Caker's 2 Year Well Check

Hannah's nickname of Hannah Cakes has slowly become Hannah Cakers and now just Cakers. She can tell how much trouble she is in by if we call her Cakers or Hannah Hope. And she will burst into tears if we call her Hannah Hope and send her to the naughty chair. Such activities include, but are not limited to, drawing on the wall and pulling her sister's hair.

Hannah had her well check at the end of February. It was practically pointless as you can tell she is a perfectly healthy girl but it's still good to go in and hear about how awesome she is.

Weight: 28 lbs (73rd percentile)
Height: 36 in (94th percentile) She's already outgrown most of her Christmas and Birthday clothes. I'm forcing her to wear too small clothes for March until the weather warms a little.

(Xander's 2 year info: http://ringinginthenewyear.blogspot.com/2009/11/4-month-and-2-year-appointments.html)
(Josie's 2 year info: not accurate because we were in California and she didn't get checked until 2 months late and it was never published. For the record 27.4 lbs (55th percentile) and 34.5 in (65th percentile).)

I've had to explain to Josie that when she grows up, Hannah may actually be taller than Josie. I used Trisha as an example and then proceeded to draw a family tree where all of my younger siblings are taller than me.

Let's see, other Hannah news. Oh, she is in a toddler bed! She crawled out of her crib all of one time due to a temper tantrum. Chris and I just randomly decided to convert the crib one weekend. She's done better than expected. She'll get up if Josie gets up to go to the bathroom (they share a room). But really nap time and bed time goes pretty well. The hardest part is making sure the usual dolls are lined up and tucked in next to her.

Hannah loves playing on the family iPad. It is supposed to be for education with appropriate apps downloaded. However, Hannah has figured out the iTunes store enough to get to music videos and movie previews. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the Frozen preview. 

Hannah still loves to eat. She is willing to try almost anything. This is the spinach artichoke dip from Super Bowl day. She just pulled the entire dish over and dug in.

There's a little bit of potty training going on. I don't feel like going hard core yet but she is willing to sit there and listen to books and get a raisin as a reward.

And new words! 

Uh-oh-dilly-oh!  (Instead of just uh-oh.)

Okay, there aren't too many new words. The big thing is that she sings so many phrases. 

Bye-by!

Pease! (Please.)

Et it ooooh! (complete with hands lifted) (Let it go!) (I really need to get this on video.)

Civilized

There is some saying about choosing the mountain you'll die on that means to pick and choose your battles. One of the mountains Chris may or may not die on is teaching the children to get up from the table like civilized members of society.

Xander has been saying "May I please excuse the table?"

So Chris will correct him, emphasizing the missing words, "May I please BE excused FROM the table?"

Then Xander will imitate him, slightly changing the emphasis. "May I BE excused from THE table, please?" It always reminds me of football players announcing they play for THE Ohio State University.

After she has finally picked apart and eaten the bare minimum of food, Josie will pipe up with "May I PLEASE be excused FROM the table?" Then she grins, all proud of herself.

Valentines Galore

I'm going to lay it out there and say I'm not looking forward to Valentine's Day when all three kids are in school. It just feels so hard getting everything organized, cards, signatures, boxes. Xander and Josie each have less than 20 kids in their classes but there was so much effort. It didn't help that we made things for the cards. I wasn't some crazy mother hand crafting every part but I did have to find and print out and cut the cards.

Josie and I cut up old crayons and melted them down in a heart shaped silicon mold. They turned out very cute!

Xander has been working on his rainbow loom to make bracelets and rings for his classmates. I think this was the part that drove me batty because he'd just be making random things and I would be like 'Did you finish the bracelets for you classmates?' and he'd be all 'no, I'm about half done.' I had to do some deep breathing to not send him to his room until he finished the bracelets. He ended up just fine.

I have no idea why those pictures are coming up sideways.

