Pink Polka-Dot Party

We celebrated Missy Em's birthday on Sunday, the 23rd. It was a lot of FUN!

Take a look for yourself....

Sorry for the picture overload but I can't help myself!The Birthday Girl!The tutu... I've seen these things on LOTS of blogs lately as 1st birthday girl attire. I think they are pretty stinkin' cute, so naturally as Emmie's big day was approaching my thoughts were, "Emmie. Must. Have. Tutu!" So, rather than pay a ton of money to purchase one (since I'm kind of cheap and on a budget), I found a tutorial on You Tube and whipped this up for only $8! It was really actually fun to make and was super duper easy!

Special thanks to the You Tube 'How to Make a No-Sew Tutu' Girl! The Birthday Party Attendees....

(Above)

My Dad, Grandma, my brother and his wife, Gma and Gpa Lonczyna (they are in their 90's - are they the cutest or what?) and the Hansen Clan (minus a few sibs whom we missed). And sorry Zach - we missed catching your picture!

We had everyone over for dinner, cake and ice cream, and other pink treats...

The Birthday Party Decor....

We went with the theme of Pink and Polkadots.

Very creative of me, I know....:)

My Big ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Where did my baby go??? This last year has been full of so many bright moments with this little one as a member of our family.

A few MORE things about Emmie at ONE:

Emmie is such a sweetheart! She loves to be held but is also very independent and happy to just hang out and play with toys. She knows where we keep the toys and will help herself by opening the console and pulling them out when she is ready to play. She is quite the little acrobat crawling up onto whatever she possibly can, doing chinups on the high chair when Parker is in there (yes, my 3 yr old still uses the high chair the majority of the time!), she'll stand on top of the push and ride fire truck with no hands,(while giving me a heart attack) and loves to try and get in the bath tub all by herself. She also loves to try and sneak pretzels into her mouth when the pantry door is open. This wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that I have to break them up for her because they are a little too big and she'll choke on them! She sleeps for a good 12 hours straight at night - from 7 to 7. She's a little tease and has such a vibrant, fun little personality. She adds so much light to our home and we have thoroughly enjoyed every minute with her this last year!

Back to the the party..................

Thanks to all who were able to make it out for the celebration!

Emmie is loving her new baby stroller, her 3 new baby dolls, cute pj's, bibs, bath toys, darling dress and hair flowers, fun new toys including a shape sorting hippo, and I'm not sure who loves it more - me or Emmie - but her new singing glow-worm seahorse is the cutest thing EVER! (Thanks Dad!) It deserves it's very own blog post...seriously. I wish I would have had this thing when Parker was a baby. She cuddles right up next to it and falls right asleep!

And thanks Mom and Reed for the darling hair bow holder, all the cute hair flowers and clips and money!

We're looking forward to another year with our Em, Emmie Ems, M, Emsie, Baby Ems, Missy Em, Sis Miss....(the list goes on....!)

Phew. Birthday parties are FUN but a lot of work!

After two in four weeks ---

I NEED A NAP! :)

If only getting one were a reality....

One year and what's in a name....

I can't believe that it was a whole year ago that our precious little Emmie entered this world!

On August 25, 2008 after a super unbelievably easy and fast delivery (only four hours start to finish!), our cherished little Em popped into our lives. She tried to make an early entrance 2 months premature, setting me into painful preterm labor at 32 weeks, but after 8 weeks of (modified) bedrest, Emmie was fully cooked and thankfully made her arrival full term.

She has been a pure JOY and we just love having this little angel in our lives!

While pregnant with Emmie, but before we knew what we were having, I had the following dream:

I walked into a room where a darling baby girl - approximately 10 months old, with big blue eyes, chubby cheeks and tiny pig tails, by the name of Emma (my grandmother's name) was sitting on the ground happily playing with some toys.

There was not much else to the dream but it was so vivid and the impression on my memory was long lasting as it came to my mind many times throughout the remainder of my pregnancy. I was excited at the prospect of having a baby girl, but I didn't share the dream with anyone but Chris because I wasn't sure I'd be lucky enough to be blessed with a girl and wondered if my dream was just wishful thinking. Not that having a boy would be unlucky... :)

Sure enough, when the day of the ultrasound arrived,

IT WAS A GIRL!

After Emmie was born and before we named her, the dream that I had had laid on the forefront of my mind and I wondered if this baby girl was the Emma from my dream. I wanted to be sure! After several days of contemplation between naming her Brooklyn or Emma (Madelyn was our third choice), I finally felt confirmation that this really WAS Emma! What a relief... the poor girl finally had a name... Emma Lee - (with the intent to always call her Emmie).

Emma is after my maternal grandmother (pictured below), whose name was Emma Lou. She passed away of pancreatic cancer when I was 16 but she was a woman that I absolutely adored. I love sentimental names and ever since I was a little girl I thought it would be neat to name a daughter after her.

Isn't she so pretty???

