Joq & Laura

We are really enjoying our time with Joq & Laura. They came up to visit us on Saturday, Dec 27th and are staying with us all week. We just love them so much and really enjoy hanging out with them. They are so easy to hang out with and so genuine and real that we don't have to do alot to entertain them. It is just fun being with them and doing life together. They have had fun spoiling their little nephew Xander. He is so lucky to have so many people dote on him! We have been playing lots of games and making lost of great food. Good times!

Xander's first Christmas

Xander had a very great Christmas. He was hilarious with all of his Christmas presents. He loved to climb on top of them and slowly rip off the paper. And he would dance and laugh at the songs and sounds that they made before he had even completely unwrapped the gift. He was really funny and entertaining to watch. He was very blessed and was given many fun toys to play with. Thank you to all who love him so much and spoil him with your love! We miss you!!! Xander has been having so much fun with everything. We are so blessed and loved.

Fun in Florida

We are having a great time in FLordia with my family. Xander has "wowed" the family with all of his amazing tricks! He has loved performing and hamming it up for all the friends and family here. He now "praises the Lord," makes snake, duck and cow sounds, tries to walk all the time and gives high fives like nobody's business. He especially loves it when I tell him high five...too slow (and take my hand away real quickly) He has also become quite a great kisser, thanks to Aleah Faires! hahaha! He loves kissing the ladies!
Some of our family from Jax came down to visit today and that was a lot of fun. We went to one of the down town areas and walked around, some some amazing lights, and a free outdoor gymnastic christmas performance. That was fun, especially since it was free.
The sad news is that on the way to the airport, my camera got dropped in the cup holder in our car. Unfortunately, the cup holder was already being occupied by a cup full of water...and there went the life of my good ole' faithful friend. So alas, just in time for Xander's first Christmas, I find myself without a camera.

Cindy-loo-hoo & the Grinch

We dressed up for the annual youth group Christmas party tonight. It was a lot of fun to hang out and have a good time. We received many compliments on our costumes. Now I am tired and need to go to bed!

Just like old times...

THis weekend has been very fun and a little chaotic at the Hendriks household. On Saturday morning, David brought down the Pringle kids to stay with us for the weekend. We have been decorating for Christmas, building gingerbread houses, playing games, watching Christmas movies (ELF!), and making pumpkin spice muffins...mmm!

We have really enjoyed having them here, playing at the house like old times. Xander has had such a great time having playmates in the house. They just adore him and play with him all day long. He thinks they are hysterical and laughs and giggles at anything they do!

They are early risers and tease me for sleeping in...I would hardly call 8 am SLEEPING IN! ;) This morning they boys got up at 6! I don't know how they do that...

We are enjoying our last day with them and making the most of our time together. We are so blessed to have them in our lives...chaos, joy, laughter, love, fights, fun and all that they bring! ;)

Date night?

Tonight Brandon and I went to explore a little something new in Modesto and found ourselves at Johnny Corino's for dinner. It was very good. We split spicy chicken pasta with artichokes & sundried tomatoes. We wanted to go somewhere new and as we passed we both agreed that Italian food sounded really good. Xander was a joy to have along with us on our quasi-date-night. He ate some crayons, ripped some paper, banged the plate on the table continuously & dropped his slippery pasta on the floor! He is in a really fun stage right now. He likes to copy us when we do anything. Voice fluxuations, squeals & giggles, patting our hands on the table, clapping & high fives...make dinner and "date nights" so much more exciting! Brandon is currently putitng together a "big boy" car seat for him...where did the last 9 months go? I can't believe he has already grown out of his first car seat! He is such a joy! We love him so much & are excited to watch him learn and grow each day. He has been trying to walk a lot lately. Take a few steps here and there, it is amazing!

