12.31.2008

Being an Example of Strength

"Never forget that you are a [child] of God. He loves you. Live by your standards. Stand up for what you believe in. Sometimes it is not easy, and you may be standing alone for a while. Look for friends with integrity and character, then go to them and express appreciation for their examples. You might even find someone who has been feeling as lonely as you. Pray for guidance and protection from the Lord. He will sustain you. He will become a trusted friend, and you will discover that your example will attract many friends who will take courage from your strength of character."
W. Craig Zwick, "We Will Not Yield, We Cannot Yield," Ensign, May 2008, 98


I received this "Daily Gem" today and really liked it, so of course I had to share. I believe that not only will this "attract many friends" it will draw our children closer to us and help them learn to live with integrity and character as well.


12.29.2008

7 years ago today...

...Brad and I were sealed for time and eternity in the Los Angeles Temple. I can't believe how time has flown by...and continues to pick up speed each year. But I guess what they say is true, "time flies when you're having fun!" And we have had our fair share of fun!

I knew from the very beginning that I had met my match when I met Brad. I knew we were meant to be together...and am so happy that we found each other. For those of you who don't know, he found me on LDS Singles Online...and a month later we met in person and were practically engaged the next day...then married 3 months later! It all happened so fast, but I wouldn't change a thing.

I love so many things about this man, that my mind is swimming right now! I think what I love most of all, is how much he loves me and our boys. I couldn't ask for much more than to love and be loved. It is the best feeling in the world!

So, Happy Anniversary babe, and thanks for 7 wonderful years! I look forward to all that our future holds!

I LOVE YOU!

12.26.2008

Adios 2008, Hola 2009!

This is our year in a nutshell (the inspiration for this idea came from Carrie Wirthlin) and it's for those of you who I don't have addresses for, or for those of you out there who read my blog that I am unaware of (Tamsyn, you are no longer an anonymous reader!) -- this is what we included with our annual Christmas cards this year:

Our Life in 2008 from A-Z

A Adventures…Attitudes (come in all sizes!)…Art projects… Appendicitis (Brad)…

B Bananas (to eat and Shari’s mental state!)…BOYS… Bear hugs... Bakugans …Baseball (Jakob’s first season!)… Beach…Blogging – check it out: shortbutsweetlife.blogspot.com…Bugs… Bandaids…

C Clutter (does it EVER go away?)… Chaos…Creativity…Chitchenitza… Cuddles...Cutie-pies…

D Disneyland…Drew…Dirt, dirt, and more dirt!!…Drool…Digging…Diapers… Dinosaurs…

E Enthusiasm (Joshy, in a nutshell) … Expressions…Eskimo kisses…Exercise…

F First steps (Drew)…First tooth (Drew)… First lost tooth (Jakob)…First word (Drew) …Forts…Friends…Family…Fair (OC) …FUN!...Fingerprints on the TV…

G Golf…Grateful…Goobers… “Gimme Five!” …Grandparents…Grocery shopping…

H Haircut (Shari donated 10 inches to Locks of Love)… “Hamily Fone Evening” (aka Family Home Evening – Joshy)… Hands full…Healthy…HAPPY!...Hopeful…

I Imagination…Independent kiddos…Into EVERYTHING…Inquisitive minds …Inventions (Jakob)…

J Jakob…Jumping (on beds, couches, into pools, etc.)…Joshy…JOY!...

K Kindgergarten…Keeping it real…

L LOVE!... “Loco bossa besa” (aka “Loco en la cabeza” – Joshy)…Laughter…

M “Mmmm” (what Drew says when food is yummy)…Messes…Mexico (Brad and Shari) …Mohawk (Jakob for Halloween!)…
N Noise…Naps…Noise…Noise…NOISE!...

O Olympics…Older (Brad:30, Shari: 30, Jakob: 5 (6 in January), Joshy: 3, Drew: 1)…Obstacle courses…

P Preschool… Proposition 8… Primary (Shari teaches the CTR 6 class)…Photography (sharihanson-photography.blogspot.com)…

Q Quickly (how time flies!)...Quit whining please!...QUIET!...Quirks…Quality time…

R Reading (Jakob is learning! Shari’s book club)…Rocks…Raspberries…

S SMILES…Silliness…Sunshine…

T THIRTY!...Twilight (the books, the party and the movie!)…Trophy (Jakob’s first from baseball!)…Tacos…Terrible twos…AND THREES!...Transformers…Trucks…

U Utah…UTTER destruction (NOTHING is childproof!)…Unconditional love…

V Volume levels: LOUD and LOUDER! ...Vacation…Very blessed…Volunteering…

W Wrestling…Weaning…Weightloss (Shari lost about 50 lbs since having Drew in October 2007)... Wardrobe changes – what 3-yr-olds do when they figure out how to dress themselves… “Want a piece of me?!?!” – a game our boys play…

X X-rays (teeth)…X-traction (Shari had to get a dental implant)…X-hausted!...

