money in the bank

 

Nothing gets Hannah excited like putting money in her piggy bank. {Makes her dad so proud.} We find spare change. She runs to her room, takes the bank down from the shelf, and drops the coins in.

My mom and I were talking yesterday about needing to find a kid's currency. For some it's TV. For some it's candy. For Hannah, currency is her currency.

talking and playing

At her 2-yr check-up, the pediatrician (our friend, Jennifer) asked us if Hannah talks in 2-3 word sentences. The answer is sometimes. Other times she talks in 5-7 word sentences. Like yesterday she said this to her Dad: "I want to hold you. Want to hold Hannah?" and then later as he was buckling her into her car seat: "I need a book I can read."

She knows what she wants. Saturday I set out these outfits for her to choose from. I'm sure you can guess which she picked.




I've mentioned before about a little notebook I have where I keep track of what she says. That is kinda hard to do now, as she is saying new things every day. But just for fun, the other day I did keep track of the new stuff. It goes like this (all in a span of a few hours):

I need ice cream cone.
I want to play.
Want to feed Hannah?
I need a diaper.
Do you want Hannah? (My personal favorite.)
I want to swing really bad.
(Exchange while I'm changing her diaper.) Me: Joseph's crying. He needs me. Hannah: I need lunch.
Joseph watching Hannah play on swing set.

Yes. I'd say Hannah is where she needs to be as far as talking goes.

And about that swing set. She sure does love it...and has been nice enough to share with Joseph.

 Last weekend we watched Daddy run a 5k race...and win. Go Daddy go!

Joseph is quite an active guy too. He coos and laughs, goes on runs with me, and plays in the jumperoo.  

Occasionally Hannah and Joseph nap at the same time. I love those days. On this particular day, I had to wake her up. She looked so sweet I had to take a picture.

Then...

She wasn't sure what to make of Joseph being next to her.

a tooth and a potty

We've got big-time firsts going on over here.

Joseph's first tooth made it's appearance at the end of last week. Thank goodness. He's been drooling and chewing and downright miserable. Other than the teething, he's doing great. He loves jumping in the exersaucer and being anywhere I am. He wants to be held. All. The. Time. We've got a momma's boy. I'm ok with that.

He's five months now.

While I had my camera out (ok, it's always out, but still...), I put him in his baptismal gown so I could take pictures since there were none of just him taking that day. He didn't really want to cooperate. He mainly played with his feet, blew bubbles, and chewed on the gown.

I did get one good one.

Also in the firsts department, Hannah went on the potty for the first time...all by herself. She went to the "Royal Potty" in her bathroom, took care of business, and then came to tell us about it. {We have not pushed the potty training issue at all, letting her get there when she's ready.}

Speaking of my big girl...she is loving preschool. Our friends, Beth and Phillip, sent her the backpack for her birthday.

They grow so fast.

hannah is two!

I think it's safe to say that Hannah had a great second birthday. There were plenty of cards, presents, balloons, cupcakes, and everything else a toddler could ever want.

Birthday Girl

I made cupcake cones and brought them to her preschool class. She was very excited.

After nap, we opened a few small things at home and sang Happy Birthday. Enter cupcake #2.

...yes, she's eating it with a fork.

For supper we went to Mellow Mushroom. The girl loves pizza.

...and cupcakes!

Saturday came and it was party day.

baptism...belated

It didn't take me this long to get ahold of the pictures, but it has taken quite a while to sit down and blog. And even now I have writer's block. I am having trouble putting into words that day. Here goes my best attempt.

August 28 was Joseph's big day. Everything about the morning was beautiful: the weather, the music, the ceremony, all of it. It was extra special for us, for obvious reasons. Watching Joe baptize our son was a precious moment. For Joe, I know, it was a priviledge - one of the few times where his vocation intersects with his family in a very personal and spiritual way.

Despite my efforts to have a quiet baby, Joseph was not a happy camper. And he certainly didn't like it when Joe laid him back. He wanted to face out and see everyone. Hannah wasn't too happy either. My brother, Will, held her so she could watch. But she didn't understand why Daddy was holding Joseph and not her. She is most definitely a daddy's girl.

Joe used a special baptismal shell, given to Joseph by our friends, Jennifer and Daniel.

Thank you to my cousin Trudie for capturing this:

Joe was carrying Joseph down the aisle. Hannah had her head against mine and we were watching them. A beautiful rendition of Jesus Loves Me was being played on the piano. I felt overwhelmed with love and pride.

The godparents: Will, Jennifer and Daniel

The Brooks family

The Buck family

Joseph Alexander Buck III, IV, and V

The Smith family and the Register girls

Daniel and Leah

Emma and Jackson

Hannah and Uncle Ben

We are thankful for our friends and family who came to Sandersville for the occasion. Thank you to Trudie and Joel for taking pictures, to Mom for the beautiful flowers and cake, and to Joe, Marilyn, Mom, and Trudie for help with the food. It was a wonderful day.