Christmas Morning '05

Well, the big day finally came. The scary, fat, bearded man came to our house, filled our stockings and left presents under the tree. Of course, Hannah really didn't understand at first. Her reaction to the huge pile of presents that had majically appeared overnight: "Doggie." She wanted to watch her doggie movie, Madeline.

Once she realized what all the wrapping paper came off the boxes - she got more excited. She wanted to help everyone open their gifts. The big ones were all hers, though.




The next revelation was that the boxes contained new clothes and toys. Now, she was starting to understand.




Then, she wanted to play with each one instead of opening the rest. This was fine with us as it kept her occupied longer. Opening presents with the family in Pittsburgh a later that week took almost two days.

She never made the realization that they were gifts from loved ones - maybe next year. Still, it was enough for everyone to see that their gifts made her happy.

Christmas Party

Cutout cookies, icing and sprinkles. What else could a kid ask for? While Hannah prefers to just lick off the icing and sprinkles like last time, we made her eat the whole cookie.

After the cookies, we watched her class perform songs they had been working on. We figured Hannah wouldn't know them since they mainly practiced in the mornings before Hannah got there. To our surprise, Hannah knew all of the motions for all of the songs. We were so proud.

Also, we figured out where she's been getting some of the seemingly random stuff she's been doing.

Christmas Traditions

It's that time of year. I know Hannah doesn't quite understand what is going on, but we're trying to get her excited about Christmas anyway. I guess when you think about it, many Christmas traditions are rather odd.

1) We display an evergreen tree inside the house, decorated with lights, ornaments and candy canes. On a deeper level, the evergreen tree is supposed to symbolize eternal life - so we cut it down and kill it?



2) We take big socks with our names on them and hang them by the fireplace. Where is the matching sock? Did it get lost in the laundry?



3) Who is the old fat guy in the red suit and why is everyone waiting to see him. I don't like him.




Anyway, we're hoping to make this a magical Christmas for her; and if she wakes up Christmas morning and isn't excited about the living room full of gifts, then we're sending them back to Santa.

First Real Haircut

We've been keeping her bangs out of her eyes, but this was the first time we cut the rest of her hair. It was getting long, but was very thin on the bottom. This made it curl up on the ends and it looked skraggly.

Fixing it meant cutting almost two inches off the few long strands in the middle and only a quarter inch or so around the sides. This seemed simple enough until I tried to start cutting and Hannah wouldn't sit still in the tub.

Anyway, I had to even out a few spots the next day, but we think it turened out very cute. The true test will be to see if it grows in the way I wanted it to.

Fall Leaves

The leaves have finally changed and started to fall and you know what that means - jumping in a huge pile of leaves! Of course, Hannah didn't have to do any of the raking before hand, but her time will come.

Aunt Juls came to visit and the weather was unseasonably warm; a perfect combination for back yard fun. Of course, all everyone else is interested in is comparing the color of Hannah's hair to the color of the leaves.

After being tossed a few times into a 5' high pile of leaves, it was time for a walk. She loves to collect leaves from the roadside piles in other people's front yards. I don't know how she decides which ones to bring home, but she takes her time to find one that's just right. Then we headed back for some cold apple cider, left over Halloween candy and a Steelers' game.

Halloween Party

The Friday before Halloween was the most fun ever. First the kids at the daycare center had their Halloween parade. There was a whole patch of pumpkin babies, a few Bob the Builders, Thomas the Trains, Batman, Princesses and even Elvis showed up. Hannah, of course, had to get one more year out of her Steelers cheerleader outfit.

Next she spread icing over a pumpkin shaped cookie, topped it with sprinkles and licked the icing and sprinkles back off of the cookie. Of course she made a huge mess in the process, but managed not to get any on her costume.

Then we had some time to kill before Mommy had to work, so we went to the mall for lunch. Of course, when you have time to spare at the Carousel Mall, you have to ride the Carousel. Now that she is a big girl and can hold on pretty good, she decided to ride one of the big horses on the outside row.

Finally, it was back to school for a nap, a snack and of course playing on the playground. What more could a 20 month old ask for?!

Technology Lapse

Well, here is an example of out-dated technology. This picture was taken on a regular film camera before the picture in the previous post; then it had to wait in the camera until the entire roll of film was used.

Using up the film takes longer because every picture costs money, even the ones that don't turn out the way you wanted them to. You've got to wait for a really momentous occasion to even consider pulling out the camera. Then you end up wasting the last 3 pictures... 4 pictures... ("It's still not done yet?! The thing says we've already taken 25 pictures) 5 pictures on the flowers in front of your house.

