Playdate with Ollie

Favorite Shows

We aren't big TV people.  We don't even have cable (gasp!).  But if we're at home for the weekend Hannah watches cartoons on Saturday morning or DVDs every now and then.  She also watches some TV at daycare.  She doesn't have much interest in sitting through a show that tells a story, but she does enjoy interactive shows that ask a question and then give the kids time to figure out the answer.

Ollie introduced us to Super Why months ago and now that is Hannah's favorite show.  It teaches beginning reading skills like letter recognition, rhymes, spelling, and filling in the missing word in a sentence.  Hannah gets super excited at the introduction of the characters....

In case you couldn't make out what she was screaming:  Rescue!  ALPHA PIG!  WONDER RED!  PRINCESS PRESTO!  SUPER WHY!  SUPER WHY!!!  Mama.  Super Readers.

Her other favorite TV show is Team Umizoomi which is kind of the math equivalent of Super Why.  It teaches counting, shapes, and patterns.  She watches it at daycare with the 2 1/2 year old boy and they see which one can say the answer first.

She also really likes the Classical Baby DVD series.  We have Baby Art, Baby Music, and Baby Dance.  They are short animated lullabies.  We used to watch one or two before bed each night, but now we read books.  Her favorite is Baby Art, specifically "The Museum" clip that shows lots of famous paintings.  Her grandma the art teacher should be very proud. :)

Cousin Weekend

Steve's sister's family moved back to Missouri from DC right before Christmas.  We visited them last weekend to see their new house and get the cousins together.  Hannah got to try some new things like...

Uncle Morgan showing her how to make pizza

Although Hannah was more interested in eating the pizza than making it.  And she wanted to do most of the eating before it was cooked. :)

She also painted with a brush for the first time.

Most of all she loved playing outside (of course).  There was a trampoline in the backyard.

There was also a very fun swing, but I'm not sure who it was made for.  I'm 5'10" and I couldn't get on it without help!  I gave the girls high fives as I went by.

The backyard was lots of fun, but they also live within walking distance of a park.  So we played there, too.  Twice.

There were plenty of things to do inside, too.  Ainslyn had a whole playroom filled with toys.  Hannah's favorite was the train table.  She also enjoyed playing on the keyboard.

Serious....

and crazy!

When they were tired they watched videos.  Hannah was happy to find a fellow Super Why fan.

The girls had a great time together.  Hannah is lucky to have a cousin so close in age and even luckier to have her within driving distance now!

Playdate with Brody

On one of the warmest days last week the Finleys came over and Hannah had a playdate with Brody. We played at our local school playground, and Steve and I were amazed at all of the new things she can do that she couldn't do in the fall. Then we went back to our house for dinner and more playtime.

Hannah willingly shared her chair with Brody while they drank milk and watched Dinosaur Train, but she gave him dirty looks when he got too squirmy.

Outside

When the weather was warm last week were out almost every night working in the yard. Steve worked on his deck project while I raked spiky balls, twigs, and wood chips. Before the snowpocalypse we had a tree cut down and the stump ground up. Now that the snow has melted we have a big mess.  Hannah likes to help me rake or help Steve with tools, but her favorite thing is to climb the wood chip pile and dig in it with a stick. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Over the weekend Hannah made some valentines.  First she just used heart stickers, then we got ambitious and I taught her how to glue.  I cut out the hearts and she picked the ones she wanted and glued them on.

Here are the finished products:

Snow Fun

Hannah got plenty of outdoor time this weekend.

She made a snow fort with Dada.

And it even had a slide.

With the warmer temperatures most of the snow melted by the end of the weekend. But that is okay because now there are mud puddles to play in!

Week 30

I'm in my third trimester now and feeling good.  Baby girl is moving around A LOT, and they are big movements like she is turning somersaults.  I still have lots of energy and can pick Hannah up with no problems.  There's no swelling (so far) in my arms or legs.  I remember the last time I was pregnant I couldn't wear my watch, wedding ring, or even some of my shoes!  If you want to compare belly pics, here's me pregnant with Hannah at 28 weeks and 32 weeks.

I can't believe in a couple of months we'll have another baby.  While I'm excited to meet the newest member of our family, I'm feeling a little sentimental about our family-of-three days coming to an end. With the holidays and then the snow days, December and January went by in a blur.  I want time to slow down a little so I can enjoy these last months of pregnancy...and life being easy. :)  We think life with a toddler is way easier than with a baby.  She feeds herself, sleeps through the night (plus a predictable nap!), and can tell us what upsets her.  I'm not really looking forward to going back to the sleepless nights.  Although I am interested to see if things will be different the second time around now that we have some experience and perspective.

At the Table

Snowpocalypse

With "blizzard conditions" a snowpocalypse was declared this week.  I was a bit disappointed by the results.  This was our shoveled front walk.  Yes, it was a good amount of snow...but a snowpocalypse?

The snow meant 3 more days off of school!  That brings our total up to 6.  Hannah spent her days drawing and building.  As you can see, she takes her work seriously.