Hannah in a Nutshell

Following my previous post, here's another Hannah quote.  I think I'll make these posts pretty regularly just so I can remember her goofy cuteness.  :)

"Look at me!  I'm a giant party!"

Haha...that pretty much sums up our little girl.  :)

Hannahisms

Ok, this post is more for my own remembrance than anything else, but you can come along on this journey with me.  Hannah says so many funny things everyday and I know I won't remember them all, so I decided to write some of them here.  Enjoy!

• Hannah, as she was laying on the couch, trying to sleep: "Linnea, don't touch me!  Mommy, "pretend Linnea" keeps touching me and I'm trying to sleep!"  (Yes, she really calls her "pretend Linnea"!  At least she knows there's a difference between her imaginary friends and her real friends!)
• We went on a hike with our Bible study a couple weeks ago and every time we came to a stream that needed to be crossed, Hannah would life her arms up to James and say, "Daddy, cross me!"
• While I was shopping at The Children's Orchard, Hannah was in the play area watching a movie.  She ran up to me with a worried look on her face.  "Mommy!  I don't want to watch the movie because it's scary!"  Me: "Why is it scary?"  Hannah: "Because the man broke the gingerbread man's feet off!  It's scary!"  Haha...it was Shrek.
• Hannah spotted a little old lady at the grocery store and excitedly exclaimed, "Mommy look!  That lady's little!  Awww...she's so cute!  Maybe she can cook in my kitchen with me because she's little."
• It recently rained (a rare occurrence for us) and Hannah was so excited and kept saying she took a shower outside!
• Whenever she sees something she wants at the store, she takes the tag and reads it: "It says, 'We can get it.'"
• One day when James came home from work: "I told my mommy that I wanted you and now you're here!"
• Explaining to her imaginary friends where we were going one morning: "We have to go to the YMCA because Mommy has to get nice and healthy and I get to play with the kids, because I like to play with the kids!"
• During Twinkle Toes one week, they were all "picking fruit" and the teacher went around asking each girl what kind of fruit she was picking.  Hannah said that she was picking bread.
• Shortly after we sit down to eat dinner most nights, Hannah looks at me with a smile and says, "Thank you for dinner, Mommy!  It's delicious!"
• One day in the car Hannah informed me, "Mommy, I like cars and trucks, but not clouds.  Just cars and trucks."
• Hannah snuck a piece of gum from my purse (I told her she can't have gum until she's 16) while I wasn't in the room.  When I came back, she was so excited and said, "Mommy!  I ate a piece of gum!  It's in my tummy!"
• While learning on Hannah's Cubbies verse, "Let the little children come to me" Hannah recited, "Let the little children go away."
• While talking to Hannah about our upcoming Parker family vacation, she said, "There's going to be lots of people and I'm going to smile and laugh at them!"
• I told Hannah we were going to Smart and Final.  As we were pulled into the parking lot, she pointed to it and asked, "Is that Smart?"  As we were leaving she asked if we were going to go to Final now.  
• We were watching the video for Steven Curtis Chapman's Cinderella.  Hannah asked James, "Daddy, the little girl is dancing with her daddy, so will you dance with me?"

This list is far from exhaustive and I can't think of some of the things she says often that are funny.  I'll post them as they come to me.

We're Still Alive

I haven't been doing very good at posting, but I just wanted to let you all know that we are still alive...and here's proof:

This picture makes me think of the Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the other."  Seriously, James and Hannah look related and I just look like some random person who joined them.  I promise - I am her mother!  :)

For your viewing pleasure...

Ok, so I realize I've failed miserably at posting frequent pictures.  It's not that I haven't taken pictures, it's just that they haven't left my camera.  So in the meantime, here are some videos to keep you entertained.  There is never a dull moment in our house (as you can imagine).  I don't know where she got her personality (definitely not from James or me), but we absolutely LOVE it, and couldn't have asked for a better (and more entertaining) daughter.  :)

Hannah and I went to Kohl's the other night and as soon as we walked in, she declared that she wanted to find a mirror so she could dance.  Each pillar in the store is covered in mirrors and she knew this, since we had just been there a few nights before with parents.  So, as I shopped, she did this and either wasn't aware or just didn't care that we were in the middle of a public place with other people around.  :)

