2 months already gone

Happy 2 month Birthday to our little tough guy!!  Caraline will be making cupcakes. :)

Two Years!?!?

Once again it's been way to long since I've posted.  Looking at the previous post, it's been a few days over 2 years.  And what has been happening??  Well in 2 years ALOT happens.  Let's see if I can recap and then stay somewhat current.

October 2010 Caraline became an official Giants fan. . . makes Kyles family proud :)

December 2010 Caraline has always loved Christmas and Christmas Music, but Santa Claus himself. . . well the picture will tell all.  If we held her over Santa she was fine, but when we let Santa hold her. . . and she knows the man in the suit!!

April 2011 We thought Kyle was going to go back to grad school and we were headed to Pocatello ID.  We put our house on the market hoping to short sell it.  

May 2011 Kyle's job offered him a position to do what he was going to go back to school for so we decided to stay put.

July 2011 Caraline turned 2 and we had a blast making these for her birthday:

February 2012 We announced an addition to our family would be coming mid-August.

March 2012 We found out our new addition would be a boy.

April 2012 We made a trip to the San Diego wild animal park with some tickets we had won in a drawing.  Funny that when I was a month less pregnant with Caraline we went with Kyles family to the same place.  

June 2012 I was bigger than I was the day Caraline was born and starting to get really uncomfortable.  Caraline decided she would pick up the slack and start doing more around the house.

July 2012 Went to Phantom with Kyle before it closed it's showings here in Las Vegas.  A man we had to climb over to get to our seats asked me to promise him I wouldn't have the baby during the show... I must have looked really uncomfortable and really pregnant.  That was actually one of my good days.

August 15 2012 Quincy Alexander Hansen joined our family.  He came during the noon hour at 12:41.  8 lb 3 oz 21 inches. 

Quincy was crying when he was a few days old and 

Caraline laid down with him and said, 

"When I'm sad my thumb helps me feel better.  

See!?!?  You try my other one."  

She has been a GREAT big sister and a really good helper.

September 2, 2012 We blessed Quincy.  Caraline looks so big and grown up in these pictures.  Kyle's mom found the outfit that Kyle was blessed in and gave it to us.  Somehow the pictures got deleted from the camera, so once I take more pictures in the outfit I will add them.

I'm adjusting to being a Mom of 2 and loving it.  Quincy is a good baby.  We are so blessed in our lives!!

What?! It's been how long?? How time flies.

WOW!! I thought it had been just a couple of months since I had updated. HA!! It's been 12!! We are doing well as a family. Caraline is growing quickly and is too smart for her own good. I guess I should start this out in more of an update mode.

Kyle is still working for the Las Vegas Sun as a reporter. He works Tuesday - Saturday. He enjoys what he does but is always looking for a better job that would give him the opportunity to focus more on his passions than what he is assigned. He has been working there for just over 2 years.

I am still working for the St Rose Dominican Hospitals. I am a float pool nurse (same as before). I typically work 2 days a week and spend the rest of my time with Caraline.

Yup . . . same old same old. . . except for Caraline.

Caraline is growing quickly and changing day by day. When she was a couple of months old, her Pediatrician and her Cardiologist were concerned because she was so long and skinny. She wasn't gaining weight as fast as they would like, and quickly plummeted to less than 0.05% on the weight charts. She was getting taller and her head was staying on it's "curve", but her weight just wasn't up to par. As her Mom, and a nurse, I felt like she was getting plenty to eat and her diapers were how they should be, but I knew she looked really skinny. So we started keeping track of everything she was eating and details about her diapers. We saw several specialists to try to figure out what was wrong. Caraline was developing normally, but was really skinny. Finally, just before her 1st birthday, we were able to see a geneticist who told us Caraline has a connective tissue disorder. This explained her hyper-flexibility and why she wasn't gaining enough weight even though she was eating plenty and then some. It takes twice as much energy for Caraline to move due to the hyper-stretching of her tendons and ligaments. This has not slowed our little girl down. Caraline hasn't stopped moving since the day she was born!! We have been teaching her sign language. Her first clear sign was please, followed by more and then food. So her favorite thing to say now is "more food please!" She has been lots of fun and keeps us on our toes!! (See pictures and slide show below.)

My first dress at 1 month old.

My favorite napping place :)

3 months old napping with Great Grandma Hansen

This is going to be a GREAT day!!

Uncle Sam has LOTS of hats. This is my first one.

Say CHEESE!!!

My first marshmallow. . .

yes the whole thing fit in my mouth.

Practicing to win chubby bunny :)

My first Christmas. . . wonder what is inside??

Oreos?!? What oreos?!? I'm not sure I've ever had one.

Dear cousin Adam, you may be 1/2 my age and twice my weight, but I can still pick you up!!

Razzleberry pie anyone??

My favorite chew toy!!! I've got it mastered Mom.

Now just wait for the teeth and I'll have a reason to use it!

HA!! You told me the lion was going to eat me.

