The Eilmas Family

Oh Daddy!!!

2012-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

So I know it's been a really really REALLY long time since I've blogged and for those that still follow I'm so sorry. A catch up post is coming, I promise but for now I have to post this most recent craziness in the Eilmas home.

I got a call from Derek yesterday while at work and his exact words were, "Oh my goodness your son drives me crazy, just check your email." And all this is what I found in my email...

He is my into everything, make a mess behind me, climb on everything (like climb and risk the chance of falling to my doom), falling off of things and sometimes really hurting himself child. But he is also my biggest lover and snuggler ever!!

Oh and using the hair as a napkin thing is fantastic!

I can only imagine his thoughts here are "what?"

And for those who know Abigail you will find this as a shock, but she is my follower child, all the way. She climbs right behind him (unless he's going to get hurt then she quickly tattles) and apparently she'll be eating cornflakes, or anything else he feels should be eaten off the floor, along with her brother. All I can say is OH MY!!!

NOAH IS ONE!!!

2011-10-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby boy has turned 1 already. It's so exciting and yet so very sad at the same time. But anyway, we had a joint bday party with Uncle Aaron because his bday is 2 days after Noah's and he was a trooper with the festivities of a 1 year old party :) It was sports themed because my little man is a boy through and through and he LOVES balls, which is what his beautiful cake was made of that Alisa and I decorated. Well Alisa made the cakes and set them up and I helped decorate. I did some of the basketball lines and the entire soccer ball, all by myself. Thank you so much grandma for your help I had a lot of fun and Noah LOVED it.

Here are some pics of his party

Almost tragedy for our family

2011-08-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night a couple of guys got into my van and opened our garage door while we slept. They then decided to enter my home and steal some of my stuff, including things from my bedroom!!! Thankfully my heavenly father was watching out for me and my family and we all slept while these criminals took the things they wanted and left us unharmed. I am more grateful than I can express to my father in heaven for protecting my children and my husband and me so that we have the opportunity to continue our life here on earth together.
Count your blessing everyone because things can change with the blink of an eye, I know I am.

Abigail is 3!!!

2011-08-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Abigail turned 3 today and it's such a mix of feelings for me. I'm so happy and excited for her because she's getting so big and is so smart and wonderful, but at the same time I'm so sad because my little girl is 3 and getting so big :( I miss the little baby that she used to be, but am happy for who she has become so far and who she will someday be. I look forward to all the many years with her to come. She's such an amazing girl, big girl, especially since she's 3

This is her at age 2 :( a couple of weeks ago in Disneyland. She was getting ready to ride the best ride at the park TOY STORY MANIA!!!! For those who haven't experienced this joy you are missing out and need to schedule a trip immediatly and if you need a friend to go with you I would be happy to join you. Anyway the glasses didn't really fit her face but she didn't care she went anyway and had the best time and wanted to ride it over and over, but of course the lines were toooo long...

TWINS!!!

2011-05-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have always said my kids look so much alike and now I have proof... Abigail is probably a little younger, maybe 4 or 5 months, and Noah is 6 months in his picture. Their eye are shaped a little different and Noah has the boy look where Abby has a girl look, but you could almost say they are twins (to me) , what do you think?

The Hummingbird!!

2011-05-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted pics and I'm sure you are all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for my updates... so I've found some time to post something really quick but I'm trying to find the time to post the BIG update, hopefully this weekend.
Anyway... Noah has started flapping his arms similar to a bird and everyone keeps trying to tell him that he's a boy and he can't fly, but he hasn't quite gotten it yet. The other night Derek was holding him up in the air, as if he were flying, and Noah's arms were going crazy. I caught this picture of our little hummingbird and thought you might enjoy it too :) (note that the picture looked a lot better on my phone before I blew it up for the post)

This is the sweet boy on the ground after his arms (wings) got a little tired

And of course Ms Abigail in all her red head prettiness! She actually let me braid her hair, even though she kept moving around so it doesn't look the greatest. I wish she'd let me braid it more often it was so cute.

And one random picture for Grandma cause she'll love it. I got a call from Grandma Pierce (Alisa) today to let me know that Abby loves to lay in Yankees bed. She even fluffs the pillow to fit her body better and this is a picture of Abby watching Tangled in Yankee's (the dog) bed...

Noah's 4 month check-up

2011-03-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

Ok so this boy is a CHUNK, especially compared to his sister. His official nickname is squishy. Grandma came up with Abby's nickname and calls her peanut (I think because she was so small) Grandpa came up with Noah's nickname and calls him squishy... well you can see why.

At his 4 month check up he was 16.12 lbs and 25 inches long (I checked Abby's baby book last night and she was 14.12 lbs 25 inches long) YIKES he's so big and as of 4 days ago we now feed him rice cereal because feeding him 5-6 ounces every 2 hours was not working out for any of us anymore. Either way we still love him and he's great at cuddling, can you see why.

Fun at the park

2011-02-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went for a walk and decided to stop by the park. The girls had a lot of fun going down the slides, they were really big!! Noah even had a good time soaking in the fresh air and kids as they ran by the stoller.
These pictures were taken from my phone so they aren't the best.

Updated pictures

2011-02-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

We finally got Abigails 2 year old picture taken as well as Noahs 3 month picture and we are so happy with how they turned out. These are just a few of the cute ones. There is a picture of the 3 kids without Noah crying, but we thought this one was fun. I'll try to post the other pics soon so you all can see them. If you haven't gotten your picture yet, don't worry I have them I just haven't been able to get them to you.

