More Summer Fun!

Just thought we'd check in with some extra phone pics from our summer so far. Still working hard to look for jobs . . . hopefully some news soon.

Summer Time!

It's summer break! We are all home together for the summer. We recently went to Guemes Island, WA for a friend's wedding, and although we spent the ceremony trying to get the girls to be quiet, enjoyed the time on the beach. We have applied for a combined 65(!) teaching jobs but haven't had any luck...So, although it's June, we don't know where we'll be at the end of the summer! Bea is growing like crazy. She is rolling over now and even trying to wave. Elke is so smart and funny (and maybe a little frustrated with her limited independence). We love our family so much and couldn't be happier to have some time all together this summer!

Life at Home

Hello All,
Here are the latest pictures of our family. Elke and Bea are doing really well. Elke is still crazy about Beatrix. She' going a little nuts from being home all the time. She is so smart and kind. Bea is growing like a weed. Last time we checked she was already 9 pounds. She smiles all of the time (really, not just gas!)and has already been trying to mimic us sticking out our tongues. We are totally in love with our little family and are so glad to have this time off together. Be sure to check out the video below of Elke dancing to the band Pavement.

From Videos

Brand New Baby Girl!!!

Beatrix Stanley Sander was born at 7:40pm (PST) on Jan. 4, 2010. She weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces at birth, and she is currently a lanky 21 inches long. Beatrix had to go to the NICU in Yakima, but she's perfectly well so we'll all probably get to go home on the 7th (Thursday). Maggie had to convalesce in Ellensburg (about 40 minutes from Yakima) for the last two days without Beatrix. We'll all be reunited today though. First, we're going to go home and see Elke who is hanging with Grandma Kitty. Here are some pics of Beatrix.

November and Most of December 2009

We had a nice Thanksgiving with Papa and Grandma. We're all home on winter break right now (yeah!). The new addition is still due on January 15th (8am). We are all excited and curious about how things will change around here. Hope all is well.

October and Elke's Exciting Halloween

Sorry it's been so long since our last post. We've all been really busy with school. Elke's getting smarter every day, and Maggie's getting larger! Here are some pictures going all the way back to Dustin's birthday. Also, a few of you have asked what we need. We put some ideas on our old registry---they're just ideas. We're not picky! Here's a link if you want to look.Babies"R"Us - Sander Registry

Fall!

Hello All, Here are the newest Elke pictures--there's even one of Maggie's growing belly. Things are going well here--school's in full swing, the baby's kicking like crazy, Elke's getting smarter every day. Enjoy the pictures!

Went to the beach today . . . here're some pics

Dressed up and Camping in July

Hello all. Here are some pictures of Elke dressed up for a wedding, in her hip outfit from Tia Kat, and camping at Owhi/Cooper Lake. She's a total joy. She says all kinds of words and is starting to link them into sentence. We had to leave camping a little early because the bugs were really "bugging" her--but she had a great time swimming in the mountain lake.

May and June

Hello all. Elke is doing really well, as are we. She got to go to Vancouver, B.C. and to the aquarium while we were there. The girl likes the city, just like her parents. We are packing up the house and getting ready to move to the desert--looking forward to grandparent help with that! Elke now says shirt, pants, Elke, toes, trees, and home. She also really likes to make everything plural. Looking forward to seeing the Colorado bunch here soon!

May I?

Cute as ever--or getting cuter even! Here's the latest pictures of our little girly girl. New words-sit and outside. Hope you are all well!

April Adventures

As you can see, Elke's still as cute as ever. She's getting pretty active these days: climbing on furniture, walking, running, stomping. She likes to say cracker, ball, car, book, bubble, dog, tortilla, cheese, color (as in crayons), no-no, baby, hat, hi, mama, and dada (sometimes, mostly this one is mama too!). She's quickly changing from a baby to a little girl. We asked her yesterday how to say love, and she replied, "mmmmmm," as she tilted her head to the side--what a sweetheart!

Marching out

So it's spring! We're still waiting to get outside a bit more--it snowed this week. Elke is a ton of fun. She runs, hugs the dog, says "cracker" (a thousand times a day)and "bubble." She wears our shoes and carries around mom's purse or a basket full of toys and books. She likes to search for birds (with a whistle to accompany the search), draw with crayons, and did we mention she likes crackers? Here's the newest pictures.

Zoo and Besos

Here's some recent pictures--including a visit from family and our trip to the Woodland Park Zoo where Elke got to hang out with her old (ok, 9 month old) friend Rhia and a bunch of other animals. We had a great time.




Here's a video of Elke's relatively new talent--although now when you ask her if you can have a kiss, she shakes her head "no." Sassy, sassy.




We'd also like to welcome Major Robert Sander--Born 3.4.09--Congratulations Brandon and Sara!

Elke-Bam(bino) in February

Hello all. We finally got some pictures of the new teeth. She actually has a third one coming in now too. There's no stopping her as far as walking is concerned. She has learned to jog across the floor too. She has added some new animal noises and words to her vocabulary. She also does some signing. She signed "baby" over and over every day. Once we figured out what she was saying, we went and got her a "baby". She carries it around, pats its head, and offers it a pacifier. She's pretty darn adorable.

December...and a little November still.

Hello All! Here are the newest pictures of the little twerp. She's taken a step or two (usually toward the dog) but isn't in to the whole walking thing yet. We're all home together for a few weeks (yeah!). It finally started snowing around here--Elke loves it. We're not sure where we'll be for the holidays--depends on the weather. Elke's birthday is coming up and this is her first Christmas so...more pictures to come in the near future. We hope you are all well and wish we could magically be with everyone for the holidays!

Been a while...

Sorry it's been so long. Elke's doing really well--standing, cruising, saying "Dada," chasing the dog around, dancing (she's got rhythm!), waving hello and goodbye, making faces, and just generally being cute. No teeth yet...walking in the near future? Here's a ton of pictures to peruse.

Back to School

Well, we're all back to school now. Elke is adjusting pretty well. She seems to enjoy Chaucer in the original Middle English, so that's pretty cool. Elke's really growing fast. She crawls and pulls herself up. She's even cruising a little. We haven't posted for a while, so here are some picks and a movie.

Rodeo Weekend

Well, Elke went to her first Rodeo this Labor Day weekend. Other than the squealing pigs (note the picture of Elke crying), Elke really enjoyed the fair and rodeo. Elke's still scooting most of the time but is starting to mix in some proper crawling too. Grandma Jan just spend a couple of days taking care of Elke while Dustin was out of town (Congrats, Mitch and Jenny!). Other than that, no big news. Hope every one is well!

Back to School

Summer is starting to wind down out here. Maggie goes back to work on Monday (and will really miss Elke!). Dustin has until the end of September and then he's back too. Here are a few pictures of the twerp. She seems to like her bucket more than the toys in the bucket. We'll post rodeo pictures after Labor Day (yee ha!).