A hard day for Xander

Today was probably the worst day of my life.  literally.  It started out pretty good.  I painted pottery with one of the women from our church.  That was really nice.  It was fun to be creative and just relax without an agenda or a to-do list.  Later I met one of the girls from my small group for lunch.  Again, very nice to talk with someone and hang out.  In the late afternoon, Xander and I took a walk with Brandon around our neighborhood and took the chance to talk and catch up on life.  That was a very nice treat.  




Then we fed Xander and headed over to a new couple's house for dinner.  They are a nice young married couple that we just found out actually has the same anniversary as us.  How random! We ate dinner and watched the Office! What more could you ask for in a day? So why was it so horrible, you might ask? Well, I will tell you.  When we arrived for dinner, we spent a few moments greeting each other and talking about our day.  We then headed into the kitchen to help finish preparing dinner.  We talked some more until Xander wanted to get down to play with their dog.  It was cute for about ten seconds until their dog started growling and barking at Xander!!! It was so horrible.  We all freaked out, of course.  We screamed and lunged at the two of them. They were right at our feet but I couldn't seem to get to them fast enough!  They had to grab their dog off while we rescued Xander.  Xander was already crying uncontrollably and I figured he was just scared from the sudden barking and our screams.   I held him and soothed him until he had started to calm down, but he was still crying A LOT, especially for Xander.  So after we closely examined him, we found that the dog had actually bitten him on his arm.

 It was so awful.  I just felt so sick.  He was hurting and crying and actually had teeth marks on his arm!  They felt terrible too, of course.  It wasn't their fault.  I know Xander is used to playing with Malachi so he is not scared of dogs.  I am sure their dog was just intimidated by Xander.  But it still sucks.  I am so sad for him.  Ugggghhh! Poor Baby! I think I need to get him a sick present, right?  

Girls Night & a Baby!

I hosted a girls event with the high school ministry on Sunday night.  About 25 girls came over and made jewelry at our house.  It was a lot of fun.  We made earrings, bracelets and necklaces.  It was nice for me to get a chance to meet some more of the girls and actually hang out in a smaller group setting.  It was fun to see all of their creativity and personalities come out in their jewelry!  Today was also a good and busy day.  The Barnes family is here in town, celebrating the birth of Jonathan Ray Barnes, Gerald and Evelyn's new baby boy! He is very cute and so small (Aren't they all small compared to my enormous Xander!) It has been nice to spend some time with them...we hung out yesterday afternoon and even got some late night rumikub games into the evening! Then we got to go to breakfast together at Mimi's (Yum!- pumpkin spice muffins, my favorite!) Later we headed to the hospital and visited with Gerald and Evelyn, and their adorable baby boy (pictures to come soon!) We have really enjoyed getting to hang out with Gerald and Ev here in Modesto.  It has been such a fun treat to get to know them better and have family in town already! Now Xander has a new cousin to play with here! Yeah!

the litle giraffe

tonight was so much fun as we celebrated our first halloween with our little baby xander. he is not such a baby anymore! Dressed up as the most adorable little giraffe this world has ever seen...xander had such a great time! We went to dinner with the Barnes family and then came home to get him all dressed up. Mimzy and Uncle Les came over with treats for us all: candy for Brandon & I, baby snacks for Xander! As soon as he saw the baggie with his snacks inside, he was grabbing at them and trying to get them open. He was not content until he was gobbling them all up! And not one or two at a time, he was grabbing fistfuls! ;) He is such a chunker sometimes!
We bundled up and headed over to meet with the Pringle clan to do a little trick-or-treating. It has been our tradition for the last many years to meet up with them and the kiddos and walk around a neighborhood until the kids are good and tired. It usually only takes a few houses for them to be worn out! Especially Elijah- he starts with such exciting ambition but slowly tampers off as the night wears on. We had a good time walking with them and starting our new traditions with our own family now. Xander definitely enjoyed seeing all the people and watching all the kids run around in their costumes!

Back home...

