Life Lately

Time sure flies when you're having fun! I keep asking myself how it got to be October already!!!

Fall is a busy time of year for us on campus- meeting students, beginning Bible Studies, and a lot of weekends out of town. In the past 2 months I have gone to TWO StuMo overnight trips without Hannah!!! I was so proud that I did it! And we all know that Hannah had way more fun at her grandparents than if she would have been with me. :)

Because pictures are worth a thousand words, I'll spare you some words and leave you with a bunch of pictures!

Just some cooking

Look, Mom!  When I hold onto something, I can RUN!

Missed our campfire with our friends that we spent the summer with in India (early bedtime for the little one), so we had to have our own little version at home.  With mini-marshmallows.  Yes, Hannah probably had more than she needed too.  

Every Tuesday, Hannah and I go to the library for "Storytime."  She just loves it!  We get new books every week and are making some friends.  Hannah loves books.  She is so delicate with the pages.  Please always be a reader, baby girl.  

We learned how to color recently.

Date Night with my main man.  Love him!

Fun at EVENTKC!  

Time to Party!

This little girl was lucky enough (or loved enough) to have not ONE, but TWO birthday parties!  What girl wouldn't want to be celebrate twice!

The first party was put on by her Grandma and Papa in Kansas City.  It was a few days before her birthday, but it allowed all of our family and friends in the area to come and celebrate Miss Hannah.  And let me tell you...this girl is S.P.O.I.L.E.D!  She got so many presents! My oh my.  I even packed some of them up and hid them so that I can take them out sporadically so that they seem new and fun.  (Pictures to come...)

Her second party was here at home in Manhattan.  Originally it was suppose to be outside, but it poured all morning and I waited and waited trying to make a decision about what I should do.  I finally decided to have it at our house instead...and then the sun came out in full force!  Of course.

Hannah was SOOO excited (or maybe unsure) what all the fuss was about.  But, once I let her snack on a few marshmallows, she was all ready for business.  

Cutest One Year Old EVER

This is one of Hannah's new favorite spots to climb up on.  She can get up here easily by herself and see all the traffic outside as well as our front door.  Perfect spot for waiting for all your 20-something friends.  :)

Hannah had LOTS of friends come to celebrate her!  Some even brought her presents!!  She was originally unsure about the whole tissue paper thing, but once she realized there was good stuff inside, she was more than happy to oblige.  And her friends sure do know her well!  Miss Brittany (who also went to India with us) got Hannah a new puppy and book.  Hands down her 2 favorite things in life.  (I'm sure that I'm up there somewhere with her favorites, but some days I think puppies have me beat! ha!)

Hannah and Miss Brittany

Some of our cheerleader friends came to see us and Hannah was just delighted!  Of course, they are indoctrinating her young to be a cheerleader- at K-State...of course!! Hannah even got a "Future KSU Cheerleader shirt."  Adorable!

Jessilyn, Laura, H, and Kelsey

And then there was cake.  You're going to look at the pictures and think, "Blue icing!  Blue icing!  Why would she choose blue icing???"  I know...rookie mistake.  There was blue icing everywhere.  Thankfully it was washable.  :)  (And her poop was blue for the next 2 days.....ha!)

And last but not least, we couldn't forget our favorite photographer, Misha!  Misha was so sweet to just grab my phone and start taking pictures.  I didn't even realize she had my phone until more than half-way through the afternoon.   I wouldn't have hardly any of these pictures without her! What a gem!

We love you, Misha!

ONE

Hannah Kate is one.  Holy Moly.  My little girl is a ONE YEAR OLD.

I didn't think it was even possible, but Hannah continues to get more and more fun.

I have truly loved every stage- newborn, scooting, crawling- but it seems like with every change I find myself saying that it has become my new favorite.  I hope this is how life with Hannah is forever.

At one year old, Hannah loves to...

• Laugh- she is always giggling!  Sometimes she will just start laughing out of nowhere!
• Read- I can't tell you how many times I've come in to check on her only to find her sitting quietly reading.  I hope she is always a reader.
• Bark- I have no idea where she picked this up from.  We don't have a dog, and don't plan on getting one anytime soon.  But Hannah loves to bark.  At all animals.  She hasn't quite figured out how to differentiate between animals, so they all make a barking sound in her book.  Too cute!  There have been many times I'm in the dorms meeting girls and Hannah starts barking because they have a stuffed dog, or panda, or monkey.  Ha!
• Explore-  I'm pretty sure that learning to crawl on marble floors in India turned Hannah into a super fast crawler once we returned home to carpet.  I'm telling you- this girl can move!  She is always finding new cabinets or doors that I need to childproof.  Recently, while in TriDelta, Hannah pulled a girl's entire jewelry organizer down by pulling on a necklace.  Whoopsie.
• Eat- This girl loves her food.  And I am so thankful!  There hasn't really been anything she hasn't liked so far.  She's eating all "people" food now and is very ambitious with what she thinks she can eat.  The other day she ate a HUGE cookie while I had some cheerleaders over for ice cream ... one nibble at a time...  Favorite foods include: green beans, peas&carrots, cheese, chicken, turkey, mandarin oranges, and peaches.
• Wave- Hannah waves at everybody.  I think that this might be due to the fact that the baby to college student ratio is HUGE  (thus Hannah's popularity) and she thinks that everyone is truly her friend.  
• Dance- Hannah is a dancing machine!  If Bob comes home for dinner, we spend a little time afterwards reading the Bible, singing a song, and praying.  And because Bob is wrapped around Hannah's finger, he always encourages a family dance party following our family worship.  The mood goes from intentional to fun in seconds!  

