Updates from June and July

Here are some pics and stories of the last month. I always think of little things I want to put on my blog but of course then 2 weeks go by and I have forgotten what I wanted to tell all of you. But here are some stories with pics to jog my memory.

 We planted some flowers and Hannah loves watering them with her little watering can! But they are thriving in our backyard so she must be watering them perfectly. 

 The kids all having a "sandbox meeting"-I'm big on hats and sunscreen! (L to R-Miles, Maddy, Hannah)

 I don't know what she is eating in this but she obviously loved it!!

 At my sister's (Lauren) wedding. She is holding my bridesmaid bouquet and looking adorable. 

 Mowing my Dad and Jimmi's yard the day after the wedding

 She got some little stairs so she loves to wash her own hands and play in the water. She's such a big girl!

 The kids playing in the water! Fun times in the backyard.

One night Hannah kept hugging and kissing Jesse. But everytime I tried to snap the picture she would move and it'd be blurry or not good. This is the best I got but it was a very cute evening!

We are working on potty training so she spends a lot of time on the potty and she likes company while she sits. During this photo she is watching Baby Einstein. (notice dolly has her own potty too) 

More potty time while reading books. 

Next week, on the 26th, Hannah will be 18 months old! I can't believe how fast this is all going! I will give an update next week with all the info from her doctors appointment and a review of the last 18 months. Stay tuned!

Cow Appreciation Day

Chick Fil A is great at giving away free food. I think everytime we eat there they are giving free food. This spring (I think it was march) they gave away a free Chicken Biscuit every wednesday. You didn't have to do anything, just show up. This was different. It was a free MEAL-that's right-MEAL. That means an entree, side and drink. And anyone dressed up got a meal; meaning, Hannah and Maddy both got their own meals. Though at breakfast I just had them share a Chicken biscuit and fruit. Neither of them could eat a whole meal on their own. So, the moment you've all been waiting for....the photos! (remember, you can click on the photo to make it bigger and take in all the facial expressions and nuances) 

Her lips are pursed because she was saying "moo" which really sounds like "mmmmm" 

 Ready for our free breakfast!

 Two little calfs (calves?) ready for their chicken biscuits!

(This is maddy, the little girl I watch Wed-Fri)

 They were both scared of the people who took this photo, so Hannah looked away and maddy made that face.

 These are "those" people. Honestly, I was a little scared too. I held closely to both girls. Fortunately they got their food to-go. 

 The marketing director for CFA came into the store and was smitten with our little calfs (calves?) and took this picture for the CFA website! She also gave us the two little toy cows in this photo. 

 Playing in the toddler area after breakfast. They loved this little treehouse. 

THEN....2 hours later, we came back for lunch. I'm not crazy, just like free food. 

Hannah was TERRIFIED of the cow: screaming, crying, and shaking. So we didn't attempt a picture. But I wanted a picture with the Cow. Maddy loved the cow. So much so that she wouldn't turn and look at the camera. She kept trying to move her head around mine to get a good look at the cow. 

This was an attempt at taking a pic with two one year olds. You can see how well it went. Hannah laughing and falling off the booth and maddy grabbing at my cow ear. 

For future refrence I won't be wearing a trash bag. I look huge! But I got a lot of compliments on my "creativity". Hah! A trash bag? Creative? 

Then it was time to play in this locations toddler area. No tree house this time but a wall of fun!

 Hannah does NOT like smiling for the camera right now. 

It was a great day! Then we went back for dinner....

JUST KIDDING! I was chick fil a'd out!

So, all in all, the costumes that were completely free and took about 1 1/2 hours to make earned us a chicken biscuit, chicken minis, hash browns, fruit cup, apple juice, coffee, water, two stuffed cows, a photo on the chick fil a website, an encounter with creepy cows, fun in a treehouse, a chicken sandwich, a spicy chicken sandwich (eaten by my friend shawna who joined us for lunch but isn't pictured b/c she didn't dress up and ate Maddy's free meal while Maddy shared Hannah's adult sized meal), chicken strips, three orders of waffle fries, another fruit cup, two sodas, milk, an experience with a wall of fun, and memories to last a lifetime!! Phew!

Warning: Lots of pics, stories and videos!

So, its been a while since I blogged! I'll make some excuses for that.

1) We were out of town for 5 days for my grandma's funeral and I didn't feel up to blogging while she was declining and we were mentally preparing for her death.

2) I am now watching 4 kids. I know, I know. You probably think I'm crazy. One of them is 8 years old and is only for about 4 hours in the morning and he lays on the futon in the basement watching tv the whole time. The other is the same age as Hannah and he is at random times, usually once a week. And finally is Maddy. See my first blog for info on Maddy.

3) I'm now working during the week so my weekends are free for our family and all the many activities we do which seem to take up the whole weekend. (You should see our lawn, we really need to be using the weekend for yard work b/c now we will be doing that tonight. We look like the amazon jungle!)

Now, here are some pics and stories from the last few weeks:

Hannah loves straws and does a great job of using them. This is the water cup I was given when I was in Labor with Hannah. It all comes full circle, doesn't it?!

