Smiles caught on camera

We finally caught a few heartwarming smiles on camera and wanted to share them with you all. We managed to capture some of the laughing on video too, so as soon as we figure out how to post videos on here, we'll post those too. =)

A very accurate shot

You know how sometimes you take pictures of your kids and it doesn't always seem to accurately portray what they look like? Well, this shot was taken of Abby last Friday, and it was such a real shot of how she looks, that I had to put it on here for everyone. This is our beautiful baby girl.

Could he really be this grown up?

Well, Josiah went to his first day of school today! He started in the 3 year old program at Little Blessings Preschool. He will go every Tuesday and Thursday morning for 2 hours. He's been so nervous lately about Dwayne and I leaving him places, I imagine because of all the change in his life and the unfamiliar places we've been. We haven't been able to leave him in a nursery at any church for months. So, I was concerned about how he would do today. He asked me if Abby and I would stay, and I had already talked to the teacher about it ahead of time. So, Abby and I stayed around the building, but not in the room- feeding and walking and bouncing... It was a long 2 hours for me, but Josiah seemed to breeze right through it. He did just fine without me in there, so I'm hopeful that he won't panic when I leave him on his own on Thursday...

We decided to take his picture on our front steps for his annual "first day of school photo." He's proudly wearing his Bob the Builder backpack. I really can hardly believe how grown up he seems.

Fall fun

On Saturday the Alliance church held their annual fall fair with food and fun activities- all free for the community. We took the kids and had tons of fun. Josiah had his first pony ride on a very gentle little horse named Jax. He also had his first dose of cotton candy! Those were just a couple of the highlights. Abby slept peacefully through much of the chaos of the morning.

Our growing girl

At Abby's doctor's appointment and at her 2 month immunizations she was weighed and measured. She's already over 13 pounds and about 24 inches, which puts her around the 100th percentile in height and weight. She's a healthy girl! Like her doctor said, "She's clearly thriving."

Front steps

This was Dwayne and the kids sitting on our front steps after we got home from church on Sunday. It was another beautiful day, spent with my beautiful family.

Pool party

Josiah was playing in his little pool in our backyard today and one of our neighbors from 2 doors down came to play. His name is Caden, he is just a few months older than Josiah, and he loves to stop by. They had so much fun playing! It was nice because it was the first time I saw Josiah really relaxed and enjoying himself with a new friend here in Chilliwack.

A moving story...

We summarized our crazy move story for some friends, and we thought it was the best thing to put on our blog so everyone could read the story. We had quite the adventure getting from Selkirk to Chilliwack! It's too long a story to type out in full. Here's the gist of it... Moving company e-mailed a few days before our expected pick up in Selkirk and said they would be later than expected...then a couple of days later they said later still...then they said delivery in Chilliwack would be August 10th-15th instead of 1st-5th...we booked a u-haul...church family stepped up wonderfully and helped us load...children threw tantrums on Saturday morning as we were trying to leave and load up/clean up...check engine light came on in Virden Manitoba...kept driving...called u-haul from Regina on Saturday night when we arrived there and they told us to keep driving if the truck seemed fine or wait until mechanic could check it out on Monday...truck seemed fine so Dwayne left for Calgary on Sunday morning...truck trouble in Swift Current- drove fine on the highway, but stalled every time he stopped and always idled funny...barely made it to Calgary...called u-haul again...they checked it out Monday morning and said they would look for the parts they needed so Dwayne and his dad killed a day in Calgary in malls and at my mom's house...(repair folks said they were surprised the truck even made it out of Winnipeg let alone to Calgary...should have started on fire, they said...praise God for his protection)...u-haul called on Monday afternoon and said the parts would be 2 days so we should try to find another truck...managed to find a truck by 6pm on Monday evening...had to unload and reload u-hauls (mom M, Larry, Dwayne, dad H, uncle Wade, my friend Charla and her dad, sister, and 2 cousins did all the work...thank God for friends and family)...Dad H and Dwayne left Calgary Tuesday morning (Aug 1) and arrived in Chilliwack by 3pm...Jen, Josiah and Abby had a great 2 hour flight from Regina to Vancouver and met them in Chilliwack with Mom H by 4pm after Josiah had napped at nana and papa's...ahhh, we were finally here! Rob, Ryan, Brian, Curtis, (friends) Cheryl, and Zach (sister and brother-in-law) helped us unload and we ate pizza...tired but all in one piece.

It's been chaotic to try and unpack our place with 2 little kids, but slowly and surely we're getting there. Our house and neighborhood are wonderful. We'll write again another day with some pictures of us in our new location!

