Sweet Hannah

Gosh, time flies!! The plan was to get some some professional pictures of Hannah when she turned one, but we decided to wait a few more weeks until she was steady on her feet. So here they are, Hannah's official "14 month photos!". Every time I look at these photos I just feel like my heart is going to explode. She is sooo beautiful! She has such a huge personality too and I think these pictures capture it a little bit - I think it would be hard to do her justice though. Boy, does she make us laugh. Not a boring day in the Ballew house, let me tell you!! Praise the Lord for my sweet girl (and her daddy, too ;)

Here are my favs:

Galveston Vacation

For Labor Day weekend we took a little vacation to Galveston with our friends, Trey, Amy and little Lauren. We had such a wonderful time!! It was Hannah's first trip to the beach, so we were very excited. We did lots of fun things while we were there: we went to the aquarium, visited the Kemah Boardwalk, took a ride on the ferry (we saw dolphins!!), did some site-seeing, ate some great seafood, and went to the beach! It went by way too fast! The 6 of us rented a mini-van so we could drive the 4 hour ride together and the girls did great. We couldn't have asked for a better trip. Thanks so much for taking us Trey, Amy and Lauren!!!!!!

@ the aquarium

the girls :)

Kory & I

on the ferry

could she be any cuter?!

Daddy & Hannah

"the sand feels niiiice"

sweet girl

playing in the waves

headin' for the horizon

Mama & Hannah

jumping over the waves

lookin' good

safe in Daddy's arms

Bye Bye!! hehehe :)

Thanks Grandma & Grandpops :)

Today we had an exciting surprise!! Grandma and Grandpops sent us a pressie!! Thank you Grandma and Grandpops, we loved the new clothes. Just what we needed :)

Some more pics:

Family Fun

The last two weekends have been filled with family fun! Last weekend, Kory's dad and grandparents (Granny and Papa) came to visit us!! We had such a great time and Hannah loved getting to spend some time with her grandfather and great-grandparents. Granny and Papa brought us some delicious steaks and 2 chocolate pies! MMM!!! We had a delicious lunch thanks to Kory and his dad - the master grillers! Hehe! :P We had fun talking about plans to visit the coast and by the end of the day it was pretty clear Hannah had a soft spot for Papa! She almost fell asleep while he rubbed her feet!! Funny girl - she knows what she likes in a man already!! Hehe!

This weekend Kory's mom and siblings came to visit. More fun!! The visit started with lots of hard work - the boys moved a piano and huge freezer into the house. It looked heavy!!!! But we were very thankful, especially Hannah who loves the piano already. Maybe music is in her future?! Either way, it was a chance for her to bond with Uncle Kary :) They played a lovely tune together! Hehe! Next, we had a really nice dinner together while Hannah kept us entertained. We all went to church together this morning which was nice too.

We took some pics - sorry there are so many pics of Mama and baby, but we haven't taken pictures in a long time.. ;) We also got some much requested video of Hannah walking and talking, but I need to get Kory to help me post those! :P Enjoy!

Summer!

It's so hard to keep up with blog writing during the summer! The weather in Dallas this year has been hot, hot, hot!! We have really been enjoying the sun and being outside, but are also very thankful for air conditioning too!! :) Since Hannah's birthday we have been very busy! Kory and I decided to get bikes!!! We really love going for rides together when Kory gets home from work and on the weekends. Hannah rides on the back of Kory's bike and she loves it. It is so cute! I am so glad we found something we all like to do. It's great exercise too! :)

We have also been having a ton of fun with friends this summer! Baby showers, birthday parties, dinners together - it's all been so much fun! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Praise the Lord for that! Hannah has been enjoying it too - with a few lessons from her little friends, she now loves yogurt! YAY! hehe :) We are hoping to expand her palette more in the near future!! As well as enjoying her yogurt, she is also loving being on her feet. She pushes her 2 walkers EVERYwhere. She is so funny to watch and such a little joy, she makes Kory and I smile all the time.

I think that is all our news for now! Enjoy the pics!!

Happy Father's Day Kory!

Happy Father's Day Kory! You are the most wonderful husband and father and we are soooooo blessed to have you!! I love you!

We had an awesome Father's Day! It started out with breakfast in bed for Daddy (banana cream filled crepes accompanied by chocolate covered strawberries and lady fingers :). A pretty good start I would say ;) We went to church together and when we came home, Kory opened his presents. A wine wrack and socks! Yay! Hehe! We took an afternoon nap and then went swimming. It was perfect for the 100 degree Texas heat. The day ended with a delicious bbq dinner.. mmmm!! If only every day could be this good!

Happy FIRST Birthday Hannah!!!!

We cannot believe it!!! Hannah is one year old!!! It feels like yesterday that we were going into to hospital, having no idea how this little girl would change our life. What a blessing this year has been. Not a day goes by when we don't thank the Lord for such a miracle!! The past year has gone by so fast, but has been such a joy.

On Saturday, June 13th we had a party for Hannah! We had such a wonderful time celebrating with our closest family and friends. The best part was that Hannah had a blast too!! hehe :) She really loved being the center of attention and opening all her gifts. I wanted it to be a very special day for her and I was so glad it turned out so perfectly. Thank you so much Mom, Dad and Jodie for helping so much!