Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Costumes

Is she Hannah Montana??


Is she Cleopatra?


She's both, and she's asleep...


We got out the Halloween decorations and costumes today. Baily wore both the Cleopatra and Hannah Montana wigs ALL day. She cried when she had to take them off to go to soccer practice. So this is what I found when I went to check on her tonight.

And here's a picture of Baily and Dalin just cause they are cute!

Monday, September 27, 2010

My Poor Baby

Our poor little baby had to go to the hospital last week. I brought him to the doctors on Thursday, Sept 23rd, because of a yucky cough he had that was getting worse. I was shocked when the doctor found that both of his ears where infected. She told me that when babies under 30 days get ear infections they worry because it usually means something more serious is going on inside their little bodies, so she told me to go to the hospital where they could run some tests and monitor him.

At the hospital they gave Dalin an IV, drew a whole lot of blood, did a spinal tap and a chest x-ray. When they took Dalin away for the spinal tap (no parents allowed for that procedure) James and I just cried and prayed and prayed some more. It was very scary. He did very well and they said most babies actually fall asleep during spinal taps because of the tight fetal position they get them into, which Dalin did, thank goodness)The chest x-ray was by far the worst thing. If you have ever seen or had one of your kids have a chest x-ray all I can say is I feel your pain, and if you haven't...I say pray you never do!!! They are awful. They have to stick the baby in a plastic clear cylinder shaped thing and strap them in with their arms above their head. It is torture!!! So hard to watch! He also had a heart rate monitors strapped to his chest and an oxygen monitor strapped to his foot.

I was grateful to the staff at McKay Dee for how thorough they were . They crossed every "t" and dotted every "i". I am so grateful for the doctors and nurses who were exceptionally good at their jobs and took very good care of Dalin.

After all the testing was done we played the waiting game, as we waited for all the results to come back. James came and went for the next 48 hours as he took care of the other kids and worked. My Mom came up for a little while to keep me company one day too. So Dalin and I got a lot of time to watch movies and take naps.

Besides his awful cough, you would have never known he was sick. He had no other symptoms, not a runny nose or a fever. We were relieved to find out that he did not have a secondary infection and that he had 2 viruses. One was the common cold virus, and the other was the virus that causes croup. The viruses where also the cause of the ear infections.

After a steroid shot to help open up his air way to help the cough we were able to come home Saturday afternoon. He is on antibiotics for his ears, but other than that he is doing great. He is a fighter, and we are so grateful that everything turned out to be okay. It could have been a lot worse.




Friday, September 17, 2010

Due Date

September 17th...My due date...And my 3 week old baby!!!
First of all, I can't believe that Dalin is 3 weeks old! He has fit so flawlessly into our family that it seems like he has always been here.

He is the sweetest, most cuddly, lovable little boy ever. I am soooo enjoying him. I am so grateful that I feel so good (mentally and physically) and that I have been able to enjoy these last couple of weeks.

After the kids go to bed is when Dalin has started to stay awake for a couple of hours. This is my time to love on him and get to know him more. He is so great, and I can't wait to have many more years with him!
Right after a bath

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Perspective

Change the way you LOOK at things and the things you look at CHANGE

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Can't Get Enough

It really pays to know people in the photography business!! A friend of mine was kind enough to take some amazing pictures of Dalin. He just gets cuter everyday!!!




Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Happy Hansens

Things are going pretty good around here. Dalin has just fit right into our family. He is the icing on our cake!! He is so sweet and everyone is adjusting well to having this precious little guy in our home.

His jaundice levels were really high when we had his check-up last week, due to his immature digestive system that couldn't filter the bilirubin out fast enough. He had to be under the UV lights, which wasn't fun, but it could have been worse. We are just grateful he is here and healthy.

We will probably be able to take him off the lights tomorrow. Here he is, snuggled in the bilirubin light bed. It fits snugly into his bassinet, so we just put him in that.
This is him with the portable light that we can use while I am feeding him, or to just hold him. It fits right under his back and the band you can see is just a strap you Velcro over his belly.

We are all doing well and loving our little Dalin. He is such a blessing and we just can't get enough of him. We are so lucky!
Tyler is thrilled that Dalin looks EXACTLY like he did when he was a baby. He is a good big brother and glad to not be so out numbered anymore!!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Dalin David Hansen

He's Here!

