Much to thank God for

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my Mom's family last week. (This first picture shows us at the bed and breakfast where we all stayed.) It is good to get together each year and go around the table and share what each person is thankful for. From the oldest to the youngest, we enjoy hearing how God has blessed each person over the last year--a new husband for my sister, encouraging friends and new, biblical church for others. Some were blessed with healing from injuries and some with a good first semester of college. As usual, Nathan and I had a lot to share; we have so much to be thankful for! We praised the Lord most of all for a healthy baby girl. Hannah is the first great-grandchild on my side of the family, so she got a ton of attention. She thoroughly enjoyed every minute, particularly staying past 8pm. Being home on Monday was a real shock for her, but she managed to keep life entertaining for herself. She played with her friend Hannah on Monday and her friends Judah and Elijah today. (I had fun babysitting and seeing what life would be like with more than one child. Wow!) She pulled herself up to a stand against the coffee table and was very proud of herself. Nathan had to help her sit down though; she didn't quite know what to do when she was done standing and pounding the table. She is a real joy and we can't wait to make her first Christmas a special one.

Our whole family together for Thanksgiving.

This is Hannah being photographed at the Bed& Breakfast.
(You should have seen how many cameras were snapping pics of her!)

Hannah's "pooped"!

Nathan and I decided to take a quick trip to the mall last night. Simple, because we only had one thing to buy and then we were going to walk around with Hannah in the stroller and get some exercise. On the way there, Hannah was a bit fussy. But since she is still rear-facing in her car seat, we weren't able to know if there was truly something wrong or if it was just that time of the evening for fussiness. When we arrived at the mall and took her out of the car seat, we realized, we had a slight problem. The back of her pants were soaked with a brownish stain. She was of course quite distraught. So were we.

Although, I had brought a diaper, I had not brought a change of clothes (unwisely thinking that now that she's 9 months old, I didn't need to carry all that stuff--everything possible, that I used tote everywhere with me). So I lay Hannah down to change her in the back seat of the car and realize that every piece of clothing she is wearing has poop on it, except her jean jacket. AND when I open the travel box of baby wipes, I pull out the very last one. Fortunately, we had paper towels in trunk and made do with that. As soon as I got her cleaned up, I practically threw the clean diaper at Nathan to put on her and ran to Old Navy to buy our daughter something clean to wear.

No one in Old Navy seemed to be in a hurry except me. I mean, who possibly has anywhere they're rushing to on a Tuesday evening at 7:30pm? I finally bought Hannah a little outfit and ran back out to the car to rescue my husband from the baby I left screaming in the car. But we're not done!

I get out to the car and Nathan has Hannah sitting on his lap, wearing only her diaper of course. She is calm but he is not. And it wasn't until he asks, "Do you have a safety pin?" that I notice what it wrong. In Nathan's hurry to get the diaper on our screaming daughter, he had accidentally ripped the tab off one side of the diaper. So he is sitting there holding it closed, less than amused that I think it's hysterical.

The only thing we had to "close" the diaper was the hair tie in my hair. So using that, we put Hannah's new outfit on her. No one feels like walking leisurely around the mall anymore, so we go in and buy our one item and leave. Upon arriving home, Nathan gives Hannah a bath while I clean up the poopy clothes and make her a bedtime bottle. As Nathan feeds Hannah, she finishes up her bottle and drifts off to a peaceful sleep in his arms. I was sitting next to him and without thinking, I smiled and said, "Poor thing. She looks pooped." That made us both burst into hysterical laughter. When I got myself together I added, "No pun intended."

Thus ends the story of our simple trip to the mall.

Our Hannah is 8 months old!

Hannah is growing up so fast! She can sit up on her own now and has started babbling "da da" and "ba ba." It's fun to see her expression when she eats a new food. She had her first haircut this summer and is starting to look like a "big girl." It's hard to remember life without her. She so much fun to have around.

Summertime

It is only June but the summer seems to be flying by already. Hannah had her first road trip two weeks ago, when we drove through the night to Michigan to visit friends and family. It was such a nice trip. Our little girl loves to be held and loved by just about anyone who can get their hands on her. We have pictures of her with so many different people and you can check those out, since Nate posted them on our website. Father's Day was a special time here too, since we celebrated Nathan's first one as a Daddy and also had a Baby Dedication with Hannah at church. Nathan's grandparents were here for the weekend, so they were able to be a part of the memory. It was a fun day. Hannah has begun to roll over! And so gone are the days that I can leave her for a few seconds in the living room on a blanket. When I return, so will have found her way to another spot. =) At least we don't have any stairs in our apartment, so that's one less hazard to worry about. We are feeling the heat of 95 degree days and staying inside a lot more than usual. We have taken advantage of the hot weather as a good excuse to take Hannah "swimming" which she seems to enjoy. Enjoy the pictures! Hasn't she gotten big?!

Learning New Things

Hannah is learning new things every day. In the past couple weeks, she has learned to eat oatmeal with a spoon, shriek loudly to get Mommy's attention, and grab my hair while she drinks her bottle. It was a lot of fun to dress her up for my sister's wedding this month and to take her hiking by the Chesapeake Bay in April. It's amazing to see how excited she gets when we talk to her. I enjoy having her around to talk with while I fold laundry and cook dinner. And although there are days when she screams all the way home from the mall because she's tired and hungry, most of the time Hannah is a joy to have around. In a couple weeks, we will try taking a ten-hour car ride with Hannah as we go to visit friends in Michigan. We'll see how that goes. It will be interesting. I don't know if we're brave or just plain stupid. I guess time will tell.

Yummy and Messy

Hannah on Easter Sunday

My sister, her husband Nathan, and family

Mommy and Hannah at Aunt Erica's Wedding

Getting Shots

Yesterday, I had to take Hannah to the pediatrician for her two month shots. I was dreading the whole ordeal from the moment I got out of bed. But the moment finally came when the doctor asked me to hold my daughter's hands, to keep them out of the way and he gave her five shots! Ouch! Boy did she scream, but when it was over, I distracted her with a pacifier and she calmed right down. I wonder if in her little mind she wondered why I let her experience that pain. I know that it will be years before she understands that I allowed the pain to keep her from sickness or even death. But as I was driving home, I was reminded of my Heavenly Father and how he lets me go through things that hurt too. And I can picture him holding both my hands all the way through, so that I know I'm never alone. Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite verses: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose." This verse comforts me--even when I do not know why my circumstances hurt so much, God is there to walk me through it and it is for my own good. So just like Hannah has someone who loves her enough to let her suffer pain at times, I have an awesome God who loves me and will always do what's best for me. Somehow it makes the pain hurt a little less.

I'm a Mommy now

Well,I am beginning my career as a mother and starting a new blog to chart the progress of this new adventure. Hannah Grace was born in January and we are enjoying her so much. She is now 2 months old. It's hard to believe how quickly time goes and how fast she is growing already. I am, as you can see, a VERY proud mamma. Don't get me wrong, there are days when she fusses all day and times when she spits up all over her Daddy, but for the most part, we're loving every moment. You can check out our family website at http://www.heijermans.us/ and check out the millions of photos we've taken of Hannah with our new camera. Also, if you want to check out my previous blog entries, you can visit www.xanga.com/librarylover and read all about life with the Heijermans. Thanks and happy reading!