Hannah at 26/27 Months

My sweet Drew headed out yesterday to his Grammy's house for a couple of nights. That left me and Hannah to have a fun day together-just the girls. We ran a few errands together and ate lunch at Abbays. She LOVES to get out of the house, so this was right up her alley. (Drew is my homebody.)

It made me so happy to spend 1:1 time with her, but more than that, it made me really look forward to spending time with her as she grows and cultivating our relationship together. I want so badly to be a dear friend to her. She just melts me with those sweet smiles and that crazy hair! It made me really look forward to our homeschooling years in the near future and getting to be with her and nurture her sweet soul.

A quick update on Hannah: She is talking up a storm! She is using possessive pronouns pretty well these days! (Are we going to our house? Is this yours? Is this mine? Put this in my hair.) It's so awesome to be able to understand her now and it leaves her much less frustrated than Drew was at this point since he wasn't nearly as verbal.

I call Hannah my sweet mess. Because she is definitely sweet, but she also has the potential of being a complete mess! ;) When you ask her to do something she doesn't like, she stops to think about her options. She furrows those little brows and pokes out those lips into "duck lips." Many times, she'll ask "why?" I try to explain "why" in a way she will understand, and she usually makes the choice to mind and follow through. Sometimes when she doesn't, she gets to sit in time out for 2 minutes. She abhors that, but I give her a bunch of chances to make the right decision beforehand. Precious thing. But she kills me with those lips.

A funny Hannah "thing": I apparently have a new name in times of distress. It is "Mommy Audra." When Hannah is lying in her bed, her afternoon nap alluding her, (which is just about a daily occurrence right now--pray for us) she starts calling for me. But she adds in the whiniest whine she can muster and calls, "Mommy Oddwa!!!!" It cracks me up every time!

I must say, I have a soft spot for this girl. After experiencing Drew grow out of the baby phase faster than I cared for, it makes me want to hold on to Hannah at this age a little longer. It makes me want to give in to her little baby ways, rather than push her to independence. The other night she was crying in her bed for no apparent reason other than she wanted me. As much as I wanted to be on my couch watching TV and prepping for worship the next morning, I went and picked that girl up and we rocked and we walked, and she finally fell asleep lying in her bed, holding my hand through her crib slat. She was so precious, and I ate that up.

Progressing milestones: 1) Hannah is in the process of potty training by her own will. She almost always poops in the potty, and is starting to ask more frequently to teetee in the potty. I'm so proud of her! Consequently, when any of us goes to the potty, she races in to clap and say, "I so proud of you, _____." The little Dora (of course) panties we bought as an incentive are her favorite things to wear--over her diaper. It's pretty funny to see! She remembers what I told her weeks ago: when we tell the diapers bye bye and wear our Dora panties, we'll go to Chuck E Cheese. And you better believe that $10 at Chuck E Cheese is worth no more buying $25 boxes of diapers every 2 weeks!

2) We are getting ready to put Hannah in a big girl bed. Andrew will hopefully start building it ASAP. She's going to think we've been neglecting her all these years when she sleeps on a real mattress for the first time (hers is that lovely plastic, hard kind in cribs).

Current Hannah favs: Dora, showers, playing outside, shoes, her blankie, Sprite at restaurants (she calls it coke), pigtails, brushing her teeth (she really just loves the toothpaste), doing anything outside of the house, SINGING, kissing the baby in mommy's belly, playing chase, Elmo's world, spinning around, balls, her pull-along puppy, bananas, M&Ms, mac and cheese, juice, and making a mess!

Not so fond of: Being carried, sitting on the potty when she doesn't want to (we attempt before bathtime to spare Drew bathing in teetee water), and being in time-out.

Well, based on the distressing "Mommy Audra" calls coming over the monitor, it seems Hannah's afternoon nap for today will be nonexistent. Guess I'm gonna go get this girl and head out to get our last ingredient for dinner. And we might stop for a treat while we're out--it's a girls' day, right?!