Climb Every Mountain...or at least One Large Hill

On Memorial Day we went hiking with my sister's family. We went to a local landmark called, Balanced Rock. It was Hannah's first hiking experience. It was enjoyable for all of us. It was not too long and not too steep. I think that we could have handled longer, but definitely not steeper. It was a good thing Chad was there; he really helped Hannah. I was slipping so much I was having a hard time keeping myself from falling without having to make sure that Hannah didn't fall.

We saw birds, a rabbit, and a lizard. We saw the birds and rabbit from afar, but we got up close and personal with the lizard (which freaked Hannah out a little). Chad even tried to get the lizard to climb on a stick (with no luck).

After the hike we went over to a park and had lunch. The kids played and we skipped rocks in the nearby stream. It was a really great day and has restored my faith in hiking.

She's a Big Kid Now..sort of!

My little Hannah is growing up! A while ago we were at a Well-Child check for Hannah. The Dr. asked me if she could pedal a trike. I said, "That's a good question!" She had never tried it. We were at a store a few days later and they had trikes. I got one down for Hannah to try. Lo and behold, she couldn't ride it. I immediately called Chad and said, "Hannah can't pedal a trike (overly concerned)!" Chad, the rational one, reminded me that she had never ridden a trike, so it is unlikely that the first time she sits on one she would automatically know how to pedal.

A few days later Chad found a cute Disney Princess trike at a garage sale. Hannah loved it!

After a while she got frustrated that she couldn't peddle so she decided to walk and pull it!

Toward the end of the time, she was kind of getting the hang of it (with a little help from Chad, as you can see)!

She just looked so grown up riding around. It just kills me that she isn't my baby anymore. I think that once she can scoot around on her own it will really hit me. Until then I can push her with my foot and enjoy my little girl a little longer.

By the way, I know the handlebars are on backward. They came that way when we purchased it and we haven't switched them around yet.

Blueberryphobia

Blueberryphobia:

Definition: The irrational fear that eating food/candy/Popsicles that transfer their color onto your face and hands will change your whole body that color permanently.

Symptoms: Crying, screaming, and breaking down when they see color from food on hands. Loss of interest in previously loved edible items.

Cause or source of fear: Watching "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and believing it as fact and not a whimsical tale of fiction.

Cure: Unknown

I am sad to inform you all that Hannah has developed the above phobia. I don't know what to do. I first became aware of her symptoms when she asked for a gumball. I gave her a green one. She put it in her mouth and then took it out again. She then looked at her hands, saw they were green, and then broke down crying. Now she will only eat the white gumballs. Another day she had a Popsicle that turned her blue. She cried so hard she almost threw up (not a hard task for her, I know). I had to put her in the tub and wash her down before she stopped crying. Yet another example; when I picked Hannah up from nursery on Sunday, she told me that she had cried. She told me that she cried because they had marshmallows for snack and she didn't want to eat them. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Hannah loves marshmallows. Then I understood; they were the colored marshmallows! The last example I have is the other day at the store she wanted a dried fruit roll. We got it, but from the time we left the store to the time we got to the car she decided that it was going to turn her colors and refused to eat it. She wanted me to throw it away!

I don't know what to do for her! I have tried to explain that the show isn't real. I have tried explaining that even if food gets color on her hands, it will wash off. Nothing has worked up until now.

If anyone has any suggestions for treatment I will gladly try it. I will keep up updated on her progress.

A Missionary in the Making

The other day we decided to run (well drive actually) over to Perkins for breakfast. The waitress showed us to our table. As she was seating us she asked if we would like some juice or coffee to drink. Without hesitation Hannah said, loud and clear, "We don't drink coffee. Jesus doesn't want us to." Chad and I both sat there stunned and laughing. The waitress said, "Oh. That is precious." I quickly then said, "We would like juice, please." It was a bit awkward, but very funny. After the waitress left, Chad said, "Well, it is the truth."

It is great how children are so honest and innoscent. They are not afraid to tell you what they think. Sometimes I feel that I should be more like Hannah. Not going around telling people that Jesus doesn't want us to drink coffee, but I think I should be more open to sharing the gospel and what I believe. I hope that Hannah always keeps that honesty and never becomes afraid to share her beliefs.

The Birthday Extravaganza Cont...

What? You thought that was the end? How could there possibly be more? Well here it is. I think Hannah now believes that birthday's are a 2-3 day event. On Saturday, Hannah's actual birthday, we had even more birthday fun!

We spent the morning at Mandy's house. The kids played and the women talked. We got lunch at Taco Time and took it to a park to eat. After lunch we went back to Mandy's house and set up the pool. It was fun. Hannah was freezing! That little girl has no meat on her bones! That didn't stop her from continuing to brave the cold water to play. This is a funny video of her flying down the slide.

She doesn't stay in the water for too long!

That night we went to a place called Sakura for dinner. It is a Japanase Tepenyaki grill. It was great food. Hannah and Kate were a little scared about the fire, but it was funny. The whole time they kept asking, "Is he going to do the fire?" I don't blame them though. The fire was hot and pretty close to us.