After finally taking the last picture, you have to find time to take the film to get developed. A few weeks later, after forgetting to take the film with you on the last five shopping trips, you find an ad for 1-day doubles. At your next convenience, you go pick up your pictures to find that half of them are of people with their eyes closed or odd expressions on their faces or too dark because the flash didn't work. Hey, at least you got doubles, right? What am I supposed to do with two blurry pictures of Hannah not sitting still by the scarecrow and not looking at the camera and not smiling?

I could have made the process even longer for most of you by waiting until Thanksgiving to show you the picture; but I decided my point could still be illustrated and scanned it in.

The only fun thing about using regular film is that the longer you forget to get it developed, the more hilarious it is to find pictures from last Christmas on a 12 exposure roll of film that you completely forgot about. Still, I will opt for the high-tech method.

Headless Al

Well, we got our new camera last Friday; but the subject of our pictures still doesn't want to sit still long enough to snap a picture. As you can see, Hannah didn't really like the idea of posing next to a decapitated scarecrow. She watched us stuff him with a pillow and some newspapers, but the more he started to take form, the less she wanted to be around him.

I guess we can't blame her. For the first few days, Headless Al startled the wife and I every time we opened the front door. Now, he's almost part of the family. For the moment, he is the only Halloween decoration, but there may be pumpkins coming this weekend. (No, that pumpkin doesn't count - it's Al's head)

As for Halloween, Hannah may stop at a few houses, but will probably spend most of the night helping us pass out candy. We're going to squeeze her back into that Steelers cheerleader outfit. It was a little big last year and will probably be a little small this year, but she's gotta show off her Pittsburgh spirit. She wants to be a role model for her new cousin, who is apparently already a Steelers fan.

Fearless

Well, that didn't take long. Just 8 short months ago, Hannah was taking her First Steps!!! and now she's a fearless climber. A professional would call it "exceptional large motor skills," but we just call it "exceptionally larger chance of getting hurt skills." Of course she doesn't just practice this at the playground, but also at home by climbing on the couch and the coffee table in the back room, darting up the stairs and scaling her high chair.

Now we have to face the parental struggle of striking a balance between letting her explore and keeping her neck in one piece. Watching her explore and indulge her curiosity is very fulfilling; but watching her start to lose her balance with nothing but the hardwood floor to break her fall if I don't catch her - that can't be good for my mental or physical health.

In any case she is growing up and becoming more independent every day. She even gave up her pacifier cold turkey a few days ago (so far so good). She loves having books read to her and she pays attention to entire TV programs now. She still likes to play with us, but can entertain herself with toys or books if need be; and, of course, she still knows how to show off for a crowd.

We are enjoying it while it lasts, though, as elements of the terrible two's are starting to surface at only one and a half.

This picture was courtesy of our recent guests, the Hreha's, but we ordered a new Canon PowerShot A510 from Amazon.com and it should be here in about a week. This doesn't mean I'll update the blog more often, I just won't have an excuse anymore.

The Camera is Busted

For those of you wondering why there haven't been any recent posts, our digital camera is broken. We took it on our honeymoon cruise in the Bahamas and it got salt water in it. Over the next few months, the internal circuitry corroded and it started acting funny. Finally, it stopped working completely, shortly after the last post.

We made sure that we got all the pictures on my parent's camera from our trip to Pittsburgh last weekend, but our camera is not yet fixed. Anyway, here are two of them.




This first one was taken at the family reunion. Someone brought bubbles; not just any bubbles - HUGE bubbles. Hannah could have fit inside some of these bubbles. Not only were they big, but one dip into the pan was enough to make hundreds of bubbles.

Bubble blowing technology sure has come a long way. I'm used to the old kind that you blow four of five bubbles, then the rest of the solution drips off the stick onto your hands and clothes. After 5 minutes of attempted fun, you end up sticky and frustrated.




The second picture is from my cousin's birthday party. She and her family live out in the country and a bunch of us decided to take a walk and see the neighbor's animals. On the way back, someone had the idea to make the two little kids hug.

Now, I have nothing against my daughter hugging a boy - although I would have to have a serious sit-down with him to discuss his intentions - but CLEARLY this pose was not a genuine act of kindness conceived by either of the childeren. I count four girls in the picture, plus the one behind the camera.

In any case, the kids did play well together and the girls all got their cute fix for the day.

