Big Sister

I haven't posted in a really long time but it seems like the right time to do so. Hazel is going to be a big sister around April 3rd! I tried to post a picture, but our internet is being funny. I am through the first trimester and feeling much better.

Hazel's reaction to the news was 1-Can I hold the baby? 2-I can't believe it, I can't believe I'm going to be a big sister!

The joy of no longer being a homeowner

We sold our house today. We moved about 9 months ago to a little town near Colorado Springs, and we left our house in Golden in the hands of renters, and trusting that it would eventually sell. After a deal fell threw in the fall the day before closing, I had lost hope that we would ever sell this house. Today we sold our house, and while there is a little piece of me that feels sad about our first home no longer being ours, we feel relieved and ready for whatever lays ahead. We feel like we have the freedom to go wherever it is we are supposed to go. Maybe we stay here, maybe we move across the country. The tricky part is who will hire my wonderful husband? Thank you for your thoughts & prayers-

Happy Valentine's Day!

We have had lots of exciting things happening here lately. Jonathan had a job interview last Monday, and is waiting to hear back from them...we put our house in Golden back on the market, and have had several showings in the first week. Hazel is such a delight, she loves waking up and announces to us, "Hazel's awake now!" if we take too long to get her from her room. She has turned into a little girl overnight, complete with really long sentences that start with "I am"... when I get home from work she says, "Mommy come play toys with me?" Pretty much everything in her life is "Silly" right now, and she loves learning and absorbing everything she can.
The other exciting news is that Hazel will have a new baby cousin next Thursday! She calls him baby brother and claims he is in my belly, instead of Keri's.

Here is a little Valentine's Day picture since we haven't updated in a while!

Our family pics

Check out our family pictures:

http://www.katedensmore.com/site/2009/11/jonathonannehazel/

You can see more if you know our last name--enjoy & Happy Thanksgiving

trick or treat

Hazel went trick-or-treating for the first time this year. She loved it--she walked around all night, saying, "open-it, please candy." The next day sure went on a walk and insisted on carrying her halloween bucket with her. (I think she was hoping to get more candy!)

Snow Day II

We woke up to more snow this morning, and the news of another snow day! We decided to bundle up and go outside...which Hazel HATED! Here are some pictures from our big snow storm!

SNOW DAY!!

I have my first snow day of the school year today. I received the first phone call for a two-hour delay at 5:00, then I managed to fall back asleep when the phone rang again at 6:00 calling off school for the day. I loved staying in my pjs until the late morning hours, baking blueberry muffins, and making soup that is keeping our house warm and smelling delicious! Not to mention the extra Hazel and Jonathan time I get today!



My parents came out to visit us in our new tome/home last weekend. Everywhere we went Hazel had to check that Grammie & Granddaddy where right there. They brought out a cute bee costume that Ethan liked more than she did!!

goodnight moon

my favorite thing that Hazel does lately came from reading goodnight moon. you know the story says, and "...a little toyhouse, and a small mouse..." well, we went to the zoo last week and Hazel saw a squirrel. She pointed at the squirrel and said, "it's a house" maybe it's not funny to anyone but me...is it terrible that I don't want to correct her?

"ma grandmere" digital storytelling final project

This is a digital story I created with the help of my mother's memory, my dad's scanning skills, and my understanding of the French language. It is my final project for a digital storytelling course, which will serve as an example to my French III students. They will do a project on someone in their family who has an interesting story to tell. I chose to tell about my grandmother, Ruth Rogers. Enjoy.

"the tank"

Hazel had her 18 month check up yesterday and is officially giant. She is 28 lbs and 12 oz. and 35 inches tall. I was kind of excited that she is almost 3 feet tall. When we are out people expect her to be "doing" more since she is the same size as most 2 year olds. At her check up her doctor asked if she can say about 20 words, and I said that was probably right. Then Hazel went on to list at least 20 words that she knew, so we decided that was an understatement. This morning, being the proud parents that we are, decided to count, we came up with 62 words, which by the end of the day will be more like 65 or 70. It is unbelievable how fast she is learning right now!

