"for the longest time"

Hey all I am finally posting some pix. I realize that I haven't done so since before Thanksgiving really, so there are quite a few. I will try not to put too many.:)

December 2008 Highllights!

Jane turned two!



..And had a marvelous party with a few friends.:)






Snow in Henderson?(Which was really cool because it hapened a few days before Jane's Birthday. When she was about to be born I was talking to her Grandpa Reed and wondering when she was ever going to come. And he said,"She is waiting for the snow." And I was like, "Hello?! We live in Las Vegas, it is NOT going to snow." BUt then it did. Just a little bit, but enough for the missionaries in our complex to build a snowman!)






(These peas are still thriving and producing peas believe it or not!)

Christmas!


(I have to note that the pink Miss Piggy shown here is a bopper toy I had as a child and she liked that more than the new toys for most of the morning! Go figure.:)







Christmas presents we had fun making for our families this year.

January and February Highlights

In January Clair had her 26th birthday and everyone was very sick, but happy to be together.


(Yeah, for those of you who have been to our cottage, we are camping out in the living room.:)


(During our very sick birthday weekend, Denny discovered the outside world via the sliding glass door. He was fascinated.)

We found out that Alice was indeed the angel to join our family...
(see post below:)..We also started a tradition last year with Denny's pregnancy(was it REALLY just last year?!?!) that after we go to the big ultrasound where we find out who is coming we go to the store afterwards and order a cake with all our names on it(including the new baby if we know their name, which we have so far:) and "YAY FAMILY!" written on the middle of it. And then we have a little celebration when the cake is ready celebrating our growing family.



Clair crafted A TON...


(I don't hae pix of all the things I have been making, but here is a headband I made for Jane in like 10 minutes:)...I also finished a "date purse" for me, started a fancy tie purse for me Mum, got serious about finishing our Christmas stockings(THEY ARE FABULOUS! And lots of hard work.:) I have also finished some other smaller projects and have started seeking out Baby Alice's blessing dress, bonnet patterns, etc. I really want to try ribbon embroidery this time(For Jane's dress I learned how to smock:)


February Jane got a new bed...



...we had a slight family crisis(which is now much calmer), and grandma and grandpa came to visit as a result. Jane has decided Grandpa Mike is her most favorite. Denny consoled the grandma.:)
(I guess all the pix we took are on Grandma's camera.:( )

While my parents were here we also decided to take advantage of the extra help and finally finish working on our bathroom(we haven't had the use of it since last July, it is hard finding time and energy lately). THAT project seemed to take on a life of its own as we found a huge mess behind the tiles, and now it looks like it will be a bit longer as we try to find time on the weekends to finish it. OI.


(This isn't even the entire horror of what was behind the tiles, but you get the idea)

Valentine's was VERY low key as we were stressed out over the family thing, but me and BJ did get to go out thanks to our really AWESOME friend Jenni(who babysat) and we got to go try partner yoga WHICH WE LOVED!!!! AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO EVERY MARRIED COUPLE EVER! LOVED IT LOVE IT LOVED IT! It was so fun to communicate with eachother through a new medium. Good couple therapy. We also convinced the instructer to have this class regularly and advertize it as a new parent labor prep class. It is really good prep for couples in learning how to communicate during labor.
Anyways, we really loved it and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.:) Espcially if you don't think you are interested. Be brave and fun, try something new!

***If you are in Henderson, they are going to start having a class once a month at Well Rounded Momma here is the link for info:

http://www.wellroundedmomma.com/Workshops.html

You gotta go down the page quite a ways. It is every 2nd Thursday.:) WE will SO be there.:)

In February we also decided it was time to be more rigorous with getting Clair in a healthier state so we bought a vita-mix.:) Now we are juicing all sorts of things. My favorite is that I can hide vegetables(which are the least appetizing sounding when I am pregnant) in my fruit smoothies and it tastes great! Jane loves them too and it is a fun way to get her to ingest some of the vegetables she has a harder time with because of texture issues like hard carrots and spinach.

BJ and I are still in school. It takes a lot of time but we are both learning lots. It will be lovely when this part of BJ's schooling is done. HOpefully by the end of this year. Mine is a three year program so it will take longer.

I also got to give a huge proud shout out to my sibs on my side. They are all making some great choices in their lives and I am soooo proud of them! Angela is graduated and in her chosen profession(preschool teacher), and living independently in her own apartment with some close friends. Joe is in school pursuing art(I can't wait to see more of his work!) and volunteering with a the Seattle International Films place. Steven is pursuing Physics at college and his professors are very excited about helping him get ahead in his field. Catherine is working hard and getting good grades pursuing a college education in History and Library Sciences. Tami is still faithful to her passion for animals and is pursuing a career as a Vet Tech and playing jazz with a Tacoma band. Elizabeth is the only one not graduated, or in college, and is working hard being a high school teenager, enjoying drama and working at the Pacific Science Center downtown Seattle. I am so proud of these guys!
I love learning so much and I am so proud of them for continuing their educations.


(Ps.It was so lovely visiting with Grandpa and Grandma Steininger from Ohio over Chrsitmas!)

Well, that pretty much catches us up I think. Denny just got three teeth all at once last week(it was such a relief because he has been teething hard core for the last four and a half months). Which brings his teeth total up to 6. He also has started crawling like crazy! You can not take your eyes off him for a second! He is still mumma's little prince and is the sweetest most peaceful guy. Jane has been making sure the world knows she is TWO! Either totally an angel, or very...um....TWO. If you know what I mean. She is still so gorgeous though and so sweet mostly, and so understanding of things you would not expect a two year old to understand! She is my faithful support and such a huge help to me when Dad isn't there to help:). We love our kids so much! Can you tell?:)

Well, I guess that is mostly it. I am excited for some things coming up in the near future, you will have to just check back and see what's in store for the HamakerLove crew!
XOXOX!!!
BJ, Clair, Jane, Denny, and Baby Alice