Big Helper

I never appreciated the idea of "chores" until recently. I used to think chores were the worst thing ever. From my childhood perspective, I thought life was about playing and having fun, but now and then I had to clean my room or cut the grass. Chores were the black speck on an otherwise carefree lifestyle.

Now, as a parent, I see them in a different light. I work at least 40 hours a week and have a house and two cars to take care of. There's grass to cut and brush to clear; bills to pay and budgets to manage. It seems the wife is always doing a load or two of laundry, vacuuming, dusting, wiping, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping or grocery shopping; all of this while we're trying to raise a 16 month old.

How, then, has my perspective changed? Chores are still a black speck, but now we get to pass them on when we don't feel like doing them ourselves. "Chores" are a way to hand down some of our responsibilities, meanwhile building the character of our young'ns.

For now she likes being a big helper, but when she starts complaining, we get to pull the old, "you're part of this family and you have to help out" routine. Eventually, chores can be a punishment (not that our little angel will ever do anything bad...); I've got a basement crawlspace that needs excavated, trees that need pruning, weeds that need pulled - the possibilities are endless.

Beating the Heat

Well the heat just kept coming. We finally traded in the roasting pan for a real kiddie pool. To make it even more fun, we put her little tikes slide into the pool, too. We set it up in the shade of our nut trees. (Don't ask me what kind of nuts; we think the one is a black walnut and the other is either a pecan or butternut.) We topped it all off with cold, crisp slices of watermelon.

For a moment, we forgot that it was 95 degrees and 95% humidity! Whoever said Syracuse doesn't have a real summer was either flat out lying or has a warped definition of a "real" summer. Anyways, even though we don't have air conditioning, we still have ways to beat the heat; and Hannah knows how to enjoy every bit of it.

PS. I told you this outfit would be on here again

That's One Big Booty

Syracuse has been experiencing record highs and it's not even summer yet. It has been very muggy, too, with humidity nearing 100%. We haven't had a good rain in almost a month despite the fact that scattered T-storms have been in the forecast every day for the past two and a half weeks. To top it all off, we have decided to carry on the family tradition; we're not getting air conditioning until the kids move out.

Thanks to the purchase of our new Mosquito Magnet Defender, we can actually use our back yard now without dousing ourselves in a gallon of deet. Hannah is eagerly awaiting a kiddie-pool, but until we get one, the roasting pans will have to do. She loved playing in the water and was in there long enough for her size 3 Cruisers to fill to capacity, expanding to about an inch and a half thick.

Unfortunately, she will probably also carry on the family tradition and her booty will stick out an inch an a half on its own. Sorry, Hannah, its in your genes (pun intended).

Water Baby

Hannah seems to be at home in the water, but only when it is contained (ie. not spraying out of a sprinkler). Yesterday, she and the girls went to Thunder Island for a little afternoon fun. Hannah couldn't get enough of the pool or the baby water slides.

Today, however, when we turned on the sprinkler and it sprayed into her chest, she started bawling and didn't want anything to do with the water. We tried standing farther away, turning it down to a slow, steady stream and even using the regular nozzle to put a fine mist in the air. She wanted nothing to do with it.

In any case, she loves to be outside. A quick comparison of the color of her belly vs. the color of her legs (she wore a one-piece at the water park) shows that she got a little tan, despite the SPF 50 she was wearing. It doesn't surprise me that the sun got through the SPF 50; what surprises me is that she got a tan instead of burning. I think this is the first time I've seen a red head that isn't either pastey white or sun burnt pink.

Well if the last month of spring is any indication of how the summer will be, we're in for a wicked hot summer in Syracuse. You may see this outfit on here again.

Big Back Yard

Well we finally let Hannah out of her room. She's been sitting on the floor in her room this whole time, so there was really no reason to put more of the same picture on the blog.

Our back yard is pretty big to us, but must be even bigger to her. The 3 inch bumps and holes aren't quite big enough for an adult to twist an ankle, but they're definately big enough to cause balance issues in someone who only learned to walk a few months ago.

She seems to have mastered it, though, and loves exploring outside. She is already outgrowing her swing and her slide. The one she plays on at school probably shouldn't be ridden by anyone shorter than Jeeters, who guards the Jack Rabbit at Kennywood, but that doesn't stop our little thrill seeker.

With Hannah out of her room more, perhaps we will start posting pictures her more often again... no promises, though.

