December Funkas!

December was a busy and fun month for us. We had a birthday party where a fun Fairy came and entertained the kids, we went to the awesome San Jose Kids Museum, saw a whole bunch of different fishies at the SF Aquarium, and took a trip to LA to see Jake, Yaling, Cousin Zoe, Maya, Erez and Lia. 2 year olds typically don't play with each other (they play in parallel), but it was cute to watch Hannah and Zoe feeling each other out. And because Hannah and Lia are close in age and are both pretty outgoing, the two of them hit if off and actually played together. Their hugs and kisses at the end of the night were just adorable :)

Hannah is at an incredible stage right now, and it's an absolute joy to watch her grow up, get to know her personality, and help her experience and discover the world we live in. Aside from how adorable she is, what's most amazing right now is how much she is talking. Her vocabulary is incredible, and you can have full on, multi-sentence conversations with her about many things. She learns new words, phrases, and grammar constantly, and occasionally she'll say something, in proper context, that we have no idea from where it came. There's definitely an element of the terrible twos with lots of crying fits, but that's probably more an element of her flowering strong personality than anything else. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask. And then ask again (and likely cry) until she gets it. She's also quite silly and fun to be around--making up words, singing songs, dancing, laughing, and generally reveling in the naivete of her toddlerhood :)

Cousin Zoe and Hannah Hug and Kiss

How cute!

The Hula Hop

On command, if you start singing this song, Hannah starts jumping up and down. It's classic.

Lia/Hannah Jam Session

We spent New Year's Eve (or rather late afternoon and early evening) with our friends Erez, Mia and their daughter Lia. Lia is a few months older than Hannah and a great girl--adorable, full or personality, smart and playful. Most kids Hannah and Lia's age do not do much playing with others--they play in parallel. But on NYE, Hannah and Lia completely hit it off. It was adorable. They were playing with eachother all night, sharing (with a little parental coaxing), and gave each other hugs and kisses at the end of the night. It was awesome to watch. This is a little video of a jam session the two of them had together.

Nightime Routine, Part 1

Here's the first in a two part series of our nightly routines with Hannah. As you can see, this part is torture for all parties involved :)

Election Night!

On November 4th, we got to be a part of history, as Barack Obama become the first African American to win the Presidential Election. Hannah is only 2 years old, so we don't expect her to truly comprehend the magnitude of this event, but we did (and continue to do) our best to talk to her about it. We took her to the voting booth that morning, and let her stay up later than normal to watch the returns coming in. When I picked her up at school that day, the first thing she said to me was "Barack Obama's not here. He's not working. He's on vacation!" Don't ask me where she came up with that one! And everytime she sees him on TV or on a magazine cover, she proudly says "That's Barack Obama!"

This video is important for a few reasons. First off, it's a brief way to memorialize the day for us. Second, when I asked Hannah who was going to be President that night, her answer was "Me!" I'm proud to have taken part in an Election that broke down the barriers for people other than white men to become POTUS. Once and for all, this Election showed that it really is possible for anyone to become President. If Hannah wants to go for it one day, nothing will stand in her way. And last but not least, this video is also interesting because it shows what Hannah is most interested in. Crackers! Boy, does she love munching on crackers. Better than potato chips or hot dogs, I guess. "I want some more crackers daddy. CRACKERS daddy!"

Isn't She Lovely

Here's a slideshow I put together of the first 26 months of Hannah's life, set to a Stevie Wonder song that he wrote about one of his daughters. (Thanks to Universal Records for allowing me to fairly use this piece of content).