Y Young Mens (Brad is the YM Secretary)…Yogurt…Yelling…Youth…

Z Zany…Zest…Zeal…This place is a ZOO!...


With so much turmoil and uncertainty in the world, we look forward to this special time of year to remember the Savior Jesus Christ and celebrate His humble birth. Our wish for you is to feel the love, kindness, peace and hope that the Christmas Season inspires.

With Love,

Brad, Shari, Jakob, Joshy & Drew Hanson

12.24.2008

Merry Christmas!


I woke up this morning and found that Joshy had been nibbling at the cookies we made yesterday that were "for Santa" -- I told him to go put the one he was half way finished eating back on the plate, and he said, "But this one has bites out of it! Santa won't want to eat this one, so I should finish it."

Don't you love 3-yr-old logic? :)

12.03.2008

Gas Mask

Not THAT kind of gas mask!!!!

Drew has had a really bad cough that has been keeping him (and us!) up at night...and yesterday he was wheezing really bad, bad enough that the mommy-paranoia kicked in (my friend's little guy has recently had pneumonia) and I called the doctor. We were lucky enough to get him in the same day. Good news: No pneumonia. No bronchitis. Just a cold with a nasty cough, for which they prescribed a breathing treatment.

At first he screamed and hated this thing, but eventually relaxed. Then when we did the 2nd treatment at home last night, he screamed and cried again, but as soon as he started to relax, he fell right asleep! YAY! Then when he had his 3rd treatment (we do it every 2 hrs) he was a pro and didn't even cry at all.

So, this morning, I took a few pictures of him - and I wish you could see him trying to lick the air -- it's pretty funny. Hopefully in a few days we'll be done with this! But he slept really well last night, and for that we are all grateful!





12.01.2008

Dear Santa

I was searching for a cute, free printable for my kids to write letters to Santa, and came across this:


Very cute, right? So, I thought I'd share with any of you out there who might be interested. This lady had so much cute stuff on her blog...so be careful, you might get sucked in! Check it out here:

http://missyballance.typepad.com/crafty_carnival/2008/11/free-christmas-printables---letter-to-santa--reindeer-food---home-baked-cookies.html

Unfortunately we didn't get to actually write the letters tonight (as originally planned for our FHE activity...) but that's OK. We still have plenty of time. We plan on taking the kids over to Macy's to put their letters in the red mailbox (which also counts as a $1 donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation).

Jakob has already written a make-shift list...and the funniest thing on his list was "junk so I can build stuff" -- CLASSIC JAKOB! I am definitely keeping that one in his baby book. :)




Thanksgiving

I feel like this year has just flown by...and Thanksgiving just snuck up on me! I think I got so consumed with the Twilight party that I didn't have room in my brain for anything until that was over.

Jakob had the entire week of school off...which I wasn't really looking forward to -- I know, I know...what a bad mom! -- but it was actually really nice to have such a laid back lazy schedule!


I was able to catch up on some of my photo editing, we went to prehistoric pets, mickey d's, carl's jr. (hey, it rained! and we couldn't go to the park...) and spent Thanksgiving over at Brad's brother's house. I made my traditional green bean casserole (i could eat a whole pan of that stuff!!!) and yummy raspberry jello treat with pretzel crust. It's funny how every year, I get out of making the turkey! I wonder how old I will be before I actually cook a turkey. My friend Vanessa tackled it for the first time, and her's looked quite yummy! Maybe for Christmas I'll try it...oh wait, I forgot - Hanson tradition is the have home-made lasagna and mac-n-cheese for dinner. SOO yummy, but just not normal! MMM it actually sounds really good right now! Anyway...

We ate and ate and ate - ok, I ate and ate and ate - the kids played out back with their cousins and our friends the Van Boerums were there too! It was fun visiting with them and we even played the Wii! Jeff is quite competitive! By 7pm our kids were ready for bed, so we packed up and went home. It was a nice day and I'm glad we have family so close to share holidays with!


