Jack and Oliver

Aren't they a perfect match?  They both love to sleep on their backs like they're playing dead.

Holly's visit

Last week my sister Holly had a several hour long layover in Denver on her way back to Montana from Australia.  This was her second trip out there working with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and she has been gone since last summer, so of course the kids and I took the opportunity to spend some time with her.  It was so good to see her, and the kids loved spending time with their aunt.  Hopefully she enjoyed seeing us and meeting Hannah for the first time!

In this picture Hannah is eating a graham cracker and wearing the sleeper that Holly made in her sewing class senior year for Nathan.  :-)  I'm pretty sure Holly got a good taste of what it is like to have two young kids, as they were pretty tired after three hours in the airport.  She looks pretty perky considering she had been traveling for over 24 hours by the time this picture was taken!

looking back

Hannah's hair is starting to get longer and has that soft baby wave.  Every time I look at it, I remember Nathan's baby hair.  At first it was just a few tufts here and there.  This picture (by Jana Graham) was taken when Nathan was 6 weeks old at Dan and Katie (Stott) Kirkpatrick's wedding.

This picture was taken at four months, and you can clearly see the strip on top of his head.

Although the bald spots filled in, by the time he was 9 months (Hannah's age) the strips were quite long

So eventually he ended up with a cute baby cut.

It just kept getting thicker and curlier though, and he started being mistaken for a girl.

That's when we decided to cut it short.

And suddenly my baby boy was all grown up.

Garden

My first vegetable garden!

Tulips we planted last fall in the backyard.

Our front steps.

My little climber

Hannah is crawling, pulling up, and exploring everything!  Here is a picture of her in our computer desk.

Meet Jack

As if things weren't crazy enough around here, we decided to add a lab puppy to the mix.

His name is Jack and he came home with us May 1.  Here is a picture of the four of us with Jack in April when we picked him out.

He is a bundle of energy and tries to chew on EVERYTHING but we've been very firm with him and are really starting to see him learn the rules, which is exciting.  The house-training is going better than expected and he is learning not to bite when he plays with us.  This is something we have been planning to do for awhile, as it is really important to us that the kids grow up with pets.

We chose a lab because they are good with kids and trainable.  We are enrolling him in puppy training and eventually dog training when he is old enough to make sure we have a good, well-rounded family pet.  Right now we are just having fun!  I was baking the other day and spilled some flour.  Guess who was right there to help mop it up!

Billings trip

In April we took a trip to Billings to visit our families.  Here are some fun pictures of my parents and sister with the kids.

What We've Been Up To

I haven't blogged in 3 months!  Has it really been that long?  Yikes.  What a slacker.  :-)

Actually, I've been keeping very busy.  Remember that New Year's Resolution list?  Well, I've been doing really well living up to my goals.  Take a peek:

1.  Blog at least weekly - well let's just skip this one, hehe....

2.  Potty-train Nathan - done!!!  Hurray!!!!

3.  Wean Hannah (not till this summer, but it is key to #4) - not time to wean yet but she is down to four feedings per day from 6 at the beginning of the year

4.  Go on a trip with Jared without the kids (we are thinking New York in the fall...) - we almost have enough frequent flier miles and Marriott points to book our trip!

5.  Visit Jared's extended family in Utah, we haven't been down there since before we got married! - still haven't been there yet, but we will be seeing almost everyone in Billings in a couple of weeks for McKenna (Jared's sister) and McKay's wedding!!!

6.  Lose all my baby + holiday weight (10-15 pounds, yikes) - done!!!!  Woohoo!  I still have some toning to do, even at the pre-pregnancy weight, my body doesn't look the same.

7.  Exercise at least 5 days a week - I have been consistently working out 5-6 days a week for three months now....

8.  Increase fruits and veggies, decrease sweets - ummmm, still working on that, there is always room for improvement

9.  Study the Scriptures daily (not a new goal, just one I need to get better at) - Jared and I have both done much better at this so far this year...

10.  Become a better wife and mother!!!! - always room for improvement here too

11.  Keep a cleaner house - I'm getting better!!!!  Yay!!!!

12.  Less time on the computer, more time on the floor (playing with the kids) - this might be part of the reason I haven't been blogging... LOL

12.  Learn new ways to be frugal - Yay for my new friend Harata and the grocery game!  :-)

13.  Establish some great friendships in Denver - I am having a blast getting to know the ladies in our ward in Aurora. 

14.  Have people over to dinner at least twice a month - actually we've been averaging dinner guests around 3 times a month and loving it

We've been up to a lot more, more posts and pictures to come!!!