The "Lee" is after Chris' darling grandmother, who is named Leona. Part of my struggle in naming her Emma was that I didn't like the way it sounded with Hansen. So I felt we needed a middle name, but I have this thing about only giving girls a sentimental middle name - if one at all. So it occured to me one day that we could take the beginning of Chris' grandmother's name, and wa-lah - Emma Lee!

We are proud to have Emmie named after such amazing great-grandmothers!

This last few months, as Emmie has grown, I've been shocked at how much she looks like the baby from my dream! We know that she was meant to come to our family and we are so incredibly blessed by her!

Here are some of the top 12 things that we love and want to remember about our Emmie at 12 months:

1) She has six teeth and a smile that is completely contagious

2) She has been an IN-CRED-IBLE sleeper and has pretty much slept through the night since day 1. (we had a few rough spots at 6 months when those darn teeth were coming in but we passed by quickly!)

3) She LOVES her brother and wants to be near him, even when he bullies her around.

4) When he DOES bully her, she holds her own and will thrash back by biting him and screaming! I can't explain where in the world she learned this (the biting) so all I can say is that it must be innate!

5)She is a phenomenal eater and can pretty much out-eat Parker and I both!

6)She isn't fully walking yet but takes 3 or 4 steps before falling. Any day now and she'll be plowing full speed ahead, I'm sure....I haven't pushed it or even encouraged it too much... they all take off sooner or later!

7) She says "Ma Ma" "Da Da", and "Dog"

8) She squeals with delight to be chased and tickled

9) She likes to clap, dance on command, and did I mention that the girl loves to eat???

10) She has been extremely physical since 6 months... she's been crawling super fast since that time and is into and tries to climb ONTO EV-ERY-THING!!! She races up the stairs and thinks she's hilarious to pull down a pillow and then climb onto the couch - which I'm not such a big fan of because I don't want her falling off and cracking her head on the kitchen tile.....

11)I've said it before but she LOVES her silky pink and purple blankets. They are a must have wherever we go because they instantly soothe her!

12) She has such a sweet and soft countenance, but she also likes to be heard and make her presence known. What fun this little girl has brought into our home! I truly didn't know that having a baby could be as smooth sailing as she's been this first year of life.

We don't just love you, Emmie, we ADORE you!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Handy Hubby to the rescue.......

Walking in from my garage I have a tiny laundry room, which is also known as a huge "dumping zone" for shoes, diaper bags, purses, mail, JUNK - not to mention what the room is supposed to be used for - LAUNDRY! I have hated that room because it always just seems to be such a disorganized MESS! By the time I come in from the car with armfuls of kids and diaper bags and sippy cups and flyers, etc., everything usually gets dumped on the washer and dryer because I am off to feed starving kids some lunch or change dirty diapers or put someone down for a much needed nap.... you catch my drift. Hence, neatly organizing and finding a place for all this clutter time after time gets pushed down to the very bottom of my priority list.... IF it's even lucky enough to make the list at all!

SOooo... A few months back I was dreaming of THIS to help put a little organization back in the room: Well, I kept DREAMING (a common behavior of mine when it comes to PB items!), because this sweet little Pottery Barn bench and shelf system hold an $800.- pricetag!!!

Yeah. Right!

Way Way WAAAAY out of my price range!

Sooooo, I showed my "dream" to my blessed husband, and he came up with THIS:

BLESS HIM!!!

E-VEN BETTER!

That's right. He actually built it - from scratch - himself!

Pretty awesome, ay?

I LOVE IT!

And the pricetag? $70 for materials vs Pottery Barn's $800!

I don't know about you, but I feel like I got quite the steal here.

We've enjoyed this for several months now and I really think it's the greatest!

Honestly, that room still tends to be the most dishelveled room in the house at times, (well that along with my closet - which is a whole other story...!) but I can't even imagine what it would be without the added storage this sweet little thing has contributed! It makes all the 'stuff' much more manageable & everything actually has a place!

I sure love having a handy hubby!!! :)

So. Don't hesitate. What are you waiting for? Give your man a hammer. He can - despite what you thought - help with some organization in your home AND make your dreams come true - AT THE SAME TIME!

All with a few nails and boards.

Mine did!

And I've been smiling about it ever since.:)

Lions, mice and snakes -- oh my

A month or so ago we took my car in for some repairs due to the check engine light being on. After a few hours we got a phone call from the auto shop telling us that they found a dead MOUSE in the engine! YIKES! This might be surprising news for some people, but not us. Not at all. Why? Because over the spring we were blessed enough to encounter SEVEN - yes 7- mice in my SUV! (Four of which were babies trapped in the back side console.) CRAZY, I know. And disgusting. And gross. And creepy. And sick. And disgusting. I know, I know. What can I say? In our defense, most of our neighbors have had the same problem...

The explanation?

