The Recap

Okay, so I am WAY behind on this. I really am a crappy blogger, I just can't seem to stay consistent. First, Nykelle is walking in short bursts. She gets the smuggest little smirk every time she walks a little ways before she sits down. Right now she is trying to run rather than just walk because she desperately wants to keep up with her older brother. Nykelle is also my snuggle bug. When she wants to be moving she moves, but she is the best snuggler when she wants to be held. I love it!

My Alex boy, is all boy! He is a sports nut. He loves anything with a ball, and loves nothing more than kicking or throwing one around. Alex already has a really good arm. There is some debate as to what we think he will actually gravitate towards. Adam, his dad, and his uncle think football, my folks think baseball, and I think soccer. He may decide to do a combination of sports, but we are all just a little excited to see what he gravitates towards. Whatever he chooses will be great. We can actually enroll him into soccer this next year. I can't believe my sweet boy is almost three! Alex is also very into cars and trains. And he is talking like crazy. He surprises me all the time. My favorite thing thought is when he says 'actually'. "Actuawy, Mom, I want raspberry (jelly) instead of honey on my sandwich." He's so cute! It kind of kills me.

Adam is doing very well. He is busy as ever with work and his calling in the Young Men's organization as Varsity Coach. Those boys certainly keep him on his toes, and he works with some great people there. He loves it. Alex adores his Dad. Every day when Adam gets home from work, Alex runs up to him saying, "Dad, you came to see me!"And if Adam takes too long to get to her, Nykelle demands that I pick her up so she can get his attention. She is smart to not get in the way of Adam and Alex rough housing, but come to me so she can dive at him from the top.

I am enjoying being at home with my kids. There are some days where I do go stir crazy, but Adam is pretty good at giving me a break. I am also gearing up to start my catering/catering supply business. If there is one thing I can do, it's bake. Be on the look out for more details there!

We are just a happy family! My resolution this year is to be better about blogging... I am shooting for two posts a month minimum! Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Nykelle Milestones!

So Nykelle cut her first tooth this morning! It is just barely peeking out and another one right next to it is pushing through. She is also getting her legs underneath her and pushing her self forward... or rather trying to as she hasn't quite figured out that she needs to push herself up on her hands as well. Slow down! I am not ready for two mobile children yet!

Alex Update

Two things!

First, the Potty Training Games have begun and we are winning... most of the time. Adam took Alex to Amazing Jake's today, his first public appearance and he did great! He did have one oopsie, but luckily I sent extra undies and shorts. It was all good!

Second, Alex started saying prayers! He whispers his prayers very quietly, we can hardly hear him. This is how he shows he is being reverent, so that is awesome. I am so proud of my little boy who isn't so little anymore.

June Jitterbug

Here we are in June and I haven't posted since March. C'est la vie, I guess. We have a busy June with a family reunion, Young Men's super activity, Adam's birthday and Amanda's farewell. Congrats to my Sister-in-law Andrea and her family on the arrival of little Addley Lyn Felix. We are so happy for them and can't wait to meet her!

It seems Adam has some type of camp out or Young Men's activity every other weekend. He had the chance to go up to Front Sight in Nevada with his good friend Jacob Beach at the end of April and hone his skills with an AR-15. He had a great time, and we are so glad he had the chance to get away.

Alex is becoming quite the talker. He will repeat a lot of things, but he still refuses to say the names of most people. He says "Mom," "Dad," "Bampa (Grandpa Hansen)," "Papa, (Grandpa Brewer)," "Ama (Grandma)," "Dadid (David)," "Mana (Amanda)," "Cott (Scott)," and "Cake (Jake)." I can sometimes get him to say "Baby Kelle," but he usually just calls her "Baby." That's about it. Anybody else is pretty much out of luck for the time being. He asks why and what a lot, and for whatever reason he puts the f sound at the beginning of wet, rock, and walk. I garner some strange looks for those last two as they comes out sounding a little questionable. He is such character, he finds ways to constantly keep me laughing.

Nykelle is just growing like a weed. At her four month check up she weighed 14.8 lbs and was 25 inches long, placing her in 78% for both. Her dark hair is starting to lighten up some and there is definitely some red in it. I think it will either be a very pretty auburn or strawberry blonde at this point. As soon as it grows out long enough to tell, I will post pictures. She is already starting to teeth, so that's a bummer. She is such a mellow baby it's easy to tell when they are bugging her.

I am officially a stay-at-home-mom and I have projects! I think Adam is starting to shudder every time I say that. Right now I am updating some stools, working on some quilts and plotting on painting a couple of bedrooms this fall. I have a list of other things I am considering, just need to decide how I want to do them. I think it is fun! I also am having fun with my kids, I promise they are not neglected. Alex and I play with cars, planes, and trains; Nykelle has fun rolling over, and chewing on Mom's fingers. We have fun ALL DAY!

I just got back from nine days in good, old Snowflake. I got to spend time with my mom, who is recovering from surgery. Not sure how much help I was with two kids, but it was great to be out of the heat!

That's about everything in the life of A&E Hansen... for now.

