Updates

Hi all - our pictures are on Brent's computer so I will upload some when I have access to his computer - he is at church tonight.
A lot has transpired since my last post. We enjoyed a wonderful Easter - He is Risen Indeed! - after church we headed to campus for the afternoon and checked out the state Botanical Gardens. Hannah loved it! She could crawl around and experience lots of different textures and sights and smells etc. It was wonderful to be on campus as the spring flowers were in bloom - it had been a long while since I had visited campus. Hannah's favorite part seemed to be a stone circular fountain - she just kept cruising around and around it - until she got to the side that had gotten wet from the fountain spray and banged her mouth as she attempted to lick up the water. But she recovered quickly and we continued our walking tour of the campus.

The weather has certainly gotten better so we are able to be outside more which is great - Hannah loves to be outside crawling all over the place. She is walking while holding our hands and still feels that crawling gets her around places more quickly.

WE recently returned from a trip to the beach. Hannah was last at the beach when she was 7 weeks old. I had a CME conference and gave a presentation to a large group of people that went well. Brent and Hannah tagged along so we could enjoy some family time. Hannah got into the pool for the first time. She wasn't sure about it at first but after about 5 minutes she was a fish - wanting to fling herself and doggy paddle and climb on the side of the pool and get back in - it was great fun! We are going to check into getting her some swim lessons so increase her comfort with the water. WE also enjoyed taking her to the aquarium - her favorite part was watching the otters - we look forward to more trips as she will likely enjoy more and more parts of that in the future. Other than the otters she loved climbing around and banging against the glass on the exhibits :). She also enjoyed some beach time - she loved the sand. The water was cold but her Daddy got her feet wet. We look forward to a beach trip this summer that will be much fun! Brent (being the polar bear that he is) did jump and swim out and back in the frigid water - Hannah I watched from the shore. It reminded me of the time on our honeymoon in Nova Scotia when Brent went swimming in June with frigid water there as well. I am sure at some point when our children are older there will be dares about going into the cold water :) We had a couple of great seafood dinners and Hannah, always being the good sport tried things she had never had before and liked it!

Today was a fun day! Hannah has been toying around with Dada and Mama for a few days/weeks but today I was working with the door to my office closed and Hannah crawled up and leaned against the door and distinctly said "Momma" - a very sweet word - it was really the first time that I feel the really meant it with a purpose - of course I opened the door and gave her a big hug - she is so precious.

Although we don't want to rush things we look forward to Hannah being able to play with her little brother and teach him all sorts of things - they will have so much fun together!!