A rare sighting!!!

2010-11-15T18:53:00.001-08:00

It happened, I captured the rare sighting of Noah awake on camera. He was awake right before I got into the shower today and was still awake when I got out so I grabbed the camera. He even tried talking to me and got an Oh out but just 1 which was accompanied by a smile (smile not caught on camera, maybe next time)

But here he is...

Halloween

2010-11-15T18:09:00.001-08:00

Here are the Halloween pictures that were promised earlier. Noah was a pea in the pod (like Abby), Abby was a candy corn witch, and Hailey was a regular witch. Can anyone guess what Jason was?

This was the end of the night she was so tired after all that walking and scary stuff she saw. She hung in there with the haunted houses and some of them were really really scary. She kept reminding herself that they were just fake, but she preferred the nice houses that weren't scary at all. Her words not mine, well maybe not preferred. :)

I love this girls eyes, aren't they to die for.

Noah was working on a good cry because he was so hungry and the costume was way too big for him. The silky inside didn't help with it fitting, he kept sliding to the bottom during the night.

She actually kept the head band hat on all night I was really impressed

Hailey's hair is purple but you can't tell from this picture. And she had really cool tights on that were black and pink striped but that didn't get captured on camera.

partial update

2010-11-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is a partial post because I skipped over Halloween but that's because I'm a terrible mom and didn't get any pictures on my camera, but grandma went crazy so as soon as i get them from her they'll be posted for your viewing pleasure

An update on Noah, he's growing like crazy but still seems so tiny to me and he fits the baby profile of eating sleeping and pooping. Right now thats really all he does its a very rare occasion to catch him awake and i know that soon the day will come when I'll wish he would sleep more but I'd like him to be awake so I can get to know him. I remember Abby being much more alert and awake than he seems to be. Maybe he'll be less crazy :)

Anyway on the 5th (his 2 week check up) he weighed 7 11 and was 19 1/4 inches long. At his 2 day check up he was 6 9 and 18 3/4 inches long. He had lost a ton of weight and a whole inch from birth (really he lost the cone head)
His 1 month check up is Friday so we'll see if he's broken the 8 lb mark then

That is my size 8 shoe to give you an idea of his size

Abby adores her brother and wants to kiss and hold him all the time, it's nice that she gets along already

Abby and Noah in grandma and grandpas bed. Abby wanted Noah to spend the night with her but only she stayed

Introducing Noah

2010-10-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've all been waiting for this moment, I know we have. He has arrived, here is Noah. He weighed 7-2 and was 19 3/4 inches long. He's such a sweet boy and a really good baby. We love him so much. More pictures to come.

Children are such sponges!!!

2010-10-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to explain to Derek that we have to be careful what we say around Abby because she is a sponge and repeats everything like her new version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star where daddy added poopy cuz he thought it was funny and because mommy told Abby she didn't like her to say that word, she then changed it to Twinkle Twinkle Little Farted (cuz that's much better) anyway.... yesterday we were trying to get out of the house to take Hailey to soccer practice and Abby pooped in her pull-up (yes so depressing that she's still in diapers, she can make it to the toilet cuz she does often she's just stubborn and does it on her own time) Derek ran her inside really quick to change her and apparently a fight broke out trying to get the pants back on. So he brings her out to the car and says, "she wouldn't put her freakin pants on so we'll put them on when we get there." He started to buckle her into her car seat and Abby immediately started freaking out screaming, "no buckle Abby, Abby need her freakin pants on" And there you have it SPONGE!!!

Please excuse the quality of my pictures, they were taken of a moving child with my phone :)

Abigail's party

2010-09-08T10:17:00.001-07:00

We had Abby's birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Pierce's house again this year. Summer birthdays are so nice and easy you just swim and everyone is happy. Anyway it was a blast, thank you to everyone who came and had fun with us celebrating her second birthday.

Abigail's 2nd bday

2010-09-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

Since Abbys actual birthday was during the week we went to Leatherbys to celebrate. The best ice cream place on the planet, if you've never been. Anyway she got a chocolate ice cream clown and loved it. It was a very entertaining night. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa and Aaron and Jason for going with us to celebrate.

Funderland

2010-09-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to Funderland for the day a couple of weeks ago. I used to go every year as a kid and I remember it being so much fun. Well I guess the girls enjoyed it, but it wasn't as exciting for Derek and I.

First day of school

2010-08-16T11:25:00.001-07:00

Today was Haileys first day back at school and she was both excited and nervous. I was happy to get this picture from a non picture taking girl though. Doesn't she look so cute with her skinny jeans from Alisa and the shirt from Brittany. She was so excited about this outfit. Let's hope this will be a great year for her and us :)

Abigail is 2 today!!

2010-08-12T12:25:00.001-07:00

So my sweet Abigail has officially grown out of being a baby and has turned 2 today. She hasn't been a baby for a while but we still had comfort in the fact that she still kind of was and today has taken that comfort away as we realized this morning that we now have an actually toddler. She's a great girl and very smart. Its fun to just talk with her or watch her play. She's truly a sponge and tries to copy everything the bigger kids do and she can keep up for the most part :) Well Happy 2nd Birthday to our very sweet, but crazy, girl.

