What an amazing Christmas!

What an amazing Christmas we had as a family of 4. We spent it right here at home this year and enjoyed every minute of time we got to spend as a family. Christmas eve started out with a bang! We were up and at em' early that morning. Gage helped me make breakfast and then, it was time to fix the big Christmas dinner. We decided to do it Christmas eve instead of Christmas day, so we could spend time with the kids putting together and playing with all their new toys. On the menu: Ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, and rolls. For dessert, Gage and Daddy made Jesus' birthday cake. After lunch it was nap time for kids, clean up time for Mommy and Daddy. Quick cleaning of the kitchen, and then off to get ready for Church. It wasn't till 4, but we left about 3:15, to ensure we got good seats. We let Gage stay in "big church" with us for the singing, and he was mesmerized. It was so amazing to see him clapping and singing along to the songs. And he was quite enamored with the drums! After church, we headed home for a quick "left overs" bite to eat, then we were on the mission to make reindeer food. Gage and Daddy put it on the lawn while Stella and I watched. Gage is very much into "I will do it myself," so we couldn't do much of anything but watch ;) Quick baths for the kids were in order, then into their Christmas pjs, before opening 1 present and putting out cookies for Santa. Surprisingly, Gage went right to bed without a fuss, which is a task these days.
Apparently the kids were on the nice list this year, because there were tons of presents around this house. Christmas morning started about 7, when Stella woke up and her brother just a few minutes behind her. We SLOWLY opened Santa gifts, because Gage will accept NO help and wants to open every package/present/box/bow himself. By 9 we had gotten through Santa gifts and a few gifts from Grandparents, when it was time for Stella's morning nap. While she was sleeping, we let Gage open a few more, then we put everything together or out of packaging and let him play till she awoke.
After a quick hour nap from sister that ended with a diaper malfunction, crib sheet changing, and bath for Stella, we were back at present unwrapping. We seriously didn't stop till about 12 when we realized maybe we should stop and eat something, which was almost impossible for Gage to do. Short afternoon naps for the kids followed, then we played/put together all toys that they got. It looked like Toys R Us in our house. But on this one day a year, I wouldn't have it any other way. Experiencing Christmas through the eyes of children, is absolutely the best most rewarding way to experience it. God is so good and we are so thankful for everything he has blessed us with in 2011. Can't wait to see what he has in store for us for next year.
I will leave you with a few pics of our special weekend.

(Christmas Eve, Eve!)

Christmas Eve




Christmas Morning:

Long time...no blog!

Well I decided after seven long months off of blogging, I would get back into it again. Life in the Hansberger household is as busy as ever. We have settled into our new house nicely, and are loving the added space, as well as the huge yard. We have been in here for seven months now, which just doesn't seem possible.
Updates on the kids:
Gage is turning three at the end of the month, and is every bit, a three year old. Everything these days is "I'll do it myself" or NO (which I think is his favorite.) He is a sweet boy but definitely pushes the limits sometimes. I miss my cuddly momma's boy, but hope to have him back someday. :) He can't wait for Christmas. We count down every morning, by moving the candy cane in our Christmas calendar. We also have an Elf on a Shelf, name Jack, which he enjoys hunting for every morning. We celebrated his birthday this passed weekend, since his actual birthday is the 29th and so close to Christmas. We had a trains, planes, and automobiles party, which turned out to be a big hit. (I will include a few pics at the end.)
Oh, and Miss Stella, she is 10 months now and just as high maintenance as ever. She is getting around great, and I think in the next few weeks here, we will see her start to take her first steps on her own. She LOVES to be held however, and as long as she is doing that, she is happy as a clam. If I put her down or walk out of the room for just a second, she screams. Needless to say, there is lot of screaming in our house throughout the day, because I can't hold her all the time. She will get over it at some point however!! She eats pretty much all "people food" now and pulls the spoon out of your hand if you try to feed her baby food. She will take the baby food in the pouch, if she can do it herself. Some of her favorite foods are blueberries, bananas, strawberries, mac n cheese, and cheese. She is an eater, and there are days where she out eats her brother. I wonder where it all goes because she is still so tiny. Well not tiny, but much small than what her brother was. At her nine month check up she was 18 pounds and in the 50%.
All in all the Hansbergers are doing great. Gearing up for the holidays and getting ready for the cold Oklahoma winters.