Since, Hannah only continues to get more fun, here's a few memories I don't want to forget:

• Hannah is a pro-baby pranker.  She is always pranking me.  Her favorites include starting the dishwasher, unrolling all the toilet paper on the roll, and emptying the fridge (mostly the ketchup, butterscotch syrup, and salad dressing).
• Binkys.  Hannah thinks it is hilarious when you put her binky in your mouth.  She just cracks up!  And then immediately pulls it out and puts it back where it belongs.
• She has a guilty conscience.  If Hannah ever has something in her mouth she knows she isn't suppose to have (door stop, piece from a book, bobby pin, etc.), once I catch her she immediately pulls it out, throws her hand in the air and hands it to me.  Like she just happened to discover it and wanted to give it to me before anything happened.  ;) It is so sweet.  
• When Bob left for work today, Hannah was clinging to his shoulder.  Melt. my. heart. 

Hannah Kate, I cannot believe you are ONE.  Your Daddy and I thank God for you every day.  We pray that you come to know Jesus as your God and that you love and serve Him with all your heart soul, mind and strength.  You are a wonderful blessing in my life and your daddy's.  We cannot imagine life without you!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea!

My Sister Got Her Mister

(Obviously I did not take this picture.  Photo credit: Slice Studios.)

My sister, Jessica, tied the knot with her man, Jason.  

The wedding was absolutely perfect.  Every i was dotted and every t crossed.  Jessica and Jason worked for just a few short months to get everything done and it was by far (besides my own, ahem) the most beautiful wedding I've seen.  Not to mention the fact that Jessica only gets more and more gorgeous with each year.  

Seriously.  B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.

To add to the fun of the wedding festivities, I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid and Hannah got to be one of the flower girls!  I was a little worried how Hannah would do since she is not even one yet, but she did amazing!  She sat in the wagon perfectly and looked at all the guests as she was being pulled down the aisle.  I think it was due to all her practice being a celebrity in India.  I'm sure she thought, "Finally, people are starting to look at me again!"  Ha!

Unfortunately, we hardly took any pictures! Boo.  Thankfully my uncle captured some great shots.  I'm eager to see what the photographer has!

With the Bride, Groom and Ring Bearer

We are so excited for Jessica and Jason as they begin their new life together!  Congrats!

Himalayas. Part Two.

If you thought going to the Taj Mahal was an adventure, that was just the beginning.  Here's where the real fun began...

Up, up, up the mountains we go!  We were headed to Pangong Lake (to camp!!!!) in the Himalayan Mountains. It is about a six hour drive through the mountains.  With a driver who speaks no English.  And in a car with one seat belt.  (Sorry mom.)  Before we left, the company we were going with gave us 3 canisters of oxygen "just in case" for Hannah.  Lovely.

I'll be honest.  I had a bit of a bad attitude before we left.  I had even thought seriously about staying back in Leh (with Hannah) while the rest of our group went on.  I just kept thinking about how much fun it would be riding with a crying 10-month old for 6 hours in the car.  When talking about it with Bob, he said, "The only easy day is yesterday."  And so I went.

For whoever out there was praying.  Thank you.  Your prayers were answered.  Here is what Hannah did for the ENTIRE ride up the mountains...

She slept in my arms!!!!  For anyone who knows her, this is very uncharacteristic of her.  She's not a cuddler, not a sleep-in-your-arms type of baby.  But, thanks be to God, she did.  Amen.


The views of Pangong Lake are indescribable.  In fact, even the drive up was absolutely breathtaking.  I'm thankful that lots of people had cameras to capture the beauty as I held my sleeping  baby in my arms.

Pangong Lake

Family Pic by the Lake

Bob and Hannah

Me and Hannah (that's China behind us!)

We stayed and CAMPED here for 1 night.  The slogan of our "resort" was Luxury Redefined.  Ha!  Actually, for camping it was pretty nice.  There was a bed, sink, and even a toilet!  Impressive.  The resort prepared all our food for us and it was delicious!

