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Summer Fun! Part 2

2011-08-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

I had a birthday. We ate cupcakes. I turned 23.

I ran a race. Audrey and Tyler cheered me on.

Audrey loves her cowgirl hat, and her Grandpa. (after a few days at least)

This would probably have to qualify as Audrey's "Best. Day. Ever." She got pulled out of bed by her Dad, got to wear her hat, watch Dora and eat a chocolate popsicle. Lucky girl!

Maybe sometime someone will show me how to format these dumb blog posts!

Summer Fun! Part 1

2011-08-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

We did so many fun things this summer! We went to the Tauphaus Park Zoo a LOT. Audrey enjoys petting the animals in the petting zoo. Especially the incredibly docile goats!

Here Audrey is ready to hit the beach! Or the kiddie pool. Same thing, right? She loves sunglasses. ( Or as she calls them "Dassees")

We always have fun at the Melaleuca picnic. They have all sorts of goodies like cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream and soda. They feed you a catered lunch, have some awesome prize drawings, and have a huge carnival. We did the bouncy houses, pony rides, ferris wheel and the giant blow-up slide. The best part about the picnic is that everything is totally free! Have I mentioned lately how much I love Tyler's company?

On our camp chair at the picnic, enjoying the music, shade and cotton candy. I think Audrey and I ate our weight in cotton candy. Which is hard to do, since cotton candy is so light!

This is part 1 of I don't know how many parts. I'll try to catch up the summer as best that I can!

Fun with cousins!

2011-05-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun with Naomi, Brooklyn and Lily when they came out to Utah last month. We went to the aquarium.
We also went to the Discovery Center at the Gateway mall in SLC. It was double the fun when Natalie brought Wes and Sydney too! All of Audrey's Hanks cousins were there. Also, I don't know how to rotate the pictures. Look at it sideways, I guess. Lily is pushing Audrey around in a doll stroller.
These magnetic gears were really cool.

We tried (and failed) to get the kids to sit down and look at the camera at the same time!
Audrey worshiped Brooklyn the whole week, and thought that her "big kid" bed was the bomb-diggity.

We had so much fun.

Easter

2011-05-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

I forgot that these pictures come in backwards, so you can see Easter backwards! Here is Tyler and Audrey hunting for Easter eggs at the Columbia Heights ward annual Easter egg hunt.
Audrey had a great time filling up her basket and dumping it out again.
Here we are, ready to hunt!
Here was the haul on Saturday, when we all opened our Easter baskets!

We had so much fun with Naomi and her kiddos. Here she is with Brooklyn dying Easter eggs.

Pictures of the almost done house

2011-03-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

Master shower. Doesn't have the glass on it yet.
Audrey really appreciates the spacious closets!

The doors were being painted, so they are in the middle of the room.
The outside is almost done. We are still missing our black shutters, a driveway, and the rest of the front door area needs to be painted black.
Living room and kitchen.

Audrey's First Birthday

2011-02-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

What a haul! That's one lucky little one year old.

Opening presents

She has thoroughly enjoyed all of her toys! Thanks everyone for sending her awesome presents.

Happy birthday song!

Trip to Oregon- Christmas Day

2011-01-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

Opening presents on Christmas morning.

This kid LOVES her quilt!

This is what we drove home in after Christmas! Yikes! The snow banks on either side of us were higher than the car!

Reggie enjoyed a little R&R at the local animal hospital while we were on vacation. That is her goofy shaved tummy after her kitty-surgery. Dumb cat! :)

Audrey enjoyed a very Dora Christmas! She loves Dora, and has really enjoyed all of her presents that she got for Christmas. Thanks everyone!

Trip to Oregon- Christmas Eve

2011-01-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

Oops, I guess I put the pictures in backwards again. Oh well. Above is everyone watching everyone else open presents on Christmas Eve.

