Hannah is One!

It's hard to believe in some ways, but there is no stopping her from growing and learning!  We went to the doctor on her birthday and she is 22 lbs 2 oz and 27.5", a long way from the 5 lbs 11 oz and 18" she was at birth.

Hannah has been crawling for a couple of weeks and it's so fun to watch her make her way across the living room or kitchen floor.  Our floors are cleaner than ever before since she will pick up any tiny thing and promptly put it in her mouth.  She has impressed us with her ability to get under the table without hitting her head.

We think Hannah is saying three words - wow, cat, and block.  It is hard to tell sometimes!  She has one new tooth just barely poking through and #8 is not far behind.  She loves to clap, waves occasionally, and can do some of the movements for Patty Cake.  Peek-a-Boo is still her favorite game. She has a good sense of humor and has become quite a giggler.

It's hard to take alot of pictures these days since she's always on the move.  But I want to share a couple more from her birthday.

Pretty in Pink

First taste of cupcake!

Happy Birthday, Little Sweetie!  We love you!

Hannah is 11 months!

I cannot believe that in one month, my teeny tiny baby will be one. One!

I feel like Hannah has really been growing and changing this month.  She just seems to be putting it all together.  She knows what "clap your hands" means and plays peek-a-boo really actively.  It's adorable.  No new teeth this month but the six she has are fully out and she has been using them to scrape off pieces of apple and melon.  She has also been enjoying corn, beans, rice, cucumbers, shredded carrots and a little bit of chicken.  We had to cut out yogurt because of a persistent rash and it has completely cleared up.  So we are seeing an allergist on the 10th to try to figure out what's going on and if she has any other sensitivities as egg and banana are already an issue. Hannah figured out the straw cup seemingly overnight and can also suck food right out of her pouches.  But purees are not as interesting as they used to be.

Hannah is not crawling and I'm not even sure how close she is...she gets up on all fours but doesn't really know what to do from there.  She is starting to try to pull up, and can stand with support a little bit.  She loves reaching for any kind of contraband - remotes, phones, cords, pens.  She eats paper like a goat and has pretty much ruined her board books.  She continues to be a happy baby who smiles a lot and has one heck of a belly laugh.

We had a pretty busy month.  We finished out of Christmas visit in Vermont and Hannah had her first bath in a big tub.

We celebrated New Year's Eve at home with both sets of grandparents and Uncle John, Aunt Angela, and cousin Sara.  Hannah got more presents and she was pretty excited.  She also ate part of a leaf.

Before my parents headed home we went out to dinner at our usual spot, The Famished Frog.  Hannah took a nice long afternoon nap and was in a great mood during dinner.  She charmed everyone!

Then Hannah got sick.  It was bronchiolitis, nothing too serious, but we had some pretty rough nights because she could only sleep upright and got nebulizer treatments around the clock.  I was sick too with a pretty bad sinus infection so that was no fun.  Steve and I were about to lose our minds but luckily Steve's mom came to the rescue and sat with Hannah one night so we could get at least a little rest.  We were thrilled to get the all-clear by the pediatrician to go on our long-awaited vacation at the end of the week.

Hannah was an all-star on the trip.  We made sure she got her two naps most days and she went out to dinner almost every night and behaved really well.  She loved the hustle and bustle of the hotel - the people, the music.  The only time she got cranky was if we kept her in the room too long.  We really had a lot of fun hanging out together.  I think this is my favorite shot from the trip because it captures her goofy laugh when she gets really excited.  

I also like this one of my sweet bathing beauty:

We bed-shared on the trip (hello, king bed!) and she slept amazingly well.  So, now we are bed sharing at home and so far, so good.  We are getting a heck of a lot more sleep overall and I feel like a human being again.  We will see how long this phase lasts!  

So, next  is the one-year update.  Crazy!

Kind of random

 What a difference 5 months makes...



Hannah's first bath - 3/11/11



Hannah 8/27/11

Hannah is 10 months!

Wow, double digits!  I can't believe my tiny baby will be one in two months.  Hannah got two more teeth this month for a total of six.  She has also gotten very busy playing.  She likes to check out all of her toys and can roll and pivot to get where she wants to go - everywhere but straight ahead!  She is getting very good at clapping and will do it when we sing the "Clap, clap, clap your hands" song.  She is also starting to wave and vocalizes a lot.

She really likes to turn things over to look at the underside and check out the screw holes and battery compartments.  She seems to find that way more interesting than the actual toy.

We had a busy month getting ready for Christmas.  Hannah made her performance debut at the St. Lucia pageant at IKEA along with her classmates from the Swedish School.  We didn't get any great shots of the pageant but here is one of her in her gingerbread girl outfit.

Of course, Christmas was the big event this month.  I will be doing a separate Christmas post but we had a great time at my sister's house.  Hannah was tired on Christmas Eve (her 10-month birthday) but still had fun looking at her presents.

