Let's wake up and play!

Life in Northern Colorado

2011-11-09T10:29:00.002-06:00

When we moved to Colorado, we were moving to Boulder. The cool town right up against the mountains. Really expensive housing, and likely nowhere near our dream home in our price range, but immediate access to the mountains. And that cool Boulder vibe.

We rented in Louisville, 8 miles east of Boulder and a lot more affordable, to see what that felt like. But I was sure that I didn't want to be out in the plains, and Andy was working in Boulder, so we started house hunting there and focused most of our activities and shopping "in town".

Then a funny thing happened - we fell in love with Louisville. The Boulder job didn't last (thank goodness we figured that out before we put down money on a house!), we spent more time exploring our town, and I joined a wonderful local running group. Boulder has rush hour traffic (okay, so it's not much compared to Dallas and DC...) and a lot of rich people with too much time on their hands, kids with too much money in their pockets, and transients who make the truly desperately homeless look bad. Louisville has families - gobs of them. Not that Boulder is some kind of wasteland; it's a great place to be and live. But Louisville is more grounded but still outdoorsy and fun with a suprisingly cool restaurant scene in a great little downtown.

As the seasons shifted, we also grew to love being "out in the plains". When you're in Boulder, you see the Flatirons and other close mountains. When you're in Louisville, you see the entire Front Range. Boulder has a great farmers market, but it's hard to get in there and park and deal with the crowds. My daily commute north took me past farmstands at the actual farms where the stuff was grown. Hannah and I would drive past the crops then go pick out what we wanted to take home. We watch the seasons change in the fields - cycles of plowing, new growth, harvest, winter prep... I've grown to expect (though not accept - it's gross and annoying!) the burning of fields in the late summer. We listen to coyotes howl at night and know that it must be 11:30. We anticipate the opening of valves in the spring that will turn irrigation ditches in our neighborhood into season creeks, and the local mud pie into something resembling a pond. (I heard the other night that apparently people steal the water, which is why it stayed to low this year!)

Living in Colorado is so much more than enjoying the mountains. In 15 minutes, I can be at a mountain trail, and in 45 I can be up at 10,500 ft for a hike to treeline. But on a daily basis I live and thrive - and run - in the agricultural plains. And I absolutely love it. Here are some photos from my run on Monday on the Teller Farms trail. They've moved the cattle, so there were lots of piles to avoid (no fences between cow and person on this and many trails), and the farmers' kids were out working while I was running. I was struck by the scene in the mud...

Running shoes and boots, dogs, silly Vibram toes, horse, mountain bike, stroller, and truck. Didn't get any cow prints in this shot, but there were plenty.

The trail/farm road, looking north.

The recently moved herd.

And my wonderful running companion!

Our girls

2011-10-24T16:25:00.005-05:00

Fall 2011 and Summer 2007. The stripey girl is Lucy (in a Hannah hand-me-down, of course!).

Time to change

2011-10-17T22:21:00.005-05:00

I finally decided that it's time to change my title photo, then I realized that the song lyrics needed a little tweaking, too. Not brilliant by any stretch, but it'll do. I actually find that I don't sing that song anymore, but I have carried on a little naptime diddy that I started with Hannah. Not bad considering that I consider myself to be a terrible composer/improviser and really lacking in the creative side of musicianship.

Hannah's first Canyon hike.

I love this photo of my mom and Hannah. Buddies.

Simple joy.

In the middle of an extensive sidewalk chalk project.

North Korea appears to be missing a small leader...

We're settled in nicely to life with a 4 year old and a 4 month old and me staying home again. I miss the people at my last school, and I miss having fun with students and making music, but I don't miss working. I certainly don't miss getting out of the house early every day, but I'm also glad not to be working on lesson plans, program plans, grades - and all those meetings!

Since summer wasn't a great time for us to travel this year, we took a trip to Flagstaff this fall to hang out at my parents' house for a week. The girls and I drove out and Andy met us for the long weekend. That's right - the girls and I drove for 2 days each way. I'd say that's worthy of a supermom designation, yes? I actually really enjoyed most of the drive. I've never driven the country between Moab and Flagstaff before - Wow! It helped to have a really comfortable car, plenty of time, and a portable DVD player. I think our longest stretch without having to feed or change somebody was two hours, but it worked just fine. Once highlight was the cafe in Bluff, Utah that had the best oatmeal I've ever eaten, a friendly server who held Lucy while I ate, books for Hannah to peruse, and a great swing in a tree out in the yard.

The major drama was finding a bed bug in our hotel on the way to Flag as we were packing up in the morning. Hor-ri-ble. I was terrified about bringing them to my parents' and then home, so started by standing in the room for about 15 minutes panicking and telling Hannah I didn't know what to do. My wonderful daughter responded by hugging me and offering to get me a glass of water, which is the standard treatment for stress or injury at her preschool. (On a side note - it's been really fun to have a daughter who's old enough to act as a friend sometimes. We have plenty of preschooler drama, no doubt, but she's also really caring and helpful and fun.) So after much stress and many plastic bags and a week of less than stellar sleep, we seem to have left the bedbugs where they belong in the Travelodge in Monticello, Utah.

We had a wonderful stay in Flag. Lots of trail running, no trips out of the house without running into someone who knows my parents, and Hannah's first trip to the Grand Canyon. She even got to do two very short hikes below the rim. The first on a really steep precarious trail, and the second on the lovely and understandably crowded Bright Angel Trail. She kept talking about when she'd be able to hike to the bottom. No, honey, not when you're five. Lucy adjusted and slept well on the trip, and Hannah came home with a big-sister gift of a fancy purse and an antique rhinestone necklace from "Auntie" Karen. Very fun.

Back at home, we've been really enjoying the change in season. We've got quite a bit of fall color right now, and the temperature and skies have been gorgeous. I had the honor of running the last six miles with my friend during her first marathon last weekend. It was great to have a goal to train for and I'm honestly feeling a bit unmotivated now. Silly, since it's not like it was my race! I've certainly got baby weight to loose, but I'd rather set my sights on a running goal than a scale.

Next up - I have time to sew Hannah's Halloween costume again this year. It's my first time sewing since my Grandmother died, and sewing always makes me feel close to her. It feels good.

It's time to do this!

2011-08-04T21:58:00.005-05:00

I suppose it's the usual excuse, but I have been meaning to get back to this thing for months. The last year has had it's share of ups and downs, and it seems like everytime I get it in my head to post something, there's a down. And I really didn't want to turn this into a place where I go to complain. Plus there's this whole Facebook phenomenon. I really didn't want to do Facebook, mostly because I had this blog, and I wanted to share here, but it's become the optimal way to connect with my local friends and of course it's fun to see what friends around the world are up to, so now I'm a Facebooker. So there.

Other than a birthday video for Baba, it looks like I haven't really shared stuff here since about last fall and Christmas, so I feel inclined to try to remember and sum up what's happened since then...

January - oh yeah, that's why I stopped posting. The company Andy was working for fell apart. Ultimate Electronics was a consumer electronics store, much like Best Buy, but not as big nation-wide. The industry has been hit really hard, and Ultimate didn't survive. We knew it was likely for a while, but couldn't say anything to anyone. Can't go telling people your company's going under when it's retail! So right around Hannah's birthday on January 31st, Andy was laid off with no severence. It sucked. We certainly are not the only ones to go through two lay offs in 2 years, but it sucked. And oh - I was pregnant! So that added to our stress, especially for Andy. Our plan was for me not to go back to work, so there was a lot of searching, both job and soul, local and distant. After 4 months (an eternity for Andy, but sadly not that long compared to a lot of people out there), he landed a job as Director of Programming and Content Aquisition at Dish Network. Just in time for me to comfortably announce my decision to stay at home next year before summer started. I really wanted to be able to tell my co-workers and the families at the school in person rather than just disappearing over the summer. It took a while, but he's starting to really enjoy the job and has taken on some additional responsibilities in recent weeks. The bummer is that it's 40 minutes to an hour drive each way and public transportation really doesn't work. But we were getting to a point where it was that or moving out of state. Thank goodness for bike rides, when Andy does all of his thinking and figuring things out. We both know that this is where we want to be, so a commute is worth staying in this amazing town, with our wonderful view of our magical mountains.

Okay so all the while, I was pregnant, right? I was a lot less emotional this time, thank goodness, since we were having to consider things like moving out of state, Andy traveling full-time, or me continuing full-time teaching this fall. Oh - and now I remember why I didn't share that on here before the whole job thing happened. I had some scares early on with spotting, so I really wanted to wait until we had the 16-week sonogram to post on here. And that was, sure enough, right in the middle of job-ending stress. Bleh. We did have a lot of fun taking Hannah to the sonogram. We decided to find out gender this time, and we had the sonographer tell Hannah out in the hall, so she was able to tell us that she'd have a little sister!

My school year had a very busy end, which I had managed to avoid last year (when I wasn't 3rd-trimester pregnant, go figure). Little kid program, choir concert, packing up my room, a keyboard unit (I taught 24 kindergarteners, in one room, by myself, to play Mary Had a Little Lamb on keyboards - yeah, me!), and a 5th-grade continuation performance. All the while dealing with the aforementioned pregnancy and husband job stress. Woo hoo! But at the end of the year, I was able to say good bye to everyone and received a lot of support and love. I really don't think that I'm the best music teacher out there as far as getting the standards covered, but I'm fun and engaging and welcoming and have a sane classroom, so people seem to think I'm pretty great. I always feel that I need to be doing more - a lot more - with my planning and teaching, but my ultimate goal is to get kids to want to participate in and learn about music, so I guess I do okay.

All the while, Hannah conducted herself like a typical and wonderful 4 year old. For a while there, every weekend was impossibly hard - tantrums, drama, and tears all around - but she also learned to write most of her letters and to read and write a few sight words, and to zip around like a pro on her Skut bike, and to ski (sort of), and to be funny, and just lots of other really cool things. She got about 5 inches cut off her hair this week, and she's completely lost her baby belly in the last month, and she's just so darn grown up! She's very close to the age of my youngest students, which I'm finding to be very strange and a little sad. One more year until kindergarten!

So after all that job trauma, and teaching stress, it was baby time! She was due on June 4th, but it seemed like she might come early. I was completely unprepared to have to leave work early, and really wanted to have some time off after the end of the year, and she cooperated by having to be induced on June 9th. Labor was a lot quicker, but a lot more dramatic, mostly thanks to not having an epidural as soon in the process. Chemically-induced contractions of course were strong and back to back, so there was a lot of yelling for about an hour, then 30 minutes of relative calm, then a baby! My mom was in town taking care of Hannah and had stopped by to see how things were progressing at what happened to be right before push time, so she stayed for the delivery, which was pretty cool. My wonderful husband turned on my favorite Yoga music for the (not so big) push, and the doctor was totally into it, which of course really worked for me.

Our beautiful Lucy Elizabeth was born at 11:15 in the morning, weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces, and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. Hannah had been about a half pound heavier and a quarter inch longer. Pretty consistent kiddos. Lucy has wonderful red hair that's decently long and sticks up all over the place. It really does remind us of the baby orangutan we saw at the zoo last spring. She's fairly calm and sooth-able, partly because she didn't starve for the first 3 weeks like Hannah did, and I'm certainly a lot calmer myself! Breast feeding has been a huge source of stress for me, with both girls. Hannah didn't gain any weight for her first 3 weeks, at which point we started supplementing and of course eventually moved fully to formula. Then she ate too much and I was contstantly second guessing myself and stressed about her feeding. I was determined not to repeat all of that this time. So sure enough, despite giving it a go - pumping, supplemental nurser, and wonderful, wonderful support of Andy, my mom, and a spectacular lactation consultant - I really can't feed my child exclusively with breast milk. Everything you read or hear - EVERYTHING - says that if you do it enough, pump enough, drink enough, take the herbs, you make enough. Not so. And that spectacular lactation consultant looked at me and told me it's not going to work. Amen and hallelujia. I want to go shout from the mountain tops (especially above Boulder!) - not all women can breast feed! And it's not because we didn't try hard enough, or long enough. And when I say I don't make enough, I don't mean I'm an ounce short, I mean I can't even make a full ounce!

Okay - so it's been a big deal, right? So now I nurse Lucy then give her a bottle. And sometimes I get to skip nursing, which makes things easier, and sometimes I'm completely stressed about once again giving too much to my formula-fed baby. And that part sucks. But mostly it's good and she's good and she's gaining weight and she sleeps and it's wonderful! Hannah's wonderfully helpful, when she's so inclined. She's also quick to anger and contrary and occasionally disobedient just 'cause, but she's a really good kid. And she goes to a really good preschool that's just a 5 minute walk from our house, which keeps us all sane!

So now it's summer. Andy's sister Claire got married last month to a wonderful man, and Hannah and her cousin were flower girls. My parents returned for the weekend and were incredibly helpful, so we all had a great time and avoided major stress. I'm able to run a bit again, which is fabulous! We've also been hiking with the girls and generally enjoying the fact that hot here means low 90's, not low 110's. I'm planning a road trip with the girls to hang out with my parents in Flagstaff in September and Andy will join us for the weekend. Wish me luck!

So now the good part - the photos. It's a long and wordy post, and I don't blame anyone for skipping all the stuff above to just check out the photos. I felt the need to do a little reflecting on 2011 so far and what we've been through to get here. In the end, or beginning, as it were, we are incredibly blessed to have two healthy girls, to live in a place that we absolutely love, to have made some wonderful local friends, to live near Andy's siblings and Hannah's cousins, and to enjoy frequent visits from our parents. We have eachother, and while we may not have a lot of time to enjoy that right now, we continue to have a wonderful relationship and grow closer through all that life brings us.

