Happy Weekend Everyone

Isn't this the funniest picture?! Hannah was playing in the tub on Wednesday morning while I sat in the bathroom working on some things for Malone and keeping an eye on her. I'm not really sure how she did it, but she managed to get herself into the plastic basket that I keep her tub toys in. She thought she was so smart :) What a silly little girl :) Well, we are going to Fort Wayne this weekend for a Mennonite Softball tournament. Walnut Creek is playing in the tournament, and they will play three round robin games on saturday, and then the tournament starts on sunday. It is double elimination, so depending on how they play on Sunday, the may or may not play on Monday. I am really excited for the trip and the chance to get away. The only thing I am a little apprehensive about is that this will mess up Hannah's naps. I know that may sound like a silly little thing, but for the past week she has been amazing at nap time and bedtime. If she cries at all it only lasts about 5-10 minutes. Which is such a huge improvement from the way that things had been going. I am sure that everything will be fine though, as long as I stick to her schedule. :)
Yesterday was my first day at Malone. Thank you so much to everyone who prayed for me, it really helped. I was nervous on the way there, but once I started talking and going over things, I actually didn't feel nervous at all. For someone who HATES public speaking, that was pretty amazing. I have to really great groups of students, so that is really great too!! And it was really neat to get to see some of the students that I had last year, who are now juniors. Overall, it was a very positive day.
Our friends from church whose son was in the lawn mower accident are coming home from the hospital today. Please continue to pray for them. I know that they are happy to be coming home home, but also apprehensive about all the changes. Continue to pray for healing for Bryson, strength and rest for Beau and Nicole and for God to be glorified in their situation. Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!!!

Busy Busy Busy

Wow, it feels like it has been forever since I have has the time to sit down and update the blog. We have been really busy the past week or so, and I feel like I have hardly even been home. I hate that!! I like to be able to stick to my routine and get everything done in an orderly fashion, not just try and fit things in as I can. But, I am really excited for tomorrow, because I don't have anywhere that I have to go :) I am walking with my friend Heidi and her little boy Ryan tomorrow morning, which I am really looking forward to. But, aside from my walk, a trip to the post office and the library, and some routine housekeeping, my day is completely free :) It may sound trivial, but I am so looking forward to tomorrow!!! Here are some new pictures for you to enjoy :)

Hannah loves her dolly that Grandma Hollingsworth got her for Christmas last year. She is really starting to play with her toys, and right now, books and her doll keep her busy for quite some time. She also really likes getting in the cupboards :)

Nick had an all day softball tournament in Coshocton on saturday. Hannah and Caedon had fun playing with each others toys, and just being buddies :) (I love the way that the wind made Caedon's hair stand up in this picture...it is so cute. )

Hannah is now in her front facing car seat!!! You aren't technically supposed to put them in a forward facing seat until they are a year old, but we bought a new car (well it is used, but new for us :)) and it doesn't have hooks for the car seat, so Hannah's old car seat doesn't work in this car. Luckily the new car seat has a special latch that attaches to the seatbelt, and we can use it in the car. I figured that since she will be one in 13 days anyhow, it would be ok to put her in the new seat a little early. I love it!! It is so nice to be able to see her so much more easily, and the new car seat actually reclines, which is great, because she can sleep so much more easily, and we don't have to worry about her head flopping around while she is asleep. This was particularly handy when we went to Columbus yesterday. She slept the whole way there, and most of the way back :)

We went to Columbus yesterday, to visit Beau, Nicole and Bryson. I mentioned them in an earlier blog...they are the family that the little boy had the lawn mower accident. It was great to see them yesterday, they seem to be doing pretty well, but they definitely still need a lot of prayer. They are going to be coming home some time this week (definitely a praise!!), but that is just the beginning of a really really long road that they have ahead of them. Please continue to pray for healing for Bryson, strength and peace for Beau and Nicole, and for the adjustment of coming home from the hospital this week. Well, after visiting the Hummels, we went to visit Nicks college friends, Obe and Alesha. They live close to Columbus, and we don't get to see them very often, so it was really nice to get together. We got pizza for supper, and just visited and the kids all played together. Aurora, Obe and Alesha's little girl was so cute. She is walking every where, and she is such a sweetie. Before I finish this post, I would also like to ask for prayer for myself this week. I am starting back at Malone on Thursday, and I will be teaching two different labs. This is something I have never done before, and I am nervous about it. The labs are three hours long, and I can't imagine having enough to say to take up three hours :) Thanks so much for your prayer!! I hope that everyone has a fantastic week!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Stephanie!!

