Erin&Nathan

I don't want to

2011-11-09T16:17:00.003-07:00

I don't want to play on the sidewalk.

I don't want to sit on the stoop.

I don't want to lick any ice cream.

I don't want to slurp any soup.

I don't want to listen to music.

I don't want to look at cartoons.

I don't want to read any stories.

I don't want to blow up balloons.

I don't want to dig int eh garden.

I don't want to roll on the rug.

I don't want to wrestle the puppy.

I don't want to give you a hug.

I don't want to shoot any baskets.

I don't want to bang on my drum.

I don't want to line up my soliers.

I don't want to whistle or hum.

I don't want to program my robot.

I don't want to strum my guitar.

I don't want to use my computer.

I don't want to wind up my car.

I don't want to color with crayons.

I don't wan to model with clay.

I don't wan tot stop my not wanting ...

I'm having that kind of a day.

by Jack Prelutsky

growing up!!

2011-09-23T00:43:00.001-07:00

After many, many, ... many moons, I'm back to say, "Yes, we're still here" AND growing up. Ivy's hair is long enough to hold a little clip in it (not that she leaves it there). She started being able to crawl about a month ago and is now very confident and quick, quite the mobile little peanut. She love ice-cream, and her preferred method of consumption is from a cone.

She is also, as of the 19th (Monday?), a professional at going up stairs. I mean, instant professional. She just decided to go up, and up she went.

Tonight, she started learning, with Booboo's help, to go downstairs. Also a first, tonight she waved goodbye to Booboo as we were walking back to our house. I didn't even know she was doing it until I heard Mom calling to me to tell me to look at my rather amazing (and sweet) daughter.

Other notes: she stomps and claps when she's excited or sees someone she loves. She is a very good dancer and her favorite songs are "Bushel and a Peck" and "Mairzy Doats". She scrunches her nose and/or grunts and/or yells when she wants something really bad.

Levi is also growing like a weed. He seems taller every day and is officially in 3T clothing (i.e. I finally put away everything else). He is learning to go potty in the potty rather than a diaper. He never has an accident when he's naked, and he's getting better when he wears underwear. He even remembers to go to the potty when he's wearing Pull-Ups. He loves Elmo (especially Elmo's Potty Time), Signing Time, Curious George, Little Bear, Star Wars, Cars (esp. Lighting McQueen and Mater), Buzz Lightyear, and most especially, Ivy. He likes to hug her, kiss her, giver her nose kisses (Eskimo kisses), carry her places, sit on her, stand over her, and other such things. We try to limit any potentially harmful activities.

One of their favorite things to do is take a bath together, and the favorite place to do that is in Booboo's kitchen sink. (Levi has outgrown our sink, but Mom's is deeper and slightly bigger.)

They also will occasionally deign to bathe in our upstairs tub. They love to make themselves into ice-cream sundaes. Levi received this foam soap from Mom's friend Kathy Pitt, who's grandkids love it, so she wanted to share the love.

And here are some more that are just cute:

Cold swimmer

On the stars 2.July.2011

Self explanatory.

This one is almost a year old. Levi is modeling a shirt Mom made for Ivy. Cute, nicht?

This was in March.

Ivy was blessed March 13th: Ivy Fiona. Being held here by my aunt Becca Hogan.

Star Wars fans!!!!

Storm troopers at the Safe Kids fair. Notice the "pale green pants" and the very nice giraffe boots, too.

80's girl. She got this out fit from Auntie Zan and the headband from among the stuff I wore when I was a baby.

Ivy and her friend Alivia.

Master Levi

Knight in shining froggy boots

Nose kiss!

Ahh!! Darth Vader's in my bathtub!! (Explanation: Levi is Darth Vader whenever he has something covering his face.)

Levi's birthday party. That's his friend Cade.

The hungry Caterpillar. Notice the super-cute socks Ivy is wearing that came from my Auntie Kris.

A boy and his grandma.

Ivy and Boo-boo

2011-07-11T10:54:00.001-07:00

Ivy plays and laughs with Booboo, tee-hee!

Daybreak Hansens are headed to Boston

2011-05-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Yup! we're going to Boston. The kids and I are flying out on the 17th, Nathan's coming on the 21st. We are going out to visit my two beautiful sisters and my darling brother-in-law, and attend Suzie's graduation. I feel a bit nervous about flying alone with two small children, however I am also excited and looking forward to the adventure and the challenge. This is the first of many times we'll do this as is is VERY unlikely that either sister will live nearby anytime in the foreseeable future. I've got myself a sit and stand stroller and some good advice from aunts who have travelled alone with children. Your prayers will be appreciated and I'll be sure to blog about it.

Levi is growing up. He asked "why" today for the first time that I recall. We're in for it now. Crank up the creativity, right? He is tall enough to turn lights on and off, to peel into the pram when Ivy's still in it in the morning, to climb up on my very high bed, and so forth. He loves to "take care of" Ivy (giver her a hug, hold her, or carry her somewhere (careful there), alternately). His hugs often tun into wrestling matches, which Ivy is totally chill about, until it gets too rough. (Don't worry, I'm always there monitoring and intervening as required.) His hair is getting very long: probably the longest it has ever been, not that that's saying much, but it's combable (not that we ever comb it) and sticks out in funny places when he wakes up. He almost always sleeps with at least one sword from his growing collection of them. Today, he took his nap with a little plush bug, an elephant and his newest ... sword! He is very slowly learning to share and that, even though Sammy or Cade is taking a turn with ______, it still belongs to him and will be left here when they leave. Whew!

Levi still loves to read and a favorite lately is "Teach Us, Amelia Bedilia". Watching "a little bit a Avatar (or Panda, or ...)" is now part of the bed time routine with Dad and Levi runs through quotes from his favorite bits many times a day, often bewildering anyone who might hear him. Some favorites are: "So, Ugway was just a crazy old turtle after all". "Smart, fighting from the high ground" and "Not the Dragon Warrior yet!" He says that last one at every meal.

Ivy is getting more and more secure in her balance and will be able to sit up soon. Her favorite position is standing and sitting upright is a close second. She is super interested in food and I think I'm gonna break down and start her on solids tomorrow, if I manage to remember to go out and buy some rice cereal. Well, never mind! I could just cook some rice, put it through the baby food grinder or the blender and water it down! Much easier! Oh, I'm so glad I could talk to you about this! Thanks for the wonderful idea! Her pediatrician advised me to start with very thin rice cereal and go from there. Truth be told, she's tasted ice cream and applesauce, but I think they were a little too cold and thick, but she's definitely still interested. Look out! Here come the stinky diapers.

Speaking of diapers, I've been dragging my feet about moving on to the next size diaper, but I finally made the jump this week. My little girl has grown out of my smallest diapers!! Waah! She's growing up so fast! Oh well. At least with these diapers, I've attached velcro, so we won't be trying to keep track of Snappis for a while. I think I'm going to add velcro to those littlest diapers before I pack them away. That should make Nathan happy. He is so good to support me in my cloth diapering efforts and adventures. And he only complains a little bit, yet it is because of those complaints that I've come up with all of my little innovations. What an adventure. Still, I so hope that a certain little boy will get sick of diapers sometime really soon.

Nate's doing well. I don't think work is stressing him out too badly. He's working on a Star Wars campaign to run for his friends. He's promised that it won't be as long or committed as last time he ran a campaign for them. That one was Legend of the Five Rings and lasted no less than 2 years! Ack! He and a couple others are going to take turns running things on Wednesdays in a round robbin sort of fashion so each one runs his thing for a couple of months and then pauses for a few months and then picks back up again. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I, well, let's see ... I'm going visiting teaching tomorrow. I forgot to call one of my sisters today. Oh well. Oh, Ivy's waking up. Better go.

This week:

2011-04-21T18:43:00.002-07:00

27.Feb.2011 (I just found this and realized I never published it.)
Our family is doing really well. Levi talks a ton and is a socialite. He is very gracious and generous. He loves Ivy and is very helpful in taking care of her and seeing that she has everything she needs. We visited Stampin' Up this week. Kathy was holding Ivy and after a while, Ivy began to cry. Levi very acutely observed, "Ivy needs Mommy." My heart almost burst. I am the luckiest mom in the world!

