Moronic Mommy Moment

I would like to take an unscheduled break from doing a promised party post to bring to you a Moronic Mommy Moment. It's certainly not the first I've had (or the worst), and I'm positive it won't be the last.

Today my amazing cousin Saundra took Hannah's 1-year-old photos at the Provo City Library. Everything went really well until the end. We took Hannah outside to take a couple of pics in her super cute dress coat. She was sitting on a ledge that was just like 6 inches off the ground, and I was standing nearby so that I could catch her if she were to fall. Well, she was steady for quite awhile, so I relaxed and backed away a little to help Saundra and Scott get her to laugh. Well, as luck would have it, Hannah suddenly made a face plant into the gravel at her feet. She cried. I almost cried. I wiped the dirt from her lips and chin and noticed that her chin was scratched. Scott took Hannah while I grabbed some wipes. By the time I went to wipe her face, her chin was bleeding. Not a lot. But just enough to make me feel terrible. Poor baby. I'm so sorry that I was such a moron and didn't stay right next to her. That's what I get for getting a little lax with my usual overprotective paranoia.

About 10 minutes after the face plant, Hannah was contentedly eating crackers and milk in the car. And she smiled at me as I said good-bye to head to a doctor's appointment. Hannah is so forgiving. What a sweetheart. I think she just might be able to make it through a few more future moronic mommy moments.

Hannah looking sad just a couple of hours after the face plant.

But don't worry. She was happy just a couple of minutes later.

Thank goodness for baby forgiveness. :)

Best year of my life

Yup, that's right. This has been, by far, the best year of my life. The reason: Hannah.

Hannah was born exactly one year ago. And while it was a crazy, chaotic, scary day in many respects, it was also the very best day of my life. It was the day I became a mommy. It was the day that Hannah became a part of my life forever. And for that, I am indescribably grateful.

It has been a busy weekend with a quick trip to Vegas for Scott's cousin's wedding (more on that later), so Hannah's birthday was full of riding in a car and eating cake. I will post pictures soon of her 2 celebrations. But for now, I will just tell you a few things I love most about Hannah:

She is sweet.
She is sassy.
She is beautiful.
She is smart.
She is stubborn.
She is hilarious.
She is strong.
She is loving.
She is happy.
She is silly.
She is snuggly.
She is perfect.
She is mine.

Happy, happy birthday, Hannah dear! I am so blessed to have you in my life. I expect to celebrate many, many more birthdays with you.

The first picture we have of Hannah:

The last pic we have of Hannah:

Wow, what a difference a year makes! :)

You Mean the World to Me

When Hannah met Santa a couple of weeks ago, instead of getting a candy cane from him she got a small paperback coloring book. I would not have been happy about that when I was a kid, but Hannah was thrilled to get a book. I love the text of the book, so I wanted to share it:


"You Mean the World To Me"

You are the sparkle in the tree lights
the shimmer in the snow
the jingle bells
the yummy smells
you make the season glow!

You are the fig in figgy pudding
the spice in pumpkin pie
the sugar sweet
in every treat
the twinkle in my eye!

You are the reindeer on the rooftop
the candy in the cane
you are Santa's pack
the klickity-klack
of wheels on a toy train!

You are like a favorite blanket
a cuddly teddy bear
the holly jolly
favorite dolly
sitting in a chair.

You are the sprinkles on the cookies
the 'mmm' in butter creams
the stocking stuffed
the pillow fluffed
the magic in my dreams.

Your smile is like a moonbeam
shining on a snowy night
you are full of wiggles
and silly giggles
you are like a candle bright!

You are cuter than a little house
made out of gingerbread
trimmed with gumdrops
and lollipops
all colored green and red.

You are sweeter than any present
ever placed beneath a tree
you may be small
but you beat them all
you mean the world to me!

Super cute! It makes me tear up about half of the time that I read it. Hannah certainly does mean the world to Scott and me!!!

I could just cry...

..and maybe I already have a couple of times today.

