Pictures of Adorable Arlee

This is one of the best pictures that she has taken.  Let me tell you it was a challenge to keep her fro crawling away from me... Many many many attempts

Arlee is giving a very big smile after a very BIG meal!  Yummy Food...

Arlee enjoying her toys in the bathroom

Arlee's toes painted for the first time... can't you tell?  They are messy, but cute

New Favorite Song

My new favorite song is HEY, SOUL SISTER by TRAIN  Check it out on the playlist at the bottom of my blog.  It is such a happy song!  It really make you want to dance and it doesn't even matter where you are or what you are doing... you got to get jiggy with it.  Haha!  Anyway, take a listen.

Arlee's favorite song right now is Poker Face by Lady GaGa... I don't have a video of her dancing to it, but she loves it!  That is also at the bottom on our playlist

Today's Adventure

Today's Adventure was helping throw a baby shower for my sister in law, Amy sister- Shelly.  I often do things with Amy's family.  We do witches night together at Gardner Village, make fudge and other random things. It has really been great to have a sister in law that feels like a sister. If any of you have sister in laws you can back me up that it is really great to have them feeling more as a sisters than an in laws.  I feel that it brings the family closer together and you are able to understand one another a lot easier.

Anyhow, the BIG reason for helping with Shelly's baby shower was that Amy is due in about two weeks and needs all the extra help lifting and running around that she can get.  We had the shower at my house and Amy and her mom did the food.  We had a light lunch, which ended up being a pretty HEAVY lunch.  There was plenty to eat.  No harm in that right?  Broccoli Cheese Soup and Chili paired with delicious bread (which was picked up from a bakery), Salad, cookies, cupcakes and brownies. For the drinks we had water and a Sprite.  Decorations were brown and baby blue table cloths, ballons, mints and plates. 

Even though I didn't know anyone there it was great to talk to everyone.  Amy and Shelly have a great family.  They are supportive and very friendly.  Turns out that through talking to the ladies there I found one of my mom's friends that she hasn't seen since high school.  I gave her my mom's number so they can have a catching up lunch. Another would be a couple that was in mine and Hans' first ward after we were married.  We looked across the room at each other a few times and then I couldn't take it anymore and told her that she looked really familiar and she said that I did too.  After talking for about thrirty minutes it hit me.  We both were a little embarrased that it took us that long, but we were glad that we got it figured out.  She has four month old twins (boy and a girl) and they are so tiny.  She had them when she was 33 weeks!  YIKES!!!  We are going to get together and have a game night with Shelly soon.  I am excited for that.  : ) 

The baby shower went really well and everyone had a great time.  It was an open house, but almost everyone stayed around and talked for the majority of the time.  That was the first shower that I really helped with and I am looking forward to the next ones that I will be doing.  Hopefully soon I will get to do a Bridal Shower for my little sister, Kali : )  Just kidding Kali and a Baby Shower for my sister, Abbie.  Hopefully the word will get out that they are looking for a baby to adopt.  We just need the right one to hear about it.  You never know how things will work out that is for sure. 

Chelsey 

First Tooth!

I forgot to post this, but here it goes.  Arlee now has her first tooth poking through the skin.  I noticed it when she was just barely ten months and a week old.  My friends' babies, that I have told you about in the "Three Little Tikes" post have had their teeth coming in since they were six months.  I felt bad for my friend, Tanya who is nursing just like me and she was being bit all the time.  I kept telling her that Arlee can only gum me!  Well now that she has gotten a tooth she can now bite away.  Luckily, she has only done this once!  I am so thankful that she didn't get them sooner.  Only one month and a week left for the dreadful moments of being bit.  Like I said, it has only been once so far and that was awhile ago.  Knock on wood though right... right... right?  Well, no worries I will be sure to let you know.  ; )

Chels

Valentines Day at the Hoges

For Valentines this year Hans and I decided to get a Wii and the Wii fit.  This is a big purchase for us so we just thought we would combine it with our anniversary that is less then a month later.  We do this sort of thing often.  Last year we bought a video camera.  Most of these things we want to get anyway and with Arlee about to come into the world we decided to do that last year; and this year we continued the tradition. : ) 

We celebrated Valentines by watching the All Star dunk contest and eating Papa Johns pizza.  It was great!  The most romatic Valentines that I have ever had!  Hans was working until seven that night and time was limited.  We had a great time and Arlee was asleep by eight thirty which gave us some time to be by ourselves.  Don't get me wrong I love our little girl, but it is so nice to have her in bed and relax.  On
Sunday it was just like any other Sunday... church and then off to our parents' house for dinner. 

I love my little family and don't know what I would do with out them.  I am so grateful to have them and love the time that we are able to spend together. 

Chelsey

"Choo Choo Train" Adventure

Yesterday morning my mom text me and told me that they were going to go up and ride the Front Runner. The day started out that we were going to go and then we weren't and finally that we were going.

Arlee and I met a portion of my family at the Trax station and rode it to Salt Lake Central Station where the Front Runner was waiting for us (Hans was at school). We ran across the platform, pushed the button for the door to open so we didn't miss the train, the doors opened, we hopped on and quickly found our seats so we didn't get tossed around much like we did on trax when it was ready to go. Being the guy that my dad is he started timing as soon as I said that we only had three minutes left until we were to be leaving. Well.... we waited and waited the train wasn't moving and according to the schedule it was supposed to be moving at this point. After waiting for about fifteen the train started moving. My nephew was so cute. His eyes lite up and a huge smile on his face. Jayden loved riding on the "choo choo train". It was a forty-seven minute ride from Salt Lake to Ogden.

Once we got to Ogden we got off and had bathroom breaks and got some lunch. After lunch we went to the Train Museum- that was just next door to the train station and played around until the next train came. We made the next train with no problems and this time less time to wait. We did have to wait for the Trax train though this time and still are not sure why. Once we got going on Trax it didn't take too long to get back to where our cars were. Arlee and I said good-bye and then we went home. It was a fun-filled day and it was time to relax at home with Hans.

My mom holding Arlee on the Trax

Me and Arlee on Trax

Me and Arlee at the Train Museum in Ogden, Utah

 Me and Arlee at the Train Museum in Ogden, Utah

My parents with Arlee at the Train Museum in Ogden, Utah

Really cool looking black train at the Train Museum in Ogden, Utah

Caught my dad off gaurd for a picture as he was looking at the inside of the car

Right to left: nephew, Jayden; brother in law, David; Arlee; my mom; and my sister, Lyndsay. 

Me holding Arlee.  She fell asleep on the way back to the Trax station on the Front Runner Train.  So precious!

Thanks to my family for inviting us we had a lot of fun.

Chels

ADOPTION- PLEASE HELP!

My sister, Abbie and her husband, Matt are adopting!!!  They have been trying for over a year now and are still waiting for their day. Matt and Abbie are working with LDS Family Services in their adoption process.  They are two great people who are full of love and still have a lot to give to a baby or two. : )  They are completly out of debt, so more for the little one. ; ) Please help them find a baby.  If you or anyone that you know is looking for two great people to raise a child in a loving enviroment it is them.  The picture above has their contact information.  You can look at their profile, read their stories and see pictures of them on the website. 

Please copy and post this on your Blog so more and more people may find out about them.  Thank you in advance for helping them in this effort. 

Chelsey Hoge- little sister who is waiting to be an aunt again. : )