Hannah Banana :-)

I thought it was time for a little Hannah update 🙂

Sweet little Hannah has been really coming out of babyhood and learning so many new things…she walks around the house with her Minnie towel dragging behind her everywhere…and looks for Minnie Mouse everywhere she can find her.  She is so tender and sweet and comes up to me in a soft, little voice telling me what she wants…without too much sorrow when my answer is not what she wanted.  That is different from what we are used to!  I am wondering if that will change as she is entering her twos in just 2 weeks…  Her vocabulary is amazing to me.  She learns new words so quickly and loves books.  I love this age so much!  I love teaching her and opening up a new world of language for her.  I LOVE introducing her to new words and see her face light up.  The other night, we had a picture book out and she was naming off each picture and word faster than I could turn the page.  I was very surprised and excited for my little sponge 🙂  I really have discovered how much I enjoy teaching my little ones….each age has its wonders in teaching moments and I just am so thankful to have them to walk through God’s amazing creation with and go through the delight with them in each and every suprise waiting around the corner for them…sometimes, it’s an ant..sometimes it’s a turtle…sometimes a beautiful sunset….tonight it was the thunder on the speaker over the vegetable area in the commissary…my kids never fail to miss an exciting moment!

Hannah loves her “buddy.”  She loves being with him.  She loves waking him up the most.  Hannah is an early riser and buddy likes to sleep in a bit 🙂  He is the first name on her lips when she wakes up…she says to me “See buddy?”  And then she says, “See daddy?”  I love hearing those first few words out of her mouth,  especially in the morning (her naptime wake up is usually a bit sadder….).  Hannah loves dogs and kitties…any animal really…and she has the funniest voice when she is trying to say something loud.  When she enters a room and when she speaks, she softens hearts.  She really is so graceful and beautiful to us in so many ways.  She is perfect for buddy and has taught him so much.  And he has taught her so much too!  She has a gentle, loving spirit and gives me so many wonderful hugs and kisses throughout the day…of which mommy can never get enough 🙂

Little Hannah is about to turn 2 shortly…I have treasured this past year…it has been so much easier than that first year with my sweet, colicky baby.  I have learned so much more about her, and that has put my heart at ease.  I am so very thankful she can communicate with us now….there are still times of many tears…inconsolable tears…but I usually know a bit more about what caused those tears now…and it is nowhere as bad as the screaming for 10-12 hours a day with maybe a 15 hour nap as a newborn…really, all the way up until she was 1 year to 18 months (the time spent screaming decreased with age..).  I am happy to know what she wants and how to help her and love her more.  I love getting to know her more and more as she learns new words to communicate.  We were doing everything we could to help Hannah talk!  And now the time has come and it is such a delight hearing what our sweet, precious little princess has to say.

Hannah can run!  Her foot is still not quite right, but we are hoping that some new braces and more physical therapy will help it get even better.  She loves to chase buddy around the house and loved running down the lane by the cottages in Canada…I will never forget her chasing the butterflies and smelling the beautiful flowers as she just started running…down that beautiful, quaint lane in a wondrous, pristine land from my husband’s childhood.  I know it was so precious to him too.

She loves trains and boats 🙂  And loves her “night nights”…she carries them with her everywhere.  When I look at sweet Hannah, I see a little bit of myself in her…and a lot of my mommy.  She is a special gift, a gift of “favored grace” to us….that I am thankful for every day.