A Few of Our Favorite Things (this month)

1. Seattle lakes, waterfronts, and ferry boats.

2. Date-nights with Brad, good friends to watch Lainy, and big city events like WICKED!

3. Pass to Woodland Park Zoo (so we can go anytime for as long as we want), and finding free parking close to the zoo.

4. Having a football team worth rooting for, and living so close to the stadium that we can hear the roars from the crowd.

5. Collecting sea shells with Daddy after a busy week of school.

So, when it's 50 degrees outside and the weather-man is predicting the advent of the rainy season, it's good to remember these favorite things. Don't you agree?

It's a. . .

GIRL!!!

We finally had our anatomy ultrasound this morning! What with moving, changing doctors, and transferring insurance to a new state, my maternity care had to be put on hold for a little while. But I'm all caught up now, and everything looks great!

Lainy was right all along. Whenever we asked her if the baby was a girl or a boy, she said girl. So she's thrilled, and so are we! Bring on more pink!

Musings

Fall makes me think of dating Brad. We "met" at the end of summer, right before school started at BYU-Idaho. Today I've been musing about the four years that have passed since then.

As I've thought about that time - of late-night walks around campus, of meaningful and not so meaningful conversations, of completely understanding the term "twitterpated" for the first time in my life - I realize that as wonderful as those times were, I wouldn't go back to them.

I wouldn't even trade places with the newly-wed Traci and Brad - that period when the whole world seemed new and seemed to be sharing in our happy little union.

As wonderful as it was for it to be just Brad and I, with no medical school, no dirty diapers, no naughty mats, and no real worries of any kind, I wouldn't go back. I'd choose to be right where I am.

Because there's something wonderful about watching the man you love work really hard toward a goal. There's something amazing when he receives little (and big) hints that his hard work is paying off. There's something that happens as you pray and work together through difficult situations that leaves the two of you closer and more in love than ever.

And then there's the really amazing stuff. There's telling that man you love that he's going to be a Daddy. There's seeing him get teary-eyed when you go to the doctor for an ultrasound and hear a fast, tiny heartbeat. There's holding a brand-new baby together and looking at one another thinking, "What do we do now?". There are times when you wonder if that little baby knows how lucky she is to have him as her Daddy. There's watching him teach her how to pray. There's laughing with him outside her door at night when she's saying something hilarious instead of going to sleep.

Yup, there are all of those awesome little things that are happening right now in our lives. And I wouldn't trade them for anything. Because my heart and our love has grown so much during all those things, that the love I found on those Fall evenings four years ago simply pales in comparison.

Do any of you feel like that too?

Pics of us then...

and now...

Play-Doh

Lainy got some Play-Doh for her birthday. She loves it. She wants to play with it every day. She takes very good care of it, and doesn't like to make a mess. I appreciate that.

Lainy can be very creative with her Play-Doh. Today, when I asked her what she wanted to make she said, "A cowboy".

We had fun making him. We shouted "Yee-haw" and "Giddy-up" and other cowboy jargon.

Here he is complete with a hat, boots, bandanna, belt buckle, rope, horse, and cow. We named him Billy.

When we got done with Billy I thought, "I can be a pretty cool mom sometimes".

Lainy examined her completed cowboy. Then she said, "Clean up!" and carefully removed Billy's boots and put them in the correct colored Play-Doh jar. Next went the hat.

I guess she wasn't that impressed.

Oh well. Maybe I'll impress her more with a surfer dude, or one of my specialty snakes, or a cool fish. With Play-Doh, my hands, and a 2-year-old's imagination, the possibilities are endless...

Alaina Turns 2

Monday, August 31, our little girl turned 2! We had such a fun day celebrating her!

When asked (at various times) what she wanted for her birthday, Lainy replied: "Balloons! Cake! Pizza! Beach!" We did our best to fulfill her wishes.

Brad and I spent Sunday night decorating our house for the big day. We hung streamers, wrapped presents, and blew-up 22 balloons. Blowing-up balloons turned out to be pretty hard for me and my stretched-out tummy muscles, so Brad blew-up all but two of them. When he was done he said, "We're telling her about this when she's a teenager". He cracks me up sometimes.

Monday morning we anxiously waited for Alaina to wake up. When she finally did (at 9:00) we went in her room with a special balloon and sang "Happy Birthday". Then we opened her door so she could explore the house.

I don't think she really knew what was going on. Grandma Smith and Hayley called to sing to her, and she acted a little baffled. She just kind of wandered around for a while, then she finally yelled "Lainy birthday!" and did a little dance. For the rest of the day she was super excited about everything.

While I made pancakes (by request) Lainy and Brad made this birthday crown.

Just as we were finishing breakfast, Lainy's friends Reece and Benson came over bearing gifts. So we opened a few presents and let them play. They're so cute together! (Thanks Millers!)

After lunch and a nap, we took off to get a pizza and find a beach. Though the beach we found wasn't quite the soft, sandy beaches Lainy got used to in Hawaii, it definitely sufficed. We had a little pizza party on the shore, then headed out to play. We made sand castles, buried Lainy in sand like a mermaid, and waded in the water. It was just perfect! We played there until dark, then headed home to call grandparents and open more presents.

Skype is a wonderful thing on birthdays when you're far from family. Lainy got to see Grandpa Smith and Cassi first. They sang to her while she blew out her birthday candles, then watched as she opened their presents. We called Grandma and Grandpa Hansen next and did the same thing. She was showered with awesome gifts by them all. (Thank you so much!!)

All in all, it was a wonderful day. Lainy was such a sweetheart. She kept hugging my legs and saying "Thanks Momma!" I was impressed when she remembered to say "Thank you" (mostly without prompting) whenever she opened a present, and told all her family "I love you!" when she talked to them. Cute little thing.

So, with mixed feelings, we wished our little Lainy a Happy Birthday. Her 2nd birthday was more weird for Brad and I than her 1st - mostly because we realized she's not a baby anymore. She's a little girl! Crazy!

Happy, Happy Birthday Lainy Dear! We think you're awesome! We love you to pieces and don't know what we'd do without you!