20 Months

Oh where do I start. This little girl is exactly that, a little girl. She is constantly doing new things and amazing us. She has her daddy's sense of humor and recently started laughing at everything! She will be in the middle of working her puzzles (which is a new favorite) and just bust out laughing. She really is a hoot! We have been talking a lot about going potty. Hannah Claire has even started telling us when she has gone "poo poo". We have a long way to go but it is a start. We also have a little dancer on our hands. This kid loves to shake her rump! Now everything is not perfect. HC has mastered the art of the tantrum. We just press on and ignore it and they usually go away pretty quickly. Everyday with our little munchkin is such a blessing!

CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Shane and I were so super excited to head out to Pasadena for the National Championship game! Anyone who knows us knows how much we love Bama football games. To be able to make the trip out was such a blessing. HC was with Nana and Pappy so we were strictly fun zone with no kiddo upkeep. Very nice! We traveled all day on Wednesday, because naturally your trip should be Birmingham to Charlotte, NC to Minneapolis, MN to LA. Thankfully things went smoothly and we arrived only a few minutes late at LA. After getting our luggage, car and checking into the hotel we made our way to In and Out Burger. It was highly recommended. It was yummy! After that, being the party animals that we are we went back to our room and went to bed. After all Thursday was a BIG day.

We didn't sleep so well that night with all the anticipation. We got up and got ready to head over to the Rose Bowl. The weather was perfect. We arrived around 9:30 and got parked. We quickly found our good buddies The Cornelius family (Wayne & Tanya) and went over to tailgate with them.

After some time hanging out we headed out to check everything out. We ran into some cool dudes. They were Florida fans (albeit a little gung-ho) that had booked their trip to Pasadena before they were beaten by the Tide in ATL. I loved their sportsmanship and their shirts. (If you can't read them they say: If you can't beat em, join em. Roll Tide!)

We also saw some other Florida fans with a UF jersey on with "Roll Tide" on the back of it but we didn't get a picture of them. I was super impressed by their loyalty to the SEC. I'm pretty sure we would have never done something like that.

We then found our way to the famous Rose Bowl sign for some photos.

We hung out with some friends at the ESPN tailgate where we were able to get our picture made with the championship trophy. You can see that picture here. We had tickets to an Alumni tailgate. That is a long story but we finally found the location of it and had some lunch/dinner and had a mini-pep rally with the Million Dollar Band and the cheerleaders & Big Al. After that it was finally time to head into the stadium. Of course I had to stop by the bathroom before heading to our seats. I got in line and realized my good friend Katie was right in front of me. We had been trying to hook up all day. Thank goodness for the ladies room!

Since there was a huge line to get to our seats (because the stadium is so old and hard to navigate) Shane decided to stop by the little boys room too. While I waited I got to see this guy.

We finally made it to our seats! It was awesome!

Here comes the Tide!!!

After a crazy first quarter I quickly pulled out my lucky scarf and put it on. We soon scored our first touchdown. Time for some celebrating!

We got caught up in the game and didn't get any other pictures until a victory was in hand. It was nuts in there! We yelled and screamed (so much we couldn't talk well the next day/ or two or three).

We hung around for quite a while after the game. It takes so long to get everyone out of there because of how the stadium is designed plus we just didn't want to leave. It didn't seem real and we were there! We hung around so long we got to watch Saban's press conference on the screen.

It really was amazing to be at the National Championship game and have your team win it all! We are so blessed to be able to make the trip and we are very thankful for that. After the game, being the party animals that we are, we met up with Wayne & Tanya (Cornelius) and a couple of their friends for some food at Denny's. It was greasy and good! By then we were exhausted so we headed to the room for some sleep. (Shane watched part of the game again before bed because it was replaying on ESPN).

Friday we had a fun day of sightseeing. We met up with Wayne & Tanya on Hollywood Blvd. Of course we had to take a picture with our boy Snoop at Madam Tussouds.

We then boarded a open air van to check out the sights. It was the Bama Bus because it was all Bama fans on the bus with us. It pretty much drove us all over town to check out the sights. Here we are ready to hit the road.

We got to see lots of celebrity homes but I think this was Shane's favorite thing. Big guy in a little car, a la Chris Farley. We also got a kick out of the multi-million dollar home with the el-cheapo "Beware of Dog" sign you get at Wal-Mart. You know the one, black with white and orange writing. Somehow we didn't get a picture of that.

We never got a great picture of the Hollywood sign but we did get to see it.

After we got of the van we scarfed down some food and made a mad dash across town to try and make it to the filming of the Jay Leno Show. We made it and got to see Jay, Brian Williams and Ross the Intern. It was super fun but you weren't allow to take any pictures. We got to see the episode and you can't see us unless you know when and where I held my arm up. Oh well, it was fun anyways. After that we dropped Wayne & Tanya off at their car so we could go get changed and head to our dinner reservations. Koi came highly recommended so we took everyones advice. We LOVED it! The sushi was yummo and the atmosphere was awesome.

It really was an amazing trip. We crammed so much into a short amount of time but it was so worth it. Our flights home were a little crazy. Our first flight missed the runway and had to pull back up and try our landing for a second time. Round two was successful!!! Then we got to Dallas and they oversold the flight. You know when you walk up to the desk and they say, "this is the Millers", you are in trouble. Thankfully some dude didn't show up and another guy took the later flight so were able to get on the flight and get home to see Hannah Claire! What a great way to start out the new year!

