Owen's First Birthday!

I can hardly believe that a whole year has passed since Owen was born. He is such a joy in our family and I couldn't imagine not having him. His first tooth barely broke through just before his birthday and he is getting closer to walking. He has just in the pas few days figured out that he can stand without holding on to something for a short time. He gets so excited and thinks it is funny. He had his 1 year check-up today and is still only 19 lbs. Our kids are just little.
For Owen's birthday we had a little party at our house for our family and a few close friends. Our house was packed with people that we love. I know that Owen won't remember, but it means so much to me that we have so many loved ones near us. I did a fire truck theme and tried my hand a decorating his cake with fondant icing. It is a little less messy so I made sure that he had a chocolate cake to dig into. I think the cake turned out pretty cute for my first attempt a fondant.
Owen loved his cake! He ate like half of it before I realized that he had slept through dinner and was starving. So he went to town on the cake. What a good mother I am to let my child eat half a cake without any nutrition in him before. Oops.
He was spoiled with gifts. Between Christmas and his birthday he has plenty of boy toys to last him until next year.

Yummy.

Snow Drifts

The week before Christmas we got quite a bit of snow and a surprise...DRIFTS! They definitely were not big, but were the biggest we have seen in a long time. This is a picture of the drift we had in our back yard. It was between 12 and 18 inches tall. Bailee loved going out and playing in all of the show we had and marveled at how her tracks would be covered up the next day. She loved making snow angels and what she called bird nests (a hole in the drift) in the snow.

Sledding with CBH

Matt's company party this December was a trip sledding for the whole family. We went up to a place known as "Tubing Hill" and shared Hot Cocoa and the warmth of a fire while the kids (and a few big kids) went sledding. We don't have any snow clothes for Owen this year so the poor kid looked like the Michelin Man from all of the layers plus his puffy coat. Bailee of course loved it until her feet got cold and then she was done. We had a fun time.

The Nutcracker Ballet

The Nutcracker Ballet came to one of the local colleges and had a school showing on Monday morning and tickets were only $1.50 for one act. My friend, Krista, home schools and was able to get tickets for us to go with her family. It was her daughter, Julianna's birthday and a great way to kick off her ballerina themed birthday later that afternoon.

Bailee loved it. We also took Bailee's other friend, Rylie. All three girls loved the ballerinas and were dancing all the way out of the auditorium. Bailee waiting for the show to start.

The birthday girl, Julianna

Bailee's sweet friend Rylie.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Matt's parents. We were able to spend five days there. We left on Tuesday night so that we could be there for the preparations on Wednesday.
On Wednesday Stephanie and I made pies and dessert. Steph made pecan pie and a pumpkin roll and I made a pumpkin pie. I also made rolls...it was an experience to say the least. I have made these rolls a few times before and even brought my Bosch mixer with me to Blackfoot to aid in the work. I used a different pan to cook the rolls in as well as a different kind of flour. Wow were those two BIG mistakes! It was a good thing that I made them on Wednesday instead of Thursday morning because they turned out horrible. We ended up making a last minute trip to Walmart (my least favorite place to go especially around the holidays) to get more ingredients. I stayed up late to make the new rolls which turned out beautifully after making those minor adjustments.
On Thursday we spent most of the day together as a family and preparing our feast. Grandma and Grandpa Hansen joined us. It was a very nice day. Matt took over as the "Turkey Carver" this year and Steph, Matt's mom and I took care of the rest of the details. I, of course made the green bean casserole (which the Hansen's had not had before I joined the family). It is now my official duty.
What a wonderful opportunity we have each year to set aside one day to offer our Father in Heaven thanks for all of the blessings in our lives.

Eagle Project

A little over fifteen years ago I completed my Eagle Project. I planned and with lots of help planted around 600 trees for a pheasant habitat. While we were in Blackfoot we drove out to see how much the trees had grown. When these trees were planted the majority of them where in 2 gallon pots or tiny saplings. It was neat see how much the habitat had changed. I would like to go back when the leaves are on the trees.

