Christmas 2009

What a surpise this year to wake up to a white Chrismas! This never happened in Texas. We got about 8 inches. It was a lot of fun but very cold.
We've found out that the naughty list was an excellent motivator to get Phoenix to behave. When he woke up on Christmas morning he still wasn't sure if he was on the naughty list or not. The first thing he said was, "Oh Santa did bring us presents!" Yes there was just a bit of doubt as to wether he was actually getting presents or not. But he did get presents and lots of them, as did Sequoia and Bridger. This year Phoenix got a bike, blocks, dart gun from Angie and Malachi, firetruck from Mamu and Paw-Paw, a lego helicopter from Kati, and an army helicopter from Uncle Josh. Sequoia got a farm, a dress from Uncle Josh, a cozy coupe from Mamu and Paw-Paw, a ball, pink boots from Angie and Malachi and a shopping cart from Kati. Bridger got a rattle, a piano from Kati, a dump truck, and a Bumbo seat from Mamu and Paw-Paw. And for the cherry on top they all got $50 gift cards from Grams.
Sequoia strutting her stuff in her new dress.


This is what we woke up to on Christmas morning.

Visit to Santa

Here it is...our visit with Santa. Phoenix got really excited and told Santa that he wants a boat with a boy and a man, a two blade helicopter, and a new army man gun. Sequoia finally admitted to wanting a dolly after some help from Phoenix. Bridger just enjoyed the view. They had a really cool set-up inside the Outdoor World. We got the pic for free so I thought the establishment would like the plug.

Bella visits

We just spent a really fun weekend with Bella (my niece), Andrea (my sister), and Malachi(her husband). Phoenix really knew how to make Bella laugh. Bridger and Bella are only two months apart. Bella is 8 mos. and Bridger is 5 mos. And thank you to Andrea, you really saved my bacon helping with my primary class. We got to take pics with Santa at the enourmously huge Outdoor World. It has a three story waterfall inside, so yeah it's huge. My camera has become very cranky so I do apologize for the poor pic. quality. The thing randomly shuts off with no notice and it frequently won't even turn on. But enough with my camera gripes. We had a fun time with visitng family and really wished we lived closer.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Five months

My big bear (Bridger) just turned five months old on the 29th. He's a big strong boy and a sweetheart at the same time. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little baby to add to our family. Oh and I had to add some pictures of Bridger in his halloween costume since I somehow forgot to post any pics. of him during halloween, but better late than never right?

Thanksgiving with the Hanks'

We just spent a really fun weekend with my family in Texas. It has become a family tradition to go hiking in the big thicket after Thanksgiving so here are a few pics. of just that.
Q Bear on the "horsey tree". The tree really does look like a saddle with a pommel to hold on to.
Look at those jowls. He was happy the whole time, although Daddy's back may not have been.

Almost the whole fam. Andrea, Malachi, and Bella couldn't make it but we're really anxious to see them for Christmas.

How to eat a pixie stick

How to eat a pixie stick:
Step 1: Cut the pixie stick in half using a pair of your mommy's kitchen scissors. Your mommy or daddy might tell you to just cut the top off but this is NOT the proper way to do it.



Step 2: Dump contents on floor.
Step 3: Lick all pixie stick powder off floor with the help of your little sister.
You have now learned the proper way to consume a pixie stick. Enjoy! (Oh and you might want to make sure the floor is clean, but your mommy will probably check for you.)

Four months

My big man is four months old! Oh how time flies. He had his check-up on Thursday. I got his stats but not his percentiles. Dave is supposed to look them up for me whenever he's home, which may not happen for quite a while as he's on long call this weekend. Anyway, Bridger's weight is 16 pounds and his length is 26 inches. He is healthy as an ox, sleeps through the night, and loves rice cereal. He's very fond of food and it shows!

