29 Months Old

Oh my goodness, Hannah is nearly 2 1/2 years old. This summer it seems like she's really grown up. Perhaps having a sibling has something to do with it. She is a joy and a challenge all at the same time. Here's what she's been up to:

*She is pretty well into 2T clothes, although she can still wear some 18 month shorts or pants.

*She continues her fascination with my feeding Jack. Recently, I was pumping when Hannah came into the room. She was totally intrigued with what I was doing. After I was done and had put it away, she pulled it out, pulled her shirt up, put them up to her belly button, and told me she was making milk for her baby!

*She loves to sing. Lately, her favorites are Sunny Day (Sesame Street), Jesus Loves Me, and of course Christmas Comes to Town. She also likes to dance. She does this crazy slow motion wave with her body while moving her arms up and down. She particularly likes to do this on top of our laundry basket turned upside down. I'll have to catch it on video someday.

*She continues her Polar Express kick; however, for our sanity, Jason recently bought her Toy Story, which she really seems to like. She asks to either watch "Bug" (Buzz) or "Toy Sawy".

*We're still working on counting. She seems to have something against the number 4. She will count 1-2-3-5-6 but usually neglects the 4.

*She is pushing her limits more and more. We've had to start implementing time-outs more regularly. We're definitely learning that consistency is the key. At least she knows we mean business.

*She can open all of our inside doors and our sliding glass door. Thankfully we have a lock that you have to step on that's pretty hard to release or else she'd probably go outside on her own.

*She still loves to talk on my phone, only now she actually likes to talk on it as opposed to her only pushing buttons as before. Lately, she's also gotten into carrying it around in her pocket. In fact, my parents called one day while I was vacuuming. I didn't hear it ring, but they told me that Hannah answered loud and clear. She would pull it out of her pocket, open it up, and yell "Hi Papa!" and then hang up. They said they called 5 times with her answering that way every time. (Thankfully, it was actually "Papa" and not someone else!) I finally caught her doing it on their 5th call. They were almost ready to call Jason to see if I was ok! Needless to say, I've changed the answer setting on my phone so that I now have to hit the send button to answer calls instead of just opening it up.

For all of the challenges that come with raising a 2-year old, there are so many more rewards. We love her so much and are so thankful for the blessing of being her parents.