Hannah's Carseat

I have to admit, I cheated and turned Hannah's seat around about a month ago! She was hating being turned around and couldn't see the DVD player in the van. I have had her carseat for awhile - I had to get the one that matched Emma's and of course it had been discontinued!! I had to go on a pretty good hunt to get it, but I did! She has loved being turned around and looks like such a big girl in her seat!

Hannah's First Steps

Hannah decided to take three steps on September 28th. Of course my mom got to see it first but she did it again later that night! Hannah has been pretty reluctant on taking her first steps. I think she knows she is the baby so she just assumes that being held and carried is fine with her. She will cruise all over the house but then drop right to her bottom when she needs to let go of something! I was so glad she decided to get a little more brave and have some steps taken before her birthday. Emma has been trying to hold her hand and walk with her, which is just adorable.

COMPS

The past couple of weeks have been so crazy. Last week I spent every free second studying for my comps. The test was on Saturday, the 25th. I was there for about five hours. There were so many people taking comps for so many study areas. I was in a computer lab with about sixty people and there were two more full labs across the hall. I had two sets of questions. The first set had three questions and I had to answer two and then the same for the second set. I felt very well prepared. I had to cite research and professional literature in every question. My answers were about 4 pages each with one question only being about two pages. Now I get to wait six weeks for my results - fun. The thing that gets me about ODU is - they made us pay for our caps/gowns/hoods the day before comps. I had to purchase and pick them up before knowing if my I passed or not!! So, they are all in my closet and I have no idea if I will actually get to wear them on December 18th and graduate. The comps get graded by two people and I have to get a score of 8 points to pass (2 pts per question). Other than the thesis, this was the part I was dreading and I am just so glad it is over! Now.....I get to wait.

No More Formula!!!

We ran out of formula on September 19th and decided that we were not going to buy anymore! She was close enough to one year old! She had milk for the first time that day and was a little confused the first time she had it. She gave me some funny looks but has been doing great with it ever since! Yay! That will save us a couple hundred bucks a month! Now we are just going through more milk than ever in our house - about two gallons a week for both of the girls!

Lindsay's Baby Shower

We had a wonderful time at my sister's baby shower on September 18th. We just cannot wait to meet our little nephew and have a little cousin for Emma and Hannah. Lindsay received so many nice gifts and the girls were precious. Emma loved helping her open presents. We can't wait to meet you baby! (They have still not set the name!)

Emma's First Haircut

September 9th - I have been wanting to grow Emma's bangs out but they are bothering her so much. She was constantly swiping her hair out of her eyes no matter how many bows I tried to keep them away with. So, we went to have dinner with my grandmother and I asked her if she would trim her bangs and sides. Emma sat there in her kitchen with a little smock on and let Mammie trim. My mom also helped out a little. Of course I kept some of the hair for the baby book!

Lunch with Elmo and Friends

On Labor Day, the last official day of summer, Bo, my mom and I took the kids to Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens has the best Elmo and Friends them park ever and for a portion more you can have lunch with them! We left around 8:30, got there at 9:30 and spent some time in the Elmo park. Emma has become more and more comofortable riding the rides and she was enjoying every minute riding them. I also loved when we were approaching the park, she said "Elmo!" "Abby"! She has been twice this summer and we also look at the pictures so she knew exactly where we were!

We saw the Elmo show again and Emma loved it. She went so close to the stage just watching in awe. Then she started to dance! Little Hannah missed the show this time because she was napping away in her stroller.

After the show we went over to the castle to check in for lunch. I was so surprised when we entered the little lunchroom. It was PRECIOUS! The tables and stage were adorable. The buffet was set up in the back of the room and it was so good! There was everything from beef, mac and cheese, chicken fingers, BBQ chicken, salad, veggies, fruit, hash browns and so much more. It was definately worth a $20 meal - and the kids were free! Then, the characters came out and did a little show while we ate. They called us by tables to come on the stage and sit with Elmo and Big Bird to take a picture. Hannah loved sitting with Elmo. Emma sat in my lap, but was "petting" Elmo - then she grabbed his nose! The other characters circulated the room. We took pictures with all of them. Cookie monster even took one of Emma's cookies on the table!! She thought it was so funny!

Hannah enjoyed herself just as much as Emma. They were both precious. They had some dancing and let the kids on the stage to dance with the characters. Emma really surprised me when she went on stage!

