Merry Christmas!

We've decided to take advantage of technology and send out our Christmas card online. So, here's the blog version:

Merry Christmas 2009! What a year it has been! We've had lots of fun adventures, most of which revolved around a cute, little toddler you might know, our little munchkin Sasha. It's been so great to experience things as if for the first time with her. I have never seen a child so passionate about so many things...being outside, stuffed animals, real animals (especially dogs), beads, necklaces, jewelry, grandma and grandpa and the list could go on. She loves running around and exploring any drawers, cabinets or compartments. Her vocabulary is growing like crazy and includes words like "mama, papa, wow, dog, happy, hot, and outside." Guess we'll have to watch what we say more closely. :) We celebrated her 1st birthday this year and our favorite part was when she tasted sweets for the first time and decided that she really liked cake (see photo below). In fact, she liked it so much that she eventually just bent over and planted her face in it. That's our girl - go big or go home!

Aaron recently changed jobs and joined a partnership with Global NES, Inc., a renewable energy company based out of Colorado. His company sells and implements energy analysis and reduction measures along with renewable energy technologies. In short, Aaron is super hip. As always, he's working hard on projects around the house and will soon complete the redo of our fireplace. YIPPEE!!

For me, things have changed in ways I didn't anticipate. Since being laid off from my position as wellness coordinator at Regence, I have been able to do some projects for my parents' business so it has been a blessing for us all. Plus, I get to spend lots of time with sweet Sasha.

We love our home in Sandy and continue to make small changes here and there. So far, we have a new roof, furnace, microwave, dishwasher, landscaping and fireplace. Phew! We have loved having a garden this year and look forward to developing more of a green thumb.

We are especially grateful to family and friends for your love and support. At this special time of year, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and His message of peace and love. We love you and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,
Aaron, Beck & Sasha

P.S. Here another cute photo for those who endured and read the entire letter. :)

Happy 386th and other craziness...

What a fun summer! I'm sad to see the warm weather go, but I do love the crisp weather of autumn. I'll definitely miss moments like the one below where Sasha and I are playing in the water on one of those perfect summer evenings.

We had such a fun trip to St. George and Vegas. It was so sweet of Grandma Barlow to let us stay with her. Sasha enjoyed getting to know GG as well. We got to go hiking, see all the sights in Vegas, hang out with GG, visit my brother Jon and his kiddos and check out the dinosaur museum. It was quite a packed few days, but we enjoyed every minute (well, except for maybe the last 30 minutes when Sasha decided she was done being in a car seat). :)

Yes, it's true that I'm now 386 months old. Aaron and I were joking the other night about how interesting it is how we measure age. It's logical, but amazing that it's evolved into the system we have - measure in days for the first two weeks, measure in weeks until 3 months or so, measure in months until 2 years, measure in years until mid-life crisis and measure in decades until the bomb drops. So, maybe I'll buck the system and start measuring in months. Okay, it would be a pain and I doubt it will happen, but proved to be an entertaining conversation.

I have to thank my sweet hubby for making my birthday such a fabulous one this year. I think the celebration probably lasted for 2 weeks with all the things he had planned, not that I would ever complain. The fun began with a family party the Sunday before my birthday. It was so great to get everyone together. My birthday was on a Tuesday so we went to a casual dinner together and took Sasha. Then that Friday he took me to Benihana (I've always wanted to try it, but just have never actually gone). There was a slight hiccup when we got to the Gateway - Aaron thought I had the keys and I thought he had the keys. Yep, you guessed it...we locked the keys in the car. An hour and a half later, we got into the car and were finally on our way. We had a fabulous dinner and then headed over to the Sky Box for a night of fun and games. They have some pretty active games so both of us got quite the workout from the evening. Phew, what an evening! Finally, he took me to the State Fair on Saturday with Sasha and enjoying the great atmosphere while being dazzled by the performances and exhibits. Thanks, Sweetie, for everything - it was a blast!

