Spring Break in Pensacola!

"If you are lucky enough to be at the beach...then you are lucky enough!"
-Unknown

A fabulous week spent at the beach and with friends - we ARE so lucky! Hannah was born to be a beach lover - and boy is she! Definitely her mother's daughter...she was capitvated by the sea, sunshine, sand, and waves, perfectly content and at peace! Ahhhhhhh...







Our generous hosts, the Lawrence family, cooked us the most amazing dinners - including freshly caught fish, oysters, and had a crawfish boil! We ate and drank very well - so nice to be with such good friends, relaxing and having a good time! The girls played so well with Hannah, I cannot believe how fast they are growing up!




What a great weekend we had...made even better with a UK Final Four victory over Louisville on Saturday night, followed by a quick drive to New Orleans for Mike, to see his team win the NCAA Tournament! Hannah and I happily stayed in FL, had a few extra days at the beach, and enjoyed more time with our friends while he was gone...thanks to our generous hosts for letting us stay! I hope we can visit again soon - thanks for an awesome time!

22 Months Old!

Hooray for 22 Months Old! Hannah loves to sing, twirl, clap her hands, and dance, especially if it can be done outside...Hannah's favorite place to be - thank goodness for Spring! Playing outside is such a wonderful addition to our day...even better when neighborhood friends join us. Hannah is speaking in short phrases, with new words hourly! Some of our current favorite words are "gross" and "come on" - she has great facial expressions and delivery when she says them! Still loves books, right now her favorites are books that count or have animals counting - and loves to color with crayons! She definitely has a great imagination and plays so well creatively with her kitchen, baby dolls, and doll house.




Hannah loves to help - and is so curious about everything I do, especially when I am cooking! She loves to roll out dough for tortillas, helps stir, squeeze, mash, and measure/pour when helping with other recipes! What a great sous chef I have!
Almost always, Hannah is on her best behavior, listens to her mama and follows directions. She is helpful when asked to clean up her toys, take her plate to the sink, or put away laundry - she likes wiping up messes...although sometimes I wonder if she makes a mess on purpose?! As I watch her learn and grow, I am so very thankful for my curious, sweet little girl - so blessed!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May your blessings outnumber the
Shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

A Visit to DC!

Planes, trains, and automobiles...we experienced all three on our weekend trip to DC! Hannah happily sat in Business Class on our quick flight into BWI. Then was a trooper when we boarded an Osceola AMTRAK Train into Union Station...where we then took the Metro out to Bethesda to meet our friends the Dumbachers! Lots of traveling, but worth the effort - we had a blast shopping, visiting, eating and using all types of transportation! Walking was great too - downtown Bethesda is very family/stroller friendly - and it was so nice be surrounded by local eateries, upscale shops, and lots of young families out and about! Lee even had train set for Hannah to play with - very fitting for our weekend - and Hannah loved it! Thanks Lee & Dan for hosting us - loved seeing you guys!



We also were able to visit with my good college friend, Sarah, and her two little ones, Lucy and Nick. So sweet to see our girls play together! Hannah made herself right at home in the playroom...luckily Lucy was happy to share her toys (and her new baby brother) with her curious new friend! They must have worn each other out b/c they all napped well and gave Sarah and I chance to catch up! Thanks for the play date Sarah - we miss y'all!



Such fun to have weekend trips to visit friends...happy traveling!

21 Months Old!

"Oh darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up,
just stay this little.
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up,
it could stay this simple."
-Taylor Swift, Never Grow Up

Sigh...happiness does seem so simple when a pair of rain boots and a diaper are the cause for this happy, smiley, and lovable little girl! Oh how I love my daughter - I am so proud of her eagerness to learn, ability to problem solve, and her growing imagination - just watching her "play" with her dollhouse and in her kitchen amazes me! Copy cat is a good way to describe Hannah these days...she doesn't miss a thing!




