Hannah 2 1/2 Years

 

Hannah is now two and a half years old!  This age proves to be a real roller coaster ride.  You just never know what her mood will be!  Don't get me wrong, she's still adorable... just not all the time!

She has grown up so much in the past 6 months, particularly in her speech.  It amazes me how much her vocabulary has grown.  She seems to pick up new words and phrases every day, and not much she could say would surprise me now!  It is funny to hear her say grown-up phrases like "oh man!"  She can really talk up a storm.  Sometimes her stories go on for minutes on end, although they don't always make sense.  She also has a few cute pronunciation issues.  Usually when words end in "d" she ends them with "n."  I like to ask her how her food is and she either says "it's goon" or "is yummy."  She pronounces "red" as "ren."  She also is working on her "r" sound in the middle of words.  She leaves that sound out of "fork" and "shirt" which has left us explaining ourselves a few times....

We recently started nightly family devotions.  I wouldn't say that Hannah gets a ton out of them at this point, but she does say "God" and "Jesus" and has also begun to pray while repeating Josh and I, so we are building a foundation.  We are currently reading The Jesus Storybook Bible as a family.  I'm enjoying it!  Just tonight, she was repeating Josh's prayer after him.  He said "thank-you for the blessings..." and she said "thank-you for the blankets."  She does love her blankets!

We used to always sing "Rock-A-Bye Baby" before bedtime, but now we always have to sing "The ABC's" and "Hush."  This is a new song we learned from a children's worship CD.  The words are "Hush, little rooster with your cocka-doodle-do.  Hush, little kitten with your mew mew mew.  Hush, puppy dog with your bow wow wow.  Please don't MOO MOO Mrs. Cow.  Hush, hush, hush.  We are talking to God just now."  She LOVES this song.  We sing it right before we pray.  She also loves "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Deep and Wide."

Hannah's outfits at home crack me up.  She likes to add accessories and pieces all day long.  She is obsessed with shoes.  We find them all over the house.  She is constantly taking them off and putting other ones on.  She also likes to wear hats, a robe, jewelry, and purses.  She definitely looks like a toddler!

She has been fighting her nap a little lately.  I'd say in the last few weeks, she has only taken a nap 1/2 the time.  I'm not ready to give up yet though.  I still think she really needs it.  It seemed to coincide with potty training so I don't know if that was a coincidence or not, but we're just going to keep trying.  I love (and need) days when both kids nap at the same time!

Despite her roller coaster emotions, Hannah is a real joy.  Yes, she is emotional, but she is my girl.  I love her hugs and kisses (which are now given out when she chooses).  I love her smiles and her energy.  I love to see her get excited about things and I love to see her show love.  She is a beautiful, confident little girl.  I love her!