Cheese

Ever since we started using Robert's nice camera Hannah is into getting her picture taken. She calls the camera, "cheese," obviously because we ask her to say cheese when we are trying to take her pictures. During both of the meal times below Hannah asked me to take her picture- "cheese mommy. mommy cheese."

Hannah eating her dinner last night. She napped until 5:30PM, so pardon her messy hairdo... we went straight from the bed to the booster seat!

Dooley does not leave Hannah's side while she is eating!
And, Rupert just wishes he could get some scraps.
Her favorite, corn on the cob...
and chicken nuggets.
yum, this is good!

I was trying to steal a kiss while we were cooking dinner the other night.



I know, Hannah's hair is crazy. I don't really know what to do with it! Right here she was going "ni night" in the kitchen. She used a plastic tablecloth as her bed, a package of paper plates as her pillow, and a cloth napkin/bandana as her "cuh-bers" (covers). She came up with this all on her own!

Pictures...

Our Little Girl

I have let another few weeks go by without posting about Hannah. We have been so busy lately! Hannah started her new class last week. She has graduated from the babysitter style classes of day care to the actual structured, kindergarten style class. No more high chairs (we had retired this at home long ago), no more cribs (again, long gone at home), no more pacifiers unless they are sleeping (woo hoo! We have been ne-ne free during the day for over two weeks now. She doesn't even ask for it until she is ready to go to bed, and as soon as she wakes up she puts it down on her pillow!). They have lesson plans, gym, music, play time, and they go to Shabbat at the day school on Fridays. We welcome structure with open arms, and we hope that Hannah will learn to share, take turns, and clean up her toys!

Hannah also started gymnastics two weeks ago. It was incredible. She was excited about it from the moment we told her she was going even though she had no idea what it was going to be. She is in the 18 months - 3 years class, and is the youngest of the 4 little girls; the other three are all 2 and 1/2. She did great, though. She was able to follow most of the instructions that they gave her, and definitely surprised me by what she could comprehend (things like bend down and touch your toes, walking across a balance beam with her arms held out like an "airplane," and hopping). She had a great time, and it was so fun to watch her!

Hannah also had her first haircut recently! We took her to Jeff in Mobile. Of course, she cried as soon as we put her in the chair, but he gave her an "e-pop" (otherwise known as a lollipop) and she sat patiently through the entire process. Her hair is MUCH less mullet-ish now! It has thickened up since the cut and is growing and getting a little more curly, finally.

Hannah's vocabulary continues to grow. She can, and does, express herself very well, and it is very rare that she can't find the words to tell you exactly what she wants or is trying to say. She talks constantly, which we love, and she repeats everything! Her teachers tell us that she is the most vocal in her class (of course, they could be telling everyone this, but we still love to hear it!). She has also started putting a few words together like, "Hannah's bed" or "watch Barney." It is so fun to listen to her and hear her interpretation of things.

We are headed to the beach again for the long weekend, so I will try to use that time to post some pictures. I know that is what everyone is here for anyway!

Pictures from the Archives

Here are some pictures from June/July that I'm just getting around to uploading!

This one is from 4th of July. Hannah wanted to wear clothes that matched her Nana, so they were both wearing pink shirts and white jeans.


Daddy trying to get Hannah in the Gulf.
Fear the Mullet. Stay tuned for updates on Hannah's hairdo!
Hannah loves "boopert" (Rupert)
Eating at Chick-Fil-A after a trip to the zoo with Mommy and Gigi.
Playing in the pool at Ross Bridge.


Playing in the pool at the JCC.


At the crawfish boil. It was HOT outside, so we were all redfaced and glistening!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the 2nd anniversary of our wedding.

Jason, these past two years have been filled with love, joy, tears, laughter, frustration, happiness, commitment, compromise, new baby, new job(s), diapers, bills, car trips, cruises, and weekends at home. You are my best friend, and you are the love of my life. You are an amazing father, and every day I think about how lucky I am that Hannah has a Daddy who wants to be (and is) involved in every detail of her life. I love you, and I look forward to the years to come!

Boredom

I'm taking this survey from my friend's blog. You can tell I'm really busy at the moment...

What is your salad dressing of choice?
Greek

What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
Papa John's Pizza

What do you like to put on your toast?
Jelly or Cinnamon & Sugar but only if Jason makes it for me

How many televisions are in your house?
2

What color cell phone do you have?
red

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
the mail bin

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Beth, my middle name. It was semi-traumatic for me to drop it when I got married. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of middle names, but I love mine.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
No way. I won't even use a few dashes on my food!

