Wow!

She's ready for a bike ride--Safety First!

So what were you doing 8 years ago? How about 7 years ago? We were newly married 8 years ago, and one year later I, Jacqui, started working for Focus on the Family. So here we are 8 years later, still married, and seven years later, I'm still working with Focus on the Family. Wow! Speaking of "Wow!", that is one of Hannah's new words. As with any new word, she over emphasizes, so every time she says "wow!" I have to turn to look to see what spectacular object has captured her attention. Everything the last few days has resulted in a cry of "wow!"... One of us walks in the room, the kitty brushes against her, she spots a "new" toy, etc. Each day is a new adventure for her and it's wonderful to get a glimpse into the eyes of a child.

On another note, one of Hannah's new phrases is "Go, Go, Go, Go!". She signs and says it simulatenously in very a deep, throaty voice--it's so cute!. She also understands what that means, so we've made a game of going then stopping. Now she just has to learn to say and/or sign stop. I'm sure that will come in time.

In part to celebrate our 8th anniversary, we spent last week in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virigina. Below are some pictures.

Twins? No, it's just the sunglasses...

Evidence of the black bears getting into the garbage... We didn't see them but we saw their footprints. These appear to be from a cub. My mom's hand is between a few of the prints, her hand is about 7 inches from wrist to the tip of her middle finger.

Sunglasses, a jacket, and a cell phone, what else does a girl need?

The first firefighter in the family... She's "driving" an antique firetruck.

Upon our return, we discovered that our male cat, Buddy, had suffered an injury (prior our trip due to escaping to the outside world and apparently getting in a cat fight) that had gotten infected and abscessed. So within minutes of our return, we were sitting in the pet ER. It turned out to be a pretty traumatic experience for us as they gave us a grim outlook regarding Buddy. We ended up taking Buddy and Angel to a regular vet on Monday morning, where the vet was much more optimistic and they took exceptional care of our feline kids. However, Hannah was unsure about why the kitties were in the cages and wanted them let out so she voiced her opinion to everyone who would listen. Here's a few shots of Buddy's post-surgery wounds, courtesy of Josh. The blue is from the dye in the disinfectant they gave us to clean him. Poor kitty!

Uh-Oh! and Kisses

One of Hannah's new phrases is "Uh-Oh!". She tends to exaggerate the "Uh" as that's a new sound for her, so it's quite funny to hear her say it. Since this is a new phrase to her, it's one of her favorites so we hear it several times during the day, like this morning...

We started working on boundaries with Hannah when she became mobile, and she generally excels at obeying. Therefore, we decided to move her from the crib to a toddler bed about three months ago. Since the move, she's only gotten out of bed a two or three times without permission. This morning, I awoke to the sound of little footsteps coming down the hall. When I opened my eyes to see her and asked "What are you doing in here?", her response was "Uh-Oh!". It's so hard to discipline her when she's so terribly cute!

Here's a picture of her in the toddler bed a few days after the move... She's using her favorite stuffed animal, Hippo, as her pillow.

Another favorite activity for Hannah is giving kisses. If you're near enough to her, you'll probably be lucky enough to have one planted on you. Otherwise, she'll blow you a kiss. Here's some pictures of her about to give a kiss...

Summer 2009

First Popsicle... First Time in the pool....

First Smore...

Our little cowgirl...

At Saunder's Springs...

This summer has been another busy season for our little family. We've hosted a Harry Potter marathon and two pool parties, traveled to Steve's graduation celebrations in Denton, Texas, visited parents and siblings in Louisville, Radcliff, and Somerset, KY multiple times, visited grandparents and extended family in Ohio, attended the end of Summer Bummer party at church, went to several drive-in movies, cruised the Hwy 127 sales, plus much more!

Meanwhile Hannah has had a growth spurt so after almost a year and a half of facing the rear of the car, we were able to turn her carseat around to face the front as she finally reached that elusive 20 pound mark. She's also recently added walking on her own to her skills, and spends most of her days walking circles around the room(s). Her vocabulary is exploding too, both spoken and signed. She now says "gall" for ball, "gah-er" for water", "at" for cat, "et" for eat", "all done", "all gone", "baby", "mommy", "daddy", "Josh", "hi", "bye, bye", "oh", "oww", "Mimi". She can sign ball, please, bird, drink, water, mommy, daddy, baby, eat, thank you, flower, all done, wash (hands), fish, dog. She makes the animal sounds of "meow", "woof", "quack".

More info to come!