Life, and All That Surrounds It

We've known for some time that Hannah was a little bossy. We see it when she plays with us, we see it when she plays with other kids, and we see it when she plays with animals. She's certainly not a bully but she loves to be in charge. One of the reasons we love watching her play with kids a little older than her is they put her in her place. But dogs, no matter the size, are always fair game to be told what to do.

We spent the weekend with college friends which included time with other kids and time with their golden retriever. Mosey (aka "Mose") is a really great dog. She runs around like crazy outside but then comes when called, she is incredible with kids, and evens sits on command for a photo. And she even listened to Hannah and came when called (sorta).

Posted by Pete at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When Hannah first saw the 7-foot stuffed bear in the lobby of our hotel she recoiled in fear and jumped into our arms. The following morning she did the same thing when she stepped off the elevator. But by the end of the stay, she said "he's not scary, just big" and posed for a photo with the big guy.

We were staying at the North Conway Grand Hotel for a conference at which Jeanne was presenting. It's a nice hotel with a outdoors motif (ironic given its proximity to outlet shopping malls) which included the bear, one moose head, one full-size moose, one over-sized beaver, and two wolves in the lobby and lounge areas. The bear greeted you as you came off the elevator - and with an open paw he really looked like he was saying hi.

She certainly knew he was stuffed but he was pretty imposing even to those of us more than 3 feet tall. The next day after her second scare (and when we had lots of time while mommy was busy at the conference) we talked about the bear and how we were going to see him again when we went back to the lobby. I tried to hold her so she could see his face from his height (although he was a lot taller than me) but she didn't want to go near him.

It wasn't until later that day before riding the elevator that she talked about saying hi to the bear. She knew he was there, and that she'd have to walk by him, so she figured out that she might as well make friends. She timidly said hi and after he didn't respond or chase after her, she got more bold and waved too. She eventually got up the courage to pet his fur. After that, whenever we were near the lobby, she went out of her way to wave and say "Hi Bear!" (much to the amusement of passersby and the front desk staff).

I don't know that teaching her not to be afraid of bears is necessarily a good thing, but overcoming fears and challenging herself to try something scary was great to see. And I think "not scary, just big" is a great slogan for a two-year-old.

Posted by Pete at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hannah isn't ready for trick-or-treating but that doesn't mean she can't have a great Halloween. And now that I see how much kids love dressing up and eating chocolate, I better understand the excitement around this holiday (I'm not a huge fan of either one so it doesn't crack my top 5 holidays).

Before the weekend, we had a fun night with my sister babysitting and that meant Hannah got to show off for her aunt. This was highlighted by repetitive jumping off anything she could. And no, this did not end well fifteen minutes after this video when she fell and hurt her knee (a smiley-faced ice pack and some TLC and she was all better):

We spent Halloween weekend with our friends Andrew and Jess who were nice enough to host us as our condo was rented for the weekend. That meant lots of time to play with dogs, watch the horses (from a distance, please), go for a hike, and even ride on a tractor. Halloween night was spent at Henry Monster's house (we managed to capture his adorable costume in the thirty minutes he kept it on) and all the kids had a blast. The highlight of the night for Hannah was getting to see her friend Annie and the two of them spent hours running around the house laughing and playing. It was so much fun for them to play and us to watch them.

I will also apologize for taking four days to get these photos out to Hannah's anxiously awaiting public. I was struck Saturday night as numerous people sent and received costume photos from friends and family around the world on their cell phones. There were complaints that night when photos were hours late, and here I am taking half a week! But I hope they are worth the wait.

Posted by Pete at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)