The Joy of Hannah

We had some really cold days and nights here. EJ said that one morning our thermostat said -6. On that morning it wasn’t long before my face and hands starting hurt when I went out to do my morning chores. I tried to blow a few bubbles but it still wasn’t cold enough for them to freeze. Bummer.

Hannah Joy has been a lot of fun and she is bringing us a lot of joy. I think we named her well.

Last night EJ and I laughed so hard. Hannah was fast asleep on my lap when EJ sneezed really hard. She woke up, raced over to EJ’s chair, and I swear she was about to give him CPR. She looked really concerned, but EJ told her that he was ok. So she came back and settled down on my lap. Then EJ sneezed again and Hannah leaped up, raced over to him, and again looked as if she was going to rescue him. EJ sneezed multple times, and every time he did, she raced over to him. He even went into the bathroom and when Hannah heard him sneeze, she leaped off my lap and raced in to check on him. For a while she kept close beside him as if she was very worried. I haven’t managed yet to get this on video because by the time I get out my camera, it’s all over. I told EJ that he needs to alert me before he sneezes. I remember when JJ was a baby and he would cry whenever his Daddy sneezed. Hannah is completely unconcerned when I sneeze.

Hannah Joy’s has a box of toys. She knows the box is filled with her toys and sheoften goes over to it to get out her favorite toys. She loves playing fetch. We throw the ball into the kitchen and she races after it and brings it back, but she hates letting go of the ball. She gets a bit tricky because sometimes she will let the ball go but when I move my hand to take it, she grabs it back. I would reward her with a treat whenever she dropped it into my hand, but when she sees I have a treat, she loses all interest in playing fetch. I have to come up with some other plan. Hannah also loves to play tug-of-war with her rope toy. She’s fun to play with.

Hannah communicates her wishes very clearly. I have to laugh because if I ignore her, she gives a short little growly grunt to get my attention.

Hannah is doing very well with her Hebrew lessons–especially when I tell her to wait while I put her food bowl down and not eating until I tell her it’s ok to eat. I am amazed at how quickly she is learning this, especially considering that  her previous owners had starved her. When we first adopted Hannah from the shelter, she was absolutely frantic about food and would jump as we carried her bowl and surge forward to get to her food before we could even put the bowl on the floor. Here is a video showing how well she is doing now:

Hannah is a joy. She’s helping us get through the grief of losing Danny.