Christmas in Alabama

We celebrated Christmas in Alabama this year. We told Santa where we'd be and added your gifts to the sleigh and dropped them off where we were. 

Here you are before heading down to see what Santa brought. 

There were 4 piles of gifts, one for each child. You had fun playing with your new toys. Santa brought you a tricycle, helmet, and little people zoo. You also got a stocking full of fun and practical items.

Cousin Madeline helping you out.

A new set of spoons!

"Hey, this Santa guy's no so bad after all, he brought me an Elmo book!"

"Did I find everything?"

Trying out your new toy... not so sure about it at first.

Starting to warm up to it!

Helping Uncle Cliff and Daddy make the chocolate pies.

Attempting a family picture.

You LOVE your helmet! You now associate it with riding on your tricycle and beg for us to put it on you.

Happy riding!

Happy 15 Months

Happy 15 months Miss Hannah! This month has been full of changes, wonderful friends and a loving family.

It's been a challenge living outside of our own home for over a month now. You have been a trooper and have adjusted well to your new, every day, surroundings. We are grateful for family who have let us camp out with them until the new house is ready.

The 15 month faces of Hannah Kathryn:

This month, you got to see Mrs. Heather again. She met you when you were just a few weeks old and has watched you grow over the past 15 months. You LOVE Mrs. Heather.

Stranger Danger. You still aren't too keen on new people and new places.  You still have trouble in the church nursery and the visit with Santa was less than stellar. If Daddy and I are with you, you usually do fine. You aren't shy at all in music class or in the reading class.

Words. We feel like you've really had a language explosion this month. And by language explosion, I should say babble explosion. Up until this point, you've been a rather quite little girl. You have always been full of personality and you would "talk" some throughout the day, but nothing like you do now. You will carry on, what seem to be, complete conversations in your babble. You point to and laugh at many things. Daddy and I wish we could decode this babble. It's hilarious to listen to your little voice rise and fall and the rhythmic pattern you "speak" in.

You do have new words this month. We haven't heard Conner or Banana again, so I guess those were a fluke last month. Your new words this month are: Ball, Dada (and you say it in the correct context!), up (you say it when you want to be in our laps or held), duck, quack

I'll add your new signs to this category. You can sign "please." I think your cousin, Max, really helped nail this one down for you. He's a real pro at it and you've been around him a lot this month. Thank you Max!

Personality. Your little personality is really starting to shine through. You have always been a serious little girl. This month, we feel like you're letting your silly side out a bit more. We are completely eating this up!

Reunited!
You were reunited with Daisy this month. Wow, what a happy girl!

Learning. Daddy and I like to call this category your "tricks." All parents like to play the "Hey, look what my kid can do..." game. We're no exception. Sorry, Hannah! Your show and tell this month consists of several neat tricks.

• You're learning "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" and you can correctly point to your head, toes, eyes, and ears (and you know there are two!). You're still working on shoulders and knees. You can also point to these body parts on Elmo. I think it's neat you know that not only do you have certain features, but that other creatures (stuffed animal, Daisy, etc) do to. 
• You can blow kisses (thanks to our friend Steve Poteet). 
• You can play patty cake and point to yourself when we say "put it in the oven for Hannah and me." 
• You can find and identify several familiar people and things in pictures and books (e.g. Daddy, Grandaddy, Elmo, Max, Big Bird, etc).

Teeth. This category may finally be retired for a few months after this post :) Hooray! You a total of 12 teeth this month. The 4th, and final, molar finally pushed all the way through. We shouldn't see any more intruders for a while now. We are brushing your teeth every night. You've been very good about letting us brush them up until this week. You independence is taking over and you'd rather do it yourself. In fact, you cry and pitch a fit when we try to brush your teeth for you. This is a challenge we'll work on over the next month.

Show us those pearly whites:

Eating. You are still a wonderful eater. I'm so thankful for that. Occasionally, you won't like the choice I've made for dinner and shake your head "no" when it's put in front of you. Normally, if I let it sit in front of you for a few minutes, you'll eventually eat it :) Bananas, cheese and yogurt still top the list of your favorite foods. Butterbeans are a big hit this month along with sweet potatoes, pretzel sticks (a new food) and raisens (a new food).

Here's a picture of you in the high chair Uncle Cliff and Daddy sat in when they were babies.

