Picture Time

Many thanks to Dotson Studios!!!

tips for lilly & other younger kids: stalling techniques

just so you know, asking for another story in the cutest voice possible sometimes gets you one more book. asking for a story in a whiny, annoying voice gets you put into bed with a kiss on your forehead.

if you want to put off bed time, say, "potty!" and run down the hall to the bathroom. then say, "mama help." sit on the potty and sweetly ask to read a book. or two. or three. when mommy asks if you are all done, pretend you didn't hear her. pass a lot of gas and at least try to push so she thinks you are going poo-poo. spend a long time waving and saying bye-bye to your product as you flush it down the toilet, and ask to wash your hands multiple times.
if you do go poo-poo or pee-pee in the potty, and mommy or daddy forgets the sticker, piece of candy or pretzel with which they bribed you to stay on the potty, promptly walk into the kitchen and point to said "bribery tool" and remind them what they promised you.
kick a lot while mommy is trying to put on your diaper.
ask for another book. even if the answer is "no", it extends your wake-time by another second.
ask for water.
after mommy sings one lullaby, ask her to sing a different song. then ask her to sing your favorite lullaby again. and again. and again. especially the one your grandma used to sing to your mommy, that really tugs at her heartstrings.
give mommy kisses while she is praying with you.
after the prayer, start a conversation about something she mentioned in the prayer. for example, "ju-na-na-na and becca's house fun. party fun. i love playing with balloons. go ju-na-na-na's house. catey fun. more catey?"

this is just the beginning, and i'm sure my cousins will be glad to share more advice from their experience sometime.

wonder

Ok, people, quit pleading the 5th. Unless you truly plead the 5th because the first two options don't apply to your thoughts. I only put that option there so I could vote, too, without anyone knowing which way I am leaning. I should have not done that, apparently.

That being said, back to our regularly scheduled insomniac entry....

We finished a big chunk of our Christmas shopping tonight. It felt good. Very good. VERY very good.

On the way home, we detoured through a fancy-dancy rich neighborhood with lots of nice Christmas lights. This is the first year that Hannah has been captured by parts of the wonder of Christmas. I pray that as she gets older she is captured by the wonder of the real meaning of Christmas, that we remember the time our Savior came to earth. She loves her Little People Baby Jesus/Nativity Set and everything, but the understanding is not quite there. After completely covering that neighborhood, we headed home. Since the weather was relatively warm, and she was already making a beeline toward the neighbor's very illuminated yard with the icicles, snowman and wreaths on all the windows on the front and side of their house, we went for an evening stroll. We moved beyond the next-door neighbor's to find Mickey and Minnie taking turns popping out of a present. She-loved-it. She wanted to go right up to it and give it a hug, but I stopped her. Her jaw literally dropped, and she stared at that inflatable for 5 minutes. So that's why people pay all that money for a silly decoration.

When we returned to our house, she gave our glowing snowman, who is just her size, a big hug, and kissed his carrot nose. She stuck her "I've been Krogering" Santa sticker to his hat, and pulled off one of his mouth-beads. (It stuck right back in place.) She patted both of his arms, and then said "Mommy, fix arms," upon realization that they were too lose. As she was greeting her friend, I noticed a tiny wren or finch in the tiny nest at the top of one of the columns of our porch. I walked closer to it, and it peered over the next at me as if to say, "Go away. I am a figment of your imagination." I wanted to show the little bird to Hannah, but when I turned around it had either fled or nestled back down into it's bed.

Other quotes from the excursion:

"I LIKE shopping!" (uh-oh)
"Look daddy, over THERE!"
"Pretty BLUE Christmas tree! And yellow lights!"
"More Christmas lights?""More airplanes. Daddy, more airplanes fly?"


Grandma T. used to say, "Christmas is for kids," according to Papa.

She was right. I hope all of us remain kids at heart through the hustle and bustle of the season.

sweetness

Hannah and I went to the doctor today. Before we left, we climbed the steps to visit a friend who works on the second floor of the office. After Hannah woke up from her nap this afternoon, I asked her if she wanted to go upstairs. "Go upstairs and see Kelly?" she asked.

1st imaginary friend

Apparently Elmo's Dinosaur friend decided to stay with Hannah after Sesame Street was over. After Hannah scarfed down some peas for dinner, she began playing with them.

"Feed dinosaur peas. And bottle."

When it was obvious she had finished eating, I asked her if she wanted to take her bath.

"Ok. Dinosaur finish peas." I set the bowl of peas on the floor next to the trash can and told her the dinosaur could finish them if it wanted.


A few minutes later:

"Dinosaur like bath." She stated matter-of-factly as she rolled around in the tub. Assuming the dino was in the tub with her, I proceeded to dump the peas into the garbage and move the bowl from the floor to the sink.

our newest family members

Hannah's favorite ornament spends more time with her than on the tree when she is awake.