It has been nice for us to be able to visit Redding again. It just feels so good to be home for a few days. We get to stay with the Barnes, our family in Redding. It is nice to just relax and be with friends. Tonight I got to go out with the girls and enjoy a delicious dinner at Olive Garden. Brandon rode home with Gerry and they stopped in Sac to have dinner with Bryan. Later, Hay-Hay, Anna and I were entertained for hours with Xander's delerious giggles and hysteria. He is quite funny when he gets over-tired! After he went to bed, we enjoyed some more hours of our favorite TV shows together. It is so nice to have a break from life! And a chance to catch up with all my friends! I love all of you so much!

He melts my heart!

Seriously.  when your kid says your name for the first time, your heart literally turns to mush inside your rib cage. i could feel it just so full of love i think it exploded inside my body!  last friday xander started saying "mama" to me to get my attention and now he says it all day long! nonstop- in the night, when he wakes up, when i am not feeding him fast enough at dinners, when we are playing, in the car...it is so much fun! i love it. i was starting to feel guilty and a little bad for brandon, but no worries. xander started saying "dada" on monday so we are even.  now it is "dada" that he says in the middle of the night.  HOORAY! brandon gets to take the night shift because xander obviously wants his dad ;) this is so much fun! i love that he is growing up and learning new things.  he is just discovering the world so quickly.  i can literally watch him trying to speak and say new words as he concentrates on the shape of his mouth and the articulation of his tongue.  it is amazing to think how difficult that must be.  and once he learns a new word, he just keeps saying it over and over again all day as if to practice the new mouth form.  so cute! i am so proud of him.  can't wait for you guys to all hear him! ;)

he knows what he wants!

So I have known for awhile that Xander has a strong personality.  He has been having temper tantrums for a few weeks now...seriously! It is kindof cute if it wasn't so bad! ;) Well, today he we playing with the "gliding" ottoman (it came with our rocking chair & moves back & forth).  He was trying to stand up while holding onto it and when he lost his balance, he fell on his bottom & the ottoman swung back and bumped him.  So he hit it! And it swung back and hit him in the head a little harder.  So he grunted & clenched his fist & hit it again.  This time it hit him a little harder so he got really mad & he grabbed that sucker with both hands & HE BIT IT! Seriously, his face was all red and he was growling & crying/screaming at the thing while he bit into it with all his might...LOOK OUT WORLD- HE KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS!

He's walking...kindof ;)

I am happy to report that Xander has been pushing his little stroller/bus around the house! It is so exciting to see him walking all over the place! It always takes him a few moments to get his balance before he starts pushing it around on the carpet.  He does pretty well until he hits the hardwood and then the bus really takes off and he only makes it a few staggering steps before he has to let go! He is very committed, though, and he crawls over to it and tries to drag himself up again, all the while it is rolling away from him until they make it to the carpet again. ;) It is so cute! I just cannot believe he is already about to walk for real!

What more could you expect from the Hendriks'?

I woke up this morning to hear Brandon hollaring for me from downstairs.  I knew he had Xander, so i jumped up real quickly and hurried downstairs to see what was the problem.  "I think I hurt myself real bad, " he told me as I came down the stairs.  He had his hand over the right side of his face so I couldn't see anything.  "My eye hurts very bad," he explained.  I was a little bit freaking out because I thought he had actually punctured his eyeball!  Evidently, he was playing with Xander and when he popped up over the counter to play peek-a-boo, his face collided with the edge of the counter and busted his eyebrow open.  I had to play nurse and bandage him up with my awesome skills.  All the while,  Xander was perfectly fine and content discovering the toilet paper roll!

Fun from the other day

Xander decided that the best place to explode from within by using all of the food and by-products that he had stored up from the whole day, would be...in the store...when mom & dad DON"T have ANY diapers! So i took him outside, stripped him down & let him hold onto the side of the car. We were quite the street show! Many people stopped to observe & comment. Finally- i got him all cleaned up, only to find that I didn't have ANY extra diapers in the car either! So we swaddled him up in a little baby blanket like they did in Jesus' time & got home as quickly as possible! (no surprises when we got home, in case you were wondering!)

