Hannah turns 2!

My baby girl is 2 years old!  How did that happen?  I don't know how it happened, but it did.  Funny thing, time doesn't really listen when you ask it to slow down.  Hannah has officially crossed over from the stage of telling her age in months, to now telling it in years.  Sigh.  If I didn't feel so overwhelmingly blessed and full, I guess I could be a little sad about it all.  But then I'd miss today.  These precious moments that are happening all around me right now.  So, I'm going to choose to embrace today and all that is in store, and enjoy the 3rd year of being a mommy just as much as I have the first two.  Hannah had her two year check-up on the same day that Derrick had his 2 month check-up.  She weighed 24 1/2 pounds (up from 17 lbs and 7.5 oz at her 1 year check-up) and her height was 32 3/4 inches (up from 29.5 inches).  I did a list of things about Hannah at 22 months, so I'll just list a few things about Hannah at two years old that I want to remember...

1.  She is hilarious!  I think I've said that before...
2.  She loves music...often making up her own songs about pretty much anything...
3.  She loves to cuddle on mommy and daddy's bed...
4.  She loves to lay in her own bed after waking up in the morning or after a nap with all of her stuffed animals (she doesn't sleep with them, but she likes to get them in after she wakes up.  And she'll be sure to tell you when it is her nap time that they need to go to their bed for nap time in the closet).
5.  She is completely day potty trained. She still wears a diaper or pull-up at night.
6.  She can sing her ABC's.
7.  Her favorite desert is orange sherbert...
8.  She is still a good eater...
9.  She knows her colors and shapes...
10.  She can draw a circle (not perfectly, but it's still a circle).
11.  She is alot like her mama (poor girl lol, but she has a silly bone that I think she got from her daddy).

I could keep going and going, but I'll stop for now...just know that we love this girl with everything we have...and Derrick loves her too...you can already tell...it will be fun to see how their sibling relationship continues to grow...

We celebrated Hannah's birthday minnie mouse style!  She loves minnie mouse even though she's never actually seen her on T.V.   She just has a couple of minnie mouse dolls and she's been hooked since she got them.  My mom and one of my nephews came down on Friday night to help decorate and then on Saturday, the other grandparents, Aunt, Uncle (Ashley woke up sick so he and Sachiko didn't make it) and cousins showed up for pool fun and Roy's barbeque for lunch.   I think Hannah enjoyed her day...

 7:24am...her exact birth time....

 Anxiously waiting to see her decorations downstairs...

 Hannah and cousin Aaron...

 In her minnie mouse dress that Grandmama got for her...

 Some of the kiddos...

 Grandma with Derrick and Riann...

 Now we're having fun!

 Derrick and Katie...

 Pool time!  Bryan's mom had four of her nieces and nephew for the weekend, so they got to come too...Hannah loved having all these kids here for her birthday!

 Hannah and daddy...

 Ann Wesley and Riann...

 Aaron...

 I got in on the fun while Grandmama and Katie were taking turns holding Derrick...

 Minnie cupcakes and cake pops...the cake pops were super easy...cake donut holes covered in icing from a spray can stuck on pop sticks....

 minnie cake!

 The birthday girl right after blowing out her candles...

 Even the big kids enjoyed some of Hannah's new toys!

 Everybody playing after present time...

 Hannah's friend, Lena...

 papaw K stealin' a kiss from the birthday girl...

 Grandmama enjoying a cup of Joe...

 Deep conversation between Uncle Rob and Papaw P. at the desert table...

 Sally and me...

 Lena really liked Hannah's minnie mouse shoes...

 More deep conversation...

 Aunt Pammie with sweet Derrick...

 Grandmama cuddling sweetie pie...

 Papaw P. and little D...

 I think he enjoyed the party too!

 You can never have too many balloons at a birthday party...

 Nanny P. cuddling little guy...

 Hannah and me after letting the last of the pink balloons go...

 All ready to go in her minnie mouse pj's and backpack Aunt Pammie, Uncle Rob, Wesley and Aaron got her....

"Thanks for coming folks...see ya next year!"

Derrick turns 3 months old on July 30th!

Another month has rolled around....here are pictures of my sweet guy growing....

 Look out Brownie Bear...Derrick's catching up...

You can't see his eyes in this one, but his giggle was too cute!

"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  Joshua 1:9

Lord, may Derrick grow to find your Word "more precious than gold, than much pure gold; and sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb."  Psalm 19:10

July Summer fun!

What we were up to...

 July 4th sensory bin fun!

 "Oh say can you see....."  Most of this stuff came from the mighty dollar...oh how I love the mighty dollar!

Mommy and daughter...

We decided to match for church...

Daddy and son...

My two favorite boys...

Daddy and the kiddos...

