Posts Tagged ‘Hannah Michelle’
Most ridiculous name ever
Posted on: April 5, 2010
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
I had this pretty awesome stuffed cat growing up. He was the perfect size for snuggling and being a hand-me-down already had some pretty good “love” on him. One problem – I was too young when I got him to name him myself. So my brothers named him for me. He was given the lovely name Buttcat.
Ok, you can stop laughing now. No, really.
I’ll be honest Buttcat (who was later nicknamed BC to keep down the snickering from my junior high girlfriends) isn’t the cutest cat I’ve seen. Never will I say he’s ugly, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, I know the truth, and the truth is he looks a lot like Stimpy from Ren and Stimpy (although Buttcat totally came first – just so you know). Still Buttcat holds a pretty special place in my heart and I doubt I’ll ever part with him – much to Jonathan’s chagrin.
When Hannah was born, our friends gave her this cute little bear (above). Over the last month she’s gotten pretty attached to it. In fact, every time I put her in her crib, she crawls over, grabs the bear and snuggles it to sleep. Very precious. Bear doesn’t have a name. We’ve been calling it “Hannah’s bear” since I can’t come up with any good names. I’ve had some suggestions, but nothing that’s stuck. One friend suggested just leaving it “bear” until Hannah is older and can name it for herself. But I’m worried that the bear will forever just be “bear” – which isn’t bad, just not very cute. At the same time, I really don’t want the bear getting a name that will forever scar it. You know, like Buttbear or something crazy like that.
Here’s where you come in. I want your name suggestions. Dazzle me with your best bear name.
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
Julia was born a cry baby. The best way to sum up her first four months of life is: She cried. A lot. Our family quickly adopted the phrase “There’s no crying in baseball“, but Julia never listened. Hannah was completely opposite. She would cry, but for good reason; hunger, sleepiness, poopy diaper, etc.
Then about 3 months ago, something changed. Hannah would cry because I put her down. She’d cry because she didn’t like her situation. She’d cry just to cry.
I’ve read all over the internet (and do believe) that crying is a baby/young child’s only real form of communication. That being the case – my children love to communicate. All. The. Time. Like at 5 am. Or in the afternoon, because I’m unpacking boxes and had the audacity to sit next to Hannah and not actually hold Hannah. Cruel, cruel mom.
Since learning to talk, Julia’s actually gotten better about not crying so much. I said better, not stopped. The water works still come. Daily. Sometimes hourly (or even by the minute). But it’s getting better. As for Hannah, I’m blaming the influence of Julia on her water works. After all, when she sees it happening all day, she’s bound to learn to do the same. Ok, maybe it’s not fair to fully blame her crying on Julia. Perhaps it’s just severe separation anxiety. Because we all know, I must be abandoning her when I set her down, in front of me, to use the restroom.
I know it’s only a season and things will change. I remind myself how awesome it is to be able to stay at home with both girls and to be the biggest influence in their lives. I do love and enjoy being with them. It’s just sometimes I wish there was a little less “communication” going on.
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
Our family makes a regular practice of having daily quiet time for the girls. I have them both sit on blankets with toys and books (or coloring books and crayons for Julia) for about 30 minutes. Over the last several months I feel like I’ve hit a quiet time rut. It seems like we are always giving Julia the same books or the same toys and her interest is fading fast. I read a great idea nearly a year ago on Keeper of the Home about having quiet time bins. The idea is to have bins for each day of the week, containing something new for each of the days. The child only plays with those items/toys on that day. I’ve been wanting to put this into practice since first learning about it, but haven’t wanted to splurge on nice bins. That is until now.
Paul’s Discount is a local store in town. They just had their “Dollar Days” and guess what? Shoebox sized bins were on sale for $1. Sweet! I bought five and here’s what I made:
I am still working on filling them with great things I know Julia will enjoy each day. She’s thrilled about her “boxes” and was more than excited when she got to open it for quiet time yesterday.
Just to add some cheesiness… I have these little 16 oz containers inside each bin for Hannah. The containers hold one or two small books each. I did this 1) because I thought it was kinda adorable 2) to help Julia later understand that the contents of the bins are to be shared with her sister. When Julia did her quiet time, I pulled out the small containers for Hannah. Not surprising, Hannah liked the box more than the books or other toys she had!
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
Yesterday, while preparing lunch, Hannah fell backward off the countertop. It happened right in front of me, less than 6 inches away. She was in her Bumbo seat, laughing, kicking her feet, then next thing I knew, she was falling. And the world stopped.
I don’t know exactly what she hit as it was on the other side from where I was standing, but thank God (a million times over), she seems just fine. Right after the fall she screamed bloody murder. Once I picked her up, consoled her, she went back to normal pretty fast.
Want to know something?
I was scared out of my mind.
There, I’ve said it.
I’ve known too many people that have been hurt, heard too many stories of pain and anguish, to not know that bad things happen to good people. Right after she fell, I prayed. Hard. Then I called my mom, who is a nurse. She suggested I watch her and then even take her to the doctor just to make sure all is well. Then I called Jonathan. By now, all my emotions are boiling over and I was barely able to tell him what happened through my tears. He was most reassuring and told me just to relax and keep an eye on her.
I fed the girls lunch and then we had quite time. During that time I read 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” I mulled over that first part “For God has not given us a spirit of fear…For God has not given us a spirit of fear…For God has not given us a spirit of fear…For God has not given us a spirit of fear…”
I’ve come to this one conclusion:
God is good. God is good. God is good.
