Life with Hannah & Isaac

Monday, December 7, 2009

My Christmas Tree

Hannah is really excited about our Christmas tree this year. She comes out of her room every morning, looks at the tree and says "wow!" She loves to get to flip the switch that turns it on. She wasn't super interested in helping put it up, but did help a little.

She enjoyed handing Daddy branches while he put it together

we put the tree up with the lights one night and decorated it another. Here's Hannah just looking at the lights and the angel at the top before bed. She loved that there is an angel on top (I guess I should have taken a pic of the angel too).

Here she is talking about the angel

Hannah helped put up some of the ornaments...she always hung them on the lights instead of the tree branches.

she was particularly fond of the star ornaments and of this spot on the Christmas tree.

this picture is for our church friends...just wanted you to see a happy Seth decorating the tree :) If you're interested in hearing the story behind the picture...go here to hear his sermon. :)

(this was the picture from our first Christmas that Seth talked about in his sermon. He wasn't too happy with me...but we've worked things out..and love decorating the tree together now :)).

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Great Grandpa meets baby Ethan

We love our Grandpa! One of the great things about my Grandpa is that he is a faithful prayer warrior. He has been praying for his Hannah Grace since she was in my belly, and the same goes for little Ethan. He prayed and prayed for Ethan while Beth was pregnant. It was really neat to see Grandpa meet Ethan for the first time. He was so proud and thankful for the gift of this new life. He's so excited to see his family growing. It was so sweet to see Grandpa just stare and him, and completely adore him. These pics still bring tears to my eyes.

Grandpa with his great-grandchildren

He was nervous at first to hold him, but did a great job!

new life and old...

Richfield Christmas Tree Lighting

We started the evening outside with lanterns and the lighting of the tree in the middle of town.

then enjoyed yummy cookies

and a visit from Santa. I was watching him, and asking if I could go see him, but when Daddy tooke me up there...I got too nervous, so Santa held Ethan. :)

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm catching up on all the pictures from last week. It's sad to say good-bye to fall...such a wonderful season. We had a great time celebrating all that we have to be thankful for with my family. This year was a little bit different, for the past 7 Thanksgivings, we have traveled to see both sides of family in on weekend. It's a lot of driving. We enjoyed doing it, and were happy to so that we could be with both families. This year we decided that we would start taking turns with our families. Although we missed our other family, it did make for a much more relaxing holiday.

my mom hosted the dinner this year. She made a delicious meal!

our family

Hannah enjoyed the meal too!

Ethans first Thanksgiving

now relaxing with our laptops :)

Christmas Tree Festival

It was fun to begin the Christmas season with the Holiday Tree Festival in Akron. We enjoy seeing all the themed trees, and it's so neat that the whole event raises money for Akron Children's Hospital.

loving one of the Children's Hospital dogs

all of us with one of our favorite trees

Works for Me Wednesday- Gift Giving Ideas

Heart Beat Bear
I loved making these adorable bears for my mom and mother in law the Christmas that we were expecting Hannah. I went to Build a Bear and made a bear for each of them. I purchased a record your own voice box, but didn't sew it in. I brought it home, and recorded Hannah's heart beat on it. (I had her heartbeat on our ultrasound video, but you can also take the box to a doctors visit to record) I sewed the box into the bears chest, and then the Grandmas could hear her heart beat any time. Now as Hannah grows and goes to visit Grandma..she can hear her "heartbeat bear".

Fleece Blanket

Our first Christmas, we had a budget of $5 for our gift for each other...yes that's right $5. I was student teaching, and Seth was working shipping and receiving, so things were tight. It sure was fun to be creative. I found some fleece on sale at Joanns and went to work on a blanket for Seth. I used felt and puffy paint to decorate and put glued the decals on with fabric glue. A simple blanket stitch around the edges tied it all together.

A gift that Hannah LOVES is her fleece tie blanket. Her friend, Fiona, made it for her last Valentines Day. Simply put two pieces of fleece together, cut tabs around the edges, and knot. (For complete instructions go here)This is a great gift because the colors and designs can be changed to match the taste of the person recieving your gift. This has become Hannah's favorite blankie and goes everywhere with us!

For more gift giving ideas head over to We Are That Family.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A week long visit with Ethan & family too

What a joy it was to spend a week with my sister. She is a natural mother and is doing great with baby Ethan. We enjoyed lots of sister talks, changed diapers, gave baths, played with Hannah & Ethan, and enjoyed time with our family too. I thank God for a wonderful sister/best friend and for the precious time we had together last week.

I enjoyed going to church with Beth, Adam and Ethan. It was their first Sunday back to church with Ethan...aren't they a beautiful family!?

My dad enjoying some cuddle time with his grand kids...one grandson and one grand daughter...perfect!

Hannah is crazy about her Uncle Jeremy...and looks up to him so much already. He is a great piano player. It was neat seeing Hannah try to play the piano just like him.