The Downing Family-Thanksgiving 2009
Sisters-Alisa, Betsy, Stephanie, Erika, Emily
Cousins-Emily, Maggie, Stephanie, Betsy, Molly
Uncle Phil & Hannah
Cousin Molly & Hannah
Aunt Emily & Hannah stuffing their faces with rolls-that's all they eat :)
Four Generations-Grandma Teresa, Stephanie, Hannah, Great-Grandma Miller
Cousins Hannah (15 mos.) & Sammy (26 mos.)
Snoozing with Grandpa & Grandma!
I was really hoping that Hannah would be older before I'd have to write about our first trip to the ER, but she broke us into this reality of parenthood one day before her fifteen month birthday.
She loves to play "I'm gonna get you" and have us chase her around the house. Well, last night, she and Josh were playing this in the dining room, and she tripped over her highchair and hit her head on the corner of the drywall. She split her forehead and it was bleeding pretty well at first. Emily and Betsy were over, so they called Paul's wife Alisa, who is an ER nurse. She came over and said it looked like she may need stitches. She went into the ER with us and had a doctor check her out before we checked in. Luckily, they thought that glue would do the job. I was glad Alisa was around to tell us what to do.
Hannah was actually very calm through all of this. She didn't cry much, even when it happened, and I think we were more upset than she was. Luckily, she doesn't know what blood is, so it didn't scare her. I on the other hand, was fighting back tears and cringing at the words "laceration" and "sutures." Can't they say "cut" and "stitches"? To me, that somehow sounds better. However, the care we got at the hospital was great. We did not have to wait long at all; I think we were in and out in less than an hour which is amazing for the ER. They gave Hannah a little teddy bear that ladies at a local church had made. I thought that was really sweet.
Hannah unfortunately was not a fan of the actual gluing process. It wasn't very fun. Don't get me wrong; I think stitches would have been a million times worse, but gluing a toddler's head is no picnic either. I held her in my arms while a nurse held her head still. They had to "clamp" the skin together and had their hands all over her face to keep her from moving. Plus, they said that the glue stings. Needless to say, she was not very happy while this was going on, and if she cried, it made the glue separate. How can you tell a hurting child not to cry? She was upset for awhile after it was over.
She woke up a couple of times in the night last night and I went in and held her. I was so afraid of her bumping it and breaking it back open. Even though this was a very minor injury in the scheme of things, I still hate that my little girl got hurt. I don't want anything bad to ever happen to her!
My mom and I took Hannah to the Festival of Trees in Danville again this year. She loved it! There were decorated trees everywhere, and when we first walked in, she pointed with her mouth wide open.
We let her run around and look at the trees. She had fun looking at them and dancing to the Christmas music.
We stopped for a quick picture with Santa, but she really wasn't so sure what she thought about him. She didn't want to take her eyes off of him. She also got her picture taken with Mrs. Claus who she was a little more comfortable with.
It's a fun Christmas tradition that I hope we get to do every year!
I cannot tell you how many people in the last month have told me that Hannah is "a ham." I don't know if it's her age or her personality, but I am beginning to wonder as more and more people say that. She doesn't seem to be very bashful around strangers! From the people on the buses in Disneyworld, to the stockers at Wal-Mart, to the shoppers at Sam's, she seems to attract a lot of attention. She is a little flirt. Is this a picture of what is to come?
One of my favorite new things she is doing is making this face where she opens her mouth wide open. She does it a lot now when I pull out the camera, but she will usually do it mimicking someone else who is doing it. I think it is so funny. Speaking of mimicking, she is starting to do that a lot more. One day, I saw a squished bug on Josh's back (he didn't know it was there) and I put my hands on my face and started shrieking. She put her hands up on her cheeks like mine and started squealing. It was so funny. Also, like me, she loves to carry around a pen and paper to make her “lists.” She also will pick up the cordless phone and push a few buttons and then put it up to her ear. One day she seriously dialed 991... that was close! She also managed to call Josh at work all by herself with the cell phone (she only had to push the green button twice since it was the last person I called). Another new favorite of mine is when she plays peek-a-boo by herself. She holds her blanket over her face and then drops it. I yell “peek-a-boo” and she laughs hysterically. I love it.
About a month or two ago, she started hearing the garage door go up and knows that means that daddy is home from work. She runs to the back door, and then she claps for him when he walks in. It is adorable. It's fun that she is so excited to see him. Clapping is her way of showing her joy. Also, whenever someone claps on TV, she stops what she is doing and claps along with them. Even if she is tired, it's like she feels obligated to clap if someone else is. She also loves to dance anytime music comes on TV. It's so funny.
Today when I was on the phone with Jennifer and putting away laundry, I heard Hannah crying in my bedroom. I walked in and didn't see her anywhere. She had managed to crawl under our bed and was in the very middle and couldn't figure out how to get out. She was fine after I helped her out. Too funny... 
