More rodeo pictures

I had to include these other pictures but could not squeeze them in the previous post.

I did not have a big enough bandage to cover this leg owie so I wrapped one of Hannah's diapers around it. Carson also wanted "ointment" on his owies and luckily I had some diaper rash cream in the diaper bag. Definetely not the same-but it made Carson feel better!! Carson also rode around in Hannah's stroller after this-because he couldn't walk and need a "wheelchair" Gotta love that boy, but he is a little dramatic. :)


My dad participating in the "spike drive" Go Dad!

It Started out Fun...or The things parents make their children do....or Rodeo-Bothwell Style!

There are too many titles for this post so I had to include them all. Today was the annual Bothwell Rodeo. For those of you who don't know, this is not your typical rodeo. The animals come from my Dad's farm and the participants are all the children and adults in the Bothwell ward. I am not a rodeo lover (I feel bad for animals!) but this rodeo is a must see.

Carson said he only wanted to ride a horse but ended up signing up to ride a lamb. It all started out pretty fun- until he fell off. It was also interesting to watch the audience- the kids would ride the lamb for about 10 seconds fall off and cry and everyone would smile and chuckle. Not sure Carson will participate in any more lamb riding but I was still proud of my little guy! For being a city slicker he held on for a very long time!

The landing (and "trampling" in Carson's words) was rough though. Carson has the marks to prove it-we were trying to cheer him up saying he was a real cowboy now! Unfortunately, he did not buy it.

Getting ready...


Hannah cheering for brother!


Hold on buddy!


The aftermath...Ouch!


What a tough cowboy!


I am glad this is as bad as his owies were and they did not include any necessary medical treatment. As Carson put it "I am never doing that again!" Sounds good to me buddy. :)

The Girl...Hannah is One!

All about Hannah at One!

I like to crawl up to furniture, people, or anything solid and stand! I am getting better at walking around funiture.
I like to drink out of my sippy cup. No more bottles for me!
I like to shake my head No or Yes but still figuring out when I should use them.
I like to dance-whenever I hear music I get my groove on :)
I like to yell DaaaaDaaaa when I see my daddy on the stand during church (which is every Sunday).
New words I learned this month are:
Hi
Hello
More
Up-(with arms reached up) This is when I want someone to pick me up!
and I mimic the sounds of I love you-I am still perfecting it though.
I love to play "bonk heads" with my dad and I only give my Mommy kisses.
I like my brother to play chase with me and cheer for me.
I like to wrinkle my forehead and give a concerned look when something doesn't look right to me.
I love, love, love being outside. If anyone is outside and I am not, I crawl over to the window and pound and yell at the person outside to come and get me!
I'm not too sure about going to the gym daycare lately. It is too noisy for me.
I like to eat anything and I will try anything but my favorite foods include noodles, bananas, and green beans.
I am getting better at taking naps and sleeping at night. I still am a light sleeper but I am having an easier time falling alseep now that I am one :).
I finally have more teeth! My top left tooth came through one week ago and my right top tooth is close behind!
I am also growing more hair-it is a strawberry blond color. What can I say? I am pretty darn cute. :)
I love my family. My Mommy, Daddy, and brother are my favorite people and can always get a smile out of me.

Here I am. The Birthday Girl.




I am learning new things everyday-watch me grow!

The Cake

I absolutely LOVE making my kiddos birthday cakes. Some have turned out better than others but nonetheless I still love making them! I am dreading the day when they ask for a store bought cake over a homemade cake.


When Carson was one he was already obsessed with trains so the obvious cake was a train. Hannah on the other hand has not really expressed any interest with one particular item so I could not decide what to do for Hannah's cake. I thought about making a number one or doing a polka dot cake or something but ended up with this. I thought it turned out pretty cute and I was pretty proud of myself! :) Carson said it looked like Hannah's first wedding cake!-I said Hannah better only have one wedding cake and this wasn't it!

Here are the results:




Hannah liked it!

The Presents

What a loved little girl! Thank You again for everything-I can't wait for Hannah to explore all of her new toys and wear her darling outfits!

Hannah was not to into the present thing this year. I would pretty much unwrap them for her, let her see them, and then apparently I broke her little heart by moving on to the next present. A few times, Hannah started crying her little eyes out that I had taken away her presents! Uncle Sheldon sang "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

The present that I have to write about is the one Hannah received from Carson. About 3 months ago, Carson started planning Hannah's birthday present. He either wanted to make her a doll house or a golf course (not sure how he was planning that one) but he ended up wanting to make the doll house. Carson wanted a mansion dollhouse with different levels but we ended up with this one story one room house made by dad and Carson.

