God Made Dirt. Dirt Don't Hurt.

Josiah invited Hannah over to play in his sandbox yesterday. She had a ton of fun digging her fingers in the sand and watching Josiah as he showed her how all of his cool sandbox toys worked. And I'm proud to say she only ate one fistful of sand.

They then spent another few hours playing with bubbles, riding on the tricycle and just exploring the backyard before eating dinner. Hannah prefers to walk right now with just a little help, so she was completely worn out after playing so hard yesterday with Josiah! I'm so glad they are good friends.

Here are a few pictures. I could never get her to look at the camera at the right time!

Mi Familia a Don Juan's

The only thing that would have made this picture better is if my mom were in it. Just the four of us ate at Don Juan's before Gina left to go home. It was like old times, except Gina and I weren't getting in trouble for being too noisy at dinner. I like my family a lot... like a whole, whole lot. :)

Happy Birthday, Hannah Riley!

A year ago at this moment, Hannah made her debut. She looked like this.

Today she looked like this as she opened up her birthday presents of books, which so happen to be her most prized possessions lately.

The moment I laid eyes on her, life took on a whole new meaning for me. With all my heart, I will praise God for giving me such a great treasure - my daughter.

Easter Sunday

Of all the days we celebrate, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is most important to our family.

We got a few pictures of Hannah with her cousins, Sydney, Kayden and Andrew after our Easter church service. I'm so glad they all have so much fun playing together.

Par-tay!

We had a little birthday party for Hannah on this past Saturday. It was a low key shindig with family and only our closest friends. Even Aunt Gina and Uncle Colin surprised us and made it in for the occasion! We knew she wouldn't remember the birthday party, but how could we not celebrate her birthday?! Here are a few pictures from the big day. (As a side note, teaching her to "freeze" on the count of 1-2-3 did wonders in getting her to pose for all of the pictures! Also, I have a picture of her eating birthday cake that I'll post once Chris is finished editing it.)

Hannah's Milestones

Whew! This year has flown by. It blows my mind that Hannah has been apart of our family for a year now. I feel like she was just born! And while I hold tightly to every moment, hating how quickly she's growing up, I enjoy each new phase and grow even more proud of what a big girl she is. Just for my own reference, I thought I'd post a few of her milestones. Some of it won't mean much to you, and there are some I've probably forgotten, but these developmental accomplishments are moments we have celebrated as Hannah has grown.

April
- Ate every 2-3 hours
- Slept non-stop, waking long enough to tell us she was hungry or gripe about a diaper change

May
- At 8 weeks, cut out 4:30 am feeding
- Started CIO at 9 weeks

June
- Began putting toys in her mouth
- Lifted head at tummy time
- Started mimicking people

July
- Cut out 1:30 am feeding
- Sleeping through the night at 12 weeks
- Started holding her own bottles
- Began rolling over

August
- Dropped swaddle - 14 weeks
- Cut out 10:30 pm "dream feed"
- Started sleeping 12 hours
- Moved to 4 hour schedule
- Dropped 4th nap

September
- Started cereal

October
- Started fruits and veggies
- Cut bottom teeth

November
- Started standing
- Began army crawling
- Waved "bye"

December
- Cut top two teeth
- Began pulling up
- Crawling
- We began telling her no

January
- Moved to 3 meals with afternoon snack
- Learned to clap
- Would use sign language for "more"
- Started cruising
- Started meats

February
- Started pointing
- Cut 4 teeth - canines
- Began throwing fits
- Took first steps

March
- Cut out the bottle cold turkey
- Started transitioning to whole milk
- Completely cut out purees - she hates them!

Almost One!

It's hard to believe that Hannah has been a part of our lives for a year now! Sometimes it seems like she was just born, and other times her newborn stage seems a lifetime away compared to what a big girl she is!

Here are a few recent pictures. I love the one with her and two of the guys from the Guatemala mission team, Dustin and Simon. She is quite the flirt! I'm also proud to point out that the little skirt she's wearing is something I made her!

We'll be celebrating her birthday this weekend with family! She is such a blessing to our lives.

Poor, Pitiful Sick Family

We've all been sick over the past two weeks. And while it's been no fun, it provides the opportunity to actually just rest and focus on each other.