First Camping Trip of the Year

Jon and I have been looking forward to camping for a long time now. We have been excited because we think that Hannah is finally old enough to really enjoy it. There are a couple of lakes near the Springs that we have wanted to check out, which made us want to get a canoe even more. We have wanted a canoe for several years now, but never seemed to find a good enough deal on one. Long story short, we found a great deal on a canoe a few nights ago so we decided to get it. So we loaded everything up, Chevy Chase style, and took off. We found a campsite, set up the camper, and headed straight for the lake. Hannah was just as excited to go out on the boat as we were. In fact, when she was grumpy about getting into her carseat to drive the boat to the dock, all we had to say was, "Hannah, do you wanna go on the boat?" and her grumpiness would fade. Despite the wind and slightly chilly temperatures, Hannah was happy every minutes that we were on the boat. She got mad a couple of time because she wanted to use the paddle by herself, but when we let her "help" us she was happier.

Sorry to all of you grandparents that are thinking, "get her hair out of her face!" We had just stopped for lunch and it was really windy. If you look closely under the hair, you will see the big smile on her face though!

After scarfing down a little lunch Hannah immediately wanted to get back into the boat. Since it was so windy on the lake, Jon decided to do a little fishing in the cove where we stopped for lunch since it was kind of protected from the wind. Hannah and I played in the water a little while Jon fished...

...And then she realized that if she threw the rocks into the water they would make a big, delightful splash! While we were pretty far away from Jon, I don't think that he ever had a chance of catching a fish once Hannah started tossing rocks.

I kept trying to show Hannah how to skip the rocks and how cool it looked when they floated across the water. She kind of looked at me like, "that's great Mom, but can you do this (while making a huge splash after throwing in a big one)?!?" She moved up and down the water's edge throwing rocks for at least 30 minutes. The bigger the splash, the more exciting it was, and the more squealing with delight she did!

After a nice long nap that afternoon we decided to go for a hike to look for some firewood. I changed Hannah into some clean clothes "for the evening" and sent her out with Jon before I changed clothes. By the time I got out there she was completely covered in dirt! It only took seconds! She doesn't even really seem to mind being dirty, except that she does try to get the dust off of her hands.

Jon found some big pieces so he ran those down while Hannah and I gathered some smaller pieces. Hannah walked around for most of the time, but wanted to be carried towards the end. I had my back pack full of wood and my arms full too, when Hannah refused to walk any further and began crying. This is how Jon found us when he got back!

Having a little dinner around the campfire.

Hannah was big on "helping" this trip, so here she is "helping" me do the dishes after dinner. She was very serious about it too, that's what was so funny about the whole thing!

Playing with Daddy!

Posing for a photo while waiting for the fire to get hot enough for s'mores!

More cleaning on Hannah's part!

We played some cards and Hannah "talked on the phone" (aka. put dominoes up to her ear and talked to all of her people...moe-moe, ga-pa, mommy, daddy, etc.) The next morning Hannah woke up last and was super happy! We have taught her how to "stretch" after her naps or when she wakes up in the morning. It's pretty hilarious. This is her stretching!

Beautiful waterfall on the other side of the lake. The Tarryall Lake flows into Tarryall River which winds around for about 25 miles and eventually runs into the South Platte which is one of the best fly fishing rivers in this part of the country. We are going to be spending a lot of time in this area this summer!

Jon and Hannah looking for fish in the river.

When we left Hannah cried and cried saying that she needed her water! "My water, my water! I neeeed my waterrr!"

Swim Lessons

As you know, Hannah had took swim lessons, but since I had to swim with her there was no way for me to take any good "action" photos. So when everyone came for Hannah's birthday I was able to get some good pictures. I think it is obvious that Hannah loves swimming...she even got excited about it a few minutes ago when she was me uploading photos! We ended up swimming three time during the week while everyone was here, twice for swim lessons and once at my Dad's hotel. These are a little out of order, but that's okay! Nonetheless, good times were had by all!

These are at Dad's hotel. There was a pool with a gigantic water slide attached. Hannah even got to slide a little and of course she loved it because she loves all things slides and water! Above, Hannah with her grandpa and below with her Auntie.
This is where the swim lesson pictures start. Hannah was totally showing off for the camera, which really means that we got some great shots of her swimming! She's such a little ham, which is of course appropriate since she's a Hadden--ham!

Hannah was the only baby that didn't get stressed out with the life jackets. I think it mostly had to do with the fact that she had an audience! She did not cry once and really seemed to enjoy it!

She was also known as the "daring one" in her class because she loved doing things by herself and was very brave. Her favorite thing, aside from singing songs at the end, was jumping off the wall. By the end she was taking a few steps and doing running jumps into the water!

She is such a show off, but I kind of love that about her!

She learned to sing "the Wheels on the Bus" and the "Hokie Pokie" because we did those at the end of each lesson. She still loves both songs today and can often be found singing them in the car to entertain herself!

She loves "swinging" through parking lots, stores, etc. I used to love this when I was a little girl and she does too!

Hannah's Party and the Last Five Weeks

I have tried to do a blog about Hannah's birthday party a few times now and I have had trouble uploading the photos each time. Then I got busy and well I just plain didn't want to take the time to do it. So finally it is time! I have combined it with several other things that have been happening the last several weeks...but first, the party.

