No More Monkeys Jumping On the Bed

Well, I don't really have much to say about this. Enjoy!

Our weekend

This past weekend we went to Monroe for some fun times. Hannah got her haircut by Ms. Renee and it is so cute. I feel like I am talking to a different child when we have conversations. It is so sweet.





Also, at Nona and Kirbo's house the kids have a nice little play area. In the area is an old rocking horse that used to be in my bedroom as a kid. It just happens to be one of the favorite toys amongst the kids. I thought I should video Hannah on it. If that poor horse makes it through this generation of kids it will be a miracle. They ride it like its brand new.

OMG! I think we have issues........

The good news is that Hannah finally moved our last "Christmas Tree," but now we have a new one.


Welcome to the world of Play-Doh.

Welcome William!

Hannah got a new cousin on Monday. William David Raymond. Unfortunately, my batteries to my camera ran out right when we go the hospital, but below are a few that Daniel sent us. Everyone is doing great.

I picked up Hannah from school and told her we were going to go see him. She kept saying, "I'm going to hold him, and pat him, and hug him, and kiss him and stick his thumb in his mouth." haha. She was so excited.

Hannah's first time to see him. She wasn't quite sure what to think.


All of the cousins that were there together with the Baby William. It's Caroline, Claire, Hannah and William.


Proud Aunt Allison. What to do with a little boy?


This put us up to 6 cousins, including Hannah: 5 girls and 1 boy. Poor William.

Cashier Please!

Today, Kirbo, Nona, Caroline, Hannah and I all went to the children's museum in New Orleans. It was so much fun. One of the exhibits they have is a grocery store where it is actually like a real grocery story, just miniature. The carts are tiny, the aisles are tiny, the check outs are tiny. Hannah and I both took turns being the cashier as you can see below, but she also helped another little girl check out too. It was amazing how she knew what to do.

Mommy, What Did You Just Sing?

This blog is going to be a little difficult to write about, but I am going to try. I can't really catch it on my camera either because it is super spur-of-the-moment stuff.

As a few of you probably know, I like to sing every now and then. HAHA. That's an under statement. Well a lot of times before we leave the house or go somewhere, I take us back to the movie Grease (not sure if its 1 or 2). I sing: "Let's go. Let's go. Let's Rock-n-Roll. Hey come on, let's get this show on the road." Does anyone feel tempted to sing?!?!?!?! So the other day we were leaving the house and I said, "Hannah, let's go." She said, "Let's Rock-n-Roll." HAHAHAHAHA. Silly Hannah.

I honestly at that point totally understood why she would say that because I sing it all the time. However, today on the way home across the Causeway was when she really made me laugh. Apparently I sing things and don't realize it a lot.

We were on the Causeway just having our normal daily chat. Hannah said, "I don't want to be on this road." (Sometimes Hannah doesn't have much of a liking for the Causeway.) Then she started singing, "On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again." HAHAHA. Now that one really made me laugh. A little Willy Nelson anyone? I do sing that from time to time, but I didn't think it stuck.

And last night, she started singing this new song that I forget the words to know, something about "It's too late to apologize. Too Late." Anyone know what I am talking about. HAHAHA. I crack myself up- or I should say that Hannah cracks me up. Well, hope it makes you laugh because I sure got a kick out of it!

Our New Christmas Tree

So, if you read my last post here is a picture of our new Christmas tree- courtesy of Hannah Cates. She sweetly placed it exactly in the spot where the old tree was. Look real close!



And I have now begun to move into the 21st Century. I just got a new computer and internet at my home. It has been over 2 years since I have had Internet at my house. My next step....full cable television. Hannah and I live off of about 15 channels right now, but I think that will come later. I kind of like not having cable. Makes me do other things, and at least we still get Sesame Street!

The "Sweet" Moments

Okay, this one may get a little sappy, but bear with me. These are the little things I want to be able to remember!

Hannah's little mind and vocabulary are just growing by the day. Below are a few stories that are funny and sweet, but really are the little things that make every day worth living.

