1st birthday trip

on the 23rd of july, jorgen's birthday, we went with nana and papa to san francisco and had such a fun time! jorgen saw sea otters for the first time, he loved the squawking sounds they made. he also enjoyed his first carousel ride. it was so funny watching him start noticing us on the side. he would first turn around and look after he passed us and then he started spotting us before he got to us. he had such a big smile on his face. papa was sure nice to take him on such a fun ride! we then ate a bubba gump's restaurant. it was very delicious! yummy! shrimp anyone? they even sank go jorgen and he got a little bowl of ice cream. he loved every minute of it (especially playing with the coasters). after a fun day at the bay we headed home for a small birthday celebration. miles' fiance', siena, came over for the party and jorgen teared his cake apart. he didn't really enjoy eating the cake, just feeding all of us and playing with it. frosting was everywhere! we had such a fun time. jorgen did apprecitate all the calls and cards from family! we miss all of you and wish you could have been here to celebrate jorgen's special day.

big sur trip

for jorgen's first birthday, nana and papa (justin's parents, craig and gloria) came for a wonderful visit! jorgen had his first experience with ice cream at a local restaurant and loved it! we went to big sur, about one and a half hours south of us. we drove through santa cruz, carmel, monteray as well as gloria's favortie town, which i can't remember the name of right now. we had a great time. we stopped by a national park on the coast and saw more birds than i've ever seen at the same time, all on one huge rock formation. pretty incredible! there was also an otter sunbathing on a rock with the waves. we drove through pebble beach, a tribute to all the avid golfers. while in big sur, we ate at a neat little restaurant. there was a live band and the outside seating overlooked a calm flowing river. there were chairs set up in the river and groups of people sitting around, enjoying themselves with their feet in the water. fabulous! we had to take some pictures. i think we disturbed the peace a little while we were trying to make jorgen smile....it was pretty funny, i'm sure it was entertaining. we saw so much, too much to document here. it was fun being with family and seeing all the sites.

on the way home, we went through half moon bay and justin found this road that looked like it would take us back to palo alto, and it did...only it was this tiny, bumpy, hardly used road...or should i say path? i pretty nauseated but it all got better once we reached the normal road.

laundry play

first, i find jorgen in the room, laundry basket on the floor with all of the dirty clothes spread out across his room...he must be sorting all the clothes to make sure they are all really dirt and in the right spot.


second, he double checks each item by smelling and examining them.


third, he notices me spying on him, rudely interrupting his laundry play time.


fourth, he heads toward me and makes me think he is coming to say hello and invite me to play....


but no, this only leads to the fifth...he closes the door, reminding me that this is his room and that it would be better if i didn't interrupt him again....with a smile on his face, of course.

post bath

what a flat top! or spike top?

fountain hopping

unfortunately i forgot to bring my camera to mark and record this fun outting, so i pulled some pictures off the internet so you have an idea what i'm talking about. jorgen and i met justin for lunch (maybe i should call it his break because no food was involved). we decided it would be fun for us to experience what people call 'fountain hopping.' there are many different fountains around campus and people are allowed to wade, swim, dance in, or do whatever in these fountains. when my mom and i were here looking for places to live we saw the stanford band dancing and playing there music in the 'claw' fountain. pretty interesting. today, i brought jorgen's swim gear with hopes to fountain hop. the fountain we wanted to take him to (the red one with the waterfall-like design) was out of commission so we took him to the main fountain, 'the claw.' he had so much fun because it wasn't too deep and he could stand up the whole time and splash around. justin rolled up his shorts a bit and played with him in it. i stood in it for a bit, but my skirt was too long...next time i'm bringing my suit! we only got to fountain hop in one fountain, but it was an hour well spent. we are definitely going to do it again before fall. i love it here!

summer vacation....

so, justin, jorgen and i had a great family vacation recently. we had a blast at the epcot center. and we got to visit my old stomping grounds in canada when we visited the paramountie pictures studio. oh, and we were able to visit washington d.c., somewhere i've always wanted to go. jorgen even enjoyed all the monuments. it was a great vacation, but it is nice to be home, mainly because we were a little bit sick of the same change of clothes. i don't know why i didn't think to bring more outfits?

hello linus

so, jorgen has his favorite blanket, well, blanketS. he was given two different blankets when he was born that are exactly the same but different colors. we kept both of them because they are the softest and silkiest blankets in the world!! i wish i had one just like it only bigger. the funny thing about these blankets is that i think we conditioned him to like it as much as he does. it all started when jorgen was about four months old and we, well justin is actually the one who started it, would rub the blanket on his cheek before he went to bed then he'd snuggle it so tight. so, that has turned into us giving him the same blanket every night (it's nice to have two because that makes the laundry situation easier) and now during the day, he'll go over to his crib, reach through the crib slats and grab the blanket and drag it along with him as he plays. sometimes i'll hear him start to whine and almost cry and i think he's stuck somewhere or hurt but i go into his room to find him in front of his crib reaching for his blanket, that i've strategically placed out of his reach. i am trying to let him know that blankets are just for bed, not for dragging around but it's a work in progress. he just loves his blanket so much! it's funny how it's a source of comfort. i guess lots of kids have their comfort items: toys, binkies, blankets, stuffed animals. and who am i to stop him from having his comfort blankie with him when he wants it...well, his mother:) does that suffice? it's been said that " mother knows best" which is typically true, but sometimes i wonder;).

i guess since the blankets do mean so much to him, we should come up with names for them....any ideas? something creative, catchy, and most importantly, simple. i'll let you know if i come up with something, but if you have any ideas in the mean time, let me know.

toilet papering

another pre-move picture. justin's sister, rachel, was kind enough to watch jorgen while we went out to dinner with justin's parents, miles and siena the night before we moved and jorgen got into a little mischief. he was playing with everyone else and then all of a sudden rachel went to see where he went off to and lo and behold he was in the bathroom. look what he accomplished! instead of unrolling all of the toilet paper, like he has done before, he decided to put all the roles where they would have eventually gone...nice one buddy! i love his face...so proud of himself!

lots of fun cousins

i just got these pictures that were taken right before we moved to california. these are all of jorgen's cousins on the hansen side. there are three more on the way right now! and one more on the way on the bennett side...so exciting!

harley boy

this sweet little rocker makes jorgen so happy! he loves rocking, well he basically just sits, on it and gets especially excited when daddy pulls him around on it. i think it is the coolest rocker! move over whimpy horsey and make room for macho harley!

coastal visit

after church today, we decided to take a sunday drive to the coast. we went to half moon bay (don't you like the sound of that, so charming i think). it is about a 45 minute drive from where we live, through a very lush wooded area and some rolling hills. we pulled off the road and found this little sign that said 'beach access' so we walked a ways and found this great spot. it was fun to see a beach, rather than the cliffs that make up most of the coast in this part of california. it really is beautiful! the ocean is so majestic and beautiful! i will always love my utah mountains, but this is definitely something i could live with for awhile. jorgen loves getting out and seeing new things. he points at everything and says, "doe." he has started jabbering a lot, saying all sorts of funny things...so funny! we love being here and growing together as a family. i have the best family!!!!!