Glad I got them

Hannah Updates

Honestly, she is not as compliant and easy-going as she used to be...which can be a good thing in some cases.  She's very determined in what she wants and is quick to defend herself around the older kids with a loud "NO!", her arms aggressively waving a perimeter around herself.  It's kind of funny because it's usually when the kids think she's cute and want to help her and play with her.  She gets this angry face and yells "NO!" and takes off running in the opposite direction...and then they all just think she's even cuter!  The cute life is hard one.  #cuteproblems
I think she's also been a little grumpier because of how much she is told no every day.  She's a little bit of troublemaker lately and will not listen to reason (even though I know when she understands).  I've been trying to give her a little more control over her life, little things like asking her to come lay down for diaper change rather than just grabbing her and laying her down first thing, but I dunno, she's just very determined to exercise her agency in the form of disobedience lately!  We've done time-outs a few times and she just kind of grins and looks at me as I scold her like, "mwahaha this is what I wanted you to do, Mom, jokes on you."  I'm pretty sure (and really hoping) this is just a phase.
Any thoughts or suggestions are very welcome!  I don't think she's attention deprived, but life is naturally busier than it was when Audrey was our only child.  Being the second child myself you'd think I'd have some insight into it....but I'm coming up empty lately.  I just want her to be her happy self again.  She seems frustrated with life.  We all get that way sometimes, don't we?
Hannah has just hit the word explosion phase we think.  She's gaining several words every day and can say things pretty clearly.  Her favorite things are horses, dogs, Sandra Boynton books, shoes, Little Einsteins, blankets, anything soft to rub against her lips, Sofia, and still our beloved doggy stuffed animal.
We have this castle tent set up in our hallway and sometimes when I can't find Hannah for a minute or two I'll sneak over and peak inside the tent through the little mesh window at the top and see her sitting in there.  No toys, no stuffed animals.  Just sitting in there against the wall with a sly little smile.  As if she's hiding, but no one knows it!  She sits there looking like she feels like an awesome super genius!  Isn't that the best way to hide?  It's a sure-fire way to make sure you don't get found...if no one even knows you're hiding.  Then when I "find her" she gets so excited and throws her whole body around the tent like she's trying to get away.  That's another little Hannah-quirk.  When she's excited her whole body shows it.  She's so expressive about it that if I'm holding her I get thrown off balance!  Legs kicking, hands clenching, head spinning, and every other part of her body bouncing.  It's usually if someones chasing her.  She can barely control her body enough to run away without falling down several times and laughing.
She also dances on command, always swaying her little hula hips.
Oh my little Hannah.  How I love her.  There's always so much more to say.

blurry picture, but her little pony tail cracks me up

this is her putting herself in "mime out."  she does this a lot lately.  she'll just go sit somewhere and look at me and say "mime out" and then smile.

wearing audrey's elsa dress was the highlight of her life

i love how big it is on her!

that is a picture of mariah.  hannah thinks we're skyping.

birthday girl!

we had a two party first birthday party for hannah, both on our lawn at the 8 plea with friends and family.  the first was during the day with her and audrey's little friends and neighbors and the second was with family and close friends.  sadly i didn't get any pictures of the first!

fairy godmother hannah, as audrey called her

she be cray-cray

so many funny sleeping positions

she was so proud of herself for participating in the potty training

her happy face

when she does it she says "happeeeeeeeeeeee" in the highest pitched voice she can

that dog is seriously our family pet

she's turning into a little girl

so for some reason this is our favorite outfit on hannah.  we know she kinda looks like a boy.  but something about a big baggy shirt is just makes it too cute to not put on her everyday.  plus its a warriors shirt.

look at those enormous doe eyes!

