Friday, July 30, 2010

Hannah at 14 months

I can't believe my baby is 14 months old!  I know I say that all the time, but the time really is flyin.  I never posted her 1 year stats, and I don't remember them all but I know she was 17 lbs and some ounces...close to 18 but not quite.  She's my smallest 1 year old!  The other two were about 18 lbs at age 1.  When she had her 1 year checkup she was just coming off of a week-long illness (roseola) that had her appetite way down.  I weighed her a couple of weeks after her appt and she was at least half a pound heavier.  So we're gonna say 18 lbs is the one-year weight!!  Height...well, I don't remember.  Poor third baby!  All I know is she's petite!  The doctor told us to give her as much fat as she wants.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could all do that?

She is still not walking, but in the last couple of weeks she has learned to stand unassisted.  Just this week she learned to stand up in the middle of a room, without pulling up.  She is so proud when she does it, but she won't take a step forward! 

Hannah loves music--she claps when she hears certain songs in the car, and she's learning the itsy bitsy spider! 

She loves to eat, although she's getting pickier.  She won't always eat banana like she used to (maybe she got tired of it?), but she LOVES cheese.  She likes bread and pizza and blueberries and will sometimes eat sweet potatoes.  Sometimes it's a bit of a challenge to feed her.  She's definitely done with baby food though, so that's somewhat of a relief.  I like being able to put her dinner on her tray and she just eats it!  I discovered last week that she likes baba gannouj, a middle eastern chickpea/eggplant dip I had found on markdown at Kroger.  It was soooo good on wheat thins, so I put some on a Ritz for Hannah and she gobbled it up!  So funny!

She's officially weaned now, as of a few days ago.  It was bittersweet to nurse my (more than likely) last baby for the last time.  I was ready to be done, and she was fine with milk from a sippy cup.  Maybe now Mom and Dad can get away for a night or two??? 

Hannah is into EVERYTHING.  Sometimes I wonder why we even have toys.  She goes from the computer table to the magazine pile to the video cabinet to the toilet paper drawer to the pantry to the crayon drawers.  It's just non-stop keeping her out of stuff!  She has one cabinet in the kitchen we allow her in, and sometimes she goes nuts in there!



(Do you think her hair will be red??)

Busted!!




She's been introduced to the 4-wheeler. She loves going for rides!


Aaron just ADORES her.


And of course, Claire does too!


It's good to have a big sister!




She's also learned how to say lots of things.  She says lots of things that sound like they're supposed to be words, but alot of times we don't know what she's saying.  Sometimes it sounds like she says something very clearly, but I think she's too young to say those things!  Like "I tried" or "hold that" or "I want that".  She definitely says Mama, Dada, all done, bathtime and book.  She is doing well with her signing.  She signs book, eat, all done, blueberries, milk, bathtime, diaper change, swing, and probably a few more I'm forgetting.  She made up her own sign for "brush teeth" (she puts her finger in her mouth like she's brushing her teeth and grunts at us).  She loves to brush her teeth!!  (Speaking of teeth she has eight now!  Four on top and four on bottom.)

She's had another ear infection this summer, and her pediatrician referred her to the ENT.  The ENT wants to do tubes, but said we could wait a while if we want, so right now we're waiting to see how she does once cold season sets in.  I think tubes are in her future, probably before the end of the year. 

So that's a wrap on my baby, who is STILL my baby even though she's getting to be a big girl.  We love you Hannah Rose!!

Summer fun!

Our summer is drawing to a close (ALREADY!?!) and I haven't even had time to document some of the fun we've been having.

Nothing says "perfect summer evening" like a run through the sprinkler after dinner!





And we've spent many days (but fewer than I wish we could have) at the YMCA pool. We're only members for the summer, and with Hannah's naps and my work schedule we don't get to go often, but it's one of the kids' favorite activities. Even Hannah just loves being in the pool!




I love the fact that the Y pool is a zero-entry pool so Hannah can just crawl in and out at her leisure.


Speaking of leisure...









And this is Hannah saying, "Don't let the summer end! Say it ain't so!"

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Lit Chicks



As much as my blog seems to show that I'm not anyone but "Mommy", I do try to have a life *outside* of being a mom. While I love that job more than anything else I do, it's good to have an occasional break for some me-time. Being a mom and doing housework from morning till night 7 days a week can really wear on me! Sometimes I want my work day to end at 5:00 like normal people, but having the occasional night out is a good compromise!

One of my favorite ways to get out is book club! Our book club, called the "Lit Chicks" started a few years ago and has dwindled down to 6 of us who meet somewhat consistently. Some of us read the books faithfully, and some never get a chance to read a book, but we don't really care because that's not what it's all about. (Even though it is called "BOOK" club!) I enjoy the fun of knowing that if I'm reading a good book, I can talk to someone else about it because they read it too! It makes me more likely to take time during the week to sit down and read for a while, which is one of my favorite ways to unwind.

We rotate choosing books (we usually choose 2-3 books for the group to vote on) so we get to read a real variety of topics and styles. I love that we have gauged each others tastes well enough to know that certain styles of books tend to be picked by the same people. For example, I tend to like historical fiction, Amy likes light girly reads, Christine tends to pick books about kids, etc.

When we meet for book club, we're lucky if we get 10 minutes of actual book discussion, but the rest of the time we just chat and catch up. We all met in a playgroup but as our kids have gotten older and schedules have changed, our kids don't even see each other all that much any more. These girls are great friends and I look forward to reading books with them for many years to come!

And if you're interested, some of our recent books have been:

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline (I listened to this on audio on my spring break trip!)
The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Flower for Elvis by Julia Shuster (I never had a chance to read this one!)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West
The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer (I only got through the first 2 books)
The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles

I try to keep my Shelfari page updated (every 2-3 months) and I have a link to that on the sidebar if you want to see more books I've read!

A petting zoo at the library

I love all the activities available for the kids during the summer. I love having ALL of my kids with me for fun stuff like this!

Our library had a petting zoo day as a part of their summer reading program. The kids LOVE our library and this was a fun activity.














Glad to have Dad home!

Chris was gone on a mission trip to Nicaragua (his first trip out of the country!) for 8 whole days in early June. We had a fun-filled week with lots of activities planned, but the kids sure missed their Daddy! (Mama did too!)

I snapped these pictures a couple of days after he got home. We were playing in the driveway after dinner and the kids were just loving have Daddy there!



Daddy and his mini-me.


And this is the first picture I got showing Hannah's top teeth that grew in the week Chris was gone!


Daddy got the girls cute matching dresses in the market in Managua. Aren't they precious?