We live at the base of a mountain and there is nothing but open field behind us and the poor little guys I guess were looking for a place to keep warm! Not to mention Parker's cracker spills were providing lifelong food storage for the critters, I am sure! I was WONDERING why in the world Parker was all of a sudden being so clean back there! Come to find out - I had some of Mickey's friends on nightly janitorial duty in the backseat....How nice of them! Ha ha.

Still EW. I know.

However, this post isn't about our crazy mice situation.... but it IS about something pertaining to that that Parker said today.

The kids and I were driving to pick up Chris because HIS car is having issues and the check engine light is on. (one thing after another, right?)

On the way, Parker said this:

"Mommy, what's wrong with Daddy's car?

Does it have a MOUSE in it?.... Ooor a SNAKE?.... Oooor maybe a RATTLE (I think he meant rattle snake)?.......

......Ooooooorrrrrr a LION?!"

A lion??? I sure hope not! There ARE cougars around here but I THINK we'd notice... I may not be too afraid of mice, but a lion (or a rattle snake!) - those would definitely scare me!

I had to laugh. We haven't had the mouse issue for a while so it was funny that he'd remember that a mouse in the engine was a feasible problem, and then to throw in the other prospective culprits I thought was quite imaginative of him....

I have to say, I really love this age where I have this little buddy with whom I can have full on conversations with. He is so inquisitive and full of his own ideas about life and his surroundings.

Little P is always good for providing a smile on my face!

(Okay so I'm not gonna lie... he's also pretty good at flipping on my aggravation face at times!)

Oh, and just for your closure, there were NO reports of dead (or alive) mice in Chris' car, thank goodness. :)

Cruise control

11 months and there's no walking to report of....yet.

What about pushing? We've got pushing.

LOTS and LOTS of pushing!

From one end of the room to the other....

Over, and over, and over............ :)

I think she's just holding onto the firetruck until we get her that pink mercedes she's had her eye on.

That must be it.

What can I say?

She's a smart girl!

Sibling Wars Part II

Think this face is purely

SWEET and INNOCENT???

Well then you've been fooled!

See the pictures below for proof:

So Parker can definitely pester and tease his little sis relentlessly,

BUT --

WATCH OUT!

If antagonized enough, this Little Spitfire CAN and WILL attack that big brother!

How does she do it?

I'll tell you....

She opens her mouth real wide, screams, and in she goes for the kill!

She'll bite (well not hard) & pull hair, all the while throwing her tiny yet fiery body into a tackling assault onto her teasing big brother!

Lastly, she'll scrunch up her little face and yelp while looking to Mom for help!

Whatever it takes to get her brother to just STOP!

So so SOOOOO DRAMATIC!!!

While this common-occuring scenario might sound frightening, don't be scared.

It's not.

Truthfully, it's probably one of the funniest things we witness in our day. Despite her doing this a repeated number of times, Chris and I still get a little surprised by the uproar that comes out of our sweet little Em and we can't help but laugh at her sudden change in temperment.

Girls will be girls, right??

...If you know what I mean.

I support her through and through and I love that she sticks up for herself! :)

Go EMMIE!

Bachelorette perfect ending

HOORAY for Jillian and Ed!

Did I call it or what?! :)

I have to admit that I am pretty elated about the outcome of this show! In my book, it couldn't have ended more perfectly. Ed was my pick from the beginning - hands down. I'm not going to lie - I've had a crush on him since day 1. Yes, he's got something a little dorky about him, and those mankini shorts were absolutely atrocious, but all along I thought he was the perfect fit for Jillian, and thankfully she thought so, too!

(On a petty sidenote, I DID like Kiptyn's choice of a ring much better! But heck - I'm not going to sit and criticize a $60,000+ ring!)

Was it agonizing for anyone else to watch Reid come back last night and try to propose? I was having an anxiety attack, but in the end I'm glad he did because I think it helped to give Jillian a little bit more closure on their relationship and to see that she really was making the right choice. To be expected to turn on and off your feelings like that for someone has got to be incredibly difficult! So I feel bad for Reid and Kiptyn -- but I suppose that is the essence of the show and they'll get over it eventually.

So HOORAY for Jillian and Ed! I am soooo glad for this outcome and hope that the have a Happily Ever After -

Ryan and Trista kind of future!

Great. Now I don't have any shows to look forward to until American Idol is back on in January!

P.S. Who is going to be the next Bachelor??? It's gotta be Reid, Michael or Jake, right? I say REID...!?

THREE YEARS OLD!

My baby is

THREE!

HOW CAN THAT BE???

Three years ago, on a blazing HOT (118 degrees!) July 22, 2006, in Glendale Arizona, our life changed for forever!

