..top 12 of 2012..

my dear sweet boys,

2012 was a fabulous year for our little family, and in some ways i'm a bit sad to bid it farewell. here is a little recap of the past year.......

in chronological order, i present our top 12 of 2012: the good, the bad, and the ugly. without further ado.....

1) we found out finn would be a BIG BROTHER! yet again, on the first month of trying, i got pregnant and we were thrilled to be adding another member to our family.

first ultrasound @ 10 weeks

2) dad finally got the hot tub he had been waiting his whole life for. sadly, i wasn't able to join him in there until just recently (due to the fact that i was growing a little human in my belly), so most nights he would sit in it alone. every now and then he'd have friends and neighbors in there keeping him company, but rest assured, whether he was all alone in there or soaking it up with others, he hasn't regretted that purchase one little bit!

3) finn turned ONE year old! wow, it is still weird for me to think that he is no longer that tiny infant we brought home from the hospital that beautiful spring day in april. his birthday was a bitter-sweet day for me, to say the least. i'm pretty sure i was fighting off bouts of hysteria for most of the day, ha! we celebrated his birthday with friends, family and neighbors here at our house, all of whom came to show their love and support for the sweet little dude who has definitely changed our lives.

4) we found out the bun in my oven was another little BOY! all of us were so extremely excited for finn to have a little brother, who will hopefully become his best friend one day. :)

5) we spent a fantastic week in maui....it literally was paradise. the flight was long and somewhat challenging with a busy-body toddler to entertain, but it was worth it for the week that followed. finn loved the beach and playing in the pool, and we loved experiencing hawaii through his eyes. definitely a trip to remember!

6) we spent a weekend up in heber for friendunion 2012. this was our second annual friendunion - yay for keeping traditions alive! we did fun things like eat, shop, eat, alpine slide, sleep, hot tub, watch the olympics and eat. the cabin was a little gross - i did see a mouse, for heavens sake - but it was still fun spending a weekend with our friends and i hope this is a tradition we will keep going for years to come.

7) we enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing and hot (oh, so hot!) summer. most of mine and finn's summer days were spent lounging outside (on the days when the heat wasn't unbearable), where finn would roam the yard and play on the swingset and trampoline. we literally spent at least 2 hours of every day out there - it was wonderful, and i am already looking forward to next summer.

8) we had our first "real" accident with finn. obviously this was not a highlight, but rather a lowlight.  on september 5, finn rode his four-wheeler over the curb out on the patio, hit his cheek (?) on the red lantern that was sitting by the door and knocked his back top right molar out. this all happened in the blink of an eye, and we aren't entirely sure how it happened. the tooth came out completely clean, root and all, which was baffling to the doctor's and dentists alike. other than a swollen cheek and the fact that he now has no molar back there, he was completely fine after a few days. but boy, was it scary! i am glad we survived it. this also happened to be the day that i "fell off the wagon." haha i had been pepsi-free for nearly 8 months, but decided i was in need of a stiff drink. for a pregnant, mormon girl, that meant a pepsi. ;)

9) we welcomed mr. samuel james powell into the world and our family! obviously this was the highlight of our year. he has brought so much love and joy to our home, and even though he isn't even three months old yet, i really can't imagine our family without him! in fact, i barely even remember what life was like before him. funny how that happens!

10) i had an appendicitis. obviously another lowlight. i spent a night in the hospital, mostly due to the fact that i had just had a baby three weeks prior and they were worried about me properly healing. i think the doctor thought she was giving me a bit of a break by making me stay over night! ha and let's be honest, she kind of was. ;) even though my stomach still hurts on occasion where my appendix used to be, this experience really strengthened my testimony of the power of prayer. it is real and it works, and i'm grateful to have at least taken something positive out of this otherwise awful experience.

