Friday, June 22, 2012

Six Months Old


Today Hannah is 6 months old!  It seems that time just goes faster and faster.  I'm happy to report that we've had several changes in the last month some very good and a couple very difficult.

*Schedule: This is one of the very good changes.  I don't want to jinx it but Hannah is slowly but surely establishing a schedule.  It goes something like this: up between 8 and 9 with a very short feeding shortly after; about 10:30 eat again and take about an hour nap; after this nap is her happiest time of the day; eat solid food for lunch about 12:30; nurse again about 2 and then another nap--this nap varies greatly in length--sometimes it's very short, 30 minutes, and sometimes quite long, over 2 hours; depending on the nap length she will eat two or three more times before we have dinner; one of the most fussy times of the day is when I'm fixing dinner and she is usually in the Moby wrap with me which sometimes puts her back to sleep; she will eat 3-4 more times before going to bed for the night between 10:30 and 11:30; she also will take a catnap or two during the evening hours although I don't let her sleep for very long after 7.  

*Stats: I don't know for sure what Hannah's weight is right now.  She was 15 lb 11.5 oz at her 4 month check-up so I would guess she's between 18-19 pounds.  She has her 6 month check-up with the doctor on Monday so we'll know for sure then.  She still wears some 6 month size tops but most of her clothes are now 9 month size.  Pajamas are all still 9 months in size but these are starting to get a little snug especially the brands that run small.  Her hair is continuing to get longer and there is now enough to actually say she has some hair.  It's appearing very light in color and sometimes there is a hint of red. Her eyes are still blue.  Hannah now has two teeth as well.  The first one, her bottom right front incisor, came in on June 8 and the second one, her bottom left front incisor, came in on June 20.  These were very difficult for her especially the first one.  It took over 3 days for it to break through and it was a very long 3 days.  Her second one was not as difficult although she was still fairly fussy for a few days.

*Food: Hannah is still really enjoying solid food which she is eating once a day although I think the doctor will us on Monday that she can start having 2 solid meals a day.  At this point Hannah has added squash, pears, bananas, peaches and prunes to her diet.  Her interest in our food is amazing to me.  Luke was never as fascinated as Hannah is when we eat.  As soon as her body is ready for more solid "real" food I know she is really going to go to town.  I could be wrong but I don't think I'm going to have to worry about what Hannah eats like I did with Luke.  Hannah is still nursing between 7-10 times a day as well.

*Activities: Hannah's activities haven't changed too much.  She still loves to move or be held and move.  She spends most of her awake time either on the floor or in her exersaucer.  Most activities still have short time spans unless Hannah is an unusually happy mood.  One of her most favorite activities is watching Luke play.  She delights in seeing Luke at most any time.  Another favorite activity is watching one of Luke's big balls bounce around--this causes her to laugh hysterically which in turn causes those around her to laugh as well.  Hannah still prefers to be in someone's arms or have someone very close by rather than hanging out by herself.  

*Mobility: Hannah is now consistently rolling onto her tummy.  In fact it seems that she enjoys her tummy more than her back now although she still likes to scoot around on her back.  She has rolled from her tummy to her back just a few times.  Also just within the last week Hannah has starting sitting up on her own much better.  She will still topple over occassionally but she is enjoying this new way to play with her toys.  Hannah continues to amaze me with her strength.  She actually scares me at times when she is in the bouncer because it rocks back and forth so hard.  She is quite good at standing while only holding onto your fingers for help.  It is also very apparent that Hannah wants to crawl.  While on her tummy she kicks her legs with all her might and you can just tell that she wants that to move her.  I'm predicting she will be crawling within 6-8 weeks.

*Favorites: I would say this has all pretty much stayed the same from last month with some new additions.  I am still Hannah's favorite person but she has a smile for anyone that says hello or interacts with her but she is starting to show some seperation anxiety.  Other favorites:  being outside, playing with my necklace while in the Moby wrap and actually just being in the Moby wrap is a favorite (she lights up when she sees me putting it on), watching the ball bounce around, chewing on anything she can get in her mouth, and playing with Luke.  Hannah also really enjoys bath time :)

*Events: This last month has seen several firsts for Hannah--going to the swimming pool; eating several new fruits; enjoying her first "real" bath with Luke; sleeping in her crib on her back for a nap; getting her first teeth; celebrating with Dad on Father's Day and developing a more consistent schedule (aka Mom making her cry herself to sleep more).  The next month will bring more food, celebrating Luke's 4th birthday and some alone time with Mom as Luke spends time with Troy's parents.