Mother's Day!

It was a super special mothers day around the Hansberger house. Not only did I get to celebrate being a mother and getting spoiled by my wonderful hubby on that day, but our sweet baby girl was dedicated at church that day. Mother's Day was great. It started off with Gage and Daddy making muffins for momma and getting to spend a little time with the fam before we headed off to church. Stella was dedicated in a special baby dedication service along with our good friends Travis and Olivia's baby boy Tucker. After church we headed home where my hubs made a simple but nice lunch and then went all our for dinner. He made a beautiful chicken enchilada dish from scratch, (sauce and all) as well as a yummy oreo and peanut butter dessert. He even went so much to leave half of the entree without cheese (not eating dairy due to nursing) and found a dessert recipe that was right up my alley. The day before Gage and Daddy planted some beautiful flowers in my flower beds (since we had none) as my Mother's Day present!! The hydrangeas they got are seriously gorgeous and my favorite flower! I am so blessed to call myself a mother of these two adorable children!!

April 2011

Well it's about time, I know. This thing called life tends to get in the way of blogging! To say that life with two kids is busy, is quite the understatement of the year. But.... I finally feel like I am starting to get the hang of this. Stella is doing so much better with eating and sleeping which makes things easier. Currently she still eats every three hours during the day and has her last feeding of the day at 7. She is in bed by 7:30ish and sleeps till 4am. I'll take it. At her two month check up, she was doing great. She weighed 11 pounds 3oz and was 22 inches long. The day she had her check up, we were visited by Sarah, Lincoln, and her mom Peggy. We had a short, but GREAT visit and I am reminded everyday of how much I miss my best friend, but cherish the time we spend together!

The day after Sarah and Peggy left, I hosted an Easter playdate for 12 kiddos (9 boys, 3 girls) which was so much fun. They hunted eggs inside that day since it was about 50 degrees out, but overall I think the kiddos had a great time, and I know the moms enjoy having time to socialize!

We are finally settling into the new house and are working slowly but surly to get all the rooms together. We just ordered our sectional for our family room, which won't be here for 6 weeks or so, but we are making progress!! We celebrated our first holiday in our new home, Easter, which was so much fun for Gage this year. (An for us parents who get to watch his excitement as he hunts Easter Eggs and opens his Easter basket.) Gage had so much fun Easter morning hunting for eggs and playing with some of his new toys in his Easter basket. We went to church that morning at 10, then went to an amazing brunch with friends after.

I know that sometimes I am over whelmed as a mom of two but I seriously don't think I could love three people more than my hubby (who has been absolutely wonderful lately) and my two wonderful children. I am so blessed!

Here are few pics of Easter and our recent activities.

Stella is here!

So I have a very short window of time with both kids asleep, and I don't know how long this will last, so this is going to be a short and sweet post. Baby Stella is here! Sorry I haven't updated sooner, but I'm trying to get adjusted to life with two.
Stella was born February 10, 2011 at 2:47 in the afternoon! She weighed 7 pounds, 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. She couldn't be more perfect.
She is definitely more high maintenance than Gage was as far as eating and wanting to be held, but as Daniel says, "she's a girl, what do you expect?!" We finally got her on some medicine for acid reflux, which seems to be helping a lot! Her "witching hour" as I like to call it, is from about 6-9pm, but after that, she does pretty well with sleeping. She goes 4 to 5 hours at night between feedings, so I have managed to get some ok sleep. Other than that, our family of four is trying to establish some-what of a routine. But I don't think that will really take affect till we move, which is in two weeks. Ahhh, lets talk about stress! We can do it, right? Anyway, here are a few pics of her birthday and a few from the last three weeks. I will try like crazy to do a better job updating



Brother helping with bath!

Proud brother holding his sissy!



We're home!




All dressed, after her bath!

Daddy and his kiddos!

She's here!
!