Soccer Girl!!!

2010-08-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Check out our newest soccer star!! Yesterday was her first day of practice and she did great, you can tell by her super red face. They ran the girls like crazy to get them used to it again and Hailey kept up with all the other returning girls. Yep this is her first year of soccer and she is so excited to start playing actual games.
We love her so much and she's such a sweet girl, we're glad that she's enjoying this energy draining sport :)

Hailey's Birthday

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

Hailey turned 8 years old and you know what that means. Yep she got baptized. She was so happy to get baptized and couldn't believe it. It was a great baptism and she was happy for everyone who was able to come.
Then she had a friend bday swim party and it was a blast. She swam with all her friends and it was the best activity to have at a bday party ever!

Trevor even showed us some of his sweet moves with a basketball, he's awesome.

Of course the pinata

And the cake

and blowing out the candles

This was her family party. We were so happy that everyone was able to come to the baptism and then join us after for a yummy dinner and dessert. Sorry it was so crowded everyone, I guess I need a bigger house already :)

Hailey was so excited for all of her awesome presents, she thanks everyone again for coming and the gifts that you brought. We love you!!!

What we've been up to

2010-07-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

We've actually been doing a lot lately which is why the updates are late, we've been so busy. Sorry these are late but better late than never, right?!?

The first thing that we did was go to Six Flags a couple of weeks ago. The weather was perfect all day and the crowds were really low. Abigail wasn't tall enough for most everything, but both of the girls still had a great time and so did we.
The first ride of the day

Abigail waiting for Hailey to finish another ride, but she didn't care she had her french fries

Abigail really liked this one she kept wanting to go on it over and over.

Derek tricked Hailey into getting soaked after they made a dry get away from the actual ride. I guess there is a spot on the bridge after you get off that will soak you when the other people on the ride pass. Well as you can see they didn't escape this part.

Coming to the end of the day, they were all getting really tired.

Abigail was amazed at the dolphin show she couldn't believe it.

All in all it was a great day.

Brittany has talent!!

2010-07-09T09:30:00.001-07:00

Brittany took this amazing picture at Aaron's baseball game when she was here visiting and she just sent it to me. It's such a great picture of Abigail, I absolutely love it. Brittany has amazing talent and can photo shoot my kids anytime. Thanks Brittany!!

Update on the garden

2010-07-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

Our garden has officially exploded and started producing some actually veggies. We have a baby zuccini some bell peppers and it looks like the cucumbers and tomatoes will be here shortly also. We are so excited to start eating this fresh delicious healthy food.

4th of July

2010-07-07T12:28:00.001-07:00

We had a great time on 4th of July this year. We went out to Galt to my uncle's house and we swam and ate yummy food and watched awesome fireworks. Abigail loves swimming and will even jump off the side into the water while holding hands. Her head goes under and everything. I'm pretty sure she may have touched the bottom of grandpa's shallow end while jumping in with Aunt Ashlie the day after 4th of July. I hope everyone enjoyed their day as much as we did. Happy 4th

Sun Splash

2010-07-07T11:05:00.001-07:00

We took the girls and Jason to Sun Splash last week and had a blast. It wasn't too hot, it was actually perfect weather. Everyone had fun and slept great that night. Abigail even slept in her own bed the whole night :)

Boy or Girl???

2010-07-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

We found out yesterday that we're having a BOY!!

After finding out what it is and seeing the amazing pictures of him, we're so excited for this little guy to join our famly.

The start of our garden

2010-06-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

My husband is the most amazing guy around. I've wanted a vegetable garden for the longest time and on Monday (his birthday) he built me two planter boxes and bought a bunch of plants for us to plant during family night. They are amazing. We've got tomatoes ( a bunch of kinds), green beans, bell peppers (all kinds), artichoke, cucumber, strawberries, zuccini, squash, and I'm sure I'm forgetting the rest. But anyway, I was so happy when I came home and found our new planter boxes that he had built. He's the best!!

Memorial BBQ

2010-06-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

We went to Grandpa and Grandma Pierce's house for a BBQ on memorial day, as usual and it was a blast. The pool was really warm so I actually got in and Abigail and Hailey loved swimming. We can't wait for more swimmig days this summer.

Camping and the beach

2010-06-02T17:44:00.001-07:00

This year camping was amazing. Every year it's a lot of fun, but the weather was perfect and the beach was so warm and sunny. I guess I only took pictures at the beach not of us actually camping. I'll have to do better at that next year. Anyway, here are some fun pics of us playing at the beach.

Almost time for swimming

2010-05-03T12:05:00.001-07:00

This saturday we went to my cousins for her surprise birthday party. we had so much fun. Even though the water was only 70 degrees, there were some crazy people swimming. Abigail got in a couple of times but she would prefer it to be warmer water, so she relaxed by the pool for most of the day. Don't worry my little fair skinned red head was soaked in sun screen.

Housewarming BBQ!!!

2010-04-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm terrible because I don't have everybody's contact information to invite you formally but we've finally picked a date for our housewarming party and would love for everyone to come. I'm sending emails and text messages to the people that I have their information and this is to hopefully catch those that I don't have. Please know that you are totally invited and welcome to come even if it's just by blog that you're being invited.