Bailee's 3 yr, old Pictures

I finally had some 3 yr. old pictures taken of Bailee the other day. My good friend Angie took these pictures. They turned out absolutely beautiful. These are just a few of them, there were tons that I just love. They will be so fun to scrapbook. These are some of the more artsy pictures, but she was able to capture some of Bailee's true personality. They were so fun, I can't wait to do Owen's one year pictures now.

TROUBLE!!!

Owen is all about climbing these days and if we forget to put the step stool away this is what we find when we come back into the room. I was reorganizing my cabinets so that I could fit all of my new dishes in them. I decided to take a break and accomplish some other things. That is when the Bailee alarm went off and I hear "TROUBLE! TROUBLE! TROUBLE!!!!" When I came into the kitchen I found my sweet little Owen at the top of the step stool pulling everything off the counter that was in his reach. Lucky for me it was mostly plastics. He was so proud of himself. He is such a cutie.

A New Addition

We have a new addition to our family. The news came a few weeks ago, but have hesitated until now to share the news with all of our friends and family.
A few weeks ago Bailee was playing by herself, it was so cute. She was singing and laghing so I decided to go and see what she was up to. I listened closely to the song she was singing. It wasn't familiar to me so I knew that it was a Bailee original. She was singing all about a girl named JENNY WINCO. I thought it was cute and brushed it off as another one of Bailee's songs that she would forget in a few minutes. I was almost right. She did for get the song, but not JENNY WINCO.
Jenny is a 3 1/2 year old with pink hair, she is sometimes potty trained and sometimes not. She joins us at every meal and goes with us everywhere. Jenny is Bailee's imaginary friend. It is quite funny and annoying at times. Bailee has quickly learned when we try to use Jenny to get her to do what we want. Bailee has not slept in her bed for about 2 weeks now other than a nap or two because she wants to sleep by Jenny and there is not enough room for both of them in her bed. So each night we make a bed for Bailee and Jenny on her bedroom floor.
We are getting used to having Jenny at our home but look forward to the day that her mom comes home from work and wants her to come home. (Bailee says that Jenny's mom is always at work so she doesn't miss her) We don't know much about her dad, but he is at home most of the time, but doesn't miss jenny either. What a sad little family. So if you see Jenny's mom, please tell her that she can come and pick her up at our house at any time.

Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice came to town and Bailee got to go with my mom. She was so excited. My mom found her a Cinderella dress and shoes to wear. She was a sweet little princess.

The Shoes, the heels even light up!Watching intently.
So excited.

Cinderella and Prince Charming

Bailee had a great time with her Gramma that day. I am a sure it is one she will remember for a long time.

Pay-backs!

Owen finally had his chance to get Bailee back and he took it! What are little brothers for if not to wake up and bother sisters.

Poor Little Brother

This is what happens when you are a little boy with an older sister. Poor Owen is ready to play with the big kids, but doesn't have any toys of his own. Hopefully when his week of gifts comes he will get his own bike and helmet. Until then I guess he will sport the pink and purple. If he had a little better balance I would have let him go without the helmet. Poor guy.

A Special Baptism

About 3 1/2 years ago we met a Spanish speaking family in our neighborhood who's boys wanted to go to church. Matt (since he did all of the talking with them) offered to take the boys with us. Edgar (12 at the time) and Duvan (8 at the time) went to church with us for a couple of months. Because of the busy summer and Bailee being born transportation arrangements became hard. We have kept in touch with the family and they have since moved to a new neighborhood. A few weeks ago we were told by a friend of ours that Edgar (15) and Duvan(12) were now taking the discussions. A week or two later we learned that they had committed to be baptized. Today we had the special opportunity to attend their baptisms. Duvan's face was priceless when he saw us come into the church. We are so glad that we have had the opportunity to be a part of their lives. These boys and their family will always have a special place in our hearts. Matt and I are so proud of the choice that they have made and know that our Father in Heaven is pleased as well.

