Accomplishments- or lack there of

Mike has two more days of school this semester and then he will be done with classes forever!
Heather is entering a motivational speech contest.
Lydia has put potty training on hold until after the holidays.
Colton has discovered his toes. He is always trying to grab them. It's quite cute.
Happy Holidays!

Ho Ho Ho

I love Christmas. Right now it is snowing- so I included a picture of our apartment in the snow. Lydia is starting to get into the Christmas season. Every time she sees a Christmas tree, Santa, or hears someone talk about Christmas, she says, "Ho Ho Ho" Last night at our ward party Santa came, but Lydia much preferred to watch from afar. She saw her friends approach him and then leave crying, so she decided that wasn't a good idea. She wouldn't sit on the Big Man's lap, but she did ask Santa's elves for an orange and bag of candy, which she proudly showed us first thing when she woke up this morning. (She slept with her goods last night) Why is it that we submit our children to sit on a strange old man's lap when all the rest of the year we warm them about strangers? No wonder they cry!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we went to Ohio and picked up Lydia. It was kind of cold, but no snow. Mike's uncle chris and aunt rose were also visiting from North Carolina. Lydia had a great time playing with her cousins and of course we all enjoyed the food!

Midnight Showing

This week I did something totally out of my normal routine. I saw the midnight showing of Twilight. Yes, I was there with several hundred other high school girls all excitedly talking about every movie trailer they could consume in anticipation of this historic event. I was there when Edward Cullen first walked onto the big screen and all those giddy girls screamed. I was there when Bella kissed, dare I say it, a vampire! I read the books and enjoyed them, but I am afraid I am not CRAZY over the whole thing- a friend invited me, so I went. I won't be purchasing any shirts, but I will admit I did enjoy searching the web for a cool picture to post on this blog. This picture makes me want to go lay a big smackaroo on Mike, but he is camping right now- brrrrrrr.
Lydia is again at her Grandma and Papa Hansen's. We left her there last weekend when we went to see Mike's sister in "Alice in Wonderland" She had the lead as Alice and did a great job. We will go pick Lydia up on Tuesday and stay for Thanksgiving, so this may be my last post for a week or so. I have missed my little sunshine, but while she's been gone I've been able to start and finish my Christmas shopping. (I hate shopping when it is really busy and it will inevitably get busy after Thanksgiving.) I have also been able to help several people this week with my additional free time, which has felt really good. I plan to finish up my Lydia free week by making curtains for Lydia's room in a hope that she will stop playing with her blinds and bending them.

Potty training

The really exciting thing to be happening around here is Lydia's potty training. It is day 3 and we haven't had any "oops" today! Hooray! By the end of the day, I am wore out, but Lydia seems to be loving it. She gets chocolate chips when she goes, so all the treats is great for her!
Mike played in the championship intramural football game, but they got slaughtered. Their quarterback broke his leg between last game and this one, so they had to really scramble and it showed. And of course some pictures of the ever changing Colton. I finally managed to get some pictures of him smiling. He looks sort of goofy, but he has a great smile- dimples and all.

I found one!

Every time we go to someone's house with a little kitchen, Lydia loves it and plays and plays. For months I have been looking for a little kitchen that Santa could bring her and finally I found one on Craig's List. ( I love Craig's list) It is now in our neighbor's closet, waiting to be unveiled Christmas morning. I think I am so excited because I had a kitchen as a little girl and I have been hit with a piece of nostalgia.

Beyond doing some early Christmas shopping, I have been helping Mike write some fellowship essays and Lydia has begun potty training herself. Today she went into the bathroom and proceeded to poop on the toilet- all by herself! I think we will start full-fledged potty training on Monday. Apparently I am holding her back.
I have also began looking for a women's basketball league. I cannot think of any hobby which I enjoy more, but playing sports has been one of the things that has been pushed aside since having children. I know that opportunity for certain things changes with the responsibilities of marriage and family, but I think it is important to not lose who we are in the process of becoming wife and mother or husband and father.