Family Week

Shane was off of work the week between Christmas and new years and Hannah Claire was out of school. I was suppose to work but I got a new job and got to have the week off too! There was a lot of resting, eating and watching football. Good times! We also took down all the Christmas decorations. While putting things back where they belonged, we got some much need assistance from our tiny helper. (Notice the little fingers peeking out of the bottom of the cabinet).

We had a lot of entertainment from our little helper. She also suckered us in to letting her have her very own Capri Sun.

Also this week we prepared to head to Pasadena for the National Championship game. In our preparation we taught Hannah Claire a little fun stuff. (We got it on video & I'm going to try and get it up here soon). Her performance goes like this:

What do we say about Auburn?

What do we say about Florida? (shu wee)

What do we say about the Longhorns? (she is turning them down)

What do we say about Alabama? (Roll Tide!)

Hannah Claire stayed with Nana & Pappy while we were gone to sunny California. Nana came to pick her up. They had a blast!

Littrell Christmas

We wrapped up our Christmas celebration the morning after at Nana & Pappy's house. It was nice because we didn't have to cook for any meal and we were in no rush so we took our time and "pwaaed" or played. Hannah Claire got a super cool VW Barbie Bug. It even goes when you push the pedal. Well, it would if HC would stay in it and keep her foot on the pedal. Once it moves she gets scared and jumps out. She just thinks it is a super cool seat.

Hannah Claire had some other cool gifts to open up.

I had the hardest time finding a winter hat this year that was not super tacky. Nana found one that is super cute and even has some mittens with it. Hannah Claire is not a huge fan unless it is cold outside then she will even wear the mittens.

Nana also got HC a desk for her to do all of her artwork. HC loved it! She immediately started creating some artwork for us.

One of Hannah Claire's go to moves these days is to steal your seat once you get up. She then wants you to sit down on her. It is soooo funny! Crutches, it doesn't matter, she will swipe your seat too. Poor Nana.

We tried to get some shots in front of the tree. HC did not want to cooperate, imagine that!

We were so blessed to spend time with all of our family this year for Christmas. We were so sad to see the season end because it is a constant reminder (every light, tree, gift, decoration) that we are celebrating the birth of our King!!! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

Smith Family Christmas 2009

We left the house and made the 2 1/2 hour trek up to Florence for the Smith Family Christmas. Nana is one of 5 kids so there is always a house full. It really is a special time to get together. There are now three great-grandchildren (all girls) but sadly HC was the only one there this year. Maybe next year they can all play together! When we arrived Hannah Claire had just woken up and was not feeling it. She has recently started this shy thing where she puts one hand up over one eye and tucks her head down. This was her approach when we arrived. She was glued to mommy. It only took her about 30 minutes and then she was full force. Uncle Bobby made Hannah Claire a wooden rocking horse (or horsey as HC says). It is so cool and we are super impressed with his talent. Hannah Claire loved the horsey and showed it.

She had to check out that tail before her ride.

Yes, the horsey has a pretty pink nose.

In the Smith household there is a lot of showing off. Hannah Claire is no different. She showed her riding ability.

Granny Sue and Papa John have a tiny little dog named Peanut. HC loved him as long as he didn't jump on her.

If he jumped on her it this was the reaction we got (it was way past bedtime at this point).

Our Uncle Jearld got my Granny Sue & Papa John a swing and brought it inside and sat it in the floor. Hannah Claire had to check it out. She and Jearld got to playing a game with her sippy cups. I'm not sure I could explain it but she loved it.

We tried to get a picture with Granny Sue and Papa John but it was too late and this was all we could get.

It was great to be able to see the Smith clan on Christmas night. It is always fun and entertaining to say the least.

Christmas Morning 2009

The birth of Jesus, oh what a blessing! We were so thankful to celebrate his birth at home this year. Hannah Claire doesn't really get it yet but she did say "pappy bwirfhday gee-gee" (or happy birthday Jesus). She did have lots of fun this year. She was a little skeptical at first, I'm thinking she thought Santa was in our living room and you can scroll down to see her reaction to Santa. It did allow me to get the most precious picture of HC and Daddy.

She warmed up fast. She took a seat at her new table and dove into her stocking.

Mawmaw & Pawpaw gave Hannah Claire a basketball goal. She made a beeline for it once she finished up with her stocking. Her favorite thing to do was get the ball and back up to Pawpaw so he could pick her up and let her dunk it.

After shooting a few hoops HC tore into her other gifts. Look at the focus on that face.

Who said there is only one way to open a present, not Hannah Claire!

After opening and playing with all her new toys, Hannah Claire went to one of her favorite things, cutting up with Pawpaw.

Mawmaw & Pawpaw also gave Hannah Claire a cabbage patch doll. His birth certificate says his name is Ramon Vincent but we call him RV. She loves him! She hugs him and kisses him (and often throws him to the floor but we don't have to talk about that).

RV came with his very own pumpkin seat. HC loves to tote him around the house in it.

At one point when the adults were opening their presents Hannah Claire (with no prompting) went around and gave sweet sweet hugs to everyone. She may be the sweetest kid ever! We had a big ol' southern Christmas lunch. It was yummy! After a little relaxing we had to get ready to head up to Florence for the Smith family Christmas. We had so much fun and we were so thankful Mawmaw & Pawpaw could join us for Christmas day.