Our baby is born!

Our new baby boy was b0rn on September 23 at 4:28 AM.  He is 5 pounds 10 ounces and is 19 inches long.

We love him!

September update

Due to some anonymous hint dropping, I am compelled to update the blog.  I'm not sure who to blame for shaming me into writing this, but I'll get my revenge.  Here's the latest:

Bryce:  Bryce is loving the Fund of Funds, learning a lot and making tons of great contacts.  He has also been reading a lot of Warren Buffet and Benjamin Graham.  It won't be long before he makes his first million.  He is still exploring his options for his next job and I am sure it will be much better than auditing.

Kate:  With just four weeks left until the baby arrives I am in nesting mode.  However, I don't get to daydream about being a momma very much because I am so busy at work.  I have a lot of foreclosure sales and a trial on the 17th.  If I make it through the month it will be a miracle.  One day at a time.  That's what I keep telling myself.

Kimball:  The bean is already spoiled.  He had his first shower last Saturday thrown by our ward's relief society.  Kimball cleaned up.  He has an awesome new swing that is also a baby bouncer.  He will be very well dressed and has more cute blankets than any baby could possibly need.  Although, I am told they go through a lot of blankets.  He is getting bigger and heavier, although he is a bit of a runt on the charts.  Last week I wasn't measuring big enough and so I had another ultra sound.  Kimball is in the 23rd percentile.  I personally am okay with a small baby as he does have  to come out at some point.

Bruce:  Bruce is Bruce.

P.S.  The snapshot is from my work summer party at the Zoo.

My husband is a FREAKIN' GENIUS!

Bryce got his results on his CFA test this week.  HE PASSED!  That's right he's now a level II candidate.  I am so proud of him.  He studied so hard and diligently.  He totally deserved to pass.  I married a smart one!

Free Willy is no longer free

It has been recently discovered that Bruce has continued to mark his territory in our house. He also marks his territory in other people's houses--i.e. my mother's, which is NOT COOL. I thought he was at least cured of his misdeeds at home, but not so. We have therefore resorted to the last chance house training measures of an ace bandage around his wee. This is probably a bigger pain for us than for him since we have to put it on and take it off every time he uses his outdoor facilities a.k.a. the backyard. But at least if he tries to pee on my laundry basket again he will only get himself.

June is almost over

Ok, so it's been almost two months since I posted.  Keeping a blog updated is hard work.  Kudos to those of you who do it (i.e. Charlotte).  Here's the latest on each of us.

BRYCE:  Bryce took his CFA test on June 7th.  He won't find out until the end of July if he passed.  But he has received his CPA designation from the state and can now put those illustrious letters at the end of his name.  Just this week he started an internship at the Utah Fund of Funds--www.utahfundoffunds.com.  He will most likely be there until the end of the year and we are hopeful that this experience will put him in contact with venture funds he could work for.  He is really excited about the career change and we both feel like quitting in April was the right move.  I can't wait to see where he ends up!

KATE:  I had my second jury trial in June.  We settled in the middle of it so I didn't get to deliver my closing argument to the jury.  But it was a great experience.  I cross-examined two witnesses.  I also had my first foreclosure sales this past week.  They were a lot more uneventful than you might think.  I am just working away.  I will plan on working until the baby comes and then I get two months of maternity leave.  I consider that my reward for working while pregnant.  For those of you who don't know (or don't hear me complain), I have had a hard time walking and getting around.  I think it's because the baby is so low and put a lot of pressure on my bones and legs.  My doctor's response was "I hate to tell you this, but it's not going to get better."  Thanks, that's helpful.  However, she suggested I get a maternity belt to try and relieve the pressure.  I had never heard of such a thing, but found one yesterday!  I don't know if it's going to help completely but I am totally willing to wrap a giant piece of elastic around my abdomen to find out.  Only time will tell.  In the mean time, Bryce is glad I'm not whining as much.

