so far behind

I have not posted in a very long time, not since July.  Since then a lot has happened.  We went to Yellowstone as a family,  started building a home, Dallin started preschool, had Halloween, Thanksgiving, the twins got teeth, sat up on their own, started arming crawling...and so much more.  In November Joe got the okay from the surgeon to start lifting his kids again and bending.  Since November 13th, Joe has been picking them up, carrying them around and playing with them like he has wanted to for so long.   Also, helping around the house has picked back up again and I couldn't be more happy about that ;)  Joe has always done whatever he could to help, but having him back helping with so much around the house has got me smiling a lot these days.

In a nutshell, I would say the last 5 months have been quite eventful, emotional and amazing.  Watching our twins grow, learn and become aware of the world and each other has been a treat.  Dallin started preschool and is just doing better than I ever imagined.  He is such a smart kid.  He knows his letters and the sounds they make, he is learning to read two letter and three letter words and he is only 3!! I am so proud of him.  Just last weekend he was sounding out the work "kids" while we were driving.  Joe and I both looked at each other in awe, he read his first four letter word on his own!  He is just learning so much and I love love to see him grow.

I have so many pictures I want to post, but I will just post a few goodies.

 Dallin Started pre-shcool August 21st 2012. He has loved it so far.  Here are a few pics of his first day.

The twins just a few weeks ago.

 Daddy playing with his boys

 Such Handsome boys and one good looking daddy :)

 Spiderman is still rocking the costume

 Mommy-Dallin time.. We went to see Ice Age 3 and we got popcorn and candy.  It was a blast spending the day with him.

 For Thanksgiving Joe's parents Rob and Judy came.  We love them so much!!! We went skiiing with them the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Dallin skiied for the first time.  It was so adorable and so much fun to see him in his little ski's and get up.

 Dallin showing me is sweet "opening the back door" wedge position he learned in ski school.

 Hanging out in the condo at Snowbird after skiing.  It was so fun being all together.

 This was when the babies were 7 months old.

 Joe and Dallin eating "marshmallows" on the campfire Dallin made in his room.....can you see his campfire?  So creative this little boy.

 Joe standing in our house as it was framed.  It was pouring that day, but we didn't care, it was finally going up!

 Joe bought all the boys matching pj's and they love to wear them, well....I should say Dallin loves to wear them and demands to wear his matching one if either of the twins wear theirs to bed.

 Dallin's Halloween program....

 a few weeks back the twins were so tired as I drove around running errands for the house.  By the time I got home they were exhausted.  I laid them down, awake, on the floor to make their bottles.  By the time I got back, they were zonked out.  

 Halloween costumes

 Twins at 9 months, Dallin at 3 1/2.

 The first day it snowed Dallin and I went out in the snow and had a ball of a time....snowballs...get it?  haha, it was a blast just messing around with him and acting like a kid. We threw snowballs, made snow angels and Dallin even made his first snowman, shown below.

 Our house as it looked just a week ago December 5th.  It is coming along nicely and we are getting so excited!!!

 The boys and I hang out each day.  The twins are learning to feed themselves.  Most of it ends up on the floor and I wonder how much even made it to their mouths, but they are learning and soon they will be pros.  Dallin is a learning machine.  It seems like each new day brings on a host of new words, ideas and grammar for him.  It amazes me the intelligent and well put together ideas that flow from his mouth.  He is going to make a huge impact on the world someday, I just know it.

The twins are getting so big, in just a few short days they will be 10 months old.   10 MONTHS!! I can hardly believe it, and yet it is almost here.  Neither of them is crawling, which is fine by me.  Both started to army crawl about a day apart just a few days ago.  I will have to post a video of Matthew doing it.  It is hilarious.  

Things with us are wonderful, great and amazing.  We have our trials, our shortcoming to overcome and our heartaches, but life is good nonetheless.  This holiday season I vowed to focus on the best things in life, the good that has happened to me and my family.  I'm going to try harder to write down the things that happen in my life, with my boys and my day to day blessings.  I don't want to forget them in the years to come, for these days I am sure will be days I will look back on and wish to have again.  The best I can do is write as much as I can to remember it by when these boys are grown and having kids of their own.

