Christmas Cookies!

 Traditions... it's one way to make special occasions so fun! I know Hannah is just 3 months old, but I wanted to begin fun traditions for her first Christmas. I had every intention of building a gingerbread house with her. I bought the kit, but we didn't get to make it before Christmas arrived. However, we did bake cookies!!!!! Baking cookies is something that will be fun for her for years to come. This year she watched and helped me mix the ingredients together. Next year, I hope she'll be able to help me decorate :)

We're in deep discussion. Hannah was asking all sorts of questions about the white substances we were mixing together.

I don't really think she believed me when I told her how wonderful (when baked) flour, sugar, and butter mixed together could be.

She'll learn soon....

Cousins!

Never in a million years did I think that my brothers and I would have our first child all within 10 weeks of each other. Bill and Tiffiny's son, Max, was born September 3, Hannah came along on September 24th, and Bob and Susie's daughter, Megan, was born on November 11th. It's fun to have cousins so close in age. Hannah and Megan will have Max playing house and attending tea parties in no time! and hopefully, cousin Max will teach the girls all about sports and G I Joe.

December 10th was a special day for us. Hannah took her first flight and we were finally able to get all three children together for the first time. It was also my first time meeting Max and Megan! I couldn't get enough of them!

Hannah and me in Chicago and ready to head to Atlanta!

Clearly, the excitement of the day knocked Megan and Hannah out, while Max continued to be the life of the party.

Uncle Bob and Hannah

Hannah meets uncle Bill for the first time

Thanksgiving 2010

You made your second long car trip for the Thanksgiving holidays. We traveled to Daddy's hometown of Gadsden, Alabama. You rode through IL, IN, KY, TN and finally AL. Incidently, it was on your 2 month birthday.

Your first Thanksgiving was filled with family and good friends meeting you for the first time. Gran was at the house bright and early. She fell in love with you immediately. Daddy brought you upstairs and her eyes filled with tears when she saw you. She said you have Dosh's eyes. She just stared at you. It was a very special moment.

Your Great Aunt Bess also met you for the first time that morning. She thought you were beautiful and that you looked just like your Daddy. She said you were "Wes in a dress" and you know what, she's right. Mimi found a picture of Daddy when he was little and the pictures were really similar. You definitely look like your Daddy!

You went down for a long nap mid-morning and woke up right after we ate lunch. Your Uncle Cliff, Aunt Kristina and cousins Madeline, Bailey and Cannon were all eager to meet you. Cannon kept asking about "Baby Hannah." Madeline loved holding and talking to you.

You loved looking at Aunt Kristina

Cannon was so excited about meeting you!

We had you dressed in your Thanksgiving best, including special bloomers :)

Gran and all of her great grandchildren

Later in the day, Daddy's best friend Mike and his wife Michelle and son Zac came to visit you.

Daddy and Mike have been friends for a very long time. They were even roomates for a couple of years in Atlanta. Daddy and I met Zac last Christmas when he was 4 months old. It was fun introducing you to them this go round! We wish we lived closer so you and Zac could play together more often.

Happy Thanksgiving Hannah! Your first one was filled with love, family and friends! We had a great time in Alabama and can't wait for our next trip!

2 Month Post

November 24th, 2010

Dear Hannah,

Daddy and I can't believe you're already 2 months old! My, time sure is flying by. You bring so much joy to our lives and we love the new adventures each day brings.

You are a very well adjusted baby and "go with the flow." You haven't had what most would consider a "normal" first 2 months in the world. We moved to Chicago, IL when you were 5 weeks old. From the time you were born until about 6 weeks of age, we had visitors staying with us. It was a huge help to Mommy ad Daddy. We lived in a hotel for a little under a week until our new house was ready to move into. You were a trooper. I had heard stories of babies that have trouble sleeping anywhere but their own crib, in their own room. You were perfectly content napping in your car seat and sleeping in hotel rooms in your Pack and Play.

We wanted some sort of normalcy in your life, so we decided to implement somewhat of a 3 hour routine during the day (give or take a little). You are officially sleeping through the night as defined by a 6 hour stretch of sleep (YAY!). You really started this around 7 weeks. We put you down around 9pm and you generally wake up around 3am to eat. You go down for bed very easily. You don't cry at all and generally nod off within about 5 minutes. You usually wake up once during the first hour wanting your paci. Your 3am feeding is quite easy. You are an efficient nurser and know that when you're done it's time to go back to sleep again. You get up in the morning any where between 6-8am. That's your official first feeding, we play a bit afterwards, and then you go down for a nap. This pattern is repeated every 3 hours until bed. You still sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room in your bassinet at night. We will try you in your own room soon. Right now, it's easier for Mommy to feed you in the middle of the night.

You are a growing girl! You have officially outgrown your newborn clothes. I asked daddy to dress you one day and he brought you down in a onsie that didn't quite fit any more. It made us laugh a little! Here you are after you'd just eaten in said onsie. Look at that tummy!

You have gained a lot of good head control this month. Tummy time has been wonderful for you. You still aren't the biggest fan of it, but you do still like to nap on your belly.

