dear pratt.

dear pratt,

tonight i was rocking you to sleep. it was just me and you. in your room. i always have a fan on...white noise. you like it. and it's dark. but i always leave the closet light on. because i want my closet light on...so i assume you want yours on. i cannot sleep without a light on...and i never expect you to. i mean, if you can...great. but if not, i totally understand. if i were to get out of the bed without a light on, you can bet your bottle that i'd stand on the bed, and then jump as far as i could. that's of course so that the boogie man under my bed can't grab my ankles.

anyway, i was rocking you. you had finished eating. and you were laying there in my arms. every once in a while, you'd crack open your eyes, look up at me. and i'd smile. when you saw me smile, you'd smile. and then you'd close your eyes again.

about a minute would pass, and you'd do it all over again.

open your eyes. check to make sure i was there. smile. close your eyes.

it reminded me of being kid. laying in my parents bed. i wasn't ever allowed to sleep there. so instead, i'd crawl in and ask my dad to clean out my ears. (yes, meredith...we used q-tips). i'd crawl up there...and he'd clean out my ears. it was so relaxing. i would always act like i had fallen asleep. i would lay there and hope that they would say, "oh look...hannah's asleep. let's leave her here. no sense in waking her."

it never happened. but i'd always crack open an eye just to see if maybe dad had fallen asleep and forgotten to make me get back in my bed.

i didn't put you in your bed until i knew you were asleep. i waited about 10 minutes. you hadn't opened your eyes in the longest time...so i assume you are fast asleep.

i love this time with you. i'm so blessed to be able to be at home with you. we read books. we talk. we go for walks. we do everything together. i've even started napping with you. i always hold you when we nap. i hold you really close to me. your head fits perfectly in the crook of my neck. and you sleep best in my arms.

i love you so much honey. and i wish that you'd stay this age forever. but i'll trust what jarrod wolfe said...and be excited in knowing that it only gets better....

i can't imagine how it would...but we'll see.

fra-geel-ay...must be italian!

dear kerry, mike, sadie, and bella,

thank you so much for the wonderful shirt. dad laughed so hard when he opened it. and mom said that someday i'll understand how funny it is. and she also said something about me getting a bb gun one day!?

i dunno...mom's weird. anyway, thanks for the shirt. i love it!

love, pratt.

first fingernail clipping.

i never thought i'd document things like this...but i'm there. clint is much, much better at these things than me.

"hey...um, mom. what exactly is dad doing to me?"



"come on lady...help me. don't just sit there and take pictures."

and please notice the bottom lip. it gets much more pronounced than this. he started it about a month ago. after the pout, you get a scream.

"seriously? the other hand too? you've got to be kidding me..."



"hugs are much better dad, much better. but just in case you think you'll ever trick me into that again, i'll just keep my fists closed like this..."

christmas card/birth announcement

so, i'm nothing if not a procratinator.

seriously, i'm the worst. in college, i had a huge paper due for trey berry's history class. i was literally making copies about 2 minutes before class started. that's because i was making changes on said paper 20 minutes before class started. and that's because i was writing said paper about a day before it was due. you get the picture...

but i truly believe i do my best work under pressure. clint isn't like this. let's hope that pratt is like him. it's depressing being this way. thanks dad....thanks. between that and these knobby knees of yours...

so today we had a photo shoot. i had a great little outfit for him. washed it. put it on. and what do you know? too small. yes people. yes. it was a 3 to 6 month outfit. and he's too long. the pants looked like clam diggers. and boys shouldn't wear those. i mean, i do know this guy who did one time...but they shouldn't. those are for girls. anyway...here is a sneak peak of pratt's christmas card. him in his capri pants :)

a little girl named hazel.

hi everyone.

my friend emily posted something about this little girl a few days ago. she swallowed a button battery from her parent's dvd remote. emily made the comment that all parents should be careful about taping up the back of remotes for this very reason.

according to hazel's mom, there are thousands of children every year that swallow these batteries, or batteries similar to these.

