Hendershot Family

2 Months

2011-11-17T15:13:00.001-08:00

Weston
13lbs 7oz
23.75 inches

Wilson
13lbs 6oz
24.25 inches

Whitney
13lbs 10oz
23.5 inches

I took Weston to his 2 month checkup last week and then I had to go look up Whitney and Wilson's 2 month stats. I can't believe how close in size they are! Weston seems really chunky, but he is just right in there with the others. I think he gained fast and then has slowed down the last month.
Weston is smiling so much now and cooing. He loves to be held and lets you know if he's unhappy with being put down. Sleep is getting much better--he has generally been getting up only 2 times a night!! He usually sleeps for a 4-5 hour stretch and then about 3 hours more before we get up for the day. He is really alert and loves watching his little mobile on his swing and the lights on his baby gym. He doesn't seem to have too much colic; he can be easily settled down with swaddling, light bouncing on the exercise ball and making a buzzing sound in his ear. Once he is calmed he usually stays that way for a while! We did start him on some Zantac to help with reflux, but we haven't seen a huge difference as of yet. Whitney loves picking him up and quieting him down, but he's getting a little heavy for her!

1 MONTH

2011-10-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Uninterested in making any cute faces for pictures

Working on holding up his head

Our little Weston is 1 month old today! A part of me can't believe that it's been a whole month and then the other part of me can't believe that it's only been a month. We just love him so much!!! I feel truly blessed to see and feel the love he has added to our family.

The kids just can't get enough of him. Every morning the first thing they both do is check on the baby. The main arguments lately are over who gets to hold the baby or look at him or get me what he needs. Wilson always says, "I hold it," when he wants to hold him and then we say, "You want to hold it?" and he remembers to say, "I hold him." He has successfully taken Weston out of the swing (yikes). Fortunately I wasn't too far away and he didn't carry him too far, but now we are so careful to buckle Weston in the swing! Whitney has gotten really brave and wants to move him all around and switch positions when she holds him. I have to constantly remind her to sit still with him.

Weston is a pretty good baby so far. We are seeing some colic, but nothing near Whitney and Wilson, so we are managing. He is now in size 1 diapers and all 0-3 month clothing. He is definitely growing! Lately he wants to be held a lot but is really content in the sling or moby wrap which helps a lot. He hates to have his diaper changed and starts screaming almost immediately and then stops when we're done. He also hates the bath and screams through them too! He does not, however, scream or seem the least bothered by all of the "attention" he gets from his siblings. He definitely prefers to sleep on his tummy on my chest, but I am trying to make a conscious effort to put him in his bed, which happens some of the time (when I'm awake enough to remember!).

Weston Kinser Hendershot

2011-09-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

Big Sister

Big Brother

1 day old and ready to go home

Little smile at 10 Days old

Here's our little Weston!

Born September 5, 2011 (Labor Day:)

3:06 PM

8lbs. 12 oz.

20 inches

Easter Eve

2011-07-16T16:47:00.001-07:00

Grandma showing Wilson what to do

Helping

Showing off his loot. Grandma made each of them these cute bunny baskets.

Pregnant Pic my mom insisted on...I felt pretty large (but writing this post now almost 3 months later, I'm not thinking it's so bad)

Planting the Magic Jelly Beans

Watering the seeds

We spent the day before Easter doing some fun activities! Grandma K put together an egg hunt for the kids. They had so much fun finding their eggs and even more fun opening them and eating the treats! This was also Wilson's last day with a binky!! He had one with him at Grandma's and it broke, so we decided that was it for him! When we put him to bed that night and he asked for a binky, we reminded him that it broke and it was a little sad, but it went surprisingly well. He asked for it for a few more days and then he was over it!! A few weeks later, we were at my mom's house and he found another binky and tried to use it, but my mom told him, "let's cut it." He was totally fine and handed her the binky, so she cut the tip, and then he completely fell apart. He was so sad! But he got over it pretty quickly.

We went back to our house and Grandma and the Kids and I decorated eggs. They loved putting the eggs in the dye and they were done in just a few minutes because we didn't have that many eggs! That night we remembered to plant our magic jelly beans!

Gender Reveal

2011-07-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Pink or Blue??

Blue!

We were able to find out what we were having on April 21st. I had a doctor's appointment the day before and they said we would go ahead and schedule the ultrasound. They asked when I wanted to do it and I said AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! They went out and called over to Radiology and they were able to get us in the next morning! We ended up taking the kids with us and it was so neat to see our little one! My previous doctor used a really old ultrasound machine and so it was hard to see things well, but this was much more advanced and we could see all of the individual bones. We were able to tell within about 3 minutes of the ultrasound starting. The tech said, "It's up on the screen right now," and it was very obviously a BOY! We called Grandma and Grandpa K and let the kids tell them. Later that day we made some cake balls to take to some or our friends to tell them. We are excited to add another little boy to our family!

2011-07-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

The kids really loved blankets this spring! Daddy wrapped them up just like when they were babies!

Whitney crashed into the driveway really hard when she was running one night. This picture was taken then next day, but it really looked a lot worse as it healed.

Mike's diaper changing get up...The funny thing is that the next day when I was changing Wilson, he was trying to put his own shirt up over his nose!

Princess Party

2011-05-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Decorating tiaras

The barbie cake...I kind of think it deserves to be on cake wrecks (not my favorite cake I've ever made)

Pink princess table

My mom made Whitney's dress out of prom dress she got on clearance last fall!
My friend April's girls came dressed as princesses and helped with the party. Whitney absolutley loves Breya & Kendra and they love her too! She was so excited to have them come to her party. T

The day after Whitney's birthday, we had her first little friend party! She invited 4 friends for a Princess Party. We started with decorating foam tiaras with jewels, then had their makeup and nails done. Then they ate strawberries with whip cream, cheese cubes, cake and pink lemonade. After eating, Whitney opened her presents and then they played with the presents. The funny thing about this party was how extremely quiet all of the girls were! We planned for 2 hours thinking that they would want to run around and play in the house, but they really didn't. A couple of girls even asked when their mom's were coming (something they would never do on a regular play day!). It was so funny! I guess I know to plan some more activities and games next time!

Whitney's Birthday

2011-04-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

A Leapster!

Birthday phone call with Grandpa

Presents!

Practicing applying her new makeup on cousin Bekah

On Whitney's birthday, we started the day with breakfast and presents. A Leprechaun turned our milk green and Whitney was really unsure about that! She was pretty excited to get a Leapster just like her friend Marissa! After breakfast we got ready and my mom and the kids and I went to Billings for the day. That evening we had family over for a little party. We barbecued hot dogs for dinner. We decided to forgo cake on her actual birthday since we were going to have cake for her friend party the next day, so we enjoyed St. Patrick's Day frosted sugar cookies instead. She got lots of great presents from Grandmas and cousins! Since her b-day is St. Patrick's day we don't really do the green thing around here.

FOUR

2011-03-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to this beautiful little girl!

Village Inn

2011-03-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

Wilson really wanted jelly. So I let him eat it.

This one's almost gone. Need another.

Last bite. Spoon it in. less mess.

Distraction Attempt

Failed...Going for another one!

Mini Golf

2011-03-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Wilson learning how to golf!

Putting the ball in the hole!

Taking a little breather! I was standing like this and Wilson started copying me, so Whitney did too!

Workin' on her swing!

On our last night in St. George, we decided to take the kids Miniature Golfing. They were pretty clueless in the beginning and had to be showed how to use the golf club. Wilson found it much easier to just hit the ball anyway you want and then pick it up and place it in the hole:) Whitney was really concentrating and was starting to get the hang of it at the end. She was the only one of us who got a hole-in-one! She was pretty disappointed when she accidentally hit her ball into the water on the last hole. It was a little difficult keeping Wilson interested through 18 holes, but overall we all had a great time. After golfing, the place we were at had an indoor play area and the kids had fun climbing and sliding in there too!

St. George Temple

2011-03-12T16:09:00.001-08:00

Wilson is still putting things in his mouth!! I am so ready for him to be out of this stage!!!

On Friday evening, we decided to stop and walk around the grounds at the St. George Temple. It is amazing to think that it was finished in 1877! I am always so impressed with how well the grounds are cared for at every temple. I really enjoy taking the kids to the different temples even if they don't quite understand yet. I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple and that we have the opportunity to visit just the grounds and talk to our children about the importance of the temple!

Climbing on the Red Hills

2011-03-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

Jumping &

Playing the "Trust" game with Daddy

A little crawling through the holes

A quick family pic

Wilson jumped right down after this picture was clicked!

Whitney was being a good sport for pictures!

On our first morning in St. George, we went driving around looking for something to do. Our first stop was an "adventure" as Whitney called it, climbing around on some red hills above the city. The kids had fun being outside and actually stayed clean in spite of the color of the rocks!

St. George

2011-03-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

The Mountains looked gorgeous as we came down into Provo!

Last weekend I decided that we needed to get out of town! I needed to see some warm sunshine, Mike needed a break from work and the kids needed to be able to play and run outside! So...I convinced my husband that we should drive to St. George. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was determined even with the 12 hour drive. We left early Thursday morning and it ended up taking us about 14 hours due to an hour wait for the freeway to open, but we made it! On our way down, we stopped in Provo for dinner at Bajio. We totally enjoyed it. We ate at The Shops at Riverwoods--it was such a nice place. The kids were able to run around a little and we liked staying warm by the fire pits they had all around. The kids did great in car on the way down. They watched a couple of new movies and Whitney really enjoyed coloring with new markers.

Valentine's Day

2011-03-12T15:11:00.001-08:00

Whitney writing her name on all 15 of her Valentine's for school...this was quite a task!!

Her little Love Bug valentine's...These were a last minute throw together. I knew we were going to make her Valentine's but I never really made a plan, so we made these on Sunday night with supplies we had around the house!

Heart Hair--didn't get a picture with the bows, but she looked cute!

Our V-day Activities

Making heart pizzas

I found a really cute Valentine's Advent with cute little activity cards for each day of February until V-day. I actually did really well and printed the cards, put them on cardstock and bought all of the things for our activities...and then I didn't follow through (typical me--good ideas, not so good follow through). So I tried to pack in as many of those activities as possible on V-day. We made heart pizzas for lunch and ate them on our heart plates with pink soda and v-day straws. Then we played LOVE bingo using candy hearts as markers (we don't actually eat them in this house due to my fears after breaking a tooth on one several years back...). After that we made Peanut Butter Blossoms using chocolate hearts instead of kisses (these are even better because you get chocolate with every bite of cookie!). I made some pretzels with kisses and v-day m&ms. I also made sugar cookies, but I used a mix and they didn't turn out very well, so we didn't end up decorating them. The kids each had a little gift at their table setting--whitney had a book and heart necklace, wilson had a book and barney v-day movie.