  

Hannah is 9 months!



I feel like this month was a big one for Hannah.  She has become so much more engaged, and very deliberate in her actions.  We got her a play yard so she can roll around safely and she loves being in there.  We have put up a mirror for peek-a-boo, and used the bars from her baby gym to hang toys overhead. When she gets cranky we just put her down amongst her toys and she is usually happy again.  Her biggest frustration is when something is out of reach - she hasn't figured out that crawling is an option yet.  Penny the cat is her best friend (at least as far as she is concerned!) and they are getting more comfortable together.  Hannah loves it when Penny is close enough to touch! 

We continue to work on crib sleeping.  Hannah is now sleeping pretty well in her crib with an occasional waking around 10 PM for milk, sometimes another one later on just for soothing, milk again around either 2 or 4 AM and then it can get a little tricky until morning.  One night I got her back down after a 4 AM feed and she slept in her crib until 7 - that was a big milestone for us!

Even though Halloween was basically canceled due to power outages from the freak snow storm (Hannah was a champ through 28 hours of no heat, including some 56 degree diaper changes) we had a little celebration at home with Abuelita, Uncle John, Aunt Angela, and cousin Sara the bee.

Hannah also celebrated her first Thanksgiving - with a plate of sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and a little turkey. 

She enjoyed the day even though there was a shortage of naps.  She also did really well Black Friday shopping, although she got a bit tuckered at the end.

Hannah got three more teeth this month (those uppers were brutal!) and I think she just started working on some more.  Next month she hits double digits - yikes!

Hannah is 8 months!

Oh gosh this month really flew by!  I don't have too much share, but as you can see Hannah did, as I predicted, cut her first tooth.  The second one is very, very, close behind.  That little thing is so cute and very sharp!

Hannah continues to explore solids - she has tried a number of fruits and veggies, plus Greek yogurt.  Peas are her favorite.  In a addition to purees, she is trying some finger foods - roasted carrots and parsnips and steamed peas.  She seems to like them although she doesn't get a whole lot into her mouth.  Hannah is also experimenting with drinking water out of an open cup.

We started music class and Hannah really loves it.  Her favorite part is the autoharp that Miss Gen plays at the beginning of class. Hannah is fascinated by it and often smiles and even giggles during class.  She also likes sitting on the drum while we sing and play.

We also started Swedish class this week.  Hannah is too little for a lot of the activities but it's great for her to hear the language and soon enough she will be walking and better able to join in.

We did the obligatory pumpkin patch visit last weekend and it was a lot of fun.  I had to hold her not because she can't sit, but because Hannah tried to eat the grass, leaves, and pumpkin stems!  We had a good time and Hannah saw a lot of new sights.

Physically, Hannah has become a champion roller, very strong and push-ups, and finally found her toes. 

We are working on transitioning to the crib for nighttime and it's going OK, if you consider 45 or 90-minute stretches in the evening and maybe as long as 3 hours overnight OK...but she's getting it.  The crib is a safe and pleasant place to sleep and there is no need to worry.  She still winds up in our bed in the wee hours and I enjoy the snuggles.

Can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Hannah is 7 months!

Isn't she adorable?  We are more smitten every day!  I predicted this would be a big month, and I was right - Hannah had a lot of firsts this month.

Hannah had food for the first time - avocado.  She thought it was...interesting.  Since that first bite she has had banana, oatmeal, prunes, pears, and squash.  Unfortunately she seems to be sensitive to bananas - she got a rash on her face and threw up several hours later the two times she tried it.  It's too bad since she seemed to like them the best of all the foods she has tried.

A week later Hannah took her first flight, to see her Auntie Kat.  She was a real trooper on the plane despite having trouble napping.

It was good practice for us to take a short flight - those seats are pretty cramped for three people even when one is small.  I think when we go to Sweden next summer we will get her her own seat.  I can't imagine an 8 hour overnight flight with an 18-month old on my lap.

Auntie Kat was so happy to see Hannah!

Hannah enjoyed her time in North Carolina despite getting very little sleep.  There were so many new things to look at and she didn't want to miss anything.  She saw her first waterfall and and was really interested in it.

Hannah watched her first football game (our one exception to our general no TV policy, and it won't be every week) and celebrated her dad's birthday in her Eagle's onesie.  She cheered the first touchdown of the season and started learning about all the regulations.

Last weekend we started music class.  Hannah was fascinated by the autoharp at the beginning.

Later in the class there was some interaction with the other babies, which Hannah really could use.  It was a very stimulating class and Hannah took a good nap that afternoon!



Physically, Hannah continues to get stronger at sitting while showing no interest in rolling over.  She can now sit for a good while with just something behind her to catch should she decide to lie back.

Out to lunch in NC.

Ready for bed!

This morning we saw two teeth just below the surface!   I'm pretty sure they will be out next month.