"I wanna go Nana's house."

We flew to Georgia to see Nana and the Great Aunt Dee Dee complete a half marathon in Atlanta. Hana got to have some fun at the marathon expo, like checking out this bungee trampoline thing. Hana was a little intimidated by the contraption. She got all strapped in and then was too freaked out to actually jump. Nice picture, though.

To the marathon, Hana brought a sign that she made for Nana and the Great Aunt Dee Dee. She had a little bit of trouble holding it right-side-up but it was awfully cute to see her there holding the sign! The marathoners seemed to appreciate it.

It was cold in Atlanta the day of the marathon. So, Hana was pretty bundled up. She hung out in her stroller and watched the marathon. Though at some point she got a bit grumpy from the cold weather.
Grandad was crew chief in support of the marathoners and organized the MARTA travels into ATL. Here he is on the phone, near the finish of the marathon. Note the tower in the background, still missing window panes from the tornado that had swept through months earlier.
Here's Nana, just steps away from the finish line.
Here, you can see here on the left, behind the photographer. That blue banner at the top of the picture reads "FINISH" and that bit of a blue strip at the bottom of the picture is the actual finish line.
Crossing the line! Go Nana, Go Nana!
Here's Nana with a smile on her face as she's just crossed the finish!

Marathoners and crew assemble at the conclusion of the event. Crew chief makes sure Nana gets a blanket to keep warm. Congratulations to the marathoners!
The Georgia visit wasn't all about serious athletic events, though. Hana got plenty of fun play time too. We visited a park near Nana's house with lots of play structures, room to run and jump, and even a monkey!

Here's Hana at the top of one tubular slide, about to slide down. This one was fast!

Here she is at the top of a smaller, tamer slide.

There were a couple of ride-on dinosaur toys at the park, which Hana thoroughly enjoyed.Here's Hana pointing out a monkey who came to visit the park.

Hana liked the monkey, but kept a respectful distance (not like with the cats).

Nana and Hana share an embrace at the park.

In addition to the marathon and the park adventure, Hana experienced her first actual ice cream cone. Here's the vid:

"the boat is making bubbles" - angel island

on january 8th, i ran the pacific coast trail runs angel island trail run. they had many distances but i ran the 8k (around 5 miles) this time. i have always wanted to do this race and i was excited that i got to do it this year. if you aren't familiar with the area, angel island is a small in the bay kinda near alcatraz. the island has a pretty rich history as the "ellis island of the west" and military outposts (there are still old wwII bunkers on the island). there are several trails traversing the perimeter of the island as well as up to the summit. and honestly, the panaramas are breathtaking. especially at the summit where you can literally see 360 degree views of the san francisco, marin headlands east bay, 5 bridges (including the golden gate) and of course alcatraz. sadly, my picture at the summit was not so flattering. although i was having an awesome time, i look like i was gasping for my last breath. and the angle at which the picture was shot showed me less as trail runner and more as jabba the hut with legs. needless to say, i don't like it and i didn't buy it. but you can look it up on their website if you are so motivated (note the absence of a direct link). someday, i would like an awesome picture to mesh with awesome surroundings. but i digress...

the weather was georgeous! hana got to ride on her first boat ( the ferry over from tiburon, ca) and she liked it so much that she didn't want to get off once we arrived. in fact, it took a LOT of coaxing to get her to turn around for this pictures. her eyes were fixed on the water (see below), and she just kept alternating between squealing, giving her excited giggle and exclaiming "the boat is making bubbles!!!" in reference the wake.

anyway, as i said, the race was fun, and hana had fun with daddy while i ran the trails. she cried when the runners left the start line. it was pretty pathetic actually, she just kept calling "mommy, come back!". we all tried to reassure her, but i figured it was best to just go and she would recover. she was fine but it was hard not to have at least a transient pang of guilt.

as i said, despite the beautiful environs, there is nary a good picture of me. this one is the best, even though it's out of focus (or maybe because it is). this is me approaching the finish line. it was so much fun, i'd love to do it again next year, if for no other reason than to try for a better picture.

the new frontier... hana at 26 months

hana and bailey have grown very close. when we get home, bailey is always there to greet us and he mostly follows hana around the house. when hana is watching a movie on the couch, bailey will snuggle up close to her and watch with her (almost like they're on a date or something... gasp! did i just say date in reference to my daughter?!). if hana is playing on the floor, he's not far away. hana often refers to bailey as "kitty cat" but will call maceo by name. hana often says "kitty cat is so my fwend!" or "kitty kat so cute!" she also has this certain giggle she gets when she's excited about something. it's hard to describe but she uses it a lot when she's talking about bailey.



our other cat, maceo, is a little more skittish and spent most of the last 2 years living in the back bedrooms and cursing us for bringing hana into the house. he's affectionate, and protective - even of hana - but on his turf, and at a reasonable distance from hana. but he's starting to warm up to her... well as much as maceo warms up to anyone. lately, hana has been assigned her first chore of helping daddy feed the cats in the morning; a tasks she gleefully fulfills. now that hana is associated with cat food, i think this is has raised her stock with him and he's more open to seeing her as an asset to the household, as opposed to an irritant. he still does not appreciate her attempts at affection with him, but over time, i think her will find her undeniable (just as he was as a kitten to our late beloved poo poo kitty).

lately we have found hana getting more and more interested in shoving things up her nose. we don't like this much. i fear that someday, it will be a cause for the trip to the e.r. we don't give her many things she can shove her nose (except raisons and cheerios) but she has taken to ripping tissues into small peices and shoving those up her nose. we hope this phase passes soon.

hana is also very into music... she's lately been into singing "this little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine..." it's pretty sweet once you figure out what she's saying. she often sings herself to sleep at night in her crib. singing is also a good distraction sitting in the car during traffic jams.

here she's listenting to beyonce. she's been listening to beyonce since day one... literally. "crazy in love" was the first song i ever heard her sing along to on the radio "oh no oh no oh no oh no". i think a future superfan is born...