It is out of my power to know how best He should display His goodness. But, I know this: HE IS GOOD. Whether in pain or pleasure, He is good. My world would never be the same without Hannah. It is heartbreaking to see a child endure pain and suffering. I can’t help but imagine the heartbreak and pain God endured when He saw His Son die. But, He is good. He had a “plan from the beginning of time – to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:9b) and with that plan He saved me.
God is good.
** The above picture was #139 in the queue. It reminded me of Psalm 139.
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:16
Rolly polly
Posted on: February 18, 2010
- In: Life
- 4 Comments
Hannah refuses to crawl. Yes, down right refuses. She attempted it once last week, but not since. So, rather than crawl, Hannah merely rolls to where ever she wants to be. That is until she gets stuck somewhere (like next to the cabinets, couch, or Jack).
Here she is in action. She’s got good form, gets up on all fours.
And now for the rolling (don’t mind the mess):
Once she has found the toy she wanted (or any toy for that matter), she simply rolls away.
Reset button
Posted on: February 17, 2010
- In: Life
- 3 Comments
Yesterday we had one of those days, where from the moment both girls woke up (and honestly, me too) they were crabby, cranky and generally unpleasant. I was struggling to stay the “parent” and finding myself caught between my flesh and the Spirit. We had planned to go to tot lot (a weekly outing I, personally, enjoy and need), but I quickly realized I couldn’t effectively parent a tantruming toddler in public. I put my desires to the side (wow, did I really just say that my desire was to go to tot lot?!), took a deep breath, said a short prayer and did what I knew best for both girls.
Put them to bed.
At 10 in the morning.
And you know what? It was amazing. A total reset button for our entire day.
Hannah slept for 2 hours. Julia slept for 2.5 hours, which is completely unheard of!
The best part? I slept for 1.5 hours.
God is good. It’s like He let me have my own personal easy button.
Yesterday morning, I read this verse and was struck with the fact that my daughters are my flock, I am their shepherd. “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.” 1 Peter 5:2, NLT.
FIFTY!
Posted on: January 22, 2010
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
My dear readers, as of today, I have lost 50 pounds since having Hannah. I am now under my wedding day weight and closing in on my college weight. Woo-hoo!!
And so it begins
Posted on: January 10, 2010
- In: Life
- 5 Comments
I feel like life is on repeat.
Child in the next room, awake before she should be, trying to soothe herself back to sleep.
Me at the computer, midnight blogging.
At some point this week, I realized I’ve been averaging at, or less than, 2 hours of sleep at one time for the last month. Last night, I was up every hour from 1-7. I think the strangest part is, I am not as exhausted as I imagined. There are moments during the day when I think I might very well fall over from exhaustion, but I manage to make it through. But, I can feel it catching up to me. I can feel my bones ache with tiredness. And so it begins.
Crying.
It.
Out.
Three words I dread as a mother. Three words that seem to bring far more misery than relief. With Julia, CIO was a tedious, painful task that resulted in, well, nothing. She still wakes up at night. For Hannah, I’ve been far more guarded, allowing her a pass, if you will, mostly because I am far to tired to allow her to CIO. She had been doing fine, sleeping 4+ hours in a row. But, since the move, things have been getting progressively worse. She tossed in an addition wake up time, then another, then another, and then another. Before I knew what happened, she was waking up every 1.5-2 hours. Sleep much?
Maybe, as you read this, you can pray for me. I’m less than enthusiastic about CIO, but don’t know any other option other than nursing all night. Just pray for grace and sleep. For me and Hannah.
A pictorial of Julia and Hannah
Posted on: December 9, 2009
Julia washing her hands.
The normal look we get when we ask her to smile.
Hannah's first rice cereal.
Not all that impressed with baby food.
My beautiful Hannah
Posted on: November 6, 2009
- In: Life
- 4 Comments
Hannah means Grace.
And truly, God’s grace has been abounding through her.
In August, when we had Jonathan’s birthday party, I found myself elbow deep in 20 pounds of ground beef. It had been a long week (Jonathan was gone every night for work or school) and I still had a party to prepare for. I got Julia off to bed and Hannah just sat in her swing for two hours while I cleaned, cooked, and prepped. Not once did she make a peep.
Last week, while I was doing laundry, she started to get sleepy. I put her in her crib, but she wasn’t going to sleep. So I brought her down stairs and put her on my bed. After just a few minutes, she stopped fussing. I looked over and she was fast asleep!*
This week, I went to Dollar Tree. It was during Hannah’s late afternoon/early evening nap.
And she fell asleep.
In the store.
No crying. Just closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Now, Hannah isn’t always this amazing.
She is really not a fan of anyone else but me – mostly she just doesn’t like other people holding her.
Not even Jonathan sometimes (sorry babe!).
And she does want to nurse all night long.
But, it’s a small price to pay when she’s such a good baby (especially since she comes to bed with us after her first feeding ;)).
She turns 5 months old on the 15th. She can now roll over front to back, back to front. As of last week she is sitting up on her own. It’s not for very long, but she’s getting better and better.
She loves being naked (reminds me of her big sister!) and most thoroughly enjoys when I blow raspberries on her chubby cheeks, neck or tummy. She gets to laughing so hard it makes Julia and I both laugh.
Hannah Michelle is a wonderful, beautiful addition to our family. She’s a keeper.
*Passed out from all her hard work!
Getting all bundled up to go out into the cold.
Laughy baby!
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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