Levi is also growing up. He is physically more and more a little boy and less and less a toddler. He gets taller every day and can reach new ... heights. He can also be very creative in getting to things he not yet tall enough to reach. On of his favorite things to do is pull the little potty in the half bathroom over to the sink and wash and dry his hands. He uses lots of soap and lots of water and generally leaves the towel on the floor (he's probably just not tall enough to hang it up, and we haven't been very good at teaching him to clean up after himself). Another favorite is to get buck naked and go piddle and poop in the big toilet upstairs. To piddle, he lifts the lid and the seat and sits backward on the rim, piddles a bit, uses some TP, flushes the toilet and generally goes back for more. When "poop"ing, he lowers the seat, sits forward on it, thinks for a second, uses some TP and flushes the toilet, "I pooped!" Yeah, Levi, some day (soon, I hope) you will learn that "poop"ing is when you actually leave something in the toilet rather than saving it for a diaper. Oh, and speaking of diapers, he really like to "dump the poop" when he has a poopy diaper. He'll lift the lid and the seat for me and then flush the toilet and close the lid when I'm done. Funny boy.

Ivy is an expert smiler and makes very good sounds. Hearing her coo or laugh makes my heart warm. She also has the saddest faces when she needs something. I can totally see the super-sad faces she's making when we're traveling in the car and I can't look at her, and she's gearing up, gearing down, or in full swing.

Ivy is also growing like a weed. Today is her 3-month birthday and we'll celebrate by having dinner with Mom and the Randalls, who will be arriving at her house some time today. I need to put away all her 0-3 clothing and pull out the 3-6, which means I need to organize and put away and get out, not exactly my forte. I'm getting a little better, though. Maybe by the time Ivy goes to highschool, I'll have it figured out.

I am doing well. I don't think I'm growing, but you never know. I just got a serger from Mom and am absolutely LOVING it. I have also finally found and figured out a diaper patter than I really like. I made a froggy on for Levi this week and have a bunch cut out to sew together as soon as possible because he is growing (already grown) out of the ones he has. I talked with Kris the other day about cloth daipers and cloth feminine products and had a such an enjoyable conversation, after which I totally laugh at my self. Who gets a high out of talking about cloth diapers? My, my, I'm really ... well really ... something.

I'm still learning to cook meals. I go through short spurts of having a fresh cooked dinner for a few days in a row every once in a while. I'm learning what to have on hand and getting closer to thinking ahead enough to have a plan. I'm finally learning to do coupons, thanks to Mom, who was inspired by Becca while she was visiting in Georgia this January. It's actually exciting and rewarding.

Nathan worked about 55 hours this week. His company is providing a lot of support for one of their contracts. He also traveled out to California alone recently to help a contractee install the program, show them how it works, and answer questions. It went quite well, from what I can tell. At home, Nathan enjoys having time with Levi and Ivy.

This week:

2011-02-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Ivy's hair looks redder. She's trying to sit up. She can raise one eyebrow at me. She is grown out of almost all of her 0-3 month stuff. She likes to be sitting up or held out so she can see what's going on. She can't sit up, yet, but she likes sitting up in the bouncer. She's been to church for the first time (last Sunday) and today will be her first time in Primary with our class of 7-year-old boys. Wish us luck! And she will be blessed on the first Sunday in March.

We went to the Living Planet Aquarium with Levi and Nathan and met Ray and Suzanne there yesterday morning. There were a lot of people there. Levi had an absolute ball showing Grandma and Grandpa around - taking them to see the shark, the frogs, the penguins, the big snakes, etc. Ivy was awake for most of it and looked like she was enjoying herself. Sadly, we lost her cute little hat that Cayenne DaBell made for her. It got set on someone else's stroller and they walked off with it. I still really hope that they'll realize and take it back to the Aquarium. I plan to call them this week and see if it's been turned in and go back on Saturday and see if anyone brings it back.

Levi went to the Mayan for the first time on Wednesday. He really enjoyed watching the divers and eating the chips and salsa. He made cookies with Grandma Suzanne last night and got to stay until they were done. His new saying is, "don't have the foggiest" when asked about the whereabouts of something he can't find. He is very good at welcoming people, "Oh! Come in!" He calls Ivy "Baby Girl", just like Nathan does.

We found out this week that my aunt Becca and her family are moving to Montana this month from Georgia. They will be about an 8 hour drive away, instead of on the other side of the country. We also learned that my uncle David and his family will be moving to Portland. Will miss them terribly.

I'll post pictures this afternoon.

50%

2011-02-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting tid bit I saw on a breastfeeding blog: http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2009/04/dr-jen-on-you-and-your-doctor.html

"I think we’ve given away a lot of what “mothering” is to experts and books. My wish is for mothers to take that incredible power back. It is not the responsibility of that mother to make herself heard. As doctors, it is our responsibility to listen.
"Here’s the thing: we are the hired help. We are the people that family has chosen to help them through their journey. We are not the arbiters of right or wrong, good or bad. We are the people who are supposed to give the information they need to make an informed decision, to help aid in the encouragement of and confidence in parenting instinct. So much of what we do as providers, so much of the advice we give, is counter to maternal instinct which makes me sad to my soul. If there was a right or wrong way to parent, like six of us would make it to adulthood and that’s not good for a species that wishes to continue to exist.
My first day of medical school, one of my deans told my class 'fifty percent of what we are teaching you is wrong - we just don’t know which fifty percent,' a phrase that has stuck with me when I begin to feel like I have it 'right' or I know what is 'best' for a child in my practice. It keeps me humble and open to change. All we can do as providers is give the information or make a recommendation (not make a command) based on our current knowledge base and be willing to learn and adapt when the fifty percent starts to change. I hope the parents are then enabled to integrate that advice into what works for them as a family.
"I am a big fan of giving messages that make sense to a family, of encouraging the course of action they have chosen (as long as it doesn’t involve juggling chain saws near the kids or parenting while on heroin or something else we can be pretty sure is going to stay a non-recommended parenting practice!). I can’t and shouldn’t dictate a course of action or stifle a dialogue on topics where we might have differing opinions. In the end, as long as the debated parenting practice is not illegal, I am the paid employee. If that kind of dialogue is not encouraged, if that freedom to parent is somehow curbed by a provider who is sure they have it right, if that mother feels as if she somehow has to modify what she says or outright lie about how she parents for fear of backlash from a physician, that family should fire that provider and hire a new, more-compatible employee.
And if she is stuck with only one doctor on the planet, then well, she should speak up. Take the power of motherhood back. If that isn’t going to work, I would suggest using another doctor to help. For example, my families will ask me to intervene if they have been asked to discard milk after surgery or if they have been given other advice with which they don’t agree. I can advocate for those families by engaging their provider."

Interesting, nicht?

My beautiful children

2011-02-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

Levi is growing: growing up, growing tall, growing heavier. He is amazing!

He is becoming less and less contrary. He gets over his whining bouts more quickly and easily, it's a lovely thing. He is very kind and tender and loving. He hugs Ivy at least three times a day: good morning, naptime, and good night. He always wants a mommy-hug at bed time. The other evening, I peeked in for a Levi-hug before he'd gotten around to requesting a mommy-hug and he popped off Nate's lap and ran to me with arms open and gave me a super-sweet hug and kiss and nose kiss. He is learning that markers are only to be used when Mom or Dad are right there, he needs to put the lids on in between uses so that they don't dry up, and they need to be put away when we're done using them. He's learning to brush his teeth morning and night and he's learning to use the potty. He also is becoming more and more helpful, e.g. helps to clear the table after meals. Our whole family is starting to learn to clean up after ourselves and to put things away before we move to something else.

Levi is able to reach more and more and he is able to get up and down from more and more things. He displays great creativity in getting what he wants. He is adept at moving the kitchen chairs around to get whatever he wants out of drawers or off of the counter. And he is increasingly difficult to lift.

Ivy is also growing. She weighs just over 13 lbs. She started smiling about 2 weeks ago and gets better at it every day, they cover her whole face. She's even cooing with her smiles. She recognizes faces and interacts more and more. Many say she looks a lot like me, tee-hee.

Star Wars Ivy

Silly Levi

2011-02-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Levi and Nate read a book.

Levi and Daddy being silly.

Nate teaches Levi to pop.

Ivy smiles

2011-01-30T23:22:00.003-07:00

Ivy has learned to smile this week and she's learning to laugh.

Ivy gives me happy moments like, when she smiles(which she is doing more and more), when she laughs, when she is calmed by holding my finger, when she falls asleep entirely on her own, when she stretches (she's a very good stretcher), when she graciously recieves hugs and kisses from her sweet brother, when she calms down when Nate picks her up, ... I feel very blessed. I'm sure I'm the luckiest woman, and I wish that feeling for every woman. I really do love being a mother and I am very much enjoying having a baby. She is already two months old and she'll be three months on my little sister's birthday next month.

Levi is growing and learning and continuing to talk up a storm and repeat almost everything he hears. His latest surprise for us are his requests to use the potty. He puts the lid up, puts the seat up and sits backward on the rim. Interesting, I must say. He does love his sister, Ivy, and gives her hugs and nose kisses (rubbing noses) and kisses. He likes to have mommy hugs and Ivy hugs before going to bed or taking a nap. He does sometimes try to talk me out of feeding or holding her or changing her diaper, but doesn't get or stay too adamant about it.