New this month: You have a new found love of stuffed animals. I love to see you cuddle the animals. You have a yellow lab that stays by your side and sleeps with you. I think you like him the best since it reminds you of Daisy. You also have a singing Elmo that you snuggle too.

We went to the Clemson Christmas parade. Your first parade!

You attended your first Clemson basketball game and LOVED it! I think we found your sport :)You also met CU football star, Taj Boyd.

Routine. This is more for my memory than anything else. You are still taking two naps a day. We tried dropping one about 2 months back and it didn't work well. You still need a morning and afternoon nap. I'm not complaining, you're a great sleeper. You eat three good meals a day, two full cups of milk and a cup of water.

Hannah, it's been a fun month full of change. You have handled it exceptionally well. We are so proud of you!

A visit with Santa...

I've been looking forward to your visit with Santa for a while now. Aunt Amanda and I thought it would be fun to take you and Hudson together. We dressed you both in your Christmas finest. You were two cute kids!

Waiting in line... all is well.

I had a hunch the visit with Santa wouldn't go too well. You're not too keen on strangers and especially of the male variety. Oh boy, was I right!!! You did not like Santa, not one bit.  Exhibit one:

Hudson, on the other hand, was all smiles the entire time.

Once we got you calmed down, we took some pictures of the two of you. Don't worry, we chose the Christmas display in Belk... far, far away from Santa :)

Basketball cutie!

We took you to your first basketball game this week. Oh boy, I think we found your sport! You were fascinated by the game and loved clapping and cheering for the Tigers. You sat in my lap and actually WATCHED the game. You followed the players up and down the court. You never once wiggled to get down and didn't get upset during the game. You loved every second. I guess that's good, it's in your blood. Your namesake and great-great grandmother, Hannah Maxwell, played collegiate basketball. Maybe you have some innate abilities and talents that will shine through in the years to come... 

We had a Clemson "celebrity" run-in at the game. You met current Clemson QB, Taj Boyd. We were excited, but you were clearly too focused on the game to care. 

14 months

**I'll add pictures to this post later when we're settled into our new place. 


Motor Development. An update on your stair climbing...You grabbed my hand as we were approaching the stairs on the second floor and on your on started backing up to the top stair. You then proceeded to go down the stairs backwards... all by yourself!!!! GO HANNAH! We still don't trust you to do it without supervision, but my goodness you are doing well!

You have a few new signs!! You can sign "milk." This is actually the first sign we ever introduced to you. You must have been pretty hungry when I got you out of your crib one morning because you kept staring at me and signing "milk" until I gave it to you. You can also sign "eat" and "book." We are very excited about this! Signing has helped our communication tremendously! Less frustration all around for us.

Teeth. You have 3 official molars this month and the 4th is beginning to pop through. It's been a tough month of sleepless naps and nights.

Eating. You are officially weaned. I fully weaned you at 13.5 months. With the arrival of three molars and "the yuck" that sideswiped you, I just couldn't take that last session away any sooner. You're still working through the last few bags of pumped milk. I think I'll cry a little bit when it's finally gone. The good news is, we introduced whole milk to you and you didn't blink. You loved it.

You started "correctly" using a spoon this month!!! We are so exited! We've always given you your own spoon at meal time.  Usually, you just chew on or play with it. Out of the blue, you showed interest in putting your spoon in your yogurt. You've done this before and it's ended in a big mess. This month, you can dip your spoon and immediately put it in your mouth!! Go Hannah! What an important life skill you're learning!

Play. You are doing much better with independent play. Daddy and I are teaching you how to play with your mega blocks (clicking and stacking) and also your wooden blocks (stacking). You recently sat down with your basket of mega blocks and spent time clicking them together. This is a great step! Normally, you would only pull the blocks apart and toss them aside.

You are matching puzzle pieces much better this month. You have no trouble matching the pictures. You place the puzzle piece on top of the matching picture and occasionally settle the piece correctly in its place.

You can find Elmo in your book. Each new page, we ask where Elmo is and you point him out right away. You even find him on the lift- a- flap page.

We continued with Gymboree this month. Now that we've had a few weeks in the program I have to say, I am not a fan of their music class for learning the basics. Literally, I could turn on some music, give you an instrument let you play on your own and accomplish the same thing. I do like their play and learn and will probably keep you in that when we move to GA and find a separate music class.

