Pretty Helmet

blabbity, blabbity sorry for not blogging, whackity, smackity. oh who the hell cares.

i recently took a new job that has sucked me into a vortex of awesome. however, with such awesomeness, comes monitored internet. (they’re watching me right now. as i type.) i have my very own office with a lovely view of a wooded grove. and by grove i mean there is a parking lot in the middle of it. i also received a substantial pay increase as well as insurance benefits that make me want to ask my physician for every test known to modern science. retinal screening using hot needles?! sure, why not, it’s covered! cholesterol test using ground up lemurs?! bring on the lemurs*!

Hannie has blossomed into a no-hold-barred 2 and a half year old. everything she wants she needs. and not just needs but “NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDS!”. “i neeeeed to watch Lion King for the 400th time”. “i neeeeeed to have every single book that i own in my two tiny hands”. “i neeeeeed to eat my 12th helping of oranges right now or you will pay the price in screaming”.

after a jarring experience of falling out of her crib we transitioned her to a big girl bed. her crib is a combination crib/big ass bed. had i actually read the damn instructions i would have realized that we could have just taken the front of the crib off, lowered the mattress and made it into a toddler bed. but no, we went from teeny tiny baby sleepy place to full mattress-hey mom could you like totally get out of my room so me and Bubba can make out-bed. it’s a big bed.

since the photo was taken we have added black-out curtains that match the pillowcases and have taken down the ill fated black-out window vinyls. those were about as useful as a bag of wet mice**. due to our vigilant effort to make moving to a big girl bed the most awesomest thing on the planet, she transitioned perfectly. and i love that i can now crawl in bed with her at night and snuggle and sing songs.

Kisses Before Bedtime
we also spent a couple of weekends at the lake with good friends. at first Hannie was leery of the water, but soon took to it like a fish, stating quite adamantly “i do it!”.

Swimming with Daddy

Crazy Hair, Beautiful Face

i have tons more to post about and plenty of pictures to keep you photo-vultures happy. right now i’m tired from being a negligent blogger.

*no lemurs were offended or injured during the writing of this obsurd post.
**also, no mice were made wet. i’m not sure why you’d put wet mice in a bag anyway.

{your rainbow}

i got the assignment a little out of whack. day five was supposed to be {what brings you luck}, but honestly i don’t have one particular thing that brings me luck. i think luck is made everyday. it is fate. it is chance. it is the choices we make.

this photo of Hannie was taken on our trip to Lake Toxaway, North Carolina last September. there was a huge open field that we took her to everyday to play. i would stand on one end and Kevin would stand on the other and she’d run as fast as her little one and a half year old legs could carry her. this photo is just pure joy. the excitement that she gets from seeing one of us. i cherish moments like this because one day in the too soon future she won’t want to have anything to do with us. she’ll wear goth make-up and listen to death metal. or, even worse, she’ll join a sorority and become head cheerleader.

this is my rainbow. she makes every day bright.

{who is a blessing}

well this is a no-brainer. Hanlon came into our lives after two miscarriages and two years of trying to conceive. her birth was easy, her life at the beginning was not. plagued with hearing and eating issues threw us completely for a loop. now, two years old with a vocabulary and appetite that blows people away, she is our sweet blessing. our Smoosh, our Dumplin’, our everything.

as mentioned in the previous post, we celebrated Hannie’s 2nd birthday this month. within two weeks after her actual birthday she was in full throes of the Terrible Two’s. don’t get me wrong, she is a great and well-mannered child 95% of the time, but she is really testing her boundries with us. she doesn’t listen to us and when she does she looks at us with a sly grin and continues doing whatever it is she is not to supposed to do. she and i are going to have a “come to spaghetti monster” talk this weekend if this keeps up. i am NOT above a naughty mat or stool.

despite her growing independence she continually amazes us with her advance speech and knowledge. she knows all of her shapes, colors, numbers and letters. she can recite nursery rhymes and even knows the words to a few of our favorite indie songs. she loves making messes and stacking blocks and coloring and watching movies and eating yogurt and playing with the neighbor’s dogs and running and screaming a delighted scream and collapsing on the bed or couch in a full giggle fit. some days she goes right to sleep at bedtime, others she needs to talk to her “friends” for awhile. she is still on a pacifier at bedtime and naptime, but after my post and talking to some friends, that is the least of my troubles for now. she is mastering a cup with no lid and does pretty well if focused. toilet training is going so-so right now. she is interested when she is at school, but no longer has the desire to go at home. peer pressure is a bitch. we’re not too concerned about it overall, because she gets the concept but isn’t completely dedicated to it. we don’t want to force her if she isn’t truly ready.

Hannie is bright, loving, hilarious and spirited. i could not ask for anything more.

the awesome Toy Story cake our dear friend Kelly made.

Hannie got a sandbox, play sand and tons of toys for said sandbox.

the love for Potato Head knows no bounds in our house.

this girl LOVES the birthday song. probably because it means cake is somewhere in her near future.

i think it is now tradition to give family heirlooms to us at Hannie’s birthdays. that or a game of “let’s see who can make Liesl sob the most”.

not a birthday photo, just Hannie being adorable.