the blog is www.hazelana.blogspot.com

it's so good. she's just like any other mom...but somehow, word got out about hazel. and people started praying. and she went from having 20 hits a day on the blog to over 1000.

it's nice to be reminded that people are good. that we can come together, without knowing each other...and pray for one another. love one another. it makes me wonder why this world isn't a better place.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

your daddy kept you friday night so i could go to a wedding. the entire wedding, i thought about you and your daddy. he said you were good. i think he likes having you by himself. a little guy time for the two of you.

as you get older, you'll realize that not many dads will do this. so i want you to remember, that even from a young age, your daddy did. your daddy rocks.

my daddy and i left the reception a little early to head home. it's a long story that i'll explain someday...but we got lost. and in the hour and a half we were driving, we didn't pass a single car. and then we saw a deer with one horn...that watched us as we passed by. like, he turned his head and watched us drive by. i'm not making that up. i'm pretty sure we were in the twilight zone. it was strange. but typical. i say this because you'll understand one day because you have the pratt side of the family in you. the genetics...they're screwy. and for that...i'm sorry. but there is good too. you'll be kind. you'll be genuine. you'll feel with every bit of your heart. and sometimes, you'll wish you didn't. but never regret this. because your happy moments will be so, so, so happy.

my dad wrote you your first letter from him. he brought it on friday night. i told him that that is what you wanted for christmas. he is the best letter writer. you'll see someday.

today we went to target. a lady stopped me in the baby aisle to ask me how old you were. she told me that you were a very pretty baby. i thanked her. when she talked to you, you just smiled so big. your whole face smiles. your eyes, your nose. all of it.

you love stores. you love the bright lights. today you talked to me the entire time we were in target. you love for me to talk back. you hate to be ignored. i've noticed that if i'm watching tv while giving you a bottle...often, you'll stop taking the bottle until i make eye contact with you. it's funny.

you wore your corduroy overalls today. they are so cute. and your little stripped shirt from dennie.

you look just like your dad. jan white told me the other day, "hannah, you carried a little version of clint for 9 long months". she is right. but i don't mind. i think your dad is pretty handsome.

here you are in your oshgosh overalls. you'll grow up to be country. you'll ride horses. you'll probably shoot guns...even though i hate guns. you'll hunt. but please always eat whatever you kill. i'm okay with you being country...just promise you'll never use the word "ain't". i hate that word.

as evidenced by these pictures, you've found your hands. you love to put in your middle two fingers. or your entire fist. which is what you did the other morning. clint thinks you're going to choke yourself. i don't have a solution for that if it happens. i mean, what in the world? he typically thinks the worst. i've rubbed off on him. he used to not be that way.

you love for your dad to sing to you. he has a wonderful voice. he sings to you and you sort of mock back. it's pretty cute. i sing to you too, but it's not pretty. but you don't seem to mind really. i sing john mayer. let's see...city love, slow dancing in a burning room, comfortable. i sing somewhere over the rainbow. i sing willie and don williams.

we love you so much. and we love every single day with you.

shake rattle and roll.

pratt pretty much directs his invisible choir every single day. at all times of the day. he swings his arms around more than a monkey. seriously, he really does. they are constantly moving. i rarely get a picture of him being still because he's moving and squirming all the time.

this is good, i know. so nancy asked me the other day if he had any rattles. i didn't remember getting any rattles. i mean, he got a silver one with this initials on it...but i don't really want him banging that one on the floor or anything.

so i looked through his closet. and there on the shelf in a blue basket were about fifteen colorful rattles/chews/etc. thank you to my small group girls! i remember that you guys were the ones to give us all these! i didn't fully appreciate them until yesterday! so when pratt has excellent fine motor skills, i'll be sure and tell him it's all because of you girls! :)

so here he is playing with his infantino rattle. this thing is gigantic. and colorful. and i thought it might be easiest for him to see and grasp.

this has to be my favorite. i love his little expression here. this is the smile i see when i think of him smiling. i love love love it.

he's almost got it...



oh, so close...



success! wooohooo!

let the cursive begin!

just kidding...i hate cursive. :)