Daddy taught you how to give high fives. It's adorable to watch the two of you.

Words. That's right, you get a new category this month. You said two completely legitimate words this month. Your first, "banana" on 11/15/11 We're counting this as your official first word. Both Sandy and I heard it and literally stared at you and then each other with our mouths wide open. You were munching on your banana and I asked you if it was good and you said "banana." Your second word came a day later. You said, "Conner." We were having a girl's night at Mrs. Mindy's and you crawled towards Conner and said his name. Again, I was in shock. Mrs. Mindy said "Did she just say Conner?" I said, "I heard it too!" So funny! You haven't said them since, a fluke or are we hearing things???

Hannahisms. You are such a sensitive little girl and your feelings are hurt pretty easily. Physically, you are tough and very strong. You are a studier and really concentrate on how things work.

New This Month. You are starting to learn parts of the body. So far, you can point to a nose when we ask you "where's ___ nose" and you point to my nose, daddy's nose, elmo's nose, your nose, etc. You've got nose down! You also know where your ear and head are.

You attempt to put your own shoes and socks on. You haven't figured out how to put them on your feet, but you are trying very hard.

Your independent personality is coming through more and more. This leads to some mini-tantrums when you get into things you shouldn't or if we take something away. We're adopting the philosophy "ignore the negative and praise the positive" We'll see how it works.

Big Changes. This marks your last month living in Chicago. We spent 13 months in this great city. You survived a very cold winter, we made some great friends, we explored, you had many firsts, we had wonderful friends visit and you enjoyed many activities. We will miss Chicago dearly! You will especially miss Conner. He's your very best buddy and we are very sad to leave him and Mrs. Mindy. We know that Georgia will be a wonderful place too, once we get settled in.

Reunited and it feels so good!

Needless to say, you were more than happy to be reunited with "dah-oh"

The Last Bag of Milk

This post brings a whole slew of emotions. This is the last bag of momma's milk. You made it 14 months with some sort of momma's milk every day (nursing or pumped). My dream goal had been 12 months, so I'm quite proud of that stat. 

Why nursing was best for me: I'd always known I wanted to breast feed my children. As the saying goes "Breast is Best." It's common knowledge that breastfeeding reduces ear infections, the chance for asthma, decreases allergies, the risk of SIDS, even some forms of cancer and the list goes on. I'm all about prevention and good health, so I was bound and determined to nurse you for one year. It was something I was really excited about. Call me naive, but I thought this would be a slam dunk (unless I had production issues). Yeah, about that...Nursing an infant is just plain hard. Things I wish I'd known before you arrived and struggles: 1. Nursing isn't quite as natural and easy as you are lead to believe. There's an art to it. I felt like a failure many times in the beginning and worked extensively with a lactation consultant until we were able to jive better. I was lucky, you latched from the beginning. And, although you latched, you just latched too well and not properly. This lead to many painful and frustrating nursing sessions. Thank goodness Medela and Lansinoh have phenomenal products on the market to help with this. 2. It is extremely important to have a good support system in place. Your dad, grandmother, aunt and Mrs. Amanda were crucial in my decision to keep on trucking. Call it dumb luck that my best friend and sister-in-law both had babies your age and decided to nurse. I'm thankful it happened that way! There are so many points in time where I wanted to throw in the towel and the encouragement and support pulled me through. 3. Nursing is really tough on the body. Who knew?? I just figured your body produced milk, no problem. My OB recently told me that nursing is actually harder on the body than the pregnancy itself. Now, everyone is different, but in my case I can totally see where he's coming from. I have dealt with everything from mastitis and recurring clogged ducts to dizziness and hypoglycemic incidences. Nursing demands so much from the body.... not just the mere extra calories you need to consume. 4. Nursing demands a lot time, especially in the beginning. It took me a while to build up any sort of supply for you to live on in case I needed to be away or if an emergency came up. One example to this, I caught a stomach bug when you were 3 months old. Thankfully, I was with family that could help out and take care of you. You still needed to eat and I didn't have a milk supply built up yet, so I literally pumped (while completely nauseous, and handed down bottles of milk to my mom to feed you. Another example, Daddy and I were gone for 4 days when you were 10 months old. At that time, you still nursed 3 times a day. For some reason, my body decided to reject the pump (I never let down) and ended up hand expressing milk to keep my supply up and keep me from being engorged. Nursing is a labor of love! The Joys: I don't want to paint a negative picture of nursing. It was a wonderful experience for both of us. It provided us with a special bonding time. When you were a little older, it allowed me to hold you and cradle you when you'd otherwise be squirmy and on the move. It created wonderful memories. You used to get so excited to nurse that you literally opened your mouth and made the sweetest sound of "I can't wait, I can't wait!" when you'd latch you'd close your eyes and then smile. I knew it comforted you. Speaking of comfort, nursing did help out TREMENDOUSLY in times you were stressed. For example, we were on a plane and NOTHING would calm you down. After about 15-30 minutes of screaming I finally let you latch on and you immediately calmed down and fell asleep. I had already offered you a bottle of pumped milk, but you refused. You wanted mama! In the end: I loved nursing you and will totally do it again when your brother or sister comes along. It provided you with numerous benefits and allowed us to share a special bond. I was just clueless going into it.

