Halloween at the Library

Coolest part of the public library system: FREE story time every week. I am totally grateful for the librarians at our public library who put up with a half an hour of runny nose babies and toddlers running around, asking nonsense questions, and pulling on their pant legs.

Here is a picture of Julia's Halloween outfit she insisted on wearing to story time today. One mother told me she looked like a Halloween princess lost in a snow storm!

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!

Luke is officially 1 years old now. He really turned 1 on Friday (Jan. 23rd), but we didn't celebrate his birthday until Sunday. He loved his cake, presents, and the million times we sang "Happy Birthday". He liked Julia's singing of "Happy Birthday" the best.

Today I grateful for Maren, Jordan, Dave, & Ashley who braved the snowstorm and celebrated Luke's birthday with us. It was nice to have some Aunts & Uncles here since none of the Grandparents could make it.

Most of all I am grateful for Luke. He is our little funny man! Here are a few things I love about him:

• He loves to say "Hi" to everyone. He usually wakes up before Julia in the morning and when she wakes up he loves to run into her room and tell her "Hi".


• He loves to be cuddled and give hugs to Mom & Dad.


• He is a little bit more cautious than Julia-ie.. less falls down the stairs, less bruises, and less worry for Mom.


• He makes a great dinosaur "Roar"


• His legs can run really fast now!


• He is our little boy for forever who was sent from our Heavenly Father



• Here are pictures of Luke the day he was born and at his first birthday. Check out the slide for more pictures from Luke's birthday!

Bath tubs

Luke's new trick: Putting all of his food and practially anything that is on his highchair tray on his head.

What am I grateful for today?: Bathtubs. Luke & Julia are currently averaging 2 baths a day due to Luke's new trick and Julia's insistence that she takes a bath too if Luke gets to take one.

Make Believe

Julia has never been a good self-entertainer. From day one she craved interaction with everyone around her. In her mind toys were only meant to played with when someone else was willing to play with them too. So today when she went to her room and looked at books on her own for a good 15 minutes I was estactic. What was even better though, was when she came out of her room with a princess crown on and said that her friend "Chubby" was tired of playing and she wanted Mom and Luke to play with her now. The mention of "Chubby" and the way she had put on the crown was hilarious. We all took turns pretending to be princesses and everyone thought it was pretty funny when Luke wanted the crown on him.

Cupcakes, Tutu skirts, & a messy house!

I have been falling off the blog wagon lately. You could blame it on the fact that instead of cleaning the house, responding to email, doing the budget, or doing anything else responsible I have had a great time making elaborate cupcakes with piped candy letters or assembling pink & purple tutu skirts for an upcoming Relief Society craft night. Sometimes it feels so good to let my creative side wander and ignore the cheese sandwich on the floor from Wednesday.
Here is what I have been grateful for since Wedesday:
Thursday- A friend of mine in the neighborhood did a babysitting swap with me and it was my turn to leave my kids. This meant 2 hours of grocery shopping, visiting the post office, and hanging out at JoAnn fabrics with no children. I turned up the radio full blast- no "Wheels on the Bus" song for me! It was heaven and I am grateful for her friendship. Today is her birthday and the fancy cupcakes ended up on her doorstep!
Today- I am grateful Mike has a job right now. Mike came home tonight and told me it took him 45 minutes today just to go through email from acquaintances of his seeking employment opportunities at IM Flash. We will just save our pennies and hope for the best. What a scary time.
Check out the slide show for a few new pictures from this week.

Crockpots!

For Christmas Mike gave me a new crockpot. I love my crockpot and to celebrate the new crockpot I found a blog where the author cooked in her crockpot every single day (yep-365 days) of 2008. I am thinking the Avocade Chiplote Soup, Barbequed Hot and Spicy Shrimp, Broccoli Beef, Buffalo Chicken Lasagna, Coconut Beef, Pasta Fagioli, and Rotisserie-style Chicken sound delicious.

Check out the blog at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Thanks to the author for being a dedicated cook and blogger and helping me gain new enthusiam for dinner!

Mr. Chubby!

Today I am grateful for the funny little things that happen each day. Often they help a long day move along. Here are few from Lehi UT:

- Julia got a new little table for Christmas that we keep in kitchen where she can eat her meals and use as a craft table. Along with the table came a pink stool and a blue chair. Yesterday she pulls out the stool from underneath the table and says, "Hey Mr. Chubby. You can sit on the pink stool for lunch." Mike has been telling me that she has an imaginary friend she calls Mr. Chubby, but I really didn't believe him- well he's right! So now the daughter of a former school counselor has a friend named "Mr. Chubby"- real politically correct!

-Luke has a new trick where you give him a piece of food on your finger and he bites at the piece of food and growls like a tiger at the same time.

-Click on this link to see a video off of YouTube that Julia thinks is very funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJOE1GyJwSk&feature=PlayList&p=889139AF17B8289B&index=19

Last of all here is a first for Luke: a Mohawk!

Jumping Beans

We currently have 2 1/2 feet of snow in our front yard and it is snowing as I type. The ever ending saga of being housebound in the winter with kids that challenges every mother has officially arrived at the Hansen household this week. So today I called up a few girls in my neighborhood and we all caravanned to the Kangaroo Zoo. The Kangaroo Zoo is a warehouse filled with inflatible bouncing toys for kids. Julia and all her little buddies jumped for 2 hours straight. Luke had a great time hanging on to Mom for dear life everytime I tried to put him on a bouncy toy. Eventually he decided to venture off on his own as he tried to see how fast his new little walking legs could take him.
Tonight I am grateful to the 3 Moms in my neighborhood who ventured off with me, Julia, and Luke. It was so fun to visit with these 3 girls and hear that my frustrations as a mother are pretty common.

PS-Sorry forgot the camera today.

Update!

Since it has almost been a whole month since I last posted anything, let me give you an update on the latest happenings:

• Our basement is finished with new drywall, baseboards, paint, carpet, and tile!!! All courtesy of our December flood.
• Noel, Amber, and Greg Dickens spent a little bit of time with us before they headed up to Idaho for the holidays.
• We were snowed in for Christmas and had a great time spending the holiday with just four of us. It was peaceful and so fun to watch Julia and Luke be amazed by all the activities.
• We have lots and lots and lots of snow and Julia has made good use of her sled!!
• We finally made it up to Twin Falls Idaho to visit the Hansen family for New Years.

I added a slide show with some pictures from Christmas for all to enjoy. As I looked back at these pictures I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has sent me these two little energetic spirits. As we had our little Christmas Eve activities of singing carols, reading the nativity and lightling candles for Jesus, it was so fun to hear Julia ask all sorts of questions about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and the birth of the Savior. I am grateful for the little bit of time we had to slow down and spend time just the four of us together during a holiday season which is usually filled with parties, extended family members, and gifts.