Family Reunion

Today was the family reunion.  We got lucky - the weather was beautiful, and we didn't get a drop of rain.  In fact, Brad and I got a little too much sun, but the kiddos were good because I was sure to lather them in sunscreen.  Jack had lots of fun "fishing" and exploring the little lake near my Uncle Bob's house.  Hannah also had fun and enjoyed spending so much time with Grammy, Grampy, and Aunt Ryan and Uncle John.  She also got to snuggle up with Daddy for a super long nap in the air-conditioned car after a failed attempt at getting her to sleep in the Pack 'n Play.

I'm so glad we came - it's always so good to see everyone and catch up.  And I'm glad that the kids had a good time...even though Jack got a little bored and watched a movie for a little while:)  Seriously - what did we do before technology?

{Taken tonight in our hotel room}

*****

We also want to say a very special Happy Birthday to Grandpa - one of the yucky things about the reunion is that it always seems to fall on either Grandpa or Jessica's birthday:(  But we are thinking of you, and we miss you dearly.  We hope you get everything you wished for on your birthday, and we can't wait to celebrate with you when we get home:)

Road Trips and the Cleveland Zoo

Every year, with the exception of last year because we'd just had Hannah, we head up to Sunny Cleveland for our family reunion on my mom's side.  You can read about our past adventures here, here, and here:)  I look forward to the trip every year, but this year, we were a little nervous after our Great Wolf Lodge excursion that lasted less than 24 hours.  While we originally planned to fly, it seemed silly when we could save so much money by driving.  So we took the plunge, and drove the six hour trip with our little lovelies yesterday, and it couldn't have gone better.

Scratch that - it definitely could have gone better.

Poor Hannah got sick about three hours into the trip and threw up, but after we stopped, cleaned her and the car seat up, and got back on the road, she seemed much better.  We don't know if she got car sick or it was a continuation of an upset tummy from the night before, but either way, it was the last time she got sick and for that we are thankful.

So - aside from the throw-up, it couldn't have gone better:)  We actually made the trip in six hours, and the kids were so well-behaved.

Jack thinks it's funny to pose with a sad face lately, not sure what that's about...

They napped very well in the car...

PA Turnpike scenery...

Our first night in the hotel room as a family of four did not go swimmingly.  Hannah does not adjust to sleeping in new places as easily as Jack ever did, and it took her awhile to go to sleep.  It's tricky when your four year old doesn't have volume control and is in the same room as the baby:)  But we survived, and today's morning nap went much better.  I suspect that each day will get easier...

*****

Today, we took the kids to the Cleveland Zoo, and it was awesome!  It wasn't crowded, the animals were out and about, and we were so close to them.  It was very hot, and we did tons of walking, but all in all, the experience was an enjoyable one.  Here are some of our photos from our zoo trip:

{Do you see the baby?}

{The polar bear was our favorite - don't know that I've ever seen one so close before...}

{Rosy cheeks}

{She was not loving it as much as I was.  Let's leave it at that.}

They both fell asleep immediately upon getting into the cool car.  We figured out the trick to getting them to sleep at night in the hotel - wear them out during the day like crazy, only allow short naps, and then stay up late in the evening visiting family.  No problems at bedtime tonight:)

It was a fun, family day, and I'd definitely go back to the Cleveland Zoo in the future.  Next time - I'll know to take the tram:)

One Year Old

Sweet Hannah Bear,

You are one!  My precious, beautiful girl - I can't believe how quickly time has flown!

You are wearing a size 3 diaper (we switched diapers recently, and you dropped down a size) and 12 month clothing.  If I'm being honest, we're going to have to move up to 18 month clothing here pretty soon because your little t-shirts don't always cover that baby belly of yours:)  At your last doctor's appointment, you were exactly 20 pounds, but now I would guess that you're about 22 pounds.

You have two bottom teeth, but as of yet, nothing else has started to pop up.  

