Santa at the Country Club

Last night was family night at the Country Club and Santa made an appearance! Last year Santa made Hannah cry. She did a little better this year, she sat on his lap, but wouldn't look at him. We had been practicing what she was going to tell him. She decided that she would tell him she wanted a "toy" whatever toy that is, who knows, but she wouldn't talk to him when the time came! Oh well, we got a few pictures anyways!


Decorating cookies!
Eating more frosting than is getting on the cookies!

And....
Hannah being silly...you might recognize the headband from an earlier picture (on Allison's head!) Hannah LOVES her daddy!
If you look really close, Alli's tooth is in there! (on the bottom)
Hannah thought she needed to be in a picture, too, so we posed by the Christmas tree!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Like everybody else this time of year, we have been so busy. We had a great Thanksgiving. We celebrated at Nate's oldest brother Ben's brand new townhome in Des Moines. I think it would have scared me to have a whole bunch of kids running around, but it worked out well and we had a great time! Hannah loved playing with the aunts uncles and her cousins! Allison also got her first tooth! Thanksgiving day it poked through, I think she must have been hoping for some turkey! I'll get pics when it is a little more visible. Unfortunately, Hannah also came home with pink eye :( which stated our not so very fun past week!

Hannah got pink eye, then the girls and I got a bad cold, then Alli got pink eye (despite crazy hand washing and cleaning of blankets, towels, etc) and then yesterday Alli got another tooth! So our past week has consisted of staying at home (to try and not infect everybody else), not sleeping enough, and listening to lots of whining and crying. Luckily Nate's not so busy at work, so I have been able to stay sane! Yesterday we were finally all feeling better. It is amazing how big a difference that makes!

Here are a few pictures of poor Allison...I do try and wipe her eyes off, but it doesn't help for long!

And here is Hannah wearing her new favorite footwear! These are some boots we picked up at the second hand store and she wants to wear them ALWAYS! She calls them her "winter boots." They light up when she walks and she wants to show everybody!

And last but not least...Hannah and Alli have a brand new cousin! Nate's sister Tiff had a baby boy yesterday morning. Calvin Jay (at least that's what they think they are naming him, but plan on calling him CJ.) Hopefully we can squeeze in a trip to Des Moines to see him before we head to CO next week!

She did it!

Allison rolled over! Yesterday I put her down on her tummy so that I could change Hannah and when I was done, she was on her back! I think it will still be a while before she actually knows how to roll over, but once is a start!


Here is Miss Allison in her favorite pose...tongue out! Her tongue is always out, sometimes she just likes to stick it out, sometimes she is licking things, as long as it isn't in her mouth she is happy. The other day we were playing in the mirror and she wouldn't put her tongue back in her mouth, it was getting all dry before she finally decided she had tasted the air enough! Anyways, I think she is a cutie with or without her tongue! I also think it is funny because she always has things in he mouth, but she is rarely sucking on them. For example, her fingers are almost always by her mouth, but she is usually either chewing on them (luckily no teeth yet)or just licking them. I was worried about her being a thumb sucker (because it can be a hard habit to break later) but so far she doesn't really "suck" her thumb. It has been so much fun to notice all of the differences between the two girls. They are really so unique, even just as babies!

Here are just a few pics of the girls playing and acting goofy.


One last thing, I need your opinions! We are trying to figure out how we should spell Allison's nickname. Ally, Allie, others!? She has two "Ls" in her name, so I think her nickname should, too, but maybe not. Which spelling do you like best??

The potty and the rec center!

About two months ago I got really excited about trying to potty train Hannah...and she was excited for about half a day, and then not so much. After that point she got upset any time I asked if she wanted to sit on the potty, use the potty, etc. So today she went pee on the potty, this is technically time number 2, but after a little break. She is excited about the whole potty idea again...so maybe it will last a little longer this time! Hopefully!

Yesterday we went and played at the rec center. They just started "toddler time" on Mondays and Wednesdays. Pretty much it consisted of Hannah running around like a crazy person after basketballs, kids, whatever for a good 45 minutes. Yeah for a good way to get some extra energy out! That afternoon she took a 2 and a half hour nap...probably a record for Hannah. I'm usually lucky with a hour and a half! I've maybe found my winter sanity...the rec center!

Allison is also doing great. I'm still waiting for her to roll over, but I think now she is at least getting close. Up until yesterday she seemed to forget that she had arms while on her tummy, but now she has figured out how to push herself up. Any day I expect to find her not in the same position I left her! She's about 4 1/2 months old, and Hannah had rolled over by this point, but I think I haven't helped encourage her. Mostly the ground isn't a safe place to put her with Miss Hannah around, so she doesn't get extra tummy time, that is for sure!

