Where do I even begin with this child? Our crazy, feisty Sister Bear. Above is a true unicorn photo – a rare opportunity to capture a moment that is 100% Hannah on camera.
Our laughing, smiling baby girl. Impish and mischievous; never, ever still. Into all of the things and into them all at once.
We lovingly call her Hurricane Hannah for the speed and ferocity with which she can upend a room, a drawer, a shelf…you name it. Squealing with delight at her antics when she’s caught and the biggest, saddest crocodile tears you’ve ever seen if she gets (lightly) scolded.
She walks across the fireplace hearth like it’s a stage, climbs atop the train table for the sheer fun of doing it, rearranges any furniture that moves, uses toys as steps, checks the stair gate to see if it’s latched – and crawls through the side of the stairs if it is – bangs cabinets with glee, and would definitely run with scissors if given half an opportunity.
She keeps us on our toes and daily tests how fast our reflexes are, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are so in love with her and she brings an incredible amount of joy and zing to our family.
I don’t know her stats; her checkups are all out of sync due to her winter illnesses. She’s still comfortably in 18 month clothes, which is still shocking to me after L.J. She’s recently become enamored with girly things like necklaces, bows and purses. Yes!!!!!!!!! Bows!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m trying to be patient about the bows while we wait for Hannah’s mullet to grow out. Sweet girl, it’s true. You have a fantastic mullet. It even blows in the breeze. The back keeps growing longer – with beautiful curls no less – while the top just creeps along in no hurry to catch up. We’ll get there soon enough.
Hannah’s responsive language is excellent – she understands most of what we tell her, can respond correctly and can follow simple instructions such as, “Take your cup to Daddy.”
Her expressive language consists of three words: Mama, Dada and Landon. Really two words, as Dada is a bit of a unicorn word.
Not really sure if we should be concerned, as L.J. was a late talker, too. I’ve had two late walkers, so guessing it’s going to be two late talkers.
Hannah has her own language that we all understand quite well.
- She points for anything she wants, nodding ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if it’s not clear what she wants and you need clarification
- Nods ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to questions
- Opens her mouth like a bird and says, “Ahh!” if she wants something you have
- Signs the word ‘more’ and ‘please’
- Sometimes signs ‘all done’; usually flings food instead
She’s gotten picker as she’s moved into her second year, but not as drastically so as I remember L.J. doing. She’s not that picky; it’s more a matter of whether she feels like eating or not.
She loves, loves, loves fruit, strawberries in particular. She also typically prefers well-seasoned food to anything bland. My mom introduced her to M&M’s, and I’m pretty sure she shares Nana’s affinity for anything sweet. I’ve never seen her come running or sign “More!” so fast!
Like Landon, she enjoys being outside and swings are a favorite. She is also a big fan of the pool, but unlike Landon she has zero fear of the water. I’m going to be a nervous wreck at the beach! At 17 months of age, she will walk right off the edge into my arms. It’s her favorite game at the pool.
She and Landon adore each other and are the very best of friends. L.J. asked about her frequently when he was at Nana and Poppa’s house, and Hannah went looking for him a number of times. The squeals of delight when they were reunited were so precious.
Her illnesses have thankfully become much more sporadic this spring/early summer, a trend we hope continues. She’s got a few pretty stubborn eczema patches. Looks like she (thankfully) got her daddy’s ability to tan, but her mama’s ultra-sensitive skin.
Separation anxiety is pretty high right now. She’s brought her famous glare back into play more often and is very selective about who she’ll go to if we’re with a group of friends. She’s an absolute mama’s girl in the evenings, typically wanting to be perched on my hip and nowhere else.
To wrap things up, we’d be remiss to not mention her Wubbanubs. She’s up to four now and they are her most favorite special things. She often walks around with one in her mouth and one on each hand. She puts her pointer finger in the pacifier part. We’re probably creating a monster by not limiting them to her crib, but she just adores them so much. (And she throws a huge fit if we get her up and try to leave one or more behind…)
We can’t wait to watch and see how she grows and changes during the second half of year two!
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