Happy Birthday Baba!

2011-03-19T12:21:00.002-05:00

Christmas and New Years photos

2011-01-02T23:02:00.003-06:00

The obligatory family photo. Not bad this year!

The best we got with Baba and Nammy. That's some look that kid's giving!

The next American Olympic Luge team. Hannah and her cousin Juliet made it further than anyone else on the hill on nearly every run!

Ski practice with Daddy. She's far from tackling the black slopes, or even the lift for that matter, but she's having a blast!

Priceless.

Photos

2010-11-09T22:45:00.003-06:00

It seems the only reason I update the blog these days is when I have new photos. Such is life these days. We're having a good time, but it does seem that there's not a lot of time for more than work, meals, exercise, and bedtime. Weekends are nice. Here are a couple:

Fall in Colorado

2010-09-22T22:00:00.004-05:00

Brainard Lake in September

Leaving Texas behind... we've only slept with the windows closed maybe 10 times this summer, and most of those were because of smoke or wind. We've actually closed up a couple of nights because it was too cold. Fabulous.

The scary reality of this season in Colorado is the fires. Our big fire made the national news as the state's most expensive fire ever. Nearly 170 homes lost. We were coming home from a night in the mountains and saw a sign announcing the closure of the road up Boulder Canyon. Then noticed that the huge cloud in front of us was actually smoke extending from the hills above Boulder to the east horizon. At times during the day, we could be standing looking straight up and see the line of brown smoke and bright blue sky. That night, we could see the flames from our house. The community response has been amazing, and the sad but good thing is that when two other fires sprang up locally, the massive response of firefighters, tanker plans, and helicopters were already in place to respond immediately. We've had some rain today, so we can only hope that fire season ends soon.

Back to school

2010-08-26T23:14:00.005-05:00

A lot of really disjointed stuff...

Hannah and I are back to the full-time school routine. She's back at a wonderful preschool 3 days a week and a really great home day care the other two. I really wish that I could be with her more, but I love what she's getting out of both places.

My big excitement this month - I bought a piano! A real, live, acoustic piano! I feel like such a grownup. Took about 5 months of searching on Craigslist, but I finally settled on a 1989 Everett studio upright. It looks pretty good, has a nice action, and holds a good tune. Hannah got some practice on my digital, so she's been great about playing gently. And she can find all the C's and F's!

For our summer fun, Andy and I got away for 10 days in Hawaii while his wonderful mom stayed here with Hannah. We had a wonderful time in Waikiki and then Kauai. The highlight was Kayaking the entire Napali coast - 18 miles, a headwind and counter current, one poor woman who puked for the first 5 hours (no, not me!), some seriously sunburned hands, sea turtles, dolphins, AMAZING scenery, and one lost wedding band (Andy's). It was fabulous! We have some kayaking and snorkeling photos, but they're not digital yet...

Diamond Head in the background. We had an awesome run out around and up it! Good training for my other summer adventure!

A view down the Kalalau trail, heading out to Hanakapiai falls. A gorgeous hike, but insanely muddy. Not sure I'd to it again!

Hannah modeling her new flower clips from Hawaii. She wears her new Hawaiian dress probably 8 days out of 10.

And now for my big running fun this summer. I joined a team of 10 of the local Louisville runners and raced the Wild West Relay from Ft. Collins to Steamboat Springs. Just under 200 miles through northern Colorado and a little bit of Wyoming - it was a blast!! The real excitement was finding out, just after blowing out my quads on my midnight run, that one of our team mates was going to have to pull out for injury. After the necessary rearranging, I ended up adding 6.5 miles for a total of just under 20 miles in 4 legs. Other than not being able to walk down stairs without cringing, I managed to come out of it okay! It was a wild experience and a great escape from reality - either running or being in a van for 27 1/2 hours. Running in the middle of the night by myself wasn't as scary as I thought, and my 6:30 am run was gorgeous!

Red Hot Solepeppers after our awesome finish - 9th overall and 3rd in our category. I have some fast running friends!

My last leg. Slightly downhill, but really hot and with very unhappy quads. That "one mile left" sign had to have been a lie. Still totally worth it!

Monster wearing a costume

2010-08-26T23:08:00.004-05:00

Spontaneous fun from Hannah. We thought she was spinning around, but check out her feet!

Happy Father's Day, Baba!

2010-06-20T10:06:00.002-05:00

The sunny side

2010-06-13T23:04:00.004-05:00

At the splash park enjoying the summer. Notice the control freak with her foot on the restart button so no one else gets to hit it when the water turns off.

Joy!

With Baba on a hike above Ouzel Falls during his recent visit. She's getting really hard to carry, but she's also able to walk a mile or more, so we manage to still get in some good combo hikes.

1 - I ran a 4-minute 10K PR yesterday! For those of you who aren't running dorks, that means I ran 6.2 miles about as fast as I possibly can. I finished in 47:59 and placed 3rd in my age group. Too bad the awards were for 1 and 2. Double too bad the 2nd place woman my age was only 3 seconds ahead of me!! Many thanks to my wonderful running friends who paced me a pushed me.

2 - I've decided to get even crazier in my running and am joining a 10-person team to run the Wild West Relay http://www.wildwestrelay.com/index.html in early August. I'll be running 3 legs in the mountains between Ft. Collins and Steamboat and am likely to run 6 or 7 miles in the middle of the night, possibly down hill, in open range. For you city folks, that means cows on the loose! Never mind things that eat cows - I'm chosing not to think about those.

3 - We're loving our new house. Thanks to a few days of cold and rain, we did a bunch more unpacking this weekend. Just a few boxes left! Hey you Texans - it was 55 and rainy here today. I ran a race in capris yesterday. Come visit!!

4 - Hannah is amazingly grown up. She's been saying things like "So, um, Mom...." and I actually caught her putting the word "like" in the middle of a sentence. What??

5 - Despite my best intentions, Hannah had become quite the "kid food" eater. We set a goal of eating "big kid food" this summer - as in way fewer meals of fish sticks and freeze-dried veggies - and she's taking to it quite well. Of course it means she ends up in bed later because we cook for all of us together, but for now she's still napping (knock on lots of wood), so it seems to be all good. Feeding has been one of the most challenging parts of parenting since the beginning, so these little milestones are huge for me!

6 - Did I mention that it's summer and I'm break? I'm loving getting to be a stay-at-home mom for a while again! Of course Hannah's still going to school a little bit each week, so I also get some time to work around the house and take some long runs by myself or with friends. Very nice.

7 - Saved the best for last. We were running an errand in Boulder the other day, and Hannah asked, "Why is that man was standing by the road holding a sign?" So I did my best to explain begging and some of the realities that go with it. (Twice, because she often asks me to repeat my long answers.) Her response: "Not us, because we're on the sunny side of life." I cried and laughed the rest of the way down Arapahoe. We've listened to the song a few times in the car recently, but certainly not had some great discussion about the meaning of the lyrics.

First verse and refrain, for those of you aren't familiar with the song:

There's a dark and a troubled side of life
There's a bright and a sunny side too
Though we meet with the darknest of strife
The sunny side we also may view

Keep on the sunny side
Always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us every day
It will brighten up our way
If we keep on the sunny side of life

The New House

2010-05-05T22:08:00.004-05:00

Obligatory opening shot of Hannah. Modeling my new fancy-pants running headband. Wonder if they need some marketing photos?

Egg dyeing - a week late, but still fun!

We're finally homeowners again! We've been in the process since the fall, waiting for our brand new house to be built. The plans were already permitted, but we got to choose the finish out - cabinets, counters, floors, and a couple of extra little windows. The neighborhood is great. Full of families with little kids, walkable to a decent grocery store, bike able/runnable to downtown Louisville, and amazing views of the Front Range. The little windows we added even line up so I can look at Indian Peaks in the bathroom mirror while I get ready in the morning. Outstanding! We feel very fortunate to live here.

Part of the view out our bedroom window.

Zoom of the bedroom view - Meeker (Longs Peak is behind it), and the church that will hopefully never get the 2-story bug! They seem like pretty good neighbors. Hosting a series of meetings titled "2012 Time of the End - are you ready?", just in case we decide that are indeed unprepared for the Christian/Mayan end of the world...

An indoor shot - the first floor has a great room, open to the kitchen, a study/playroom, and powder room. And that floor almost looks like a lived-in home after only 2 weeks!

Mount LeCuyer

2010-03-19T22:28:00.003-05:00

Gotta love Colorado weather - 60s on Thursday and snow shoveling on Friday afternoon.

All about me

2010-03-07T22:38:00.002-06:00

I may not even put any of Hannah's cute phrases or songs in this one. It's all about my great adventures in skiing yesterday. You know those cool-looking tracks that snake down the powdery slopes in the movies? I got to make those! It involved a ride in a snow cat and hiking in ski boots at 12,000 feet, but it was so worth it. Of course we didn't have a camera (though Nick did have an extra strap to carry skis so I could use my poles to hike - thank you!!!), so I did some googling and am posting fake but fairly accurate photos of my adventures yesterday...

The snowcat - took nearly an hour wait to get a ride, but it was worth it to get up most of the 12,000 feet.

Our hike up Tucker Mountain. Not sure exactly which run we took, but I do know that I walked up this "trail"!

I know, it's not me, but I do wear a black ski coat, and I did get to make tracks in powder like that. Thanks to my wonderful husband and brother-in-law who coached me through a fabulous ski day! And to those of you still just considering visiting us in Colorado - it really is this good!!

Hannah speak

2010-02-25T22:55:00.002-06:00

Some of our favorite Hannah words right now...

mazagine

detrucktion (meaning construction)

detach (meaning attached)

And the best of all - Boulderlrlrlrlr

Sometime over a year ago, when Hannah was learning to speak and couldn't say a lot of words that ended with "r", she would just say part of it and then add a bunch of lelrlelrler's at the end (you know, the flipped tongue thing?). Like "fridgerlrlrlrl". It was hilarious, and then of course gone. Then out of the blue she did it to the word Boulder the other day. We were driving that way and she asked where is Boulderlrlrlr. Made for some good laughs in the front seat!

We had a combo birthday party for Hannah and her 6-year-old cousin Elliot last weekend. The candle holders (see the little birdie things?) were on my mom's 3rd birthday cake!

3 Years Old!

2010-02-03T22:25:00.003-06:00

Hannah's rockin' birthday eve - 3... 21... what's the difference, really? The important thing as that we've discovered that the Waterloo Pub in our little downtown Louisville really is the same Waterloo as the record store and pub in Austin. Apparently the Waterloo folks sold the TX businesses and moved out here. Yay for us! They even have their own smoker and make a decent barbeque sandwich! (Which is more than we can say for the local Dickey's chain - so disappointing...)

Ice skating at the downtown rink. After talking about it for days, she predictably freaked out as soon as she got on the ice. We finally bribed her with getting to open a present when we got home. Equally predictably, once she got out on the ice for a little bit, she loved it! It was a fabulous evening.

Low-key birthday. We're having a party with family in a few weeks, so for now a cupcake in jams will have to do. Please know that it was after lunch, not breakfast!

Drum roll please...

After 3 years, the first 2 with very little hair, we finally talked ourselves into a very minor bangs cut for Hannah's birthday.

With her beloved new baby and bear from grandparents.

Better than "cheese", I suppose!

Helping with the pre-drywall inspection on our house-in-progress. It since has drywall and exterior paint!

Playing with Daddy.

Christmas in Flagstaff

2009-12-30T13:19:00.005-06:00

After a day and a half (plus 2 hours for an interstate-closing wreck) drive, Hannah and I arrived in Flagstaff to hang out with my parents. Andy flew to Phoenix the next day to check out the Ultimate stores there, so I drove down the next evening and we got to spend the night away - on our own! We've only done this three times since Hannah was born, and we're scheming to see how we can do it more often...

Some highlights of the trip were 8 inches of new snow in Flag to cross-country ski and snowshoe in, mild Phoenix weather to run in (with flowers - in December!), lots of fun Baba and Nammy time for Hannah, and the first-ever performance by the Doggett family trio at the UU Church of Flagstaff's Christmas Eve service!

1st order of business - cookie decorating

The great gingerbread house project while I was in Phoenix.

Singing her way through a favorite book.

New Christmas Eve duds, thanks to Nammy.

Hannah's comment on the photo - "Daddy doesn't have fancy clothes."

Look what Santa brought!

Muggin' with Baba.

Fun Christmas morning.

Nap in the warm sun. No, Hannah did not actually nap, but I can't believe she was still for the photo!

House-to-be

2009-11-21T14:20:00.004-06:00

First, the obligatory fun photos of Hannah. Not terribly flattering of me, but Hannah's having fun.

We have passed the end of our rescission period on our to-be-built house, so work has started and we're on the way to being homeowners again! Here are some photos of the new foundation and the interior of another home in the neighborhood with the same floorplan. Kitchen cabinets and counter will be the same, but tile is different throughout. Should you care to see more, the builder is Markel homes and the floorplan is the Flatiron. They've made some minor changes in the plan, and ours is a 3-car garage, but you should be able to find the floorplan somewhere on that site if you search around enough.

