tulip girl

The purple tulip was on its' last leg, so I let Hannah pick it out of the flowerbed.

She helped herself to an ivory/yellowish one, too.

Two Toddlers

Since Juliana lives over an hour away, the girls don't see each other often enough. Becca and Juliana came over tonight while Joel and I went to a "very portan meetin." It was a last minute arrangement, and Hannah was thrilled to spend time with them!

SMILE!

checking out daddy's new ride

It was raining last night, but that did not stop him from playing with his new "baby" a little. Hannah was thrilled to get to wait up past her bedtime to see Daddy.





So far she's keeping a safe distance between the bike and herself. Although the pics don't seem to indicate it, she seems to like it. Now if I can get her to not want to pet our woodchuck.


She did sit on the motorcycle with Daddy for a few seconds today. Then she got mad that she could not ride it with him.

tell me the story of Jesus... and the motorcycle?

After he arrived home with his new toy, Daddy explained to Hannah that after the baby is born, Mommy will be able to ride on the back of the motorcycle with him. He also told her that when he was a little older than she, Papa used to take him for rides on his motorcycle.

"Baby Jesus ride motorcycle?" she asked.

future counselor?

In the midst of a hormonal teary moment today, Hannah's sweet, sensitive side came out.

• "You sad, Mommy?"

• "Yes, sweetie, I'm frustrated and a little sad."

• "It'll be ok, Mommy."

regression

Our potty training is up and down... today has been a down day. Thankfully she held 2/3 of the poop in after messing in her pants so clean up was not too terrible. Then, when she was brushing her teeth after lunch, she peed a river all over her Dora step stool and the bathroom floor. At least it was the bathroom floor and not on the carpet somewhere, right?


She is in a diaper (today, anyway). I don't have the patience for this today.

playing with animals of all kinds

No pics to share, but Hannah met her first tarantula on Sunday night. Our neighbors have one in a terrarium. She thought it was a pretty spider. She was also fascinated by the live crickets which they have to buy to feed it.


She also enjoyed playing with their jack russell terrier, which in the pattern of jack-russelhood is a hyper dog. very hyper. No wonder she slept until almost 10 yesterday morning.

random

• When we come home, Hannah tries to hang her jacket on the door knob to the closet, and gets mad if she can't get it to stay.

• She is learning to put her shoes by the front door after she takes them off. She tells me she's doing it (so I don't remind her, perhaps).
• She does not like mommy to have extra facial hair. When my lip hair gets too noticeable, she pats it and tells me to get a haircut. (Sorry if that's tmi for some of you.) She did that tonight as I tucked her in.
• Apaprently she wants to be like a basset hound/ beagle mix and sniff the dirt. We were looking at a motorcycle for Daddy today, and she leaned over and started sniffing the dirt with her nose. Or kissing the ground. Or eating it. I'm not sure which, though I suspect the latter because there was dirt around her mouth. Tonight I figured out that she may have been copying their dog. It was kind of embarrassing.
• Her favorite shape seems to be the octagon. She noticed the attic vent above the garage at preciously mentioned house was shaped like an octagon, and proudly exclaimed "it's like an octagon!"
• She likes to help me make iced tea. She pulls a chair from the table to the counter, puts the teabags in the pitcher, dumps 2 scoops of sugar in (with my help), and then watches as I pour the boiling water in a safe distance away.
• She likes putting the special soap bar into the dishwasher before Mommy turns it on.
  
• She spilled her goldfish crackers and pieces on her granola bar on the carpet upstairs tonight. I asked her to pick them up, and she asked for a bowl to put them in.
  
• She wants to go to the doctor to hear the baby's heartbeat again. I asked her if she would like to go with us to see them take pictures of the baby next week. "With Daddy?" she asked. Doctor's visits are always better with Daddy. :)
• When we vacuum, she finds her toy vacuum and tries to help. Or she just pulls the wand extension for our hose out of its holder and tries to use that.
• She likes putting dirty clothes into the washer and pushing wet clothes into the dryer.
• She likes "helping" in the garden... picking flowers and watering rocks are among her favorite tasks.
  

Outdoor Fun

Hannah LOVES to help me in the garden. Sometimes she is more helpful then others, and she inevitably makes a big mess. Here she is helping put potting soil into the whole for our "blue girl" rose bush.