Me and my two best babes...as you can see, Hannah was quite finished with picture time...and I think by the look on Derrick's face, he was too.

We decorated the table with all our cool stuff we found in our bin...

"God bless America."

My sister and nephews came for a surprise visit! (we knew Grandmama was coming).

Aunt Pammie cuddling with little guy...

Wesley and Hannah had fun playing with play dough...

And Aaron and Hannah enjoyed coloring, drawing and doing stickers together...

Grandmama stole some cuddles...

Look at that smile!  Aunt Pammie must have been telling a good story!

Beautiful Aunt and handsome guy...

Making 4th of July cookies...

I love getting cuddle time with my guy.  He has rejected the paci since this picture was taken.  Now, he usually only cuddles up in your neck, which is even sweeter...

Tummy time!

We had alot of fun sticker time to celebrate the 4th of July all month long...

Pretty girl!  Love her expressions...

Our friends Sally, Roy and Lena came for a visit and brought Sally's parents who were in for a visit from Japan.  What a great time!  We visited, the girls played and we enjoyed cheese cake together.

Sally and Derrick...

Hannah really misses playing with Lena on a weekly basis...

Best friends...

More tummy time!

Don't you just want to kiss those sweet cheeks?!

Hannah tried on her minnie mouse dress that Grandmama got her to wear to her minnie mouse birthday party...

More play dough fun...

The shirt says it all!  Thanks Aunt Sachiko and Uncle Ashley!

Sweetness...

Aaron enjoying the pool..."Cowabunga!"

Love this pic of Wesley....

Cheesing for the camera...

Cool dude...

Two cool dudes...

We love summer!

Happy girl...

Doing a super easy volcano experiment with Hannah while the boys were at the Lake with Uncle Bryan...food coloring, vinegar and baking soda is all you need...

Look at that strong boy!

Love his smile...

Love him...

I couldn't get this pic turned the right way, but I left it in the blog because he just looks too cute...

All three nephews...We started out with Wesley when he was 3 years old having him for a weekend out of the summer.  Then when Aaron was about 3 we did the same thing with him.  Then, as the boys have gotten older, it evolved into having Wesley and Aaron (my sister's boys) and Jesse (Bryan's brother's son) all the same weekend.  It has worked out so good because they are 9, 8 and 6 and they all seem to enjoy being together.  This year they played in the pool, then Bryan took them to the Lake for some tubing, and then thanks to Grandmama they had a fun day at Beach Bend park.  They also had a fun time fishing in the pond and actually caught enough blue gill for a couple of meals.  I hope to start doing a girls weekend with Hannah and Riann (Bryan's brother's little girl).  

Pool time!

Grandmama getting "googles neckers"!

Little guy in his first muscle shirt...(lol!)

Sweetness..

Seriously, is this not the cutest thing!

Thanks Becky for the outfit!

My little man and sweet girl...

Daddy with his kiddos...

Love it...

How precious!

Love her laugh...it's contagious...

she loves her friends...

She suggested we take "one more".  Oh my...

I love how Derrick looks at Hannah...he LOVES his sissy...

I stole a little cuddle time from my boy...

Sweet kisses...

Cool guy with my guitar shirt...

Yeah, I know I'm cool...

Grandmama and Hannah feeding the catfish...

And here they come...notice the dark circle out in the water...

Bryan and I got a date night!  We celebrated 10 wonderful years on July 26th!  Grandma came to babysit for a couple of hours while we went to a little Italian restaurant in Russellville called Ariella's (I'm not so sure about the spelling).  It was fabulous!  I would highly recommend it.  We both had the crab cakes and agreed that they were better than any we have had at the beach.  We enjoyed reminiscing over the past 10, well, actually 18 years since we started dating when we were 16.  Wow, did I say that?  does that mean we are getting old?  I don't think so, maybe older, but not old (lol!).  Seriously though, I am so blessed and grateful for a Godly husband and father to our children.  We have practically grown up together and I am so thankful for where God has brought us.  We also enjoyed talking about all the possibilities of what God might do with our little family...it was a fun date night!

The entry to the restaurant...

So, we decided that for an early birthday celebration, Hannah would probably enjoy a little mommy and daddy time.  We planned a little trip to the water park in BG while Grandma and Papaw watched little guy for a few hours.

Right before leaving for the park.  I guess the picture that I got with Papaw K. is on my phone.

On the way to the water park...Hannah was soooo excited!  Our camera died so we didn't get many other pics.  However, the expression on her face here sums up our trip...too fun!

We also had a fun time that evening grilling out with Grandma and Papaw K.  We also had a fun day at Papaw and Grandma K's house on 4th of July, but those pics are on my phone too.

Derrick also turned 3 months on July 30th, but that gets its own post...see you next month!