I did forget to make the traditional filled heart cookies for the family this year. I'm trying to eat healthier so it just completely slipped my mind that I should have made cookies. The kids said nothing about them though so I guess they aren't an ingrained tradition.

Hannah Turns 2

 Hannah's birthday was a low key affair this year. Having a February birthday is rough because everyone is cooped up in the house and the weather can make travel unpredictable. So, a few family and friends ventured our way, we spot cleaned the house, I made questionable choices in the color scheme of the cupcakes and ta-da! Birthday time!

Hannah thought the cupcakes might need more flavor.

But they turned out tasting great without anything being added.

Xander and Josie agreed to taste test with Hannah.

There were many presents but the big ones really made her face light up.

Cuteness Contest

Contender 1
In this corner is the 4-year-old girl who has learned to skip and hasn't stopped since. Watch out for the bouncing blonde spiral curls as she flies by you. She has been known to ask Mom to skip with her.

Contender 2
In this corner is the 21-month-old who tucks in her big sister at bed time. The blankets must cover her sister just so, each pulled up individually. Then the big sister must gently be kissed on the forehead and hugged. The routine is complete when the toddler stands up and grins at her parents and heads to her crib.

Contender 3
Not included in any corner of this Cuteness Contest is the big brother. He arrives in his mother's classroom after school each day and commonly distracts any students staying after for tutoring. Conversations he has with the students include, but are not limited to, that he pooped at home that morning.

Sticky Fingers

Chris thought it was no big deal that Hannah did this until he found out it was $10.

Update - Hannah Style

Oh, how the little ones grow. Hannah is trying so hard to rush past this toddler phase. She so badly wants to be like her big sister. She wants to sit on the potty (and has successfully used it a couple times), she is reading, watching television, follows directions, laughs, dances and even occasionally speaks.

I'm continually surprised by how 'girly' Hannah can be. I guess I thought one of our daughters would be a tomboy. And while they are active and enjoy the rough-and-tumble games, they both love to dress up in play clothes, other people's clothes and with as many accessories as possible.

The thing that gets me about Hannah is she is very meticulous and wants to have things just so, even at the tender age of 20 months. She rearranges her food, fork and drink when we sit down to dinner. She rearranges her blankets when I tuck her in at night (though Chris claims she does not do that for him). If she wants a coloring book, Hannah will take every single one out of the cabinet and then decide which one she wants. 

Clearly the oven mitt belongs in the kitchen.

I have way too many pictures of my children sleeping.

Hannah has developed attachments to many of the friends (aka stuffed animals) in our house. After much fighting over the special few (most are free-for-all, but a couple are just Josie's or Xander's), I took the kids to Build-a-Bear after dropping Chris off at the airport for a three week work trip. Xander and Josie helped to make Hannah's special friend, Misty. Misty, named after the Pokemon trainer, was an instant hit. So much so that Josie keeps stealing her away from Hannah. Boy, did that plan backfire.

Hannah spends a lot of time mothering all of these special friends. She carries them, gives them bottles, feeds them, pushes them in a stroller, tucks them in, shushes them, etc.

Hannah has also discovered the thrill of art. Meaning she scribbles and then chews on the marker or crayon when you look away. If you are totally gone from the room, tattooing ensues. I thought Josie did this, because have you seen her art, but after another episode I realized Hannah is just really talented at drawing on herself.

She is also talented at singing; thought indecipherable it is very melodic. She even sings some of her words like "Thank you." Super cute.

And finally, she remains the most squish-able thing ever.

Tales of the Trio

Xander

     While doing the back to school shopping we picked up a pack of new underwear for Xander. The store didn't have the briefs with cartoon characters in his size and he was disappointed that he couldn't get Star Wars Lego underwear. We managed to agree on some plaid boxers and went on our way.
     After getting the new boxers washed, they were the first thing Xander picked to wear all week. Last night at bath time he announced that he was out of boxers. I said to grab some Spider-Man undies and he got this sad look on his face but turned around to go back to his room. So I told him I would be doing laundry in the morning. That cheered him up.
     Next thing I know I'm coming out of the bathroom and tripping over his laundry basket. He put it there so I wouldn't forget to wash his clothes.

