Hannah Supriyah - Age 5

Our big 5-year-old at her "Indian" birthday party

Classic Hannah

Hannah as Elsa

Five. Our Hannah is five! Somehow that seems so much more grown up than four. She is definitely not our little baby anymore. She is still a cuddly, affectionate girl, but she is certainly growing up. She loves to help with "grown-up" things like cooking and cleaning, and feels very big when she is allowed to do so. Some of her favorite ways to help these days are rinsing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, and baking.

Chasing bubbles on the beach

Ice cream!

Tree climbing

Hannah is our little dichotomy. She is as adventurous and outgoing as the day is long, but then she will have her cautious, shy, clingy moments too. She can be such a tomboy when it comes to climbing all over the monkey bars (or trees... or furniture...), but as a friend put it recently, she is also our "bling" daughter who loves all things sparkly and girly.

Our little princess

I was reading over the post I wrote when Daniel turned five, and saw that I struggled to know how to describe him in writing. I find that the same is true now with Hannah as a five-year-old. I think part of it is the fact that at age five, children are learning and growing SO much in so many different ways, but it is much less obvious than when they are two or three. There aren't as many noticeable milestones they are reaching, but they are certainly developing in many, many ways. They have their own little character and personality that is so fun and unique, but is somehow so hard to describe!

Hiking at Mount Ranier

Showing off the little boxes they made out of greeting cards

With second cousin Caleb

At the playground with cousin Eirena

Showing off her seashell

Early morning reading with Daniel

Kayaking with Daddy on the Puget Sound in Washington

This past year or so has been a very different one for our family, and Hannah has had countless experiences and met countless people. She has done so well being on the road and being in so many different places. She is a little charmer, and it became something of a family joke that before we left a church we were visiting, almost everyone there would have had some sort of interaction with her, usually in the form of hearing some fun fact about India or just about her day, or if they're "lucky" one of her famous, enthusiastically presented stories. She has been so good about meeting new people, and she really seems to enjoy it most of the time. Hannah is generally a very outgoing and friendly little girl, though she does have her moments (usually when she's tired) when she just wants to bury her head in my shoulder and shut everyone out. She's our drama queen, and there's never any doubt as to how she is feeling! However, she can also change moods like flipping a switch (literally) when she wants to... which has it's good and bad points!

Making friends 

Passing out prayer cards

Telling new friends all about India

Loving on (honorary) cousin Rachael

Hannah has enjoyed most of the sightseeing we've done as we have attempted to make our travels fun and exciting for the kids. Being the youngest is something of a disadvantage in this situation, as she couldn't understand quite as much as the older two and won't remember as much. She had fun, however, and did seem to learn a lot. Sometimes in various conversations she will pipe up with a tidbit of information she picked up at one historic site or another.

Moore's Creek Battlefield in North Carolina

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico

Redwood National Forest in California

With a Joshua Tree in Mohave National Park

On a ferry traveling across the Puget Sound in Washington

Ancient Lakes in Washington

At Pompey's Pillar on the Lewis and Clark Trail

Hiking near Mount Ranier

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Hanging out with William Clark (of Lewis and Clark)

Traveling through the Badlands, South Dakota

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dressed up like Lewis and Clark

At Traveler's Rest, where Lewis and Clark wintered

The Statue of Liberty, New York City

On the ferry to Ellis Island with the new World Trade Center in the background

At Valley Forge

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

The Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background

Seeing the sights!

Lots of fun times at Grandparent Camp

The Roanoke Star

Though Hannah loved all the sightseeing, she has enjoyed the people and all of the new friends she's made even more. Most of her favorite friends are somewhat older than she is, although she's discovering the fun of having friends her own age too. By nature of being an MK, not to mention her friendly, outgoing nature, Hannah makes friends very quickly and easily. On at least three separate occasions during the last year, Hannah met a new friend about her age, and considered that person her "best friend" within just a day or two. Goodbyes are always hard in those instances, but she's a tough kid and bounces back quickly... especially when we arrive at the next place where there are other new friends to play with. :)

With buddies Matthew and Hannah - Indian friends from Boston =)

Fun with new neighbors while in Washington

Visiting Indian friends in North Carolina

Lost distance best buddies - Hannah and Chloe

Hannah became fast friends with Annabelle at one of the churches we visited

With her good buddy Kaye, our field admistrator's daughter

Family is the one constant in our 5-year-old's life, and even that isn't always as "constant" as we'd like it to be. For over half of our time in the States, our "home base" has been near Rachel's parents and sisters, so Hannah has had grandparents and cousins nearby. As Hannah has at least one cousin near her age on both sides of the family, she has had great times with her cousins! She has loved getting to know them and spending time with them in person. However, all of the Waldock cousins live states away, and the Rife cousin just her age moved to Thailand in June, so she has had to learn to "let go" of someone she had grown very close to, which has been a growing experience for her as well.

Seeing cousin Gabe off at the airport

Goodbyes are hard but also silly when you are 4-years-old!

Hannah and cousin Gabe - 6 weeks apart in age and exactly the same height (as of age 4 1/2)

5 of the 7 Rife cousins

Exploring with Daniel and cousins Jerusha (4 months older than Hannah) and Malachi

Cousins Eskil and Hannah - two peas in a pod (6 months apart) 

Cousins and second cousins (all of Rachel's paternal grandparents' great-grandchildren!)

The gals

As I mentioned earlier, Hannah is extremely adventurous. Fearless, actually. She complains when we drag her along on a simple hike, but if there are boulders to climb or precipices to look over, she's all there! She had the opportunity to go rock climbing a few months ago, and loved it. She was just disappointed that she wasn't tall enough to be able to do the harder climbs. =) On the playground, she flies across the monkey bars, and somehow ends up in the most dangerous, precarious places possible - with a big smile on her face, and with my stomach in my throat!