Sasha just had her year checkup so I thought I'd list a few stats:

• 19.1 lbs. (14th percentile), 25 inches (45th percentile), head circumference 50th percentile
• LOVES to walk and is trying to run, which is sometimes successful
• LOVES to eat...no, I mean she really loves to eat; she can finish her meal, eat some of mine and still want more; favorites are pretty much anything that mama and papa are eating, but she does love zucchini quiche, banana, zucchini bread and especially her bottle (not sure how the whole weaning thing is going to go)
• Loves being outside, walking around or digging in the dirt; will eat pretty much anything she finds on the ground, including the pill bug that Aaron pulled from her mouth the other day (yuck!); especially likes the hose with the soaker attachment
• Is learning to love going on bike rides...okay, she pretty much despises her helmet thus far, but we're hoping she'll get over it. Have you ever seen a one-year old give you a "crusty?" Well, here's what it looks like:


• Loves the daycare at Gold's Gym, where we go every morning for mama's workout; in fact, sometimes Sasha doesn't want to leave with me because she loves playing with the other kids so much
• Opinions, opinions, opinions - all of sudden, Sasha has decided that she has very strong opinions about everything; if it doesn't happen her way, it's usually the highway (of tantrums); we're learning to work together to find the best ways for expressing emotion
• We got Sasha a cheetah costume for Halloween, which hangs in the coat closet; whenever we open the closet, Sasha ooohs and ahhhs and wants to hug the costume - so cute!
• Sasha has started playing the shy card by hiding behind mom and dad when strangers come around; however, she usually gives a cute little coy grin, showing her two beautiful teeth (yep, she only has her two teeth on the bottom center and that's it so far)
• Sasha loves being around other kids, especially when she can follow them around and watch them (this also applies to other adults and animals as well); we got to spend an afternoon with Jacey and Amelia, which is such a treat since they live a ways away and we don't get the chance to get together as often as we'd like; so great to see you, Jace! We'll miss you!

Sasha's excited for the chance to finally play in the snow. Ahh, our cute, little Stay Puffed Marshmallow Girl.

What a fun adventure this first year has been and we're so excited for the upcoming holidays. Can you believe Halloween is almost here? Before long, it will Thanksgiving, Christmas and then New Year's. We're having such a great time experiencing everything with Sasha. It's almost like experiencing it for the time again - at least she keeps us young and on our toes. :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Sasha!

Could it really be that just one year ago, our little Sasha was born and forever changed our lives (for the better)? Happy 1st Birthday, munchkin! Here's a look at how we got here and some highlights from her birthday party on Saturday, Aug 29. Thanks so much to everyone for coming and celebrating with us - it was a blast!

How it all began...

Sasha Mary Henson was born on September 1, 2008

7 lbs, 1 ounce

21 inches

Time to celebrate with a Safari party since Sasha loves animals (especially lions) so much. Here's a taste of the decorations complete with animal crossing signs, vines, leaves and animal print everywhere.

Our back yard was transformed into a jungle oasis with the help of mom and dad's gazebo and mister. I have to thank my sweetie Aaron for working so hard to fix up the yard by putting in the new edging and making it look so beautiful. Thanks love!

No party is complete without plenty of games to play, especially soccer. The kids also enjoyed the sidewalk chalk and the swing.

The lion pinata came next with lots of wild swings. Aaron almost lost a few limbs holding the string up, but luckily escaped with only a few bruises.

Gifts were lots of fun for Sasha, although she didn't enjoy the whole idea of opening a gift and not playing with it. I loved her silly expressions of wonder and awe when opening the gifts. Thanks again to everyone for the gifts and for your generosity.

Special thanks to Brandan, Becky and family who sent a wonderful book from Oregon.

The much anticipated cake experience was last, but definitely not least. I attempted making a cake from scratch this year since I've never really tried before. The bottom cake is Texas sheet cake (chocolate) with white buttercream frosting and black fondant stripes. The top cake is french vanilla with yellow buttercream frosting and brown fondant spots. Rachel and my mom supplied all of the cake making supplies and I'm glad it turned out pretty well since both of the vanilla cakes kind of fell apart when I took them out of the pans. Hallelujah for frosting, the duct tape of the baking world!