     Xander loves to read at bedtime. While Chris was gone I'd gotten in the habit of putting the kids to bed at the same time but letting Xander stay up and read a little longer. Now that school is in session, I have to remind him to put the books away and go to sleep.
     Last night, after the laundry basket incident, he was reading this large book that was the alphabet with super heroes. I told him to put it away and he looked around, plainly trying to figure out where to put it and what to use as a bookmark. Finally he twisted around and picked up his pillow, laying the book down with the pages open to where he was. I nearly burst out laughing because I clearly remember hiding books under my pillow as a kid, though I don't think I started that until I was a couple years older.

Josie

     Josie has spent this morning pretending to be a teenager. She didn't say that but she is certainly acting like it. She was talking on the play phone when I tried to tell her that I was going upstairs to shower. She didn't even look at me, just held up one finger in the 'just one minute' gesture that I give her when I'm on the phone. She chatted for another minute as I stood there with my eyebrows up. She finally hung up and explained to me that she was talking to her (imaginary) boyfriend and was going to go babysit him in the afternoon.
     As the morning has progressed she has texted her boyfriend and sent him pictures. He was supposed to come over but became ill. His dad is giving him medicine and she is still going to babysit this afternoon.

Hannah

     Earlier this week I dressed Hannah in some clothes I'd pulled out of storage. The top was an empire waist with straps and embroidery passed on by a friend. It was a little big but I didn't think too much about it. Within an hour Hannah was pulling the straps down and off of her arms and the shirt would bunch at her waist. She proceeded to pull it down and run off giggling.
     After putting the shirt back on and having the same scene repeated, I told Hannah "You need to wear a shirt, you don't see Mom walking around naked." To which she responded by throwing her little hands in the air and yelling "NAKEY!" and then doing her dance of joy which involves running in place with high knees. Another moment where I had to try my darnedest to keep a straight face.

   

Hannah at 15 Months

Hannah turned 15 months two weeks ago and had her well check one week ago. After two bouts of  the mystery virus fever, one in February and one in April, she is finally a healthy girl. Except for the occasional runny nose. And the small rash on the back of her neck. But neither of those things bother her, so I (and the doctor) declare her healthy!

Weight: 20 lbs, 12 oz. - 19th percentile
Height: 31.75 in. - 86th percentile
Head: 18 in.

While she has gained weight, it's not as much as we expected due to being sick. You can see at one year she was in a higher percentile. The doctor was not concerned since she is getting taller and her head circumference is fine. She also passed all of the questions he asked with flying colors. Does she walk? Does she talk? Does she cook a three course meal and set out the forks in the appropriate order while setting the table. You betcha.

But seriously, it seems Hannah is just so smart. Of course, then I reread my post about Josie at this age and things are about par for the course. I think that, despite having had three of them, I just don't know what to expect of babies kids toddlers at this age.

Hannah has figured out how to sit in chairs. It's a struggle to get herself pulled up onto some of them so sometimes her little legs flail as she squeals for help. When she gets up she will usually sit there contentedly, kicking her feet. Oddly, if I am there, that is when she will try to get on the table and will throw a fit when I pull her off. The best was the time she climbed up onto the bench at the table. I heard Josie yell "Mom!" and I turn around to see Hannah on the bench holding Josie's cup of water. And of course time slowed as I headed toward her and she lifted the cup with a big grin on her face. Then the water tipped over onto her and the face registered shock which quickly transformed to terror and screaming. Even Josie started to cry. So imagine me standing in our dining room with one screaming toddler soaked in water, one sobbing preschooler and water dripping off of the bench to the puddle on the floor.

