Big Little Girl

Hannah Rebekah turned Two Years Old on November 30th.


When I think of Hannah as an infant, the first image that comes in to my mind is that of her Daddy holding her for the first time at the hospital. Rocking her gently back and forth, whispering to her quietly that he loved her. Its one of those moments in time that is perfectly frozen in my memory. She was such a tiny, perfect, little baby, barely over 5 pounds, but from moment one she owned our hearts.

And she knew it too.

Her big brothers were so absolutely adoring and attentive, and to this day that has not lessened. They were, and still are, quick to tell me if she needs something and quicker to tell me if they think I am doing something wrong. They always want to love and hug and kiss her, which sometimes she tolerates and other times she does not, but they keep trying anyways. They always want to make her smile and laugh, and she gives them some good laughs in return. Watching the three of them together is the greatest joy of my life.

Trying to put in to words what this little girl means to me is nearly impossible, there is so much in my heart. When she came in to being she brought with her a force that shaped our little family, all of our love for her binding us tightly together, no longer a "step" family or a "blended" family, just quite simply a family. Her family.

Hannah is strong-willed, tender-hearted and tempermental. She likes Alligators, sparkly dresses, playing in the dirt, dancing in front of the mirror and washing her hands. She knows all her shapes, including "crescent" and "hexagon", which never ceases to amaze me. Her favorite thing in the world is her Daddy Doll, who goes everywhere with us. She can speak in sentences and knows all kinds of big fancy words but still insists on calling her sippy cup "ah-kum" for reasons no one has yet been able to discern. Just because shes Hannah. She is bright, beautiful and endlessly entertaining. And so very, very loved.