Happy 2nd Birthday!

Hannah turned two on February 3rd....hard to believe! She had a fun party with close family and friends on Saturday, and she got lots of fun toys! She loved her new books, animals for her zoo, puzzles, Emily Elizabeth doll, art supplies, and more. She had fun with Amelia and her cousins - they played together pretty well. We love Hannah so much, and look forward to sharing more of her life with her!

Kazoos!

So cute!

Opening presents was a team effort : )

First time with playdoh! Thanks, Amelia!

Loving Henry!

Oh, boy....this was the best family photo we could get. Hannah displayed her terrible two's immediately!

Crazy girls!

Fun with kazoos

Birthday Table

We got Hannah a play table for her birthday, but we caved and gave it to her a week or so early. She had a lot of fun with the table right away, but she liked the box it came in even more!

Breaking in the new table!

Books & Art

Two of Hannah's favorite things right now are books (always have been!) and art. Here she is showing off her first painting from school:

Daycare Decision

Right after the new year, we found out that we needed a new daycare provider effective immediately.  Diane had a back injury and could not continue her daycare (per doctor's orders). We panicked a bit given the lack of time we had before starting school, but then jumped into action. My mom and Alex were able to watch Hannah for the first week, so we used that time to visit daycares and reach a decision. The unknown aspect of it was scary....we knew we were changing Hannah's whole daytime routine and disrupting her sense of security. In the end, we decided on a daycare center called School Bell. She is in a class of 8 kids, which is a nice size - still fairly small. It took a week or so for Hannah to adjust, and it was hard on our family. She was extremely tired, clingy, and prone to meltdowns. She was not herself, which was my biggest fear. I need to remember that "this too shall pass", because she loves it now and she seems to be doing well with the new routine and additional kids. She talks about her teachers and some of the kids quite a bit, and we love the art projects that she gets to do every day.   Here are some pictures my mom took when she accompanied Hannah on a visit to School Bell:

Yes, that is a GIGANTIC Clifford....Hannah loves him!

The boy in the picture is Garrett - Hannah's "boyfriend" - she talks about him all the time!
 Love at first sight, I guess!

New Years Eve

We spent NYE with Elisabeth, Joe and Amelia again this year, and the girls had such a fun time!! Here are some highlights of their time together:

VERY engrossed in whatever they were doing

Mischief! Check out the video below...

The girls had a soggy (but fun!) time outside

CRAZINESS ensued! : )

Soggy and happy!

Last But Not Least.....The VanZanten Christmas!

Our final celebration was with my mom and Alex.  We also got to see Bret, Kari, and Hayden during our visit. Hannah had a great time, and even got to play in the snow a little bit. The way this winter is going, it might've been her only opportunity! We still haven't gotten more than two inches of snow at a time.  Here are some shots of our final Christmas:

Kiss the lion!

On the bridge with grandma - she loved throwing sticks into the water

I feel like I'm looking at a picture of me when I was little : )

Ring Around the Rosey!

First snowman!

Tis the season for cheesy smiles...

Silly dada!

"It's TIGER!!!!"

Christmas #3 - My Dad's Family

Hannah is lucky to have so many Christmas celebrations....but it feels like I have been blogging about Christmases for the past month!! : )  Here are some highlights from Christmas with my dad, my grandma, my aunt Faith, and my cousin Michael:

Being the only little kid = SPOILED! : )

She loves her beanbag chair - she gets mad when I try to sit on it and says, "Hannah's chair!"

I remember playing on a sit and spin when I was little - it's a classic

Beautiful at 87!

She LOVED this singing santa

Hannah's version of playing with the sit and spin is dangrous!