I have been thinking about things I am thankful for, and I know I could never list them all - but mostly I am thankful for the abundance of good things in my life - namely: Family, beautiful/amazing children, a husband who works so hard to take care of us and loves me unconditionally, GREAT friends, health, comfortable home, car, food, clothing, safe neighborhood, valiant members of the church who work so hard to serve me and my family, beautiful CA weather, my photog business, jakob's amazing kindergarten teacher, $1.79/gallon gas at Sam's club, etc. etc. etc.

Yesterday Pres. Monson (of our stake presidency) spoke in sacrament meeting and I remember him talking about a family's home that was so bare - he was overcome with emotion and was crying - they thought he was crying tears of joy at their missionary's homecoming - but he was really crying because he felt ashamed at how much he had - and how little they had.

Today, while stopped at a traffic light, a (presumably) homeless man walked across the crosswalk, right in front of me - carrying a sleeping bag and a tattered duffle bag - his hair looked like it had been combed, but it was very long and he had a long scruffy beard, dirty clothes, etc. At that moment, I remembered what pres. Monson said...and I felt overcome - overcome with all that I am blessed with...and yet neglect to thank my Heavenly Father for each day.

My friend Tiffany posted a really nice blog about what she was thankful for (click here) and it ended with "...count your many blessings, name them one by one..." If you actually tried to sit down and name all of your blessings, how many would you come up with? I think the list would be endless. Because all that we have and all that we are is from the Lord. I owe everything to Him and am so grateful for His atoning sacrifice that allows me to continually learn and grow and strive to be better so that I can one day return to Him.

Here are a few Thanksgiving time pics:


This is Jakob in his Pilgrim outfit on his way to the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast.



Our good friend Tiffany invited us (and a bunch of other friends!) over to make some yummy apple turkeys - the kids stuck toothpicks in and pushed gumdrops and marshmallows on the toothpicks for feathers. Thanks Tiffany! The boys loved it!



And how could I leave this one out? Yes, I am even thankful for things like this! Life would be so dull and boring without little boys!!!!!!!!!!! Joshy is such a little rascal - but I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE him to pieces!

I've enjoyed reading about all of your Thanksgivings...thanks for sharing!!! I hope everyone out there had a wonderful, relaxing holiday...Christmas is only 24 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twilight: The Party

So...I FINALLY uploaded the pics from the Twilight Movie Premiere Party -- enjoy the slide show:



We had fun red, black and white decorations, quotes from the book replaced framed family pictures along with a movie poster, yummy "blood bites" with a chocolate fountain, bloody drinks ("grizzly bear," "mountain lion," "type-o negative," and "vampire venom" - spicy red-hot cider) and we played a little Twlight Trivia (congratulations Leann on winning the CD!) a fun questionnaire game (congrats Kelsey on winning the Blood Orange Italian Soda!), we had a contest for the best Twilight attire (the prize went to Jenny - "My heart belongs to my husband but...my neck belongs to Edward!") and I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but oh well. It was fun, and I think I will be more prepared when it's time to throw a New Moon Movie Premiere Party!!!

I give the movie an "A-" rating -- entertaining, but a bit cheesy/corny at times, the acting was OK, special effects weren't that great, but over all, enjoyable but definitely not perfect! I want to see it again! We'll see if I still rate it the same after viewing it for the second time - hopefully not sitting by a guy who smells strongly of beer. ECK!

11.22.2008

Twilight Fans: UPDATE!

Thanks to my good buddy Megan, I can share this exciting news with all of you Twilight fans out there!





- OFFICIAL TWILIGHT THE MOVIE NEWS UPDATE -

I couldn't get this image to post any larger and still be readable, so here's what it says:


"To all of our wonderful, loyal and fantastic fans -

Thank you from the entire cast & crew for your amazing support of Twilight. You’ve blown away all of our expectations, and we feel so honored to have made a film that means as much to you as it does to us.

Without your passion, interaction and support, this film would not be where it is today -- the #1 movie in America!

From every city, every stop, every interview we have done, you've made this an unbelievable, nearly surreal experience…and so cool that we were all in this together.

We just heard from Summit that we’ll be moving forward on New Moon. We look forward to sharing this next chapter with you!

