We Work With Santa... and more!

Ha Ha Ha! Yes, we get to work with Santa! Our office just hired a new drafter and he just happens to be Santa Claus! And Ethan actually likes him! We didn't get the traditional picture with Santa over the holidays, so this is the next best thing. I guess economic times ARE hard, Santa got a job during the off season! :) :) :)

Well, its a new year... wow, I'm not sure where 09 went, but 2010 is here and we are excited for the fun to come! Hope you all had a lovely holiday season! We had a wonderful, but quick Christmas and very uneventful (thankfully) New Years... let me explain...

First, we traveled for a week during December, who does that? I mean, Christmas always comes fast enough anyways, but take an extra week out of December and Christmas shows up on your front door ;) We wanted to travel out to Vernal and take a little extra time with family, but the no good weather made that impossible for us, so we drove out the morning of Christmas Eve. As giddy new parents, we were so excited for our first Christmas as a little family! Ethan liked the ribbon.. of course! But we read the story called the The Tale of the Three Trees, you need to read it, its so good, and it was a very special experience. Christmas morning was exciting, Ethan made a haul, but was a little over whelmed with it all and took a nap while we opened up his goodies!

We had a great Christmas day, played games, ate yummy, and I mean yummy food, and just enjoyed being together. But then, it got very cold, and not just outside, Vernal is frigid, but in the house, the temperature was dropping drastically, and the furnace was blowing cold air! Well, the handy dandy furnace guy came and took a peak, and yep, my parents furnace was pooped out, and had to be replaced. Not only was it not working, but it had been leaking carbon monoxide. How much and for how long, we don't know, but SCARY!!! We bundled up, collected every space heater we could, and tried to get some rest.

Next day, furnace guy comes back with a detector for CO, and yeah, it was going off constantly, so we packed up, and came back to our home in the city. I'm a new mom, and when we found out about the carbon monoxide, I fell apart... you see on the news the families that never wake up... that could have been us, I am so thankful that the furnace started blowing cold. We can deal with cold, but CO, its not to be messed with.

Just a few days later, my little sis, Jacky, had a little episode of vision going out in her left eye for about an hour and a half. The next day, she was on an ambulance to Primary Childrens... and after every imaginable test, the doctors are stumped and she is A O K! No stroke, no problems with her vision, her heart, her blood pressure, nothing, nada, zilt. Which is frustrating, because an answer would be great, but our family is so grateful that nothing serious is to be found. Jacky has been through a lot, the Lord must have a grand plan for her I tell you, she is one special young lady. But her and my mom drove back to Vernal on New Years Eve day, and Tys and I put Ethan to bed, had some dinner, and just relaxed after a nail biting week at Primary Childrens. I have spent a lot of time there during the years of my sister being treated, but never as a mother, and my heart was touched during my visits last week. I can't express my gratitude in words, simply put: I am so grateful and blessed for the health of my beautiful son, husband, and family... so grateful.

So, like I said, quick Christmas, and uneventful New Years... but all is well!

I have a six month old... oh goodness, 6 months, and I just adore this kid more and more each day. He is getting to be really fun, he has the cutest darn personality, I love it when he gets excited about something, his smile warms me through and through. He had his 6 mo. appt. and he is in the 85% percentile. He loves to eat, I swear, if I let him, he would eat all day, and that would explain him weighing in at 18 pounds 3 ounces! He is crawling around, sitting up, figuring out a sippy cup, loving trucks, making truck engine sounds, eating anything and everything we give him, and loves Elmo!

For some reason, that I can't fix, the pictures are first, thanks for reading my extremely long post, but had to get caught up! Hope you all have a great start to 2010! I am going to try and enjoy the moments more, life is short and there is so much to enjoy!

