Raising a Bunch of Readers!

I have always loved books and I am so grateful that my kids love to read too. Almost every day I will find the two of them surrounded by piles of books, Calvin usually flipping through the pages looking at the pictures, and Olivia reciting the stories from memory. It's the first thing they want to do when they get up and the last thing they want to do before they go to bed. And that's not something I'm just saying cause it sounds nice. It's true! They get out of bed, run to the bookshelf, and demand I read them a story!

Knowing this, my awesome friend Monica sent me some Usborne books. I had heard about Usborne before but I didn't really understand what the big deal was. (Sorry, Monica.) :) I didn't understand how the books were different from others. But when Monica sent me a few books, I began to understand. Olivia LOVES her new lift-the-flap book. It all about opposites, which I hadn't really thought of teaching her before. She learned everything so fast and it has become her daily favorite. Calvin loves his alphabet book and is learning to say all the simple words he can uncover. And Olivia and Calvin love their new shine-a-light astronaut book. Not only is this book fun and interactive for the kids, it also teaches them actual cool facts about space and astronauts. We are just starting to work with the Wipe-Away Learn to Write book. Olivia is learning how to draw circles and squares, and soon we will be moving on to letters!

The best thing about Usborne books is that my kids are constantly learning something! I mean, kids are always learning something when they are reading, but these books focus on specific skills or educational principles that sometimes go overlooked until children are in school. They are high quality, amazing books and I will definitely not underestimate Usborne again! ;)

Usborne Books is a direct selling company that sells high quality books for people of all ages. (Monica even sent me an adult coloring book!) You definitely need to check out all of the amazing options here. Monica's contact information is there as well and she can answer any questions you may have! Be sure to check out her Facebook page for all the latest deals!

If you would like to learn  more about these unique and engaging books, I'm hosting a Facebook party on Wednesday, March 9th at 9:00pm (EST) where you can just come online to the Facebook event; we'll have some games and videos introducing the books, and literacy tips. Maybe you'll find some new family favorites! One party guest will win a free book! 

We are loving these books and would  love for you to come. Comment or message if you would like an invite! No pressure to buy- let's just hang out online :)

Happy Birthday Calvin Scott!

Life gets exponentially busier with each child that you add to the mix. So although this is almost two months late, I am grateful to have a quiet moment this Sunday to write about Calvin's first birthday and reflect on everything that he's brought to our family.

I couldn't have asked for a better little brother for Olivia. Ever since he was born, Calvin has been quite, happy, patient and mild. He is a great balance to Olivia's feisty independence. They are still learning how to play nicely with each other, but you can always tell how much they love each other.

At one year old, Calvin is 22 pounds (53 percentile) and 30.3 inches tall (64 percentile). And yes, his head is still in the 90th percentile. Big head, big brains, that what we always say. :)

Here are some of my favorite things about Calvin:

When he gets excited or thinks that you're chasing him he will crawl to you, roll on his back and then wait to be tickled or picked up. He looks at you with such giddy anticipation that you just can't help but comply.

He is a BIG nuzzler, and I love it!  He just lays his head on your chest and sits there for a few minutes, long enough to soak it all in.

He learned early how to throw a tantrum and is definitely playing the younger sibling card. When Liv takes his toy or does something he doesn't like, boy does he let us know! I am just now learning that all of his cries aren't justified. Sorry Liv.

He can say dada, mama and nana (banana) as well as multiple grunts and screams.

He loves all plugs and will pull out your computer plug so fast you won't realize it until you run out of battery. (Our computers are dinosaurs so that happens fast.)

He has four teeth and is getting a little more hair. I finally cut the mullet that was starting at the back of his head and can I just say, he looks good!

He gets hangry, just like his mama. Don't mess with him when he's hungry. Just get food fast!

Speaking of food, he is a bottomless pit. He is a great eater and will usually down anything you give him.

Although he is definitely getting more opinionated with age, he is still generally our quite, happy, adorable baby boy!

A Tiny Girl Turns Two!

Can you believe that this girl is two years old?!?