The good and the bad

So last week, on Halloween, I learned something about myself that I didn't know before. I apparently have this problem with blood. I guess I never thought I did, I did an internship in high school at a vet's office w/o any problems and I saw plenty of blood there. My guess is that my problem is more with the combination of blood/pain/knowing it is my child hurting, etc. So on Halloween the girls and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some candy (last minute, yes) I put Hannah in the cart, got Allison in the cart, and turned around to get the diaper bag. Next thing I know as I back turn around, I see Hannah falling face first over the side of the cart. We are in the parking lot, and so plenty of people watch this happen. I picked her up, and of course she is bleeding all over the place and screaming. Luckily one lady came by to help for a few minutes...but how do you really help, I don't know. So Hannah settled down relatively quickly, but I was definitely having a problem! I felt like I was going to pass out and be sick to my stomach. Nice, huh? How in the world am I supposed to take care of my hurt child when I can't even take care of myself? I'm sure these thoughts didn't really help. After many minutes of sitting the car holding Hannah while Allison slept in the cart (luckily), I recovered well enough that I could at least drive home (at first I was worried that I would have to call Nate and have him leave work to come get us) Hannah was fine, she just bit her lip a little and got her tongue pretty good, but this event still scared me because I know there will be other times when my kids are hurt, and there is blood involved, what am I supposed to do? Last night I had another opportunity to find out. Hannah just needs to chill a little and she might not get hurt as often, but good luck telling her that! She was running around her room playing with me, slipped and hit her chin on her bed, which made her bite the inside of her lip REALLY good. I think she is lucky her teeth didn't come through the other side, gross! So there was even more blood than the first time, but I held it together much better this time around. I still had to sit down on the floor with her, but it was a big improvement for me! Heavenly Father must be helping me overcome this weakness of mine! I'm not really sure I am enjoying it, and Hannah probably isn't either, but I was almost relieved that I did better with the\is second injury. Does that make sense? Maybe I can handle being a mom after all! Sorry for the long story, but it was just on my mind.

So the happy thing that happened yesterday was between the girls. Hannah usually loves to give Allison hugs and kisses, to the point that I have to remind her that babies need to breathe and have their space, too. Yesterday Hannah realized that she could make Allison laugh! It was by accident, Hannah sneezed, and Allison thought it was funny, then she sneezed again and Allison thought it was REALLY funny. For the next 15-20 minute (forever in Hannah time) Hannah kept trying all sorts of things to get her little sister to laugh, fake sneezing, fake laughing, etc. It was too cute, and hopefully a glimpse of how they will interact when Allison is a little older. I can't wait until they can really enjoy having each other as sisters, even if that also means they will fight like siblings, too!

Baby updates and Halloween

So Miss Allison went to the doctor's last week for her 4 month appointment...time sure does fly! So along with shots, we got to see how big she is getting. She is 26 inches(95%) and just about 16 lbs(90%). She is doing great and growing so fast! It is interesting to watch how different Hannah and Allison are. Hannah was always right around the 50%, which makes Allison quite a bit bigger, and Allison also seems so much more laid back. I'm not minding the laid back part, but I was hoping they would be closer in size so that I could at least use SOME of Hannah's clothes for Allison! Allison is fitting into 6-9mo clothes without a problem, and when Hannah was 9 months old it was June. We've got our seasons all wrong! Luckily we have a great second hand store in Carroll, which is also where I got the girls' Halloween costumes. It almost makes up for the fact that I don't have a Kohls or a Target closer than an hour and a half away! So here are some pics of the growing girl!


This one is a pic of me when I was about 8 weeks old, but I still think Allison looks a lot like me (minus the skinny chicken legs)

Then we had Halloween. We never got around to carving a pumpking this year, but we still had a great time. Hannah enjoyed carrying the pumpkins around the house anyways. We had a trunk or treat at church, where Hannah practiced her trick or treating skills. Friday night we visited our neighbors and family here in town. Hannah was so excited about handing the candy out to the kids who came to our door before daddy got home that at first she didn't want to leave her job to go trick or treating. Our house is up on a hill and she was stading on our front porch yelling to all the kids "CANDY, CANDY!" When we went to the neighbors across the street, they told us how cute they thought it was...mom maybe just thinks she is getting loud! Once she realized that she got candy when she went door to door she was all for it!