Hannah's vocabulary is slowly improving. She seemed to stop talking for a month and just squealed and cried when she wanted something.  Now things are really rolling. Sure, most of the words sound the same, but I know what she means. For instance:
-A couple weeks ago she would pull up her shirt and pat her bottom and say 'psss' and I know she was saying "I peed, change me woman!"
-This morning she pointed to her toothbrush and said 'psss' and I knew she was saying "Please, may I have my teeth brushed."
Same word, a world of difference in the meanings.

Hannah is also super observant and a big believer in routine. When we are getting ready, she gets her shoes and gives them to me. Great! Then she goes to her coat and tugs on it insistently until I put that on her. Since the weather has turned warm and she doesn't need a jacket, there is sometimes a fit thrown when no coat is put onto her.

Yesterday, Hannah was sitting on the coach with Josie when Josie found them each a pillow to sleep on. So Hannah got off of the coach, went over to the buffet, opened it and pulled out a blanket, and walked back to the coach with it. I stood there for a moment wondering how Hannah even knew the blankets were there.

Her 'no's are plentiful and enthusiastic. They just aren't as cute as her 'yes's. My favorite thing she does right now is say 'yes' while nodding her head. Except it sounds like a quiet 'essss', almost a hiss.
"Would you like your water?" "...essss," with enthusiastic nods.
"Would you like more food?" "...essss," with enthusiastic nods.
By the way, this kid loves to eat. I tried a new recipe that turned out horrible (Chris actually spat it out) but Hannah still went to town.

Hannah is also excellent at 'uh-oh' and I think she likes saying it just for fun. She uses it appropriately, usually when she drops something. Sometimes she'll find the gate at the bottom of the stairs open and will say "Uh-oh!" and swing it shut. She also uses it when other people do something wrong. It's rather hysterical when Josie has spilled something and I only know because I hear Hannah say "Uh-oh."

Uh-oh, that smile just melted my heart.

Mixed Signals

At about 11:30 on Wednesday night, I woke up to Hannah wailing. It was one of those wails where a mom just knows something is wrong and worry immediately sets in.

When I went into her crib, she was sitting up and stopped wailing in order to start saying 'Mama' (which she never actually says) and her voice sounded hoarse. Then she coughed, which was more of a seal barking sound than a regular cough. That was followed by labored, wheezing breathing.

I picked her up and calmed her and sat rocking her for a little bit. I decided to change her diaper and as I lay her down she started wailing again. Then I saw that the inside of some of her mouth was hugely swollen. Add in the hoarseness and suddenly my mind went to food allergy and anaphylactic shock. Was Hannah's throat swelling shut as I held her??

In an effort to not over-react, I woke up Chris. He suggested putting her to bed and checking her in a half hour. I think my eyes may have bugged out. So I stayed up holding Hannah and rocking some more. She drifted off to sleep and her breathing was regular. So after about an hour I managed to talk myself down and put her to bed.

She woke up 3ish but the swelling in her mouth was not as bad and, again, she fell asleep while rocking.

In the morning, when getting her up from the crib, I noticed some spit up marks in the bed with what appeared to be a few small specks of blood.

Hannah spent the rest of the day week a snotty mess.

So I can only guess that she had a cold or allergies causing the hoarseness and coughing. And that she chewed the inside of her mouth while sleeping, causing the swelling and bleeding. But just in case, we're avoiding giving her mandarin oranges (what she ate for dinner that evening) until the next doctor's appointment.

Mystery Virus Fever, Part 2

It began Thursday when I picked Xander up from his classroom and we walked up to my classroom to wait for the end of dismissal. The key word here is 'walked'. Xander never walks. He skips, he jumps, he runs, he races, he skips again. He does not walk. So the fact that he walked was the first clue that something was wrong.

The second clue might have been him saying his belly hurt during snack time at school. However, it is not uncommon for Xander to comment that his belly hurts.

The third clue was what gave it away. He quietly sat in my class after school. And then he said he was cold. Anyone who has met this child knows he does not sit quietly. He asks questions, tells you about the day, repeats facts that he has already told you five times. Also, my classroom is never cold.