As a quick side note: we had 6 month pictures taken today and Hannah wanted no part of it.  She would not smile for anything.  I'm really hoping to be surprised with at least a few smiles when we get the proofs back from the photographer.  Most of her expressions probably resemble the first picture below.

And now more pics (I couldn't choose just a few because she has so many different expressions):
No more of this laying on the grass Mom!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

NBA Finals

It's hard for me to believe that this is a topic I'm blogging about--it's definitely not something I ever thought I would care too much about.  But I do and it's been fun.

This year the OKC Thunder have made it to the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.  We've been very consistant in watching all of the play-off games.  As the Thunder play in the Chesapeake Arena and Troy works at Chesapeake in order to get tickets to a game Troy had to enter a lottery for each game at work.  He did get tickets for the 5th game in the first round but there wasn't a 5th game because the Thunder won in a sweep (no complaints).  

So he's really been hoping to get tickets and as of last Thursday morning he had not won the lottery again.  BUT over lunch on Thursday he got an email saying he could have last minute tickets to the game if he replied within an hour.  He called me and pretty much yelled at the top of his lungs that we got tickets to that night's game.  We were both pretty excited!  Free tickets to an NBA finals game--YES PLEASE!!!  (We only had to pay the tax on the tickets.  Thank you Chesapeake!)

Fortunately Grandma and Grandpa agreed to watch the kiddos last minute for us.  Another big thank you!  We waited until the last minute to leave the house (trying to make it as easy as possible for Hannah and I) and it worked out great because we avoided most of the traffic.  We found a parking spot without any problems, walked about 10 minutes to the arena, went in and found our seats (they were pretty great seats).  We were pleasantly surprised when Sara Evans sang the National Anthem (she sings our song).  And then the game got underway.  Unfortunately the Thunder wasn't able to pull out a win but we still had a good time.  As of this post, the Thunder are down in the series 1-3.  They have to win tonight to keep it going and bring the games back to OKC.  Thunder Up!

This is Kevin Durant shooting a free throw and LeBron James is #6.  

Date with Luke

Last Thursday Luke and I got to spend most of the day together just the two of us.  Grandma watched Hannah so that Luke could have some one on one time with me.  I asked him what he wanted to do and his first answer was to stay at home (he truly is a home body just like me).  After a little coaxing we decided to go to a new park--a park that we haven't been to before.  We decided to get lunch to take and eat at the park.  Lucky for me Luke choose McDonald's.  So we headed toward Myriad Gardens which is in downtown OKC.  Well, as it was a gameday (game 2 of the NBA finals) it was a bit difficult to find a parking spot.  Then Luke told me he really, really needed to go to the bathroom.  I decided to take my chances and park in a restaurant parking lot.  Luke went to the bathroom against one of the tires because that was the fastest spot (he actually thought it was pretty fun).  We then decided to eat lunch in the car because we were so hungry.  We ended up moving the car to a better spot and then walked to the gardens.  Our neighbor, Susannah, works close to the gardens and met us there to show us around and she even took a few pictures of us.  We had fun exploring the park: we watched the huge fish, climbed on rocks, played in the maze, and the highlight was playing in the water.  I didn't have a swimsuit for Luke and it took him a few minutes to be okay with getting wet with his shorts on; at one point he even tried to take his shorts off.  After getting nice and cooled off in the water, we walked back to the car and Luke quickly fell asleep on the way home.  We really had a great time just the two of us.  I know that Luke enjoyed having me all to himself for a few hours.  I love my munchkin so much--I enjoyed the time with him just as much if not more than he did with me.
 Do you see Luke peeking around the pole?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Father's Day

Troy had a great Father's Day.  He played golf in the morning, took a nap in the afternoon and enjoyed his favorite pizza for dinner (his request).  It was fun to celebrate with Hannah for this first time this year and Luke did an awesome job giving Dad extra hugs and kisses throughout the day.

Troy also got a survey from Luke that they did at MDO.  We got it in the mail last week and I surprised Troy with it on Sunday.  Luke's answers are underlined.
     My Daddy is 4 years old!
     He weighs 60 lbs and is 1 ft. tall!
     He loves to cook meat!  (I love this one)
     His favorite TV show is K-State! (Another good one)
     I really love it when my Daddy plays in the tent with me.
     He's the Best!  I Love You Daddy!

