11 Months and Counting

Wow, so time flies when you are a mommy of a budding, soon-to-be one year old!  Such a busy summer schedule on top of running after Hannah while she army crawls, and climbs her way into an new adventure, every moment of the day (AKA LOTS OF TROUBLE).  Quick update and then some pics...we are now crawling, climbing, pulling up and scooting along furniture.  If only we could figure out how to remain on flat feet, we would be walking independently.  No rush though, mommy and daddy have enough trouble keeping up as it is.  Stats -  about 23lbs and 30" tall, wearing a size 12-18mos.  We are completely on table foods, minus the allergens of nuts, strawberries and honey.  Just started tasting whole milk...and like everything else...Hanny LOVES it.  Her favorite foods include her morning fruit and yogurt smoothy that momma makes and share, any kind of bean and legume, green peas and blueberries.  Hannah just cut her fifth tooth and continues to teeth like a champ.  We are waking up a few time overnight due to being uncomfortable, but a little cold water and some rocking gets us right back to sleep.

Daycare was cut down to two days a week for the summer, with one whole day spent with daddy.  Hannah will really miss those days once daddy returns to work in a few weeks, and Hannah is back to three days at school.  She is far from the youngest baby now, venturing much of her time in the toddler area.  The other kids really like her and she is happy to see them and her daycare teachers too.

That's about it.  The big birthday bash and one-year old doctor visit is coming up.  Now on with the pictures.

Changes

8 1/2 mos is so close to a year old!!  Our little one is looking and acting less like a little baby each day.  We have just about mastered crawling and finger foods are starting to be a bigger part of the dining experience.  Where did that little baby go??? Momma and Daddy have to be on our toes, literally, since Hannah is much smarter that the "baby proofing" we had done.  Despite getting down to view the world from Hannah's perspective, we have missed a few things.  Eagle-eye baby however, seems to find all of the fun "no-no's" hidden away from plain sight!  I think Daddy is happy that Miss Hanny will still go to daycare 2 days a week during the summer months...one full day alone with her yesterday, and he was wiped out!!  Poor Daddy!!

Three more days and the school will be quiet.  The boys will be heading home for the summer, not returning until after Labor Day.  We are looking forward to some quiet time, though I know Hanny will miss her "Big Brothers" and I am sure they will miss her too!  Lots to look forward to, beginning with a trip up to visit friends in NH at the end of the month, a possible family reunion with Grammy Linda's family and a bunch of weddings (one that only Momma and Daddy will attend while Hanny has her first sleep-over with Berry and the Cousins!!).

Hooray!!!

We have finally cut our first tooth without much more than excessive drooling!!  Not much crying involved, so this first tooth was actually a breeze.  We'll have to keep our fingers crossed that we make it through baby teeth mostly unscathed.  Mommy was a little worried that Miss Hanny might not have any teeth since they are starting to appear a little late.  

Next milestone...crawling.  Miss Hanny is getting close but even without this skill, she is able to get around to where she wants to go.  I would say in the next few weeks she will be motoring.  Watch out Kitty!!!

How Time Does Fly when you are 7 Months Old

I am a blog slacker, I know this.  I thought maybe I could increase my time writing as Hannah got older, but time seems to go by even faster, and Mommy gets tired earlier and earlier.  We may have finally hit the milestone for sleeping through the night...fingers crossed.  Now that all of the coughing, sneezing, wheezing and stuffiness is pretty much gone.  A pretty rough winter...thank goodness for spring and warmer weather!!  

Food has now become a bigger focus.  Three meals a day of food prepared by Mommy.  No store bought stuff for our little Belle...ok once in a while she has some and her rice cereal, oatmeal and grain cereals come from boxes (at least it is organic).  We are enjoying lots of fruits and vegetable and just started to eat chicken (not a big fan though).  Mommy braved some teething toast too, though a HUGE MESS resulted.  Maybe we will wait a little while longer???!!!  

Despite all of the drool and teething, Miss Hanny still has not cut her first pearly white.  Mommy is starting to wonder if Hannah even has any teeth?  Crawling is coming along, though we are not mobile by use of arms and legs, but by rolling instead.  She is even starting to get the idea about pulling herself to standing, though neither Mommy nor Daddy are encouraging this!

The most "shocking" news is that Hannah is no longer the "Baby, Baby" at daycare.  Today a new little one started.  Mommy cannot fathom that Hanny is not the youngest any longer.  How could that be?  She is only in her seventh month???  So far she seems to be fairing well.  This is probably because she is obsessed with the older kids, particularly her "boyfriend" Brady.

