Where in the world is Hannah?: 9 month checkup

It is hard to believe, but our little Hannah is 9 months old! Her adjusted age is 6 months and she's doing awesome!

Hannah had her 9 month checkup on Monday. She was all smiles as long as I was holding her, but the moment I sat her on the table, things changed very quickly. She screamed at the top of her lungs. She did everything she could to get up and off that table. She didn't want anything to do with the nurse or the doctor. I was embarrassed, but her doctor assured me this was normal. Hannah recognizes strangers and prefers for me to hold her when she's uncomfortable. She was fine of course, there weren't even any tears. She just wanted everyone to know how she felt about the exam.

Hannah is now 16.7 pounds and 25.6 inches long. When she first came home from the hospital, she wasn't even on the growth chart for her age and now she's in the 13th percentile for her weight! Her doctor is thrilled with her growth. Her development is on track as well and she measures between her adjusted age and her actual age, which is awesome.

Hannah is very smart and she's super observant. She comes by that honestly. Quarter and I are both curious people and then there is her Aunt Brittney, who should totally be recruited by the FBI. Like Aunt Britt, Hannah needs to be aware of all conversations going on within her earshot.

Hannah is a busy little bee. She has tons of energy--especially now that we are on a better sleep schedule. She still enjoys jumping in her jumperoo. She also likes to play on the floor with her toys. She plays well alone, but she loves for mommy to join her. She's in the process of learning to crawl, but she's not afraid to use her mad rolling skills to get to her destination.

She also likes to go on walks around the neighborhood. She prefers to sit forward in her stroller, so she doesn't miss a thing. Sit forward, climb over the side...whatever you have to do to take it all in.

(I didn't strap her in because we were just hanging out on the porch, but after I saw what she could do, she had to get strapped in)

Hannah is learning to eat solids and drink from a cup. I now understand how bittersweet this is for moms. I would never want to hold Hannah back from developing as she should. In fact, I take my role as her first teacher very seriously. I want her to continue to grow and develop, but...I LOVE the baby stage--even with the lack of uninterrupted sleep. At the same time it's fun to watch her learn new things, but the time just goes so fast! 

Hannah truly is happy, healthy and whole. We couldn't ask for a better baby. We are so blessed.

  

52 Fridays: Self Portrait

So I'm joining my besties on a new weekly challenge. Every week there is a new theme that Hannah and I will explore and I'll document it here. This week the theme is self portrait. (by this week I mean the first week of January, because I'm a little behind...)

Hannah and I started by looking at a picture of Hannah. I watched to see if she recognized herself and how she reacted. I told her that it was a picture of her. I can't say if she recognized herself, but I know she recognized paper. She immediately wanted to put the picture in her mouth. She's at that age where she explores everything by taste. She's especially interested in the things mommy doesn't want her to taste.

Then we played in the mirror. I love to watch her look at herself in the mirror. She always gets this big smile on her face, like she's seeing a friend she hasn't seen in a while. She focuses more on herself when she can't also see me in the mirror. Otherwise, she focuses on me...or her daddy taking her picture. :)

Finally, we took a seat in our cozy glider and talked about her true identity according to Romans 8:16--she is a child of God. I explained that she has a mommy and daddy here on earth that love her very much, but her heavenly father loves her even more than we do.

Where In The World Is Hannah?: Date Night

When Quarter forwarded me an evite for a business dinner that we had been invited to, I immediately looked at the date (4.15.2011) and time (7:00 pm). And that's when my heart skipped a beat. I have been working really hard to get Hannah on a good, healthy sleep schedule. This could potentially be a challenge. In order for us to attend, I would have to get a sitter--no problem there, Mimi and Granddad are ALWAYS willing to spend time with Hannah. It was the time that was my issue. I knew the best option would be to let Hannah spend the night with them (gasp!). It occurred to me, that I could have them come to my house and put her to bed and then just hang out her until we got home, but that just seemed more inconvenient for them and after-all they are free labor, I try to treat them well. So I took a few breaths and I texted my mom to ask if she was available to sit overnight the next weekend. She immediately responded "yes!" From that point on my mind was constantly racing trying to think of every single thing I needed to do before that night. (I should pause her to introduce myself, "Hi my name is Brandy and I'm a Planner.")