Its Been 5 Weeks: Pictures

Its Been 5 Weeks

I can't believe its been 5 weeks since my last post, I really enjoy blogging/facebook and staying in contact with friends and family. I just don't seem to have the time that I once had, but I'm still figuring out how to balance everything, something tells me I will always be balancing things, but that is being a mom right?
I find myself asking the same redundant questions everyday... is Ethan breathing (while he is sleeping)? Yes he always is. Will naps be a struggle everyday? Some days are better than others. Will I every get my "to do" list finished? It just takes much longer than it used to, but slowly, I can mark things off. When do I find time to workout and lose some of the baby weight? I still haven't been able to answer that one, if I get up at 5:30 and go to the gym, I can fit it in, but I'm still tired at 5:30, and I'm still really sore... don't know if that is usual, but my incision is very tender. I did an advanced step class and could barely laugh, sneeze, cough, lift a gallon of milk, or lift Ethan for about 2 weeks, major set back.
But all in all, things are very good at the Hacking household. We have a warm roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet, a reliable vehicle, good jobs, and most importantly we have the gospel in our home, a great marriage, and a beautiful and happy son that is the light of our lives.
We had a nice Thanksgiving in Vernal with the Nebekers and Hackings. We split the day with both families and two yummy meals. The day after Christmas we went up and got a perfect Christmas tree, and then spent a few more days just hanging out with family.
We came back home and 5 days later left for Vegas. Tys has a class/seminar on designing transmission lines, and I opted out of staying home alone for a week. Vegas isn't the most kid friendly place, I swear I'm the only person carting a stroller and baby around, but I am loving not being at work, spending some awesome one on one time with baby Ethan, and getting to go on a date each night with my dear hubby. Vacationing suits me ;)
I'm looking forward to the holidays, I have just about all of the shopping and wrapping done. We are going a little simple this year and are going to try and help some families in our area. No matter how bad I think it is, I can always look around and realize that I have a great life and I need to get my butt out there and help others.
Little baby Ethan is not so little, well, never has been. He is trying to crawl, and its adorable but he needs to slow it down, he is barely 5 months, and I'm not ready for a mobile baby :) He loves rice cereal with pears, prunes, squash, and especially peaches, they are his fave! He is sitting up on his own, but is much more interested in figuring this crawling thing out... he is really starting to have the most adorable little personality, he loves peek a boo, mirrors, vibrating toothbrushes, his high chair, tub time and Sesame Street! We don't have any TV channels at our home but I've put PBS on for him in our hotel room and he loves Sesame Street, doesn't care for any of the other shows, but Elmo and Big Bird are right up his alley!
I am going to try and be better about posting, I love reading your blogs and hearing from you, hope you enjoy the holiday season, it is a magical time of year!

Forgot How to Blog...

It would seem that I forgot how to blog, my last post was nearly a month ago... perhaps its not that I forgot, but that I haven't found time until today at this moment to type up a post and upload some pics :)

I can't honestly believe how fast the month of October flew by... we had some birthdays, some Halloween festivities, and we now have a four month old bouncing baby boy that has become the center of our world, and we wouldn't change a thing about it! Ethan fills in the missing part of our family that we didn't even know was missing... does that even make sense??? He is so happy, and so much fun, we just can't get enough of his little smiles, giggles, funny faces, just all of it!

We really are so blessed to have such a good little boy, he is so good with me at work for a few hours each day, he is finally taking three good naps during the day, and sleeping about 12-13 hours at night.

Here are a couple pictures from the last month:



Just woke up from a nap, cute little dark eyes...


Loves his changing table, but loves Daddy more!



Laughing at Mommy being goofy

Loves sitting up to the table in the high chair,
but instead of fists, he wants food!


Before the snow flew, we got a couple cute pics

with the leaves and punkins

And here's our little punkin, I bought his little costume 2 weeks before Halloween and it fit, but on Halloween, it was just too small (notice the sleeves up at his elbows) :) Look at those chunky little legs!

Every month, I take a picture of little Ethan next to his bear from Grandma Susan. He is growing so big and so fast!