Happy Halloween

These pictures are all out of order,but the first one is of Lydia watching the laundry turn around and around. She pulled her chair up and was so excite that her coat was getting washed. Honestly, I was quite excited her coat was getting washed as well! We started out our halloween morning eating jack-o-lantern pancakes. I dyed the batter orange and then used chocolate chips for the eyes, nose and smile. They tasted really good too! Then we were off to a costume party.



























As you can tell, Colton was a football, Lydia was a cheerleader and I was a football player. When we go trick or treating tonight, Mike will join us as the coach. Lydia enjoyed played ring around the rosie at her party, but most of all, she loved eating suckers! I think she had three while we were there. Every time I turned around, she had found another to eat. I am sure there is more fun to be had tonight, but I thought I would post these pictures now while I had a minute. Happy Halloween everyone! Oh- and to Christie- Happy Birthday!

The outfit

This was what Colton looked like in his blessing outfit. I took it the next day after I bleached it.

I am finally starting to feel like I have a life again. I go each morning to the church for aerobics and though I know I look like a goof, I feel good afterwards. The kids have been going to bed earlier so I have a few hours in the evening to do what I want to do in peace and quiet. What a difference it makes.

Blessing

We went to Ohio for a long weekend and it worked out that I stayed for the whole week and we blessed Colton while we were there. The family photo is everyone from Mike's family that was there for the blessing. Colton wore the blessing outfit that Mike wore. It had this cute little hat, but he isn't wearing it in the picture because right after the blessing he had a massive blowout and I spent the rest of sacrament trying to get the outfit clean.
The day before the blessing, the Hansen's threw a stake youth rodeo at their house. It wasn't a real rodeo, but they had lasso'ing, hay stacking and sheep hearding. It was quite fun! They had a dance in their barn with a mechanical bull that was really fun to ride. Regretably, neither Mike or I was very good at it. Mike's weight would pull him one way and that was the end of it. I had on very slick polyseter pants, so I didn't last long either. Either way, it was a great week!

The routine

Ok mom, I am blogging so that you have something new to look at! I really don't feel like there is much to say except that we have been trying to get in a regular routine around here- and that has consumed all my time. Colton is now 2 months old and in the 95th percentile for his weight- 14 lbs! He is getting happier and I seem to be getting happier too. Funny how that works.
Lydia is a FANTASTIC older sister! She loves to give Colton kisses and help change his diaper. She becomes quite concerned when he spits up and she thinks that she should be able to nurse him just like mommy. (We have compromised and she gets to nurse her baby doll while I nurse Colton.) Lydia likes to help with other things too, like cooking and pushing Colton in the stroller.
I don't know if I have mentioned before, but I like taking pictures. Some friends asked me to take their family photo's a few days ago, so here is a sample.

Superman

I just thought this was funny. Sorry I didn't post it directly to my page. I was having difficulties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8os1VME1CA

Kids do the funniest things . . Like sleeping through the night!

I will admit, the last month has been hard- adjusting to having two children and sleep deprivation. However, Colton has slept through the night 2 of the last 3 nights, which greatly improves my outlook. It allows me to see great humor in the following incidents:

Lydia is quite behind in her speech. She is beginning to say more, but it is hardly recognizable. Yesterday I was able to understand her though when Colton was crying in his room and she yelled from across the hall, "Quiet!" And that was that.

In family scripture study we were reading about Christ's second coming. We were discussing it afterward with Lydia and I told her that Jesus was coming again- at which point she began looking out the window for Him.

Out With the Old . . .

This is Suzie, our beloved and quirky car. Suzie's passenger side window only rolls down on occasion (and often wont roll back up) Suzie's windshield leaks when it rains and drips onto the seat so you have to put a bag on the seat or your bum will get wet. Suzie makes a high pitch squeeling sound when you drive her and it's windy outside. And the list goes on of all of Suzie's quirks. She has taken us across the country twice and now has 230,000 miles. And finally, we have decided to retire Suzie! A day of joy and sadness. So, we decided to take the plunge and buy . . . a minivan! If you ask me, I am way too young to drive a minivan, but I must say, after owning one for three days, I love it! I have always wanted remote keyless entry and now the doors even slide shut by themselves. What luxury!
And of course, I had to include some pictures of Colton because he grows so quickly and Grandma and Grandpa want to see how he changes. The one where is is awake was taken today, but my personal favorite is the one where he is screaming. Lydia's expression is priceless and shows how I often time feel as a new mother of two, "What's your problem? Why are you crying?"

