Happy Birthday Caleb!

Now Caleb's birthday is actually on Christmas, which is exactly a week from today, and we will be out of town visiting family. So I figured today would be a better day to write this post than to write it after we get back.

So this is a post dedicated to Caleb and I am going to tell you things about him that you may or may not already know :)

He will be turning 23 and is already married with a child, graduated from college, and has an amazing full-time job that actually has to do with his major and has benefits to boot. He is a go-getter if there ever was one! He loves his video games, he especially loves playing with his cousin Bryan. He will also play Harry Potter Legos with me, although that definitely isn't his style of video game. His dad is his hero. He likes talking to him about business and politics, and all those things that I find boring :) He wants his advice and really takes it to heart. He would rather eat chocolate, or soda, or any other sort of junk food than anything healthy. When we got married he refused to eat any kind of vegetable. He now has a few that if I cook them a certain way he will eat them, but I still don't think he enjoys them. He has to turn the water on full blast when he brushes his teeth. I have never been able to figure that one out, but it makes me laugh every time I hear the water going on full and I know he's in there brushing his teeth. He is a big teaser, and very sarcastic. Sometimes when we are in public I feel I have to explain that he is just kidding so people don't think he's serious. He LOVES our little girl, and she loves him back. She gets so excited when he comes home from work. He is such as amazing husband, he helps me so much. He always gets the baby in the morning, before she was sleeping through the night he always got up and fed her. And the thing I really appreciate is him not expecting the dishes or laundry to be done, or dinner to be on the table when he gets home from work. If something isn't done he'll come in and help me finish it, even though he's been at work all day. Lily and I are so blessed to have such a great man in our lives! We love him so much!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Tomato Soup Recipe

For the past few months I have been able to cook more often, so I thought I'd share some of my recipes on here. Most of them I found on allrecipes.com (well actually the app on my phone/iPad) or in one if my recipe books, and then modified them. This one I am making again today, so I thought it should be my first.

Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can chicken broth

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 cup diced onion

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. In a large pot combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, chicken broth, sugar, butter, basil, and baking soda. Let simmer on stove for an hour.

2. Mix in heavy whipping cream, stir until heated through.

Tips:

1. I put the onion (un-cut) and the diced tomatoes in the blender for a few seconds, I still want it to be slightly chunky, but not extremely. Then this way I don't have to cut the onion by hand.

2. Don't put a lid on the pot while the base is cooking, you might be tempted because sometimes it splatters, but you want it to boil out some of the liquid.

3. Make sure the whipping cream is the same temperature as the tomato base before you mix them together or else it will curdle. You can heat up the whipping cream on the stove, either with a double- boiler or constantly stirring it in another pot so it doesn't burn. Or you can make the tomato base before-hand and stick it in the fridge for later, then heat everything up at the same time in the same pot. I prefer the second one.

I hope this soup turns out as yummy for you as it has for us!

What we did in September

This post is mostly going to be pictures about the things that we have been up to lately.

I have been able to try out some new recipes lately. Most of them I don't have pictures of, but they have been delicious for the most part.



These are some orange rolls and some soup that I have recently made. All from scratch :)

 

Caleb received his diploma. Lily and I are very proud of our college graduate.

 

 

A beautiful picture of the canyon on our way to Salt Lake.

 

 

Lily can hold up her head so well!

 

 

Lily has started eating solid foods. She likes most things after a few bites, but she does not like peaches. Yuck!

 

 

I have made quite a few crafts lately. This is one of them.

 

 

I also made Lily's Halloween costume. She's not too sure about being dressed up, but Caleb and I think she is very cute!

 

Well hopefully I can get on here faster next time!

 

 

 

 

Lily's Birth Story

It has been a very long time since I blogged. A lot has happened since I last wrote, including the birth of our baby girl. I have been meaning to write her birth story on here, but I haven't done it. So I'm going to remember everything the best I can and mostly just use what I already wrote in an email recently after she was born:

Lily was born Sunday, May 6th at 3:42 pm. She weighed 7 lbs and was 19 inches long.

My water broke Saturday night. We went to the hospital and eventually they had to put me on pitocin because my contractions weren't starting. After about 7 1/2 hours I was still only dilated to a 3 and the contractions were so hard and strong I couldn't take it any longer. I ended up getting an epidural even though at first I didn't want one. I was in labor for 16 1/2 hours. My cardiologist wanted me to push as little as possible, so once I was dilated to a 10 they had me do "resting descent" for 2 hours and let the contractions do the work and push her most of the way out for me. Takes longer that way but is much safer for my heart! The doctor then used forceps while I pushed and she came right out! I only pushed once. I did have some complications with my blood pressure. It dipped down to 64/32 right after she was born. The doctor thinks it was probably because I had so many pain killers in my system and then lost a little more blood than usual. They were able to get it back up not too shortly after and luckily I didn't have any other complications after that. I did have I.V. fluids continously for the next day or so to help keep my blood pressure up.

