The Hanks'

Halle's First Birthday!

2012-01-24T12:12:00.003-07:00

New fun pics

2011-05-25T23:56:00.002-06:00

I guess it's time to post a picture of Halle too.

Fall Fun 2010

2010-11-16T13:26:00.008-07:00

So this is a big compilation of pictures ... just for fun. I totally missed Ethan's b-day and all the summer fun, but I figure I should just start from where I'm at :)

As you can see from one of these pictures I am currently very pregnant. Hallie will be here no later than January 21st 2011. I will also be graduating with my Associate's of Art December 17th 2010. Ethan is almost halfway through his kindergarten year and Max is getting more and more independent every day. His "2" phase started about 6 months ago, but he actually turns two on Friday. Eli will be taking his actuary exam again just before Hallie gets here and we are praying that goes well for him. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and both are definitely better with family and friends. Christmas this year will be so fun with two little boys who are in great anticipation for it and I am excited for both of the upcoming holidays! They are my favorite time of year!

Seattle

2010-04-18T13:20:00.005-06:00

Seattle was a lot of fun! Just Eli and I ..... aahhhhhh (sigh). It was too short. Next time I think we need to go somewhere tropical ... or historic. In Seattle we went to the Underground Tour, The Science Center (I think the Childrens Museum would have been better though) Experience Music Project and Pike Place Market. Pike Place and the EMP were definitely the highlights. Piroshky, Pirosky is now my all time favorite bakery ever! It was delicious! If you are ever in Seattle it's a must! Here are the nerdy pictures from our getaway :)

Just Pictures

2010-03-20T10:03:00.006-06:00

I just wanted to post up some new pictures. I guess I'll give an update too. Starting from the youngest.

Max is scheduled to get tubes in a few weeks. He has consistently had fluid behind his ears for months. His speech has been okay and he didn't seem to be in pain, so they weren't going to do anything. But then he got a double ear infection. They treated it and I could really tell a difference in his temperament and sleep patterns. I think he WAS in pain until the fluid cleared out. THEN about 6 weeks later he had another ear infection .... so given his fluid on the ears history and Ethan's history.... we decided to go ahead with the tubes. Other than his ears, he's just a regular little monkey :)

Ethan has just registered for Kindergarten. He is excited, but I think to him it's just like changing schools again. We're working on lower case letters for his name and starting letters at the top. I think he is going to have a math mind like his mom and dad. He is already great at adding and subtracting.

Eli is currently studying to take an actuary exam. He hopes to have the first test passed and a new job as an actuary within the year. But for now, he was just offered a job at Brown Mackie College. It is great that this time around he wasn't in need of a job. They just called him up one day and asked if he would be interested in a financial aid position (as opposed to the admissions position he used to have). Of course with the pay raise he would get and the better hours, how could we refuse?! It will be great having my husband home before 7:30 three days a week. I should disclaim that I THINK this is how the hours will pan out because that is how the hours worked in admissions there. Either way, the pay raise is worth it. He'll be starting April 5th... right after we get back from out Seattle get-away.

Eli and I finally get to go away for a bit by ourselves (thanks to our wonderful parents who have graciously agreed to help with our kids for a few days each... THANK YOU, we really do appreciate you and love you). This will be the first time that we've been away by ourselves since our honeymoon. YAY! I'm excited.

That is all that there really is going on right now. We hope all is well with everyone. We love all of you!

It's just overdue

2010-01-20T23:26:00.004-07:00

My apologies to anyone who has been wondering when on earth I will post something new. Here it is. We've had a lot going on. Max's b-day, Christmas and New Years. It doesn't make us anymore exciting. Here are some fun pictures. Max's eyes never cease to amaze me with how BLUE they are. And Ethan is as always, just cute. He likes to tilt his head in pictures and he thinks he can get anything he wants that way. Enjoy the pictures!

Boys' play time

2009-09-09T17:03:00.003-06:00

I just love this demonstration of how the boys play. A little of Max branching out on his own to chase me with the camera, Ethan taking a 2 second break from trains to smile for the camera, and together time. .... Ethan playing trains and Max coming up next to him and kicking him/pestering him. :)

Summer's End

2009-09-08T17:42:00.004-06:00

I thought I would just update the blog. This summer Eli was out of a job. Although it was nice to have him around, we really couldn't do much. We did end up being able to go up to Jackson with Eli's family. We went on some hike's, floats, and [cold]white water trips. It was fun! And the hike's served up some incredible views! Of course Ethan had a blast. Max was just learning to crawl and did not appreciate being cooped up and bundled up so much. Eli just got a job with Apollo College in the Financial Aid Department. Yay! Ethan is starting up pre-school again and he loves it!

Just sharing the new family picture

2009-07-21T21:07:00.001-06:00

Ethan's 4th B-Day!!

2009-06-11T15:25:00.004-06:00

This year was simple and fun! We had cake, ice cream, and pop. The kids got to bust open a pinata that we made. Wall-E was a hit with the Eve pinata. Loved how simple it was too. Ethan loved being the center of attention and having all of his friends there. He is now out of school for the summer which he is sad about but we have fun worksheets to do to keep his mind sharp! Ethan and Max really enjoy each other's cpmpany and it is so cute!