Little singer

2009-11-17T23:01:00.004-06:00

Bedtime was a little rough this evening, but eventually Hannah went down fine after a second try at story and song time and some extra hugs. Just a few minutes after we closed the door, she started singing to herself. Hannah was singing herself to sleep with "Frosty the snowman (with the correct interval eeked out, mind you) was a great big happy soul." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I did a bit of each.

Words

2009-11-14T22:02:00.003-06:00

We're thoroughly enjoying Hannah's words these days. She had been substituting a ya or wa sound for L for a long time, and we decided to see if we could get her to fix it. So we practiced a few times - mostly in the car - and heard lots of "la-wa", and "luh, luh, wuv." Then rather suddenly, it worked.

So now she says these really exaggerated L's in her words, and it's hilarious. "Ba-lue," "Llongmont," "Aunt Ca-laire." I'll try to capture some on video soon. We even have L's where Y's belong, which makes for "lellow" and the like. Add this to our recent favorites - "rasnaut" (restaurant) and "overgirls" (overalls) and you have frequent giggles from the parents. Very fun.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T15:10:00.002-06:00

Along came a spider...

Photo stories

2009-10-30T21:40:00.003-05:00

Toast. Food of the gods.

Braids like Mama's for hiking.

Hannah's awesome spider costume. My mom was nice enough to offer to make one because she knew I wouldn't have time this year. Hannah loves it!

To top last post's snow report - we got 22 inches this past Wednesday and Thursday. Hannah and I had a fun snow day Thursday snowshoeing with friends, followed by a huge lunch to make up for 3 1/2 miles in the snow with a 32lb kid on my back!

Sledding this afternoon. After yesterday's attempt when we got all suited up and Hannah decided she doesn't like sledding, she decided to try again today. Of course we got to the neighborhood hill and she tried to bail again. I pretty much physically forced her into the sled with me and she was hooked from the first run - she even giggled through our first wipe out! Daddy joined us and we kept going until the sun went down.

Snow!

2009-10-15T22:25:00.002-05:00

Not only did it snow on the night of October 9th, but it didn't completely melt for over two days. In Texas, I was still running in just shorts and a sports bra in October! I did run that Sunday, but it was a very short and very cold 29 degree run.

Here are some fun photos of Hannah modeling two versions of a firefighter man helmet this weekend. Check out the undies! She's not accident-proof yet, but she's doing pretty well. She's getting little-kid legs - almost no thigh roll left!

She's pretty mad at me for this one - or maybe at my students. This is my "choir ball" and it recently returned to my classroom. Just one more instance of having to share Mama, and Mama's toys, with the school kids.

"I'm a big girl now"

2009-10-07T23:18:00.003-05:00

Recent afternoon hike at Beaver Meadows in Rocky Mountain. For those of you who are still thinking of visiting - we do this stuff every weekend!!

How many posts begin with thoughts about how big my baby is getting? She's wearing undies!!! Her wonderful Thursday/Friday day care got her to stay dry and use the potty for all that's intended for last week, so we started underwear Friday afternoon. Of course she's had an accident every day, but she's actually doing pretty well. And every time she goes to the bathroom she says "I wear undies now. I'm a big girl." And it's so cute and so unreal that she really is a big girl now.

Besides the potty thing, Hannah's latest obsession is singing, which of course just thrills me! She's learned a lot of new songs at school, and I'm always amazed when she starts singing something that I haven't sung with her in a year, if ever. Her preschool has a music teacher come all three days she's there, which is pretty cool. She also loves to improvise and make up new words or just plain new songs - love it!!

In other news - teaching is going more smoothly than I thought, and I'm no longer so tired every day that I panic about surviving the rest of the school year. Though I am awfully tired every day and I have been staying up way too late.

Sigg - shame on you

2009-09-14T22:09:00.002-05:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-wasik/sigg-ceo-im-sorry_b_278291.html

I can't believe this has slipped through under the major media radar so far. Apparently the Sigg folks have been enjoying everyone buying their expensive bottles as an alternative to the "bad" plastic bottles with the BPA -all the while keeping quiet about the fact that their bottle's liners have BPA in them!

The Sigg site says only Whole Foods and Wegmans will honor the voluntary exchange (if you bought them there), but word on the street here is that REI (if you're a member - which by the way is so very worth it) and Vitamin Cottage will as well. We're planning on taking ours back to REI, letting Sigg give us free new product, and then never buying their stuff again. Forget mean people - bad people suck!

Changing in blog a bit

2009-09-11T22:22:00.002-05:00

I'm going to do the "invite only" thing soon. Seems to be the thing to do lately with my blog friends, and one friend had some rather creepy evidence about people using photos of kids that they'd pulled off blogs for advertising and sometimes creepy stuff. So... if you look at this, please help me out and send me an email at lindseylecuyer@gmail.com or post a comment here so I'll know to send you the invite. Please include your email address, because I may not have them all! I'll probably do the invite in another week.

Thanks, ya'll!

Work

2009-09-10T22:14:00.005-05:00

I've been avoiding posting because I'm honestly not sure of the best approach to share something I'm so conflicted about: I'm a full-time working Mama! I had intended to work part time after we moved, partly just to get back into the swing of the work thing and partly because the Boulder area is not a cheap place to live. Thanks to this lovely economy (ugh), that's changed. Back in the spring, we started to get some indicators that Andy's job might not last survive the recession, so I focused my search on something that would pay decently (more than just the money needed for that many hours of child care) and have some health benefits. There were some substantial part-time jobs around, but I couldn't seem to land any of those, so I accepted a full-time teaching job in a nearby town. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made and involved a lot of tears and soul searching.

So - I'm now the music teacher at Longmont Estates Elementary School in Longmont, which is about a 30 minute drive north of here. It's a great school - not nearly as racially diverse as the other places where I've worked, but there's some economic diversity, which is more than a lot of schools around here have. The commute is a gorgeous drive through farms with a non-stop view of the Front Range, and I've even got a co-worker who lives close by to carpool with - and she doesn't mind doing the preschool stop! She's also a fellow runner, so we're planning on running a half marathon together in a few weeks.

The really great news is that Andy managed to land a new job - and in this area! He's the new Director of Strategic Planning for Ultimate Electronics, which is based in far north Denver. For those who aren't familiar (they're not in TX, I know), it's a higher-end Best Buy kind of place. He's really excited about having the opportunity to learn how a business like this runs and to work with some really smart and creative people who are running the company.

Hannah seems to be adjusting pretty well to being a full-time preschool/day care kid. She goes to a really great preschool Monday through Wednesday, then I take her up with me to a home day care near my school Thursday and Friday. Gives us a little more time together and means she's in a home a bit during the week, which seems like a good thing after being mostly at home so far.

As for me - I'm doing better than I thought. I do wish that I had more time with Hannah and to take care of house things, but I'm enjoying working more than I thought I would. I think one of the hardest things is feeling like we're constantly on the move. That's a lot of why it took me so long to post this - I feel like there's no free time in our days right now, and I'm physically and emotionally exhausted by the time we get Hannah to bed!

Pretty sure I could ramble about this new life of ours for a lot longer, but there's that whole tired thing going on! So I'll wrap up and include some photos and a video, because really that's why you're here...

On a Labor Day hike out of Wild Basin in Rocky Mountain. Check out the chipmunk moving in on Hannah's peach. I ran into a co-worker a few miles out on the trail!

A kid-free hike the day before I went back to work. We can get to a 10,300 ft. trailhead in about 45 minutes - means you can hike at a pretty high altitude without serious climbing. Come visit!

Button nose makes for a good spoon holder. Are you laughing, Mom?

Playing at the Pearl Street mall.

FYI - I was copying, Hannah, not the other way around. This had been going on for quite a while before we even got out the camera. And the random noise in the background is not a time bomb, just our surprisingly loud sprinkler.

A quiet moment

2009-08-21T22:36:00.004-05:00

It's a little long, but there's some counting at the end that's kind of fun.

I dared to look away

2009-07-07T16:39:00.003-05:00

Hannah decided that today was a no nap day. I disagreed. So I laid down on the couch for a bit while she played quietly right next to me. A little too quietly...

Thank goodness for washable markers and worn-out berber carpet!

Flagstaff in the summer

2009-06-28T23:23:00.003-05:00

No photos of great alpine hikes this time, but I slept later than Hannah every day, so the trip was a success. Hannah had a fabulous time at Baba and Nammy's house, and pitched a bit of a fit about wanting to stay. She grew up a ton in the week we were gone, much to Andy's dismay.

Fun Hannah tricks for the week: Calling my parents Bab and Nam. As in "Hey Bab! Hey Nam!" Building her very own matching block towers - photo to come! Chasing wildlife through the backyard. A fancy dinner out with one very attentive honorary aunt.

Yogurt, revisited

2009-06-28T23:04:00.005-05:00

Andy offered to share his yogurt with Hannah this afternoon, and I was amazed at how familiar the scene looked. This is December 2008. Sorry for the sideways - still haven't figured out how to do that on this computer!

For the love of maracas

2009-06-15T23:05:00.003-05:00

This is Hannah's latest composition, as performed on a random early morning. This is a slightly forced rendition, though not as fake as the previous video where she kept her teeth clenched the entire time, and a little more entertaining than the first one where she just rolled on the floor for a while. Note the fermata effect on the last note - my little musician. The first version sounded a bit like "Maria", but who am I to give my kid credit for singing tritones at age two?

I love that when I turned on the Gipsy Kings on Sunday afternoon, she started singing the maraca song. Is it possible for someone named Hannah to have a latin flare? If nothing else, it's possible for her to have rockin' bed head.

Wish us luck - and sleep!

2009-06-07T21:56:00.003-05:00

Vintage! My old "Ba Boo Boon" t-shirt (now you know my secret nickname from my Dad!) and some crunchy mesh grocery bags. Hannah/Lindsey circa 1977.

Drum roll, please... it's time for the big girl bed. I picked up a little toddler bed from someone off of Craig's list a few weeks ago, and Hannah spotted it in the garage and has been talking about it ever since. So we're taking the plunge tonight. And this is what we have so far.

Yes, that's our baby under there. After all my hard work to make sleep sacks for her so she wouldn't cover herself with the blanket at 1 year, here she is at 2 (and a quarter!), with the blanket pulled all the way up over her head. So now we're doing some blanket rearranging and hoping for a full night's sleep.

Other recent fun - we went on a hike at Chautauqua with Nick, Anna and the kiddos a few weeks ago. The kids had a great time hiking together, and with the exception of Hannah taking a big digger on the downhill, a good time was had by all.

Checking out a fuzzy caterpillar! They all had to walk over every rock on the trail. Not the fastest way to get down, but still fun.

Less fun, but kind of exciting, I guess, is my job search. So now I have full-time teaching offers and have to figure out if I'm ready to go back to work full time or can turn them down and hope for the perfect part-time opportunity to materialize. Ugh. I feel really fortunate to have any job offer right now, but I have this image of the perfect part-time teaching job where I still have time to focus more on Hannah. I have to decide by tomorrow morning - wish me luck.

Running group

2009-05-11T21:18:00.006-05:00

Hannah's creation with her dolls this evening. She told me they were running, in running group. That's my girl!

Mother's day, after a yummy brunch at Whole Foods. Had to have an excuse to put Hannah up in this cute dress that we've had since she was a newborn! We finished the day with a nice long hike and a visit to Nick and Anna and the kids. Not bad for a gray, drizzly day.

Mugging with Daddy.

Done.

Hannah's a big fan of drawing right now and is making good use of her sidewalk chalk and some amazing weather.

I can't figure out why blogspot turned this photo, but it's an "H". Seriously! We had done some together, then when I was off working in the yard, Hannah said "I made an H." And sure enough, she had! In other big girl news - and this is big for those of you who know me well - Hannah is out of her sleep sack. She now sleeps on top of her favorite sleep sack. This is a big deal for me, especially since I made two of them. She looks huge in her crib now. I sense a change of bed coming soon.

Firefighting cousins

2009-05-06T18:22:00.004-05:00

Fun with Mama's boots.

Hannah and I met Aunt Anna and Cousin Juliet at the Denver Children's Museum last Friday and then shared a great lunch after. Both were birthday gifts from Claire and Anna - thanks!! I really wish I'd taken a photo of Hannah and Juliet sitting together at a booth at lunch, eating like young ladies (young ladies covered with syrup and drinking from sippy cups). But I did get some good ones of them playing on the firetruck at the museum. They have an actual fire truck in there!

Late on a no-nap day. She dove out of my arms after a car ride and went straight for Hank and passed out. I had to actually wake my child up to eat dinner!

Family fun

2009-04-26T23:36:00.004-05:00

We had our niece and nephew here on Sunday while their parents went skiing. We were returning the favor - gotta love having family close! Andy's sister, Claire, was running a half-marathon in Ft. Collins that morning, so we packed the kids up and drove up there to cheer her on. The kiddos made signs and loved seeing Aunt Claire run by with her friend. (Aunt Claire rocked the really hilly race, by the way!)

Hannah, Elliot, and Juliet

On Monday morning, Hannah asked to draw with her new markers. Despite the fact that they're washable (for those of you non-parents out there who don't know such miracles - these things are amazing!), I had her take off her white shirt so we could keep it relatively clean before meeting Daddy at lunch. After about 5 minutes of quiet coloring time, I looked up to discover...

She had a yellow marker in her belly button when I looked over. The armpits were a bonus I discovered when I asked her to lift up her arms. Awesome!