Sasha's "crash" cake made of french vanilla with a chocolate buttercream frosting.

Sasha started out a little timid with the cake, not knowing what to do with it since she hasn't had sugar or sweets before. Aaron put some frosting in her mouth and thus it began...

Sasha took the lead from there and got more and more into the cake. Not only is she an amazing cake eater, but very flexible too. :)

I cut the cake in half so she could actually taste something more than frosting and that's when the real party started. She picked up one of the halves of the cake and starting shoving it in her mouth as fast as she could.

By the end, she was literally covered in cake and loving every minute of it. It was so hilarious to watch her experience sugar for the first time. That's our little one - go big or go home!

So, Happy Birthday to you, our sweet daughter. We love you so much and are so grateful for everything you have taught us. We look forward to many more lessons and fun adventures with you!

Summer adventures...

Okay, so I've been a slacker in the blogging world and I'm trying to redeem myself by posting some great photos and fun updates. Lots has happened since I last wrote in June, but rather than write an essay that would most likely bore you, I'll give you a few tidbits along with what you really want...photos. May, June and July consisted of lots of fun and interesting adventures:

Sasha attended her first REAL soccer game and loved it! This crazy group behind us even had a big horn and yelled at the referees non-stop, but Sasha seemed to like the chaos the best.

Sasha's first time swimming in grandma and grandpa Henson's fabulous pool. She used to hate the water, but ever since taking swim lessons, she's a splashaholic.

Aaron went on his annual Guys Only backpacking trip in the Uintas. They had a fabulous time relaxing, hiking, fishing and playing games.

Sasha finally got her first tooth about 3 weeks ago so she's eating even more solids and loving all the variety. Mostly, she just wants to eat anything mama and papa are eating. I had to put a few photos from this dinner session because she was being so dang cute.

Sasha is walking! I know, it's hard to believe that just a few months ago, she was barely scooting around and trying to get the hang of the whole crawling thing. Now she loves the freedom of moving around herself and getting into everything in sight. We have proof with all the bruises on her forehead from falling down (she's still a little wobbly at times, especially on grass). I promise to post a video that we took of her really walking, but my computer was being really slow so you just get one video this time. The below shows me chasing Sasha - she loves it when I pretend to chase her.

Other updates that I don't have photos for include:

The Henson family reunion took place over the 24th of July weekend at the Canyons in Park City. It was so much fun spending time with family, swimming, having marshmallow gun wars, hiking around while taking in the beautiful scenery, enjoying the cooler weather, relaxing in the hot tub and laughing a lot with family. We loved seeing everyone and celebrating Grandma GG's birthday. Thanks to Kerry and Larry for organizing such a fabulous event!

I was laid off from my job as wellness coordinator for Regence at the beginning of June. I admit that it was pretty tough on me because I loved my job and being able to help people in so many different ways. It was perfect because it was only 1 1/2 days a week so I could still spend most of my time with Sasha. I'm looking for opportunities so we'll see what the future holds. :)

Sick, sick, sick!

The only thing worse than being sick is having a sick child. Apparently, I had a little too much fun at Youth Conference last weekend when I picked up a serious case of the flu. Try as I might to keep it contained, Sasha picked it up as well. Luckily, we had Aaron to take care of us! Seriously, this is the worst flu I think I've ever had, complete with fever, chills, aches, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and anything else you can think of. Luck was on our side since Sasha only had a fever and didn't seem to have any other serious symptoms. Was it the swine flu, you ask? I don't know. By the time we were going to get it tested, it was too late to tell on me and they just treated Sasha as if it was to be safe. Seems like we're both almost completely recovered so hopefully that's the last of this blasted flu thing.

On this day, I wanted to say Happy Father's Day to the amazing men in my life. I am blessed to have such a wonderful dad who is so caring and talented. He has taught me so much and I feel so fortunate to have him as a father. The blessing just keep on coming as I also have an amazing father-in-law. I couldn't ask for a better one. Last, but not least, my sweet Aaron, who is an incredible father and husband. I didn't think I could love him more until I saw how sweet he is with Sasha. It just melts my heart. Thank you to you amazing men for filling my life with so many blessings! I love you!

