A Year in STORIES With Pictures!!!!

Here is the obligatory yearly stories with pictures.

Sabrina: When someone says 'poop,' I laugh.

Sabrina, singing in the bathroom: I'm strong! And I'm poopy!

Lauren and Sabrina were eating lunch and listening to the Moana soundtrack. I left them to go to the bathroom. When I returned a "scary song" from the soundtrack was playing. Lauren and Sabrina were huddled together looking terrified at the sound speakers. Lauren said in a trembling voice, "The monster."

Sabrina, yelling: We have to be quiet because Lauren is sleeping, right?

Sabrina: Who will help me?
Me (thinking of the song "Who will save my soul?"): Jewel
Sabrina: Who's that?
Me: A singer.
Sabrina: Where is her?

Soph and Sabrina looking at our San Antonio trip pictures: Wow! Where is that!?
Sophie: It looks so cool!
Sabrina: It looks like a train ride!

Me: I exercised today! Are you proud of me, Lauren?
Lauren: No.

Sabrina: There is throw up in my tummy.

Sabrina: My tummy is getting bigger and bigger.
Me: Keep those realistic goals. They will serve you well in life.

Sabrina got decked out for church with bows and a necklace.
Sabrina: I'm going to go to church and everyone will say 'Hey! That girl is pretty!' And Beleza will see me and say 'Hey! My friend is pretty!' then we'll be the best friends!

Sabrina: I don't sleep about nightmares. I sleep about good-mares.

Lauren was dragging Daddy's shoes around by the laces: Doggy Shoes! Arf! Arf!

The kids were watching TV and a cleaner commercial came on. In the ad, kids were making a huge disgusting mess in their house. I said, "Eew! What a gross mess!" Then Sabrina replied with, "But the Mom is cleaning it!" This is what TV is teaching our kids, guys. Thanks a lot, America. 
Then this morning, Lauren stole my deodorant and made crumbs of it all over the couch and floor. I still haven't found the plastic container it came in. 

Sabrina: Mistakes are beautiful.

Dave, talking about our uneventful engagement story: Boring is the new beautiful.


Sophie was working on her math homework on the computer. She had a study guide cheat sheet, but instead was only guessing on the answers she didn't know.
Me, correcting her "guessing game" study habits: You can use your cheat sheet, but you can't guess.
Sophie bursts into tears: But I don't want to cheat!

Me: Do you want more cornbread?
Lauren: Yeah! I want more popcorn bread!

Sabrina: Why did Jesus put strangers on the Earth?
I explained a bit about the premortal life.
Sabrina: But why did Jesus put strangers with smoke?

Sophie: I love you, Lauren.
Lauren, angrily: No! You not love me!

Lauren: The spider is my best friend.
Lauren was referring to a very large Halloween decorative spider that was in a neighbor's yard.

Me: You are going to get a new tutor.
Sophie and Sabrina: A what!?!
They were thinking: "toot-er."

Sabrina: Mommy doesn't have any friends. She only has big friends.

Sabrina: Mom, I know you are going to cry because you love that food.

Sophie: They should make a new mom barbie and it should look like this.
Sophie folds her arms and glares.

One night at Sophie's karate class, all the karate kids were kneeling down waiting for class to begin, as usual. Lauren saw them and said, folding her arms: I say prayer.

Sabrina, after waking up in the morning: I really want that dream back, because that pirate was so handsome.

STORY TIME: Snapshots of 2016

Me: Sabrina, stop sitting on your pizza!


Sabrina: I want to get married too in my purple dress!


Me: Do you want to go see Grandma and Grandpa Hancock at their house?
Sabrina: Will friends be there?
Me: Yes
Sabrina: And cookies?
Me: Probably
Sabrina: I want to go!


Sabrina: Lauren's tall. But Lauren's little.


Sabrina: I'm like a superhero! A superhero ballerina!


Me to Dave: You like to put words into my mouth and state things I don't believe in, such as happiness...


Overheard while trying to take a nap:
Sophie: You go ask them if we can watch another show.
Sabrina: Ask Mommy. Daddy say no. Mommy say yes.


Sabrina: I'm tall. I'm tall because I can go to Happy Apple Preschool.


Me: Sabrina get your foot out of your bowl!
Sabrina: Mom, can I have more cereal?


