What's in a name?

To you and me this is just a bag of sugar.

To Hannah this bag of sugar is the reason she has eaten 3 lbs of strawberries in just 1 week.

"Mom, how 'bout we put the sparkly pepper on the strawberries?  Sound like a good idea?"

Hello little tooth, nice to meet you

Put my finger in Hailey's mouth yesterday and felt a tooth!

It has just barely poked through.  Just enough to see and feel it.

It is so adorable!

So new and perfect, just peeking out from her gums.

Everytime she opens her mouth I try to get a peek.

I love baby smiles with just their gums but there is also something about those first few teeth.

It's official, winter is over

Today the girls and I went to the cabin for the first trip of the year.  Hailey did really good on the drive up there which was a relief.    Hannah has been talking about the cabin for a few weeks now so she was thrilled when it was finally time to go

 

Hannah spent most of the day in her swimsuit, down by the lake, with the 'kids'.  She seemed so grown up to me today.  Hanging out by the lake, raking leaves and 'rock poop' (seaweed) out of the water, caring less if mommy is right there with her or not.

It was a clear sign that winter is officially over for the season...living in Minnesota you never can be sure.

Crash landing

Hannah came home from daycare today with a few scrapes on her knees.

When I asked her what happened she said "I had a crash landing."

Adjustments for everyone

Even though Hailey holds her own bottle, Hannah still wants to feed her.

So Hailey lays across her lap to please her big sister.

The girls were watching TV and I was around the corner washing dishes. 

When I turned around to check on them I caught Hannah rubbing Hailey's head.

As you can see Hailey doesn't mind how much her big sister likes her!

Toothpick

Last night at dinner I felt like Hannah's personal toothpick.

We had pork chops and she kept getting pieces of meat stuck between her teeth.

She would be chewing then stop to call out 'Mom, you got something (her way of saying forgot)...I have some-pin' stuck in my teeth.  You get it out?"

And of course I did.

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Hard to come up with a title for this picture...I think it speaks for itself.

Always a good time for Hide and Seek

Hannah:  "Mom, say where's Hannah?"

Mom:  "Where is that Hannah?  I thought she was just here somewhere..."

Hannah:  *giggles*

Hannah:  "Here me am mom!"

Mom:  "Why you little stinker!"

Hannah and Mom:  *giggles*

I can do it all by myself

This is Hannah's pink step stool.

This stool means that she can reach the sink to brush her teeth or wash her hands. 

This stool means that she can reach the counter to plug her iPod in to charge or unplug the iPod after it has been charged.

This stool means she can reach any light switch at any time. 

Snacks placed on the shelves high enough so she couldn't reach...with the stool, she can reach 'em.

It is her source of freedom.

Rain by Hannah

Rain

by Hannah Parmley

Know why it rains?

The clouds get full and then they open and close and open and close to let the rain out.

They get heavy too.

Clouds need water too, everybody needs water.

And that's why it rains.

The perfect shape

I still have a hard time believing Hailey is here.

The majority of the time I was pregnant with her I was worried that something was wrong that I never really focused on those typical things that you think about when you are pregnant. 

Like "I wonder what she is going to look like?  I wonder what her voice will sound like?" etc

When I look at her I am in awe of her little face.  SUCH a perfect shape to it.  Those cheeks, those little lips, that nose, that BELLY!

Is it wrong to be so obsessed with my children?!

Not sure if I was meant to do this....

Here I sit on the front steps. 

Looking across the street at the neighbors house.

Wondering what is going on in that back yard.

You see, my little two year old was playing with her 'friends' this evening and came to ask me if she could go to Ally's house to play on the tramp-in-line (trampoline).  She said that Hailey and I could stay 'right here and wait' until she was all done.  

So we did. 

We sat and waited.  Hailey enjoyed her momma time and I spent the whole time looking across the street, listening for crying or any other sign alerting me that Hannah needs me.

Nothing.

Times like this just kill me inside.  It makes me stop to wonder if I am really cut out for this 'mommy stuff'.  How am I ever going to handle sending these girls off to school?!  I tried hard to just let her go and not worry or wonder what she was doing.  I tried to focus on having some time alone with Hailey instead of picturing Hannah falling off that tramp-in-line and cracking her head open. 

Soon enough the kids appeared again from the backyard and Hannah returned home. All in one peice with a smile on her face.

Resourceful

Hannah found a key on the floor today.

She was so excited.

She yelled out from her room, " I found it, the key!"

Then she went running into the bathroom to lock the door.

I walk in to see this...

What an imagination!

(a little something extra)

Hannah has been cracking Brian and I up lately.

She does this thing where she talks out of the side of her mouth.

Usually when she makes this voice she is saying something that if I were writing it it would be the part that I would put into parenthesis  (you know, the 'extra' things that you want to say).

Ready or not, here I come

Ready or not, here I come!

New favorite game, Hide and Seek.

"Mom, I be the seeker and you be the hider.  Sound like a good idea?"

This day I got to sit back and watch her play hide and seek with her aunties.  I am much better at watching this game with an almost 8 month old sitting on my lap then playing this game with a 20 lb tumor attached to my hip :-)  Thanks girls!

