Hannah Sayings

There was a time when we wondered what Hannah's voice would sound like. Every day we are hearing it more and more. It is so fun to hear her try to communicate. Here are some of the cute things she says...

Peh-lee-low (pillow)
Lee-Lie (Levi... this is a change from Lee-Lee)
Aunt Leo (a combination of Auntie Leigh and Leo the cat)
Dim (for Uncle Jim or Pastor Jim)
Silly mommy or daddy or Hannah
Zo-bee (Zoe from Sesame Street)
Aunt Gone (actually Uncle Jon)
M... Maureen (whenever she sees the letter M)
Duty (her nurse, Judy, or dirty, if something needs to be cleaned)
1...2...3... (when she is trying to get a friend, usually younger than her, to share!)

Songs with signs...
"No more Monkey's Jumping on the Bed"
"Patty Cake"
"Twinkle Twinkle"
"Itsy Bitsy Spider"
"ABCs"... she actually sings some of the letters with us!

She has started "talking on the phone," well anything that looks kind of like a phone or cell phone. Who does she call? Lee-Lie, of course! For a while when we prayed before bed, we would ask her who she wanted to thank God for... she would answer... Lee-Lie!!! We're starting to wonder if we have to watch the boy already!

I know there are more cute sayings, but I can't think of them right now.

A Bittersweet Time

The last several weeks have been a bittersweet time and I am realizing how special and difficult this season can be. At church we have received the news of several people with advanced stage cancer... recent diagnoses. How do you walk through this time with someone you care about? There is so little to say or do, and yet we continue to trust that God still is in complete control. Can God be trusted with or without complete healings? Intellectually, I say "yes," but my human side still struggles.

I have been following the blog of a college friend (just a year older than I am), who was recently (in September) diagnosed with kidney cancer. She and her husband adopted 3 children, the most recent little girl just came home from Vietnam 2 weeks ago. Even now, her husband is doing a bedside vigil as his wife's organs struggle to function. Friends were saying goodbye on Saturday and still today she lives, facing the possibility of losing her fingers and toes. I can't imagine the emotions of her husband, loving his wife and desiring the best for her... even if that means saying goodbye. His faith remains strong. What does it mean to face death and trust that as life?

I have a good friend, who longs for a child of her own and yet it has not happened. What does faith mean in the face of a desire so deep it is almost physical? Especially at this time of year when we talk about the light of the world being born as a baby. Can the Christmas Story bring hope despite the sorrow?

Yet, that is the reality, sorrow and lost lives side by side with hope and life. My cousin is expecting the arrival of her little boy any day now. Several friends have just shared with us the good news of coming babies. There are family gatherings to look forward to, unseasonably warm days to enjoy... sunshine, the laughter of children. Even now, my daughter sings "Jingle Bells" in her crib as I wait for her afternoon nap to begin. How can it be... all of this existing together this side of eternity?

Yet, this is the story of Christmas... a baby born to die... in order that we all can live. Truly live. May you experience the bittersweet of Christmas. May God's love and peace fill the places of sorrow and of joy.

Christmas Tree and Birthdays

We have a Christmas Tree!! For the first time since Daryl and I were married, we got a Christmas tree. For the first four Christmases we were just too lazy, too busy or not really here to enjoy it. This year, a friend told us about a great deal on Christmas trees and we decided to do it "for Hannah" (I think I am getting as much enjoyment out of it as she is... if not more!)


I have always been a white lights girl (ask my roommate Kimmy), but colored lights are SO MUCH more fun (you were right, Kimmy)! (We have our white lights on the deck.)

It was great to pull out all my ornaments. My mom started giving my brother and I ornaments every Christmas for years. She did it so that we would have ornaments for our trees when we left home. Often times she would get something that had a special significance for that year. I have stuff from the 80's, including a squirrel in honor of "Raggedy Squirrel" who was the main character in many of the children's stories that I heard in my childhood church. There is a wooden bear from my sixth grade teacher, Miss Martin. There are dog ornaments in honor of the year we got Taursa (our dog) and in memory of her the year she died. Beautiful beaded balls from "Ten Thousand Villages." They are in GREAT condition, because my mom really took care of them. I think I might start this tradition with Hannah. I wonder if she will be as nostagic as her mommy?


Hannah loves finding the snowmen on the tree and in the neighborhood. Up the street there are several blow up snowmen that play music. She asks to go see "snowmans... dance." In that same yard is a Navity Scene (we have several at home too). We have been talking about Christmas being Jesus' birthday. So she sings "Happy...Jees."

In addition to talking about Jesus' birthday, she has been talking a lot about her friend Ava Bailey's birthday. She didn't attend the party (it was in Tennessee), but I showed her the pictures online. So now she makes a birthday cake for Ava. Here is a picture of the cake. The second picture is her blowing out the candle:-). Happy Birthday (again), Ava!

Thankful, despite a long week...

How can it be that the littlest one in our house is the ONLY one (so far) who is sick and yet we all feel like we have been hit by a Mac truck. For me it has to be the multiple wakings in the middle of the night. Even if Hannah does not need care, I wake up EVERY time she cries out. She has been saying "mommy" so many times during the day that she is saying it in her dreams (and I'm hearing it in mine)!!! How did I do the multiple wake-ups when she was a newborn (to 1 year old)? Makes me think twice about doing it all again (no, we're not, yet).

