Keeping Up With The Keims: Hannah Update

I know I've written a lot about Lincoln lately (He is just doing so much at this age.). So, it is time for a good Hannah update.

Hannah is just really growing in all sorts of ways. She can't wait to be 5. Fixing her hair everyday is becoming challenging. She has gotten quite opinionated about how she wants her hair. She used to let me do all sorts of things with it (It was so fun!), but now she lets me know that she doesn't like what I'm doing. She is also getting more opinionated about what she wears. This is hard for me. I know I probably need to just give in more. She likes certain clothes better than others.

She has gotten very interested in writing lately. She really wants to write her letters. She loves to write her "lists" (Wonder where she gets this from?). She can write her name and is very proud of herself for this!

She is not very interested in drawing pictures yet for some reason. I'm hoping this will start soon. I can't wait to see what she'll try to draw. She loves to cut, glue, and tape things. I mean, LOVES!

Hannah loves LIFE Group! She gets excited when she knows it is Wednesday. Last week I was in the playroom babysitting all six of the little boys. The beginning is always a little hard for some of them because they are being separated from their parents. Hannah had some stickers she was playing with and whipped them out and started giving them to the boys that were crying. It was a HUGE help to me in calming them down! I was so, so proud of her for that! She is really good with all the little ones. I've had several moms tell me how good she is with them. She really has a sweet heart.

Some of the things she really enjoys playing right now are:

**Rock Band. She loves to be in the middle of it when we are playing with our friends. She likes to sing "Eye of the Tiger".
**Dress up. She loves to look beautiful in all her princess attire.
**Board games. Either by herself or with me.
**Kitchen or Cooking Show. She loves to watch cooking shows with me, especially Rachael Raye. Then, she likes to pretend she is cooking for a show afterwards or during the show.
**Babies. She plays with her babies alot. She feeds them, changes their diapers, reads them a story for their nap, disciplines them, and pushes them around in buggies. She pretty much has a baby and/or purse with her everywhere she goes.

Hannah aka Rachael Raye

Hannah is still taking 1 afternoon nap. It will usually last from about 1:30 to 3:00 or 3:30. Somedays she might not take one and she'll just play in her room for a while. She is a wonderful sleeper at night. She LOVES to watch tv. I seriously think this girl would sit in front of the tv all day if I'd let her! She likes to watch any Disney movie. We are into Tinkerbell and Sleeping Beauty right now. Her favorite tv shows are probably Lilo and Stitch, Dora, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She has gotten a little bit better about allowing Lincoln in her room to play.

Fits are still happening with Hannah fairly regularly. She can have some major tantrums! It usually occurs when Lincoln does something she doesn't like, when she can't do something that she is trying to do, or when she gets in trouble for something that she was told to do but didn't do. Fits are hard for me. I finally feel like I am in control now and not her though. I pretty much send her to her room and let her do it there and not in front of me. Sometimes she needs a little "prodding" to stay in her room, but I have been able to stick to my guns better I think lately. Hopefully she will completely out grow these fits soon!

Hannah has gotten quite shy with strangers these days. She didn't used to be that way. She's always been pretty friendly/talkative to people. Many times she won't answer when people at church or in public ask her a question. I know this is probably a little stage she is going through. I'm trying not to push her. She is definitely a daddy's girl. Hannah and her daddy get along great! Kris is really good with her. She loves her grandparents and her uncles too! Oh, and she still has that crush on her cousin Logan!

As far as her health is concerned, she is doing absolutely wonderful! We could not be more pleased. She was supposed to see her rheumatologist the other day, but the appointment got cancelled due to the weather. So, she goes March 11th. Hannah has never complained about taking her medicines every day. This has been such a blessing. We are excited about the possibility of tapering her off her meds this summer some time if all continues to go well. We feel extremely blessed that her body is healthy right now! We went to a breakfast that the Arthritis Foundation had a couple of weeks ago at the Hilton to try to raise money from businesses. Kris was asked to speak for a few minutes about how arthritis has affected our family. He did a great job and we were encouraged by those we met there. We were also struck by how devastating this disease can be to people. We are hoping to get more involved with the Arthritis Foundation in the future.