Hannah is off to the big city where Kat (shown here) and Brandon (not shown here) will be keeping her all day Saturday and Sunday morning so that Hannah's parents can have some time to themselves in the big city. When the family gets back there are sure to be pictures to post.

Tickle My Tongue, Please

Hannah's new thing is she LOVES to have her tongue tickled. The other night she made a request to have her tongue "washed" during bathtime. Who knew washing & tickling the tongue could be so much fun!

Hannah, Stephanie, and Andrew met Susan Skaden at the Augusta Spartan's arena football game a couple weekends back. This was the first, and so far the only, time Hannah wanted Daddy to hold her all night. Any time anyone but Daddy was holding Hannah, she would get upset and reach for him. Hannah might have been jealous that Daddy was holding his camera and not her. Daddy did not get many pictures that night. -Management

Of course there are many great moments with Hannah. She has been standing and smiling a lot lately. She was in a great mood a few nights ago and in this picture you can see she is really happy, as always.

The mess Hannah was able to create while eating tonight is amazing. Black and White photography really shows it well.

The joys of parenthood, as many of the loyal readers know, are plenty. Watching you child grow and learn is one of those many joys. Some that might not qualify as "joys" are watching you child learn how to spit food all over herself, drool all over your leather couches, or when she finally learns how to spit her food on you while you are trying to feed her. Although I do not yet know first hand, potty training might not be a great "joy" either. -Andrew

Sometimes you can just be sitting in the room and watching television, and all of a sudden you realize you have not heard anything from Hannah in a while. Then you look at her and she has that look like she has done something wrong. You might not know what she did, but she does and that is why she shoots you that look. It is just a matter of time before you find out what she did.

There is a lot of wonder in those eyes... Hannah wonders what is in the pantry, what is in the refrigerator, what is in Mommy and Daddy's magazines below the coffee table (that she is not allowed to touch or rip any more), and she wonders how long the streak of Auburn football wins over Alabama will last (currently 4, soon to be 5). If you look closely at the reflection in her eyes, you can see that she also wonders what will happen if she touches Daddy's new camera.

Hannah is getting more vocal!

Recently Hannah has been making more noise in an attempt to talk. She
now knows how to make a clicking noise with her tongue and she is slowly
starting to say "Hannah" and "Mommy". "Hannah" sounds like "Na-Na" and
Mommy sounds like "La-La". She already says "Da-Da". She gets very
proud of herself when she talks.
She is also trying out a new trick, standing without holding on to
anything. The other night she would let go of whatever she was holding
to steady herself, look at Mom or Dad, smile really big, and put her
hands in the air to prove she was not holding onto anything. When she
does this she gets very proud or herself and falls back down on her
bottom. She also immediately looks at Mom when you say "Where is
Momma". I guess the point I am trying to get across is Hannah is
advancing her skills quickly.

The other thing I have noticed since I hurt my knee is that Hannah is really picking up speed when she crawls. She has learned to crawl without her knees touching the ground (not shown here). She knows crawling this way decreases her drag and speeds her up. It amazes me how advanced she is. -Andrew

As expected Hannah went right over her toys and onto something she should not be touching, like her Daddy's injured knee. Since I hurt my knee I have noticed Hannah really likes to lean on my knee and crawl over it. -Andrew

You might look at this picture and wonder why it made it on the website? There is a very good reason... What you are witnessing in this picture is something you rarely see with Hannah any more, she is playing with her own toys and not everything she is not allowed to touch! Or maybe she is just going to crawl over these toys and over to something like a wall outlet or the computer.

Hannah's Daddy went to Auburn this week to have his knee examined. While there he picked up Hannah's "Auburn Girl" sweatshirt. Hannah really likes the shirt, but it really does not fit her all that well. The sleeves are too long, but the belly of the shirt is just fine. Hannah is starting to feel better now that she is getting over the Rotavirus. She hopes to return to school on Monday.

"G" made Hannah's dress for the wedding. It matches the 3 flower girl dresses she made for the wedding too. Hannah was a little to young to be in the wedding, although she is very advanced.