ABCs

2009-04-17T11:17:00.004-05:00

One of Hannah's favorite things to do right now. I'm really frustrated that the only video editing software on this computer won't save in a standard format, so I can't post a rotated version. With any luck, you're on a laptop and you can just pick the thing up and look sideways!

Photos

2009-04-14T22:47:00.005-05:00

Finally, some photos...

A gorgeous hike we took a couple of weeks ago. Having trails like this less than 20 minutes from our house is amazing.

This morning, playing with her shadow.

Because she spilled red juice on her shirt before we left home. Check out that toddler bod!

At the Butterfly Pavillion in a nearby town. Hannah and I spent my birthday morning there on Monday.

Cockroaches - lots of 'em. Didn't get a photo of the bird-eating tarantula that's as big as Hannah's head. Ooh.

Pretty girl.

I was trying to get a good photo of Hannah and a passing dad was nice enough to point out to me, and to her, that I had a butterfly sitting on my head.

Big girl

2009-04-13T23:55:00.003-05:00

Sigh - my baby girl is starting to potty train and doesn't suck her thumb any more. She tells me what she wants, "reads" books, notices and describes the world around her, remembers people and events, and has an opinion on nearly everything. Where did our baby go? Photos soon, I promise.

Little bit

2009-04-06T23:58:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo of this - really sorry. My mom's here right now and she made a cake on Saturday to celebrate my birthday early. It was supposed to be a major snow day, so were all prepared to spend the day inside baking and occupying Hannah with empty boxes from the garage. It turned out to be a bust of a snow storm, and skiing conditions at Copper, where we had originally planned on spending the day, were "epic." Sigh...

But I digress - back to the cake. Hannah was helping/hindering mom's efforts, but had at this point settled into a kitchen table chair and was quietly eating cake crumbs as the two newly-baked cake layers sat cooling. This is a very yummy chocolate cake (thanks again for the recipe, Nikki!) and the crumbs are a treat. For a while, at least.

As we were getting ready to walk out the door with our realtor to go see houses, Hannah says "little bit." Kind of an odd comment, so we of course asked her to repeat/explain/elaborate/whatever a two year old can do. So she pointed to the cake and said "little bit" - as in the little bit she had broken off the edge to get a bigger sample. I'm not sure what's funnier - that she got up the nerve to take a piece, that she waited that long before doing it, or that she felt the need to confess after doing it! Honestly, I think she was pretty proud of herself and wanted to show off her quick thinking on how to score more cake without getting in huge trouble. Just a little bit.

Snowed in

2009-03-26T13:15:00.010-05:00

There are probably 4 more inches of snow since I took this photo this morning, so we're not going anywhere today. (For those of you in my mom circle, watch for a milsetone photo later today of Hannah watching an entire TV show for the first time!) I think we're supposed to get a total of 8-10 inches or something. We're planning on heading up to ski this weekend, so as long as we can get over the Eisenhower, it should be great!

Other fun things around here...

For our friends back in Dallas - we just can't seem to get away from police activity. Apparently our street is a hot spot for motor vehicle violations that involve towing the car. There was another very similar scene the next day. Nothing dramatic, they even let the guy empty his belongings before they towed it. I found out later it was a paperwork thing because...

The true drama was when one of the cops returned 30 minutes later, just a few minutes ahead of the ambulance. That would be thanks to our little bed-diver. Hannah and I were playing on the bed and I left her there to answer the phone (mom of the year!), knowing that she gets down by herself all the time. Not a minute later, I heard a really loud thump and found her on the floor. She was of course upset, but her lips were also kind of blue and she passed out for a few seconds then was acting really odd and asking to get in her crib. This being a small town, the cop was here withing a minute of me calling 911, followed by the paramedics. She was acting completely normal by the time arrived, but since she did lose consciousness, we drove her to the ER to get checked out. Since the hospital is not on the list of places we had figured out how to get to yet, the nice officer (turns out he's a new dad) drove to the hospital with me behind, talking to Hannah the whole way to make sure she was still okay, followed by Andy who had rushed home from work. An hour of observation later, we were sent home with lots of new stickers. Apparently little kids will sometimes hold their breath in times of extreme stress, which is likely why she passed out, since she didn't show any signs of concussion. So now we've had our first kid ER visit.

We've also had our first visitor to our new home. My dad came for a weekend and got in some good Hannah time. We got to spend a morning at the local ski place cross-country skiing and got to go to a party without bringing a tired toddler. Woo hoo! We also had a nice hike with Dad and showed him Boulder, which he hasn't seen in about 15 years.

On top of Green Mountain, with the Indian Peaks in the background.

Hannah in her new green house, playing with her new babydoll house.

The last photo is mostly for my friend Catherine. She was a neighbor and really close friend who I've reconnected with in recent years. I know she remembers a certain little blonde kid dressed in head to toe lavender and purple. I believe the favorite outfit was lavender sneakers, purple socks, purple shorts, lavender shirt, and a lavender headband. Sound familiar? In my defense, the girl loves purple, and the only things I didn't get as hand-me-downs are the jacket and the bow!

I'm sorry for the lack of spaces between some paragraphs, but I've tried to convince blogspot that I really hit enter (sometimes twice for good measure) about five times now, I'm done trying.

Mountains!

2009-03-08T20:51:00.007-05:00

We're getting settled into our rental house in Louisville - slowly getting through the boxes and grateful for a big 2-car garage to store all our extra stuff in! I'm on a bit of mama overload, since Hannah's not going to "school" yet and we don't have our playgroup and friends to distract us. Now that we're here and have internet, I can focus on looking for a part-time job and some part-time child care. In the mean time, we're making the most of some amazing (if not freakish) warm weather and our new natural playground!

While waiting for the truck (and jogging stroller!) to arrive, I remembered that our carrier backpack was at Andy's aunt Sandy's house, so I retrieved it and took Hannah on a hike in the Flatirons. Chautauqua Park is just 15 minutes from our house, just 5 minutes past Andy's office. I only did about 2 miles, but with 30+ pounds on my back, I was seriously sore for a few days!

This morning, the aforementioned - and wonderful!! - Aunt Sandy came over to watch Hannah for a few hours. Andy went biking with a co-worker and I hit a local trail for a long run. Crushed gravel, views of the Flatirons and the Front Range behind with new snow, and a brand-new calf just off the trail, hobbling around it's mama. What a way to start the day!

For those who aren't familiar with the Boulder area, it's known for "open space", which is undeveloped land that's accessible by the public. I think some is private and some government owned. So you may be running around a reservoir, along a creek, or through a pasture. Many of the neighborhoods have trails that lead to open space, so a lot of the county is linked by trail. A lot of the trails are a decent surface for wheels, so they're BOB-able. Trail runs mid-week is an idea that really makes me happy.

Mixed emotions

2009-02-11T22:23:00.006-06:00

What's this talk I hear about moving?

You mean I have to leave my friends?

Mountains and nature? Bring it on!

It's official - we're moving to Boulder! Our house is under contract, we've found a place to live, and Andy's mom has a ticket to fly here the last week of February to help us with Hannah while we sort and pack and such. We'll be renting a place in the nearby town of Louisville to give the whole suburbia thing a test run. (Surely you've heard that Boulder is a slightly pricey place to buy a house...) Andy got a job with a small consulting firm called Redstone Strategy that works with foundations doing conservation and economic development. Way cool.

This is something that Andy and I have dreamt of for years, so we're really excited. I'm also quite sad to be leaving Dallas and the life that we've built here. The cool thing is, everyone wants to come visit us in Boulder! I'll take reservations by phone or email...

Yogurt love

2008-12-10T19:39:00.005-06:00

They're not edited for time, and the first one starts at the wrong angle, but these videos give you a "taste" of Hannah's single-mindedness when it comes to the foods she loves.

Wicked smart baby

2008-11-10T21:20:00.004-06:00

I don't really know the exact details of when a kid/baby's supposed to be able to do this, but lately, we've been coming out into the living room to see things like this:

So now I've posted the picture, and it just looks like 3 plates. It's actually 3 plates, each with a matching saucer on top. She does it with the cups, too. I'm quite sure it's because she's brilliant!

Halloween

2008-11-10T20:53:00.008-06:00

Here's the latest product from my sewing machine. I'm pretty impressed with the outcome, though frustrated with some of the measurements of the pattern. Either that or my daughter has a really tall head and a very broad back. I know her tummy's large and her cheeks are round, but that's not where the costume needed adjusting!

(The larger format is in honor of my mom's visit to Grandma this week. I think they've been able to pick up someone else's wireless signal there in the past, so hopefully Grandma will get to check out the blog!)

And these are the photos that we I when we tried to recreate the great shot of Hannah on the porch in her costume last year...

Nap time trends

2008-10-26T22:29:00.004-05:00

A couple of recent photos... Hannah now naps on a mat twice a week at mothers' day out, so apparently she's okay with thinking "outside the crib" on occasion. (Though the first one was kind of staged because she got up after about a minute, so I asked her to lie down again for the photo.)

We walked in the door and she wasted no time.

By the time I took it, she was on to me! (Larger photo - just remembered Mom is taking her laptop to visit Grandma soon. Apparently you can't go back and make photos bigger, so at least she'll be able to see this one!)

Climber

2008-10-09T23:09:00.003-05:00

The soundtrack was completely accidental, as Hannah had requested some music to dance to while dinner was being prepared, but it absolutely makes the video!

Trip number 3 - Flagstaff

2008-10-09T22:30:00.008-05:00

Katchina Trail in the San Fransisco Peaks

We did Maine for a week with the LeCuyer family, took our first trip away from Hannah for a McKinsey retreat to West Virginia, then we turned around and took off 2 days later for a week at my parents' in Flagstaff.

Getting there was a bit of an adventure, since Mom agreed to fly with Hannah rather than us taking her for the 2-day drive. Of course Mom was supposed to fly through Houston, but Houston was still rather a mess from hurricane Ike, so Dad saved the day and bought her a Southwest ticket through El Paso. (That should really help their frequent flier account!) Hannah snacked her way across the western US, but was generally cooperative for Mom, and good thing since she (Mom, not Hannah) had a whopping cold by the time she got home. Getting home of course included the 2 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix to Flag, with a borrowed carseat carefully installed ahead of time by Dad. Thank you so much, Mom!!!

Andy and I packed up the car with all sorts of gear (including camping stuff - though we used various brushes with illness to wimp out on our first camping trip with Hannah) and drove to Flagstaff. Unfortunately, there's not a great stopping place - hotels on Andy's points networks - in the middle, so we usually make Amarillo our "half-way" point. This time we pushed all the way to Albuquerque the first day, which left a short 4 1/2 hour drive the second day. So much easier without an empty carseat!

While in Flagstaff, we pretty well met our goal of doing something active outdoors every day. If you've been reading the other vacation posts, you'll notice a theme... We hiked, did some trail running, played tennis, went to yoga, and even took out my parents' canoe that hasn't seen water in years. We attempted a night out to dinner with Hannah in tow, and learned that there are many things easier to eat with a cranky kid in your lap than sushi!

One of the fun things about being in Flag is that my parents know nearly everybody, so they all know who we are. Okay so they all know who Hannah is. One couple even used to go to our church in Virginia! These folks were nice enough to babysit Hannah for the rest of us to go to the symphony one evening. A couple of days later, on our hike, we came across this line of chatty college students. It was the principal horn player, leading her studio on a hike. Hiking horn players and trail runs at the edge of the neighborhood - Dallas leaves to much to be desired.

We also got in some really good house time. One of Hannah's favorite pursuits was playing with the awesome sun beam that streams down the stairs in the morning. We captured some fun short video clips. The drive home isn't really worth chronicling. Some Arizona, followed by New Mexico, then an awful lot of Texas for being such a small portion of the state!

First day of "school"

2008-10-03T22:06:00.003-05:00

Hannah's been going to a mothers' day out two days a week this school year. I'm also their new music teacher - though I've only taught one morning because we were out of town so much and then Hannah got sick! The program is at a local Episcopal church, close enough that I can run - if I can leave on time, ever.

Hannah was really into it the first few times, and then seemed to figure out that maybe she was getting the short end of the stick on Mama time. She was not thrilled to go this week, and I'm wondering how it's going to work to teach music to her class and then leave her there. She got to go with me and teach the other classes (2 year olds through big grown up 4 year olds!) the first day, which she found to be exciting and exhausting. Too bad she only likes to nap an hour a day!

I was also pretty worn out, but I really enjoyed working with kids who are old enough to follow directions, respond appropriately to "the look" (though Hannah does pretty well with this one), and really sing songs. It was also amazing to watch Hannah participate in these classes. She picked up on all of the movement instructions, whether spoken or modeled. I'm constantly amazed by how much she understands!

Trip number two - baby free!

2008-09-29T18:49:00.004-05:00

With the Wilsons - friends from the beginning of

Andy and Geoff's McKinsey days

(it was supposed to be a "White Night" event -

we're not usually quite this dorky!)

After 19 months, we finally found an excuse and a way to get away for a short trip without Hannah. My mom graciously agreed to come stay with her while we went to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia on a McKinsey retreat. (Things you'll never do through your public school job...) Mom was thoroughly worn out by the end, but considering the hurricane that didn't hit us, the AC that died after we came back, and the cold she got on the way home, things could have been a lot worse!

We did pretty well about not missing Hannah except when we were around the cute toddlers other people brought with them. Of course some of those were Houston folks who had planned baby-free trips only to have to make last-minute changes and bring the family along. If you have to evacuate, a nice resort in the mountains with child care isn't the worst place to have to go!