Levi is a socialite. He loves to go to Nursery, or Boo-boo's, or Grandma and Grandpa's, or Carissa's, or Cade's, or Sam and Shay's (all of which he makes specific request for) and he doesn't want to leave when it comes time to go. He has started saying "Want to stay?" or "Don't want to go home!" at such times. That makes me happy that he enjoys visiting, yet it makes me think that I aught to make our home a place where he looks forward to going, too. Maybe it's just his age. Either way, I probably aught to be more active with him and more intentionally interactive. Any ideas?

Rewind!! Anticipation and preparation...

2011-01-02T16:05:00.001-07:00

So, in order to give birth at home, Nathan and I did a lot of praying, research and preparing...

After my first birth which and ended up being a Cesearean delivery, I did a lot of reading about C-sections because I heard that after a C-section, you are not allowed to give birth any other way in the future and I also heard that you can only have so many C-sections. AAAH! What if I want more children than that?! Anyway, in reading and talking to people, I learned that those two things are only true with certain doctors and for certain people. I discovered that I am not one of those who ought to have C-sections for the rest of my births and so we set about finding a caregiver who would support me in attempting a natural birth.

It seems to us that the surest and safest way to ensure a natural birth would be to birth anywhere but a hospital, e.g. at home. We then set about interviewing midwives and I also interviewed some my aunts. We live near Salt Lake City and are very lucky to have the choice between A LOT of midwives. After meeting with about 15 midwives, we chose Molly and she began the schedule of prenatal care.

Aunt Becca recommended the book Hypnobirthing, saying that it helped her a lot and made a significant difference for her during labor. I was blessed to find the book in brand new cobdition at a garage sale for the exorbitant price of ... $1! Wahoo! I loved what I read, and then it turned out that our Molly taught a hypnobirth class! What luck! So Nathan and I took the class. There is a list of "Affirmations for Easy, Comfortable Birthing" and Auntie Becca had typed them up for herself and was kind enough to send them to me. I made a couple small changes, to suit them to myself. Then I printed each one on a separate sheet of paper, mounted them on pastel cardstock, decorated them and posted them around the house. I will include the list at the end of this post.

The morning of Nov. 27th, Ivy's due date, I went out with mom to do some after Thanksgiving shopping. I started having contractions at Hobby Lobby. They continued through getting some bread samples at Great Harvest, shopping at Jo-Ann's, and were still going at 11, so Molly came over at about 11:30. I wasn't really acting like anything was very serious, but Molly checked how dilated I was just in case. She found that I was already at 6 1/2 centimeters! So, she stayed and called Sheri, the other midwife who would attend my birth, and started getting things ready for an arrival. I don't remember feeling much until I needed to push, at which point, I remember it being rather painful. I pushed for not quite an hour and Ivy was born with one final push at 8:30 that evening. She came out so quickly and all-at-once that I was torn up pretty badly. The stitching was by far the most painful part of the whole day and absolutely the most painful experience of my life.

I am so, so glad that I could give birth at home and that I was able to give birth yo my baby with no drugs and no monitors and no interventions. I hope to be so blessed for the next one and every birth thereafter.

The Affirmations:

I put all fear aside as I prepare for the birth of my baby.

I am relaxed and happy that my baby is coming to me.

I am focused on a smooth, easy birth.

I trust my body to know what to do and I follow its lead.

My body and my baby know how to work together in perfect harmony.

My mind is relaxed: my body is relaxed.

I feel confident; I feel safe; I feel secure.

My muscles work in complete harmony to make birthing easier.

I feel a natural tranquility flowing through my body.

I relax as we move smoothly and easily through labor and birth.

My baby's birth will be easy because I am so relaxed and confident.

My baby is correctly positioned for an easy birth.

I turn my birthing over to my Heavenly Father and my body.

I am prepared to calmly meet whatever turn my birthing takes.

Each surge of my body brings my baby closer to me.

I am totally relaxed and at ease.

My body remains still and limp.

I meet each surge only with my breath; my body is at ease.

I release my birth over to my body and my baby.

I eat right and take care of my body and my baby.

My baby's size is perfect for my body; we birth easily.

I'm teaching myself to go into instant relaxation when I choose to.

I look forward to birthing with joy and anticipation.

Some of them posted in my house:

Ivy's expressions

2010-12-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Mom took a bunch of pictures consecutively to catch Ivy's changing expressions.

I AM WOMAN!!!

2010-12-19T14:01:00.001-07:00

I am woman; hear me roar (and groan, and moan, and cry, etc.). Wahoo! I just gave birth vaginally for the first time!! I was in the comfort of my own home, as planned, and I used no drugs and did not have any interventions! We now have a beautiful baby girl. She is joy personified and we named her Ivy Fiona. Levi and Ivy get their names from my maternal grandfather's maternal grandparents, i.e. my great-grandparents Bodily, which is why Levi's middle name is Bodily. Ivy makes sweet little sounds all the time and she is growing like a weed. Sometimes her hair looks like it's thinking about maybe turning red (the grandmas would just die of happiness).

These two pictures are of Ivy just after her first bath.

And this is her the morning after her birth. She was born at 8:30 pm on Saturday the 27th of November. She weighed 7 lbs and 8 oz and measured 20 inches long.

She is now 3 weeks old and still seems tiny to me. I think she is now about the size Levi was at birth. She likes to hide her face in my arm or a hat or a blanket when she sleeps. Her baby acne is clearing up. Her cheeks are getting fleshier, as is the rest of her body (good thing, she was a stick at birth!)

Levi loves Ivy. He likes to hold her or give her hugs, comfort and calm her, be sure she has enough blankets, help bathe her, and call her "my sweet boy" (just right at first). Now he has mostly learned to say she and her instead of he and him. He talks about our "little baby" and wants to know where she is and if she's OK. Ivy returns the affection, as much as any 3-week-old might be able to: she watches him and lets him hold her.

Levi and Ivy meet.

Nathan is a wonderful father for both children. He certainly looks forward to Ivy being able to interact on a larger scale, yet still enjoys holding her and talking with her. He stayed home the first week after the birth and took very, very good care of me. He made sure that I followed the midwife's instructions to the letter, and brought me food and things to do, and changed all the diapers. Even though he may not believe me, I can with conviction say that I have the best husband.

Mom stayed with us for the next two weeks after Nate had to return to work and cooked and cleaned and entertained Levi and even helped me prepare neighbor and friend gifts. We made sugar cookie dough and wrapped it such that it can be frozen for a while if people don't want another treat in the house right now and we included some homemade frosting. Because Mom was helping me, everything got done AND they looked super-cute rather than hum-drum.

Nate's sweet mom, Suzanne, came out to be with me a few times when Mom had to go in to work and that was very helpful. I/we are so very lucky to have both our moms close by and also lucky that they are willing and able to help. I hope I can be of as much help and comfort to my children's families sometime in the future.

The grandmas and great-grandma are tickled pink to have a granddaughter and I enjoy having a girl. So, now we have one of each and I can give the highest recommendation for boys and girls. I love being a mother. I feel fufilled, blessed, favored, lucky, happy. There is absolutely no other thing I would rather be doing.

Our family

2010-10-24T16:50:00.001-07:00

I am now 35 weeks along and the arrival of the newest member of our family is swiftly approaching and we are very excited. It is being awfully difficult to stand up, roll over, stay comfortable, etc., but it's all worth it. I feel our little Ivy move a lot. Molly, our midwife, was over yesterday morning and told us that Ivy is facing forward and that is why I can feel so much movement of her limbs. I haven't felt her so much today, so maybe that means that she has turned around, which would be a good thing. The birth will be much easier if she is facing backwards.

Levi knows who is coming in November and where she is right now, though he still occasionally points to the wrong belly, e.g. his own, Nate's or Mom's. He kisses my belly when he wants to say hi to Ivy, and he even knows her middle name: Fiona.

Levi is very good at "lawning" with the toy lawn mower and toy trimmer we bought at a garage sale recently. He is very good at taking care of Froggy and at telling his two-foot-tall Elmo that "It's OK." We read The Bernstein Bears' New Baby yesterday and I think maybe we should do that more often and find other such books to help him prepare for the new arrival.

Nathan is a wonderful father. He loves to read stories with our son

and go with him to the Living Planet Aquarium. They always come back from the aquarium with great stories about everything they saw and how big it was. This last time, they were there while the frogs were being fed, which was really cool because the frogs aren't usually very interesting, but at feeding time they are all sorts of active. I'll have to get some pictures from Nathan of Levi at the Aquarium. They also like to play outside on the lawn and go to the park. Levi has become quite the independent boy and can climb up and down almost everything at the park and go up to and down from the slide all by himself.

