Only in Utah

November 17, 2010

November 24, 2010

(Exactly 1 week later)

My Thanksgiving Story

We had such a fun Thanksgiving this year. It started Wednesday when we went to our ultra sound appointment. Livie loved seeing the baby on the "computer" and is still asking me if I, "remember that blue stuff? It was sticky, sticky, sticky!" Wednesday night we finished making indian and pilgrim hat napkin rings. We then rolled up baby boy Hendrickson's ultra sound picture in the napkins to surprise our families. I wanted to do something special to announce we were pregnant and to announce the gender, so I made Livie a Thanksgiving outfit.You can't really tell from the picture (and this was the best one, Liv never holds still!) but there are 2 turkeys, one bigger, with a bow and Livie's name underneath. The other is smaller and said, "Baby" underneath. Dave's family noticed right off, my family saw the ultra sound, then realized her shirt! It was really fun to sit down to dinner and see the reaction on everyone's face when they opened their napkins! My dad's face was priceless!
Here's a few pictures of our new little addition. We are due April 16 and can't wait to meet him! We have been talking to Livie about having the baby and tried to convince her it is a boy. She is quite determined that it isn't a brother or a sister, it is a baby. She has also requested "I want two babies!"

This is my favorite picture! Baby feet are so stinkin cute and I can't believe how perfect his little foot is!

I am grateful for this time of season so I can reflect on all of my blessings. I truly am blessed and I'm eternally indebted to my Creator for all that I have.

Our Thanksgiving 2010

The Hendrickson family has so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!. That is right, Steph is pregnant! We had the 20 week ultrasound on Wednesday, and we found out that we are going to have a son! For thanksgiving dinner at both of our families' houses, we slyly volunteered to do napkin holders. Inside each napkin we rolled up pictures of gender ultrasound. Steph made little brown Indian headbands with thee feathers, and pilgrim hats to roll the napkins up with. I think we caught pretty much everybody by surprise. It was sure fun to do. Steph is excited, but I think I might rival her excitement. I told both Grandpas that now we will be obligated(against our will) to go on several hunting, fishing and camping trips. Steph just smiles at me when I say this, but I don't think she knows what she just got herself into. I grew up with three brothers, and I'm used to the associated farting, fighting, and wrestling that goes along with it. Steph grew up with just her sisters, so I think that she is in for a bit of a surprise. Our little Livie is very excited about her new sibling as well. When we ask her if she thinks about the baby, she goes up to her mom's belly and says: "Baby are you awake? What's your name?" I think it is hilarious, of course I'm her dad, and I'm more disposed to feel that way versus someone else reading this. I just want Steph and Livie to know how very grateful and proud I am of them. They are the reason I leave them all day while I'm at school, abandon them all night while I'm at work, and ignore them while I'm at home doing home work. I love you two with all my heart! Just like Darius Rucker sings: "It won't be like this for long! "

Halloween 10

I know, kinda late to be posting Halloween but better late than never, right?!? We had such a great time this Halloween. We went to our ward's chili cook off, then did some trick or treating to a few houses I always went to as a kid. Livie cared more about saying, "Trick or Treat" at every house than she did about the candy! And of course, we went to Great and Grandpa's, Gra and Papa's and Grandma and Grandpa's houses.

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and Buzz Lightyear

It was really fun to celebrate Halloween on Saturday and Sunday. For Sunday we had our traditional stuffed pumpkin dinner. It was AWESOME! I look forward to stuffed pumpkin every year. Oh, and special thanks Hubby for being so willing to dress up every year!

Trying to Get Family Pictures - Attempt #1

One Sunday afternoon, I decided that we needed to start working on family pictures. So we headed up a canyon to get some pictures with all the fall leaves.
Livie was extra cute and enjoyed playing in the leaves and especially on this fence.

I love her cheesy grin! This is the smile we usually get when trying to take her picture.

Sigh, guess we will have to attempt family pictures again. Dave and Livie sure look great, but I really don't like how I look. Thank goodness we are starting this early so I can do a few attempts before deciding on Christmas card pics this year.

Our Weekend

Finally, on Saturday we were able to spend some time together as a family. Dave has been working lots of Saturdays and having Drill weekends. So I thought we had better take advantage of the time we have together. We decided to have a special Halloween dinner and carve pumpkins.Livie LOVES pumpkins! She is always wanting to carry them around the house.
Dave and Livie picked some of the last of our tomatoes for dinner.

For dinner we had monster faces. Cheesy stuffed shell eyes, salad hair, cherry tomato nose and red pepper mouth.

After dinner, we started carving! Livie really enjoyed pulling out all of the seeds.

I love this face she pulled every time she reached her hand in to get the seeds!