Having enjoyed the mountains in Maine the week before didn't stop us from getting out as much as we could in the mountains of West Virginia. We were just a few ridges away from Virginia Tech and in very familiar territory, so I greatly enjoyed the visit "home". We were able to again hike and kayak - though this was our first kayak on a river and it was just lovely. The river felt a lot like the North Fork of the Shenandoah that I spent a lot of time on growing up, so I was loving it! I also managed to fit in my first ever facial, and it left me wishing I had oodles of money to blow on things like that on a regular basis!

There aren't any more photos because who remembers to take them when Hannah's not around?

Vacation number one

2008-09-28T20:15:00.007-05:00

Sunset Farm, Mount Desert Island, Maine

(For the record, it's pronounced more like a treat after dinner rather than a hot place with a lot of sand. As in French for bare mountains. Apparently the locals just call it MDI.)

September was a busy travel month, so I'll try to get all of the adventures in before the end of October! The first week of the month, we went to Maine for a week at a house near Acadia National Park with Andy's family. The house was actually a duplex of sorts that was an old farm house on 100 acres with access to Long Pond and a canoe and kayaks. A mile up the road was a lesser-traveled section of the national park with lovely hiking trails. And there were blueberries - lots and lots of late-season blueberries! (And mosquitoes, but that wasn't so bad with a big house with new windows and screens to hide behind when needed.)

Hannah had a great time hanging out with her cousins, Elliot (4 1/2) and Juliet (2), and getting out to enjoy the mountains and coast. Okay, they're pretty small mountains, but there's also an ocean, so it's all good. We hiked, with and without Hannah in the carrier, ate popovers at Jordan Pond, canoed and kayaked, swam in not-too-frigid Long Pond, and spent some time exploring the shore.

I'll leave the rest to the photos from Karen's (Andy's mom) awesome camera!

The family at the shore - Grandma Karen, Cousin Elliot, Aunt Anna, Cousin Juliet, Grandpa Jack, Aunt Claire (Andy's sister), and you know the rest. (Missing was Andy's brother Nick, who just started a new job, which meant a move to Denver where Claire is - yay, but he couldn't get away for vacation yet - bummer!)

Brave kids with cold toes.

At Jordan Pond - very excited about a Dog

Using Daddy's Princeton hat to make Hokie colors. Very clever!

Forever to be known as the ice cream cone photos. Amazingly, Hannah didn't seem to notice that she was the only one without one. One of the many benefits of thumb sucking!

Don't think it's an approved carseat

2008-08-28T09:23:00.003-05:00

But at least she's doing her research!

Colander

2008-08-27T21:17:00.001-05:00

Classic

Hannah charms Flagstaff

2008-08-20T22:41:00.005-05:00

Hannah and I took off for a little grandparent time with my folks in Flag last week. The travel was long, but she did a wonderful job considering delays and missed connections both directions. Mom and Dad secured a real crib and high chair from some grandparent friends, which made a world of difference. Hannah did wake shortly after the sun every morning (which is very early in a place with no daylight savings time), but luckily my dad does as well, so I was off the hook.

I really enjoyed watching Hannah explore the natural surroundings at my parents' house and on a hike up the inner basin of the San Francisco Peaks. We've done some "hiking" in North Texas, but we don't much put her down to let her wander - in the dust, fire ants, and poison ivy.

Just one of the hundreds of mushroom colonies along the trail. Mom was seeing fairies and trolls at every turn!

Hannah coming in for a kiss at the springs.

We had a simply magical evening in downtown Flag with my parents' dear friends Karen and Maury, and were later joined by Dad's best bud Mick. There were free dancing lessons in the square that night, so Hannah took the opportunity to critique and dance the night away!

Apparently my mom had never seen, much less done, this trick before. Sheer glee!

It was really wonderful to watch Hannah interact with her grandparents now that she's getting old enough to play back. As to be expected, her Baba is her new best friend, and she was calling for him by the end of the week. (You think he picked a repeated-syllable name by accident?) We'll spend a week with Andy's family in Acadia soon, and I'm looking forward to her spending some quality time with the rest of her family!

The girl loves her shoes. And other people's shoes.

She did not, however, love Dad's circa 1949 little boy suit. We're guessing it was for his 1st birthday. It was a little short, but we couldn't pass up the photo op!

Today's conversations with Hannah

2008-08-20T22:07:00.003-05:00

Mama - "If you're done, please put your cup on the kitchen counter."
Hannah - "Do"

Mama - "Do you want some super smoothie?"
Hannah - "Do"

Mama - "Please help me clean up your toys."
Hannah - "Do"

I think you get the idea. For "Do", think the word for the musical syllable, not the "yes, I'll do that" variety. I just couldn't bring myself to type "doh" for my baby's dialog, and "no" just really doesn't capture it.

In happier news - it's been raining this week! A lot! I'm quite confident that our grass will recover from the dry and return immediately to it's crisis fungus state, but at least we're not doing the sprinkler samba every morning for now. Hannah got to go out on her first puddle-splashing adventure, wearing my 30-plus-year-old Wellies from England.

Catch up: Hannah stuff

2008-08-18T23:22:00.006-05:00

Hannah's grown up so much while I've been neglecting the blog! I know I'm going to forget a lot, so I'm going to be lazy and list...

Words - she's really into this whole speaking thing these days. Most of her words are still starting sounds (or random sounds from the middle or end of a word), but Andy and I are usually able to translate for those who don't speak Hannah.

Lovey-dovey - she still loves to give hugs and kisses, and they're more often than not the pucker kind rather than the wide-open-mouth super-drooly variety! She can also say hug ("ughh") and seems to have possibly pick up "a choo" as an attempt at mimicking "I love you." She and I will go back and forth trading a choo's, hers with varying levels of hilarity in the pauses, full-body emphasis, and giggle. What could be better?

Helping - her ability to follow directions is really amazing. I guess you could call them 2-step directions, since it usually involves going and getting something, then bringing it to us or putting it somewhere. So cool! In general, we're pretty impressed at how much she understands when people speak to her.

Laughs - oh, how the girl loves to giggle. She's an excellent tickle-ee, peek-a-boo (that's "pee" in Hannah) artist, victim of surprises, and observer of all things funny. I love that she and I are able to laugh together!

Independence - she definitely has a shy side around new people, but pretty quickly warms up to new places and situations. She's a great explorer and flirt. She doesn't seem to be afraid of much, but she did have some moments of sheer terror/glee watching her Baba pretend to be an airplane. She would say and sign done when he stopped - so cute!

Eating - who new that this would be the most stressful part of parenthood, from day one 'till ??? The rule still seems to be "let nothing green pass these lips", and protein is a mixed bag, but so far she'll still drink her "Super Smoothie" - straight out of the jar. (It's going to be sad when she can read and I'm ripping the labels off greenbeans and rice baby food.)

Sleep sacks - it totally snuck up on me, but they've become her lovey/blankie/cuddly thing. When she's tired, she'll go find one of them and bring it to where I am and lay down with it. We've talked about trying to wean her off them, especially in the heat, but I still come back to the fact that she can't climb out of the crib in one (though she did her her feet good and stuck yesterday) and she can't claw at the eczema on her legs all night. Plus it's a great source of price that I made the two that she uses most of the year.

Catch up: the facts

2008-08-18T22:42:00.010-05:00

Some event-type things that I've missed... (more random cute photos at the bottom if you want to skip to the good stuff)

Lakewood 4th of July Parade

Andy's parents came for a great long-weekend visit in July. It was good and hot, but we had fun going to the Dallas World Aquarium and getting out for early walks. From her early months, Hannah's had a sweet spot in her heart for men, so true to form, Grandpa was her new best friend. She also enjoyed some great floor time with Grandma, and I really enjoyed being off-duty for a while!

We also spent a lovely weekend in Austin visiting friends and getting in some Town Lake (guess it's Lady Bird Lake, now!) and Barton Springs time. Our good friends Mike and Leslin were gracious enough to let us crash at Mike's place, even with the toddler in tow! They're training for Ironman number 5, so they were nice enough not to wake Hannah when they got up at some insanely early hour to run very far! We also enjoyed a wonderful meal with newlyweds Liz and Sascha at their renovation-in-process home. Hannah was an angel and went to sleep in the back while we were able to stay late and chat. What a gift!

Hannah and I just got back from a trip to Flagstaff to hang out with my parents, but that'll be a separate entry...

In mama news, Hannah's going to go to Mothers' Day Out two days a week this fall, and I'm going to teach a whopping 5 hours a week!

On Mondays, I'll teach a little babies and parents music class with a program that's already been started by a neighbor mom and her friend. It's called Rhythm and Rhyme: Movement and Music for Youngsters, and they ran a really successful program last year. I'm pretty impressed with their curriculum and am excited to join them. They weren't offering a class for pre-walkers anymore, and I realized that doing a toddler class in my house is more than I want to deal with, so I threw the idea their way. We're still waiting for enough enrollment (if you live in Dallas - I'd be glad to send you a flier!), but I think it will be fun.

The real "bulk" of my workload will be two 2-hour days teaching at Hannah's MDO at Church of the Incarnation, an Episcopal church nearby. I really like the director, the program is in a great upward transition, and I get a sweet deal on Hannah's tuition for working there. I'm excited to get to work with kids as old as 4! One of many examples of how motherhood's changed me - I used to dread Kindergarten every year. Really wanted the teachers to just keep them until around November when they'd learned to be students and real people. Now I'm thrilled to work with the big 4-year-olds - woo hoo!

Mama's bike jersey - we've been doing more family rides with the trailer and Andy's new smokin' "Dad bike." (An excuse to buy another really good bike that's better for pulling the trailer. He works his butt off and bikes a ton of miles on his road bike - he deserves it!

As close as Hannah will let me get to the piano.

Morning paper - a rare moment of not hounding us for breakfast!

Not sure how to type this sound - imagine "moo" with your mouth closed. It's the sound a dog makes, a cow, and apprently sometimes a baby.

Fashionista! All put on at her request. I see tutus and boots in Winter in our future.

Parting shot.

Not what I intended to capture

2008-06-25T23:25:00.003-05:00

My dad was here this weekend, and after spending the day with Baba while Mama went to doctors' appointments and a massage (ahh!), Hannah had learned to climb onto the ottoman and chair. Yay. As she was demonstrating this new skill, I decided it would be great to capture it on video. (You've heard this one before, yes?) So we pulled her off the chair, and rather than climb up again, she of course launched into a fabulous boo hoo routine. I'm surprised you can't see my tears of laughter rolling down the video screen.

Still our baby

2008-06-08T22:11:00.005-05:00

So many of the clothes that she wears now are little girl clothes. No more snaps at the crotch! I found this outfit at a yard sale last year sometime and got lucky that it mostly fits this summer. One of the photos is blurry, but you can see the potential, so I'm posting it anyway.

I posted a few more new entries this evening, so scroll down after this one to see more!

Princeton Reunions

2008-06-08T21:44:00.005-05:00

We went to Princeton for Andy's 10th reunion last weekend and had a great time. Hannah did well on the flights, for being a squirmy toddler, and renting a carseat was only moderately scary! For those who aren't familiar with this fine Princeton tradition, Reunions is a much bigger event than the typical class reunion. It's held every year the weekend before graduation, and the campus completely fills with people from the current class through the "Old Guard", who are people who graduated 60-plus years ago. It's a big deal to every 5 years, so we couldn't miss Andy's 10th. This is the year a lot of people show up with babies, so it was fun to go show Hannah off and to take advantage of the kid food, play area, and changing room! Pretty sure the class of 08 had a different weekend than we did.

One of the bummers about having transferred mid-way through college was that I don't have a really strong attachment to either one at this point. Despite my initial trepidation about the whole Ivy League thing, Andy's friends have welcomed me to the fold with open arms and I've really enjoyed taking part in this tradition. I'm pretty sure I own more Princeton clothing that either William and Mary or Virginia Tech. That's if you could the new shirt that I bought this year, which we promptly lost. We're pretty sure it fell out of the bottom of the stroller in the dark, as did our travel changing pad. Lesson learned about cramming the thing too full!

Hannah took advantage of the play area, a lot, and learned the joy of stickers!

Long day. 'Nuff said.

Current "faves"

2008-06-08T21:20:00.005-05:00

Hannah's favorites:

Sitting in her "Tot Spot" camp chair (found it at a consignment sale)

Signing - she'll often go through every one she knows in hopes of getting what she wants. These include more, all done, milk, and water. It's like a dance to see them all done in succession!

Saying "chee" and "sha". Chee means food, or more, or I want - we think it was originally cheese. Ironically, she's not a fan of just cheese these days. Sha means a lot of things. Sometimes it seems to mean snack (do you see the food theme here?), but it seems to mean a dozen other things that we can't decipher.

Playing on the bed with Mama or Daddy.

Playing with kitchen toys at Pottery Barn Kids or the science museum - time to buy some new toys!

Daddy's hair brush and Mama's hair bands. She'll pull them out of the drawer, put them in something else, and cart them around the house. She sometimes walks into a room with every hair band I own in her hands. What a colorful treat!

Her Duplo blocks. She's getting better at assembling them, which makes her daddy so proud.

Sleep sacks. I realized that she had grown a little too attached to the one I made last December, so I finally finished the new one I was working on and got her to accept it. She gets really excited when we put her in her favorite one for bed time, which is wonderful for so many reasons!