And last but not least, the Hannah update! She is getting more crazy and wild every day...winter maybe scares me because we can't just go outside and run around as easily. She thinks that it is fun to bite Allison's fingers and toes. I don't really know where she learned this one from. I just have to remember that she is two, and this is normal, right!? She is also like a little parrot! Last night she asked to watch her Diego video, and I told her that is was Sunday and that we didn't need to watch TV. She then tells me "Come on, mom! Right now!" I had to laugh because I know she sounded just like me when I'm trying to get her to hurry up and get ready to leave the house, etc. I better watch what I say, because she's going to say it right back to me! She might challenge me sometimes, but she is still such a good girl (most of the time! :)
Another uncooperative pic.

Show and tell, b-day, and costumes!

So we are still alive. We just seem to be busy. I don't know where the days go to, but somehow time is just flying by! Allison sure seems to be growing up so much more quickly than Hannah...maybe it is just because I am more busy!?

About a week and a half ago Hannah and Allison had a big adventure. They got to go to school. Nate's youngest sister was student of the week in her kindergarten class, and for show and tell she brought Hannah and Allison to share with her class. She is funny because most of the time she doesn't really get along with Hannah all that well. I think they are both too stubborn and bossy. Anyways, she was still really excited about having them in class. She told her teacher that her favorite thing to do was to hold Allison! Too cute. So here is a picture of Grace doing her favorite thing.

I didn't get a good picture of her with Hannah, but that is mostly because Hannah made herself at home in the classroom and was busy playing with all of their toys. When show and tell was over, it was time to line up to go to music class, and so Hannah lined up with them. I don't anticipate her having much separation anxiety when it comes time to go to school! She is definitely Miss Independent!

Here is another picture of Miss Allison, looking so big! :)

And here is my little ladybug! She is ready to go celebrate daddy's b-day and to go trick or treating!

Nate's b-day was on Wed. and he was working. It was family night at the country club, so we visited and ate dinner sort of with him while he worked. It was their Halloween themed night, so we (the girls) had to get all dressed up in costumes. Here is Hannah helping Aunt Sara make Aunt Josie into a mummy. She thought is was pretty funny and then thought she needed some, but couldn't get it to stay on! At least so far she hasn't had any bright ideas about the TP in our bathroom at home. Hopefully it stays that way!

Lastly, the birthday boy with his two little ladybugs. Happy Birthday Nate the Great!!!

Happy Birthday Erma!

This past Sunday was Nate's great grandma's 95th birthday, so we celebrated over at grandma Eileen's house. Hannah is all excited about birthday's these days. I think partly because we celebrated hers multiple times, and this year she actually thought the parties were pretty fun. We told her once that daddy's birthday was the next one in our family and now she keeps asking about it! The other morning the first thing she said when she got up was "daddy's birthday coming!" Anyways, his birthday is still a few weeks away, but lately she keeps talking about daddy's yummy birthday cake...so that must really be why she is excited.

So here is a five generation picture. Great grandma Erma, grandma Eileen, Nate's dad, Nate and his sister Tiff, and then Hannah, Allison, Cameron, Kiara, and Caleb (Tiff's kids) Pretty neat, I never had any great great grandparents around when I was growing up!

Lessons from daddy

Today we stopped by the pro shop to see what daddy was up to. Things have been slowing down around the country club since school has started, so we actually got to visit with daddy while we were there! Nate showed Hannah how to putt...

and she tried it our for herself! Maybe we will get a little more practice in next year!

And this is Hannah's usual entertainment while she is out at the country club. The mirror. She will sit there and make faces, talk to herself, whatever. She thinks it is great. I still can't figure out why this mirror is so much more fun than the ones we have at home!

Scary

So yesterday we went to church like normal and Allison decided that she was hungry. We only had about 20 minutes left of church and so I decided that I would just go home to feed her...we don't really have a place to nurse a baby in our rented building, and we had two cars in the parking lot. So I get Allison all ready, trying to hurry because she is hungry (although she is very patient compared to how Hannah was). I open the door to the van with the key, so it is still in my hand while I'm trying to get her strapped into the car and I accidentally hit the lock button so the horn beeps. I decide to just put the key up in the front seat so that I don't set off the panic button or something. Then I closed the door and try to get into the car. Of course, you can probably guess that the door is locked...all of them. Um, PANIC...I just locked my hungry 3 month old in the car and I am almost certain that the other set of keys, besides the ones sitting on the front seat are in the diaper bag...also in the car. Anyways, Nate's dad called some guy who coached Nate's sister's basketball team when she was in high school and he came as quickly as he could and got the car unlocked for us. Granted this all still took about 25 minutes of Allison crying in the car, which was warmer than it needed to be, but luckily it wasn't a hot day, and she keeps looking at me through the window like why aren't you helping me mom! So while this is all going on I'm thinking two things 1)guilt, because I did this to her (there was maybe some crying to go along with this) and 2) I wish somehow I could be the one suffering instead of her...it just didn't seem fair! Later yesterday afternoon I was thinking back to an article I had read in the Ensign about a woman who saw her grandson burn his hand on a hot curling iron and how she wished that she could take away the pain and how it ended up teaching her more about the Savior and His suffering for each of us. It got me thinking about how much we learn from being parents! No wonder Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth and so are we. Without these little ones I know that I would miss out on SOOOO many lessons that Heavenly Father wants to teach me. It is amazing how much children teach you about love...pure, unconditonal love, and so many other lessons, like patience ! :) I am so grateful for Hannah and Allison and all that I have learned from them so far, and all that I know I will continue to learn from them. What a blessing they are to me!

