Only in Utah!

How awesome is it that we were able to drive 5-10 minutes from our house and hike up a trail that leads to this view! Okay, so maybe it's possible in many other states, but it seems we are especially fortunate here to be so close to the mountains. A perfect day, a perfect hike, a perfect family and a perfect view. Ahhhh, bliss!

Gratitude!

I don't know if it's the spring weather, Aaron coming home early to surprise us, chatting with a close friend or Sasha having a good day, but I'm feeling especially grateful for all that I have today. With all the chaos of raising an active child, keeping up the house, making the constant improvements that come with a house, working part time, fulfilling church responsibilities and trying to have a social life, life can get pretty fast-paced. So, I'm taking a few minutes today to just slow down and ENJOY! That's right - I'm inefficient for a few minutes to just appreciate what's around me. Here are a few things I love:

• Spring weather when it's warm, but still a little cool and plants are budding
• The tiny little buds that are starting to come up in our garden
• The way Sasha moves all around while she sleeps and ends up in a completely different place and positive by the time she wakes up
• Aaron coming home early so we can go on a hike to enjoy time with each other and the outdoors
• Sasha sleeping peacefully
• The sound of the dryer (I know it's strange, but it must be from my mom always putting me on top of the dryer when I was a colicky baby)
• Conversations with good friends that inspire me to be better

Hope you get the chance to take a few minutes today and just ENJOY!

Easter Updates...

With the approach of Spring, I can almost taste the warm weather (despite the constant barrage of snow storms). We're so excited to get outside and do all the fun outdoor things that come with warmer weather. Talking about fun, I had the opportunity to get together with an amazing group of girls last night. We had an Easter Basket exchange organized by none other than Holly Harris. It was a spectacular event with great company, fabulous food and fun gift baskets exchanged. Pictured below from front left to right: Mindy, Camille, E, Holly, Sarah, Shelly and Amanda. Can you see the candles, fancy place settings and yummy food? Man, it was awesome!

Sasha is growing so quickly and is already 7 months old. I know you really want to see photos so I'll list her most recent stats and accomplishments after the following fun photos.

Sasha in her dress from the Netherlands and cute little bow.

Seriously, could she be any cuter wearing Aaron's hat? She's ready to enjoy sports, just like her mama and papa.

She's learning to crawl (in her own way) and is getting better at staying on her tummy.

Here are the stats:

• Weight is at 16.5 lbs., which puts her in the 45th percentile for weight.
• Height is up to 26.5 inches, which puts her in the 46th percentile for height.
• Her head is now in the 75th percentile.
• She's still eating 5 times a day, but the amount has become a little more sporadic...she's just not as interested in food. Everything else is so much more interesting. She is up to eating solids twice a day and will soon move to 3 times a day.
• Sasha is learning how to eat with her hands and has started feeding herself those dried baby cereals in the shape of a star.
• Sleeping at night is still her forte as she usually sleeps 11 hours a night with 3-4 naps during the day (ranging from 30 minutes -2 hours).
• She still doesn't love baths, but is sort of ambivalent toward them. She does enjoy watching me fill the washcloth with water and trying to "grab" the water as it drips from the washcloth.
• Can't seem to shake the two patches of eczema on her face and one on her knee. We're hoping it's just a phase and will go away on its own soon.
• She loves sweet potatoes and carrots and is still developing a love of fruit.
• She does a modification of crawling which is rolling back and forth as she moves a little bit forward each time. It's not the fastest way to get from point A to point B, but she's learning.
• She has the cutest laugh and the most beautiful smile...what an amazing girl we are blessed to have in our family.

Spread the Sunshine!

I just learned of this great idea from a friend's blog and wanted to continue it...

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! Made with tons of love just for you! It might be a fun project, a sweet letter to you from me, or some yummy goodies, you might be surprised what you get! Give it a try!

The catch? You must re -post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to leave a comment, win a lovely little treat for themselves! Have fun!

If you're far away, just send me your mailing address (becky.henson@hotmail.com).

Ready........Set............Go!

Culinary Experimentation

I've been in a bit of a rut with cooking the same basic things so I tried a little something new. It was a risk because, as you may know, Aaron is not a fan of squash. However, he actually enjoyed the dish so I can officially recommend it. Plus, it's really easy. Just make some spaghetti squash and top it with turkey sausage and peppers that have been cooked in a skillet (you may want to drain off any excess fat if needed). You can add salt and peper if you'd like, but it doesn't really need lots of spices.

The following photos are just additional goodies showing how well Sasha is sitting up now. She occassionally gets really excited and starts flailing her arms, which knocks off her balance so she tips over. For the most part, she does pretty well now and keeps on getting better.

Valentine's Surprise!

We did Valentine's in two shifts this year. On Friday, my parents watched Sasha while we painted the town red. Okay, we went to dinner and actually went to the theater to watch a movie that Aaron has been wanting to see (Taken...good show, but pretty violent). On Saturday, I wanted to go old school with Valentine's so I went with the classics of construction paper and hand-written notes. I cut LOTS of hearts out of construction paper. On some of the hearts, I wrote things that I love about Aaron and hid them all around the house. The best part? He hasn't found all of them yet so it's the gift that keeps on giving. Next, I taped the rest of the hearts all around the house, which almost caused heart overload, but was fun nonetheless.

The final topper of the evening was a version of Aaron's favorite dessert, brownies and ice cream. The brownie is a chocolate recipe with chocolate syrup and then has added chocolate chips - oooh, chocolatey goodness. Next the little white blobs are actually heart-shaped chunks of chocolate cookie dough ice cream (I mashed the ice cream into heart-shaped ice cube holders and then pushed them out onto the plate). Finally, the whole thing was topped with a white chocolate drizzle that had a few drops of red food coloring. The result...a huge, pleased smile on Aaron's face when he saw it, as he ate it and after he was done. What a fun day!

Funny Video

Happy Valentine's Week! We're excited to celebrate this weekend, especially since Aaron also has Monday off - yahoo! I took video of Sasha making some funny noises. Just in the last few days she has rolled over to both sides from belly to back and to her left side from back to belly. She's also been babbling like crazy, making the cutest and funniest sounds. I took the video on my cell phone so the quality isn't good, but you get the gist.