The Crane Company

Update for the New Year

Brittany — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Welcome to the new year everyone! I thought that I would post a few updates on our little family.

The most recent Hallie news is that she learned to roll over yesterday. Yeah!! Dad has been practicing hard with her. She is also sleeping through the night as long as she is next to me. She still fights naps during the day because she is afraid she is going to miss something. She loves watching people and for that reason she also loves the mall. Good for her and mom! For Christmas she received a completely new wardrobe thanks to Nanna and her new favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See which Grandma Crane gave her. (Her eyes never leave the book and its bright pictures.) Hallie turns five months next week! Crazy how time flies.

Ben is still loving his job at the Census Bureau HAHA. He is going to start trying 10 hour work days (which really means 12-13 with his commute). This would mean he could take every Wednesday off and spend it with me and Hallie. (I’m a needy wife who can’t get enough time with my sexy husband.) He has also been regularly attending the gym at work and I am reaping the benefit of his tight abs. Mmmmm

As for me, I went running by myself today. Since Hallie was born I haven’t been exercising as much as I should. I gained 40 pounds during my pregnancy and I still have 12 lbs to lose. I realize that I am back to the weight I was when I left on my mission, but I lost a lot after I got married and once you drop to a size 2 you can’t go back to a size 8 and be satisfied. Anyway, the whole reason I’m writing this is because I haven’t felt comfortable leaving Hallie with anyone yet-she’s way too cranky. However, today I changed my mind and my friend Stacey watched Hallie so I could go running. It was AMAZING!! I hated running until my mission. I think all the rules made running seem almost freeing in a way. I remember longing to run, which was COMPLETELY foreign to me. The past four months the longing has returned. I’ve been able to go on walks with Hallie and sometimes I’ll run behind her stroller, but today, ohhh today, it was amazing! To be by myself and run was therapeutic. I swear I’ve heard a thousand times that I need to take care of myself first, but I just didn’t think it was possible. Although I don’t think any mom could put herself first, I do believe that every mom needs to take some time for herself. I’m hoping that my ‘alone’ running time will help me emotionally and mentally as well give me back my body that I so desperately long for. Thanks again Stacey I owe you!

That’s what we’ve been up to so far in 2009. We hope you are all doing well and we look forward to seeing as many of you as we can this year.

Welcome Home Alix!!

Brittany — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:46:54 +0000

Ben’s sister came home from her mission yesterday. She served in the California, Anaheim mission and was probably one of the best sister missionaries that there ever was! We weren’t able to be there to pick her up at the airport, but we were able to talk to her on Skype last night. Too bad Hallie was ornery.

Alix, we are so glad you are home and we are so grateful for the example you set for us by serving so faithfully. You are amazing and we can’t wait to see you on Christmas.

The Economy Myth

Brittany — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:38:27 +0000

I’ve noticed, and you may have too, that the media has been telling the public that in order to SAVE our economy we need to go out and SPEND more. This is completely false. How can spending money that we don’t have help us. I learned yesterday that the government bailout is close to 9 Trillion dollars!! That just about doubles our national debt.

Ben graduated with a degree in economics which means he’s so smart!! Because of this I am linking to a recent blog post he wrote explaining this myth. You should read it-he makes it simple and easy to understand.

4 Months Old

Brittany — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:53:24 +0000

Hallie is now four months old and she is getting more attitude everyday. She constantly demands attention and she never seems to stop talking. She really does get cuter everyday.

Hallie’s stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 4 oz (64 percentile)

Height: 25 inches (77 percentile) A little unexpected.

Hallie ate cereal for the first time yesterday. She loved it! She kept leaning over with her mouth open trying to get closer and closer to the bowl. Hilarious!

My Little Ball Player

Brittany — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:23:49 +0000

Hallie’s new favorite place (besides mommy’s arms) is under the Christmas tree. Last night Ben laid her down and sat next to her while she played with her rattle. The day before I had put an ornament down on the bottom branch so she could see it better. Little did I know that my baseball gene would present itself so early in my daughter. The first time Hallie swung her rattle and hit the ornament Ben and I laughed. However, the one hit got her excited and she kept swinging. Her accuracy was amazing! Well, let’s just say that the ball could only handle so much.
As sad as I am about losing the brand new ornament, my happiness that Hallie already keeps her eye on the ball and is showing signs of being an amazing ball player is my Christmas present this year.

Our little Pill Face

Brittany — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:38:24 +0000

Since Hallie has been on Zantac things have gotten better. Although we haven’t gotten rid of the nickname “pill face” just yet. Here are some recent pictures of our little pill face.

pulling funny faces

checking out the Christmas tree

having some daddy-daughter time

sucking on her favorite treat-apples

tummy time

mommy’s favorite time

Missionary Work

Brittany — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:09:03 +0000

Typical Missionaries

This makes me smile and remember my mission. Good times. I loved my mission!!

Why Blogs Are So Successful

Brittany — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:38:10 +0000

It’s the middle of the night and once again I’m up with my three month old. Instead of watching dirty T.V. I thought I’d blog about a simple conclusion I’ve come to. Why Blogs are so successful….especially among women.

#1~ Women love gossip. That doesn’t necessarily mean we all watch Entertainment Tonight to hear the latest about Brad Pitt. It just means we like to know what our friends are up to.

#2~ Women love to talk about themselves and their families. Why not share our highlights with everyone else? Plus, we all want to share cute pictures of our kids (after all nobody’s are cuter).

I personally am a blog junkie! Any one else?

BeTtEr ThAn PuMpKiN pIe

Brittany — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:38:23 +0000

Ben doesn’t like the texture of pumpkin pie and so he usually misses out. This year his mom gave me a recipe for Pumpkin Squares, claiming that he would like it. Boy did he ever! These pumpkin squares were easy to make and a hit at our Thanksgiving table. In fact I’m making them again this friday for a Relief Society activity.

Here is the recipe:

Crust

1pkg Yellow Cake Mix

1/2 cup melted butter

1 egg

Filling

1 can pumpkin pie mix

2 eggs

1 small can evaporated milk

Topping

1 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter (softened)

Press crust into pan. Pour in filling then top with topping. Bake @ 350 degrees for 50 min. (Until knife comes out clean. If top is brown before that happens, cover with tin foil-it will stop the browning while still allowing to cook.)

Refrigerate before cutting and serving. Serve with Whipped Cream! Ummmm enjoy

Hallie “Bug” Crane

Brittany — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:01:10 +0000

Hallie’s future dancer outfit. All except the bunny slippers, you can’t dance in those.

Hallie our little couch potato. Actually this only lasts a few minutes. I wish it were longer!!