Bye Bye Christmas Tree--Hello Replacement:
This past week, we took down our Christmas tree. Hannah didn't seem to have a problem with it at first, but it must have hit her that the tree is not coming back soon. For one of Hannah's Christmas presents, she got a small tree that may go with a Dora. It is plastic and about 2-3 inches tall. Well it has now replaced our old Christmas tree, and sits exactly where the tree used to be. You really have to see it to get the complete humor because it is seriously tiny. I will try to get a picture of it because it is hilarious, but also a very sweet 2 year old moment. Not to mention we were sitting on the floor playing last night and she just sat up and said, "I miss the Christmas Tree." So sweet!

Hey, We're Getting an Airplane:
As most of you know, Hannah and I cross the Causeway bridge 5 days a week at least! Well the New Orleans airport is not far off, so you can see when planes take off and land. Hannah saw one last night and was very excited. She asked, "What's in it?" I told her that people were in it. She said, "Like us." I replied, "Yes, just like us." She calmly said, "We need to get us one, so we can fly up high too." HAHA. "Ah, yes, let us just go pick up a plane on our way home!" Makes me feel good that she believes Mommy can just go get a plane!

Just for You:
Now this one I almost left the daycare crying it was so sweet. Everyday I pick up Hannah from daycare and ask her what she did. She rambles through the normal things: eat, color, outside, etc. One day last week, I picked her up and as usual I asked her what she did that day. She said, "I color for you." I was a little bit shocked, and thought, what a sweet baby I have. The next day, I dropped her at school and her teacher pulled me aside. She said that yesterday Hannah was coloring and Hannah was telling her how proud mommy was going to be with her coloring. I am about to tear up now thinking about it. All this time of being a mommy, you think about how selfless you have become because babies are selfish (not in a bad way, they have to be), but now all of a sudden I have raised this baby who is not 100% selfish anymore. It was a great and yes, as Hannah said, proud moment.

I must have made a big deal about it too with Hannah, because she came home yesterday and said she used the potty for you! Oh well, still sweet!

Life is just great!

Oh, Christmas Tree. Oh, Christmas Tree

Sunday was our "official" ring in the holidays day as we put up the tree and hung the lights. It was a great day. Grandma came over to help and cooked her usual Christmas hors d'oeuvres, which were yummy. We played Christmas music all day, and Hannah was too excited to even nap. The only wierd thing was the fact that it was over 80 degrees outside, so it looks a bit funny with Hannah, Christmas tree and shorts.

I hope everyone is getting geared up for a great Christmas. It has been so much fun with Hannah. I would also like to take this time to send out a big thanks to Nona for the Chipmunk Christmas CD. I am sure the entire CD is wonderful, but Hannah only likes to repeat #3- Jingle Bells! The little chipmunks have such wonderful little voices!

Christmas Songs- the Hannah Version

We are in full swing for Christmas at our household. Hannah LOVES Christmas songs- the bad part, she really likes them when I sing them. Needless to say our commute to and from work and school is full of Mommy singing Christmas songs, which wouldn't have been so bad at my last job, but now the torture goes on a little longer with our trip across the causeway (and not Hannah torture- my signing torture- sorry if anyone has to ride anywhere with us. I am a bit tone deaf, and yes, that is my excuse).

My major concern is that come December 25th, Hannah won't know to turn them off!!! We may have Christmas in January, February, March and so forth.

As I am singing the songs, Hannah has come to realize that she wants to adjust the words a bit- our (I should say her) favorites are "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is coming to town." Now here below is the correct version vs. the Hannah version.

Jingle Bells:
The Version We All Know and Love: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way. Oh what fun it is to ride on a ONE horse open sleigh- hey.

Hannah's New and Improved Version (She think I said "WHITE horse open sleigh"): Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way. Oh what fun it is to ride on a YELLOW horse open sleigh- hey. (Hannah has a yellow horse- not a white horse)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town:
The Version We All Know and Love: You Better Watch Out. You Better Not Cry. You Better Not Pout I'm Telling You Why; Santa Claus is coming to town.