We really had such a good time. And Livie was glad to be spending some time with her Daddy. I love this time of year and all the fun activities that come along with it!

Just a Little Sunshine

Some days can be really stressful. This morning Liv decided to dump a whole (yes brand new) box of cereal (Cap'n Crunch) on the floor and couch while I was in the shower. It doesn't sound too terrible, but then she proceeded to spread the cereal all over the front room and step on it. When I asked why, she replied she wanted to "mush it like a bug!" So by the time we get it all cleaned up (I mean huge project of cleaning and vacuuming) we needed to pick Dave up from school. So much for my plan of grocery shopping this morning.

After we picked Dave up, had lunch and dropped him off to ROTC for the next two hours, Liv and I went home to finish our shopping list (a detailed one for our "Week of Fun Halloween Meals") it was about time to leave to pick him up. So I put Liv in the car and decided it was rather embarrassing how much junk was in the car. I took a large load across the parking lot to the garbage can, said hi to the neighbors for a sec then went back to the car. Liv had unbuckled and was standing up. "Please get back in your seat so we can pick up Daddy and some of his Air Force friends." "No Mommy. I had a accident. I pooped." SIGH okay, get her in the house to clean her up and realize not to be mad as I pull down her pants. Poor kid had a bout of diarrhea. Get cleaned up and back in the car in time to take off up the canyon where ROTC was meeting today.

I know this doesn't sound like much, but seriously it took all day to do this. Some days can sure get frustrating. But Livie always adds little rays of sunshine to my day...

In the car with a couple of cadets, Livie announces, "I love all the boys!" (waving her hands to include the two cadets sitting next to her)

Watching "The Great Pumpkin" Liv sees Linus carrying the huge pumpkin for Lucy to carve. She says, "Whoa, that big pumpkin I ever see'd before!"

Thanks Liv for always putting a smile on my face (even on 'those' days!)

Boo at the Zoo 2010

Every year we go to Boo at the Zoo. It is so much fun! Unfortunately, this year David had to work. So Liv and I went with Gra and Papa.Livie decided she wanted to be Buzz Lightyear this Halloween. Yikes!! Since I make her costumes every year, I was not sure how to pull this one off! With a little creative thinking, this is what I came up with. But of course my munchkin would have to be a girly Buzz! I am so glad that she is able to try out her costume before Halloween. There are a few things I need to modify.
We love going to all the stations and doing all of the activities.

This is the turtle race, new to Boo at the Zoo. There were a bunch of different games in the center of the zoo. Livie wanted the yellow turtle and did a great job. She won the race!

This game was a little tricky. You had to throw the ball into the basket and make it stay. I even had a difficult time with it!

We had so much fun and Livie LOVED wearing her Buzz costume. She wouldn't let me hold her had because she was "flying like Buzz!" We can't wait to go next year, and hopefully Daddy can come with us!

The Aggie Game

On September 11, we went to the Utah State football game. It was so much fun and Livie LOVES to watch "all the Aggies" play. She really gets into the games and enjoyed saying, "First Down!" Dave loves going to the games, so I am sure this won't be our last. And it always makes it fun when they win the game! I must say the Aggies sure look better than they have for a long time (not saying that they are a good team, just not terrible like before!)

Olivia Visits the Dentist

On Friday September 10, Livie went to the dentist for the first time! It is so nice that Christy works for our dentist! We took Livie in on a day that our dentist was out so we could get her comfortable with going (wish we could do that with the doctor! She freaks every time we go.) I can't believe how well she did! She opened her mouth "really big" so Aunt Christy could count all of her teeth.

Christy was able to check all her teeth, floss and fluoride. She wasn't so keen on the brushing, so we just skipped it this time.

Showing off those pearly whites! She doesn't have any cavity bugs! Yay!!Livie did so great she was able to pick out a new toothbrush. She picked Sally from Disney's Cars.
Then she got to pick out a prize and some gum.

We are so proud of our munchkin! She did a great job and we can't wait for the next visit! Thanks Aunt Christy!!

Five Years!

Friday was our five year anniversary! Wow, we have done so much in the past five years. I am so grateful that I have my best friend to share my life with. The past five years have been amazing and I am looking forward to all the years to come. Thanks honey for making my life better and happier than I ever thought possible! I love you!

A Little Something

Tonight, I promised Livie that if she was good in the tub, then we could watch a movie. Her new favorite is Curious George 2. She was awesome, so I had to keep my end of the bargain. While she was watching, I combed her hair. WOW! I didn't realize how long it is getting! Her hair is longer than mine!This is video of Liv dancing to the end credits of the movie. I am so glad that she is taking "dancing school" She is such a cute little dancer and sure loves to move.

Promotion!

