5 months old

Lexi Nicole is 5 months old!

This month was fun because we took her to Disneyland for the first time. She rode most of the rides with us and even tasted some cotton candy (Don't judge ;) Although it was Ryan's doing, not mine...).

She's had a few tastes of other foods, but nothing consistent. She has had bananas, applesauce and butternut squash. She seemed to like all of them pretty well, she's just working on figuring out how to swallow them instead of pushing them back out. I'm planning on making some rice and oatmeal this week for her, so hopefully those go over well too!

Here are a few stats for the month...

-She wears 3-6 or 6 month clothes, although the 6 month clothes are still a little big

-She wears a size 2 diaper but it's getting pretty small

-She loves being in her exersaucer and has figured out how to move around in it a lot more

-She is so close to rolling from back to front, she just needs to get her arm out of the way

-She has also starting hiking up her legs when she's on her tummy... like she's attempting to crawl. What the what?!

-I finally transitioned her to her crib at night. She did great. It was much harder on me than it was on her. She's so far away now :(

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of Christmas fun with my girl and then we have her 6 MONTH appointment in January. Where does the time go?!

Disneyland at Christmastime

Ready for a picture overload from The Happiest Place On Earth? Well here it is! We spent last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Disneyland and had the BEST time! Jax was in heaven because we were there with our Army friends from North Carolina, and he loves their 6-year-old daughter Taylor. And Lexi was on sensory overload the whole time with all of the amazing things to look at. Jax is about an inch short for the bigger rides, so we rode all the ones that didn't have height requirements (there are a TON), which meant that Lexi got to ride too. She loved all the lights and colors. Both kids did great the whole time and we all had so much fun!

Day one... matching shirts and smiles all around

Christmas Magic parade on Main Street

How beautiful is the castle?!

Day two... more matching shirts and more smiles. 

(This was the day that Lexi had TWO major blowouts, and I had only brought one extra outfit. Who would have thought I would need two? At least girlfriend got a new Disney outfit out of the ordeal. Hooray!)

Last time we were there, Jax wasn't big enough to drive these bumper cars in Bug Land. He was pretty happy he could do it this time!

Cars Land is amazing. It feels like you're walking through Radiator Springs!

This boy loves hair. Always has. He spent the whole trip playing with Taylor's hair. It was pretty cute... and just a tad creepy. 

Woody was super hyper and could hardly sit still for a picture. Jax thought it was hilarious. 

All of the Christmas decorations were beautiful.

4 adults and 6 kids made for a very busy, but fun time.

Our friends left early on the last day so we spent the afternoon and evening enjoying our little family of four. The last thing that was did was ride Small World. It was a great way to end our trip. The whole ride is retrofitted for Christmas and it's beautiful!

This boy walked all day for three days and didn't take any naps. We were very impressed! But at the end of each night he was ready to CRASH! He didn't even make it out of the park before he fell asleep in the stroller. 

We are already planning on taking him back, by himself, for his fifth birthday. It was something that my parents did with me because I was big enough to ride all of the rides, and I can't wait to do it with Jax as well!

Family Pictures

We did family pictures over Thanksgiving and I am in love with them. I wanted to have some for Christmas cards and to replace some frames around the house. They are the first nice pictures we have of our newly-established family of four. 

Here are some of the best ones...

We also did some extended family pictures....

Cousins

Ryan's side of the family

4 generations of Hansen men

 Stay tuned to see which ones made it on the Christmas card!

Three and a Half

I do so many updates on Lexi that it may seem like I don't pay as much attention to Jax. But this post is here to prove you wrong! Because this cute boy...

Is THREE AND A HALF! 

I seriously can't believe he's halfway to FOUR! Where does the time go?

He obviously doesn't have nearly as many milestones as his little sister, but he still has fun things worth documenting.

He is a funny, funny guy. Just today he said to me "I love you like a booger loves a nose". Ha! He sure is a little sponge for everything people say to him.

