January - a great way to start off OUR year

Hair cut

Hannah got a hair cut this month.  She didn't like me combing or doing her hair in cute ways anymore, so we decided it was time to chop it.

It was long enough for her to donate so we took about 8+ inches off.  At first, I was a little sad about it.  Her hair hasn't been this short since she was about 2 years old.  But it was well worth it because her hair is super easy to comb and do now.



Ballet

One evening, Hannah said she wanted to do some ballet for us.  Not exactly sure where this came from as she is currently not enrolled in any dance classes.  So we put some ballet on the TV and she danced for Nathan and I.

After one of her dances, she asked Daddy to come help and lift her while she danced.  It was very sweet.  I'm glad we have our own Mikhail Baryshnikov in the house.

Hosting an FPU class

You may recall that Nathan and I took FPU in the fall last year.  The class changed our lives so much that we decided to host a class ourselves.  We have 8 households taking our class, and it's been an incredible experience!  We are seeing peoples lives change right in front of us, and that is the best reward there is.

Cutting up credit cards

We taught Hannah the difference between a credit and a debit card, and how you can identify the differences between them.  We talked about what credit cards do and why we have decided not to use them anymore.  It was a great teaching moment for us, and her.  Then we let her cut up a card that we had closed.  Let's just say that she went to town and loved it.

Birthday fun

We celebrated a birthday in our household.  Hannah decided she wanted to decorate for it by putting all of her little animal/play figurines on the piano and chair.

She also made a card for Nathan.  I spelled out the letters for her on a separate sheet of paper, but she did the rest on her card!

She was so excited to give Nathan his card that she put it in her little toy mailbox, and left it by the front door (you can see the mailbox right next to her right foot).

Nathan got a surprise from his family: a ukulele.  Thanks to Danny and Mom and Dad C for giving Nathan such a fun present.  He was pleasantly surprised.

Check up

Nathan and Hannah got their annual check ups this month.  Hannah loves going to the doctor.

She kept telling me the day of her appointment "I'm going to get a shot, but it's alright."  She is such a good sport and can be a tough kid at times.  But when the nurse came in to give her a flu shot, Hannah all of a sudden looked at me with somewhat watery eyes and said "I don't think I like shots." After it was over, she needed a big, reassuring hug and then she was fine.



Weather

January has been very different than last year.  Last year we got about 2 feet of snow in January. This year, we only got about 4-5 inches during the whole month.  Woo woo!  Heck ya!  So happy about that!

And about a week after the snow storm we had a nice warm day of about 60 degrees and it melted the snow right off!

We have green grass in January!  How awesome is that?!  We are really enjoying this warmer winter.

Miscellaneous

One day, Hannah and a neighborhood friend were so engrossed in their playtime that I had to take a look.  I came around the corner and saw almost every single toy pulled out of the toy chest and put in the family room.  They played for HOURS likes this.  Unfortunately, they didn't enjoy the clean up as much as they did the play time.

We received some belated Christmas presents this month which was fun.  Who doesn't like getting presents?  Hannah enjoyed wearing her new dress and hand muff.

One evening, we all played with some Play-doh.  Hannah enjoys rolling the doh out with her little rolling pin.  It's fun for Nathan and I to play with this stuff too as it brings back some childhood memories.

Every winter Hannah's hands get really scaley and dry.  Sometimes it is so bad that we have to wrap her hands at night.  I think she actually enjoys it though.  She likes sitting on the counter and letting Daddy wrap her hands.

It's hard to believe that it's been one year without our little cat.  We've missed him very much at times, and we think of him often.  Hannah will talk about Kronk still.  She says "he's dead, but he lives on in our hearts."  Very true kiddo.  Very true.

December -- warm and memorable

Our December was festive and WARM!  Thank you mother nature for not sending snow our way.

Christmas lights

Hannah and Nathan put some lights up outside our house.

Not many people put lights on the roofs here because they are so high and steep.  So we put wrapped them around our lamppost in the front yard, and outlined a few areas of the house.  Hannah loved helping with decorations.  By the way, did you notice how green the grass is? Yeah -- we've had such great weather all month long!


Christmas concert

At the beginning of the month, Nathan and I were in a small choral group and we performed at a Christmas community event.  At that event, there was a bell choir that performed several Christmas carols.  Hannah LOVED the bell choir, and she was mimicking them during their performances.

Hannah's birthday

Hannah had a birthday this month and she was so excited!

She helped make cupcakes for her school party.  We got the frosting a little too runny, but it still worked out ok and she didn't care one bit.

Hannah was excited to open her presents.  She got money, and some Sunday dresses.

We gave her Financial Peace Junior, and the Smart Saver Bank.

We decided it was time to start teaching Hannah how to manage money.  We were a little worried that this stuff would be a little over her head, but she has completely proven us wrong!  Financial Peace Junior (and accouterments) was the perfect gift!

She has done a really good job at doing her chores.

Tis the season to be ... sick

I got sick just a few days after Hannah's birthday.  This was a terrible bug and it wiped me out for 2 weeks!  I went through so many tissues.  One day, I went through about 10 tissues in about 15 minutes.

Christmas

Hannah fully grasped the magic of Christmas this year, and it was fun as parents to see.  On Christmas Eve, she asked me at breakfast "Mommy, how is Santa going to come out of the fireplace?"  "Mommy, how is Santa not going to get burned by the fire?"

One fun thing about Christmas, was Hannah loved finding Jasper each morning.  He found some interesting places to hide.

She ran into Santa a few times during the month: at our ward Christmas party, and at her preschool.

On Christmas Eve, we made some sugar cookies for Santa.  Hannah was very generous with the sprinkles on the cookies.  

She was so excited to leave a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.

On Christmas morning, Hannah came running into our room (without seeing what Santa had brought) yelling "Santa came!  Santa came!"

Here is what she found from Santa:

An empty plate.

Presents from Santa.

A letter from Santa.

The weather was so warm in PA (almost 60 degrees!!!) that Hannah was able to go out and ride her bike.  We also went to a new park that Hannah found.  She likes to call it the purple park.

Family visiting

After Christmas, we had some family come up for a few days.  It was great to have them come.

While family was visiting, we went to breakfast at the Nittany Lion Inn.  Upon entering the dinning room floor, we found a gingerbread that was decorated like the Nittany Lion Inn.  It was very impressive.

Miscellaneous

We had dental appointments this month, and Hannah got her first x-rays.  This kid loves going to the dentist.  She pretty much lets them do whatever they want.

Hannah got a few headbands from a friend.  She's enjoyed trying to wear them in multiple ways.

We also had dinner at a friends house.  We like to call this the snowman house.  There are snowman everywhere and Hannah loved looking at all of them.

Nathan and Hannah built a rocket ship out of cardboard.  She has thoroughly enjoyed playing with it.

Despite being sick for a few weeks, our December was great and a lot of fun, and one we will never forget.