I was pretty pumped to get a JUMBO box of rice krispy treats! I've only got about 5 left...I am rationing them out so they last longer! :)

Tyler was also pretty excited about all of the Oregon gear that he got for Christmas. His parents got him this hat, and he also got some T-shirts from his sister Rachel. Lucky duck!

This is Brian, the babies and myself enjoying a HILARIOUS joke. Hilarious.

Trip to Oregon- Science Works

2011-01-03T12:00:00.001-08:00

When we got to Oregon, we took the kids to a hands-on science museum called Science Works. They had science experiments and crafts for all ages! We all had a blast.

Here is Jake and Kate playing in the bubble room.

A.J. is extra cool because he came up with this cool trick! Way to go, A.J.!

Audrey and Ian thought the plexiglass magnets were fun too.

Random pictures from the last two months

2010-12-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

We have a basement!

Here is Reggie testing out a new place to nap. She decided that it was no good, but stayed long enough for me to take a picture!

Me and Audrey playing at the park.

Audrey is playing with her buddy Halle. Halle isn't a huge fan of Audrey yet!

Audrey at the playground in one of her Halloween costumes.

2010-10-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

Audrey is just about ready to walk! She is an expert at using this walking toy, and already stands up on her own (when she doesn't realize she is doing it, of course!). She is already starting to be quite the ham! I wonder who she gets that from.....

2010-10-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Audrey at 9 months! They need to be cropped a little bit, but I'm too lazy to do it right now!

Here are the family pictures that we took a couple of weeks ago. We took these pictures at the same park that we took our engagement pictures at. Also, I guess they found a dead body at this park a few days ago! Yikes!

2010-08-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

So, our camera stopped working, so I haven't taken any pictures for months. That is my excuse. But, here are some new pictures of Audrey taken with my mom's camera. Audrey is seven months old now, by the way.

Loving being outside in her cute dress that her Grandma Bluth bought her.

Counter-

surfing with Dad!

She got hold of a chips ahoy cookie, and was so proud of herself for finding it, that I had to let her have it. You can kind of tell by her eyes, but she was grinning from ear to ear with the cookie in her mouth. She already knows the good stuff!

So proud of herself! I had to clean chocolate off of me, her, the carpet and the (white!) couch, but it was totally worth it.

Here is Audrey enjoying the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder that Natalie gave to us! It has been a life saver for sure. Audrey is a girl that likes to "do it herself" already, so any chance I have to let her feed herself is a good thing.

In this meal I chopped up some strawberries and bananas and mixed it up with a little crushed ice. Audrey really likes popsicles (surprise? I think not.) so I can easily trick her into thinking that it is a popsicle if I just add ice to the mix.

2010-07-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Audrey crawling. She has been doing the "inchworm" for about a month now, but recently started using her hands more effectively. She has already gotten much better since I took this video!

Here is a video of Audrey blowing raspberries. Last week during relief society, she would NOT quit blowing them the whole time. Very disruptive. She is so proud of herself when she makes this noise, it's cute. You can also spot a sly Reggie lurking in the blinds waiting to pounce on Audrey, which she did after the video was taken.

Audrey is scared of Grandpa Hanks!

2010-05-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this video. Audrey LOVED her Grandpa on our trip to visit Michigan and Illinois. This is not an accurate representation of how she reacts to other people! She missed ALL of her naps that day, so she was a little emotionally unstable. Hilariousness ensued.

Trip to Michigan and Illinois

2010-05-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

I had a great time visiting Brian and Natalie in Michigan and Kevin and Naomi in Illinois during the last few weeks. Somehow I didn't end up with any pictures from my time with Brian and Natalie, and I can't figure out how to blog, so these pictures are not chronological. First off is the picture of Audrey and her cousin Lily together. They are only three weeks apart, so we snapped some pictures of them together!

I was able to attend Lily's blessing, which was
great! It was fun to spend time with Naomi's sister Sarah and her Dad, Carl.

When I was in Michigan I ran a 5k with Natalie and some of her friends. When I say I "ran with" them, I use that word very loosely! I am glad that I did it, but probably wont be doing many more races. I'll leave the running to Natalie and Jessica!