Wow, looking at pictures I realize I am a bit behind. Here are a couple of pictures of Levi playing (wrestling?) with his friend Sam:

Sam and his brother Shay are new very good friends of about 4 months, I think. Their dad, Larry, works with my mom at Stampin' Up! and their mom, Jen, and I are become fast friends. Shay just turned 4 and Sam is exactly 2 weeks younger than Levi. The also wear cloth diapers, but are recently potty-trained and Jen, generous and kind soul, gave me all of their diapering regalia, OK maybe not regalia exactly, maybe paraphernalia is a better word. Anyway, I'm tickled pink. Now I really will be spared the necessity of ever buying a diaper again in my life!

Next are some pictures taken and Andrew's house:

Nice hairdo, oder? And these last two depict Levi enjoying his favorite (most requested) treat: a popsicle. We love visiting Andrew and his mom, Samantha, who is an old dear friend of mine. We first bonded over Smith's chinese food and Jane Austen way back in 2000, I think.

These next pictures are of Levi eating half of a massive burrito before going to Taylorsville days with Same and Shay and parents:

Levi eats very well and likes most food, but he is getting a little pickier as he grows up. Oh, well.

These next pictures were taken a couple of days after Levi's 2nd birthday. I snapped the one of him on the shelf as he was stressing out about how to get down. He has much more climbing confidence now, but I've not seen him climbing any shelves since that day.

Levi loves to check the mail:

Still a girl!!

2010-10-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, the baby we're expecting in a couple months is still a girl.

This is a picture of her profile. Her head is on the right and she's got two hands right there in the middle and I'm not sure exactly what's on the left end of the picture.
The placenta is high up in the back of the uterus, so about as far away from my scar as it can be. Wahoo!!

Levi Update

2010-09-25T20:26:00.001-07:00

The latest with Levi...

Our sweet boy is growing up. He can: climb and descend stairs facing forward without any help, unscrew containers (e.g. mascara, toothpaste, small jars, etc.), open doors (he can turn the handle and pull to open the door, but hasn't quite mastered the turn-and-push maneuver), and take really good care of Froggy (his favorite soft toy). His vocabulary and general language use are exploding. He picks up and can reproduce nuances and has a great command of the idiomatic uses of English for one so young (at least, according to me). He is very complementary, i.e. he often complements haircuts, chins, tummies, bums (e.g. "beautiful haircut", "nice chin") , and even an occasional action (e.g. "nice catch" when Nathan caught him from falling at the park the other night). He has recently started to reply to requests with "Oh! Sure, sure, sure" and loves to help and have responsibility.

We recently tried a merry-go-round for the first time at a park near the Riverton Library. He likes to go very slowly, which was just fine with me. (That's a piece of apple that he's holding right there.)

Later that day, Levi was a great assistant in a grand cookie-making venture at Grandma Boo-boo(my mom)'s house:

He is growing up and getting so tall. He weighs about 30 pounds lately and is growing (grown?) out of his diapers, so I plan to get busy this next week and make him a batch of diapers that will fit for a little while longer. Or maybe this is just the time that has come to potty train. Hmmm

The latest update with Ivy is that she officially has a middle name: Fiona. Suzanne, Nate's mom, really likes the name Fiona. A while back I asked her to think about whether she would like Ivy to have that as a middle name or if she, Suzanne, would rather have Fiona as the first name of some future granddaughter. Well tonight, we discussed it and Suzanne proclaimed that she likes the name "Ivy Fiona". Wahoo!! I really wanted her to agree to that, as I have grown quite attached to that pairing.

Also, I finally finished the phenomenal project of sorting all of the girl clothing that I have. I sorted into the categories: 0-3 months, 3-6 M, 6-12 M, 12 M-4T, stained, and to-pass-on-and-let-it-bless-someone-else's-family. I thought that I had more than enough of just about everything, and since the sorting I have found that to be sort of true. I have a TON of 0-3 M, quite a lot of 3-6 M, maybe enough 6-12 M, and practically no 12 M and bigger clothing. I also have very few girly socks, no tights until little Ivy is at least 12 M, and no long-sleeved onesies that will fit her if she's any bigger than 8 lbs. So, now we know what to look for in the clearance at Target and at garage sales (wahoo, we love garage sales!)

Also in preparation for the arrival of this next little one, I followed the advice of my dear Auntie Becca and got a copy of a book titled "Hypnobirthing" (for only $1 at a garage sale) and am appreciating the information I have read thus far. Nathan and I are also taking a birth class of the same title and enjoying it. The main goal is to have a pain-free, natural (completely free of medical interventions) birth, and I'm really starting to believe that Nathan and I can do it.

The book also speaks of the baby's abilities and experiences before birth. It says that a baby in the womb experiences the mother's reactions and emotions. The baby also recognizes familiar voices, so the recommendation is to read and sing and talk to the baby and be sure to let her know she is wanted and loved. It is also helpful to let her know that she is coming to a good family where the parents love and take care of each other and their children are wanted and loved.

I'm feeling pregnant.

2010-09-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

So, this is why I'm feeling pregnant... just a little bit squished in there, oder?

I'm tickled pink. I'm more and more able to think of this baby as a girl and I'm getting excited for the labor and delivery. I really hope I can deliver her naturally.

We're having a ...

2010-07-17T09:45:00.002-07:00

Here are the pictures from the 20-week ultrasound.

The first one up there is a picture of the baby's very healthy spine.

The middle and last pictures are of Baby's face; it's head is down at the moment (the left side of the picture is closer to my chest and the right side is closer to my pelvis).

The next ones share the "secret":

The one on top is another shot of our little one's face.

The middle picture is an arm and a hand.

The bottom picture reveals that this little one is ... A GIRL!!
Her name is Ivy. We're undecided on what her middle name will be for sure, yet.

The still pictures aren't very clear, sorry, but looking at the ultrasound live provided a much clearer view and the doctor was pretty confident that this baby is a girl. We're so excited!

I'm not sure how much Levi "gets it", but yesterday he was sitting in his high chair at the table and, out of the middle of nowhere, he started repeating the name Ivy. He even assigned her a chair at the family table, tee-hee!

Potato Box

2010-07-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Levi and Andrew

2010-07-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sami and Andrew had us over to their house on Tuesday morning for our usual playdate and pulled out their little pool for the boys to play in. Levi and Andrew had a ball.

Here is Levi relaxing and chomping on an apple.

This is our dear friend Andrew:

"Sharing" apples.

Andrew, his lovely mother Sami (Samantha) and Levi.

Sami also got out the sprinkler. Levi has never played in a sprinkler before and didn't quite get it that one runs through the sprinkler, so he picked it up and aimed the sprinkler.

OOPS! Looks like I got the pictures in achronical order. This last two show Andrew fully dressed.

Taylorsville Days with Levi

2010-06-27T11:47:00.001-07:00

Levi and I spent a wonderful day yesterday with Jen and Larry Farnworth and their two boys Shea and Sam. (Backstory: Jen and I were introduced because Larry and my mom work together at Stampin' Up) Sam is exactly 14 days younger than Levi, but just a bit taller. I was very silly and didn't take any pictures until late at night. Only a couple of them worked at all, and I have learned a lesson: to take pictures earlier in the day and be sure to catch our 'playmates' and surroundings, as well as Levi.

We started the day with a parade through Taylorsville that began at 9am. Levi and I had a great time, especially because of the delightful company that had invited us. There was plenty of candy thrown out, but none of the boys was super quick or determined to get to it before it had been picked up. All things considered, though, Levi had more candy than he has ever had at one time in his life. He loved it! He was introduced to Nerds and salt-water taffy and he really liked the peanuts that were thrown out in bags by the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. There were a lot of politicians who rode by on cars and had signs asking for a vote. There were floats with candy and kids in costumes and pretty girls, i.e. Miss Taylorsville, etc. When the Murray float passed us, we cheered and said, "We love Murray!" Jen agreed and told us that they had almost bought a house in Murray instead of the one they're in in Taylorsville.

After the parade, we changed diapers in our cars and grabbed snacks and headed to the car show. The cars that were shown were rusty classics, refurbished classics, and highly decorated newer cars (decorated with flames, etc.) Some of the refurbished classic models had their hoods open so that we could see the engine and the doors open so we could get a good look at the interior. One of the classics made me think of "Foolish Carriage" in Cheaper by the dozen and another reminded me of the car Mom describes having taken family road trips in as a child. She tells us that nobody had carseats and her little sister Ann would often barrel over the front seat and drop like a bomb on everyone in the back.

