Strolling through the mall

Here's a random video of Hattie and some friends at the mall the other day. They were having such a ball together. I love how Hattie is getting to where she has friends and plays with them better.

Stina come!!!

Last Friday my in-laws told us that Aunt Christina would be able to come out for a visit. She had fall break at her high school, and since she flies for free, it was just a quick 40 minute flight for her to come see us. When I told Hattie that Aunt Christina was coming, she wouldn't stop talking about it. She constantly said, "Stina come!" Finally Saturday came and I told Hattie that when she woke up from her nap, we would go get Christina from the airport. The minute I opened her door after nap she said, "Stina come? Stina come!!" Much to her horror, Christina's flight was delayed 2 hours, so poor Hattie had to wait, and all afternoon I had to keep consoling her, promising her that eventually Christina would come. Once Christina finally arrived, Hattie ran to give her a big hug, then quickly remembered her toys and forgot her aunt. Silly kid.

We had a great time with Christina, playing late night board games and watching movies. On Monday we went to a cool park here in Lubbock, which Christina deemed was the coolest park she had ever been to. One point for Lubbock!

She refused to slide...just wanted to crawl around!

When Christina got out of the van at the airport, Hattie started bawling...and didn't stop for about 10 minutes. And she's been asking for her ever since. She's even asked to go to Grandma's house!

Our blog neglected daughter

I'm sure many of you fellow bloggers feel like you blogged a ton about baby #1, whereas baby #2 gets neglected. Looking back to when Hattie was a baby, I always posted about her...random pictures and long, boring videos. Poor Anna...I hardly even remember to get the camera out for her! So this morning I got a few pictures, sporting her cute shoes and bow...thanks Chelsea! She is definitely a Hattie look-alike.

Oh, and this little angel went 10 hours between feedings last night. She smiles for us occasionally, but mostly just lounges around being happy. She loves to sleep on Paul's stomach and is never sad for very long. We love our girls!

Temples to dot the earth

Another weekend of General Conference has passed. My in-laws flew in from Dallas to spend the weekend lounging in pajamas with us. It's always wonderful to have them around. Hattie has been asking for "Stina" ever since.

I simply want to express how excited I am for another temple to be built in Chile. WhileI was there as a missionary, all of the members dreamed of when Chile would be ready for a second temple. It was one of their goals, and the dream seemed to unite all of the members from Arica in the north to Punta Arenas in the south. When President Monson stood up on Saturday morning, I said aloud to Paul, "I wonder what he's going to announce today...maybe some new temples?" As soon as he said he would announce 5 new temples, I knew that Chile would finally have its dream. Even though Concepcion wasn't in my mission, I know how much this temple will bless the people that I served in Vina. So much of what I, other missionaries, and the members worked toward is represented in this new temple. Hearing of this temple has reminded me of how much I love Chile and its people. I hope to be able to visit there again with my family someday.

Santiago Chile Temple

My growing girls

Today I was brave. I took both girls in to the doctor for a check up and shots. Here's the results:

Anna
Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz - 50%...amazing considering that at 4 weeks she was in the 5%
Height: 21 inches - 5%
Head circumference: 15.5 inches - 50%...again, also amazing considering she was preemie

Hattie
Weight: 31 lbs - 90%
Height: 33 inches - 25%
Head circumference - 20 inches - 95% +

So what do we learn from this? My children have huge heads, they are good eaters, and they will be short like me.

And the shots went reasonably well, although that was certainly the loudest either of them had cried in recent memory. I dread going back in another two months for Anna's next round of immunizations. And I'm sure that as soon as we walk in the door, Hattie will try to run for her life. The doctor's office is starting to equal pain!

But here is a sweet moment from last night...I love having a snuggly baby!

Some random bits

Hattie's favorite place to play lately is her crib. She stands in it and asks me (very politely) to give her a train, a book, a blanket, a stuffed animal, another book, and so on. Then she passes all the toys back to me, and then asks me again to give them to her. She can play in there forever. The other day she was having such a great time that Callie had to join her.

On another random note, this picture was too funny...Hattie stretching to bounce both Anna and baby James at the same time.

And lastly we went to the South Plains Fair. Hattie adored the baby ducks and chicks,

was pretty hesitant around the petting zoo (this was as close as she would get),

and loved the lemonade.

She just discovered a seed in her drink, hence the pretty face. She and Juliet were quite content to sit and drink their lemonade all day. She was pretty interested in checking out the rides. Gratefully they were closed, but I think we'll have a hard time keeping her away from them next year.

You gotta have friends

Friendships have always been important to me. Once I make a friend, I try sincerely to keep in touch and continue to develop our friendship even if we move away. I love calling old friends when I am in town and having lunch with them to catch up. Paul has never really understood this...he thinks it's kind of strange that I still keep in touch with friends from High School, or that I recently had a roommate reunion with my friends from BYU. I guess he's never been blessed with the kind of friendships that I have.

Since being married, though, I have made very few new friends. The first four months of our marriage we were in a student ward with about a zillion other newlywed couples. We knew we'd be leaving soon, so we didn't really befriend anyone. Then we lived at my parents for the summer, so I didn't make any new friendships. We lived in American Fork for a year while I was working and pregnant with Hattie. But that ward was unique in that there weren't many young couples, and no other married students in the ward. And since I was working full-time, I didn't have as much time to spend at ward functions. I did make one wonderful friend at my less-than-stellar job. We still keep in touch.

Then we moved to Spanish Fork. I had a new baby and lived at storage units. I made another great friend who also worked the storage units with me and lived upstairs. But again, there were no other students in our very old and established ward...we were the odd ones because we were transient.

But then I moved to Lubbock. After 3 years of marriage and only two new major friendships, I was really feeling the need for female friendship. And I have certainly found it! I have been overwhelmed by how wonderful our ward is...how willing people are to be your friend. When I moved here, all I had to do was attend playgroup or book club a few times and I felt like I was home. When I was home in Oregon for the summer, some of my sisters said, "Wow, you have a lot of friends in Lubbock...I can tell from all the comments from them on your blog!" There is always someone willing to have lunch, watch Hattie, have a playgroup, or go to the park. Being a stay-at-home mom has been wonderful since I have so many friends in the same situation. It has made moving to a new place so much easier. I find that I really miss Lubbock when I am away.

Thank you Chelsea, Kristina, Debbie, Kristy, Kristi, Cynthia, Jenni, Brittney, Lindsay, Kimber, Julie, Kat, and SO many others who have helped make Lubbock a wonderful home for us.