No alarm clock needed

Obviously, Hannah didn't get the memo about the time change last night in Europe. She was up bright and early at 6 a.m., which because of the time change was really 5 a.m. That makes for one LONG morning. We have all had very long talks with her today about sleeping a little later. She just looks at us all like we are crazy. And quite frankly, if she continues waking up at 5 a.m. I will officially go crazy!!

Europe has ruined my children...

My kids HATE to travel. After nearly six years in Europe, they have absolutely no interest in seeing castles, churches, monuments, museums, or towers. They are finished with touring and want nothing more than movie theaters, American shopping malls, swimming pools and maybe an occasional amusement park. But when family comes to visit, a little traveling is necessary. My mom and Dennis were here last week and we decided to take a trip to Tuscany. I had to prepare Alex & Tara WEEKS IN ADVANCE of our travel plans. We were only gone 4 days and 3 nights, but Alex simply could not understand why we would waste a perfectly good three day weekend to go to Tuscany!! (it was Columbus Day weekend so they were out of school) Plus we were going back to Pisa, a place they had already been....imagine the horror!!! Alex secretly begged my mom to tell me that SHE didn't really want to tour on the last day, but that instead SHE was ready to come back to Naples. He just knew that if GeeGee didn't want to stay that I would leave early. He said, "Come on GeeGee, take one for your grandkids." GeeGee has a soft spot for her grandkids, but I won out and we finished our touring. We went to Florence, Pisa, Volterra, Pienza and Montepulciano (small towns in Tuscany). It was a weekend full of sightseeing, Italian shopping, pasta and wine. Our kids worst nightmare, but somehow they survived.



The Leaning Tower of Pisa



Just like her big brother and sister, Hannah wasn't excited about seeing a tower that leans.




I don't know who is grumpier...Hannah or her dad.




Alex wanted to take the picture rather than be in it.

Long gone the lazy days of summer....

Yes, the lazy days of summer are long gone, even though the weather still feels like summer here in Naples. We are full force into fall activities and the craziness of busy schedules: Alex has football practice twice a week and he has had 2 football games (1-1). He also attends a Christian youth organization called Club Beyond. He has lots of homework and we are anxious to see if his straight A's continue in 7th grade. Tara does cheerleading twice a week and gymnastics once a week. She has cheered at a high school football game and a community event in the past few weeks. Matt is taking his FINAL TWO CLASSES to complete his Bachelor's degree. He works 60+ hours a week and taking these 2 classes is going to be a heavy load, so he is counting down the days until Dec. 14 when he is finished. I am staying busy with my Bible study group (PWOC). I am on the Board for the organization, so I have lots of added responsibilities besides just keeping up with my Bible study. PWOC has been my lifeline while here in Naples. Hannah just spends her days charming us all and making us laugh. Her personality is so sweet and she is really becoming quite the social butterfly...when it suits her. She certainly has a way of getting her wants and needs across. She is starting to say a few words...baby, bye bye, and our favorite of all...STOP. How appropriate that one of her first words would be 'stop'...you can tell she has 2 older siblings that love to pester and annoy her.

I'm posting some pictures of our cute little pumpkin.

3 months later....

Hannah is such a sweet baby and has adjusted into our family amazingly well. She is adored by her big brother and sister (and her mom and dad) and has accepted her role as the baby of the family. She spends half of her time either upside down or being twirled, tickled or otherwise engaged in some sort of move to get her to laugh. She is well known by all the kids in the neighborhood and everywhere we go she hears "Hi, Hannah!!!" followed by someone wanting to hold her. She certainly isn't lacking for any attention!

Hannah LOVES:
*the park and going down the slide...she climbs, runs and plays...

*shoes and going bye bye

*Sesame Street....yeah!!

*french fries and apple juice (go figure)

*her thumb!!!

She squeals and runs to her daddy when he walks in the door at the end of his work day, but she is incredibly attached to her mommy. She goes to the church nursery one day a week while I go to a Bible study and she cries when I leave her, but she soon stops. She immediately runs to me when I go to get her and is very happy to see me. The nursery workers all rave that she is such a sweet baby.

She is doing all the things an 18 month old baby should be doing, except maybe talking, which we know will come in time. She definitely understands everything we say to her. We stopped giving her a bottle and she has a mouth full of teeth so she can eat just about anything. She sleeps through the night, but still doesn't take long naps (boo hoo!). Some days she still takes 2 naps, but I'm working on getting her to just one long (hopefully) nap.

She hasn't gained much weight, but we think that is because she started walking immediately after we got her, so she is a baby on the move! She "donated" 5 viles of her blood to be tested for any medical concerns (that was NOT a fun day!) and has since received an absolute clean bill of health from the doctor. We are having to catch up on all her immunizations, so she will be getting lots of shots in the coming months, but she should be caught up by the time she is two years old.

People often say to us that Hannah is a lucky little girl. We believe we are, in fact, the lucky ones. We feel like we have won the parent lottery. She is a loving, happy little girl. She is full of life and laughter. There is no sadness, no grief, no signs of a painful beginning to life. She trusts us and has bonded with us completely and totally. We know that she is a true gift from God. There is not a day goes by that we don't thank God for her. We are so incredibly blessed to have her and to be her parents.