Dave is tucking Sabrina in bed:
Sabrina: Dad, this in my eye. (hands something to dad)
Dave: Ok. What is it? (finds nothing in hand)
Sabrina: A bigger.
Dave: A what?
Sabrina, smiling: It's a booger.
Dave: Oh, ok. Goodnight.


Sabrina play-talking to the Star Wars cookie cutters:
Sabrina: Oh, Dark Vadar! Don't be afraid to me!


Me, snuggling with Sabrina: You have big eyes.
Sabrina: I love you too, Mom.


Tucking Sabrina into bed: I like your family, Mom.


Shopping at Fry's with Sabrina and Lauren, we see a Muslim woman covered head to toe in a blue burka. She had only slits for eye holes.
Sabrina: I see a ghost! A people ghost!


Me: Eat your fish!
Sabrina, holding up a piece of fish: Why this called Fish Chicken?


Me: Lauren is sitting and eating like a happy person.
Sabrina: Lauren not a person, she is a girl!
Dave: That's the kind of thinking the world needs to do away with.


Sabrina: I don't like boys!
Sophie: You don't like Daddy?
Sabrina: I like Daddy. Daddy's a good daddy girl.


Me, picking Sabrina up from preschool: How was school? What did you learn?
Sabrina: I learn..... singing..... and snacks.


Sabrina, handing me my empty Jamba Juice cup: Did you drink that all gone?
Me: Yep.
Sabrina: You're a fast girl, Mama!


Me and Sabrina were looking at some cousin's Instagram feed of them in Disneyland.
Sabrina: I want to go on the Mickey ride.
Me: Let's save up some money so we can go next year.
Sabrina, running away: I need to find some money in Sophie's purse!
...later.....
Sophie and Sabrina are getting ready for bed and find Sophie's money stash.
Sabrina jumps up and down: Yay! Now we can go to Mickeyland! I'm so excited!


Me to Dave: Last night I had a dream that I was shopping for a car with Sabrina and she had to go the the bathroom. So I took her but she peed all over everything.
Dave: So... what part was your dream?


Me to Sophie: You're not going to Reagan's this week. They have a funeral to go to.
Sophie: Oh. That's a good thing to do on Summer Break!


Sophie, looking through Click Magazine: These pictures are almost as good as yours!


When Sabrina gets angry she clenches her teeth, makes fists, and closes her eyes. One day, Sabrina was angry and while tensing up she says, "I squish my toes!" She was curling her toes in.


Sophie  developed quite the entrepreneurial spirit. Her school was raising money for the Fun Run, and though she had contributed already to this fund raiser she thought she could do more! So she decided she would sell grapefruit to family members at the monthly Family Night. She sold them for $1/each, though I had to talk talk her down from $4/each. She was so proud of the additional $9 she raised.

At the Fun Run, the kids ran the equivalent of about 2 miles. After the first lap, most of the kids started walking and horsing around. But not Sophie! She didn't quit! She kept running and running. Later, she told me, "It was hurting right in my side, but I didn't want to stop!" I was so proud of her.


Sabrina: Mom, can we get a new couch?
Me: Why?
Sabrina: Can we get a sparkly couch or a new couch?
Me: Sparkly.
Sabrina: Ok. A sparkly couch.


Sabrina had a balloon animal made into cat. It had come un-done.
Sabrina: Fix it, Mom!
Me: I can't. I don't know how.
Sabrina. Yes you can! You can do it! You're a strong mom!


Sabrina: Ok, let's eat lunch.
Me: Ok, get the bread out.
Sabrina: No, not a sandwich!
Me: What do you want then?
Sabrina: Um, maybe a sandwich. That would be good.


Sabrina: Mom, you're so silly....... and beautiful and grumpy.


Me: I don't want this anymore.
Dave: What?
Me: This pee-infested life.

2015 Stories

Me: Sophie, don't ever get Celiac Disease.
Soph: Maybe someone gave it to you accidentally.
(I think she might be right.)

Me, serving Sophie her penguin decorated birthday cake: What do you think of the cake? Which part is your favorite?
Soph: The penguin.
Me: That was Daddy's touch.
Soph: Well, daddy's touch is delicious!

When going to visit Me and Lauren at the hospital Sophie was looking at the new car seat.
Soph: "Well, I guess we cant have anymore kids, the car is full!"
Dave explained we could still have more, we'd just have to get a bigger car.
Soph: Oh, like a truck! Then all the kids could ride in the back!