Today is my older sisters birthday!! I won't say how old she is...but I just want to wish her a happy birthday. :) I posted a couple of pictures of Hannah that I think are really funny. The one of her in the crib is how she fell asleep for her nap this afternoon. This past week, nap time has been a really big struggle. She just fights sleep so hard. So I have been letting her just cry it out, and hopefully things will even out a bit soon. She does eventually go to sleep, but boy she can be stubborn about it. (I am sure that she got that trait from her daddy :)) The other picture is of her in her swimming pool yesterday. It was such a beautiful day out that I took Hannah out and put her in the pool and I sat in the sun and tried to get a bit of a tan. The problem was, after about 20 min in her pool she got bored and tried to escape. What a stinker!! On a more serious note, I also want to ask anyone who reads my blog to please be in prayer for a family from our church. There was an accident yesterday involving a four year old little boy and a lawn mower. The accident resulted in him needing to have his right leg amputated above the knee. He came through surgery well, but has a long road ahead. As a mother myself, my heart breaks for him and his parents, and what they must be going through. Please be in prayer for the family. The little boys name is Bryson, and his parents are Beau and Nicole.

I hate teething

What an onery kid I have :)

Hannah is teething again. Her bottom gums are really swollen and sore, poor kid. I have been giving her tylenol and cold things to chew on, but it doesn't seem to helping very much. I hate teething because it is like someone took my happy pleasant baby and exchanged her for a complete grouch. Oh well, just part of being a mommy I guess. On a lighter note, I got some pictures of Hannah playing in Maggie's water bowl. I thought it was kind of funny, she was just splashing away.

Auntie Stephies House

Hannah and daddy at Gettysburg.

Hannah looking cool with aunt Stephie :)

Nap time with Daddy:)

Riding bikes at Gettysburg.

As I was looking through pictures from our weekend with the Hershbergers, I realized that I hadn't put up any pictures from our trip to my sisters in PA. Here are some more fun pictures.

Hershberger Family Camping

Nick playing croquet...the men played several very intense games :)

Hannah at the lake.

Hannah and daddy at the playground :)

Hannah and mommy on the swings...check out those pasty legs (YIKES!!)

Spending time with great grandma Hershberger.

We are starting her croquet training early :)

Hannah and Cadeon playing at the lodge.

Hannah loved playing in the big tub in Ed and Malinda's room.

We spent the weekend with the Hershberger family at Indian Bear Lodge. It was fun to spend time with everyone and to get away for the weekend. Here are some pictures of a good time had by all :)

My Brother Came Home !

Yesterday my brother Steve and his wife Kirsten surprised us by stopping to visit on the way home from a bike race that they worked at over the weekend. It was so great to see both of them, and for them to get to see Hannah. Steve now has long hair and a beard, which is so funny to me. I think Hannah was a little scared of him at first, but she warmed up to him pretty quickly. She really liked her auntie Kiki too. (That is my nickname for Kiersten :) Hannah showed off her new crawling skills for her aunt and uncle too. She started crawling on Monday of this week, and while she is still a little unsure of herself, she is improving every day. I have a feeling that I won't be sitting still ever again :) My baby is growing and changing everyday, and becoming more of a little girl and less and less of a baby. Here are a couple of pictures of Steve and Kiersten with Hannah and one of just the two of them. Have a great week everyone! I will post pictures from our trip to PA as soon as Nick moves them from the laptop to the desktop for me.

My little reader!!!!

We are leaving to visit my sister and her husband in PA today. I am really excited to visit them, and to just get out of town for a couple of days. We are planning to go to Gettysburg, which is somewhere neither Nick or I have been before, as well as floating down the river on inner tubes (don't worry, we got a life jacket for Hannah), biking with the family, and going to eat a an Irish Pub called Molly Brannigans. We are planning to leave around 6 or 6:30 tonight, and it is 5-6 hour trip, so hopefully Hannah will sleep most of the way there. Speaking of Hannah, her new car seat came today. Since she will be one soon, and able to go in a forward facing car seat, I had started doing some research on which one I wanted to get. I went to Babies R Us and I really like the Graco one that they had, but I didn't like the color. So I went home and looked online to see if it came in a different color. I was excited to find that not only did it come in a different color, but it was also on sale, and I had coupon for an extra 15% off the sale price, and they were running a special for 99 cent shipping. So I went ahead and ordered it, because I was going to save $40 and who doesn't want to save $40. Well, when I looked at it online it looked black and silver. When it came today and I took it out of the box, it is actually black and silver with light blue trim. Opps... It is actually just a little bit of blue, and any other kids that we have, will probably use this car seat too, so I decided not to worry about it :) Well, I still need to go to the post office, bank and library, and Hannah is banging on the wall in her room, which is a pretty good sign that she is up from her nap, so I must go. Have a great week everyone, and I will post again sometime next week :)

