Happy Birthday Hannah

Do you know how proud I am to be your mommy?

The past couple of years I’ve been blessed to watch you grow from a tiny baby to a sweet little girl. I can hardly believe it’s been two years since Daddy and I brought you home from the hospital. I love seeing things through your eyes and watching you discover something for the first time. I’m so glad I get to be the one to show you things.

Your favorite things right now are Elmo, reading books and playing ball. You can’t stand to be still. You’re a busy little girl who is always on the go. You love to read about your ABC’s. You take such good care of your baby dolls. You love to play outside and swing at the playground. Your sweet little giggle lights up my whole world. Your teachers at day care always talk about how sweet you are.

Every day you’re growing and changing, but so am I. You’ve taught me how to be more patient and kind. You’re teaching me not to worry about the little things.

Happy birthday my sweet baby girl! I love you! Do you know how proud I am to be your mommy?

Child Dedication

At Cross Point, we practice baby dedication instead of baptism since it is our belief that baptism should be completed when a person is able to make a conscious decision to follow Christ. During the child dedication, Steve and I as parents made a commitment to raise Hannah in a Christ filled environment. The congregation also promised to support us during our parenting journey. Here’s the commitment we made on May 10, 2009.

We acknowledge that our child is a miraculous gift from God. We also acknowledge that our child is a unique person created in the image of God and we understand that raising our child is both a privilege and responsibility.

Therefore we promise to love, train and support our child looking to God for divine guidance and support. We, in the witness of these people, publicly place our child into the care and protection of our great God, asking our church community for their support, guidance and encouragement in the days ahead.

Hannah let me hold her in front of the entire church while we made our commitment. Steve and I selected Jeremiah 29:11 to be her life verse. The verse reads, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Hannah even waited until we got home from church to have her meltdown (see last picture).

I Doh

Hannah has recently begun using short sentences instead of just words to speak. Her first sentence began when she was trying to express to us that she was ready to leave the house. “I doh” translates to “I go.” When she tries on my shoes and prances around the house, she likes to tell us, “I Mama” which means, “I’m Mama.” When her daddy is outside working in the yard, she’ll tell me, “Dada mow dass” which is her way of saying “Daddy mows the grass.” For 2 years, we’ve been waiting for her to be able to verbally communicate with us, and we’re so excited that the time is finally here.

Here’s a recent picture of our big girl ready to “doh.”