Happy 1st Birthday Hannah

Hannah turned 1 on March 9th and is quickly seeming more and more like a toddler and less and less like a baby. I may have even shed a tear (or at least got choked up) on her birthday... how did this happen so fast?!!!! She was a pretty easy baby and instantly earned a special place in our hearts and in our family. She is no longer the mellow baby she was for so long... now she's on the move and into everything! She has always been such a happy baby, so quick to smile and almost never in a bad mood. Her enthusiastic smile brings us so much joy and we are so thankful the Lord entrusted her into our care!

We just had a little family celebration on her birthday, but she had a blast. My amazingly talented sister-in-law Tara, documented the event with her camera. Here are a few shots from her big day...

 This is where you see that Hannah takes after her Grammy and the Hart side of the family

 This girl LOVES water... it makes her so happy to take a drink from my cup or sneak a sip from her sister's cup... she's so funny. She also loves bread... she finds it in the pantry and brings it to us, shrieking to ask us for some. I suppose she comes by her love of carbs honestly ;)

 David grilled a great meal and I made her a carrot cake, which she thoroughly enjoyed. My cousin Jessica, with pastry school experience, helped decorate it :)

 

And now for a little birthday comparison... I noticed something about my dad... Apparently, he loves to be in the cake eating action for 1st birthdays...
                                                                             Hannah

 Abby

Do you think these birthday girls look similar?

We have a walker!

Poor Hannah came down with Chicken pox last week, but it didn't dampen her spirits. She was such a trooper through it all even though she didn't sleep well out of discomfort for a few nights. However, our "house arrest" for the week did give her some extra cruising practice, and by the end of the week, she took 10 steps! Our little mover is not wasting any time, in only a few short days of walking, she's quickly transitioning to walking as her preferred method of movement over crawling. Here's a quick video of her walking...

December Re-cap: Top 6

December was such a full month that it is hard to even know where to begin. While I could probably make 5 posts about this month, I'll narrow it down to our top 6 moments/ events in December in no particular order(I apologize in advance for the length of this post).

6.  Hannah at 9 months: Smiling and Standing
 Hannah weighed in at 19 pounds, 4 ounces (75%) and is 27 in (25%). It seems both our girls are on the short side... She also got her first tooth in at 9 months!

5.  Hannah Meeting Santa (She didn't cry!)

 
4.  Disneyland
   We went to Disneyland in mid December... it was crowded, but we still had a lot of fun. Hannah enjoyed her first trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth"

 Selfie on Hannah's first ride... Dumbo !

 First Set of Ears:)

3.  Christmas (Hannah's first ) We enjoyed spending it in Indiana!

2. First Snow Experience
We went to visit Grammy and Opa (David's parents) in Indiana for Christmas. We were praying for snow and God delivered... on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning... so fun! While we didn't get a ton of snow, it was a great first experience for Abby and Hannah. Abby was enamored by the snow and had fun stomping around in it, making a snow angel on the deck, and helping Daddy build a small snowman!

 

1. Abigail turned 3 years old!!!

          We love our little girl and can't believe she's already 3. She is very verbal and loves everything to do with stories... books, oral stories, telling others about her day. She is cautious, often choosing to sit back, watch, and learn before jumping in to a new activity. She shows signs of being a linear thinker... she loves to line up her toys in a straight line, group them by color, and gets upset if something is out of place. She is compassionate... often concerned about others. She is petite... 29 lbs and 35 1/2 in. tall... takes after her petite Grandma. She has become a much better sleeper since we moved this summer... no more naps, but sleeps in her big girl bed pretty consistently from 7:30 - 6:30. She loves her morning Chocolate milk (ovaltine) and is still hooked on blueberries, but is a good eater overall.
We have our challenges with her, but overall, she lights up our days and fills our hearts!

Abigail wanted a Dora the Explorer party for her birthday... we had to improvise a bit since it poured down rain the morning of her party, but I think we pulled off a fun Dora Fiesta indoors. Here are a few snapshots from her party...

 

Running toward her new playhouse from Grandma and Grandpa :)

Fall Happenings

Wow! Life has been busy and I have been absent on the blog posts for awhile. Here are some highlights of our Fall thus far:

Hannah's Baby Dedication: In early October we dedicated Hannah at our church, Journey of Faith. We had amazing support from all of our family... David's parents came out from Indiana and my grandmother, aunt and uncle, and cousin came down from Northern California for the event.



Red Sox win the World Series! David dressed up the girls in their gear to watch Game 6 as his Sox won the World Series. It was fun for David and Abby has her chant down... "Go Red Sox, Go!"


Pumpkin Patch and Halloween fun: Abby as Dora the Explorer and Hannah as a butterfly... Abby really got into the trick or treating this year and it was fun to see her so excited.
 



Abby's Park class at the pumpkin patch




Hannah at 8 Months: She is a crawling and standing machine! She wants to move, move, move and loves anything that is not her own toy... her big sister's toys are some of her favorite of course!

Sister Fun

 Abby has been enjoying afternoon walks with Hannah in the wagon. She usually insists on taking her herself.

Abby got her face painted for the first time at a birthday party and loved it (she's always been too scared to try it). Thanks Smarts!

Just a few highlights of our fall so far... we are looking forward to our first Holiday season with both our girls :)

Hannah is 6 months!

We celebrated Hannah's 1/2 birthday last week (and by celebrated, I mean took her to the doctor ;). We can't believe she's been here for half a year and yet it's hard to remember life without her! She is our happy, smiley girl and we thank the Lord for His blessing to us in her.  At the doctor last week she weighed 17 pounds even and measured 25 1/2 inches long. We started solid foods last week, and she's going to town... I think sweet potatoes have been her favorite so far (just like her sister). Also, like Abby, she's a take-charge kind of eater, grabbing the spoon and putting it to her mouth herself. This also means she's a MESSY eater! She adores her big sister who can usually get her to laugh, and wants to move, although she hasn't quite started crawling yet. She's still waking up 1-2 times a night and taking 3 naps, but she's a decent sleeper and I'm definitely not as sleep deprived as we were with Abby.

My sister-in-law Tara did a little photo shoot of her last week. Here are a few of my favorites...

This is our happy baby girl who smiles with her mouth wide open! Happy 6 months in this world, Hannah. You have already touched the lives of others with your joy. We pray that God continues to use your contagious smile to spread His love throughout your life!