Pumpkin Patch Fun

Rory having fun with Grandad Hanna
Rory loved getting to see all bunnies in Bunnyville
Abby checking out the bunnies with Mimi Sue
Rory had to make sure that Abby didn't miss a thing!!
Scarecrow Rory

(she wouldn't stand still long enough to get a really good picture because she was too excited!!)

Scarecrow Abby
Goin' on a hayride!! Abby wasn't really sure about this idea... LOL
The Pumpkin Patch
Abby all bundled up because the wind got a little chilly
Daddy and his girls in front of the corn maze. Look at the face Abby gave me when I told her to smile big. She cracks me up!!
The girls headed into the maze
Rory holding on to her sister's hand and running through the maze. They didn't really wait for adult supervision.
Abby in the corn maze

"I want to go this way" ~Rory

"But, I think we should go this way" ~Abby

(They really did stop and discuss which way to go. They are too smart!!)

Daddy and the girls leading us through the maze
Abby and Mimi Sue picking out pumpkins
Rory leading Daddy and Grandad through the pumpkin patch
Abby showing Grandad around
Daddy and Rory picking out the perfect pumpkin
They found the best pumpkin in the patch!!
Daddy and his girls in front of the hayride tractor

Sweet Abby in the pumpkins
Pumpkin Twins
Rory looooooved jumping in the pumpkin jumper
"Bounce... Fun!!!!" ~Rory

This last Saturday, we took the girls to the pumpkin patch to have a fun-filled morning. Grandad and Mimi Sue (Michael's parents) went with us. We all had such a wonderful time!! The girls got to go on their first hayride. Rory loved taking it all in (while holding on to mom and dad, of course), but Abby wasn't too sure about the whole thing. Both girls loved visiting Bunnyville. There was an area set up like a little village, but it was filled with bunnies. At one point, the handler even took one of the bunnies out and let the girls pet it. Both squealed and laughed!! It was too funny!! The hayride dropped us off at the pumpkin patch and corn maze. Both girls, especially Abby, loved the corn maze!! As soon as we entered the maze, off they went. It took all four adults to keep up with where the two of them were headed. At one point, both girls stopped because Rory wanted to take one path and Abby wanted to take the other. They discussed which way they wanted to go, picked a path and off they went. After we finished the maze, we headed to the pumpkin patch. The girls had so much fun running from pumpkin to pumpkin. After examining most of the pumpkins in the patch, they each picked out their perfect pumpkins. When we had all our treasures, we took another hayride back to the front area. There was a huge pumpkin bouncer. Abby was not a huge fan of the bouncer. She likes her feet on solid ground. Rory, however, looooved bouncing and jumping with Daddy in the bouncer!!! She squealed and screamed "bounce.... fun!!" We had to pull her away from it when we were ready to leave. She does love to jump and bounce!! All in all, we had such a wonderful time at the pumpkin patch!! When we got home, we put our pumpkins on our front porch with our other Halloween decorations. The girls go to the front door every morning to check the "pompins" (pumpkins) and make sure they are alright and still there. We are so glad that Grandad and Mimi Sue got a chance to share this wonderful experince with us!! We love making wonderful memories with our beautiful little girls!!

20 Months

Braxton reading to Rory

Look at our overalls!!

Rory's ready for Fall

What a sweet Abby smile!!

Morning Sister snuggles. This is something we do about every morning!!

Today the girls are 20 months old. It's so hard for me to believe that in four short months our precious twin girls will be 2 years old. Where does the time go? Everyone in the Hanna household is doing well. It's so amazing to watch the girls every day. I know that I say that all the time, but it never ceases to amaze me what they come up with next. Both girls are talking very plain now. Many people don't get to really hear Abby talk all that much because she is still so reserved around other people, but she is a chatterbox at home. LOL. Her and Rory constantly talk all day long. It's too funny!! They also seem to be able to anticipate what the other is thinking or about to say. I guess that goes with being a twin, but it's fun to watch and get to be a part of. Rory has started telling us "stories." She demands attention and then she will go off on a wild rant about puppies, sister, Daddy or whatever else may be on her mind. She will tell her story for about 5-10 minutes and then, when she is done, will just walk out of the room. She cracks us up. They are both starting to really comprehend different roles in the family, as well. Rory and I had this conversation the other day:
Rory: "Mama, Abby sleepy."
Me: "Yes, Rory, Abby is sleepy."
Rory: "Abby go night-night."
Me: "Who's going to put Abby night-night?"
Rory: "Me Abby night-night. I the mama."
They also imitate Daddy going to work by picking up his work bag and lunch box and going to the door. They will come back, give me a kiss and say "bye-bye with Dada." We have also started the tea-party phase. Rory loves to get everyone a cup and pour pretend tea in it from her teapot. She will then put her hand up like she is carrying an tray and give everyone a bite of cake. She then will ask if it is yummy before moving to the next person. She's such a little caretaker. She loves to wrap her puppy up and rock it night-night. She also tries to "mother" Abby all of the time. While Abby will play along for a while, she quickly tires of Rory's constant attention and will go off to do her own thing. Abby loves to play by herself as well as with her sister. She will sit and "read" books to herself or play with her dolls. It's so funny to watch what different little girls they are even though they are twins. Abby has also started being our little tattle-tale. I know that Rory is doing something that she isn't supposed to be doing when Abby comes running to me yelling "Mama, Rora no no." Rory has also figured out that when Abby comes to tell on her, she better stop what she's doing quick because Mommy or Daddy is headed in there fast. Rory has also decided that her name is not "Rory," but, instead, "Rarora." The other day, I said "Is your name Rory?" And she looked at me, put her hand on her hip and said "No mama, I Rarora." I never thought that a 20 month old would be able to decide what she wanted to be called, but she sure has. Even Abby calls her "Rora" or "Rarora" and a lot of times she won't answer when we call her "Rory." LOL. She is definitely opinionated. Both girls love to go outside in the evening and look at the moon. It's amazing to me that they are even interested in it, but they we will go outside and they will find the moon, show it to us, tell it "night-night" and blow it kisses. This all came out of Michael pointing it out to Rory one evening when we were outside. We have so much fun with the girls!!

Michael and I are both doing well. Michael is so busy with school this year. He is constantly running to meetings, bringing things home to grade, conferencing with parents and so many more things. I'm not sure either of us understood what it would mean for him to take on another subject, but, as always, he has risen to the challenge and is doing a magnificent job!! He is still running twice a week (once with a friend, John, and once by himself). I'm proud of him for sticking to it. I really think that he is enjoying it!! I'm pretty much doing the same old, same old. I'm so blessed to spend my days with my beautiful baby girls. I can't imagine having another job that would be as fulfilling as being a mom.

Shall We Dance?

When I go to my Jazzercise classes, Michael and the girls have fun staying home together. I never know exactly what I might find when I come home. There may be a wrestling match going on with Daddy being tackled by two giggling little girls. There may be a movie in progress. There may be a tea party. This particular Saturday morning, apparently, Daddy and the girls had been dancing. He told me that there was some music on television and the girls grabbed each others hands and started dancing like the people on television. How cute!! Being the wonderful husband that he is, he grabbed the video camera so that I wouldn't miss a moment. I am so thankful every single day for such talented, happy and wonderful twin girls!! Enjoy!!

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.