Even though Lily was a premie they still let us go home the next day because she was doing so well. She was breathing fine and even passed the carseat test (where they sit in the carseat continously for an hour and don't have anything issues breathing the entire time.) She also didn't have any issues with eating, she is her Momma's baby and LOVES to eat. She gets very upset when we make her wait.

 

This was taken when she was 1 day old.

Lily is a wonderful, happy baby. At first she had trouble sleeping, but we eventually discovered that she loves sleeping on her stomach and won't sleep any other way. So now she sleeps through the night and actually takes longer than 20 minute naps. We love her very much!

Week 32

Caleb and I have been very busy lately. I have been making decorations and things for the baby's room. And making Caleb help of course.

These are wooden letters that I painted and decorated. They are hanging up on her wall.

This one is also wood that I painted. It is hanging on the wall as well and I am planning on hanging the diaper holder from it. The middle green part actually sticks out and is designed to have something hanging from it.

I found these wicker baskets the other day and thought they would fit in here perfectly. I tied the green bows and glued them to the baskets to correlate with the rest of the room.

This is also hanging on the wall. And I painted this one too. I haven't decided what I want it to say yet, but I am planning on putting some kind of quote on it made out of vinyl.

This is a picture of Caleb putting up the curtains. He wanted the caption to say "slave labor". He is just so picked on :)

The curtains after they were all done!

Belly picture! This was at 30 1/2 weeks. I'm a little further than that now.

Only a few months left now! I haven't had too much more stomach pain, still some, but not bad. The only bad part is not knowing exactly what it's from. My feet and hands, especially my feet, get very swollen by the end of the day. But other than those two things everything is going well. I have my echo scheduled and will be doing that in about a week and a half. So we'll be able to find out exactly how my heart is dealing with all of this extra weight and blood volume, so far my blood pressure has been right where it should be so that's a good sign that all is well.

Not baby related: Caleb is busy finishing his last few weeks before he graduates and is still looking for a job, hopefully somewhere in the Salt Lake area. We're just plugging along, anxious to see how everything works out in the next two to three months with all of the unknowns going on!

Week 27

It has been a while since I last blogged. I haven't had much to say except about the past few weeks I guess.

2 weeks ago I went to the doctor and had my diabetes test. They told me they would only call if it came back positive, and I haven't heard anything so I'm guessing it came back negative. Which is good. When I went the nurse forgot that I was having the test done and I almost missed the window and had to do it all over again. Luckily I know you have to have your blood drawn for the test, and within a certain time limit, and asked the nurse if they were going to do it. They were able to draw my blood just in time.

Also at the same appointment the nurse said to me, "Well you've had an easy pregnancy haven't you?" I was thinking to myself, "Have I?" I haven't felt like I have, but I guess compared to what my pregnancy could have been: on bed rest, high blood pressure, issues with my heart, etc. I suppose I have had it easy. Not that I feel like I have had a horrible pregnancy, but I wouldn't call it easy either.

The next week, so about a week ago, I was having horrible stomach pain. It was on the right side. It hurt whenever I moved and was excruciatingly painful when I touched it. I had also had a fever for a few days previous to this. I had a thought that maybe it was appendicitis. I ended up calling the doctor, which I never do, and they wanted me to come in. By the time I went into the doctor the pain had subsided some and was mostly just a dull ache, kind of like a sore muscle when you've worked out too much. The doctor checked me out and said he thought it was my placenta leaking a little bit of blood into the wall of my uterus. He said it is quite common and can be painful sometimes. He said as long as it didn't continue past the next day or two and didn't hurt that badly again that I should be ok. The pain did go away by the next day and I have not had any since, so I think everything is back to normal. I still feel the baby moving around all the time so I'm glad I haven't had to worry about her either.

My feet, hands, and pretty much everything else has been very swollen lately. I finally broke down today and bought new shoes because have very few that I can even get on my feet, and none that fit comfortably. I bought them a little big so I am hoping they will fit me the rest of the pregnancy.

Here is another belly picture:

This was at 25 1/2 weeks. I need to take another since this was about 2 weeks ago.

Also as a side note, not baby related but definitely "story of our lives" related. Caleb has decided that he is going to be trying to find a job after he finishes his bachelor's degree this Spring. Hopefully somewhere in the Salt Lake area. This will be instead of him continuing to go to school for his master's right now, even though he still is planning on going to a MBA program in a few years or so. This definitely will be a big change for us and was not in the plans. We are excited for this new adventure in our lives but also nervous to take such a big step! We know though that if we trust in the Lord, He will help us find our way. For that we are very grateful.

Week 22

This week we had another doctor's appointment. We got to hear the baby's heart beat and the doctor measured my belly. Everything looks great :)

I feel my baby move all the time now and I love it! I better enjoy it now before she starts kicking really hard and it starts to hurt and isn't just reassuring any more. Caleb has also felt her kick, which is really exciting. Even when the doctor was trying to hear her heartbeat she kept moving around. He'd find it, but before we could really hear it she'd move and he'd have to find it all over again. It happened a couple times before she stopped moving enough for us to actually hear it.

Next time I go to the doctor I have to take the glucose test, to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. I'm just hoping the drink isn't too disgusting.