Once we were all stuffed, we went back to our house and had ice cream cake (always room for cake, right!?!?) and opened presents. Hannah got more of her favorites, Barbies! She is totally set with Barbies for a long time!

It was a really good day/weekend! We had fun! It was a really good birthday for her! Thanks for all that made the effort to come and see us (Grandma and Grandpa Wade and Grandma Hurd).

Princess Party Central

I don't know what my deal has been this week, but I have been putting off writing the post about Hannah's birthday. I think because there is so much to tell! Needless to say, if you don't want to read it all you can just look at the pictures!

On Friday the 16th we had Hannah's birthday party for her little friends. This was the most effort and work that I put into any party, I think ever (only second to my wedding)! Crazy, I know, but fun! I made the invitations look like little princess hats each with jewels and a veil off the back.

I made little princess skirts for each girl (comment if you would like instructions). They are very easy (a bit time-consuming ,though) and fun for dress-up.

I also made her cake. I used a mold and covered it with pink frosting and pink sugar. The jewels were Starbursts and Skittles. It was easier than I thought and turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

Hannah dressed up in a pretty dress and we were ready to party!

Chad picked up these cute balloons that matched the theme perfectly!

The party started with the girls coloring pictures off princesses. I found a really cute picture of a princess kissing a frog, but I was afraid the little girls might find that yucky, so I found another one too, just in case. They all wanted the frog picture, who would have known!?!?

As they were finishing their pictures I told the story of the "Princess and the Frog" (using Little People to demonstrate). I was a little worried they might be too distracted, but they loved it! I might have to take my Little People stories on the road!

Next on the agenda, each girl made their own princess hat (using pink party hats, toole, and stick on jewels). They turned out really cute and each girl had their own personalized hat.

Once they were all dressed up they went on a hunt for the kings stolen jewelry. They each found a ring and a neckless that they king allowed them to keep, to thank them for their help.

Next we played "Pass the Frog." Similar to Hot Potato, but with a frog. When the music stops you have to kiss the frog. At first the girls were pretty shy, but once I showed them some exaggerated kisses they really thought it was fun.

We then did what they all wanted to do since they got there, OPEN PRESENTS!!! Hannah received, much to her delight, Barbies! It was fun to see her get so excited!

Last, but not least, we sang Happy Birthday and ate cake. The cake, although it was just a mix from a box, was delicious.

The little princesses played until their parents came. When they left they took the skirt, their princess hat, the king's jewelry, and a goody bag full of fun princess things.

It was such a fun party. It was a lot of work, but just to see how excited Hannah was and how much fun she had made it all worth it. She is a sweet girl and I would give her the world!

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

(Sorry no pictures today, but I will post pictures later of the birthday weekend extravaganza!)

I can't believe she is already 3!





Happy Birthday to my little monkey!

She is so cute.

She is loving.

She is inquisitive about everything (playing 21 questions per minute)!

She makes me so happy.

She makes everyday activites fun because of her excitement and joy!

She teaches me so much.

She is so friendly (never too shy to go up to kids at the playground and say' "Hi. My name is Hannah Marie Hurd. Do you want to play with me?"

She loves dressing-up and playing anything that has to do with dancing, singing, princesses, ballet, in other words anything girly.

She also loves trucks and cars, and playing ball games.

She sings and gallops everywhere she goes. She rarely sits still.

She makes you feel like the most important thing in the world when you walk in the room. She runs up to you, hugs you around the legs and says, "Oh mom! You are the bestest mom I have ever had in the whole world. I was missing you!"

She loves her daddy.

She is a ray of light in our family and we are so blessed to have spent the last three years with her. We are excited to see what the next years will bring!

Lions, Tigers, and...Bear Sloths?

On Saturday we took a jaunt to the Boise Zoo. We got a later start than we wanted and then got lost finding the zoo (due to construction on the roads surrounding the zoo), but we finally arrived just after lunchtime. We were all very excited to see the animals. It was the perfect day to spend outside! We saw lots of animals (including a Bear Sloth). The Bear Sloth is, as far as I can tell, a very lazy black bear. We saw it laying in the grass sleeping. And dispite Hannah's best and loudest crowing like a rooster all we got from it was a wiggle and a slight head raise. Hannah's favorite was the "big dragon with the bubble in his mouth" (a Kimno Dragon that was the size of like a 15 year old boy and had some sort of weird spit bubble out the side of his mouth). I was very suprised how big it was.

She also liked the penguins and below is a display of her "penguin waddling." Looks just like a penguin, right!?!?

My favorite were the monkeys. There was a little baby monkey swinging all over and climbing all over its mother. It reminded me of my little monkey, Hannah.

When we first arrived, Hannah was a tiny bit grouchy and refused to go down a slide that went down a giraffe's neck. After looking at the animals and eating a hot dog, she was much more pleasant and, as you can see from her reaction, very excited that she went down the slide.

We stayed until the zoo closed. The zoo is going to be opening a African Experience exhibit in the future. I would love to go to that and see things like an elephant and giraffe. All in all, we really had a fun day!

Happy Mother's Day to...

I just wanted to wish a Happy Mother's Day to a few people.