Yay! Finally David was able to receive his promotion with the Air National Guard. He is now a Staff Sargent! We are so proud of him and all his hard work.This is David with his commander, Col. Morris.
Me and Matt "pinning" his stripes on. It is tradition in the Air Force to punch the new stripes on so they don't fall off (of course I punched him hard!)

We are so super proud of David! Thanks for all you do for us!

(Doesn't he look so handsome in his ABUs)

July 2010

Ok, so I just realized how far behind I am. We have had a busy and fun summer. I can't believe it is almost over! Dancing and school will be starting up this month and I am totally not ready to get back into the grind of things.

Olivia update: I know I say this all the time, but she is growing like a weed!! REALLY! It is quite interesting to see her play with neighbor kids. There's two boys and one girl that are all close to turning five and Liv is taller than all of them! (She's going to be my beautiful ballerina!) Last week, she was refusing to eat anything. Saturday night she woke up complaining that her arms and legs were hurting. So I rubbed them for over 2 hours until she finally fell asleep. Sunday morning hit and I can't keep anything on her plate! She has devoured it and asks for seconds and thirds with her mouth full! She sure is great! Liv's also starting to recognize when she is hungry. One night she came out of bed and told me that her tummy was hurting. I asked if she was sick and her response was, "No. My tummy said it is hungry, Mommy!" What a cutie! A couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready upstairs and decided that things were too quiet, so I went down to check on Liv. She had pulled out some cutouts to Primary manuals. She had people and was holding them up like she was teaching an invisible class. With each character, she would say, "Heavenly Father gives us Jesus." I just love her little spirit and how her quick mind can grasp so much.

July has sure whizzed by. Amy and Derek were here from the end of June til after the holiday, so of course we spent time with them. The kids missed each other! We had a great time at Eclipse preview party, BBQ's, parade, fireworks, pool, Cherry Hill and of course staying up late to play cards.

We decided one weekend to go camping at Bear Lake. It was Liv's first time camping and we sure had a blast! I can't wait to go again. We only stayed for two nights (which was perfect for Liv and I since we didn't have running water!) I was really worried about taking her because she had only been potty trained for about a month, but she did AWESOME! Only one accident! We had a great time at the beach and of course roasted marshmallows!

For Pioneer Day, we went out to Mendon for the parade and city square activities with Tim, Ashley and Ian. It was such a blast! I had never gone to Mendon's activities before and I think we are going to make it a new tradition! After the parade, the firemen got out their hoses and sprayed water for kids to play in. A few minutes later, one of the hoses was spraying out bubbles! Dave tried to convince Liv that it was fun, but she was only interested from a distance. After that, we played games and played on blow up toys. Ian and Liv had a blast.

We have had so much fun this summer (and have a few more activities planned for this month!)

Happy 2 1/2 Birthday!

Today Livie is 2 1/2! Crazy how fast time goes by. She use to be so tiny (well, for an 8 lb 5 oz baby!) We are so glad to have her in our family.

Livie Stats

Still loves puzzles and books

Is starting to interact more with other kids

My unload the dishwasher partner

Makes her Dad give her a "kiss and neck skeeze" before he leaves the house

Has now decided that the other two blantys I made for her are "too scratchy" and only the pink one will do

Will randomly start repeating what people say (this was a riot when we took her to a furniture store and she would repeat back all the prices the salesman was saying)

Loves to sing songs, especially if they have actions

Will break out with this list: "and bracelets and necklaces and books and things and earrings" when she seems bored
Still towers over all the kids her age and most the ones older

Will ask for some chapstick then grab my cheeks and give me a kiss

Hates to have her picture taken

Loves to dance and do somersaults

A Big Girl

I haven't wanted to post anything about potty training for fear of jinxing myself, but now I feel safe to.

Olivia's Potty Trained!!

I really can't believe my baby is big enough for this! I am so proud of her! We started potty training on June 14th and Livie has done amazing! She loves wearing her big girl panties (princess and minnie mouse) and gets so excited every time she uses the potty. We never used pull ups or diapers at night and I really think that helped her lots. We've had a few accidents, but she has night time training down too!

Way to go Livie! We love you and are so proud of you!

Big Fat Lip

Today, Livie and Dave were playing in the front room while I was making lunch. Suddenly I heard Livie scream and then start crying. As I entered the front room, I saw Livie holding both hands over her face. When we finally got her calmed down enough to peek at her lip, we saw a couple of nice cuts. Somehow, Liv managed to hit her lip and nose on Dave's knee. Poor kid! Her lip is so huge! Then as I was getting her to go to bed tonight, she pointed out a bite taken out of her cheek. Thank goodness I still had some baby oragel from when she was teething! Hope some of the swelling goes down by morning!