11) the holidays. this time of year always seems to be a highlight of every year! it is always so wonderful spending time with family and friends, feeling of the true spirit of the season. we were especially grateful this christmas for the opportunity to have our friends and family support us for the blessing of sweet baby sam, to have spent a week with tiffany, kevin and baby jett, and for the all-around great christmas we had. it truly is the best time of the year, and as crazy as life can sometimes get, i am grateful for the opportunity to slow down a bit on christmas day and reflect on all that our savior and heavenly father have blessed us with.

12) i'm grateful for our every day life. for the beautiful place in which we live. to be close enough to our families that most (or at least some) of them are able to watch finn and sam as they grow. i'm so thankful that i get to stay at home with these cuties of mine. they really make my life so much more meaningful and i only hope that i can help them grow to be responsible, capable, kind, independent people some day. i'm thankful to a husband who works so hard to provide us with the basic necessities of life, and so much more. we truly are very blessed.

finn&uncle z. dads ruths chris steak. picking pumpkins.
first moments with sam. finn giving himself a bath. snuggling sam.
snuggling sam. sweet baby sam. finn checking his email.

sam @ 2 weeks. finn feeding sam. finn drinking dogs water, like a dog.
election day. cute sam. finn ready to play outside.
pattycake with grandma. finn playing with lotion. dreaming of heaven.

finn giving sam loves. meeting santa 2012. sitting on sam.
smiling sam. mccoy's blessing day. where's sam's nose?
kisses. brothers. more loves. 

2011 and 2012 were such magnificent years for our little family, i don't think either of them could be topped, but ya never know, eh?! here's to 2013.....through the good and the bad that will undoubtedly come, may we survive it all, and come out stronger than before.

love,
mom

..christmas 2012..

my dear sweet boys,

we had a fabulous christmas this year! that may even be an understatement. christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and every year i think to myself, "this was the best christmas ever," and then the next year always seems to be better somehow! well since it was mr. sam's first christmas, and finn's second, i had a feeling it would be a great one. your sweet spirit's just add so much joy to our home on any given day, it seems to be two-fold during the holiday's.

we had family in town this year, which made it even better. aunt tiff, uncle kevin, and cousin jett came into town from california, and they stayed with us. we had so much fun with them all week! at first i didn't know if we'd have enough room in our house to accommodate everyone's needs, but we made it work and it wasn't nearly as crowded in here as i thought it would be. it was so fun getting to know baby jett...this was the first time any of us had met him. it was fun seeing the similarities and differences between him and sammy, who are only 8 days apart.

we spent christmas eve at the annual hansen family christmas party up at great-grandma and great-grandpa hansen's house. something about this party is just so nostalgic for me. i don't know if christmas will be the same for me if we ever stop doing it! i love visiting with our cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents, enjoying delicious food, singing christmas carols and listening to grandpa read the story of christ's birth from luke 2 in the bible. that is christmas to me, and i love it!

grandma cindy, uncle zac and alicia spent the night at our house, along with aunt tiff, uncle kevin and cousin jett. we were definitely packed to the brim but it was great. we opened our christmas pj's and took pictures, then it was off to bed for you babes. while you were sleeping santa claus stopped by! as a child, there was nothing more exciting than waking up in the wee hours of christmas morning to see if santa had come. as a teenager, it was the same. as an adult and parent, i have to say i think it is even better! i couldn't help but stand at the top of the stairs and just look at our living room, full of presents. i realized how blessed our family is, and how grateful i am to our heavenly father for providing dad with so much work at a time when so many people are struggling to find it. i'm grateful to dad for being so willing to work so hard to provide for our family. and i'm thankful to santa for stopping by. ;)

we woke up bright and early on christmas morning to open presents. mr. finn woke up all on his own at 6:45 am....i'm sure everyone thought i woke you up that early, but i swear i didn't! you could probably just feel the magic in the air and were excited to open presents, huh finn? haha i think it's safe to say you loved all your presents! you walked right over to your table and chairs, pushed the stocking off the chair, sat on it and started playing with the jack-in-the-box! i loved it!

