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.   

Bed Time

I never had the heart to let Hattie cry it out.  But recently we've been working on having her fall asleep by herself.  Previously, we had been rocking her to sleep every night, but it started getting ridiculous.  It would take 1.5+ hours of rocking before she fell asleep.  Even when she was exhausted. I came to dread bed time.  It was always a battle and took forever!  I was so fed up one night I just put Hattie in her crib and left, figuring I'd wait 10 minutes and then go back in.  She was so upset she threw up about 5 minutes in.  I felt terrible.  TERRIBLE!  But she fell asleep quickly afterwards.  Despite this rough start, we stuck with it.  Giving her 3 minutes in the crib and then going in to rescue her.  She's slowly gotten better and better.  Last night, we rocked for a bit then I put her in her crib (still awake).  She rolled over and looked at me with eyes wide open, but instead of crying she waved her little hand and said "bye bye Mama".  I laughed in surprise then told her goodnight!  She fell asleep all on her own!  I feel like it's a miracle.  I know it's not, kids do learn to fall asleep by themselves at some point, but it feels like a huge win and it's a wonderful milestone to have passed.  I no longer dread bed time.

Silly Girl

Hattie is such a joy!  You never know what this silly girl will do.

Hang out in her super full crib while I clean the floor

Wear leg warmers on her arms and legs

Climb into a drawer in order to reach a higher drawer

Or take selfies and blind herself with the flash.

She has a great scowl:

Loves to play with her Papa:

And dances with her cousins (no one was harmed in the making of this video):

I love my goofy gal!

Happy Birthday Kurt!

Kurt had a birthday shout 'Hooray!"  We celebrated with a baseball game watching the Ogden Raptors.  It was really fun!  Hattie liked it too.  We were a few rows behind home plate and Hattie kept on clapping at pitches (ball or strike) and enjoyed sitting in her own seat.

Hattie's watching the game in this one!

Her own seat!

I made a German chocolate cake for the occasion and we had the Roths over for cake:

After Kurt blew out the candles Charlotte and Livi wanted to do it to so they each got their own turn.  Then we dug in!  Happy Birthday Kurt!  We love you lots!