Our sweet little man came 3 weeks early, On August 27th, 2010!
I went into labor on my own Friday morning but didn't believe it was real. So I went about my day. At about 4:00 I decided that the contractions that were coming every 2-3 minutes were real and that we better head to the hospital. I was still in major denial and knew that they were just going to send me home. We took the kids to a friends house and headed to the hospital. I had been dilated to a 3 for the last couple of weeks and sure enough, when they checked me at the hospital I was dilated to a 5. I was in labor and we were having a baby that day.

I had an epidural put in a little while later, and while I couldn't feel the contractions anymore the epi made me really sick. Good thing it didn't take him much longer to come after that. I only pushed for about 10 minutes.

Dalin was born at 11:36pm. 7lbs, 110z, 20 inches long. He is healthy, and has a full head of beautiful brownish-blond hair. He is the most loved little boy ever, and we couldn't have asked for anything more.








Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day of School-
The kids all started their new school. It is the first year that this Montessori Charter school has opened. They were all very excited! I kept asking if they were nervous and they all said, "No, just excited!" They all looked so cute and had a great first day.

Second Day of School-

This day was a little bit more adventurous. James went to pick up Baily from kindergarten in the morning and was told that the school was in "lock down" because some idiot in a house behind the school was shooting at his sister who he was in a fight with. When police arrived at this guys house he barricaded himself in and was in a stand-off with a swat team pretty much all morning and afternoon. So there was no one coming in or out of the school. The lock down was called off at around 1 pm when the guy decided it was a better idea to kill himself.

CRAZY!!

The school did a beautiful job at keeping the kids safe and for the most part clueless as to what was happening. I was very pleased with their efforts. Besides Tyler looking out his window at the exact time a SWAT guy did a "cool army roll" over a hill into the back yard of this guys house, they really didn't know what was going on until they got home and we talked about it with them.

Sooooo- Schools back in session. Malia gets to spend a lot of time with me and James, or "My Daddy" as she like to say. We are patiently (I use the word patiently very lightly) waiting for the day Dalin decides to join the family. Besides the fact that I am dilated almost 4cm and having constant contractions pretty much all day, we are hanging in there.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

UPDATES

Quick updates on the Hansen's...
I had a good doctors appointment today. I told my mid-wife that I was feeling a lot of pressure and was continuing to have some strong contractions. She decided to check me and found that I am dilated 3cm and 70% effaced. She said my cervix was also very soft. I was shocked because I truly have believed that this little man will never come out!!! It was just a relief to know that my body is doing what it is suppose to and that I am advancing.

I am fully aware of the fact that being this dilated doesn't really mean anything, and I could go the rest of the 5 weeks before he comes, but I am okay with that. I will just be a third of the way dilated when he actually comes.
Here I am at 35 weeks...If "huge" is the first word that comes to your mind, don't worry, you are not the only one...I hear it EVERYDAY.



James is surviving the IRS, and though he doesn't love it, he endures it so well. He has fixed 2 fuel pumps in the last week (the burb and the truck). That was not fun. He is a trooper and on top of all his responsibilities continues to be a great dad and husband and takes very good care of his family.


Kylee, Tyler and Baily are really excited (yes, excited) to start school. I think I bored the heck out of them this summer and they are ready for a change of pace and interaction with other children. They start on the 23rd, and I think it is safe to say that we are all excited to have school start again. The one line from the Christmas song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" that says..."and Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again..." always offended me as a child. Why in the world would my parents want school to start again and want me to leave them for 6 hours a day??? I get it now.


Malia has grown up overnight! Don't get me wrong, she throws a fit like no one you've ever seen, and thinks EVERYTHING belongs to her, but she is growing by leaps and bounds. I had pretty much given up on the idea of potty training her before Dalin arrived, because she would have nothing to do with peeing in the potty, but one day she asked if she could go to the bathroom, and she actually did, and from that point on she has been potty trained. She literally trained her self. I had nothing to do with it. It has been awesome. She is also sleeping in a big-girl bed and has done that exceptionally well also. Good stuff.


I am so grateful for my family. How I adore them. I had a day and a half a couple of weeks ago when my sweet sister, Tara took all the kids and had them spend the night with her. It was weird because I had nothing to do. The house stayed clean. The laundry didn't multiply like rabbits before my eyes and I found myself bored. That is something that I never am. It made me realize how much I love being a Mom. There is nothing better.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Hello Epidural! Here I come!

