The Johnson Journal: 8 Months Old

Hannah is 8 months old today! This has been a very busy month. Just as predicted, she is into everything! Her personality continues to reveal itself which is great fun. New traits or maybe ones I haven't mentioned before include determination, a very strong mind of her own, and a silly quirkiness.

*Schedule: Again not much change from last month. 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 although this nap is sometimes her long nap of the day now and can be 2+ hours; eat lunch when that nap is over; nurse again sometime between 2 and 3 depending on the morning nap and then another nap--this nap varies greatly in length again depending on the morning--sometimes it's very short, 30 minutes, and sometimes quite long, over 2 hours; she will nurse once before dinner ususally around 5-5:30; we all eat dinner together between 6-6:30; she nurses again around 8 and takes about a 30 minute nap (I've tried so hard to cut this nap out but it just doesn't work.); then she's ready for her final feeding somewhere between 10 and 11 and then it's off to bed. This past month she has been waking up around 1 am about 2-3 nights a week. Sometimes she cries herself back to sleep and sometimes I get up and feed her again.

*Stats: She was 18 lb 3 oz and 27 inches long at her 6 month check-up. This put her in the 75-90% for height and 90-95% for weight. I just weighed and measured her this morning. According to my scale she weighs right at 20 pounds and is between 28-29 inches long. She is now wearing all 9 month size clothes. All of the 6 month stuff is put away. Pajamas are now 12 month size and the brands that run small are starting to get tight. Her hair is continuing to get longer although we still get many comments about her lack of hair. It is still very light in color and sometimes there is a hint of red. Her eyes are still blue.

*Food: Hannah is still really enjoying solid food and she has solid meals twice a day--stage 2 foods. About 3 weeks ago she started eating puffs and about 1 week ago she started eating yogurt melts; she LOVES both of them. Last Sunday I tried giving her very soft pieces of banana expecting her to really like it--not so much. I don't think she liked the texture much. I am still predicting that Hannah will be a much more adventurous eater than Luke. I don't think it will be too long before she's eating real foods.

*Activities: Hannah's favorite activity is still exploring. Crawling has definitely opened a new world for her and she is not afraid to try anything. Hannah is way more inquisitive/adventurous than Luke ever was--she knows where all the cords are in the family room--sigh; she loves, and I mean loves, crawling on the bottom shelf of the coffee table; she loves to escape and see how far she can go before we reign her back. Thankfully independent play has become more dominant although at night she still likes to have Troy or I on the floor with her. A new funny development--fake coughing--it's really so cute and I think Hannah knows she gets attention when she does it. Another very fun new activity is giving kisses, open-mouthed, slobbery kisses--it's the sweetest! Hannah is now reaching to be held and responding immediately to her name. The exersaucer has become more of a containment device if I need to be out of the room for an extended time period rather than a place to play. Hannah is also having great fun interacting more with Luke. A recent favorite is Luke building towers for her to knock over.

*Mobility: So not only is Hannah crawling everywhere she is now pulling up to standing. Troy and I were talking the other night and decided she will be walking within two months--right around the time Luke started crawling. Their differences amaze me! One similarity they share is the speed they both have/had when crawling. Hannah is pretty much comfortable with all the new stuff she's learned but she has yet to figure out how to sit down once she's pulled up. It makes her so frustrated. She screams at the top of her lungs until someone helps her sit back down.

*Favorites: I continue to be Hannah's favorite person but she has a smile for anyone that says hello or interacts with her. Her seperation anxiety has improved a bit but she is still wary in front of people she doesn't know. Other favorites: a new shape sorting toy that sings songs; cups; any sort of tag (this has always been a favorite); banging toys together; blowing bubbles and sticking her tongue out (she recently found it); and pretty much any toy that makes some sort of noise. Maggie is also a new fascination since Hannah can crawl to her--poor Maggie though because Hannah likes to pull her hair. Luke is also a huge favorite and she likes to play peek-a-boo especially with Troy as they crawl around the couch. One other favorite I've noticed since she's no longer sleeping in her bouncer is her sleeping position--on her tummy with her knees tucked under her so her butt is straight up in the air. It's SO cute.

*Noises/Talking: Of course Hannah still isn't saying any words although more people have heard her say "momma" and are pretty convinced she knows what she's saying. Hannah's range of noises is super impressive. She is still constantly jabbering and in general just making different noises. My favorite would have to be, "Ahh, ba." She repeats that over and over and over.

*Events: This last month we enjoyed a few more days of just mom and Hannah time--we did some shopping, figured out pulling up to her knees and then standing, learned how to give kisses, rode in a swing for the first time and started eating some more solid foods. Hannah enjoyed our trip to Uncle Todd's and Aunt Georgia's--especially the swimming pool. The next month we have our family vacation scheduled and Luke will start preschool so more time with just mom.

Another quick note for this month--Hannah's nicknames: Hannahbean, Hannah banana, Miss Hannah, Beautiful, Squeak