I am making a baby blanket for her as well. I decided I am going to decorate her room in pink's and brown's and a little bit of green as well, so the baby blanket is brown with pink polka dots.

I am tying it with pink yarn, which for some reason has already started to fray pretty badly. I might have to use a different kind of yarn and start over, but for now I'm just going to keep going.

Yesterday we also took my wedding ring in to the jewelery store to be re-sized. I haven't been able to wear it for a few months now and I finally decided I didn't want to wait until May or June to wear it again. I get it back on Friday and I am very excited.

Here is another belly picture. This was at 21 weeks. A little bit bigger than last time:

Ignore the wet spots on my shirt. I had just finished washing the dishes :)

We're Having a Girl!

Caleb and I had an ultrasound today. We had to drive down to Ogden to go to a Maternal Medicine office to get an extra in-depth look at the baby. They have better technology and can see things clearer than other ultrasounds.

They started by looking at our baby's heart (our babies will have a higher risk of having heart defects than others because of my heart defects). The heart looked good! Thank goodness. They could rule out any major heart defects, all four chambers were there and the right size as well as the aorta and other main veins and arteries.

They then looked at the other body parts. They measured the arms, legs, belly, and head. The baby is right in line size wise. They also looked at the brain, stomach, diaphragm, kidneys, umbilical cord, and the face (to make sure they didn't have a cleft pallet).

They also of course looked to see the sex of the baby. The technician said she was 100% sure we are having a baby girl :) I am definitely excited since it is what I have been hoping for all along.

When they were trying to look at her face she wouldn't move her hand, she kept sucking on her fingers. Even when the technician would shake my belly to try to get her to move she wouldn't do it. By the end of the ultrasound she had finally moved it enough that we could see her lips and nose and see that everything looked as it should. She just had to be stubborn for a little while :)

When the doctor came in he said that we have a beautiful baby and that she looks perfect :) That is always nice to hear.

I of course couldn't help myself and after the appointment Caleb and I went and bought some bedding to put in the crib, that I have already made him set up, even though the baby isn't due for a few more months :) My excuse that I gave him for putting the crib and dresser together so early is that I'm sure he'd rather do it now before the semester starts than me bugging him to do it while he's busy trying to study. (Since the baby is due right after finals.)

Here is a picture of the crib:

Without the bedding of course.

Here is a picture with the bedding:

Another picture of the bedding so you can actually see it:

Here is a picture of the dresser, just because:

And that is our baby update! I am sure I will have more to say when I start getting lots of cute stuff for my baby girl :)

Baby Hansen #1

Hi everyone!

I have not blogged for a LONG time. I have been slacking I suppose, but I got a new job which has kept me very busy.

I also have a confession to make. The last time I blogged I said I wasn't pregnant, and apparently that was a lie. An unintentional one, since I didn't know I was pregnant yet. But either way, I still was.

Caleb and I are very excited to be parents. Even though this was a big surprise and Caleb wasn't so excited at first, he is now on board and we couldn't be more ecstatic. And of course he was still happy at the beginning, he was just nervous about this unplanned adventure. Which, by the way, is due to hit sometime in May since my due date is May 31st.

I have been pretty sick. Whoever came up with the term morning sickness must have never had it because it definitely does not hit in the morning. I would call it all-day sickness. I have been feeling better (I am now 19 weeks), although in the mornings it still takes me a little while to get going and I still feel slightly nauseous for an hour or so. The back pain has now started so I just switched out one thing for another, although I would have to say I prefer the back pain.

We had our first ultrasound around 7 or 8 weeks, and the baby didn't look like anything yet, as you can see in this picture:

It's the little white blob in the dark circle in case you couldn't see it :)

This is what I looked like a week or two after this ultrasound was done:

It isn't the most attractive picture of me, but like I said I had been very sick. And as you can see was starting to show. I believe that was around 9 weeks.

We were able to do another ultrasound at 12 1/2 weeks. This one was very exciting because our baby actually looked like a baby:

Our next ultrasound is next week and we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. I can't wait! I desperately want a girl, although I feel that we are having a boy, as does Caleb and my mom. I'm just excited to start buying stuff and have forced myself to wait until we know what we're having. After next week I don't think there will be any stopping me! And yes for those worried, such as my husband, I am going to love the baby just as much if it is a boy... But that doesn't mean I can't hope for a little girl to play dress up with :)

Also as a side note: my heart is holding out well. So far there have been no issues and my blood pressure is right where it should be. My cardiologist wants to do an "echo", basically an ultrasound on my heart, when I am about 28 weeks to make sure everything is still ok. At this point everything looks great and I am going to be able to have my baby naturally just like I wanted :) Next week at the utlrasound they are going to take an extra look at the baby's heart to make sure it doesn't have any defects, and around 30 weeks they will possibly have me go over to Primary Children's where they will take an even better and in-depth look at the baby, and the baby's heart, just to make sure everything is ok and I didn't pass on any of my fun stuff.

Oh and here is another picture of the belly that I took last week:

Hopefully I will have time next week to update you all on the sex of the baby! :)