This past weekend Hannah's God-Mother got married. Hannah is posing with her mother despite being very sick. Hannah picked up a nasty little virus that stuck with her all weekend and she is still trying to fight it off today. Hannah is a trooper.

Upon further review...

Maybe the Photographer will not be out as long as first thought! The MRI
taken Wednesday of last week was read today. The doctor says the ACL is not
torn as first though, but might have just been slightly sprained (although
it did not feel "slight"). Physical therapy will begin early next week, and
the knee will be physically tested. If the knee is stable no surgery will
be required, and if it is not stable... We will cross that bridge when we
get there. -Management

The photographer is out of commission...

This past weekend Hannah’s personal photographer tore his ACL in his left knee.  This severely limits the picture taking abilities he once had.  A full recovery is expected in about 5-6 months.  In the mean time, please be patient with the website as there will not be as many posts as there have been recently.  -Management

When the play date was over Hannah gave Natalie a hug to say goodbye. They really played well together and it was fun seeing them together.

Natalie was on the receiving end of Hannah's new habit. Hannah has been throwing herself on her back and rolling around. Natalie did a good job making sure Hannah did not bonk her head on the wood floor.

There were lots of activities during the play date, one of which was an illegal baby race. During the weigh in it was obvious Natalie had the advantage, but Hannah put up a good fight.

In this picture you can tell they really enjoyed playing together, unlike the last one. You can also see how much taller Natalie is.

Hannah's friend Natalie came over for a "play date" this morning. Natalie is 5 weeks older than Hannah, and much taller (as you will see in future posts). They had a really good time together this morning. Even though Hannah is ramming her walker into Natalie in this picture, they really like eachother.

Hannah will soon be entering a photo contest looking for a cover baby for "BabyTalk" magazine. The winner, Hannah, will be flown to New York City for a "professional" photo-shoot. That is old hat for her already, but we will go through the motions for those New York bigwigs. Also the winner will be on the cover of the magazine and on Good Morning America. After her appearance on TV she will be signing autographs and accepting donations for college, Auburn that is.

This action shot clearly shows Hannah has learned how to fall, but not how to use the walker for walking.

Stephanie thought this walker she got Hannah was going to get her walking all around the house, but as it turns out it is really just a step stool to get on the couch (although she is not quite tall enough to get there). You can tell in this picture she knows she is not supposed to be climbing on the walker.

Hannah is really getting around the house. I have found that if I do not hear her or I loose track of her for a minute, she is likely into something she is not supposed to be touching. -Andrew

Hannah enjoyed her piano lessons, but the big news is Hannah stood up by her self for the first time this week. She was sitting in the middle of the room and the next thing you know she is standing by herself with nothing to hold on to. She was about to take her first step forward when the excitement in the room scared her and she plopped back down on her backside.

And you thought I was exaggerating about her whole hand spanning two keys.

I hope Hannah is this enthusiastic about playing the piano when her parents are making her go to lessons. -Andrew

Mommy thought Hannah was done her lesson for the night, but Hannah had other ideas.

It only took Hannah about 5 minutes to learn how to play with both hands.

Hannah got her first piano lesson last night. You would not believe how good she is playing the piano, at least for someone who's entire hand spans 2 keys.

In case you could not tell in any of the other pictures, Hannah is still quite bald.

Mommy gave the fake apple to Hannah, and then looked shocked when she tried to eat it. Go figure.

Hannah got to play at the dinner table tonight. She got into the fake apples tonight.

Hannah had a good day out. More pictures to come soon...

I guess even after being cooped up in the house all winter, you can still get bored when you finally get out. Here Hannah seems to be very distracted by her hand.

You can ell Hannah was really ready to get out of the house and ride around.

Hannah really likes this chew toy. She seems to be chewing on everything now, but she does not yet have any teeth. I am not looking forward to those new sharp little choppers chewing into my leather couches, or chair, or my arm. -Andrew

It finally seems as though winter is over in here at home. Hannah got a big day out (OK, maybe 30 minutes) to walk around the neighborhood with her parents. She seemed to enjoy her time in the stroller today.