THE BEAN:  We found out in May that the bean is a boy.  We have named him Kimball, which is Bryce's middle name and his mother's maiden name.  We are still working on a middle name.  You can cast your two cents worth with the poll that I plan on including on the blog.  Our doctor says that all is well.  He is growing and moving around like crazy.  Bryce has been trying to introduce him to classical music, especially John Williams.  I have registered for some things at Babies 'R Us and will put a link to the registry at the side.  

Thanks to all of you who check here often to see if I have written anything.  I will try to sign on in less than another two months.

Changing Your Name Is Hard Work

So after almost 16 months of marriage I am just getting around to changing my name at work.  I got my new social security card and driver's license in December (just before my old license expired), but then there are the banks and credit cards, passport, work, emails, the bar, the court, insurance. every website that requires a login . . . am I missing something?  Probably.  

Not everything has been rough.  I showed up at Church with a husband and I was immediately Sister Hansen.  And shockingly, it hasn't taken the junk mail people very long to catch on or for the credit card offers to start rolling in.  Those guys are quick.

Big Fat Update

Here it goes a big fat update since the last post, which my sister, Charlotte, reminds me was forever ago.

1. Bryce and I are pregnant and due on October 6th. We are pretty excited and so is Bruce, who is thrilled he will have a sibling. We refer fondly to the forthcoming addition as "the bean." This is because I signed up for a weekly email from pregnancy.com soon after we found out we were expecting. There was a time that the weekly updates referred to the fetus as various bean sizes--a pinto bean, a lima bean, etc. As a result, we just refer to our little one as "the bean." We will find out if its a boy bean or a girl bean on May 20th. I will try and let you all know.

2. Bryce has passed all of his CPA tests (Hooray!), decided that he does not want to be an accountant (Oh, well!), quit his job (Hooray!), and is studying for the CFA--Chartered Financial Analyst--test in June (Go Bryce!). After the test he will apply for jobs as an investment analyst, which seems to fit him a lot better than auditing. There aren't a lot of investment analyst jobs here in Utah so we don't know where we will end up. Ginny and Sam (my sister and her hubby) will be in New York beginning in the fall, which sounds like fun; Kim (Bryce's sister) and her family are in San Antonio, which isn't exactly a financial hub, but we love the Chatlands; Amber (Bryce's other sister) and hubby are vying for Portland; but who, knows . . . L.A., Chicago, Silicon Valley? Our future is one adventure waiting to happen.

3. Harvard rejected me. Harvard sucks.

4. Bruce is really happy it's getting warm out. He hangs out by our shed in the mornings pretending he's a grumpy old farmer.

Axis and Allies

One evening, Bryce convinced me to play Axis and Allies. He was so pleased that I would play, I couldn't change my mind--even when we spent the whole night setting up the board and reading the rules. A few days later we actually began to play. Bryce was having so much fun being the Axis, that I couldn't back out when he decimated the entire British Fleet with Germany or invaded all of Asia including India with Japan. But perhaps I should have quit because I had no idea that this game would make me so crazy. I have decided that I do not ever want to be President of the United States because I am not fit for war. Our cat, Knitty, has graciously consented to take my place at the board game. I don't think Bryce will win because Knitty sits on the dice.

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA BAT DOG!!

Bruce Wayne Hansen was appropriately Bat Dog for Halloween. It took both me and Bryce to get the costume on him before he could chew it off. And he wouldn't keep the ears on his head, but after a while he calmed down and posed for us. He didn't get to go trick-or-treating, but that's okay because pugs are prone to obesity.

We have a dog!!

Bryce and I have been joined by a dog. His name is Bruce. (Bryce said he looks like a bat, so we have named him after the illustrious Mr. Wayne.) He used to belong to the neighbors, but I suppose he wandered over to our house one too many time because they gave him to us. If we can cure him of his alleged tendency to mark his territory indoors, he will be the perfect pet. The cat, however, isn't so sure.