Next he wanted a professional paint job with flowers painted on the front, sparkles in the inside and so on. Again we had to settle for this. Carson picked out all the colors (he HAD to have red outside walls and a black roof-like our house) and helped mom paint it.

He was SO excited about this and for weeks we had pretended that this was my dollhouse so Hannah wouldn't know it was hers :)


Sorry the picture of the dollhouse won't upload-check back later and I will try again!

The Party

Gotta love a July birthday...the weather was perfect for an evening swim party. We ate pizza, watermelon, homemade rootbeer (recipe included), and of course cake and ice cream.

Thank you to everyone who could come and we missed those who couldn't make it!!

My little Hannah.

Tomorrow is my beautiful daughters first birthday.

I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday.

A year ago tomorrow, I was so scared that she was coming so early. I hoped and prayed all day that she would stay inside of me a little longer. I wanted to go home. I wanted to feel her inside at least a few more weeks. I wanted to pack my hospital bag, and pack her diaper bag. I wanted her to be born and not fight to breath, or work hard to eat.

Hannah was born at 5:46 pm that day. I saw my little baby for a few seconds and I was filled with happiness and love. She was delicate, feminine, and beautiful.

I wanted so badly to do the things that most other Mom's were able to do with their babies-and what I was able to do with Carson. I wanted to hold Hannah. I wanted to see her bassinet next to my hospital bed. I wanted to stare at her-to see the rise and fall of her tiny chest. I wanted to hear her cry and comfort her when she needed me. I wanted her big brother to hold her. I wanted my family to hold her. I wanted the nurse to check my hospital band. I wanted to nurse my baby and not pump. I felt so very far away from her.

Although, Hannah did very well and honestly had a minimal hospital stay. I can not tell you how bad it was for me to be discharged from the hospital and leave my baby there. It was not what I was expecting, it was not how I imagined. I felt like I had abandoned her. What if the nurses were busy and she was crying? Would she have to wait? I cried a lot.

As I look at my roley poley, chubby cheeked, happy baby now, I am so thankful for her. I had forgotten how much fun it was to have a baby around. I am glad that Hannah came and reminded me of that. Happy Birthday Hannah-Mommy loves you!

So much to do, so little time

That is my how I am going to feel for the next five days. I have 5 days down and 5 more days of school. I am afraid that the worst is yet to come. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Blogging is honestly a little relief for me, relaxing and fun. So although, I feel like I could puke at any moment because of all the things I need to do, I am sitting here blogging-I should be studying but I just can't do it anymore.

Enough from me, here are some cute pictures of my kids. I love 'em so much!



These were taking at my sister Carrie's house. She tended my kids, and hosted me for the last 4 days while I was at school. Thanks Carrie!




We went boating on one of the nights I was there. Hannah liked fishing-don't worry the boat was 'parked' and she had a life jacket on the entire rest of the time. :)


Uncle Mike let Carson drive the boat into the docking area. I was having a heart attack. All of the kids (in the front) were waving their hands in the air and falling over to the side (look at all the kids in the front) while Carson was driving. Hannah even got into the action (see her little arms raised up) Carson LOVED it-he thought he was pretty cool.

School Intensive Week again...

My next "intensive week" starts tomorrow. This time it is 10 days though! I feel less anxious about this one though, because at the end of it I will be done with school for the summer!

It is kind of like running a mile on the school track. You know you have to go around four times to finish but the third time you are tired and you do not want to do it. But, in the back of your head you know if you can just finish this one last lap you will be done. What a great analogy huh? :) But that is how I feel and the only way I know how to describe it. For those of you who like to run just pretend it is the 49th lap out of 50.

So wish me luck as I endure the last ten "intensive days" of summer semester. Thanks to my team of babysitters for helping with my kiddos!

Pictures of my Babies

One of my favorite activities is taking my kids to get their pictures done. Here are the latest results. I am only showing half of them because the other ones will be on Hannah's birthday invitations...I can not believe I am making birthday invitations!


I love Baby legs!




This is supposed to show off Hannah's cute swimsuit but you can't really see it. THe pictue does show off Hannah's "new smile"- with a crunched up nose!


Cute Kids-if I do say so myself!