More excitement in the Pettitt household

We are officially parents of a 2 year old!!! Hannah celebrated her birthday on Sept. 10 and we have survived the week and a half since then. Hannah had another little party here in Iowa the day before her birthday. It was just Nate's family and our next door neighbors, but Nate's family alone still makes for a full house! My mom always made our birthday cakes growing up because she actually knew what she was doing (she did it as a job for a while when she was in school) and so I figured that I better keep up the tradition. I've learned some from my mom over the years, but I haven't really ever decorated a cake on my own. So here is my attempt...I think it turned out pretty well for my first try! Next year maybe I will be brave enough to try making flowers (I took the easy route this time!)

So Hannah got to open some more presents, even though she really doesn't need more toys. Grandma and grandpa (and family) got her a little bike. She is really excited about it, but her little legs need to grow a bit more!


Then the evening of Hannah's birthday she took mom and Allison to the airport to go to Texas. I don't know that Hannah really cared, but it was a big step for me. The only time I'd been away from her was when I was in the hospital with Allison, and that ended up only being one night. So Allison went on her first plane ride, and did great.

I like travelling with little babies...they sleep! So we flew to CO and then drove with my mom and step dad to Lubbock, TX where my cousin Nicki was getting married. We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with family. Somehow I ended up with no pictures of Allison with any of the family..a few pictures of the bride and groom and that is it! :(

Hannah was actually really excited to see me when I got back, which was a nice change. Usually dad gets all sort of hugs and kisses and giggles when he gets home, and this time it was mom's turn! Thanks to Nate's mom for helping with Hannah and making the trip possible and to my mom for taking me along for the ride!

Our trip to CO!

Happy day, we got to go to CO! My friend from high school just got married on Sat. and Nate's brother Kirby just started school at CSU, so we decided that we had a few good excuses to make the trip to Colorado and visit family while we were at it! We had a great time and celebrated Hannah's birthday while we were there. We celebrated Hannah's birthday early last year in CO, too, but at least this time it was only like a week and a half early! It was the only way that we could see most of the people we wanted to on such a short trip. Thanks grandma for making Hannah's party happen! This is one post of like a million that I FIALLY got around to today...if you have time you can look at them all (you're not done til you've seen Hannah's 1st haircut!)

Daddy and his girls at the Denver Temple

Hannah admiring the water fountain the the Temple

Reading with grandpa

The birthday cake, thanks grandma!!!

Hannah getting ready to blow out the candles!

The Lund family with Hannah and Kambria

Opening presents

Trying to share, but not really wanting to.

Cutie pie Allison!

Kim and her dad walking down the aisle

Chowing down at the reception on veggie dip!

Dancing with daddy

After our trip this is what our new church building looks like...they've been working hard!

Goodbye Contour, hello Town and Country!

After test driving way too many vans and doing lots of research, we finally made a big purchase! Even though we bought a house, buying a car was kinda scary...at least a house can appreciate in value, but a car definitely doesn't. So, we sold Nate's Contour and bought a mini van. We've already driven it to CO and back and we can definitely fit tons more stuff in it (a nice feature when travelling with two little girls!)Hopefully it lasts us a long while!

The old and...

the new (to us at least!)

Meeting great grandma

We've been busy! Shortly after my dad and Bettye left, my mom and grandma came to visit for a few days. Great grandma had to meet little Allison and see how much Hannah has grown! Sorry about the pics...I'm not sure why these ones aren't cooperating and rotating like I told them to!


Hannah trying to be a big girl

Great grandma holding her newest great grandaughter!

Niehouse cleaners sign...while my mom and grandma were in town, we went to a memorial service for one of my grandma's second cousins in Marshalltown, IA (like 2 hours directly west of Carroll) My grandma still has some family there, but hadn't been back since she was a little girl. This is the cleaners that her Uncle used to own. Although it isn't in the family any more, it still has the family name!

Great grandma and Allison!

Having lunch with grandma and being silly!