Hillary Muelleck Photography

On May 29th we celebrated another year with this cutie! Olivia has become a little spitfire. She has such a fun personality blossoming every day. (These are a few of her classic faces)

Here are a few things we love about Liv:

1. She loves dancing to Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars (anything with a good beat really).

2. She is great at puzzles (both real and on the iPad, thanks to Babbo)

3. She still has a mild temperament but she's becoming more and more opinionated. She is very independent and likes to do things all by herself. 

4. She loves being outside and no matter how long we've stayed at the park she will always cry when it's time to go home.

5. For the first year of her life it seems as if she didn't know other kids existed. ;) She is learning how to have friends and she loves it.

6. She is starting to talk but it seems she picks and chooses the words she wants to learn. Only the delicious and fun words (chocolate, strawberry, bubbles, hammock, kite, etc.)

7. We just learned that Olivia is the "alpha female" in nursery. If she sees something she wants she will just take it. We are working on that as Calvin can attest that she thinks she is the alpha female at home too.

We sure do love our Livvy Loo! She is a great big sister, a wonderful daughter, and the best little two year old we know! Happy Birthday!

The Hills go to The Hill

Chris recently had a week off for spring break and we decided to take advantage of this time and travel to one of the greatest cities in our nation -- Washington DC!  We grabbed a few of our friends and drove the 2.5 hours for a great three-day vacay.

Our first stop was Mt. Vernon - the home and estate of our first president, George Washington. The estate consists of a gorgeous home, many gardens, and a working farm. We spent the entire morning exploring everything, from the upper gardens all the way down to the wharf on the Potomac river. It was beautiful and very interesting to learn more about this founding father. (They even have the very bed that President Washington died in! A little gross...but very cool.)

A little family photo outside Washington's home.

Washington's very own buggy.

Liv loved the sheep grazing in the fields!

A great shot of Washington's home. (We always seem to travel when construction is going on...)

The upper gardens and greenhouse.

While it was drizzling a little in the morning, that afternoon turned out to be a beautiful 75 degrees! So we took advantage of the weather and decided to walk the National Mall and visit the monuments.

The family outside the Washington Monument. Calvin was just sleeping away.

Hillary and I at the WWII monument.

A star for each fallen or missing soldier in WWII

Chris and Jason resting at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. (Jason is actually kind of smiling. It's a miracle!)

Liv's favorite part of the day? Running up and down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Chris snapped this great shot of the Washington Memorial on our way back to the metro. It could have been even more beautiful if the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, but alas, we were a week or two too early.

That night we ate a half-smoked at the famous Ben's Chili Bowl. I had to be a tourist and get a picture. 

The next day the weather wasn't quite so cooperative. It was a little rainy and windy so we decided to stay inside and explore the museums. We were able to make our way through the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum, and the National Gallery of Art.

The zoologist in Chris definitely came out as he showed Olivia the wonder of the natural world.

We even paid a little extra to go into the butterfly pavilion. Turns out Liv likes pictures of butterflies much better than she likes the real things. She kept shaking her head and saying no when one flew too close. 

Chris and Calvin marveling at the huge planes in the Air and Space Museum. The picture is a little fuzzy but I needed proof that Calvin actually came with us on this vacation!

That night we went to the Washington DC temple to do a session. As this is the closest temple to us we don't get to visit as often as we would like. It was great to feel the spirit (and to rest our weary feet!).

Saturday was our last day in DC. We had planned to visit the National Zoo, but the weather was FREEZING! It looked nice and sunny outside but the wind was killer. We decided we just couldn't hack it so we went to the National Geographic museum instead. We got to learn all about the gigantic fish that live in rivers and the existence of the still debated Spinosaurus. (Unfortunately no pictures)

Although the cherry blossoms were not yet in bloom, the Cherry Blossom festival was still going forward in full force. We had been looking forward to the kite flying festival and competition all week. So we decided we could brave the weather for just a little bit in order to fly a kite on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

Chris and Liv getting the kite ready!

Christ masterfully flying the kite!

We could only stand the cold for about half an hour, but that was good enough for all of us. We decided to call it a day and head back to PA. Of course, on our way back we had to stop at the nearest Cafe Rio, which is in Baltimore. Any chance I get to devour one of their pork salads, I will definitely take! And Chris even bought me some of their delicious tortillas to take home. Yum!

All in all it was a wonderful vacation! I'm glad Chris could take a little bit of time off and that we could explore some of the treasures of the east coast. Looking forward to many more adventures in the future!