Anyway, it's on Saturday May 22nd at 4:00 We're serving hamburgers and hotdogs with some side dishes and water and soda for drinks.
Please let me know if you'll be coming so that we can plan for enough food and if you need the address information ask me when I see you next cause my blog isn't private and I'd rather not give the world my personal home information, if you know what I mean :)

We were desparate

2010-04-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to get Abigail to sleep in her own bed (all night) but she would rather sleep with us and needless to say we don't sleep well with her. So we've been waking her up really early with us and only letting her nap for no longer than 2 hours. We've also extended her bedtime from 8:30 to about 9:30 hoping that would help. Well she falls right to sleep in her own bed at 9:30 but she gets up and comes into our bed in the middle of the night. So last night she woke up at 12:30 crying and Derek went to get her and brought her in our bed. By 2:30 I couldn't take the feet in my face and neck anymore so Derek put her back in her own bed. Around 4 am I heard a thump on the baby monitor and she fussed a little but we waited to see what would happen. I figured she had fallen out of her bed (toddler bed) and would be crying for one of us any second. But she was silent, so I went upstairs to check in her and she had fallen out of her bed and then fallen fast asleep on the floor. So we left her there because all I cared about at that moment was her not being in my bed. She slept there the rest of the night and we slept peacefully in our bed. Are we terrible?

Toddlers Drive Me CRAZY!!!

2010-04-14T13:23:00.001-07:00

So Wednesday is the day that I work from home and today I was on a conference call, which means that Abigail has to entertain herself for a little while. She decided to entertain herself by drawing all over my brand new walls with a black permanant marker, which I still can't figure out where she found it. In the first picture I tried to take it off with hand sanitizer which was recommended by the internet and it worked ok but the paint is stripping like crazy...
Any suggestions?

So how do you stay mad long with a 20 month old that walks around singing Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam and Popcorn popping on the apricot tree. Those are her favorite songs right now.

This is a picture of her goggles for popcorn popping

final house pictures

2010-04-13T17:41:00.001-07:00

First I need to apologize for the long post this will be, but scroll to the end because there are a lot of things to get caught up on.

So we are finally settled in, for the most part, and loving the new house. The girls love the stairs and thankfully we haven't had any bad falls with Abigail, she goes up and down really slow and she hangs on to the side. Sorry about the quality of the pictures but the lighting for this time of day is terrible.

Potty Training!!!

2010-04-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

We've started potty training Abigail and it has not been very easy. We got pull ups and we keep telling her to go potty in the toilet not her pull ups but she doesn't get it. She just wants to sit on the toilet really quick and then wipe. She hasn't gone potty in the toilet yet but at least she knows she needs to wipe and wash her hands. If you notice by the 2nd picture, maybe our trouble is in the fact that she thinks they are hats :)

Fun with the hose

2010-04-13T17:33:00.001-07:00

This was the first semi warm day that we've had in a while and the girls took full advantage of it. They started off playing in the water table and than moved to the hose with their clothes on. When I saw Abigail soaked I decided that swim suits was the better idea and here they are wearing them for the first time this year.

Ice Cream Man

2010-04-13T17:23:00.001-07:00

The ice cream man never came around our old neighborhood (thank goodness) but he comes by every day at the new house and he drives by a few times a day really really slow. Well you know what that means, we had to get something. This is Abby's first experience with an ice cream man purchase. She picked a Dora head ice cream and loved it.

Easter

2010-04-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Easter was great this year. We started off with baskets at our new house and then headed over to my parents to watch conference and have an easter egg hunt. Can't wait for next year, we're going to start hiding the baskets!

Packing the girls to move

2010-04-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

We were packing and the girls thought they needed to get packed too, I guess :)

FINALLY!!

2010-03-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

We have officially moved into the new house!!! Well we're sleeping there now. Last night was the first night and I have to admit it was a little stinky with the new carpet and paint smell. But it's great to be in our own space again even though we aren't unpacked at all. Hopefully that will be completed by this weekend, we'll see :)
And a big thanks to my parents for letting us invade their space for a week while our house was being finished, we really appreciate it.
Pictures to come, everything has to get cleaned up first

Family Pictures

2010-03-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

Brittany is in town for Ashlie's wedding so I asked her to take some pics of my family. She did a great job considering how difficult Abigail was. Sorry I'm not very photogenic - I probably spelled that wrong. Anyway... enjoy :)

These are the crazy two of the family and below is the normal two :)

Abigail just wanted to climb these stairs, not sit for a picture. So grandma had her looking for birds and that's what she's pointing at, but smiling so who cares.

Daddy and his girl and below can you tell how she was done already. This was the third place we stopped

I love this red wall, it's probably my favorite picture out of all of them.

Backyard cleared out

2010-03-05T09:41:00.001-08:00

Ok so we did this work the same day as the other posts, but I haven't been able to find the time to load these onto my computer and post them so here they are...

Guess What!!!!

2010-03-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Yep we're pregnant. We found out this morning that baby #2 is on his/her way and we couldn't be happier.

According to the pregnancy calculator online I am 4 weeks and 1 day pregnant and the due date is November 10th. We'll see what the doctor has to say though.

Anyway, we can't wait to see this baby and check out the hair... do you think it will be red?

Oh and sorry the picture proof is blurry.

Questions Answered

2010-02-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

To answer some of your questions about the house I've decided to create a new post, but I'm sorry ahead of time if I missed your question...

