Girls Day Out

A couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed a Girls Day Out with 2 of my favorite gal pals from childhood. We were celebrating Emily's 26th birthday. :)  (Thanks to Jana for watching Hannah!)

After eating lunch together, we got pedicures...

 

 My toes are at the bottom. I'm not nearly as adventurous as Candace and Emily.

We then saw a super creepy movie at the dollar theater--Woman in Black. I think we all regret having seen it. Way too creepy!

After the movie, we enjoyed Red Mango...

Candace cracks me up! Wake up, sleepyhead!

This one's much better. Darn Emily is always photogenic! :)

It was nice to relax and enjoy time with good friends. Thanks, girls!

Wienie Roast

The weather this last Saturday was absolutely amazing, so we took advantage of it and had our first wienie roast of the season.

Hannah enjoyed chilling in her stroller and taking in the beauty of the canyon.

But she often preferred watching her daddy try to build a fire.

Scott tried and tried and tried to start a fire.

 And he finally did it!

But it didn't last long. Going, going...

 

Gone! Don't worry--we did get a couple of wienies roasted before we lost the fire.

My attempt at a family photo.

Scott's attempt. I guess he should be our new photographer. :)

Happy wienie roasting season to one and all!

Carter cousins

A couple of weeks ago, Scott's entire family (except one bro-in-law) was in town. We really enjoyed spending time with them all, and Hannah got in some quality time with her cousins (and aunts, uncles, and grandparents). Here are some of the pics I took of the fun:

Scott took a day off from work so that we could go to the zoo with most of his family.

Silly monkeys on a rhino. :)

The giraffes are my favorite. Hannah wasn't too impressed. She was a fan of the monkeys and gorillas.

And she also enjoyed our picnic lunch.

This chimp cracked me up. So pouty.

The peacock was pretty. And so was Hannah.

The gang on the train.

The train ride was a definite highlight for Hannah.

Choo choo!

Hannah and Isaac posed for a few pics.

Aw, the love.

A couple of cute cousins.

Aubrey loved holding "Baby Hannah." Hannah wasn't so sure about it.

Hannah with her cousins who are headed to Germany for 3 years. We will really miss them and hope to be able to visit them.

This picture totally cracks me up.

But this one cracks me up even more. :)

Silly Hannah in a rare photo with her grandma Carter.

Despite being overwhelmed by the chaos from time to time, Hannah really enjoyed watching and playing with her cousins. And Scott and I had fun observing it all. :)

Hope of America

Tonight we had the privilege of watching my niece, Faith, perform in the Hope of America program at the Marriott Center (part of the Freedom Festival). I hadn't seen one of these programs in many years. I was impressed by the quality and emotion behind the kids' singing. It made me reflect on how blessed I am to be an American.

Faith is right in the middle of the flag. She was actually quite easy to spot.

I'm so proud of this girl. She has overcome so much to get to where she is now.

Faith truly gives me hope for the future of America. She is pretty much the kindest, funniest, most thoughtful, sensitive, creative, helpful, and loving person I have ever met. I love her so much!

And, of course, this silly baby also gives me great hope for the future of America.

Hannah turned 16 months old today. Somehow that seems so much older than 15 months. We celebrated by attending the Hope of America program and also by seeing Hannah's cute baby cousin, Logan, go home from the hospital earlier today. Way fun!

For the record, a few weeks ago Hannah cut her 16th tooth. And she is super close to walking on her own. She totally tears it up with her walker. She's just a little afraid to try walking her own. I'm not worried that it will happen, but I'm hoping it will happen sooner than later--mainly because I'm ready for Hannah to be done with physical therapy (and also because I'm sure she will love walking on her own). So please send prayers our way for Hannah to walk soon. I think we might need another one of your miracles. :)

Two years ago today...

...Scott and I found out that we were finally expecting our first baby. We were shocked and thrilled, but we never could have guessed the immense joy that this little girl would bring into our lives.

Hannah LOVES to play with the sunglasses her aunt Christina gave her. Hopefully it will help her get over her fear of people wearing them. :)

**UPDATE on my miscarriage:
Yeah, I thought it was all over too. Many of you know that I had to have a D and C (surgery) 2 1/2 weeks ago when I ended up back in the er due to severe bleeding (after almost 3 weeks of light bleeding). Well, today I had my follow-up appointment with my ob/gyn. He said that the biopsy on the tissue he removed during the D and C showed that it was/is a partial molar pregnancy which developed into gestational trophoblastic disease. A molar pregnancy occurs when, due to chromosomal abnormalities during egg fertilization, abnormal tissue forms instead of (and/or alongside) the embryo(s). This only happens in 1 of 1000 pregnancies (and WebMD says that it is extremely rare in twins). Only 50 in 1000 partial molar pregnancies develop into trophoblastic disease--growth of abnormal tissue in the uterus during pregnancy. So I'm really quite the oddity. (You might want to look this all up on webmd.com or mayoclinic.com because I'm not sure I've explained it very well.) So now I get to have monthly blood HCG levels drawn for 3 months to make sure the tissue doesn't continue to grow (in very rare cases, it can lead to a very treatable cancer). And I also need to have an ultrasound in a couple of weeks to check out a fibroid that my doctor felt in my uterus during the D and C. Today he didn't make a big deal of the fibroid, but his nurse said, "No wonder you were bleeding so much with that huge fibroid in there!" Good times. She also said that she had never before seen anyone have such a rough experience with a miscarriage. I'm not sure I like being so special.

So now I'm just a bit frustrated that this whole ordeal is still not over. I really thought it was this time. And who knows what all of it will end up meaning for our chances to give Hannah a sibling. We have to wait a few more months before even thinking of trying again.

The good news? My anemia is super close to the low end of normal, so I get to stop taking that nasty iron supplement. And I'm way glad that I only have to get one blood test a month, as opposed to the weekly ones I had to do for about 6 weeks. This could all really be so much worse.

The best news of all? I have Hannah. Forever.

Easter fun!

Holidays are so much more fun with a child, and this past Easter was no exception...

Saturday morning, we enjoyed a delicious brunch with my family. I think Hannah looks a little bit like a bunny here. Cute!

Pre-Easter Egg Hunt pics with the cousins. Hannah loved putting the basket around her neck. Silly girl.

We all love Hannah's wide-mouthed gut laugh. :)

The Easter Bunny made his annual appearance, and Hannah wasn't at all afraid. Maybe he seemed a little familiar...

The egg hunt was indoors, due to some snow outside. Hannah enjoyed playing with the eggs and even decided to put a few in her basket.

Hannah got lots of candy and two adorable pop-up/flap books that she loves.

On Sunday morning, Hannah got some more fun surprises in her Easter basket (books, coloring book, chocolate bunny, stuffed monkey/bunny, and plastic eggs). All the candy was for her parents, but they shared a little. :)

Hannah loved playing with the pretty eggs.

And she of course had to put the basket on her head. Peek-a-...

BOO!

Hannah in her pretty Easter dress before church.

And another pic after church at the Carters', where we enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner with all of Scott's family.

Oh, and one last pic of the cutie with her mommy--just to prove she was there too.

We hope you all had a fabulous Easter! We are truly grateful for the sacrifice and atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.