Another new favorite of hers is stairs. She is really starting to master them, but it still makes me nervous. At church, she always makes a mad dash for the nearest set of stairs. She gets really mad if you pick her up! And speaking of climbing, she climbs on furniture now. Every time I leave the living room, she crawls onto the chair where we keep the laptop and starts playing with it. She changes settings and pulls up screens I’ve never seen. Sometimes it takes awhile to fix it! She also pulled two keys off of it, but Josh was able to get them back on without a problem. While we're on the subject of damaging technology, we lost our cell phone a couple of weeks ago, and we're pretty sure she wandered off with it somewhere. We have looked everywhere we can think to look. My fear now is that it left with the trash...
As far as eating goes, she is becoming much more independent. She really does not like to be fed. She is getting the hang of using her own spoon and fork, but it can be pretty messy. She also likes to flip her tray off the highchair when she's done... did I mention messy? Basically, my floors are always dirty. She's also started to figure out how to get food for herself. The other day, she walked into the kitchen, pulled the bread off the counter, got herself a piece, and walked around the house happily eating her snack that she "prepared." She also got into my chocolate stash and started eating away. She LOVES chocolate. Since her first birthday when I started allowing more sweets, my mom has started to spoil her a little. She has been baking her chocolate chip cookies in the afternoons, and she is CRAZY about them!
On the sleeping front, we transitioned to one nap around her 13 month birthday. She started sleeping longer at night (about 13 hours instead of 11 ½) and less during the day. Her nap is about 2 hours in the afternoon. I think this schedule is a little easier and definitely helps on Sundays. She used to get so tired in the nursery having to be in there for 4 hours with no morning nap. She definitely recognizes bedtime and usually goes down easily. Today, she and I were playing with her baby doll and I started singing "Rock-A-Bye-Baby" to it like I do when Hannah goes to bed. She ran and got her blanket to take a nap! Josh and I started singing it again tonight at bedtime and she ran and got her blanket. How cute is that?
Halloween was fun this year. First, we stopped by my parents house for treats and a few pictures. Hannah was Cinderella, compliments of Grandma Teresa who made her a beautiful dress. She also got Hannah a crown, which she surprisingly left on her head for quite awhile. My cousin Sammy was there too (Hannah's 1st cousin once removed :). He is a year older than her; he was dressed as a lion. After that, we stopped by LuAnn Kees' house and then headed to Danville. We went to Grandpa Steve's house, and Aunt Judy and Great-Grandma Downing came over. Hannah had a blast exploring his house, and he made us chili-mac, which was one of Josh's favorites growing up. Josh always says he misses his dad's chili. He also boiled some whole-wheat pasta for Hannah, and she ate tons! After that, we headed a few blocks over to my Uncle Art and Aunt Linda's house. All my family was there celebrating my Uncle Art's birthday. We had fun eating pizza and letting the kids run. Hannah got a collection of little pumpkins, one each from my mom and my Uncle Art and Josh's Aunt Sherry. She likes playing with them. We didn't carve one this year.... but maybe next year!
My brother Paul and his new wife Alisa got married last week in Jamaica! My parents got to go to the wedding, along with Alisa's mom and sister. I definitely wish I could have been there, but it wasn't an option for many reasons. First of all, children under 18 were not allowed at the resort, and I'm not ready to leave Hannah that long. Secondly, it was only weeks after our Disney vacation which was booked well before we knew about the wedding, making time off and money a slight issue as well. So, sadly, we had to wish them well from afar. The day of the wedding was a little weird knowing that my brother was getting married and I was sitting at home in my pajamas. But, we got to have a big reception when they got home. We had fun eating and dancing. I think Hannah danced more than anyone. I don't have a ton of good pictures right now, but I'm sure I will have more later. Their wedding pictures in Jamaica were beautiful.
A couple of weekends ago, I got to go to Naperville for Jonikay's wedding. I had a really good time. Jennifer came to stay with me on Friday and Saturday, and we went to the wedding minus husbands and kids. It was a lot of fun to get to spend so much time talking without interruption. We drove up to Naperville early on Saturday morning to do a little shopping at a nice outdoor mall. Being the country girls that we are, we were scrambling for money to pay the tolls and the parking fees at the mall. Seriously, who carries change? We left the mall for our "10 minute" drive to the wedding, which turned into an hour drive. Good thing we left early! Luckily, the wedding didn't start exactly on time, so we were there in plenty of time. Jonikay looked gorgeous, as I knew she would. Her dress was perfect and definitely said "JoniKay." I was so happy for her! Eric seems like a great guy, and I know they will be happy. After the wedding, a bunch of us went out to dinner at BDs Mongolian Grill. It was a fun stir-fry place where you mix up your own ingredients and then watch them cook it for you. We had a baby shower there for Courtney, who was having contractions all day! She was a few weeks from her due date but ended up having her baby days later! I was glad we got to see her but also glad she didn't have her baby away from home! I miss days with the college girls and know they are getting less and less as we now have no more weddings or bridal showers. Plus, I'm sure it will be more difficult as we all add children to our families. I know that our friendships are strong enough to last a lifetime though and that we have many memories yet to be made...
