Christmas

We had a fun trip to Utah this Christmas!  We always wish we could see everyone for Christmas.  This year we got to see all of the Harris side and some Jensens, too!

I like pictures the best so here they come:

 

Hyrum got a recorder.  He was so excited, he tried to start playing it before we could get the package open!

Take two... after a little practice he has learned to blow through it without making a really loud squeak.

 Mmm, ice cream...

 Lots of fun cars!

 Liberty LOVED the little ponies.

 Potato heads were a big hit, too. 

Fast forward about 3 weeks... Hyrum brought me two mustaches and said to me, 

"Mom, let's take pictures!" "Ok, son." We like to be silly sometimes. 

 

 Lots more pictures to come, if I can manage it.  :)

Cuties

We have had a great summer full of fun reunions, but it has just gone by too fast!  We are just trying to enjoy the time that is left.  Here are a couple of pictures to show how the kids are growing!

 

Grace is crawling efficiently and already pulling herself up on furniture.  I think she will be walking before we are ready for her!  She will be 8 months old on Sunday.  She is a mover and a talker.

Hyrum is learning and growing so much!  It seems like he surprises me every day with a new language concept that he has noticed.  He is also singing a lot more and asking specifically for his favorite toys, games, and friends. 

 

We had a great Jensen reunion last week, complete with swimming, games, crafts, and lots of good food. Pair those things with loved ones and you really can't go wrong!

We feel blessed every day to come from two such great families.

 

 

May and June Pics

Beautiful Grace

Aaaah!! Lol.

Sweet Girl.

My joy.

This girl loves her toes!

Hyrum loves the park!

He still asks for fun Cousin Wibby.

Uncle Matt is lots of fun!

Workin' too hard.  :)

 Father's day pic

 Hilarious plane ride with Grandma.

They were great on the plane!

July Update

GRACE is 6 1/2 months old and is a sweet, smiley girl with an infectious little giggle and two bottom teeth.  She is already rocking on her hands and knees and can move around quite efficiently though she isn't yet officially crawling.  She loves to play and laugh with her brother and just beams whenever she gets attention from Mom and Dad.  She is between 25-30 percentile for both weight and height and weighs 15.5 lbs.  We feel so blessed to have this sweet little angel in our family!

HYRUM is 2 years old and definitely finding out what the limits are.  He is still such a good helper and he loves his sister so much!  I asked him to smile at Grace for me while I took a shower yesterday and when I got out, I could hear her crying so I ran out to find him holding her on his lap, patting her tummy and trying to feed her his carrot.  Ha ha, he was trying so hard to help her, it was so cute.  He is the sweetest little guy and will just randomly stop playing, run over to me, give me a kiss and hug, and run back to playing.  I love it.  He is also getting very good at saying his own prayers and at singing/saying some familiar primary songs with us instead of just listening.  It is so much fun for us to see him grow and learn and progress!

BEN just got back from a week at scout camp.  He had a great time and now we are glad to have him home! It feels like a long time since we have all just been at our house together with a regular routine-- we went from busy season to a great trip in May to visit my brother Phil's home in DC and see him graduate, to UT for Matt and Brianne's wedding, and back home for us to be sick for a month (except Grace, fortunately) with 3 fun weekends in Othello and then back on the road again for a Colorado Anderson family reunion and an Idaho Christensen reunion, both of which were awesome.  We have loved seeing so many family members!  We got back in time to unpack and repack for Ben to go to scout camp.  Whew!  So now he is back and we are enjoying some family time, working in the garden and playing soccer in the back yard.  Hyrum is a great little kicker.  J  Ben has also received a job offer from a competing accounting firm and will officially decide whether to accept by the end of this week.  He is also picking back up on his running in preparation for a marathon in September.  I am grateful to be married to such a hardworking and dedicated man.

RACHEL is finally getting over a 6 week cold, thanks to Ben’s Mom taking our kids and giving me some real rest last week while Ben was gone.  Thanks!  I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I got it.  Along with the cough I had cracked ribs, which was awesome because they kind of keep each other going longer… As the cough subsides I think the ribs will heal quickly.  I also have had several comments over the last few years that I walk funny, so I had a Physical Therapist in our ward look at my foot and he says that I am missing a ligament in my foot, probably from the one really bad sprain I’ve ever had because it was swollen in that exact spot for a couple of years after it happened.  They took x-rays and everything at the time but obviously the ligaments didn’t show up so it was not a visible problem.  Our PT friend told me some exercises I can do to strengthen the muscles around it and straighten out my foot.

We are a happy family and feel so blessed to be together and finally healthy again! 

New pictures

Since I haven't been posting as often as I would like, I figured I'd better at least get a few pictures on here!  Here are some fun things we have been up to in the last month.