Well, I'll show him who's boss around here!!

The shopping cart says I should be at least 15 lbs to sit like this.

It's going to take me a long time to get there at this rate.

You think this hat makes me look bigger than I am?

Track meet with the with my second family, the Odells.

This looks like it's going to be a close race. RUN FASTER!!

Really!?! That's quite interesting. Tell me more.

Trip to Yosemite. It was cold and raining, but

I was snug as a bug in a rug, and didn't get wet.

We wondered why we kept getting funny looks.

Do I look like a Yosemite Ranger??

Look out Smokey the Bear. . . someday I'll be you!!

HA HA!!! Dad, I got to the front seat first.

I'll drive the rest of the way to Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's.

Raggedy Ann will help me.

My first Easter egg hunt. Dad is holding

the basket that they say is for the rest of the

eggs. . . I'm good with just this one.

Nap time with Dad.

Nap time with Grandpa Crook after his surgery.

We took a lot of naps together that trip.

I made breakfast in bed for Dad for his birthday.

We ate it together in the bed.

Then I helped Mom wash the sheets.

Next time we'll eat in the bathtub!

1st Birthday Cake

Now what am I supposed to do??

Isn't this what I was supposed to do with my birthday cake?!?

Kisses anyone??

My first sucker. . . and I'm sure not my last :)

Keeping busy!!

Life has been good and I've been busy with Caraline, so I haven't taken the time to update. . . see the picture for yourself. . . she's growing fast and keeping both Kyle and I busy. If you look close at the picture Caraline's shirt says, "Daddy makes me smile." Kyle has just finished feeding and burping her in this picture and she is filling her pants while sitting on his leg, which made us all smile. Someone passed him the diapers and wipes just after his Uncle took this picture.
For anyone who may be interested we will be blessing Caraline September 6, 2009 at our ward here in Henderson, Nevada. If you are interested in coming let me know and I can give more details. . . I can't believe she is 8 weeks/2 months old today!! How time flies!!

The New Addition!!

Four weeks ago today, Caraline Gwen Hansen made her debut!! I've been busy and have not made it a priority to update my blog with the details. After much harassment from friends and family, I decided to give up a nap while Caraline is sleeping to share details.
During the last week of June, each morning when I would wake up around 4:30 in the morning for a trip to the bathroom, I would notice I was having contractions, go back to bed, and by the time I got up around 7:00 or 8:00 they had stopped. June 30, this was not the case. The contractions were noticed around 4:30 am, I went back to bed, and when I got up around 7:30 I was still having them. The contractions continued through the morning. I had a Doctor's appointment at 1:30, but when the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and lasting 45-90 seconds at 11:30, I called the Doctor's office and told them I would not be coming to my appointment, but would be headed to the hospital in the next couple of hours. The contractions continued like this for hours, but I was able to talk through them and they were not very painful, more just feeling of by belly becoming very tight and my hip joints stiffening. I even sent Kyle for a Jamba Juice and shopped the ads. I even contemplated mowing the lawn to try to speed things up.
As you can see in this picture, I had finally "popped out". In the the last three weeks of my pregnancy, Caraline decided she wanted more room to move, so I had to go buy some maternity clothes and got some AMAZING stretch marks!!
Contractions continued all day. I was still doing things around the house, getting a little anxious for this little one to come, but feeling pretty good. Around 7 pm I noticed that I was having to go to the bathroom more often and each time a contraction came I would "dribble". So questioning if my water had broken, we headed to the hospital, which is just over two miles from our house.
We checked in and the nurse checked me. My water had not broken, but she was surprised that I was dilated to a 6 and 50% effaced. Her comment was that I was too calm for that. They put me on the monitors and were surprised at the strength of my contractions for my demeanor. So the text messages started being sent to let everyone know we were actually at the hospital and this baby was coming.
The nurses informed me that my doctor had ordered an epidural, and asked if I wanted it right away or if I wanted to wait. I told them I didn't want an epidural. We discussed the pros and cons, and I told them that at that point in time I wanted to deliver this little girl as natural as possible, but I would let them know if I changed my mind. Labor continued uneventful and pretty much the same until about 3:00 am when I was moving from the chair next to the bed back to the bed and my water broke. Then the contractions became very strong and very intense and painful. At this point Kyle came over to my bedside to coach me with breathing (which I wouldn't have been able to do without him in my face helping!!) I knew this little one was going to come pretty quickly. The nurses called the doctor, but Caraline beat him there by 45 minutes!! When I got to the point that I felt like I needed to push, I told them, the nurse and Kyle told me not to, but Caraline came anyway! I couldn't stop my body from pushing her out. Two contractions after I felt like I needed to push she came very quickly. . . and wow does she have a set of lungs!! Caraline was born at 4:04 am July 1, 2009. She weighed 7 lb 12 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Kyle is excited because she has curly hair. At birth there was no way to say which of us she looks like, except that she has a dimple in her chin like her mom, and Grandma Hansen says she has long skinny arms and legs like Kyle did.

