Buzzzzzzz!

Hannah got a lot of attention today, as she wore her costume to childcare, Kindermusik, my office, and around the neighborhood.  Hannah is always on the move, so getting pictures of her is not an easy task. 
Giving Mommy Hugs and Kisses:

 With her friends at Kindermusik:

Being cute wears a girl out!

Before trick-or-treating!

11 months

We are so very close to the big 1!  In fact, we went to Party City tonight to get Hannah a Halloween costume and some birthday supplies.  I couldn't let the month go by without her monthly update, though.  Besides the New England trip and pumpkin patch, the 11th month didn't yield many photos.  Below are a couple along with a few of our favorite videos from the month showcasing some of Hannah's new talents.  Overnight, she learned how to feed herself and drink from a sippy cup and straw.  She also has begun crawling with her belly off the ground and really cruising around.  Daniel and I simply act as her vehicle to move from one place to another.  She'll reach out her hand and we know she wants a change of scenery.  She'll lead us to where she wants to go.  She has 5 teeth (although I think she's working on balancing it out) and her hair is thickening, bringing more and more comments about her beautiful strawberry blond hair.  Hannah is not afraid of dogs, cats, water, strangers, or Halloween masks.  She's curious about everything.  The childcare workers still comment on her patient, busy, content personality, and we occasionally get comments about Hannah pulling hair, stealing pacifiers, or, my favorite, pulling up on a boy and then eating his jeans.  Hannah loves going to play while I work and pushes away from me to hop into her crib at nap and bed time.  She loves her sleep and is now strongly attached to her Latvian doll, Riga.  We bought Riga in Riga, Latvia while I was pregnant.  My favorite thing Hannah does is wave and say "i" for "hi."  Unfortunately, she will only do this to her imaginary friend.

Check out my teeth

It's sooooo hard for mommy to get a picture of me.  I'm always on the move!

 

 

Hannah loved playing in the water at the base of a waterfall in NH.  Wonder what she'd do if Daniel wasn't holding on?!

 

This video was taken the first night Hannah starting feeding herself.  I took it when she was already getting pretty tired.  If you watch to the end, you will hear my favorite part of the video.

Round, round, get around, I get around...

Fall in New England

Daniel and I have successfully crossed off number 32 (NH) and 33 (VT) on our list of states we have explored together since marriage.  Hannah's grand total is now 8.  Not bad for an 11 month old!  She's completed 4 round-trip flights and got her own pair of Delta wings, thanks to the flight attendant who thought it would be a great idea to give a pin to a baby.  We donated those wings to a hungry trashcan.
This was the most interesting flight, as it's the longest one we've done with Hannah and she's at the most active point in her life thus far.  No sleeping for this gal.  She pushes, pulls, tugs, hugs and teethes on me the whole time.  No crying at all.  The changes in altitude seem to have no effect on her.  Hannah is a very social girl who loves to stick her hands between the seats to say "hi" to the people in front of us.  Then she likes climbing over my shoulder so she can interact with the people behind us.  We also realized she loves Biscoff cookies, which resemble diarrhea when sucked on and spread everywhere.  (Sorry to be graphic, but it's the honest truth!)  Being the good parents we are, we did clean the tray off for the next person.  Probably the cleanest that tray has been since the plane's inception.
I did have a super special moment with Hannah as we departed Manchester, NH.  She and I both pressed our heads up to the window and I narrated our lift off to her.  We talked all about the tiny houses, ant-like cars, and the beautiful clouds.  We said a prayer of thanksgiving together.  I love being able to share my heart with my daughter.  Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).
We truly enjoyed our getaway.  Apparently this wasn't the best year for color due to the flooding, but we still loved the color and got a good taste of New England culture without the New England weather; it reached into the 80s a couple of days!  At the end of each day, Daniel would ask me what my favorite part of the day was.  After the first few days, I noticed a pattern; every favorite involved watching Hannah explore something new.  My, how vacations have changed!

Hmmm....what can I get into...

Hannah's first carousel ride

Train table in an antique store

Hannah's first taste of ice cream at the Ben and Jerry's Factory!

Hmmm...

I'd rather eat my foot!

Flavor Graveyard

Have you seen a cuter picture of Hannah?  She makes windblown look good!

We stayed at an isolated cabin in Pittsburg, NH.  Tourists don't usually make their way up there, but someone in the family wanted to search for moose in "moose alley."  We didn't find any moose, but the next several pictures were taken on the cabin property and made the trip worth it.

DONE with pictures!

Alas!  A moose where a park ranger said never to expect a moose.  Please note this was NOT in the day long detour to "Moose Alley."

This lady is quite the attraction

There's the moose advocate and his daughter

Against our better judgment, we decided to take a rental car with an unhappy, crying baby up Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast.  Too high for any trees to grow, it was a desert up there.  I'm glad I was huddled over the car seat singing every song I knew the words to because Daniel was white knuckled at the end of that drive.

Pretty views from the observation station.  The wind up there was a "low" 80mph that day.  It really takes your breath away.  The highest recorded wind speed there is 231mph.

Way to go, Corolla!  Now ya gotta make it down!

It was a tough trip to the top

In case anyone doubted my family consists of two redheads

Exploring the basin

Daniel and I agree watching Hannah play in the water here was the highlight of our trip.  Especially to look up after a photo session and see a bus load of senior citizens taking us in. 

Hannah gets so many comments on her looooong eye lashes

She got so wet and dirty

Picnic lunch

The Manchester airport had a very nice toddler play place.  This is as close as Hannah will get to a red Mustang convertible.  Newt Gingrich walked by us and opted to play on his cell phone rather than join Hannah in the car.  Lame.