Matt and Courtney: May 2013

Hannah continues to blossom and amaze us at what she knows! I tried "potty training bootcamp" the first week of April, and while Hannah can and will consistently tee tee on the potty any time she tries, she just didn't understand the concept of ONLY in the potty. So, back to diapers we went, although she still uses the potty regularly, especially right before naptime and night time. Hannah continues to love to dance and asks for "busic" all the time. Just after Easter, Hannah began saying "mommy" instead of "bobby" and she now calls my mom "mama" instead of "baba". I knew she would get it, but I really didn't expect it to happen so fast!!! I thought I was going to be "bobby" for much longer! Hannah's favorite meals are pizza and "beans and cheese". She asks for one or the other almost everyday for lunch and dinner. She also loves to eat "moly", aka, guacamole anytime we have beans and cheese. Of course these dinners are not given to her every day and she continues to be an awesome eater scarfing down her broccoli, meats, hummus (her favorite snack), eggs, fruits, and almost anything else we put on her plate. She still doesn't like sweet potatoes much, but has begun to tolerate them better, and the strangest thing I've recently discovered is that she loves pieces of raw sweet potato. Our girl loves her babies and though she doesn't show much of a preference day to day she always finds a stuffed animal or baby doll to tote around, feed, and take care of. Hannah's favorite things to play with are her teapot and cups, which she calls coffee, and her books. She is either asking us to read to her or reading to herself a majority of the day. She knows exactly which books are which and frequently asks for, "wockie in pockie" (There's a wocket in my pocket), "Go-go book" (The Cat in the Hat), and "ABC's". She loves to count and besides usually skipping number 7 can count to ten unassisted! She is also very close to being able to say her Abc's. She gets a little confused after g, and then picks it back up pretty well around o through v. She is starting to really express emotions and connect that crying means sad and smiling or laughing means happy. She has also started to refer to herself as Hannah and will tell us that "Hay-huh" is happy, or "Hay-huh" water when she wants her water cup.

We've been busy getting settled into our home, and while we have a LONG way to go in furnishing and decorating, we are definitely settled. This feels like home and we are THRILLED that this will be our home for a long long time!! We've also been busy with guests. Matt's parents came to visit for a few days and we had a great time! Hannah started calling Grandpa, "Papa" which is super cute, and she really got the hang of saying Grandma too! It comes out more like "Grah-ma". Hannah loved her time showing off, being read to, and following them around the house. Whenever someone leaves our house for a few weeks after she begins referring to the seats they sat in at the dinner table by their names. It's pretty cute and sweet that she remembers these details! We also had our friends the Bowens in town for a night. They are moving to Rock Hill, SC and were up checking out the town. After staying a couple nights down in Rock Hill, they came up for our house for a night. We had a blast meeting their new baby, Haddie Grace. And Hannah loved playing with Phoebe. We are so thankful to be able to have people into our home and have room for them to stay!!!