Playing piano. Sadly, I can't play with her in the room because she pushes my hands off so she can play.

Dancing. When I start to turn on the stereo, she claps and starts bopping.

Lindsey's favorite thing:

She's starting to say Mama some, and she has this amazingly sweet way of pronouncing it. Magic.

Fun with food

2008-06-08T21:15:00.006-05:00

These are some photos I've collected of Hannah in the past months enjoying the cullinary delights of our toddler kitchen...

Yogurt, all by herself!

Going for Daddy's yogurt. She kept moving closer and closer, hoping that his spoon would accidentally end up in her mouth.

Yes, that is my toddler "eating" baby food. She'll actually eat veggies that way, so it works for now. In hopes that she'd get the spoon thing going, I set the jar down on her tray and turned my back for a second...

Hannah has this great sewn toy that's an alphabet animal train. She had dumped out all of the animals to play with, and then suddenly got up and went in to the kitchen. I wasn't really looking at what she was doing, until I looked up and saw her with a plate full of stuffed animals. Our little girl, playing carnivore!

Guillot cousins

2008-05-12T09:40:00.003-05:00

One of the best things I found to help me survive being a new mama was the New Moms' Group at the hospital where Hannah was born. As much as that weekly meeting helped me, the friends we're made out of the group have been just as wonderful! Little did I know I'd also be making family connections in this group of moms.

Family history lesson - my dad grew up in Dallas. His sister, Sarah, married a man named Larry Guillot. The Guillots are one of the early French families of Dallas, so there are lots of Guillots around and we even lived on Guillot street the summer we got married!

I knew that I might run into Guillots living in Dallas, but little did I know there would be two at the moms' group who are now a part of the playgroup that Hannah and I go to every week. We're not technically related, but our kids share Sarah and Larry as great aunt and uncle, so we're family! A couple of weeks ago, we got some great photos of the three cousins - Hannah and Lloyd are just a few days apart, and Maddie (the hugger) is a few months older. Maddie really enjoys loving on "baby" Hannah, and Lloyd is smart enough to do his best to stay out of the way!

MS150

2008-05-05T23:18:00.003-05:00

Andy rode in the MS150 bike ride this past weekend. The riders go from Frisco (north of Dallas) to Ft. Worth in two days, with an over night stop at the Texas Motor Speedway. Andy of course did a great job and rode with some of the fastest folks both days. The ride is a fundraiser for MS research, so it's cool to be invovled in such a big event for a good cause.

Hannah and I were support crew. We were also official support for the Believe Team from the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. (We're members, but no one knows us 'cause we never go!) My job was to bring beer and cookies, Hannah's job was to entertain the tired riders. The first day we had a tent set up nicely in the "not grass", and Hannah had her first day of playing in the dirt. I kept her skin protected from the sun, and her clothes from her food, but not her face/hands/legs/arms/hair/nose/mouth/fingernails from the dirt!

The second day finished in downtown Ft. Worth, which meant hanging out in a parking lot. Hannah discovered a whole different color of dirty! She also discovered the reality of waking up at 5:15 and then not napping until we left at 2:00. I don't think she made it two blocks before crashing!

Mama's garden helper

2008-04-23T21:32:00.007-05:00

Hannah helped me with some garden upkeep this afternoon...

"Deadheading" the flowers - or "liveheading," because the pretty ones are much more fun to pick!

Putting the cuttings into the bucket. After she emptied the bucket. This went on for a while.

Fun things to do with a bucket.

But the hat and the bucket don't match, so she really needed to remove the hat. Darn velcro!

Photos and a video

2008-04-20T22:57:00.006-05:00

Some audio-visual Hannah moments...

Reading a story this afternoon. The kisses she gives to stuffed critters are more like big chomps. Wonder if she knew it was a finger puppet?

Playing in the back yard. No doubt she's got Doggett thighs!

Then now in a field of bluebonnets at the airport. We definitely had better wildflower weather last year!

The end.

Little love

2008-04-14T22:43:00.006-05:00

A most wonderful thing about Hannah is how affectionate she's become. She loves to give hugs and kisses, which are wonderful to receive - even the open-mouth-slobber-eat-your-face kind that she sometimes needs to give in sets of 10 or so! It's been interesting to watch her chose her objects of affection. Apparently love of cuddly stuffed things comes naturally. Or maybe she's seen me curled up with Pooh Bear when Andy's not home... Here are some photos of our little lovey. (Who cut her first molar sometime very recently, and has been remarkably good-natured about it - we'll see how long that lasts!)

Hugging a baby doll at Caroline's 1st birthday party yesterday.

Heading off to bed this evening with Harriet, after trying to feed her some of her milk.

Getting her sleep sack for bed. After her story, she kissed me and dove for the crib!

Computer woes

2008-04-10T21:07:00.012-05:00

First a pretty picture just 'cause...

After 3 1/2 years of blissful matrimony, apparently my internet provider software and my older computer no longer see eye to eye, leaving me relegated to webmail on a spare laptop. It's amazing how much I not only rely on having a computer, but having my computer with my files and my Outlook! So if you've been getting emails from me in strange formats, or no messages at all, or ones sent to addresses that you only check once a year, there's your reason.

Grammy and Hannah at the Arboretum.

Field trip day - look at all the pretty yellow flowers!

On a less whiny note, we just had a wonderful visit from my mom. She helped me do some shopping and find the item I've dreamed of for years - a summer dress that works with a regular bra! I know that may not impress any guys reading this, but you girls know what a victory that is. We also enjoyed some time with my mom's Ft. Worth family, a hike at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, and some fun at the park and Arboretum. Hannah really enjoyed getting to know her Grammy more and we really enjoyed our night at the new fancy W Hotel (thanks to Andy's hotel points!). We haven't slept that late in a long, long time!

The new toy from REI.
Sportin' the sunblock 'do. She won't keep a hat on, so we have to rub in all over her head!

Angel baby loves to sleep, but it never happens in my arms any more. What a blessing.

Hannah's becoming the most amazing little person. She's developed quite a squeal/scream/laugh thing when she's excited that's not exactly pretty, but fun to hear. She's also really fond of saying Daddy these days (and cheese, but not with quite the same enthusiasm). She'll let out a Daddeee when he comes in the door or even when we met him at the park in his biking gear. She absolutely loves to play at the park. After a stop to choose her favorite wood chips to carry around, she heads off to the stairs and slides or just runs around laughing. What a joy!

Along with her exuberant joy of course comes other intense emotions. Like the utter tragedy of being told to stop or that something is not hers to touch. Out comes the big pout, often followed by genuine tears, wails, and even her hands over mouth. And then she finds something else to do and plays happily with tears on her cheeks. Here's a winner from the "feed me now" category. Our little drama queen!

So small!

2008-03-28T22:50:00.007-05:00

I've been using Andy's old computer lately, and found some photos on here that I haven't seen in a long time. They're from Hannah's first few days, when I certainly didn't have the time nor the mental capacity to upload photos onto the computer. It seems unreal that the toddler who led me into the kitchen this evening and managed to communicate that she was hungry (after dinner and PJ's, mind you) is the same helpless baby in these photos.

Easter at the Arboretum

2008-03-24T22:32:00.006-05:00

My first home-made outfit!

Saved the best for last.

I've been tagged

2008-03-10T22:52:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged, which means I'm supposed to post ten things people might not know about me. I could spend way too much time thinking about this, so I'm going to just bite the bullet and post!

1. Pooh Bear, who I’ve had since I was about 2 months old, is still on my bed and I cuddle up with him when Andy’s not home. (This is not the yellow bear in a red shirt that Disney has marketed. He’s a brown bear like the original stories by A.A. Milne.)

2. In the last few years, I’ve discovered that I’ve become a bit OCD about where things go – on the counters, on my desk, in my drawers. Once I like the set-up, I try to always put things in the same place. Maybe it’s a product of having a husband who can never remember where he’s put things, but I think it’s mostly my own neurotic obsession!

3. On the flip side, I can be a real slob when no one’s looking. Being around neat-freak Andy is helping me to learn the value of a picked up house, but when he’s gone I can let this place get phenomenally cluttered. (I’m guessing there’s some serious psychoanalysis to be done with numbers 2 and 3 together!)

4. I’ve been known to spend the better part of a day reading if I have a good book. I don’t imagine this will happen again until Hannah goes to college, so thank goodness for long-nap days!

5. I love to take naps. Any time, any place, but preferably in a comfy chair/couch with the sun in my face!

6. I don’t do well with having expectations that aren’t met. It’s part of why I didn’t want to know Hannah’s gender before she was born, and why I tried really hard not to guess. (Though when she was born, I wasn’t surprised that she was a girl.)

7. I love ice cream. I can make a meal out of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.

8. I never exercised regularly or participated in sports in high school (I played softball, badly, in 5th grade), but I did triathlons when I lived in Austin and ran a marathon in 2005.

9. I really miss making music (with adults) on a regular basis. I’ve played piano since 1st grade, majored in music, and played oboe in the Austin Civic Orchestra after college. I really miss the experience of making music with others. I also miss playing piano, yet the digital one I have just doesn’t speak to me the same way an acoustic does, so I rarely play. When we have a house with stronger floors…

10. I got to play a 1904 Steinway at a historic home in Flagstaff a couple of years ago, and it was absolutely the best piano I have ever laid hands on.

And now I'm going to tag Amy Bankhead, Krystle, and Karen.

In like a lion

2008-03-10T21:53:00.011-05:00

This was Friday, March 7, in Dallas, Texas - the second time that week! Of course by the afternoon is was gorgeous and sunny, but it was still sight to wake up to.

My dad was here for a visit and managed to fly out before the weather got crummy. Hannah had a really good time hanging out with her Grandpop, and Andy and I enjoyed an afternoon of much-needed shopping without the baby. Now that she's walking, she won't stay in the stroller for very long and is quick to explore all of the trouble options at the stores! The three of us went to the opera on Saturday night, thanks to our friends Cynthia and Dean who were willing to be talked into babysitting Hannah for the night. She did us proud and behaved very well (read, went to sleep easily) and got a chance to practice her social skills by trying to steal Lukas' snacks! We saw Porgy and Bess, which I've never seen before. It's certainly a different experience than the more traditional operas I'm used to. I don't think it's my new favorite, but I'm glad that I've seen it.

Singing with Grandpop.

Holding hands for a stroll, what a treat!

Hannah is really enjoying being a toddler and sometimes seems to walk around the house just for the sake of taking the trip. Unexpected parent lesson - soft-soled footsteps are much quieter than crawling hand slaps. I used to be able to tell exactly where she was from the familiar slap, slap sound of her crawling, occasionally accompanied by loud whining. Now she's underfoot or in another room before I know it!

If she insists on carrying a purse, at least it's a drum!

We haven't heard any definitive words yet, but she's been mimicking me a lot lately and can sign "more" and "all done". Of course she signs "more" all day long. She seems to do it when she wants anything, food or otherwise, but I think she's also hungry from all the walking. She's also developed a pretty serious addiction to cheerios (rather the organic replacement from our local grocery). Not only do I have to try to keep her from seeing her snack cup, she'll get mad if she hears them rattle and she can't have any! But having a child who can communicate her needs and feed herself is pretty amazing to me. I'm reluctantly working on teaching her to use a spoon. This is one of those skills that I'd really like her to magically learn overnight. I don't have a lot of patience for the sloppy attempts. I'd rather just feed her and get it over with or give her finger food! Any hints or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Snack and a beverage to go.

The camera apparently needs some yogurt.

Strangers like to comment on her thumb sucking,

but no one tell's me she needs to eat more!

It's been a while, so I know I rambled on a bit. Andy's mom, Karen, is coming this week, which I'm really looking forward to. She and I have been putting in long hours trying to plan the LeCuyer summer trip to Maine, and it will be nice to talk in person. And maybe even about something other than numbers of bathrooms and limited water views!

I'm not ready to say "toddler"

2008-02-21T21:24:00.006-06:00

But here it is - she's walking. Not just a few steps from Mama to Daddy. She'll go most of the way down the hall, or pull up to walk instead of crawling, or walk on her own when she could be cruising. She even walked some on the grass yesterday! (And got her first-ever grass stains, her first-ever time wearing tights.) The best part is the proud look she gets when she sees you watching her.

Here are some photos from the last few days' adventures with nature, a new toy (and it's packaging) from Aunt Claire, and the drum that's been mostly off limits until now. (Partly because it's a decent drum and I don't want her chewing on it, and partly because I already poked a hole in the head!)

Unedited Hannah time

2008-02-14T10:00:00.003-06:00

I really wanted to catch her doing her new tongue-playing thing, so here's some fun Hannah rambling after breakfast.

Movie star

2008-02-11T14:43:00.000-06:00

Hannah's been taking more steps on her own, so we decided to try again to get some decent footage. These are some clips we got a couple of evenings ago playing in the kitchen before her bed time. I kind of wish I had video of her right now, having an absolute ball disassembling the paper recyling behind my chair. Happy as a clam! Of course now I've broken the spell and she's off exploring the study with all of it's various cords and other hazards. And I'm off!

I just had to add...

2008-02-05T22:40:00.001-06:00

Some more of my Hannah favorites...

Her extremely expressive eyebrows. Sometimes she'll see me and raise them just before she smiles. Magic.

Her love of pairs. Two things in one hand is her joy. Two of the same thing is bliss.

The fact that her hair is filling out in a nice mullet.