July

Alot happned in the twins 5th month from July to August.  We had so much to do to get ready to build, so much to do to get Dallin registered for pre-school and so little time.  It just flies by.  Joe's back was steadily getting better, but he still couldn't lift more than 10 lbs, or bend over.  So anything with the babies was a no go, besides feedings.  He was able to start helping me with feedings again and that was a life saver!!!  He helped me when he could before, but now he was able to wash the bottles and get them ready.  You have no idea how much this little thing meant to me.  He also started helping me pick up the house with his niffty picker upper thing.  You know?  Those tweezer like things with the long stick attachment you see every person over the age of 70 carrying around?  Yeah, that thing rocks.

In July was pretty much hung out at home a lot and at the beginning of August dared to make a trip to Yellowstone for a week long Hansen family reunion.  More on that later.

 Blake

 Matthew

 The twins were just really coming out of their shell.  Blake was rolling over sometimes and all smiles.  Matthew was starting to really roll around like a ball and was super chunky!  He was more mellow and cranky at times, where Blake was all smiles!!  He is ultra happy baby.  

They both were starting on soft foods.  They didn't take a liking to oatmeal cereal or carrots.  But slowly they are starting to like them.  They are still learning to swallow it, without it all just coming out of their mouth first.

Dallin is changing so much everyday. He started Preschool about a month ago and just loves it.  He is seriously so smart and so endearing.  He loves to make his brothers laugh, loves to play on his slip n slide and loves to make jokes.  Here he is puffing up his cheeks and smashing the air out really quick with his hands to make a funny noise.  He could do this for hours and does (literally) some days.

At the beginning of August we made the brave trip up to Yellowstone.  The 5 hours drive turned into 9 or 10 with twins and a hubby on the mend.  But we made it, two bad blowouts and three melt downs later we arrived in Yellowstone.  It was pretty, but I still love the Grand Tetons the most.  Blake sitting up for the first time on this trip was a highlight for me:)  He could stay in a sitting position without assistance for the first time on August 6th.  He looked soooo big to me in this instance, almost made me cry.

 Joe's mom and dad so graciously gave us their room in the cabin that had an extra little room connected to it for the twins to sleep in.  I do not sleep well with them in my room and the other rooms were just too loud or too far away from us, so they let us have their room.  It worked perfectly.  I think the twins actually slept better there in that little dark room than they ever have!  So nice of them to do this for us, especially since they really didn't have to.

 Grandma Hansen with Matthew

 Blake looking sad.... those eyes get me every time!

 Dallin and his Daddy playing in the loft

 Matthew showing off his "I'm Happy I'm a Hansen"  Onesie.  We all had matching shirts saying this.  Even the twins:) It was super cool.

 We went to a gorgeous river and bridge.  It was breathtakingly green.  Loved to hang out there after attending church with all of Joe's extended family.  It was a great day filled with the Spirit and great views of nature.  So pretty.

 Smily babies.

 The water was ice cold!!! I couldn't keep my feet in it for more than a second.  Mostly because I am allergic, but most importantly because I am a wimp....LOL

 We went to the Grizzly and Wolf Center and saw some awesome bears fighting.  Here Dallin is with his grandpa's binocular's.  He carried those around the entire day.

 My muscly "men".  Showing off their guns!

 We also took a trip up to Mesa Falls.  Gorgeous I tell you.  Simply gorgeous!  I couldn't believe how green and beautiful it was.  It actually has it's own micro-climate containing plants and fungi that only grow in that one part of the state.  Pretty cool.  I felt like I was in Oregon, but in the middle of Idaho!

 Daddy and Blake

 The family.  Minus Dallin's face, who is hiding behind daddy's leg.

My boys:)

It was a great trip, though at times extremely stressful for me, we got through it.  We ended up heading home a day early because problems with our house getting funded were on the brink of making us go crazy and Joe's back was on the fritz.  Nothing like a long trip and a bad back to make Joe really want to go home.  Like a trooper though he made it back home without complaining even though I know his back was just killing him.  As one who doubted just how much pain he was in for so long, witnessing what he has gone through and how much it must hurt, and yet he hardly ever mentions it, I know now that I was wrong about thinking he was ever exaggerating his pain.  I know I could never endure what he has with his back and still have a smile on his face about it all. 

This month was crazy and fun and so worth the work.  We had so much fun watching the twins interact with their cousins and watching the cousins play with Dallin.  We only wish family lived closer so we could see them more and so Dallin could see his "other brothers and sisters" as he calls them.  :)

Great times.