Sweet & Sassy

Those are probably 2 of the best words to describe my Hannah. And I, of course, think she has the perfect balance of both--most of the time.

Those of you who know Hannah well know how sweet and friendly she usually is. She is always talking to and waving at people out in public--at church, in stores, at baseball games, at the library, etc. But as soon as a stranger tries to hold her, Hannah shows her sassy side with a purposeful head shake and "unh-uh!" She also uses this sass with the people she knows and loves if she is tired or grumpy or just needs a few minutes to warm up. Hannah will eventually warm up to most people she meets but only after some extensive observing to make sure they are safe.

I love this sweet & sassy balance that Hannah has in social situations. Part of me sometimes wishes she would just be friendly to everyone so that all would see her adorable social self and love her like I do. But another part of me hopes Hannah will stay sassy and distant to all strangers and especially members of the opposite sex for the rest of her life. In all actuality, I do think it's a good thing that she has already found some balance for herself. And Scott and I find Hannah rather adorable and humorous when she goes from her loving, cuddly self to her sassy, stubborn self in an instant. So, so cute and funny.

So, lately Hannah has been laying on the sass rather thick when it comes to walking. And I alternate between admiring it and finding it a bit frustrating. After she took her first steps 2 weeks ago, Hannah only took one more step the next day and another one a couple of days after that. Since then, she will walk just fine with her walker or holding onto one of our hands, But the instant she senses that we are trying to get her to walk on her own, she shakes her head defiantly with an "unh-uh!" while bending her knees and slumping to the ground. It's usually pretty funny but sometimes frustrating. We're not sure what in the world she has against walking on her own. We know that she is definitely capable of doing it, but apparently she doesn't want to just yet. Silly girl. I really think she would love it so much better than her walker. We're probably going to have to take away that walker soon...

Anyway, I am trying to be patient and just let Hannah walk when she is ready. It's hard to balance letting go with supporting her development. These past few days Hannah has actually finally been purposely letting go of furniture and standing on her own for a few seconds at a time. This is definite progress. I'm pretty sure Hannah would start walking all over the place if she sensed that we didn't give a rip about it. Cute little sassy, stubborn girl. Can't wait for those teenage years... :)

One pic of the cute little sassafrass...

I thought Hannah looked really cute eating her Cheerios this morning, with her bib and bow (to keep the hair out of her face) matching her jammies. Love that sweet face!