Birthday Pictures

This morning I took some time off work to take Cade for his 4-year old birthday pictures. Was that the best idea ever, or what? He did amazing! I picked him up from daycare (and left sissy behind) and immediately, he thought he was The King! He changed outfits without a problem, let me do his hair, walked hand-in-hand with me through the mall, waited patiently, and then smiled his little butt off! Everything the photographer asked of him, he did -- look this way, smile big, give me a mean face, cross your arms... I was so proud of him!

Click HERE to check out the shots!

Happy Birthday Caden!

Every day I count my blessings for our little man who joined our world 6 weeks early. That day, four years ago, we were fearful of what the doctors were going to tell us. Was the baby okay, were we really in labor, what's next? The questions flooded our minds and hearts. And the whole time, it was just Jar and I in Minnesota, impatiently waiting for our families to arrive.

But, with the amazing medical care of our doctors and the strength of our little one, a 5lb 9oz baby boy was born in just 4 hours. He was in the ICU for 10 days, but only to help with his eating, weight gain, and coloring. His lungs (our biggest concern) were healthy and strong. I don't know that a day has gone by since that moment that we've taken for granted the gift of life and the love that we share as a family.

Now, four years later, we have an energetic preschooler on our hands. Caden has a heart of gold and shares the biggest, most meaningful hugs. He is an amazing little boy, with a huge passion for sports. He really makes our lives as parents shine. It's hard to believe that he has been a part of our life for four years. And to think of all the fun experiences we still have in front of us.

We love you Cade! Happy 4th birthday, Bubba!

One Year Down...

Well, it happened... Cade made it through his first year of preschool. The teachers loved him (as expected) and the kids had a wonderful time at Chatterbox Preschool too. I've been fortunate through the year to be able to transport him occasionally, so I have had routine communication with this teachers. They've been a great support system for us as questions arise about his development.

Here is the group of kids from daycare on their last day!

Next year Cade will enroll at Guardian Angel Preschool which is provided through our church. It's intertwined with JFK, in the K-8 school building, so it will offer a great transition for him as he begins kindergarten there in 2011! Geez, they sure grow fast!

More Birds

With the fear of birds that I have, it's surprising my infatuation with them this spring! Our house is the nesting place for these critters! Here is the baby Robin just hatched in nest #2. Looked to us that there was one additional egg in there too.

We figured we were at a safe time now to take down nest #1 from our front porch pillar since it'd been over a month... WRONG! Instead we found another set of eggs up there too! So, keep the breading coming!

Happy Spring!

Being a mom....

It's an amazing feat to be a mom. I love the daily challenges, snuggles, kisses, and even tears. Honestly, I was one of those who was meant to be a mom. Yesterday, was a celebration of all that. Unlike some moms who say, Mother's Day is your day to relax and have time for yourself, I'm a believer that Mother's Day is the day to celebrate the time you have together. For our family, that meant everyone being together.

Fortunately, I had my mom and mom'-in-law' there, my sister, my husband and kids, but also my sister's soon-to-be family. We met in Iowa City and picniced on some tables by the playground; we played a few games of baseball and the hoola-hoops consituted bases; we raced back and forth to the nasty bathrooms to see who was faster; we licked melted frosting off the dessert; we kissed boo-boos when the kids fell (about every 10 minutes); we balanced on teeter-totters and had contests to see who could swing the highest.

We laughed, ate, played, hugged, and spent time together. Literally we were there... together... as a family... celebrating being a mom ... for more than 5 hours! It was the best day I've had in a long time. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and I hope you can see the love and life that we have, not only as mothers, but as a family.

1st Big Haircut... or, uh, Trim!

We took the kids for $5.99 haircuts at Great Clips... a deal no mom can truly pass up! And then I realized that I probably wasted the $6 just to give Alayna the glitz and glamour of having someone call her a princess, put her on a pedestal, and remind her how cute she is! Shoot, I probably could have done that! Either way, she enjoyed it, and her hair is now even... but not much shorter. ;-)

Just pretending!

Jarin worked a little later last night and so I put the kids in charge of playing nicely while I made dinner for them. They chose to play upstairs in Alayna's room, which doesn't bother me, as I can still hear them (with their Skala-voices!) Every 10 minutes or so I ran up and checked on them to ensure they were being nice to each other, sharing toys, etc. The second time I went up I found both of them tucked into Alayna's toddler bed, blankets up to their necks. I said, "what are you guys doing?" The response from both was simultaneously, "Playing mom-and-dad!"  Okay, I thought, what ever happened to pushing babies in a stroller to constitute playing mom-and-dad?

Then, I noticed neither were wearing shirts! I pulled the blanket back, and said, "why are you both in just your underwear?" Alayna instantly gets bashful but shows a huge smile, and Cade looks at me with his big eyes and so honestly says, "we're just pretending, mom."

Oh, geez... what's next!?!?

Splish-Splash and Silliness

I must say that one of the most enjoyable and most dreaded parts of being a mom is bath time. I'm a believer that a little scrubbing every night is important... between getting rid of germies and relaxing the tots before bedtime, I truly feel that baths need to be a part of our routine each night. And the coolest part is that the kids look forward to it!

When they were infants, bath time meant washing them in pee and poo, changing water, and starting over... as toddlers that meant making sure they didn't slip and drown!... and now at the pre-school age, that means that I finish bath time looking as though I was in the water with my clothes on!

I know there is a line when I should quit sharing pics of the kiddos in the tub, but these were too fun!

 

Four have survived!

Here is the recent picture of our baby birds. You can't fully tell from this shot, but four did survive!

The Hansen house must be the place for nesting, because this past weekend we found that a Robin has also made a new home for her babies. There are 3 eggs in her nest, so we'll be keeping a careful eye on them in the next few weeks too.