You LOVE the play mat Mimi and Smooth gave you. You lay under it and have just begun intentionally swatting at and trying to grab the toys. I even caught you with the parrot in your hand one day. I was so excited and proud of you!

You love to take walks outside. Fortunately, IL has had some really nice weather in November. We walked several forest trails and you were in short sleeves in November! I saved the leaf in the picture below. I have it pressed in a book. I thought it might be fun to look at down the road. The leaf was almost as big as you were in this picture!

Daisy is slowly warming up to you. She still gets a little jealous of the attention you get from us. She does seem protective of you and is very careful around you.

You had your 2 month appointment and immunizations. You did extremely well. Dr. Ayuste gave you five shots. You cried (Mommy did a little bit too), but I had a bottle of milk ready to put in your mouth when the shots were over. You calmed down immediately! You do love your milk and it seems to fix any hairy situation. We had a lot of snuggle time that day.

You weighed in at 12lbs, 9oz and you were 23 inches long. Dr. Ayuste said you were a very healthy baby and developmentally right on track.

You still love to feel different textures. The "Hannah" blanket that Aunt Tiffiny, Uncle Bill and Max gave you is a favorite.

You are socially smiling all the time now. We absolutely melt when you do! I love to get you up from a nap or peer over your bassinet in the morning. You get the biggest smile on your face. Daddy and I can't get enough of it. We can't seem to catch that beautiful smile on camera, although we've come close a few times. Aunt Tiff really got you smiling, but the camera clicked a little late and we got you during the fade away.

Hannah, we love you more and more with each passing day! Happy two months little one!

Chicago Bound

On October 27th , we officially said goodbye to Denver. Daddy and I lived in Denver almost four years and you lived there for the first month of your life. We loved living in Denver and will miss it tremendously. It was filled with many firsts and will always have special meaning to us.

The movers packed us up over a two day period. You were such a good sport. We had to pack up your room and all of your toys. We convinced the driver, Johnny, to leave your swing out and put it on the truck at the last minute. We had a full day and had to drag you to a lot of places. We closed on our house, grabbed a quick lunch at Wendy's, you went with me to my last appointment with Dr. Wagar, helped direct the movers and cleaned up the house once everything was out of it. You adapted pretty well. You slept in both the stroller and the swing. You slept through the movers taping up boxes and banging stuff around. You are a heavy sleeper!

This was pretty much how you slept while the movers were at the house. Total Zen!

Goodbye Denver :(

Grandaddy came flew in to help us make the drive to Chicago.  Daddy drove one car with Daisy and Grandaddy drove the two of us in the other car. Your grandaddy and I have made many trips across the country together. He has moved me to Boston, Atlanta, Denver, and now Chicago.  Making a long car trip with a 5 week old is very different from what we've been used to. We had to stop every 2.5-3 hours to nurse and change you. The drive to Chicago took two full days. You did wonderful in the car and slept most of the time. We played a classical lullaby CD for you when you got upset and it seemed to really settle you down most of the time. We stayed in several hotels on the road. Hooray for the Pack and Play and hooray for you being able to sleep in multiple environments. You are one adaptable baby. I've heard some babies can only sleep in their own crib, in their own room. Phew! I'm glad you aren't that way.

We made the most out of our road trip, as we always do! We stopped at several points of interestst along the way. Our first major stop was in Lincoln, Nebraska. We had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel with one of my dearest friends, Dana (Adams) Griffin. Dana and I went to Furman together and got into all sorts of shenanigans. She was also my Kappa Delta little sister. I was so happy you were able to meet Dana. It was a special treat for us!

Our next stop was in Omaha, Nebraska. One of the items on Grandaddy's "Bucket List" is to visit the major baseball stadiums in the country.  Rosenblat Stadium is located in Omaha and it's where the College World Series is played every year. Grandaddy was afraid that he'd never make it to this stadium since it's slated to be torn down soon. It was a very special treat for all of us.

The girls are posing infront of the stadium with Grandaddy. Growing up, it was tradition for Grandaddy and me to go to the Clemson baseball games together. It was great father/daughter bonding for us. I can't wait for him to take you to the games!

Daddy and Grandaddy are getting you into sports early!

Our next major stop was Chicago. We arrived on Saturday, but the moving truck didn't get to our new house until Monday morning. We had to stay in a hotel until then. Here you are helping Daddy catch up on work.

You and Grandaddy to a quick nap before heading out to dinner.

We had our first Chicago Style pizza experience at Giordanos. It was REALLY good! We are all sold on Chicago Style pizza and can't wait to eat it again.

Sunday, October 31st

We still dressed you from head to toe in pumpkin gear even if we didn't get to take you trick-or-treating

We were able to tour around Chicago on Sunday since the moving truck wasn't meeting us until Monday. We took a trip down to Wrigleyville where Wrigley Field is. We were able to see a famous landmark and check another stadium off of Grandaddy's Bucket List.

Moving day finally arrived and we are offical residents in Chicagoland! 

Woo hoo! Our stuff arrived and we're ready to move in.

The spacious and open kitchen. The two of us are going to have fun in here!

The den area

Posing with Grandaddy before taking him to the airport. 

We are very excited about this new chapter in our Family Story! We can't wait to see what Chicago has in store for you Hannah!