Happy Mother's Day to...ME (from Chad and Hannah).

They each gave me very nice cards and breakfast in bed (bad picture, I know). Pancakes with yummy strawberries and bananas!

They also gave me a pretty hanging flower box. I am excited to plant the beautiful flowers they got me. Hopefully I don't kill them! I don't have the greenest thumb, so I will be crossing my other fingers that they will grow!

Happy Mother's Day to...my mom!

She is such an amazing lady! She is always there to talk. She will always tell you what she thinks (in a very nice way, so that she doesn't seem imposing). She is fun to shop with, she is the best grandma, and she has taught me so many things about life, family, marriage, and children. She will do anything for her grandchildren and almost anything for her kids! I love her and so does everyone that is around her.


Happy Mother's Day to...my mother-in-law Shauna!

She also is an amazing lady. From the first time I met her, she has always treated me like her own daughter. She is so strong. She raised a great son that I have the privilege of being married to. She is always willing to help in anyway that she can. She sticks up for her family and is very sympathetic to your problem and worries. She loves her grandkids, is a amazing crocheter, quilter, and knitter. I am very glad that I have her in my life.


And last, but not least...Happy Mother's Day to...all of the other mothers in my life (sisters, sister-in-laws, friends).
(Sorry no picture for this!)

I just want to say thank you to all of you. Thank you for being a great example to me. You are always there to talk with and empathize with me. You make me laugh and I love spending time with all of you. When I see you all going through things that I am, it makes me feel like I can do it, too! You give me great advice and ideas for being a mother. Thank you!



Well that is my Happy Mother's Day wish for all of you. I hope you have a great one. I love being a mother. There are without a doubt days that are difficult, but then your child says or does something that makes it all worth it. This morning Hannah said, "I need to give you a kiss!" and she puckered up her cute little lips at me. I gave her a kiss and she said, "Happy Mother's Day!" Things like that just melt your heart.

Playing Catch Up

This is a catch-up post. I found my cord! Yea! So now that I found it I have a few updates I need to make.

#1: Chad finished his 2nd semester of his program at school. He will start clinicals in June. He will be working in the hospital Monday through Friday. It will be like a real job. It will be weird for me not to see him sometime during the day! We are very excited for him!

#2: We went to Rexburg last weekend. We had lots of fun seeing family and friends. Chad spent most of his time working on homework (he is taking online classes for his bachelor degree- he never really gets a break!) and he also went golfing (which was the highlight for him). Hannah's highlight was going to Bear World. We had a lot of fun. We saw lots of animals and rode on the rides. Hannah loved the rides! I really think that she is going to be a roller coaster buff like her dad. She said, "I liked all the rides and seeing all the little animals and riding on the roller coaster. That what was my favorite!"



She also had a love/hate relationship with the geese. She wanted to touch them and they would bite at her, but she didn't give up. I thought that after one snip she would be gone, but she kept going back for more.

#3: On Monday we celebrated Cinco de Mayo for FHE. It was really fun. I made Chicken and Black Bean Flautas for dinner (comment for recipe), we talked about traditions, and then made maracas out of paper plates(comment for directions). For dessert we had "Fried" Ice cream (again comment for recipe!). It was a really fun celebration. It was fun to do something different. Chad's sister Cortney and her little boy Zach were there to help us celebrate. Hannah really loved her maraca. She is still carrying it around shaking it.








Well those are the updates from my family. I am just happy that the cord is found. I am also happy that we are starting to finally have nice weather!

I have realized that I don't like getting my picture taken, because this is the most recent picture I could find of just me and it is over a year old!

I Feel Sick Again

Again, I am NOT pregnant! This time I am sick because I am pretty sure that I lost the cord that I use to put pictures from my memory card onto my computer. We went to Rexburg for the weekend and I thought I would bring it with me in case I got the urge to blog while we were there. Now I can't find it! I don't know where it could be. I am searching all over in our bags and in the car. My mom is searching at her house, but can't seem to find it. It is making me sick to my stomache. This is the way I felt when I was supposed to watch Travis' dog one night and it ran away. I thought I lost it. I don't know whether to cry or throw-up. I know it is probably not that big of a deal. We might find it or if it is gone, it is not the end of the world, but I just really HATE losing things. Anyways I will keep you posted on if I find it or not. You will just have to read posts with pictures that have nothing to do with what I am writing. Sorry!

My Poor Neglected Daughter

I woke up this morning with a pounding headache and a stomachache (not pregnant, if that is what you are thinking). I dragged myself out of bed long enough to get Hannah a baggie of cereal, a sippy cup of milk, and turn on the tv. I then crawled back into bed and slept for a couple hours. When I finally forced myself out of bed I found Hannah in the living room, fully dressed and watching tv. She did a good job dressing herself. Her shirt and skort matched. Her only problem was that her tights were on top of the short part of the skort. She is such a good little girl. She left me alone. When I cam out she asked, "Mommy does your tummy still hurt?" I have totally neglected her all morning long. Do you think that a morning of nothing but cartoons will leave any life-long damages? I hope not, because I am feeling gross again so she might have an afternoon of it too.