family

Overwhelmed and Blessed

May 5, 2013 By Alexis Anderson Leave a Comment

Credit: Imgur.com

I’m sitting at the airport in Burbank, Calif., on my way home to Denver after a weekend in LA for my baby shower that was way too short. Pictures to come but I had to write about how overwhelmed I feel with all the blessings and love we’ve been shown over the past few days in anticipation of little sprout.

On Thursday my office threw a three-way baby shower for myself and two other colleagues who are expecting in May and July respectively. I received so many thoughtful gifts and warm wishes. My heart was filled to the brim.

Then yesterday, Saturday, my mom threw me a gorgeous baby shower attended by family, family friends and my dearest girlfriends. I was astonished by all the generosity, appreciative of the advice and grateful for the chance to connect with the women who have helped shape the person I am today, and I mom I hope to be.

I am not ready to go home to Denver and I wish I could ditch my flight and stay just a few more days. The life change ahead is becoming more real each day and the next time I come back to LA I won’t just be me. I’ll be a mom with little sprout in tow, introducing him or her to the entire family. It seems impossible to fathom. But I am bursting from excitement and anticipation.

We are so ridiculously loved, lucky and blessed. Family and friends are truly what make life so sweet.

Filed Under: Family, Pregnancy, Reflection Tagged With: family, pregnancy, reflection

We’re 20 (Weeks)

March 13, 2013 By Alexis Anderson 5 Comments

Surprise! The Anderson clan is expanding by one – due July 31, 2013! I am 20 weeks pregnant (halfway!) and thrilled to finally share the big news here on my blog.

Girl or boy? What a great question…that we do not know the answer to. Mike and I have decided to wait until we meet our little sprout on delivery day. For those of you who know me personally this decision probably comes as a shock given my type-a planning tendencies. But this is such a special surprise and I am completely at peace with it being unknown.

We’ve waited 20 weeks to share the news for a few reasons. First the obligatory 12 weeks came and went, luckily without incident. Then I needed to share the happy news with my colleagues and all of my clients. That process naturally took a bit of time. When we could finally shout it from the rooftops, I decided that I wanted to get a perfect bill of health update at the 20-week ultrasound before saying anything. Thankfully, that appointment was Tuesday and all looks fantastic.

Starting tomorrow I am going to post some blogs I wrote earlier in the pregnancy, before I could share my experiences and thoughts publicly. I hope you enjoy a few days of looking back on it all.

What a journey it has been thus far. My heart swells and my eyes fill with tears when I think about meeting our little one. I cannot believe how much we already love our tiny sprout and how much I think about the mother I want to be. I am extremely grateful to be surrounded by incredible role models. I hope they don’t mind LOTS of calls and texts with new mom questions.

Welcome to a brand new and very exciting Lex & Learn chapter.

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: family, reflection

Happy 3rd Birthday Kona!

March 7, 2013 By Alexis Anderson Leave a Comment

Kona, you are our sweet, loud, mischievous and manipulating fur child. This morning while I was in the shower you apparently gave Mike your “lover boy” face as he calls it, and he granted your wish to be “tucked into bed” for some more rest time. Instead of kicking you out when I found you like this, I let you sleep for another 30 or 40 minutes while I got ready. Pathetic.

I am utterly amazed what we do for our dogs.

Kona, you give us grief but we couldn’t imagine our home without you. Happy 3rd birthday buddy!

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: family, reflection

Grandma, You Are Missed This Christmas

December 23, 2012 By Alexis Anderson Leave a Comment

Grandma Lorraine. Christmas 1982

Tuesday will mark our family’s fourth Christmas without our sweet grandma Lorraine. Four holiday seasons, how can that be? I remember when the first Christmas after her passing felt impossible. “It will get easier” seemed like the stupidest and most insensitive phrase. But life keeps moving and it has gotten easier, and that fills me with guilt and relief all at the same time.

Her memory lives on all year long, but no time more than Christmas. She absolutely loved Christmas, but not for the presents or parties. She loved Christmas for the music and the lights. The eggnog and the brandy (and wine and champagne). The fruitcake and the endless sweets. The time with family, especially when it meant I traveled home from college.

She opened each present on Christmas morning like it was the first present she had ever received. Carefully, oh so carefully, she would open the paper while making sure to salvage bows, ribbon and tissue paper for the next year. Whether the gift was a wooden spoon or a fancy outfit, she would touch it over and over, exclaiming how perfect it was and how we spent too much money on her. If you tried to take her picture on Christmas morning you were always met with a “NO” exclamation and a hand that immediately went up to cover her face. Oh, and we often made her wear a Santa hat. She was a trooper.

Christmas traditions have changed a lot since she left us. Mike and I got married so holidays have been split back and forth between Los Angeles and Denver. None of us can stand fruitcake or regular Coca Cola so those treats are no longer purchased. I didn’t even buy eggnog this year and the house is brandy-less.

But if she could visit the home that Mike and I have made, one year after we closed in December 2011, she would “ooohh” and “aaahhh” over our tree, telling me how beautiful each and every ornament looks. She would love our holiday fireplace mantel and be so happy that Kona has his own stocking. She would make me buy eggnog and spike it to our liking, especially while watching Christmas choir specials on PBS. You see, she thought watching mass and choirs on PSB Christmas Eve excused her from midnight services. She preferred cozy bathrobes to holiday sweaters.

I miss her daily, but I expect Christmastime will always be the hardest. So I write this post in order to share my memories of this incredible lady with you, and to pass along the love and joy she simply radiated at Christmas. It was such a blessing.