Later that day, I decided that mashed potatoes sounded good for dinner, but I didn't want to make them, so we headed to Cowtown for dinner. It was really busy, but after waiting for about 10 minutes to find out if we could get in, they had a table for us. They seated us and brought a clean tablecloth and that was the extent of our service. After about 15-20 minutes with no acknowledgment, and people who came in after we were seated being able to order, and a two-year-old getting antsy, we decided to go ahead and go home and make the mashed potatoes ourselves afterall...We had to stop and pick up potatoes at the grocery store and then finally made it home. We enjoyed our potatoes and salad very much! Plus it was like 8:15 by the time all was said and done and we were starved!!

Mike and I were actually able to enjoy a nice dinner on the Saturday before V-day at our Elder's Quorum dinner at church. They provided babysitting for the kids and we enjoyed barbecued chicken and steak with salad, baked potatoes and rolls, followed by cake and ice cream. After dinner we played the Newlywed game with the whole group (probably 15-20 couples). I have not laughed that hard in so long. It was such a fun evening!

Swimming

2011-03-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

We took the kids swimming at the Powell Aquatics Center one Friday night. They had lots of fun going down the slide! I am not much for swimming unless there is the option of getting out and sitting in the sun, but the kids had so much fun so we will definitely have to go again. Wilson is such a little crazy man--he does not want to be held in the pool and is constantly trying to get away. We will have to put him in a lifejacket in the future. After swimming, we took the kids to McDonald's for dinner.

A Gift for the Kids

2011-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

We didn't want the kids to feel left out on my birthday so we gave them a couple of little gifts.

Another year older...

2011-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

I had a great birthday this year! It started out with breakfast in bed, then I laid in bed watching Hallmark movies for a while (I wasn't feeling great due to a cold), my mom came later and gave me a pedicure!, after that Mike and I went to Powell to the movies. We saw Country Strong--I wouldn't really recommend it; it was a lot darker than I expected. When we got home, I was totally surprised by a birthday dinner with friends and family! I seriously had no idea that was coming! My mom did so much--we had barbecued flank steak and chicken, rolls, salad, baked potatoes, and deviled eggs! It was so yummy! She also made a cute layered chocolate/white cake! I received some nice gifts and really enjoyed visiting with everyone.

Wilson turns 2!

2011-02-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

Wilson turned 2 on January 8th! We had a construction themed party for him complete with hoagie sandwiches, chips, juice boxes and dirt cake! I had planned on putting the dirt cake in the back of his new tonka truck, but it didn't work out that way. He loved opening his presents and was pretty territorial about them. He was very concerned that the other kids were going to take them! We sure love this little guy!

At 2 Wilson:
*Weighs 27.7 lbs and is about 34 inches tall (25-50th%)
*Wears size 4 diapers (though he can fit in as small as 2s), size 18 month clothes, and size 5-6 shoes
*Still doesn't talk a lot---he's vocal, but not very verbal. We are working on getting him to use his words!
*Likes to play with his cars and trucks
*is loving being wrapped up in a blanket
*loves to make messes
*loves to do anything that his sister is doing--especially dressing up
*doesn't really like to wear his pants; he usually takes them off at some point during the day
*sleeping better through the night, but not every night...
*still loves his binky...we will be working on this soon...I think I'm not ready yet :)

One of my favorite things about Wilson is that when you pick him up, he often puts his little arm around your neck and will run his fingers through your hair. It is really sweet.

Crazy Kids

2011-02-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, this happens quite regularly...

Wilson's makeover--look at those bronze hands!

Here's the reason behind Wilson's new look...I was just in the living room having a meeting...I thought he was in my room watching a movie! It took quite a bit of scrubbing to get all of the makeup out of the grout!

It is so dry that every time Whitney sits on the couch this happens!

Christmas Morning

2011-02-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas Tree

Playing with their first gifts--a kitchen for Whitney and a basketball hoop for Wilson.

Wilson asking Grandpa to open his gift. He took every present that needed opened to Grandpa.

Whitney opening the Belle dress that Grandma K. made for her. She also made her Cinderella and Snow White dresses. Grandpa made her a little mirrored storage stand with hooks for hanging her dresses and box at the bottom for shoes and accessories!

We were all so excited that we actually had to wake the kids up this year! My parents and brother came out around 7 and we got the kids up around 7:30 to start opening presents. They were a little hesitant at first, but then got the hang of things! Wilson loved tearing open the presents! It was really fun to watch them open each present and then stop to play with them. Wilson got lots of cars and Whitney got lots of dress ups. They were spoiled as usual!

After opening presents, we had the family over again around 10 for our annual Christmas brunch. We had monkey bread, eggs, bacon and some leftover ham from Christmas Eve. We were all spoiled again by my mother-in-law!

Later that evening we went to my mother-in-law's for a finger-food dinner and to get our secret Santa gifts ready. We decided not to shop for the adults in the family and donate to a family in need instead.

Christmas Eve

2011-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dining Table

The kids (minus little Ethan) with Santa. Notice just how far away Whitney is...she didn't want anything to do with Santa this year--except for taking a candy cane!

Uncle with Santa

Wilson digging into his fishpond present

Grandpa fishing

We hosted the Christmas Eve celebration at our house this year. We had 12 adults and 5 kids! We started the evening off with dinner of roast, salad, baked potatoes, and rolls. For dessert we had a chocolate cake & pudding trifle with add-ins like toffee bits, hershey kisses & hugs. After dinner, we had the fishpond--a tradition in my mother-in-law's family carried over from Norway. We were then surprised by a visit from Santa! To end the evening, Mike shared a Christmas talk from President Monson about the Spirit of Christmas really being the Spirit of Christ. After everyone left, Whitney and I whipped together some sugar cookies and set them out for Santa with chocolate milk!

Dance Recital

2011-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

"Take me out to the Ballgame"

Whitney and her good friend Marissa

We had our dance recital on December 21st! It made for kind of a crazy week, but Whitney loved being up on the stage at the Hyart. I am still teaching; I teach Whitney's class and two other classes--2-3rd graders and 3-5th graders. This will probably be the last year I have her in my own class; it's just too hard to listen to Mom! She sure looks cute in her costume and she loves to dance all the time! Our theme was "Seasons" and Whitney got to dance to "Take me out to the Ballgame" and "I put the Zing in Spring". They did a great job!

Little Trees

2011-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Wilson with his tree--I think he looks like such a big boy in this picture!

Last year I gave Whitney a little tree that I had and bought a bunch of pink decorations for it; she was more interested in playing with the ornaments last year than keeping the tree decorated, but she was totally into it this year. So, this year I got Wilson a tree too and some little blue and silver ornaments. Amazingly, the two trees stayed completely decorated and the kids didn't bother them at all!

Christmas Outfits

2011-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is the best picture I got of my kids in their Christmas outfits. They were more excited about the candy from their nursery teachers than smiling for the camera.

I saw this dress last year, but could never find it in Whitney's size, so when I saw it online this year I ordered (like back in October). My mom and I found the little suit for Wilson at Penney's when we were shopping the day after Thanksgiving. He looks really cute in it, but it's a 24 month and the pants were huge, but we rolled them up and made it work for church for the week before Christmas.

Graham Cracker Houses

2011-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was watching our friends kids one evening and decided that we would make little graham cracker houses. So, just to make it more interesting, I invited our nieces and nephew over too. We had 8 (8 and under!) little people working on them at once!

Unfortunately, I lack architectural ability, and so our graham cracker houses turned into graham cracker boxes.

Fortunately, the kids really didn't care and were more interested in the bowls of candy and the frosting. Everyone was happy and they actually sat at the counter for quite a while working!

I'll have to work on my skills for next year!!

Hay Ride

2011-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

Loading up

It was definitely cold, but it was more manageable than in the past

The whole gang!

For the past couple of years we have had the opportunity to go on a hay ride with some of our friends here in town. We meet together for soup dinner and then go on the hay ride to look at lights. There were not very many lights this year, but the kids still enjoyed the ride. After the hay ride we warm up with hot chocolate and desserts and let the kids wear themselves out running around playing! I think I figured that we had 18 kids this year (the oldest is only about 8 I think!). We had a great time and are enjoying this as a new holiday tradition!

Temple Square

2011-01-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dinner table

I took this one and thought it turned out pretty well!

Travis & me with all of the kids

The boys...Wilson wouldn't keep his gloves on, so Mike tucked his arms down inside his coat so he couldn't really move at all. You'll notice he's still sitting in the stroller being lifted up!

Whitney did not want to smile with me...

One of the main reasons for making the trip to Salt Lake was to take the kids to Temple Square to see the lights. We met up with my cousin Jennifer and her family and my cousin Travis for dinner first and then headed to Temple Square. Mike, Travis and I took 6 kids there! It was a little crazy and fairly cold and then it started raining...It was beautiful as always and I enjoyed seeing the lights again!

Old Friends!

2011-01-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Whitney's photography skills. She told the kids to pose like this!

Nicole & Alli doing what we do best--talking!

Whitney and Tess making ice cream

Wilson playing dress-up

About six months after we were married, Mike and I moved into a cute little duplex in Salt Lake. We loved living there and became good friends with the couple on the other side. We used to be bored in the evenings and we would knock on the adjoining wall and then if the others knocked back we would get together. Lots of great memories!

We haven't seen them since Whitney was about 6 months old, so it was really fun to get together. We went out to dinner at Red Robin (one of our old favorites) and then went back to their house for a couple of hours and let the kids play while we all caught up. This was one of my favorite parts of our trip!

Sledding

2011-01-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Sledding is a lot of work for Daddy! The second time we went, Mike hooked a tie down to the sled and then around his waist to pull the kids up the hill!

These garbage cans were at the bottom of the hill--too funny!

While we were in Utah, Mike took the kids sledding a couple of times at Sugarhouse Park. We used to live just down the street from there so it was fun to take the kids there too! They absolutely LOVED it and were not happy about leaving. They've gotten to do a little sledding around the neighborhood; we have plenty of snow, it's just been too cold to go! Hopefully we'll see a few warmer days and they can get out again this season!

Gateway Children's Museum

2011-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

We decided to take a weekend trip to Salt Lake the first weekend of December. Our kids did AMAZING in the car. They watched only 1 or 2 movies each way of the 8 hour drive! We only got out once and they pretty much kept themselves entertained in the back!! We drove down on a Thursday and our first stop was the Quilted Bear. I love that store! It is a craft mall and it is so fun to look and see what I could possibly make. I got a few ideas and picked up a couple of little things.

