Jackson's New Toy

Well, there's another new toy at the Hansen's and it's become "The Favorite" lately. Jackson rides it every night that he's able to and will just go around and around the house. The first night he had it working he ran into the house, the basketball hoop and the tree (at this point I'm starting to wonder if he'll make it through the evening alive!). But, he's now gotten better at the steering and despite the few run ins with the woods, he's doing quite well.


Tonight as I was getting Brendan ready for bed, I looked out the window and saw two of "my boys" riding on their "toys" outside. Luke was driving the lawnmower and Jackson was following him on the Gator. It was too fun to watch!

And, I had to include a little video of Jackson coming around the house (he seriously just goes around and around and around...)- this is for Sara.... as she listened to me tell her what he was doing. Here's your video Sara:) Sorry there's no sound.

Tulip Time

We only made it downtown once for Tulip Time but thankfully it turned out to be a nice day that day. We had planned on going Saturday and watching the parade with the boys but we chickened out because it was too cold and we didn't think that it'd be much fun with that wet, windy and cold weather. But, I did manage to eat some junk food while down there and we had both boys in costumes. My mom was amazing!!! She made a costume in 1 week for Jackson! Thanks Mom!!!!!!!

Story of my Life

I have to say, I am truly blessed with my boys. My favorite thing is to go in and watch them sleep - they look like angels while they're sleeping. It's in those moments that I am just amazed at these two little guys that God has blessed me with. I love being their mother even when I have moments like this when they refuse to sit for one second and would rather be playing with toys! Definitely ready for these terrible two's to end but yet they sure do offer lots of laughs as well! And there's just something amazing when your child looks at you and without any prompting claims "I love you"...... That has to be the greatest gift a mother could get!

Thank You Lucas!

I have finally uploaded photos to my computer so, yes, there are many posts but I had to make sure and get this one on. We went to VanDerKolks tonight to pick up their old tramp. Their kids are all "too old" to use it (which makes me feel old because I babysat those kids when they were young). Anyways, Jackson has been talking about this FOREVER and was so excited to put it up at home. He and Luke spent some time reassembling it and then Jackson couldn't wait to get on it. I have a feeling we'll be spending many hours jumping. Wait, everyone except me and Brendan because we're "too little" to jump:) So, THANK YOU LUCAS!!!!!!!!! Jackson absolutely LOVES the tramp:)

Family Hugs

When I was pregnant with Brendan, Luke and I would hug and tell Jackson to join our "family hug" and he would laugh and hug us. Well, the other day, Jackson yells out "family hug" and I see him hugging his brother. My heart was about to burst! I am amazed at how much the boys love each other already (although I'm already seeing Jackson get frustrated with Brendan at times!). There's just something special about siblings. And a side note.... you can see Jackson's new favorite outfit.... just his underwear:) The kid does not like wearing clothes around the house!

World Class Babysitters

Saturday night was a first for us ... we had my parents and the Geuder's come over and babysit Jackson, Brendan and Isaac while we went out with Lori and Scott. It's been so crazy with the two little guys that we really haven't had a chance to sit and chat with them. We decided on making a big trip to the Hawk's Nest in Hamilton. After giving our "babysitters" instructions we made our way to the restaurant. Despite trying to drag out dinner... we were all done within 45 minutes and then tried to drag out sitting at the table longer ... we only made it 15 more minutes.... and then returned home. I think we shocked the Grandparents (they hadn't even eaten their dinner yet!) but it was fun being able to chat with them too. Next time we decided that we're going to go farther away for dinner (even though our dinners were great!). It was great seeing Isaac and Brendan together too. Being only 2 months apart, I have a feeling that they'll become good buddies:)

Spring Break

It is officially spring break!!! The thing that I now love most about spring break is that extra time that I can spend with my boys. School can be a bit chaotic at times and when I get home I am exhausted and the evenings go so quickly but spring break is my time with them. I think that I appreciate the time so much more now that I've been back and experienced the craziness of working full time with 2 kids!

We decided to take a little weekend trip (Luke wasn't keen on my idea of a week in Florida this year!) to Portage, Indiana (about 15 minutes west of Michigan City). We had gone there last year with Edings and loved it so much that we figured another trip there was definitely worth it. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend ... other than the fact that the Nykamps couldn't make it because they had sick kids:( We were all bummed that they weren't there.

The hotel we stayed at had a wonderful kids pool and so the kids spent a lot of time there. On Friday, we drove into Chicago and went to Navy Pier, Rainforest Cafe, American Girl Doll Store (for Breanna... the only girl) and the Lego store. The weather was fantastic and the kids were extraordinary! No crying or whinning! Saturday, the girls (plus Brendan) went shopping to the outlets in Michigan City but were back in time for the game (which was too sad to watch!).

Of course the weekend went by too quickly but it sure was nice to go away for awhile and Jackson had such a great time that he cried when we left. Now our week at home begins and I'm sure we'll have many stories as potty training has begun.....