Cookie cake! Hannah's not really a fan of cake so this year we decided to try a cookie cake instead. It turned out pretty good and of course I have to give props to my sister for the decorations. For the last several months Hannah was obsessed with bubbles, fish, and all things water, so we opted for an "Under the Sea" theme. We had Swedish fish, goldfish, and lots of bubbles. It ended up being cold and rainy so we nixed the original plan of having the party at the park and just set everything up at home instead.


Hannah in her "evening gown!" While she looks a bit like a fourth of July firecracker here I think it is still super cute. The dress is fully sequined and Hannah loved it! She is such a girly girl sometimes! The whole family went out to dinner the evening after the party so I decided that she could dress up. Hannah picked her own shoes and shoe the sequin shoes also...I guess a girl can never have too many sparkly things!

Most of the family after dinner. L to R: Mike (Jon's Dad), my sister, Cindy (Jon's mom), my Dad, my Mom, Hannah, me, Jon, and Doug (Jon's uncle).

This one's for Doug and all of his friends because Hannah is sporting her new ASU sweatshirt/hoodie! Also Doug, she has worn it several times since then and asks for it when I ask her which jacket she wants to wear.

While the theme of the party was bubbles, most of Hannah gifts revolved around cows. She had recently developed a new obsession with cows and it has only grown stronger. If she is still crazy about them, this time next year you will see a cow themed party, I just wasn't up for throwing in the towel on the bubbles and fish because the cow thing came after I already had some good ideas!

Jon, grandpa Fred (Hannah's great-grandpa), and Hannah.

Hannah actually left for a week an a half after her party and spent some time in Texas with Jon's parents and sisters. She had a great time, but we all decided that she was ready to come home. I took her to the park when she got home because I knew she would be ready for her "normal" things! And she was...she played at the park like she had never played before. She was so sweet and happy to be at her "regular" park. It doesn't hurt that she pretty much just loves all things outside anyway...

She likes me, she really likes me!

When we were at the park once, Jon showed her how to climb up this weird rounded ladder. After that she always tried climbing it and it only took a few times before she was comfortable doing it. I blame Jon for this and do not love that she chooses this route to get to the slide. It stressed me out because in this pictures she is probably three to four feet off the ground! Of course she doesn't want any help either so I just hang out close to her so that I can catch her if she falls. Of course she hasn't fallen either and I am sure that my stress is unwarranted, but I just can't help it. I am such a chicken when it comes to things like this, yet I don't want her to be a chicken like me! I have issues, I know...that's why I have Jon in my life...he makes me relax a little!

Happy to have made it to the big slide! The kid LOVES sliding...that and swinging are her favorite park activities!

So Hannah got home from Texas on a Wednesday and we left on Thursday to go to Oklahoma. Hannah was the flower girl in my friend Erin's wedding so we left late Thursday afternoon to drive to Oklahoma. It was a quick trip but we loved getting to be at their wedding and seeing them commit their lives to each other. It was at a place called Quartz Mountain Resort. There's camping, fishing, golf, etc there so we spent Friday morning checking everything out! Hannah's favorite part was getting to see all of the turtles...and getting to wear her dress and be pretty.

Here she is the morning of the wedding. She got her hair done and when I came in to get her a little later she found me, came up to me, put her hand under her hair and fluffed it, and said, "Mommy, I pretty!" She definitely thought that the wedding was all about her so that was pretty cute. She loves both Erin and Larry (the bride and groom) so she did great with the rehearsing and the ceremony.

I was a "friend of honor" in the wedding so I was already down the aisle before Hannah had to walk down. Jon was at the back with her and got to walk down the aisle. Once she got going she walked right up to the stage and wanted to see Larry. She plopped down right in the middle of the stage, right were the bride was supposed to be! Again, I really think that she thought it was all about her! I convinced her to come over to sit with me and she finally did right before Erin made her entrance. I was worried about how she would react during the wedding to sitting still and being quite. She took it way better than I expected! She rustled around for a few minutes and then I noticed that the person sitting next to me was looking at Hannah and smiling. I didn't realize it, but Hannah had gone right to sleep! She slept through the entire ceremony and then even through the pictures! I couldn't have asked for anything better because she was perfectly quite throughout the whole thing!

Unfortunately I did not get very many pictures at the wedding. I usually take everyday pictures on my phone, but I knew that I would want to take a bunch so I got a whole pack of batteries at Sam's club (a little much I know, but I always want to be prepared). Our camera is kind of bulky and doesn't fit well in a purse but it takes great pictures so it's worth pulling it out for special occasions. So I was certain to pack my batteries, but forgot the dumb camera at home! I am hoping to get order some pictures or to get some from friends. There are a few cute ones on Hannah on the wedding website so you can check those out here: www.candiphoto.com/blog They are under the "Erin and Larry Wedding" post. You will also get to see pictures of our dear friends on their happy day!

Birthday Day

For Hannah's Birthday "Day," we made mini-cupcakes to share with Hannah's class at daycare. Hannah had a great time helping me make the cupcakes...there were three or four more on the tray, but she kept taking them off the tray to lick off the icing and sprinkles.

It was also "hat day" at daycare so we decided that she could wear her number one crown. Technically it was her 1st birthday crown, but I decided that it could mean that it could also mean that she is #1! This one is Hannah getting ready for her big day!

This last one is Hannah at the movies. We took her to see Rio because she always comments on it when she sees the commercials. It was her first movie and while the picture is dark, I think it is worth posting because she looks so happy! She was a huge fan of the popcorn eating and sitting in her own seat! I think she had a great day and she definitely loved the movie! Afterwards we went for some burgers and ice cream. Hannah held out so that she would have room for all of her ice cream, if you can't tell.