Halloween

On halloween day we decided to drive out to the Will Rogers birth place, about 45 minutes out of Tulsa. You can see in the pictures the kids most favorite activity. That's right, sliding down the cellar doors like a slide. We also saw several miniature goats and donkeys, and a reallly mean dog that snapped at Sequoia. I think it actually bit her but not enough to leave a big mark. Bad doggie; we told him to go to time out. It was a beautifl old farm house right on a huge lake, Lake Oologah. On halloween night we went trick or treating with some friends in a very nice neighborhood. Some homes gave out whole candy bars. Phoenix wanted to be an army man, like Uncle Nick and Uncle Spencer. He played the part too, shooting pretend bad guys with his nerf gun. It was a beautiful evening for halloween.

Hot cocoa spiced up

We've discovered a really yummy way to make hot chocolate. It's been in the 50's out here so we've really been enjoying having something warm to drink. Just boil 2-3 cinnamon sticks for about 10 minutes in about 4 cups water. Boil until the water turns nice and red. Then just add it to your favorite hot cocoa mix. It's really simple and a great way to enjoy some hot chocolate!

Shoes, spoons, and other unmentionables

Sequoia is potty training. It's a real advendture; I fished a spoon and a shoe out of the toilet today. Apparently she thinks lots of stuff can go in the potty, not just the you know, usual stuff. But she stayed dry all day; I'm really proud of her. She doesn't know it but she is really saving us a lot of dough. Buying diapers for two kids is mucho expensivo! This girl can give some dirty looks!

Blessing Blanket

Missing: One used teddy bear wearing green Mr. Potato Head glasses. Goes by the name of "Bear".Found: One soggy teddy bear. Seems to have fallen into a dump truck full of water. Unkown on how this happened. Seems to be intentional, subjects are being questioned.



As promised, some pictures of the blessing blanket for Mamu. Ignore Dave's incredibly sleepy look. Hey, want do you want if you have to wake up at 4 a.m. every morning?

Blue Star and Three Months

Just reporting on the latest. So in Phoenix's class at school he earns a star everyday based on his behavior. Green stars mean you had a great day, yellow is an ok day and red, well you can guess. But the very rare blue star means you went above and beyond and did your very best. Phoenix earned his first blue star on Monday and was very proud, he also got a "G.I. Joe" (a cowboy) from his teacher. You can probably see how excited he was in his pictures. We are very proud of Phoenix for doing so well in school.

In other news, Bridger turned three months on the 29th and has become very good at smiling. He is also very good at growing, just check out those cheeks!

Baby Bridger's Blessing

My sweet baby boy had his blessing day on September 6th. We had all my family here and almost half of Dave's. I thought our house was pretty big until there were that many people under one roof. But the blessing day went great. It was beautiful weather and Dave gave Bridger a very nice blessing. I'm very grateful to my husband who is able to bless our children.
He's ready for his blessing. Can't you tell?
My sister Andrea with her daughter Bella, and me and my three kids.
Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

All the Hanks grandkids. Sequoia is holding Bella and Phoenix is holding Bridger.

Hundreds show up for free prostate cancer screenings | KJRH.com

This was cool! There was even about a 15 second clip of me talking about prostate cancer. It was really neat. It's weird seeing my name on the news channel's website talking about something like I'm some sort of expert. Anyway here's the article. I couldn't find the video clip, and frankly I'm not sure I'd want to anyway. It was very spontaneous and I was sporting a very blatant scar on my forehead, which I thought looked silly. So I'm kinda glad I missed watching my own interview, but my family saw it, and so did a few of my fellow residents. ...Which is kind of embarrassing.

Hundreds show up for free prostate cancer screenings | KJRH.com

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Check Ups

I brought Bridger for his 6 week check-up and Sequoia for her two year check up. I'll never bring two kids at one time again, trying to comfort two babies at once after getting three shots a piece is not for me. Not to metion I don't do well around needles and seeing six of them aimed for my babies' legs doesn't help. But the kiddos are healthy and happy and that's what matters most. Bridger is 80th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height, hence his nickname "Big Bear". Sequoia was around 65th percentile for weight and was mis-measured for height. I know she isn't 36 inches tall and in the 100th percentile. I re-measured her at home and she was 34 1/2". They say you can double their height at two to see how tall they will be when they're full grown. I'm pretty sure she won't be six feet tall,
5'7" is more like it.