Her Own Room

Well, we moved into our new house last week and Hannah now has her own bedroom... with a door! We are no longer slaves in our own home after Hannah's bedtime - forced to hide in our bedroom so the TV doesn't keep her awake.

She has not only laid claim to her bedroom and the playroom (as per our agreement); but has also marked off territory in the living room and family room. She even has toys in the back yard.

If you think all of these toys keep her attention you are very wrong. Most of the time she would rather play with the nicknacks and furniture around the house. She loves to unfold clothes, disorganize drawers and cause distruction and disorder whereever possible. So many rooms - so few hours in the day.

Musical Ear

Given that both of her parents are musically inclined, it is somewhat expected that Hannah will have no trouble developing her own musical ear. When she is playing the keyboard, she shows signs of rythm and has even tried hitting keys individually instad of banging her whole hand on the keyboard.

The problem is that she is also the daughter of an engineer and share's her father's interest in how things work. Most of the time she is more interested in the power button than the music coming from the speakers.

While I would never force her to do anything, I am encouraging her to take an interest in music. Yes, there are studies showing the relationship between musical talent and a better understanding of math and science, but that is not the driving factor. If she turns out anything like her paternal aunt Julie, we will have to listen to her singing all the time and I can't stand hearing people sing out of key.

Listening to The Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 100 times a day will be bad enough, but if it is out of tune... I may have to trade our new 4-bedroom house for a single white room with 4 padded walls.

Happy Birthday

Well, she survived her first year... and no one got us anything. Granted, it is her birthday, but she wouldn't have made it without her loving parents who kept her safe and healthy. If anything, she was working against us; putting germ covered things in her mouth, playing with plugs and outlets, trying to pull things on herself and diving head first off of our bed.

Nevertheless, she made out quite well. She got new clothes, new toys, a house, a new ride (pictured above), and generous monetary gifts. She will now need a second room in our new house for all her toys and has offered to lease the 4th bedroom. Thanks to the aforementioned monetary gifts, she can afford to. So much for keeping her unspoiled.

The doctor said she's healthy. I guess that is our gift. Even with all she has learned in the past year, there are still more milestones ahead than behind, and we'll keep you posted on all of them.

Thanks to everyone who helped make her first birthday special.

Classic Spaghetti Mess

Now, I know that every child born since the invention of the camera has been the object of a picture just like this one. I also know that spaghetti makes a huge mess when a child serves herself. Nevertheless, my wife insisted that our daughter of almost a year start eating the same foods we eat.

All I could do was watch... and reschedule her bath for immediately after dinner instead of right before bed. Instead of fretting about the cleanup, I tried to enjoy the moment as much as I know we will years from now; when we are reminicing through the pages of the digital photo album.

First Steps!!!

Well, she took her first steps. Of course, we're excited, but at the same time we know it will be that much harder to keep track of her now.

There have been three jumps in mobility now. First, she went from laying still to rolling over, but she was still pretty slow. Then she went from rolling over to crawling and if you left a door open she would bolt for it. Now she is making the jump from crawling to walking and if you blink, you will miss her going from playing with toys in one room to pulling books off the shelf in another room!

For now, excitement is the dominating emotion, but pretty soon we may need a leash in order to keep ourselves sane (and her safe).

Inconsolable

One so young should not yet have to learn about defeat and disappointment. The Steelers are the first team she ever cheered for and she thought they were going all the way. Nightmares of the interception returned for a TD plague her sleep. Thoughts of what could have been if they had gone for the TD on 4th and goal torment her when she's awake.

I tried to console her, saying that Big Ben's hand will heal and he will learn from these experiences next season. The Bus may retire, but the Steelers running game will always be a threat. For now, though, she remains... inconsolable.

Desk Job?!

I was warned that Hannah would grow up fast, but I didn't think she'd be ready for a desk job yet.

Under the Table

Hannah has figured out that there is a whole other world under the dining room table. She looks through the glass and wonders why things aren't falling down on her and why she can't grab them. She is exploring everything now and trying to get into places she shouldn't be. The fun begins...

Growing Pains

Since Hannah was born in the 21st century, it seems appropriate that we keep you up to date in true 21st century style. As all babies do, she is growing and learning new things every day. A Picture of the Week (POTW) may say a thousand words, but it is not as interactive as a blog. Besides, plain old email is 20th century technology.

Anyway, this blog won't substitute for actually being here, but we hope it will help you feel closer than you are. Enjoy the posts and please reply when you can as we all watch Hannah get through life's growing pains.