Weirdest Birthday Present EVER

My grandmother always finds the most "unique" gifts.  I have no earthly idea where she found this...

My first thought was that Hannah would be completely terrified of it...I mean, I was scared for a second!  You probably couldn't find a 20 foot stuffed snake even if you wanted to!  Then my next thought was where the heck am I going to put that thing? It's not like we have lots of extra room in our house.  To my surprise, the snake has kept Hannah entertained for hours!

And I guess my dad couldn't resist playing with it for a minute, too!

Family Fun

This past weekend, Hannah and I got to spend some time with my family.  My cousin Michelle flew in from Vermont, Katherine and Jim came in from Tybee, and then we all packed up to go to my parents house.  We all had a great time!  Hannah is usually very shy around people she doesn't know, but she took to Michelle immediately!  She was attached to "Chelle" the whole weekend!

Since the weather was perfect, we went out on Daddy's boat to cruise around the lake. I was wondering how Hannah would react to the boat and its sound, speed, etc, but she did great and really seemed to enjoy it.  She insisted on wearing a straw hat just like her Nana!

I thought this picture was just too sweet!  Hannah loved looking at the bubbles in the water.

Spending time with Aunt Katherine

This is one of my favorites from the whole weekend.  Hannah and her Granddaddy swinging on the porch.  I wish I could remember what they were laughing at!

The girls

I need to do a better job of giving up the camera so I can be in some pictures.  This is the ONLY picture of me and Hannah.

We can't wait to see everyone again soon!  And hopefully Mark won't have to work the next time we all get together.

Asleep in the Jeep

We went for our first Jeep ride of the season last night.  We love to go on family Jeep rides when the weather is nice.  Fortunately, Hannah doesn't mind the wind, noise, and smell!

All ready!  Gotta pin her hair back!

She looks a little wind-blown, but apparently it didn't prevent her from falling asleep!

First Song!

Hannah officially sung her first song tonight, from start to finish!  It was the cutest thing I've EVER heard.  I was in tears it was so sweet!  She has sung bits and pieces of songs before, like Jesus Loves Me, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but tonight she sang Happy Birthday!  We called her Nana so she could hear it, but Hannah turned shy once she was on the phone and wouldn't speak above a whisper.  I can't wait to see what she learns next!  I'm loving this age so much...every day brings something new!

A little obsessed...

Most of you know that Hannah is more than a little obsessed with Dora the Explorer. She watches the show EVERY night before bed.  It's pretty much the only television show that she'll sit still and watch. If she eats a good dinner then I let her eat a pack of gummy snacks as desert while she watches Dora. Guess what kind of gummy snacks...DORA SNACKS! Hannah gets oddly giddy about her "Dora snacks".  It's neat though to see her get so excited about something so simple.

Today I had a weak moment while walking through Walmart. I've never liked to dress Hannah in clothing with characters on it. Not sure why...I guess it's just not my style. Hannah was in desperate need of some new sneakers so we checked out the kids shoes. Needless to say we ended up leaving with a pair of Dora sneakers. I'm still not thrilled about it, but to see the look in Hannah's eyes once she put them on makes it all worth it. I'm still looking to find some good old fashioned Nike's for her!

Hannah insisted on wearing her new kicks with her jammies tonight. Here are a couple pictures of her watching Dora, eating Dora snacks, and wearing Dora shoes.

And yes, she is wearing Christmas pajamas!

24 month stats

I took Hannah for her two year well-visit at the pediatrician this morning. He was very pleased with her progress.  Here are her stats:

Height: 33 inches (25th percentile)

Weight: 23.4 pounds (10th percentile)

BMI: 14.8 (1oth percentile)

I'm a bit concerned about her weight. A few months ago she was weighing around 25.5 pounds. She has only gained 1 lb 12 oz since her first birthday, and just 6 ounces in the past 6 months. Plus, they weighed her with her clothes on AND a wet diaper. That just doesn't seem like it could be enough weight gain. I don't know where she gets it from since I was well over 30 pounds when I was her age :)  She has always been on the small side, and since the doctor said everything is okay, I'll try not to worry.

The good thing is that Hannah did not need any immunizations! But, the doctor wanted to check her hematocrit levels since she was a bit anemic last time. She was quite a trooper while they pricked her big toe and took blood and fortunately her hematocrit was in the normal range this time.

We don't have to go back until she turns 3! And wouldn't it be a miracle if we were able to go the next year without any reason to see the doctor?!  I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Home away from home

I'm not really sure what to think of this, but Hannah has been calling school/church her "home".  She goes to the most wonderful daycare, which just happens to be at our church.  On Sunday's as we pull in the parking lot for church, she screams "Home, home!"   I guess I should be happy that she loves her school/church so much!  The only thing that makes me sad is that she has to spend so much time at daycare, rather than at home with Mommy or Daddy.  I have come to accept the fact that I'll never be a stay at home mom, so what better place to call "home" than church, right?

Hannah's First Hunt!

No, I'm not talking about deer hunting!  Although, I know Mark cannot wait to take Hannah hunting with him. We need to work on her ability sit still AND quiet before we give that a try!

Hannah went to her first easter egg hunt at church this weekend. I don't think she really cared too much about it, but she just jumped right in and did what the other kids were doing.

Lookin' cute and ready to hunt for eggs!

The look on her face says "Mama, I DON'T like the mulch getting in my shoe."

Daddy showing Hannah what to do.

I got it!!

But, now I want to see what is inside the eggs!

"See all my eggs, Ava?"

I would say Hannah had a very successful first hunt!