After 6 years of marriage, 9 months of pregnancy, 34 gained pounds, 15 hours of labor, a blessed epidural, and 3 1/2 hours straight of pure gut-wrenching PUSHING,

Parker Christopher Hansen

(6 lbs, 9 oz, 21 inches, lots of long, auburn-ish hair)

finally made his debut into our family! It was truly the most amazing, wonderful experience I had ever had up to that point in my life. I had so much adrenalin running through me moments after he came out that I remember telling my Mom that I wanted to do it again! I was astonished to discover that I loved childbirth, the very thing I had been petrified of for years. At that point of course, I didn't realize just how much of a beating my body had really received. Opposite to my delivery, my recovery was not so easy... to say the least!....I was in absolutely HORRIBLE, I mean HOR-R-IBLE shape for weeks after. Pushing for such an extended, continuous period of time did not do good things for my petite frame, and one of the many "treats" I walked away with included a broken tailbone that took almost two full years to recover from. SO PAINFUL!

However, amidst all of this and many ghorry details I will go ahead and spare you from at this time, I was still blissful as ever with my new baby in tow and I can truly say that I loved being a new mom from the getgo. I know that is not always the experience for all, so I consider myself lucky. The hardest thing for me was defintely the lack of sleep for months on end! Sleep deprivation can sure throw you for a loop!!! But after 6 years of marriage I was READY to start our family and was so thrilled by this new little presence in our home.

FAST FORWARD TO July 2009....

Three years later I can truly say that Parker has been a tremendous blessing to us! He is fun, spunky, quick-witted, intelligent, affectionate, a great listener (most of the time), and has a memory that blows me away. He is charismatic, full of energy and ideas, and he is eager to learn and to relay his constant-accumulated knowledge. I am reminded when I'm around other kids his age that he in comparison seems to be such a mature soul. It seems weird to say that he's wise beyond his years at THREE, but honestly, if you are lucky enough to know this little guy, the things he says and talks about, the talents he already uses, his ability to carry on conversations and offer compliments and to express empathy towards others, and his amazing comprehension and quick ability to learn and retain information at barely three years old, has been mind-boggling to me! Don't get me wrong -- he's also a three year old that DEFINITELY has his terrible moments and list of things he hasn't quite caught onto yet! Also, I am SO not a Mom that goes around comparing my child to every other kid on the block while placing my child on a pedestal, so please forgive me for my description, but it's important to me to write all these things down so that I can remember what my little guy was like at 3 in years to come!

He has filled our home with more joy than we ever could have imagined. He makes us laugh everyday and is one of our favorite sources of entertainment. He keeps us on our toes and I am the first to admit that he can be a real handful at times. But I wouldn't change it for the world!

Thanks Parker for enriching our lives these last three years!
It has been the ride of our lives.

Happy Birthday Mr. P!

We Love You!!!

The big birthday bash

We gave Parker his main present from us the morning of his birthday. Upon opening, he excitedly exclaimed, "Roller skates!". Ha ha. Close. We took him outside to practice his new ride on his hot red scooter, and he wasn't bad! I must say he looked pretty cute zipping up and down the sidewalk in his helmet. His only problem is that he has to stop and vocally analyze the grasshoppers or rocks or dirt or weeds he sees every few feet. So even with his new wheels, he doesn't get too far too fast. :)

THE PARTY!

Parker had been telling me for months that he wanted a "bish" (fish) party for his birthday. Where he came up with the theme, I don't know - but we didn't want to disappoint, so a fish party is what he got! I must admit, Martha's fish bowl turned out a lot cuter than mine, darnit! Next time I have a fish party though, I'll be an expert. :)

I had a lot more cute decor to put out, but Emmie's been really sick for the past week and in between taking care of her (+ numerous doctor and a hospital visit) and in doing all the grocery shopping and cooking dinner and desserts for 18 people and trying to keep my house clean and come up with creative "under the sea" ideas, and put out all the decorations I DID get out out, this is the best I managed by the time our guests showed up. Even with all the planning and prep I did weeks in advance. Oh well! You can only do so much, right?? What a crazy week! All in all, I think Parker had a fun day! He is loved by so many people and I can tell you that he in turn adores each one of them. Thanks to all of our family who were able to make it out and celebrate Parker's 3rd birthday with us. He got so many FUN toys and we've already been having a ball playing with them. (Yes, I said WE and I meant it! :))

Funny. I found and made this (complicated) homemade chocolate cake recipe because Parker LOVES chocolate cake (Chris and I despise it!). I even practiced making it the week before to make sure it was a good recipe. I also made a boxed Funfetti white cake last minute, just to add another option for those of us who aren't choco cake lovers. Well, I didn't notice it until looking at this picture, but after all that, he's eating the WHITE easy-to-make cake! Ha ha. Why did I bother??? Such the way it goes, right? Oh well. I know for a fact he's eaten several chocolate ones since his birthday....

More Bachelorette speculation

Okay so, I wasn't going to blog about the Bachelorette again.....but - after tonight's show I'm left wondering what in the world is going to happen next week on the finale, so I've got to throw out my theories. I love to analyze - which is partly why I think I love this dumb show so much.......

