Big Girl with a Belly Laugh

Steve and I have been working on trying to get Hannah to be a little more independent when it comes to feeding herself. She is great using her hands, but we are trying to get her to be a little more "lady-like," using her silverware. Some nights are better than others. This happened to be a really good night. She was so impressed with herself! Listen for her belly laugh!

Where's Hannah?

I'm sorry...I just can't stop myself! These videos are just too much! Hopefully it gives you a little glimpse of our little munchkin and how much fun she is! She loves to play peek-a-boo! This is her doing it with the kids at the dinner table!

Mrs. Potato Head and her Jewels

This video is of Hannah wearing her "pretties!" (a.k.a. her Mr. Potato Head Glasses and her gold necklace)

Tinkerbell in Action

Here is a video of Hannah in her Tinkerbell outfit. Mom is a little obsessed, can you tell?

Twirling Tinkerbell

Introducing Tinkerbell!!!!

We got Hannah this tinkerbell costume for dress up after Halloween and gave it to her for Christmas. She just recently has gotten into wanting to put it on at least once or twice a day. At first she didn't really know what to do once she put it on, but now she's getting the hang of it. She twirls around the kitchen like a little ballerina, sometimes jumping and turning trying to admire her own wings.

I just couldn't help but put up a few of these pictures...

This past week she decided that she would spruce up the outfit a little bit more and start accessorizing with her Mr. Potato Head glasses. A great addition to the outfit if I do say so myself! (I just hope people don't say she gets her style from her mother!) Can you tell by the look on her face how proud of herself she was?

Tinkerbell jumps, did you know that?

Wonderful Winter Happenings!

We have been busy since the New Year has begun! Hannah is almost 18 months old now! She is becoming very independent and starting to explore a bit more with her words. I'm sure I understand her better than most since I spend more time with her but she says things like basketball, turtle, bubble, puppy, baby, along with her usual animal noises and train sound. She surprises me with something new every day! I've actually begun journaling because I'm so afraid I'm going to forget some of these precious moments!

Here is a glimpse at some of the things we've been doing...

This picture was taken yesterday at the Strong Muesum of Play. My cousin Ian and his wife Kate brought their two kids out to play at the museum with Hannah. They had so much fun! This is them sitting on the stairs on Sesame Street!

Hannah LOVES her Mr. Potato Head that she got from the Pechler's at Christmas. There are always pieces scattered about on the floor and most often when we go anywhere there are pieces in her hand along for the ride! My favorite is when she wears these glasses. And I want you to know, she doesn't just put them on for the picture. She puts them on and will leave them on for 5-10 minutes at a time. You can tell she thinks she's big stuff when she's got them on! Too funny!
One other really fun thing we got to do was meet the family in Syracuse for Disney on Ice. Grandma and Papa Elmer got everyone tickets for Christmas. It was a great way to get all the kids together! You can probably tell from Josh's hat that it was about Nemo! Thanks Grandma and Papa for a wonderful evening together!

This is another classic of Hannah. Whether we are on our way out the door or just playing at home, she LOVES wearing winter hat and mittens. These ones happen to be mine, so they are a little big, but she doesn't mind one bit! It's great because I never have to argue with her about putting them on. Normally she asks before I even think about it!

This was Hannah's first experience with Play-dough. Santa brought her some at Christmas. She only attempted to eat it a number of times, so overall I didn't think that was too bad. We didn't do as much molding, squishing, or sculpting as I thought we would. She more than anything just wanted to keep changing colors before we could get any farther than taking it out of the container. Hopefully we can make some progress there as we play with it more!

She is giving us her "cheese" face here. So cute, huh?

Christmas in Lancaster, PA

Part of our Christmas celebrations was a wonderful couple of days down in Lancaster, PA where we met up with Steve's mom and dad and his sister's family. This was the first time the kids got to see each other since the summer. What a reunion! It is so much fun watching them interact and play together. It's like they've never been apart! We don't get to see a lot of one another, so we cherish any time we get! I kind of put the pictures in backwards order, but you still get the idea....

Here are the kids ready and waiting to go to "Sight and Sound" to see "The Miracle of Christmas" show. They LOVED it! (And so did we!)

The first couple of days we were there the kids got to do a lot of swimming! I wouldn't say Hannah loved it, but she was comfortable getting in with Gram. (Gram is such a good sport! She was hoping to not have to get in!)
This picture was taken minutes after we all got together at the hotel. So happy to be together!

Thanks Gram and Gramps for a WONDERFUL weekend together! Wonderful memories made that will never be forgotten!