1. We will be moving into the Vineyard Ward, our last Sunday in Gerber Ward is this sunday and we'll start March off fresh in our new ward
2. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on the insides, but we won't be doing any of it. We're getting new bathrooms (2 1/2 baths) new tile floors in the kitchen, entry way, laundry room, and bathrooms. The whole house needs new carpet, except for the tile areas obviously. New paint and there was some dry rot on the outside too, as you can probably tell from the pictures. The kitchen counter and sinks are going and we're getting brand new appliances. I think that's everything... The backyard is up to us which we cleared out that Saturday but I realized we didn't take pictures after it was finished so I'll have to swing by the house today to take some to post.
3. We can't move in until the work is finished and that won't be for at least 2 weeks so we're hoping for mid March
4. Derek's ear... Derek and Doug (his brother in law in the pic with him) were carrying part of the patio and the story is that Doug was throwing it into the dumpster and Derek didn't realize (or something like that) and it fell on Derek's ear
5. And lastly the house warming party will be held probably in early April to give us some time to move in and get settled and everyone is invited. I'll post later in March what the date will be for sure.

During the demo work

2010-02-23T18:53:00.001-08:00

Here is Derek's major injury for the day, he's not very careful.

Alisa found a friendly frog in the pile of crap and we saved him

This backyard is a lot bigger than it seems. More pictures to come later as the work moves on.

Before pictures

2010-02-23T18:48:00.001-08:00

This is the nasty backyard. These patio covers were actually setup and Chris (my brother) helped break them down

This is a close up of the beautiful flowers in my front yard

Here is the front of the house.

We are HOME OWNERS!!!

2010-02-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

Derek and I finally closed on our very first home and we couldn't be more happy and excited. It was a foreclosure and needs quite a lot of work, which we hired a contractor to take care of for us. But it's the biggest blessing that we have going on right (besides the good report for Abigial's health at her Pulmiary checkup on Tuesday - I think we're in the clear)
Anyway I'll be posting pictures soon of the guys tearing up my backyard and building the fence for all to see, so stay tuned.

Great Cause

2010-02-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

My boss and dear friend will be running a marathon this summer in honor of her brother who was recently diagnosed with cancer. She's also trying to raise money for this cause to donate to the cancer research and your help would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the long post but I couldn't figure out how to get the letter on here any other way (I'm not very technical)

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,
I must be out of my mind because I've committed to running a marathon this year with the Team in Training Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS): Team in Training.
Yes, I am talking about running 26 miles on June 6 at the Rock and Roll Marathon 2010 in San Diego!
Nate - The bravest little person in the world!
I originally started with Team in Training through the cycling program. I trained with the team for 3 years and rode hundreds of miles. As you know, at that time my little nephew Nate was diagnosed with a cancer called Neuroblastoma. I felt helpless and had to do something so I joined the team. Little Nate helped me climb those hills and gave me the inspiration to keep on going when I thought I could not. Nate fought the battle with cancer for 5 years, but lost the fight two years ago. Nate is our angel now and he is ever present with us. He IS the bravest person I have ever known, and his strength and courage continues to provide me the power and endurance to go forward on in life.
So, why am I considering doing a Marathon! The answer is simple! Cancer has struck my family yet again. My brother Pete was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma this year. This is a terrible reminder that cancer can hit anyone at any time. Cancer impacts everyone! So I am renewing my commitment to TNT in an effort to do my part to fight this disease in any way possible. Running a marathon really scares me but it is a great challenge and this is a perfect way to honor my brother while is going through his therapy. While my brother is going through his challenge, I will be running as fast and as long as I can to keep up with him.
I am very excited, and yes a little scared, so I will need plenty of help!
Please join me in my efforts to raise $2,500 to flight cancer. Your donation will help to provide funding for research, patient aid, and community service programs. For every dollar the Society raises, 75% goes to its program services. All donations are 100% tax deductible, and any amount will be greatly appreciated.
You can donate two ways: Me and Pete at Christmas 2009
· Conveniently donate on line at the following secured website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sac/rnr10/lhanson7wt
· Mail in your donation. Please mail your donation as soon as possible, but no later than April 26 and include the white copy of the attached donation form in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. Make checks payable to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
Times are difficult and I understand not everyone may be able to donate. Your emotional and spiritual support is just as important to me! Thank you in advance for your contributions, prayers and friendship – they are all welcome and I will be forever grateful.
Join me in spreading the word; for what matters most of all, is that together we beat this disease!
Take care,
Laurie Hanson

Snow Day!!!

2010-02-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

I took the day off of work so that we could go to the snow and we had so much fun. The girls loved it, especially Abby because she loves to eat ice. This was her ice heaven :)
Anyway it was a great day and we decided it will be our tradition to go every year.

Abby and Hailey

Abigail tried to get her daddy with a snow ball

Isn't she so sweet :)

Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

This year Valentine's wasn't very eventful since it fell on a Sunday and all, but Derek still pulled through and surprised me with a beautiful flower arrangement and some cookies that he got on Saturday while I was at Ashlie's bridal shower. He's amazing each of the girls got a little something also.

2010-01-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

Abigail got a new bed and we got a yorkie (pip). She absolutly loves both as you can see by the pictures. We love her so much and she is growing up so fast.

CHP here comes Derek!!!

