Making me smile
One of the the (many) things about Hannah that I hope I never take for granted is her ability to make me smile. Now I'm generally a happy person so it's not that hard to make me smile, but every so often I have a day like today. I had a really crappy day at work for a number of reasons and was in a really horrible mood on my commute home. But as soon as I walked in the door and saw her I was able to leave work behind and focus on how much fun a 2-year-old is. I immediately started to smile.
It's the same in the morning. Even when we're in a rush and we get frustrated at her not wanting to get her shoes or hat on, or not wanting to finish her oatmeal and brush her teeth, it's really hard not to smile at how cute she is. She provides so much happiness and fun, and I hope we continue to appreciate it.
That's not to say she's not a ton of work. My parents and sister found this out on Thanksgiving weekend. After a great family dinner on Thursday (Jeanne's parents, my parents, my sister, and the three of us) we dropped off Hannah at my parents' house on Friday for the weekend. We snuck away up to Quechee and did work on the house and had a weekend away. Hannah got to have a special weekend with Nana and Grandpa.
Friday night she went to Shabbat services with my parents and did incredibly well. From all accounts, she was mesmerized by the singing (but didn't partake) and followed along when everyone stood and then sat back down. After an hour or so she turned to my mom and said "I'm ready to go back to your house" so they left my dad there for the rest of the service. When they got home and my sister asked her where Grandpa was, Hannah answered "he's still singing".
Saturday morning Hannah got a treat of her first pedicure. The rest of the weekend (and in the following week) she took off her socks to show anyone her "pretty red piggies". The grandparents role is to spoil children and Hannah loved it. But it wore them out.
Jeanne and I were very amused to return on Sunday evening to find my parents and sister all exhausted from a weekend with a 2-year-old that never stops moving. She was constantly busy and the addition of two dogs made for a much livelier weekend than their house is used to. We're glad that they got to experience how tiring she can be, but also how much fun it is to have her experiencing so many new things.
And after recently booking a week-long vacation in March when Hannah is going to stay with Jeanne's parents, we're hoping Nana and Papa can recruit helpers (maybe cousins) so they can make it through a week with her.
But no matter the exhaustion, she still makes everyone smile.
Two batches of recent photos.
Thanksgiving weekend:
First snow of the year:
And a few great ones of her and Annie playing together:
