemons, spanish rice & calico beans. He surprises us with what he enjoys - like the lemons. We thought we’d get a funny face when we stuck the lemon in his mouth, he instead he started sucking away and fussed when he took it from him!

Around Easter time Charlie got in his first tooth. His second tooth popped through a few days later. He has also been pulling up along furniture and onto our legs as much as possible. He loves to push his toy bus and trucks along the floor and crawl along next to them. He is so busy lately! Another favorite game is watching us stack up the blocks and he will knock them down- never gets old!

In May we checked out a San Antonio Missions game, the local minor league team. We had fun, but discovered Charlie is NOT a fan of hats. At the end of the month we went to a fun farmer’s market downtown and got some tasy produce. The market is along a new section of the riverwalk that just opened earlier this year. Charlie enjoyed the music and watching all the kids play on the grassy area.

So far this month Charlie and I met a few of my friends at the children’s museum in New Braunfels. It is a great little museum with a section in the middle dedicated just for babies. Charlie loved having everything be his size for once!

Well, we will let the rest of the photos speak for themself. Hope you are enjoying your summer so far!

Hey everyone! Wanted to make a quick post since Charlie has started crawling! He’s a man on the move not only crawling on the floor but also in his walker. He’s been exploring the first floor and starting to chase Reagan around. Needless to say we are quickly crawl proofing the house. Hope you enjoy the videos! Talk to you all soon!!

I know, it is almost April and we apologize for the delay. Charlie turned seven months this March and we are in shock at how fast time is passing us by. Charlie has been growing like a weed, and as you can see in our pictures, so is his hair. No matter how many times we wet and comb it, it dries straight up! For Christmas Jeff & I got him a exersaucer/ jumper and he LOVES it. Reagan also likes the free entertainment of Charlie jumping next to her bed - and it is a lot safer than his more recent adventures in his walker. Poor Reagan has now been conditioned to run as far away as possible when she hears the walker wheels moving!

In January I began to explore making my own baby food for Charlie. He is a big fan of pears, apples, butternut squash & prunes.. Avacados did not go over well, as seen in the pics below. Charlie is now eating 2-3 meals a day and we are having a blast expanding his taste buds with a variety of different foods.

In late January we had Charlie baptised. Jeff’s parents were able to make it out for the weekend which was the first time Popi got to meet Charlie. We had a great time, as always their trip was too short, but we got some great pics and they were able to spend some quality time with the little man. Jeff’s best friend from college, T.J. and my sister Anne also travelled in for the baptism since they are the Godparents. We had an awesome time seeing everyone and forced T.J. and his girlfriend Candice to see all the sights in San Antonio like the riverwalk & missions.

Jeff had to travel to Caliifornia for work in February and at the last minute we found a great deal on tickets and made it a family affair. Charlie and I flew out to Sacramento and met Jeff for a long weekend. We drove to San Francisco for 2 nights and saw as much as we could cram into two days. We had a great meal in Chinatown (which was celebrating the New Year festival), saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Lombard Street, had a Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae dinner, saw the Muir forest & got to stay at the Marines Memorial hotel in the center of downtown. It was a great trip and we were really glad we decided to do it.

On a nice, sunny Saturday in February we decided to go check out the Natural Bridge Wildlife Safari which was only about 15 minutes from our house. We have some hilarious photos of all the animals trying to break into our car. Charlie had little interest in the whole thing, but Jeff & I had a blast, despite the donkey drool on the windows and a 7 foot ostrich trying to get into the sunroof.

Now that the weather is in the 70’s and the sun is shining almost everyday, Charlie and I have been taking walks, visiting friends and spending time on the swings at the park and the new swing in our backyard!

Well we hope it is starting to warm up where you are too! Until next time, Elizabeth, Jeff, Charlie & Reagan

Well Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year have passed and we are back to the grind at the Anderson house. This year Elizabeth and I spent Christmas at home in Texas with Charlie and Reagan. It was the first time ever that we didn’t travel home for the holidays. We wanted to stay home and enjoy some quite time with Charles since it was his first Christmas. I had 2 four day weekends in a row thanks to federal holiday’s and work releated day’s off. It was a great break from work and I loved being able to hang out at the house with Liz, Charlie and Reagan.

Charlie’s first Christmas was great and he did a great job of allowing us to prop him up around his gift so we could pretend he was opening them himself! He’s quite a character these days with his personality really starting to show. We are getting a lot of laughing, baby raptor, and screeching. We think he picked up the screeching from cousin Reese during our ND trip (love you G&S!) He’s getting big too, a little pot belly is starting to show…wonder where he got that from?! We are waiting for his teeth to break through. He’s turned into a real drool monster and is chewing on his fingers and anything else he can find, so they must be coming soon. I think he’s been wrestling wild indians at night becuase he seems to have a constant mohawk, which we love and you’ll see in some of the pictures.

Not much is new with Elizabeth and I. Our lives are consumed by Charles, Elizabeth more so than I. She’s doing an amazing job with him, evidenced by the pictures below. She takes Charles with her to Mommy and Me yoga classes and they both love it. My work is going well. There’s a chance I’ll change jobs this summer after two years in my current position. We are still planning to move during the 2011 summer, destination unknown!

