10 months

My monkey is 10 months old. He loves to smile, laugh, follow Hannah, be outside, climb the stairs, chase Bella dog, empty out cupboards, chew on things, swim, crawl through his caterpillar, stick his hand in toilets, unravel toilet paper, play with remote controls/cars/trucks/dinosaurs/stuffed animals, and watch cookie monster or elmo talk. He can't stand getting his face wiped, being confined, or watching his mommy walk away. He is a great little sleeper and smiles when he gets his blanky and paci. He has three teeth (two on the bottom and one on top) with three more top bulging out. I'd say any day for those three. He also has this terrible habit of grinding his teeth which sounds just like nails on a chalk board and he does it all day long. He loves to eat and eats quickly. He eats all grains, veges, fruits, meats, etc that he has tried except for watermelon which he won't touch. His favorite foods are probably bananas, pears, strawberries, bagels and yogurt bites. When he wants more food he just bangs on his tray which Hannah thinks is funny. Jack says Dada, baba, cup and ball, but nothing has been officially documented as a first word yet because I like it to be done consistently before it actually counts. Sorry kids, I have high expectations, but I'm sure in the coming weeks I will start writing it down. He stands by himself and cruises the furniture. When he gets excited he says "OOOOHHHH" and flaps his hands. He also can high five. He has brown eyes, whispy blond hair and is skinny mini. He looks exactly like boy Hannah. We call him Jack Jack, Jack Bryant, Monkey, and trouble. He is an extremely flexible, easy going, happy little guy and I love you him pieces.

you can see all three teeth in this one

Dance Your Heart Out

My Sweet Hannah, What a day. Saturday was your first dance recital and one of my happiest days ever. You have been dancing at Dance Dynamics since February and take two classes with Miss Shawn, Hip Hop and Tap/Ballet. You are so cute and making new friends. You work so hard and love practicing your dances. I have seen so much growth in just a few short months. For three years old, your confidence, passion, drive, ability, memory, stage presence, and pure beauty amaze me. After months of practice, this week we had your show. Growing up, mommy loved to dance, but honestly little one, I have seen my first dance recital video and you far out performed me. Back in the day mommy danced for some of the top ballet companies in the world and performed at the largest theaters in California, but I have never been more nervous than I was on Saturday. You have worked so hard and I just wanted to see you happy and shine like the little STAR I know you are. Well miss Gracie you far exceeded my expectations and Daddy and I are beyond proud of you. On Thursday we had the dress rehearsal where you did great. You were very excited that you had a pink and purple background for your dances. You also liked wearing mommy's makeup. Your dances are called Shake it Up and Itsy Bitsy Spider. Saturday morning you and mommy got ready and took off early for the show. We got ready back stage and you loved playing and running around with your friends in your class. You have such a sweet group of girls in your class that I am sad the dance schedule will be changing. I was nervous how you would respond to being without mommy in the dark wings with 100 girls most of which are much larger then you, but of course you rose to the occasion. Sitting in my seat waiting for you to come on stage was torture. I was so nervous, and then I saw your little shadow start walking out on stage. I will never forget how cute you were when the lights came on. My little girl is so big and so brave. You are the youngest in your class and in my opinion you knew the steps better than anyone. You also killed it with your facial expressions. The owner of the studio came up to us after the show and said how great you did and that she could tell you loved the stage. Both times you covered your eyes when the bright lights hit, but you quickly recovered. I was crying so hard I could barely see. Your daddy was such a proud Daddy and you had so many people that love you cheering (Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Gramps, Pop, Granny, Grandpa, Auntie Laura, Madeline, Ashlee and Amee). Daddy says it was the proudest he has ever been. You are a natural little Hannah and of course Mommy hopes there will be many more recitals, but if this life takes you down a different path, I know you will be talented at whatever hobby you chose because that's who you are. When you were greeted by the family after the show you could see the happiness and pride you had. You had the biggest most genuine smile and got so many flowers you looked adorable caring them all. I think you know you did good and you felt special. After the show we had a dance party at our house. You loved the decorations and star cookies. You were also very excited about your Princess present and said you got it because "Mommy and Daddy love me very much." Hannah Grace you never cease to amaze me and for three years old you are one talented little thing. When you went to bed that night, you said your prayers and said "Dear Jesus, Thank you for my happiest day." Thank you Hannah for making it one of my happiest days. In life, when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance!

Itsy Bitsy Spider


Shake it Up


Dress Rehearsal






Miss Shawn




Back stage


Your best friend in class, Frankie

Beach Day

To celebrate Father's Day and Auntie Mimi's birthday we had a family beach day last week. Auntie Mimi lives on the beach so we were very lucky to be able to bbq at her house and walk to the beach to play in the sun. Granny, Grandpa, Jamie, Mommy, Daddy, Hannah and Jack all had a great day. Mimi's friend Kevin was out of town, but Hannah loved Kona their dog. Hannah loves running from the waves, digging in the sand, looking for shells, and flying her kite. Jack likes eating sand, getting dirty, chasing sister, looking at the water, and splashing in his mini pool.