2 1/2 days after Lauren was born Dave took Sophie and Sabrina to soccer practice. There, he runs into Dayna Slack from Los Altos Ward. Dayna asked him what his new born daughter's name was. Dave couldn't remember.


Me: Would you like some sugar on your oatmeal?
Sabrina: No. Want it right there. (Points to the table next to her bowl.)

Dave was getting some things done around the house. He went outside to tighten the sunshade screws in our car, but had to back in the house to get the car keys. He went to the kitchen to pick them up and returned outside. Then he looked at what was in his hand. He came back inside to show Lindsey what he had picked up... It was a potato peeler.

One night after we put the girls to bed, Dave went out to give someone a blessing. Before he left I told him he needed to return with some ice cream. Dave was gone for about an hour. I enjoyed a very quiet house, but when Dave returned he had forgotten the ice cream. He asked me, "Do you want me to go out and get some ice cream?"
Suddenly a little voice down the hall exclaimed, "Ice cream!" Ice cream!" and Sabrina's little fingers were sticking out from under the girls' door.
We thought she was asleep....

Dave (referencing a pile of towels in the corner of the room that had been there for a few days): What's with the towels in the corner?
Me: They're clean.
We both laugh.

Sabrina: Mommy, I have a surprise for you!
Me: What is it?
Sabrina: A mess!

Dave: Who's smelly?
Soph: It's not me. That's not my toot smell.

Sabrina was in trouble.
Sabrina, cheerfully: Mommy, you happy?
Me: No.
Sabrina, still cheerful: Mommy, you happy?
Me: No. I'm not happy.
S: Mommy, you happy?
Me: Mommy is mad!
Sabrina in sing-song voice: Yay! Mommy is happy!

Sabrina on the garbage truck: It scare my ears.

 I was diving up job assignments. After giving Sophie a few jobs, I ask: Now, what should Sabrina's job be?
Sabrina: My job is..... Watch a movie!

Sabrina, holding a pine cone covered in bird seed yells at the top of her lungs: BIRDS! Want a SNACK!?!

Dave is doing dishes and singing a butterfly song.
Soph: Why are you singing a butterfly song? Are you putting bugs on the dishes? Is that how they get clean?
Dave: The dishwasher is like a chrysalis. Dirty dishes go in and they come out clean like a beautiful butterfly.

Sabrina, outside shouting at gnats: "Bugs, don"t crash in my eyes! You need to go to your home and eat!"



Me: Are you going to take a nap today?
Sabrina: No. Too busy.

A little glimpse into what our days are like.... :)
Me: If you all sit down, we can watch cat videos.

Sabrina is talking to a Darth Vadar cookie cutter: Oh, Darth Vadar! Don't be afraid to me!

2014 Stories

I have a little magnetic notepad on the fridge. On it I write all the little silly things Sophie and Sabrina say. Here are the stories I wrote down from this past year:


At the 2013 Hancock Christmas white elephant gift exchange, Dave scored a new frilly pink apron with cupcakes on it. Later, back at home, Lindsey used it while baking. Sophie didn't really like her using it. "That's Daddy's apron!" she said.


Lindsey to Sophie and cousins Kingston and Lowe: " You can eat your cheese crisp first, and then you can eat a cookie."
Sophie: "Yeah. That's what I do. I eat the good food first and then after that I can eat the bad food."


Sophie: "Sabrina is so cute. When I get kids, they're gonna think this baby is so cute."


Sophie: " Is it not spring break anymore?"
Dave: "Nope. Spring Break is over."
Sophie: "Yea!"


As we were getting ready for church one morning, everyone was packing their bags with all their essential "church things." So while Lindsey was packing the diaper bag, Dave was gathering his notebook, and Sophie was packing toys into her bag. Sabrina came out with her bag full of little shoes. She walked out the door with the bag in one hand and another shoe and blankie in the other.


Sophie, waving the American Flag: "Happy Fourth of July!"
Dave: "Do you know what that holiday is for?"
Sophie: "Uh-huh!"
Dave: "What?"
Sophie: "I forgot."


Sophie to Lindsey: "I figured out your favorite day is sleep day."
True dat.