As some of you may know, I had Baily and Malia without an epidural. It was fine with Baily, just what I wanted and great. Then came Malia. I don't know if it was because she was posterior, or because I was in the hospital ALL day and not really in labor until the end of the day or what but her birth was not so fun. Really painful!

Well, when I got pregnant with Dalin I was almost positive that I was going to get an epidural. But today at my Dr. appointment my "almost positive" turned into "pretty darn sure". Our little man's head is measuring almost 5 weeks ahead. His other measurements are about 2 weeks ahead. 2 weeks ahead...no biggy...but the size of this guys head...OUCH!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Celebrating our Freedom

We had our annual 4th of July Celebration at Layton park with my family. It was so much fun. Thanks for the photo's Tam!
This is what Malia thought of the parade!!
My sleepy man. He ran the 5k race that morning.


My kids and Tara's kids watching the parade, hoping for candy!!


My girls


Tyler and cousin Austin up a tree

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

God is GOOD

Just thought I would share...

Today was one of those days. From the moment I woke up I could tell that it was going to be a hard day. With our A/C going out the night before, money troubles, pregnancy aches and pains, lack of sleep and 4 rambunctious children in need of...well, everything!!! I was at a breaking point. My already frazzled pregnancy emotions couldn't handle the weight of my responsibilities.

Then, I got a call from a dear friend and neighbor in the early afternoon who can read me like a book. I was able to talk to her and unload some burdens. She then told me that on Sunday while she was sitting in Sacrament Meeting the spirit whispered to her that she needed to bring me dinner on Wednesday (that is today!) When she told me this I got chills from head to toe.

This I know...My heavenly Father knows me. He knew the exact day and the exact hour that I would need him the most. He told someone who was listening to his sweet spirit that I was going to need a little extra help. The spaghetti that she brought tonight was extra yummy, because I knew that it was a direct answer to my prayers and a direct message from my Heavenly Father that he cares.

Never doubt that God is Good, that he loves us and that he will not forsake us in our time of need.

Monday, June 28, 2010

My Summer Survival Items

If I think too hard about surviving 11 more weeks of being pregnant, I can get really down, so here are just a few of the items that I am relying heavily on to get me through this HOT, LONG summer...in no particular order...
My heating pad...I have 7 little words to say to you, O heating pad..."I love you, sweet, relief-bringing pad!" I don't know what I would do with out this baby. He gets me through the long days and all the back pain!

My 101 pillows. My poor husband has a sliver of the bed left after I get cozy.

Books, books and more books. I have read more books in the last 6 months than I have my WHOLE life!
All I can say if you are not currently cooking with a crock pot WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??!!! There is nothing that makes me happier than to have a nice, warm, yummy dinner ready for me at dinner time. My brain and body shut down in the evening and I don't know what I would do with you this brilliant cooking contraption.
We just got a new pool for the back yard, and I am LOVING it. The kids don't fight in the pool, they don't make the house a mess when they are in the pool, and I get to sit in a lawn chair under and umbrella and read! What could be better?!
And LAST but not LEAST... My survival Item #1... My man! We just celebrated our 10th year anniversary on the 23rd! He is my support, my cheerleader, my sanity. He lets me sleep in, tells me I am beautiful and completely denies the fact that I am getting old and fat! He makes me laugh and keeps me grounded. He honors his priesthood and leads and directs our home in a peaceful, easy going manner.
When I first saw James at a singles ward in Layton, UT I knew that I knew him. Though I had never met him before I knew his face. I wracked my brain the whole church block trying to remember where I knew him from. As we became friends and started dating I quickly realized that he was my soul mate, my spiritual companion and that I did know him. The spirit bore witness to me that I had known James in the life before this one. I never questioned that I was going to marry him and be his wife.
We married young, I was only 20, but there has never been a day, not even on our hard days, that I have regret starting a life with him.
One wise woman once said that you know you have a good man when he will swim threw shark infested waters to bring you a lemonade. Yup...I got one!
Happy 10th James and here's to a lot more!
**Check out the latest "My kids say the darndest things" on the side for a good laugh and the next post about our fun camping trip**