Nollie's Blessing Day

Nollie Lynn Hansen was blessed on March 4, 2018 by her dad in St. George, Utah! (3 months old) We had my dad, Bill, Grandpa Doug, Tyler, Shay, and Parker stand in the circle. It was pretty special! We celebrated later with a luncheon with friends and family.

Who was there:

Me, Drew, Lila, & Nollie

My family (Polly, Dirk, Kam & Ty, Kinsley, Konner)

Drew's family (Linda, Bill, Cheryl)

Grandpa Doug & Grandma Micki Hansen

Summer, Livvy, & Knox Shaw

Shay Morrison

Bronwyn Mount & her husband (Drew's cousins)

Timmons Family (Rob, Jana, Parker, Megan)

Mekynzie & Jordan Jensen (Jamisen 3 & Jayzlie 1)

Christy Jensen

Brittney & Tyler

Suzanna & James Brinkerhoff (Luke 1)

Shalli & Edie (5 months) Aldred 

Parker & Lindsey Tripp

Ellen & Logan Vincent

Shelby & Dallas Gale

It was a fun celebration! We had sloppy joes, salads, chips, and cookies! We ate at the church and everyone was sweet to help set up and take down/clean up. Nollie was pretty tired during the luncheon and slept or ate for most the time. She did great during her blessing but I spent most the sacrament meeting afterwards in the mothers lounge feeding her. 

I am grateful for the priesthood in my life and the blessings it provides for me and my family. It was exciting to hear what blessings Heavenly Father may have in store for Nollie, and it was neat to see Drew use the priesthood to call upon Heavenly Father and be guided as he blessed her. Drew had said while he was giving the blessing, Nollie was just looking around the circle at everyone with wide eyes and a huge smile- how special! And he also felt the impression that she is going to be really smart, and a good learner. It will be neat to see that unfold! 

Also speaking of priesthood blessings-- couple days before, Lila had a fever of almost 104 and it was kind of scary!! Drew gave her a blessing and when she woke up from her nap her fever was gone and she was feeling fine. What a miracle. 

I am grateful for the gospel in my life. It brings me hope, peace, and joy in times of uncertainty, doubt, trials, and hardships. It also brings me hope, peace, and joy during times of happiness and contentment too! 

I love my little family that we are raising. I love being able to bring special spirits into this world, and I am so grateful for our amazing support system of friends and family. I know I couldn't do it without all of you!

Love,

Kate

Nollie is 3 months old!

Time is flying by faster and faster with each coming month. I can't even believe it! But I love this age. Nollie is becoming more interactive! She loves attention and will give a smile to anyone who simply looks at her! She's just the best! She has the cutest dimply smile, giggles in her sleep, (not quite for real yet), and loves to hold my fingers when she's sitting on my lap.

She is still sleeping pretty well at night! She wakes up for her first feeding lately around 4:30 AM, and then not again until around 8. She is still sleeping in her dock-a-tot in our bedroom, but always ends up sleeping next to me at one point sometime during the night ha! 

She is still the happiest baby ever and always so content. She is such a mama's girl still-- like if we had magnets we would constantly be stuck together. She loves to take her naps on my chest, she loves me to hold her, she smiles so big when she hears my voice or sees my face. She's just the sweetest little doll ever!

She's getting really good at holding her head up. She is wanting to stand like she's a big girl! And her hair is growing! If I comb it out after her bath it will dry straight, but if I comb it up and let it dry curly it is really poofy on top! It's the cutest!! And her hair has a shimmer of auburn to it so we will see if that lasts. 

She's starting to bring things up to her mouth like blankets, teething toys, or her hands. It's so fun and cute! 

I love little Nollie and she brightens my day every day!

Love,

Kate 

Presidents' Day Weekend Cabin Trip

We started a new tradition last year-- So this year made it our second annual friend cabin trip over Presidents' Day weekend! 