On Friday, we took the kids to the Gateway Children's Museum. They had so much fun when we went to the one in Phoenix that I knew we had to take the opportunity to go again! It was a great place for the kids to run around too! We didn't take too many pictures, but Mike took a lot of video. Whitney LOVED the mini stage and dress up clothes. She twirled all around in the princess dresses only stopping to put on more lip gloss! I think Wilson's favorite thing was all of the little cars they had for the kids to drive. He just moved from one activity to another--definitely busy. I wish we had one of these closer--it would be so great for all of the cold winter days!

Halloween

2011-01-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Little Jessie

Little Woody

Wilson's opinion of picture taking...

Whitney's Halloween Outfit--She was so happy to pose for this picture and picked the pose herself!

I suggested to Whitney that she be Jessie for Halloween back when we saw Toy Story 3. I found lots of other cute ideas that I tried to convince her to be, but she was not going to be swayed. So, we had a cute little Jessie and Woody! I had fun making their costumes--a tradition I hope I can keep up!

Mike loves Halloween, but has just been too busy to get into it the past couple of years, but we got out the boxes of his spooky Halloween things. Our kids are totally freaked out by anything to do with Halloween. Wilson saw some masks in a box across the garage and started crying. It was pretty fun (okay maybe mean, but we got a good laugh) taking them near the Halloween aisle at the stores...Maybe they'll grow out of it...

On Halloween, we had a fun little neighborhood party in the afternoon. That evening we went to our church's Trunk-or-Treat. Whitney did pretty good saying "Trick or Treat"; Wilson, of course, wouldn't say anything, but gladly held out his bag to get the candy. After Trunk-or-Treat we went around to a few houses and then ended the night by stopping by our old neighbors' house for homemade donuts! They were delicious!

Wilson Michael

2010-11-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Making a funny face. Poor kid--he is definitely going to need braces, probably sooner than later!

He usually puts this little hard hat on at some point during the day.

Wilson is becoming quite the character! He is so busy!!!

At least once a day someone says, "You are such a handful!"

Here are some Wilson highlights:

Loves to play in the dirt and be outside.
LOVES to ride on the dirtbike with daddy. We got him a bike helmet and he did not want to wear it until he realized that if he had the helmet on he could ride with daddy--now he wants it on all of the time!
He thinks the bar stools are there to help him--he pushes them all over the kitchen so that he can get up on the counters/stove/anywhere else he needs to get up on!
He takes his pants off when he poops! Fortunately he doesn't take his diaper off too!
Likes to climb and jump. He especially likes to climb up on the counters to help himself to whatever is up there.
He has a cute little hop he does when he's running. He will run a few steps and then do a little hop.
He doesn't say very many words, but he is quite vocal. He really tries to get his point across. He says NO and MORE very well.
Very snuggly and loving. When we're at the store he will reach his arms around me and give hugs. When I ask him for kisses, he will lean his cheek out to me. He will usually do this a few times and then tell me no.
He is learning to be funny. He knows that making faces will make us laugh.
Drinks well from a cup, but tends to throw it when he's had enough. Learning how to use a spoon and fork--it's still easier to use his fingers.
Finally sleeping in his own bed! And through the night most nights.
Starting to wean from his binkie--he's only using it when he's sleeping.
Folds his arms during prayers and is even trying to say them. He gets some words out, we just don't understand a lot of his words.

It's hard to believe that he will be 2 so soon! We sure love him and are enjoying watching him learn and grow.

Preschool

2010-11-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

After School Cupcakes & Juice--I want this to be a school tradition from now on! I almost forgot to get the cupcakes made, my mom had to bring me cupcake wrappers and Mike picked Whit up from school so I could finish frosting them!

Last fall I got Whitney on a waiting list for preschool. I took her in for a screening toward the end of August and she did great. The 3-year-old preschool class is mostly for children who need extra services like speech and OT/PT. I knew she didn't qualify, but they said that they accept some other children depending on how many there are with needs. I hadn't heard anything so I thought she didn't get in, but a couple of weeks later they called and had room for her! I was so excited! And so was she! She goes for two hours twice and week and is really enjoying it. She never remembers very much of what they do when I ask, but throughout the week things will trigger her memory. Just the other day we were driving and she was singing some little songs to Wilson that she has learned at school. It is so nice for her to have something special to do during the week.

Couponing Again

2010-08-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

All of this was FREE with my coupons!!!
22 Cake Mixes and Frostings
10 Warm Delights
20 Post-its (I actually made $2 on those)
6 packs of pens
4 bags Pepperidge Farm Cookies
1 bag pretzels
1 bag bugles
1 bag chex mix

Here is some of what I purchased. I had to order a lot of my items because they didn't have enough in the store.

Last week I went coupon shopping again and it was a GREAT week. I spent $43.26 and saved $373.47! It was amazing. I purchased 172 items. It definitely makes me want to keep couponing.

Here's what I ordered that is not pictured:
4 Warm Delights Minis
7 Sweet Moments
5 Bisquick Shake & Pour
2 Sweet & Salty Bars Boxes
5 Bisquick Mix Boxes
5 Bags Nut Clusters
15 Totino's Party Pizzas
3 Boxes muffin mix
2 Boxes Cheerios
5 Boxes Lucky Charms
4 Boxes Gogurt
5 Cans Corn
5 Cans Green Beans

Some things I've created lately...

2010-08-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

A cape for Wilson

The other side of his cape

Whitney's cape

A Cape for Whitney. She definitely likes the princess side. Playing princess is probably her favorite thing to do right now. Of course she is always the princess and the rest of us are not.

Princess Playmat--This one I loved because the whole thing was my own idea! I patterned it a little after a car mat that I made last Christmas, but the princess It holds 4 little princess dolls and has a larger pocket for all of their extra dresses and accessories.

Outside of the Princess Playmat. It rolls up for easy storage and travel!

Diaper bag for a Mommy-to-be

Family Pictures

2010-08-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Whole Hendershot Family

I love the kids smiling/laughing faces!

Thank you Kristin! I love looking at our family pictures!

Budget Cuts

2010-08-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Apparently the town of Frannie (about 12 miles from here) has had some budget cuts. They are, however, still concerned about traffic safety. Look closely inside the car. :)

Sibling Love

2010-08-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Holding hands at Legoland (Wilson usually isn't such a huge fan of holding sister's hand)

Snuggled down to watch a movie...this only lasted about 8 minutes, then both of them were in our bed.

Reading

Sleepin'
We've been doing this with them a lot lately. They seem to sleep a little better when together, plus, they look so cute!

Snacks after bath

Crashed

Bighorn Lake

2010-08-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

We've had a couple of chances to enjoy the lake this summer. I went with the kids one evening with our friends and then my mom and I took them again. They both love it! Whitney loves to put her tube on and just float around. The only downfall is that there are TONS of mosquitoes. We weren't prepared when my mom and I went so we ended up with several bites before we could get some bug spray on. We still had lots of fun!

Camping

2010-08-17T17:57:00.001-07:00

Eating Cheetos by the campfire. We never buy Cheetos, so these were a real treat for all!

The View from the end of our hike!

We followed this stream for much of the hike. As we got near the end, there were pools of water and small waterfalls. It was a little scary walking on the rocks, but it was so worth it!

We went camping a few weeks ago with Eli & Kristin and their girls. We got a late start and didn't get camp set up and dinner done until about 9:00 at night, but we still had a great time! We made yummy foil dinners and made s'mores for dinner. The guys were great and had breakfast ready when we got up Monday morning! Our big adventure was a hike. We had tried to take the hike a few weeks earlier, but didn't have enough time to get to the location, but we made it this time! We just about died on the way back up, but the view at the bottom was incredible!! After our hike we went back to camp and roasted hot dogs and s'mores again:) We really had a great time! Thanks Kristin & Eli for the invite!!

Here's Kristin's post about our trip--she's the photographer!!

Legoland

2010-08-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

On our last full day of our San Diego trip we headed out to Legoland. We got really lucky because my Aunt was able to get us free tickets! Legoland is definitely geared toward kids ages 5-8. Wilson was too little for even most of the little kiddie rides (but he really wanted to be on them) and the girls were too small for a lot too. They had fun on the few rides they went on. I wouldn't really recommend Legoland--I just wasn't very impressed. It doesn't seem like it's been kept up very well. The lego creations are pretty impressive, but they are faded and look a lot older than they are. The kids had the most fun at a couple of play areas they had where they could just run! They also have an aquarium that we walked through at the end of the day. It wasn't too bad--if you like fish, which I don't. :)

Poway RR & Lake Poway

2010-08-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

***We decided to visit some of the local spots in Poway where my Aunt lives, so we went to the Poway RR. When we got there we found out the train wasn't running, but the trolley was; unfortunately, it needed a little help. My uncle and cousin jumped in to help the old guys push the trolley back to the barn. Fortunately, it was a quick fix and they were back on the track in no time. The little store had all of the Thomas the Train wooden sets available and a table for the kids to play with. They loved playing with the trains!

After our trolley ride, we headed over to Lake Poway to play at the park and feed the ducks. It was a really nice day and fun to do something cheap!

The Caboose :) My uncle Mark is the in middle and my cousin is the one pushing the other guys...Too funny!

On the Trolley
(l-r Uncle Mark, My mom, Whitney, Jaylynn, Josh holding Wilson, Aunt Jeri)

Playing with the trains while waiting for our ride. Wilson now has his own Thomas the Train toy and loves it. He can sort of say, "choo, choo."

Playing at the park

Feeding the ducks--there weren't very many ducks unfortunately, and they definitely were not interested in the organic rice puff cereal Auntie bought to feed them. I can't say I blame them:)

Here is how we ended the day...Josh needed the bed we were sleeping in, so I got the kids to sleep and put them in Jaylynn's room and settled on the couch, but they both woke up and we were definitely having some trouble finding enough space. My uncle took a picture too, but in that one Wilson was face up. I kept moving him, but he kept finding his way back. Needless to say, I woke up with a headache and feeling like I needed a nap. The kids were refreshed :)

Beach Day

2010-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach on Friday of our trip; but it was so cold that we didn't last very long :( Wilson absolutely LOVED to ocean. He kept running toward it and was giggling and screaming with delight. Whitney was definitely cold. We tried to see the seals at La Jolla too, but they were out enjoying the cooler day in the water. My mom loves the beach so she braved the water with Wilson while the rest of us tried to keep warm with the beach blanket and towels.

