Lena Marie

I was surprised to get a call from my brother-in-law Joe around 10:40pm on October 7th.  He told me Megan was in labor and they needed to get to the birthing center.  Could I come over until his mom got there so the girls weren't alone (they were fast asleep).  Of course!  I got there about 10 minutes later at 10:50pm.  Joe was in the garage getting down the infant car seat.  He told me Megan was inside with the doula, Marie.  I went in to let her know I was there...the doula asked me to go get Joe ASAP!  So I ran to get him!  I also heard Marie say they weren't making it to the birthing center!  Whoa!  I got Joe and a few minutes later at 11:01pm (I recorded the time!) Lena Marie was born!  In the bathroom!  It was crazy and awesome and I'm so glad everything went so well (and so quickly!).  Both Megan and baby Lena are doing well.  She's a perfect little girl who can sleep through anything!  Which is a good quality in a younger sister.  Here she is!

The night she was born:

The proud parents!  Also- Char and Livi slept through the whole thing!

Hattie meeting her new cousin for the first time!

Me and Lena.  Lena is family name on my side (also Megan's middle name) and Marie is after the doula who delivered her!

Such a beautiful girl!  Congratulations Roth family!

Also, just FYI, this whole experience gave me hope for my next delivery.  Maybe it won't be 18 hours of labor.  Fingers crossed!

Blocks

Hattie's becoming an excellent stacker of blocks.

Knocking them over with her face.  What a whackadoodle.

The videos are my favorite!  When I'm building I have us both count the blocks and I always have to tell her to wait to knock over the towers.  

Pumpkin Patch

Hattie loves pumpkins.  Thanks to books and Halloween episodes of her shows she knows what they are and points them out to me when we're walking or driving.  And she loved the pumpkin patch!

Driving the tractor:

She literally picked up the first pumpkin she saw.

 Helping Dad

Couldn't quite get this one

Posing with the scarecrows!

We still need to carve or paint our finds.  Can't decide which!  

These are a few of my favorite things

Hattie's interests have been growing lately.  They include wearing Mom and Dad's shoes and helping me in the kitchen.  The first thing I had her learn was "hot!"  I'm glad to say she's been a very good student and has yet to be burned.  Part of me thinks I'm crazy for letting her help me stir things on the stove (with me standing right next to her and she has to hold on to me with her free hand) but part of me loves it!  She's my little helper.  Hattie also throws things away in the garbage and puts silverware in the dishwasher.

Shoe wearing:

Helping Mom stir:

And she also loves to get her hands traced!

Rainy Day

We had a day recently where it was pouring down rain.  I decided we should go enjoy the rain while its here.  And enjoy we did.  Rain boots would have been helpful though- she was soaked!

The Kangaroo Zoo

Megan called and asked if Hattie and I wanted to go to the Kangaroo Zoo with them.  I had no idea what she was talking about!  But we were up for it anyways.  So off we went- it's a warehouse full of bouncy house type toys- some have obstacles, decorations, or slides.  Hattie was not impressed at first (it's pretty noisy in there).  But after half an hour or so she started warming up to the idea, and before I knew it she loved it!  She didn't need me by her side and was following her cousins around.  We stayed for about 3 hours and all three girls had a blast.

It was dark inside so the pictures aren't too great, but you get the idea!

Attack!

Doing a seat drop:

Sliding!

Olivia is catching Hattie in this one :)

1 year!

One year ago we moved to Ogden!  We'd been in Utah for a month already, but we were just at the start of our crazy journey.  Kurt had just started a new job and we moved into our house!  I was kind of terrified. I didn't know what the next year would bring.  There have been ups and downs, but without a doubt I know that we're meant to be here in Ogden.  We've been tremendously blessed.  I still feel like our journey is just beginning though.  If there's one thing I've learned recently it's that you never know what life is going to bring you.  Even if you think the future is planned.  I also know that through the gospel and relying on Christ you can not only survive those challenges, but come out better and stronger on the other side.