Monday, April 14, 2014

My messy eater

My new year's resolution this year was to cook more - Hannah is eating what we eat all the time (and with twelve teeth, she can handle anything), and I wanted to make sure she was getting lots of flavors and variety.  Plus, I really enjoy cooking, even if I don't relish in the dishes it creates.  So far, it has been a pretty successful resolution.

Hannah dives into her food like a champ, but since she hasn't quite mastered the fine art of the spoon, this makes for a messy (albeit hilarious) dinner, followed immediately by tubby time.

Tomato sauce usually warrants the full smock bib....

Which I neglected to use here, but it worked out that she was wearing red anyways :)

The ariel view - to highlight clumps of food in her hair

Tacos with guacamole - a girl after her mom's heart

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Never judge a book by its cover

Hannah never makes that mistake - she usually skips right past the cover to turn more pages!  While the swings may be her favorite outdoor activity, books are definitely her favorite indoor activity.  She loves all kinds of books - touch and feel, lift the flaps, bright pictures, and even a few with real pages!

If we're playing in her room, she'll often stand at the base of her bookshelf straining her little arms and standing on her tip-toes trying to reach the shelves with all of the books, and she won't be distracted until I've gotten every book down for her to enjoy...and occasionally destroy.

Surrounded by piles of board books

Before we know it, she'll be reading these books to us!

She's even got her own comfy reading chair

We recently started exploring the kids' section of the library - crates of board books for Hannah to enjoy!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Fashionista

Although working from home hasn't done much for my fashion sense (yoga pants every day?  Yes, please), Hannah is looking mighty stylish these days, if I do say so myself.  Here are some of her recent looks.

Channeling her namesake, Great Grandma Laverne, in plaid

Rocking the sporty look in the baby Nike gear

Showing off her fancy pants and big girl shoes

Not afraid of a little rain in her crocs and rain coat

Same raincoat, but added the bow accent for church

Rocking a hoodie at the track with Dad

Time to bring out those spring colors

Friday, April 11, 2014

We're baaaaack!!!

My unintentional blogging hiatus has come to an end - we're back!  And I am excited to share lots of fun photos and video highlighting our fun, delightful little one year old.  But first, a few quick notes on what Hannah is up to these days - walking and talking!

Hannah took her first baby steps (not attached to a piece of furniture or someone's hands) on March 18 - the day before she was officially 13 months!  Now, just three short weeks later, she's walking all over the place!  She still crawls too, and hasn't figured out how to stand up without needing something to pull up on, but if she's already vertical, she will walk from one spot to the next like it's no big thing.

She is also busy learning lots of words.  Although they may sound similar (a lot of B words come out BA!), I can usually tell what she's saying in context.  Her favorite word (and first word that wasn't Mama and Dada) is DOG, which sounds like GUH.  She also says baby, car, all done, more, and book to name a few.

Even if she can't say the words, she understands a lot - much more than I give her credit for.  She'll answer a lot of yes/no questions (do you have a poopy diaper, are you ready to go night-night, want to take your dog for a walk, etc) and she's learning her body parts.  Currently, she can point to her head, ears, nose, chompers (teeth), belly, hair, and we're working on toes.

Lastly, and probably most fun for us, she has learned to give kisses!  If we ask for a kiss, she leans in for a smooch, usually with her mouth wide open which makes for some slobbery kisses, but we love them.  She'll also blow kisses with her hand and a smooching noise - too cute.

Lots of photos and videos to come, so stay tuned!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Family and friends and babies...oh my!

Although technically Hannah's birthday was only one day, she had the great honor of being celebrated for a whole week!  She got visits from both sets of her grandparents, and we were so blessed to be able to invite them all to stay with us in our new house.  This meant TONS of great playtime, and thanks to some nice weather, they all got to enjoy the swings with her in person - her very favorite!

And of course we had a fantastic party (if I do say so myself), complete with lots of friends, lots of kiddos (5 babies, of which Hannah is the oldest, and two 3 year olds), and plenty of food and cupcakes.  Thanks to a lot of decorating help and food preparation by grandparents, it all went off without a hitch!

"Papa!  You came to see me and it's my birthday!  I'm so excited!"

Tough to say who had more fun at the swings - Hannah and Nana both had a blast!

Cool as a cucumber giving Grandpa a high-five from the swing

Grandma gives great pushes!

It was a full house for Hannah's party with all of these amazing kiddos and their awesome mamas!

These two are exactly two months apart to the day - I think she's saying, "yeah, one is pretty awesome.  You'll see."

Check out the haul of presents!  Now we have to find somewhere to put all of these new toys...

The paparazzi was out in full force
Looking good lovely ladies!

Check out the color coordination - very impressive.

"You mean all these presents are for me??  Excellent."

Waive for the camera!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Get this party started!

I can't believe it's finally here - our girl is turning one!  One whole year has passed and in one sense, it went by in the blink of an eye, but in another, I struggle to remember a time before this girl was a part of our lives.

This past weekend we had a party to celebrate the occasion, complete with streamers, balloons, cupcakes, presents, and LOTS of friends and family.  We couldn't have asked for a better afternoon, and there are plenty of pictures to come, but for now, check out the guest of honor - our sweet baby girl!

She got all dressed up for the occasion - kept her bow on just long enough for a picture.

Her best trick for party day - her response to "Hannah, how old are you?"

All ready to entertain her guests with waives and smirks and smiles for everyone

Delicate little pose - not quite ready to walk, but she sure looks close!

Still has those cheeks we love so much

Hey, it's her party and she'll cry if she wants to!

Walking with some helping hands

Enjoying all the attention while we sang "Happy Birthday"

Getting her first bites of CAKE!

She was unsure at first, but after some encouragement, she got into it - especially the icing!

Aaaaaaaand sugar crash.  With icing in her hair.

Thankfully she recovered in time to enjoy all of her presents tissue paper :)

Family photo op!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Swings are her favorite thing!

We are taking full advantage of the warming weather and getting out to the little park in our neighborhood as much as we can because playing on the swings is definitely one of Hannah's favorite things!  She loves the anticipation of getting a big push, especially from mini underdogs, and when she's flying through the air, she kicks her feet and loves every minute of it.

Her excitement is so obvious on her face - she just can't contain it!

Such a big girl sitting up tall!

Check out those chompers

Swings are a great chance to hang out with baby friends too!

The scream of excitement is as loud as it looks :)