Saturdays!

I think Jorgen's favorite day of the week is Saturday. He tends to know that on Saturdays he gets to play with Daddy most of the day. Lately, Justin hasn't had to study or work on Saturdays and Jorgen knows it. It's funny because he doesn't let Justin out of his sight. If Justin goes into our room to do something, Jorgen follows. If Jorgen is eating breakfast and Justin disappears somewhere to do something, Jorgen starts saying, "Daddy! Daddy!" It makes us laugh because Jorgen becomes Justin's little shadow on Saturdays (and Sundays too for that matter). We laugh because it's almost like Jorgen can't breathe without his Dad on these days.

Today, Justin took Jorgen to a rugby game that two of his young men, Vita and Maka Tameilau, were playing in. The Tameilau brothers come from the most amazing family! We love them so much! I teach one of their sisters, Phyllis, in my primary class and she is so darling. Jorgen had so much fun playing with his dad, watching rugby, and also playing with the Tameilau kids.




It looks like Mo is teaching Jorgen how to gamble but he was actually just teaching him how money works and how to count it. He ended up giving Jorgen $2.00 for his missionary piggy bank that Dadu and Tutu (my parents) gave him. It was so sweet of Mo!


Phyllis, Mo, Mina, and Catalina (not pictured) also played other games with him and Jorgen loved every minute of it. They took him over to a sand box and to play on the track equipment. He had so much fun! Saturdays are such great days!

Annual Egg Rolling Contest

As Hansens each year at Easter we hold an egg rolling contest. Many are familiar with such a game, and for those of you who have never held an egg rolling contest, I strongly encourage you to start next year! They are so much fun!!!

This year was the first year we had to hold the contest without the rest of the extended family. We missed Nathan and Papa's big win!

The Contestants:

D Will to Boozer / Go Jazz
&
Daddy football/basketball

Ducky
&
Da-da
(Jorgen's word for the Baby Einstein face)

Prego
&
The Many Faces of Mommy

also shown, Flower Power - Baby Sister's egg

The contest started out rough for me when Prego lost the first roll to Go Jazz. But it was worth it because I got lots of slobbery (zoom in on my nose) kisses and hugs from Jorgen!

Go Jazz held strong again, cracking Ducky on the first roll! Jorgen didn't seem too upset. He was excited just to get to roll an egg!

Jorgen tried to turn the rolling contest into a throwing contest - no casualties to our contestants but it was a close call. Da-da put a good dent in The Many Faces of Mommy and I was out of the contest! Da-da also proved to be a tough egg when competing against Daddy Football/Basketball and Flower Power.

The final match was between the beloved Da-da and Go Jazz!

The results: Go Jazz not only cracked but also demolished Da-da!

GO JAZZ!

Easter Party

Menlo Park put on a great Easter celebration today! There were so many people there to enjoy the three bounce houses, crafts, Easter Bunny, Fire truck ride and a number of other events. We all had so much fun!

on the way to the festivities

The bounce house was probably Jorgen's favorite thing he did - he didn't want to leave. He is just learning how to jump - with his feet leaving the ground - and loved how he was able to jump around in here. He came to where we were watching him and took a little slippery fall into the net. He is so fun to watch! This was his first time in a bounce house!










Jorgen also had a lot of fun at the egg hunt. They had different age groups go at different times and Jorgen's group was first. He loved picking up the eggs - and due to a lack of planning on his parents' side, he didn't have a basket to carry the eggs in (good thing there was a four-egg limit). He loves carrying things all at once so I don't think he minded not having a basket.

At the end of Jorgen's egg hunt, they gave each child a bag of Skittles and M&Ms. Jorgen was excited to carry around two colorful, noise-making bags - good thing he didn't know they were full of yummy candy, otherwise he would have ripped them open right then and gobbled all of them down.


Justin taught Jorgen a cool game while we waited in line for the fire truck ride - open the eggs and put them on your eyes. Anything to entertain:D I'm glad Jorgen's easy to entertain!


The fire truck ride on "Old Tom" was so much fun. I wish I would have taken a picture of the actual fire alone - it was a total vintage classic! We waited in line for a long time but it was worth it. Jorgen got a little scared at the beginning when the sirens went off but after he realized he was actually on a fire truck, he was so happy! He liked putting his arms in the air and feeling the wind on them as we drove. It was so much fun!

















We stopped by the library for our weekly library visit on the way home and Jorgen loved looking at his new books. While we were getting lunch ready, he just read one of the books and was so happy to be relaxing out of the sun. He could read books forever! We had the best morning!

