It's hard to believe our "baby" is six! But then she has considered herself "NOT a baby" for at least four years now. :)
Here is our annual birthday interview so you can hear from the source some of her likes, dislikes, and interests are these days:
And a little video from Hannah's 6th Birthday:
This last year was a tough one for our family, full of many changes and much faith building. Though Hannah is young, this was something that affected our entire family, Hannah included. This time last year she was praying daily that "Daddy's visa [to India] would come soon." When that didn't happen, we watched (and guided) as her 5-year-old faith grew to understand that God knows and will do what is best for us. We saw her learning to "trust and obey," knowing that as a family we want to be where God wants us to be, so we would trust Him and go where He led even if that meant not going back to India. Hannah's faith has grown and changed significantly over the past year.
In other areas Hannah is still pretty much the same Hannah! She's a fun-loving, people-loving, book-loving, adventure-loving, control-loving, bling-loving girl. ;) She is still our fearless kid who loves a good adventure (as long as it is HER idea), but who also loves all things fancy, girly, sparkly, etc.
She has taken off in reading over the past few months and loves the fact that she can pick up a book and read it on her own now. Her current favorite books to read herself are the Asterix books. Her absolute favorite books are The Chronicles Narnia books, which she brings to me to read over and over. I'm a little sad that we're already ending our picture book days as Hannah would rather have a Narnia book read to hear than any picture book!
Last fall Hannah learned how to ride a bike on her own. She was a quick study, needing lots of help on a Saturday, and taking off on her own by Monday. She had plenty of motivation as all of her older siblings and cousins could ride, and she certainly didn't want to be left out!
A girl on the move
Hannah was thrilled to be a part of the Awana "Sparks" program this year. Although our travels took us to many different churches, she memorized the verses in her book AND Daniel's (from listening to him say them)!
In January she (and her siblings) had her first experience spending an extended period of time away from Mommy and Daddy. Though she says she missed us especially at night, she had a great time with Granddad and Grandma Waldock and made some special memories. Grandma even taught her several different stitches which she found extra exciting!
Granddad and Grandma Waldock with the kiddos
An "extra" year in the States also meant extra time with cousins and grandparents. All of our kids have at least one cousin on both sides of the family that is their age, which makes family get-togethers lots of fun!
Hannah and Jerusha (4 months apart)
Hannah and Eskil (6 months apart)
Rife cousins (Gabe, far left, is 6 weeks younger than Hannah)
She enjoyed lots of special times with her Rife grandparents too - especially "Grandparent Camp" nearly every Friday! They went to playgrounds, museums, historical sites, put on circuses, sang at nursing homes and for shut-ins, had cookouts, and made lots of memories that won't soon be forgotten!
The Rife cousins with Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Eileen
Cousin Circus - a new tradition
In late Spring Hannah was able to play a season with Upward Soccer. This was her first organized sports experience, and although she loves action and adventure, she's not usually a very "sporty" kid so we weren't sure how she would do. She said she wanted to play though, so we let her. Sometimes her "playing" was more socializing with the other kids on her team, but she had fun and made some good friends in the process. =)
With some new soccer buddies!
Hannah also got to be a part of her first church musical, which is absolutely a "Hannah thing." She listened to the recording so many times in preparation for the musical that she had every part memorized. =) She LOVED being a part of it! We still hear those songs from time to time around here!
Hannah also got to be in a Grand Prix at her grandparents church last fall. She enjoyed the races and her car did very well, but I think she enjoyed making and decorating the car even more!
Over the past year Hannah has gotten over her fear of putting her head under the water in the swimming pool, and has gotten much more confident and self sufficient in the water. She thinks she has "learned to swim," though her parents still think it would be good for her to learn to keep her head above water. ;-) It is with much annoyance that she continues wearing the arm floats that her parents make her wear!
The day before we left the States to come to Cambodia (near the end of June), Hannah started complaining that her tooth was hurting. We realized that she had a couple of loose teeth and she was SO excited! The whole trip to Cambodia she would periodically exclaim, "I can't believe I have a loose tooth!!"
Waiting in the airport with cousins while Daddy and uncles get our luggage checked in
Flying to Cambodia!
Hannah's first Cambodian coconut!
Moving to Cambodia has been a big adjustment, and Hannah definitely misses both India and our family in America. The Lord has given her (and Karunya and Daniel) some English speaking friends on our street, so that has been a blessing. Hannah looks forward to playing with them almost every afternoon!
She lost her first tooth in July and was THRILLED about that as you can see from the picture. =) She didn't want to pull it out, so she ended up swallowing it as she ate a brownie. Not a bad way to loose a tooth! She currently has several other loose teeth that she is looking forward to loosing as well.
Hannah is growing up far too quickly and thinks she is growing up even faster. We are so thankful for our sweet girl who brings so much life and energy to our family. If you don't know her well in person, the pictures below show much of her personality. That's something our Hannah has no lack of - personality! Our prayer for her is that she would grow in her love for God and her love for others over the next year.
A few more pictures of Hannah's year being five:
We had to go up into the mountains to find it, but we found some snow to sled in!
These precious three... willingly walking along wherever God leads our family
Learning some music!
Hiking at Pilot Mountain, NC
Hannah's "LOOK." If you haven't seen it... this is it... beware.
Here is Hannah's birthday interview. It's 10 minutes long, but it's fun because not only does it show what she's into these days, but it gives a good picture of her personality. She's quite the character!
Hannah decided she wanted the Indian flag on her birthday cake, which quickly morphed into an Indian theme birthday party.
Table decor - compliments of the collection of curios we keep for display at churches
Indian flag by Mommy, flower decorations by Hannah
Happy 5-year-old
Tired of pictures and waiting to blow out the candles!
Only took three tries :)
Hannah wanted to play "Pin the Tail on the Donkey," but since we didn't have a donkey or a tail, we ended up with "Pin Hannah in Bangalore!"
Close, but not quite.... Cousin Ethan won the prize - a Snickers, as those can be found in both India and America. :)
