gotch ya!

I love those first few sleepy smiles new babies give you. I usually get them right after he's done nursing or in the middle of a deep sleep. I caught one on camera! So sweet!! Can't believe it's been 1 week... we love us some new baby Carson!!!

fearfully & Wonderfully Made

 Last picture of Baby Carson in my tummy. 39 weeks and almost time to meet him!

 July 22nd we had our dear friend, Miss Natalie, come over for lunch and we headed to the hospital! She stayed with our boys and we checked in around noon ready to meet our third son. Our last photo as a family of four!

 The delivery went really, really well. I will never forget Jaxon running into the room shortly after he arrived saying "Carson...where is he?" with the biggest genuine grin on his face. It makes me melt every time I think of it. He climbed right up and wanted to hold him and has held him probably 100 times already.

 Carson Benjamin was born at 4:07pm and weighed 7lbs 11oz (exact same as Austin weighed) and was 20 in long. He has dark hair like his brothers did and his mama's dimples, like his brothers too. Most people have commented how much he looks like Austin...yet a more narrow or petite face like Jaxon had.

 Carson had his name picked out months ago, after a State capital search of name ideas, like Jaxon (Jackson, MI) and Austin (Austin, TX). Carson came from Carson City, NV. Benjamin came from our sweet little friend Ben that passed away last May and was Austin's little buddy. A reminder that God is a life-giver, ultimately and even through pain, He gives life. Carson is a welcomed life that we feel an incredible amount of thanks for and want to praise God for showing us life again through the miracle of a child.

 I was able to do skin to skin for the first hour he was born, so they waited to weigh him and here is a first shot of his little body after that.

 Proud Daddy!

 Our fresh new family of five... I love it.

 Requested to hold Carson again.... he's so proud :)

 Having two energetic little boys in a small hospital room can get tricky... we used the jacuzzi tub for fun one afternoon :)

 Austin didn't get too close at first... by day two he was willing to peek in and say hello.

 A sleepy baby after his first night of nursing all.... night....long. Literally. Thankfully that has slowed down some!

 Wide eyed baby boy!

 Getting ready to head home... my Hansen boys! I do not predict a boring life ahead of me :) Four of my most favorite people ever!!! Blessed to be wife and mom to this crew!

 Heading home...

 First Brothers picture :)

 They were excited to put him in the van... we got a play by play all the way home about what Carson was doing.

HOME! A beautiful sleeping baby boy... a sweet moment in our home. Every night as I lay my kids down to sleep, before I say goodnight, I tell them they are fearfully and wonderfully made. I couldn't help but lay Carson down and feel God's promise in my heart for this little one too. Fearfully and wonderfully made indeed! We love you Carson! Welcome to this crazy family!!

Thomas & Friends

115 degree days means this very pregnant mama is NOT spending much time outdoors, unless we are fully dunked in the pool! Wow, has it been HOT!?!? When this box arrived from the UPS man I couldn't help but figure out something to entertain my kids with it. Austin was napping and Jaxon helped paint the entire thing. Once Austin woke up we were able to create our very own Thomas Train. Austin loves Thomas and just trains in general, so he was pretty excited! He couldn't wait for it to dry and luckily this entertained my kids for a whole afternoon while we avoided the outdoors :) Austin's quiet little personality (yes, he has a very quiet, stick to himself side for those that can't believe that about a Hansen boy!) climbs in at times just to color or look at a book or just lay down or drive his cars in there. And Jaxon was such a sweet big brother wanting to get it done for him and so excited to show him the finished product. Just another simple summer day in our house... I love these days at home with my boys, 115 heat index or not!

Happy 10 Years, Babe!

 Last year on our way out to our traditional Brown Bottle anniversary dinner!

10 years ago today! Can't believe 10 years have gone by... Happy Anniversary, Babe! Looking forward to many more...

recent accomplishment

Austin spent most of breakfast trying to get this to work one morning. Nobody showed him this trick that I know of. I just looked over because he was being so quiet and he was trying to get his spoon to stay on his nose. About 7 minutes later he walked into the kitchen like this..."Look mom" he said. It made me smile :-)

Strawberries & Smoothies!