Redneck Oil Change

No, this is not some funny picture I found on the web. This my friends, was my father's ingenious idea. Perhaps he doesn't have enough to do on the farm, or perhaps he is so busy, he must think of new ways of efficiency. Either way, I got a good laugh out of it. You must be a redneck if . . .

Tired Girl

This picture didn't get posted with my last post. Lydia has had a hard time adjusting to sleeping in a new place. Between that and all the excitement, she has been tired. So much so that she fell asleep at dinner. It was very funny to watch her head bobbing. I will try to post a video of it later.

Catching Up

In addition to having a new addition, we moved when Colton was a week old. Papa Hansen came to help us and was a GREAT help. He and Mike moved everything throughout the day while my mom and I organized and put things away. Things went much better than I had imagined and we are starting to feel settled in our new place. I have even managed to locate more than just the dinner plates and toilet paper. With the help of both of our mothers, we have made the apartment our home.

Lydia loves having a playground right outside our door. There are also several neighbor friends just a few doors down that she can play with. It has been great to have people from our ward close by. They have been nice enough to watch Lydia so I can get some sleep.



When Mike's mom left yesterday, she took Lydia with her back to Ohio. We are supposed to pick her up over Labor Day Weekend. She was so excited to go see "Papa" Of course the horses, four wheelers and tractors add to the appeal as well. Here is a picture of her with her blanket and all she felt she needed to take with her. A back pack full of toys, a doodle pad, and a jacket. I am going to miss my little sunshine, but I am also excited to enjoy some quiet time this next week.

Colton Michael 08-04-08

It took us forever to decide on his name! Even after the poll we did on our blog, we were still undecided. For the longest time we were going to name him William, but when he came out, it just didn't settle. In the end, Colton won the bid.

After 10 hours of labor, we were blessed with a 9 lbs and 10 oz beautiful boy! Mike and I spent the week walking and walking, but didn't seem to be making any progress. Monday morning at 1:00 A.M I started having contractions, so we went to the hospital. I was well on my way. I got an epidural and absolutely loved it! I went from incredibly irritable to extremely peaceful. It was great. My mom was able to see the birth and loved every minute of it. Labor took longer than with Lydia, but Colton also weighed 3 pounds more than she did.
Lydia seems to be adjusting well. At first the only thing that she seemed to find at all interesting about him was his toes, but since then she has taken to him and loves to rub his head.
He has a high pitch squeal and beautiful blue eyes. I am feeling quite well and can only attribute it to help from the Lord. Granted I am tired, but that just comes with motherhood I think.
In addition to all this excitement, we found out we will be moving on Tuesday, so wish us luck!

He's Here!

Still No Baby

As the title says, we are still anxiously waiting for our bundle of joy. My mom got here safe and sound, so now there is really nothing to wait for. I keep walking and praying.
And just a side note, are you ever perplexed by odd things? Like when you pour out your lucky charms, and you hardly get any marshmallows, but when your husband pours the next bowl, he gets a whole load of them? Oh the dilemmas of life!

She's Walking!

After 4 weeks of sitting and crawling, Lydia is walking again! I cannot tell you how excited I am! I took her to the pool yesterday and played with her in water up to her chest. She eventually got comfortable with the extra buoyancy and started walking in the water, which has since transitioned to walking with help on normal ground, and now walking all by herself. Though she has a heart wrenching little limp and is very slow, I could not be prouder! I really do feel joy- that the Lord is mindful of me. The thought of having a crippled toddler and a newborn was a little overwhelming for me- and moving to top it off. But now it feels like I can move forward with things. I just finished my "To do before the baby comes" projects. Now all I need is my mom here and I will be set. She comes out Wednesday, which is another huge reassurance. The picture is a sampling of some of the pregnant women in our ward right now. I know we missed at least 3 that are also due within the next few months. The two I am standing between have already had their babies. I've decided that when none of your maternity clothes even fit, it is time to have your baby.