Three months in one post

I never intended to go quite so long without an update here.

It's not even like I haven't had any down time. I don't usually have time at work to write and when I get home, I don't even want to look at a computer.

The family had a wonderful Christmas with lots of toys and clothes, candy and cookies. I took off the week between Christmas and New Years and spent quality time with Ryan putting Lego Star Wars creations together. By the end of the week my back hurt and I was cross-eyed from helping Ryan with tiny little Lego pieces.

Hannah's favorite present by a mile was a princess castle tent. Seriously, $20 has never been spent better. She plays in that castle every single night pretending to feed her stuffed animals then putting them down for a nap. She covers each up with their own blanket (a bib) and pats them on the back until she's decided they've fallen asleep.

Honestly, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

She went through a biting phase at school that had me in total despair. However, it's been nearly three weeks since she's bitten a friend (thank goodness). I honestly believe the tipping point was a talk I had with her teacher.

I was dropping her off one morning and decided that her teacher and I needed to come up with a plan to put an end to the biting. Ms. Jennifer (Feffer as Hannah calls her) and I were talking and Hannah was standing there watching us, taking in every single word. At the end we both looked down at Hannah and she burst into tears and reached for me.

She knew we were discussing biting and I guess the looks on our faces were quite stern. We both cuddled her and told her we loved her very much and weren't mad at her.

She hasn't bit another person since that day.

Which brings me to another point...
The girl is wicked smart my friends. I know I'm her mom so I would say that but, it's completely true. Her teachers tell me all the time that she's just so ahead of the curve.

She says well over 50 words now and, truth be told, we're easily approaching 100. She says simple sentences and will follow two step directions reasonably well.

We've started introducing her to the potty and have had one success. We're not trying to potty train her but, just sitting her on the potty and talking about what she's supposed to do there.

This really is thanks to her BFF Harper who started this. Hannah saw Harper on the potty and showed her own interest at school.

Yesterday she turned 18 months old!
It's so cliche but, damn, that year and a half flew by quickly.

She doesn't come down the steps like a baby anymore, she actually holds onto the railing and steps down. She likes to run and jump and absolutely loves to dance.

Today she was about to throw something in the trash and I said "wait Hannah, there isn't a trash bag in there" and she said "oh okay". I swear I couldn't help but laugh!

She knows that after she eats, her plate goes into the dishwasher and if she can't follow that routine, she's annoyed.

Hannah eats and eats and eats! She doesn't say no to many foods at all. With Ryan being such a picky eater, this makes life easier. I know I can put anything in front of her and she'll eat most, if not all, of it.

She's a sassy little girl who doesn't hold back.

My gorgeous son...
Ryan is reluctantly expanding his food selection slowly but, surely. It's been a struggle since he was about a year old but, we're making progress.

He's happy in the 1st grade and likes his teacher. He's struggling with reading and is taking extra reading lessons but, does very, very well at math.

I was prepared for the exact opposite truth be told. I suppose because I have always loved to read and write and have never enjoyed math.

The extra tutoring is working, though. Hopefully we can get him caught up by the end of the school year. He's an excellent speller but, has trouble writing thoughtful sentences of his own creation.

He can read the words in a book but, struggles to retell the story he's just read. He's putting so much effort into reading each word correctly that he's lost out on the plot of the book.

Ryan is a sweet, loving and caring big brother. He is wonderful with Hannah and will tell her he loves her and gives her hugs and kisses every day.

I am so proud of the sweet and caring kid Ryan is. I admit to sometimes getting bogged down with concern over his academics that I worry about him to the point of stress.

But, the thing is, Ryan really is a good, good kid. The academics will come. We may have to spend extra time and money on it but, that's okay. That's what we'll do just like we did with speech therapy.

What is important is his character and we have no concerns there. His friends parents often tell us that Ryan is nice and polite and they love having him over.

He's a bit sensitive but, I'm learning to see the positive in that, too. The world needs more sensitive and compassionate people (men in particular), that's for sure.

All in all, I think we're doing okay in the parenting department. It's not always easy but, I have the best kids in the world and I wouldn't change a single thing.