You are walking everywhere since our last true monthly update (although you actually started walking at about 11 months - I marked the date on your baby calendar, don't you worry).  You're trying to master running, but your chubby feet just can't keep up with your upper body.  We know you're getting sleepy when it starts to look like you're a walking drunk:)

You are both a mama's girl and a daddy's girl, and we love it.  You get so excited when you see either one of us, and you love to say, "Mama" and "Dada."

You also couldn't love your brother more, and one of our favorite things to do is to watch the two of you together.  You smile when he's around, and when he thinks I'm not looking, he comes up to you and is the absolute sweetest.  He gives you hugs and kisses and tickles your belly.

You make really great associations for your age, in my opinion.  You know to put the phone up to your ear and talk, you know to try to brush your hair with a hairbrush, and you try to put your shoes on too.  You think one of Jack's Spider-man toys is a thermometer because it is shaped similarly, and you always put it up against your forehead.  So smart, Baby Girl!

You giggle like it's no one's business.  It's one of my favorite sounds...

You are still so expressive - this picture says so much!

You continue to be our biggest risk-taker, and we have to keep a very close eye on you to keep you safe.  You have no fears that we can tell...Jack has suggested we let you wear a helmet around the house to keep you safe:)  Not a bad idea!

{This is you, smiling at your daddy.}

You're such a girly-girl.  You still play with Jack's toys a lot, but you love purses (or things you think are purses) and stuffies.  You just snuggle them up really close to your neck and carry them around.  A-dorable.

You don't love it when I do your hair anymore.  You take headbands, clips, and ponytail holders out as soon as you can.  When I tell you no and say, "Pretty," you shake your head no at me.  Which is too bad, because now, I can give you two little, low pigtails in the back of your head.  Still trying to get a good picture of that, Pretty Girl.

You love to play outside.  You love to dance - you shake your little hips and put one hand up in the air.  I love it!  You also have recently begun to love books.  It's taken a very long time.  I read to you as much as I can, but until recently you just squirmed and looked away while I read to myself.  But now?  Now you pick out a book from your basket, carry it across the room, back up into my lap, and sit down (Jack used to do the same thing).  Your favorite book is Bubbles, Bubbles.  It was a favorite of Jack's as well:)

{Oh. My. Word.}

In addition to Mama and Dada, you also say bye bye, up, baba (bottle), and puppa (puppy).  You can mimic sounds very easily, so when we say, "I love you," you mimic back the intonation and inflection.  You also lean in and pucker up for a kiss:)

{Smiling for Daddy}

{L.O.V.E.}

Baby Girl - You are so very loved.  We are so very lucky.

Party Details

So, if you know me, you know I'm sucker for party planning.  I love get-togethers.  I also love over-the-top, and since I'm not a celebrity, over-the-top does not equate to having a mini-circus in my backyard:)  Most of our get-togethers involve the same 14 people, but I still enjoy going all-out for big events, such as your little baby girl turning one!

I love hosting, even though I'm not that great at it, and I usually rely heavily on others to make things go swimmingly for the rest of my guests.  It's not a secret:)  But I just can't help it - I love party details.  I look for reasons to host parties and use party ideas that I've found in various places, mainly Etsy and Pinterest.

While I realize that it's been a few weeks since Hannah's party, I promised to share party details.  I'm proud of the way it all turned out, and I'm thankful for the creative women who helped my vision come together:)

Hannah's birthday outfit was ordered from here

The lunch food table room - I've decided the way to make party rooms special is to move the furniture around in an unexpected way:)  The Minnie Mouse banner was ordered from here.

 Table details

Hannah's birthday onesie was ordered here

The cake table

 More lunch table details - I was especially happy with my silverware roll-ups.  Also, we framed the invitation we'd previously sent out - I ordered that from here.

 The drink table

 The favor tags came in the set I ordered with the birthday banner.

Balloons and an "I am 1!" banner (also came with the other banner and the favor tags)

 Close-up of the high-chair banner

 Lunch table when it was all said and done

 My love affair with mason jars continues...I won't even tell you how long I searched for those hot pink straws:)

One day, I hope Hannah looks back at these pictures and sees how special this day was for us and knows just how loved she really is.