Tolman Family

We went up to San Francisco to celebrate Hank's birthday. It was the first time Jessica had been there. She loved it. We drove down the crookedest street in America, then we went shopping downtown. We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (Hank's favorite restaurant). About halfway through dinner Jessica realized she was hungry and she started screaming. Luckily, since the music in that place is so darn loud no one around us could even tell she was upset! Alpha Company had a fitness competition the other night and the families of the soldiers were invited to attend. We had a bake sale to raise money for the company Christmas party. I brought a pumpkin cake roll and it was auctioned off for $30. Woohoo! The picture above is of the event Hank competed in. The blur is Hank. He had to wear a 50 lb rucksack and run a lap around the track. I think I clocked him at about 100 mph at this point. Happy Thanksgiving! We stayed in Monterey for Thanksgiving this year. Hank's compan...

Jessica and I went to the Monarch Butterfly sanctuary today for playgroup. No, Baby is not quite old enough to play yet, but Mommy likes the social interaction. It was pretty amazing. "Monarchs west of the Rockies come to Pacific Grove and several other locations on the central California coast. En route, they may travel as far as 2,000 miles, covering perhaps a hundred miles a day, and fly as high as 10,000 feet. A mighty achievement for a creature much smaller and more fragile than the tiniest bird!" There were almost 18,000 butterflies there today. They all cluster together in the tops of the trees. At first we thought it was kind of lame because we could only see the 20 or so butterflies that were flying around. Once we finally realized that the trees were actually covered in butterflies, not leaves, it was pretty cool. ...

Hank turned 26 on the 19th. Happy Birthday! Jessica and I brought cupcakes to him and his class. So, there are a million things I love about Hank, but I'll just list 26. 1. He loves changing diapers. 2. He likes to travel to new places with me. 3. He is a great cook. 4. He always cleans the bathroom. 5. He loves teaching primary. 6. He loves his scouts. 7. He is an amazing scriptorian. 8. He knows a lot about politics, economics, history, geography, physics, biology, languages, and the gospel. 9. His family looks up to him and he tries to set a good example for them. 10. He got a 3, 3 on the Spanish DLPT. 11. He loves America. 12. He gets up in the middle of the night with the baby. 13. He loves Disneyland. 14. He has a great laugh. 15. He has a great sense of humor. 16. He is a people-person. 17. He is a great knitter. 18. He brings me flowers 'cause he knows I like it. 19. He works hard to provide for us. 20. He wants to be his best self. 21. He is so...

So, we think Jessica's starting to understand that her hands can actually do things. At first they would just flail about as if she had no control of them, but now they're becoming useful. She sucks on them, she pushes things away, she grasps things, and most importantly, she hugs. We love it. I snuck this picture while Daddy and Baby took a nap. Cute, huh? Bright-Eyes Hank got an award from the Battalion Commander the other day for Excellence in Education. Here at DLI it is very hard to pass the DLPT (the BIG test) in Arabic. In fact the pass rate is about 13% - not good. There are 3 semesters and Hank took the test at the end of the 2nd semester and not only passed it, but aced it with flying colors. He got a really cool-looking Battalion coin. He will still take it at the end of the year and he plans on being the first person in 30 years to get a perfect score. Go Hank!

I am so grateful for the Veterans in our country. I am grateful for all they've done to make our freedom possible. I am so proud of Hank and his friends who have sacrificed so much so that I can have a better life. No one should have to go through the things they have, but they know that someone has to and they do it willingly. That is real courage. Real love. Thank you Veterans.

Thanks for the tag, Brooke. Here are just a few of my many quirks: 1. "10 o'clock on the dot!" I have an uncontrollable need to proclaim the time when I see that it exactly the top of the hour. When I was younger I would actually stare at the clock for 2 minutes straight if I saw that it was 9:58 just so that I could say it. If I saw the clock at 10:01 and I had missed it I would seriously get upset. 2. I have a sensitive spot on the balls of my feet. If I get touched there it makes me want to throw up. Somehow walking is fine. My siblings liked this quirk of mine because they knew if they wanted to make me mad they just had to touch my feet. 3. I am a happy meal girl. To this day I still get a kid's meal every time I go out to eat. Not only are they the perfect amount of food and a much better price, but I just can't resist the toy. 4. I am a serious packrat. It's not something that I am proud of. I obsessively keep everything I have ever laid ...

Well, Jessica is officially born. She is gestationally zero now. Woohoo! Today is her due date - I can't imagine still being pregant. Good thing she came a little early. It was a beautiful day today so we took a trip to the park. She slept the whole time. Maybe you have to be a little older to enjoy the park.

So, it's amazing how suddenly our entire lives revolve around this tiny little person. Every moment of the day (and night) are taken up with diapers, burping, baths, bottles, and simply staring at this little angel. Very little sleeping gets done, but somehow it doesn't even matter. Below are snapshots of our new "everyday life." The Good: the hard-to-capture-on-film smile. These are the moments that make everything else worth it. The Bad: she's not so fond of diaper changes. And The Ugly: projectile poop on the carpet. I've lost count of how many times Hank has had to scrub this same section of carpet. I absolutely love being a mommy. I love all the coos and smiles and the smell of her hair. I love her tiny toes and holding her tiny hands. I love sleeping next to her and I love having to take a stroller when I go shopping. And you know what? I even love projectile poop.

We blessed baby Jessica on November 2, 2008. Hank gave her a beautiful blessing. It was such a sweet experience for me to see my husband and baby participate in this sacred ordinance. Jessica was wide awake during the blessing and didn't even make a peep - what a good girl! It was so nice to have Hank's mom here, too. Grandma Bennett bought Jessica's blessing dress. It is beautiful - and at least 3 feet long. Here is Grandma giving Jessica her first manicure. Getting ready for the big event. Jessica wasn't happy getting woken up to get dressed, but Daddy always knows how to calm her down. My little sister Melanie knit these tiny booties for her favorite niece. Thank you! An Eternal Family Momma loves her baby...