Year of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Scott and I trade off years to pick out our Christmas tree. And this is Scott's year. Hence, we have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Don't worry--I'll get my "bush" (as Scott calls it) next year. Anyway, our favorite tree lot, Fred Parker, moved this year, and we weren't impressed with their selection of skinny trees. So we checked out 4 other disappointing lots before finally finding a tree that Scott was "ok" with. Since it was Hannah's first time going to pick out a Christmas tree, I had to take some pics...

Happy Hannah loved the first tree lot.

She thought the trees were pretty fun to look at.

But by the time we found our tree in the 5th lot, she had this "are-we-done-yet?" look stuck on her face. Hilarious.

Stay tuned for pics of the decorated Charlie Brown tree...

**Exciting side note: Hannah gained 11.6 ounces in the last 2 weeks! Yay! She went up from the 8.5th percentile to the 12th percentile. And she finally broke 18 pounds--18 lbs. 2.6 oz. You have no idea how very happy this makes me!!! :)

Hannah's 1st Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday--full of food, family, and fun!

I know it doesn't look like it, but Hannah really enjoyed her 1st Thanksgiving.

Just look at the delicious pumpkin pie (er, graham cracker) she is eating.

In Mary Ann and Scott tradition, we enjoyed stuffing ourselves at 2 Thanksgiving dinners.

The first was with my fantastic family.

Scott did his best to stuff Hannah.

And then we headed over to Scott's parents' house for a 2nd dinner.

Hannah had a great time with her great-aunt Barbara.

But she wasn't sure what to think of her loving cousin, Isaac. :)

The day after Thanksgiving, Hannah saw her 1st movie in a theater--Arthur Christmas (very cute Christmas show).

She loved being there with her cousins, especially Joey. :)

The whole gang at the theater.

I have been blessed with so much. I am incredibly grateful for my amazing family and friends. And I'm especially grateful for my beautiful daughter, Hannah. She is a blessing in my life for which I am constantly thanking my Heavenly Father. I love my life!!!

Dumb Donald

The other day, Hannah and I went to wake up Scott and found him looking like this:

Apparently, Scott's bald head got cold during the night. Hannah thought it was a little scary, but I thought it was quite funny.

I couldn't help but think of what's-his-face from Fat Albert:

Apparently, his face is named Dumb Donald. Who knew?

And no, I am not trying to call Scott dumb. :)

Night out with Jen

Last night was fun. My good friend Jen won tickets for great seats at the BYU football game. It was part of being a finalist in a drawing to win a 2-year car lease (or $4000). Jen's sister was a finalist too. Each finalist picked a key to try to turn on the car at halftime. Neither Jen nor her sister won. I was bummed. I really thought Jen was going to win. I can't tell you how many times I have attended a sporting event in which Jen has caught a t-shirt or a ball or something. She's usually a very lucky gal. Oh well. Despite not winning the car, Jen and I had a really good time.

Proof of our great view.

Cute Jen and me

Jen's sisters

Jen and her sister getting ready to try their keys.

Famous Jen on the big screen.

We drowned our non-winning blues with cotton candy. Yum!

And with McDonald's french fries after the game. Yup. I'm a pig. :)

The game was cold but fun. Thanks to Jen for taking me. And thanks to Scott for staying home with Hannah. Fortunately it was a late game, so I was able to nurse Hannah right before I left, and then she was asleep by kickoff. Nice. Go COUGS!!!

Hannah's 11-month DAY!

Hannah is 11 months old today, so I thought I'd celebrate by stealing Sandy's (and others') idea of documenting her day...

Hannah slept in until 7am. Yay! She usually wakes up happy and jabbering, and she loves to wave at me as soon as she sees me. :)

Hannah kept waving happily while I changed her diaper.

But apparently I was taking too long. And Hannah got hungry.

So I nursed her in this chair. It made her happy. Trust me.

Then it was Hannah's favorite time of the day--book time!

She LOVES books and really likes to open flaps and turn pages.

Hannah continued her reading while I ate my breakfast and checked email. She is very advanced and can read upside-down. :)

Hannah likes her Vitamin D (and other meds). Yum!

It was time for Hannah to wake up her daddy for work.

Then Hannah and I played some games and sang some songs. She currently loves Pat-a-cake.

Hannah snuggled briefly with Scott before he left for work.

Then she was ready for her morning nap after being rocked and sang to. She slept for 45 mins, which is good for her this week.

I had to get a pic of Hannah doing her 2 favorite changing-time activities--kicking the wipes (it makes an awesome sound)...

...and playing with/eating her feet. Silly girl.

Hannah enjoyed her oatmeal (though you can't tell here) for breakfast.

Hannah usually loves to feed herself bananas, but we were out. So I fed her some from a jar while she fed herself Cheerios.

Hannah loves to brush her teeth after each meal.

Hannah loves being plopped in the middle of her toy mess.

She thinks it's hilarious to play with her mirror. This is her adorable fake laugh.

Hannah likes to roll around, but she always ends up on her back.

So I coerce her with toys to get her to roll some more.

But she's no dummy--she often grabs what she wants and rolls back onto her back.

Until she spots something worth working to get--my phone.

At this point, I tortured Hannah with some exercises. She didn't love them, and I didn't take any pics.

Hannah likes to practice standing in her crib. While listening to Christmas music. :)

After nursing a 2nd time, Hannah took a 2nd nap that lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. Nice!

Lunchtime! Hannah usually loves her wheat bread, but today she needed it toasted and buttered a little. Hopefully it will fatten her up. She had to be tricked into eating the rest of her bottled bananas. Lunch was very long today, yo.

Hannah's mommy finally got her dressed for the day.

After the usual struggle to get the barrette in, Hannah was super excited to be going somewhere.

Destination: Babies R Us. I love the sneaky smile on Hannah's face as she reaches for my purse.

This is what I saw when I turned around at a stoplight. I'm surprised her socks stayed on as long as they did.

At home, Hannah nursed again and fell asleep. I LOVE it when she sleeps on my shoulder. Her catnap only lasted 25 mins.

Hannah was so happy when her daddy got home from work and played with her.

Hannah loves her baths. Cutie pie!

Splish splash!

I could seriously just eat her right up.

We spent the evening with our friends, Carla, Melissa, and Stacey. I don't have any pics of Hannah enjoying the delicious biscuits and soup that Carla made us for dinner.

Hannah played and read books while we had a Castle marathon.

After nursing one last time, Hannah quickly fell asleep in her Pack N Play at Carla's house.

And she stayed asleep when we eventually transferred her to her crib.

It was a great day. I am SO grateful that Hannah was born 11 months ago.

11 things I love about Hannah today:
1- Her fake laugh. She thinks everything is so funny and is always trying to get us to laugh.
2- Her love of books. I love how focused she is as she "reads" them.
3- How social she is. She loves to get people's attention. She's actually quite the flirt.
4- How often she waves at me and Scott. It's pretty adorable.
5- Her stubbornness. I find it quite endearing. She may be laid-back about what she wants to do, but she is exceptionally stubborn about what she does not want to do.
6- How easy it is to get her to smile, even when she is sad.
7- How she giggles when Scott talks to her on the phone.
8- How she loves watching my screen saver picture slideshow. She waves at everyone and giggles when she sees pics of me or Scott.
9- When she bangs puzzle pieces together like cymbals.
10- She seems to understand a lot more of what I say lately. And she loves "talking"right back.
11- My very favorite thing that Hannah does lately is pat my back when I pick her up. It is seriously the sweetest, cutest thing ever! LOVE HER!!!

Happy 11-month day to my sweet pea Hannah!