Truth be told, busing my mind with planning helped me avoid the thought in the back of my mind that kept trying to creep to the front. This would be the first time, since Hannah came home for the hospital, that I wouldn't be there when she went to bed or when she woke up the next morning. I knew that wasn't a reason to panic, but I could feel that panic hanging close by in case I decided to let it have free reign. I kept  reminding myself that I could totally do this. This would be the first time, but not the last time. This is a big "first" for the whole family, but it's a good thing. I want Quarter and I to make a point of having more date nights and I want Hannah to get to go out and have different experiences. It was actually a blessing that I had just gotten her on a schedule, because it made it easier for us all, mostly Hannah, because she would still have that consistency. 

The day arrived and I had made both mental and physical lists of everything I can think of, all that was left to do was drop her off. As we drove to my parents house, we prayed. I prayed that Hannah would have a great time, that everything would go smoothly, I prayed for the strength and the peace to drop her off without tears. I know that she can sense when I'm not okay, so I made a point to get in a place of peace, so she would sense that peace and know that all was well. Plus she knows Mimi and Granddad, they aren't strangers. She knows that they love her very much. No worries there. I gave my parents all the "instructions" and I headed out to get ready for our night off.  

The dinner was nice, the food was yummy. I ate way too much. For some reason, when I get to eat a full meal uninterrupted, I eat as though it might be my last meal. I'm working on that. After dinner, we came home and watched a really good movie. After the movie, I caught myself reaching for the baby monitor to check on Hannah. I resisted the urge to keep calling my parents. I only called twice (on the way to dinner and after we got home). Quarter reminded me that this wasn't my parents' first rodeo and I reminded him that it was mine. My parents were great, they totally listened to all my instructions/requests. They said I could call as much as I wanted. They really helped put me at ease. 

Overall the weekend went really well. We had to sleep with white noise, because it was too quite without hearing Hannah sleeping on the monitor. We slept in on Saturday--well I forced myself to stay in the bed until 8. I can't say that I slept great, because my mind kept thinking about my baby girl and if there was anything I forgot to pack for her or if she missed me. It's amazing that I made it 10 1/2 weeks when she was in the NICU. Although, I didn't sleep great then either, plus I had no choice and that's where she needed to be at that time. Even then, I would call ALL the time and check on her. The nurses were so nice to me. They would totally chat it up with me at 2 in the morning. That made it easier for me to go back to sleep, knowing that she was okay. 

We couldn't wait to go get her on Saturday. We forced ourselves to run errands, and take advantage of being able to pop in and out of stores. It was great that Quarter took the whole weekend off and we got to hang out. We waited as long as we could and then we went and picked up our sweet girl. She had a great time. She was a good girl and she didn't give my parents any problems. She even got to play with Aunt Ashlie, who was home for a visit. I slept better Saturday night, but when Hannah woke up at 5:40am Sunday morning ready to eat, I voiced my regret at not sleeping in on Saturday.  Lesson learned... :)

all ready to go

in good hands with Mimi and Granddad

enjoying our dinner

watching tv with poppa on Sunday

Where in the world is Hannah?

Spring is finally here!! Yes, the wind is blowing like crazy and the allergens are no fun, but Hannah and I can finally come out and play! Praise. The. Lord. (from whom all blessing flow...) We made it through the winter and we are ready to venture out of the house. We've started with short trips to test the water. Hannah has done so well. She really enjoys the new sights and sounds. I thought it would be fun to do a weekly post about that week's adventure(s). I'll do my very best to stay on top of it, but I am making no promises. Other than to do my best.

We started this week by meeting friends for lunch at Olive Garden. Regrettably, I did not get a picture of the whole group. Sorry about that, I'm so used to only taking pictures of Hannah. I'll do better next time. We both had a great time. I was nervous about taking her to a public place, but she did awesome. So look out for us Owasso and maybe Tulsa on a good day. You won't be able to miss us, because Hannah doesn't mind speaking up and letting everyone know that we are there.

 Hannah wondering why this photographer's approach is so different than Mommy's

Hannah and Mommy have the photo shoot down to an art

 Mommy wasn't sharing any of her yummy food...at least not in solid form

back home and ready for a good nap

Sitting up like a big girl

Hannah is growing more each day. Since she was born, our prayer has been that she continues to grow in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52), and God continues to answer our prayers. Learning to sit up unassisted has given Hannah, and Mommy, a whole new level of independence. Not to mention a different perspective...