San Diego Zoo

2010-07-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

My mom, the kids and I went to San Diego for a week (July 6-13). Unfortunately, we had the worst weather...We didn't even put on our swimsuits the whole time because the weather was so crummy. We got in late Tuesday night, then hung out around the house on Wednesday. My mom and Aunt went out shopping to the Dollar Store that evening while I kept the kids and while they were gone we had an earthquake! As soon as it started I was sure that's what it was, I was holding Wilson and Jaylynn was with me but I didn't have Whitney so I yelled for her (I think it scared the kids when I yelled more than the earthquake). By the time I got to her in the next room, it was over. Then I was second guessing myself, but I saw the dog shaking, so I was pretty sure. I googled it a few minutes later and sure enough there was a 5.4 quake, but it was far enough away that we didn't feel it too strongly. My mom and aunt felt it in the car. Crazy!

On Thursday, we decided to enjoy the zoo in spite of the weather. We started off with a bus ride and saw a lot of the animals. It was fun to see the new elephant exhibit. After the bus ride, we enjoyed lunch and then Jaylynn took us to her favorite part of the zoo--the reptile exhibit. Wilson fell asleep in the stroller, so I just kind of hung back away from the snakes--I DO NOT LIKE THEM...remember our last zoo trip:) We then went to see the sea lion show. The best part of that was Wilson's dancing to the music while we waited for the show to start. People kept stopping and watching him dance. One lady told my mom we should get a free pass for how cute he was! After the show we saw my favorites--the orangutans and gorillas. It is so fun to watch them play and interact. The littlest gorilla gave a potty show--he pooped in his hand, fortunately we were behind the glass and he couldn't throw it at us...disgusting I know, but it was funny :) We had a great time and saw a lot of the animals because it wasn't so hot and they were out enjoying the cool air.

4th of July

2010-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Whitney's 4th of July shirt I made her. I was really happy with how it turned out. She had really cute bows too, but I didn't get a good shot of them.

Handsome little man :)

Dessert table at the family picnic

Enjoying sparklers!

We got to spread our celebrating out over two days for the 4th this year. On Saturday the 3rd, we started with the annual Mayes (Mike's mom's dad's side of the family) pancake breakfast at the park. It was delicious as always and fun to see everyone. One of Geraldine's cousins had put together a genealogy poster that was probably 20 feet long with all 10 of the children in the Mayes family and all of their descendants. It was so neat to see all of the names and see how everyone was related.

Then on Saturday afternoon we had a Mayes family picnic with all of Geraldine's siblings and their children and grandchildren. We enjoyed Navajo tacos and desserts. There were two pinatas for the kids. They were so happy with all of their goodies. We had a great time visiting and eating. We tried to do some of our fireworks that night, but were shut down by the cops :( We didn't know we couldn't do them on Saturday.

Circus comes to town!

2010-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

The TENT...

The Big RING!

Watching the trapeze girl in a bikini...

When you live in a little town like we do, you have to take advantage of the events that are here! I saw the ad in the paper for the circus, and I just knew the kids would love it. We were quite nervous when we drove up and saw the extremely patched tent...It was actually a lot bigger inside than it looked from the outside. It was definitely NOT Barnum & Bailey, with the guy dressed up in the gorilla suit instead of a real gorilla, but there were some talented girls up on the rope and the single trapeze. There was one older man in the show and I think all of the performers were his family. The old man did the unicycle and there were a few girls and a 7-year-old boy; I'm pretty sure that the old man was the 7-year-old boy at some point in his life. He looked like he had lived on the road. I totally felt like I was in the episode of Little House on the Prairie where the Circus comes to town and Mr. Olsen's sister is the fat lady in the show. The whole thing made me laugh, but I think the kids thought it was okay. Needless to say, we probably won't go the next time the circus comes to town...

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

(The pictures are awful, but parents have to sit up above the pool in the balcony, so it was really hard to get them!)

Whitney took swimming lessons for a couple of weeks in June. She was pretty stiff and nervous during her first few lessons, but really relaxed and was floating around with arm floaties by herself on the last day. On the first day of lessons the teacher had the kids put their faces in the water to blow bubbles and Whitney told her she couldn't because she had lip gloss on! She is so funny! We didn't put lipgloss on after that day :) She didn't pass off to the next level, so she'll be in the same class next year, but it was good for her to get a start. We definitely need to take her swimming more often so that she'll get more comfortable.

Welcome Baby Ethan!

2010-07-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Whitney & Ethan the day he was born. She didn't want me to help her at all!

Diaper palm tree my mom made--she's so clever!

Quilt Tying
Clothesline of gifts

The food table

Cupcakes!

I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law Sandy and our new nephew Ethan on July 26th. We went with a jungle theme. He was born June 8th, and my kids are just crazy about him. I practically had to fight Whitney to get to hold him at the hospital. Wilson wants to hold him every time we see them; he puts his arms out and starts whining for the baby. We had a great afternoon at the shower. Sandy got lots of cute little outfits, and we enjoyed visiting and eating goodies!

Mustang Days

2010-07-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Rose City Rockettes

Bench Dancers

Mike's Class Float (he's sitting on the swing at the front)

Kiddie Parade

We celebrated Mustang Days here in Lovell June 21-26. There was lots of fun to be had!

The theme was Swingin' to the Fifties. Every year they have a variety show called the Follies. I was asked to help with the Rose City Rockettes for the follies; I choreographed a dance for a group of high school age girls to the song Rock Around the Clock with another gal here in town. It was a little stressful at times (like when the girls wouldn't show up for practice), but they did such a great job and looked so cute. There is also a group here called the Bench Dancers. They dance with long black benches, picking them up and moving them during the dance and using them as a prop. Two weeks before the follies, I got a call from the gal in charge saying that one of the ladies was injured and would I be willing to learn and perform with them even though there was only 4 practices left. I of course said yes, and had a great time performing Jailhouse Rock.

Friday the 25th, we went to Mike's 10-year reunion. It was very laid back. We went to the park and enjoyed delicious pulled pork sandwiches and visited. I liked that I already knew a lot of the people in his class, so I was totally comfortable. There were probably less than 20 people there from his class, so everyone went around and shared where they were and what they were doing.

Saturday was the parade. We woke up to ugly weather, and the kiddie parade was pretty miserable with wind and rain and dirt everywhere. Our friends' daughter was nice enough to take the kids. Whitney had her scooter decorated and ready to ride, but the weather made it too difficult. She and Wilson rode in the wagon. At the end they got a gold dollar coin and a popsicle. Fortunately, the weather burned off and it was quite enjoyable for the rest of the parade. Mike's class had a float in the parade; they enjoyed throwing snowballs (one guy got a truck full of snow off the mountain). Whitney thought it was great to get candy; she started to get pickier and wouldn't pick up anything broken or the little tootsie rolls at the end...too funny.

That night we drove out to the lake for the big firework show. Whitney was so excited about it, but hadn't napped, so she was out cold before the fireworks started. Wilson made it to the start of the show, but snuggled into his carseat pretty quickly and was out before the show was over. After the fireworks, Mike and some high school friends relived some of their old fun times by going out to see the Blue Lady...I didn't have any desire to be scared, but they had lots of fun.

All in all, it was a great week and we had lots of fun celebrating!

Father's Day

2010-06-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband! He is such an amazing daddy! He is so willing to jump in wherever I need him. He is so good about getting down on the floor and playing with the kids--or tossing them high in the air, whatever they want. He takes Whitney with him on errands often and she usually comes home with a little something special (like cute tiny pink paint rollers she just needed to paint her room with). He is such a great daddy and I am so thankful to be going on this journey of parenthood with him by my side.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Trek

2010-06-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

**Long Post Warning**

Pictures are not in order...

Crossing the River
Coming out of the River

Pulling the cart at the Sixth Crossing Site

Our Family the night before we left

Pulling at Martin's Cove

Martin's Cove

Square Dancing

Mike and I had the opportunity this past weekend to participate in a Pioneer Trek with the youth in our stake. I have been excited about the Trek experience since I heard last year that they were going to be going! I was able to participate in one the summer after I graduated from high school, and it was such a spiritual experience for me that I wanted to go on this trek and was so grateful and ecstatic when our bishop asked us if we would like to be a Ma & Pa.

One of the most special aspects of this trek was the location. We went to Martin's Cove in southern Wyoming, about 4 hours from home. This was one of the actual locations where the Pioneers crossed with their handcarts.

Here is a little background information "Due to a combination of circumstances, the immigrants comprising the last two handcart companies to cross the plains in 1856 started on the journey across the plains much too late to arrive in Salt Lake City before winter began. They were almost two months behind schedule. One of the companies was led by Captain James Willie and the other by Captain Edward Martin. The Willie Company, which was about two weeks ahead of the Martin Company, had difficulties right from the start of their journey. They had trouble with the handcarts made from green wood, buffalo stampedes, shortage of food, and finally with early unexpected winter storms."
"On November 4, the Martin Company was taken about 3 miles to the Cove for protection from the winds, and the availability of firewood. (The Cove is a small valley between a large sand dune and the rock mountain.) Although the Cove helped some during the four days and five nights the Martin Company were there waiting out the storm, it was still very cold and many more would lose their lives —approximately 50-60. There are many special stories of their experiences while at the Cove. However, the great miracle of the Martin Company was that any of them made it from the last crossing of the North Platte River through Martin's Cove alive." (from handcarttreks.com)

We were assigned 7 youth from our ward to be our "family". On our first day, we arrived and were assigned a handcart. We had a short meeting where we watched a video clip of images of the pioneers, had a talk from one of the missionaries serving there and a musical number from a group of Ma's & Pa's. We then loaded our handcarts with our lunches and trekked about a mile and a half in. We stopped for lunch and then left the handcarts and walked the next mile into Martin's Cove. We heard another story from another missionary, and before we walked into the cove itself, we were told that this area has been called the Wyoming temple, and that we were to treat it as such, completing the walk into the cove silently. When we reached the top of the cove, we were taught again by the missionaries. To listen to the stories of the pioneers while sitting where they had been and where many lost their lives was extremely moving. We again walked quietly out of the cove and back to our handcarts and returned to location from where we had left.

After a quick snack, we loaded back into the vehicles and drove about 45 minutes to what is called the Sixth Crossing Site. Throughout their journey, the pioneers had to cross the Sweetwater River several times. The Sixth Crossing Site is just that, where they had crossed for the sixth of nine times. We set up camp, enjoyed a wonderful dinner and then the missionaries had all of the kids out in a field square dancing. Lots of fun! Later that evening, one of the missionaries came dressed up as a man named Ephraim Hanks. He had been a pony express rider and had come across the handcart pioneers. The missionary did a great job and had everyone laughing at all of his stories.