 I tried something different this summer with the boys... we went to a local strawberry farm and picked our own strawberries! They loved it! Jaxon was especially good at picking them and finding good ones and Austin was especially good at following us and eating them as we went :) I wanted to gather enough to freeze for the summer because we're always making fruit smoothies. If you picked your own at this farm it was $1.59 a pound! A great deal for fresh strawberries. I think I found another little tradition to do with the boys. Strawberry picking every summer may need to make our summer wish list every year!

 I was bummed I forgot to take my camera to the farm, so here we are returning with our berries.

 The boys helped wash them, ate some, picked green tops off, ate some, bagged some, and ate some :-)

 We made strawberry shortcake for dinner that night and froze about 6 quarts of berries and had some fresh ones to eat for a few days. Yum!

A yummy snack!! here's the recipe to our favorite fruit smoothies I usually make.... very simple and a perfect summer treat!

Fruit Smoothies:
1-2 ripe bananas
frozen strawberries 
vanilla yogurt
apple juice
ground flax seed


In your blender put 1-2 bananas cut up, 1-2 cups of vanilla yogurt, and fill rest of blender with frozen strawberries. Pour juice in to almost top of blender. Blend! Add flax seed (this is for pure extra fiber nutrients, can make without). I don't have an exact recipe with real measurements but this is fairly accurate. Sometimes we use frozen raspberries, blueberries, or peaches too. Enjoy!

almost to the end

Here we are... final weeks of this pregnancy. I feel like I just posted that we were having another boy on here! We have entered the "2 week time frame" start of when baby boy COULD arrive, but no promises. Both our boys came 9 and 10 days early...so I'm trying to be prepared in case that happens again, yet keep my mindset open to the possibility of it being past the due date too. You never know!With the heat and humid forecast though, I wouldn't mind going early :)  The last week or so I have so enjoyed some one on one time with just my two boys. I know this dynamic will change very soon and I cherish some final moments with just them at this stage. I am so excited to bring baby boy home too and am sure life will move forward beautifully between us as we bond with our newest member.  I love how families just mold as their hearts are opened up for more members. God is good that way!

Being only days away (I think) I have found myself doing the normal "nesting". Cleaning house, washing bedding, cleaning out closets, cleaning the garage some, cleaning the van, preparing some freezer meals, stocking the freezer with quick meals (bought my first frozen pizzas since probably last time I had a baby, if then?), paying any unpaid bills, cleaning up my email, organizing toy area, packing hospital bags, finalizing plans for when baby comes for our boys, reorganizing storage area, charging video camera and camera batteries, typing up boy's schedule, setting up pack n play in our bedroom, adjusting baby car seat, getting the dog's hair cut, cutting my kids hair, scrubbing the bath-tub,washing nursing bras, putting away too small maternity clothes, hmmmmm.... that's it so far :) I think I have nested!!  I have given myself a pass on my gardens this year... they are over grown, weedy, and a bit out of control. They are the one space on this property that I just can't let myself get worked up over... they will come back next year and I will just dive in then. Between the heat and bending over to work in them it just ain't gonna happen!!!

Alright... 38 weeks, well nested, and feeling pretty full.... this better be the end :) We are excited to meet our newest Hansen boy! Any guesses on his birthday???

My sis-in-law took some photos of my belly before it is gone! Here it is at 37.5 weeks! Whoa mama!! (Thank you Holly!!!)

And don't forget Jaxon's great photography. He has done a great job capturing this pregnancy in photos for me!! Thanks buddy!!

