1 Year Old

Hannah was a year old on the 22nd.  I knew this post would be late--December was crazy for us.  It's cliche to say but this year went by SO fast.  I have been remembering last year a bunch the last week or so; I wouldn't trade those first days with Hannah for anything but I am glad we are a year away from them as well.  As this post is a bit late, it will be from current day and it does matter because we've had some changes since her birthday.  

*Schedule: Only a few changes to Hannah's schedule this past month.  During the week I wake her up about 8 and on the weekends she is up by 9 at the latest.  She eats breakfast right after getting up.  If we are home, she'll take a nap around 10-10:30 for about an hour or slightly longer.  She'll have a small bottle before this nap.  If we are out running errands she usually takes a nap in the car.  Hannah takes her second nap of the day starting around 1:30-2 and also has a small bottle before this nap as well.  This nap has started to vary greatly in length--anywhere from an hour to 2+ hours.  We try to eat dinner around 6:15.  She has her final bottle of the day about 8 and then it's off to bed.  I am thrilled that bed time is finally the same as Luke's.   

*Stats: Hannah was 23 lbs 7.5 oz and 31.5 inches long on her birthday (we were at urgent care on her birthday--see below for more details on that).  She is now wearing all 12 month clothes and some of them are getting tight.  Pajamas are 18  month size.  I'm happy to say that it seems her hair is starting to come in more now and it actually looks like she has some.  It is still very light in color and sometimes there is a hint of red.  Her eyes are still blue and we're thinking they might stay blue since there hasn't been any change in them yet.  Hannah now has 9 teeth.  Her bottom, left molar came in about 2 weeks ago.

*Food: Hannah loves to eat!  Thankfully this has not changed.  I have yet to find anything that she won't eat.  In fact, she most often eats more than Luke does.  Her favorite foods are spaghetti, cheese and fruit especially blueberries.  Hannah nursed for the last time on December 13.  We were down to only two short feedings a day and then she started refusing me.  I wasn't quite ready for her to be done but it was a very easy transition for both of us and for that I am very grateful.  She has started drinking whole milk with each meal and also as a snack before dinner.  It was no surprise that she loved it right away and we've had no trouble with that transition.  We are working on phasing out the 3 bottles she has a day.

*Activities: Hannah is in constant motion and into everything.  She loves to play peek-a-boo and chase Luke around.  Most of Hannah's activities involve noise/music/singing of some sort.  She prefers to play with toys that make noise and will create her own if necessary.

*Mobility:  Hannah is still not walking.  On December 24 she took two steps by herself between Troy and I but she hasn't had any repeats since then.  Again I'm in no rush for her to walk but I'm surprised she hasn't started yet.  Her favorite way to get around is to walk on her knees.  I've never seen a baby "walk" like it before.  Her poor knees are both covered with calluses because she does it so often.  Hannah is also a super speedy crawler and I've had several comments to that affect lately.   I haven't mentioned it before but Hannah loves to go up stairs.  She gets quite upset if she isn't allowed to go all the way to the top of a staircase.  

*Favorites: Hannah is still a big time momma's girl and I have a feeling we're entering the seperation anxiety phase.  Hannah really loves music and singing.  One sure way to calm her in the car is for Luke to sing Frere Jacques.  Other favorites:  eating, feeding herself, putting items into and pulling them out of a container, her new chair she got for her birthday and just moving in general.  

*Noises/Talking:  Hannah now has recognizable words for Mama, Dada, doggie (da), kitty (also da but said in a different way), brother (bra), thank you (than u), please (pe), bottle/cup (ba).  She also has a sound for hi--it's a squeak that imitates the low to high pitch you hear when you say hi.  Troy and I also believe that when she sings she is singing Frere Jacques.

*Events: This past month has included all of the Christmas activities--getting and putting up the tree; visiting Santa; and of course opening presents.  We had Hannah's birthday party on the 15th which was a big success.  On her actual birthday which was a Saturday, I had to take her to urgent care because she had been up all night coughing and wheezing.  Turns out she had croup--not the best birthday present.  I plan to do another post about her actual birthday and what we did to celebrate the day.  We were at home on Christmas day and then traveled to Topeka and KC from the 26-30.

December Daily: 12-18, 12-19 & 12-20

December 18: Troy's birthday; his request for the evening--ordering pizza, having a picnic, watching a movie and having some ice cream cake.  Easy enough.  Troy picked up the pizza on his way home from work and he and Luke had a picnic in the family room while Hannah and I were in the kitchen.  We watched "The Polar Express" which is such a good movie.  We paused the movie a few times for presents and then again for ice cream cake.  Troy said it was a great birthday celebration.

Hannah and I also picked up Troy for a birthday lunch out.  Hannah loves hanging out with Daddy.

December 19: I'm sure most of you have heard of the Elf on the Shelf.  Our elf's name is Doby.  He has really been mischievious this year.  Luke is always anxious to see what Doby has been up to when he gets out of bed every morning.

December 20: Yesterday I officially finished my Christmas shopping.  Hooray!!!  Now I just need to get everything wrapped--I would gladly accept volunteers for this job.

December Daily: 12-14, 12-15, 12-16 & 12-17

December 14: Troy and I went to his work Christmas party.  We really had a great time.  It was at a different location with different food this year which was definitely a nice change.  Troy and I enjoyed talking with a bunch of his co-workers.  We even joined some of them at a bar for a drink after the party was over.  Troy and I couldn't remember the last time we had been in a bar together.