The second day, we got up bright and early, enjoyed a huge breakfast (we had the best food crew!). Then we loaded up handcarts again. The kids had packed all of their belongings for trek in a 5 gallon bucket and were allowed 17 pounds to signify the amount each pioneer was allowed. We carried their buckets along with about gallons of water in our handcart. We trekked for a total of about 10 miles the second day.

Along the trail, we had family stops where we were asked as Ma & Pa to lead discussions on various things. At the first stop we discussed the pioneers' food. By the time the pioneers had reached this area, they had reduced their rations to 4oz of flour a day per adult, 2 oz for children. They would mix the flour with water and drink it. The kids had the opportunity to taste it (not so tasty) and we discussed that this drink only curbed their hunger and that the Lord made up the rest, so that they were able to survive. At this stop we also received a note saying that one of the boys in our family had been "bitten by a rattlesnake" and had to ride in the cart. So we rearranged our cart and put him in. It definitely made the pulling and pushing a little harder. Just before we were about to cross a bridge into a meadow, we were stopped by two brothers from the Stake YM Presidency and were told that our "son" didn't survive his snakebite. He had to get out of the cart and walk alone silently. The spirit was so strong as we entered the meadow. This was the site where the Willie company had been rescued by a rescue party from Salt Lake. I started thinking about my own children, and I just cried thinking about really losing a child along the trail. The saints didn't have time to mourn their dead as they had to keep moving. Because of the snow, they were often not able to dig a grave and simply left the dead on the ground and covered them with snow. Often times, they could not get away fast enough to escape the sounds of wolves devouring the bodies. This meadow area, was also referred to as the Wyoming Temple and was treated with great reverence.

At the second stop, our son was alive again :) We had a talk from a missionary couple about the Rescue of the Willie Company, and then the Pony Express arrived with a letter from home for each of the kids. They each took their letters and found a spot alone to read and reflect upon their journey so far. Many of the youth were emotional and were touched by the letters. Our family had a wonderful discussion about the trek up to that point in the meadow. We asked the kids to share their favorite and least favorite part so far, and the first kid said a fav/least, but all of the kids after that only shared a favorite because they were loving it and feeling the spirit so strongly.

Our third stop was one of the most difficult and most spiritual. They split the women and men up. The men and boys were taken up the trail and left the handcarts with the women and the girls. When the pioneers came across, many of the men were called away to serve in the Mormon Battalion or died along the trail and the women were left alone to pull their handcarts to Salt Lake. After a talk from one of the sisters in the stake, the girls and women had to pull the carts to the next stop without the men. The girls in my family were just amazing, they pulled without ceasing and were so strong. As we reached the top of the hill, the men and boys were lined up on both sides of the trail, silently watching us pull by. It was an extremely spiritual moment, and many of the youth said that it was their favorite part of the trek. It is hard to put into words the feelings that we had at that moment, but the spirit was there and we could feel the pioneers.

At our fourth and final stop, we discussed the Atonement of the Savior and how he can help lift our burdens. After the women's pull, we asked one of the young men to carry a backpack, and the slowly we added water bottles full of water to the backpack as we walked. When we reached the top, we discussed how we are all carrying around burden from sin, just like the backpack and how we need to let the Savior rescue us. That young man bore his testimony today in church and talked about the backpack and how he felt--it was nice to know that it had sunk in a little. At that stop we received another note. It said that our Pa couldn't stand the children crying in hunger and had been giving his rations to the children and become so weak and was near death. We were told to carry him in the cart. That was a difficult moment for both Mike and I and for our family. It was hard to imagine the thought of losing my husband and I was really emotional. Mike had a hard time not helping the family. In the note it said that he would only get well through the power of the Priesthood and prayer. Our family decided to say a prayer and the girl whose turn it was to pray had a hard time getting through it. The kids were definitely quieter during that time.

The final event of our trekking that day was to cross the river. Because of the weather and the height of the river, it was an optional activity. I knew that it was something I needed to do. We crossed a bridge and then walked back to our carts across the river. As we lined up to enter the water, we realized that we had all of the kids in our family but one, so our oldest boy went and got her and told her he would carry her on his back across the river. The water was cold and the current was strong and the wind was whipping, but all I could think about was that it was nothing compared to what the pioneers experienced with ice chunks cutting at their legs and 11 degree below temperatures with 2-3 feet of snow to walk into as they finished their crossing. We were also able to change into dry clothes quickly and had a hot meal prepared for us when we returned to camp.

That night we enjoyed a ward fireside time and listened to each kid in our ward share something they learned or felt through our trek. I was amazed at the depth of understanding that even the youngest children had.

Wilson Michael

2010-05-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Handsome

"riding"

Playing at the Children's Museum

At the zoo

Wilson will be 16 months this weekend! He is learning and doing new things every day! Here are some of the highlights:

He now has 5 teeth! They came in within about 3 1/2 weeks. He did great--a little more drool than usual, but no complaints from him!
He is finally starting to talk. He says: Mama, Dada, Oh, Uh Oh. In the last few days he has added Ball, Car (it sounds like he has a New York accent Caaa), and Cracker
Thinks everything is either a hammer to hit with or a drum to be hit!
He likes to hit people with both hands and say, "Oh!" It's a little mean, so we're working on being soft. He will hit and then I'll tell him soft and he'll rub my shoulder a little (usually he just goes back to hitting)
He has quite the arm. If he's not hitting something, he's throwing it. I read in the What to Expect the Toddler Years book that at 17 months it may be possible for a child to throw overhand, but Wilson has had this one mastered for at least a month...He has recently learned that his food can travel pretty far when thrown from his high chair.
He loves T.V. He gets upset when someone gets in his way when he's watching. His favorite is Barney. He gets a big grin on his face when he sees the PBS intro before the show.
He is quite the dancer. The last couple of days he's starting a little high stepping and arm waving, but pretty much anytime music starts, including Daddy's singing, he breaks out in a little dance.
He has learned how to make car noises and drive little matchbox cars. It is so cute, he gets down on his belly and drives it all over the floor while making car noises.
He loves to be outside and throw dirt. At the zoo in Arizona, I had to keep grabbing his hands to stop him from throwing sand at the kiddie playground.
He loves Whitney's quad (he doesn't even mind the pink). He will get up on it and shake it back and forth while making noises. He also loves her scooter and tricycle. He can push around his little "bike", but likes the bigger things better.
He runs, walks backward and is starting to spin to make himself dizzy.
If I am sitting down on the ground, he will walk backward up to my lap and sit down. He doesn't stay long, but it is really sweet.
He likes to hug a little stuffed giraffe when he goes down for his nap. He doesn't really need it, but I tuck it into his arm and he gives me a cute smile.
He's totally afraid of power tools, starts crying and runs away...but the sound of the quads and bikes out riding just gets him excited (it must be in his blood)
Wilson has a few different nicknames: Little Man, Handsome, Bubbas, Buddy, Wils (it's pretty cute when Whitney calls him Buddy)

Wilson is such a fun little guy. He can be quite a handful, but we are just loving him and enjoying all of his new discoveries!

2010-04-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

We spent our last evening at the Mesa Temple. I was so impressed with the temple grounds--the church has 20 acres there and it is so beautiful! There were so many great spots for pictures. We saw several families there taking pictures and some high school prom groups taking pictures too. We were able to spend some time in the visitor's center talking with the sister missionaries and watched a video about our Heavenly Father's plan for families. It was really nice. The Mesa Temple was built in 1927, so it was very impressive. I love the temple and am so grateful for the blessings it has brought into my life. To learn more about temples click here: Purpose of Temples.

Swimming

2010-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

We spent a good portion of our last day in Arizona at the pool. Whitney loved floating around in her tube and floaties. She didn't want to jump in or get her head wet, but she kept saying, "I can do it all by myself now." Wilson just wanted to be held and wasn't very happy in the tubes. He was more content to be on the side of the pool chugging our drinks. I came home sunburned, but am looking forward to the tan.

The Castle

2010-04-27T15:11:00.001-07:00

In the evening after we went to the zoo we went to a place called Golfland. Whitney was thrilled because the place looked like a castle. She actually took the picture of the outside in the collaged. We were thinking about mini golf, but we didn't end up playing. Whitney and Mike went for a ride in a go-cart. I attempted to get a picture, but didn't do so great--it's tough to get a moving picture in the dark! We went inside and looked at some of the arcade games and a nice girl gave us a bunch of tickets, so Whitney got some little prizes. Then we wandered outside and they had a big play area. Whitney and Mike had lots of fun climbing around and sliding down. Wilson wasn't too sure about the slides, but he had a little fun too. We ended the night with dinner at T.G.I. Fridays. The kids were so tired, they could barely keep their eyes open at dinner.

Phoenix Zoo

2010-04-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun at the Zoo! I was really impressed with how close we were to some of the animals. You were really able to appreciate their size. The kids loved the Little People playground. Notice the picture of Wilson in the sandbox with my hand on top of his--all he wanted to do was grab handfuls of sand and throw them while saying, "oh!" He is such a boy! I tried to get Whitney to go into the petting zoo, but her response was a firm, "No." I even suggested that I would go in with her, "No." We watched from the fence, but there was no way she was going in. At one point we started walking through a trail exhibit called the Forest of Ocu. It had an abandoned jeep and research shack display that looked cool. The first thing we saw was a pool of fish from the Amazon--DISGUSTING. I have a pretty serious fear of fish, so the huge black fish was giving me the creeps! Then we walked around to another exhibit with an Andean Bear. While we're looking for the bear a guy with his little girl walks up and says, "Did you guys see that big snake go across the trail?" I was like, "Shut Up. You're joking." He said, "No, we were right behind you and a snake went across the trail in front of us." That was enough for me; I wanted out of the "forest" and back on the asphalt. The guy had also asked us if we thought he should tell someone and I was like Yes! I was pretty much freaking out--I also have a serious fear of snakes. We saw a zoo guy as we were hurrying out and we told him and he said it was probably just a wild snake. I was shaking and couldn't get out fast enough!! So we're back on the regular pathways, and what do you know...there goes the snake slithering across the asphalt. It was probably around 3 feet long. I definitely kept my distance. Later we saw a sign about the "other" (wild) animals of the zoo and we're pretty sure it was a Gopher Snake. At the end of our day we were on another trail area (with concrete sidewalks), but the end of it was the reptile house and I decided I had had enough snakes. So, I started walking back to the main area by myself, but then totally started feeling nervous about seeing a snake again, so I started walking faster and a little lizard jumped in the bushes next to me--that did it for me and I screamed a little and jogged back to the main zoo area. Talk about high blood pressure! Probably the most amazing thing I did that day was buy my kids stuffed animals! I am not a nice mom--I don't like stuffed animals and the only ones we have are ones that were given to us. I took Whitney into the zoo store and she picked out a pink (surprise there) stuffed tiger and would not be deterred, so we picked a stuffed Rhino for Wilson. All in all, it was a great day at the zoo!

