what makes me smile

Ok, there is nothing like the joy of watching your child in complete and utter delight. So really this is about what makes Hannah smile. Lately she has really gotten us in stitches with her antics. It scares us to think what she's going to be like when she's a teenager...or five...or two. Here's a summary of the last couple of weeks in pictures.

Granddaddy came down to visit. Hannah thinks he is silly.

Opening up a package from Grandma. She seems to get one at least once a week.

playing with her beads. LOVES THEM.

Look at this face. I mean really.

How sweet it is...

Grandma sent her this jacket - so cute. She's thrilled, can't you tell?

Can't contain her excitement. I couldn't get a shot that wasn't blurry!

excited to be riding in her big girl seat!

My caterpillar girl. This is one of my favorite dresses. (from Auntie Jen)

Most of my pictures look like this.

On the move...but found her bow! DANG IT.

This made us laugh so hard. She grabbed her beads, the shakers, and just went to town.

wish this picture wasn't so dark. hilarious.

Other things that make me smile are:

october 14th: celebrating four years of marriage, by putting on our wedding clothes and dancing our annual "moon river" waltz in the living room. we were exhausted. it was late. but we had to! (and if you're wondering: no, my dress is not zipped all the way!)

expecting our second baby. this picture was taken at 12 weeks.

three more weekends, three more trips

After our trip to Alabama at the end of September, we spent the next three weekends out of town also. This was a little much. One thing I know for sure: traveling with a small child is exhausting. (Not to mention that I feel tired a lot right now anyway.) Hannah, like many kids, does not do well when she gets out of her usual routine - hey, some adults are this way. She gives us 11-12 uninterrupted hours pretty much every night in her crib at home. On the road, sleeping in her pack-n-play, we get 7 hours broken up at best. She wakes up crying/screaming and at times inconsolable. We're not sure if it's the pack-n-play, the changes in routine, not being in her room, or what. But it's not fun, I can tell you that.

All that being said, we did have a nice time the last two weekends. We went to Vero Beach for Grace Dare's baptism. We stayed at a super nice house right on the beach (repeat: right on the beach). We could hear the waves crashing from our bedroom and see the water from the living room. The baptism was nice and Joe said a special prayer/blessing on the beach during the luncheon following. One of the highlights for us was Hannah's first time on a swing set. Oh. My. Gosh. She LOVED it.

The Buck's with Joan, Tim, and Grace Dare.

The next weekend we went to Atlanta for Hannah's first Georgia Tech football game. We got to see friends and show Hannah all the excitement. The GT band came right by our tailgate and played the fight song. Then we got in the stadium and saw the team come onto the field with the band and cheerleaders and all. Hannah was so cute. She loved every minute of it. Our seats were right on the 50 yard line. So much fun!

happy birthday chloe!

My baby since 2001.

9 years old today!

like dandelion dust

"What if the only child you ever loved was taken from you forever?"

Last night I stayed up late finishing the inspirational novel, Like Dandelion Dust, by Karen Kingsbury. Read this book if you get the chance. It was an emotional read. The story is about birth parents that try to regain custody of their 4yr old son who has been living with adoptive parents since birth. Understanding the lengths that someone will go through to keep their child or get them back is powerful. Let me just say I cannot imagine being in either mother's position.

Having a child now of my own made everything that much more relatable. It truly hurts me to my core to think about this kind of thing happening. While Hannah belongs to Joe and me, the whole time reading this book I couldn't help but think about the what if's. What if Hannah was taken away from us? What if someone or something out of our control made us give her up? These are questions that no one wants to think about, including me. But occasionally you read a book or article, or see a movie that makes you think about things that you would otherwise refuse to.  

Like Dandelion Dust is also a movie. (To see the movie trailer click here.) It is playing in theaters, but not very many, and I don't think I'll have the chance to see it. Karen Kingsbury is a Christian author who writes "life-changing fiction." She writes about real circumstances and real people. My mom will buy and read her books and then send them to me. (I have a big stack of books I need to read.) Joe calls her books "dramatic fiction" and insists that they all make me cry at some point. I think he's exaggerating. Regardless, I am always glad I read them. I strive to be a better Christian and books like these help me remember my priorities and where my focus should always be: on God.

big sister in training?

Yep, Hannah is going to be a big sister! I am 12 weeks along and due April 28th. We are very excited! It has been really hard - even harder than last time - to hide the belly these last few weeks. And I'm not so sure no one noticed...or figured it out.

I tried to get a picture of Hannah wearing her t-shirt, but she would not smile at me. All she wanted to do was talk, play with leaves, and explore the patio. Below are 6 of the 30 tries.