Happy Birthday, Sami!

On Sunday my little girl turned 6! I can't believe how old she is already. As far as I'm concerned she's still my little baby! I guess you always feel that way with your first. We had a party for her last weekend, and since Mom isn't really up to parties at the house this year, we had it at "Party On", a little jump place here in Parker. It was really fun. She got to invite as many friends as she wanted and they had the room all to themselves for an hour - the best part is, mom didn't really have to do a thing! I even took a little shortcut on the cake and ordered one already made from the grocery store and decorated it myself. Now, I can not for the life of me decorate a decent cake, but when I saw an idea in a magazine for a "Candyland" cake, I decided I couldn't really mess up candy, so I gave it a go. It was really fun and turned out pretty cute - one of my better attempts at least. :)
Sami is my saving grace! She will be my only girl and is so much fun. Yes, she definitely has the sass and the drama, but she is also so sweet and thoughtful. She worries about her crazy mother when I'm not feeling well, and although it mostly comes across as being bossy, she looks out for her brothers. She is excited for the babies, even though she really wanted a sister. She loves school, loves to draw, read, dance, dress-up, and make up her own songs. She is such a joy to our family and even though I've asked her to stop growing, she insists she won't! She is my little mini me, but thankfully has her dad's long skinny body. We decided it was a good thing we are having 2 more boys, since she will need four brothers to look out for her when she is older! I love this little girl to death and feel so lucky every day that she belongs to our family. Happy Birthday, Baby! I love you! As if having a birthday wasn't enough to show me how big she's getting, she lost her first tooth the other day. For about the past year she couldn't wait to lose a tooth, so needless to say, this was pretty exciting - especially the visit from the tooth fairy!

The Verdict Is In...

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words... and I'd say they are right:In case you aren't quite sure what you are looking at, yes, those are two little boys happily displaying their manhood for the world to see! Yep, two more boys, and yes, I have already had my cry. Sam and I were hoping for at least one little girl, but that just wasn't in the cards for us, the Hansen genes are just too strong! I will say though, that I really have had a strong feeling and confirmation that this is how things are supposed to be, and I know the Lord is watching over us. Despite my various complications, the babies are big, strong, and healthy. We really couldn't ask for much more than that and are crossing our fingers things stay that way.

And summer begins...

Please don't faint! I know, it's pretty shocking that I'm updating my blog! I guess my goal of updating at least once a week has gone a little awry lately. But, rest assured, I won't make any empty promises to do better - we take things one day at a time here lately. :) Thanks to those who are patient with me and keep checking in from time to time - every once in a while your efforts will be worth it! :)
So, as to the Hansen family this past month, well, yep, I'm still having twins, and nope it wasn't all a joke! :) Things have been a bit crazy this time around. Not to mention being a whole lot sicker than I've ever been before, I've also had some problems with bleeding the past few weeks. Luckily, the babies are great and the problem has finally resolved itself and I'm feeling a lot better. My mom was in town the past few weeks to help with the kids, which was definitely a lifesaver! I was able to take it easy and get my health concerns under control and not have to worry about taking care of the kids. She was absolutely wonderful and took complete control of them - she even helped potty train the boys! She left Sunday night, and by Monday morning when the kids came into my room at 6:30am I was really missing her!!! Luckily, by the time she left I was starting to feel really good, and everything seemed to be turning around for the better. So, a big huge thank you to Mom!!! You are the best and I love you!!!!
We also reached a huge milestone within the past week - Sam had her last day of kindergarten and is now a 1st grader!! Don't worry, I'll be ok, I'm only crying a little bit! She really loves school and was pretty sad to say good-bye to her sweet teacher, but is super excited to be in first grade and get her very own desk!
The boys also had their last day of speech class last week. They have been going twice a week for an hour a day since January. It has been really good for them. It has helped them "use their words" more and focus on specific activities - not that they are very focused at home, but at least they do it somewhere. :) We aren't going to send them to kindergarten for another 2 years, so as we are figuring out what to do for them for preschool, this has been a really great option for them. They loved their teacher, Miss Jen, and of course loved the prizes she gave them every time they went to class.
So, now we are just trying to figure out what to do all summer! Luckily, I have a lot of extra help, thanks to awesome friends, and we will be spending a couple weeks down in Texas with Grandma and Grandpa, so they won't have to put up with their dead-beat mom too much.
As for Mike, he is still working like crazy at the hospital, as well as getting the house ready to sell. We aren't moving as soon as we had planned, so we don't have to be so crazy about getting it all done quickly, but we are still working on it so that we will be ready when the time is right - which will hopefully be within the next few months. I'm just not sure how long we can last in this house with 5 kids. :) He's really been a trooper though. Not only is he the dad right now, but also the bread-winner, the painter, the maintenance man, and often times the mom too - depending on how I'm feeling that day. I feel bad for him, it seems like every time we have a big move I'm pregnant with twins and can't help with too much. It might take me a while, but at least I can pack a few boxes - I'm not totally useless - well, not yet at least. :)