Milan Maternity Giveaway

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Olivia's Dance Picture

An Update

Wow, I am SO behind! In my defense, it has been a crazy month. Last week was full of tech and dress rehearsals, revues and concert. It is always so sad (and a little bit of a relief) to have the dancing year end. I love being able to teach and especially enjoyed dancing with Livie this year. Livie loves to be on stage and has a pretty good sense of rhythm. She is so excited to start dancing again, however, I did inform her that she is not allowed to take if she is wearing diapers. So far, it has been quite a motivator for her (FINALLY!) It was also Dave's "super drill" weekend. Which means he was gone Thursday long before the sun came up, til Sunday evening. So stressful to have Dave gone while I was at dance. Poor Livie was shifted around quite a bit. It is always so hard to get back on a schedule!

Today David started summer school. Sigh, I am really not ready to be starting with this again. The bonus about this semester: we are buying a new car. Well, SUV. I am so excited that I will not have to run Dave everywhere. It really interfered with Livie's naps, lunch and sure made it hard for me to get anything done!

A couple of weeks ago, we added to our little family. Dave bought Livie a fish! We bought it at Petsmart and on the ride home, we rattled off a bunch of names for our new pet. Nothing was acceptable for Livie. Finally I asked, "Then what should we call him?" Her response, "He is The Big One!" (very matter of fact) So that is the name of our little goldfish. Silly girl! Whenever anyone asks what his name is, Liv replies, "He's The Big One. He is little tiny." I sure love how her little mind works!

Our month is not going to slow down. But we are sure excited for what is coming up. AMY, DEREK, ALLEE AND PIERCE!! Can't wait! It will be so fun and I know the kids are going to have a great time together. I'll try to keep updated, but can't make any guarantees!

Just Had To Laugh

Tonight, Livie and I did the normal bedtime routine. We read "If I Ran The Circus" and sang songs, then said prayers, gave kisses and big neck skeezes (hugs) and said goodnight. I went downstairs and listened to her try to get comfy to go to sleep. Usually she rolls around a bit then goes to sleep. But tonight, there was some loud banging. So I headed up the stairs to make her get back in bed. At the top of the stairs was all of her bedding, pillow and stuffed animals (she has to sleep with 3 stuffed animals and one glow worm.) Livie was standing in her doorway and with a big grin on her face, said, "Fish are friends, not food!" I just had to laugh! I sure love her little sense of humor! Thanks Liv for making me happy and giving me so many opportunities to laugh!

Olivia's Dance Revue

Here's a few pictures of Livie with the flowers Daddy gave to her after her performance. She loved them so much and wouldn't let anyone touch them! I tried to help her carry them, but she refused! As soon as I get the pictures and video downloaded, I will post.
Olivia really was not interested in looking at the camera!

Congrats from Gra, Great and Katie

Makeup

With Olivia's dance revue the next day, I thought it would be a good idea to tryout some makeup, just to see what I could actually get her to wear. I thought it would be pretty easy (she loves to play in it) and even talked about maybe trying some mascara. WHAT was I thinking?? Turns out, she hated every time I brought a brush within a foot of her face! So Christy (she was helping) and I decided we should let her put some on us, in hopes of Liv becoming more comfortable with it. We looked Gooood! We couldn't convince her that certain makeup went certain places. Choice of weapon: LIPSTICK! She was painting our faces (and a little on her own), warrior style. Goofy kid!

(Don't look too closely at this pic. I look awful, hence the small size!) So my hope of Liv being comfortable enough to let me put some makeup on... complete failure! That's okay, we sure had a fun time playing with it. My only worry now is that she will think she can do this anytime she wants!

This morning, Liv did allow me to put lipstick and eyeshadow on her, as long as I used my finger for the eyeshadow and not a brush! She did a great job dancing and as soon as I get the photos and videos uploaded, I will post! Stay Tuned!

Mother's Day

I am so grateful for such an amazing family. Dave and Livie really spoiled me! On Saturday I woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes. Then we went to Orem to check out some new vehicles (we will be getting one soon! Yea!) It was so nice to just be with my little family. Dave's been working every weekend for the past FOREVER, so it really was great to be in the car, just the three of us. Then Dave let me pick out the movie to watch and he helped me finish my sharing time lesson. On Sunday, Dave got Liv ready (well, all but her hair) and took care of her all day long. When we got home from church, Dave and Livie gave me my presents, 'The Undaunted' and a Kohl's gift card. Then we went to my parents' house and had dinner with my family. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother. I have such an awesome family and love them so much! Thanks David and Olivia!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

On Saturday, Seth, Linda and Arailia came over. Livie was so happy to have a friend to play with. She pulled out her favorite blocks and the girls had a great time.
I was surprised at how well they helped each other build towers.

Thanks Arailia for coming over and playing with Livie!