bittersweet…

This week has been bittersweet…Hannah spent her last full time day with Aunt Colleen today.  We always knew Hannah would not be a baby forever and that one day, Aunt Colleen would go back to the professional world.  With much joy and sadness, that day has come.  Aunt Colleen is going back to work at Regis University in a position that was meant to be hers.  Bittersweet.

The last 17 months has been the best 17 months we could have asked for, for our entire family and hers.  Hannah knew from the time we put her coat on in the morning that she was going to Aunt Colleens house to play.  She would babble the whole way until we pulled in the driveway.  When I opened the door to get her out, she would have taken her shoes, socks and hat off, and laugh when I would put them back on to get out of the car.  She knew it was time to play!  We’d walk in the garage door, and every day Aunt Coleen would say “Good Morning Hannah, did you come to play with Aunt Colleen today?”  Though I knew Colleen just “had it down”, and I could just leave and be off to work, I instead tried to soak in every minute of time with Coleen just chatting.  Some days it was a “drive-by drop off” when I was running “Schmitz Time (20-30 late), but most days I spent 20-30 minutes there before I went downtown to work.  As well as after work…man, she is a good cook, I had a hard time passing up dinner there most nights, especially when john was out of town, count me in!

Hannah might think Tripp and Finn are her brothers not cousins as she went to pick them up from school everyday, and then came home to play with them.  There will always be only one Uncle Guido…Hannah waited for him to come home everyday.  He would walk in the door, chirp like a bird to get Hannah's attention, and she would turn her head so quickly I was afraid she would give herself whip-lash.  With a huge smile on her face, she would make his name sign (the letter “G” sign near her temple for uncle).  She would immediately sign to him she was tired…and he would always say, “No, later you can go to sleep, now it is time to play or eat.”  Eventually, we would pack up and go home for the night…only to return the next morning to do it all over again.  Bittersweet!

We have been trying to decide if we hire someone to come into our home to care for Hannah or if it is time to explore a daycare setting where Hannah could paly with other kids her age.  Though she does love to paly with kids, we have decided for now, to hire a great gal to come to our house 5 days a week.  She has her Bachelors degree in Communication Disorders from Auburn University and is going back to get her Masters in Speech & Language Pathology…Next to Aunt Colleen, she will be perfect for Hannah and our family!  She will only be with us for a short time, but as we decide what will be best for Hannah, she is the perfect solution…plus, she has 4-wheel drive, a necessity to get to our house in the winter!

So here is to Aunt Colleen…you will always be someone I look to for advice and always be my best friend.  You are great at everything you do and you make those around you smile.  We owe you BIG time for helping our Sweet Hannah grow. 

We love you…John, Steph & Hannah

Bittersweet.