Merry Christmas and goodbye 2010!

Our 2010 small summary is here!

Merry Christmas everyone.


A.: “I like pink and my class and to color in my class. I am ticklish. I like to make donkey noises and cow noises. I love to dance and sing. My favorite songs are the Spider Song, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam, Hallelujah, and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. I love to climb, and everytime I jump off of something, I yell ‘Canon Ball!!!’ I love Tinkerbell, and look like her, too, but for Halloween, I changed my mind at the last minute and had to be Minnie Mouse!”







I.: “I sat around and played in my room this week. I went to Christmas parties, like today. I was in an InsectLore commercial and in a movie called Measure of a Man. I did gymnastics. I learned to do a bridge-up and balance beam. I’m learning how to read. I read Green Eggs and Ham. I practiced painting a picture of a fairy named Sil. I will start to paint this year, so I can be an artist when I’m older. I like to play checkers with my brother. I like to clean the table because it is one of my chores. I like to have my friends over. I beaded two bracelets because I love to bead.”






H.: “I started acting this year. I’ve had 7 jobs. I’ve been in 2 commercials, 3 movies, 2 voice overs, and a fashion show. I started 2nd grade this year. I moved up to level 2 in gymnastics. I dug a big hole in the back yard, that’s now filled with leaves, when we were digging for dinosaur bones. Sometime next year we’ll clean it out and keep digging. I lost three teeth this year, and I have one wiggly one. I learned how to do a cartwheel this year, and I can almost do a handstand. I learned to pump with my legs to swing higher on my 7th birthday. I completed Tiger Cubs this year. I read Stewart Little this year and Of Mice and Magic and Mouse and the Motorcycle and Runaway Ralph. I read Dreams of Flight this year because I want to learn a lot about planes so I can try to design them when I’m older. I won 1st place for my Legos in the fair this year, and I got 2nd place for Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Sugar cookies. I won 2nd place for my story The Space Flight to an Astroid. I won 2nd place and a big ribbon for my garden scene plot with my Lightening McQueen collection and some cacti. I won honorable mention for my stepping stone.”

R.: “This year, I taught CTR 7 (Choose the Right, age 7 and 8) in Primary at church. This next year, it is H.’s class that I will be teaching. Now I can finally complain about his teacher. Hehe. I still home school the children. We have had lots of adventures this year like going to the Ostrich Farm, Disneyland, the L.A. Zoo, Cove Fort, CaLM (local zoo), the Discovery Center, La Brea Tar Pits, USC Science Center, LA Natural History Museum, and lots of different places in LA and Santa Monica for the children’s acting. I’m working on goals for the new year to prioritize needs more than wants in my life. I got out my Strawberry Shortcake collection to enter in the fair. I also dusted off the alto sax to play for Christmas this year and realized how much I miss playing it.”



T.: “I put a new floor in the bathroom this year. I’m trying to find the perfect recipe for rootbeer.”


We each wish each of you the
merriest Christmas of all.Have a wonderfully cheerful 2011!

Remember, “wise men and women seek Him still!”


Love, The Hansen’s

T., R., H., I., and A.

I. and A. in an InsectLore commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C22ouDGSXC8&feature=player_embedded

I. (long blond hair looking at the tarantula) is standing next to A. (super short-haired blond) right before A. touches the beetle.

An insect museum

I. and A. got to go to an insect museum this weekend. They loved the butterflies!

The sparrow in its fall...

Well, ours was the Lessor Goldfinch, but nonetheless...

On Saturday, we were in the back yard in the evening. I. looked up and saw something falling. A bird had fallen straight down onto the grass. It was beautiful. The markings were perfect, more beautiful than this picture. When T. picked up the bird with a scoop to put in the trash to wait for the vector control (West Nile Virus tests), the head delicately hung off the edge of the scoop. Until then, it just looked like it could be asleep, or waiting for the surrounding crowd to dissipate, but when T. gently scooped up its body, there hung the head and it was evident that it was dead. We told H. I. and A. that its spirit was with Heavenly Father and that body wasn't alive anymore.