some other highlights of christmas morning were....*watching duke stare at his stocking! hahaha he seriously just sat and started at it. didn't try digging into it, wasn't whining for us to get anything out of it. he just stared, like he knew there was something yummy inside and was patiently waiting for it to reveal itself! hilarious! *watching grandma cindy open one of her presents from alicia. it was a necklace she wanted from banana republic back in the fall, but she never got it. then they sold out of them. well alicia managed to find one for her, and grandma was soooo surprised when she opened it, she just started balling!! we were all wondering what was wrong haha, but she was just so surprised, she couldn't contain the tears. *of all the presents that everyone got, perhaps the most loved and cherished one of all was duke's ball. haha he played with this ball all morning until he was panting and literally couldn't move. all of the dogs, along with finn, were obsessed too, and had a grand ol' time fighting over it. luckily there were 4 of them...plenty to go around.

we went down to the annual osborne family christmas morning breakfast, and had fun visiting with our aunts, uncles and cousins again. it's always fun to see what santa brought everyone for christmas, and as aunt tiffany said, it's the best breakfast of the year!

we just relaxed at home for the rest of the day, played with our new christmas toys and took naps, until christmas night when aunt wendy, uncle dave, cousin shaya and nanny goat came over for dinner. even grandpa jeff stopped by for a while. it was fun visiting with all of our family who we don't get to see very often. we sure wish they all lived closer!

i'm so thankful to our savior jesus christ for his willingness to come down to this earth and for the role he played in the plan of salvation. none of us would be here, who we are today, without him. i love having little babies in our home....you boys make christmas so much more meaningful and special, and i don't know what i would do without you!

love,
mom

..a name & a blessing for mr. samuel james powell..

dear sam,

today you were given a name and a very sweet blessing by your daddy. the chapel was full of friends and family members who came to support you on this special day. days, and moments, like these, the veil seems to be very thin. i can feel the support of those who have passed on, as well as the love and support from the people who we love and cherish most here on this earth. a mother can't help but tear up, seeing all her favorite people in one place at one time. i felt so grateful for everyone who came.

we decided to bless you today for a couple reasons. 1) so that your aunts and uncles would be in town (since they were coming into town for christmas) and 2) because we thought it would be neat to do a double blessing - you and cousin jett on the same day! i didn't think a ton of people would be able to make it since it was two days before christmas, but boy was i wrong! it seems that everyone still came! bless their hearts. :) your circle was jam-packed...i really don't think even one more person would have been able to squeeze in. there was dad, great-grandpa hansen, great-grandpa powell, uncle kevin, uncle dave, ben clark, dave mcconnel, dan walker, gary halverson, peter phippen, spencer dyreng, and bishop mortenson. i was grateful to all of them for being so willing and excited to participate.

after sacrament meeting we had a luncheon at our house. there were tons of people, and it was definitely a tight squeeze, but we made it work and i wouldn't have had it any other way. thank goodness for grandma cindy who is such an amazing cook and hostess for pulling it all together. the day was a bit exhausting (i was up and in the shower at 6:30 then getting everything ready until church started) but it was all so worth it. you are definitely worth celebrating. :)

you have been such a joy to have in our home mr. samuel. you are the most smiley, sweet little baby ever. each day that passes brings more love and adoration, and i simply cannot imagine my life, or our little family, without you. your big brother ADORES you. that is really the only word for it. it is fascinating to watch him with you, and i can only imagine it will get even better when you start to interact with him. i feel my love grow for you each and every day. i know that sounds very cliche, and something you think people just say, but there is so much truth to it. i'm grateful for the moments that i get to just cuddle and watch you and see the world through your eyes. you are such a special little boy, and i'm so grateful you are mine. :)

love you always and forever mr. samuel james.

love,
mom

..finnerisms, part 1..