Missionary for a Day

Justin had to drive a few young men to the annual youth conference up at the Oakland Temple (held in the adjacent stake center) and so we decided to make an outting out of it. Justin and I switched off attending the temple while the other watched Jorgen outside. Justin took Jorgen to the visitor's center there and they gave him a little missionary tag. He loved exploring the visitor's center and roaming around outside. It was a chilly day up in Oakland but it was still beautiful and wonderful being on the temple grounds. I took Jorgen around and took some pictures of him. He is so handsome! The pictures overlooking Oakland and San Francisco didn't turn out very good but on a clearer day you would be able to see the city very well. This temple has the best view! It was such a fun day and we topped it off Inn n Out Burger! Love that place!

Escape

One of Jorgen's favorite games to play with Daddy is called ESCAPE. Justin lays on the couch and Jorgen is between the pillows and Justin and he tries to escape. Jorgen laughs so hard and thinks it's the best game. I love seeing Jorgen and Justin play because they have so much fun together (and I love how most games Justin plays with Jorgen tire him out for naptime and bedtime:D). Justin is the bed dad!

Hugs!

Jorgen is the best at giving hugs!! Ever since we converted his crib to the toddler bed he has been hugging more and more intensely! Maybe it just has to do with the fact that now we can hug him while he's laying in bed, maybe it's because he's grateful we're treating him like a big boy now, maybe it's just that he has decided that he is going to show us more often how much he loves us! Whatever the reason(s), we LOVE his HUGS! He pulls you in so tightly and squeezes so lovingly! Oh, I wish you could all get a huge hug from him right now, it would make your day! It makes my life! He is so sweet and so much fun! I wish I could express the love I have for this sweet boy.

Big Boy Bed

I don't know if I'm ready for this but the time has come to convert Jorgen's crib to a toddler bed. He's 19 months old and if you ask me, not the ideal age for this kind of freedom:D However, in preparing for our second baby I thought it would be better to train him now how to not get out of bed when it's time for naptime or bedtime than to wait until our little girl is around. I think he'll do just fine, but I do worry that he will just want to get out and play every night. Any advice from you experienced mothers? I think that consistency is key so hopefully all will go well tonight!



He already flopped out of his bed today while he was playing, just after we set it up. He was doing his fast dance and power slams when he bounced out. We turned it into his first lesson - hopefully he got the cause and effect relationship there....he loves to play in his crib:O.










Maybe we should get him a pillow too - he loved cuddling this one today!


Wish us luck:)!

*Update - It's been two days and Jorgen has done so well with his big boy bed! He only got out once today when I put him down for his nap and didn't get out at all when Justin put him down for bed tonight. He's such a good kid! It's so cute to see how much he loves his new bed and we love cuddling him so close at night when we say goodnight! He gives the best, tightest hugs! We're blessed!

The Very BEST Day

(Editor’s note: this is a long one but since I’m going to print out my blogs I want the detail – so be prepared to skim if you don’t have time to read all the details or look at all the pictures☺)

I have the BEST husband and he surprised me with the BEST day for my birthday. We woke up to Jorgen saying, “Mommy!” and “Daddy!” to which we eventually answered. The day started out like any other normal day, with some loving happy birthday wishes from Justin as well as emails from friends and family. Justin was up in a hurry and said he was of to work right away so he could come home earlier than usual. I fed Jorgen his usual oatmeal and then I got ready to work out. Just before I started my work out, the door opened and in steps Justin. I thought he forgot something for work but instead he puts what he had in a bag in the kitchen and tells me I am forbidden in the kitchen until further notice. He gives me a very funny birthday card that had a cartoon picture of a man with shorts on and his ‘love handles’ were oozing out the top of the shorts. The card read on the outside: A birthday reminder for my wife (with two arrows pointing to the love handles. And the inside read: The handles are for your safety. Please hold on to them throughout the ride. Happy Birthday! Funny huh! He of course wrote many sweet words and at the end he wrote, “Now get yourself and Jorgen ready for a day trip! ☺ I was so excited! Justin got the day off of work to spend it with me and Jorgen! I couldn’t ask for a better birthday present – a day to spend with my best friend! Wonderful!!

I worked out, well, I should say Jorgen and I worked out because he loves to do my yoga, Pilates, and body combat tapes with me. For those of you who know what body combat is, you might find it funny that a seven-month plus pregnant woman is doing them. It is quite the sight to see! After that I got Jorgen and myself ready all while Justin was in the kitchen making something yummy! He made me close my eyes and sit down at the table (Jorgen thought we were praying because he closed his eyes too). Turns out he bought all of my favorite fruits (ones I don’t buy because they are so pricey) and made me lots of freshly juiced OJ! Oh, it was heavenly! I love fruit in the mornings-so light and refreshing!! Jorgen also loved eating blueberries and raspberries, which he ate like olives.































We headed out the door and drove to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. We’ve wanted to go there but haven’t had a day that worked. Today was perfect! Since it was a Wednesday we were almost completely alone the whole time to enjoy the beauty of this place. It was gorgeous and so relaxing as we walked through it! Jorgen loved running down the path and exploring a new place. I love watching him be just his pure boy self! He even showed us how important it was to conserve the forest and throw away trash.