9 month photos

The pictures are in and my Jack monkey is the cutest. Enjoy

Happy Memorial Day!

This is the third year we have gone to Bishop for Memorial Day Weekend and Jack's first Mule Days. Hannah was very excited for the parade. She enjoyed waving her American Flag and telling people she had "Cowgirl Shoes." Which were not even close to cowgirl shoes, but she wanted to be just like Auntie Katie so we went with it. Hannah says her favorite part about the parade was when Ronald McDonald waved to her and his hat flew off. She also liked eating donuts while we waited for it to start. Little Jack enjoyed being pushed in the stroller by Daddy back and forth along the parade route. After the parade we went to the craft fair. Hannah loved this too. Nana bought her a cute princess crown which she ended up wearing the whole weekend. She looked so cute from behind walking through the booths with her crown holding her giant bag of kettle corn. She also picked out a Princess Jasmine necklace. The following day we went to church and Hannah went up to the children's service all by herself. I teared up a little because it's the first time she has ever gone up without us and it makes you realize that she just doesn't need us as much anymore. It also made me very proud of her. Later in the day we headed to the fair grounds and Hannah loved petting all the donkeys, mules and horses with Nana. She still talks about this crazy one that looked like a giraffe. Hannah loves animals and I am so happy she has these experiences. Next year she has plans to 'learn how to be a packer' so she can win a blue ribbon. At dinner Hannah prayed for all the "mules, donkeys, horses and for taking me to church." So sweet. Hannah loves playing in Nana and Gramps' big back yard, especially the giant play house. Jack liked playing in the water fountain and pulling dirt out of the flower pots. Nana made some great food, we fed the ducks at the park, went on the swings, played games, slept in a princess tower, played in the water and had a great weekend.

9 Months

9 Months old sweet boy and I love you more each day. You are the cutest little thing in my life. We will be taking your nine month pictures next week because this week was filled with various doctor's appointments. You had your check up yesterday and did great. Hannah brought you toys so you would be brave. It is so sweet how much she loves you. Just one shot and you did fine. So far, they don't seem to bother you. You are 28 1/2 inches tall (50%) and 18 lb. 2 oz (25%). I knew you were light because you burn a million calories a day. I kid you not. You are always on the move. You love climbing and crawling. It's safe to say those are your two favorite things to do. You also love splashing your hands in toilets, eating shoes, emptying out cabinets, crawling after Bella or Hannah, and splashing in the bath. You climb the stairs any chance you get and do it with a huge smile on your face. You always sit and clap when you get to the top. I think you feel proud. We used to stop you, but now we just walk behind you. You can make it all the way to the top in about 5 seconds. You also love your Cookie Monster Kitchen and watching any Elmo or Cookie Monster video on youtube. You still like crinkling paper, hearing yourself talk, being outside and your paci. You also love opening and closing doors, which strangely is written in my baby book as something I liked. You will sit for a good 10-20 minutes and open/close just about any door (your play house, Bella's cage door, the TV stand door, the food cupboard door, doesn't really matter which door). Your new accomplishment is standing by yourself which you just started doing about two days ago. The doctor said to start phasing out pureed food so the past two days we have been giving you real food cut up. You are doing well, but boy does it make a huge mess. You are a great napper and sleeper. Mommy finally puts you down without your wrap, just blanket and all your friends and of course paci. We've been going to the pool about 4 times a week so that's something we've been up to. You still have two teeth fully through and one on it's way. Your dislikes are being alone and getting your face wiped. If you were a cartoon character you would be Curious George. Cute as can be with good intention, but always into something. Jack Bryant, you make me smile daily, I think you are the cutest thing ever, you are driven and sweet, curious and easy going. I love you monkey.

VACATION!

Two weeks ago Tim and I decided to take our first family vacation for my 30th birthday and just to celebrate being a family. Two weeks to some might seem like planning, but this is considered spontaneous in our family. Once it was booked we were so excited. This was our first family vacation ever. Hannah got in the spirit too. I don’t think she totally knew what vacation meant, but she went around telling strangers that she had to get her toes painted for her vacation. Then the terrible San Diego fires hit. On the news all you saw was San Diego up in flames. I apologize in advance for sounding completely selfish here, but to speak honestly I was super bummed that the air on our trip might be all ashy and smoky. Since pretty much we were planning on being outside the whole time. Tim and I rarely splurge on things like this so I just wanted it to be perfect. Driving down the 5 on Friday was interesting. By then I think the fires were for the most part considered ‘contained’ however about every 5-10 miles you would see another huge fire. Luckily for us, San Diego is huge and our destination was about 60 miles from any fire. We arrived at Paradise Point Resort around 2:30. It was a hotel I remembered staying in with my brother and mom. We chose it because I remembered how nice it was to just open your doors right to the sand and I thought this would be easy for the kids to play and parents to ‘relax’ (I use that term loosely.)The resort did not disappoint. In the words of Hannah “It’s my favorite hotel.” And your only, but who’s counting. In all seriousness we had the best time ever and made memories that I honestly think I will cherish forever. I don’t want to bore my readers with every little detail, so feel free to stop reading and just look at the pictures, but keeping in mind the point of this blog is for Hannah and Jack to have memories of their childhood, so I am going to document quite a bit.