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: Christmas, family, grandma, reflection

Thankful

November 29, 2012 By Alexis Anderson 1 Comment

Disclaimer: I wrote this post before Thanksgiving and forgot to schedule it! Can you say absentminded much? Enjoy, and please forgive my tardiness.

I’m sure this is only the one gazillionth “thankful” posts you have read this Thanksgiving week. But I, like everyone else, fail to step back regularly and look at the big picture. Sure there are stressful weeks at work and yes, a larger savings account would always be nice…but sadly, we routinely miss what really matters amidst the hustle and bustle of our 27/7 lives.

For whatever reason, this Thanksgiving I am feeling more in-tune with my blessings than ever before.

I am thankful for my husband, who accepts me each and every day for who I am. I am grateful that every year of our relationship (nearing 10 years together!) just keeps getting better and better.
I am thankful for our families – parents, siblings, aunts, uncles…everyone. Everyone cares deeply about one another and teaches Mike and me so much about life, marriage, etc.
I am thankful for my other family, my family at GroundFloor Media. I am surrounded by hilarious, passionate and genuinely kind people who help me grow every day.
I am thankful for my friends, far and wide. These women know me better than anyone and I know they will be there for me through anything. Years of laughter, trouble-making and downright craziness have bonded us and I wouldn’t be the same without them. You know who you are ~ thank you for being such incredibly important people in my life.
I am thankful for the roof over our head – our roof. We have been homeowners for almost a year and it has been an adventure in patience, compromise and love. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
I am thankful for our crazy pup Kona. Who knew we could love a furry creature this much?! He is spoiled rotten and stole my heart the day I saw him at the adoption event.

Life has its ups and downs, but wherever you find yourself today, I hope you have love and peace in your heart. Life is so precious. Be thankful. Don’t miss a moment.

Filed Under: Reflection Tagged With: family, friends, reflection

Girls Sleepover!

November 20, 2012 By Alexis Anderson Leave a Comment

…with Uncle Mike too of course!

As I mentioned in my post about overnight french toast, our twin nieces had their first sleepover at our house about two weeks ago. I was a little nervous how the sleeping arrangements would go over but they took to the basement guest room like champs.

We watched Tangled (so cute!) in a makeshift fort built by Uncle Mike, made our own pizzas for dinner and played for hours upon hours with my old Barbies and beanie babies (at least 100), which my parents drove out from Los Angeles a few weeks earlier. What is it with buying a house and suddenly getting all of your old stuff? Our house isn’t that big people!

It was so neat to watch the girls “ooohhhh” and “aaaahhhh” over the same Barbie outfits and accessories that mark a special time in my childhood. I look forward to keeping them here so the girls can create memories at our house for years to come. There are certainly going to be many more sleepovers in their future!

Filed Under: Auntie Lex, Family Tagged With: aunt, family, nieces

Prayers for our Troops

September 27, 2012 By Alexis Anderson 3 Comments

I have always respected the men and women who serve our country. Both of my grandfathers are WWII veterans and Mike’s family also has a heritage of proud service. That said, we are not a “military family” and I don’t think I fully understood the impact of knowing someone who is serving until my cousin joined the Marines as a JAG officer a few years ago. Even then, it still didn’t hit me that he could be called for duty overseas, until he was.

Ironically last week when I was touring Washington D.C. I looked down at my phone and saw an email from my aunt. The email was short and to the point. My cousin would be leaving for Afghanistan in just a few weeks.

What? Is this for real?

Those were the first thoughts I had. Then my mind went to his fantastically awesome wife Anne, who blogs at Hammer and Heels. How was she feeling about all of this? And his mom? Brother? Friends? My mind went on and on.

Then I got to talk to him on the phone this week and my outlook changed. Of course, like everyone who knows and loves him, we’re sick with worry. But to hear his pride, excitement and passion for what he is going over there to do…it’s hard not to feel the same. The men and women who serve our country are, simply put, irreplaceable. They possess a fierce loyalty to the USA that many of us try to say we have, but don’t. Not by a long shot.

His exact departure date is not yet set but I know everyone in his life will be praying fiercely for his well being. I’d ask my readers to do the same. And the next time you see someone in uniform, take a second to say a simple ‘thank you.’ Shake their hand, look them in the eye, and tell them you appreciate their service. It is the very least any of us can do.

Filed Under: Reflection Tagged With: family

Family Photos

July 9, 2012 By Alexis Anderson 1 Comment

Aunts don’t always get to be in family photos. So, when Mike’s sister asked me to join the session even though Mike was out of town I was very touched. Her best friend Lindsay is an insanely talented photographer. She has an incredible knack for capturing special and unique moments ~ no easy task when your subjects are usually young children. Lindsay is also a magician with Photoshop. Let’s just say that I was sporting a blemish or two in the photo below.

And speaking of the photo below, I am so thrilled to have a moment captured like this. I hope that on a future visit home to California I can coordinate family photos with my brother, sister in law, nephew Jackson and niece Olivia. Our five nieces and nephews will only be this young for a moment in time and it’s very special to be a part of this moment, frozen in time.

Credit: Lindsay Teague Morena, 5ive Photo

Thank you Lindsay for giving me a gift I will always cherish.

If you are in the market for photos (family, wedding, engagement, maternity) I urge you to explore Lindsay’s 5ive Photo website and blog. You will fall in love with her work!

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: aunt, family, nieces and nephew

Wordless Wednesday: Proud

May 16, 2012 By Alexis Anderson Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: family, Mike, Wordless Wednesday

The Perfect Weekend

April 9, 2012 By Alexis Anderson Leave a Comment

Monday comes whether you want it to or not. Thank goodness for perfect Colorado weekends that keep me smiling even after the alarm blares at the start of the week.

Beer tasting at Oskar Blues (a new client!)