A new family member arrived with Papa tonight:

First, we checked him out inside.

"bellybutton!"

"nose!"

Hannah finally decided it was okay for Mr. Snowman to stand watch on the front porch.

Thanks, Gramma & Papa!

Jingle Bear & snapshots from the week

Guess Hannah's favorite Christmas Carol.

A minor miracle took place during this episode of "Dancing with the Bear." She was wearing her training pants and did not have an accident. Today she was not as willing to use the potty as she had been earlier this week, but we're still proud of her progress. This photo was taken Friday, she actually got a couple of more stickers after this:

Bubble Beard

Mommy did most of the work, but Hannah had fun getting cotton and elmer's glue all over her fingers... and washing them in the sink afterward.

Childlike wonder: Hannah loves Christmas lights. This snowman is in front of our neighbor's house. Maybe Hannah can talk Daddy into decorating our house this year.... maybe....

Thanksgiving photos

Working toward potty training

Hannah is on a roll. She has used the toilet for its intended purpose at least once for 5 out of the last 7 days. Her successes usually follow lunch or dinner or precede bedtime.

Update: 3 successes in one day! After lunch, after supper, and before bed. :)

Wordless Wednesday

"It is better to ask forgiveness, than to ask permission."

1st poo-poo in the potty!!!

When Daddy went into use the potty earlier today, Hannah said she needed to go, too. So I helped her with her diaper and pants, and she sat on her little potty, few feet from Daddy. I thought about taking a picture but decided against it.

During dinner, she started grunting and making the "poo-poo" face, and I asked her if she wanted to go practice on the potty. "Yes!"

She probably sat there for 10 minutes, but she did tinkle just a little and she pushed... with results.

She was so excited to say "bye-bye, poo-poo!" as she flushed the toilet.

Unfortunately, 5 minutes later she peed through her training pants and pants onto the carpet, so it wasn't a complete success. But it's a good start.

kids say the cutest things...

"Uh, oh, tummy's fall out!" Exclaimed baby bear after unzipping her jammies.

Almost wordless Tuesday night

twinkle toes- 1st pedicure

checking Daddy's heartbeat

It's raining!- sort of

quotes of the day

"Thanks for dinner, Mommy."
"Yogurt. Strawberry yogurt. I LIKE strawberry yogurt. Yummy."
(After growing weary of using the spoon, she began cupping her fingers into a big spoon and using her hand to scoop the yogurt into her mouth. Sigh. There are times I wish my child doesn't like sticky messes.)

2 year check-up

29 lbs
34 inches tall

Dr. Wolfe said she's doing great! All the nurses and the rest of the staff couldn't believe how big she is and loved her thick curls.

Bear still is not fond of her personal space being invaded, which is ironic since she will tackle anybody with hugs and kisses.

Routine

Hannah is very comfortable with our bedtime routine. She is beginning to sing along to the lullabies and songs, and if we forget one, she prompts us with some of the words. It's so sweet. Oh, and to stall, she asks for more before a key word from a song... "More shepherd.... More Jesus..." So cute...

midnight scare

Hannah awoke suddenly at midnight, with a deep, painful sounding cough and darth-vaderish breathing. Her underarm temp was also slightly high, and she felt hot and clammy. This was so not like our daughter. She had seemed perfectly normal when she went to sleep.

We took her to the ER, where she was diagnosed with croup and given a steroid to open up her airways. She was released quickly, but we were glad it was something easily treatable.

It was her first time in the hospital (for herself) since she was born; thankfully a quick visit. She'll be seeing her doctor for her 2 year check-up and follow up this week.

Here's a picture of her after she fell asleep on daddy's lap yesterday afternoon. (That's a very rare occurance):

daddy's helper

Hannah really got into trying to wash the car...


After a few too many dumps of the soapy water and drops of the washing mitts onto the dirt, we gave her her on bucket and mitt to play with in the yard...

...she went straight to the indoor tub after her outdor soak. It was in the upper 60's, possibly one of the last warm days this year.

pictures

looking out Grandma and Grandpa's window

putting tissue paper in the "trash"
(she carried it all the way to her diaper pail from the living room)

guess where those socks in the previous photo were just moments before?
she took them off and put them directly into the hamper

counting to-toes

she's taller than a maple tree!

after trying to uproot the tree, she sat down to inspect her pail of cherry tomatoes.

fashion sense

I was dressing Hannah into her cute brown and white striped outfit which she got for her birthday, and she immediately reached into her shoe bag, found her brown shoes and put them on her feet.

****
Dora: The autobus speaks Spanish. Instead of wheels, can you say "llantas"?
Mommy: Can you say "llantas"?
Hannah: "No." (shaking her head.)

Oh, well. Dora and I tried.