By then, the boys were all tired and ready for a nap. Levi and I came home and Levi totally dozed off in the car. We got home just a bit after 12. His nap doesn't usually start until 1pm, and he never makes the carseat-to-bed transfer very well, so I woke him up when we got here and gave him something to drink. He perked up a bit and ate lunch and played for a while. He started yawning at about 2 and went down for a nap, very happily, at 2:30. He slept until 5, hallelujah!

We met the Farnworths for dinner at Rancherito's and then headed over to the park for the carnival and fireworks. Larry's mom was waiting for us there and we set up blanket and stuff, stayed for a bit, bought some glowing swords from a vendor, then went over to the carnival to see if the boys wanted to try anything. Levi was very sad to leave his "light saber",

(Who has a green light saber? I'll have to ask Nathan.)

(That's Jen on the blanket behind Levi.)

but managed to enjoy the inflated carnival quite a bit. Larry took the boys down the bag slide a couple of times,

Larry is the man at the top of the slide with a little boy in each arm. Levi is the boy on the left (Larry's right arm) and Sam is the boy on the other side. I was glad Larry was willing to take Levi because I couldn't maintain my balance on the inflated toy, much less climb the stairs to get up to the slide. In case you can't see it, Levi is having a ball.

Next, we had them try the Fun House (just a little two room thing with a little slide and inflated clowns, not scary at all (I hope)). Levi had a great time until I poked my head in for a picture and he caught sight of me. Oh,well. When time was up in there, we had a couple tickets left and went down the big slide again before heading back to Sharon and the blankets.

Fire works started at about 9:50. They were pretty, but loud enough to scare Levi quite entirely. He hid in my chest, peeking out every so often to see the show then ducking away again. I thought maybe he fell asleep, but as soon as the show was over, he was perky and friendly and didn't seem at all tired. He didn't fall asleep on the way back to the Farnworth home, or even in the car on the way back to our house, even though it was about 11:30 when we got home. He cried for his light saber, which I made him leave downstairs, for about 7 minutes and then just dropped off to sleep. Very tired boy.

My Garden today

2010-06-25T14:39:00.003-07:00

Tadaaa!

It's kinda hard to see the lettuce because the leaves are red and they blend in with the background dirt.

And next are featured too foreign plants (by foreign I simply mean that I did not plant them).

If anyone has any idea what these are, please tell me. Thanks!

And now, (drum roll) a lot of pictures of my sweet son Levi:

These first ones are chosen from the 40 or so pictures that he took last time he got a hold of the camera. I think that's peanut butter on his face.

Levi does Darth Vader:

Mom bought this mask at a garage sale last Saturday, and it is a hit-and-a-half with the men of this household.

Levi checks the mail:

Levi loves using keys and really enjoys checking the mail. Isn't his outfit cute? The t-shirt has DIGGERs on it and Levi really has a thing for plaid shorts lately.

Levi at play in his PJs:

This slide and table are inherited from the Kaysville Hogan family and are a very popular item among the small people in our neighborhood. Levi often chooses PJs as an outfit for the day.

Garden Update and Levi's new scooter

2010-06-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

This is how my garden looks today!!

And this is the scooter, featuring Woody and Buzz from Toy Story, that Mom and I bought for Levi so that he can learn how to use a scooter and so he can "scoot" with Sarah and Abby (2 girls who are the children of a family living with Mom until they move to Montana next month).

He wanted to put on the fabulous garage sale purchase of a helmet and knee and elbow pads which feature Elmo and friends (note: Levi's favorite movie is "Elmo's Potty Time"), but wouldn't stand still once they were on. Oh, well...

Then he wanted to take them all off...

Then he got the camera and took a picture of Grandma:

Then he set to inspecting his scooter:

My Garden

2010-06-09T22:54:00.001-07:00

While Dad was here visiting, he helped me plant my square-foot garden and this is what it looks like after 11 days! WAHOO!!

The following is the view from the north end of the 3' x 6' garden:

The next one is the view from the west.

Front and center are 9 Red Leaf Lettuce plant. South (right) of them is a tomato that I started from seed and I'm tickled pink that it is still alive and well. At the back on the right are two tomato plants that I bought at Lowe's. On the left in the back is a Zucchini plant also acquired at Lowe's. In front of the Zucchini are potatoes, planted in 5 square feet (one potato in each, except for the front left corner which contains two potatoes) that makes sort of a Utah shape. Dad prophesied failure for my poor little potato plant because the box is nowhere near deep enough. HOWEVER, my friend Sarah was over and told me that I could just make a box to set over teh top of my little "Utah" potato field and fill it with dirt. They're growing quickly, so I will cover them with dirt this week and hope that it works. tee-hee!!!

Levi likes to help me water the garden and likes to look at and carefully touch the plants. He followed my example of pushing dirt around today, which was kind of scary, but I think he figured out what I was doing, i.e. filling in holes where we'd dumped water too quickly into the dirt.

We're pregnant!!!

2010-06-01T10:28:00.002-07:00

(sometime in January)
We had a lovely Christmas followed by a nice quiet welcoming of the new year.

And now the latest is that Levi likes red and orange and yellow peppers, pepper jack cheese, has a bit of fuzz on his head (new year's resolution: have hair by the time he turns 2), and loves taking a bath.

(1.June.2010)
Wahoo! We are expecting a wee new member to our little family. The anticipated arrival date is November 27th, so I'm kind of planning on something closer to December 10th (I'm currently 14.5 weeks). We'll see. We learn the baby's sex in about 6 weeks and we are very excited. The baby's name is already decided either way, so we're set in that department. If you're interested in seeing the changes in a woman's abdomen during pregnancy, click on this link: http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10237 This link contains pictures of how everything in the abdomen moves and squishes as the uterus grows. Very interesting, nicht!?

Levi is doing well. He is asleep right now (11am) and went down about an hour ago. He was so cranky! Naps usually occur at 1pm, so this might throw a kink into the day.

On more interesting topics concerning our little boy: He utters 2- and 3-word sentences now. He proclaims things like, "I did it!", "I love it!", and that's about the extent of his long sentences. His vocabulary is still growing and he absorbs information as if he were a very dry sponge. Dad, Nathan, Levi and I went to Hogle Zoo on Friday. We took a stroller, which served as a pack animal rather than transportation for Levi. He was just too busy and interested in everything. He walked most of the time, and asked Nathan to carry him the rest. We saw giraffes up close, and snakes and lizards behind glass. We were a little disappointed by the tigers because they were sleeping and wouldn't even look in Levi's direction!! (of all the rudenesses!). We took lots of pictures, which Dad proceeded to take home with him before we had chance to download them. Dad (my dad) took Levi for a ride on the carousel, which he had me record on video. Levi and Dad were the only people on the ride for the whole time, but Levi wouldn't ride an animal. Maybe they're a little too high, or something. He and Dad had a lovely time anyway and were very sad when the ride ended. Levi even figured out the open the gate which closed after him when he exited the ride, good thing we kept a good eye on him.

Broccoli: mm-mm good, and Christmas preparations

2009-12-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, our family had a lovely dinner of potatoes, turkey and broccoli. We all had eaten our fill, escept for little Levi: he just kept popping broccoli!! Sometimes he's feed a piece to me or Grandma Paula, but most often he'd eat it himself. After he put a particular piece in his mouth, he really wanted to let us know how good the veggie was, so he said a very hearty "mm-mm". We all laughed. What a good example he is to us all.

Our little family is doing very well. Levi is growing up. He is taller and more confident and more and more vocal. He snuggles very well, lately, and liberally bestowes kisses on parents and gramndparents. He continues to love books. We read Good Night Moon before going to bed and he pretends to eat the bowl of mush every time (even when he's nursing already). His favorite book is Edward the Emu, which is at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house. (E the E is a book about an emu that tries to be different animals at the zoo) He looks for it first thing and then takes it to someone to look through the book together. He can make all of the animal sounds. For some reason he runs away whenever he gets a look at the last page, but he loves the lion and his favorite pages are the seal and the snake.

When Mom and I decorated the house for Christmas, Levi was the best helper. He helped us put bears and books (the decorations he can play with) by the front door, and carried ornaments from Grandma Paula, where she unpacked them, to me to put them on the Christmas tree. He likes to look at the tree and touch all the ornaments, but the tree is on a dining table so that we don't worry about him breaking any of the ornaments and getting hurt on the glass when we're not right there with him.He also helped Grandma Suzanne decorate her house for Chirstmas last night. He played with all the nutcrackers and helped her decide how to display them.

Our families preparations for Christmas are almost complete and we're looking forward to relaxing and spending time with family. Zan is coming up from Belize for the Christmas season and Suzie will come to vosist from Boston, if we can manage to find a cheap enough ticket. There will be a family get together of the Utah Hogan siblings in between Christmas and New Year's. We'll do our traditional Christmas stockings on New Year's Eve, and welcome the new year with all of its miriad possibilities.