dear finn,

today as we were getting ready to go run some errands, i had a handful of stuff to take to the car. so, since i don't have the three arms i often need, i decided i would take the stuff out to the car, along with you,  buckle you up, then run back inside to get baby sam. as i was ushering you out the door you started whining. when we got outside, that whining turned into a full-blown tantrum, tears flowing like niagara. confused, i asked you what was wrong. you started walking back inside, went straight to sam's carseat and tried picking it up. haha you thought we were leaving baby sam and you were worried! at the ripe old age of 20 months, you are already such a protective big brother. it melted my heart! just another example of what a great, loving big brother you are mr. finn. samuel is sure lucky to have you. :)

love,
mom

..breakfast with santa..

dear finn and sam,

this year my aunt vickie decided to start a new tradition - breakfast with santa! so many restaurants these days offer the option of meeting santa while eating breakfast, but since vickie has an "in" with santa, she decided, "why go out to breakfast with santa when santa will come to you?!"

eating with cousins. reindeer pancakes.
watching santa when he came in. sam and cousin claire.

breakfast was very delicious and festive, and we had so much fun visiting with our cousins. finn, you didn't  like santa very much, but we had fun watching you with him. ;)

sam and santa. isabelle not liking santa. all the kids (well, most the kids) with santa. 

i hope this is a tradition that will continue in the years to come.

love,
mom

..sammy boy is two months old..

dear baby sam,

today you turned two months old! i've said this to your big bro pretty much since the day he was born, but time sure flies. it goes by even faster these days, now that i'm tryin' to keep up with two! we've had some ups and downs, but i think we've finally started to figure life out as a family of six and it just keeps getting better.

your second month on earth was much better than your first month here. i blame myself for the first month. it's not that it was bad or anything, i just made the huge mistake of not trying to figure you out better, so for the first month you were overly-tired, which resulted in fussiness. i wouldn't even say that you were too terribly fussy, you just seemed uncomfortable most of the time. i thought the discomfort you were so obviously experiencing was due to gas. turns out i just wasn't doing the things you needed. i feel so guilty, and SO bad for you that you went that whole month on very little sleep, no schedule or routine, probably as uncomfortable as all get out. seriously, mother of the year (or at least of the month) definitely didn't go to me! ;)

good news is, we figured you out (or i did, anyway). i read a few pages (seriously, just a few) of secrets of the baby whisperer, and it basically changed both our lives. i'm just sorry i didn't read it the day we brought you home. i had the book in my nightstand since before finn was born, but for some reason i just never pulled it out. lazy me. the part of the book that helped us was the test she has the reader take about what kind of baby you have. i took the test, we determined that you are a "touchy baby," i did the things she recommends for a touchy baby and voila! seriously, it worked like a charm in no less than a day. i kept thinking to myself, "this has to be a fluke, there is no way that changing those few simple things could change your life, and mine," but here we are, about a month later and you are a 100% different baby. you are happy and content and so easy to be around as long as we do what you need. and i mean hello, isn't that my job as a mom - to figure you out and do what you need? yes, it is. :)

as a touchy baby, you are very sensitive to external stimuli. you are not a fan of bright, blinding lights, you get easily distracted by the tv, loud music, strangers all up in your grill. ;) you like to nap in your crib, swaddled, with the shutters closed and a white noise machine on. you are particularly fond of the "ocean" sound on your sound machine. probably because the crashing waves sound like what you heard for 9 months in my belly. :) for the first whole month of your life, i thought you weren't a very good sleeper (day or night), but it was my fault, because i had you napping in the pack-n-play, on my chest, in the swing, bouncer, carseat. you actually do like sleeping in your carseat, but the rest....nada! you just like the comfort of your crib, and i can't say i blame you! i sleep best in my bed, why wouldn't you?! needless to say, you'd be awake for hours at a time during the day (like sometimes, 4+ hours!) and i always wondered why you weren't sleepy! turns out you were extremely sleepy. i think you spent month two catching up on all that missed sleep, because now you sleep a ton! we have to watch your cues very carefully, and if we do, you go down for naps and bed easily, but if we miss them it takes some rocking and/or a bottle to get ya down. no biggie though, at least we now know that you are, indeed, a good sleeper. :)

you are extremely patient with your big brother, and i have a feeling you're gonna be a tough little guy. let's face it, you're going to have to be with finn running around! if i turn my head for two seconds he is laying on top of you, giving you all sorts of loves. one thing is for sure - finn loves you more than you will ever know! it melts my heart to watch him with you, and i pray each day that you will grow to love him as much as he loves you. :)

a few things about you as a two-month-old:

