10 Months

I really can't believe Hannah is ten months already. It doesn't seem all that long ago that she was entirely dependent on Seth and me for everything, but now she has become more mobile, talkative and able to feed herself (to some extent). She has become so much fun!

I thought Hannah said her first word this month - ball - but she hasn't come back to saying it since the three days she kept repeating it. Plus, I'm not sure if it counts since she really doesn't associate "ball" with an actual ball. Second word in the running for her first word is "uh-oh". I'm not convinced this is her first word either since it's really not a word at all, however I think she has a concept of what it means. 

This past month we celebrated Seth's first Father's Day. Most of the day was spent watching Hannah think Waylon was chasing her, baby races, and playing in the kiddie pool for the first time.

Next Father's Day, Zach joins the pack.

Check out Hannah's way of sleeping/flexibility. It's unreal!

It's really true when people say, "Time flies." 

Nine Months

I turned nine months today, and I decided I don't want to eat any solids. Except puffs of course.

Are we done yet?

Memorial Day

Since May 27 was both Seth's birthday and Memorial Day, I packed the three of us a lunch and we headed out to Mount Olive Cemetery to to visit Gramps, Hannah's paternal great-grandfather, who passed away four years ago. It was the first time any of us had visited since Gramps' passing. 

Here are some pics from our day.

Broken In

Picking up Hannah from daycare is routine. When I arrive to the facility, I scan for a spot between the other cars temporarily parked, park, or drive past and turn around if this quick exit option is available. I then jump out, lock the car, open the outer gate of the facility, walk to the entrance, key in the unlock code, grab her from the infant room, exit, unlock the car door, put Hannah in her car seat, and hop in the front seat happy to be proceeding home.

On Wednesday, May 1, pickup ended (and not until later did I realize it actually also began) differently. After I strapped Hannah into her car seat and hopped into the front seat I realized that the front passenger-side window was busted in.

My first and naive inclination was that my window spontaneously broke. Regardless, I scanned for my purse (then phone and pump; they remained rested were they were left). No purse. I jumped out, grabbed Hannah out of her car seat, and began scanning the parking lot and questioning other parents that were pulled up in front of me if they saw anything. Nothing.

KinderCare called the police. The KinderCare director also offered to take Hannah off my hands, but I clung to her and she sat on my hip as I reported what I knew to the cop when he arrived.

Did I see or hear anything: nope. I did remember noting that this was a rare day to see no other cars pulled up to the curb when I arrived. I had swung my car around before I parked (easy exit, remember) and now realized I made the passenger side nicely assailable for a drive-by window bust. The kids and teachers outside just behind the adjacent fence didn't deter the theif(s), and they correctly presumed the fence was high enough and kids loud enough for them to neither be seen nor heard.

Sometime between providing the information I could and describing the contents of my purse, the cop asked if I want the good news or bad news first. I asked for the bad first. "No cameras and no witnesses doesn't make for a good possibility of catching the perpetrator(s)." And the good news? "Everything is replaceable."

Although the latter comment was somewhat annoying, it reinforced what I was already thinking: thankfully nothing happened to Hannah.

I didn't expect to hear anything from the detective on my case. I figured they wanted the money inside, and I cancelled all my credit cards so those would be denied. No later than the next day did I receive a call that someone tried to cash a $3,600 check of mine under another victims name to retrieve the cash, plus $1,000. This wasn't just a one-time drive by. They're professionals, and known as the Felony Lane Gang. "Lane" because they drive up to the farthest lane at the bank and make a split check "deposit".

Even after notifying my bank and putting alerts on my account, the thieves were able to "deposit" four checks belonging to another victim into my account and withdraw another $1,000 in the same transaction. While they took $4,000 out of my account, they walked away with over $7,000 since they were cashing fraudulent checks at the same time.

Our bank covered the expenses since we put the proper alerts on our account, but it just makes me wonder what not, one, two, or three, but FOUR tellers were thinking when they cashed thousand dollar checks and gave an additional $1,000 cash when I clearly had "purse stolen" on my account.

So, for the time being, no one can withdraw money in my name.

This whole experience really got me thinking about my craving for justice/fairness. Something that I have exhibited since I was a child, and my response to losing what is "mine".

What actually pains me more than losing my possessions is that someone else took them, unfairly, and successfully used my own name to scheme their way into more. And they did this all so purposefully. So selfishly. As if they believed they were somehow entitled. That they believed they should have wealth if other people have wealth, or, they think they're stealing from people who wouldn't notice a "few" missing bucks an this justifies their action. But that might be giving them the benefit of the doubt. Their scheming is likely deliberate, deliberate and perpetual sin. It grieves me. It grieves the Lord.