Sunday, in church this was one of the verses sung from Hymn 75 In Hymns of Praise:

3. The little flow’r that lasts an hour,
The sparrow in its fall,
They, too, shall share his tender care;
He made and loves them all.

[Chorus]
Exalt his name in loud acclaim;
His mighty pow’r adore!
And humbly bow before him now,
Our King forevermore.


Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ tenderly love all. It was interesting that I never would've thought about the meaning of that hymn had not that bird died in front of us the evening before.




Monday came along, today, and I called vector control, who gave me a number to call, which gave me a website to enter my info regarding the body of the bird. So, after all of that waiting, we could've reported it on Saturday and had the poor bird's body tested for West Nile Virus.

SO, if you have the same experience, do not wait to call. Call right then so that bird's death can actually help the studies going on for a cure and a tracking of the West Nile Virus. Here is the CA Gov't website: http://westnile.ca.gov/report_wnv.php

The PineWood Derby

We had a great time today at H.'s Cub Scout Troop's Pinewood Derby. He came in first 4 times in a row in his heat. Then, from the other heat's winners, he came in second (the other car should've been disqualified since its wheel distance was too small to fit on the track, but they don't really disqualify people in this troop.)....

FIRST HEAT-first place:


THIRD HEAT-first place:


I. was super cute with her train-car and her graphite smudge on her nose!



H. got a 2nd place trophy. Pretty exciting.

The pinewood derby painting session

Thursday evening we were painting our pinewood derby cars and other wood items. A. started painting herself. When H. told me and I looked at her in a little bit of shock, she turned to H. and she said, "Shhh!" We all laughed. It was so funny. She'd been ratted out.

A.'s new bathroom successes

A. has been working on doing whatever her brother or sister does. Last week she even pooped in her potty and today she woke up happy (thanks to the other two staying quiet enough in the morning so that she could sleep in a bit) and then when I asked her if she needed to pee, she said yes, happily sat on her potty and pee'd in it. :-) So cute!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A.'s headshots

Our big ol' baby A.

This is our little baby that is nearly 18 months...look out nursery.

She's been learning to communicate with us and it is so much nicer now that we can sorta tell what she wants.

This morning, we were sitting in bed and she looked at me and signed "eat" and said, "Eat!" So, we went to the kitchen and started breakfast. Our neighbor brought us some oranges yesterday. She saw them on the counter and said, "Bop bop Ease" Translated: "Round Fruit (from apple), please." We just finished breakfast and she is now eating her orange slices. She finished one, handed me the peal, and said, "Mmm Bop bop, Ease" Translate: "More orange, please" and she signs please. So cute.

It is funny that she doesn't know too many words in sign, but she knows and uses: "eat, sleep, cup, poop, please, thank you, more, milk, and of course COOKIE" :-)

Avoiding a Thanksgiving Statistic

Isn't it true that most accidents and fires and such happen during the holidays? Well, that was almost us yesterday.

The kids were playing in H.'s room. H. ran out and yelled, "My light just burned out and there's smoke coming down from the light." T. and I yelled to him to get out...so, of course he ran back in and turned the light off...anyways...

I ran in there and grabbed I. and A. and shut the door.

T. went in after I'd gotten the children out. He took the bulb down and sure enough, it had faulted and would've caused a fire had the kids not been in there at that time. I emailed the company yesterday, but, of course, it is a holiday.

H. had to sleep on the floor in the other bedroom last night. H.'s room is still COMPLETELY stinky. It smells like burnt electrical wiring and plastic. We've had an air purifier going in there for more than 24 hrs. We had all the windows in the house open all day yesterday. I don't know how to get that smell out...and smells aren't just smells, they are molecules of something, I just don't know what. Those fluorescent bulbs have mercury in them, too, so I hope that that didn't leak out all over, too...

Click on the photo to make it larger.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a fun dinner together and then went over to my Grandma's to play a game and give her a plate of food, too.