I'm Getting Old

Well, it is official, I am getting old! My 27th birthday was this week, and for some reason that made me feel really old. I had such a fun birthday though. Nick took the day off work and we went up the Indians game. It was a 12:05 game, and we got to Cleveland at 11:45, but we drove around for over an hour trying to find a parking place and by the time that we actually parked and walked to the stadium, it was the fifth inning. It was one of those things that you just have to laugh about. :) We did have fun at the game, even though they lost. Nick also got me a necklace that I have been wanting ever since Hannah was born. It is a mom and baby and they are connected, and I love it!!!!! It has been a really busy week, and I have not been getting much sleep. Hannah has decided that she no longer believes in sleeping for more than three hours at night. Yikes!! There were two nights this week that she was only up once, so that was nice, and I keep reminding myself that it will get better and she will eventually go back to sleeping through the night. Regardless, she is such a blessing, and I can't get angry with her...frustrated, yes, but not angry. Her smile just melts me. :) Speaking of which, here is a picture of her smiling!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Big Girl :)

Here are some fun pictures of Hannah being a "biggie girl." :) There is one of her in her big girl night gown, one of her in one of my favorite outfits, and one of her drinking from her sippy cup all by herself. She is learning so many new things so quickly, it is amazing :)

Caedon's 1st Birthday

Yesterday was Hannah's cousin Caedon's first birthday. This is his caterpillar cake that his mommy made. I thought that it was so cute!! Here are some more pictures from the party including Hannah in her party dress, Caedon eating his cake and then Hannah and Caedon playing with all of Caedon's gifts. It was such a fun party. I can't believe that Caedon is one and that soon Hannah will be too.

Swimming!!

We went swimming today. Hannah had so much fun :)

10 MONTHS!!!

Such a messy face!!! Hannah was not very interested in eating her cereal, because playing with it is sooo much more fun!! :)

Hannah was 10 months old yesterday!! I can't believe that in two short month she will be a year old. I know all parents say this, but she really is growing up too fast. Last night I was holding her while she was sleeping, and I knew that I should put her down, but I just kept holding her because I know that there will come a time not too long from now when she won't want to snuggle up and fall asleep on mommy. Watching my baby grow is such a bitter sweet experience. I love her so much and I just want to treasure each moment and each memory.

Lazy Sundays

Today has been the perfect lazy Sunday. We went to church this morning and then went to Nicks parents for lunch. After lunch we watched the Indians game and then headed home. Hannah went down for a nap right when we got home, so I had a chance to finish reading the book that I am working on. I love to read, but I find that anymore, there just isn't a whole lot of time for it. But thats ok, the trade-off is time with my family, and there isn't anything better than that :) I took some pictures of Hannah standing in her crib. She has learned how to pull herself up on the rails, so we had to put her mattress down so she can't get out :) Speaking of Hannah, she is starting to stir, so I must go. Have a great week everyone!!

Park Pictures

A Day in the Park

On Monday, I took Hannah and the two little girls that I babysit to the park. It was Hannah's first time in a swing and she loved it :) It was a perfect day to be outside, not to hot, but warm enough. As I was sitting there holding Hannah and watching Mia and Paige play, I realized how lucky I am to be home with Hannah as much as I can and that I can spend days with her at the park. I am so blessed. Here are some pictures of her on the swings and the slide.

My mother in law, Malinda, watched Caedon and Hannah at our house yesterday while we were all working. It is really fun that Hannah and Caedon are getting to the age where they are starting to realize that the other one is there and they are even kind of playing with each other sometimes. I am so glad that Hannah has a cousin so close to her age. I can only imagine what family get-togethers will be like when they are both walking and getting into everything. In other Hannah news, this week she started taking steps when she is standing up and we are holding her arms. It is so funny to watch because she lifts her right leg up really high and then her left leg is completely straight and swings around the side. It is so cute. I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing and learning new things!! Well have a great weekend everyone!

We met friends of Nicks from college for dinner in New Philadelphia on Thursday. We had a great time catching up and it was so exciting to finally get to see their little girl, Olivia. We decided she looks just like her daddy. :) Here is a picture of the guys with the kids outside the Texas Road House.

Hanging out with my grandma and my aunties on out fun shopping trip to Easton :)

Hannah LOVES bath time, her swimming pool, and pretty much anything involving water.

Just wanted to add a few new pictures. This first one is of me and Hannah dressed the same. I thought I need to do it now, while she still lets me :)