Spring "Break"

Our friend Catey came over to hang out with us on Monday and Tuesday during her Spring Break from school. She was a big help to me, and Hannah loved having a big sister/playmate for a couple of days. She even let her dress her up in scarves.

then and now...

October 11, 2006

sharing because the mommies said to


March 23, 2008

sharing willingly

Easter Fun

opening her treats

rockin' with grandaddy

sweet hugs

Hannah "won" the egg scramble...

Juliana had just hunted for eggs with her other cousins and was more interested in the goldfish.

sharing

running around the empty, carpet-less master bedroom...
the girls loved how it echoed

All dolled up for Easter

fun time

Hannah decided Larry needed some core-strength training. Notice that Hannah is using the beach ball because it's just her size.


Then she decided Daddy needed some exercise, too:

This video will be priceless some day. I wonder what ever happened to the old slides my parents took of us when we were this little....

where'd she get THAT idea?

Those of you who know me know that I am somewhat organizationally challenged. However, J and I have made some attempts to teach Hannah to clean up her toys, even if Mommy's room looks like a tornado went through it, as is usually the case. Apparently our efforts have not been in vain.

Hannah and I were headed to run errands, and a few minutes before we left I had reminded her that she would need to try to go potty before we went to the post office (which as anyone knows includes getting a free lollipop for the kid).

I was finally ready to go, but there was that one last thing we needed to take care of.

"What did I ask you to do before we go for a ride in the car?"

"Pick up my toys." Bear replied.

Funny, I didn't recall asking that, but it wasn't a bad idea. So I let her finish picking up her toys and helped her to the potty.

photos of the week

Past attempts to put a ponytail in Hannah's hair have been futile. She has pulled them out almost immediately, after minutes of struggle to get them in. I had stopped trying. She barely keeps bows in her hair, so who was I to think ponytails would survive?

Never underestimate the power of marketing to kids. Or Grandmas. Grandma had sent a Valentine's package home with Daddy a few weeks ago, and the package included a set of "Sesame Street" ponytail holders. They are in the bright colors of some favorite SS characters and have little eyes shaped like the characters eyes on them.

Yesterday, Hannah insisted that I "put a tail in her hair". She handed me the package of scrunchies and picked out the green set with Oscar the grouch eyes. As you can see from the pics above, she liked cookie monster's eyes, too. She didn't care about the cowlick of curls that would not stay back, as you can tell from her cheesy smile turned Elvis impersonation shot.


Here's the raincoat grandma found at our favorite consignment store in Cordova. Plenty of room to grow.

BIG girl bed!!!!

Grandaddy brought us an extra bed that's no longer needed, and the transition toward sharing a room has begun. It did not take long for Hannah to test out her mattress:


I think we'll let her pick out sheets for herself, but I scraped something together. And I have to admit, I like how Great Gramma's quilt looks on the bed...
It wasn't complete without her blankies...
This pic makes her look small!

rainy day

The rain let up enough so that Hannah was able to play outside for a few minutes today. When it began to drizzle, she asked for her umbrella. Of course, I was lucky to get a couple of shots with it actually above her head.

growing up

hannah bear has begun calling me "mom" sometime in the past week. not just mama or mommy, but "mom". it makes me a little sad.

she's using simile's...
for example, her grape she is "eating" rolls "like a ball"
she'll see a colored object, and say it's "yellow like a banana" (for example)

yesterday at the garden center, she correctly identified flats of tulips which are not yet in bloom because she recognized their shape. i may be grooming her to be a botanist or florist.

possesive hoarder

baby bear has taken to putting everything into big piles. big, messy piles. and if you have some thing she wants, watch out. "mY brown blanket! MY big ball (referring to the exercise ball that is as big as she. that's MINE!" you get the idea...

almost Spring

Our 1st daffodils of 2008...

Cooler weather is supposed to be coming back, but we enjoyed our warm, sunny weekend. She was excited about watering the flowers with Mommy today, then the excitement shifted to watering the rocks and seeing how much mulch and how many pieces of chalk would fit into her watering can. She also enjoyed having a special treat on the front porch... a popsicle. Which reminds me that I need to find the plastic freezer-pop makers so I can make 100% juice pops instead of just giving her the not-so-healthy ones in their plastic sleeves.

ready for church at Grandma's

This was taken after I brushed her hair, believe it or not.... we had a crazy curl day. :)

i'm not sure who to feel more sorry for...

Hannah, whose affections are hissed at, or Princess, Gramma's cat who does not appreciate the extra lovin'.