We recently went to the beach for a week, and Hazel got nicknamed "the tank" by her aunt and uncle. She was whipping Will around by the collar of his shirt. She just doesn't know her own strength!


Other news: We have found a place to move! We decided to rent next year instead of buy, since our house hasn't sold yet. We are waiting to hear back about the possibility of our house being approved for FHA financing--and then a possible offer?!

washington

This weekend we went to Washington for Jonathan's grandfather's funeral. Rudy Claassen was 95 years old, he lived a full life, and everyone who was there was there because of him.

Hazel gave out lots of hugs to her cousins, slept little, played lots.




Hazel & Madeline were pretty exhausted after Saturday's festivities.










This is Hazel with her 2nd cousin, or cousin once removed, or cousin...whatever-Bo. We had a great weekend, full of wonderful time with family, remembering "grandpa" rudy.

moving

Well, I have put off this post long enough. We are moving, I am going back to work, and our house is on the market. A French teaching job came up at the new high school where Jonathan's brother's family lives in Palmer Lake, CO. I applied, and through a whirlwind of events we decided that I should take the job. Since the architecture world does not hold much current hope for a job for Jonathan we thought one of us should probably work. So, once again, we will be switching roles. I could not ask for a better teaching environment: a new school, enthusiastic teachers, only 3 preps, and a beautiful location. We are trusting that this is right for our family, that someone will buy our house soon, and that we will be able to live near family.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to you moms out there! We had a lovely day here in Golden. Went up to J's parents house to see Grandma & Grandpa. Hazel is learning more than I can even keep up with lately. She is all about her daddy, when she gets up from a nap, she says 'Daddy?' and yesterday, which happened to be Mother's Day, she only wanted Daddy...oh well.

that's a dog

Hazel said her first sentence yesterday. She pointed to a picture in a book of a dog, and said, "That's a dog." WHAT? How did that happen? She said it two more times after that, then she pointed to a cat, and said, "That's a dog." Oh well, it's a start!






She got some artistic freedom with her grandparent's birthday cards. She had more fun taking the crayons out of the box and putting them back in, than she did coloring!

Happy Easter

I hope each of you had a joyous Easter!
More easter pics.

personality

This kid of ours is so full of personality and life-I love it! She learns what seems like 8 new words a day and always amazes me with what she understands. For lunch today, I asked her if she was hungry, and she did the sign for hungry. I put her in her high chair and she got mad about something. I looked over while I was getting her food ready and she put her bib on...all by herself. She has a great understanding of what things go where. If she sees a phone, it goes next to your ear. If she finds shoes, she brings them to your feet. I could go on and on...


On another note, we went to see my family over spring break and she played with her cousin, Will (weeye/sort of sounds like Willie). They had a blast! He learned how to say Hazel, (Sazel) and I'm told from Keri that he cried while saying Sazel in his car seat after we left. It about broke my heart to hear that.

This kid loves being outside, and hates it when we bring her in.

I can see that this spring and summer will include many trips to the park! It's hard to believe a year ago all she wanted to do was eat, and sleep...oh wait...

hazel

Dress up

The new thing around our house is to play dress up with whatever bits of clothing Hazel finds on the floor. She will bring us a jacket, a hat, socks or shoes and "ask" for us to put them on her. This morning it was shades and a vest (over her pjs). What is it about babies and sunglasses that they find so amusing?

For those of you who were concerned...

or for those of you who wondered...or those who really don't care. Hazel is officially weened.

Hazel's dedication

Last Sunday, March 1st, we had Hazel dedicated. Jonathan & I each wrote her a letter which we read to her during the service. It was a really sweet time of celebrating who she is and who we hope to raise her to be. These are a couple pictures from that day.








We had a really nice time with our families that Sunday afternoon, eating hotdogs and hamburgers, watching Ethan play in the creek by our house. We missed Patrick, Keri, Will, Gordon, Kristin & Madeline.










Here is our good friend Tom, with his son, Henry and (future wife..hehehe) Hazel.