So here's my analysis!:

First off, I am going to be SHOCKED if she chooses THIS guy:

Kiptyn! I just don't see them having that strong of a connection, and as I've said before - she just seems more into him than he is into her. His Mom is a little over the top which is forgivable but I just don't see Jillian being comfortable in his environment. Plus - she's said it herself - I think she'd be too scared that he'd break her heart.

Next.

Did you notice how on the closing of last night's show "The Men Tell All", that Chris Harrison asked Jillian if she's HAPPY, not if she's FOUND LOVE - like I swear is the usual question at this point in the game? That totally makes me wonder whether she's going to end up with anyone at all in the end of all of this! Yikes. I'm afraid that that is going to be the case.

And what is this 'unexpected confession' that makes her question everything??? The last shot of the teaser for next week's show is REID standing there looking down at a gold ring! I had to rewind and pause my DVR a few times to figure out who it was because it only flashed on him for less than a second. CRAZY! What is that all about?! Do you think he makes a comeback? He wasn't on last night's reunion show AND Jillian did say just last night that she wasn't ready to send him home....Hmmmm! Truthfully, I don't see her with Reid either - but moreso than Kippy Boy!

At the end of the day,

I'm still HOPING this is the last man standing:

Our ED. We'll forgive him for last week's show - including his little green swim trunks. What were those things?! The whole sinful episode was too embarrassing to even talk about... not just Ed's part in it but Jillian's and everything that went on. Seriously. We'll just leave it at that and a big CRINGE! :)

All in all, my vote still stands with Ed. So I say she either walks away with Ed next week, or she walks away solo.

Any other predicitions girls???

I know, I know. I need to get a life. But heck, I have one indulgence in my life these days, and it's once a week for two hours. Give a girl a break! :)

Sibling wars

Emmie loves the velcro ball. Her eyes get big and her little body trembles as she tries as hard as she possibly can to squeeze it into her tiny mouth. The girl derives much satsifaction and contentment as long as she has her trusty ball. Until,

that is, big brother takes it away and causes her to do THIS: Which causes HIM to do THIS:

Such a little STINK.

But hey, that's what big brother's do, right?

They receive great joy in the infliction of torment and antagonization (is that a word?) of their younger sibs...

All I can say is, you better get used to it, Em.... I'll protect you all I can but that only goes so far.:)

The Fourth!

On Saturday morning, Parker, Emmie and I headed up to Park City for the annual Park City Fourth of July Parade Spectacular. Well, I wouldn't call the parade anywhere near spectacular, but there is just something about being in the breath-taking Rocky Mountains on a day dedicated to celebrating the beautiful country in which we live that I have come to love. We met up with my brother and his wife, Steven and Kylie, who were nice enough to help me troop my two kids and very heavy double stroller up the steep hills of Main Street, to meet up with my Mom and Reed who were saving us some good front row seats. Thankfully we were able to partake of a delicious breakfast in the park at the bottom of Main before heading up, or I'm not sure we would have made it....it was quite the workout toting my kiddies and their gear! :)

It also doesn't help that I am a bit of a wimp. Parker and Emmie had a great time watching the parade

Thanks Mom and Reed for staking out our good seats

Afterwards, it was back home for naps, then as soon as Chris got home (from work) around 6, we rushed to Franklin Covey Field to watch as my Dad got to throw in the first honorary pitch at the Bees Game. My Dad is a huge, HUGE, & in case you didn't get that, HUGE baseball fan and he won a contest on the radio by sending in an essay proving WHY he's the biggest baseball fan, and the prize was to throw in the first pitch at the game on the 4th of July! It was so fun to watch! I got there RIGHT as he was walking out on the field and I was so grateful I made it in the nick of time. Unfortunately, I was so busy video taping it that I didn't get any still shots until after it was all said and done. He is in the middle of that crowd on the field however in the pic above. :)

We didn't get to stay for fireworks because of our little people, but all in all we had a really great, fun-filled, action packed 4th!

I just love this holiday! :)

Just for the record

Random updates...Nothing too exciting but worth noting... Parker's recently decided he likes corn on the cob & rice. It's nice to have a few more "grown up" items to add to his menu.

He's doing awesome in the potty training department. I'm glad we waited for him to be a little older before training him. I think it's really helped make the process pretty bearable for all involved.

Funny things he's said lately:

"Mom, I just went potty. DON'T WORRY!....I only sprayed the wall a little bit."

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for Clorox Wipes! :)

We were driving home on the 4th of July from Park City when he announced that he needed to go potty. Not wanting to pull over and drag he and Emmie into a public restroom after I had taken all that time to pack them up into the car, I told him that I was so sorry but to just go in his pull-up and that I'd change him once we got home. After we were home and I was changing him, he said,

"Mommy, don't ever, EVER tell me to go potty in my pull-up again!. I'm a BIG BOY and big boys don't go in their pants!"

I gave him my sincere apologies. I really felt bad but I had to laugh. Apparently it's only acceptable when it's HIS idea to go in his pants.