(37 weeks here)

Boys Only

Dave has told me before that he wanted to take his sons on a "man's trip" or "boys only" or "wild at heart" trip (whichever you want to call it) once they started to get old enough. I don't know if getting the news we were having another boy kicked this idea into gear this year, but shortly after we found out, he decided he wanted to do it this spring/summer! Originally he was going to take each son on their own one on one weekend away. Which was okay with me as I still had one boy with me at home for a little one on one time myself. However, our weekends were FULL all of May and June and he decided to take both boys at the same time. I won't lie... I felt a bit left out and was kinda bummed to have two full nights and 3days at home with no kids... that seems so weird to type as I should have been excited for alone time, but I miss my kids when I am away from them and it was REALLY odd being home without them! Though I know this was so good for them to have this time together and I love that my husband took the energy, time, money, and work to make it happen. Our boys were SO excited and had a blast! This year Dave found a great little cabin on Anna Lake in Minnesota. They went fishing, had access to a paddle boat the entire time, shared some yummy "man" meals, and spent some great boy time together. I think it is a great tradition he started and I know there will be another little boy wanting to join in on the fun in a few years when he is big enough. Both Jaxon and Austin talked about the trip leading up to it and when they got home they were full of fun stories and time with dad. 

And hey, I even was able to calm my anxious heart by the first night and enjoyed baths, 3 chic flick movies, read an entire book in two days, laid out in the sun, cleaned my house, organized the baby room, washed all the baby clothes and blankets, got my hair-cut, visited a couple friends, went to a dr appointment by myself, enjoyed Pablos, did my grocery shopping with a Starbucks in hand, cleaned out our pool, washed all the bedding, sorted garage sale items, bought the last of the baby stuff we needed, and got a couple long walks in! Wow, you can get a lot done with no kids around... maybe I won't mind this yearly "boys trip" after all :)

I sent my old camera with Jaxon and this is what he recorded below...  he also wrote a journal each night they were gone with great details of what they did and how they spent their days. First Man's trip was a success if you ask me!

(Jaxon wanted to take one last picture when he got home... he choose me reading his journal. I thought a rather funny view of baby boy in my tummy... and by the way, getting a detailed journal from my 7 year old was a high-light of the trip for me... Thanks Jaxon!!)

my little swimmers

I know I've said this before, but being a good swimmer is one of the goals I have set for our children. It ranks right up there as a life lesson well learned early on and used the rest of your life. Why? Because it seems we are always finding ourselves around water and I want our kids to be comfortable and strong in the water, as kids and as adults. It is good exercise and it is a good skill to have. So... I will fork over money every summer until I need to for them to learn the skills of being a good swimmer! We've started our boys in the local Rec swimming program at age 3 and they are doing great!  This was Jaxon's 5th summer of lessons and Austin's 1st. What fun!! Austin was so excited, it was too cute. Miss Jen has been teaching the 3-5 year olds for like 50 years and she is an exceptional swim teacher for these youngsters. It takes a firm but loving spirit to help these first timers get right in and learn the basics of water and she does it so well. Austin LOVED her and I was so glad.  Jaxon had a group this year that was more challenging, but who's better for a little challenge then our first born competitive child? They both did great and I'm happy to say they survived even the pouring rain days of lessons in that cold water so early in the morning. This was also the first year I scheduled the boys at the same time and I had probably one of my first of many times of feeling torn between my kids. We've always sat through and watched all of Jaxon's lessons and this year I was splitting time between two pools. I hated missing parts, but it is what I had to do. Ugh, the heart strings of a mom catch me off guard at times! I am however thankful I scheduled these BEFORE son #3 joined us! I will really be running from pool to pool in a few summers from now :)

 Miss Jen telling Austin he was a champion for putting his face in with eyes open!
Followed by a big hug...thanks Miss Jen for encouraging our newest swimmers!!

 First jump into the deeper waters... you know they trust their teachers when they are willing to jump in with no hesitations.

 Jaxon doing his front float for 1 minute. He loved that he had a BOY teacher this year :)

 Jaxon practicing life vest safety...

 last day! Great job boys!

 Austin doing his stretches... one thing I forget is how short our Austin boy is. It was so obvious the first day!

Our little swimmers!!