Lou-wweeee-sianna

We had a great time, despite the sickness that Hannah and I both got mid-week! There are so many pictures and it was so hard for me to decide which ones to post so I guess I will just have to put the rest on facebook or something. I didn't actually take very many pictures on the trip myself so most of them are from my sister and Aunt Cynthia. Thanks guys! Enjoy! I am pretty sure Hannah made her Auntie's day when she walked right up to my sister at the airport, smiled, and lifted her arms up to be held. It was so stinkin cute!
As always, we did a lot of front-porch sitting while we were there. This is food-faced Hannah swinging with Pa (pronounced paw).

Stephanie from across the street (she's the neighbor & we have the same name) was prepared with blocks, sidewalk chalk, and popsicles...and let me tell you that Miss Hannah thoroughly enjoyed the popsicles!

This happened almost daily. Climb in the shower...examine the drain...climb out of the shower, then do it all over again. Weird but funny!

This is one of my favorites...these are the steps on the side of my mom's house. Mom and I were talking while she picked bell peppers from her garden, CJ was sitting in the swing, and Hannah was sitting on the step.

Drinking water like a big girl (until she poured it all over herself and Pa) while sitting outside on a warm afternoon.

The kid LOVES balls. Did I ever mention that "ball" was officially her first word? Yeah, there's a reason...she loves them. This was taken at the grocery store. Hannah was in the cart and started to get fussy so we took her out so that she could walk around. As soon as she was on the floor, she b-lined it for the rack of balls and pulled one out!

Rocking! Mom and CJ got her a little rocking chair several months ago in preparation for her visit and she LOVED it! She tried to climb into by herself all week long...I can't remember if she ever actually did it by herself but I am sure she will have it down next time.

Mom bought her this awesome turtle pool...she apparently couldn't wait until she got into her bathing suit to get it...she also couldn't wait until it was outside or until there was water in it!

I thought the pool was pretty cool...I mean you can attach the water hose to it and water shoots out the head of the turtle. That's cool right? Apparently not to Hannah! She hated the squirting head and immediately began trying to get out, so we turned it off.

Here, she has decided that it is safe to get back in, so in goes one leg at a time. Just like climbing the stairs, Hannah! You got it!

"Pick me up Mom! What do you mean you don't want to because I'm wet??? What does "wet" mean?" No time for pictures either, I guess. Back to the pool!

Cousins! What a funny story...this is Hannah's cousin Michael! Actually he is my cousin's son so I think that makes in Hannah's third cousin. Isn't this adorable?!?

But this is how she really felt! Michael just turned two and was trying to be so sweet! He kept trying to hug his cousin and give her kisses and toys. It was so sweet, except that he is bigger than Hannah and would squeeze her a little too tight when hugging or would run up to her a little too fast to give her kisses...and well, let's just say she didn't like it!

It appears that Hannah is so stressed out that her usual thumb sucking just didn't provide enough comfort so she went for sucking her whole hand. Michael even let Hannah play with his leap frog dog. Hannah has one herself so she was a really big fan.

Or maybe Hannah was just hungry earlier! My sister, cousin Rebecca, Aunt Cynthia, Michael, Hannah, and I went to lunch at the Olive Garden. I tried to tell Hannah to hold out for a bread stick but she insisted on eating the silverware instead!

Trying on my shades after lunch was over. She looks good in them, huh?? By the way, please begin noticing the curls!

Hannah was mostly over it by the end of lunch (they sat across the table from each other), although everything was extra dramatic because she was about two hours behind on her nap!

A lot of the extended family was coming over for dinner so Mom made a bunch of food. As seen here, a gigantic bowl of spaghetti that Grandma let Hannah eat directly from. They were having a good time...

...until spaghetti wound up everywhere. Amazing how that happens when Hannah is feeding herself. Mom said something like, "it will be easier for when you change her." I quickly responded, you mean when YOU change her?? I'm not the one that allowed her to eat spaghetti, with a spoon, out of that big bowl! So here is the changing....

Not as easy as it looks, eh Grandma?? I like to run away when I am getting changed! I am pretty sure she has no diaper here either...running across MY bed!