Oh, and since we're on the subject of Kohl's.  When we were there with my parents, Hannah picked up a stuffed kangaroo (one of the $5 stuffed animals they always have sitting so conveniently next to the check out line).  She proceeded to carry it through the store, holding it like a baby and asking it if it wanted to go home with her or stay in the store.  According to her, it told her it wanted to go home with her.  And if that's not enough, she looked at the tag on it and confidently stated, "It says, 'We can get it.'"  So, Mama, being a good grandma, bought it for her.  Although I'm sure anyone else in the store who saw her with it would have bought it for her if my mom didn't.  :)  The next day she was at the mall with my parents and found a sign that said, "We can ride the horsey (carousel)."  According to my dad, she wanted to walk right up to the sign to make sure that that's what it said...and of course, it did.  I think we're in trouble with this little one!

And this next video.  Yes, the excitement of making homemade pitas and watching them puff up in the oven.  I admit that it is fun to watch, I just didn't realize how exciting it was.  :)

Future Choreographer?

Life with Hannah is never dull.  She is full of energy, excitement, drama, and creativity.  I wish I could capture (almost) every moment of her life, because she is a crack-up 90% of her waking hours.  One of my neighbors from my childhood gave Hannah this dress for Christmas, but we didn't get it until today.  Of course, it's a PERFECT dancing dress, so Hannah danced like this for at least an hour tonight.  :)

Goodbye.

Sunday night was a night I was dreading.  It was the night we were saying goodbye to Aaron, Kim, Linnea, and Natalie before they left for Kansas.  I was hoping that somehow we could just skip that part, because I knew it wouldn't be easy.  We'd gotten so used to having them so close and being able to walk to their house and visit them anytime we wanted.  Our girls are best friends and get so excited every time they see one another.  We've swapped a lot of babysitting nights.  We became more than just family; we became friends.

While Sunday night was the hardest time of this transition, there have been little things and realizations here and there that have been hard, too.  For example, the other morning I realized that I wouldn't ever hear an unexpected knock on the door and open it to find the Johnsons standing there, stopping by on a walk.  It's also hard, because Hannah's been very sadly and pitifully saying, "I want Linnea" lately.  It's hard explaining the concept of time and distance to a 3-year-old.  All this to say, we are so thankful for the years we were all together and we're looking forward to continuing our friendship long distance.  We are so excited for what the Lord is doing in and through the Johnson family and couldn't be more thrilled for where they are!

The week leading up to their move, we spent a lot of time with the girls while Aaron and Kim packed, painted, and prepped, so I took advantage of what time we had left and took a lot of pictures of the girls!  I figured these would be pictures that not only we, but also Hannah and Linnea, would cherish.  Below are a few of the pictures I took.  You can see more of them here.  Just beware!  The link will take you to an album with 81 of these photos!

I framed this one, so Hannah could have it in her room.  :)

In a bout of nostalgia, I compiled these pictures showing how Hannah and Linnea's friendship has developed over the past 2 1/2 years.  It's so fun to look at how much they've changed and how they've grown into such great companions.

Hannah checking out her new cousin.  She's apparently not quite sure what to think.

The first time we babysat Linnea!  I love how excited Hannah is!!

Haha...this one cracks me up.  This was Easter 2010.

Going in for a smooch.  :)

Hannah thoroughly enjoys the role of older cousin.  :)

Love the kisses!

The cutest little puppy and giraffe ever!

Hannah loves helping out her little cousin.

Helping Linnea with her buttons.

Best friends.

Sometimes Hannah shows a little too much love for Linnea's preferences.  :)

Again, too much love, Hannah. 

Anytime we're anywhere, walking together, they hold hands.

Stopping to chat.

Hannah makes Linnea laugh a lot!

Laughing together.

So Aaron, Kimberly, Linnea, and Natalie, we all love and miss you SO much and we are so thankful that we'll get to see you a couple times this year, Lord-willing!

Princess Hannah

I have a ton of pictures to post at some point, but I just had to share this video.  This is Hannah being her typical self.  She's got the princess wave down to a "t" and is looking down at all her royal subjects with a forced cheesy smile (she learned how to be a princess from the Disneyland parade).  Enjoy!