Kristen & Rob"


Official Twilight movie web site: www.TwilightTheMovie.com

Have you all recovered from our fun all-nighter yet? I am still. I woke up with a migraine this morning...BLECH! Took my meds and went back to bed until about 2pm. Feeling a bit better now, at least I can see straight and my head isn't throbbing anymore...but I do have this annoying dull ache right behind my left eye, and my stomach doesn't feel so good. I hate migraines! Brad said "No more all-nighters for you!" I agree. I am just not cut out for it! Even when I was younger, I was usually the first one to konk out. OH WELL! Sleep is good. LOTS of sleep is better. :) As a Mommy I should know that and not mess with that.

Ok, now that that is out of the way (I know you all wanted to hear my crappy health news) I wanted to thank Kristie and Megan for all of their help putting on the best-ever Twilight party with me! It was so much fun, and I can't wait to do another one for New Moon (sans the midnight movie...) and Eclipse and hopefully eventually Breaking Dawn! I will upload pics soon...

Thanks to all who came, and I hope you had a fun time! We missed those of you who couldn't make it, but hope you had a fun night anyway!

Has anyone gone to see it for the 2nd time yet? Hopefully I can get Brad to go see it with me...since he refuses to read the books! Even though I think he'd absolutely love the books. Maybe someday...


11.21.2008

Signature

A while ago some of you asked how I got that signature at the bottom of my posts. Well, I just changed it, and realized I never posted anything about how to do it, so here ya go! It's very easy! Just go to: http://www.mylivesignature.com/mls_menu.php

(FYI: You don't need to register to use this site)

Click on: "Create a new signature using our wizard"

Click on: "Using the signature creation wizard"

Follow the simple instructions to choose a font, size, slope and color.

Be patient, once you've chosen your color, the next step is for the wizard to create your signature and sometimes this will take a minute or so.

Click on: "Want to use this signature?"

Click on: "Generate HTML code"

Click on: "Generate a code for my handwritten signature"

Copy the HTML code and go to your blog. To insert the signature so that it is included in every post, go to "Settings>Formatting>Post Template" and paste the code in the box next to "Post Template" and save.

Voila! You now have your very own unique signature! :)

The signature will appear at the top of each new post - just place the cursor in front of it and hit enter once or twice then move the cursor back to the top to start typing your post.

11.12.2008

Crazy 8 Tag

Ok Vanessa, this is for you baby!

8 Favorite TV Shows I Love to Watch:

  • Barefoot Contessa
  • Chuck
  • Fringe
  • Ugly Betty
  • Iron Chef
  • America's Next Top Model
  • Top Chef
  • Myth Busters
8 Favorite Restaurants

  • California Pizza Kitchen
  • Corner Bakery
  • Claim Jumper
  • Cheesecake Factory
  • Chipotle
  • Chili's (how weird, they all start with the letter C!)
  • Schlotzky's (although it has been a loooooong time...I still LOVE it)
  • Fudrucker's (it's also been a loooong time...I miss that place!)

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
  • Went to the park with the kids
  • Did the dishes - finally!
  • cooked dinner
  • got my first non-family/friend photography client!
  • cried in the car while listening to a sweet country song!
  • typed up a list of favorite quotes from Twilight
  • talked to my mom on the phone
  • fell asleep on the couch (pretty much my nightly ritual)

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
  • losing 20 more pounds!!
  • the Twilight party and movie night!
  • going to mexico in december
  • finishing up editing/processing images from recent photo sessions
  • christmas time - I already have 2 christmas cds in my car!
  • drew being able to communicate more...although his babbling is pretty adorable!
  • joshy starting pre-school
  • jakob being a full-time reader -- he's getting there!

8 Things On My Wish List:
  • a nice watch
  • new cool diaper bag
  • new exercise clothes
  • the lid from my pot that was lost/taken from the stake center at women's conference!
  • some new lenses for my camera
  • a fill flash
  • a website
  • a logo

8 People I Tag:

  • Leigh
  • Katie
  • Kirsten
  • Megan
  • Kristie
  • Alex
  • Sonya
  • Heather

11.11.2008

I'm SO excited!

Ok, so you know when something really cool happens, you just have to share???

Well, tonight I got my first email from someone I don't even know, and who wasn't even referred by someone I know, to book a photo session with me!

How cool is that? YAY! :)

11.07.2008

It's FINALLY Gone!!!!!!!