He's also so very sweet. He always gives me hugs and kisses or wants me to snuggle with him. He is always sweet to Lexi, especially when she is fussy. He says "It's ok Lexi girl. You're ok. Mommy will be right here". And she always smiles for him. It's the sweetest thing in the world!

Jax is super outgoing and bossy blessed with leadership skills. He wants to be friends with everyone and is always saying "Hey guys come over here" or "Come play with me, lets do soccer/catch/bikes/chalk". His teachers say he's very chatty at school. I don't know where he got that from ;)

He also has so much energy and can be a little hard to control at times. He gets so wound up and hyper and can be a little nutso. He ends up being disobedient and doing things he knows he's not supposed to do. Being consistent with discipline can be really challenging sometimes, but I know that our efforts will pay off. He is getting much better at saying "Yes Mommy" when I tell him to do something, instead of just disobeying or ignoring me. The fruits of our labor are starting to appear!

He's growing into such an awesome little dude and I couldn't be more proud of him. He makes my heart so happy and is the best little boy that a mama could ask for!

Giving Thanks

As I sit here thinking about all that I have to be thankful for, I am completely overwhelmed by the list I can come up with. This has been an amazing year for our family and there's time I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. In those times I try to turn that worry over to God and know that he wants what's best for my family. That everything is in His hands. And that just because things are going so well doesn't necessarily mean something bad is going to happen.

We have days that are hard. Where Jax drives me up the wall, where Lexi won't let me put her down, and where Ryan gets home so late from work that we eat dinner and do bedtime alone. But even in those days, I am still so thankful for the life God has given me.

For a husband who works hard for our family and rarely complains


For a son who is the sweetest, funniest, best big brother


For a daughter who was born via successful VBAC, and who sleeps well, is usually content, and has the cutest smile


For parents who let us stay with them for the holidays, even when their house is in the middle of a major remodel

For in-laws who love me like their own and are always there for us when we need them

For old friends, whose friendship can withstand difficult circumstances and whose strength carries each other through hard times


For new friends in our new town who we can have play dates, and game nights, and adventures with


For a rental house the fits our needs and the ability to start looking to buy a new house that we can call our own

For two cars that fit our family and can take us anywhere we want to go

And for love. Between family. Between friends. And especially the love the God has shown me over this past year.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends!

Through Clouded Glass

Hi friends! 

I'm being featured today in a Moms and Babies series over at Through Clouded Glass. 

Go check it out!

Insta-Randoms

If you haven't joined the Instagram bandwagon, you really should! It's like Facebook but with pictures only. Which we all know is the best part anyway! Come find me @jennahansen.

Here is some Instagram fun from the last few weeks... With a few other randoms thrown in.

She spending more and more time in the exersaucer.


This guy loves it too. Ha!


But sometimes it's too much work.


"Ugh MOM, you make me so frustrated". When did he become a teenager?!


Being so beautiful is such hard work! Or maybe she's frustrated with me too?


Pinterest gave me this fun idea for my very favorite cup. All I did was use spray glue on the inside of the outer cup, then sprinkle glitter and shake it around until it was coated. So easy.


We went to lunch at Chipotle a few days ago and there happened to be some firefighters eating there as well. They asked Jax if he wanted to go see their truck. He was beyond excited!


Um, these shoes. I die. BabiesRUs score from a few night ago. I also got her some itty bitty knock-off sparkly Toms. I can hardly handle the cuteness.


This was a fun Pinterest snack we made a few days ago. Rice Krispy treats, Oreos, candy corn, and frosting as glue. I'm sure y'all have seen it before but Jax had SO much fun making them. And eating them, of course.


I've been working on shirts for Disneyland. Lexi's just need some bows. Obviously :)


Only 20 more days! (Again, thanks Pinterest)


Pretty girl ready for church on Sunday. And a bow without a headband! Holla!


It's been chilly here so we had a lazy crafting/cleaning/playing day on Friday. Sometimes days like that are just what we need.


Happy Tuesday, friends!