Eight Months Old!

Hey look! A monthly update that's not a month late! Woot!

Well, if you've been paying attention, you know now that Hannah is 8 whole months old. That's ridiculous. When I was 8 months preggers, I thought I was going to die before I met my baby. I feel like the first 8 months of her life have whizzed on by. She's humongous, and I know I say it each month, but she really is growing like crazy. I can't get over how much she's changed.

Month 1. Month 2. Month 3. Month 4. Month 5. Month 6. Month 7. Looking at her one-month photo session reminds me that I need to take a picture of her wearing her Baby Legs again. They don't fall off! She's got some thunder thighs holding those puppies up.

Speaking of thunder thighs, Hannah weighs approximately 17 lbs. It was hard to get a good reading at her last weigh in because she wouldn't stop scooting on the scale. Last week the closest they could get was 17 lbs. The week before, she weighed 16 lbs, 15 oz. The nurse weighing her tried for a few minutes and just called it a scratch at 17 lbs. Squirmy Wormy? Most definitely.

Hannah's world is still very small, but her level of curiosity is ridiculous. She wants to see and touch everything, and then shove it into her mouth. That, naturally, makes eating pretty easy. There's very little we feed her that she won't eat. Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, apples, peaches, green beans, and BANANAS. Holy hell, does that kid love bananas.

We've also branched out into the world of self-feeding, or rather, Hannah's told us that she's moved on to self-feeding. She's been reaching for the spoon and grabbing at purees for quite a while, and now that we've introduced her to more textures, she's started eating/playing with different finger foods. Mum-mum is her favorite right now, probably because it's easy to manipulate and she can bite or nibble at it. She's been introduced to puffs but right now those are ending up on the floor, in her lap, in the high chair...pretty much everywhere except her mouth.

She's played with teething biscuits, but she mostly sucks on those. She likes the taste, but they're so hard that she never gets a good enough grip on them to bite down.

The last few days have been interesting because something clicked in her head and now she can push herself up on all fours. We were playing over the weekend and she went from laying down to the baby push-up to all fours all in one motion! Graham and I have to start moving things like the fish tank filter and the cat toys now that she's starting to figure out how to move all her limbs.

Not that she's got any trouble moving herself as it is. She loves to roll around and that's her preferred method of getting from Point A to Point B. She is very independent and explores everything in her world. When she wants something, she's very vocal about getting it. Sometimes she doesn't think she's done nursing--or more appropriately, when she just wants to use me as a human pacifier--and I move her to my shoulder, she's been known to throw herself around and worm herself back down to my boobs. This is far more difficult to manage and much less hysterical than when she was a newborn and would headbutt anyone and everyone until there was a boob in her mouth.

And, like most babies, she's crazy about her feet. She's especially fond of them when it's time to change her diaper or get her dressed for the day.

Her favorite toys? Anything that makes a crap ton of noise. She loves her stacking cups and just recently figured out how to bang them together repeatedly. She has a V-Tech nursery rhyme book that is annoying as hell--so naturally she loves it. She also loves her "smart phone", which was a gift from friends of ours.

Anything having to do with music, really, is a big favorite of hers. Maybe this is because I've always been a singer, and since the day she arrived I try to sing to her each day. Whatever the reason, she loves music! I'm not going to complain, because it's something that we'll be able to share as she grows--provided her tastes don't change.

We read to her each night, and lately our bedtime favorites include, "I Love You All The Time", "Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You", "The Runaway Bunny", and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" (Hey, they can't all be sentimental!) She loves books, but that's just a side-effect of her love for paper. Anything that crinkles, snaps, crackles, or pops, and she's on it like white on rice.

Nanner continues to be incredibly easy-going and happy. I really can't get over it! She makes friends everywhere she goes--much like me--and she's a people person for certain. At church over the weekend, we saw some women we hadn't seen in quite some time (because we've been super bad about going to church) and they gushed over how big she's gotten and how alert she is. My kid? Oh, yeah, she ate it up.

