Smart Little One

...So, lately Sasha has been resisting laying down in bed at bedtime. We'll do the bedtime routine, lay her down and turn the lights of; then we here her talking and singing to her stuffed animals, opening and closing her dresser drawers, and even turning her music on and off, and the volume up and down. The other day, we heard some little noises coming from her room and didn't really think about it until I heard a tap on her door. I knew she was out of bed, so I opened her door to encourage her to stay in her bed, when what did I find? She had several books open, right next to the door because she was using the light from under her door to read. What a smart little girl! She sure loves her books!

Today marks another milestone in her development. She is able to say her own name! It is so cute!!! The last couple of days she started saying Yeah in place of yes. It is so much better than her No, which was her favorite word over Christmas.

Braden is still smiling and jabbering. He slept a little better last night. We think it may have something to do with the fact that he had a couple of really good naps yesterday. It was a good birthday present for Hilary. It made her day so much better. That and the fact that Sasha was very helpful in cleaning the house, which allowed Hilary to get some cleaning done. We went out to dinner last night to Twigs, a nice little restaurant nearby. It was nice to go out. Ashley and Justin watched Sasha for us so that we didn't have to wrestle with her at the restaurant. Thank you guys. Braden slept nearly the entire time. Good times.

This morning we woke up to 5-6 more inches of snow! School was cancelled for the second time this week. Brit is enjoying that. Unfortunately, that just means more make-up days. But, oh well, a break is always good to shake things up a bit.

Belated Holiday Wishes From The Glad's

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

A belated holiday greeting from The Glad's

As a family we have been very blessed. It has been a good year, full of adventure. It is great to look back and see how much Sasha has changed, how much I have grown (and shrunk - hopefully still shrinking), and we are so thankful to have had Braden join our family. We started the year with our Family Christmas, following a wonderful time with our families for the 2006 Christmas season. A short time later got the wonderful news that our family was growing. We were a bit nervous though very excited. We also began to discover several allergies that Sasha was developing. This has started us on a much more healthy diet (at least when she is around). I have spent a lot more time shopping at health food stores as she can only eat something with a label (not processed in plants that process dairy, peanuts or tree nuts), or fresh. This has prompted me in learning quite a bit about some of the benefits of organic foods, since these are a rather prominent part of her diet. Thankfully her allergies haven't proven too severe as of yet, but we are doing everything within our power to give her the best chance of outgrowing them.

It is such a wonderful experience to be able to rediscover the joys that are part of this world through Sasha's eyes. Looking back at pictures throughout this past year we can hardly believe how quickly she has grown up. We are truly blessed to have her as part of our family. She is so independent, without which I don't know how I would have survived the first trimester of this pregnancy. Each and everyday brings with it new discoveries, she learns so quickly. We are proud to be her parents. It has been refreshing to be reminded of how wondrous the world around us really is. As you can see in many of the pictures we have had a plethora of fabulous experiences to look back on.

Though initially a little disappointing it turned out to be a blessing that Brit was unable to find an internship this summer. He had the opportunity to focus on and pass the Patent Bar Exam. This has proven beneficial in job hunting. He has been studying hard, spending many, many hours at school, and doing his best. He has made some great friends through school who I am thankful have helped keep him sane in his many academic endeavors. Brit has been a great father, it is wonderful to see how excited Sasha is to see him everyday, and absolutely loves spending time with her "mawie" whether reading, playing, or just hanging out with him it is the highlight of each of their days.

We have been blessed to have Braden join our family. As we take the time to look back it is hard to remember what life was like before four (and especially as two), we wouldn't trade it for anything (maybe a good nights rest occasionally :) j/k). Having Grandma Andersen come as we welcomed him home was a very much needed and appreciated extra set of hands. We loved having our families join us for his blessing in November and to be able to spend a little time with them. It is always a wonderful time to be with family. It has been great to see what a great little brother he (and big sister Sasha) has been, we are thankful that they are such great friends, and take such good care of each other.