Happy feet. I'm sure it's something that many babies do, but she still kicks her feet sometimes when she's happy. Just in case she can't stand to take her thumb out of her mouth and smile, she can still let us know how she's doing.

When I pointed at a pretty sunset the other night, she pointed and sighed.

The fact that she fell asleep this afternoon even though a really intense hail storm started within minutes of me putting her down. (Somehow it always comes back to sleep.)

The sweetest Hannah things

2008-02-04T13:31:00.000-06:00

Kisses - she'll lean in with her lips out for a kiss. The last couple of days, she's leaned over to give me a kiss before I put her in the high chair. I'm not sure why she does it, but I like to think it's her way of saying thank you for the coming food!

Standing - if we put her down standing, she'll just stay there for a while, looking around, grabbing her belly, contemplating life. Sometimes she'll even take a couple of shuffle steps before dropping down to crawl.

Laughing on the changing table - she loves to play with me with her feet after I change her. If I rest my head on her foot, she'll move it and drop my head on her belly. Big giggles for both of us.

The fact that she snorts when she laughs hard.

The silly grin - I have seen the face that she'll make when we tell her to smile for pictures when she's 4. It's this impish, squinty-eyed, toothy grin. Sometimes it's followed by a kiss.

"All done" - she's figured out how to sign it and does it when her tray is empty, or when I take the tray, or when she's playing, or in the bath, or... We're working on the meaning, but it's really cute when she signs!

Sleeping - which she's doing right now.

Here's a funny sequence involving the end of a banana...

Too much fun!

2008-01-30T21:37:00.000-06:00

Let's call this the "maybe not so witty, but full of photos and video" update - 'cause it's been way too long! We had a really nice Christmas at home with my parents here. We also hosted the Doggett (Lindsey) family party, which was a lot of fun. We really appreciate so many people making the drive from all points Texas to share some holiday time with us in our home. Some of our friends and neighbors were even brave enough to join us!

Our wonderful neighbors, Scott and Lauren - recently engaged!

My mom/running buddy, Cynthia. We ran half of the White Rock Marathon together in December - with no strollers!

Hannah spent Christmas as most babies do, enjoying the wrapping paper and bows and falling asleep in her high chair. She received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends. It's been fun to watch her explore new things - and dress her in new cute clothes! (And she got to repeat it all a month later at her birthday! See below...)

She only got away with this because Grammy was watching her!

Yeah, whatever mom - this looks like something I can tear/eat!

After the presents.

A couple of days after Christmas, we left my mom and dad to close up the house (including taking down the tree - THANK YOU!) and drove to Copper Mountain, CO for the annual LeCuyer ski vacation. We had a fabulous time skiing, and thanks to my wonderful in-laws, I spent more time away from Hannah than ever before! Of course the close-in condo also meant that we got come back for lunch and a bit of play with the munchkin - and Elliot and Juliet, our niece and nephew, who were tons of fun. One of the highlights of the week for me was baking Andy's birthday cake with Elliot, who's almost four. What a good helper! (Not to put the pressure on, but once again the good photos are on Andy's mom's camera, so you'll have to wait to see them...)

Of course we couldn't get too settled at home, because Hannah turns one tomorrow!! We had her birthday party this Sunday to avoid any Superbowl conflicts. It was really fun to have a house full of friends and babies. Props to the single friends who braved the crowd! Hannah once again enjoyed the wrapping paper and of course had fun eating her cake and a taste of chocolate mousse. Her dork mom made a virtually sugar-free, half whole wheat carrot cake. Then I covered it in cream cheese frosting that had nothing low-sugar or low-fat about it, just in case it was too bland for the adults! Andy made superb chocolate cookies, which got way more compliments than the cake, but at least it was edible!

Hannah and her friend Caroline have fun at the after party.

Don't think this one needs a caption...

In addition to all of the holiday festivies, we've been having a great time playing with Hannah. She's sooo close to walking right now. She's gotten to the point where she'll take several steps to get to a toy (or food), but she's also just as likely to drop and crawl. It's exciting, but I'm really in no hurry to be chasing a toddler! The rate at which she learns new things right now is astounding. It's such a joy to watch her find new ways to play and communicate. Our favorite is probably her kissing sprees in the mornings. And they're getting much less sloppy!

Exploring her world.

In the mama report, I think I'm starting to hit the point where I'm needing some more intellectual stimulation. So I'm starting a book group and am currently registering people for another session of baby music classes. I'm shooting for 3 classes this time, so it will almost be like having a real part-time job! I'm excited, but also apprehensive about adjusting to having a real schedule that's not dictated solely by Hannah. I think I've got it figured out, but I also realize that her schedule will change in the 8 weeks of classes. But for now, it's not enough income to justify child-care, so Hannah is automatically enrolled in every section!

On the more professional front, Andy's with an in-town client right now, so Hannah and I will both really enjoy having him around more. Even if it means earlier mornings to say goodbye on his way to the gym!

The first video was my best attempt at getting Hannah walking. I now understand why these videos are taken with 2 adults around! The second is her after her nap today. Sleep sacks rock!

Walking with no (mommy) hands!

2007-12-12T10:52:00.000-06:00

I picked up a well-used walking toy at a neighbor's garage sale last weekend, and this was Hannah's first journey!

It's been a while!

2007-12-11T21:14:00.000-06:00

Story time with Papa.

What a fun time we've been having! We had a wonderful visit to Carlisle, PA for Thanksgiving with the LeCuyers. Hannah got some great time with Grandma and Grandpa, and got to play with (watch and be amazed by) her older cousins. We kept up the family tradition of all doing the Turkey Trot at the local Y and enjoyed another wonderful group-effort dinner! Anna sent us home with another huge bag of wonderful hand-me-downs for Hannah. What a blessing to have such a generous family (and a niece who's not too much older than Hannah). I'll post Thanksgiving photos when I get them from Karen. She takes wonderful photos, so we didn't even bother taking our camera!

Hannah's a real joy these days. Even when she's tired, she's generally in a good mood. She spends a lot of her day standing and cruising around various pieces of furniture. When she's not doing that, she's emptying the contents of a drawer - preferably the tupperware drawer. It's a lot of fun to watch her sort through and find her favorite objects. A couple of times recently, she came across a sock then kept searching until she found another one, then joyfully presented them to me. Baby girl can sort! I tried really hard to capture her accomplishment on film, but she kept crawling towards the camera.

Hannah sharing her passion with her friends after music class.

We joined other McKinsey families for the Dallas Christmas Parade a couple of weekends ago and got a photo of Hannah in McSanta's lap. She hadn't napped all day, so this was the best we could get!

In grownup news... Andy's wrapping up his current project and will be taking a long break for the holidays - yay! I've managed to get myself back into decent shape and ran half of the White Rock Marathon with my mom friend Cynthia last weekend. We ran a cool 2:18 and lived to enjoy a hearty IHOP meal with they guys and the babies! I've also just wrapped up my first session of baby music classes. It was really neat to get to put my experience to use at a new level. Thank you to the moms who participated!

Some fun photos of Hannah...

Exploring my 30-year-old scooter!

9 months

2007-11-11T22:18:00.000-06:00

A visit from Grandpop (my dad) marked the end of a busy couple of weeks at the LeCuyers. The painters have almost finished a complete repaint of the exterior of our house, and some new trim work makes it look great! Hannah is an accomplished crawler and puller-upper, and cut her first top tooth yesterday - with no noticeable crankiness! I'm expecting a delayed reaction any minute now. (Or maybe this will make up for 3 colds in a month.)

It's amazing to me that I've now known Hannah for as long as took to wait to meet her. This has been a wonderful age. It's such a joy to watch her discover her world and grow into her own little person. I've been wondering lately how I can possibly stand to see her grow up! I can't imagine not getting to hold her cuddly baby self and not being the recipient of so many gorgeous gummy smiles.

Fun Hannah things...

She laughs often, even snorting like her mama sometimes. She protests little at meals (though she mysteriously dislikes sweet potatoes right now, which is discouraging when you see how much orange there is in our freezer!), and has for the first time ever not been draining every ounce of every bottle. She pulls up on everything and is usually quite content to play at the coffee table or playing kissy-face with her reflection in the oven door. Speaking of... slobbery baby kisses have become a regular occurrence around here. If you're lucky, she'll stick out her tongue, yell, or chew a bit while she kisses you!

Favorite toy - the coffee table and whatever's on it.

Note the snotty nose. A much-too-common occurrence! From pumpkin pants to playing in the pumpkins.
So much to discover in her world!

The apple of her grammy's eye

2007-10-29T21:02:00.000-05:00

On the swing mugging for Grammy.

Grammy Doggett was in town last week, and she was nice enough to make Hannah a Halloween costume while teaching me some sewing basics. Andy's Princeton friend, Sarah, had knitted Hannah an adorable apple hat, so we made a costume to go with it! I realize that it's not actually Halloween yet, but we got some really cute photos that I couldn't wait to share.

We've also had a great get-away to Austin a couple of weekends ago and are looking forward to a visit from Grandpop Doggett next week. Fall has finally arrived in Dallas, so we're making the most of the great weather with family bike rides on the weekends and lots of walks. I'm excited about jeans weather, since I can finally fit into my pre-pregnancy pair. I've been wearing clothes I haven't seen since spring of '06! Good thing I'm not a very trendy person.

Sleep sitting

2007-10-18T14:49:00.000-05:00

I edited out the part where I layed her down and she screamed, very much not going back to sleep. Well, they don't say "Let sleeping dogs sit". Mom mistake number 5,493,987.

She crawls!

2007-10-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

For so long, we could put Hannah down to play, walk away, and return to find her sitting happily in the same spot. Or maybe not always too happily, but at least in the same spot. Now the spot moves! It's really fun, though, and we're always looking for new objects to tempt her to move - usually a cell phone.

Before I ran to get the camera, she was sticking out from under the console.

There are fun, colorful toys nearby!

Note the addition of the gate, which also covers the fire place, which she discovered shortly after the stereo find!

Hannah's also getting better about eating food. Her favorites are fruits, yogurt, and cereal-like puffs, but I'm managing to convince her that she likes some veggies, too. My parents have got to be enjoying this. I was so sure that I could keep Hannah from being a picky eater like her mama. Hah!

Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park. Fabulous!

We spent last weekend in Denver visiting Andy's sister (and Hannah's middle name-sake) Claire. We enjoyed a little hike in the Rockies and Hannah got to meet her Great-Grandma LeCuyer. It was really nice to be in the mountains and have some family time. Plus Hannah really likes her Aunt Claire, and we always appreciate and extra set of hands to help with the baby wrangling!

Happy hikers and sleeping baby. She was in the cool backpack carrier that our friends loaned us, but she got really cold. Thank goodness for that sling!

Just for fun. In case you can't figure out where all of her limbs are,
her left leg is under her and her right leg is completely out of the crib.
She barely stirred when I pulled her leg out. Oh, to sleep that soundly!

Food, fabulous, food!

2007-09-23T19:54:00.000-05:00

Morning play.

For nearly 2 months, I've been trying to get Hannah to actually eat a meal of actual food. For about 3 weeks, the longest nap she's taken has been an hour, and that's on a really good day. By the middle of last week, I was desperate for one of the two issues to resolve itself and was having major mommy guilt over feeling like all I do is complain about my daughter.

Empty dishes. Woo hoo!

Sure enough, the next day baby girl ate enough food to be considered a meal for a small person such as her self!! We're still working on finding the magic timing to get this to be a regular occurrence, but it's definitely improving. My dreams of an open-minded eater who will try anything are fading, but who needs to eat anything besides yogurt and sweet potatoes? My feelings are hurt by the fact that she seems to prefer the organic jarred stuff to my home made, but at least she's eating something!

To top things off, Hannah napped for nearly an hour and a half this afternoon. That means Andy and I got to eat lunch and sneak in a cat nap on the couch - golden.

Our fun recent baby/kid purchase is a bike trailer. Andy's knees really don't allow him to run much, so this means we can finally get out as a family for our weekend exercise. Hannah seems to enjoy the ride and even smiles at Momma riding alongside. In personal exercise news, I'm a bit disappointed that I won't have lost all of the baby weight in 9 months, but I have worked back up to running my 9-mile loop around the lake on the weekend. It takes a lot longer with diaper and bottle breaks, but it is fun to have a buddy along. My goal is to be ready for the Half Marathon in November, and it's going to feel great to run it without the stroller!

We're off to Denver this weekend to visit Andy's sister, Claire. Nothing like a hike in the Rockies to get Autumn off to a good start!

Favorite way to be - standing up! She's getting quite adept at manipulating our hands to a position that allows her to pull up. Key word, manipulate!
Daddy's little girl.

A tale of 2 babies

2007-09-18T20:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a week of contrasts at the LeCuyer home this week. Hannah's had an allergy/teething runny nose for a while now. I think the photos speak for themselves.

Luckily, she was in a good enough mood to play with her papa and knock over the fun block towers he made. She's also been giving "kisses" lately. Okay, she's learned to put her drooly open mouth on your cheek, nose, chin, whatever, and maybe even chew on you a little if you're lucky. She was holding out, but finally kissed her daddy this weekend! She also seems to be starting to connecting the syllable ma with her loving mama. As often as not, there's a few too many "ma's" to make it a real word, but she's good at rattling them off when she wants something!

Hannah would like to take advantage of Mama's blog to do a little teaching. When you spend your nap time doing this...

You spend your play time doing this!