She was a BIG fan of her Great-Uncle Jimmy. He and Pookey from across the street. I called them her "boyfriends" because if I wasn't sure of her location, she was almost always with one of them! Mmmm...watermelon! She gets that from me...actually maybe her Grandma...or her other Grandma...let's just say she comes from a long line of watermelon lovers and it appears that she is no different than the rest of us! She even ate the yellow meat watermelon (it doesn't taste any different, I just wanted to put in a plug for it because not many people even know that there is such a thing...I used to LOVE yellow meat watermelon when I was a kid)!

Do you see those sweet curls?!? Her hair is curly at home, but the humidity and heat in Louisiana made it crazy curly. I love it!

And last, but certainly not least, we end with a rocking chair picture. I think it was her favorite new thing a Grandma's house, other than the ten thousand balls that she got, so I thought this was an appropriate way to end this blog!

Just a Start...

...to our Louisiana trip! There are so, so, so many more and we are still only halfway done with our trip! However, things will be getting super crazy for a while once we get back so who knows when I will be able to post a detailed summary of our trip so this is here to just wet your appetite!

First of all, this that an amazing rocking chair or what?!? Second of all, Hannah has really been digging it and has almost figured out how to get into it by herself. It has taken a while because it moves (hence the name rocking chair) and it's a little too tall for her...but I am certain that she will be an old pro at it by the end of the week!

Finally, soccer! Okay, maybe it's not soccer to Hannah, but rather balls in general. For me though, it's been soccer in light of the World Cup and Hannah's been ball crazy! Today she was in the cart at the grocery store and wanted to get out. We didn't know why so we just thought she wanted to walk around. I put her down and she headed straight for the bin of big bouncy balls...and since she was with her grandma and auntie she got to take her prized one home to add to her already growing collection! And I have to give a shout out about the World Cup so can I just say that I got to watch USA soccer this morning? Let's just say it was a good thing it was just me, Hannah, and the TV because there was a bit of yelling going on. Good times!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last Saturday was my birthday and it turned out to be a great one! Jon got a lady from work to babysit Hannah for the evening so that we could go out to dinner. Then once we got home with Hannah and our dessert we watched a good movie until the wee hours of the night! Now of course in our family birthday's are not just a single day of celebration. We prefer a birthday week so Jon's mom came down to kick off my birthday week the weekend before. Along with her came one of my most favorite things that I have gotten in a LONG time...my Kitchen Aid mixer! I have literally been wanting one for years and so Jon and I decided that the next time I got a 30% off coupon at Kohl's I would have to get it. Well we got a 30% off coupon for the week before Christmas...couldn't justify it then. And miraculously we got another one the week before my birthday! We debated, but several things fell into place, including but not limited to, Cindy saying that she wanted to chip in for my birthday/mother's day gift, so we did it! I got to bring my beautiful girl home from Kohl's after receiving a whopping 30% off...even better!!! So that just started the week off well! Then of course there were decisions to be made like, what to name this fine piece of machinery, what to make first, and where would it go?? All of which brought on a new excitement...can you tell that I was dead serious when I said that I REALLY wanted one?!? Sad, I know, but true! So I decided that despite the fact that I am very opposed to making your own cake for your birthday, I just had to give the ol' Kitchen Aid a whirl so I made a yummy chocolate cake! And not to worry for all of you avid Hannah watchers, although this post is mostly about me I am still posting a few pics of the Nanner (she's helping with the birthday celebration on the day of)for you...so...Enjoy!

Sum, Sum, Summertiiimme!

It is definitely summertime here in The Springs and we are trying to take advantage of it! Jon's been dying to play soccer lately, so he crossed his fingers as we drove across town to the park where he played pick-up games last week...and sure enough the faithful masses were there playing the world's most famous sport (by the way, the World Cup starts tomorrow!). So Hannah and I played together while Jon played soccer. We've also been frequenting the park, going for walks, and enjoying our new deck! I have been loving it and of course Hannah has been eating it up since she loves being outside!

Hannah sporting a crazy messy face this afternoon after thoroughly enjoying a fruit popsicle!
Us at the park...I believe she was eating her snack here!

While she was really sneaky and wouldn't allow me to take a picture or video of her playing with the soccer ball that was next to us, she was really digging it. She even walks and kicks the ball! Maybe we have a "future kicker" on our hands!

Pushing the stroller! She can do this for hours...and it was great for me because just as soon as she started wandering off, or running toward the ball on the field, all I had to do was push her stroller a bit and she would come running back to push it some more!

Does this just scream, "Happy Summer?" Check out her Old Navy flip flops! Who knew they made those for babies?!?