So like I said, we arrived at 2:30 and Hannah was so excited to get the ‘special key’ to her ‘new home.’ We let her open the door each time we went in, which surprisingly is just too much fun. We all instantly ran out the back door and took in the beauty of the view. Yes! It was everything I was hoping for. A huge grass area for the kids to crawl and play followed by the sand and the bay. It was a perfect combo because Hannah loves the beach, but Jack eats the sand, so the grass was shady and ideal for him. He LOVED the freedom to crawl all over. We instantly put on our suits and headed off to the main pool. We all swam, Jack got about 3,000 compliments on his cuteness, Hannah played Ariel and loved how there was a waterfall in the pool she could put her head under. Hannah is a great swimmer this year. She still wears floaties for safety, but she kicks hard, ducks under, and floats on her back. We then headed to the Mexican cantina and sat outside so we could wear our suits. Hannah made nice with the bartender who gave her a huge cup of duck food to use for the whole weekend. (Enter one of Hannah’s favorite memories from her whole trip). There are ducks all over the resort in the ponds, but a little duck family (Mommy, Daddy, and two brand new babies) lived right by the Mexican restaurant. Hannah fed the family food and was in Heaven. Dinner that night was awesome. After dinner we decided to watch the sunset and have a bonfire. The pits circle the property so it was very close to our room. Hannah sat down in her chair next to the pit and said “This is a beautiful evening.” We did smore’s which ended in all four of us being completely sticky but happy. The kids got a quick bath in the huge tub and then went to sleep. Hannah was so excited by the huge tub and the huge bed. She slept with Tim and I and we lucked out with Jack. I figured we would just be quiet for him, but the walk in closet was so large, we turned it into his own room so it worked out great. As the kids slept, Tim and I played cards outside on the patio and enjoyed the scenery.

Day 2, Happy Birthday to Mommy. Jack and Daddy went for an early morning walk and brought back coffee. Hannah made me a card jumped in bed and said “Happy Mother’s Day!” Close, I’ll take it. We spent the morning flying our kite, playing soccer, building sand castles and exploring. We headed back to the pool and had dinner. After dinner we fed the ducks in the pond and climbed this 70 foot tower in the center of the resort. I was actually a little afraid to be up that high with two small kids, but Hannah of course thought she was Rapunzel so we had to climb it. She loved it and the view from the top was good too. We had so much fun the night before on the beach that we decided to repeat it. So after dinner back to the bonfire pits for more s’mores and watching the sunset. Only this time, Hannah and Daddy surprised Mommy by belting out the “Happy Birthday” song on the beach. This was one of my all time favorite memories of the trip because they looked so happy singing, we were having fun, and in the moment I just felt really truly blessed.

The third day, Hannah couldn’t wait to get out to the beach to fly our kite again, so we hit the sand early. And let me tell you by day three, Hannah and I had the kite down. Huge improvement over day one. In fact, we met some nice neighbors who were basically laughing at us day one, by day three, that thing practically flew itself. We played baseball on the grass, did some painting, and yep, headed back to the pool. After lunch we check out and then of coarse had to go feed our duck friends one last time before we left. This day at the pond, we saw a Crane (which Hannah loved learning about this new animal). She also informed the grown man next to us that the Daddy’s are Mallards. Swung by the gift shop and we were out.

Hannah says her favorite memories are:
• The big bed
• Flying the kite
• Feeding the ducks
• Dinner at the Mexican Restaurant
• Marshmellows
Swimming

My favorite moments were spent watching the kids play on the grass and sand. It was just true joy. Jack crawling and climbing everywhere. He looked so cute and happy. I absolutely loved flying the kite everyday with Hannah. We spent hours together walking the beach with that kite, talking and laughing. I also loved swimming and when Hannah and Tim sang to me on the sand. My funniest moment was when Jack pee peed on Daddy right during our family photo op (Swimmy diaper malfunction). When we left, I looked out our patio window and cried. Yep, not afraid to admit it. I just felt like I would always have images of that grass area and the kids happy faces. It was a happy cry and I am so glad we made these memories as a family. We will be back. After all, the duck family misses us.

We took the most amazing photos. In my mind you need all 150 to really tell the story, but here are some of my favorites. We will save the 150 for my scrapbooking.

Our View





Hannah was obsessed with the bed



Kite Progression





Playing in the grass





Our duck family



View from the top of the Rapunzel tower


Swimming fun





Bonfire



Hannah chased these Seagulls 100 times. She called them Scuttle's family


I kid you not, Hannah took this picture. Perfectly center. Great job Hannah!


Front of hotel. Goodbye Paradise, we miss you already!