We picked up his sisters and headed home where Xander spent the rest of the evening huddled under three blankets while his fever slowly climbed. It was definitely the same thing that all three kids had in February.

Xander stayed home from school on Friday. The fever persisted through Saturday and Sunday with little appetite and no energy. Monday arrived with a lower fever but then Hannah became warm. That is when I wrote this status update:
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 5: Xander seems to be recovering but that may just be a good night of sleep helping him through the morning. Hannah has succumbed to the fever and insists on cuddles. We forge on.

Xander was better on Tuesday but had to stay home due to school regulations (fever-free for 24 hours). So Josie stepped up to take over on the fever front. And she added a random vomit to the fun. Xander had complained about an upset stomach but hadn't gotten sick beyond spitting up dinner while coughing. No puke from Hannah either. Josie has her mother's weak stomach.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 6: Xander has returned to the Healthy Side, will resume active duty tomorrow. Hannah fights the temptation that is the Fever but Josie has gone over fully by embracing vomit.

In a moment that I'm sure will be hysterical to relive in five years, Josie freaked when she found an itsy, bitsy, little spider on her pants. I'm talking high pitched screeching sobs that she did not learn from me. I took care of the spider in short order. However at 5 am, Josie woke up with the same screeching sobs convinced that there was a spider on her leg. I talked her down and tucked her in but within five minutes there was more sobbing, so she was brought into bed with me. Chris decided to go for an early run rather than listen to Josie snore.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 7: Xander has returned to active duty allowing me to focus on his sisters. Both have shown signs of recovery. Hannah attempts to sleep off the effects. Josie has suffered fever-induced spider paranoia and had to have her sleeping quarters temporarily reassigned.

The spider issue has come up this afternoon, too. She saw it on her toes! And now it's in her bones! Yes, she was convinced the spider was crawling inside of her leg. I explained that spiders don't like being in bones because they can't make webs. Anyone who tells her differently will have to spend the next week sleeping next to her bed.

We have not been to the doctor about this because the fevers never reached higher than 103 and did not last more than 5 days. Since it's getting spread around it's some type of germ, presumably a virus. I tried to stick with the notion that the fevers were fighting the alleged virus so tried to avoid medicine to lower the fever unless a child was completely miserable or at bedtime so there could be some good sleep. Heck, Xander and Josie are so tough that they actually declined medicine when I offered.

Hopefully the girls will be over this by tomorrow (day 8!). The first time through this, Josie and Hannah both had it for a full five days. Xander had it for two days. I figure that is why he had it for five days this time. So just maybe the girls will be able to fight off the virus a little easier since they may have built up an immunity. Yeah, right, that is such wishful thinking.

Getting Around

For those not in the know, Hannah is finally walking. She showed an interest before she turned one but then had the nasty mystery fever virus for a week and she just wanted to be carried for another week after that. So she spent another month showing interest in walking and finally has it down (as much as a 13 month old can have walking down).

She totters and wobbles, falls and then scoots along on her knees. I find it funny that she seems to walk better when clutching a toy, usually the doll that is about half her size. 

Now she thinks walking is the bee's knees. She laughs and giggles and smiles. She's become our little ball of sunshine (unless she is throwing a tantrum, but that is a post for another time). 

(Oh. My. Word. I have been trying to upload this video for two weeks and it kept giving me trouble. I finally set up a youtube channel (which I'm not going to share) to get it here. Grr. Argh.)

Snow Day

Today is Sunday and the high is expected to be 64 degrees. This past Wednesday we had a day off from school because of snow. That's Ohio for you.

The kids were watching the neighbors out playing in the snow.

I was bound and determined to get Xander and Josie outside to play. There were a few snowfalls this winter but I usually stayed in with Hannah. So I gathered up our snow clothes and we played inside until Hannah went down for a nap. Then we suited up!

