Sammy's Blessing

July 4th, we blessed Sammy in sacrament meeting.

He was the fourth baby blessed that day! There have been so many babies born in our ward this year (11 since February with one more to come) and most of them were in May.

At first I was a little disappointed that we'd be last (alphabetically order and all) but then I realized that if my family is anything like I am it was best because they'd all be just a little bit late. Turns out some were! Spencer did a great job and it was wonderful to have friends and family there.

After the blessing we had everyone over for a BBQ on the new deck. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of that but cute Sammy is who we really want to see right? :)

The outfit he was blessed in was the same outfit Spencer was blessed in 32 years ago. The booties were made by my mom. Thanks for saving it Susie and thanks for making the booties Mom!

He barely fit in it so it was a good thing we didn't wait any longer! We sure love this little boy!

Sammy 2 Months - Our little quarterback!

Sammy is 2 months old already! In fact, he's more than that but these were actually taken on his monthday. Check out those baby rolls - so cute!
He has learned to smile! Getting him to show off that gummy grin is one of my favorite things to do with him.

He also loves to coo and is showing interest in toys and things that move - staring at them with an amazed look on his face.

He also loves to hold his head up, try to stand on his legs, and watch the world around him.
At his appointment today, we found out just how big our little quarterback is - a whopping 16 lbs. 10 oz. and 24.5 inches long! That actually puts him off the chart for weight - so in the 100% and at 88% for height. He's also got a big head - in the 93%. I guess he should though - he'd look kinda funny with a little head on top of all those rolls!

All "decked" out for Summer!

After a long hiatus, I have decided to come out of retirement and return to blogging. I'm hoping to challenge my wife's superior blogging skills, although I'm sure I'll fail miserably.

Summer started out quite busy for the Van Hooses. A few days after school let out, Annie and I sat down and made a list of goals we wanted to accomplish before I returned to school (I won't give the whole list here). First up on the to dos was a beast of a project:

When we bought the house, the inspector said that the deck was really the only thing that needed to be replaced. As you can see, it was in a very sorry state. The wood was warped, cracking, and nails were protruding pretty much everywhere you looked. Every time I walked on it I was thankful for two things: 1. We had health insurance. 2. My tetanus shot was current.

Enter Anne's father, master deck builder. We got together, he came up with a plan, and we set a goal to finish the deck before independence day. The following pictures show two and a half weeks of good, hard, manual labor:

This is what it looked like after tearing the old deck down. The whole thing was held together entirely by nails!

Setting the posts for the new deck.

Putting up the supports.

Laying out the deck boards. Thanks for helping out Ty!

As you can see, Lucy enjoyed the new deck. All the boards on top were in place. We just had to finish the stairs, the railing, and a little deck "landing" below.

Lucy loved helping Dad measure the boards and then put them in place.

Finally, here is the finished product:

It's been really nice to have a deck that has enough room to have patio furniture. We had a barbecue with family and friends to celebrate Sammy's blessing. We also just like sitting out there in the cool of the evening, checking out an amazing view of the mountains.

Thanks to my wonderful wife Annie who helped in planning, making decisions, caring for the kids, and making sure we were all safe! Thanks also to Tyler, Tracie, and Kristen for helping out. Lastly, a special thanks to my father in law, John. There's no way this would have been done without you

We're very grateful for our new deck and look forward to using it in the years to come!

A Ballerina, a Chef, & an Artist

In my quest to keep Lucy occupied and entertained while dealing with the arrival of her new baby brother, we've learned a few things.
Even though she may love to dance at home, she's not quite ready for dance class.
An older girl in our neighborhood did a three day dance camp at the park nearby and I thought it would be perfect for our little girl who loves to dance.
She did great for the first 15 minutes or so and then she just couldn't handle it. Oh well! If she wants to dance when she's older, great. If not, hopefully she'll like softball! :)


We also discovered she loves to cook.

She especially loves to make pudding because she can do it all herself (although it doesn't mix exactly well without some help).

She can pour the milk and pudding mix in and mix it all up by herself. She really likes to sample it as she goes too.

Last, but not least, our little Lucy is an artist. I've found this is an excellent activity when she's getting bored. We spread some paper out on the table, get out the paint and let her go for it.

This time, she even got a little creative with a different canvas.

"All done," she says!