But here is a blessing, I have gotten a lot of cuddle time with my little Hannah Bear. She likes to sit and rock in the glider rocker and we haven't done much of that since we quit nursing. Hannah will bury her head into my neck and fall asleep, waking only to rearrange and get more comfortable. I'm still tired, but there will come a day that she will be too big to fall asleep in my arms. It's exhausting now, but I'm trying to count my blessings... I suppose she will be 18 years at some point instead of 18 months.

I have been telling her that I'm so sorry that she is sick. In a cute, but pitiful way, Hannah in the midst of her whiny tears says "sorry, sorry." Poor baby!

I keep hoping we are turning a corner with this, but not yet. Your prayers are appreciated!

Thanksgiving 2008

This was the first year since Daryl and I have been married that we haven't traveled on Thanksgiving. I can't tell you how relaxing it was to avoid this holiday's traffic. The downside was that we didn't get a chance to spend Thanksgiving with either family. The upside was we enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends, some new and some old.

The morning began at Dave and Cec Horn's house where we gathered around 9:00 to go to the annual Myopia Fox Hunt. Our family had never participated in this tradition before, so we were looking forward to the morning. The weather was beautiful; a little cold, but not uncomfortably so. Here are some pictures from the experience.

Hannah was mesmerized by the "Neigh, Neighs." Every time one past us, she was asking for "more, more."

The riders were so regal in their red hunt jackets. The riders in red have be awarded the privilege of wearing the Myopia colors wherever they go to hunt. I'm unclear as to what they need to do in order to receive that honor. No, I have not been given the honor. I'm just wearing my bright red winter coat!
The hounds were so eager to get started. It was amazing to see how responsive they were to the riders on horseback. Well, except for one... I believe his name was Sargeant and he was sniffing around all through the crowd for that fox! At one point, he came over to Hannah (who was sitting in the grass and leaves) and stood over her like he was protecting her. (Didn't get my camera out in time for that one.) After he did more nosing around, he took off over the meadow. Guess he found the fox!
Hannah got a great view from on top of Daddy's shoulders!

And they're off! The first thing all the riders do, is jump over a stone wall and a wooden fence. Unfortunately, one of the first riders (I believe it is the fourth rider from the left) fell as his horse was jumping the wooden fence... an older gentleman who appeared to land on his shoulder/head. He didn't get up and they needed to call in a backboard. The rest of the riders were directed around this jump. Not a great start to the hunt! We read on the Myopia website later, that he is a little bruised, but should be fine. It didn't appear so minor when we were there!

As we were leaving, we past a fox in a neighboring field. He didn't seem too worried about the hunt!

After the hunt, we went home to bake the Squash Casserole and then back to Dave and Cec's for a DELICIOUS Thanksgiving meal. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the table and food. We very much enjoyed ourselves. The following picture is of Hannah and Timmy Rosell, enjoying their Minnesota Maple Cookies.
Thank you, Dave and Cec, for inviting us to be a part of your Thanksgiving meal. We enjoyed the food and great fellowship!

Trip to Atlanta

Last week, Hannah and I made a surprise trip to Atlanta for Poppi (my dad's) 60th birthday. We had a wonderful time. You can view some of the pictures from the trip by visiting our picasa link found on the sidebar of this blog. Check back on the blog as I hope to upload some stories and video from that trip later this week.

Till then, enjoy the pictures!

Hannah, our storyteller

I used to think that you needed a lot of words and a good command of the language (for us English) to tell a story. I'm quickly learning from my 17 month old daughter that isn't true. Now Hannah has a fairly large vocabulary, but it is still relatively simple... basic nouns, some verbs, but no sentences. Despite that, in the last week, she has told several stories.

We (Hannah and I) made a last minute trip to Atlanta last week to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday (more details and pictures to come). As I was preparing for the trip, I was telling Hannah that we would be flying in an airplane and then we would see Nana and Poppi. Hannah told this story to anyone who would listen in Hannahese... "Hannah... ssshhhhh (with airplane sign)... Nana... Poppi." Translated: Hannah is going in an airplane to see Nana and Poppi. At the end of our visit, she told the story this way... "Hannah... ssshhhh (with airplane sign)... Da Da." Same story, but this time she would see her daddy.

The next story she told, mom and I overheard while she was in her carseat chattering away. In between the Hannah chatter we heard, "Nana... come... boo.... ahhhhh." It took me a moment, but I realized that she was telling the story of when she left the room her Nana was in to "hide." Mom (aka Nana) realized she was too quiet and went to look for her. Hannah stepped out and yelled "boo," which startled Nana and she shouted. We all started laughing which caused Hannah to continue to yell boo.

The final story was a little more traumatic for the family, but she seems to have recovered enough to tell it over and over again. We were walking home from church on Sunday. Daryl was carrying Hannah and we were talking. He was distracted and turned his ankle on a rough patch of sidewalk. He fell, taking Hannah with him. He scraped his wrist pretty badly and we thought he had protected Hannah from the fall and she was just crying because she was scared. It turned out that she must have hit something too, because she had a goose egg on her head and some scraps. Anyway, she has reminded us of this each day since then by saying "Daddy... boom... ouchie... Hannah... boom... ouchie." Poor girl, but what a memory!

So there you have it... a storyteller already! Must be an Olson!