Yes, I finally did it...chopped my hair off that is! Thanks to my wonderfully talented friend Kristie, I now have a cute new 'do! I love it! Thanks Kristie!!!!! This is my 4th donation to Locks of Love!!
Here are some before and after shots:




So, what do you think? I know Brad won't miss my long hairs all over everything...and I won't miss them either! It feels so good to have it off. As Kristie was cutting off the ponytail, she was like, "Does it feel good?" I said, "YES!" and then I laughed and said, "It reminds me of that girl from Sixteen Candles who gets her hair stuck in the door, and when her friends finally cut her free, you can tell it was like the best feeling!" SO TRUE...I feel like a new person! :) Now give me another 2.5 years and I'll do it again!

11.05.2008

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW PEOPLE!

Ok, so sorry to shout at you, but the 12:01am showtime is already SOLD OUT!

They have since added a 12:10am and a 12:20am showtime. So, if you want to be able to see the movie that night, you best get your butt over to Bella Terra (or go to fandango.com) and BUY YOUR TICKET NOW! :)

Vanessa has claimed my last ticket, sorry everyone!





And now for some eye candy!!! FINALLY, a decent picture of Jacob Black!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy:






11.04.2008

Twilight Tix Update

I just wanted to let everyone know I still have one ticket left for the midnight showing of Twilight! $7.50 (costco price) First to leave a comment claims it.

This is who I have so far:

  1. Me
  2. Kristie
  3. Megan
  4. Jessica
  5. Kim
  6. Natalie
  7. Amber
  8. Tori
  9. Julie

You can go to fandango to purchase tickets online, or go buy some tickets at costco and then go to the box office at bella terra to redeem the actual tickets.

And just to let all of you who are waiting on an invitation, we'll be handing them out SOON. I know there is no way we will be able to invite EVERY Twilight fan, so if you don't get an invitation, please call or email me for the party details. :) It's gonna be fun!


10.31.2008

You say it's your birthday...

Yesterday was Drew's first birthday, and we had a fun Halloween/Birthday party last night. I can't believe a year has gone by...so much has changed! It's amazing to see how fast he's growing and learning and changing every day! On Wednesday night we were invited over to our friends' house for some fun Halloween games and treats and Drew just took off walking! I think he really likes walking on carpet...and since we have laminate wood floor, he hasn't been very interested. However, now that he had so much fun walking over at their house, he's been walking non-stop here! I can't believe I now have a baby who not only babbles and climbs on things, but now toddles everywhere too! Pretty soon he's gonna be running after Jakob and Joshy...wow. I just love him to death...he's so sweet and I love how he scrunches up his nose and for the last month he's had a really scratchy voice - we're not sure why, but it's so darn cute! I made a little slide-show for you all to see how he's grown over the last year...enjoy!

Daily Family Gem

Husbands Direct Righteous Living in the Home

Posted: 31 Oct 2008 02:00 AM CDT

“ ‘Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it’ (Eph. 5:25). With that kind of love, brethren, we will be better husbands and fathers, more loving and spiritual leaders. Happiness at home is most likely to be achieved when practices there are founded upon the teachings of Jesus Christ (see Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). Ours is the responsibility to ensure that we have family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. Ours is the responsibility to prepare our children to receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation and the blessings promised to tithe payers. Ours is the privilege to bestow priesthood blessings of healing, comfort, and direction.”

Russell M. Nelson, “Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women,” Ensign, May 1999, 39-40

I am in no way posting this as a nudge to my husband...but because I am so thankful that he tries so hard to do all of these things.

He helps me with whatever needs to be done around the house or with the kids and only makes a few sarcastic remarks here and there along the way. :)

I am so lucky to have him and even more lucky to have him around as much as I do...I know in a couple of months things will be different b/c of tax season...so believe me, I take full advantage of this more flexible time of year with him.

This song says "I'm lucky to be in love with my best friend..." and I feel the same way. I trust him completely and I love how he encourages and inspires me to be better.

Mmmmmmmmwaaaahhh! Love ya babe!

Yeah, I know this is a cheesy engagement picture, but I love it! Look how young we are!! And we honestly haven't had any recent pics together...I think it's about time we did!!!

10.29.2008

Twilight Movie Tickets

Just an FYI - tickets are already on sale for Twilight! If you are planning on coming to the midnight movie with us after the premiere party, then get your ticket soon before it sells out! We're going to Bella Terra - and you can use Costco tickets to save money - so it's $7.50 rather than $10.75!!! Brad surprised me with 10 tickets the other day...and so far 4 of them are spoken for, but the other 6 are up for grabs!!! (He bought tix from Costco first, then went to the box office to pick up the movie tix!!) SO let me know if you want one!!


10.27.2008

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!



