iPhone Pics

 I've been really bad at taking pictures with our actual camera. I find myself capturing more of the every day moments with my phone, despite the fact that the quality is definitely not up to par. I have a feeling that kids of the future will have most of their memories captured this way. It's just so much easier! Anyway, here are some pics off of my phone from the last month...

Go Niners!!!

Watching the laundry...30 minutes of easy entertainment.

Even superheroes have timeouts

Go Bobos!

Beanie Cutie

I love seeing my kids in cute hats...

A Minnie Mouse Birthday

I'm finally getting Makayla's birthday pictures on the blog. We had a wonderful Minnie Mouse birthday party for our little girl. She got tons of cute clothes, more musical toys to drive Mommy and Daddy batty, and in the end, the tissue paper was the gift of choice! 

Makayla couldn't wait to get her hands on her cake. She was much more delicate with her cake than Joshua was at her age. She would take one little pinch of frosting, and gobble it up. This went on for awhile until Andrew finally took her hands and smashed them into the cake.

Makayla was surrounded by family. It was such a special way to celebrate her first year of life. She's a lucky lady indeed...

Happy Birthday, Makayla!

Happy 1st birthday, Makayla!!! I can't believe it was a year ago that I was asking for an epidural, and thinking, "Oh, man, here we go again!!!" Your delivery was so much easier than Brother's (probably because of the drugs) even though you still topped the scale at 9 pounds. Your blonde hair and blue eyes are going to drive the boy's crazy. You are one tough cookie, but that isn't a surprise since every time I look over, Joshua is trying to pin you to the ground. You love your brother, and he loves you. It is so much fun to watch you two play together, even though the majority of those moments end up with tears and yelps. You are very thoughtful with toys, and are getting so independent. You sleep like a champ, which everyone in the house loves. You eat SO much, yet keep quite a petite figure. I seriously think you would eat all day if I let you. Just like Brother and Mommy, you love your carbs! You are a little fish when it comes to bath time. Daddy can't wait to get you in the pool! You crawl all over the house, and use people and furniture to crawl up to your knees. You are developing a stubborn streak...I'll chalk that one up to Daddy ; ) You are such a joy to be around, and I can't wait to see what this next year looks like as you grow into a toddler. Thank you for still letting me cuddle with you on rare occasions, and for your slobbery kisses and claps when I come into your room. We love you, Peanut!

A Wonderful Six Years

In my plethora of blog posts a few days ago, I forgot to include a post about our anniversary. On January 6, Andrew and I celebrated six years of marriage. It feels like so much has happened in the past six years. We have increased the size of our family from two, to four and a dog. Andrew is still at the same place of employment, but I am working at the home front. Married life began in a one-bedroom apartment, and now we have dreams of upgrading to a slightly larger home. Like birthdays, anniversaries are good milestones because they bring you to a place of remembrance. Last night, we had our very first organized family movie night. Andrew was cuddling with Makayla on one couch, and I was cuddling with Joshua on the other couch.  I couldn't help but smile, and praise God for the many blessings he has given Andrew and me.

The motorboat has returned

Joshua did a really good motorboat when he was Makayla's age. While she's not quite up to par with her brother, she is bringing the motorboat back for all to enjoy...

Oh, Baby!

Joshua has a new phrase that he likes to repeat...constantly... The primary phrase is, "Oh, baby!" He likes to substitute "baby" for all other family member's names - "Oh, Sissy!" "Oh, Mama!", "Oh, Daddy!" I caught him repeating it over and over while in his room, and recorded some of it. This went on for quite awhile.

Daddy's Little Helper

Joshua loves helping us with our chores. Doing them with Daddy, outside, is even more fun! I love watching them together...

Monterey Aquarium

We made the drive down to Monterey to visit their famous aquarium. Joshua was starting to feel a bit under the weather at this point, but he was a trooper. The place is huge, and there is so much to see. I hope we can make it back sometime in the future because then I think the kids will be able to appreciate it a little more. 

The tidal wave is coming!

Re-fueling with clam chowder in a bread bowl. This made Mommy and Daddy very happy!

All of the never-seen-before ocean stuff, and his favorite part was making this bus go round and round (go figure!).

We came home with some new shirts!

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow is a really cool place for young kids with rides and animals. We can't wait to take Joshua and Makayla back once they are a little older. 

Daddy picked the one animal that didn't go up and down (oops!).

Feeding the goats

Leapfrogging like a pro!

He couldn't get enough of this slide.

Having so much fun is tiring.

"Mommy and Daddy, can I keep it?!"

A Grundstrom Christmas

On Christmas Eve, we visited a donut shop for our annual Christmas Eve donuts...

"What do you mean they're out of donuts?!"

Later that night, we had another New Mexican-inspired Christmas meal. On a side note, I take for granted how easy it is to find red chile in New Mexico. I sent Andrew on a mission to find red chile for my posole, which ended with him and his dad in the "culturally-different" part of San Jose. Remember, these two individuals are about as white and Swedish as you'll find ; ) I wish I could have videotaped their adventure! After dinner, we opened up Christmas gifts...

I really wish Joshua would cooperate for a family picture. This is about as good as it gets...

Joshua and Makayla were really excited about their xylophone. You can imagine how Andrew and I felt about it ; )

A caterpillar tunnel!

The kids with Great-Grandma Onnen. 


We had a great breakfast on Christmas morning, and then we opened our stockings. Joshua played Santa...

Later that night, we played cards. Makayla is already learning how to be a card shark!

Cookie Decorating with Gigi

Joshua and Gigi (Grandma Grundstrom) did some sugar cookie decorating and baking for Christmas. Much like our first cookie decorating experience in Albuquerque, Joshua was more concerned with taking the candy off of the cookies and eating them, rather than decorating. He also had fun putting his fingerprints in each of the cookies. It was a fun time, nonetheless!

We're Back!

We're back from our Christmas hiatus, so let the blogging begin...

Before leaving for Christmas in San Jose, we celebrated Christmas with my (Amanda) parents, my sister, and both sides of grandparents. We devoured a traditional New Mexican Christmas feast of posole, tamales, and biscochitos, and then attended to all of the gifts under the tree. Okay, so there wasn't a tree, but there were plenty of gifts! As you can see, we did a horrible job of taking pictures...lesson learned...

Hey, Sissy, check out all of those gifts behind us! We must be pretty special!

Snuggle time with Great-Grandma Padilla

Papi is such a poser, and what a surprise...Joshua got trucks!

Posole, tamales (not pictured), and biscochitos...the ultimate Christmas food!