We enjoyed the weekend with Alyssa and Barry, Tiana and Jordan, and Kambry and Tyler. Nollie also came along because she won't take a bottle yet so that was her first time at the cabin :)

We stayed only 24 hours up to Fishlake but it was still very enjoyable! Friday night we made it to Richfield just in time to celebrate a late Valentines Day dinner with my family. We had a delicious pasta bar and had to use funny utensils to eat it with. It was hilarious and we were all laughing so hard! It's such a fun tradition with my fam!

Lyss and Barry got to town pretty late that night, and we all ended up watching the Bachelor Winter Games ha!! It was funny! 

The next morning we got up and got ready for the cabin. We left Lila with gma, gpa, Kinsley, and Konner. She was so happy! Ha! We picked up Tiana and Jordan and got to the cabin just in time to start brunch. There was hardly any snow this year! So it wasn't hard at all to drive right down to our cabin. However, it was still pretty dang cold! We got the cabin heated up right away with a fire and we got the water going.. although the pipes took a little while to thaw up a bit, but it wasn't a problem! 

We ate the best food all weekend! Tiana and Jordan made french toast bake with whip cream and strawberries to top it! Plus scrambled eggs and bacon. It was so delicious! 

We snacked and played games all afternoon and also made a quick trip down to the lake. It was super windy and really chilly so we didn't stay for very long, but it was still fun!

We snacked some more and played more games before dinner. Kam and Ty made tinfoil dinners for us! They were great. Then we had kind of a smorgasbord of desserts afterwards! Lyss brought some yummy pies from the Crust Club for us to try and I loved them! We also had some fruit to dip in whip cream or chocolate, cookies, and candy.

The next morning we had breakfast casserole and a crepe bar. It was so yummy! We played a couple rounds of Wackee Six and then decided to pack and clean up everything sooner than we thought. We figured we could eat lunch (provided by Lyss and Barry) back home in Richfield so we did just that! 

It was such a fun weekend, but so short! Nollie had to come to the cabin with us because she won't take a bottle. I was really hoping we'd be able to leave her in Richfield for the night but she's a mama's girl! Overall she did really good though! She just tends to be extra clingy when there are a lot of people around, which is okay, but it makes me extra tired hah! She is the chillest, easiest, happiest baby though and it was fun to have her there! 

I'm so very grateful for my parents for watching Lila, and so very grateful to have such good friends who made the time to come chill with us at the cabin for the weekend! Can't wait til next year!

Love,

Kate

Nollie is 2 months old!

Nollie is 2 months old now, and is such a perfect baby still! She goes to sleep around 10 pm and usually wakes up for her first feeding around 6 am. IT'S AMAZING!!!! It's just so incredible considering how Lila slept haha... She sleeps in her doc-a-tot on my bed. It's way convenient because when she does wake to eat I can just feed her while I am still laying in bed! We need to start transitioning her to her bedroom though. I guess we will be starting that soon! 

Nollie is still the cuddliest little critter and her preferred way of sleeping is on my chest with her arms around my sides! She's my little sloth! ha! It's so snuggly. She always has a late afternoon nap on my chest (while Lila is also napping) and it's a good time for me to take a break too. 

She only eats when she's hungry, not even for comfort! But she's fantastic at nursing. She is such a happy baby and only cries when she's extremely tired! 

She is 11.5 oz and is 22 inches long! Lila was 11.6 oz at her exact same age- it's cool to compare them! She seems like a little chubster though because she's a bit shorter than Lila was! Nollie's cheeks are so squishy and my favorite thing is when she smiles SO big from seeing me or hearing my voice! It makes me so happy!!

Nollie also loves when Lila is around and when she talks to her. She smiles so big! And her little dimples just make my heart melt! I love my girls so much, I am so excited to watch them grow up together. I can't even believe the joy they bring me!

Love,

Kate

The month of January 2018!

I love January! I love what it brings-- a new year, new beginnings, new goals, and my favorite... BIRTHDAYS! Not just my own, but it includes multiple friends' birthdays, and quite a few family members' too! 