Xander really enjoyed making snowballs. I'm not sure if he was really aiming or just throwing but he seemed to hit a lot of things. In this picture, he is showing where his snowball had hit the cross bar on the clubhouse.

Josie had been saying for weeks that she wanted to build a snowman. This snow was perfect for it, wet and sticky. Of course, Josie did not build it, she just watched me. Then we added a carrot nose (Josie was adamant about it being a carrot), leaves for eyes and sedum for a mustache  I added the sticks for arms and Josie brought over another stick and started to put it in next to one arm. Xander became all bent out of shape because a snowman can't have 3 arms. I said it could be an alien snowman. With that thought, he gleefully ran off and came back to attach another arm.

Xander also excitedly asked to knock over the snowman. I told him to wait until we were done and had taken pictures. When I gave him the signal, he went at it like he'd been tackling all his life. Then he'd back up and tackle again. Then he took a few flying leaps to land on the defeated snowman like a pro wrestler.

Seriously, you couldn't even tell a snowman had been there by the time Xander was done.

Meanwhile, Josie must have missed the conversation about destroying the snowman because she became very sad.

So I talked with Josie and asked her if she'd like to make another snowman, maybe a miniature snowman? She instead asked for a snow buggie. Huh? So I asked if she meant a ladybug and Josie became super excited. I just made a ball for the body and Josie made one for the head. It wasn't big enough at first, but after some more rolling, they were just the right size. 

Then I had to explain to Josie that the snow ladybug might melt pretty quickly, probably by the next day. She made the sad face again and spent the next two days randomly running to check if the ladybug was still in the back yard. Fortunately by this weekend she was so happy to have the nice weather that she hasn't missed it at all.

1st Birthday Party

The thing about having a birthday girl in February is that it is cold outside here. So while our June and September birthday parties can spill into the back yard, no one really wants to wander outside now. So Hannah's invite list was a little smaller than previous 1st birthday parties. Add on to that the surprising fact that some people don't like to travel  in the cold weather and our small list became even smaller. So Hannah's birthday was a nice little affair with some friends and some family.

That didn't stop me from getting all fancy with her birthday cake! The giant cupcake was white with candy melt to make the 'wrapper' and buttercream icing. The smaller cupcakes were all chocolate with buttercream. And they were all fabulous, oh I want more just looking at the picture.

The birthday girl was having none of it though. I mentioned in a previous post that she had been sick the week before. Fortunately, she managed to kick the fever a couple days before the party. However, she was not recovered completely. Or at all. Okay, she was grumpy and tired and clingy. 

And she wanted nothing to do with cake. Seriously, whose child is this? Turning down cake!

But then....then came the presents. I recruited Xander, Josie and a neighbor to help with opening the gifts and, one-by-one, they were presented to the birthday girl. And slowly her demeanor changed. "What is this offering that has pretty sounds and twinkling lights?" you could all but hear her say.

Then it happened. A final gift that had one piece of jewelry. Her godmother slid it on her arm and it was as if the clouds parted. The birthday girl was finally happy. (Chris, on the other hand, had to deal with realizing he had another girlie-girl for a daughter.)

Easing into One

Hannah turned 1 last week! It's amazing how much she has grown and changed in the year since she has joined us. You would think that by the third child we would be used to how quickly a baby grows, but no. I think that chasing two older siblings around means that Hannah can sneak the growing in faster.

Unfortunately, she could not sneak into turning one. She spent the week before it sick, sick, sick. On Super Bowl Sunday I noticed she was shivering. I chalked it up to sitting on the cold tile in our bathroom and put a hoodie on her. As I put her to bed I thought she felt a little warm but absently thought it was probably from teething.

I stayed home on Monday with Xander because he inexplicably threw up repeatedly during the night. He was fine Monday but Hannah developed a full fledged fever and became super-clingy. I realized that night that she hadn't eaten much and was even refusing to nurse. During the night she was up repeatedly and had to be held to keep her calm. By the morning I was ready to call the doctor just to rule out anything dire.