Hannah's New and Improved Version: You Better Watch Out. You Better Not Cry. You Better Not Pout I'm Telling you Why; Santa Clause is coming to Hannah. (She gets super upset if Santa is only coming to town. He must come to Hannah.)

The first time I sang "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" and I got the part about "He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when your awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake." Hannah looked at me really strange like, "Uh, what. I don't think so." We'll see how good that song works.

Oh, things get so fun when they can talk! So, just beware when you sing Christmas songs to or around Hannah and she falls out on the floor mad- you, my friend, have sang the wrong words.

Getting Back to Life With Mommy

As most of you know, Hannah spent all last week in Alabama with Ninny and Grandaddy- and of course, everyone else! Well, we have had a small adjustment period getting back to life with Mommy. As it should be, Mommy isn't quite as "giving" as grandparents.

On our way home, I didn't do something exactly right (or as Ninny would have), she started screaming that she wanted to go back to Ninny's house. I politely told her that we could call Ninny all the time, but we can't go back right now. She didn't like that idea too much either. She finally stopped screaming at me when she realized I was no longer responding.

That night, we had to go to timeout about 4 times in a row for the same thing. At that point, I realized that both of us were just hard headed and wanted to win. We were both holding strong to what we were trying to accomplish. Well, as it should be, I won. Only after having to take her out of the bath 4 times to go to timeout. (oh, I forgot to mention she was in the bath tub for a little over an hour throughout this issue. She was pruny.)

And I also realized that it is not just her readjusting- it is me too. After an entire week of a quiet house with time to watch TV and read books and do whatever I want, Mommy's can get spoiled too.

But as she is throwing her tantrums and taking the walk of shame (or probably in her mind "walk of pride") to time out, I have to remind myself what a great time she had last week. Everyone needs a good spoiling every now and then- even Mommy's. I am glad to have her home, but my reading has slowed down quite a bit from last week.

Potty Confusion

We have made MAJOR strides in potty training this week. For three days in a row she has woken up with a dry diaper and used the potty. Her teacher told me yesterday that she only had to change her diaper once! YIPPEE! We are getting there. Our only hang up right now is the confusion on what to call the "items/stuff" we put in the potty.

Hannah is a bit confused on the subject. So below are Hannah's definitions of potty stuff.

Poo Poo = Tee Tee (she tells me her poopoo is yellow)
Diarrhea = Poo Poo (long story how that came about. In a nut shell, one day she had poo pooed and it was really smelly and I asked her if she had diarrhea- it stuck)

Two days ago I was changing her diaper- it was a bad one. She began to sing a diarrhea song. I had to laugh. I try to correct her, but for now this is our terminology, and hey, it makes me laugh when she screams out that she has diarrhea!

Oh, and Hannah has now identified poots, and she thinks those are seriously funny. We are in the processes of learning to use our manner after pooting and say excuse me, but it is usually a laughing excuse me.

Well, I guess I wrote another embarrassing blog that Hannah will thank me for later in life. Good Mommy!

Last Days and First Days

As you all know, Hannah's last day at her daycare in Mandeville was Friday and her first day at her new school was yesterday. I have to say it was a couple of emotional days for mommy!

On Friday when I picked her up from school, Hannah left with some very sweet and exciting things. During that week, her teachers had been taking pictures of her and her classmates. They posted and decorated them on construction paper for Hannah to take home. They made signs telling her good luck at her new school and little notes saying how much they were going to miss her. One of her friends mom even called the school to get my information so Hannah and Mia could still play together. They were so kind and loved Hannah very much. I, of course, walked out of the door in tears. They were so amazing to Hannah, and they showed it when we left. The director of the daycare insisted I call this Friday and tell me how Hannah's first week went.

