Growing up girl, 18 months

Sweet little Hannah turned 18 months yesterday, so it's probably time for an update, and pictures! (this is long and mostly full of the little things I want to remember...skip it if it's not your cup o' tea)

Hannah started Nursery two Sundays ago.  Her first time I had Daniel go and drop her off, it went well, and when we went to pick her up, they said she was perfect.  She shared, colored, didn't cry, and seemed to have a good time.  This last Sunday, I was holding her hand walking towards the nursery room.  Once she realized where we were going, her feet just stopped. She wouldn't take one more step.  I carried her in, and Daniel stayed with her for a while, because there were a whole lot of tears when he tried to leave.  She did stay by herself for third hour without crying.  I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon, but even with only two weeks under our belts, I have to say I love nursery.  

Hannah continues to be a picky eater. She loves yogurt and string cheese, crackers of all kinds, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, muffins, and almost all fruits, macaroni and cheese, and most other noodles.  I have to sneak her vegetables either in a smoothie, or those super expensive organic baby food pouches.  It seems silly to buy baby food for an 18 month old, but she's got to eat them somehow, right? I'm pleased though, because she ate chicken nuggets for the first time today, I don't even remember the last time she ate meat.  Daniel pointed out that while they are called chicken nuggets, there probably isn't actually that much meat in them...maybe it's progress?  I've got The Baby Food Bible checked out from the library right now, I'm hoping for some good toddler food ideas.  If any of you have any, please share!

Hannah has been learning a lot of words, as well as how to use them.  This week, she has been really into turning things on.  If she sees a light switch, she wants to turn it on.  She'll say 'on' and point up at it until she is acknowledged.  She also can repeat a lot of the simple words we say.  They aren't super clear, but you can tell she is working on it.  Her favorite words these days are all 'B' words: baby, bubbles, bear, ball, book...  Hannah has also been such a Daddy's girl lately.  All day long she asks for Daddy, only for me to tell her that he's at work.  When he's home, she loves spending time with him.  We have had amazing weather the last few weekends, and with a curious, active toddler, we've made a conscious effort to get out and do something each Saturday.  Hannah loves spending this time with her daddy, and I love the freedom it's giving me!

Hannah is on a pretty good schedule these days, waking up around 7 most mornings, and taking a two hour nap after lunch, with bedtime around 7:30.  Each weekday morning we have an activity, and I think she likes getting out and doing things, but it's mostly for my sanity.  I can't stay in all day.  On Monday we do our grocery shopping, Tuesday we have playgroup (which I started in our ward when I found out they didn't have one...I think this backfired though, because shortly after I started the playgroup, I was called to be the Relief Society Activities coordinator...they must think I like planning social things?)  on Wednesdays we go to story time at the library. Thursday we go to the Children's museum, and Friday, we often go to the mall and share a Jamba Juice....

homemade chocolate muffins for breakfast

after Hannah's first day in nursery she refused a nap, but fell fast asleep in her stroller on a walk. She was particularly cute that day, but would not pose for any pictures. 

playing on our back deck with a pan of water on a beautiful Monday afternoon

uncle Kevin came over for lunch, and got to read "Princess Fairy Tales" to Hannah

on the way home from Nana and Poppa's house in Gig Harbor. She was asleep by the time we were crossing the narrows bridge. 

Hannah continues to be such a joy in our family. We love seeing her personality, and her interactions with others.  She has such strong opinions and preferences.  The other night I was putting her to bed, and I figured since she was being such a Daddy's girl, I'd have Daniel come upstairs to read her bedtime story.  He sat down in the glider, only to have her come grab his hand and pull him up out of the chair.  Then she grabbed my hand and led me over to the chair to sit down.  She may not have words, but she can totally communicate, and we get such a kick out of her.  Hannah still loves books, she'll often climb up into the glider and read to herself.  She is so snugly and soft and warm when she first wakes up.  She just melts into you and gives the best hugs. It's a treat to get her up from sleep, however she always asks for the other parent.  If I get her in the morning, the first word out of her mouth is 'Daddy?

We love our little Hannah girl!

The Zoo

When I worked at Saint Martin's before I had Hannah, I established that there were two perks of working for the Catholics, the second of which, is Easter weekend, (the first is Christmas break).  Daniel had Good Friday, and Easter Monday off, and instead of just hanging around the house, I decided we'd enjoy the gorgeous sunshine we were lucky enough to have.  So I planned a family trip to the zoo on Monday.

Hannah loves animals, really loves animals.  Her favorite books are about animals that live in the jungle, or on a farm, or in the ocean, so I knew this would be something she'd enjoy.   She is also an animal sound expert.  When Daniel and I taught sunbeams a few years ago, I thought it was adorable to have the little three year olds do animal sounds.  It turns out it's even more cute when it's your own 17 month old.  For weeks we've been practicing animal sounds, I think Hannah has more animal sounds than words...maybe not the most useful skill, but it's pretty cute.

We headed up to the Point Defiance zoo early Monday morning, because the forecast suggested there could be PM showers, and we didn't want any of that.  The zoo overlooks the Puget Sound and is at such a beautiful location, I would be interested in going back and picnicking at the nearby park. The entire day was beautiful, and after losing our jackets around eleven, I almost wished I'd been wearing shorts.  

