We made it a whole trip around the sun with our little girl, and what a year it's been! This has been the most exhausting year of my life. I've never sacrificed so much for another person, and we're just getting started! But nothing has ever been so rewarding. Sara Jane has been the best baby, and Hayden and I are so lucky to be her parents!
We had another very exciting month! We try to get outside as much as possible even though it's freezing. SJ loooooves being outside. She hates being cooped up in the house. This was one rare sunny day at the end of fall. Again, I can't handle this girl in her warm clothes. Too cute.
We had our fourth annual Friendsgiving with Madi and Matt, Lilli and Mitch, and this year, Lisa and Justin! This is the first time all of us college roommates and our husbands have been together since 2019, and now we all have babies too! It was so fun to get together at the Tullis' house (since our apartment was waaaay too small to fit eight adults and four babies) and watch these cuties interact. Here's a screenshot from when Junie, SJ, Eli, and Clara "raced" across the living room. Not surprisingly, they came across the finish line in order of seniority.
Real quick, I've gotta toot my own horn. I trained for and ran a 10K with a couple of my mom friends! The training was a bit brutal because of how cold it's been, and the race was no different. It was 20 degrees and sunny on the day of the race, and my baby girl came to cheer me on! I've already made it a point to exercise in front of her consistently and take her outside every day to instill a love for moving her body and being active. It's so important!
We went to St. George for Thanksgiving and it was quite honestly my favorite Thanksgiving I can remember, in large part because of my baby girl! I just love watching my family interact with her. She has them wrapped so tightly around her chubby little fingers. We took criminally few pictures during the week, but we spent lots of time outside playing together and enjoying the sunshine that we're so deprived of in Salt Lake. SJ even got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time! Considering most babies cry during their first Santa encounters, I'd say SJ's face of disgust was a W.
When I say we took criminally few photos, I mean we didn't take a lot of pics with our phones. We did, however, get family photos taken! And they turned out so much better than I imagined. SJ did so well! She was happy and smiley the entire time and we got so many great pictures. This became our first-ever Anderson family Christmas card, and let me tell you, our card was a hit. How can you not love seeing that adorable baby so proud of finding a leaf?!
We even added this bonus picture of our little princess to the back of our card. So cute I could cry.
We took pictures at the Tonaquint park which is right next to the cemetery where SJ's uncle Nolan is buried. Hayden took her over to his gravesite for the first time.
We came back up to the cold, filthy-aired Salt Lake valley and really hit the Christmas season hard. We went to the Christkindlmarkt at the This Is The Place park and had so much fun walking around the adorable booths and eating yummy treats! It was incredibly crowded but it was a fun way to kick off the season.
SJ had so much fun that she fell asleep on the shuttle ride back to our car.
I have to throw this picture in here because it's too cute. We spend so much time at the dinner table, and this girl just loves to eat!
We visited and had dinner with our friends Joe and Krissy and put SJ to sleep at their house while I went to play a soccer game. We forgot jammies so she borrowed some of theirs. They were brand new, which was great! But only because they have a little girl and the jammies were boy jammies. SJ looked like a cute little boy. Maybe someday she'll grow enough hair to be obviously a girl, even in boy clothes.
And while she was wearing the jammies, she somehow managed to get herself into THIS predicament. Funny and sad, but mostly funny.
We visited great-Grandma and Grandpa in Centerville and SJ fell in love with the same toys I used to play with as a baby! I think even my dad played with some of these toys as a kid. Hey, if they ain't broke, don't throw 'em out!
We went to Temple Square to hear Gabe and Bridget sing with the Madrigals, just like Hayden and I did in high school. SJ is verrrry sophisticated when it comes to music since we only listen to Classical 89.9 in our house (not true, but almost true).
We celebrated her birthday by swimming at the rec center! SJ loves the water. She doesn't really get that you can't breathe underwater, but she just loves it. And come on, the long-sleeved suit and swim bow? Get outta here.
That evening we invited some neighbors and friends over for a little birthday celebration! I couldn't love that cheesy little face any more.
We had anticipated that she would just stuff her face with her cake considering her impressive eating history, but she just poked at the frosting with her pointer finger (which she uses liberally these days) and licked it. So I had to intervene. But just look at this sweet one-year-old!
I love this baby and her cute smile and delicious cheeks and funny personality, even when she sasses me (when I tell her not to do something, she bobs her head side to side as if she's totally mocking me, it's hilarious and I'm sure will turn into something much more infuriating in the future). Watching her grow has been the greatest joy of my life, and I can't wait to see what a wonderful girl she becomes in the coming years. Happy Birthday, sweet Sara Jane!