Just an Update!

2009-05-21T21:14:00.005-06:00

I just had some cute pictures and thought I would send an update. We have Ethan's fourth birthday coming up! He is excited for his Wall-E birthday party. After looking at his pictures when he's sitting next to Max, he looks so big to me. Max is starting to sit well on his own. He still prefers the mommy-mobile as his method of transportation as oppossed to learning to roll. But he is obviously just super cute! So I am sure that the next post will be about Ethan's birthday party!

The Cute Pic is in!

2009-04-24T10:17:00.003-06:00

So I had to make some adjustments to the picture .... I hope it looks alright. Isn't it cute? I think I have some very handsome boys! I Love It! .... p.s. The black spots are intentional (I "antiqued" it)

How big is HE?

2009-04-20T17:38:00.003-06:00

Our SD card was full for a while and now that it's not I thought I would post a new picture of Max. He is especially cute in this picture... maybe I am just just bias. :)

Cousins!

2009-04-20T14:30:00.002-06:00

My sister Christy and her kids came to visit for their spring break. Most of the week we just hung out because the weather was cold. But on Friday we got to go to the zoo and the best part was the slides of course. The lions and tigers were cool too I guess :) We had a fun week! Ethan is so glad that his cousin Aleia is so close, but already misses his cousins... Maddie, Ellie, Charlie, and James.

Blessing

2009-01-05T14:51:00.003-07:00

We blessed Max on January 4th. Both Eli's parents and my parents were there. We decided to get a family picture that day. Amateur of course, but all four of us are finally in a picture together none the less YEA!!

!!Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-22T14:12:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas!!! Here are some fun festive pictures!
So it is overdue but here is the story of Max. He was born November 19, 2008 @ 2:31. 7lb 1oz. 19 inches long and head 14 in. I think that is larger than average. He was born very healthy. In his first 2 weeks we had a few trips to the doctor but everything looks good. The next week was Thanksgiving. We got to spend time with family and that was lots of fun. Ethan had fun with all of his cousins. Especially his boy cousins Charlie and James. Of course, everyone adored Max. One of the pictures I got was of Max's oldest cousin, Maddie, holding him. She looked comfortable holding him and even fed him his bottle once or twice. Too bad she's not close enough to babysit :) Ethan has LOVED becoming an older brother. He always wants to hold him and kiss him. He is great at helping mom and dad hold his bottle and give him his pacifier and he's even really good at helping mom clean. We are so happy to have our growing family just in time for the Holidays! We are still feeling the need for more sleep but overall we are very well! We wish all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas!

Max!!

2008-11-22T13:28:00.004-07:00

Here are some of the first pictures we have of him! We will surely have more VERY soon. Also if you are interested in seeing the "Hospital Pictures" here is the link to the site that has it. Sorry if it doesn't take you there. We'll post more about the event soon. Until then, enjoy the pics!

Last Day as a Family of Three

2008-11-19T08:59:00.003-07:00

So I know these pictures are really not that great. Trust me I tried to no end to get some decent pictures. But the nature of our fun just really doesn't translate to a picture. We decided that for our last day as a family of three we would go out and have some fun. After Ethan got out of school, we had lunch and took off to a black light indoor mini-golf place close by. My belly is big enough that I didn't even feel like doing it. So I watched and attempted to get some good pictures. After golf we went to the movie Wall-E. Ethan loved it! We weren't sure that he would because there is so little talking but I think the robots and space ships kept his attention. On our way home Ethan fell asleep hard but we still had to wake him up for dinner and a bath. Today after school he is going straight to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's for a 3 day long slumber party. He is excited to see baby Max though and wants to come see us at the hospital. Our next post will undoubtedly be about our next three days!

Are we done yet?

2008-11-17T10:22:00.004-07:00

We are all ready for Max to get here! Except for Max. We had Ethan's Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor appointment check-up for his tubes. We have the crib set up. And the other picture is of Ethan buckled in with his buddy Mickey (he made sure Mickey had his seat belt on too!) on our way home from Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's after our 2nd false alarm trip to the hospital. So, if Max hasn't decided to make an appearance yet by Wednesday the 19th we are scheduled at the hospital for a 2:00 C-Section. We'll let everyone know when he gets here!

Raking Leaves

2008-11-11T13:49:00.005-07:00

At grandma and grandpa Hanks' house, Ethan was helping grandpa and Jordan rake up leaves and then jumped in them! He thought it was the coolest. There wasn't much to it but I got a few cute pictures of it.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T10:30:00.006-07:00

Ethan was a pirate for Halloween and he LOVED it! His two favorite parts were trick or treating and getting to yell "ARRGHH!". We went to our ward trunk or treat and then to one house which we were told that we couldn't miss. Next time you see Ethan ask him what a pirate says. (I wish I would have gotten more pics of Halloween, but I didn't. So here is the one I did get and the one that was left out from the pumpkin patch.)