More Pics

I know I've said this before but I love that my phone takes such good pictures.  It really allows me to capture more everyday moments.  Enjoy again!
June 8:  Tired girl watching her brother play
June 8:  First time asleep on her back in her crib
June 10:  Celebrating Grandma's birthday
June 10:  Cute!
June 11:  Trying to get a pic of her first tooth--look hard, it's there on her bottom right
June 13:  So sweet!!!
June 13:  Quiet time in his room which he didn't want to do; I found him fast asleep under his bed when I went to get him
June 16:  The train we saw at the Farmer's Market Saturday morning
June 16:  Slip-n-Slide (not sure who had more fun)
June 16:  Hangin' out with Grandpa
June 16:  Celebrating Sarah's birthday
June 16:  How to calm a very fussy baby

Monday, June 11, 2012

Pool and Berries

Last week my mom was here to help me out since Troy was in Houston all week.  She was here from Sunday afternoon until Thursday morning.  I was so grateful to have her here especially with how fussy Hannah was because of her tooth coming in.  Luke had big plans for Grammy.  He wanted to check off a few activities on our Summer Fun list while she was here.  So we did.  

Last Monday afternoon we went to the pool for about 2 hours.  It was Hannah's first time at the pool and she loved it!  She had great fun kicking her legs and splashing with her hands.  And there were tons of new things to watch and see as well.  Luke, of course, is an old pro and again showed no fear of the water.  He even walked toward the deeper water all by himself and got in over his head a bit.  Of course Grammy was right there to save him.  He practically threw himself down the slides and jumped in countless times.

Tuesday morning after a bit of a late start we went to pick blackberries.  Luke and I have done this once before and he wasn't too into it so I wasn't sure if he would like it but he did.  It was a bit hot but we were pretty much the only people at the berry patch.  Hannah hung out with me in the moby wrap for a while but then she got too hot and went to sit with Grammy in the shade while Luke and I finished picking our berries.  The owner said we might have a hard time finding berries but we went down 3 rows and we collected almost 3 pounds of blackberries.  It was the perfect amount for us.  I froze most of them to make muffins with later in the year.  
We did a few other fun things while Grammy was here too.  Luke played in his pool here at home and Grammy squirted him with a giant new water gun.  We had a picnic dinner at the park and got frozen yogurt.  We were sad for Grammy to leave.  It was a great visit.

Summer List

In an effort to not do the same thing day after day this summer Luke and I (mostly me) came up with a list of different activities to do throughout the summer.  Here it is:
  1. Go to the swimming pool
  2. Play in the sprinkler
  3. Celebrate Luke's birthday
  4. Visit Grammy and PawPaw
  5. Visit Grandma and Grandpa J.
  6. Spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa H.
  7. Go to the library
  8. Have a camp out in the backyard
  9. Go to a new park
  10. Eat dinner outside
  11. Go to the zoo
  12. Draw with sidewalk chalk
  13. Make tye-dye t-shirts
  14. Go on a family vacation
  15. Make at least 7 big art projects
  16. Go on a big bug hunt
  17. Have a water gun fight
  18. Fly a kite
  19. Handprint/Footprint art
  20. Make a bird feeder
  21. Do a scavenger hunt
  22. Build a huge fort
  23. Make our own playdough
  24. Play in the rain
  25. Watch the clouds
  26. Go fishing
  27. Have a car wash
  28. Build a volcano
  29. Go to Myriad Gardens
  30. Go berry picking
Most of this list is stuff we would do already but it's fun to keep track of it and have a list in case we do get bored.  So far we have gone swimming, picked blackberries, been to the zoo and the library and played in the sprinkler.  Enjoy your summer!

Some Random Stuff

These are just some random things that have been happening around here lately that I don't want to forget.

*Roly-Polies:  Luke is absolutely obsessed with them.  If he is outside, he's looking for roly polies--in the backyard, in parking lots, on our walks, when we go get the mail, everywhere is a good spot to find them in Luke's eyes.  Unfortunately for the roly polies if they are found they are placed in one of two containers for safe keeping (again that's only in Luke's eyes).

*Luke's House:  Luke still has his house.  It's moved around a bunch lately but it currently resides in KC so Luke can live with Grammy and Sarah next to the aquarium.  Luke is fond of telling us what goes on or what is allowed at his house--especially after he makes a request that isn't granted.  He also currently has at his house a car, monster truck, airplane and a very, very, very large boat.  Of course they are all green.

*No nap:  Luke is phasing out his nap :(  It's like a switch got flipped and he no longer wants/needs them. This makes me very sad for a couple of reasons.  For one it means he's growing up (which is good but it goes too fast).  And two, very selfishly, I don't have a break all day now.  Luke is currently napping about 2-3 days a week.  I'm trying for a nap on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule but that hasn't worked too well this week.  There are clearly some days he just needs some down time and others where he needs to nap.  Luke has also started staying up later which combined with no nap doesn't make sense but for him it's working.  He's going to bed about 9 but he's also sleeping until close to 9.  We tried making him go to bed earlier but he's just not tired enough and let's face it I am not going to complain about him sleeping until 9 in the morning especially with Hannah's lack of sleep lately.