And then we were onto Monday. WOW! That was hard. She said she was excited as we got in the car. She walked in like a big girl. She picked out her little bed (they get to choose their sleeping bags for nap time- we got Strawberry Shortcake- although I think the "cake" part really threw Hannah off because she kept saying she had cake at home). And then we set off to her new class. She cried of course, but we made it quick and painless- at least I think we did. I cried a little bit on my way to work, but pulled it together quickly. I didn't call the entire day because I figured they probably wouldn't tell me she was having a horrible day- they want me to be okay too. So the time came (5:00), and I left super fast to go and pick her up. I walked in the door expecting someone to just take off running to me- uh, no! At the same time, one of the teachers was allowing a sweet little child to get a piece of candy to take home and Hannah honed in on that opportunity. She took me over to the candy, picked out a piece, and just walked herself out of the door. Geez! Glad I worried so much all day. The daycare director said she had so much fun- the teacher had to clean her up a few times. Not really sure what that meant, but I went with it.

So today was a tad better. She never told me she didn't want to go back. She did cry when I left her again, but I am sure she is fine. I feel a little bit of relief now that the hardest part seems to be over, but this better work out awesome because I don't want to mover her again until I HAVE to.

Well, I thought all of you would want to know how it went. As expected, she did awesome and I was a total wreck. Oh, and she would never quite tell me exactly what she did all day- so that is still to be determined. The only thing I know for sure is that she played outside.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was a blast this year! We went to my sister's this year because she has an AWESOME neighborhood for trick-or-treating. My sweet sister was kind enough to send me some pics today, so I won't talk too much this time and just let the pics tell the story.


Ah, Halloween dinner!



The kitty cat was REALLY happy!



The fun begins!



And the fun continues (Claire was the pumpkin)



And continues......



The kitty cat transformed into a zebra (this is the mask they made at school for trick-or-treating)



As you can see, Hannah had a fun filled day. Not only did she get tons of candy trick-or-treating, but she also had a party and trick-or-treating at school. She was exhausted.

New School

Since I have begun my job on the Southshore, I have decided to move Hannah to a new daycare close to my office. And since Bill and I both work over here now, it seems silly to leave her on the Northshore.

She will start on Monday if everything plays out right, but I have been talking it up with her. She woke up this morning asking if she was going to her new school today. I thought that was a good sign, and then she talked about Gigi and Missy (her current teachers) being there. I immediately thought- oh no, this isn't going to go as smoothly as I thought. I knew I couldn't ignore it, so I told her that she would have new teachers at her new school and new friends, and that GiGi and Missy wouldn't be there with her. She looked at me for a second and then said "Ok." I started breathing again.

It is tough moving her, but I ultimately know it will be harder on me than on her. And it makes me feel better when I think about her at church. We visit new churches and I leave her in a room with a bunch of kids who she doesn't know, and she hardly wants to leave when I pick her up. That makes me feel better.

She has been at her current school for a year and a half and it will be sad to say Good Bye to them- especially our infamous friend Hazel. Hazel was the little girl who always bit Hannah, and now they are like best buds- go figure.

So just think about us next week as we transition to a new school. I will be talking to her about it a lot, and already feel a little sad leaving, but it is best for everyone. Now I can be 5 minutes away if she needs me, and not to mention Bill will be a lot closer to her as well. That is always good too.

I will let everyone know how it goes. Have a great rest of the week. And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Potty Training Happy Time

Well, I have finally gotten ready to make a more serious approach to this potty training stuff. I know there is a fine line between pushing too hard and waiting for them to be ready, so I am walking that line.

So, we have started wearing big girl panties when we get home from school. We have started sitting on the potty right when we get out of bed (well, on most days because I don't push it and some mornings she wants to go straight to mommy's bed). We have started talking ALL the time about potty. Seems a little strange at first because no other than a potty training 2 year old do you have these types of conversations.

It is going good. We actually used the potty successfully the other morning, which we danced around the house about all morning. I know we have a long way to go, but I know it will come soon enough- I hope at least.

