9 Months Old!

Photo sessions with Hootie are becoming more and more challenging! BUSY is the word I would use to best describe Hannah right now - she is constantly on the move wherever she is playing! While crawling is not her favorite...she definately gets to what she wants! She would much rather be standing while playing or pulling herself up to the standing position. She now has two precious teeth, longer hair for bows (yeah!), and keeps growing taller!


Hannah enjoys trying new foods and snacks - she loves puffs of any variety, mum-mum crackers, avocado, sweet potatoes, and bananas mixed with anything! I would definatey say they are her favorite fruit. I love to watch her figure out the new items we give her on her high chair tray and then watch to see what she does with them! She is so observant and aware of what others are doing around her and is beginning to copy behavior she witnesses (which is both good and bad)!




Hannah LOVES music and singing...Old MacDonald, Ladybug Ladybug, or any other songs I make up! She loves to bounce and 'shake any toy that rattles. She loves to walk around the house and follow me in her walker, loves playtime in the playroom and will dump out the contents of every toy basket with delight! Bathtime is enjoyable - she loves to splash and play in the water! While teething has been challenging...Hannah is normally a happy baby who is full of smiles and giggles! Hello! and Bye-bye! for now! (Hannah's newest trick is waving!)

Giggles!

Not exactly sure what was soooo funny...but baby laughs are contagious! The more we laughed, the more Hannah did too!

Hannah's First Set of Wheels!

On our winter trip to Texas...Hannah received the most awesome gift from my parents: her first set of wheels a.k.a. her walker! Boy does she get around! She figured out immediately how to push herself backwards and by the second day, could move forwards as well! Here are a few "action" shots...

Other highlights of the trip included playtime with myold toys, sleeping in my old crib, and taking pictures in the "chair" that both Carla and I sat in for pictures! (Similiar to why I take pics of Hannah in the brown chair each month!)



Always LOVE a trip home to TX - thanks mom and dad for such a fun time!

8 Months Old!

As I attempted to photograph Hannah this month, I realized two things: one, she is extremely squirmy and won't sit still and two, no wonder they charge so much to take children's pictures - it is hard work!!! After TWO photo sessions...I did manage to get a few decent shots to post. As you can see, she is trying to escape!


So I opted for an alternative position (and a bribe of the phone) to keep her attention!


The biggest news to report is that Hannah finally has a tooth! It popped out over the weekend after much fussiness and many restless nights! Cannot report any crawling action...Hannah is much happier in the "standing" position and prefers to play holding on to whatever is near!

Likes:
Singing, whistling, clapping and music!
Babbling along while others are talking
Eating in her high chair
Snacking on puffs and mummum crackers
Playing with her sippy cups...hopefully she will see their purpose soon!
Her Leap Frog cell phone (we don't allow her to play with ours)
Animal sounds
Being read to...she is really into this Baby Einstein book called First Words but enjoys most books!

Dislikes:
Scared of bathtime in the "big tub"
Big crowds of people/too many new faces seem to overwhelm her lately
When she can't see/sense mommy nearby
Being cleaned up after eating in her high chair
Teething



Who needs TV when you have an 8 month old?? Not that there is much time for TV watching these days...luckily Hannah provides hours of entertainment! She is so much fun right now and her developing personality, laughs, and babbling "words" are the highlight of everyday!

2011

Reflecting back on life last January makes me realize how quickly time goes by! Mike and I enter 2011 as a family of three, amazing! I always look forward to a new year, but this year I find that I am even more energized and excited - I believe it has a little something to do with Hannah! I am looking forward to a year filled with Hannah's firsts, trips to visit family and friends, and those little everyday memories that mean so much...like this one!

Happy New Year!

A Very Merry 1st Christmas!

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not;
'Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people,
Unto you is born this day
a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.'
Luke 2:11

How did Christmas 2010 come and go so quickly!? Thank goodness I was super organized this year and had everything ready for Hannah's 1st Christmas! It seemed as though we were just preparing and celebrating Thanksgiving dinner and the next minute it was Christmas Eve! Hannah and I were SO thrilled to have Mike home with us all day and have him help make our traditional sugar cookies. The three of us hung out in the kitchen for most of the day, baking and preparing our Christmas Eve dinner of chicken tortilla soup (made by me) and tamales (imported from Texas of course!).



Hannah was the best dressed and most well behaved baby at Christmas Eve mass! (Carla, Daniel, Mike and I were all in agreement of that!)Afterwards, we came home to eat and open up our Christmas PJ's - one of my favorite traditions!





After everyone went to sleep, I, Santa's Elf, got everything ready for the next morning:-)


Christmas morning we awoke to the best gift of all...A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!

Wake up Hannah! It is your very first Christmas and it SNOWED!!!


Our little family had such a great 1st Christmas together! The snow, watching Hannah play, the snow, the presents, playing with Hannah, did I mention snow?! What a blessed Christmas!