Ogden sure is getting nicer

What once was an old run down train depot town is now starting to be a little more pleasing to the eye. I was lucky enough to ride the Front Runner to Ogden yesterday with Crystal and some of her friends. We took our kids and went to the Tree House Children's museum. We let our kids run around what really is a giant two story play room for 3 hours while we got to talk about a few other things besides our kids. It's always nice to get out and do something new that you most likely might not end up doing again. With no nap Hansen did have a little melt down. We went to the Subway at the train station before we went home and when I took him out of his stroller he started crying and collapsing to the floor. He wouldn't get up off the floor and one time when I picked him up off the floor there was a wilted piece of lettuce on his cheek. I thought that was pretty gross but he obviously didn't care. I decided to go outside with him to see if he would calm down. There was traffic and I think the loud sound of it drowned out his crying and he decided to stop. When we went back inside he ate almost a complete six inch by himself. I think he was hungry. He fell asleep on my lap on the way back home from Ogden. It's only supposed to take an hour but it takes 20 minutes longer than that. I guess they are still working out the kinks. I know there's got to be someone smart enough in that operation to get the problems solved. Good luck Front Runner staff! The train is a really smooth ride but is going to be kind of expensive to ride. We got to ride for free so that was cool, but from now on ya gotta fork over the money if you want to ride.

When he was still a baby

Well I finally figured out that I can post more than 5 pictures on one blog. You just have to do them 5 at a time. So this is Hansen from birth to one year and you all know how he looks now at 2 years because that is what the rest of the blog is full of. I know there are only 12 pictures and there should be 13 but I took his 10 month picture too close to when he was actually 11 months so I counted those as one.

Can you hear the Hallelujah chorus?

Well I hope that two nights in a row makes it official.  Hansen has gone to bed without any bottle or sippy cup, no crying, and I didn't have to check on him.  When I shut his door tonight I think I heard the Hallelujah chorus, it was fantastic.  The only twist is that today when he woke from his nap he got himself out of his crib for the first time ever.  So maybe that is my cue to get his big boy bed back out again.  I liked the fact that he couldn't get out of his bed because I got to choose when I got him out, but I guess there are always adjustments to make as kids get older.  He seems like such a big boy sometimes.  Where did my baby boy go?  I'm so proud of him.

A strange and hopeful happening

A few days ago when we put Hansen to bed he took one sip from his bottle and gave it back to me. This is very good because we are trying to break him of the habit. So after that I left the room and of course he started to cry. I read in my Parents magazine that a good way to get your kids to go to sleep on their own is to tell them you will be back to check on them in a minute, and then wait longer every night until they get bored of waiting and eventually go to sleep. Well I went back in and set his bottle by his side and told him it was time to go to sleep. He was quiet after that!! I was so excited but still wasn't sure how it was going to go. Now tonight he has a cold which I'm not happy or excited about but I knew he probably wouldn't want any milk so I just gave him his sippy cup with water in it. To explain the sippy, I have been giving him his bottle and sippy for the past few nights. It usually goes like this. We put him in bed, have prayer, tell him goodnight, then shut the door. He then cries and I wait for a minute. Then I go back in, give him his sippy , tell him it's time to go to sleep, and then I leave. It worked like a charm tonight so I'm hoping above all other things right now that this will continue to work. I don't think I will stop checking in on Hansen after the one minute because after I check on him he is usually fine even if he is still awake and playing in his crib. He goes to sleep eventually. Now the next step will be to get him into his big boy bed. The strangest thing about this whole thing is that I remember telling Hans a few months ago that I hoped Hansen would just not want his bottle anymore just like he kinda stopped breast feeding at 8 months. Well if this isn't quite the same I'm still alright with it, but it seems like it might kind of be the same. The other thing I left out is that every week I reduced the amount of milk I was giving him in his bottle. We started at 6 ounces and got down to 2. I guess he didn't really think it was worth it anymore. Thank goodness for the advice of others the world around.

Yesterday was cool...

In more ways than one. We had an appointment for Hansen in Bountiful yesterday at 8 am. I'm not normally even out of the shower by then. So my friend Crystal invited me to come over afterward. I was glad because I hadn't seen her and her boys in a while. Hans also had a day full of homework and he is much more productive when he has the house to himself. So I got to spend the day with Crystal and have some adult conversation and leave any worries I might have had at my house behind. So thank you Crystal. It also snowed. It seemed so crazy because it was 80 degrees the day before. I love Utah for its ever changing weather. Today on the other hand has been pretty uneventful. I drove to the library with Hansen then we stayed at home the rest of the day. He's been needing to sit on his "naughty mat" for letting milk dribble out of his mouth. I don't know why that is something he enjoys doing. Hopefully I can get him to stop doing it.

Halloween's past

These are from 2006. Hansen's first Halloween. We dressed him and his cousin up as Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Hansen couldn't walk yet so the pictures were really easy to take. It should also be known that we had to make the costumes. It was cool to realize I could actually do something like that.
Here they are in 2007. They don't match but they still have cute costumes. As little girls get older they realize they want to be fairies or princesses. So we can't have them be what we want them to be. So even if we could've thought of something to match with Hansen's lion suit I don't know if his cousin would have approved. It was also hard to get a good picture because there were a lot of people around that day at the Gardener Village and he didn't want to hold still for me at all. But for some reason in this picture he sat on that bale of hay for a good 3 minutes and I snapped pictures like crazy.

I hadn't decided what Hansen could be for Halloween early enough to make him a costume so this one is thanks to Old Navy online. Everyone really liked the puffy butt and the tail. The tail would bounce when he walked. It was funny.

Fun colors

I was sitting in Hansen's room with him the other day and noticed all the colors I have used to decorate his room. Sometimes life allows you to notice silly things like that and makes you want to take a picture of it. That green rug has a strange story behind it though. In the building we live in there is someone on our floor who puts things in the elevator lobby that they don't want. One day I saw this rug and that it was from Ikea. I thought, "why not, I can wash it and it would be just like I bought it myself." It has come in handy as we actually use it for Hansen's "naughty mat." (Just to clarify, he isn't in trouble in this picture). It seems every child at one time or another is in need of one of these. Or is it the parents who are the one's who really need it?