We just got done with our 4 month doc appointment. Ethan is 26.75 Inches Long (94% Percentile), and 16 lbs. 12 oz. (86% Percentile). We got the green light from his pediatrician to start out on some rice cereal and go from there with introducing some fruits and veggies. Ethan got his second round of vaccinations, and he only cried for about 20 seconds. We got him dressed, and he was out as soon as we buckled him up in his little carseat. I am so grateful for a strong healthy little boy.

He is now rolling around, inching forward and backward, reaching for his favorite toys, and trying to get on his knees and push forward. I know its only a matter of time before we have a crawler... but I can wait for that ;) Hope you are all enjoying this last bit of beautiful fall weather, SL is going to hit 70 today! Yes!

A Hike, Pressing Apples & a Few New Pics

Two weekends ago, we decided that we HAD to get out and enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather, before it got freezing cold! What better way to enjoy the great outdoors than hiking in the mountains? We hiked 4.2 miles, from Little Cottonwood Canyon over the top, and into Big Cottonwood canyon. Tyson carried Ethan in the Bjorn, and I carried a backpack full of diapers, burp cloths, snacks, and a camera... Ethan loves, loves, loves being outside, it is so stimulating and he didn't make a cranky peap the entire hike.

Over Conference Weekend, we went to Vernal with our friends, the Smarts. Tyson's parent's farm has pretty good sized apple orchard and our tradition is to go out and pick the apples, and then press them to make the best apple juice you'll ever taste in your life! Un-pasterized, no preservatives or wierd ingredients, just 100% apple juice, YUM! It's a lot of hard work, but the end result is totally worth it! We listened to conference while we picked and pressed, it was such a fun weekend!

Ethan did really well, he practically lived in the Bjorn or his carseat, but he was so good for us! He turned 3 months old while we were in Vernal... 3 months! I can't believe my little baby is getting so big... fastest 3 months of my life!

Couple of 3 Month Milestones/Favorites:

Rolling from his tummy to his back, left and right, before it was only right (at 6 weeks), inches forward when he is on his tummy, he likes to push with his toes, loves to eat his hand, tries to fit both fists in a the same time, becoming a true slobber king, sleeping 8-9 hours at night (hallelujah!) weighing in at close 17 pounds, my little chunck, always full of smiles, getting more ticklish each day, starting to giggle and laugh outloud, loves bath time, he is kind of a momma's boy, and he is sitting up to the table in his high chair, too cute!

Mr. Gigglesworth

Little Baby Ethan was 12 weeks old yesterday, and we got the cutest clip of his little giggles! He is getting to be so much fun, he loves it when we swing him in the air, and tickle his chest with his little feeties! Enjoy!

2 Month Appointment

Well, little Ethan is not so little these days, he is getting so big! He had his 2 Month appointment 2 weeks ago and he is in the 92 percentile for his height and weight: 14 lbs 8 oz, 24.5 inches long... he is such a little chunk! Then of course the shots... I think its harder on the parents to see their little baby cry so hard, but then its over, and he was all smiles again, such a sweet little boy. We got some cute pictures of Ethan with his looney toons band aids.

We have also hit some little milestones in the last week, Ethan has started rolling from his tummy to his back, I got him to giggle a couple times, my favorite thing in the world, when he is on his tummy, he is pushing with his toes and inching forward, he is sitting up in the bumbo and loves to be up where the action is, and his hair is really starting to grow in. We still don't know what color his little eyes are going to be, but they are really dark, such a handsome little guy! I also put away all of his 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes, he is now wearing 6-9 month stuff. I put the little jammie away that he wore in the hospital and it made me tear up to think he was that tiny... he is already so big, and only 11 weeks old!

He is still doing really great with me at work, takes his naps really well, and is such a happy little boy! We went to Vernal last weekend to see the family, and he slept the whole way going out and coming back home, we are just having so much fun!