A lot of Stuff

This Friday we got the privilege of having our nephews, Taylor and Dallin, sleep over at our house. We had pizza for dinner (or "pita," as Hannah likes to say) and then played video games and watched movies for the rest of the night. Scott and I went to bed at 11:30 and the boys stayed up for a couple of hours longer. I guess Scott and I are getting too old to stay up late. Hannah loved playing with them and we had a lot of fun with them as well.
The next day we went to our ward Christmas party and Santa Claus decided to make an appearance. Hannah has never really been scared of strangers (although she would prefer her mom or dad), so I wasn't expecting her to get scared of him. Instead, she's holding up a number 1, for "Santa's number one!! "
Sorry.....forgot to turn this picture vertical.

At our Christmas party we had delicious Macaroni Grill (they've done this for the past three years) and played White Elephant along with a few other Christmas games. Last night we also had Scott's work Christmas dinner at a place called Wallabys. It's too bad all of this good food came in one day. I felt full the entire day.

On to other news, we went to a dermatologist on Thursday for Hannah's rash and found out that her rash is not eczema. He thought it was something called dermatitis, which I guess is some kind of yeast forming around her mouth. He told us to wash her clothes with a certain kind of detergent and to not use fabric softener. I heard about washing her clothes in this kind of detergent before she was born but she didn't get this rash until 3 months ago so I didn't think that had anything to do with it. Anyway, he gave us some prescription samples and prescribed us something. We started using the prescription samples and her rash is looking worse than it was, of course, but we are hoping that it will start looking better pretty quickly. If not, we will go back to using aquafor and assuming that it is eczema because that has seemed to work better than anything. Hopefully this will work, though.

P.S. I don't know why our picture on top of this blog got cut in half....it just did that on its own one day....it really annoys me, though, but I can't figure out how to get the whole picture on there again.

Our Snowy Day

Today we went to one of the Singles ward activities again. They made gingerbread houses, stuffed footballs, and had a sweet treat contest. They also had groups before the activities make music videos of themselves, and we got to watch them. The videos were hilarious, and there was one in particular that I could not stop laughing at. If we can get it from the guy who made it, we'll post it. Here are a few pictures:

People making stuffed footballs (not really sure why they were making these....maybe for kids who don't have toys).

Here is Scott, the 1st counselor, and the Bishop testing all of the desserts and judging them.

This guy played "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" on the bagpipes. He was awesome!

We also had another huge snow storm today, so we played out in the snow for a few minutes until we were all cold. I like the snow, but I remembered tonight that it's not fun when your feet get wet and you are walking around with wet shoes and socks and your feet feel like prunes. Our kitchen gets flooded, too, when it's really wet outside, so my socks get wet when I am inside and outside. It's really pretty, though.


Tonight we dropped Hannah off at some girls' house because they have been asking to babysit her for weeks. I had plans for Scott and I to go ice skating but found out that during the time we wanted to go they were having hockey practice. We went to dinner and the mall instead. I was really bummed that we didn't get to go ice skating because we've never gone together, but hopefully we'll get to go another day. It was nice to go on a date, though. Anyway, so that was our day.

What a Mess!

I turn my back on her for only a few moments to check my email and when I turn around, this is what I see (and yes, she put that thing on her head all by herself). Hannah gets into EVERYTHING!!!! I clean up the same messes over and over everyday. She's just too adorable to get mad at, though.

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Little Miss Independent

Hannah has become Miss Independent lately. Those of you who said that she would eventually become picky with her food were right. Every night during dinner she has to eat her food with an adult fork, like Scott and me, and only eats things that don't have a weird texture. Some of the only veggies she will eat are green beans, corn (not really a veggie), and occasionally squash. She also always has to feed herself, usually with a fork or a spoon. In the morning when she eats her oatmeal, she tries to feed herself with her spoon and usually gets it all over the place. She is getting better and better at it, which is good for us, but it's hard to let her do it because she gets food everywhere. Another thing she likes to do by herself is blow bubbles. I have a bottle of bubbles that I used to blow with her, and now she has to blow the bubbles herself. She usually gets the bubble juice (soap) all over the place and puts the wand in her mouth. I want her to be independent, but it gets hard when she can't do things without making a huge mess. She also enjoys brushing her teeth and hair, coloring, and holding books by herself, but luckily lets us help her with these occasionally.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! We went to Hollie's house this year for Thanksgiving and had a delicious meal!!! I love Thanksgiving because I can eat as much as I want, and I love ALL of the food that is prepared. Jarin's family was also over at Hollie's house and they decided to go see a movie after we ate. We decided not to go because we didn't think Hannah would be able to handle a whole movie, and it would have probably been a waste of money for us. However, I have always wanted to go to a movie on a holiday and have never had the opportunity. Hopefully when our kids are older or if we can find a babysitter in the future, we can go to a movie on Thanksgiving or Christmas. On our way home from Hollie's, Scott and I picked up a pie and some ice cream for us to share, which was delicious as well. I think I ate too much, though, because I felt really sick for the rest of the night. It was a great Thanksgiving, and we are grateful that we got to spend the day with the Stevens.