And she's off without a glance back!

Almost to the top

She's glad to hang off of Aunt Michelle too when she will let her

Slip and slide

Hiking Sharp Top on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Exploring a State Park

Taking in the sights in the Badlands

Our little climber

Enjoying the snow!

Hannah's first experience with snow - of course she decides to sled down the hill backward!

Tree climbing

Thankfully she is also very coordinated and has great balance. Of course, sometimes she gets distracted and will occasionally walk into a wall when she is looking at the person she is talking to instead of looking where she is going! But usually she can pull off her daring feats without mishap. I keep waiting for her first broken bone, but so far we have escaped with only a few occasional scrapes, bruises, and bumps on the head!

Playing in the Roanoke River

Exploring along the beach at the Puget Sound

Checking out some llamas with Daddy!

Braving a cold Virginia December

Hannah is a very independent little lady. Though she loves to be with people and do things with them (and she is still my cuddly one, which I'll enjoy as long as it lasts), she is also the baby of the family who has often had older siblings trying to do everything for her, so she often seems out to prove that she can do things "by myself."  She has her own list of things that she is responsible to do every morning and evening (like making her bed, brushing her teeth, putting clean clothes away, etc.), and she LOVES to help with cleaning and cooking.

Baking cookies with Grandma Waldock

One of Hannah's many faces

She was very excited to learn to blow bubbles by herself!

She's always excited about her creations

Hannah's relationship with her big brother and sister seems to have changed somewhat over the last year or so, but it's hard to know how much of that is the fact that it has rarely been just the three of them the way it usually was in India. A year and a half ago, Daniel and Hannah were really good buddies and would often go off and play together for quite awhile. They were often co-conspirators who would end up getting themselves into trouble (usually in their bathroom - letting their toys swim in the toilet, or spraying the bathroom, themselves, and their room down with water), but they sure had fun doing it! She still adores her big brother, but she's also developed a bossy streak, and she is good at frustrating him by trying to force him to do things her way.

Adoring little sister with silly (but protective) big brother

Sweet sisters at Christmas

Sharing a Texas waffle in.... Texas!

Having fun on a walk in Washington

Early morning reading together

Sibling love... I think

Hannah often seems to be wanting to identify more with other girls, and likes playing with Rebekah and their cousin Kylie when they will let her. Aside from Hannah, all of the younger cousins on the Rife side of the family are boys, but she also loves her time with them, and will often spend hours outside in the "club" they formed together.

Hannah and the boys (Daniel, Gabriel, Ethan)

With cousins Ethan and Gabe in the clubhouse

Hannah loves playing dress-up, especially when her siblings or cousins will join her. If they won't, she'll find a wall where she can see her shadow, and dance or pretend with her shadow!

Dress up and stories with Grandma Eileen

Our happy, silly girl

Hannah had her first haircut last November. That was a bit dramatic, for Daddy especially, but it was getting hard to take care of and she could literally sit on it, so it was time. Plus, we were visiting "Carleigh Aunty" who had been with us in India and is a great hair stylist, so we took the opportunity. She had enough hair to donate, so she was excited about that. She looked so grown up afterward! Her comment was "It didn't hurt at all!"

BEFORE (her hair had been braided so it looked crimped)

Getting ready...

AFTER

With Carleigh Aunty, feeling very big!

Hannah still has an amazing memory. We first noticed it when she was two and started reciting her big sister's scripture memory passage - just from listening to her say it every day! When we came to the States and got a new phone number, I taught it to her and she picked it up that day and hasn't forgotten it since. I know I'm a biased mama, but Hannah is a very sharp kid who remembers things very well, especially if it's something she's heard. She is definitely an auditory learner. That served her well this year when she got to attend AWANA for the first time this year. She loved it!

All ready for AWANA

Even at ages three and four she enjoyed listening to chapter books, and didn't mind that the books had no pictures. That love of listening to books has only grown as she has gotten older and as we have continued to read chapter books aloud to the kids. She still loves picture books to be sure, but she also knows that chapter books usually have better (and certainly longer) stories! Her favorite chapter book series right now is The Magic Tree House. Since we are in the States right now with access to a great public library, she has enjoyed listening to them in audio book format as well as listening to us read the hard copies. She also loved listening to the entire Narnia series (twice) while we traveled cross country. The "Betsy" books by Carolyn Haywood are another of her current favorites.

Finding "Waldo" with Daniel and cousins Kyra and Jerusha

Reading to Daddy and Daniel

Hannah is learning to read on her own, though with this last year of travel, we haven't worked with her on it as much as we had with her siblings by this age. Even so, she can read small, short-vowel words, and is learning long-vowel words. She loves learning new "special sounds" because she knows they will help her learn to read more words. I will often find her trying to sound out various words, and she gets frustrated with the many words that "break the rules." She does a lot of writing on her own, particularly on pictures she has drawn, and is constantly asking, "Mommy, how do you spell....?"

One other recent accomplishment has been pumping herself on the swing. She just figured it out on her own one day and ran inside saying, "Mommy come look! I can push myself now!"

Hannah loves to draw and color. A big thing for all the kids lately is to sit coloring and/or drawing while I read to them. Hannah can do that for hours! She loves drawing people with colorfully designed clothing, but she gets frustrated when she's trying to draw something and can't get it as "good" as she thinks it should be. She is definitely a perfectionist!

Hannah is our sweet, happy, sassy girl who lives life with gusto. Life wouldn't be the same without her, and we are so thankful to have her as a part of our family! We love you Hannah!