We are enjoying the warmer weather, longer days and the increase in laughter, smiles, talking and singing.  Life in Bethlehem is good!  

So Grateful

I've gotten connected with this blog through several friends which is following a family from the Midwest.  They are referred to as the Mckfamily and the mom is the blogger.  This family includes four small children, the youngest, Stellen is exactly one month younger than Hannah and since being in utero, has defied the odds of life.  His parents were advise multiple times to terminate the pregnancy, and then no to expect their baby to even be born alive.  Despite the grim odds, Stellen's parents followed the pregnancy through and Stellen was born healthy and "cured" of his heart ailment.  This family is very religious as are many of the blog followers.  During the pregnancy, MckMama kept her blog updated and people from literally around the world sent well wishes and prayers.  

Five month later, baby Stellen is back in the hospital and his heart is again quite ill.  It is quite tough to read the daily updates, but also so hopefully and reassuring to see the support for this precious little baby and his family.  People from around the world are reading this blog and praying and have embraced this little one.  It is AMAZING and a true testament that the human race is not all selfish and bad.

This little boy also makes me think about how truly blessed I am to have a HEALTHY LITTLE GIRL and how precious every moment is with her.  She and baby Stellen are only one month apart.  The doctors thought he was "cured" of his heart ailment, and then one routine albuterol treatment trigger this illness.  Only God knows what our paths will be.  In one moment we are blessed with happiness, and then the next we face a major challenge.  We must hold tight to our loved ones, support those who need it and be thankful to be experiencing life.

Please visit MckMama's blog to learn more and to pray for her family.  It is sometimes difficult to read, but it is an amazing story of strength and belief in a much higher power than us.

www.mycharmingkids.net

Becoming Independent

How could this have happened so fast??  I know it is only sitting unassisted and holder her own bottle and motoring around the room by the rolling method, but these are reminders 0f how fleeting babyhood is!!  In the beginning I felt like I would never have a life beyond nursing.  That my baby would be attached to me 24:7 and not my choice.  Now I feel like I can't hold onto her enough.  I still have A LOT of mommy guilt about leaving her three days a week and going off to work.  Of course she is thriving at daycare.  Miss Social Butterfly even has a "boyfriend" (she and Brady hold hands every day!) and it is evident by her face when you drop her off.  I know I should be relieved to know she love it, but it breaks my heart.  I still find myself making excuses as to why she shouldn't go.  Unfortunately I prove myself wrong every time.  So, I enjoy my full gummy smile and hysterical giggles when I walk in the door.  She likes to show off her new skills and laugh at herself.  I really like 6 months old!!  Hannah is such a little person now and I am glad to see her discover new skills.  I just wish we could slow down a little!!!

Six Months and LOTS of Changes.

Busy mommy has been neglecting Hannah's site, but I was able to get a few moment to update everyone on the month.  We had our six month appointment and vaccinations.  Hannah is now 19lbs 11 1/4oz and 26 1/2 " long.  She gained three pounds and two inches since her four month appointment.  

She took her first trip to Florida to visit with her Great Grandparents.  Hannah is a GREAT traveller, even with almost a 4 hour layover in Chicago O'Hare late at night.  Her biggest difficulty was making sure that everyone in the security line, including the security employees were paying attention to her.  For almost the entire 20 mins of this process, Hannah blew raspberries while everyone else laughed.  Momma was trying to hide.  How can this social butterfly be my child?  She also started a new habit of staring people down until they are forced to make eye contact.  Maybe we have "grown her head" a little too big???!!!  

Developmentally, Hannah can now roll over in all directions from stomach to back and back to stomach.  She is real rolling machine.  We never know what position we will find her in the morning.  Rolling from back to tummy was perfected in Florida with the "help" of Great Grampa (she actually could do it herself if he wasn't around.  I think she just wanted to make sure Great Grampa felt useful :) )  Besides rolling, Hannah is also very close to sitting unassisted.  We still use the Boppy pillow around her, just in case, but she is doing so well and can transition from sitting to being on her tummy quite gracefully.  Her pediatrician feels Hannah could be crawling no later than nine months!

Mommy is busy making lots of baby food (actually just cooking and mushing) as Hannah is now eating three "solid" meals daily with a few bottles in between.  She is a GREAT EATER, not much food makes it out of her mouth...but I am sure that you can see that.  Just look at those cheeks!!

Daddy and Momma continue to be so in love with Miss Hanny.  Each day is amazes us.  It is the best feeling to walk in the door after a very long day and she is there with the HUGEST smile and hysterical giggles!!!  What could be better?