Phoenix Children's Museum

2010-04-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Easter Seeds

2010-04-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Magical Easter Seeds

She got so excited when I told her these were magic Easter seeds and we were going to plant them and then see what would grow on Easter. She squealed and gave me a big hug!

Planting

Here's what we found on Easter morning! Even in all that dead grass :)

Wilson loved it too!

All the pickins!

Yum! Happy Easter!

**I got this idea from a coworker when I was teaching in Lovell. She said her sister started this tradition when her kids were little, and I've been waiting until Whitney was just the right age to do this. It was perfect and she loved it! It will definitely be part of our Easter traditions!

Peep Show

2010-04-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Cute little guys :)

Warming up!

Still Cookin'

Ooey Gooey Yumminess!

Tastes great sandwiched between two fudge stripe cookies! Happy Easter!

Easter Weekend Festivities!

2010-04-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

We went out to the Motorcross with our friends the Prices this morning! It was a little chilly, but cleared up for a while so we were able to enjoy! The boys rode hard! The kids had fun climbing and sliding down the hills. We all enjoyed roasting hotdogs over the fire! After about two hours the wind picked up and the snow started, so we hurried and packed up, but we had lots of fun!

FINALLY!

2010-03-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Wilson has a little tooth poking through his gums today! WAHOO! We've been waiting for this forever!! The top left front is coming in and it looks like the right is on its way and maybe one more on top--nothing on the bottom, we're excited!

Pinkalicious Party

2010-03-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Pink, pink, pink! We had a Pinkalicious (it's a book about a little girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink) Party for Whitney's 3rd birthday last night! We had so much fun! She had 20 guests! We enjoyed chef salad and rolls (which was a big hit!), then we opened gifts, and finished up with pink cupcakes and ice cream. The kids had fun filling up treat bags from the candy bar at the end. She was definitely spoiled! We love Whitney!

Valentine's Day

2010-03-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our Valentine's day celebration. My mom made Whitney's dress and Wilson's tie--they turned out so cute! We had Navajo tacos for dinner and yummy cupcakes for dessert! The night before, Mike and I went to Cody to see the movie Valentine's Day--I thought it was cute and quite enjoyed it.

Question

2010-03-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Can somebody help me?? How can I add more than 5 pictures to a blog post?? Also, what kind of program are you using to create picture collages to post???

My Birthday

2010-03-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

Brown & Orange m&ms and the serving platter

Cute Cake!

My mom has always made our birthdays special! We can't remember all of my birthday parties, but I know she has always done something and made it special! This year was no exception! She bought me these adorable orange and brown plates and serving dishes that we had seen at Target--they are going to be so great this summer for entertaining! She went with the orange and brown for the theme! She made the adorable cake! We had a delicious dinner of flank steak, cucumber and tomato salad and rolls! It was so good! We flew home from L.A. on my birthday so it was nice to come home and have a home cooked meal! Thank you Mom--I love you!

Los Angeles

2010-03-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

This was the last show we went to-it was a special effects show and I was asked to be in the show. This was the first stage of the show and they were showing how a green screen works. I had to fight off a large cat, then I sat in a chair and was a character in Nutty Professor--they had me doing funny things like eating a pretend drumstick and picking my teeth. The final thing I had to do was put on a Egyptian robe and move some large stones pretending they were heavy. There was also a guy they asked to be in the show and I was trying to free him, but I was too late, he was turned into a skeleton. Later Mike was asked to be in the show too--he was a part of the voiceover effects stage. He was supposed to be the voice of King Kong, but they made it look like he didn't do it right, so they took him backstage and had a video screen that looked like he was attacked by a large wolf creature. It was fun! It cracked me up that they asked me to be a part of the show because we went on our honeymoon to San Diego and I was invited to be a part of a show at Sea World--I shook hands with the Sea Lion. I guess I have a "face" that says, "Pick me!" Too funny!

Mike was playing around with our new camera. There were lots of great places there that would have made great pictures and Mike wished I was dressed up better for pictures!

Mike and I took our first trip away without the kids February 2-5. It was a quick trip, but we had a great time! The first day we went to Universal Studios. It was about 65 degrees--shorts weather for us! Neither of us had been there, so it was fun to see (and be in) the shows. After the park closed, we walked on the Universal City walk. We had lots of fun watching people indoor skydiving--it was pretty neat. That night we used our VZ Navigator to find a Mexican restaurant. We found kind of a hole in the wall place, the service and guacamole were great, the rest of the food was just good, but it was a cute place.

Thursday was a very full day! My camera died at the end of the day at Universal and I didn't bring my charger, so no pictures :(. We started the day by going to the Santa Monica Pier. We got there a little early, so there wasn't much happening. It was windy so we were a little chilly, but we walked along the beach for a while and then decided to go to another beach. Mike had looked online for some good things to do and one of the things he thought looked good was to go to Venice Beach...that turned out to be an experience! Apparently Venice Beach is the place to go if you want Marijuana! There were several people smoking it right there on the sidewalk. (YUCK!) There were also several "clinics" where you could see the doctor right away to see if you qualified for medical marijuana. It was really strange. There were lots of Rastafarian people selling their peace sign artwork and hemp jewelry. Then there were guys trying to get you to listen to their hip hop music. I felt very uncomfortable and was so ready to get out of there!

After we left the beach, we went to Hollywood Blvd. We went to a few cheesy "museums"--Ripley's Believe it or Not, A knockoff Wax Museum and Guiness Book of World Records; they were not worth the money. We also saw the stars' hand and feet prints in front of the Chinese Theater. There were some from as far back as 1927--I had no idea it had been going on that long!

Our final stop was the Grove mall. It was so pretty! It is an outdoor mall with a trolley that runs through the center from one end to the other and they have a nice grassy area at one end with a fountain that has a mini water show. They have lights strung between the buildings across the center road. We just strolled through the stores and then ate outside at an Italian restaurant. They had good bread, but the food was not good. The ambiance was nice though. After dinner we went and saw the movie "When in Rome." It was cute and I totally enjoyed it!

The kids did great! Our moms and friends were so wonderful to take care of them so we could enjoy some alone time. THANK YOU! WE LOVE YOU!

Baby Shower

2010-03-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

Little Stud Muffin :)

Whitney looking for the horses

All the girls!

Me, Lauren (the new mommy now), Katie

Diaper Cake that Katie and I made
(Sorry the pics are not so great--I didn't take pictures at the shower because there were so many cameras going, so I stole these ones from Facebook)

At the end of January the kids and I made a little trip home for my friend Lauren's baby shower. It is so fun to be able to celebrate life changes with my friends who I have known since first grade!! I am truly grateful to have been blessed with these wonderful women in my life. They are a part of who I am today. Lauren had her baby this week and I can't wait to meet the little man! We had lots of fun hanging out with my dad, brother and his sweet girlfriend Kitty. One of my favorite things to do when I go home is to go shopping...I found lots of great deals! Grandpa learned a lot about how quickly my two little dears can turn the house upside down!! They emptied the Comet all over the bathroom, then Whitney decided to let Grandpa know what Wilson was doing, but she was covered too! Grandpa says that Wilson is a "terrorist"--all I could do was laugh. We love ya Grandpa!

Snow Day!

2010-02-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Mean mom photo--I was seriously cracking up and I had to get a picture before helping him up!

Dad pulling the kids on the sled

Kids "pulling" dad on the sled

Mom getting in on it too

Beautiful Snow Angel--I love this picture of her!

We got 12 inches of snow in one day here in January! This was the most snow I've ever seen since we moved to Wyoming. Mike took Whitney with him to a friend's house to use their four wheeler to shovel snow, so Mom and I took Wilson out early in the day--he wasn't too crazy about it (it couldn't have been because his mom was laughing and taking pictures as he fell in the snow). Later in the afternoon, Mike pulled the kids on the sled on the street in front of and around the house. It was really beautiful, but I was definitely ready for it to go...we've still got patches of snow around here now!

First Haircut

2010-02-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Wilson was really starting to grow a Redneck looking mullet. His hair is so blond it was hard to tell, but his hair was growing over the collar of his shirt. I wanted to cut is sooner, but just couldn't bring myself to cut his hair until he was one...so on January 9th I finally went for it. I just used a long guard on the clippers and went over his whole head. He sat pretty well for it, but was definitely ready for me to be done. It totally helped to have Aunt Sandy on hand to keep him entertained. He sure looks handsome now!

ONE!

2010-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that our little Wilson is already one! It seems that he is just too little!

At one:
*Walking all the time! Started really walking around 11 months
*Loves to climb up on things
*Loves to eat! He doesn't really have any favorites, just whatever anyone else is eating.
*Likes to look at books. I will often find him sitting down looking at books when he's been playing.
*Loves to watch Barney! He starts dancing like crazy when the theme song comes on and he's been doing this since he was about 8 months old or so.
*Still isn't sleeping very well at night--though it's getting a little better.
*Really likes to nurse --especially at night.(finally weaned 2-2-10)
*Says Mama and sort of Dada, but other than that not much of any chattering--except for screaming for food.
*Gives "kisses" opens his mouth and leans in. He can make some kissing noises.
*Weight: 21 lbs (40th %) Height: around 28 inches (35th %) Head Circumference is in the 70th % Wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 9-12 month clothing, size 3 shoes
*STILL no Teeth!

It has been so much fun to watch him learn and grow. You can clearly see every stage as he is learning and it is truly amazing to watch. We love him and look forward to watching him grow even more!

Crafting Freak

2010-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Eyeglasses case & bookmark. I made 8 of these--they are so great. I even made one for my dad. I'm planning on making some more to sell at craft fairs this fall.

Picture frame for my mom. This is a 4 generation picture. We took it just a week before my grandma passed away, so it is very special. Neither my mom or I had done anything with the picture, so it was so fun to make this for her. I told my brother I had the best gift for mom and when I showed him he totally agreed. Mike asked if I was trying to make her cry and I said it wouldn't be Christmas if Mom didn't. I love you Mom!

A scripture tote for Sariah

Take along car caddy for Hayden--it holds 6 matchbox cars.