Funnily enough, she knows more people at our parish than I do! Her babysitter was always taking her to and from school with her sons each day, so Hannah is well-acquainted with the principal, teachers, and families of St. Rene. I can't wait for the parish picnic in a few weeks so I can formally introduce myself as "Hannah's Mom" to some of these mystery families.

We couldn't have a month go by without everyone's favorite feline!

Seven Months Old!

So I kind of suck at getting her monthly updates posted in what some might call a "timely manner". Oops. Better late than never? Or ever?

The parent who first had the idea to take monthly photos of their little one said it first: "These pictures are getting harder and harder to take!" Why? Because I have a baby who is increasingly interested in the world around her and wants to explore EVERYTHING. It's wonderful and miraculous and amazing, but also impossibly difficult to take a picture of her unless I restrain her. Have you ever tried to restrain a baby? It's not easy. Kinda leaves you asking, "Oh my God, how is she stronger than me?????"

Month One. Month Two. Month Three. Month Four. Month Five. Month Six.

As you can see, Hannah's growing like crazy. Her dad's genes have kicked into high gear and she's shooting straight up. She's most definitely a G@%$%(@!( baby, that's for certain.

Note: the above photo is important. She discovered the skirt at the bottom of the chair. We'll come back to this.

Hannah's eating lots of purees and quasi-solids these days, and I am attributing her insta-height to the introduction of solids. I'm a medical professional, and thus I can state the previous with conviction. I did my undergrad at Google University and went to med school at WebMD State. Top of my class over there.

Her favorite things this month? Bananas, bananas, and more bananas. For shiz. It's like baby crack for her. I cannot shove the darn things in fast enough.

She also likes to roll around pretty much everywhere. This month, she really figured out how to worm her way around to get to what she wants. She can't crawl, but she doesn't need to. Eventually she'll find a way to get to what she wants. For example, when she's sitting up and something is just out of reach, instead of leaning forward, she'll just thrust herself forwards and land on her belly. She's got balls, that's for sure. She is NOT afraid of getting hurt, until she does, and then she's unhappy.

She's also developed a bit of a Napoleon Complex. Girlfriend totally thinks she's bigger than she is. It's really hysterical.

Her comedic timing? Impeccable. It's a crime that she has no idea what she's doing. She's always on cue with a smile or laugh or giggle, and I still don't know what's funnier--that she's doing it at all, or that she's doing it completely unprompted and without any idea why it's funny.

Also, she hates to smile and laugh.

Absolutely hates it.

I swear, sometimes it's like we live with Lurch from the Addams Family.

Obviously, I'm full of crap. This kid smiles and laughs all day. It's all she does! Unless she's crying, and that's usually because one of three things happened:

1. She fell over and bumped her head.
2. She's hungry and just realized it, in which case baby is HONGRY. STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND FEED MEEEEEEE! (This is a trait I practically gift-wrapped for her.)
3. She's overtired and hasn't napped well (or at all) because she's too busy looking at everything around her.

Generally, she's a really happy and relaxed, chill baby. Not a day goes by that I don't look at her and wonder why I am so blessed.

Okay, remember that picture from before? Look at the above photo. See how she's all "ZOMG CHAIR SKIRT IS THE BEST THING EVERRRRRR!!!!"?? Yeah. About 0.00002 seconds after I took this photo, she flung herself forwards and hit her head on the hardwood floor. I immediately swooped in--cue Tiger Mommy Mode--but the damage was done. Girlfriend was too fast for me. She laid on the floor in stunned silence for about 3 seconds and then---holy hell--she screamed like I had just drop kicked her. She had a goose egg on her head for about a week, poor little one. But really, when she woke up the next morning, she was her same happy, bubbly self. It was like the night before had never happened.

Seriously. Why are we so lucky?

Six Months Old!

Wow...what a surprise, a belated update! Gimme a break...I was finishing up my school year, and then when I finally had the time to post this, I figured I'd wait until her 6 month appointment earlier today so I could post her updated stats.

See? Foresight. I haz it.

Well folks, Hannah Grace grows by leaps and bounds everyday. It's almost like she's bored with being a baby and is ready to toddle and play with the big kids. She is interested in everything and has so much trouble winding down for a nap because there's so much for her to see and do and nom on. She stuffs everything into her mouth.