Only in Utah!

How awesome is it that we were able to drive 5-10 minutes from our house and hike up a trail that leads to this view! Okay, so maybe it's possible in many other states, but it seems we are especially fortunate here to be so close to the mountains. A perfect day, a perfect hike, a perfect family and a perfect view. Ahhhh, bliss!

Gratitude!

I don't know if it's the spring weather, Aaron coming home early to surprise us, chatting with a close friend or Sasha having a good day, but I'm feeling especially grateful for all that I have today. With all the chaos of raising an active child, keeping up the house, making the constant improvements that come with a house, working part time, fulfilling church responsibilities and trying to have a social life, life can get pretty fast-paced. So, I'm taking a few minutes today to just slow down and ENJOY! That's right - I'm inefficient for a few minutes to just appreciate what's around me. Here are a few things I love:

• Spring weather when it's warm, but still a little cool and plants are budding
• The tiny little buds that are starting to come up in our garden
• The way Sasha moves all around while she sleeps and ends up in a completely different place and positive by the time she wakes up
• Aaron coming home early so we can go on a hike to enjoy time with each other and the outdoors
• Sasha sleeping peacefully
• The sound of the dryer (I know it's strange, but it must be from my mom always putting me on top of the dryer when I was a colicky baby)
• Conversations with good friends that inspire me to be better

Hope you get the chance to take a few minutes today and just ENJOY!

Easter Updates...

With the approach of Spring, I can almost taste the warm weather (despite the constant barrage of snow storms). We're so excited to get outside and do all the fun outdoor things that come with warmer weather. Talking about fun, I had the opportunity to get together with an amazing group of girls last night. We had an Easter Basket exchange organized by none other than Holly Harris. It was a spectacular event with great company, fabulous food and fun gift baskets exchanged. Pictured below from front left to right: Mindy, Camille, E, Holly, Sarah, Shelly and Amanda. Can you see the candles, fancy place settings and yummy food? Man, it was awesome!

Sasha is growing so quickly and is already 7 months old. I know you really want to see photos so I'll list her most recent stats and accomplishments after the following fun photos.

Sasha in her dress from the Netherlands and cute little bow.

Seriously, could she be any cuter wearing Aaron's hat? She's ready to enjoy sports, just like her mama and papa.

She's learning to crawl (in her own way) and is getting better at staying on her tummy.

Here are the stats:

• Weight is at 16.5 lbs., which puts her in the 45th percentile for weight.
• Height is up to 26.5 inches, which puts her in the 46th percentile for height.
• Her head is now in the 75th percentile.
• She's still eating 5 times a day, but the amount has become a little more sporadic...she's just not as interested in food. Everything else is so much more interesting. She is up to eating solids twice a day and will soon move to 3 times a day.
• Sasha is learning how to eat with her hands and has started feeding herself those dried baby cereals in the shape of a star.
• Sleeping at night is still her forte as she usually sleeps 11 hours a night with 3-4 naps during the day (ranging from 30 minutes -2 hours).
• She still doesn't love baths, but is sort of ambivalent toward them. She does enjoy watching me fill the washcloth with water and trying to "grab" the water as it drips from the washcloth.
• Can't seem to shake the two patches of eczema on her face and one on her knee. We're hoping it's just a phase and will go away on its own soon.
• She loves sweet potatoes and carrots and is still developing a love of fruit.
• She does a modification of crawling which is rolling back and forth as she moves a little bit forward each time. It's not the fastest way to get from point A to point B, but she's learning.
• She has the cutest laugh and the most beautiful smile...what an amazing girl we are blessed to have in our family.

Spread the Sunshine!

I just learned of this great idea from a friend's blog and wanted to continue it...

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! Made with tons of love just for you! It might be a fun project, a sweet letter to you from me, or some yummy goodies, you might be surprised what you get! Give it a try!