Funny Levi

2009-11-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Mom bought these funny glasses for Levi to play with.

Welcome November!!

2009-11-08T20:15:00.002-07:00

Levi has been having a bit of trouble sleeping lately, which means that I don't get as much sleep as I'd like. It's getting frustrating! Then today, I asked the advice of a couple of mothers in the mothers' room at church. Kristie Laxman, sister-in-law of a guy I dated a bit a couple months before I started dating Nathan (ironic, nicht?).

Anyway, she gave me lots of advice. It sounds like very sound advice. She said that they had similar problems with their first child and that it was caused by sleep deprivation. She recommended that we put Levi down an hour earlier - earlier and earlier until there is no longer a problem. She recommends more napping as well. Sounds good. Pray for me this week that we can establish a good schedule for him.

We are still not feeding Levi sweets. I've recently had reason to question such depravation.
I have therefore done some research and the top two findings that support our no-sugar policy are: 1 - refined sugar is not good for a body (it is not a natural substance and the body doesn't know what to do with it, so it just turns it into fat), 2 - Levi is prone to urinary tract infections and sugar makes UTIs (as well as other infections) more likely. (Then, my aunt Margaret who is a nurse congratulated me on our policy and told me that we won't regret it.)

Nater baby is doing well at work. He is working long hours to save up money for the down payment on our house. His back started hurting him again this week, which makes me nervous. I really hope he gets better and does not need to get surgery again.

I am also doing well, with the exception of not being pregnant. I am enjoying sewing, being a wife, and mothering. We are enjoying living with Mom and enjoying the ward we're in. Nathan and I teach a primary class of 5 6-turning-7-this-year old children. One of the boys is the oldest son of a girl (AJ) with whom I graduated highschool. This is a great ward for connections: there are aslo Bodilys and Cannons, to both of whom I'm distantly related.

Avatar Levi

2009-11-02T17:40:00.002-07:00

Levi was Aang (Avatar: the Last Airbender) for Halloween.

The next day, we started to teach Levi how to eat olives correctly.

Family Pictures 6.October.09

2009-10-23T18:53:00.002-07:00

Our Family

Our Levi

Grandma Paula

September Update

2009-09-29T09:27:00.001-07:00

Happy September!! The weather cools down gradually and is filled with the promise of change. Levi grows and learns and changes daily. He now has 14 teeth: the four top front teeth, teh four front bottom teeth, four molars and, as of yesterday, two top eye teeth. He smiles all the time, mostly. He cuddles with his mom and dad and stuffed animals and sometimes his grandparents get that treat. His hugs make his mom feels like a million bucks. Sometimes, he even bostowes a sweet kiss ("mmmmwa").

Levi continues to show a strong preference for tools, e.g. hammer, pliers, wrench, toothbrush, remote controll, hair brush, eye-glasses, sword, etc. His talks a lot, mostly jibberish, but he can say "no" and "wait" and "what(?)". He signs "more" and "all done" and we're working on "apple" and "pear", two favorite things to eat, and "diaper" so that he can tell me when he needs a change(I often procrastinate or forget). He still nurses to sleep and sleeps in the bed with Nate and me at night, but we're working on getting him used to his own bed (his crib turned into a daybed). He usually takes good, long naps in it.

Oh! He finally started to walk as a free agent on the 26th of August. He walks like a real pro. He has great balance control. He knows how to go up and down stairs by himself (a trick he mastered in June-ish) but can go up and down in an upright posture with the help of an adult.

Grandma Paula taught him to sit on the bottom stair and he looks very nice - sitting pretty.

He did his hair for the first time last Wednesday (23.Sept). He dipped his comb or his hand into a cup of water and ran it over his hair. He looked absolutely perfect when he finished.

We are still not feeding Levi sweets. In fact, we even stopped feeding him ice-cream. So that means: no candy, no deserts, no sugar cereal, and absolutely nothing with corn syrup in it. Instead, he eats cucmbers, carrots, apples, peaches, bananas, beans, lettuce, pretty much anything we eat (with the exception of refined sugar). And ... he absolutely loves it! When I want to eat something I don't want him to eat, I just make sure to have fruit leather, cucumbers or apples ready for him. So far so good. And he's such a good example, I'm eating less and less sugary stuff.

Jedi Levi

2009-09-27T20:04:00.005-07:00

Levi was playing with one of Nathan's light sabers the other day and Nate caught a couple pictures and videos of the event. There are four of them; I just couldn't talk myself out of posting any of them.

Levi Schmevi

2009-08-16T15:31:00.005-07:00

Our little Levi is quite the person. He free-stands a lot more and has taken a couple of steps by himself, but he usually crouches down and crawls or does the crab walk. He has 3 molars and a fourth is about to break the gum. He has been a bit more irritable than usual the past two weeks and we think maybe it was because of the teeth.
He is eating more and more solid food and the variety is expanding. He's still not a huge fan of meat, in general, but is more willing to eat it than he used to be. He loves fruit, pickels, cucumbers, zucchini bread (with wheat flour and half of the sugar called for), bread of all sorts, and his very favorite is beans. He loves burritos full of refries, or the collection of black and pinto beans that we give him out of our Cafe Rio dishes. He will eat almost anything, which is lovely. He's even less picky than I am.
He loves to figure things out and explore as much and as often as possible. He takes great delight in playing with toilet paper, stroller or car wheels, and all the buttons he can push while he sits in the driver's seat in Grandma Paula's car and waits for her outside Costco (with Mom, of course). He's getting really good at drinking from different sippy-cups. He loves water and was recently introduced to whole milk.

Yankee Doodle Dandy Levi's 1st Birthday

2009-07-19T20:24:00.014-07:00

I borrowed this lovely idea from some uber-creative, super-cool person (who shall remain nameless because I can't remember who's idea this originally was). We gave Levi half a watermelon all to himself for his birthday, and he loved it ...

The next two pictures are showing the amount he ate (wow, I must say):

That evening, we had dinner with Levi's great-grandparents (my mother's parents) and he did a bit of walking and we caught it on tape, wahoo!!

Picklepuss

2009-07-03T10:00:00.004-07:00

Levi has his first dill pickle:

P.S. That is a knit wool diaper cover that he's wearing - very vintage.

Update: pictures

2009-06-13T14:36:00.003-07:00

The pictures of our condo are available on the web! If you'd like to see them, click here. (or copy this location into your browser: http://www.spotlighthometours.com/tours/tour.cfm?tourid=17307)

The End of Western (and Eastern (and any other)) Civilization as I know it

2009-06-07T13:23:00.005-07:00

Last night, for the FIRST time in MY ENTIRE LIFE, I beat my mother in a game of Scrabble!! Whoa, it was almost too much for me. I was so tired after the effort and strain that I went right to bed and didn't get up until tomorrow(not quite true since I'm awake and it's still today). I was very lucky: I drew the Q and the X and found places for both of them. I put the Q above one I and before another I on top of a Double Word Score and scored 44 points by placing one tile. I put the X below an A and after an O on top of a Tripple Letter Score and scored 62 for that one. I still wasn't winning (not surprising since my mom is a word-a-holic technical writer who's been playing scrabble since she was two). Then, I somehow managed to be the first to use all of my tiles and therefore gained all of the points on Nathan's and Mom's left over tiles, thereby winning the game at the last. Whew! Woa! I was amazed and am planning to keep that score sheet until I die.

But as far as our regular life is concerned:

We are trying to sell our lovely condo in Murray. It has been on the market for about 3 weeks and the pictures were posted online early this week. Since the pictures went up, we've had a few people come view it and so far the feedback looks good.

We are happily installed in the home of my mother. She has very kindly let us take over the 2nd floor in her lovely home. She mostly lives in the basement (because it's so cool) and we share the kitchen and groceries and cooking.

Levi had a high fever a couple of weeks ago and Nate took him to the pediatrician. They told us that he had a UTI and gave us a prescription for an antibiotic. We gave him a dose every morning and every evening for 10 days ad it seems to have taken care of the problem. We'll go into Primary Children's a week from tomorrow to get an ultrasound taken to see if there's any problem with hid plumbing that would predispose him to getting UTIs in the future. Other than that hullabaloo, our little boy is doing well. He is beautiful and charming. He loves people food, especially crakers and vegetables. His laugh is genuine and full of mirth. He loves to open cupboards and drawers and do his best to empty them. He likes to say "uh-oh" and is acquiring more consonants and complex sound combinations in his utterances, which tickles me pink.

