Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was spent at the annual Dickinson/Watson/Byrd family party.  We headed to my cousin Laurie's house for a grand meal, lots of catching up with family and gifts for the kids.  We had a great time and Hannah loved all the animals and chasing the fun remote control cars that her cousins received.  All that visiting wore her out- Hannah fell asleep before we left Laurie's and continued to sleep through the night: 12 hours in all!

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas 2010, part 2

We had Christmas with Mimi Jane on Saturday.  We all opened one present each; we will open the rest on our return trip.  Hannah had lots of fun opening her books and Mimi's chocolates.

Christmas 2010, part 1

Burke opens his Veggie Tales dvd

Hannah opens her ornament from Nana

Hannah in a basket! 10 months old

We celebrated our Christmas with Nana, Mimi Jane, Uncle Adam, Aunt Kirstin, Burke and Pipe Jane a few days after Thanksgiving.  We decorated the tree and had a fabulous holiday meal of Taco Bueno :)  Then the kids exchanged presents.  Hannah was thrilled with her books, beautiful homemade dress and ornaments.  We loved spending time with all the Gentrys for our first Christmas.

Also, Hannah turned 10 months old today!

For Mimi Jo- turtlenecks!

Just for Mimi Jo- Here are some shots of Hannah in a turtleneck!  (My Mom loves loves loves turtlenecks and thinks everyone else should love them too!)

Please also notice Hannah's new trick: pulling up on the recliner!

Molly on a diet?

Yes, Molly is on a diet.  A restricted diet- for some digestive problems- not on a weight issue diet.  More green and less orange for Molly!  She is not thrilled about this change but we are already seeing some improvement.

I wish wish wish I could get a picture of Hannah and Molly together.  But, alas, if they are anywhere near each other, I have to protect Molly's ears from Hannah's grabby hands!

Oh how she's grown!

Here is a look back at what Hannah looked like in April.  See how much she has grown! Aaron thinks all her cute hair makes her look like a little girl now instead of a baby.  (By the way- we are taking pictures of Hannah with her bears each month.)

In other news: Hannah can now crawl forward (she already had backwards and sideways down)!  And my life has just gotten much more complicated.

Nana and pajamas

The grandkids took pictures with Nana in matching moose pajamas!

*Thanks to Jordan Remke for the photos

Hannah's Baptism

Papa, Mimi Jo, me, Hannah, Aaron, Nana and Mimi Jane

Pastor Dale with his "Hannah B. Bananer"

Here is the only picture of Hannah in her matching bonnet!

Hannah was baptized last Sunday.  We were honored that the Rev. Dale Smith baptized her- he has been such a special person to both the Gentry family and Hannah's birth family.  The session approved Aaron to give the sermon.  It was more of a testimony to God's wonderful providence and faithfulness in our life and specifically in Hannah's adoption.

We were also blessed to have my parents, Evette and Aaron's grandmother there with us.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  Here are a few pictures of Hannah as she turned 9 months old on Tuesday.

A Dose of Reality

I once heard a sermon about "being real and transparent" (thanks Joseph Wheat!).  He talked about how he was always reading blogs and updates about perfect families, perfect vacations, perfect everything.  I know I don't always put perfect pictures of Hannah up on this blog, but I do most of time. 

So, here is my contribution to "being real."  Hannah is not perfect, I am not perfect, Aaron is not perfect and we certainly don't have a "picture perfect" life full of roses and sunshine all the time.  Life is messy:  Hannah cries, screams, throws temper tantrums.  I lose my temper, Aaron forgets to tell me important things, we are both too sarcastic.  Our house is an absolute disaster and I am not confident that things will be all ready for visitors this weekend.

But my love for Hannah and Aaron grows more every single day.  And I try, try, try my best to create a good home for them- even when I fail, they still love me.  So we will continue on with this charge from Ephesians 4:1-3: I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Fun with cousins

Malorie looks on as Chloe enjoys Hannah's pack-n-play

Daniel and Hannah had lots of fun playing together

Looks like Daniel is trying to get his high chair back!

Hannah had so much fun exploring Daniel's room and playing with Mimi

Here are a few pictures from our quick trip to Mississippi.  Hannah had lots of fun with her cousins!  We are so thankful that Robyn and Morgan opened their home to us for a few days.  We even got to see Mimi and Papa.  Lots of fun. . . can't wait to show you all of the Christmas card pictures we took!

CCA Football

Aaron's first event as the CCA Alumni Relations guy did not go off as planned due to thunder storms and tornados in the area.  But come nightfall, the football game was finally played.  As you can see, Hannah was absolutely thrilled and completely exhausted about the whole day!

Hannah's room

Here are a few shots of Hannah's room.  It is still a work in progress- there are still things to be made to be put on the walls.  And we are getting a glider/rocker this weekend to add to the mix.  Enjoy!

Cute as a Bug

Cute as a Bug- that's our Hannah in her bug costume!  She has been longing to play with it everytime she sees it in her closet :)  We had a fun time visiting friends at the Colleyville Presbyterian Reformation Festival tonight.  And Hannah loved seeing all the other kids in their costumes.