The catch? You must re -post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to leave a comment, win a lovely little treat for themselves! Have fun!

If you're far away, just send me your mailing address (becky.henson@hotmail.com).

Ready........Set............Go!

Culinary Experimentation

I've been in a bit of a rut with cooking the same basic things so I tried a little something new. It was a risk because, as you may know, Aaron is not a fan of squash. However, he actually enjoyed the dish so I can officially recommend it. Plus, it's really easy. Just make some spaghetti squash and top it with turkey sausage and peppers that have been cooked in a skillet (you may want to drain off any excess fat if needed). You can add salt and peper if you'd like, but it doesn't really need lots of spices.

The following photos are just additional goodies showing how well Sasha is sitting up now. She occassionally gets really excited and starts flailing her arms, which knocks off her balance so she tips over. For the most part, she does pretty well now and keeps on getting better.

Valentine's Surprise!

We did Valentine's in two shifts this year. On Friday, my parents watched Sasha while we painted the town red. Okay, we went to dinner and actually went to the theater to watch a movie that Aaron has been wanting to see (Taken...good show, but pretty violent). On Saturday, I wanted to go old school with Valentine's so I went with the classics of construction paper and hand-written notes. I cut LOTS of hearts out of construction paper. On some of the hearts, I wrote things that I love about Aaron and hid them all around the house. The best part? He hasn't found all of them yet so it's the gift that keeps on giving. Next, I taped the rest of the hearts all around the house, which almost caused heart overload, but was fun nonetheless.

The final topper of the evening was a version of Aaron's favorite dessert, brownies and ice cream. The brownie is a chocolate recipe with chocolate syrup and then has added chocolate chips - oooh, chocolatey goodness. Next the little white blobs are actually heart-shaped chunks of chocolate cookie dough ice cream (I mashed the ice cream into heart-shaped ice cube holders and then pushed them out onto the plate). Finally, the whole thing was topped with a white chocolate drizzle that had a few drops of red food coloring. The result...a huge, pleased smile on Aaron's face when he saw it, as he ate it and after he was done. What a fun day!

Funny Video

Happy Valentine's Week! We're excited to celebrate this weekend, especially since Aaron also has Monday off - yahoo! I took video of Sasha making some funny noises. Just in the last few days she has rolled over to both sides from belly to back and to her left side from back to belly. She's also been babbling like crazy, making the cutest and funniest sounds. I took the video on my cell phone so the quality isn't good, but you get the gist.

Yeah for the New Year and all the fun we'll have in 2009. We finally had Sasha's 4-month check-up (even though she is actually 4 1/2 months now) so here are some cute photos and all the stats since I last put them up around 2 months:

Sasha and her mama in the living room showing off how well she stands and her cute dress, bow and tights. I know, I'm not a girly girl, but she looks so cute in them that I can't help it every once in a while. Plus, it's tough to find non-pink, non-girly clothes for her.

