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!

Big Changes Headed Our Way...

It's time to break out the champagne and raise a glass...

Wes and I are happy to announce that we are officially moving back to the South East! Wes received an unexpected, but very welcome, promotion in his company (YAY WES!). This opportunity is certainly a blessing! We've been itching to get back to the SE, especially since Hannah came along. Wes will now be covering GA, NC and SC. We will live in the Atlanta area.

Most of you are probably wondering what our next steps will be. Good question. We wish we knew how all this was going to play out. Tentatively, we will be in GA by Thanksgiving. Ah, yes! Just before another nasty Chicago winter :)  We are currently house hunting and hope to have that process wrapped up soon. We'll keep you posted :)

We have really enjoyed our time in Chicago and have been fortunate to have lots of friends and family visit. Thank you to everyone who visited and helped make this year a bright and happy one for us.

Photo Book

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New kicks...almost

We took you to be fitted for your first pair of "real" shoes the day after your birthday. You are walking really well these days, and need more than just a soft sole shoe to walk in.

Daddy, Mimi and I took you to Stride Rite. I remember being fitted for and wearing Stride Rite shoes when I was little, so it was only natural for me to take you there as well. 

Getting your foot measured. You were a size 4W because of your high instep.

Excited about picking your shoes out.

Trying on your first choice.

Checking the size to see if it's right.

Trying to get you to walk on your own. You weren't used to the rubber sole shoes and weren't quite sure you liked the new feeling.

Daddy had to hold your hand and walk you around the store.

In the end, we left without new shoes. You weren't sure of your walking and began losing confidence. You literally just sat down in the floor and even crawled. We all decided to let you wear your Pediped soft soled shoes a while longer until your master walking a bit more. Maybe next time...

One year photo shoot and fall fun

We had a blast this past weekend! You had your one year photo shoot with Michele. We adore Michele. She knows exactly how to capture your sweet spirit and curious personality. We went to a local pumpkin patch and it was amazing. I was so excited when we pulled up. It was much better than the broken and rotten pumpkins one in Denver from last year.

We had so much fun with you. We started off getting some shots of you in your birthday dress and then quickly put your fall dress on. We put you in so many fun places from piles of pumpkins to a bin full of dried corn kernels.

We ended by giving you a few fun props. First up, a caramel apple. You didn't really know what to do with it and ended up dropping it. So, we gave you a chocolate dipped pretzel rod with colorful M&M's on it. There was no taking that back once we gave it to you. You loved it and worked on that thing for more than an hour after the shoot. Every time we tried to take it from you, you cried. I don't blame you, it was your second experience with chocolate.

Check out Michele's website for the sneak peek!

http://www.michelevwagnerphotography.com/2011/10/hannah-one-chicago-baby-photographer/ 

Conner also had his 1 year photo shoot at the patch that morning. The Knox's were nice enough to hang around afterward to play. We rode the little train, watched pig races, and just had fun playing.

The measuring stick was a little off, but it was still fun to put you beside it.

Of course, you still had the chocolate in your hand :)

Who's that driving the tractor??

Train time!

Mr. Jeff, Conner, Daddy and you rode in the caboose.

Mrs. Mindy, Conner, Mommy and Hannah

Hannah loves the pumpkins!!!

 Y'all loved the gourds! So much so, you actually dropped your pretzel to play.

Hey, Remember Me? I Had A Birthday Too!!!

Dear Readers,

This is Daisy. I hijacked Mother and Daddy's computer. Clearly, I was shocked to see this blog is all about Hannah.  I mean, I guess that makes sense. Hannah has taken over Mother and Daddy with her special powers. I don't know what they see in her. I'm still waiting for her to leave.

Last year, Mother left for a few days right before my birthday. I thought she was going to bring me a fun present. It was my birthday and all. See below:

This new gift was cute and everything. Everyone was waiting for my reaction, so I smiled. She looked like a fun toy. I was wrong. Worst. Gift. Ever. All she does is make noise and take all their attention. She even takes MY toys. I get in trouble for taking hers. The only good thing: she shares her food with me.

That brings me to this year. Mother and Daddy had a lot of making up to do from last year maybe take Hannah away. I thought they'd forgotten about me as usual but low and behold, they had a big celebration... just for me! And even documented it. I knew they'd never post the pictures themselves, so I'm doing it.

At first, I thought they were up to their old embarrassing antics... The hat, really??

This is so embarrassing...

Wasn't that balloon from Hannah's birthday party... YESTERDAY?

Oh, wait... what's that? Is that.. is that... a cupcake??? For me??? I don't even care if they put it on Hannah's birthday plate. Sure, I'll wear the hat. Oh, and that balloon I'm sure Hannah was just borrowing it yesterday. It was mine all along.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!!!

Quit singing and let me at it!!!

Seriously, you never want me in pictures any more and you choose now??? There's a cupcake. For me!

Let me at it!!!!

Oh, sweet goodness... This totally makes up for last year, totally.

Mommy's Helper

You are into everything these days. When I'm in the kitchen, you usually come over from the den to see what I'm up to. Generally, you open the cabinets and pull out the tupperware to play with. This time, you wanted to help me unload the dishwasher.

It started off innocent. You grabbed a fork and a spoon and had fun banging them on the door. Next thing I know, I turned around after putting some plates away to find this...

IT