Here is the car caddy rolled up. I hope to sell these this fall too! Finally a boy craft!

My sister-in-law gave me "Crafting Freak" title on her blog. Here are some of the crafts that I made for Christmas gifts. I also made a few more things--the ruffle scarves that all the girls are wearing in our family pictures, a fleece monkey blanket and fleece hat for Wilson, and some other scripture totes for our friends' girls. I had so much fun!

Dessert Party

2010-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Some of our treats--homemade caramels, peanut butter blossoms & oreo truffles

Our party favors--Cookies for Santa Kits

Cookies for Santa Kit includes: Sugar Cookie Mix, Frosting, Sprinkles & Christmas Cookie Cutters

A couple of years ago we had a dessert party at Christmastime in Washington. We loved it so much that Mom and I decided to do it again in Wyoming. We made a few of our favorite treats and asked everyone to bring their favorite too. We had eggnog mixed with sprite to drink (so yummy!). Several friends stopped by and it was fun to visit and enjoy sweets!

A few Christmas Decorations

2010-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

I made the Christmas Countdown blocks and I just love them!

This is my Willow Tree nativity and it is my most favorite Christmas decoration of all time! It is so simple and beautiful!

Stockings for the whole Hendershot family! I made 15 red felt stockings! I saw the idea on a craft blog and thought they were so cute. I am really happy with how they turned out!

Christmas Pictures

2010-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here are a few holiday-ish pictures of the kids before our ward party. This was not Whitney's Christmas dress-it's one she got last year that still fits. Sadly, I didn't even get a picture of them in their Christmas outfits. Oh, well--they're still cute!

Santa Picture Attempts

2010-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Not so sure about this...

Not even for the candy!

Get me out of here!

We tried to get a good Santa picture of the kids at two different Ward Christmas Parties...no luck. Here's what we got! We had seen a Santa at a craft fair, but neither one of the kids would get near him, so Whitney agreed that she would stand next to him at our ward party. She finally did sit on his lap at my mom's ward party with the help of our friends--Thanks Prices!

Christmas

2010-02-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Wilson's ball popper--this was a big hit with both of them!

Still not feeling too hot--cute little sleeping bag made by Gramma K.

Digging in!

Coming down to see all the presents!

We spent the night at my mom's and celebrated Christmas morning with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Kletey & Uncle Kirk. The kids were definitely spoiled! It is so easy to shop for them right now and go overboard. After opening presents, Geraldine, Shawnee & Aunt Susan came over for Christmas breakfast. We have started the tradition of eating Monkey Bread for Christmas morning. We tried a different recipe this year, but I think we'll stick to our old method. After breakfast, Mike took Whitney over to his mom's house and I took a nice nap. We took a lot of our stuff home and opened some other presents at Grandma H's later that evening. It was a wonderful Christmas!

Back Blogging

2010-02-10T11:43:00.001-08:00

I'M A TOTAL BLOG SLACKER!! But I'm trying to get caught up...Bear with me through the holidays...

Christmas Eve

2010-02-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

Whitney as an angel

Every year for several generations, Geraldine's family has been getting together on Christmas Eve to enjoy food and family. One of the traditions, the fishpond, was a tradition her grandparents brought from Norway! This year I volunteered to be in charge of the dinner! I was estimating somewhere between 70-80 people, so it was quite the task. We made barbecue pork, baked potatoes and rolls. Everyone contributed and we had tons of food--there is always worry when you are serving that many people that there won't be enough food, but it always works out. We ate dinner, then the kids put on their costumes to act out the nativity story. We enjoyed some singing and then delved into the desserts while the kids had fun with the fishpond. The only downfall of the night was that Whitney maybe over did it with eating/drinking/playing? and ended the evening by throwing up. Fortunately, it was an isolated incident and though she seemed a little under the weather on Christmas, she wasn't really sick.

Before the dinner we also had the opportunity to see our niece Sariah get baptized. She asked Mike and I to sing a song (I, of course, cried-no surprise). It was a very spiritual baptism and she is such a sweet girl with a strong testimony of the gospel. I loved that because her birthday is Christmas Eve we were able to sing Christmas songs in conjunction with the baptism. The celebration of the birth of our Savior fit perfectly with the celebration of baptism.

Geraldine asked all of us to think about what "gift" we could give the Savior this year.

Wilson's Zoo

2010-01-20T09:56:00.001-08:00

Cupcakes

Wilson's cake

Eating Cake--he really just wanted to play in the frosting. We had to dig a little to show him there was cake to eat.

We finally gave him just a piece and that was much better!

Wilson turned one on the 8th, and we had a little zoo party for him. It was all based around the cupcakes. My sister-in-law got me the book Hello Cupcake and they had really cute circus cupcakes. So, I went online to find some cute circus plates, but couldn't find them. I did, however, find some really cute Alphabet Zoo plates, so we went with the zoo theme and I only had to make the animal cupcakes. I also found some cute food ideas online. We had zoo food: barbecued hotdogs, nachos, wild greens (salad), monkey fruit, elephant feed (peanuts) and animal feed (animal crackers/cookies). The hotdogs were so good--I think it was because we haven't barbecued much because of the cold weather! Wilson got lots of great gifts--a little people farm, farm musical toy, dog pull toy, alligator toy and a Cozy Coupe from G&G K. We had a great time and we love our little one-year-old!

Family Pictures

2009-12-30T10:40:00.001-08:00

11 months!

2009-12-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Wilson turned 11 months on the 8th! I can't believe that we're just a few weeks away from his first birthday. Time has passed too quickly. He is such a fun little guy. He is full of smiles and just brightens the day. He has been taking steps here and there for a few weeks now and in the past week has gotten pretty good at walking between furniture in the house. He still prefers crawling because it's faster, but he is getting steadier everyday. He LOVES to eat--not that you can tell from his size. He's still pretty little and wears mostly 6-9 month clothing. He puts everything in his mouth (which is still toothless--Whitney says we need to get him some teeth--maybe for Christmas). He is "talking" quite a bit, not really using specific words yet, but he's starting to use Dad pretty well. We're still not sleeping through the night, but we have had a few longer stretches in the last couple of weeks, but we've had some terrible nights in the last couple of weeks too, so no progress yet. He loves to look at books and be read to; he will crawl over to the book box and sit quietly turning pages all by himself. Maybe he'll be a bookworm...on the other hand, he crawls up into his sister's little chair and stands on one foot on the arm so that he can see out the window...maybe he's daring enough to be a rider. :)

Tiny Dancer

2009-12-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

I've been teaching tap classes again this year. When we started the year, I had two three-year-olds in my K-2 class and it just wasn't working, so crazy me...I started a preschool tap class. AND, I decided to put Whitney in the class. I have 6 two & three-year-olds! It's a little crazy, but we had our recital last week and they did amazingly well. Whitney is so shy around new people, and she won't usually dance with me during class (she prefers to just sit in the corner for about half of the class, I think it's because I'm the teacher) and I was just sure that she wouldn't do anything on stage, but she surprised everyone and danced most of the dance. They were so sweet and the audience cheered so loudly for them. One of the other moms and I made their tutus--they were just precious. I also had the opportunity to perform again which was so fun. I am teaching an adult tap class this year and one of the ladies in the class performed with me in the recital and then all of the teachers got together to perform a jazz dance. Apparently Wilson has a future in dance as well, he went crazy when I was on stage staring at me first and then moving his arms all around. Everyone said it was super cute!

SliPpeRy sItuAtiOn

2009-12-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

I took the shortest shower and didn't even put full makeup on one day last week and came out to THIS! I came out of the bathroom and couldn't see the kids in the living room...

Me: Where are you?
Whitney: In the kitchen
Me: Where's your brother?
Whitney: Right here eating the butter.

She was standing on the counter with butter on her dress, he was on the floor eating it. I put him in the tub with no water so that he couldn't get it anywhere else. Then scrubbed the floor--twice. Changed his clothes and tried to get the butter out of her dress. This was just the start. They also got into the shredded paper under the shredder and I think got out every toy in the house. Oh what a DAY!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Whitney's Thanksgiving dress made by Grandma K.

Wilson's matching tie

I think he ate the most out of EVERYONE--Mike even unbuttoned Wilson's pants--it was so funny!

Beautiful table setting

My mom hosted everyone at her house for Thanksgiving. She had the table decorated beautifully! Geraldine, Shawnee, Erik, Sandy, Bekah, Sariah, Mike, Me, Whitney, Wilson, Mom and Kirk enjoyed a wonderful meal! We had so much food and were all stuffed. After we ate, Sandy and I enjoyed browsing the ads planning our black Friday shopping, while Mike and Erik went out and worked on our house. The girls had lots of fun playing. On Friday, Mom and I left Lovell at 3:30am to make it to Billings when Target opened. We had so much fun shopping with all of the crazies. We got a few good deals, but went mostly for the fun.

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, I was asked to speak in Church on the topic of Thanksgiving. I found some wonderful talks and quotes. There was a wonderful talk from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin about living in Thanksgiving daily. He said we need to do three things: 1) Open our eyes, 2) Open our hearts and 3) Open our arms. He said that if we haven't been particularly grateful, “Don’t wait to start. Open your eyes, open your hearts, and open your arms. I promise that as you do, you will feel greater joy and happiness. Your life will have a new level of meaning. You will forge relationships that will transcend this life and endure through the eternities.”

Another quote that I read that I loved came from President James E. Faust, "

“The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. President J. Reuben Clark, formerly a counselor in the First Presidency said: Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them. At this season, I hope that we may cultivate grateful hearts so that we may cherish the multitude of blessings that God has so graciously bestowed. May we openly express such gratitude to our Father in Heaven and our fellowmen.”

I am truly thankful for all of my blessings. I am thankful for a loving husband who works so hard for our family. I am thankful for two beautiful children who challenge me and brighten my life. I am thankful for loving parents who put so much effort into helping me become the person I am today. I am thankful for a little brother who loves me even when I get a little too "big sistery". I am especially grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who gave us the gift of our Savior so that we can all return to live with Him again.

What you said?

2009-11-22T19:48:00.001-08:00

Big girl!

Reading to Brother

First haircut

Playing in the sand at the new house

Whitney is seriously growing up too fast! Her vocabulary is growing so rapidly. She is constantly amazing us (and cracking us up) with new phrases. Here are some of the highlights:

"What you said?"--we hear this several hundred times a day. She says this pretty much every time you say anything to her. If she doesn't say "What you said?", she will say, "HUH?" with quite the confused look on her face. You would think she really didn't get what we said, but she gets everything. Lately I've been asking her to repeat back what I've said and she repeats word for word.