Bump-it-up

I was fixing my hair this morning, getting ready for church. As I was teasing and hairspraying my hair I hear a little voice behind me say, "Bump it up, with Bump-itz!"
"What?" I asked.
"Is your hair flat and lifeless, do you tease and tease and your hair still falls flat? Then bump it up with Bump-itz!" Phoenix replies.

All right Phoenix, enough TV for you.

If you've ever watched the kids channel Qubo then you should know what Phoenix was talking about. There is an informercial trying to sell these combs you stick under your hair to "bump it up!" I didn't even know he paid attention to the infomercial. Kids really do hear everything, even if you don't think they're listening. I just about died laughing. He knew the whole jingle.

"You definitely need a bump-itz Mommy, your hair looks all weird."

Thanks Phooenix, but I'm still not buying a Bump-itz.

Q-Bear is 2

Wow, I can't believe my big girl is 2! She has really grown so fast! She is such a sweetie and my big helper now that Phoenix is in school. She's such a smart girl too. I am really surprised at the sentences she can put together. This morning she said, "I love Daddy a lot also." Can you say that twice? Yep, she said it twice. Glad she loves her Daddy, 'cuz she is a big time Daddy's girl. And she is officially two now although she's been acting like a two year old for awhile now. Here are a few pictures from her birthday party. We're having a bigger party this weekend, (how is it that kids always get like three birthday paries?) Don't look too closely at the cake. It's a soda cake. I used 1 1/2 cups Diet 7up instead of eggs and oil. It tasted great and it was really light and fluffy. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up to icing very well and had a bit of a cave in, but who cares right? It's the taste that counts anyway.
Word up. I love this one, my little gangster baby.


She got some night clothes and some new skorts. She'll get the rest of the goodies this weekend.
Phoenix was only too happy to help with the unwrapping!

Clunker no more

We did it folks, we bought a new car! I can't tell you how happy I am to not to have to strap my babies into that old ticking time bomb car. I was seriously praying every time I had to drive it. The thing had 292,000 miles on it, it was its time. So we went to just test drive a few cars and ended up really loving the Hyundai Santa Fe. You can't beat their 10 yr. 100,000 mile warranty. That's what really sold me, I really enjoy the fact that car repair won't be a monthly expense anymore. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the car from the dealership. Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate all the input. Buying a new car can be a bit overwhelming!

On its last wheel

Because we've just bought a new house (which we love) we've had to hold out on buying a new car. And because we have three kids now, I get to use the older 1992 car because it has about three inches more space in the back seat, not really enough room for three car seats, but if you slam the door hard enough they will fit somehow. Oh it's not that bad really. It has its minor issues like door handles falling off and oil leaking and burning (making a wonderful smell btw). The parking brake is loose, the windows won't roll down, the trunk is leaks rain water, and so on and so forth. At least the a/c works!
The other day I was driving the clunker (which actually isn't a clunker, it gets too good of gas mileage) and a loud noise popped out of the driver side tire well. The tire was fine, and after an inspection, Dave decided I have another two good weeks before the car won't turn anymore. Oh joy! Does this mean we can get a new car now? No, we'll keep patching it up like we always do. But secretly friends I have been looking at newer cars on-line and I need your help. I know some of you moms out there are priveledged to be out of the "car falling apart" phase and into the "just bought a new minivan phase" so tell me which cars you think are the most dependable/ best value and such. Even if you aren't one of those priveledged moms, you can still cast you vote as to which car you think is best for a 3 kid family.
So let me hear from you! I've been eyeing the Toyota Siennas but I want everyone's opinion since I am pretty darn clueless when it comes to car buying. Thanks for being my sounding board!

Phoenix's first day of school

My baby's in school! OK I know he's four, but it seems like just yeterday I was holding him as a brand new baby. These pics are posted backwards but you can still figure it out. He's so grown up! I'll post more about his first day later.