Lindsey asked Sophie to do something, but Sophie was playing a Lego game on the tablet.
Sophie: "I can't! I'm working!"


Lindsey was taking a poll of the family, to see if everyone thought the new baby would be a girl or a boy.
Here are their answers:
Sophie: "Boy."
Lindsey: "Boy."
Dave: "Girl."
Sabrina: "Pig!"


Sabrina slept in to almost 10am one morning, which is very unusual!
Lindsey said to her when she finally woke up: "What are you? A teenager?"
Sabrina: "Yes."


Sophie: "Mom, remember when you used to make cookies?"
Lindsey: "Um, yeah."
Sophie: "Why don't you make them anymore?"
Lindsey had made some a few days ago.


What we found in our garbage disposal after it stopped working:
2 chopped up sippy cup stoppers
7 rocks
1 beat up jar lid.


While driving through ASU campus, Lindsey explained to Sophie: "This is where big kids got o school. They can take classes to become a doctor, or a teacher..."
Sophie: "Or they can learn to drive a bus!"
Lindsey: "Yeah. I don't think they have classes on that here."

Facts of a 2 year old

Sabrina, you are a very fun girl. Here are a few facts about yourself to prove it.

Anytime I sit to play at the piano, you touch my hands and say "peeze!" (please) and I know that to mean "Please play 'Phantom of the Opera' so I can dance around!" That is pretty much the only piano song I am aloud to play when you are in the house.

One of the first words out of your mouth was singing "Let it go!" over and over, especially right when you would wake up. Actually, you still do that every morning. Even now, when you hear Frozen's "Let It Go" on our Grooveshark playlist you have me put on Daddy's old superhero cape around your shoulders and run around singing "Let it go! Let it go!"--but only during the chorus. For the rest of the song, you just stand around waiting until the "good part" starts again. But my favorite part to hear you sing is the last big note Elsa holds out in "Let the storm rage ONNNNNN!!!" You love to sing that big note and it is always adorably off-key.

While we're talking about music, I need to mention a few more of your favorite children's songs. You love "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Hot Potato" from The Wiggles. Those always put you in a good mood.

Sabrina, you only have to wake up each morning, and your hair is perfectly styled and volumized. See?

You are not very good at swallowing your food. There have been several instances where I have laid you down in your crib shortly after lunch only to find your cheeks stuffed with half-chewed leftovers.

Some children explore objects by sticking them in their mouths (such as Sophie did), however you explore objects by throwing them. Specifically, at Mommy's head. In fact, you ALWAYS throw it right above my left eyebrow. You have really good aim, and it hurts. A lot.

If I happen to tell you "I'm going potty," you take that as an invitation for a bathroom party. I said those every words a few days ago and you responded with "Otay!! Potty!!!!" and ran down the hallway to the bathroom where you sat on the toilet fully dressed, threw TP in the bowl, then flushed it down saying "Bye, bye!"

Sophie is 5

 So Sophie is five now.

This is a big deal in our house. To Sophie, the age of five holds a VIP status. When she was four, she would say things like this:

"When I am five, will I be tall like Daddy?"

"Is my babysitter five?" 

On Sophie's birthday, Sophie said to me. "I am five! Why am I not bigger?"

Even her little friends thought five was a special age. Shortly after her birthday, Sophie picked up her friend, Juliet, with her own arms. Juliet said, "Sophie is so strong because she is five!"

Yes, five is a special age.

 For her pictures she wanted to go fishing. So we went to Papago Park and kind of did that. 

There is no string on the fishing bow. We were just pretending.

Sabrina wanted to get in a few photos herself.

As well as these dudes.

Happy Birthday, Sophie.

You love singing along with songs on the radio and dancing with me in the kitchen.

You are slowly learning how to eat and finish your dinner.

You love to hang out with the "big kids" in the neighborhood who ride their scooters and bikes around the lake.

 You watched part of the 6 hour BBC Pride and Prejudice with me and liked it! That was a proud moment for me.

You adore your dad. I hope you two always remain the way you are now.

You are loved in this home.

Silly Stories

Silly Daddy, Silly Mommy

Cutting into freshly baked GF brownies Dave says, "They kind of have a brownish hue."

Very good, Dave. Brownies usually are brown.

* * * * *

Lindsey: "I have a DIY husband."

Dave: "You put me together yourself?"