2010-01-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Derek found out the other day that he has passed the written portion of the CHP testing process (first time taking it too). Now he moves on to the physical test next Saturday and I'm sure he'll pass that. I'm so proud of him and the hard work that he puts in for our family. He's the best and we (me, Abigail, and Hailey) love him so much.

Abigail update

2009-12-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

We are home, we came home Thursday night and this weekend went well. She still has to have breathing treatments every 4 hours, we can't seem to pass that mark and yesterday we gave her one after 3 hours, but she sleeps through the night and is ok in the morning- probably because when she's sleeping she's not running around being her normal crazy self :)
Anyway, thank you all for your love and prayers we felt them with her quick recovery. Let's hope her new doctor will maintain this now so we don't have to go back to that horrible place.

Sad Pic

2009-12-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a sad picture of Abigial getting worse after she had been getting better...

In the hospital AGAIN!!!

2009-12-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

For those of you that follow our blog. Abigail is in the hospital again. We took her to the ER last night and they admitted her into the ICU. It's the same thing as last time, her lungs just aren't strong enough to clear it out so we're back to the confined room.
She's doing pretty good after a 4 hour and then 2 hour long breathing treatment as well as being on oxygen.
That's all for now we'll keep you updated as best as possible.
Merry Freakin Christmas!!

15 months

2009-11-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

Abigail is 15 months today and growing so fast. I know 15 months isn't a big one but it is for her. She has learned (this week) to say up and thankyou and she knows how to plug her nose now, which is so cute to see. She's picked up on some new dance moves and she sings with the radio and her cartoons that she watches. We love her so much and feel so blessed to have her. It's sad how fast they grow but exciting at the same time.
Pictures will be posted soon and a dance video of her new moves, I promise.

Quick Update

2009-11-12T10:58:00.001-08:00

Sorry for not providing an update sooner. Abigail is fine now. We had another scare last week and had to go back to the emergency room but she was not admitted. They sent us home with a breathing machine and she has to do treatments as needed. She hasn't received one for two days now so I think she's getting better. She may end up with asthma though, which isn't great but also isn't the end of the world. Thank you everyone for your prayers and happy thoughts for us during our time of need.

Hospital drama

2009-10-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Abigail at her recent hospital visit (mentioned below in the count your blessings post)
The picture of her hands is to show the size difference. We had a lot of trouble with the IV and this was the second attempt which failed. The IV came out of her vain and was pushing the fluids into her hand tissue. We caught it because I noticed that her fingers were turning purple and examined further to find that her hand was giant. We called it her elephant hand. In this picture the swelling has gone down a great deal already. Sorry for the quality they were taken with my cell phone.

Count your blessings

2009-10-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful to everyone who prayed for our sweet Abigail during this trying time and I'm so thankful to my father in heaven for watching over her and for her recovery. For those of you who don't know on Friday evening Abigail started having trouble breathing so Derek and I took her to the ER. The doctor admitted her to the hospital and started treating her for pneumonia which is very scary considering how low her oxygen level got so quickly. (Note to all of you parents out there never hesitate always take them in when it's their breathing) The nurse said Abigail probably would have died that night had we not brought her in, so I'm so grateful that Derek and I listened to the promptings of the spirit this time. She's much better now and has her great personality back. The final diagnosis was viral pneumonia and a possible urinary tract infection (she had an infection somewhere but was already on antibiotics so they aren't 100% sure where it was, not the pneumonia because it was only viral) Either way she's much better and making a speedy recovery.
Thank you again to all who kept us in your prayers, we love you.

Come what may... and love it

2009-09-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

I have realized why I don't go to the church book store that often (besides the fact that the one in Elk Grove closed and the only other one in Sacramento is so far away) but it's because I could easily walk out spending $1000 if I let myself. I love the artwork, they have the most amazing and beautiful pictures of Christ and the temple and this really nice one of the sacred grove. All beautiful!!! My most favorite and fitting for my life right now was a sign that read, "Come what may... and love it" I can only imagine the terrible things that the savior went through while on the earth and the great strength that he had to forgive everyone who inflicted them on him. I wish I had his strength and greater faith to love the things that come my way.

Disneyland

2009-08-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry there is going to be a lot of posts and they are kind of out of order. Disneyland came first, then Abigail's birthday, then the first day of school. But what ever I did my best and at least they're on here for your viewing pleasure :)
Here we are after just entering CA adventure. From left to right Hailey (my sister she lives with us now, me, Abigail, and Derek)

We were tired of holding Abigail in this long line, so we let Hailey take a turn.

Me and Abby waiting to see Tinker Bell

Abigail and Ashlie watching the fireworks show. Abby loved it she was so amazed

Our sweet girl pooped half way through our day. She didn't sleep for long, but I was glad she slept at all.

1st day of school

2009-08-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already know we have an addition to our family. My sister Hailey lives with us now and we are so happy to have her. She's been with us now for about 2 months and will hopefully be with us for a while. Anyway, she started school (the same school as my brother Jason) and here they are on the 1st day.
She was not down with all the picture taking... I'm guessing this is a look into the future when she'll be leaving for prom.

Our baby girl is 1

2009-08-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but it's happened. Our sweet baby girl has turned 1 and it's a happy and sad day for us. She turned 1 on August 12th but we had a fun party for her at my parents house on the 15th. There was swimming, cake, and a lot of fun! We'd like to give a special thanks to Alisa for decorating the cake, it looked AMAZING! Overall it was a great day and I couldn't have wished for more. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated this exciting day with us.