Reagan is doing great, she turned 11 years old this past Dec. She’s still got a lot of energy and loves playing frisbee. She is starting to pay more attention to Charles. She’s always walking over to him to give him a little kiss. Charles is really starting to notice her as well and reaches out to grab her whenever she walks by. They make quite the pair.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, thanks for all the cards and pictures. Our refrigerator is coverd with them all. Enjoy the pictures and we’ll post again soon!!

Jeff, Elizabeth, Charles and Reagan

We’ve meaning to post this for a while but Charlie has kept us pretty busy. We made it out to South Bend at the end of Oct, just in time for Halloween. We had a great time trick or treating with Sloane and Reese. Our trio made quite the garden group. Sloane was a flower, pot included, Reese was a gnome and Charlie was a sweet pea. It was a fast trip but we really enjoyed our time just hanging out at the house and playing with the girls. Charlie’s first trip on an airplane was very smooth, in fact most people didn’t know there was a baby on the plane. It was nice to see Greg and Suzi since we hadn’t been able to see them for a while.

Also included in our photos are some snap shots of the San Antonio Rock n’ Roll half marathon. My friends Becky and Jon, came from Colorado to run the race. We had a fun visit with them, as they stayed with us for a few days before the big event. Jeff, Becky, Jon and a few of Jeff’s work friends all participated while Charlie and I cheered them on. Enjoy the photos and expect a new holiday post soon!

At the end of 2008 I realized that my current job allowed me the time to workout much more than any of my 3 previous jobs. Working in a staff job I am given a little more flexibiltiy on what time I need to be at work. As long as I get my work done, and done well my boss doesn’t mind if I’m 30 minutes later to work than normal. Given that flexibility at work I realized my tour here in Texas would be the last opportunity for a long time to achive a long held goal of finishing a half ironman. I’ve always been interested in tri’s but never had the time or equipment to make it happen.

So, the journey began after Turkey Day in 2008 when I bought a cheap road bike, found a swimming pool close to the house and figured out a rough draft of a training schedule. At the time of the decision to accomplish a half ironman in 2009 Elizabeth and I didn’t know we were pregnant. We’d get that news only a couple weeks later. We talked about how crazy the upcoming summer was going to be but decided to press on with the training and races. I finished two sprint tri’s, one in May and one in July. (See earlier posts). I had a great time and really enjoyed my time training and competing in the events.

The big event for the year was the Longhorn 70.3 Half Ironman in Austin on 25 Oct. The big push for training started in July and it kept me busy and physically whipped. Every Sat and Sun we were home I spent out riding and running, usually starting around 4:30 am. The Texas heat can be a little brutal, even early in the morning. During the week I worked out the best I could depending on what was going on at work. I was averaging between 10 and 15 hours a week on my training and I could certainly feel the difference in my fitness levels.

While all this training was going on, Elizabeth and I were busy getting ready for Charlie’s arrival. Training while Elizabeth was still pregnant worked out well. She could sleep in late on the weekends while I was out pounding the pavement. I did get nervous about my long bike rides as we got closer to the due date but kept my cell phone with me all the time.

The real fun began when Charlie was born. As if training for a half ironman isn’t demanding enough, add a newborn to the equation. We were both wondering if we were drunk when we thought this was a good idea. The first three weeks with Charlie worked out well since I wasn’t working and my training occurred during their naps. Then I went back to work………and I have to give all the credit to Elizabeth. The only way I was able to be fit enough to complete the half ironman was due to the fact that Lizzy let me sleep more than I deserved to. Needless to say, we were both ready for the big event, and for all the crazy training to be over.

The weekend before the half ironman a few guys from work asked me to participate in the Randolph AFB Rambler 120. The 120 is a team event that consists of a 22 mile bike, 6 mile run and 1.5 mile raft paddle. I figured it would be a good training event and we ended up finishing first in our division. It was a great time and a beautiful venue at Canyon Lake just north of San Antonio and some pictures are also included from that event.

So back to the half ironman….all the training and race prep came together perfectly. The weather couldn’t have been better, the race course was great and I felt very ready to knock this thing out. Elizabeth and I drove up to Austin on Saturday afternoon so I could pick up my race packets and set up my gear in the transition areas. We spent the night in Austin, which was fun since it was our first time in a hotel with Charlie. I got up early on Sunday and headed out to the race site and Elizabeth showed up a little later in the morning to watch me finish the ride and run.

My race played out just like I hoped. The swim was great, cold, but great. Transitioning to the bike was a little tough, I was shivering so much I had to sit down to get my socks and shoes on. I warmed up on the bike after about 20 minutes and cruised thru the the 56 miles. After the bike I knew the biggest challenge would be the 13 mile run. It was as hard as I thought it would be. I felt great for the first 4 miles but the last 9 miles was brutal. I finished in 5:10:37. I was beat down at the end, physically, mentally and emotionally. I loved it and Elizabeth and Charlie were there to cheer me on. I also had a few people from work come out and watch, they were great motivators.

Life is now back to normal, the training is over, and I’m enjoying lazy weekend morning’s with Charlie and Elizabeth. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!