Scent of spring

We spent the afternoon at Grandma's today to celebrate Kim and Kristin's Birthday. It was a gorgeous day outside and after we ate supper we went out to enjoy it.

Grandma's whole yard is bordered with lilacs. They smelled so good and when you first walk outside you can smell them right away.   Hannah had so much fun picking them out of the tree and tossing them like confetti up into the air.  They would fall down on top of her head and she would just giggle.

 

A cuter version of Bozo

Hannah:  "Look at me mom, I'm a clown."                      

What you don't see is that she has a tiny corner of Dankie pushed up her nose.

I could not stop giggling the whole rest of the drive in the car.  The more I would giggle the more Hannah would giggle and then the more Dankie would find himself up her nostril.

I love these moments in the car that we have together.  I love her little personality and it makes me so proud as a mother to see her grow and develop this sense of humor. 

How does she do that?

Here she goes again.  Hailey the human pretzel.

Seriously, she was sitting up in the stroller and all of a sudden she lifts her legs and bends in half.

Truly amazing!

Peek-a-Boo

Trying to get a picture of this girl is truly difficult.  I reallly hope that this has something to do with her age and not due to the fact that I have meet my quota. 

A present....for me?

I foud these shoes on sale at Target.  I brought them home and gave them to Hannah.
Hannah:  "Mom, is this a present for me?"
She opened the box.
Hannah:  "These new shoes for me?  Thank you mom.  I really like these sparkling shoes!"
It is so fun to buy her things when she gets excited about them.
Of course these shoes were the hit of the day and for a minute I thought maybe the black 'loud' shoes would be retired.

Nope.  She likes these sparkling shoes but they do not stand a chance next to her 'dancing' shoes.

Quack, Quack

The other night I pulled into the driveway to find these ducks hanging out on the lawn.   This time of year you can see ducks everywhere around here.  It is something that I am still not used to yet.  Growing up in St Paul this is not something that you would see in someone's front yard.  I had to snap some pictures to show Hannah when she gets home.

Too much help?

The other day I walked into the bathroom to find this.

Hannah followed me into the bathroom with a very proud look on her face.

"Look mom, I got a new one!"

Guess the extra rolls of paper towels need to find their own waiting place.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to you!

Each Mother's Day I have to take time to appreciate Brian. 

Without him I wouldn't have any reason to celebrate Mother's Day. 

He has given me the best gifts that I could have ever dreamed of

• the chance to be called mommy by the cutest voice you will ever hear
• the chance to be slimed by a toothless little one who thinks that she is kissing you
• the chance to come home from work everyday greeted by the happiest little girls who are so excited that I am home
• the chance to show them how much a human being can love another

(Brian keeps talking to me so I am so distracted blogging tonight, better just call it a night)

Silly side

Hannah found her Thank You card from her 2nd birthday.

This picture is on the inside of the card.

Hannah opened the card and said "Look mom, it's my silly side."

Bucket 'o Fun

Recently we have been putting Hailey on the floor next to this bucket of toys.  She pulls each toy out, carefully inspects it, tastes it, then tosses it aside to get out the next one and repeat.  Hailey is at the age where she likes to 'play' more.  She isn't so content just sitting on your lap, she wants to be stimulated.    I love the age that she is now, full of wonder, interested in everything.   I can feel myself starting to miss the 'baby'.

The look of love

Remember those shoes you saw in a post earlier this year?

The ones that were in a bag of clothes from Chloe that Tammy was letting us borrow?

Looks like we bought ourselves some shoes.

I was not kidding when I said that Hannah wears these everyday.  Most of the time she doesn't get out of the house with them on but as soon as we are home these shoes are on her feet.

By the way Tammy, how much do I owe you?

AUGH

Traffic.

Somedays I love my time in the car. 

Sometimes I think I just might go crazy.

Now that I have kids I tend to hate this commute.

I especially hate the days that I have left work early to beat this traffic and come to find that everyone had the same idea I did.

 

Green rejects

For some reason Hannah is not a fan of green fruit snacks.  She eats every other color in every pack that she opens but always hands me the green ones to either eat or throw away.

Gotta love teenage neighbors!

Dylan, age 12, lives next door. 
Ally, age 15, lives across the street.

Earlier this spring Hannah heard these two playing basketball in Dylan's driveway. 
H:  "Here that mommy, it's kids"
We ended up going outside to watch the kids play basketball.  
Now each time she hears them outside she wants to go out there to see her 'friends'.

Yesterday Hannah and I were outside.  Ally came out of her house and came over.  Within minutes Dylan came running over too.  For the next 90 minutes I got to sit in the yard and watch Hannah play with her 'friends'.
They played Mr. Fox, blew bubbles, rode bikes, went for a walk, played on the slide, went for a bounce, and more.

These two are so good with her and she has so much fun with them.  Someday maybe Brian and I will actually hire a babysitter and these two could get paid for the time they spend with her.

A day in the life of Soda Part III

Soda update:

Soda is still doing well. 

Today Hannah went for a bounce and Soda joined her.

Not quite big enough yet

Hannah found these shoes in her closet. 

They are a size or two too big (obviously) but she had to wear them once she saw them.

Something about this girl and shoes.