Fortunately the doctor was able to rule out the flu (they swabbed for a test as soon as we arrived), strep throat, Fifth Disease and Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Hannah's lungs and heart sounded fine. Her nose, throat and ears all appeared healthy. The doctor said he thought it was a viral infection that would take some time to run it's course and to give ibuprofen or acetaminophen as needed.

It took Tuesday and Wednesday for the fever to wind down. Those were some rough nights, even with the medicine. Thursday and Friday had a few fever spikes but Hannah finally began sleeping and eating better. Just in time too because Saturday was her birthday party. I'll write about that in another post.

We had Hannah's well check the next Tuesday, the day after her birthday. She was finally over the virus and seemed in great health according to the doctor. Her charts are off though due to weight loss from the week before.

Weight: 19 lbs. 12 oz. (29th percentile)
Height: 30.5 inches (90th percentile)

I mentioned that Hannah is teething. I think all four molars and one of the front teeth are coming in excruciatingly slowly. When she laughs (or yells) I can see all of the molars poking through and it makes me cringe a little. Hopefully they will all be through soon.

Winding Down

While I wouldn't describe our lives as hectic, there is definitely some weeks that are busier than others. This week it included a broken garage door, beginning the search for a new dentist only to find out we could keep our current dentist, dance class, tutoring, soccer, pizza and game night with neighbors, mom's night off and overtime for dad.

Despite all of that, it has been a surprisingly nice weekend. Time to share some pictures.

We've had the fireplace going for most of the weekend.
This is the first we've had it going this winter and the kids loved it.

Watching the Super Bowl after trying a dinner of appetizers.
Xander's favorite part of dinner was dipping cheese puffs in pizza sauce.

Josie was not very interested in the Super Bowl so played with her My Little Ponies,
making her bracelets into necklaces for them.

Xander is happy that his new cousin will be another boy.

This is Xander's 'to do' list from a couple weeks ago, since I had my own list. He accomplished 'have fun' and 'play with Josie' but was unable to get to 'wrctgether' (work together).

Hannah's hair has grown long enough to be in her eyes. I'm not a big fan of bangs so tried barrettes, which did not work out. Pulling her hair up into a Pebbles Flinstone 'do is working much better. I sent Chris a text with this picture and said "You said I could be anything I want, so I became a unicorn."

Tripping Over Milestones

Hannah's first birthday is fast approaching and she is working hard on standing and cruising. I think her goal is to walk into her party. Wouldn't that be impressive? All of the guests would be standing around asking "Where is the birthday girl?" and in saunters Hannah. She would need theme music, though.

On Friday I caught Hannah experiencing several new firsts. She realized that the curio cabinet has a door that can open. Fortunately, I was there and she did not actually get into any of the breakables. I slid the couch over to block the door as a temporary solution. Chris made a slightly more permanent solution by tying a string around the curio cabinet.

Next, Hannah realized that she can take off her own bib. And she did so with much enthusiasm. Repeatedly. With velcro bibs and snap bibs. And would then quickly throw the bib on the floor. I was rather exasperated  at the time but have since figured out that if she is really hungry, she will be distracted with food. 

Also on Friday, Hannah figured out how to unzip jackets. Namely, the jacket she was wearing. I kept finding her with the jacket of her outfit hanging open. I hoped it was a fluke at first but finally caught her ripping it open. It's not a big deal over all, she was just so persistent with keeping it unzipped!

Today we had the fun of opening the file cabinets. Except it was followed by the agony of closing the cabinets on her little fingers. She never closed it hard, but it was still enough for her to get a look of surprise followed by a wilted expression and then tears and sobbing. The solution to that was to stick a dowel rod down through the handles. Which reminds me, we need about three more rods for other drawers that I am sure will catch her attention soon.