As of Late...

This kid LOVES to be outside. She tries to escape any chance she gets and doesn't even care if it's hot or gross out. Fortunately our new house has lots of room to play outside and we have been taking advantage of that since it's summer here now!
Jon, Hannah, and I went to the park one day after Jon got off work. Hannah enjoys running around way more than playing on the toys right now. So we did that for a while, but Jon or I would hold her for a while when she got tired. I noticed that she had something black in her mouth (not totally unusual because she will also sneak a little dirt every so often). So I put my hand in front of her mouth, like normal, and told her to spit it out. She did and it was a weird foamy something and not a stick like I had suspected. We soon realized that it was the end of the nerf football that Jon had brought with us. See picture above! Hilarious! She just ate the end right off! Silly girl!

I found her napping like this one day...how she hid the golf ball from me while I was putting her to bed is beyond me. Are you catching a trend? She is also crazy about balls right now!

A little crazy hair for your viewing pleasure!

Pretzels...mmm. We went window shopping at the mall the other day and I got a hankering for some pretzel bites. I, of course, had to give Hannah one because she does love bread. She thoroughly enjoyed our little pretzel snack, so I had to make her pose for a photo!

Jon's mom, Cindy came down last weekend so that she could take me out to dinner for my birthday (and to see Hannah, right?). We decided to go to a steak place that Jon and I have been wanting to try. It was delicious, but that's not the point of this story...the point is, Hannah. Topless Hannah, to put it in Jon's words. Hannah LOVED this place. We started her out with some prunes because she was in need. Then came the bread...then the sweet potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes dipped in scampi sauce at her request, little bit of steak, milk, and who knows what other delicious goodness. Hannah's in a stage where she really wants to feed herself and is quite stubborn about it sometimes. So, to save the peace in the restaurant, she feed herself many of the above stated items. Do I even have to say that she was a bloated, sticky mess when we finished?? So Cindy took her to the bathroom to clean her up. Her white shirt was apparently beyond repair so this is how Hannah came out of the bathroom!

"Oh my God she's topless!" said Jon upon seeing her. He ran over, scooped her up, and headed for the door, all the while I am laughing so hard tears are about to start streaming down my face...Cindy joined in when I told her what Jon had to say. Priceless! I guess we were in a nice restaurant, but she's a baby and neither Cindy nor myself thought two cents about it. Jon was embarrassed a little and Hannah was HAPPY! We imagine that in these photos she was thinking, "Thanks for taking off my shirt grandma...it was a little tight and uncomfortable and awfully sticky!"

One more distraction that is not needed for Hannah while climbing the stairs. She found the stuff on top of the bookshelf. Decorations, Nan, not toys! Certainly not toys while you are descending the stairs! Good grief, you have to watch her like a hawk!

Kickin' it Asian Style

Our friends Kyong and Emi came to visit us from Laramie for Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time and they, as usual, spoiled us with delicious Asian food. Kyong made Kimbob (might be Gimbob, according to Wikipedia but I am sticking with my gut on this one) which is Korean style sushi and Emi showed me how to make dumplings! We have had both dishes before (Kimbob and Korean ramen are still my favorite skiing foods) and were thrilled to have them again since they are some of our favorites! They also shared their recipes with us so we can reproduce them later. I've already made another batch of dumplings since we ate all of the originals over the course of the weekend! We played a mean game of Phase 10, watched Japan almost school England in soccer, Jon and Kyong played golf, and Emi helped me shop for and plant some herbs in pots for our deck! Good times were had by all.

Kyong hard at work rolling the Kimbob with a "starving" Jon to the right. Jon had dumplings for an appetizer while the rest of the food was getting finished.
Hannah had a little dumpling appetizer herself. She, of course, loved her dumplings just as much as the rest of us. See, she IS part Japanese!

Emi stuffing dumpling wrappers. I helped also, but I was actually cooking some while she finished up. Dumplings are by far one of my favorite dishes!

The finished product, minus a few dozen dumplings that Jon had already eaten (not really a few dozen, but a lot!). Kimbob on the left and dumplings on the right!

Hannah had a great time with her Asian Aunt Emi and Uncle Kyong. Kyong and Emi love to play with and snuggle with Hannah so that, plus yummy food equals a good time in Hannah land.

I hate that Jon's finger was in this but what can you do? I love this picture though...so happy!