And, for the record, Hannah did incredible!  She loved the cooler weather and getting to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed.  We never needed the oxygen that they gave us, but we did take a few pictures of us using it just for fun! (I had some killer headaches while we were there- the elevation was 14,000 ft- so I actually used the oxygen for real.)

What are you doing, mommy?

We drove back to Leh the next afternoon and Hannah SLEPT the ENTIRE WAY again.  The only difference was it took us 3.5 HOURS to get back down when it took us 6 hours to get there!!!!!!  Let's just say the ride down was a little scary.  I'm so thankful Hannah slept the whole way.  

Not only did we make it safely back to Leh, but all the way back to Hyderabad the next day.  Hallelujah!  And at this point, our India adventures are about over.  :(

I loved India, our team, and all the adventures we got to experience while we were there.  I hope that God has it in His plan for us to go back one day.  

Himalayas. Part One.

We took our 10-month old and 10 students to the Himalayas.  I know, we're crazy.  But we had a blast!  Here's the story:

We started our adventure at the Taj Mahal.  It is INCREDIBLE.  Some Wonders of the World aren't all they are cracked up to be, but this is.   If you are planning on going to India, you need to see it.  

Just a little warm...

However, let me advise you to go during the cooler months.  It was H.O.T.  My goodness.  It was probably close to 110 degrees or higher.  And we went during monsoon season so it was cooler than normal..... yikes.

All the girls at the Taj

The Taj is absolutely breathtaking.  It is made out of marble and semi-precious stones.  And it's hand-carved.  WOW.  Little did I know (I'm not really a history buff), it's actually a tomb.  One of the Muslim Mogul Emperors of India built it for his third (and favorite) wife after her death.  His other two wives have tombs on the property as well, but they are definitely not as neat.  And they are A LOT smaller.  I guess there's perks to being the favorite? :)

There are LOTS of photo opportunities at the Taj.  So, we took a lot of pictures.  And, you'll notice that I am wearing a backpack in most of them.  Guess that makes me a real mom?  I bet this is the first of many vacations I'll take when I wear a backpack.  Ha!

And, here begins just a few pictures...

Love these girls- Brittney and Taylor

Please notice how many Indians are also smiling for our photo

The next day we flew to the town of Leh.  It is a quaint little town in North India.  But here's the kicker.  We flew out of Delhi- elevation 743 feet- and flew into Leh- elevation 11,000 feet.  Talk about an altitude change.   We actually had to take special pills to help with the altitude change.  

Flying into Leh

Leh was gorgeous.  It's nestled in a valley of the Himalayan Mountains.  It has a lot of Tibetan influence and it is definitely apparent in their architecture.  They had these beautiful and intricate wood carvings above most windows.  (I hope you can see them in the picture!) We spent some time talking as a team on the roof of our hotel about what we had learned and enjoyed about our time in India.  It was amazing how close the 14 of us had become- really more like family!

In the afternoon we headed out for some shopping! Bob even gave in and got Hannah some jewelry.  And she accidentally stole a key-chain from one of the vendors.  Oops!  Don't worry, we returned it. :) I love shopping at the local markets because you get to barter.  I wish we could do this in the States!  

Outside of a local restaurant

Eating dinner by candle light in the hotel.  Partly because Hannah was asleep.  Partly because the power was out.

The next day (yes, that's right day 3 in a row of traveling), we loaded up in 3 SUV-like vehicles and began our trek UP the Himalayan mountains.

More to come...

10 Months

(Preface:  I actually wrote this post while in India...and am just now posting it!  Sorry, been a little crazy since we've been back!)
                                                                                                                                                             

What a milestone month!  Hannah has been outside the womb longer than inside the womb (TMI?)!  It is crazy to think how much babies change in their first year.  I still cannot believe some of the things Hannah can do!  (I know, I know...I'll be thinking the same thing when she's driving and doing Algebra....)

Hannah is such a fun, smart, inquisitive girl.  She loves exploring and with her ever-increasing mobility and (seemingly) unlimited bravery, she is up for anything!  Hannah is cruising on EVERYTHING.  In fact, it is hard to keep her still.  The team jokes that she is always moving, but it is so true!  We have to make sure to keep the door locked around here, or this little girl will escape!

Opening the drawers... 

All Smiles for Being 10 months old!

Flash...gotcha!

Hannah, you love to smile, laugh, wave, clap and just be with people in general.  You are so very brave!  You go in "autos" with mommy and the girls, have been to nearly every mall in Hyderabad and have willingly (and nicely) allowed lots of Indians to pinch your cheeks and clap in your face.

Best picture we got for 10 months!  This girl is on the move!

Happy 10 months, little girl!  Hard to believe you are going to be one year old soon!