Last person you talked to?
Hannah- we are singing the Sesame Street theme song.

Last person you hugged?
Hannah, when she stubbed her toe a few minutes ago.

Favorite Season?
Fall. I love cool weather, fall colors, football season, turtlenecks, scarves, chili, pumpkins... I could go on!

Day of the week?
Sunday. It's lazy day for us!

First place you went this morning?
To get Hannah out of her bed.

What's the last movie you saw?
"UP"

Do you smile often?
Yes

Do you always answer your phone?
Not always. I can't while I'm at work, and when I get home I usually forget to turn it off of silent.

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I wouldn't. I think I would look weird with blue or green eyes.

What flavor drink do you get at Sonic?
Unsweet Tea

Do you own a digital camera?
Yes. And, I left it in Mobile at Thanksgiving, so I'm really missing it right now!

Have you ever had a pet fish?
Ugh, yes, too many.

Favorite Christmas song?
Yikes. Am I terrible for saying I can't stand Christmas music? I dread that time of year on the radio!

What's on your wish list for your birthday?
a new coat or wallet

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Excited!

Ever been in a car wreck?
No comment.

Do you have an accent?
Some say I do, some say I don't.

Plans tonight?
Happy New Year's Day! We are watching the football games and Jason is cooking black-eyed peas, turnip greens (yuck), and smoking a chicken and a boston butt. And, Gee Gee and Bop are coming over!

Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
I bought flowers for my party, and a bagel and gatorade on the way to work.

Have you ever been given roses?
Given, yes. And, for future reference, I don't really like roses... too cliche.

How did you ring in the New Year?
We had a few people over early, and then I was asleep by 11pm. I did watch the first ball drop, though.

What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
Sleeping

What was the first thing you thought when you woke up?
I can hold it. I know, sounds weird. I didn't want to get out of my cozy bed. Isn't that the first thing everyone thinks when they wake up?

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Hannah!

Today is Hannah's 1/2 birthday, making her 18 months old. We celebrated by taking her to the doctor to get her last two shots. Here's how she checked out:

Weight- 24 lbs. 7 oz.

Height- 34 inches

Head- 18 1/2 inches

Hannah is still 95% for height and 50% for weight, which Dr. Farr seems to be pretty happy with. She also passed all of the developmental milestones with flying colors. We will have to go back for a 24 month appointment, but she will not get any shots again until she is four. I think our Dr. just likes to collect co-pays!

Here are some things Hannah is doing at 18 months:

• she loves to play "out-ki" or outside
• she likes to list all of the names she knows. It usually starts with Daddy when we get in the car to go home from school. She continues with Boopbert (Rupert, our dog), Gooey (Dooley, our other dog), Gigi, Bop (I think his name has officially changed from Pop to Bop), Ooey (Lucy, their dog), Nana, Ah-bert (Robert), Papa, and Oh-ah (Noah)... usually in that order, but she sometimes mixes it up.
• She LOVES Elmo, still. She wants to watch Elmo all the time. She gets mad when Elmo goes to clips of real people. She can name most of the characters including Cookie, Grover, Big Bird, Abby, Zoey, Telly, Bert & Ernie.
• She can COUNT TO TEN. I am not making this up. She does need a little encouragement, but she can do it!
• She goes tee-tee in the potty most mornings when she wakes up. It is so exciting to her.
• She likes to pretend feed everyone in the room. She feeds herself with a fork or spoon, and she holds out her food to everyone in the room, says your name, and then expects you to pretend you are eating it. This includes both dogs, and the Sesame Street characters on her placemat.
• She loves to ca-or (color). She has "colored" all of my cookbooks in the kitchen.
• She has started to become interested in her baby doll. She likes to watch me change her baby's diaper, put on and off the baby's clothes. She will share her milk with the baby, give it her paci, and rock it night night.
• She loves to "tee", which means brush her teeth. When I pull out the toothbrush she immediately sits on the stool and says "pay" for paste. Then she brushes her teeth, which is really just her version of licking off all of the toothpaste.
• She can climb on and off of any furniture by herself, which includes our really high bed (only off).
• She can also climb up or down the stairs by herself, and is really fast. Sometimes we don't realize she is on her way up until she is halfway there! She won't go down without holding someone's hand, though.
• She has become less picky about foods she will eat, but she will tell you exactly what she wants to eat when she is hungry.
• She loves to have ponytails or pigtails in her hair. She calls them bows, but she doesn't like actual bows.
• Funny story... the other day I said, "Hannah, Daddy stinks." She replied by saying, "toot."

That is all I can think of for the moment. She is such a big girl, and so smart. We can't wait to see what she will do next!