Hannah's a two-year-old now!

If there was ever any question Hannah loved her "meow-meow take" , look no further. ;)

10 words to describe Hannah:

Independent (wants to do everything on her terms and by herself)

Confident (has a self-assured confidence about her/ a magnetism that draws others to her) 

Comedian (loves to make others laugh)

Serious (kind of an intense little one)

Nurturing (very loving and kind to babies and dolls)

Strong (will walk and run, likes to hike and asks for it, and is one tough cookie!)

Quick-minded (figures things out quickly and easily-- quite coordinated) 

Kind (very good at sharing and is so sweet to the whole family)

Cautious (of strangers/others, new situations and heights)

Darling (the best word for me to describe my little two-year-old)

Hannahisms:

Meow-Meow -- what she calls blankets. She has a very very very special meow-meow that Sylvia Height knitted. It's pink and she loves to twist her little fingers in the holes and rub it as she goes to sleep. She has done this since she was 6 months old. 

See-see-- her name for Liesel

May- what she calls milk. She will not add that consonant, even though she can. And she loves her may. 

Hannah has had a personality explosion lately. I can honestly say that she makes me laugh every day-- which she seems to be on her agenda. Not making me laugh, but Liesel. She can be very goofy which sends both her and Liesel into fits of laughter. The other day during bath time, she was putting the washcloth on her head, making silly faces, slipping on purpose and making huge splashes-- all to watch Liesel laugh and then bust up laughing herself. She definitely has a silly side, but reserves it for home it seems.

They tell me in nursery she is very serious. But also openly admit she is everyone's favorite. She definitely has presence and a way of making people like her right away. Sounds easy for a 2 year old, but there is definitely something magnetic about her personality and big bright blue eyes. She's the only girl in there, but apparently can hold her own without a problem (as I've been told).

I would agree that Hannah seems somewhat serious and a little bit mature even (strange to say?) for her age. Mature is maybe the wrong word, but incredibly "with it." Like she really knows what's going on and is aware of her surroundings. I'm sometimes shocked at the questions she responds to. She is incredibly independent which doesn't always manifest in big fits, but in the way she puts on her own shoes, tries to dress herself or put on her own diaper, wants to walk or hike for long distances instead of being carried or riding in the stroller, the way she'll "disappear" into her room for her own quiet play reading books or playing with her baby, the way she could drink from a cup at almost age 1 and feed herself with a spoon. But also in her strong will. I try not to cross her. . . ;) If she wants that book at bedtime, so be it. Or her shoes on, fine. Or if she wanted to get out of the car all by herself and I picked her up-- it's O.V.E.R.

Here are a few more examples from the last few weeks:

-We were hiking Mesa Arch at the Island in the Sky. She did not want to wear shoes for the return part of the hike and I decided to let her. Several times I asked her if she wanted her shoes on, but she insisted "no shoos." She also demanded to walk the entire thing. If I pick her up, she immediately does the noodle-wiggle-impossible-to-hold thing and says, "no! walk!" She walked 2/3 of the way down from Delicate Arch last month and then recognized the arch in a story in the children's friend. She got very excited and pointed to it saying, "mommy, nana, hike!"

-If she wants a "BA-meow-meow" (banana), you better not say no. It's not a pretty sight. If you tell her they are all gone, forget it.

-In sacrament meeting, Hannah frequently decides she's all done. She'll stand up and do the sign for 'all done' by waving both hands and saying, "aww dun mommy, aww dun!" If she then sees the hymnbooks open and another song, she'll frequently just start screaming as loud as she can.

-She wants to go potty. She'll tell me often, "I nee go pee mommy" and will get very angry if I don't take off her diaper and let her try. She is not potty trained and has only once accidentally used the bathroom while sitting on the potty. But she always very thorough at wiping. She knows how to blow her nose and will do that often.

-Every morning when Hannah wakes up, she starts to yell for Brian and I. If I slack off and try to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep, I've noticed that her speech gets very articulate. "Mama! Daddy! I want out!"over and over. When I bring her into our bed to try and snuggle and again, get a few more minutes of sleep, Hannah will just talk, poke my eyes and tell me over and over "I wan EAAAAT mama. I wan EAAAAT." If I say, "in just a minute" she gets very angry.

Hannah is very nurturing. She carries around her baby, wraps her up, pats her back, helps her go potty and feeds her. When we went overnight on the river last month, she carried around a piece of wood and kept telling me to "shhhhhhh" when I was near so I wouldn't wake her napping baby. When Liesel is sad, she'll come give hugs.

When I ask Hannah to smile, she closes her eyes. Sometimes she gives me a big teethy grin. Kills me.

Hannah is an absolute JOY to have in the family. We all love her. She gives me little snuggles, the sweetest kisses and I love hearing her say "mommy!" which she does all the time. She plops herself on my lap and insists on books. If I'm in the kitchen, 9 times out of 10 she's in there pushing a chair around and saying "mommy help!" She loves to help in the kitchen and WILL NOT let me hold that beater. She only gives it up if I say it's time for Liesel to have a turn.

I don't know what Liesel would do without her. She loves having Hannah pretend she's the monster and chase her around. They play together outside digging and making stews and toast with dirt, rocks and 'juniperries' (juniper berries). When Hannah gets hurt, Liesel is usually the first one there to give her a hug and rub her back. It melts my heart. They really love each other.

So glad we have this dynamo of a girl in our family.