Fun costumes + free candy??? How can anyone not love Halloween??

I have always looked forward to this time of year - and even as a child dressed up and tried to trick-or-treat when it wasn't even Halloween! Some of my neighbors were obliging...others just laughed and tried to send me home.

I dressed up and went trick-or-treating through my senior year of high school...I just LOVE it! I loved the anticipation of revealing my costume to my friends at school parties and ward parties...it was so much fun! Now as an adult I think it's so much fun to help my kids dress up and pick out costumes.

I've tried to get Brad to join in the festivities and he has refused every year -- except for this year. He said if I actually used my sewing machine to make him a costume, then he'd wear it. Well, I always thought he'd make the perfect Fred Flintstone, so it finally happened! I was Wilma of course, but our kids' costumes were totally unrelated! Drew wore our old Tigger costume that both Jakob and Joshy wore for their first Halloween costumes, Joshy recycled Jakob's skeleton costume from last year, and Jakob's rock star costume was inspired by Guitar Hero!
We had so much fun at the trunk-or-treat and are looking forward to Halloween this friday! Here are a few pics...










10.25.2008

Roy's "Recipe for Life"

My cousin Jessie recently posted something that her dad (my uncle) came across in my Grampa's notes. I thought it was definitely worth re-posting on my own blog for the benefit of others. All of these things pretty much sum up who my Grampa was...so it was really cool to read it...and I hope you enjoy reading it too, whether you knew him or not.

Work hard and stay close to the Lord and you will be surprised how blessed you will be.
Don’t believe that it can’t be done, just because somebody tells you it can’t be done.
Hoe to the end of the row.
You have to learn how to follow before you can learn how to lead.
Don’t ask another person to do something that you’re not willing to do yourself.
Find someone you can marry in the temple.
Always make your word good, no matter what it costs.
Spend less than you make and invest wisely.
Always pay a full tithing.
Plan ahead; it’s later than you think.
Make yourself self-reliant and teach your children self-reliance.
Budget your time for family, work, church, community, and play.
Budget your money to achieve your goals.
Avoid fatigue. Early to bed and early to rise.
Become more spiritual. Read and study scriptures, attend classes.
Plan for missions and serve them.
Develop charity in your soul.
Above all, pray often and endure to the end.


10.21.2008

My almost 1-yr-old


It's hard to believe that my little Drew is almost 1!!! At first I felt like time was moving along at a nice slow pace, but then in the blink of an eye it was already October and I was left thinking, "What happened!!??!!??" He is such a sweet, mellow kid...I just absolutely adore him and all of his funny scrunched-nose faces...he's definitely got character...just maybe a bit more reserved than Jakob and Joshy. Well, we'll see if he stays that way!


He officially took his first steps on September 28th, over at my cousin Kay's house. We were very excited...but he hasn't been too interested in walking here at home. He will walk if you hold his hands, and he walks around furniture, holding onto the wall, etc...and he goes pretty fast with his little walker too! So far I think he just realizes he can go much faster crawling...so that's what he does!


If you say "Hello!" he will put his hand up to his ear and make a talking noise (like he's on the phone), and if you say "Bye-bye" he waves to you. We've been trying to teach him to cover his eyes to play peek-a-boo, but we haven't gotten there just yet. He does however love to put his head on the ground and look up at you under his legs, like this:






When there is a nice breeze, I like to leave our front door open, but I put a gate across the steps to keep Drew from escaping...this is what he was doing yesterday afternoon while I was in and out doing laundry:




And he eventually figured out how to slide open the screen in the kitchen to escape...


Oh, I almost forgot...Drew is really quick to grab things from you, so one day while I was buckling him into his carseat, he grabbed my sunglasses off my face and I said something about him being a "quick draw." Since then, Jakob likes to call him Andrew James "Quick-grabber" Hanson. :) Gotta love nick names from big brothers!

10.17.2008

Excellent commercial...

The following commercial is from www.catholicvote.com, and even though I am not catholic, I thought the message in this video was expressed very well. Check it out:



10.14.2008

FYI: It's ALREADY Happening!

First Graders Taken To San Francisco City Hall For Gay Wedding

October 11, 2008
Contact: Chip White/Sonja Eddings Brown, 916-215-4392

SAN FRANCISCO, October 11 – In the same week that the No on 8 campaign launched an ad that labeled as “lies” claims that same-sex marriage would be taught in schools to young children, a first grade class took a school-sponsored trip to a gay wedding...(read more here)