Goodbye Chicago

After what seems like a marathon, we've packed up all our belongings and hit the road back south. Miss Hannah had a hard time saying goodbye...

A little cuteness for your day

Things have been more than crazy at our house. We move within the week and I have been packing the house like crazy. We had a last minute change of plans and are using pods for our move, since we'll have to have things in storage until the new house is ready. Oh, the joys!

I have been a little slack on updating the blog, but couldn't resist posting this cute video of
Hannah. She's eating sweet potatoes and apparently pays attention a little more than what we give her credit for. I was blowing each bite before giving it to her, explaining that it as hot. Then, out of no where, she began blowing each bite too!

Oh Where, Oh Where Did My Little Dog Go?.....

In preparation for our move to GA, we decided to take Daisy to Grandmommy and Grandaddy's for the remainder of our time in IL. Miss Hannah, you are distraught over this decision. You walk around the house calling Daisy's name (Dah-Oh) and you look for her every where. You still grab her toys in hopes that she will come running to you. We have since packed Daisy's belongings up.

We were in the grocery store last week and there was a see and eye dog strolling down the aisle we were on. When you spotted him, you almost bounced out of the shopping cart and kept yelling Dah-Oh, Dah-oh, Dah-oh and pointing. I have to say, it breaks our hearts a bit to see how much you miss her. Don't worry, sweet Hannah, you will be reunited soon. In the mean time, Daisy is in the best hands possible and more than likely enjoying a short break from us :)

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween from the Vance Family!

What the Yuck...

Poor, sweet Hannah! The past few weeks have been rough for you. Since turning one (just a short month ago), three molars have pushed their way into your mouth. On top of that, you had a cold and ended up getting pink eye because of it. You have had a rough go of it!

This is just a glimpse of what you endured...

The molars, of course, were the worst. Those pesky teeth would wake you from naps and during the night. Pain relievers and Orajel have been staples for us.  Thankfully, your top molar is completely pushed through the gum line, while the bottom two are about half way through.  The cold is clearing up and you just finished your last day of antibiotics for your eye. You are on the mend :)

13 months

Happy 13 months Miss Hannah! This has to be our favorite time frame with you. We know it won't last forever, the terrible two's are just around the corner, but for now we're savoring every moment with you. Everything is exciting and new! The world is quite amazing through your eyes.

You officially have curly hair! YAY! You definitely got this trait from me. The score is now Daddy: 1 billion and Mommy: 5 You are definitely your daddy through and through, but a little bit of me comes out when we least expect it.

Motor Development. You are officially walking! You really mastered walking this month and very rarely drop to crawl. It was fascinating to watch the progression. I'd say about two days after your birthday, you were confident in your new ability and have been on the go ever since.

You are mastering your shape sorter. Right around the 12 month mark, you began matching the shapes progressively better each time you played. This is mind boggling to me. It's so fun to watch your little mind figure things out. You're not at 100% (not even 50% yet) and it may take you a few tries, but it's not a random attempt to get the shape in the bucket. You are deliberate and study the sorter before making your decision.

On that same note, you're also starting to match your puzzle pieces to their picture. You haven't quite mastered the skill of putting the puzzle piece in it's exact place, but you're close enough.