You see, today Hannah was finally able to get herself into sitting position from her knees and later from her tummy. All by herself.

This is huge for Hannah. And it's really the only thing I have totally been wanting for Hannah for her 1st birthday (which is in 5 days). Who cares about crawling and walking?! I just want my sweet baby girl to be able to get into sitting whenever she darn-well pleases.

Wow. I'm so stinkin' proud of my little cutie! It's no small feat for her skinny little arms to be able to push her large head clear up in order to sit.

This afternoon I was blessed to witness Hannah pushing herself from her knees into sitting. It was awesome. And she was so happy.

And this evening (while I was at work), Scott put Hannah down on her tummy and went into the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, he returned to find Hannah in sitting position.

I can't wait for the morning that I walk into Hannah's room and find her sitting up. I will definitely be crying again at that point.

Man, I love that baby! :)

Mac n Cheese

Hannah LOVES it...



Told ya so. :)

Meow

To know me is to know that I hate cats. Absolutely hate them. I'm sure this will offend most of you cat lovers out there, but I gotta be honest. I think cats are ugly and extremely creepy. You just never know when they are going to pounce and scratch out your eyeballs. I seriously get the heebie jeebie chills anytime they come near me. Oh, and they lick themselves. Sick! I'm pretty sure I'm still traumatized by the nasty cat that gave me ringworm when I was a kid after I had barely touched it. Stupid cat.

Anyhow, my good friend Candace, who has known me since elementary school, got me a special gift for my birthday...

In case you can't tell, the shirt has an ugly kitty playing a keyboard while listening to an iPod. Absolutely hideous yet hilarious. Not surprisingly, Hannah is still able to look adorable in it. :)

And speaking of cats, Hannah attended her first BYU Cougars basketball game last night.

We bundled her up really well for the long walk from the car to the Marriott Center.

Cutie pie. I swear she's getting chubbier, right?

Our good friend Jen gave me one of her tickets. Thanks, Jen!

Hannah only shed a few tears after the first really loud cheer startled her, and then she quickly got used to her surroundings and loved being there. She was enthralled by everyone clapping and happily clapped and kicked throughout the game. I'm pretty sure Hannah never saw the ball because she was so busy smiling at all the people around her. She also took time to read her beloved books. She kind of reminds me of a certain librarian I know. :)

Go Cougs--the only cats I love! :)

**My favorite quote that I heard while I was still single:
Dating is awkward some of the time, but being the cat lady is awkward all of the time. :)

Christmas-y Weekend

We had a fun, busy weekend and even managed to do a few Christmas-y things.

On Friday night we made our annual trek to the South Towne Mall to get a silver Christmas ornament to add to our collection and to eat at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants.

Scott loves the hot and sour soup, and Hannah loved the ham fried rice.

Since it was Hannah's first out-of-belly time on our trek, we decided to make it a little more special and Christmas-y by going to the nearby Festival of Trees. I hadn't been in years, and Scott had never been. And Primary Children's now holds more meaning for all of us.

Notice Hannah's bare feet. She kicked off one shoe and sock on the freezing stroller ride from the car to the festival, and we never found them. Bummer. And then she kept pulling off the others. Silly girl.

On Saturday we had a delicious Venezuelan brunch with a bunch of gals from my mission (plus Jana). It was SO good to see everyone and get caught up.

I love all these girls!!!

That afternoon we met up with my family so that Hannah could meet Santa in the company of her adorable cousins.

A shot that Scott snapped. I was kind of surprised that Hannah wasn't afraid of Santa.

A pic of the expensive photo the elves snapped. Hannah was happier before the elf made her take her hand out of her mouth.

Hannah enjoyed the Christmas train ride afterward with Faith, Clay, and mopey Cole. :)

Saturday night we watched the BYU football game with my grandma (forgot to take pics), and today we enjoyed watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with my parents after dinner (no camera).

I absolutely LOVE this time of year! And it's even more fun and magical with sweet Hannah!!!