To close, this is a reminder to hold strongly to my desire to be a steward. To recognize that all I have belongs to the Lord, to use my resources and possessions for His glory, and to hold nothing too tightly or feel secure in anything but Him.

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." - Job 1:21

Scootin' at Eight Months

We have a scooter on our hands! Hannah's hasn't quite graduated into crawling, but she finds ways to get where she needs to go.

This past month I had my first business trip since returning from maternity leave. 

Destination: Marbella, Spain
Duration: Four days

While not a long trip, Spain gave me the opportunity to test the waters for more extended future travels, and it ended up being a nice getaway. My meetings happened to take place at a beach side resort and I had my arrival afternoon and rest day to lay by the pool in sunshine and perfect temps. I was able to Skype with Seth and Hannah everyday, and before I knew it I was back on a plane to come home.

I also made it out to a futbol game!

I arrived at the condo at 7:00 PM (a.k.a Hannah's Witching Hour). Seth warned me that she was tired. But as soon as she saw me she grew happy, excited, and awake! It was a good homecoming. 

Although this particular trip was not typical, I am more confident about being away. Next up: Hamburg, Germany. But this time, it will be for 11 days!

I'll close by leaving you with this gem!

First Swim/Surprise 30th for Daddy/Dedication

This past weekend was a big weekend for us and Hannah. Not only was Hannah dedicated, but my family was in, Hannah went swimming for the first time, and we threw a surprise 30th birthday party for Seth. This big weekend happened all while in the middle of packing to move in a week.

My parents drove in from Minnesota on Friday and Sarah, Peter, and Elora flew in. My parents arrived first and in time for dinner, so we ate at the condo and hung out until the Morrow's arrived. The boys went to airport for pickup while the girls stayed back so I could feed Hannah. Since the visitors were staying at a hotel for the weekend and I didn't want to wait until Saturday to see the Morrow's, my mom and I packed up Hannah, fully expecting she would fall asleep in the car for the night, and headed over to the hotel to meet everyone.

Hannah hasn't been liking the car lately. She used do so well in the car, enjoying looking out the window - paci in mouth - until her eyelids got heavy and she fell asleep for the remainder of the ride. This particular evening I thought for sure she would fall right asleep since it was her bedtime anyway. Instead, she fussed and cried the whole way.

I worried we would have a cranky baby at the hotel while we visited, but I was wrong. Hannah was more excitable than ever. Not only did Hannah seem to be energized by all the people in the one tiny hotel room (I think we have an extrovert on our hands), she was mesmerized by Elora, watching her wherever she went and laughing at everything she did. We all had so much fun watching and laughing at Hannah, we were all glad she didn't fall asleep!

The next morning, we headed back over to the hotel for a day of hanging out and swimming.

Getting stretched and ready to go!

The "plan" for the evening was to drop the girls off at Seth's parents while the rest of us went out to dinner for a belated celebration birthday for my mom.

Seth's birthday guests were instructed to arrive to the Pietrini's no later than 6:30 PM for the surprise. I had made "reservations" for 7:30 thinking that 6:40 would be an appropriate time to drop the girls off. The Guest of Honor didn't think this was early enough and proceed to arrange to have us out of the nearby hotel by 6!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

My dad made up an excuse that delayed us getting out of the hotel by over 15 minutes. Way to take one for the team Daddy-o. Seth's subtle annoyance and the fact that he was looking up the best way to get to the restaurant for dinner indicated he didn't have a clue about the impending surprise. My stomach was in knots. Unsure if it would stay that way and afraid a birthday guest would be arriving as we arrived.

As we drove down Marion Street, not a straggler was in sight. While some chatter did illuminate from the house at we approached, the birthday boy wasn't tipped off. Even when he opened the front door and saw the candy bar, he just assumed his parents had people over. Then, SURPRISE!

It was a success. And best yet, he had notta clue. 

Then on Sunday, April 28, Seth and I publicly dedicated Hannah to the Lord in front of our church congregation at The Compass Church in Naperville. It was a blessed service being surrounded by our families, and we are extra thankful that Pastor Dale Hummel performed the dedication service. It's the last he will perform at The Compass. (Dale is moving to Minnesota, of all places, to pastor at Wooddale Church. Minnesota, you are getting a good one!)

Baby dedication is about publicly declaring that we will raise Hannah according to God's Word and that we seek to instill in her faith in our Lord Jesus.

We shared that our hope for Hannah is that she comes to faith in Christ at a young age and continually seeks to gain a deeper understating of who God is. We pray that she models Christ to those around her and boldly shares the Good News with others.

The verse we chose for Hannah was Hebrews 10:22-24:

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswerving to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

Following the service everyone came back to our condo (the last hurrah!) and we dined on Lou Malnati's and leftover dessert.