Alex's Comment of the Month

Just so that this is recorded somewhere... As I mentioned in my earlier post, Alex is starting to talk a lot more and his favorite word is stuck. Alex REALLY dislikes having to go to the restroom... and today to signify his frustration about it he said, "Mom! Poo-poo stuck!" He has actually said this a couple of times now, which is why it is the comment of the month! Every time he says it, I can't help but giggle.

Back in Saddle!

Ok, so it has been ridiculously long since I have updated our blog... nearly two years! Quite a bit has happened in the A & E Hansen Family in that time. This blog will be a longer one as I will attempt to fill in the blanks for the past twenty-one months, so please be patient with me.

Alexander K
Alex is now two years old and could give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money. Alex has been walking since he was 9 1/2 months old and hasn't stopped going since. He is starting to say a lot more, but we do have the occasional melt down when he gets frustrated when we can't understand what he is saying. Right now his favorite word is 'stuck.' Everything gets stuck and subsequently needs 'help.'

We just commemorated the one year anniversary of Alex burning his hands. Last year in February, we were dropping off Alex to stay a week with my parents when he burned his hands on my parents wood burning stove. He burned both palms and 9 fingertips with 2nd degree burns with some 3rd degree spots on his palms. He ended up being at the Maricopa Burn Center for five days, and in that time we witnessed many miracles and feel truly blessed. His recovery time changed from 6 months to 7 weeks to 7 days. He has some minimal scarring on his palms, but he does have full functionality in both hands and we are truly grateful for the fasting and prayers on his behalf.

Nykelle Mae
Nykelle Mae Hansen (pronounced Nih-kell) was born on January 22, 2012. She is exactly two years and six days younger than her older brother. It is true what they say; each pregnancy/delivery is different. I started having contractions at about 10:00 pm on January 21, and had them about 5 minutes apart for 40 minutes starting at 10:30 before I decided I was in labor. By the time we got to the hospital, I was already at an 8, and the only reason I was able to still get an epidural is because my water was still intact. Even with the epidural, I still felt about 85%-90% of what was going on.Whereas with Alex, I had several hours worth of drugs and didn't feel a thing, I only had the epidural for roughly30-40 minutes tops. I nearly broke Adam's hand on one contraction since he offered me his left hand without taking off his wedding band. Nykelle was born at 2:04 AM weighing in at 6 lb. 12 oz. and 19.5 inches long. Being in labor for roughly three hours is a far cry from the eighteen-and-a-half hours I spent in labor with Alex. She continues to astonish us with her dark hair, her roots haven't changed yet and her brows and lashes are already super dark. Take a look at the picture of her and Alex to see what I mean.

Nykelle just had her two month check-up yesterday and she is a growing girl! She now weighs 12 lb. 3 oz. putting her in the 78th percentile for weight and is 23.5 inches long placing her in the 83rd percentile for height. I will be posting new pictures in the next couple weeks as we just got family pictures taken. As soon as they get here, I will share them!

Adam & Erin
Adam and I are coming up on our five year anniversary this summer. It has been a bit of a crazy ride at times, but we would not have it any other way. We moved our family into a new home in January, and we absolutely love it! Moving while eight months pregnant was interesting and I really wouldn't care to repeat the experience If I can avoid it. While I am so grateful for all the help, it was a little hard for me to be limited in what I could do. In the last couple years Adam and I both became members of Front Sight, basically a gun club in Nevada. We are debating on whether to go there to celebrate our five years of marriage or going somewhere a little more relaxing... right now, I vote for relaxation and sleep.

Adam seems destined to be in the Young Men's program regardless of where we are. Not a month after moving into our new ward he was placed as the Teacher's Quorum Advisor after spending the last three and a half years in our old ward working with the young men in some capacity. He really enjoys it, so that is a good thing! Adam also made the painful decision to sell his motorcycle. This was completely his choice, I refused to have any say in it as that was his baby. Hopefully down the road he will be able to get a new one, but with a growing family, and not really riding it as much as he would like, Adam decided that selling it was the best choice. Adam also is about as full of projects as he can hold around the house an with our vehicles. He does enjoy staying busy and having Alex 'help' along the way.

I am still figuring out how to juggle two kids, housework and my projects. I also received a calling to be in Activities Days, working with the 8-9 year old girls. It all keeps me busy! This past year was the year of the craft! All I wanted for my birthday, Christmas, etc. was craft stuff. Adam got me a sewing machine for my birthday and a sander (yes, a wood sander), paint brushes and a hot glue gun for Christmas. Now I have about 90 billion projects that I would like to do. Slowly but surely I am getting to them. Right now I am working on a jean quilt for Alex for his big boy bed. We are hoping to move him into a big boy bed in the next few months, so I am trying to finish this in time. That is a brief recap of life in the Hansen family. I will post again at least when our family pictures come in. :)

Alex's New 'Do

So we buzzed Alex's head today for a couple reasons. First it is really hot down here and we thought he might be more comfortable. Second, he has started rubbing the back of his head against his mattress. car seat, etc. creating some funky bald spots across the back of his head. He looks so stinking cute still, but I miss his hair. And yes, I cried.