Heart Problems...

Growing up I never thought I would have heart problems. I didn't think I would need to know what an MI was or the progression of coronary artery disease. I didn't know that for the last five weeks of my life I would have some serious heart problems.

But today is a great day. Finally, after nights of endless research, physicals, and drug regimens, my heart problems have come to an end.

That's right, Christopher's cardiology block is over!
Click here for my reaction.

This block has been crazy! Let me preface this by saying that Chris's professors basically told everyone that if they weren't studying for ten hours a day (outside of class) they were not going to pass the exam. Thanks for the words of encouragement, professor.

Even though Chris was the one with the endless nights of studying, I tried to help out where I could. Finding articles, pretending to be a patient so he can work on his clinical skills, and looking up drug effects. But mostly I cooked, cleaned and took care of his two cute kids so he could really focus on this block.

Now we have a glorious two week break, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The weather is finally starting to warm up. We are now at a balmy 45 degrees instead of the bone-chilling 12 degrees we've been experiencing. We have a fun three day trip planned to DC and we are excited to have a few days of true relaxation. 

So let me be the first to wish a fond farewell to cardiology and all my heart problems! ;)

Czech This Out!

Most of you know that Chris and I both served a mission in the Czech Republic. That is where we first met and we still hold strong ties to the country, language, and especially the FOOD! But honestly, we have been a little nervous to try and replicate this delicious Czech fare partly because we don't have all of the ingredients readily available here in the States and partly because, let's be honest, can anything we cook up really be as great as a Czech babicka's cooking? (Shout out to Pani Turkova!)

But, after almost four years of marriage, we decided to finally tackle the famous Czech entree, Svickova (beef sirloin with cream sauce and bread dumplings) and the Czech dessert, Medovnik (honey cake). We found the blog of this really funny Czech lady who now lives in the States. She has mastered most of the famous Czech dishes using American ingredients. (Czech Cookbook) We decided to try her recipes. And, because we don't do anything half way, we decided to invite a bunch of friends over to experience this with us! We had six of Chris's medical school friends join us for dinner!

Getting ready for this night turned out to be a week-long process. Chris planned out what we needed to accomplish each day of the week in order for this dinner party to be a success. Some ingredients needed to be prepped a few days in advance, and the cake needed to refrigerate for at least a day in order for all the goodness to soak together. It was a busy but very fun week. I made bread dumplings for the first time, Chris tackled the honey cake, and we worked together to whip up the svickova.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the night and all our friends. I was just too busy enjoying the evening! The svickova was wonderful and tasted very close to the real thing. But, I have to say that the star of the night was Chris's medovnik! It was DELICIOUS!!! I probably could have eaten the entire cake all by myself!

We had a ton of fun and I'm sure we will do this again soon! Here are the few pictures I got of the event.

Chris working on the honey cake

I didn't get a picture of the finished cake, but it looked a lot like this.

Svickova - The finished product! 

C.S. Hill the 2nd

Calvin will be three months old tomorrow. Crazy!

In the past three months Calvin has

• started to smile and laugh. He has this big goofy grin that is adorable!
• started to hold his head up on tummy time, even though he hates tummy time more than almost anything. 
• become the super pooper! I have scrubbed more poop out of clothes than I care to admit.
• been beaten up by his sister too many times to count. She loves him but hasn't quite mastered 'soft and gentle' quite yet. 
• had two colds already! Darn this winter!
• started sleeping about five to six hours a night. I'll take that. :)
• flown on an airplane already! We got to visit all the family this Christmas and he was adored by all.
• already been given his first stuffed animal - an adorable Hobbes tiger! (Even though Liv has taken this over and it will be hard to convince her that it isn't hers in a few months.)
• been growing like a champ! He had his two month check up last week and here are the stats! (My office doesn't usually tell us the percentile babies fit into, so I got these percentages from the World Health Organization calculator. Pretty cool!)
• Height: 23.9 = 84%
• Weight: 12.9 = 61.8%
• Head: 16.5 = 99%
• Yes, that's right everyone, he has a huge head! "It's like an orange on a toothpick!" Actually, it doesn't look that big to me, but apparently he's giving his brain plenty of room to grow.

We love this little munchkin and can't explain all the love and fun he has brought to our home.