Family Update

It has been a while since I last made a real entry, so I think I should give a little update now.



H. is now six. He has just finished his first session of enrichment classes at school. He learned about the rain forest ecosystem, did some learning activities with fun stories (including learning our cell phone numbers and Granddad's number and our home number....now he is enjoying calling home on our cell phone and talking to himself). H. is loving gymnastics. He has his same teachers as last year and his class is mostly boys. Almost all of them are older than him, so it is fun to see him learn to cooperate and listen and obey his teacher better. Last year he was in with 4-6 yr olds and they are VERY wiggly...thus so was he. At church, H. is going to be in the Primary Program. He has memorized his part and most of the words to the songs...we'll practice those this week. At home, we are going through the articles of faith. He has memorized 3 of them so far.



I. is nearly 4. She loves having a brother and sister. She is learning to write her letters and loves to "read". She gets the book and reads her memorized version of the book or story. For scripture reading at night, we read her a phrase and she copies it aloud. She likes, however, to have the scriptures opened in her lap to show she is reading. In the Primary program, she is saying two parts. She memorized them. She says, "I am a spirit-child of God." and then she says, "My Father in Heaven loves me." (substitute /w/ for /r/ and /y/ for /l/ and you can hear her saying it.) :-) She is on the 3rd Article of Faith at home. She memorized the first and second ones already. I. is LOVING dance. She goes to tap and ballet. She loves her Chicken Chow Mein song there, too.







A. is 1.

She definitely loves to do what she sees. T. said that today at church she was walking around. A woman in the hallway said that she is so little that she could walk under her leg and lifted her foot to the side with a bent knee. A., having seen this, has been doing ever since. She thinks it is so funny. We started a little signing with A.. She likes the sign for "poop" and really has it down when you remind her about it when she's getting her diaper changed. She also uses the signs for "please", "thank you" (she blows a kiss), more, and "eat" or "food". She is growing well and is learning to eat more solids. Yesterday she gave me quite a scare. T. was at a conference, of course, and A. fell onto my file drawer that I had on the bed that I was looking through. She split open her lip and I was frantically trying to decide whether or not to take her in for stitches. I called the Pedi-center and they said that they don't do lips...that I'd have to take her to the ER and let them decide whether or not to call in a plastic surgeon. SO, thankfully I have some wise friends that have studied in the field of nursing that helped me out. THANK YOU H.H.!!!


Well, there is a little update on our cute little children. As for T. and I, we are still here, still healthy, and still wondering if this bad air is worth staying in. As for now, we are here. :-)



Love to all our friends and family.

R.

probably influenza...

I talked with my cousin yesterday. She said that her son had the same symptoms as our kids and that the doctor told her the same exact things that they told us to do.

Here are the kids' symptoms:
--I. started a fever on Friday (well, it may have been before that time, but I didn't take a temp. until Friday morning.). She was 102.5 in one ear and 103 in the other. The doctor said, "She sounds clear. She has a virus. She'll have a fever for 3-5 days. Watch her VERY, Very carefully! Switch the motrin and tylenol every three hrs. and tepid baths* past the belly button to control the fever." Then, she high-tailed it out of there (she's a talker, so this wasn't very normal).

So, Sunday comes along and now H. and A. also have it. (So, we didn't just ditch church for no reason.) I treat them with the advil, since that worked for I., but A.'s fever persisted so we are doing tylenol and advil with her. I had to give all three tepid fever-reducing baths last night.

Every three hours I had an alarm set on my phone for taking temperatures and giving meds. During the night, I.'s temp stayed around 99, so I didn't give her advil. H. needed advil once. A. needed advil and tylenol all night and I needed to give warm water compresses to evaporate the fever, too (I didn't think she'd go for a bath in the middle of the night twice).

This morning, I woke up with the alarm again and went to do my rounds with the thermometer (thankfully we have the ear one...I can't even imagine having to put the thermometer under the arm that many times). I. was around 100. A. was about 101. H. was 104.5. SO, back to the bath.