This picture is after they cleaned her up and were weighing her.

This is Kyle next to the crib, checking Caraline and trying to decide if he should go bug mom again and see how she is doing. . .she's got a great nurse at her bedside!!
This is the cake the hospital gave us to celebrate her "birth"day.
In the warmer after the first bath.
Notice the baby LoJack on her ankle to prevent anyone from
kidnapping her. Her scream would deter them.
She has an amazing set of lungs!!
36 hours after labor started Mom and Baby finally get a nap.
The happy family just before our first dinner as a family.
Yes, we are all as tired as we look!!
Our first evening at home and Caraline
just wants to cuddle with Mom!
Three weeks after birth Caraline still likes to cuddle for naps!!

We stayed at the hospital till around noon the day after Caraline was born and couldn't wait to get home!! The following Monday, Grandma Hansen and Aunt Rachel came and stayed for a week. This is Grandma Hansen's 1st grandbaby. They left July 13, leaving us to get through Caraline withdrawals from Grandma holding her all the time. July 19 we made a daring trip to Salt Lake City for my youngest sister's wedding. Caraline did great on the 8 hour drive, but struggled a bit the first night we were there, waking up every hour wanting to eat or be comforted. Possibly a growth spurt? We've made trips to the dog park, the grocery store, the library, the mall, the park, Great-grandpa Hansen's house, and mowed the lawn together.
This precious little girl has brought much change to our lives and lots of laughs and joy!! Her expressions are priceless. I think my favorite is her wink/I'm not asleep face. (There are pictures of many of these at the link below.) Her dislike of being swaddled, but love of being cuddled and her "frog" legs keep us smiling. Check out more pictures by clicking on this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hansen.suz/CaralineGwenHansen?authkey=Gv1sRgCOun0cKf562IYQ&feat=directlink
Check out Caraline's own personal blog by clicking this link :
http://caralinehansen.blogspot.com/

Been toooo long!!

It's been a while since I updated my blog. Life has been busy. . . but that's no excuse. We made a trip to San Jose, CA for a friend's wedding and to see the family mid-March. Mid-April we made a quick trip to Salt Lake City, UT for my Dad's birthday and to see some friends we haven't seen for a while. May has been filled with work, trying to get things ready for this little girl that is coming to our lives, fulfilling church responsibilities, taking prenatal classes, and adjusting to pregnant life.
In the last month I have had hip pain which has slowed down my brisk walk quite a bit and as you can see from the pictures below, our little girl thinks she needs to be pushing up and not out, thus making it more difficult for me to breathe. About a week ago when I was at the gym for a swim, one of the lifeguards whom I've chatted with because she guards often when I'm there, came over and asked if I was okay. She had noticed that I wasn't swimming as hard as I used to and was taking longer breaks between sets. I told her I was pregnant and that my baby was starting to make it hard to breathe. She asked how far along I was and when I told her almost 9 months (because technically if you do the math 40 weeks = 10 months, but we don't say we are pregnant for 10 months. . . just nine and today technically starts my 9th month of being pregnant.) The lifeguard gave me this big bug eyed look and said, "I want to swim that well and look that good when I get pregnant!" As you can see from the pictures below, I'm showing but hardly. These pictures were also taken today.

The bump in the middle of my belly is not my belly button. It is the tie from the scrub pants I am wearing. The butt of the scrubs are also really saggy. The scrubs have to be big to fit up over my belly and not just fall off when I tie them on my belly! I finally had to break down in the last couple of weeks and buy a pair of maternity pants and some maternity shirts to wear when I go out into public, but for now around the house I've been wearing my long shirts and scrub pants. It KILLS ME!! how expensive maternity clothes are and I had the hardest time finding maternity pants that were long enough and maternity shirts that actually fit. Plus I'm probably only going to be wearing them for about 6 weeks.
Kyle designed the nursery and has done an amazing job picking colors and getting the painting done. We were lucky enough to have someone give us a crib, and I found most the rest of the furniture that we needed on Craigs list (for those who don't know. . . Craigs list is a form of on-line classifieds.) We are almost done, and when we are, I will take you on a video tour, but for now these pictures will have to do. We decided we wanted to do a jungle theme, but it has turned into more of just an animal theme. Here you can see the general color scheme. The ceiling is very very light blue.

While I was looking for some things I needed at a craft store, Kyle found these cool animals, which we decided to put around the room. We decided they needed to be stuck to the wall with magnets or Velcro so they can be rearranged and played with by either little or big hands. We opted for velcro, but when I saw Kyle with places for them in the closet, I asked why. He looked at me with this childish grin and said something to the effect of, "Didn't you ever play in the closet??" Between the two of us I'm excited to see the creative encouragement that comes out of us and reflects in our daughter :)I've been sitting too long while posting this and our daughter is wiggling all over. . . a sign I need to get up and moving or she's going to start digging with knees and elbows :)