52 Fridays: Time of Day

If I had to pick a time of day that I enjoy the most, it would probably be a tie. I enjoy the mornings when it's quiet in the house. I love going into Hannah's room and seeing her sweet little face waiting patiently for me. It's like a daily reunion. We've gone all night (on a good day) without seeing each other and we are both looking forward to hanging out again. I love how happy she always is to see me--even if she first has to let me know that she's been waiting on me. I love picking her up out of her crib and loving on her, because I've missed her. If Quarter doesn't have an early appointment, sometimes I bring her back to our room and we all hang out in our bed. It's just a sweet time of day.

I also enjoy the evenings when Quarter gets home and we all hang out and play together. We are both excited to see Poppa at the end of the day. 

I also like bedtime, because Hannah is often busy trying to take care of a few last minute things before she calls it a night. She usually has a lot to tell me before she closes her eyes.

Okay and I also like the middle of the day, when it's just us. Hannah is so busy...she keeps me on my toes. 

I also enjoy the evenings, after Hannah has gone to sleep. It's just Quarter and I and we get to catch up. So I guess I enjoy the whole day. :-)

52 Fridays: Money

When Hannah came home from the hospital in October, we were advised not to put her in daycare. Her tiny body needed more time, before she was exposed to too many germs. In fact, we were told to pretty much keep her in the house during the winter. So we made the decision that I would take a leave of absence from work and be a stay-at-home mom. I have always admired stay-at-home moms. It's not an easy gig. I honestly feel like it's a promotion. It was a huge adjustment to go from working in financial reporting to being a full-time mommy. There is no compensation package. There are no vacation days. (This one was actually more of a shock to my system than the lack of a paycheck. I was in such a habit of saying  "I can't wait until the weekend/holiday." that it took me a while to realize, mommy's don't get those days off. lol) In exchange for the paychecks, the vacation time, the ability to clock in and more importantly out, I gained so much more than I could have ever imagined. The time that Hannah and I have had together is more valuable than any paycheck, bonus or thrift plan. I am so blessed to be able to spend this time with my baby girl. It is so worth the sacrifice. It's worth the adjustment of going from a two-income family to a single-income family. When I say my cup runs over or that we are blessed abundantly, I don't mean financially alone. We are blessed financially, but we are blessed in so many more ways. We are blessed to have a healthy daughter. We are blessed to have a successful business. We are blessed to have our family and friends. We are blessed to have each other. We are so very blessed. It's true that the best things in life are free, in that they don't cost money, but they might cost time, effort, or sacrifice. It's also true that the rewards far outweigh the costs. As far as I'm concerned, being Hannah's mommy is priceless. 

Happy Birthday Hannah!

I cannot believe it, our Hannah is 1 year old! We have a 1 year old daughter. We are the parents of a 1 year old. No matter how many times we say it, it still doesn't seem real. This year flew by, but we are so grateful for how far we've come. God is good!

(photos by Hope Toliver)

On July 20, 2010 our beautiful baby girl entered this world 14 weeks before her due date and she hasn't looked back...

Hannah today...
is happy, healthy, whole and hilarious

is a busy little bee, full of energy, and so much fun

is fearless and has no concept of gravity...but learning fast

is curious and loves to explore

has an amazing memory (she remembers that mommy hid a piece of paper behind her back and she just waits for the right time to make her way back there)
sleeps with her NooNoo and cries when she throws NooNoo out of the bed and can't get her back

can say baabaa, maamaa, daadaa
can crawl and loves to pull up and walk with assistance

can clap her hands

loves to eat fruits, veggies, turkey, brown rice, yogurt and of course milk
can drink her water out of a big girl cup

loves to sing songs and read
has the sweetest, cutest, tooth-less, gummy smile

couldn't be more lovable

i could go on and on...

Happy Birthday sweet girl. We love you and we are looking forward to many, many more years of joy.

52 Fridays: Black & White

I struggled to come up with something really creative this week. I tried to think about black and white objects around the house that Hannah enjoys playing with. And then it hit me--the tv remote! For those of you who know my husband, it won't surprise you to know we have a really nice universal remote. It has a fancy little screen with icons next to the control options. I had to have a tutorial to learn to use it and between you and I, I don't watch tv in the bedroom because I still haven't learned to use that remote. Well miss Hannah is a fan of the tv remote. She's so smart, she actually manages to use it correctly. The other morning she pressed the right button and the tv came on. She looked right up at it as if that was her plan all along. This morning she pressed the right button and the lights came all the way on. I immediately sent Quarter a text to tell him our daughter really is a genius. You see the remote controls the lights, but there are different lighting settings depending on what activity you select. So it's not just a simple as turning the lights on. She made all the right selections. Oh and I guess I should mention, the remote is black and white... :)

52 Fridays: Food

Hannah only recently started eating solids (well pureed solids). She's tasted all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Currently, her favorite fruit is apple and her favorite vegetable is sweet potato. Today's menu consisted of zucchini for brunch and a spinach and sweet potato mix for dinner. She enjoyed every bite.

One thing not on today's menu, that Hannah was interested in trying, the butterfinger bite in mommy's mouth. Yes, she watched me come into the living room, open the candy and put it in my mouth. She crawled over and reached up for me. I picked her up, she pretended to lean in for a kiss and then she tried to taste the candy in my mouth. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. She put both her little hands on the sides of my face. As I was moving my head, she followed with her mouth open determined to get a taste. I wish I could have captured it in a picture or on video, because my writing skills can't do it justice. I'm glad Quarter was here to witness it. Take my word for it, it was pretty darn funny. The best part is that she was smart enough to come up with this plan. If I wasn't eating candy, I might have let her have a taste. But then if I wasn't eating candy, she might not have wanted a taste. :)

52 Fridays: Close-up

When I was in high school I decided I needed to verbalize my feelings about my personal space. I began to tell people that there was an imaginary bubble around me and I would appreciate it if they remained outside the bubble. If they forgot, I had no problem reminding them. To this day I'm not crazy about some people entering my bubble, but I've gotten a lot better. One person I don't mind having in my space is my little Hannah. Not that I have much of a choice, she has no problem attaching herself to me at every chance she gets. I jokingly ask her if she'd like to just climb in my shirt and we'll pretend we're kangaroos. One day she'll understand what I'm saying and she might just say "yes."

So when this week's theme of "close-up" came around, I couldn't help but think that I always have a close up view of my sweet baby girl. I'm so blessed to say that today. When Hannah was in the hospital, I couldn't always snuggle up with her. There is no longer a heated hospital bed, IV or hospital monitor cords to keep us from getting close to Hannah. God is so good!

We were looking at some of the videos that I've recorded and almost all of them start with me recording/observing Hannah from a short distance away and end with Hannah getting very close to me and the camera. It's pretty cute...just like our Hannah.

(PS this is Brandy writing, I didn't realize I was logged in as Quarter until after I finished the post.)