I also attended Brian's graduation ceremony and the commencement the next day. He graduated with his MBA from the University of Michigan. Congrats Brian! President Obama gave the commencement address. It was really fun to see the President!

Audrey is three months old!

2010-04-19T07:58:00.001-07:00

Audrey is now three months old! She is doing very well, and we sure enjoy watching her grow. She is a great sleeper, a pretty good eater, and really strong. She smiles a lot! Her favorite things to smile at are people's faces, the TV, the clock in the living room (Seriously! She thinks it's hilarious.), a picture of Jesus, and Reggie. She has always been an active girl, and her limbs are working hard ALL of the time. She has mastered rolling over both ways, and has started to get up onto her hands and knees. Yikes. I didn't think she would be so mobile so fast!

Tyler took Audrey on a daddy daughter date last Tuesday! I wasn't feeling well, so he took her out of the house for a while so that I could get some rest. They had fun. Thanks Tyler!

Sara Smith inspired me to make this baby dress out of Tyler's old dress shirt.
And let's face it, you KNOW you were just waiting for some more funny pictures of Reggie...

Reggie loves her scratching post. She also loves Audrey's socks. Put them together, and Reggie is one happy kitty.
This picture is awesome, Reggie looks evil and fearsome. She is neither!

This picture needs one of "I can has cheezburger" quotes!

I couldn't figure out how to put this video at the top with the other pictures of Audrey, so I guess it comes at the end! Here is a video of Audrey rolling onto her stomach! What a buff kid.

Conference Weekend

2010-04-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

We went to Kaysville for Easter/Conference weekend. Audrey has a great time with any grandparents, and she especially had a great time licking her Grandma's shirt to death the whole weekend.

She also seemed to like her Easter basket full of peeps and hair bows. No, we did NOT feed her the peeps. Yes, those ARE the cutest Easter pajamas in the whole world.

This is the sweater that I knitted for Audrey a while back. It actually fit her pretty good! Tyler says that it makes her look like an 80 year old lady. I agree, but still think it's kind of cute!

Blessing day- Audrey pictures

2010-04-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Audrey learned how to flip over a few weeks ago. Here is a before picture...

...and after! Kerplop!

Here is the back side of the super cute blessing blanket that all the Hanks kids and grandkids were blessed in.

And the front side of the blanket. You can see the outline of the cute deer quilted onto the blanket. It kind of looks like Bambi.

Baby blessing-family pictures

2010-04-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

Tyler's parents came down for the weekend and it was so great to see them!

Brian, Jessica, Jake, Kate and Ian came for the blessing as well. We love hanging out with them, and wish that they could have stayed longer. We are also super grateful for Doyle and Elizabeth Beck for lending us their house for the afternoon. The food was awesome, and we could not have fit everyone in our apartment!

Uncle Burke, Sid, Drew, Ethan and Savannah came down which was super nice of them. It doesn't look like it from the picture, but I think Ethan was happy to be there...Thanks for representing the Rexburg Hanks!

Of course Mom and Dad were there too. Mom was helpful and took care of Audrey while we all ate dinner. Thanks Mom, and sorry you missed out on the brisket. It was really good.

Audrey really likes her Uncle Craig and Aunt Sara despite what it looks like in this picture! They are also really good sports for camping out in our living room overnight. Someday we will have a guest bed, I promise!

Benson and Anna were also at the blessing, but we didn't end up with a picture of them. We also had Doyle and Elizabeth Beck and Robert and Rachel Sullivan in attendance. Thanks for coming everyone!

Our little thief!

2010-03-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have had a few people ask how Reggie is reacting to having the baby around. I'll tell you-she has turned into a thief! She thinks that all of the baby's things should belong to her, and i've snapped a couple pictures of Reggie caught in the act. Enjoy!

Reggie has stolen Audrey's socks so many times that we finally just gave her a pair to play with. It is her new favorite toy!

