A year of Hannah for my 100th Blog!

Well, this seems pretty appropriate! I started chronicling my life via blogging back in June of 2007 because I was pregnant and I felt like I needed an outlet to talk about the changes. Strangely enough, most of those changes were minor, or at least a lot easier to deal with than most of the things all the other pregnant women I knew had been dealing with. Still…the beginning began with my first experiences with my own little “goldie”, Hannah. It seems so amazingly strange to think that she has just turned a year old! First of all…it’s strange that I’ve been blogging that long, but it’s also so odd to me that I no longer have a baby or an infant, but a kid. My kid is walking and talking and laughing at random cartoons. She has teeth, she eats Indian food and loves it, and she is not shy about expressing an opinion, whether that be with a whine or that high-pitched sterilizing scream that she’s so good at. Hannah isn’t a baby anymore…she’s 1! Ack! How did this happen?!

I honestly can’t believe just how much I love that little girl. Jon and I look at each other sometimes and just shake our heads at how much it wells up inside and we just have to hug her and kiss her and annoy the snot out of her because there’s just no other way to express it. And, sadly for Hannah, that love just gets deeper and bigger every day! Wow!

According to us, she’s the kid most worth loving too because she’s really just so fun. Her progress has been phenomenal to watch over this year…From learning to sit up, stand, and cruise, to feeding herself and walking. She is a wonderfully happy girl and her smile is infectious. She charms everyone she meets with a bat of her beautiful long lashes and with that crooked little grin she has that displays her off-center top teeth. Maybe it is because she was born in the middle of winter and didn’t go outside at all last year, but Hannah is fascinated with the out-of-doors and loves to go for walks in her stroller, staring at everything she can possibly take in, or she’ll pull aside the curtains and stare out the window at the snow and cars. She also loves dogs and was so taken with the sled pullers in the Ididerod that she watched hours of the reality show chronicling the race with us just so that she could catch glimpses of the puppies. Hannah has come to all of our weddings, and every bride tends to find about 30 shots of her wedding, followed by a small section featuring our little red-headed angel. The brides love her though, and every grandma gushes when she wanders through reception halls while daddy takes pictures. She loves to sneak into the bathroom if we forget to close the door, and she’ll pound on the edge of the tub in a gesture that says, “Fill ‘er up mommy!” She loves to splash and giggles when she gets herself wet. It is one of our favorite things in the world to get a hug from her, and it’s amazing to see her take those new steps like figuring out how to stand up on her own without having to use furniture or a wall, turning around mid-step, and saying her first words. Her roley-poley arms and pointy little chin bring smiles to our faces, and the way she kicks her legs when she gets excited makes our hearts swell. She is deeply loved, kissed often, and thoroughly adored. We thank our Heavenly Father every day that she has come into our lives and made it so rich.

Happy Birthday, Hannah! Mommy and Daddy love you SO MUCH! Thank you for being our girl!

~ by bylorena on December 22, 2008.