* * * * *

What Dave said when he was looking for attention and Lindsey was staring at the computer screen:

"Hi. I'm your husband. I keep you warm at night. But I also live here, too."

* * * * *

What a Heather Carr's son said to Lindsey one day:
 5 yr old: "Are you having another baby?"
Lindsey: "What? Do I look like I'm going to have another baby?"
  5yr old: "You just have a smile on your face all the time."

* * * * *

Dave: "I actually do pick up after breakfast occasionally."
Lindsey: "So do I. Sometimes."
Sophie: "No you don't, Mommy!"


Silly Sophie

One day, Sophie wore Sabrina's size 6 months shorts. She is four years old, and she squeezed her little hiney into size 6 month shorts.

She was convinced that the shorts were meant as a gift for her and not her baby sister.

* * * * *

One evening, Lindsey was preoccupied talking to Dave when she realized that she hadn't seen Sophie for the last 20 minutes. So Lindsey went peeking around in the rooms only to find Sophie in her bed, reading the phone book by the light at the end of day.

* * * * *

One day, Sophie came to Dave all distraught.

Dave: "What's wrong?"

Soph: "I don't like these pants."

Dave: "Why not?"

Soph: "They're not falling down."

If you have ever seen Sophie in person, you might have noticed that Sophie does not like pants that fit her waist.

* * * * *

"You Revel Skunk!"

Sophie's way of quoting the Star Wars line, "You rebel scum."

* * * * *

Lindsey so badly wanted to prove herself to Sophie that she could do handy jobs around the house. Every time Lindsey picked up a power tool Sophie would say "Only Daddy can do that." Well, imagine the joy in Lindsey's heart when she heard these words from Sophie's mouth:

"Mommy, you did the curtains all by yourself! I am so conpressed [impressed] with you! I thought daddy was going to do it."

* * * * *

What Sophie said one day while playing outside:

"Look, Mom! A jumping spider! It won't hurt you. No Sabrina! Don't eat it!"

* * * * *

A joke Sophie just came up as I am typing this:

Knock Knock

Who's There?

Tomato

Tomato Who?

Tomato the missionaries are here! The missionaries are eating with us. Come eat with us!

Silly Sabrina

 

 

Sabrina enjoys eating her foods, throwing her foods, and pooping out her foods. And sometimes all at the same time!

But here is her typical eating routine.
Before 1 year:
Sabrina will eat much of her meal, and then she will just sit and act like she is all done. The moment Dave or Lindsey begin wiping off her hands Sabrina will start picking up more food and shoving it into her mouth. She will continue to be rubbed down with a wash cloth until her tray is empty. 
Conclusion: Sabrina needs to wiped down in order to finish her meal.

Post 1 year:
Sabrina receives all her food from her mom and dad and instead of shoving them into her mouth, she throws them onto the floor. When she is "done," Dave or Lindsey will get her out of her high chair and place her on the floor. Sabrina will then eat all the food she threw onto the ground.

* * * * *


One afternoon, Lindsey was loading Sabrina into her car seat so they could all head over to Target. Sabrina was holding a cracker in her hand. When Sabrina was placed in her car seat she found a binky there! She picked it up, and with the binky in one hand and the cracker in the other, she opened her mouth wide and aimed both objects toward it. When the binky and cracker simultaneously arrived at her mouth, she realized her mistake and decided to cake care of the cracker first. 

 * * * * *

Sabrina is a cuddler. Whenever she is tired and ready for bed. She will often lay her head down on her Mom's shoulder and snuggle up until Lindsey lies her down in her crib. It is the sweetest thing.

How to play with a 7 month old

First, you have one baby sit in an ottoman full of fluffy animals.

Then you give that baby a blanket to make her more comfortable.

She might like scarves so you give her a couple of those,

 and add another blanket,

 and another blanket,

and a few more blankets.

Then you give that baby a hat and a toy,

and add a couple more blankets.

And just to make her extra cushy, you give her a few more blankets .

By now, the baby might be feeling a little too claustrophobic.

When she decides she's had enough, have Mama remove her and then you can take over her cushy spot.

Valentine's Day

We had a blast this past Valentine's Day and I believe we have adopted a new family tradition for this special occasion! Have a candlelit family dinner. It was super fun, and I think even more fun than just me and Dave going out by ourselves. I made some delicious bow-tie pasta with pink sauce, rolls, veggies, brownies, and cheesecake filled strawberries.