Besides the birthdays, it was a busy month for me. I reopened my etsy shop, got quite a few different custom orders done, we had friends over for dinner, I went out to Kilo's with my visiting teachers, and even hosted a paint night in Richfield for my home ward's YW and their moms! Also President Monsen passed away, so now the new prophet is President Russel M. Nelson! 

One of the highlights of the month was staying an entire week in Richfield with my girls while Drew stayed in St. George to work. It was fun to be with my family! We attended Konner's basketball games, got to watch Kinlsey dance, had dinner at Grandma Micki's one night (Nollie got a beautiful blessing by her Great Grandpa Doug because she had a cough) and that was amazing to experience, and we also had dinner at Grandma Carol's house! We ate meat loaf that night and Lila loved it! Which is so funny because she does not like anything lately, so that was fun to see her love it! I also loved loved loved instructing paint night for the YW and their mothers in my homeward! There were about 30 people and it turned out to be so much fun! I wore Nollie on my chest in my baby wrap, and I seriously felt like I was on cloud 9 all night! I loved standing in front of everyone, I loved teaching and helping them, and I loved sharing my talents with them!!! I've already got more paint nights planned in the works, so that is super exciting!

We ended the week by celebrating Lila, Kam, and Ty's birthdays. Plus we went to the region drill competition on Saturday in Emery and watched Kinsley dance! Richfield took 2nd in region, yay! It was a fun day, but pretty exhausting! We all ate at El Mexicano afterwards. It was such a great week and weekend. 

I love my girls so much. I love my family so much. love being a mom and I love my life! 

Life is happy.

Love,

Kate

Lila's 2nd Birthday!

We were in Richfield for Lila's birthday. It landed on a Sunday this year so we figured it would be perfect to be in Richfield to celebrate with my family first and then hit Cedar on our way home to celebrate with Drew's family! Lila woke up to a bunch of balloons just outside her door. She and Drew slept in Konner's room the night before so when she woke up they slowly opened up the door to all the fun balloons and to be surprised by everyone singing Happy Birthday!! Lila got really bashful for a bit but was so happy! My dad shared a song with us that morning that just brought so many tears to our eyes! I guess my parents have listened to this song for each of our 2nd birthdays, and now for Lila's too! It's called Never Be One Again, by Alabama. It was such a special moment, I will never forget listening to that song and holding my little girl. Thanks dad for playing it!! We later had crepes for breakfast and topped them with whip cream and sprinkles! My family had church at 1 pm so we had to do our birthday festivities quickly!

We made a little donut cake and stuck a "2" candle on top for Lila to blow out! She happily sat in the birthday chair and absolutely loved all the attention. She opened presents and got a slide, pots and pans for her kitchen, new yellow shoes, some playdough, a sticker book, and a bathroom set for her dollhouse! She was so happy and excited!

We left Richfield and made it to Cedar. Linda had decorated her entire house with balloons and photos of Lila! It was really cute. She had a "Happy Birthday" crown for Lila to wear and had plans for games and activities for us to do all afternoon. We played with ribbon wands and Lila was actually incredibly talented at that! It was really cool to see! Linda taught Lila how to play clothespin in a bottle and she loved playing that. We decorated cake and Lila got to blow out the candle again. Then we opened presents and she did so good at opening them! She was a champ. She kept wanting to open more and more! Especially since Christmas, she has improved tons at opening presents hah! She got some more fun things for her birthday-- peppa pig stickers, peppa big tooth brush and tooth paste, a doggy flashlight, a bubble gun, and a bedroom set for her dollhouse.

Lila was so happy the whole day. Every time someone wished her a happy birthday, she said "Ya!" like duh it's her birthday haha! She would say, "Lila 2!" and hold up her two fingers. It was a wonderful day surrounded by all our loved ones and Lila is so spoiled!