Finally, I realized today that she has more teeth than I thought. Hannah's front four teeth have been in for a while. The top and bottom to the left have come in. The ones on the right are popping through. But earlier I had to fish something out of her mouth (seriously, where does she find all of this dirt to eat?) and wondered what she had further back in her mouth. Yeah, it was a molar. No wonder she keeps trying to chew on all of her toys.

9 Months Old Already

Yesterday it was officially 10 months. Hannah is growing so fast. I know mothers are always saying "Enjoy her, time goes by so fast." And I try to enjoy her, I really do. I try so hard, in fact, that I am always telling her to sit down and stop trying to walk. She laughs at me. Then hugs me. Then yells "At!" and takes off crawling at top speed to pet the cat.

Hannah's well check went great, as always.

Weight: 19 lbs., 8.5 oz. (65th percentile)
Height: 29 in. (92nd percentile)

Hannah had a big of a cold, so her vaccinations were put on hold at my request. Even with the cough and drippy nose, she handled the examination really well.

As I mentioned, she seems to be growing so much faster than I remember her brother or sister growing. She has no problem crawling and easily gets into 'second gear', as we call it, when she sees something she wants. Hannah's hand to mouth coordination is great, which is why I am always prying her mouth open to dig out bits of paper or Christmas tree pieces. She pulls herself up on everything and has attempted to stand in the middle of the room. Hannah loves to crawl up to me and either pull herself up or sit and wave her arms in the air until I pick her up.

Hannah's vocabulary consists of "Da-da", "Dander" (Xander), "At" (Cat) and the occasional "Jogie" (Josie). I think she is starting with "Ba-Ba" and "Otl" (bottle). When she forgets herself, she will say "Ma-ma" but it is rare and usually when I am gone. Doesn't that figure?

6 months and 3 years

Both Josie and Hannah have been in for well checks in the past couple weeks and have both been declared healthy. Yay!

Hannah at 6 months:

Weight - 17 lbs, 12 oz (82 percentile)
Height - 27.5 in (96 percentile)

Yeah, she's a big girl. But she's not chunky (except for those adorable chunky thighs), she is just outgrowing her clothes faster than I can plan for. Fortunately we still have all of Josie's old clothes and some are the appropriate size and season.

We have started Hannah on some solids. Xander and Josie have helped me to make 'mushy peas' and 'mushy carrots' which we froze in an ice cube tray and are stored in the freezer. I picked up a few containers of vegetables that I don't keep around the house or find hard to make into baby food. Feeding Hannah seemed to go well at first. She's been watching us eat and opening her mouth so I thought it would go well. Unfortunately, Hannah does not have swallowing solids down and has repeatedly gagged and vomited up her dinner.

Here is her first bite of solid food with commentary from Xander and Josie. (sorry for the small video, you'd think after two years I could hold my phone correctly while recording)

Most people say that Hannah looks like her brother, though I am hearing that less nowadays. Let's compare 6 month pictures, shall we?

Hannah at 6 months

Josie at 6 months

Xander at 6 months

The only thing I see is that Hannah still has a chance of getting curly hair since Josie's hair was still straight at that age.

And now for Josie's stats:

Weight - 30.8 lbs  (46 percentile)
Height - 37.5 inches (or 3' 1.5") (51 percentile)

So Josie is pretty middle of the road. Except for the hair, which is always mentioned. I try to always remember it's a compliment and not to be snarky with people who comment on it. I may or may not have video of her on a swing and another of her jumping around just because her hair is so fun. I won't bore you by posting them.

Back to the doctor visit. The doctor was impressed with Josie being totally potty trained, even at night. Believe me, I'm thrilled about it too. Josie did a great job doing what the doctor told her with the excpection of the Shy First 5. I just made that name up. For the first five minutes she always acts shy, hiding behind me and clutching my leg. Then she takes off to play. I think it's a game to her but I could be wrong.

Other than that I was given a hearty "keep up the good work" and sent on my way.

Ready to play Hockeyball