• She weighs 14 lbs. 14 oz and is in the 68th percentile for weight.
• She is 25 inches tall and is in the 68th percentile for height.
• Her head is in the 50th percentile so she's just right.
• Sasha has starting really laughing in the last few days and it's just pure music to our ears. There is nothing sweeter than the sound of a baby laughing.
• Sasha is like her papa in many ways, especially when it comes to 2 things: observing the world around her and adrenaline highs. She loves to watch everyone around her (which sometimes causes her to focus more on the person so she forgets to smile). It's like she's completely absorbing every little bit of information - it's so amazing. She's also our little adrenaline junky since she especially loves to feel like she's being dropped, but not really. Pretend drops, being tossed in the air - it's like candy for her.
• Patterns are the name of the game. She just can't get enough of vivid patterns, especially her red and white polka dot burp cloth. She cooes at it, talks to it, makes faces at it - it's almost as if it's one of her best buds and has a personality or something.
• Still speaking Russian, but quite a bit of English as well since my Russian isn't as developed and expressive as I'd like it to be. She at least gets the basics so I hope it's something she picks up. I'm excited to order a Russian picture book off of half.ebay.com...we'll see how it goes.
• Sleep has been one of her forte's as she has been snoozing 10-12 hours a night since just before 3 months. Sadly, that streak was broken when she got her immunizations. She got a temperature of 102 and woke up every 2-3 hours. She's gradually been sleeping better and a little longer so let's hope it goes back to that sweet, 10-12 hour goodness soon!
• Her personality is somewhat reserved (and observing), but she's continuing to babble and smile more and more. She's pretty mellow and loves to just sit with us and look around, stand on our laps and watch our facial expressions, or lay on the group and make sounds at the ceiling. We got her a Step and Play Piano that she can stand in (like an exersaucer) and there's piano keys for her hands and feet plus some other toys. She's not super interested in it yet, but I'm sure her Mozart skills are going to come out anytime.
• She was on a pretty great schedule of sleeping 10-12 hours and eating every 4 hours, but the immunizations and her great appetite seemed to join forces. She was eating 6-7 ounces at every feeding and it seemed like it was starting to be too much for her little tummy to handle as she was spitting up a lot more (she's not a very spit-uppy baby). So, we've changed to eating 5 times a day and eating 4-5 ounces. Seems like the spit up is much less. She doesn't seem to care either way as long as she gets her food.
• Aaron's still helping her develop her bottle prodigy skills and encourages her as often as possible to hold her own bottle, which she does quite a bit. She often pulls the bottle to her mouth when she's really hungry.
• Sasha started pulling herself up to sitting and then standing about a month or so ago and is getting better and better. She makes this cute face that looks like she's constipated and focusing - it's hilarious!
• We started swaddling Sasha just before 3 months as well because she wanted to go to sleep with the pacifier, but kept knocking it out of her mouth with her hands. So, I thought we should give it a try...it worked. She has slept better and longer now that her hands/arms aren't waving around like crazy. Now, if we could just get her to stay asleep for longer than an hour without needing her pacifier, that would be great!
• She's definitely got her dad's long, dark eyelashes - watch out when she gets older.

Well, I think that about does it for the list of stats on our cute, little one. Here are some recent photos of Sasha doing what she does best...look adorable.

Sitting up in her high chair. We haven't started her on solids yet, but probably will give the rice cereal a go soon. So, for now, this is just a means to help her sit up and play with toys.

Hope you're all doing great and having a fabulous 2009 so far!

Happy New Year!

Hooray for 2009! We have had some fun adventures already in 2009 and we're excited for many more. Unfortunately, we started out the year with a dose of sickness as Aaron and I were sick on New Year's eve and recovering on New Year's day. We did manage to stay up until 11 pm on New Year's eve so we counted that we celebrated the holiday central time. :) Sasha was expecially excited about New Year's as you can see from the photo below:
On January 2, we had a great time watching the U of U compete in the Sugar Bowl, giving Alabama quite a few slices of humble pie. It was especially fun watching the game with fellow Ute fans (Heath, Andy, Spencer and the Reese family). I guess it also didn't hurt that the U played an amazing game and beat the socks of Alabama.

Heather holding Spencer and Becky holding Sasha as they had fun getting to know each other. We decided to give Heather a break for wearing blue since her U shirt was dirty and she promised not to let it happen again. :)

Spencer is quite the charmer and Sasha was very impressed with his cute little smile. Spencer is 2 days older so he has taken on the role of being a good example to Sasha by talking and wiggling lots...they are both such cuties!

On January 3, 2009, Aaron and I took our family Christmas gift (our new hiking backpack for Sasha) for a test run. Thank you REI dividend! She had a great time looking at the scenery even though it was a little chilly. We love this model because it has a plastic cover that protects her from the elements. The plastic, protective covering goes over the top, sides and back of the backpack so the whole front is open (except for the adult's head blocking some of it).

Here's a great view of the mountains, the backpack and Aaron - the best 3 in 1 ever!

Sasha loved it so much she even fell asleep for about 45 minutes of our hike...what a champ! We're definitely going to be doing more of this!