In honor of her first half birthday, she wore her 1/2 onesie from her friend Sabrina. 

"These fingers are really delicious. You should try them sometime."

 These monthly photos are getting harder and harder to take! I love it, though. As much as I have to keep my eye on her, I love watching her change and grow.

And, because it was the seventh of the month, someone else had to come up and say hello...

"Don't forget about mee, hoomans."

 Why yes, I AM one of those people who talks to and for her cat. It's fantastic and I love it.

As you can see, when Hannah isn't moving or entertained, she doesn't quite know what to do with herself.

"Play with me, KittyKitty!"

 ...so, she finds ways to keep herself entertained when the big people won't do it for her.

"What do you mean, 'Show off my teeth', Mommy?"

 She's a big, big ham, too. Hannah puts on a show for everyone she meets and she loves to smile and laugh with strangers. Gee, I wonder where she gets that from?

::looks around::

Must be from her dad's side. Yeah, that's right. Her dad's side.

This month, Hannah still has her two bottom chompers, and she's working on 1-2 more. Hard to tell sometimes. I, however, am extremely aware of her two bottom teeth. To put it mildly, my boobs are on strike. They may never come out again.

"Is THIS how I show off my teefers?"

"YAY! Look at my toofers, everyone!"

 Hannah is extremely easygoing and a generally happy kid. She loves to go on walks and see the world around her.

Big smiles!

 She also looooooooooves books. ::squee!:: While this strikes a chord with me and makes my inner and outer book nerd dance with joy, what she loves most is putting a book in her mouth. Hey! It's how she explores her world.

"Hmm. I would like to stuff more things into my mouth..."

This month, Hannah also figured out object permanence! Awesomesauce. She figured out that when she can't see something or someone, it still exists. I realized she'd figured it out when I moved her bottle, thinking she was finished, and she followed it, looked back at me, smiled and played for a few moments, and then went looking for her bottle. Needless to say, peek-a-boo is fun for both of us now.

"Hey Mr. Dog! You're back! You look delicious today."

"What? What'd I do?

 Hannah is also working on her tripod sitting! Yahoo! I took her out in the backyard during the first week of June, and she grabbed some fistfuls of grass and had a great time sitting and looking out at the world. I've noticed she sits best on the lawn, probably because it's a firmer surface and she has something she can hold on to, but her sitting skills are getting better each day.

"Okay, they get it. I'm growing. Peace out, dog."

 We play games and sing songs each day. Right now, her favorite game is "Wee! BOOM!" and it's just like it sounds. I pull her up to stand, saying "Wee!" and then plop her on her butt with a "BOOM!" She could play that game all day. Each time we go, "Wee!" she gets the biggest smile on her face.

"Here Comes The Sun" is 'our song' (awwwwwwwwww) and we sing that at least once a day. She's also showing a preference for "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Teenage Dream". Her little legs start kicking whenever she hears one of those.

Her favorite playthings include her octopus carseat thingy (I dunno what you call it, and I don't really care) because she can grab part of it and it makes a fun sound, her soft giraffe ("giraffey"), her plastic keys, her Tweetybird rattle (I really hate Tweety), and paper or anything that makes a fun crinkly sound or that can be manipulated like paper.

You can't really see in the pictures, but her hair is filling in nicely and it's very fine and blond. That can only mean one thing, really: sunscreen, and lots of it.

Oh dear. Look at that face. We are in trouble....

And that devilish little grin! We are in a lot of  trouble. Crap.

"I feel like relaxing, Mommy."

Checking out her "big girl bed".

 Overall, she's a really good baby. Bedtime is rarely, if ever, a battle (Oh, that this would never change!!!!), and bath time is the best part of her day. She loves loves loves her jumperoo, and while she doesn't respond, she turns her head when someone calls her name (unless we're with my parents and they're attempting photo op #6947293, then she ignores the constant "Hannah.....Hannah....Hannah....")

"I haven't given this side any love yet."

Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for blessing me with this little one.