More Park

Happily, I was wrong.  We had one more good weekend of warm weather.  We took full advantage of it and went to THREE parks.  Here's some of Hannah's weekend activities:

Riding a tire swing by herself for the first time

Helping us rake leaves in the backyard.  

Watching the ducks at Antioch Park.  Hannah said, "Hi ducks.  Hi goose."

Trying to climb things that are for big kids and getting stuck.

Park

Hannah enjoying one of the last days of fall at the park on Sunday.  Couldn't it stay autumn just a little longer?  I don't think I'm ready for the cold.

 

Draw-ing

Hannah's new favorite activity is drawing.  At first I couldn't get her to even pick up a crayon, and now she doesn't want to do anything else.  We have notebooks and crayons all over the house.  When I tell her it's time for dinner, she says "draw-ing" in a very annoyed voice.  I can see teenager Hannah coming out already.

But besides her occasional attitude, I love it that she wants to draw so much.  It's great for fine motor skills and creativity.  She has also learned her colors by me commenting on her drawings or crayons.  Plus she can do it anywhere- waiting in restaurants or on long car rides.   But best of all, it is something she can do to entertain herself.  I think kids should be able to find interesting activities that they can do on their own...you know, besides plopping themselves in front of the tv for hours at a time.

A couple of months ago she drew just a few marks on the page.  Then she started making lots of back and forth scribbles like this:

 Now she likes to draw "dir-cles".

And One More

I just found out there is another teacher pregnant at school!  That makes 3 of us and I teach in a small school....only two teachers per grade level.  Our due dates are in March, April, and now May.  Teachers love those spring babies so maternity leave runs right into summer vacation! :)

Week 17

So I haven't talked much about kiddo #2 yet....

We knew we wanted two kids and 2 years apart seemed good to us.  We wanted them close in age so that they would have common interests and play together.  Although I know we know it is probably going to be a lot of work at first (two kids in diapers!), we think it will be great in the long-run.  I found out the day before I started school that I was pregnant.  I had a few good weeks, then my morning sickness turned out to be all-day-long sickness.  With Hannah I was only tired and nauseous after school was over.  This little one made me feel like I had the flu all day long and it lasted for weeks.  It was a rough start to the school year, especially since my class is a little high-maintenance this year.  Luckily I have a wonderful husband who told me to go to bed early while he did the dishes or laundry or took Hannah to the park to play.  Ever since I started the 2nd trimester I've been feeling MUCH better.  I have my energy and appetite back and I really don't feel pregnant at all....except I can't fit into my pants.

Last time I was pregnant with my friend Sarah and co-worker Melissa.  This time I also have pregnancy buddies: Jane and Melissa (again)!  My due date was a month before Melissa's last time and this time she is a month before me.  Jane is only a week or two ahead of me.  It is so fun to go through pregnancy with friends!  The doctor has said April 12, 15, and 18 for the due date.  I usually say the 15th just because it is in the middle, but I'd really like it to be the 18th.  Then Hannah and baby would be exactly 25 months apart.  We find out if it is a boy or girl on December 1.

I can't believe it is November already and I am almost halfway through my pregnancy.  Our October just flew by!  Steve spent a weekend in New Orleans and two weeks in Hannibal, MO for work.  The last two weeks I've been busy doing 1st quarter grades and then parent/teacher conferences.  It always calms down after those are over, and I am very thankful!  I need a little calm for awhile.

Smile

Why Hannah is a Daredevil

She doesn't get it from me. 

Halloween

We were in Chillicothe over the weekend so the grandparents and great-grandparents could see Hannah the Duck in person. The costume was actually a baby chick, but every time Hannah saw it she said "Duck.  Quack, quack."  Hannah got her very first taste of candy this Halloween...Reese's were okay, but she likes Kit Kats better.  We were back home Halloween night to throw leaves in our backyard.

Trampoline

On the trampoline at Grandma and Grandpa's house over Halloween weekend...

In the Park with Ollie

I am in love with these pictures of Hannah and Ollie at the park, so I made them super big. :)  Here is my favorite one...

Hannah did a great job of walking on the wood beam all by herself.

This is what it looks like when you've seen big kids climb up up the ladder...and you want to do it too...but you can't figure out how.

Big Ollie!

Ollie  and Hannah played in the leaves and put them in each other's hair.  Ollie also taught Hannah how to climb up slides.  They had a great time together!