Hannah is TWO!!

Hannah Supriyah

 Two years ago today (at the time of this post in fact), a sweet, tiny little red-head came into the world....

2 weeks old

One year old

2 years old

She's still sweet and tiny and red-headed, but it is amazing to look back and see all the ways she has grown and changed over the past two years.

At age two, Hannah still just 10kg/ 22lb soaking wet! Thus she is ever our tiny little pixie girl. And incredibly biased though I know I am, I think she is pretty cute. =) Incidentally, I'm glad she's not heavier than she is because she wants to be carried around a lot more that the other two did at this age! Or perhaps I just wouldn't carry the other two much at this age because I was either high pregnant or had a newborn to carry!

Here in India children are usually called "babies" until they are 4 or 5-years-old, but there seems to be less and less "baby" left in Hannah. In some ways that is nice because it means she is growing in independence, learning to do for herself. It is also bittersweet as I watch my baby become a full-fledged toddler. She is ever the cuddly one though, and I will hold onto that for as long as I can.

Hannah spent a fair amount of the past month sick (fevers, throat infection, cold). During the worst of it (a high fever) she didn't want to do anything but lay on the couch with her bunny, a blanket, and the movie Bolt. There's one 30 minute section of that movie that she loves. I couldn't tell you how many times she watched that 30-minute section over the course of about two days!

Sick but still cheesing =)

Hannah is talking a TON. She speaks in complete sentences at least half of the time, although usually leaving out a few of the unnecessary-to-a-toddler words. It's cute though - when she wants to make sure she says something exactly right she'll slow way down and enunciate each word very deliberately. Then she'll remember all the words in a particular sentence. It is definitely interesting having three young talkers in the house now, all vying for attention. Hannah works hard to fill her quota of words... if Rebekah or Daniel say "Mommy?" Hannah will almost invariably pipe up with, "Uh, Mommy?" She doesn't usually have anything to say in those moments; just doesn't want to be left out!

She has a bad habit of shouting orders to various members of her family (especially Daniel as the two of them have been doing a lot of fighting lately). Obviously this is not acceptable, and we're working with her on this. It's funny though - when we tell her to "talk nicely" or "ask nicely," she'll do so, but always in a whisper. Seems that she thinks a "nice" voice is a whisper! There does seem to be no mid-range volume setting on her voice though.... usually she is either whispering or shouting.

 Hannah really enjoys books. She prefers having us read to her, but she'll also sit and look at books by herself for a little while. She's loves "Noddy" books (written by a British lady mostly unknown in America) and also Dora (thanks to her big sister). Her absolute favorite book right now is Go Dog Go! which is a fun little book that both my Mom and I enjoyed reading as kids.

Reading a book about Hats - one of Hannah's loves!

Reading Noddy in style =)

Hannah enjoys spicy food more than her siblings do at this point (time in the States really messed them up in that department, but most of her life has been here). Some of her favorites are paneer (cottage cheese Indian style), cooked carrots, toast with apple butter, "milk tea," cheese, salty biscuits (the equivalent of Ritz crackers), and peanut butter bananas. She's not a very big eater, but she's also not very picky, so I can't complain.

Regarding toilet training, we haven't been pushing it yet, and she hasn't made any huge strides in that direction. She's interested, but hasn't actually used the toilet yet (except once by accident and she didn't realize it), so we're just giving her a little more time. Or maybe I'm just giving myself a little time to get more motivated to make it happen!

Having older siblings is a big advantage in the education department because you get to learn by osmosis! We haven't worked at all on teaching Hannah letters or numbers, but she recognizes a handful of letters and knows how to count to ten (as you can see in the video below). She loves "doing school" in the form of coloring and pretending to write with a pencil while Rebekah does her school work. I love watching her "write" because she makes tiny up and down strokes as if she were really writing. I have no doubt she thinks she is!

 Hannah is such a little mimic. She of course imitates everything her siblings say and do, but it's also amusing to watch her imitate things she sees and hears elsewhere. She loves to pull a book (that has no pictures) off the bookshelf and either "read" it or sing from it (as though it were a hymn book). She's such a nutty girl. =)

Hannah is curious about everything. This means she gets herself into quite a bit of trouble! A couple of weeks ago Hannah painted the floor with Rebekah's nail polish (still have no idea how she found it or reached it). Earlier this week she wrote with pen ALL over her legs, hands, and our sheets, got into the neosporin, and colored with crayon on the wall. All before 10am! That whole day I was constantly finding her getting into things she shouldn't be into. She wasn't trying to be disobedient - she's just a curious two-year-old!

Our little... ah... angel?

 Hannah also has no fear. She is constantly climbing, jumping, etc., etc. She has great balance (thankfully), so has occasionally pulled off stunts that may have landed either of her siblings in the ER. Even so, she's had her share of bumps and bruises! No broken bones... yet. I wouldn't be surprised if she's the first of the three though!

Miss Mischief

Hannah is much more friendly and outgoing than she was a year or even a few months ago. She's still selective about her friends, but no longer clings to Mommy as she once did. She'll smile and talk to most people, although sometimes she gets in these moods where she just scowls at everyone. She has several good friends at church (mostly girls around 9-10 years old) who adore her, feed her snacks, and pretty much let her do whatever she wants (yeah, who wouldn't love that?!).

 Life is so much more fun and exciting with our sweet girl around, and we are so thankful for her and the joy she brings to our family and so many others around her.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!