One more thing I can think of is that he's always telling me, "Mommy, don't drink (or eat) all of that. You save some for me!"

He sure makes us laugh. We love our Parker!

What a HAM! I promise he really does have a non-cheezy grin somewhere in there....:)

As for Emmie:

Her top four teeth recently made an appearance. That's right, FOUR all at once! They came in right around 9 months. That makes for 4 on top and 2 on bottom.
Poor thing... she had a constant runny nose for weeks because of it and more than a few rough nights, but we made it and now she's finding them to be quite useful in the food department.

Emmie's been climbing up the stairs, but hasn't learned to (safely) get down them yet.

She LOVES bananas - both baby food and cut up pieces. She also loves strawberry flavored eggos, shredded cheese, noodles, rice, bread, LOVES water, and I get nervous to feed my babies meat, but I got brave and did give her some ground up turkey pieces and she loved it. I've also been giving her turkey lunch meat and she likes that, too. The girl basically just loves to eat. If she's unhappy, 95 % of the time I can just give her food and she calms down immediately.

The things that she likes to show off when she's well-rested are: waving "hi" over and over, clapping, she LOVES to play peek-a-boo with anyone whose game, and she - like her brother, has her own dance moves she likes to whip out when she hears the music.

This girl LOVES her silky purple blanket. I give it to her and her thumb immediately goes into her mouth and she'll lay right down. It's so precious. Grandma Jane just made her this cute PINK silky blanket however, and she's loving this one just as much! Thanks Grandma Jane!
It's so fun to have her so attached to something that she adores and that automatically soothes her so much.

As you can see, she - also like her big brother - loves to put on the cheezy grin. She is so lovey and affectionate, sweet but spunky. We just love this little Love Bug!

We made it!!!

I've been trying to get Chris to go to the Hogle Zoo with me for the nine years that we've been married. And I've been completely unsuccessful in my attempts.

Well, I have an announcement to make.

We finally made it!WITH the help of my almost 3-year-old. I promised Parker that if he went 5 days in a row without having any potty 'accidents', that we'd take him to the zoo. He surpassed that goal weeks ago (although he did just pee his pants today - so he's still not got it down perfect) so last Wednesday - Chris' day off - we were off to the zoo! FINALLY!
We had such a fun time! We went right after it opened so it was still a little cool and the weather felt great. We zipped around the park and we had seen everything just as lunchtimes and naptimes approached. That is just our style....In case you didn't know, the fairy tale in our household goes that at half-past noon Parker turns into a little monster if he isn't in bed sleeping or well on his way, so we're always racing around to get anything done before those times, and before Parker has the chance of transforming into his unbelievable ornery, mean, irrational monster twin. He is such a sweet, fun, charismatic little guy if he is well rested, but if not - WATCH OUT! I end up paying for it sooner or later.
My fellow ward members have witnessed this as our lovely church time falls between the dreaded hours of 11 -2:00. In fact, unfortunately I think many of our fellow church goers must think Parker IS a monster because that is the side they have to see....Sad to say, but I absolutely dread Sundays these days. Two weeks ago Parker's behavior was so out of control (due to his inability to be at home napping) that all three of us -Parker, Em and I (Chris had to work) were crying by the time we got in the car to go home. But -- that is a whole other story...:)

Back to our excursion........
Parker loooved the carousel and especially the train ride!
(Our camera died right as Chris was taking a pic of Em and I on the train however, so no pics)
It made us excited to see how much fun he had on the rides and even more confident of how much he is going to love Disneyland in September! And Emmie was soooo good as usual.
BLESS THAT CHILD!
Thanks Parker, for making it possible for our little fam to finally make it to the zoo!
It seems that having kids makes Chris a little more willing to be adventurous and step outside the everyday grind once in awhile.
I know, I know it's kind of pathetic how excited I am about going to see a bunch of animals in cages...and in his defense, I'm sure that Chris isn't the only guy out there who doesn't love the Zoo! Am I right?

Oh Ed

Was I the only one jumping for joy to see him back??? Soooooo glad to see that Ed is back on the Bachelorette!!!
He is my only hope for Jillian. LOVE HIM!!!

As for the other guys......
Wes~It goes without say... TOTAL DIRTBAG! Why she's even remotely attracted to him is beyond me! And who in their right mind is going to buy his CD? Especially after seeing what a snake he is. Ughh.
Reid~He's alright but he's not emotionally mature enough for her.
Kiptyn~She's obviously way more into him than he is genuinely interested in her...I think he'd totally break her heart if she were to choose him.
And poor Michael.....he was so adorable and I just loved his cute family. Too bad he was so young! He should be the next Bachelor.

But HIP HIP HOORAY that my Ed came back!

How it all began.....

JUNE 24, 2000

(I know, I know - it's LONG!!! But I have to document for the posterity...) Has it really been NINE years since Chris and I were married? That truly boggles my mind!

