Professional Pics

I'm super excited about these pictures.  A friend recommended Apryll Roderick of Cherish Me Photography and so she took Hannah's two year old pictures.  I love that you get to pay for the session and then you get a copyright release on all the proofs.  Hooray for printing whatever you want!

I wasn't sure how the session was going to go because Hannah hadn't taken a good nap before it was picture time but Apryll told me at the end of Hannah's session it was probably her best 2 year old session ever.  Apryll captured Hannah's personality really well and she was really fun to work with.  My favorites are the top three.  Enjoy!

5 1/2 Year Old Questionnaire

Today is Luke's 1/2 birthday.  We talked about it yesterday and then at lunch today Luke said what are we doing for my 1/2 birthday?  So, after dinner he and Troy went to Uptown Market to pick out some yummy treats.  Luke chose dirt and worms (pudding with chocolate crumbs and gummy worms).  So while he ate his dessert we went through this questionnaire that I've been running through with Luke every six months.  

How old are you? 5 (said like fiiiiivvvve)

How tall are you? standing on tip toes, hand on top of head, then mom will you stand up

How much do you weigh? shakes head
     I suggested guessing and he said I don't think I can guess.
     Why not I said?
     I just don't know he said.

What is your favorite toy? Legos

Favorite book? Magic Tree House chapter books

Favorite movie? Curious George

Favorite TV show? Clifford

Favorite food? pancakes

Favorite fruit? green apples

Favorite snack? fruit snacks

Favorite drink? slushy

Favorite activity? build Legos

Favorite color? green

Favorite sport? soccer

Favorite song? Clifford theme song

Favorite animal? elephants and giraffes

Favorite game? Curious George Beach Search and slap jack

Favorite outfit? looks at what he's wearing and says fire chief shirt (what he has on)

Favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you need in bed when it's time to go to sleep? pillow doggy
Best Friend? Nick Pitman (friend at school)

When I grow up I want to be? a Lego builder

Nicknames? Munchkin, Dude

Thing I am really good at? building Legos

Some other stats:

Clothing size: some 4T (pants mostly) and 5T or 5

Shoe size: 11

Height:  43 3/4 inches

Weight: 42 lbs

Terrific 2!

This post is a bit late.  Moving, holidays, company and sick kids have delayed it--all real life stuff.

Hannah is 2!!!  Her birthday was a low key day but a fun one for her none the less.  I'll do a post on it hopefully soon.

*Schedule: Her schedule hasn't changed much.  Monday through Thursday I get Hannah up by 7:45 if she's not already awake.  The other days of the week she's usually awake by 8:30 at the latest.  Hannah still doesn't nap the best although over Christmas break she's done well (consistency is good).  If she's at MDO, she's napping about an hour.  If she's at home it's usually about 2 hours but sometimes it's significantly shorter.  About one day a week she will take a 3 hour-ish long nap (I like those days).  Hannah is still going to bed between 7:30 and 8 although on the weekends it is a bit later.

*Stats: Hannah had her 2 year check-up this morning.  She weighed 31 lb 11 oz (95%) and she was 36 3/4 inches (97%).  We have a tall girl on our hands.  Hannah is now wearing at least 2T clothes and some 3T.  At her appointment this morning they asked how many teeth she has so I looked to double check.  At least one of her upper 2 year molars has come through (she wouldn't let me get another good look to check the others).  I don't think I've mentioned that her eyes have remained a very brilliant blue.  Her hair is almost to a point where it needs a trim--basically just her bangs so they'll be out of her eyes.

*Food: Hannah's appetite has dropped off dramatically.  I can no longer count on her eating whatever I put in front of her.  She has even stopped eating so many black beans and guacomole/avocados.  She is not a big fan of meat but still loves cheese.  Breakfast and dinner are the hardest meals--we never know if she'll eat anything or not.  Lunch tends to be good although it too can be iffy sometimes.  She still out eats Luke although not with as much frequency.  Her favorites include: cheese, rice, fruit (strawberries and raspberries most but any will work)

*Activities: Pretty much any activity for Hannah involves a declaration of independence.  She wants you to play with her but on her terms and you have to do what she wants you to.  I've had several comments that this will be a huge asset later in her life; let's just hope we all survive her teenage years :)  Hannah has really gotten into role playing with dolls.  She loves to push them in a stroller or play dress up with some new dolls she got for Christmas.  Another big activity for Hannah is playing with Legos.  She would love to play with Luke's Legos but for now she gets to play with the Duplos.  She's really good at building towers.  Pushing buttons of any sort is still a big thing for Hannah.  Dancing is also a favorite especially in the car.  She insists that whoever is in the car dance along when there's a good beat.  Reading books, coloring/drawing (especially tracing hands), helping and going bye-bye are all big on Hannah's list of things to do.

*Noises/Talking:  Hannah's new words are too numerous to list.  She learns new words every day it seems.  Her sentences are also getting longer--some are 4 words long.  And she definitely is saying longer phrases we just don't know exactly what she's saying yet.  Singing is still a favorite thing.  By far her favorite is Frere Jacques or as she says it Frere Jacq, Broder John.  Other cute words:
     --Kleenex: Kleenuck
     --Waffle: Affle
     --Music: Musac
     --Football: Fooball
Hannah is also starting to count.  It goes something like: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10 and then she says some teen numbers but they're not clear yet.  We've been working on the 4-5-6 part :)

*Random:  Hannah loves pockets (or pock).  She gets very excited when she finds pockets in her pants or coats.  Hannah also has really gotten into trains.  It's no wonder with all the train stuff we have around here but I'm thrilled that all of our Thomas stuff will be used again.  Hannah loves shoes (which is not really a big surprise considering her family history).  Grandma and Grandpa H got her some red cowboy boots for her birthday; they are a huge hit!

And now for the cute pictures:

We had some professional 2 year pictures taken last Saturday.  It's supposed to take about 2 weeks to get them back.  I can't wait!  The photographer said it was probably her best 2 year photo shoot ever; Hannah was really in a good mood.

Christmas Day

We had a fun first Christmas day in our new home.  We knew the minute LJ was awake it would be a bit chaotic.  Troy and I managed to wake up before him and get the camera ready for the excitement.  The kids checked out their gifts from Santa and then we opened our stockings.  This is one of my favorite parts of the day--I love opening our stockings.  We then opened a few presents before taking a break to have some breakfast.  Then it was back to the presents.  Hannah really wasn't too excited about opening anything.  She kept asking to go upstairs and play trains.  She would randomly open a gift here and there but she didn't open her last gift until after her nap.  The rest of the day was pretty lazy--looking over our gifts, playing games, reading and relaxing.  Hannah ate dinner at her normal time and then after she was in bed the rest of us enjoyed a delicious beef tenderloin dinner complete with dressing, gravy, green beans and salad.  Luke loved the beef!  He went to bed shortly after eating and then we adults played some Mexican Train dominoes before heading to bed.  It was a great day with Grammy, PawPaw, Sarah and Barbara.

December Daily: 24

After lunch, Sarah, Troy, Luke and I went down to the ballpark to go snow tubing.  Luke wasn't too sure about it at first but he figured out how fun it is after a couple of runs.

After tubing, we came home and had a little down time before Grammy, PawPaw, Troy, Luke, Hannah and myself went to church.  We all really enjoyed the service and the kids did great.  We came home and grilled some salmon for dinner and then the kids opened their annual Christmas Eve pj's and book before Hannah went to bed.  Luke was super excited and had a hard time going to sleep.  The adults enjoyed some hot tub time before getting everything set up for the morning.