December 15: We had Hannah's birthday party in the afternoon and then Saturday night we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner with Grammy, PawPaw, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, Uncle Todd and Aunt Georgia.  Hannah finished opening the rest of her gifts after dinner.  The kids then went to bed early as it was a big day for both of them.

 December 16: Luke requested to make sugar cookies with Grammy while she was here.  So Sunday afternoon while Hannah was napping they made some.  Luke was really into using the cookie cutters for about 10 minutes and then he wanted me to finish that part so he could decorate the cookies with Grammy.  I'm not sure if there were more sprinkles on the cookies or the floor :)

 Hannah got to have her first taste of cookie when she woke up--she definitely enjoyed it.

December 17:  This event actually happened on the 16th but I'm stretching it to the 17th.  After lunch, Troy, Luke and PawPaw went to the driving range for a while.  Luke absolutely loves going with Troy and this was the first time PawPaw was able to go with them.  They all had a great time although I guess it was a smidge bit chilly.

Birthday Party

We celebrated Hannah's birthday on Saturday.  It was a week early but flexibility is needed when your birthday is only 3 days from Christmas.  I had a great time planning and preparing for everything.  "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was the theme and it was so fun and easy to work with.  

I really think Hannah understood that the party was for her.  She had a great time chasing the older kids around, posing for pictures, opening her presents and of course getting her first taste of cake.  The cake eating will definitely be the most memorable part of the day or maybe the aftermath of it.  Her smash cake was a butterfly with red icing.  Let's just say she did not enjoy her spur of the moment sink bath to get clean.  Aunt Kristi did do a fantastic job making both cakes and maybe enjoyed a chuckle or two about the red frosting.

And now for the pictures!  You should know that there are a lot of them--I couldn't pick only a few.  Enjoy--we sure did :)

December Daily: 12-8, 12-9 & 12-10

December 8:  This was a much needed family day at home.  I did make a quick, well not really quick because it was Saturday, trip to Target for some things (I would like to know how a few things ends up being over $200 and no I didn't buy anything we didn't need) but the rest of the day was just the 4 of us chillin'.  My favorite part of this day: listening to Troy and Luke talking and laughing as they built a new train track.  They have so much fun together; it truly warms my heart to hear them together.

December 9:  The Jacquie Lawson advent calendar is another Christmas tradition in our house.  We are in our 3rd year with this one.  I know this one will last because Luke talks about it all through the year.  It's the computer advent calendar that Grammy sends to Luke.  It is an interactive calendar with animals, bears, trains, and other very fun things.  Luke loves to look at it every day and most often goes through all the days again.  He also loves to sing along as most days have familiar Christmas songs associated with them.  

December 10:  I have to say that tonight was one of the best nights our family of 4 has had together in a while.  The kids and I picked Troy up from work early and we headed downtown to Bass Pro so the kids could see/talk to Santa.  We only waited about 15 minutes for our turn.  Luke walked right up to Santa; Troy put Hannah in his lap; we took some pictures; Luke told Santa he wanted the Lego Gold Mine; Luke got a candy cane and we were done.  We did walk around a bit and then we headed to dinner.  

I convinced Luke that we should go out for pizza at Upper Crust.  It was a great dinner; both kids were in great moods and we had super yummy food.  It was Hannah's first time eating pizza.  No surprise--she loved it.  I think she probably ate an entire slice except for the crust.  I like the idea of making a pizza dinner out after a Santa visit a tradition.  We'll see I guess.

December Daily: 12-6 & 12-7

December 6:  We have started a new tradition this year.  I'll have to admit it's another idea from Pinterest but a really fun one.  Before the month started, I wrapped 24 Christmas/winter themed books for the kids.  Each night before bed we unwrap a book and read it.  It's another way for Luke to count down the days and it's something that Hannah can also enjoy (she's very slowly learning how to listen to a whole book).  

December 7:  Friday was a pj day at our house.  We LOVE having pj days--especially Luke.  It's been quite a while since we've had one but I wasn't feeling good and it was cold and cloudy outside so it was the perfect day to stay inside with our fuzzy, warm pj's on.  

Luke and I did decorate our gingerbread house while Hannah was napping so we did accomplish something at least.  Last year Luke and I decorated graham cracker houses I put together (it was one of the last special activities we did together before Hannah was born--a memory I'll always cherish).  This year we have a plastic house that Grammy got for us that it super easy.  All you have to do is snap the pieces together and put the icing and candy on.  It's worry-free and very fun!  Luke did a great job decorating.

December Daily: 12-4 & 12-5

December 4:  We finally decorated the Christmas tree last night.  This is by far my most favorite activity of the holiday season.  I love having the Christmas music on in the background and reminicing about all of our different ornaments and spending time together as a family.  

Both kids were in their pj's for the event.  For some reason that really struck me and I love that that's how it worked out--maybe an innocence factor to it all.  Of course Hannah wanted to eat the ornaments which was a challenge but we managed.  Luke was super into hanging ornaments this year--he really got into it which was so much fun to watch.  He even put the angel on top of the year.

December 5:  As I've mentioned numerous times, I'm addicted to Pinterest.  Well, I have seen numerous different ideas for decorating styrofoam trees.  My plan was to work on some about 3 weeks ago--I finally got a chance to work on some today.  Hannah was napping after lunch and Luke was at school so I took an hour and worked on 4 different trees.  I haven't taken any pictures of them but I will at some point.  I really had a lot of fun outside of the fact that I now have a blister on my thumb from the hot glue I was using.