I'll never forget sitting in a health class ten years ago at UVSC... I was an independent, excited about life 20-year-old who was ready and eager to take on another year of college. I had sent out a missionary earlier that summer whom I had met my first year up at Utah State University, but I was already enjoying my new found "singlehood" and was having fun dating various people, writing my missionary, and just enjoying the thrills of student life. I in no way was looking to be married and in fact I was hoping for the opposite for a few years. Well, - as I have learned in life - sometimes PLANS CHANGE!

So I was sitting there in class when I saw him. The cutest red-headed boy I'd ever layed my eyes on walked into the classroom and sat down several desks ahead of mine. I had never really been attracted to a red head before, but this one caught my attention and I was somehow intrigued by him. If anything, I was happy for the prospect of having a cute boy to look at in one of my classes. That is, until a few days later when I dropped the class for another one that worked better with my schedule. I remember thinking that I'd probably never see that cute red-head again on a campus so large.

A few weeks later I was walking from my car to my student apartment and I spotted him - that same red-head! What were the chances?? I came to learn that he was not only in my ward, but he lived in my SAME apartment complex. Oh - and he had a name - Chris. Over time, my roomate Jill and I became friends with he and his roommate, Josh. Friends was all however...Chris and Josh were both freaked out to learn that Jill and I both had missionaries that we were writing! :) By then I really wasn't too interested in being more than friends... I was having fun dating other guys I had been meeting, writing the mish of course, and getting to know a variety of new people. Weeks went by and Chris took interest in the (loud :)) girl that lived across the hall, but our friendship continued. I would give him advice on how to 'win' her over, and he would talk to me a little about the missionary situation. I would walk over to the library in the evenings to study and always sat in the same place. Chris caught onto this, and started to make appearances in the library as well. He later started walking over with me to "study". But we would end up just doing a lot of talking and goofing off together. Walking back from the library one night he got up the nerve to ask me out. I was a little perplexed because he was supposedly kind of dating that girl who lived across the hall from me (who by the way was a year younger than myself and who - how do I say this nicely? - drove our entire apartment crazy because she was a little um - obnoxious way to late into the night & also whom I didn't think was cute enough for him... Jill - help me out here- you know what I'm saying!). Inside however, I was elated. I had tried playing it off as though I wasn't interested in him that way, but deep down I knew there was something about him that had drawn me to him the first time I laid eyes on him and I was attracted to the idea of finding out just what that was. Needless to say, I agreed to go out with him.

On our first date we went on a group date to the "Extreme Fun Center" in Orem and did a little sparring, obstacle courses, jumping in those bouncy houses, etc. I'm pretty sure he was impressed by my skills, because later that night he tried really hard to hold my hand while petting his friend's dog at the same time as me. Nice, ay? Well, I can't remember if I really let him hold my hand that night, but nonetheless I was humored by the whole situation. He asked me out again, and had another group date and he impressed ME this time with his cooking skills! He cooked fajitas for at least 12 people. On our third date, we went on yet another group date, this time to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights and then to the symphony. We were standing there, looking up at the beautiful Salt Lake Temple, when out of the blue I had this distinct impression that THIS was the guy I was going to marry. It was a surreal experience - but the message was very clear. It COMPLETELY freaked me out! We hadn't even kissed yet! Well, that is until my doorstep that night. So the story goes on, but

about six weeks later we were engaged, and 5 months later married. So there you have it! One of those whirlwind, only-in-Utah dating stories. The poor missionary ended up with a 'Dear John' on Valentines Day (I had no idea that would happen and I felt awful when I heard), and the girl across the hall was a little jealous, but we all came out okay. :) One more neat thing to add, is that after we were engaged, we decided to read one another's Patriarchal blessings. We were astonished to discover that we had our blessings given on the EXACT SAME DAY! September 15th, 1996 -- my 17th birthday. It was a neat confirmation that we were doing the right thing and especially incredible to think that we were promised many of the very same things on the same day!!!

And here we are NINE YEARS LATER! I can't believe it! We've truly been blessed. We sacrificed much to forge through and get Chris through EIGHT years of school to attain his Pharmacy degree. It has rewarded us with job security and a comfortable, stable income for our family. Education truly does open the door of opportunity and I'm so grateful to Chris for working so hard for so many years to get us to this point. It was well worth it and has been a joyous and refining journey over the years. The completion of school for him along with the birth of our 2 beautiful kids are our greatest achievements thus far. Marriage isn't always easy, that is for sure. But the best things in life never are and are so worth every bump in the road, as long as they are taken together.

Here's to a WONDERFUL LIFE!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Chris!

I love you!

Card from a 2 year old

Is the picture below a great one? No. Is it the most recent of the three of them and the best of the few I took? Yes. :) Chris unfortunately had to work on Father's Day. However, that doesn't mean that he got out the door without some celebrations first. Father's Day morning, Parker lovingly gave Chris a 6 a.m. wake up call and dragged him downstairs to excitedly present him with the card he had ever-so artistically made for his Daddy the day before (I was still sound asleep and didn't even realize that Parker had taken note of the drawer I had tucked the card into!)