Here is a video of Hannah walking with her walker for you, Mom.

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This Past Week....

Well I apologize that I haven't been writing much lately. I've got to be honest, I don't know how much longer this whole blogging thing is going to last. I love doing it, but sometimes I really just have nothing to blog about. The main point of this blog was to show Hannah's progress to family and friends, so I will, of course, continue to blog as often as possible for you guys. This past week Hannah has gotten a lot better at walking with her walker. She almost runs with it....I guess it is possible that she will be walking by Christmas. This past week I've also been working on a few projects. I've been trying to redecorate Hannah's room.....so I've been doing a little painting and crafting. The only problem with this is that I'm not very crafty, so when I make things they always turn out looking worse than I had hoped. I've also been working on some things that I will try to sell on Ebay. I'll let you all know how that goes if it works out for us. This past week Scott and I sold a couple of Wiis and a few other electronic devices. This Ebay thing can get kind of addicting. Anyway, so I hope the things I am working on now will also sell, because I am making them by hand and they take a lot of time. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and Happy Birthday to Jake.

More Videos

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Here are three new videos of Hannah. Enjoy!

More Rash...

These next two weeks are going to be difficult for me, because I have to finish my Independent Study class next week in order to graduate in December (and I still have a lot to do in it). So, I apologize if there aren't too many blogs or if they are short like this one will be. I thought I would do another Hannah update since nothing else is really going on. Her rash is getting worse, so I called the doctor yesterday and he told me to put Neosporine on it. It actually looks worse today and has spread to her cheeks. It makes me sad because she has such a pretty face that is getting swallowed up in a nasty rash. The doctor said if this doesn't work, he will prescribe us some antibiotics. Other than that, things have been great with her (although she gets into EVERYTHING.....our house constantly looks like a tornado hit). She is starting to walk while pushing a baby walker, but very carefully. She also loves to point to things when I name them. I'm trying to teach her numbers and shapes, and sometimes she points to the right ones, sometimes she doesn't.

Here's a picture of her rash. I think you'll be able to see it this time.

Happy Halloween!!

Well it's late and I'm tired but I wanted to write just a tiny bit about Halloween. We went out to Hollie's house and went trick-or-treating with them. I got some pictures of her kids but I figured I would let her post the pictures if she wanted to. Hannah was a fairy. Her outfit was mostly homemade, as you can tell. We had a lot of fun with her.

We found out tonight that she loves suckers.

Kissing Sienna.....what cuties.

These are some cupcakes and cookies that we made for some friends

Kisses!!

Anyway, so there's a short blog about our Halloween! I am extremely excited for next year when Hannah will be able to walk up to the doors and say, "Trick or treat!"

Advice Column

This week has not been too exciting for us, so I thought I would make it an advice blog. Sometimes I like to ask for advice from ya'll because it helps me make decisions in life. I only have two months left of school, which means that I have to start looking for some kind of job. Scott needs to focus more on school which means that I need to start making money for our family. I could go back to work full time at Staples.......but hey.....I'd rather chop off both my arms and legs and claim disability (okay, not a very funny joke because there really are people like that and it is sad). The reason I wouldn't do this is because (1. I hated working at Staples and (2. I refuse to put Hannah in daycare. There is nothing wrong with parents who decide to do this, but I personally don't think I could ever leave Hannah with someone else all day. It would make me very unhappy. So, I have tried to think of some "mother friendly" jobs: managing apartments, a mystery shopper, giving plasma, and an ebay seller. The two I am thinking of doing are managing apartments and selling stuff on ebay. Some people make a good living selling things off ebay, but you have to know what to sell and where to get it cheap. I'd have to do a lot of research for that one, but it would be ideal because I wouldn't ever have to leave Hannah. Managing apartments would be okay as well, but then I would have to focus a lot of my time on the apartments. Anyone have any advice on these jobs or on any other jobs they can think of? Let me know, because time is quickly running out.

And the A+ goes to.........

Kerrie!!!! The doctor said that he thinks Hannah has eczema. I have to admit I was was a bit surprised by this. I thought for sure she either had a food allergy or a rash from her pacifier. The reason I didn't think it was because of her teeth is because she doesn't drool. The only time I see wetness around her mouth is right after she has sucked on a pacifier. So, sorry Jed, Hannah will be sent to North Carolina, not New York. Maybe next time. Anyway, I'm not so sure that eczema is what she has. We've been using ointment for the past couple of days and her rash is looking worse to me. Sorry you couldn't see the rash in the picture I posted. It's a lot more noticeable in real life. I hope we can get rid of it soon.

One Year Appointment

Hannah had her 1 year old appointment today. She's had this nasty rash around her mouth for a little over a month now. Some days it looks worse than others. I asked the doctor what he thought it was and he either said......