I called the doctor to get more appropriate instructions and this is what I learned...just in case we get influenza A (I assume it is because my cousin's son had the test) again, I want it documented in a better place than on the back of some random paper.

Here goes:
if fever is above 102.5, give a DOUBLE dose of advil.
after 3 hrs., if fever is persisting, give SINGLE dose of tylenol.
after 3 more hrs., if over 102.5, give a DOUBLE dose of advil.
repeat.

If, the fever continues for more than 5 days or isn't getting lower each time it is treated (by meds or tepid baths or warm water compresses) then you need to go back in.

If the cough that comes with it persists and isn't just from the throat like post-nasal drip, go in for a bronchitis test.

If diarrhea, nausea, cough, etc. come on, too, then call.


When asked about meds that they can take, this is what I learned:

Continue with the allergy meds.
Treat the post-nasal drip.
Treat the cough to avoid pneumonia...pulmacort and xopenex 2xs daily for a week and then wean.


Crappy, huh?


Oh, and one more thing...no contact with other kids for 7 days. So, we won't be seeing you for a while...and thankfully, we didn't go anywhere this week (except soccer, but there's no contact in soccer, right?????)


*tepid bath = 97-99 degree bath past the belly button for 20 minutes, or until the fever has dropped a degree. Do this when the fever is over 102.5

A. got tooth #3

Top front right cut through during her nap on Saturday.

Our Weekend

This weekend was a good one. We are home from our 4 week vacation (surprise!). Yesterday I cut hair...usually just for T. and H., but I. needed her first haircut, too. I will edit this post and put some pics in. Her hair was getting tangly every single day, so I knew it was time. It is cute and even now, well, I did put some layers in it. She just wanted to make sure that it didn't look like boy hair and I assured her that I was not going to use the electric shears on her hair, that I was just going to trim off the parts that made it ouchy to brush through.

In sacrament meeting today, there was a return missionary speaking on missionary work. He recently completed an honorable mission to Russia. Of course that peaked my interest, since I lived there in '95. He told of the change that came over a girl even in her dress as she learned of the gospel of Jesus Christ, was baptized, and wanted to be a missionary, too.

I missed the Sunday School lesson due to caring for my sweet baby, but made it to the Relief Society class where C.H. gave a great lesson on Charity (the pure love of Christ) and Service (serving others, not just your own family, friends, or neighbors, but everyone in need that you can).

During Sunday School, I was walking Ane in the hallway because it was time for her to be taking a nap, even though she didn't. One time when I was talking to my friend H.W., she responded to what H.W. had said. H.W. had asked me if A. could walk yet. I said, "a little". But just then, A. REALLY wanted to get down, so I set her on the floor. She proceeded to stand in place and take 8 steps. Then she smiled right at H.W. A. did that for two other people. It was like she was really showing off her new skill.

We were visited by the Elder's Quorum president and his counselor this afternoon. It was fun to hear that our children know what are good things to include in our home life. The elders asked H. what we are doing tomorrow night (being Monday) and he answered Family Night. They asked I. what we do each night before bed, and she answered scriptures and prayer. Then, after they taught a short lesson with a scripture and said a prayer, they got up to leave. Everyone shook hands and A., at 11 months, held out her hand and shook both of their hands. It was really cute.

Well, bedtime went pretty well tonight. I read and sang to the kids, but they still won't go to sleep...so many excuses. Oh well, life isn't perfect.

R.

A. cut another tooth

Her left bottom front tooth (the one last week was the left top front tooth). Orajel is our friend right now!!!!!

A. just cut a tooth!!! (well, at 8pm)

A. took two steps at 11:25 PM on June 13th!!

She was so cute. She stood up at her little Winnie the Pooh tree toy, faced me, and carefully let go, moved her left foot, then her right, and then put out her hands to me as she gracefully fell forward into my arms. :-)

A. stood

A. stood for 3 seconds by herself today. :-)