Gaming at the Hanks'

2008-10-31T11:17:00.005-06:00

This year we got a Wii! We love to play. Ethan is definately the big video game lover in the family but we usually only pull it out on the weekends. He is quickly gaining skill at Mario Kart and Wii bowling and loves to "play" Guitar Hero. The other picture is of when we had Lee and Ashley over and we played. As you can see, everyone had fun. Good Times with the Wii!

soo...

2008-10-30T09:01:00.005-06:00

The time is quickly approaching the birth of our new baby boy Max. Officially he is due on the 25th. Which isn't that far, but I won't go that long for at least the sake of feeling well and not being in the hospital on Thanksgiving, the 27th. I'm starting to swell (nothing compared to last pregnancy) and my doctor is getting ... watchful of my blood pressure, since I have other symptons of preeclampsia. So we'll see. PS. My doctor just scheduled me for a c-section on the 17th if I haven't had him already. I am just feeling big and ready to be done. I usually post pictures with my post but I don't have any new and exciting pictures to post. So I guess I'll get some, today maybe, and post again soon. Definately I will give updates about Max's arrival.

Field Trip to Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T13:49:00.003-06:00

Today Ethan's class went to the pumpkin patch! Holy cow, it was colder than I thought it would be. Of course it probably would have been warmer if I could close my coat. Ethan got to pick out a pumpkin to take home. He had a hard time picking and got tripped up by the vines some, but finally decided on one he liked. We also rode the hayride, and then Ethan and his classmates played in the haystack maze to warm up (another picture I thought I got but still need to change the settings on the camera)! We had fun! I think next week Eli and I are taking Ethan to the corn maze so we will get some pictures of that too!

Craft Day with Anthony and Kasia

2008-10-13T13:43:00.005-06:00

Last Thursday Anthony and Kathy came over for craft day. The boys made spider bracelets by tracing out four fingers on construction paper and then they painted pumpkins. We thought we had a picture of them showing off their pumpkins but we didn't. And Kasia and I painted our own pumpkins. We actually did get a picture of us showing off ours. It was a fun day of crafting, followed by some yummy cookies (not shown:D)

Sick Day

2008-09-18T14:35:00.004-06:00

Ethan's first stay at home sick day from school. Poor kid. He's hoarse and coughing. He had red puffy circles under his eyes, so I am glad that he actually fell asleep for a nap. Today is actually the day I could hang out with him and do stuff and instead he needs to rest. So I am just bumming around the house, doing some crafts, making sure bills are paid, checking our budget, etc...

Cascade Reunion

2008-09-15T12:27:00.004-06:00

Our Cascade reunion was just my immediate family. That is always fun. Maybe just being the youngest sibling I really enjoy the time we get to all spend together. Ethan enjoyed spending all of his time with his cousins. It was just fun all around. We got to go on a hike, play by the river, LOTS of family dinners, and Ethan's favorite, we got to ride the Thunder Mountain Express (train). He and cousin Charlie thought there was nothing better in the world than to get to ride a real train! It was lot's of fun. With Autumn right around the corner we have more excitment to look forward to. Baby Max will be coming soon! But first we have Halloween!

Albuquerque

2008-07-15T11:55:00.004-06:00

Our trip to Albuquerque was for Eli's grandma's 80th birthday celebration. There I met all of Eli's aunt's and uncle's (which is the first time I've seen a lot of them) and some of his cousins from his dad's side. But there are a lot I still haven't met. Most of our time there we kicked back and got to visit with his family. We also took a trip to old town, we went to the aquarium, and we took the tram to the top of the mountain and it rained on us the only time that it rained while we were there. The rain would have been nice while we were walking around old town. It was HOT! While we were at Eli's grandparents house Ethan tripped and ran into a very solid corner piece of cement bird bath that was in the backyard. Thank goodness there was a doctor in the house! We would have taken him to the ER! We thought he needed stitches. Dr. Grandpa said we just needed to super glue it. So we did. I think he's going to have a scar for the rest of his life (one just like his dad has on his forehead) but he is healed and we had fun in New Mexico.

Peterson Family Reunion

2008-07-01T11:50:00.003-06:00

This was a reunion for all of my grandpa's siblings families. So I didn't know most of the people there. But I was able to see all of my family and my favorite cousins. Seeing my grandpa was the highlight though. I rarely get a chance to go see him so it was really special.

Ultrasound

2008-06-30T13:24:00.002-06:00

So I thought this was REALLY cool. This is the ultrasound of Max dancing on my bladder in June. It's neat! Enjoy!

Ethan's 3rd Birthday!

2008-06-15T11:41:00.000-06:00

This year he actually understood the whole birthday thing. He chose a Mickey Mouse theme. So we had Mickey favors, a Mickey cake, and we even ventured to make a Mickey pinata. The kids loved it! We had it in Eli's parents backyard. It was a bit cool outside still but the kids all got to run around, play in the sandbox, jump on the trampoline and even in the inflatable jumphouse that was rented specially for his party (it was a train jumphouse). What a blast for the kids! Ethan had all of his best friends there. His cousin Aleia and friends Anthony and Tanner. He still can't stop talking about the "birthday train" and can't wait until next year!