-you have a very strong neck, and hold your head up incredibly well for your age. finn's neck was never this strong at 2 months.
-you are very alert and happy just after you've been fed, as long as you've been fed enough! i swear you could eat all day long!
-you smiled early on (a little before 4 weeks) and have smiled every day since. you love the sound of mom, dad and grandma cindy's voice and smile whenever we talk to you! we love it.
-you eat every 3 hours. first you nurse, then you drink between 2 and 4 oz of formula. apparently my milk isn't enough for you! i was certain that you'd be off-the-charts-HUGE since you eat so much, but you were just slightly above average. that was a relief for me to hear, since i was convinced you were on the path to obesity as a 2-month-old. haha ;)
-after eating, you like to stay awake for 30-45 minutes and play, then it's back to bed.
-you've been sleeping between 6 and 8 hours at night, on average. mama sure  does love those long stretches! does wonders for us both.
-we finally took you back to the hospital for your hearing test. you passed, but it took us a looooong time to get you to pass. haha nothing at all wrong with your ears, you were just wide awake, hungry, had a blow-out, etc and those are not ideal conditions for that test. it was a pain, i won't lie, i'm just relieved you passed!
-you like looking at lights (christmas lights, the rope lighting in our house) as long as it's not too bright. you are not a fan of the sun! i think you must have your dad's sensitive eyes.
-you like to lay on your playmat during play time, but only for 15 minutes or so. if we go too much longer than that you start to get fussy. you aren't a fan of the swing or bouncer.
-you are incredibly portable, as long as you've been fed. we rarely hear a peep out of you when you're in your carseat!
-you aren't a fan of big crowds. i think unfamiliar faces must make you nervous/scare you.
-you like to know that i'm nearby (or dad, if he's the one taking care of you). if we leave you on your playmat and you can't hear/see/sense we are nearby, you panic. i kinda like this...it means you like us! ;)
-i think you might be a momma's boy, but who knows! i would love it if you were.

we went to the doctor yesterday and you are doing incredibly well. as i mentioned above, i was certain you were going to be huge. in fact, i've been stressing about it for weeks now! seriously, you eat so much, and some of your clothes are even too small. turns out all that worrying was for nothing though! here are your stats:

height: 23 3/4 inches (80th percentile)
weight: 12 pounds (59th percentile)
head circ.: 38 1/2 cm (18th percentile)

i'm thinking that the reason some of your clothes don't fit is because you're so tall! it was a relief for me to hear that you aren't, in fact, on the road to childhood obesity. ;) jk.

you started your immunizations yesterday. it's no fun, i know, but it is a necessary part of keeping you healthy (we hope so, anyway!). you weren't a fan of those darn shots. screamed bloody murder!! it was so sad to hear. you calmed down shortly after, though, and did pretty well the rest of the day, considering what had been done. you did scream a few different times throughout the evening, but not for too long. breaks my heart to see you in so much pain. :(

anyway mr. samuel james, i just wan't you to know how happy i am that you are part of our family. i'm sure you sometimes wonder in that tiny baby head, "why did i agree to come to this family?? they are crazy! what is up with this finn character, always laying on top of me and kissing me all the time? and this person...what's her name? mom? yeah, why did it take her a month to figure out what i do and don't like? some mother she is! and dad...is that his name? i guess he's alright. he usually just smiles at me and gives me food to keep my happy. i like him okay." haha i'm sure that's what you're thinking most of the time! but even though you have only been a part of our family for 2 months, i can't imagine life - or our family - without you! you have made being a mother of 2 humans surprisingly easy, and for that, i say thank you and i love you. i love you more than you'll ever know dear boy.