A couple of weeks ago, I was getting after her and attempting to send her to the mat; she decided to go into Grandma H's room, then came out a few seconds later saying, "I feel much better now."

Today as we were driving to Church, Whit noticed that Mike didn't have his seat belt on and asked, "Dad, can you put your seat belt on, so we can be safe?"

We are really struggling with getting Wilson to sleep during the night. Last night was really rough, but at one point, I heard Whitney tell him, "I'll go get Mom." Then she came to me and said, "Mom, brother needs you." What a great sister!

When we got to Church Mike asked Whitney whose house it was and she quickly answered, "Jesus." Then she said, "Jesus built it."

We started working on memorizing the First Article of Faith a couple of weeks ago. It says, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Last night we were trying to get her to repeat it and she told us no, and then said the whole thing by herself!

We are also FINALLY potty trained!!!! We started trying to potty train Whitney at the end of March. It has been an off and on operation since then. About a month ago I decided to really try again and she had a great week. Then the next week it was like we had never even tried. Then finally two Sundays ago, she was in the tub and said suddenly, "I need to go poopy" so I pulled her out of the tub and she went! That was the first time she EVER told me she needed to go. She did great in panties after that. Then on Wednesday after that she just went in and went potty on her own without even saying anything!! She has had a couple of poopy accidents, but no pee accidents for two weeks! She has even been sleeping in panties for about a week and a half!! We have one happy Mommy! And one big girl! YAY!!!

Going Up!

2009-11-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

the floor

Walls going up!

The final truss

Mike has been working so hard on our new house! We have been so blessed with beautiful weather even this far into November! He has been spending every extra minute out working. It is amazing how fast a house can go up. He has pretty much sheeted the entire house (I need to get out there and get new pictures). We've selected windows and have them sitting in the garage here at Geraldine's. We also had our garage door and shingles delivered last week. It is so exciting, but overwhelming to make all of the decisions. I am so blessed to have such a talented husband. I'm so grateful for his hard work for our family.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T07:16:00.000-08:00

Whitney has been scared of everything Halloween since the Halloween aisle was set up in the stores. It may have something to do with us (Dad, Mom & Grandma K) taking her to see the things that talk and seeing her get scared and us cracking up...maybe. But anytime we've gone to WalMart, the first thing she says is, "I don't want to go to the Halloween aisle." She did go once with her dad and decided that she liked the Tinkerbell costume, so Dad told her that Mom would make her one. She came home and asked me if I would make her Tinker dress--so I did! Then I decided that if she was going to be Tink, we needed a cute little Peter Pan to go with it. I'm so happy with how their costumes turned out. They were so cute! Whitney loved getting her candy when we went Trick or Treating, but she absolutely refused to say "trick or treat" at any door--including Grandma's house. It was such a beautiful night and we walked several blocks, got lots of candy, yummy kettle corn from our old neighbors, warm cinnamon apple cider from our old bishop and visited and walked with friends who were also out.

Nine Months!

2009-10-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wilson is NINE months old today! I can't believe it!
Here are some of the 9 month highlights:

Started Crawling on September 30th
Once he started crawling, he quickly figured out how to stop and sit up on his own (October 1st )
Started pulling himself to standing on October 6th!
He's even trying to climb up on things and got on top of a box at Grandma K's work yesterday.
He LOVES to eat! His favorite thing to eat is the little puff snacks (though he will eat anything you give him or anything he can find which often includes pieces of paper and plant leaves)
He loves to smile and laugh
He does not sleep well at all--like only 2 hours at a time...sometimes only 1 hour
He loves to watch his sister
He does not like to ride in his carseat, he's now in a big boy carseat
He has just barely started wearing 6-9 month clothing. He can still fit into all of his 3-6 month onesies and shorts. He is long, but not very round! He still fits in size 2 diapers, but we just switched to size 3 because he fills up the size 2s too easily!
Still no teeth! Great for nursing! Although he still likes to bite and starts laughing when I scold him for doing it!
He is quite the Mama's boy--he will start crying if I walk past him without picking him up.
He is starting to say Mama--sounds like "uh-ma"
He is starting to sign Milk--but uses it for anything he wants.
He LOVES to watch Barney. As soon as the opening song comes on, he starts dancing and bouncing and making noise. It is so cute! He usually starts bouncing and dancing when any music starts.

We sure LOVE him!

Amazing Giveaway

2009-10-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Like a warm cup of coffee is doing a DownEast Basics giveaway! If you haven't purchased from there before, you should! I love there Wonder Tees--it's a long cap sleeve tee that is perfect for layering or for wearing under sleeveless tops and camis! Click here to see the the giveaway!

Have your cake and eat it too...

2009-09-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Can you see the tiny fingerprints???

Yum!

Wedding

2009-09-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

The girls!

Randa--official Wilson Holder :)

Me and Dad

I had the opportunity to go to Washington last weekend to my friend's wedding. Wilson and I flew out on Thursday night and came home Sunday afternoon. It was a quick trip, but I had a such a great time. On Friday I went and got my nails and toes done while my dad watched Wilson. Then the three of us went to the fair. We ate all the good fair food--krusty pup corn dogs, elephant ears, roasted corn, lemonade and scones! On Saturday Wilson and I went and cruised the mall--I had to go since it was so close :) Then Dad, Wilson and I went to the wedding that evening. I have known Erica since first grade when we started girl scouts and it was fun for all of us girls to be together again. We had so much fun dancing. Thank you Randa for being the official Wilson holder! It was a great weekend!

Bath Time

2009-09-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

The kids really love to be in the bath. Wilson is getting to be such a big boy! He loves to sit up in the bath, but he's still a little unsteady and slides around. His most favorite toy is the small rubber duckie--he puts the head in his mouth and chews on it everytime!

Fun with Grandpa

2009-09-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Grandpa was even able to get in some fun while he was here! He sure loves these two!

Firm Foundation

2009-09-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Mike, my dad and brother working on our foundation! They were able to get it done! We are just about ready to turn in all of the paperwork for our construction loan! Hooray! We'll have the bones of a house in no time!

We're still alive...

2009-09-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted...actually we've been so busy, it is pretty believeable!
My new business officially started yesterday. I started a Residential Habilitation and Day Habilitation company for adults with disabilities. We only have one special client right now--Mike's younger brother Kirk. We are so excited and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to do this. My mom moved down here a couple of weeks ago and she is the Program Supervisor and the primary caregiver for Kirk right now. Within in the next month or so we will be hiring other employees. We've had to jump through several hoops with the state and we had some very stressful days, but we truly believe that this opportunity is a blessing from the Lord. It is truly amazing to see how it will bless the lives of all of our family members and eventually be able to bless the lives of other families with children with disabilities.

Our Residential Habilitation is in our house, so we moved in with Mike's mom and my mom and Kirk moved into our house. We finally had everything moved on Saturday. Things still aren't completely put away, but we're working on it. It took a while for us to be able to move because work was still being done on Geraldine's house. Her new bedroom was finally finished late Saturday night. We also had some work to do on our Day Habilitation site. That is pretty much finished, just a little bit of rearranging and some more furniture will really fill it up, but it's great for now.

Dad, Kletey, and Kitty (his girlfriend) came out when Mom moved out here, so we put them to work too! Kitty painted the kids' bedroom over at Geraldine's, and it looks great. Dad and Kletey worked on building the foundation for our new house that we're starting to build. Kletey went home midweek, but Dad stayed and he and Mike were able to get the entire foundation built! Once we have our construction loan, we'll be ready to put up a house!

We have had constant projects around here, but all of them are so exciting! I don't see it slowing down anytime soon!

Hold onto your socks!

2009-08-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Canned/boxed goods

(top view)

Cold items

This post is dedicated to Katie, my cousin's wife. She is a thrifter and she'll love this! Some friends and I started couponing!! Today, I totally scored! I got everything in the pictures--yes everything, the cold stuff and all of the boxed/bagged goods for...wait for it...$76.01!!! WAHOO!! The total retail value of the items was $349.56--I paid about 22% of retail value!!! Between 5 shoppers, we bought a total of $1,876.86 in retail cost and spent only $357.26!! This is AMAZING!!
Here's the rundown of what I got:

6 boxes of cereal
3 cookie mixes
10 cake mixes
2 cans of frosting
4 packs of BIC pens (these were free with my coupons)
3 bags of Chex mix
6 brownie mixes
6 hamburger/chicken helpers
2 pasta/rice sides
4 boxes of multigrain pasta
4 muffin mixes
2 boxes of Fiber One bars
2 boxes of Chex Mix bars
2 boxes of Nutrigrain bars
2 boxes of Cinnabon bars
18 jars of Ragu spaghetti & alfredo sauces (I only paid $3 for all 18 jars!!!)
2 loaves of bread
4 boxes of 100 calorie snack bags
2 gallons of milk
2 boxes of lunchmeat
2 tubs of Country Crock margarine
8 packages of Klondike bars (what would you do for a klondike bar?)
2 chocolate milk singles
3 boxes of frozen vegetables
3 roma tomatoes
a couple of pounds of purple grapes
PLUS, I paid for 6 four-packs of YoPlus Yogurt that the store is going to order in for me.
PLUS, I left the store with coupons for $15 off my next purchase.

This week's deals are exceptional--I don't know that I'll do quite this great every week, but I've got a few more deals coming this week. I will get 18 bottles of salad dressing and 12 jars of mayonnaise and I'll only pay around $1.50 and I will have another $15 coupon to use!!! WOW!! My food storage is getting stocked! This is such a thrill! The next task is to find a place to store it all! I owe a huge thank you to Geraldine, Shawnee & Mike for keeping the kids, so that I could focus! Love you!!

Family Pictures

2009-08-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures Mike took!

Five Springs

2009-08-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

This way Daddy?

Do it myself!

The guys!

Brrrr....

At the falls!

After church today we decided to take a picnic lunch to Five Springs Campground. We ate our lunch, took some family pictures, and then made the short hike to the lower falls. Mike was a packhorse and carried Wilson in the moby wrap and Whitney on his shoulders. I was barely taking care of myself--way out of shape! Whitney wanted to "do it myself" on the way back. The weather was beautiful and we had a great afternoon!

It wouldn't be Vegas without dancing

2009-07-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Don't worry--Whitney didn't forget that Vegas is all about the dancing girls. She thinks that any patterned circles in the flooring are for dancing. Here she is dancing at the Venetian. She saw the circle and said, "I need to dance." And boy did she ever. I think she puts a little of every style into her dancing--I'm still not sure where she gets all of the moves. Sorry the filming isn't so great--I'm behind the camera cracking up.