Here is the card: It reads:
Dear Dad:
You are nice and fuzzy. I like to play with you. I especially like to roll the ball with you. You are silly. I want to go to Disneyland with you.
I love you, Dad!
I of course wrote it for him, however he narrated every word to me with no help! I thought it was so cute. I had to repeat back the "fuzzy" part to him three times to be sure that is really what he had said, and sure it enough, it was. He makes me laugh -what a little character. He even signed his signature "P" at the bottom (the bottom of the P is cut off in the pic, but for the record it really is a P, not a D.:)).
In addition to the card, Parker also gave his Daddy a mini-sized soccor ball (made for smaller kids) so that he can teach him to play the team sport, as Chris' entire family are longtime soccor players/fans.
Among a few other clothing items and gifts, Chris also received an exciting leaf blower for the big day. We later went over to enjoy some dessert with extended family on the Hansen side.
HaPpY FaThErS DaY, Chris!
Our kids are blessed to have such a great guy as their Daddy!
We love you.

Forget the dinosaurs, where are the bones?

Last Wednesday we went to a free dinosaur exhibit down at BYU. Beforehand, we told Parker that we were going to go and see some dinosaurs. His eyes got big and he said, "Are they nice ones?". We went on to explain that the creatures lived a long, long time ago and so we were just going to be looking at their bones. Upon arrival and after assessing the T-Rex (okay, I'm not completely sure that's a T-Rex) Parker said, "I want to see some bones. Where are the bones?" We said, "These ARE the bones, Parker. You're looking at them." A couple minutes later he repeated, "But where are the BONES? I want to see some bones!" He went on to question us about this over and over again. Chris and I just had to laugh. He didn't quite get it.

Emmie on the other hand, was quite impressed and was clapping at the dinosaurs from her stroller and flashing them big grins.

This is the perfect example of our kids these days and their personalities.

Parker's never quite satisfied... But Emmie, she's pretty easy to please.

On a sidenote: The middle pictures are of a CROCODILES HEAD who was 37 FEET LONG! CRAZY! That big guy was found in Texas.

In Parker's defense, I can't really blame him for not really comprehending the whole dinosaur thing. It's hard for ME to wrap my 29-year-old brain around the idea that these massive guys really once roamed the earth, so I guess I'm not too worried that he really isn't getting it at 2! :) In thinking about it even more, he is OBSESSED with feeding the dog her bones and has quite a strange fettish with them, so I think he must have had it in his head that we were going to see an exhibit of doggy bones. After all, that is his understanding of what bones are at the moment.

Sorry to disappoint the little guy! :) Maybe we'll just have take Parker on a whirl around PetsMart for our next little field trip...

Happily Ever After...

My cute little brother and his darling fiance, Kylie, got married last Thursday, June 11th in the Salt Lake Temple! It was SUCH a fun day. Steven was beaming with pride as he escorted his stunning bride around the rainy temple grounds. She looked so beautiful in her white dress and red sash - I LOVED it! There was a huge downpour of rain just prior to them exiting the temple, but luckily it cleared up for family pictures. Unlucky for them, the rains turned back on after the family portion of pictures ended. JUNE 11, 2009
The reception was at a place called the Canterbury up in Bountiful. What a neat place! The colors were red and pink with a lime green accent, and everything looked super cute. Parker was in HEAVEN.... between the yummy candy bar (is that the cutest thing? Bethany and Brett had one too and whoever came up with the idea gets a giant gold star - LOVE THEM! ) and having TONS of room to run around, it's pretty safe to say he had a ball. He even snuck into their getaway limo (a surprise for Kylie) to test it out before the bride and groom made their way into it. Parker and Emmie got their grooves on when the music turned up and the dancing started. Emmie (who was sooo tired by that point) got this huge grin on her face, laid herself on the floor, and just started rolling around and laughing to the beat. I was so busy laughing and snapping her picture, I'm not sure anyone else even caught the moment, but she definitely had me smiling! She loves music - it's so cute.
At the end of the night, the happy couple made their exit through a man made hall of sparklers and off they went into their white stretch limo....
What a GREAT DAY! Exhausting with kids, I tell ya, but so fun.
I am soooo happy for them and I'm thrilled to be getting Kylie as a new sister!
CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS S&K!!!
What are the newlyweds up to now???
Oh they are off honeymooning on a Caribbean cruise....
Nope. No jealousy here. Not at all.
Okay, maybe just little. More though of just the thought of an hour or two of just laying in the sun with a yummy fruity beverage with a little umbrella in it with NO INTERRUPTIONS would give me great satisfaction. I don't need the whole ten day trip. Just a couple of hours of it. THAT'S what makes me breathe out a "Wow, that'd be nice" sigh.

Anyone else???
You have to have small rambunctious kids to even begin to relate to me here. :)