Well, it's been an awful long while. Short update - we moved into our house at the beginning of the year, we're having a baby this upcoming January, we went to Disneyland and Matthew cannot stop talking about it and we're doing great!
Our house is a work in progress, but whose isn't? It's come a long long way from what we bought to what it is now. Charlie worked hard to get it ready for us and continues to work hard to keep it up and make it a home.
We're having baby number three!!! <- three exclamation points seemed appropriate. We find out what we're having in about a week! And I'll try to be a good dooby and post an announcement, but sadly, facebook seems to have taken over my picture post and update venue...sigh.
Disneyland was magical for the kids! The first day was a little bit of an overstimulating experience for the both of them, but we spent three days at the parks, so they had time to get used to the hustle and bustle of the place. Matthew got to meet Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Lightning McQueen and Mater, and saw Goofy and Tigger from afar. He was so happy to see Mickey, He got a big hug and even a kiss! Brooklyn wasn't so thrilled about it. The second Ashley put her down, she started crying - true to form of a two-year-old.
Matthew is in the potty training process. He's been pretty resistant to it, but I've resorted to bribery. Marshmallows have done the trick! He says to us, "I want to go potty for smarshsmellows." And he's had dry diapers consistantly for a few days now, with a few exceptions.
Brooklyn is a very firey little girl and we hope she can someday grow into her attitude. She knows what she wants and is usually very, very determined to get it or give everyone a piece of her mind if she doesn't.
My time blogging is up - the feisty one wants attention, and she wants it now!
Hope the next post comes sooner than later :o)

What to blog about...

Well, I've been trying to decide what to blog about (in the five minutes I've been considering it) and I think I've just decided to blog mostly about myself. (as I haven't seen the fam since yesterday)
Last night at work was interesting. I woke up yesterday around 7:30 am and went to work at
8:30 pm - no nap in there. This was a mistake. Around 1 or 2 am, I was struggling to keep my eyes open and focus on what I was doing. I will say that it was so nice to come home and be able to just go right to sleep instead of staying up for a few more hours!
I woke up and when I went to where Matthew was, at first he ignored me, but after a minute, he decided that it was okay to come give me a hug - that warms a mommy's heart! I haven't seen Brooklyn yet today, as she was napping when I got up.
Once my work week is over, I will have some more fun tidbits about the kidos - which I'm sure is the reason anyone reads this blog! (I don't blame them! I'm a little biased, but I think they're adorable!)

Ouchy

Matthew got his first stitches the other day. Ouchy! He was playing and fell onto the sub-woofer in our tv room - his head hit the corner of it. On the right side of his forehead - it is going to leave a scar :O( Sorry kido.
He has been a really good sport though! As long as we keep the fun band-aids on - we've been alternating between Tigger and Pooh Bear.
We have to go back this next week to get the stitches removed - he was a super good sport when we went to the doctor. He cried a little on the first stitch, but was a trooper for the most part!
Today during nap time, Charlie and I were watching a movie down in the basement while the kids were all the way upstairs (third floor upstairs - with two baby gates and a closed door between us) and in walks Matthew. We were VERY surprised to see him walk through that door - we didn't even hear him open the baby gate at the top of the basement stairs! He is a very inventive and bright little boy! Charlie went up to see what Brooklyn was doing - if she was sleeping or awake - and she was just bawling her little eyes out because Matthew left her all alone! She loves her brother and wants to be with him anywhere he goes! She hasn't started walking yet, but once she does, Matthew will have a shadow for a little sister! I hope when that day comes, he will be tolerant and kind (and not injure her in some way - two-year-old brothers can be kind of mean sometimes!)
Brooklyn is a very good sport! She hangs out during the drama and handles it with grace! She has definitely developed a little attitude, be it good or bad in the past little bit - she changed so much in such a short time!
The new house is great! We have discovered three climates in our house - upstairs is our desert/tropic region, the main floor is...um...the in-between region, and the basement is the frozen tundra - IT GETS SO COLD DOWN THERE!! When we're in the basement after the kids go to sleep, we (well I) have to remember that the kids will fry if we are warm downstairs. So we have stocked up on blankets down there! One for Charlie and four for me! BRRR!!! I suppose I do get cold easily.
Well, I am avoiding getting ready to go to work by typing this blog...it's hard to go back after a long break! But, I get to come home in the morning and be here for twelve-ish hours before I have to go back again!
Happy New Year!!
May 2010 be an awesome year for us all! (and may Matthew's stitches career stay in 2009! Let's hope 2010 is kinder to our little boy!)