Nathan is enjoying work and is steeped in his game of Legend of the 5 Rings (L5R), both the card game and the role playing campaign he is running. It's fun to listen him tell me about the problems and solutions he runs into as he tries to prepare a good game for the players (Jason, Everett and Barry). I think he's doing a marvelous job (but what do I know) and the guys seem to be enjoying themselves. When he's not preparing or playing with his cards, he plays with Levi. Nathan is a great father. I really enjoy hearing them laugh together and watching them play and interact. One of my favorites is to watch Nathan change Levi's diaper (he's good at it, just so you know I'm not making fun of him, it's just fun to watch)

I am relieved now that we have everything moved out of the condo and have finished painting and cleaning (mostly). I have finished knitting a colorful wool soaker for Levi that is a pair of shorties. They look really good, if I do say so myself. I look forward to starting the knit Christmas stockings I plan to make for our family, hopefully before next Christmas, and to getting back into doing a bit of sewing.

Long lost us ...

2009-04-27T10:43:00.007-07:00

We really are still here, thanks for checking. Here's an update:

Levi is about 9 1/2 months old. He is as adorable as ever. He has been standing and walking along furniture for about two months.

He just barely learned to crawl about 1 1/2 weeks ago. He does an army crawl using his arms and toes.

He loves to eat, especially when we let him feed himself ... (the following two pictures are of Levi enjoying prunes)

And this video is of him feeding himself oatmeal baby cereal mixed with applesauce (my favorite, you ought to try it sometime)

the Latest

2009-01-26T01:56:00.002-07:00

Starting a while back, we had a lovely holiday season and hosted Christmas at our house for the first time. We were a little slow and didn't decorate until just before Christmas. We finally put the tree up about a week before the day and set out the nativities, etc. and we really don't have much (bummer). It all looked much better, though, after Mom and her parents arrived for Christmas Eve dinner and brought with them a Christmas banner to hang around our front room and some paper snowflakes to ornament the tree. The best adornment for the room, however, was the people. Nathan's parents, my mother, and her parents were all at our home for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner of ham, potatoes, salad, rolls, pies and ice cream. We had a wonderful evening: we made final dinner preparations together, ate, talked, read the Christmas story (Nathan's first time and he did a smashing job), and even sang a couple of Christmas carols from the hymn book. It was a perfect evening. The party seemed very well selected and I hope we may often meet again.

Christmas morning, we got up at about 8:30 and started preparing and cooking a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, potatoes and French toast. It was marvelous. Afterward, we gathered around the tree and exchanged gifts. The ones most enjoyed, surely, were Levi's. We all watched and tried to assist him in opening as many gifts as he had patience for (at the ripe old age of 5 and a half months). He was charming and managed to stay in a really good mood until about 11 or 11:30, by which time a nap was a little past due. We bid Ray, Suzanne and Mom a fond farewell as they left hoping to get away and home before the storm got very bad. (Apparently, Mom couldn't even get into her garage by the time she reached her house.) So, we put Levi to sleep and ... well, I don't rightly remember what we did during his nap. Oh! We talked to Suzie a bit and called my dad and talked to him and Emily and Sophie. We had sent Sophie the Daring Book for Girls and we were very glad to find that she was already enjoying it thoroughly.

Mom came with us to celebrate New Year's Eve at the Hansens. We had dinner together, did stockings and then all went to bed well before midnight. It was lovely and I'm kinda liking this doing-stockings-on-New-Year's-

Eve thing.

Levi has started solid foods, sort of. He's mostly had applesauce. We've given him a bit of wheat bread, a couple of green beans, some rice, some banana and a bit of pear. I will try some pumpkin this week, maybe a bit of yam ... we'll see. Nathan wants to wait until mid-February to start really giving him stuff other than pureed fruits and veggies. I'm not very dedicated to the solid food thing and it usually ends up that Levi gets solid food about 3-4 times a week, rather than 2-3 times a day.

We visited the pediatrician on the 8th of this month. Levi was precisely twice his birth weight, 18 lbs. 10 oz., and 28 inches long. We actually met with the physician's assistant rather than our usual doctor and it was interesting. This PA is more laid back about solid foods and VERY talkative. He answered all worts of questions, but often gave too much information or too long-winded an answer, so it was hard for me to pick out the information I needed. All-in-all, we got in a lot quicker, ended up staying about as long as we usually do, and came away with a lot of information rattling around in our brains.

A pipe in our little complex sprung a leak and we had quite the production to get it fixed, but all is well and I have learned a bit more about how to figure out what is wrong and how to go about fixing it, or finding someone to fix it. The HOA is in a lot better shape than it was a couple of years ago, meaning people are less apathetic about things.

I am back in a sewing kick. I've sewn four new wraps and I even tried a sling. I'm certainly going to have to fiddle around with the sling to find a way that I like to use it. I also helped a sister in my ward to sew a sling for herself and it was a successful venture. I have been having a bit of trouble with my sewing machines and finally asked Mom to come over and have a look. She came up to our place for our weekly Wednesday date last week and fiddled around with both machines and they both worked for her (I think she's a sewing machine whisperer). I sewed a bit on the Elna and it worked fine, but the Singer skips about every 15th stitch for me. I'm gonna fiddle with a bit more and take it over to Suzanne's house because she has the exact same machine. Maybe she'll let me sew a bit on hers to get the feel of what it's supposed to feel and sound like. Oh, and I found a book online that contains instructions for machine repair and is written for home sewers. I ordered it and hope that I like it. I also found a book at the library, while I was looking, that I hope will be helpful in getting me more familiar with sewing again. I'm hoping to make myself a temple gown for when I'm pregnant, seeing as the gown I have (the under gown of my wedding dress) certainly doesn't fit over a pregnant belly.

Levi is totally not interested in rolling over or crawling or sitting himself up. He's quite the sitter, when we sit him down (which takes some forcing to get his body to bend). He is very interested in standing and seems on his way to walking. He loves his exersaucer that keeps him upright and lets him stomp and stomp and stomp. He's finally got arms long enough to push the button on the house that makes the house play sounds. He also likes to sit, especially if there is an empty-able container within arms reach, i.e. a basket filled with toys. His favorite toys are spoons, boxes, cell phones and remote controls (flipper-dippers). He is very flexible and very strong. He has two teeth, the first one made its appearance on Christmas, and it looks like he's got a couple more coming. His teeth are on teh bottom and it doesn't feel as if anything is coming on top just yet.

Oh, and he loves making noises - boy noises. He is unmistakably a boy and the spitting image of his father. And we are totally enjoying being parents. Nathan is a wonderful father. He likes to feed the babe and change his diaper and hold him and calm him and play with him.

Nathan is getting to know his calling as the ward clerk and I'm getting to feel more at home in the primary. We're experiencing some drama in the nursery, which is my responsibility (meaning the nursery, not the drama). There are about 10 women who are pregnant at the moment and all of them who know the sex are expecting boys, how fun. I'm throwing a shower for one of them this Thursday - my first baby shower; wish me luck!

Levi meets cousin KC

2008-12-05T17:38:00.008-07:00

In Boston, we met cousin Brit's husband for the first time ... and Levi is a huge fan!
(I can't figure out how to make the video rotate to be upright)

Happy November!

2008-11-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Time flies!! Hmmm

I am loving being free from school and I really really like being a mother. I still have to pinch myself sometimes. Levi is the best little boy that ever lived. His hair is growing, he's growing (not quite so exponentially any more (thank heaven)). Last time we weighed him, he was 16 lbs. 8.5 oz. That was at his 4-month check-up. He follows things with his eyes, he talks a lot, he responds and loves to play and interact, he looks at food like he wants it, he tries to sit up and ends up almost rolling over. He also kicks a lot, especially when he's getting his diaper changed. He also plays with his feet sometimes. It melts my heart when he looks at me with recognition and smiles, squeals or laughs. He smiles with his whole face, sometimes with his whole body.

Nate is still liking work and still gaming every Wednesday night at our house with his friends Barry (pronounced [b a r i]), Jason and Everett. He also plays a Star Wars role playing campaign about every other Saturday and enjoys it a lot.

He and I started reading a new book together the other night. It's title is "Fighting to Win." It's one of those self-help sort of books. It is based on Samurai principles about how to face problems and deal with things. I like it and it is very interesting. I also started a new book just recently, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot. My mother's sister Suzanne sent it to me for graduation. It is her favorite book, in fact, her youngest daughter after the heroine Dorothea. So far so good. I like the other books of Eliot's that I've read, and this promises to be a good read.

I'm still plugging along in Primary. The president is a very good woman named Janice Strobell. She has 3 daughters and a son and gives great advice whenever I ask for it. Her youngest will be 12 next year, in fact, she's the only person in the ward turning 12 next year, poor girl. I picked up the new manual for nursery leaders, "Behold Your Little Ones," this week. I look forward to getting it to all the nursery workers and reading it myself.

