Labor Day and Beyond

Our Little Spider Monkey, Abby, propping her cup up with her feet.

Mimi Sue teaching Abby how to water the flowers

Mimi Sue, Abby, Rory and Grandad Hanna

Double Potty Time

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Saturday evening, John and Jennifer Merriss watched our kiddos so that Michael and I could go out on a much needed date. It was nice to have a dinner with my husband where I didn't have to worry about changing diapers, running little ones to the bathroom, cutting up food and filling juice cups. It was nice to reconnect with Michael. Sunday, we spent the day with my family at my grandmother's house. My dad made an awesome meal of grilled corn, pork chops and squash casserole (yum, yum, yum!!). The girls and Braxton had a really great time playing in the backyard and running like mad kids after each other. What fun!! Then Monday, we spent some time with Michael's parents and the Merriss clan. The girls had such a good time playing in the playhouse at their Grandad and Mimi Sue's house. They also learned how to use a watering can while we were there. Now, they want "watie" (water) in everything so that they can water the flowers. It's really cute!! We had a great evening with the Merriss family (as usual). The kids played until they couldn't hardly stay upright any longer. As a matter of fact, both of our girls were asleep when we got home. I'm so glad that they enjoy playing with the Merriss boys so much!! It sure makes it nice to visit!! All in all, we had a great Labor Day weekend and were sad to see it end.

We are still working on potty training at our house. It is going pretty good. The girls have both got the concept down pretty well. We, of course, have accidents still, but we're working on it. We had one day over Labor Day weekend where Abby had four successful trips to the potty and Rory had three (one was a poopoo trip!!). The only major problem that we have run into is that Rory only wants her Daddy to take her to the bathroom. That would be great if he was home during the weekday, but he isn't. She also has a complete meltdown when she has an accident in her Dora the Explorer pull-ups. Whoever decided to put children's favorite cartoon characters on diapers/pull-ups that they will have accidents in has a very sick sense of humor. If she has an accident, she will go around the house crying "I peepee Dora. I peepee Dora." It's really sad, so we've decided to wait on the pull-ups until she has a little better control. We mustn't completely scar the child. Michael and I have started to laugh about the new conversations in our house. Most have something to do with our daughters' bodily functions. LOL. Being a parent is always an enlightening adventure.

All in all, everyone is doing well at the Hanna house. We have an appointment with Abby's allergy specialist next week just to check-up and see how things are going. So far, she seems to be doing absolutely fabulous!! This doctor seems to really know what he is doing. I just wish he was a little closer to home. I'm willing to make the trip as many times as possible, though, to help her feel better and start really growing well and consistently. Both girls are growing and have so much fun together all the time. It's so neat to watch them truly be each other's best friend!! I can't even begin to describe the special relationship the two of them have with one another. It's amazing!! God has blessed us so much with wonderful friends, family and two smart and beautiful little girls.

Craziness at our House

Great-Grandpa Brauchi with a lap-full of twins :)

Abby at the hotel in Lubbock. Who knew someone so small could take up so much of the bed? I had to share this bed with her.

Aunt Shannie and Abby in our hotel room

Sweet Abby smiles!!

Rory playing shy... silly girl!!

Abby watching the world go by

Jonathan Merriss and Abby hanging out on the couch together. Abby is fascinated with Jonathan. LOL!!

Rory is sleepy from playing with her friends

Jacob Merriss... What a cutie!!

Rory loves to play with Jacob and make sure he is well taken care of

Jacob chillin' with Uncle Mike

Cute, Cute, Cute

My family cheesin' for the camera

Look at the face Rory gave me when I snuck in to take their picture

"Mom.... What are you doing?" ~Rory

Gotta love the Abby!!

Ok, I know that I have neglected our blog here lately. I apologize for that. The last couple of months have been such a blur for us and this is truly the first time that I have had a chance to just sit and blog.

As many of you know, when we took Abby to her 18 months check-up she had lost almost a pound in a little less than a month. The doctor, and myself, were considerably worried about it since she had not been terribly sick and had been eating just fine. It was time to figure out why she was not gaining weight. After visiting several specialists, we found out that her problem may just be a series of allergies that she has been exposed to on a fairly regular basis. All the tests for her immune system came back perfect. All the tests for her vision came back perfect. We have been giving her medicine to help control the allergies and so far, so good. She has all but stopped having coughing fits. We have not had to go back to the doctor in month (which is unheard of around here). And, just to look at her, it looks like she is really starting to fill out. We are so thankful that our pediatrician sent her to these specialists so that we could get this under control. Who knew allergies could cause so many problems? We sure didn't.