Playing with sweet baby Grace

Building a snowman

Reading lots of books 

Playing outside when it is warm enough

(this is our neighbor's swingset, they are kind enough to share)

Taking lots of naps

(and enjoying Grace's Z-shaped stretch afterward)

This picture illustrates how much Hyrum loves his sister. 

When I went to shower, Hyrum was watching a movie and Grace was in her chair with a binky and ONE blanket.  When I got out of the shower, she had an additional 4 blankets, pair of jammies, burp cloth, 2 stuffed animals, and nursing pillow laid lovingly over her lap and around her on the floor.  Hyrum is a sweet big brother who takes really good care of his little sister.

Often, Hyrum likes to just lie down next to her on the floor, or to bring her little stuffed animals and rattles to play with.  He seems to know which ones she will like.  He reads her books and wants to take a nap when she does (how awesome is that?).  He is also very protective of Grace.  2-3 weeks ago we went to watch one of Daddy's ward basketball games.  Grace was in her carseat and a little girl (about 4 years old) was trying to  give Grace her binky.  I was a few feet away and watching but I didn't stop her because I know little girls love babies and Grace wasn't in any danger.  Hyrum saw a stranger by his sister, so he ran over and pushed the girl away from Grace (the girl wasn't hurt at all).  I think it is cute that he is watching out for her and has the determination to keep her safe, and with a little more time and training he will know which things are actually dangerous. 

Ben is working his way through busy season, and reminds me of the fun family vacations we have planned for this summer whenever I feel weary.  He has made an awesome effort to see Hyrum and play with him every day, and is also great about cuddling with Grace every evening and helping me with the dinner dishes.  He is running regularly now and hoping to be ready for a marathon at the end of the summer. 

I have been enjoying my children so much. Every moment with them is such a priceless treasure and I try to keep that in mind even in the moments that are a little harder to treasure.  Hyrum and Grace keep me busy and bring me so much joy, and I love having a baby to cuddle while Ben is at work and an energetic boy to keep me on my toes.  I wouldn't change anything about our life right now (except maybe self-cleaning floors? or a transporter to beam in loved ones for visits). 

Life is good.  :)

Grace Elizabeth Jensen

I know I promised some pictures of our baby, and here she is!  We thought she would arrive about a week early because Hyrum came 9 days early but she joined us one day after she was due, on December 26th, at 10:48 pm. 

She weighs 6 lbs 6.9 oz and is 20 inches long.

Mom was very happy to make Grace's acquaintance.

Daddy already loves this baby girl.

First family photo

Great big brother

We are so happy to have little Grace Elizabeth as part of our family!  We will head home from the hospital tomorrow morning and look forward to having Dad around for a few days to help us make this a fun transition.

December at lastI have been looking forward to December for a while now, mainly because I should become unhugified sometime this month and also because we should be mostly done with all of our house projects for a few months. I know December is still two days away, but it feel like it's here because Thanksgiving is over and everyone is putting up Christmas lights! Since I last posted, we have painted almost all of the outside of our house (about half of one side will wait for warmer weather). We really wanted to finish but keeping all of our fingers was a higher priority. We have also made 4 trips to Othello and 2 trips to Utah, and Ben took one to Oregon and one to Texas (for football games with some friends). Ben has also gone on a scout campout about once a month. So needless to say, it has been busy. We painted our dining and living rooms in the last week and hope to finish up with the kitchen and finally, the bathroom by the laundry room. Our goal is to get the painting finished before baby girl makes her appearance sometime this month. Most of our baby preparations are more like house projects that we are squeezing in while we can, but we did have a very cute baby shower thrown by my friend Jen from my ward in November, which was great. I think the main thing I still need to buy is diapers. Two kids in diapers will be awesome... I guess the other way we are prepared is that I am done with my Christmas shopping and wrapping. It's an awesome feeling. Once we move the furniture back from painting I will do some decorating and then sit back and enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks to Josh and Lauren for being our personal UPS this Thanksgiving!In other news... I was released from my calling as Mia Maids advisor. Sad, but true. I am now realizing how relaxing it is to have just one calling and am enjoying focusing more on my ward missionary calling. Ben is still Deacons advisor/Assistant Scoutmaster and ward choir director and is doing awesome at both jobs. He is also helping teach a class on personal finance on Tuesday nights. Somehow he still manages to do our house projects and play basketball with his work team. I married an amazing man. :)Hyrum is trying out a few more words lately but still communicates mainly by his voice intonation. He loves watching movies and playing with Dad, and also tries to help us paint if we let him anywhere near a brush or roller. He is such a doer and a worker, like his dad. He is so much fun to play with and I think he will be a great big brother-- he likes babies and other kids, he is always checking to make sure that all family members are coming/not getting lost, and he is awesome at the "go get it" thing and at anything that involves helping mom. Hopefully those qualites will continue to grow with a sister on the scene.I hope to get some pictures posted of our progress soon, but if not then Merry Christmas! And we'll definitely load some baby pictures as they become available.