She gets excited about it, and the girl loves some toilet paper. Again, another thing in life that little people get excited about. She likes it soooo much, that I use it as a reward. For example, she pretends to potty to get toilet paper, but in my house you ONLY get toilet paper if you actually potty. Well, I may be acting a little stronger than I am, sometimes when she sits a long time on the potty I let her have it because I think if she put in that much time on the potty, she should at least finish the process.

Well, I am sure Hannah will love this post as she gets older, but I could have made it much worse by telling how she waves good bye when you flush a toilet. Oh well, the joys of growing up.

First Name Basis

Well, Hannah and I have grown our relationship recently. We are now on a strict first name basis. She calls me Allison and I call her Hannah. Oh, aren't we becoming close.

She has understood for a while now that she calls me Mommy, but my name is Allison. But just recently, she has decided that just calling me "Mommy," must not be doing the job efficiently enough so she has switched to Allison.

Now the way the process goes is that she usually starts with Mommy, and about the second try with no response Allison kicks in. She attempts screaming Allison until she has my attention.

I also have to say that she is one little smart cookie because this has worked like a charm for her. I have been so thrown off by her asking for Allison that I immediately turn my head toward her. HAHA, what a sucker I am.

So don't be alarmed if she asks for Allison. It is not a new friend, but more like an old friend with a new alias.

As I always say, they do learn fast and the whole calling me Allison thing is like the mommy thing. It is so cute when they first do it, and then after a while it is not so cute anymore, if you know what I mean. So I have a feeling as soon as I become bored with being called Allison, I will gladly switch back to Mommy. Oh, the games we play.

Just call me fancy

I feel like every time I write now, I am apologizing for my negligence to keep my blog updated. Well life has been crazy for us as usual. Hannah and I are never real "still."

We won't have pictures for a bit on the blog, because I had an unfortunate event of having my purse stolen from my car with my camera. (I know, lock doors at all times.) So we will have to revert back to the times before I uploaded fun pictures and silly videos. At least for a short while..

Well, what has Hannah been up to. She talks non-stop. All the time. Never stops. On-going. I think you get the point. She is also quite a remarkable singer- but we all know who she gets that talent from- hehe. You should ask her to sing you a tune. You will be super impressed. She is quite the smart little cookie.

But beyond all of our normal growing mile markers, Hannah has become quite the avid princess. She LOVES playing dress up. Our sweet cousin Caroline had a whole mini suitcase full of dress up clothes and shoes that is now scattered from every corner of my house (I never in my life corresponded dress up with a HUGE MESS- who would have known). So she comes home each day and transforms into whatever beautiful princess she wants to be for the evening. The shoes are the best though. She won't take them off. I even had to throw her in bed with a pair on the other night- geez.

She loves to have her hair straightened in the morning before school. And she thinks all of her clothes are so pretty. The best part of all of this "super girlie" stage, is that she thinks everything mommy wears or puts on is beautiful. Having a 2 year old can do LOADS for your self esteem.

Other than that, we are onto all of our adventures. School, work (oh, I started a new job for those of you didn't know- yay for me), fun, cleaning- if you need something cleaned just give Hannah a lysol wipe and she will have it spic and span for you in just a few moments, along with all of life's other fun stuff.

Have a great weekend everyone!

My Little Saints Fan

I feel like I always start my post like this, but......... Yes, we have been busy and doing all kinds of fun things. Hannah has been doing a lot of growing and learning TONS of new words!

Due to the Saints preseason game today, Hannah wore her Saints t-shirt. It was too cute. I will also follow this post with a bunch of fun miscellaneous pics!

Beach Time

As most of you know we took our annual beach trip with my family a couple of weeks ago. Hannah has always been a little skeptical of the sand, but this year was our breakthrough. She and her cousin, Ella, especially liked to build sand castles and the jump and stomp all over them.

She also really like the pool (the big pool, of course). The last day we finally coaxed her into putting on her swimmies and she swam like a big gir, pretty much. She liked to jump in the water. Instead of counting to the normal 1, 2, 3 jump, Hannah went all the way to 10! Always the cautious one, never in a rush.

Below are some pics at the beach.





Snack time on the beach!