3 Days worth of writting...well, maybe.

So, I haven't posted anything for the last three days - I thought an update was in order.
This will be short and sweet.
Aunt Steph is home from her mission! Welcome home! Matthew and Brooklyn are warming up to her. Matthew has been pointing her out in pictures for a while now, so he knows Steph is someone we all love!
I'm a bit tired, so details of the last few days escape me at the moment...more detailed descriptions will follow soon!

Pictures???

I realize that there is an awful lot of typing going on here. Well, I will put pictures in once I can, 1)find my camera
2)charge my camera
3)transfer the pictures from the camera to the computer
Charlie is standing next to me telling me the camera is down stairs, but we don't know where the charger is. We're halfway there!
Meagan told me yesterday that she has pictures of the kids from this past year for me and that she was going to burn them on to CDs for me, but there are around 1700 pictures...wow!
So really, there may be a whole lot more pictures on this blog very soon!
We got Christmas presents put away, minus a few toys, today! Go us!
This is a short update today - see you all again tomorrow!

Christmas!!!

Well, Christmas this year was a blast! The kids, both of them, were very much into ripping wrapping paper. Matthew was so into it at one point that he opened Aunt Ashley's present - he was just trying to help out, of course.
Spending time with family was wonderful and fun! The kids were spoiled rotten, okay, not rotten, but they made off with tons of presents from everyone!
I think my favorite reaction of Matthew's was when he opened his present from Aunt Kristin and Uncle James. They got him a Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book with crayons - his face lit up and he got so excited when he saw what was under the wrapping paper!
My favorite reaction from Brooklyn had to be when she opened the kitchenette toy from Grandma Suki. She says 'whoa' in such a cute little way! And this toy got a BIG whoa!
I am so grateful for family and friends who we love and in turn love us! I believe that Christmas should be about being with the ones you love, and that was one gift I enjoyed all day long!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve will find you...I think those are the words to the melody stuck in my head at the moment.
Well, for Charlie's birthday yesterday, we got to go out! We went to the movies and saw Avatar - AMAZING!! What a great movie! I had my doubts, but I LOVE LOVE LOVED it!!
After the movie we came home and had cake. Well, we were at Charlie's parent's house, but still - we had cake - oh, and ice cream. Yum. I would say that I baked the cake, but I really only had the thought of baking the cake. I bought the cake mix and frosting. I know that really doesn't count. It was actually a group effort. My mom put the ingredients together, then Charlie's mom baked it. Together, we are amazing! Apparently it takes three to bake and frost a cake. (Unless one of Charlie's sisters - or two of them- frosted it, then it would take three or four.)
Today we unpacked the boxes that were in the living room and dining room. Why? You ask. Well, I will tell you. We now have our desk and couch in our new house. Go us.
Charlie rented a HUGE truck and we brought them over here. I say that I shouldn't have to go to the gym for at least a week. That desk is so freaking heavy!!
Well, back to what happened today. The kids got to have their first sleep over with grandma. Horay for mom and dad! We got to sleep in today. We still haven't seen our Children yet today. I'm kind of itching to see them - once I get everything cleaned up in the kitchen (something I'm avoiding at the moment - typing this up) I am going to go get them. I'm sure they will be overjoyed to see me! That, or happily go on with whatever activity they were engaged in to begin with. So, I am going to stop typing and clean up so I can see my kidlins!
Merry Christmas!!

Happy Birthday to Charlie

Today is Charlie's 26th birthday! He says it is just another day, but I have other plans - Birthdays should be fun! I still have not gotten him a birthday or Christmas present and I feel like kind of a last minute schmuck...as you may know, we just bought a house - I could tell him happy birthday/christmas and put a big bow on the front door...but there is already a christmas bow there. It is attached to a wreath...so I don' t think that is such a great idea - plus, who wants to unwrap a present they've already been using for weeks? He and I talked about practical vs fun gifts. We decided practical would be the better way to go - but birthday gifts shouldn't be practical. So I'm going to try to get him something fun. But this, again is where I'm getting stuck. I'm usually pretty good about being creative and getting fun things, but I'm just at a loss this year. I have all the Christmas shopping done (minus a few people - including Charlie). I think I'm not going to worry about it right this second. I have at least an hour before the kids wake up, so I'm going to take advantage of that time and just be Hannah for a while.

Starting the day off with some fun

Today we had banana pancakes with Aunt Meagan
As it was the first time I actually cooked pancakes in our new house, I spun in a circle once, or twice trying to decide where the best place to set up the griddle would be...cheesy!
The banana pancakes (also a first for us - sad, I know!) were a definite hit! Everyone loved them - including Brooklyn! She's going to have to get some more teeth before she gets to have her very own pancake though!
I would write more, but I have a two year old pulling on me wanting to watch "Russel"! (UP - a favorite around our house!)