She loves to dip, no not tobacco, but ketchup, jelly, ranch, whatever! If she can dip something, she will. Jesse and I were eating egg rolls with a sweet and sour dip and she wanted to dip the chicken from her dinner. She saw me eating ritz with jelly so she wanted to dip. So thats this picture-crackers in "dip".

We live outside these days. Its only June and I already have an obvious tan which is so rare for me. I put sunscreen on Hannah and I all day but these two pale ladies are turning dark. As you can see from the above "dip" pic we even have snack time outside. Our usual day goes like this: eat breakfast, watch a "movie" (20 minute video or sesame street), go outside and play till nap, nap, lunch, go outside and play or run errands till nap, nap, snack outside, play outside and walk to mailbox, color with chalk out front or walk out front till daddy gets home, come inside and play with daddy, dinner, bed. We live outside and here are some pics:

I always check on Hannah and open her bedroom door when I go to bed at night. This is what she looked like a few weeks ago. But she was out! I took a flash light in there and took this with the flash and she didn't even flinch when it went off in her completely dark room. So silly!

While we were in Wichita for my Grandma's funeral we went with my cousins, my sister Blaire, and one of my Cousin's kids to the zoo. Hannah had a great time even in the 100 degree weather and humidity. She loves the zoo!

And one day my cousin brought over their baby pool and all the kids played in the yard. Hannah loves having cousins to play with!

Hannah's new summer look: New shades and New sun hat! She's so stylin!

Now for the videos! I know, its what you've all been waiting for.

She is starting to do really well with the spoon which is wonderful for me, as the mess-cleaner-upper. Its also very rewarding for her. Spoons are great!

Hannah has also started loving throwing the ball for Parker and he seems pretty patient with her small throws. She loves her doggies!

Hannah playing with Parker

Well, thats all for now! Hannah has finished her afternoon nap and we need to get to the grocery store fast!

Some tidbits and pics

Again, nothing special, just Hannah updates...

On Sunday we had beautiful weather and had an impromptu cook out/play day outside. We got out our corn hole game, had all of Hannah's outdoor toys out, and got the grill cleaned up and ready for summer. We grilled pork chops and corn on the cob. Usually I just cut the corn off the cob for Hannah but she wanted to be like mommy and daddy.

She has been cracking us up lately! Yesterday we were going to go outside to play and I told her to go get her shoes. She leaves the room and comes back with one of Jesse's giant cleats. She can barely walk with it cause its so big. What was she thinking!? I laughed and then she laughed. 

Last night Jesse, Hannah and I were all laying on the floor playing with the blocks and she gave Jesse a big ol' kiss on the lips. So he asked for another kiss and this time it was big ol' open mouth. She couldn't stop. I don't know if she thought it was funny or our reaction was funny. But she gave him about 20 big, sloppy kisses. He kept trying to turn his head so they would be on his cheek but she would only be happy with his mouth. It was hilarious and disgusting and sweet all at the same time. Keep in mind she is teething so she is drooling a lot-the extra drool added to the humor. Then Jesse told her to give me a kiss and she went through the whole process again with me. I tried to get the drool-y kisses on my cheek too but she only wanted to do lips. I've never loved a sloppy kiss so much. She is such a lovey these days, giving hugs all the time. 

Thats all for now. Short and sweet. 

Hannah Update

I don't have anything special to write today. Just an update for our family and friends that want to know.

She is in such a fun phase, every day I think at least once (if not more) "I don't want to forget this. I should write it down." So here I am writing it down.

-She loves her Little People Airplane and will cycle through all the sounds till she gets to the song, then she picks up the plane and makes it fly while she dances to the song. Its adorable!

-She has yet to say the word "no" but she loves to say "yes", though it sounds like "jes" with a head nod. And she is good at answering questions. (i.e. "Do you want your milk?" "Jes"; "Do you want to play with your puzzles?" "Jes"; "Do you want to take a nap?" "Jes") Its so fun to communicate with her!

-She is now proficient at climbing and going down the slide by herself. She just climbs the 3 steps, puts her feet over, sits down and pushes off. WEEEEEE! Thats the sound we make as she goes down.

Slide Video Link

-Being outside in her sand box is her new favorite activity. She loves it! Guess its a good thing the house came with it. This toy was a garage sale bargain for $10!

-She loves being chased. I'll say "I'm gonna get you" and she takes off 'running' and laughing. Then she explodes in giggles when you catch her and tickle her.

-She loves being chased. Especially when she has a poopy diaper and I tell her she needs a clean diaper, she takes off running and laughing.

-Jesse makes this silly face at her, kind of a cross between a smile and a growl. She will do it back to him-nose scrunched up, teeth bared, chin stuck out. Its so funny!

-She loves anything elmo! We got these slippers at a garage sale-still had the tags on them- for $.50!! She also found a toy in Babies R Us that had elmo and I had to bargain to get her to walk away.

Babies R US bribery

-She basically puts herself to bed these days. I tell her its time for a nap and she walks to the baby gate and waits till I open it, climbs the stairs, goes to her crib and waits. I pick her up and put her in and she grabs her bunny, rolls over and goes to sleep.

Every day or so Jesse and I talk about how much we love this phase! She laughs and giggles and can somewhat communicate. She is just a lot of fun and she sleeps great so we have the best of all worlds. Thanks for humoring me during my update. It was probably boring for a lot of you!