The characters and workers did a fantastic job. Everything was so cute. After lunch we saw an animal show and rode some more rides. Hannah loved the Merry Go Round. Then we went to Land of the Dragons and played in that area for awhile. Emma rode rides there by herself, which I also could not believe. She loved the boats the best.

We had a great day! What a fun way to end the summer! Our passes go through December so I am sure we will be back in the fall. But, it was a wonderful day!

Hannah loving Abby


Emma talking to Zoey

during the show - notice who is all the way at the stage?

the four of us

at lunch watching the show

picture time with Elmo and Big Bird

Emma thought "Cook" was so funny


Cookie Monster ate Emma's cookie!

us with Bert

look who is dancing on the stage - far left!

Cookie Monster and Hannah

Emma and daddy on a ride

Hannah loved the Merry Go Round

Emma riding in the ladybugs

11 Months Old!

Hannah was 11 months old on September 3rd. I cannot believe it! She is just growing up so fast, which I know that I say each month that goes by. Hannah is more and more in tune to everything going on. She wants to participate in everything that we do. She is now completely off of baby food and eating pretty much everything we eat. Her favorite food by far is mac and cheese - she LOVES it! She has also mastered drinking from a sippy cup. I bought a can of formula last week and I really hope that it is our last! I will try regular milk with her a few weeks before her 1st birthday. Hannah will stand up but has not braved herself to take that step yet. She will successfully climb all of the stairs with someone behind her. She loves playing with the play food that Emma got for her birthday and she still loves looking at books. She will also kiss and love her stuffed animals and baby dolls when asking her to. She also will touch her nose and hair when we ask her and we do not show her the motions. She has cut the other front tooth and another bottom so she has had quite the runny nose the past couple of weeks. We just love her to pieces and her temperment just makes it so easy to be her parent. Hannah is also saying mama, dada, "Wa wo" (Word World), Gaga and bye bye. She is a joy to anyone around her. We love you Hannah Boo!

PRESCHOOL!

Emma started preschool on Monday, August 30th. I finally found a two year old program that we were happy with. It is a very private preschool for 2, 3, and four year olds based in a woman's home who has taught preschool for 38 years! There are two classrooms. The two and three year olds are combined and the four year olds are separte. Her business is basically ran by word of mouth and everyone who told me about it had excellent things to say. She does not advertise and there is no website. Since the preschool is not advertised nobody walking in this neighborhood would not know it is a preschool. It is in a very large, older home that you have to go around the house and to the back to enter. Her yard is beautiful and cannot be seen from the street where the children are playing, which I liked a lot.

It was a huge decision to do this for Emma. We really thought she needed some time away from Hannah just to be around children her own age. Hannah also needs her space. We also thought it would help out my mom by just handling Hannah for a few hours without Emma. Moreover, Emma is learning so fast and absorbing everything it could not hurt her at all to expose her to as much as we can. She already knows every letter of the alphabet, sings so many songs, colors, paints, plays Play Doh, plays so well and copies things that we do, says so many words and is connecting ideas when looking at books and seeing things on tv - she is just a little sponge and is so teachable right now.

One thing we have noticed is that Emma does get very shy when around people she is not familiar with. She is not always herself in a large group, then sometimes she can completely surprise us and is totally herself. But, we also thought this would help with that.

So, Emma is going Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Bo has the job of dropping her off. My mom picks her up early on Mondays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays, because that is the one day my mom works, she stays all day and I pick her up. Hannah goes to a friend of mine on Wednesdays. This week will be the first time on that new Wednesday schedule so we will see how it goes. Emma just went two days last week.

On the first day Emma was pumped and ready with her new Abby bookbag and lunchbox. She was in a good mood and kept saying "school." (We had already been there a few times for her to visit). We both took her that morning for her first time. She did cry when we left her but stopped by the time we left the stairs of the preschool. The teacher said she was shy that day and didn't interact too much, but that it was expected. On Thursday Bo took her for the first time by himself. She cried a little but played a little more that day. My mom said that both times picking her up she seemed so glad that someone she knew was there to get her.

I know this is a huge adjustment for her. She has not been watched by anyone other than my mom, Bo's mom and my sister. I feel confident that she will adjust just fine. We will see how the next few weeks go!