A. Pacifier Rash,
B. Allergic Reaction to milk products,
C. Eczema, or
D. Getting new teeth causes more drool, which causes a rash around the mouth

Quiz time for ya'll....what do you think he said??? You can see the rash in this picture posted. I feel bad for her and hope it goes away soon. Here are her other stats:

weight: 18 lbs 13 oz which is 13%
heighth (ha ha, mom)...... I mean height: 28.5 inches which is 23%
and her iron levels are back to normal.

She had 5 shots today....and absolutely hated it. Poor little thing. Also, as suspected she is has gotten 4 new teeth in the past two weeks. It's been a very fussy couple of weeks, but she is still an excellent little girl.

This week has been full of fun!!! Scott's mom arrived at our apartment on Tuesday night to stay with us for Hannah's birthday. On Wednesday, we celebrated Hannah's birthday by going shopping and eating at Red Lobster for dinner. I have a lot of photos of this week so I made them small (just click to make big). This photo was taken on her birthday. Everyday she is getting better and better at standing on her own. I still think it will be a month or two before she is walking (which is okay with me), but she enjoys trying to stand on her own. If you're wondering why her legs look so short it's because her shirt is long and her pants are short. It kind of looks funny in this picture.

Forgot to turn this picture vertical, but here she is (grumpy) at Red Lobster

Playing with a new toy she got from Grandma and Grandpa "D"

On Thursday we went to the zoo again, this time with Grandma Julia. She bought us a family pass that lasts for a year. It will be nice to be able to go again next spring and summer when Hannah can really enjoy the animals (plus they are putting in a merry-go-round, which I'm sure she will love). Above is us on the train (and yes I have no makeup on and look very tired) and below is Scott's mom, Scott, and Hannah in front of the elephants.


On Friday we went to the Hee Haw Farms pumpkin patch. Tis the season for pumpkin patches, as I have seen on a few of your blogs. I haven't been to a true pumpkin patch like this since I was in elementary school (well, as noted in a previous blog, I have a terrible memory so it's possible I've been to one more recent than that). This place was kind of small and the actual pumpkins growing were hidden in between a bunch of dead sunflowers, but it was actually a really fun place for little kids and wasn't very crowded.
We found out recently that Hannah has become terrified of getting too close to animals. She screams when they come within two feet of her. I hope she outgrows this phase soon.

This pig weighs 1200 pounds. It's the biggest big I've ever seen.

Here she is enjoying the hay ride with dad (actually we took almost 100 pictures and got only a handful of her smiling). If you look closely, she has this piece of hay in her right hand in almost every picture. She became attached to it.

Buried in a box full of corn

Riding the horse.....she actually wasn't afraid of this animal and enjoyed riding on him....maybe because she couldn't see his face

Hannah and Grandma

Scott thinks my head looks Photoshopped on to this picture. What do you think?

The only ones riding the animal train (kind of embarrassing)

Sliding down the slide with Grandma

Two feet tall and growing (actually she's closer to 28 inches tall but oh well). We hope to come back to this place for the next couple of years and get more pictures of her standing next to these measurements.

Like I said, this week was a lot of fun. Hannah is turning into a toddler. She seems to enjoy doing things like this, and we enjoy taking her to do things like this. She has also (within the past week) become a "Mama's girl" and is getting worse everyday. We hoped she wouldn't go through this stage....but she is. Luckily, so far it's not that bad. She just wants me to hold her if she sees me when someone else is holding her, but she's okay if I'm not around. She also occasionally gets extremely fussy, especially if she doesn't get what she wants. I'm waiting any day now for tantrums to start (hopefully not this soon). Part of her fussiness could be the fact that she's getting teeth. Her top one came through and it looks to me like three more are on their way. Anyway, Scott's mom left this morning, and we will miss her. We love having grandparents come to visit and are sad when they have to leave. For now, it's back to doing homework and spending all day with Hannah alone.

Birthday Party!!

I know you are all dying to see pictures of Hannah's birthday party (JK). Well, we had a bit of a change of plans. We were supposed to have Hannah's birthday party on Friday night in the park, but unfortunately there was a big storm and we couldn't fit everyone in our apartment, so we had to cancel. Instead, we had her party tonight at Hollie's house with only family. It was still a lot of fun! Little did I know, she is terrified of watching the air let out of balloons. Poor thing. Here are a few pictures......Playing with a few toys she got!

Here's the cake I made. My sisters have all made beautiful cakes for their kids so I tried to make one, but it didn't turn out quite so beautiful. It was still fun to make.

She didn't shove the cake down her throat like I thought she would. I think she was full from dinner. She seemed to like it, though.

These past couple of days we've had my mom and Dave here visiting. It was really nice having them here. They are always fun to be with, and they were able to watch Hannah for us while we went to General Conference (our first time....it was a neat experience). Wednesday is Hannah's actual birthday. We'll have to do something fun to celebrate! I can't believe how fast our little girl is growing up.