Mommy & Josiah time

One of the things I've been missing most (that's me- Jen) since beautiful little Abby was born is time alone with Josiah. He and I had so much of it before, and then all of a sudden I've hardly been able to focus on just him. So, the other day after a big thunderstorm we had some mommy and Josiah time out in the puddle in our parking lot. He has loved that little spot ever since he could splash through it! It was muggy and quiet out and it was wonderful just to enjoy him enjoying himself. =)

Nice pics

We had newborn and family photos taken on July 3rd when Abby was just 5 days old. Aren't our offspring adorable?

Pretty in Pink

With so much boys clothes in our house, it was difficult to scrounge up some clothing that would say, "Hey I'm a girl!" But the girls clothes have begun to trickle in.


Isn't she beautiful?!?!

some more pics

some pics

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The newest addition

As many of you probably already know, Abby Faith Hansen came into this world at 9:16 pm on June 28th. Hooray!
Jen had been having a few contractions all day but nothing regular. It was my staff party in Winnipeg and we thought nothing was going to be happening for a while. Plus Jen didn't want to pass up the Olive Garden. So during supper Jen had a few contractions, at 7:15 one really big one. We were suppose to go bowling after but Jen wasn't up for it (can you believe that).
We left Olive Garden at 7:45 and headed for home. On the way home, Jen began to have regular contractions every 5-7 minutes. So we thought that we'd go home and get ready for the hospital. As we walked in the door at 8:20, Jen's contractions intensified. So at 8:30pm we left for the hospital. At 8:40 we began to get settled into our room and Jen started changing into hosiptal attire. Then the next half an hour was a blur and at 9:16pm, Abby was born. Yes it only took 36 minutes!
Funny side story - On the way to the hospital we saw Jen's doctor standing in line at the Snak Shak (yes that's how its spelled). I said to Jen that we should yell at her to be ready in a couple of hours. When things began to quicken, at the hospital, the tried paging Jen's doctor but couldn't reach her. So an ER Dr. came up and just as Abby's head was poking through, in walked Jen's doctor. One push later there was a baby. Talk about timing.
Anyways, Abby weighed 8lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long - exact dimensions of her big brother. By the way, Josiah loves being a big brother. He constantly wants to hold her and said that he would let me and Grandma have a turn. Josiah said to me in the car, "Dad, I'm so excited to be a big brother." Hopefully he'll feel the same way in a coulpe of weeks. Both Jen and Abby are doing great and should be home either Friday or Saturday.
Jen will fill in any details I missed.

Still waitng

As of Friday, Jen was officially at her due date. But still no baby. Any day now!

Jen at nine months.

Maternity photos

We had some beautiful maternity pictures taken a couple of weeks ago, and we're so happy with them. One of the wedding photographers that I worked with last summer specializes in maternity and newborn photos, so we had the awesome privilege of having him take these for us! (Plus my good friend Tasha took some for us, and did all the touch up work!) We ordered a great wall portrait for our bedroom and an album of about 12 other shots. We thought we'd put a couple up here for all of you to see!

Only 11 more days until my due date! I'm already looking and feeling bigger than I was in these pictures, not that long ago!

8 months and counting...! This is me on May 23rd- one month from my due date. My doctor said the baby has already dropped, which is pretty early for a second pregnancy, so maybe this one will be early instead of late... Of course, as my doctor said, "As you know, these things are very unpredictable." Yes, we might get our hopes up thinking this one will come soon, and end up waiting until 10 days after the due date. So, we'll continue to wait and see...

New condo

Well, everything went through and was finalized, so we now find ourselves the proud owners of a beautiful condo in Chilliwack! (Well, we take possession on August 1st, so I guess that's when it will really be official.) It's only 2 years old, so it's in great shape. The living room has a beautiful gas fireplace. The kitchen has a great mountain view and even a pantry- an organizing girl's dream! It has 3 bedrooms upstairs, with a small rec room downstairs behind the single car, attached garage. It's really great (I imagine, since I haven't actually seen it in person yet), and we feel so blessed to have found it and to be so well provided for.

Here's my 7 month photo taken on April 23rd- 2 months to go!!

Goin' to Chilliwack

Well, this is obviously old news now, but it's official that this Hansen family is moving back west. Dwayne got a job for the fall teaching grade 7's at Unity Christian School in Chilliwack, so we are on our way! We're looking at an August 1st move. I can't say I'm thrilled about some of the stress coming down the bend, what with a baby coming at the end of June, the usual toddler care, and now a move half-way across the country...but it must be a good decision, because despite all of this we are SOOO excited!

We're working on fixing up our house, so we can get it listed and sold, hopefully soon. It's lookin' pretty spiffy! And we've got a realtor on the job for us out in Chilliwack, looking to show Gerry and Diane around, so we can buy a place based on the dozens of pictures we'll have them take for us! =) Moves like this are always full of conflicting emotions. We're excited and yet overwhelmed at times. We're glad for the new adventures ahead, but sad to leave our friends/home/life behind here in Manitoba.

We'll try to be more consistent about updates now, since there is much coming up in the next few months...