Audrey Updates

Audrey is such a kind and attentive sister to Hannah.  Sometimes Hannah is not very receptive to it (she is convinced she is a big girl and doesn't need any help from anyone ever) but Audrey is undaunted.  When Hannah starts to cry for whatever reason, Audrey will launch into a calm sweet rendition of "I am a Child of God."  It doesn't exactly soothe Hannah the way it used to...in fact it sometimes just makes her more mad, but Audrey doesn't mind at all and will either keep singing or try to find another way to comfort Hannah, like finding her a stuffed animal.  Her current nick name for Hannah is 'Hannah-moo-moo."  They don't fight very often and honestly I think it is because of Audrey.  She displays an amazing amount of maturity when Hannah takes a toy from her or is yelling at her for no reason.  She will talk to her in a calm voice and tell her to stop or follow her around holding out her hand saying, "Give it back to me, Hannah.  Give it back, baby."  And about two or three times a day she'll come up to me or Andrew and say, "Mommy/Daddy.  I love you" and give a hug and a kiss.  Lately she'll also randomly tell us that she loves some other member of our family, like "Mommy, I love Grandma."  She is quite skilled at heart-melting.
She is of course still child, and almost coming up on 3 years old, she is not without a whole lot of attitude.  So...we're working on that.  A lot of time outs and a lot of temper fits.
I don't know if I've mentioned her pointing with her middle finger.  She hasn't done it in awhile but she used to flip everyone off all the time and it was like 10 times a day we were saying, "Not that finger Audrey."  When asked her favorite animal she'll say, "A pig, a moo, and a snake."  She actually is very scared of and disgusted by snakes, but will not be talked out of them being on her favorites list.
Audrey is still such my companion.  She is my little kindred spirit.  I love reading books to her and she loves being read to.  She will sit and watch Avonlea with me or any of my shows.  She loves to paint.  She loves to be outside.  She loves to be wrapped in a blanket and have a movie night.  She also loves to caress my face and do 'nosies' and butterfly kisses.  She also- and I think this is really cute of her- loves when I give her a massage!  And I love to give her one.  She'll lay in front of me while I rub lotion on her and we'll talk and listen to ocean sounds.  It's like my favorite thing ever.  My adorable girl.

at one of her favorite places- City Creek Mall

hoop

sometimes this is what nap time turns into...

she loves little things just like me- tiny seashells in her hand

she takes care of things like they are her babies

this is one of my favorite audrey faces.  i can't not laugh when i see this picture!  she's upset because the duck fell down a stair and she's looking at me like, "great.  what am i supposed to do NOW?"

we always have good stories with the benning boys.  this time audrey and austin got caught in the rain in the backyard.  we, the adults inside, didn't realize it was raining until i looked out and saw audrey holding a gigantic rhubarb leaf over her head looking a the house a little confused.  we learned later that when it started to rain austin had given her the leaf to use as an umbrella so they could keep playing outside.  he was holding one over his own head too.  anyway we looked out realized it was raining and went to call her in when suddenly it started hailing like crazy- and they wouldn't come inside!  so andrew and mike ran out there in the hail and grabbed them all and brought them in.  meanwhile, i was no help at all for laughing so much.

my fully potty trained princess!

judy hopps was her prize for completing her potty sticker chart

that poor beloved bunny

another benning boy adventure.  dallin and her were battling, but he didn't want her to get hurt so he put this helmet on her head which audrey obediently kept on

i love that she get this more rough and tumble kind of play.  she's so content to play princesses and polly pockets, but a whole new world of imagination opens up when she plays with boys!

poser poser poser

wearing my great grandma's hat i inherited!  straight from the 20's i think

glorifying in my attempt at making homemade fruit roll-ups.  she makes me feel good.

I'm very happy to say that most of the time my kids make me want to have more kids, not the opposite.  There are  LOT of difficult times with both of them...but even on the hardest day if I spend a little bit of time blogging about them, or looking at pictures of them, I can always regroup and feel deeply the happiness it is to have children in my life.  And I love that they have each other.

this picture is so dark but it shows how ecstatic audrey is for hannah as she learns to walk!  audrey seriously champions her sister

this little sequence is of this game they invented- hannah trying to get out of the "box" (it's really a paper tray thing) while audrey pushes her in it.  it seriously was a game, once hannah got out she would get right back in and they would both laugh 

their comfy corner.  sometimes hannah's so ready for bed she just lays down wherever she can

attempt at a mothers day picture at deseret book

theres all this good natured teasing that goes on between them

sometimes hannah just tries to antagonize audrey.  it's kind of hilarious.

but see what a good sport audrey is?  

audrey will put a crown on hannah's head and stand back saying "QUEEN HANNAH OF ARENDELLE"

we just love when they wear oversize t-shirts.  our movie fridays are one of their favorite things

I'm never able to talk about all the things I want to in one post.  Soon I will take picture of our place and do a post about this new home we love so much.  We adore living so close to downtown Salt Lake where so much of our early relationship grew.  I love being so close to the Temple there and the museums and all the things that made my life in college and contributed so much to who I am now.  We also LOVE our ward here quite a bit, so many fast friendships, and I'm really enjoying my new calling to the Young Women.  I've also been doing a lot of projects that I've been meaning to post about and also the preschool stuff we've been a doing little bit of.  Life is so very very very busy!  Menieres has given me ups and downs this summer- literally.  But other than that we're doing well.  And we're grateful to Heavenly Father every day for all these blessings and more.