love,
mom

..finn @ 20 months..

dear finn,

oh mr mr, where to even begin with you?! haha you just get funnier and more entertaining by the day little one. each day with you is a new adventure, and (most days!) i love it! some days i'll admit, i do want to admit one of us to an insane asylum, but those days are few and far between. ;)

you are still my sweet, easy-going little man, but i have a feeling the terrible 2's are headed our way, and i can't say i'm looking forward to them. i am looking forward to you growing and learning, i'm just not looking forward to the tantrums. you've given us a little glimpse of them, and they ain't pretty! haha in all honesty though, you are still pretty dang easy, and i hope you'll stay that way. you do throw fits (short ones, at least) when you don't get what you want, but hello, have you met your mom and dad? we're the same haha, so it's probably just in your genes. ;)

here are some things i want to remember about you at 20 months:
-you have started to exert your independence more and more. you don't like us helping you with things, such as putting shoes on, occasionally putting clothes on. certain toys you don't like us touching or helping you with. you like to do things on your own. good for you! (frustrating for us at times).
-you love wearing shoes. it's so funny! this is the source of many a tantrum though, because i don't like you wearing your shoes in my bed or on our couches, so when i won't help you put them on or make you take them off, you flip your lid. sometimes these tantrums last like 10 minutes! holy moly, get over it already! haha
-you are a climber, and climb on anything and everything. thankfully you haven't figured out how to climb out of your crib.....yet, anyway.
-you are extremely affectionate with everyone, but especially with your baby brother! you love him so, soooo much. it melts my heart.
-as stated above, you love sam sooooo much. i can't take my eyes off of the two of you, ever, because the second i do you are laying on top of him, giving him kiss after kiss after kiss. if he is in his carseat you basically just get right in his face and kiss him for minutes at a time. it's so sweet. if he has a bottle nearby, you'll grab it and start feeding him! dead serious. you're the best big bro.
-you like to give "bones" and high fives. you especially love giving bones to sam. sam has his hands in fists much of the time, so you'll come up to him, grab his arm and have his fist pound yours. it's so funny!
-your top k-9 teeth FINALLY cut through! hallelujah. this has been happening since you were 15 months old. i can't wait for them to come all the way through, because you have been lots fussier than normal and have been sleeping terrible! you wake up crying in the middle of the night almost every night, and are awake for the day at 6! no bueno for your tired mom and dad.
-you're not as picky as you used to be. you'll try most things, whereas you used to not even try food we'd give you! sometimes though, you'll chew food for hours. literally. it's really weird. haha but at least you'll try it, eh?!
-you like playing with other kids. you still need to learn how to share and not hit, but i'm sure those are normal behaviors for someone your age. your best friend is locke, and you've been playing with him a bit more lately. you also like playing with krew, lucy, max and brecken. i can tell you idolize boys, especially older ones. it's fun for me to watch! i can't wait til sammy boy is older and can play with you. you'll be best friends i think. :)
-you understand so much more than i ever thought you did, and i'm loving it! you'll do frequent favors for mom and dad, such as turning the bouncer off, throwing garbage away, fetching things off the table/nightstand for me, such as my phone or mug of water. i love it!
-you are talking more each day, but it's still not totally understandable. we're making progress though, which is a good thing.
-you love our christmas decorations, but especially the lights on the trees and garlands. you've always been fascinated with lights! you've been surprisingly good about not touching the ornaments.

i love you more and more each day, if that's possible. you have me rolling on the ground most of the time. sometimes i definitely want to pull my hair out because of you, but i'm pretty sure that's just part of the job. you sure are a cutie and i love you more than you'll ever know!

love,
mom