*Storm:  We had a major hail storm last Tuesday night.  It was the biggest hail I've ever seen; the loudest too.  We had golf ball size or a slight bit larger.  It broke our skylight and ruined some of my plants.  But the worst and best part of it was that we now get a new roof.  We really needed a new roof so it worked out well for us.
*Bowling League:  We are in a bowling league with my dad and step-mom.  Only three of us bowl each week so Frankie and I alternate watching the kids.  It's fun and a great way for us to get out.  A couple of weeks ago my dad was sick so Frankie, Troy and I bowled and we had the kids there with us.  Luke was pretty upset that he wasn't able to bowl and so that weekend is when we took him bowling for the first time.  Each week since he has asked/begged/whined about going with us because he had so much fun.

*OK drawl:  Troy and I have been noticing Luke's Oklahoma drawl when he says certain words.  He is very good at drawing out his vowels and definitely has an accent.   One of the most notable and frequently heard is "Da-aa-ad."

*Bubble blowing:  Hannah is the best bubble blower I've ever met.  She blows so many bubbles she gives herself a bubble moustache.  Luke has started saying, "Mom she's getting another moustache."  It's so funny because he laughs almost uncontrollably when he watches her blowing bubbles.
*Schedule:  It's non-existent in our house.  BIG SIGH!!! Between Luke maybe napping and Hannah's completely unpredictable nap times, we're a mess.  I have had a hard time adjusting to this lack of schedule.  I like to know how our days are going to go (as much as you can with 2 young kids anyway) and right now I haven't a clue.  I keep telling myself that this is just a phase and in a year it won't be like this.  I just really hope that Hannah figures out a consistent sleep schedule soon.  She was awake two different times last night--2:30 and 5:15.  I haven't had a full  night's sleep in probably 3 weeks or more.

*Grown up:  Luke has been talking about what he wants to be when he grows up a lot lately.  Depending on the day you could get any number of answers.  It's been a toss up between a giraffe-T-rex (I have no idea), a cowboy or a professional golfer.  He seems most excited about the golfing.

*Rolling Over:  Last Saturday, June 2, Hannah started rolling over from her back to her tummy very consistently.  She will roll over almost instantly now when she's on her back.  Most often she gets upset that she's on her tummy and she hasn't figured out how to roll back over although I did see her do it once last week.  She does like that being on her tummy allows her to chew on different things though.  She especially likes the tags on her play-mat.

*Tooth:  Hannah's first tooth came in last Friday, June 8.  It was quite a process.  She had a very, very rough start to her week.  Sunday night through Wednesday early evening she was inexplicably fussy.  I suspected it was a tooth but there was no way to know for sure.  I'm so glad my mom was here because Hannah slept terribly which means that I did too.  Having my mom here made the days much easier and allowed me to rest.  I thought I saw a tooth when I fed Hannah her cereal at lunchtime on Friday but she wouldn't let me get a good look.  I finally was able to get a good peek Friday evening and her lower right central incisor (I had to look that up) is just barely visible.  I was so glad to have an explanation for the fussiness and to have my happy girl back--at least until the next one comes in.

*Toes:  Luke has become very adept at using his toes and feet to accomplish various tasks lately.  I think this is hilarious because I am pretty good at using my toes to do things too.  Luke figured it out all on his own though.  He loves to hold things in between his toes and walk around.  He is also good at picking things up with his toes like when we are picking up toys.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Pic Update

Another round of pictures showing our activities of late.  Enjoy!
May 22:  At the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa J.  Grandma and Hannah had fun watching Grandpa and Luke riding the carousel.
May 26:  Luke's first time bowling.  There will be more info about this in my next post.  He really had a good time.  Luke got a strike and managed to beat me in our second round.  His feet looked so cute in the bowling shoes :)
After bowling Grandma and Grandpa H took us out for dinner and ice cream.  Luke really enjoyed his dirt n' worms.
May 27:  Both children napping--unfortunately it wasn't at the same time.
May 28:  It has always been one of Luke's favorite things to mow with Dad.
May 28:  Memorial Day at Grandma and Grandpa's with Kristi and Wesley.  Luke and Wesley played in the pool for about 2 hours.  Hannah did NOT like the freezing cold water even a little bit.
 May 28:  Crashed out in the car on the way home.
May 29:  At the park with Grandma, Kristi and Wesley.  A rare pic of me with both kids :)