Hannah is curious and into almost everything these days - definitely testing those boundaries - but of course, every moment is a teachable one! New words arrive hourly some days, and short phrases are popping in too! Hannah's appetite varies - new foods include pizza with pesto sauce, quinoa, toast with cinnamon, and Ben & Jerry's Half Baked fro yo! She loves to eat any veggie/fruit combo from a squeeze pouch, meat, pasta, rice, and applesauce - loves avocados too! We are still waiting on her top and bottom canines, but she does a great job of brushing the teeth she does have!


Hannah's favorite books right now are an Elmo's Favorite Places flip book, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Panda Bear, and most all Eric Carle books, Good Night Texas, and her Our Father book. We read a lot, and she loves all her books - ones with animals best! Singing and dancing are a big part of our day, her favorite dance moves are turning and twirling...she does get a bit dizzy though and always laughs when she falls! Happy times! I love that my daughter is little and it makes me happy watching her grow up...although I wouldn't mind if she stayed little for just awhile longer!

Fort Worth in February!

Oh how we love spending time with the Fulton family in Texas! Hannah and I happily headed to Fort Worth and thoroughly enjoyed our visit! We missed the rodeo by a few days but had tons of fun around town - so much to see and do - Fort Worth has changed so much since we lived there! As usual, eating was at the top of our list and boy did we eat! Yummy burgers, pizza, and Mexican restaurants galore (had Freebirds for lunch one day and it was as good as I remembered!) - as well as delicious home cooked meals and Jamie's bbq - we were definately spoiled!





The boys loved Hannah and were anxious to show her all of their 'boy toys' which she enjoyed! We also got to visit with or friends the Weems family - cannot believe how quickly little ones grow up!

Thanks again to Kelly for being such a good friend and hostess - miss you so much! Loved visiting and hope to see you soon! Hannah loves the airport!

20 Months Old!

So big! Hannah keeps growing and growing...our little girl is getting to be so tall! Aside from that, Hannah is mommy's little helper and loves to help with any daily tasks like laundry, making beds, cleaning up after a meal, picking up toys, and dusting. She still loves to play with her baby dolls, cook in her kitchen, and push around her grocery cart and stroller. Books are a big part of our day and Hannah knows her favorites! She loves her Elmo flip book, Good Night Texas, Mommy Hugs, Llama Llama, and still loves her bilingual book Eight Animals on the Town.


Hannah has a good routine and eats, sleeps, and plays well! Her naps are on the shorter end lasting about 1 hr (sometimes 1 1/2hr) but she sleeps well at night from about 7:30-8pm to 7:30-8am so I am not complaining! Sadly she doesn't want to rock so much anymore (small tear) and after books and prayers is ready to lay down by herself - so big! As for food, she eats the most and best at breakfast (my favorite meal of the day too) and does like her snacks in the morning and afternoon. Thank goodness she finally loves milk, although it sounds more like 'welk' when she asks for it, still loves cheese, meat, noodles, rice, ALL carbs, and bananas. Hannah will try most foods, but knows what to ask for too! She likes 'cake' aka homemade mini muffins, cookies, and CHOCOLATE! Luckily, mommy has a sweet tooth and we often have dessert together! She does eat those organic pouches of fruits and veggies like they are going out of style...most recently she tried and liked humus, my risotto, and grilled fish. She loves to be in the kitchen with me when I am cooking and I love that she is interested in helping!




Words are flying out of nowhere it seems! Most days if you say a word and ask her to repeat it, she will on command! I would be listing her words forever...but my current favorites are: gross, please, 'welk' (milk), hun-ee (honey), and knees. (Hannah loves her knees and singing 'Head, Shoulders, KNEES and Toes'). She loves the 'Clap, clap, clap your hands' song we sing at the library, Twinkle Twinkle, and loves to sing Adele and Miranda Lambert with mommy! We practice patience, manners, and good behavior daily (testing those boundries is in full force!) and limit our outings so that huge come aparts don't happen often. Of course, Hannah is always ready to go to Target with mama and loves to help shop!

I will end with this funny close up of Hannah - say 'Cheese'! I love this little girl!