It was a good day.  Hannah loved the petting zoo, so I think we'll try and take her to the Cider Mill this weekend, so she can get another taste of farm animals.  She also loved the tiger (pictured below). The Tiger was in up against a glass wall that looked out onto some other exhibits, and across the way there was some sort of yak, that I think he was interested in eating.  The tiger was pacing back and forth, sniffing the air, and really putting on a show trying to stalk the other animal.  Hannah loved it.

15.5 months

If ever there were a time that I've loved mothering, it is now.  This last month, especially this week has been wonderful.  We've finally found a sleep program that has worked, (Thank you Dr. Weissbluth!) so for the first time since she was a little baby, Hannah is getting the sleep she needs, and doing it without a fight. This has made such a difference, probably mostly because I am now getting the sleep I need as well.

At almost 16 months, Hannah says:
nose
hello
no no
ready
all done
yeah
dog
uh-oh
up
daddy
mama (I thought she was saying this a couple of months ago, but I'm thinking she wasn't associating it with me back then, and if she was saying it, she stopped all together.  I've been trying to get Hannah to call me Mama for a few weeks now, and as I put Hannah to bed tonight, I said "I love you, can you say mama?" and she finally did.  It melted my heart.

she also knows sounds for the following animals:
cow
sheep
dog
cat
donkey

Hannah continues to be such a joy to have in our family. She is so full of energy and spunk and sometimes sass that we are always laughing at the things she does.  She loves to dance to music, and you can tell what a bad dancer I am, by her moves.  She copies her mama, and it's only cute when she does it!  Hannah knows to fold her hands when we say prayer, and can identify so many pictures (where is the fish? chick? giraffe? coat? etc.)  I'm sure all this is normal for a 15 month old, but since she's mine, I'm pretty proud of her!

Today I weaned Hannah...I think.  I have a hard time committing to this, but I think this is it.  It has been a wonderful venture, nursing her, but she has gradually shown less and less interest, to the point of me offering and she saying no no, and pushing me away.  I had an errand to run at the mall today, so to celebrate Hannah taking this step as a big girl, we got Jamba Juice.  It's my favorite, and Hannah loves smoothies as well, so it was a hit.  I love her so much, and I'm so glad to be her mama.

books please

For chistmas my mom made Hannah the cutest soft chair that is just her size. Hannah loves it. i've put it next to her bookcase and her favorite thing to do lately is to read books in her chair. she wont sit still to watch tv or movies, and she wont lay down and nap without a fight, but this busy busy girl will sit for minutes at a time to read. i love it.

backstory: the facts

my laptop died a slow death over the summer. thankfully it held out until Daniel got his first paycheck at the end of September, but it needed replacing. I'm now posting from my new tablet. it is great at surfing the internet, but the lack of keyboard makes it a little less functional for blogging. I'm slow at typing, and unsure how to add pictures from my camera (maybe its as easy as moving an sd card...i just haven't tried it).

so anyway, in the months wherein I wasn't blogging, several really great things happened for our family. the most exciting was that we got to move! with Hannah so mobile and busy all the time, our apartment was feeling smaller and smaller, and i kept thinking of more things i didn't like about it. Daniel was on a business trip in Ohio when my mom and I went to check out a duplex/townhouse that i found on craigslist (where else would you look for housing...) It was perfect. Daniel and I had contemplated buying a house, and I had a list of requirements for my house...we had looked at several houses, and none of them matched my list the way this duplex does. It should be good for the next year or two while we work on replenishing our savings to make the eventual homebuying process more comfortable. the Only downside to this move was that we changed wards, which has been sadder than I anticipated. i know it can take a while to mesh with a new ward, so I'm really hoping that before too long we'll feel more at home in our new ward.

the other really great thing that happened was that we became a two car family. which is so wonderful. Hannah and I can now run errands and go to the children's museum and the library whenever we want. to say we are grateful would be an understatement.


Hannah turned one on November 1st, we moved on Daniel's birthday, November 11th, and got the car on the 18th, so it was a pretty busy month, but we are feeling very blessed.

I'm a goal person. A lot of people aren't, but I thrive on writing things down, and then working on them. So as a goal this year (different than a resolution), I want to be better about documentation. Whenever I tell my dad something funny Hannah did, he asks if I wrote it on my blog. Sadly, the previous post was from September...so if I don't start writing things down, I may never remember things like that really crappy week where Hannah pooped in the tub one day, then had an explosive diaper all over her crib the next and then Wesley missed the litter box the day after. Or how Hannah gives the sweetest bedtime kisses, but only to me. Or how Hannah is 14 months today. Words she says: uh-oh, up, mama, dada, Hannah, all done, moo (what does the cow say Hannah?), and she knows the sign for more and uses it very convincingly. She does tend to get what she wants when she asks for it so well. She has four molars that have come through over the past month, and I feel like we have both earned those teeth. That teething business is hard work. So Happy New Year. I have a good feeling about 2012, but then I generally prefer even years. Here's to more posts, even if they're short. Also, this year is going to be the year I buy a calendar. I always say it, but so far it hasn't happened.