Countdown to 13 - Day 4

By the time Hannah was three, she had a baby brother and a toddler attitude. She was not a fan of a nap and had mostly given it up by her third birthday. She went to 2 year old kindergarten at Horizons, enjoyed story time at the library, and was learning her abc's. She loved to write and draw and was very artistic. It was my first year at home with her, and I will always cherish my time with her. She had such an imagination and fun spirit. Her intelligence and memory always floored us. She once memorized a book about a firetruck; she could "read" it page by page from memory. She loved to sing, too. She could sing "Amazing Grace." It was so funny to hear her sing the line "who saved a wretch like me." Hannah's personality continued to entertain us all. She was just so stinkin' cute.

 Hannah was a great big sister. She did have her moments, like the time when Corey was about a month old and she somehow wrestled him out of the carseat and was carrying him. Before that, when he was about a week old, she came running and said, "Come quick, you have to see dis." We came to the living room and there he was with a pair of her sunglasses on. She never really asked us to give him back though, and once he was old enough to play with, she thought he was pretty cool to have around.

 For her 3rd birthday, we took her and Grandmommy to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was a great night and she really enjoyed every bit of the circus.

 One of the last pictures Hannah had made before baby Corey was born.

Hannah as a proud big sister.

Ready for school!

Countdown to 13 - Day 3

Hannah's second year was filled with lots more new discoveries. She pretty much spent her first year sitting pretty...literally. Wherever we put her, she stayed...for the most part. (I did say she was an easy baby, right?) She did finally learn to scoot on her butt toward the end of her first year and that was her favorite mode of transportation until she was 16 months old. She rarely crawled. She didn't like those push behind walkers either. She would stand there and cry. We tried and tried to get her to walk to no avail. One day she just walked a few steps and decided it was for her. Then came the talking. Her first sentence came at 19 months - "I want french fries." She hasn't stopped talking since. She discovered TV and loved it! Her favorites were Veggie Tales and Blue's Clues. One of her favorite toys was a Barbie Powerwheels Jeep. She couldn't even reach the pedals, but she loved for us to press the pedal so she could "ride." Before the end of her second year, she was preparing to be a big sister, too.

Easter pictures from Hannah's second Easter

Hannah's first trip to Springmaid Beach. We had a great relaxing vacation, and as you can tell, Hannah loved the ocean.

Second Christmas pictures

Hannah wasn't really thrilled about this picture.

Hannah's Birthday Party was Veggie Tales that year and we had a family party at our house.

Hannah's birthday present...a tricycle!

Countdown to 13 - Day 2

Hannah made life as a parent pretty easy. She slept all night at 3 weeks, a feat no other Wade kid even came close to. She was pleasant and easy going. We were told how much life changed after having kids, and it did...but it was not a difficult transition for us. I stayed at home with her for 8 short weeks. Going back to work was one of the hardest things I had to do as a new mom, but I knew one day I would get to be a stay at home mom.

 One of Hannah's favorite things were sunglasses. I guess we started that at an early age. This picture was taken when she was about 3 months old. She also enjoyed her rocking chair and exersaucer.

Hannah at 4 months old.  She could barely sit up to take the picture.

Hannah's first Christmas = more toys than we knew what to do with...and yet that was only the beginning!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Hannah. It was taken at her first birthday party in her new wheels - her little red wagon. Her cousin Liz who was about 7ish at the time pulled her around outside our old church and I snapped this picture. The mill in the background is where my father-in-law worked and it has since been torn down so it's got some sentimental value as well.

A Monumental Occasion - Day 1

There is about to be an occasion so big, so monumental in this family that I have decided to re-enter the blogosphere to commemorate it. This family is about to have...(drum roll) a teenager!! Oh where has the time gone?!? Hannah will be 13 on February 10, which is 13 days away. So over the next 13 days, I am going to post about her, highlights from each year, special things about her. Today I will start with her birth.

The week before she was born will always be magical in my memory. It snowed - twice - and there was ice. I love snow, and I'd never seen it snow as much or hang around as long as it did that week. We had a week off from school! We had neighborhood snowball fights and friends over for dinner. I had time to get lesson plans done and everything ready for Hannah. It was perfect!

 Hannah was due January 29. Do you notice a big gap between her due date and her birth date? Yep, she was nice and comfy and determined (to the very end) to stay put. We chose Feb.9, Donnie's sister's birthday as our induction date. How cool it would be for them to share a birthday, or so we thought. Coincidentally Donnie's sister-in-law's birthday is Feb.10, so as the day wore on, I think they were taking bets as to whose birthday she would come on. Hannah was born at 4:06 am, after 21 hours of labor. She was the most beautiful baby we'd ever seen. There were so many things I'd never thought of until she was born, like how cute it was when she stretched or smiled in her sleep, what it felt like to love so differently, what I would do the first time Hannah got her feelings hurt (the role of mama bear came easily), how I wanted her world to be just right...I could go on and on. It's hard to believe that was 13 years ago. Time flies when you're having fun!