As difficult as pregnancy can be at times it truly is a blessing. I am thankful we are able to participate in bringing a couple of our Father's spirits into this world. Though it is difficult to be away from family it has been a wonderful experience for me. I have been blessed with some of the greatest friends that anyone could ask for (near and far). I am learning how important a ward family is, and am so thankful to those who have reached out to us, and helped take such great care of us.

We are looking forward to this year and all of the excitement that it will bring. Especially watching our kids as they continue to learn and grow.

~Love~
Brit, Hilary, Sasha and Braden

Winter Wonderland

So the forecast was for 5-7" and this is what came!

Mommy is feeling a little better (migraines wipe you out)

so out to the snow to play, wearing Brit's boots!

Daddy and Braden "playing" in the snow.

Oh how we want to join in the fun.

"It sticks to my gloves"

I'm having fun playing in this stuff!

My first snowball

The good stuff is out here.

I got a little braver to venture out after a bit -

enjoying myself on the porch in just a little snow

Stroller Dilemma

We are having a stroller dilemma. As we have been looking for the "perfect" stroller (yes I know that one doesn't actually exist) these are the closest that we can find. Unfortunately there aren't any stores around us that carry them so we can't try them out with the kids in them to see if they like them. Some great friends of ours let us wheel their Phil & Ted's around over Christmas. It was a little to cold to get the kids out to try them out in it though. So I am posting this to see if anyone might be able to offer us any insight. Does anyone have either of these, and what do you think. If you looked at both why did you choose one over the other, or neither at all? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is the Valco Tri Mode, with a toddler seat and without.

This is the Phil & Ted's Sport Double (though we like the orange, we would probably go with black to keep down on the dirt). The toddler seat on the back is removable.

We like both of these strollers because they can be both a single or a double. They are both supposed to be easy to maneuver. They are also supposed to be quite versatile, outings, off road (as much as you do with a stroller), shopping (great turning radius for getting around tight spots...)

We Are Still Alive

Taking a break from driving to talk on her "calculator phone"



Sorry that I haven't been blogging since we have been back. We made it back in one piece (relatively speaking) and have gotten sort of settled in. Braden came down with bronchitis while we were in Salt Lake. Thank you to our family and friends for taking care of us, and helping get him better. When we got back we found out that he had also developed an ear infection...and he has finished his antibiotics. He is such a happy baby, you wouldn't even know that he wasn't feeling well. We are very blessed by his great disposition. One day he will nap well, sleep through the night (or at least longer than two hour stretches), and be able to fall asleep on his own we hope.


Braden at the park. Please keep me covered, it is cold out here and I'm sleeping.



Brit is back at it, studying hard, doing what he needs to. Though it appears to be a difficult semester ahead of him I know that he will do well. Even if that necessitates us being out of his hair so we aren't too distracting again. Thankfully he has been great to let Braden continue to share our room. The original plan had been to start him out in the crib in Sasha's room, but with her on quarantine he got to join us (our room is a little cramped with the extra furniture)we haven't stubbed to many toes. When the kids are better we may get a little more space again.
Sasha has had a bit of a cold for a while, nothing big. A couple of days ago she started with a "barking" cough, today we were off to the doctor because her fever spiked to 102.5. We are blessed to have some wonderful friends that were able to get us down to the doctors, thanks for the car seat, and the ride, (sorry about your nap Brennan). We have her medicine, and hopefully it gets better, and doesn't turn into croup.


Sasha, Braden, and Great Grandma Corey It was so much fun to come see you!



I am trying to keep up with the kids. They are fairly good about napping at the same time in the afternoon, as long as I'm holding Braden. So someday when he will go down in his bed I might be able to get some housework done during the day. Sorry Brit.


Lest you think that flying is for the birds. Thanks Daddy



Though it might sound a bit grim life really is great. We had a great Stake conference Sat & Sun. We had the opportunity to spend some time with another couple in our ward Sunday getting to know them a little better. Although we miss our families, and look forward to seeing them we are loving it here. We love all of the opportunities, and experiences that we have had. And especially all of the wonderful friends that we have made.




Braden enjoying "Squeeze Rock" thanks for holding me Auntie Em, you are a great babysitter