Some updates on Lila:

She is 35 inches tall, and weighs 27 lbs. She just barely got her first hair cut ever! And she looks like a little teenager now! She talks non stop, loves to sing "I am a Child of God," and is obsessed with always playing with someone! She especially loves to play "cookin" with her kitchen, and dollhouse! She loves books and always asks us to sing her Christmas songs every night before bed. She loves to run, jump, dance, and play hide and seek. She loves to sneak up on us, and tries to scare us any chance she gets! It's funny! She's not the best eater... but she sure loves her milk! And she'll occasionally snack on a spoonful of peanut butter too. She likes apples, eats lots of applesauce and fruit/veggie packets, and of course loves fruit snacks, chips, cookies, and candy. But vegetables and other daily foods are a different story. However, she definitely likes her oatmeal in the morning for breakfast! She absolutely loves to paint with mom, and usually ends up painting her hands, arms, face, and body. Which results in bath time afterwards... but it's worth it! She also loves playing with play dough, loves all the stickers, and likes to count! She's so bright, funny, and loving! She'll call me Kate every once in a while -- like she will randomly just say, "hey kate." haha! She's the best big sister too. She loves little Nollie and Nollie loves her! I am so excited to see them grow together.

Love you Lila Jane! Happy Birthday!!!

Love,

Kate

A birthday to remember! *26*

I LOVE my birthday every year! Some may not think January would be a good month to have a birthday, let alone just 12 days after christmas! But I seriously LOVE it!! It helps the saddness of Christmas being over to not sting so bad, ya know what I mean? Because I get to look forward to my birthday!!

I turned 26 this year. CRAZY!! I still feel 17, and I feel like I'll probably feel that way for (maybe) the rest of my life?! Time is so weird that way! 

My birthday landed on a Saturday this year, so that was fun! Drew and Lila picked up donuts for us for breakfast and they got the last two alligator donuts!! So lucky! I blew out a candle in a donut as they sung to me, and it was fun! Plus the donuts were delicious of course.

I opened up presents that Drew had got for me-- he did good! He got me a thread wallet, film for my polaroid camera, the cutest shirt and hat, and a popsocket and finger holder thing for my phone. 

Bill and Linda came over soon after and Linda had made me some homemade candles. So that was a really cool and unique gift! I love candles! They left for the afternoon while the girls had naps and then came back just in time to watch the girls while we went to dinner with a bunch of friends!

We met up with everyone at Pizzeria Limone- my favorite! Lindsey and Parker came, Laura and Mike, Suzanna, Kambry and Tyler, and Megan, Dan, and Winston! It was so much fun to feel loved and surrounded by some of my good friends down here in St. George! 

We went back to our place after we were done eating to play some games and eat treats. (Laura had given me the cutest lanyard and mini candle, Parker and Lindsey gifted us movie tickets to go to a show with them soon, and Suzanna gifted me my favorite candle ever [watermelon lemonade] and some delicious cocoa shea butter from bath n body! I was spoiled!) Bill and Linda gave me the remainder of my presents. They spoiled me with a huge beautiful wall mirror from target, a gift card to target, and some decorative succulents. Kambry walked in and surprised me with a gift from my parents!! A beautiful circular shelf that I wanted from target, another succulent, and an adorable basket to hold our blankets! And then Kambry also got me a gift-- a macrame plant holder that will hang from our ceiling. I'm so excited about everything I got! I was seriously spoiled!! 

Well we ended up playing a couple rounds of Quiplash on the PS4, and also the couch name game. It was a lot of fun! Our space was squishy, and the kids (Lila, Winston, and Luke [Suzanna's boy]) definitely had fun making a huge mess everywhere with all our toys haha but it was still fun to have everyone over. We had hot chocolate floats with marshmallows to top, mint icecream if they wanted, cinnamon candies, and my amazing chocolate chip cookies. Also can't forget the big bowl of popcorn too!

I was so happy all day long. I loved receiving texts, comments on Instagram and Facebook, and messages all day! I have the best friends and family in the world. I felt so loved all day long, so thank you to everyone who thought of me!! 26 is going to be a good year :)

Love,

Kate