Speaking of teaching, I'm starting the first session of the Hannah and Friends Baby Music Class next month. I'm excited to try something new, but also nervous about adapting my elementary skills to this format. Wish me luck!

Water baby

2007-09-09T20:32:00.000-05:00

Hannah and I are starting swim classes tomorrow, but she got some practice in hanging out at her running buddy Lukas' pool yesterday. (Lukas' mom, Cynthia, and I keep hoping that the babies will do the running, but it hasn't worked out that way yet.) She loved chilling in the baby-lounger, until she figured out how to lap up and drink the pool water! Apparently other babies do this, too. The kid can't drink out of cup, but she has no problem with a pool! Our other recent development is Hannah's ability to sit and stand up in her crib! Yippee... The day she figured it out, she took one 30 minute nap. No crawling yet, but she's definitely making all of the moves that show it won't be long.
I haven't managed to catch it on film yet, but our little angel is showing herself to be quite the drama queen. She giggles more often now, but she's also prone to sudden crying episodes over things like mom blowing her nose or someone laughing when she's tired (or apparently when she doesn't think it's funny anymore.) I think she's hurt some folks' feelings! The problem is, she starts with the most pitiful pout and quickly disintegrates into full sobs, which I usually find to be hilarious. I'm no help at all.

Then and now

2007-08-29T23:09:00.000-05:00

10 days old - sleeping all the time, except at night!

We have no photos of her asleep at night - probably because we went straight to sleep ourselves any time it happened. Picture this... a baby swaddled as tightly as possible, wearing a hat, strapped into a vibrating bouncy seat. This is where she spent most of her nights.

1 month - slept in her crib for the first time. (For a nap.

Night time still required repeated swaddling, which she was by then learning to get out of.)

2 months - one of the lucky times her thumb found her mouth.

She's so tiny in the bouncy seat!

Jump to 7 months - this is one of her most common sleeping positions.

I think she'll crawl in her sleep first.

6 months and a much bigger fit in the seat. She likes to sit up and mouth the bar!

This was last week. Baby wants to stand!

And this was her morning nap today.

No more tiny baby lying swaddled in the middle of the huge crib!

Our Hannah Bear has gone from a helpless newborn who would rather sleep than eat, cried when you layed her down, and could spend hours making friends with the living room lamp post to a big baby who loves her formula, wants to stand all the time, has been known to melt down because someone sniffed at the wrong time, and continues to melt hearts with her not-so-toothless smile wherever she goes!

Livin' la vida LeCuyer

2007-08-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

We spent last week at a house on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in New York with the LeCuyer clan. Cold and rainy weather kept us inside relaxing for the first few days (after a quick trip to the mall for some warmer clothes), but we were able to enjoy the lake by the end of the week. We also enjoyed walking the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution, which looks like a really cool place for a future trip. Also afforded Andy a chance to see me get down right giddy over seeing 5 Steinway boxes stacked back stage for a concert. We didn't even go to the concert, I just got excited about the boxes! (Google The 5 Browns to find out why so many Steinways.)

The best part of the vacation, by far, was the family time. Hannah was appropriately spoiled by all of the loving arms to hold her, and I took full advantage of some much-needed mommy breaks. She also go to spend time playing with her 1-year-old cousin, Juliet. Juliet finds something irresitably smackable about Hannah's head, but Hannah feels the same way about Juliet's thick, pullable hair, so it's all good. 3 1/2-year-old cousin Elliot was much more interested Grandma's laptop and the tire swing than any boring babies. Andy and I made good use of the kayak, and I also got in some quality time in on the swing. By Friday, it was hot enough to motivate us all to brave the extreme lake weeds and get in the water.

There are many, many extraordinary photos from the trip - on Karen's camera. I'll post some when I get them! In the mean time, I'll post some random shots from the last couple of weeks.

New found joy - the neighborhood park swings!

I can't quite catch the full smile. Camera delay - ugh!

If only we'd let her ride like this...

Hannah's review of dinner.

Another new joy. Plus mom got to enjoy adult

conversation at a McKinsey Moms event.

Not so glorious food

2007-08-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

The kid likes her formula! And apparently nothing else. We've been trying various cereals and veggies, but she still does the tongue-thrust "get this yucky stuff out of my mouth" trick. I was determined to hold off on the sweet stuff, but I think sweet potatoes or bananas will be our next attempt. I've been enjoying putting the new mini-prep food processor (thank you, Karen!) to use and taking photos of the results.Hannah's getting more physical and is really working on pulling up to standing. She even tried to use my pants legs to pull up on this morning! They're drawstring pants, so I'm glad she hasn't really figured it out yet, but you can see where this is headed.

A new way to play with the bouncy seat.

The tooth continues to move up - very slowly, but I suppose that's normal. I've been trying new ideas for games that are supposed to be fun for babies at this age. Stack some small boxes and knock them down, fill a water bottle with soapy water and food dye and make pretty suds, play with cups in the tub. All games quickly turn into "put the new found object in your mouth and get mad when Mom tries to get you to 'play' with it". So for now it's fun to give her something new and watch her explore it. It's really amazing how well she can control those little hands that used to randomly whack her in the face when she was trying to sleep!

Naps are a beautiful thing.

2007-08-11T11:07:00.000-05:00

It's been a week of new experiences in the LeCuyer house. We started with a new state last weekend. We went to Indiana to see one of Andy's college friends get married. There were several events over the weekend and it was all in the charming town of New Harmony. An interesting mix of small-town folks and a new age, religious, artist-colony vibe. We tried the "buy diapers when you get there" approach and had to decide between the 3 packages in town - one way too small and the others too big. And yes, cheap diapers behave like cheap diapers. Gave us an excuse for a lovley drive through the countryside to a bigger town!

Victorian carriage meets the BOB at an antique shop in New Harmony.

On to Hannah's other firsts - her first truly cranky reaction to shots. We had her 6 month appointment on Thursday. She's growing like a champ. More out (nearly 18 pounds!) than up at the moment, but it's all good. She's been fine after shots in the past, but she was up 3 times that night clearly uncomfortable and feeling sorry for herself.

That brings us to the big first - she's cutting her first tooth! After the cranky night and some Tylenol (when my half-asleep brain finally figured out that she had a bit of a fever), I discovered a little something cutting out of her bottom gums. Curiously enough, it's not coming up through the little slits that have been there for a couple of months. Who knew?

Baby plays air guitar!

6 months!

2007-08-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

We've been parents for 6 whole months! At my new moms group, I actually find myself getting nostalgic when I look at the 4-week-olds. But not when I look at their tired mothers!

Hannah did a lot of smiling and giggling today (which helped make up for the fact that the only grown-ups I saw were at CVS on our run this morning and at Target getting diapers and a new bottle brush this evening). Apparently she's really amused with sit ups. More specifically, sitting on Mom's lap while Mom does sit ups and counts. This is apparently hillarious. Of course then I laugh, which leads to a pause in the sit up madness, then we start again.

These are my attempts at getting official 6month (a day late) photos of Hannah at 6:00 this evening. Tired baby.

For a change of scenery, this is the sky after the really intense storm that blew through out neighborhood this afternoon. I managed to stand outside for a whole minute admiring it without getting a mosquito bite. A rare occurrence in Dallas these days. I met a 2-year-old yesterday who's currently fascinated with taking off his pants and was running around on the sidewalk minus said pants - he had bites on all of his cheeks!

Daddy's girl

2007-07-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

Andy had training for work in Cambridge (UK, not Mass) this week, and he had the camera, so instead of silly photos of Hannah, we have classy photos of Merry Ol' England. Hannah missed her Daddy and had a lot of fun playing with him this weekend.

One of our favorite parenting rituals is floppy baby. It began with the nightly ritual of watching her sleep before we turn in. One night we found ourselves unable to resist the urge to pick her up. For those of you blessed to be able to experience this, you know that there's nothing like the feeling of holding a sleeping baby in your arms. Thus began floppy baby. Now we know that Hannah will at some point stop going back to sleep so easily, and we do don't do this every night, but it's a great way to end the day! Sorry there's no photo of floppy baby - I think it might ruin the magic.

I realized that I never published the link to the photos we had taken of Hannah by our friend Kristen Iwai in Flagstaff. If you're looking for a great professional photographer, especially for pregnancy, babies, and families, she's fabulous - you just have to make the commute to Flagstaff...

http://www.kdiphotography.com/LeCuyer

Big baby

2007-07-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

I've been really blown away by the idea that Hannah is now a big baby! No more newborn - even the 3 month clothes are finally too small. She sits well, with only the occasional tumble, and she usually rolls on to her stomach to sleep. She has also figured out (finally) how to get back onto her back from her tummy. This means a lot less crying when she's turned over, though she still gets frustrated when she's tired, but don't we all! The best part of this is engaging with her. I feel like she's starting to show real affection, not just the "you keep me alive and I love you for that" type. She loves to smile and squeal, and even giggles a bit more. She surprised me by getting scared when I imitated one of her loud cries to Andy - busted out a full pout and just had a good cry over it!

We now have both pairs of Wellies I wore as a baby and child. The smaller pair were boxed up at my parents', while the larger pair had been gifted to a family friend in Virginia many years ago. She surprised us by returning them when we visited last month! After much wiggling to get the little ones on Hannah's feet (not sure how, but they fall right off after having to be jammed on), we managed to get a decent photo. Her legs need to be longer so the boots don't pinch her "full" thighs!

Hannah tried rice cereal for the first time this weekend. First off, in the process of making it, I ended up tasting formula. I don't know how she stomachs it, much less wolfs it down like she's on the brink of starvation. So rice cereal is basically that with little lumps. Think sour milk with bits of fake snow. Despite Hannah's affinity for formula, you can see what she thought of the cereal. We'll keep trying to see if it's the taste or just the idea of lumpy stuff on a spoon! (The sequence actually ended with her happy washing it down with the last of her bottle.)

Hannah and Caroline

2007-07-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night, our friends Rebekah and Benji, with their adorable 3-month-old daughter Caroline, were kind enough to babysit Hannah while we went to a McKinsey event. (THANK YOU!) They took these great shots of Hannah appreciating Caroline's luxurious locks.

Makes me think of that cheesy John Trovolta movie where the babies talk to eachother. Sorry Hannah, Caroline can't tell you the secrets to long locks.

I really hope this isn't because Hannah just ripped a chunk out like she does with me!

Based on Hannah's soaked shirt, looks like Caroline made the right fashion choice.

PRs

2007-07-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

Hannah is all about setting personal records this week:

1 - Degrees and directions turned while sleeping. She still can't get back off of her tummy, but she can get there from either side and has been rotating and scooting all over the crib.

2 - Length of sleep. Sleeping on her tummy seems to have magic powers, and I've actually had to wake Hannah in the morning and from her morning nap! This comes with a really big (but not loud - she's sleeping) knock on wood. I've been able to get things done around here, but it's not good for wanting to get out of the house!

3 - Distance of squirt. Yes, it's a poop story. Hannah was sitting and happily playing on her mat this afternoon while I talked to a friend who's dealing with major baby sleep (lack of) issues. I looked over to notice Hannah making "the face". As I continued chatting, she seemed to be staring at me with a strange, far-away look. No smile, not playing, just staring. Apparently this look meant, "I've got poop up my back so far it's about to leak out the buttons of my outfit." I'm starting to be more drawn to Anna's idea of potty training Juliet early! (Scroll in safety, there's no photo of this record.)

The bear usually lives, untouched, in the corner. Note the lovely signs of spit-up and drool.

This is how I found her this morning. Our little jailbird.

She's usually awake and talking to the mobile with her toes in her mouth.

No records here, just adorable.

The 4th in Flag

2007-07-13T09:24:00.000-05:00

In order to be able to take as much baby and hiking gear as we wanted, we packed up Hannah and all of her accessories and drove to Flagstaff to spend the week with my parents. Hannah did quite well in the car, with only the occasional melt-down. Music (Mom singing) definitely soothes this beast. I can only sing my standard repertoire so many times, so I found that James Taylor (turned around backwards from the front seat) works great and Simon and Garfunkle (in the back seat with the volume cranked) doesn't.

Our biggest challenge was dealing with the 5% humidity in Flagstaff. For those of us who live in the Texas swamp, this might seem attractive. Turns our 5% is dry enough to suck all of the moisture out of a person, especially when this person won't drink water! Hannah had some fussy moments, but seemed to do okay with a bit of extra water in her formula.

Of course one of the best things about a week with grandparents is the sharing of baby duty. Early riser Grandpop took morning bottle duty and Grammy changed way more than her share of poopy diapers - thank you!!! Andy and I also had the chance to get out for a hike (too high for baby) and went out to dinner on our own! (Of course Flagstaff is a small town and the proud granparents were just a few blocks away showing off their precious grandbaby.)

Hannah took advantage of the extra attention to show off her new sitting skills.

This is the bassinet that my I slept in, as did my mother and her brother!

(Please disregard Hannah's subtle sign language!)

Hannah and Grammy in their matching "Life is Good" t's. Indeed it is.

Sitting pretty

2007-06-26T15:51:00.000-05:00

Hannah has decided that she really wants to sit up on her own. She's able to stay up for longer periods and can even right her self some before the inevitable tumble. I swear her cheeks look bigger when she sits!

Along with the fun sitting practice has been a not so much fun "can't fall asleep for a nap" development. I actually tried swaddling her (sort of - gotta leave that thumb out to suck!) for the first time in months. I'm hearing a fresh round of protests from the other room...