Abigail before the cake was destroyed, she wasn't sure about it and she doesn't like her hands to get dirty so she was very cautious.

Until she realized that there was cake under all the frosting. Thanks Grandpa for helping her out!

Everyone having fun in the pool and below the beautiful cake before we all ate it.

Watermelon must be her favorite

2009-06-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

We went out to dinner the other night and gave Abigail some of her very own watermelon. She loved it. She got turned around a couple of times and when we tried to help her she would hold onto the watermelon for dear life and lean away from us.

Happy Birthday Derek!!!

2009-06-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

ok so some of you have asked about the birthday back ground and yes it's because Derek's birthday is on Sunday June 7th.
Happy Birthday my love!

Camping pictures

2009-06-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

As promised here are some pictures from our camping trip.

This is our family picture at the beach, it was freezing cold.

This is Abigail body surfing on grandpa at the beach. She is a pro so grandpa better watch out.

This is Abigail on the hike that Jason (our trail guide) took us on. It was in the camp ground and we walked all the way up to the observation deck. He showed us plants and taught us about animals. He's so smart, he could be a great park ranger some day.

AWESOME DESIGNS!!!!

2009-05-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, my sister started up a side business with the craft and artistic skills that she has and there is some pretty cool stuff. She makes jewelry with really beautiful beads (the pictures don't do great justice) and really awesome aprons (the aprons are not on the website yet, but you can check them out by looking at Alisa's blog, pierce family she got one for mothers day). And for those of you who don't know that Ashlie is a true artist, she is and she'll be posting her prints online to be purchased also. You'll have to check it out http://whistle-while-you-work.com/

9 month old pics

2009-05-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures that we took for 9 months old. We went to JC Penny's and they did a great job. We had better pictures of her smiling with the flower back ground, but the computer froze and we lost them. But these are still great, enjoy!

Camping with a 9 month old is lots of fun!!!

2009-05-26T14:30:00.001-07:00

Ok so it wasn't so bad camping with Abigail, although there were lots of people who wanted to hold her. She slept with us in our big King air mattress because it was freezing cold and I was worried she wouldn't stay warm through the night. We were there for 3 nights Thursday to Saturday and 2 out of 3 was fantastic. Her top teeth finally decided to come in on the second night and with the way she was screaming I'm sure the whole camp ground thought we were stabbing her. Anyway, I'm a terrible mom and didn't take pictures, but others did so as soon as I get them I'll post them so you all can see how big she's getting.

9 months today!!!

2009-05-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today was Abigail's 9 month check up and she did great. She had to get 1 shot and she didn't even cry, she just got really mad at the lady and then looked at her funny because she was singing the ABC's, but in a really goofy way. So anyway, the good stuff. Abigail weighs 21.1 lbs and is 30 inches long (I don't think this is right, the guy had to do it twice and the second time she had the wiggles), but she is really tall.
So that's all for right now, pictures will come later. We're getting them done this evening and I'll try to post them tomorrow.

Easter at Grandma's and Grandpa's

2009-04-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

After church we headed over to my parents house for Easter dinner and it was a blast.

These are the eggs that didn't get used and Aunt Ashlie decided to give Abigail her very own ball pit, but with plastic eggs. She loved it. (sorry the picture is a little blurry)

Abigail loves the water so much, especially when she has such a super cute swim suit to wear. But unfortunately she hates the grass. We were trying to get a nice picture of her in her easter dress and she wouldn't stop freaking out. Plus she needed a nap. Maybe we can capture a great picture in her dress this weekend after church, but not on the grass :)

You can't see all of her teeth, but she has a third one coming in on the bottom right. That makes it a total of 3 teeth at 8 months.

I love this picture! Jason calls this his Jack Sparrow dive.

Baby's first Easter

2009-04-15T14:36:00.001-07:00

Abigail turned 8 months on Easter and it has been the best 8 months ever. We feel so blessed everyday to have her in our family and can't imagine our lives without her. We love her so much, she such a happy baby.

She was so excited to see her fun toys in that Easter basket, it made me excited.

Shopping with Grandma

2009-03-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Alisa took Abigail shopping at Target on Friday to get some summer clothes. You've probably already seen this picture on Ashlie's facebook, this baby is all over it! You can tell she's not loved at all... ;)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. Abigail is crawling now and she can move really fast, we have to watch her really carefully otherwise she will get into stuff...Like the cat food that she tried to eat on Saturday. She can wistle and make a funny elephant noise, thanks to her Auntie Ashlie. Anyway here she is in all green so no one can pinch her.

Snow!!!

2009-02-20T12:25:00.001-08:00

We took Abigail to the snow on Monday and she loved it. It was snowing while we were there and she was trying to catch snow flakes with her mouth. I don't think she knew what she was doing, I think it's still all apart of 'everything goes into her mouth', but it's fun to pretend :) We forgot the real camera, so I took this with my phone. Hopefully it looks ok.

Fun at the park!!!

2009-02-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

We took Abigail to the park because it was such a nice day and I'm not sure if she had fun, she was being such a serious girl.

Here she is on the swing getting started to go for the first time ever.

And here she is going. She seemed to like it ok

Abby and mommy

Daddy tried taking her down the slide and she didn't seem too sure about liking it or not.