You play pretend and mimic us. You got three "Little People" play sets for your first birthday (an airplane, barn yard, and house). Less than a week after you go them, two things happened: 1- you perfectly mimicked the way I had the little people board the plane and 2- on your own, you opened the door to the house and put the daddy inside, shut the door, rang the door bell and then opened the door back up. Maybe Mimi showed you how to do this when I wasn't around. Again, I was shocked

You began deliberately pointing at things you want. In true Hannah fashion, it started with food.

You've been climbing up the stairs since you were 9 months, but this month you can turn around and scoot down the stairs. We have to remind/show you to do this every time right now, but once we do, you catch on immediately. We certainly don't trust you to approach stairs by yourself, but we are proud you're slowly learning the appropriate way to master them.

Teeth. You officially have two molars. The second one popped through the gum line on October 23rd. One day shy of your 13 months. This one was a bear. You were definitely uncomfortable and had interrupted sleep for a little over a week. We found out today that your third molar should make an appearance in the coming week. I feel so bad for you. I know it has to hurt!

Eating. You have officially dropped down to one nursing session a day. I still nurse you in the mornings, but you get a cup of momma's milk at night. We are slowly making a dent in the milk I had stored up in case of emergencies. My next goal is to introduce whole milk. Once I know you like it, we'll discontinue the morning nurse.

You tried at least three new foods this month with great success: brussel sprouts (ok, so they were au gratin, but still), acorn squash and canellini beans. You loved them all. YAY!

Sleep. You have been having a little difficulty with your naps and sleeping through the night this month. We had a hunch, and recently confirmed, it was due to a molar coming through. You would consistently wake up 45 min into your naps screaming in pain. You also woke up throughout the night screaming in pain. That's so abnormal for you. It was no fun!! Molars are the pits.

We dropped you to one nap a day this week. So far, it's working out well. You still sleep from 7pm-7am every night! You usually nap from 12-2:30 or 3pm. We are very lucky.

Hannahisms. You do NOT like others screaming, even if it's for a joyful reason. You cry... a lot. You are very sensitive. I don't know where you get it... certainly not from your mother :) (note sarcasm!)

You have a long pause when you start crying. This isn't new, I've just never recorded it and it's definitely a Hannah trait. In fact, Daddy and I always say "there's the pause" when you begin to cry. Your little face turns red, tears start welling up in your eyes, mouth is open and then, only then, do you begin screaming. We've been tempted to time the pauses because they can be pretty dramatic.

Things you love. Grandmommy bought you a singing Elmo as a fun treat when you were in Clemson back in September. Oh. My. Goodness. You LOVE this toy. Any time you spot singing Elmo. You pick him up and take him to the nearest person. You can barely contain yourself when we take him from your hands and push his belly to sing to you. You get THE BIGGEST grin on your face, rock back and forth and just laugh. It melts our heart to see you so happy!

BOOKS!!! You LOVE books! Your favorite book this month is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" with "Doggies" being a close second. You spend a lot of time at your book box.

You are still obsessed with Daisy. I love it!!! Any where she is, you are. You love to snuggle up to her when she's laying down. You love to play with her and hold her toys in the air.

 

You still love to swing at the park. Although collecting leaves is right up there these days. You leave the park with a bouquet of leaves in your hand.

October. You got to spend time with Megan and Max this month. Aunt Sue kept for two days while Daddy and I looked for houses. You and Megan had a blast together and there's some really cute videos of the two of you. Max came to Chicago for a week and we had fun exploring.

The aquarium was clearly a hit!

 At the farm.

and the library

We really took advantage of all the fall festivals in the area. We went to pumpkin patches, apple picking, and took in the wonderful scenery in area parks. Fall is by far my favorite season, especially in midwest. We had a lot of fun family days in October.

October of course means college football. You have your favorite two teams to cheer for. Here you are  cheering for the Tide with daddy!

We started Gymboree with you this month. I really like it for this stage in your development. Not only are you learning music, but you're also learning and refining your motor skills. I'll switch you back to a Kindermusik type class later, but for now and how active you are, Gymboree it is.

You are the proud owner of big girl shoes!!! It took us a long time to decide on a pair, but it was worth the wait. You LOVE them!!! and so do we :)

You attended Conner's first birthday party. It was fun and you played with side walk chalk for the first time! We will really miss Conner when we move. He's your very best buddy. 

You took another trip on the airplane and were wonderful on both flights. This made us extremely happy! It makes such a difference when the seat beside us is empty. You have your own space to move and play.

Happy 13 months Miss Hannah! We love you!