Friday, October 21, 2011

Annie Update


Annie loves putting beads and necklaces on herself, just like Lauren used to.

WOW, has our little one grown leaps and bounds the past month. Annie waves hi and bye now, crawls all around, and even blows kisses sometimes. Wilma gets the credit for inspiring Annie to crawl around. Before she stayed with us, Annie was moving around a bit, but clearly Annie's interest in Wilma was just the encouragement she needed to become a master crawler.

She calls Geoff, "Da Da" regularly, tries really hard to say "doggie" whenever Wilma is around. She even calls me "Ma Ma" more and more each day. Annie loves sitting up on her knees and trying to pull herself up on things like the train table, jump-a-roo, and coffee table.

Our music class on Thursday mornings has been wonderful. I really enjoy my time spent with just Annie. It's amazing how much she has changed since the beginning of class. She loves the shakers and is just fascinated with the teacher. Annie's big brown eyes just study and stare at the teacher. She really takes everything in.





Oh and notice, Annie's hair is getting thicker.


For about the past month though, Annie has had a really tough time sleeping through the night. She started with a cold, which caused her to wake up in the night, coughing and coughing. About two weeks ago she was diagnosed with her first ear infection. Last Monday, after many more nights of lack of sleep around the Hanson household, I took Annie back to the doctor, where she was diagnosed with an ear infection in her other ear. She is currently on stronger medicine and the doctor even told me a small amount of Benadryl before bed would be ok. So after three nights of Benadryl, a new antibiotic, a humidifier in Annie's room and complete sleep for everyone, we might be on the road to recovery.

Annie still refuses to eat any solid food unless it's a grain. She loves Puffs, crackers, and bread, but won't eat any soft textured food unless it's pureed like baby food. Even if I try to put a small bit of banana in with her baby food, she will find it and spit it out. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

Annie sure loves her big sister, Lauren! She wants to be everywhere Lauren is and play with everything Lauren is playing with. If Lauren claps, Annie will copy her. Lauren is a great teacher and for the most part, is extremely patient with Annie. Of course, she doesn't always like to share everything with her, but loves helping as much as any three year old should be expected to. Watching the two girls bond and grow together is a wonderful bonus to motherhood!



Lauren wanted to have a picnic for snack time today. After Annie tried to swipe Lauren's snack a few times, I realized I should get her a snack too. So Annie enjoyed her Puffs and Lauren was able finish her trail mix. Oh and we do call Annie Swipper all the time because she is so quick to grab everything! It's really appropriate because she enjoys Dora as much as Lauren.



PS...I forgot to add that Annie loves turning pages when we read books and is doing very well with her baby signs. We even thought she might have called Lauren, "La La." yesterday.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Pinkalicious

As a reading teacher, I can't even begin to express my excitement when Lauren started reading this book to us the other day. She loves reading so much, I knew it was coming, I just didn't expect it so soon. Let's hope her love of reading continues for many, many years to come.

Pinkalicious was one of Lauren's birthday presents from Mammie and Papa and as you can tell it was a hit.

I love the inflection in her voice. Enjoy!




Don't Worry Mom and Dad, I'm Having A Great Time!

Hi, Mom and Dad. Just wanted to let you know I am having a great time here with my cousins, Lauren and Annie. They are taking great care of me and I love playing with them. I don't get as much sleep here though. There is always something going on that I would like to investigate.



Lauren takes care of feeding me breakfast and dinner. She gives me treats too! Aunt Kate and Uncle Geoff have to keep my food dishes off the floor when I'm not eating though because Annie likes to snack on my food too.



I've learned the right place to sit during dinner time. Annie does a great job of sharing her food with me!



Story time is the best time of day. I love cuddling up and listening to all the books. Can we please have story time at our house now too?


I even taught Annie how to crawl! We like to play games and follow each other around. Sometimes Lauren plays with us too, but she was busy singing this time.

I hope you are having as much fun in Paris as I am with my cousins. Please hurry home though. I miss you and am looking forward to getting some rest.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fun in the Barn

Not only did the girls love playing in the pumpkin patch, the big red barn was tons of fun too!


I love this photo Geoff took from the top of the straw bales. It shows the rafters above, tractors, Annie and me below, and how tall the straw bale tower really was.


Lauren climbing up to the top!


It took Lauren a while, but once she got the hang of it, she loved peddling the tractors around. I remember when my cousin, Zach used to have a small tractor like this. We would spend hours riding it around and he even rode it in a bike parade.


Annie's first tractor ride. Notice her tongue sticking out? She seems to do this when she concentrates, just like her mom!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pumpkin Patch Perfection

What a fantastic day we had at the pumpkin patch! The weather was perfect and the location was just large enough for the Hanson family to manage. The girls loved sitting in the wagon together.
Lauren did a wonderful job pulling the wagon for us. Don't you just love her pumpkin hat? It will be perfect for Highwood's pumpkin festival next weekend.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Adventures at Daycare + No Nap =

One day a few weeks ago, Lauren and Annie both fell asleep on the drive home from daycare. I thought I would let the sleep for a bit longer, so I took a bit of a detour and drove around for about 20 minutes longer than I needed to. After we arrived home, I woke Lauren up to come inside and the next thing I knew she was back curled up on the cough asleep. Even though she may not think so, looks like she still needs an afternoon nap, even though playing at daycare is much more fun!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Robinettes

Who doesn't love apple orchards in the fall? Before coming back home this past weekend, we made sure to schedule a visit to Robinettes. Mammie and Papa even surprised us and came home from the cabin early so they could come with us as well. We started with a delicious lunch, followed up by the BEST donuts we have ever had in our lives. They were so warm and fresh that they melted in your mouth. We explored the orchard a bit, made the standard purchases and then got in the car to drive back to Chicago. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
The girls were happy to get their picture taken by the giant apple with Mammie and Papa.
Aunt Stephanie and Lauren enjoying their apples at the orchard.
Doesn't Annie just look so excited in this photo? She loved eating all my crackers for my chili as her lunch.
All Lauren wanted was this donut with sprinkles!