Playing with Daddy

At times like this, I think that maybe I have 3 kids. I absolutely love it when Matt plays with the kids. Bailee loves how silly her dad can be and I like watching him and waiting to see who might get hurt first. Matt or one of the kids. So far we have had minimal injuries and so it is still great fun. Bailee and Matt riding on the spring horse.

Halloween

This year for Halloween I dressed Bailee in the cheer leading outfit from when I was little. She looked so cute! Owen was adorable in the dinosaur costume that Aunt Steph picked up for him. We started the day by visiting Matt's office Halloween party and then later that evening we went to our ward's chili feed and trunk or treat. We had a great time visiting with friends and sharing in the fun.
After the trunk or treat we went with some friends of ours to a neighborhood that we had heard doesn't get many trick or treaters, but had the good stuff as far as candy goes. The rumor was true, each door they were greeted with a friendly face and a hand full of candy, full size candy bars or something else that was fun. One house handed out glow in the dark bracelets along with the candy. Bailee had so much fun and after each house would say "Are we going to the next one?" She was quite the trooper and walked about half a mile, and didn't get tired of walking until we only had about four houses left in the neighborhood.

We then of course took the kids over to see Gramma in their costumes. Bailee loved getting to hand out some candy at Gramma's, she was quite generous. What a fun Halloween.

My little cuties.

Bailee and her friend,Matt

Waiting to say "Trick or Treat!"

Celebrating 60 Years

My mom turned 60 on October 25th and when I asked her how she wanted to celebrate, she said that she wanted to go bowling and have pumpkin pie. So that is just what we did. Matts parents were in town for a pageant and so they joined us for the fun. It was Bailee's first time bowling and she had a blast. The bowling alley has sure gotten high tech, it was programed that the bumpers came up only on Bailee's turn. It was so fun. Matt won the game and I didn't don't think that I even beat Bailee. I guess I need to brush up on my bowling skills.
After bowling we went back to Mom's for pie and to give her our gift. Bailee didn't want to leave when it came time so she stayed the night and went to church with Gramma. Bailee wanted to carry her ball to the lane all by her self ever time. She is such a big girl.

We picked up GG and she was our cheerleader. She always is the best company.

Matt showing off his skills.

Mom looking for a strike.

Mom opening the card that Bailee made for her. Bailee was so funny, she insisted on having a gift bag too.

New Dishes!!!

When we got married we didn't get any dishes so I just went and bought the cheapest set I could find. About three years ago I picked out this set and I finally got the first pieces for my kitchen for my birthday this year. Matt got me 8 "ice cream" bowls and his parents got me a 16 piece set ( a place setting for four). I am so excited and can't wait to get the rest of the set.

My Best Freind's Wedding

These past couple of months have been kind of crazy, packed full of fun things. One of the high lights was my best friend, Amy's wedding. Bailee was her flower girl and I was involved in some of the planning and prep stuff for the wedding. One of the things I did was design their wedding announcement. It was fun for me to help her through all of the preparations.

On Friday before the wedding I went with Amy, her family and some other friends to get pedicures. We had a lot of fun chatting and being pampered.

Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Bialee had lots of fun practicing walking down the isle throwing the flower petals. The two girls would go down the isle throwing the flowers and then would go back up the isle and them up and do it all over again. The were sure cute. The both love Amy so much and were so happy to get to help with her wedding.

Owen of course was not left out of all of the attention. He was passed around at the dinner. He mad a special friendship with Lance's uncle who gave him his first sip of sparkling cider at the reception.

This is a picture of Owen with Amy's Dad, Mark.

Bailee was so beautiful in her flower girl dress and her curls. She did such a great job. She stood right next to the maid of honor, my friend Tiffany, through the whole ceremony. At one point in the ceremony she turned to look for me and when she saw me mouthed "I love you Mom" and blew me a kiss. She just melted my heart, but then shortly after she picked her nose. I guess she was getting board standing up there. She did a wonderful job, I was so proud of her.

This is Amy and I. I love her so much and would do anything for her, she is one of the best Friends a girl could have. We have sure been through a lot together in the 11 years that we have been friends. Amy looked so beautiful on her wedding day. Matt and I are so happy for Amy and Lance.