Abigail and Ava

2009-02-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

On Friday we hang out with Mike and Christy and Abigail and Ava played on the floor together. They are going to be good friends, hopefully :)

She can sit up! Well sort of...

2009-01-26T18:29:00.001-08:00

This is Abigail doing her air swimming trying to get the cat, but now she's starting to get her knee up so she'll be crawling in no time.

Abigail works on perfecting her new skill everyday and she's getting so good at it. That's right it's sitting up. Here's a picture of her sitting all on her own, she even getting better at catching herself when she starts to fall.

Abigail has teeth!!

2009-01-26T18:26:00.001-08:00

So on January 9th Abigail got her 1st tooth and the 2nd one came in that following Monday on her 5 month old birthday. We waited a little while to take a picture of them so that they could be seen much better but here they are, (she doesn't really like to show them).

Abigail gets Nala

2009-01-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

After several attempts to get the cat she's almost mobile enough to do it on her own.

Baby's First Christmas

2009-01-05T18:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas was really busy for us this year with the many families that we have. We had Christmas with my mom on the Monday before, sorry no pics. We went to Grammy's on Christmas Eve, again sorry no pics. We had Christmas at our house with our little family the morning of and then went over to my dad's for breakfast. Then we went over to Derek's parents for Christmas dinner. Here are some pics that we did take, enjoy!

She loved all of her presents and they all ended up in her mouth just like everything else.

This is the baby stroller that mommy and daddy got her for her dolly. The stroller is also a walker to help her when she starts walking

Santa brought Abigail her first doll and the character in the stocking is named Abby Cadabby from Seseme Street. Her new nick name is Abby Cadabby now. She was so excited to unwrap her gifts and there were a lot of them...

Disney Fun

2008-12-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

We took a quick trip down to disneyland to see the Christmas decorations. It was such a fun trip. We really didn't ride many rides, but Abby got to ride the Nightmare Before Christmas ride. She loved it so much. When she finally got to meet Mickey and Minnie, she couldn't take her eyes off of them. She loves Disneyland and so do we. If you haven't seen it around Christmas, you gotta try to see it sometime it's AMAZING.

Holiday time

2008-12-23T10:12:00.000-08:00

Abigail ate rice cereal from her high chair for the first time. She loves to sit up and look around. She thinks she can't miss anything. We also dressed her up for christmas and she loves her christmas tree. Lately when she cries we put her in front of the tree and she calms down. It is already her favorite holiday.

Sleeping Beauty

2008-12-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

So Abby was having some tummy time and she had a little too much fun. She passed out on her favorite toy. It was really cute so I had to post it.

Our trip to Utah

2008-11-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

So we decided to take a trip to visit some family and friends in Utah. We first started our mini vacation with my aunt in Cedar City where we drove up the mountain and saw ice and snow. Derek got out of the car to grab his new ice dagger :) After Cedar City we drove up to Provo, but for some reason we didn't take any pictures. I love this picture of Abby. I'm pretty sure that after this trip she really hates her car seat. What do you think?

2008-11-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

We were able to go up and visit Amber's Great Grandma G. It was a great trip. We spent the night at Uncle Carl's in Corsegold. It was very beautiful and very nice to get out of the city and up in the hills. There were lots of bugs and spiders as you can see. We saw a tranchula climbing the wall of his house. Also Hailey collected lots of rocks and stuff. The picture above is Amber finding a bug infested pinecone in her bag. It was really cool to see Grandma G hold Abby and to see how excited they both were to see each other. All and all it was a very nice trip.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday and had lots of fun. There was a corn maze that we went through and got lost in, so we cheated a little to find our way out. There was a hay maze that Gabriel and Hailey had lots of fun in and then we all picked out pumpkins to carve. They were a lot cheaper than what I expected them to be. We got 3 decent sized pumpkins for $13, actually Derek's isn't decent sized it's huge. You'll see soon enough, we're going to post a picture of it after it's carved. We can't wait for Halloween!

Trunk or Treat

2008-10-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is our little family at the ward trunk or treat party... We were farmers who picked a pea pod and she's a very sweet pea pod. We had to take her out of the costume really quick because she was so hot and sweaty. She is such a sweaty little heater, she makes us all hot when we hold her.

Mom's way!

2008-10-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

So Amber came home from work during lunch hour and thought that the pics of her I posted for her two month mark weren't cute enough. So she, yes, changed her outfit, and spent actual time taking some good pictures. So here they are :) Who's do you like better? I think mine shows off her red hair more. Mine are in the post below and these are hers.

2 month check-up

2008-10-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Abigail had her two month check up at the doctors yesterday. She is growing so fast and already has such a personality. She weighs 11 lbs 4 onces and is 23 inches long. She had to get her shots as well. The first one she didn't even cry, but after the next four she started to get upset. She doesn't really like to be messed with. After her shots on the way home, Amber was calling me to let me know how everything went and she got pulled over for talking on her cell phone while driving and got a ticket. I guess the police are really cracking down now. Abby is getting on a little bit better of a routine. She normaly wakes up around 7 in the morning and is very happy and awake for a few hours. After an afternoon and evening of sparatic naps, we start winding down the day with a bath and bottle at around 9. She generally falls asleep around 11:30 and wakes up during the night to eat around 3. We love her so much and she is such a great addition to our family.