The girls are both doing wonderful. They are growing and learning by leaps and bounds. I can't even keep up with them anymore. Both girls talk very plain and in phrases/sentences. Sometimes they leave a few words like "a" or "the," but they definitely get their point across. They can both count to 3 by themselves. They know quite a few of their letters and letter sounds. Both girls love, love, love to read. We spend a good portion of our day sitting and reading their books. I'm so excited that they enjoy reading!! I think that it is so important for kids to read and enjoy reading. Plus, it's one of the few times that they will sit still long enough for me to sneak some cuddles in (I'm a very sneaky mommy). Both Abby and Rory love to dance and sing. They will dance anytime that they hear music. It's too much fun!! They love to sing "Deep and Wide" and "This Little Light of Mine" and do the motions at the same time. At church, the girls moved into an actual Sunday School class this last week instead of staying in the nursery the entire time we are at church. They still have nursery/playtime after their Sunday School class, but they are now old enough for Bible lessons and song-time. I just couldn't believe it when we got the letter in the mail letting us know they would be promoting to an actual class. Apparently, they did wonderful. We talked about their lesson when they got home (which was about the Creation) and they told us all about the fishes. It was too cute!! They amaze me every day with the new things that they know and learn. We have ventured into the wonderful world of potty training. Michael and I had no intentions of starting potty training this early, but the girls have decided they are ready. Abby has been telling us for about a month when she needs to poopoo. At the beginning of the week, Rory started stripping naked and peepeeing in her bed during naptime. She yells "Mama, I peepee" and then tries to hold it long enough for me to get in there. Then, every time she messes in her diaper, she cries and hollers because she wants it off NOW!! So, we decided to go ahead and introduce them to the concept. Last night, we took the girls on a Pre-Potty Training shopping trip. They both got to pick out their very first panties. Rory chose Sleeping Beauty and Abby chose Dora the Explorer. They helped pick out the new potty chair and sticker for their potty charts. They were so excited!!! We're hoping that the training goes as smoothly as the shopping trip did. LOL. Both girls have really started to assert their independence from Mommy and Daddy.... especially Rory. They love to play in their room by themselves and are put-out with us if we interfere with their fun. They do really well, but there are times we have to step in and say "no" or break up a scuffle (just like with all siblings). Rory especially wants us to know that she can do everything on her own (whether she actually can or not). The other day, she continuously shut their bedroom door (which I do not allow at all) and I finally propped it open where she couldn't shut it anymore. She was angry with me. After a while, she got really quiet, so I went in to check on her and Abby. Rory had pulled their rocking chairs and little couches in front of the door to block it off. When I came around the corner, she put one hand on her hip, pointed a finger at me and said "Mamma, STAY OUT!!" She did not want me in their room. I was not invited and she made that very clear. My mom just laughs and tells me that I had it coming to me. LOL.

Michael and I are doing well. Michael took his certification this summer so that he could teach History as well as Latin. So, this year he has 3 Texas History classes and 2 Latin classes. I think that he is enjoying it, but I know that he misses teaching Latin full-time. He's been so busy this year with the added subject. It's crazy!! He and one of his best friends, John Merriss, have started running and working out two days a week. I really think that Michael is enjoying getting back into running. He was on the track team in high school and ran in college quite a bit. Then, he met me and I only run if someone is chasing me. So, he got away from running as we got married, started our family and just generally have stayed busy. I think it is so good for both of them! I have started taking Jazzercise (dance exercise) classes to try to get in better shape and generally help me feel better. I have enjoyed it so much more than I ever thought was possible. I've never been one to really like working out much, but this class is high-energy and just all around fun. One of my very best friends, Jennifer Merriss, is taking the class with me. It's so nice to get out of the house and just have some fun girl-time. I don't know if I've lost any weight yet, but I definitely feel better and have more energy than normal and that is worth the work to me. As you can probably tell, we spend quite a bit of time with the Merriss family. They have really become more like family than friends. Our kiddos love to play together, so that makes it even better!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends/family! :)

Well, that's pretty much what is going on in the Hanna house right now. We seem to be running constantly (usually after two 1 yr. olds). I'll try to do better with keeping the blog updated.