sisterly love

Hannah loves her baby brother!

She can't say his name yet, so she points and says "bebee, bebee" very emphatically in what sounds like a French accent.

She likes putting her face right up next to his. She's noticed that he has cheeks like her cheeks, fingers like her fingers and a back like her back. Every time she looks for teeth, she says "uh, oh mommy bebee teeth" (because he has no teeth she's very concerned).

She's gotten very good at putting his pacifier back in his mouth when it falls out and he cries.

She even lets him lay in her bed while mommy changes her diaper.

We're happy (and relieved) that she loves having a baby around!

2 years!

Two years ago today Hannah was born.

Here she is telling you she is two!

She had an exciting day with mommy, daddy, and both grandmas!

She got to try out her new tricycle.
"me bi! me bi!"

And we spent a great last day as the three of us!

In a couple of hours we head to the hospital to have her baby brother.

strawberry picking

As we wait for our little guy's arrival, I've been trying to think of some fun things to do.

This morning Hannah and I joined our local MOPS group for some strawberry picking just outside Davis. (One of the joys of living in this smallish town is that we are surrounded by so many farm animals and fun crops!)

Once she got the hang of it, Hannah really enjoyed plucking the strawberries

and putting them in her basket.

That is, until she figured out that they were good to eat!
(Not many made it into the basket after that.)

one month from today...

One month from today....
our little boy is due to make his arrival and Hannah will be on the eve of turning 2!

Countless people have told me, nostalgically & sadly, how fast kids grow up. And I have this feeling of wanting to dispute that comment. Because yes, they do grow up and change - one day they lay on the ground and stare, the next they are able to grab a toy. Another they have previously stayed sitting where you left them - then a day comes and they can move around on their own. Yes, change happens quickly in babies. But it's not a bad thing or something to be grieved. I think that it is in God's divine knowledge that he doesn't allow babies, or children, or even adults to stay where they are - but to change and grow! If Hannah had taken any longer to start walking, I'm pretty sure my back would be permanently crippled from carrying her up and down the stairs in our house. As much as she needs to grow for her own development, I also need her to change. And I need it to happen in a swift manner. Otherwise I might go crazy!

Maybe it's being a stay-at-home mom, but I feel like I've gotten to soak in every stage with Hannah and enjoy it and welcome the coming of the next. It's amazing to see her grow and her personality develop! I would not trade anything in the world for her to go back to that helpless infant stage. And yet, we have another coming - in whose change & development from baby to toddler I can once again rejoice!

Hannah at 4 months grabbing a toy for the first time!

Hannah at 22 months, getting ready to be a big sister!

the pretzel game

Matt is constantly creating new games to play with Hannah. Here are some shots of his most recent.

It doesn't have a name so I'll just call it "the pretzel game". He puts stick pretzels between his fingers

and Hannah tries to pull them out and eat them.

Okay, so obviously there is no "competition" here it's on the more politically correct side of "cooperative" games - but Hannah is delighted nonetheless.

applegate zoo

On Saturday we took Hannah to Applegate Zoo in Merced. You really cannot beat the $1.75 admission price. And it is the perfect zoo for toddlers - just enough walking and the animals are really close to you.

Armed with her fancy sunglasses and Cheerios, Hannah was ready to see some animals (even though she doesn't look very enthusiastic right here).

The birds were definitely the highlight for Hannah. Here's Matt explaining to Hannah that an owl is a type of bird (he's showing her the baby sign for bird).

The bears were the highlight for Matt & I. We came in the morning when it was still cool and these two black bears were very playful with eachother. It was great to watch.

We are trying to teach Hannah to say cheese and smile when we take pictures - I'm pretty sure she gets her cheesey fake smile from her dad.

Hannah and I took a snack break to watch more birds (a magpie and an albino scrubjay) play...

....while Matt went around the zoo a second time to enjoy the gigantic mountain lion.


This picture captures well what we thought of the zoo!

1st Day of School

Today was Hannah's 1st day of school! (well, sort of...) We took Hannah to visit Grandma's preschool!

She sat in circle time with Daddy!

Ate artsy cookies at snack time.

watched the kids play on the new play equipment outside.

and was absolutely delighted to spend time at the sand table.

We hope her first day of preschool in August 2011 goes as smoothly as today did!

21 months and counting...

Today Hannah turned 21 months old. She is pretty sick (fever, coughing, etc.) so I'm not sure it was her best day ever. But as each day goes by more of her personality emerges. She loves making faces and giving daddy tackle hugs. She is learning new words and signs all the time. Her newest words are "white" (which sounds more like "whiii") and "cereal". The most recent signs she's learned are chicken

and airplane.

(Both of which she got to practice a week ago when we visited our friends, the Keanes, in Arizona; they have chickens.)
She's also becoming quite a little girl who loves walking alongside us and holding hands. She can't wait to help with tasks around the house, like unloading the dryer and surprisingly, she likes picking up her toys and putting them away.
Bellybuttons are fascinating to her and although she hasn't yet grasped that a little brother is coming to join us in 3 months, she has noticed that mommy's bellybutton sticks out a lot.

Excited Face!!

This is Hannah's excited face!!

I had the same look on my face tonight when Hannah actually used the potty as more than a seat! Yea, for our growing girl!

double fisting it!

One of the many things that Matt & I love about California is In-n-Out Burger. (In fact, Matt loves it so much he ate there 3 times in one day in college, okay that's sort of disgusting.)

Well, it seems that Hannah has inherited our love for their cheeseburgers.

Recently she insisted on holding the cheeseburger all by herself and eating it.

Her mouth is barely large enough to fit around it.

But she devoured it.

19 months!

Hannah turned 19 months old today!

She celebrated by eating a snack with her friend Joshua!

and feeding her baby dolls milk! (She's getting ready to have a baby brother/sister in the house.)

She weighs about 22 1/2 lbs and is 32 inches tall. Her favorite things are birds and shoes. Some words she likes to say are: dada, mama, shoes (shoooz), baby (bebe), uh-oh, no, and go. She uses baby signs like crazy and can't wait to pull us around the house by our fingers. She is definitely a toddler and is developing quite a will of her own. We can't wait to see what she does next!

Just in Case!

Just in case we haven't gotten to tell you yet...

Hannah is going to be a big sister!

She wishes she could have told you herself (on the telephone) but the only word she can say about it is "baby".

She's practicing to be a really good big sister.

p.s. the due date is May 14th. The day before Hannah's 2nd birthday. :)

morning mohawk

I'm not sure how this happened.

My curly haired child woke up with a very straight mohawk. (seriously, we did nothing to help it.) It just happened.

And it was a really good mohawk - no gel need apply.

Hannah was too tired to see the fun of it!

I thought it was hilarious!

you are what you eat

If the old adage - "you are what you eat" is true, then Hannah is definitely a piece of fruit!

Thus, she was a strawberry for Halloween.

And a ridiculously cute one at that!

She actually did not mind wearing a stem hat!

And she loved the bounce house at the MOPS Trunk or Treat celebration we went to. She stood still and let the bigger kids bounce her around.

Do you think we can find a banana costume for next year?

The Land of "Doh"

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Hannah. She could crawl, kneel, laugh, squeal and cry. She even started to say words. First came "mama". Then came "dada". Then came "doh". Eventually everything became "doh".

Listen:


Hopefully, this is not the end of the story.

no need for words

Hannah has no need for words, her face says it all....