We are getting ready to fly to Boston on the 24th to visit Suzie and Matt and celebrate Thanksgiving and Matt's birthday (Nov. 29th) there with them. We will stay with them for about a week. It'll be Levi's second trip on an airplane and I hope it goes as well as the last one.

Happy Holidays, all. We hope you have a lot of fun and get to see many loved ones!

Birth/Graduation Announcement

2008-09-25T16:37:00.002-07:00

I made this announcement (with much assistance from my wonderful mother). The pictures I took of it aren't the best, but hey ...

Levi in the movies

2008-09-11T12:40:00.003-07:00

Here's the sweet baby in motion!

Pictures of our little Levi

2008-07-16T11:59:00.005-07:00

I feel so blessed by the newest member of my family. He: is sweet, has so many expressions, smiles a lot, is easily calmed, has his father's baby nose, is the most beautiful boy I have ever seen. He grabs my hand and tells me he loves me all the time. He has very nice large hands and ... well, I could go on forever. Suffice it to say that my baby is perfect and I love him with all of my heart.

We were released from the hospital on Monday and got home at about 3 in the afternoon. Suzie was with us and Nate was already at home because, with much effort, we talked him into sleeping at home Sunday night to give his back a break from the hospital sleeping accommodations. Suzie and Levi and I successfully got out of the hospital and home. It was lovely to be with Nathan again. Tuesday we went to catch a bit of the Hogan Family Reunion/Celebration of Grandpa & Grandma's 50th Wedding Anniversary. Because Suzie and Mom had done a very good job advertising that Levi was not a touchable item, people were very nice about not asking to hold him (which was good also because I may not have remembered to not pass him around, because I wanted everyone to be afforded the opportunity of holding my perfect baby, ya know). The reunion was really lovely and we even got to take a few pictures of Levi and his great-grandparents.

Our sweet, beautiful baby boy, Levi.

Levi and his Grandma Hogan.

Levi and Grandma Hansen (Can you tell? She's tickled pink to be a grandma!)

Levi and Grandpa Hansen.

Levi and Grandpa Larsen.

Levi and his Auntie Sophie.

In the hospital

2008-07-16T09:49:00.020-07:00

We had a prenatal appointment on Monday, but it ended up getting moved to Wednesday. Wednesday, we went in for the appointment, but I was not in good shape (psychologically speaking). I was in tears by the time our midwife, Danielle, got into the exam room where we were waiting. She talked to us and did her usual checks on me and the baby and guessed that the baby was about 7 and a half pounds. She told us to expect to check into labor & delivery that afternoon for an induced labor. I felt much better after that, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So Nathan and I went home and started putting stuff by the door and in the car to take with us to the hospital.

Danielle called a little later and told us that Labor and Delivery was packed and we'd have to wait 'til the next morning.

I checked in to labor & Delivery at St. Mark's Hospital at 7:30am on Thursday, July 3rd to be induced and start labor to get this pregnancy over with. The nurse didn't actually start the pitocin drip until about 9am and I didn't feel a thing, i.e. pain or cramping or anything, until about 2pm. Once I started feeling contractions, though, I could really feel them, i.e. lots of pain. However, the little baby was posterior, i.e. his face was facing up, which is the more difficult of ways to come out. I decided to get an epidural at about 1 a.m. in the hopes that it would help me relax and thereby help the labor to progress, however by 2 am, the baby wasn't making any progress down the birth canal. His head wasn't even far enough down to be able to use forceps or suction to pull him out, so we opted for a cesarean delivery.

Levi Bodily Hansen was born at 3:02 a.m on the 4th of July.
WAHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am finally a mother!

Mom (Erin) asked Dad (Nathan) to bring a hat from home, because she didn't like the ones they use in the hospital. This is the one he brought. Adorable, oder? Even if it's not quite the small knit hat I had in mind.

Nathan gave these to me when he asked me to marry him. He told me they're "for Levi, whenever he gets here."

Levi and his Auntie Suzie

Levi and Dad, both fast asleep. Don't they look well together?

Lovely Levi.

22.June.2008

2008-06-22T11:18:00.004-07:00

Dear family,

No baby yet, just so y'all know. He's due on Wednesday, but we'll see. I will try to get the news around asap after the arrival.He seems to be fine. The midwife still says his heart sounds like a train and she's pleased with his size and my size, etc. Nathan's back is still there. He got a nerve root injection on Monday. I hope he'll see the chiropractor and physical therapist this week since the inflammation should be down, making the joint more workable.

I am doing well. I'm not uncomfortable (knock on wood) as long as I remember to eat on a really frequent basis, which gets difficult because every time I open the fridge, the same stuff is there (go figure). However, I AM super-ready to meet this little child that I'm carrying. I've had two baby showers, both of which were perfect. Suzanne threw me one a couple of weekends ago, for family and friends, and a woman I serve with threw me one a couple of days ago (and invited a bunch of RS sisters, and a lot of them came! They know me!) Anyway, it was very validating to see that people in my ward know who I am and care about me. Now, I need to put forth a lot more effort to get to know people.

I think we have everything we will immediately need for the baby. We're gonna do cloth diapers. The pre-folds that I'll use for the first 6ish weeks arrived in the mail this week, with covers to go over them. I've also ordered a few pocket diapers and inserts for after 6ish weeks. We're good on clothing for the first 3 months, but don't have a ton for after that, but I'm sure we will by that time. We don't have too many toys, which I hear is good because baby's prefer boxes and paper and hot rollers anyway (I'll have to dig out Zan's hot rollers). We have a car seat that came in a travel system (stroller, car seat and base) and a jogging stroller (shouldn't have bought that, but now that I've got it I'll hopefully use it. If not, I can hopefully get a good price selling it on craig's list or ebay). Mom made sure to get me a pretty crib and new mattress. She also bought us a copy of "The Dangerous Book for Boys," a really good book that y'all have to check out some time (as well as "The Daring Book for Girls", which I haven't had a chance to look at, yet).

Levi's room is a mess and our room is an absolute disaster area. We haven't even been sleeping in there lately. Nate props himself on the couch to sleep, and since he's not using our bed, I use it to pile stuff that needs to be organized. That makes the bed entirely unavailable, so I sleep on the double in Levi's room. Adventures in the Hansen home.

We went to see Kung-Fu Panda the other night and loved it. Certainly one I would like to buy sometime. On the way to the theater, however, our car finally died (bummer). We bought a Mazda Protege 5 last night at about midnight. Nate really likes it (especially because it has a working CD player) and we both hope it lasts us at least 6 years. It's a cute little hatch-back that should be really child- and parent- friendly.

Btw, Mom had me sit for nakie-belly pictures last Saturday and they turned out really well. I'll attach a couple and try to post some to our blog.

aml,
e

Baby Videos

2008-04-27T08:50:00.006-07:00

The first video is the one where we learn the baby's sex, the second on is a view of its spine, bum and the place where the umbilical cord attaches, and the third video is a view of Baby's profile, then foot and another look at its gender.

our wedding

2008-04-03T16:58:00.005-07:00

Our wedding was beautiful. It was planned by my dear friend Deb, who has a business planning weddings http://www.designbydeb.com/.

I'm back

2008-03-08T20:16:00.005-07:00

Nathan and I have now been happily married for 13 months and 1 day. We are comfortably installed in our condo in Murray and expecting a baby boy near the end of June. My mother http://compelledtocraft.blogspot.com/ has made a frog thing to attach nukies to as well as a cupcake hat and mittens for the baby, but the cupcake things will just have to wait for a girl. Nathan's Mom gave us a blanket and two matching burp cloths for Christmas with crocheting around the edges. We have a few items of clothing and accessories collected and are super excited!

We have decided to use a midwife instead of an OB. She is a CNM named Danielle Demeter and we like her very well. I really want to do a water birth because I have only heard good reports about that method from those I know who have had one or more water births. I have also done quite a bit of research on the subject and spoken with some medical care professionals. If everything goes well, I'll deliver in water and report what I think.

Being pregnant is unlike anything I have ever experienced, to say the least. It is wonderful. It is tiring. A couple of my favorite things is that I don't have that-time-of-the-month and my sugar tolerance is very low, so it isn't even tempting to eat much sugar.

Hiya

2007-07-18T07:10:00.001-07:00

All is well at the Hansen home (tee-hee!). Nate is still really enjoying his new job at Applied Signal Technology http://www.appsig.com/. He is busy and happy. I am working in the Speech Acquisition Lab this summer earning the rest of the grant money for which I applied in the Spring, but only worked a few of the possible hours. I am also trying to get up-to-date on where all of the young women are in their Personal Progress programs and getting ready for Girls' Camp. We got our Secret Sister assignments on Sunday!
I figured out that I only have to take 4 classes to graduate next Spring, so I am only going to take 2 classes each semester and I am SO EXCITED!!!!