Check out our fancy dessert!
Fine dining by my standards!

I didn't take any photos, but I did take a couple short video clips to capture the romance of the evening!






 
As we were getting our special dinner ready I remembered that I was going to put on some music to set the mood. I said, "Oh! I forgot! We need romantic music for our dinner."
Sophie responded, "Yeah! Like Star Wars!"

Sophie also really enjoyed our candlelit dinner. We turned off all the lights and Sophie thought that it was "just like the woods." After dinner we were cleaning up and Sophie said, "Okay. Let's turn on the light. Oh wait! Let's still live in the woods." It was a hit to say the least.

Short Stories

While cozying-up Sabrina in some cuddly blankets, Sophie tells her baby sister, "You're baby Jesus." Then she tells me, "And you're Mary."
I say, "Oh. Okay. And who are you?"
"Oh yeah," says Sophie. "I'm the leopard."
I'm pretty sure she meant "shepherd."

* * * * *

After examining the sprouts from the flower seeds we sprinkled in our flower bed, Sophie exclaimed, "Look Mom! Someone else's plant is growing too!" It was a weed growing in the crack of a sidewalk.

* * * * *

I got a perm last week (pictures to come), and if you have ever had one you know that the next few days are some crazy hair days. Here's what Sophie thought of my hair the day after...

"You have a pile on your head."

Later, Sophie wanted to go to the park. I told her, "I'm afraid to go outside because my hair is crazy."
Sophie said, "I'll just go with Daddy. His hair's just fine."

A few days after that....

Sophie is playing with dolls with her friend, Paisley, in the sunroom. I was in the other room straightening up. I hear Sophie in her high-pitched play voice say "...I can't go there. My mom's hair is too different."

What are you grateful for?

This is our Thanksgiving Tree:

In order to fill space on a very empty wall, and make our house more Fall-ish, we have begun a new family tradition. The Thanksgiving Tree! We would draw what we were grateful for on little construction paper leaves then hang them on our tree. Having this tree has helped out Sophie's prayers a lot because now she just visualizes the tree and expresses her gratitude for whatever pictures we drew. Her prayers usually go something like this: "We thank thee for Daddy, Sabrina, Mommy, Daddy, the sun, the clouds, Daddy..." (Yes he is mostly always thanked for twice).

Speaking of gratitude....
Click here and you will see my most favorite televised Thanksgiving moment from Chuck.  Maybe it's funnier when you watch the whole episode but I still love it.

Here are a couple authentic Thanksgiving moments:

Sabrina (3 mo) and her cousin Annette (7 mo).

Sophie being occupied by Uncle Abram.

Now we are just getting excited for Christmas!
Here is Sophie shootin' em up over at Bass Pro (AKA "The Christmas Store" according to Sophie).

Seriously. The best Christmas hangout place ever.

(hand on tummy) The baby is coming!

Monday.

August 13 at 8:32pm.

8lb 9oz, 21½ inches long

Sabrina is born.

With Sophie, I was induced. So with Sabrina I anxiously awaited that moment when I knew that it's time. The baby is coming. Well, I got to experience that feeling.

My doctor (who is really awesome, by the way) had kept giving high hopes that Sabrina would be born BEFORE her due date but when that date came and went (Aug 10) I was still pregnant. I had an appointment with my doctor and he stripped my membranes in hopes to get labor going. He stripped them at roughly 2:30 and by 3 I was beginning to feel contractions. I called Dave and told him that it might be a good idea to come home. I'm so glad I did because had I waited to call him home later he would have been stuck in traffic right at the time I needed to be at the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital at 5pm and I had dilated to 7cm. Things were moving pretty quickly and I was getting terrified that I wasn't going to have time to get an epidural (side note: with Sophie it took an hour or so for the anesthesiologist to arrive in my room and hook me up with some), but there was time for it. However, my epidural didn't want to kick in fully for me so I was experiencing a lot of pain. All through this the nurse kept saying that I had perfect pain control. My doctor for Sophie had said something similar so apparently I have a high tolerance for pain.

Speaking of pain, here's my "secret" for controlling it. Don't let your husband touch or talk to you. All those things we learned in our birthing class ended up not being useful for us. I don't like people talking to me when I'm in pain. Leave me alone, and I'm fine.