Some more house pics

I love it when he wakes up happy!

We didn't even have to paint- the color works great for his room

This one's for you- Mitch! Thanks for his soccer ball...he loves it!

Our bedroom...

And our wonderful bathroom- I love it!

hmm...

This is what happens when daddies dress their babies:

hahaha! j/k

Brandon dressed Xander and left all the tags on his clothes so that he could play with them...He said it was like a built-in toy! ;)

Xander visits friends...

Xander likes to hug his friend, Carter!

Elijah drops down from the cable on the Sundial Bridge

What a great action shot!

Xander loved being held by Simon

Elijah wanted his turn carrying Xander too!

My favorite four children in the whole world!!!

Our new house!

I finally feel settled enough to take a few pictures of our new place...I know they are long awaited so enjoy!  We are so blessed and thankful to have had such a beautiful home fall into our laps...it is a great, safe neighborhood, centrally located near Target, Costco & the mall!  It is always very close to the church, which is perfect! We are really so thankful for the house God has blessed us with here...It is so much better than we ever expected!

Great hosts & sweet company

I had a great visit to Redding yesterday.  I had to go up to get Xander's shots done ;( poor baby- but he always does so good.  He only cried for a split second with the initial prick and then he was laughing and flirting with the nurse again.  He is such a tough guy! So afterwards, I headed over to the Barnes to wish Haleigh a sweet happy birthday & give her some homemade cookies, before she left to look at a college.  A few of her other friends stopped by with cupcakes and brownies so we had a little birthday celebration after school with her.  Next I went to the Faires' house to move in for the night.  Now this may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but when you have an 8 month old baby, you really DO have to move in when you go anywhere.  You have to pack a bed, and some toys, blankets, his SPECIAL blankie, clothes, EXTRA clothes for when he pees, drools, poops or drops food on the other ones, a feeding chair (he is too squirmy to be held when he eats anymore), lots of diapers, wipes, more toys, bottles, back-up bottles, a special baby spoon (?), toys for the car, a car seat, stroller, front-pack, and grocery cart cover (so he doesn't lick the bars and get all germ-infested!), and his little giraffe that he likes in his crib...oh yeah- and a diaper bag, baby food, formula, special baby snacks that dissolve in their mouth, baby tylenol, a crib sheet and a crib pad! NO WONDER PEOPLE WITH KIDS THINK WE ARE CRAZY TO TRAVEL SO MUCH! It really is a lot.  And that doesn't even include MY things! So an hour later after I had moved in, we enjoyed one of the famous Faires Family dinners, where they served one of my favorites: Oriental salad.  It is so good- with sesame seeds, chicken & crunchy ramen noodles.  It is so good.  Later that evening, Xander fell asleep so Kim, Becki & I headed out to Dutch bros (bad idea that late at night- Beck & I had the hardest time falling asleep!) & then made our traditional rounds at Target...found some great deals, of course.  When we got home, we were welcomed by Les & Xander sprawled out on the couch.  Evidently, Xander woke up soon after we left so Les had graciously taken on the role of babysitter so we could hang out longer.  How sweet!  

The next day I got to see Lindz & Carter, Val, Jennifer & Jessica, Kim, Aleah, Gram, Chelsea, Holly and Becki & Dinah stopped by too! My day ended with another bit of normalcy- I picked up the Pringle kids from school and hung out with them for the afternoon...we went to the Sundial Bridge and took lots of fun pictures, climbed the cables & waded in the water.  I met up with David & Cyndie at Outback, few Xander, visited & grabbed a quick bite before hitting the road again.  Xander slept all  but about 30 minutes, which was awesome! It made for a very smooth drive...looking forward to coming up again to see the rest of you!

A not-too-full but pleasantly-busy Sunday!

He is so fast up the stairs...BUT he always looks back to make sure 

I am watching him ;)

He is so proud of himself when he reaches the top!