Chocolate Chips

We made chocolate chip cookies today in our new house! Exciting right? Yes. Yes it was.
Matthew was thrilled to be able to help me - and by help, I mean eat the cookie dough while my back was turned! Silly boy!
All is well with us, but as I haven't posted ANYTHING for a very long time, here is the scoop on the Mickelsen Family!
Brooklyn just turned 1 in November and is growing up so fast! She loves to follow her big brother everywhere he goes - and it drives him crazy! She hasn't started talking yet, but is very good at communicating her needs to us - she has quite the little red-head temper going for her!
Matthew is two and a half and is very much into Thomas the Tank Engine and any other boyish toy you could think of! Anything that has an engine and/or makes lots of noise - he is sure to love it!
He has recently shown an amazing understanding of language! Earlier this month he started telling Brooklyn, "Baby, take nap!" or "Baby, go car!" I am constantly amazed at everything he does - he just keeps surprising us with everything he knows and how much he understands! We have been working on alphabet letters, and as I am typing he is sitting next to me naming letters! Next step, learning that they go in order! Matthew is as curious about the world as any toddler should be and likes to examine EVERYTHING to see what it does or how it works and he loves to help any time a tool is involved!

Both kids love music! Brooklyn will bounce around and Matthew will start jumping any time music starts to play. Just the other day, we went to IKEA and we were walking to the store entrance and Brooklyn started bouncing around in my arms - moving to the music playing over the outside speakers! Silly girl!
Our little kidlins are so great - and we love them so much! They make life very interesting!

Charlie is still working for MBCI (a steel building manufacturing company) as their inventory controller/hr person.
I am working for ARUP, a company that processes blood samples - so when you get your blood drawn, the sample is sent to us (depending on where you live...)

We recently moved into our very own house!!! It needed lots of love to be livable, but Charlie worked very hard to fix it up and make it our own. Brooklyn is a little young to be effected too much by our moves (two within six months, ahhh!) but Matthew is adjusting well and they both love the space to play!
We have a brand new kitchen which I absolutely love! Lots of counter and cupboard space!

Well, as I've been writing, Matthew has been playing quietly in the living room, and his playing has just changed to a lit bit of a destructive behavior.

Hopefully I will write again soon. If not, well. You'll get another lengthy update :O)

about time huh?

I finally got a cute blog background! Thanks to the suggestions I was given! And now I even know where to go to find a new one when I get tired of this one!

Oops...

I didn't realize that I was posting my pictures on a different blog. I know, I know - who posts their pictures to the wrong blog? Well, I can explain. I just can't figure out how to do a custom background, so I made a new blog to experiment with so I wouldn't mess up this one. When I got on the computer with the intention of posting some pictures, and I got onto this blog and signed in. Next thing I know, I'm posting away and uploading pictures left and right, and I publish what I've done, and to my surprise, all my older posts are gone. Hmmm. So if you're wanting to see the new pictures right this second, you'll just have to go to the other page until I put them on this one. www.mickelsenfam.blogspot.com

Good luck in finding this one - I'll figure this out one of these days. I suppose this is what I get for trying to put off updating the blog and trying to get everything on all at once.

Tips, tricks, and suggestions would be great!!! How do you all get your blogs so dang cute? (Courtney, I'm talking to you!) Anyone, EVERYONE!! Help!!

Well...this is just how it is

So, I have good intentions for posting updates...pictures will be coming soon :)

How Long Has It Been?

Much too long! I have slacked in my duties to update my blog...so much has happened in the past six months. (It sounds even worse when I say just how long it has actually been!)
Not too much has changed around here...except for the kidlins!!
Matthew gets taller every day and is learning to use his words - he loves to say hi and bye - and we finally figured out that he is saying "bye dude" (when we tell him bye, we say bye dude and he has picked it up!)
Brooklyn hasn't gotten too much bigger, but she is more alert and aware of what is going on around her. She has a very strong personality! Red head through and through! She knows what she wants and lets us know when she doesn't get it!
The other day I had the two of them in the stroller, which is a double seater, and it had been a day full of tantrums and tears...well...this was a shining moment in the day when they were both happy! All of a sudden, they are both just giggling and laughing at each other! Music to my ears!!! Those five minutes (yes, they went on for about five minutes) made up for the rest of the day! Kids are so worth it! Even on the days when I want to pull my hair out, throw in the towel and yell "I give! You win!" - they always give me an incredible moment that makes me forget it all! I love you Matthew and Brooklyn!