When it came time to push, I only had to push for maybe 5-10 minutes. It went very quickly and I'm so grateful for that! After she was born and the nurses were cleaning her up I just kept thinking, "I'm not pregnant anymore!" Such a happy thought.

Sabrina is an easy baby who LOVES being swaddled and/or cuddled.She is very strong too. At her 1 month appointment her doctor said she was moving her head around like a 4 month old.

Sophie had to warm up to our newest member of the family. She now has accepted her and is anxious to help out--usually by sticking the pacifier into Sabrina's mouth.You can see how Sophie first felt about Sabrina here:

Sophie has been dealing with her life getting turned upside down fairly well. Though I think she is adjusting well, there was A LOT of fake crying right at first. Now she just has occasional melt downs when I say "No" to something-- even if I say it in the nicest way possible! So I'm trying to balance out giving her enough attention without encouraging her negative behavior. That's tough.

This picture makes me happy. Dave and the girls.

Here's one that Soph took:

Caption This... 

10 points for the best caption. :)

While I'm waiting....

...for this baby to come (hopefully tonight!), I thought I'd actually update the blog! So here it is....

History of Summer Events:

1. Girlfriend Reunion

Once again, the yearly reunion of us 5 girls was an amazing experience.

This was taken at Brityn's (girl in green) Dad's new Shave Ice Shop. DELICIOUS x infinity. 
I'm so proud of all these girls. They were awesome friends throughout school and they continue to be a huge influence on my life even though we all live in 4 different states. I look forward to our time together each year. A big thanks to my parents for watching Sophie and to Dave for allowing me some much needed girl time. I strongly believe that every woman needs some girl time. So take it!

2. California Trip
We had a blast at the Hancock Family Reunion at Knotts Berry Farm! 
Supposedly this was to be our last family reunion for a while since mis padres are planning on a mission next year.

Sophie at first was very wary of riding the rides, but after a while she warmed up to it. Dave accompanied her on all the kiddy rides while I got to take pictures. Being pregnant, I had the opportunity of riding a total of TWO rides!! Kiddie Land at Knotts Berry Farm was great, though, because there were virtually NO LINES! Compared to Disneyland where pretty much every line takes a half hour minimum to get through-- it was great!

 

Sophie was very excited to see some of those beach crabs.
Sophie's favorite part by far was the beach. Mine too.

3. Projects:
Project No 1: Find and Paint a console table
So, for a while I kept looking at one wall in my house and saying to Dave, "I wish I had a console table I could put right there." I kept scanning Craigslist for one I'd like at a price I would pay, but didn't see anything. Then one day while we were driving down the street to church, I saw the following little table in someone's carport. "Are they getting rid of that?" I wondered aloud. You know how people are always throwing freebies in their yard when they get sick of them. Well, long story short, the owner was giving it away so we took it. Now this is not the console table of my dreams, but Hey! It was free!!
 BEFORE
 
AFTER:

I read in some design magazine that to paint a piece of furniture black was like giving it a little black dress.
It disguises it at least.


Project No 2: Make a copy-cat of this CB2 Perspective Mirror.
CB2's:

Yes. I know it's cool. However, this costs something like $900. :(
I told Dave I wanted one and he came up with a wallet friendly solution.

OURS:

  Our less expensive solution was to take Ikea mirrors and have them cut by the Stained Glass place down the street. Then we just arranged them how we wanted. It did take us something like 2 months to actually complete it. 

We're not the fastest workers. 

Project No 3: Hot Air Balloon Mobile

 

I actually just did this today real quick. I got inspired by this beautiful mobile, and decided on a free and easy alternative. Sophie really enjoys it so I hope our new baby girl will too.

RANDOM STORY:

I am amazed with my little girl all the time. She will randomly start talking about something that I had completely forgotten about that had occurred last year!

Well, the other day Sophie and I were leaving the our community's splash pad and were passing the sand volleyball courts there. Sophie sees it and starts talking about hitting the ball back and forth. "Yep," I respond. Then she said, "Do you remember when Daddy missed?" I started laughing. Back in February Daddy attended a work volleyball tournament and Sophie and I went to cheer him on. Well, Sophie really remembers going to that and she especially remembers when Daddy missed the ball.

That's all.

Now we're just waiting....