He gets into everything laying on the ground, 

especially anything that looks dangerous

He was only happy when we gave him HIS OWN menu to look at ;)

So happy drinking from a straw...and so messy too!

We had a VERY good day today...just enough of everything.

Spent the morning with the babe...then headed to youth group

Took Xander to childcare FOR THE FIRST TIME...He did great, of course!

Went to lunch at the Velvet Creamery...it was very good!

Used some coupons at Costco...found some GREAT deals

Xander fell asleep on the way home...took a long bath & relaxed

Spent some time catching up with Brandon...finished some conversations

Made some big decisions...working on a little church stuff

Headed over to the neighbors for game night...lots of laughs & I WON!!!

Took in a SNL episode...texted...facebooked...blogged

Made plans for tomorrow & even cleaned up the house

Time to go to bed...Good Night!

poor baby...

Not Xander, but Brandon! He needs your sympathy.   He fell down the stairs today while holding Xander.  Brandon was bring Xander downstairs and when Xander suddenly flung himself backwards trying to see around the corner and in his attempt to keep Xander safe Brandon lost his balance and tripped on the next step.  As they both bumped down the stairs, Brandon stuck out his foot to brace himself against the banister and caught his big toe in between the bars and stumbled down the rest of the way.  After he safely deposited Xander on the floor, he exampined his big toe to find it black/ blue and swollen.  HE HAD BROKEN HIS TOE! So he was in a lot of pain the rest of the day and has to hobble around all weekend.  poor baby... 

psycho scary repair man

Today I had a scary confrontation with a very unbalanced repair man.  Our air conditioner broke yesterday and in the Modesto heat, that just isn't gonna work for long so our landlord asked us to get 3 quotes to fix it.  Well, we had one very nice guy come out and cleaned the unit for us, talked with Xander and I, and gave us a very solid quote.  He was very kind and we chatted over glasses of ice cold water...and then the nuclear bomb of the century hit out of nowhere.  The next man that was supposed to give us a quote showed up and saw that there was another guy at the house and totally freaked out.  He started screaming at me that he just wasted his gas and that we were gonna have to pay him or he was going to take us to collections.  OUT OF NOWHERE! He didn't even take a moment to talk, he just started screaming at me, while I am holding Xander on my hip in the doorway.  I gently explained to him that our landlord wanted a quote (and she would have paid for his service call anyway) but he wouldn't even listen to me.  He just flipped out and wrote a bill and threw it at me.  I asked him to at least give us a quote, since that is what he was hired to do and he said he wasn't going to waste his time but if we didn't pay he was going to send it to the credit agency.  I don't know what he was on, but he was seriously out of his mind.  I was literally scared.  I called Brandon and asked him to come home right away because I didn't know what this guy was going to do.  Seriously, I think he lost his mind somewhere because he was out of control.  Too bad I don't have any pics to post of the situation.  That woulda been funny.  If I was like, "say cheese- this is for my blog..." hahaha! Now I kinda wish i had done that... 

He definitely has teeth!

One of Xander's favorite games to play used to be kissing our faces and "chewing" on our arms, fingers, chin...pretty much anything available.  Well, we have startled him a few times over the past week as he has tried to "play" with us and without warning we feel the sharp sting of his new little chompers gnawing at our unsuspecting flesh and we scream and jump up real quickly to end the game.  So sad...we will have to find a new game to replace that one soon!

Too cool...

My parents took Xander on a walk, so of course he needed his sweet shades to keep the sun out of his eyes.  I really think he knows just how adorable he is!

They picked up an awesome toy for him to celebrate his dedication (just an excuse to spoil him, of course!).  It is a little "bus" that he can ride, with wheels that he can scootch around the house.  It has an engine sound, a horn and plays music, which he likes to bounce and jig along with the songs.  He is so much fun and so engaging to watch play!    He is just such an intense kid!

SO cute...