I've caught her sleeping on the changing table many times!

Asleep on a receiving blanket.

Poking around in one of her open drawers! I can't even do the laundry without her getting in the way! :)

She used to try to sleep in the crib, but she eventually stopped after I kicked her out about a dozen times. I don't know why she got in it this time!

I caught her grooming Audrey this morning and happened to have my camera in hand. Don't worry, I washed Audrey's head afterward! At least they are friends, and I don't have to worry about Reggie hurting the baby. Ha ha!

This is the result of them being such good friends-Reggie is quite the motivator for Audrey! She practices smiling at the cat, and the cat is an excellent push up motivator! Audrey just can't get enough of looking and smiling at the cat.

So in answer to everyone's question, Audrey and Reggie are getting along famously. We sure love both of them!

Our cat is a dog.

2010-03-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

This is a video of Reggie playing fetch with a pair of Audrey's socks. My favorite part is the very end where she can't contain her excitement and jumps in a circle.

Fun Weekend!

2010-02-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

We had tons of visitors a few weekends ago, and it was so much fun! We had my dad, Craig and Sara, Brian, Jessica and their kids, and Tyler's parents all over at our place for a few hours on Saturday! Our apartment has never had so many people in it all at once!

Craig and Sara checking out their new niece. She loved all the attention!

Audrey is meeting her grandparents! Audrey seemed to especially take to Kelly, and smiled for the first time for her! I was only a little jealous, but she has since given me lots of smiles!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day this year, we had an awesome dinner! We had crab legs, sparkling cider, chocolate covered strawberries and creme brulee! So it was mostly desert...but who cares! It was delicious and perfect to celebrate national love day! I love you Tyler!

One week pictures

2010-01-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

Ha ha, the giant bow made her furious face even funnier!

Of course the cat had to "help" with the pictures...

1st day home

2010-01-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

So tired!
Close encounters of the FUR kind...

More baby pictures

2010-01-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

Tyler with Audrey. Such a proud papa!
Even prouder Grandpa! He sure likes his granddaughters!

Here she is with Grandma Hanks. Audrey's Great Grandma Smith hand crocheted that beautiful ivory blanket. It is so intricate and gorgeous, we love it! Thanks Grandma Smith!

Here she is!

2010-01-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here is Audrey! We have more pictures, some with her and Tyler, but they are on my Dad's camera so I'll have to post them later. She is pretty cute, and everyone agrees that she looks just like her dad! What do you think?

Christmas pregnancy photo

2010-01-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here's what I looked like over Christmas! Not too much longer to go!

This is our cat.

2010-01-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

We got this cat a few months ago. Tyler named her Mrs. Regenault Von Hoobie Doobie the Third, I call her Reggie! We adopted her when she was about 6 months old. She had a pretty rough start in life, she was abused by some jerks, attacked by some animal and came to the shelter with a pretty banged up face. She had surgery to fix her face and spent the rest of her first few months in the shelter. In spite of all that, she has been an absolute champ! We love having her around, and we love enjoying her kooky antics.

Here she is at her second (and probably favorite) home in Kaysville. She is intently watching the birds out the window. She really seems to enjoy her trips down to Utah, much to Cosma's (The other cat in residence) chagrin!

She found a kindred spirit in this black stuffed jaguar! Mom took this picture, and I thought it was awesome.

As requested...

2009-11-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am enormous. This was taken over the Thanksgiving weekend. Go ahead, laugh! You know you want to...

Baby Shower

2009-11-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

Sara was the coolest sister-in-law in Utah, and threw me an awesome baby shower! Mom and my cousin Tierney (I hope I spelled that right!) helped as well. It was a lot of fun, I got to see lots of my favorite people, and got lots of badly needed baby gear! Thanks a bunch Sara!

Mom decorated the kitchen and living room all cute and stuff.

I don't do drugs, I was just testing out my handy-dandy digital baby thermometer! It worked.