A letter to our precious five-month old

Dear Hannah,

I cannot believe that you are already five months old.  You continue to bring so much joy to our lives, and your father and I love watching you grow and change each day.

You were introduced to food during your fifth month.  After mastering rice cereal, you have moved on to green beans and peas.  Aunt Melissa gave us a baby food maker for Christmas, and has been nice enough to make your food thus far.  You really enjoy your vegetables, although some days more ends up on you than in you (see exhibits below).

You love your books and some of your toys, but your feet give you the most enjoyment of all.  You are so fascinated by them, you giggle at them and even put them in your mouth.

We practice rolling over daily, and you are getting closer, but you still can't quite figure out how to tuck your arm to do it completely on your own.  You get so frustrated during tummy time, and I jokingly tell you that if you don't like your circumstances, only you can change them.  But seriously, as soon as you learn to roll over, tummy time will end at your will.

You love to stand up and you cannot sit on your own yet, but you can get yourself into a sitting position from lying down.  Sadly, most of the time, you really hate being held like a baby.  You have your own ideas about where you want to be, and become so frustrated that you don't always have the means to get into the position you prefer.  We know that in a few months you will be all over the place.

You are such a beautiful baby girl and you are so blessed to be loved so much by so many.

Love,
Mommy

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas was magical.  Pictures speak louder than words (yes, this is a total cop out as I don't have the energy to write).

The Best Day

Dear Hannah,

A year ago today, your father and I learned of your impending arrival.  One day your math reasoning skills will lead you to deduce that your conception came as a surprise to us, and I already think often about what I will say to you at that time. 

A year ago today, your dad held me as I cried, both of us so afraid and so overwhelmed, and he promised me that in a year we would look back and that day would seem like the best day.  He was so right.
 
A year ago today, I felt confident that you would be accepted and loved, but dreaded the pain and disappointment that would inevitably accompany our announcement.  Today you are loved so much by so many and your father and I have been supported and lifted up over the last year, especially by your grandparents.

A year ago today, I prayed that your father and I would be able to create a loving home for you and that you would be born to married, stable and joyful parents.  Thus far, God's response to that prayer has surpassed my highest hopes and expectations.

You have been the surprise of our lives.  Each morning when I walk into your nursery and see your smiling face expectantly looking up at me and each night when I check on you peacefully sleeping in your crib and then crawl into bed with your dad, I thank God for having a divine plan for my life that is vastly superior to any plans I could have made on my own.

Love,
Mommy

Meal time just got a whole lot messier

This week has been crazy, but I want to post the video below from last Saturday.  Hannah ate rice cereal for the first time.  She seems to like it a little bit more each day; while I like it a little bit less each day.  We have entered a new, very messy phase.  She is only eating cereal once a day right now, but she pretty much needs a bath immediately after each serving.  I have not had time to figure out how our flip video camera works, so I am just posting the link to the video here:

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/96aa30b68cb55f2b58b82bee8e50a304/video/35222481

Four Months Old and Thanksgiving Recap

Hannah turned four months old yesterday.  Of course, we celebrated with a doctor's appointment, complete with her second round of shots.  She weighed 14 lbs. 7 oz. (about the 65th percentile) and measured 26 inches tall (97th percentile).  This didn't really surprise me, since she is already wearing a lot of 6-9 month clothes.  The doctor said everything looks great, except that she is not really rolling over and should be.  Hannah is not the biggest fan of tummy time, but quite a bit more of it awaits her, per Dr. Hoefner's orders.  We will also be starting rice cereal this weekend.



Waiting to see Dr. Hoefner



Recovering from shots

I got out her exersaucer yesterday morning, thinking she would probably still be too small for it, but she loved it.  It is nice to have a new place to plop her down in the hallway while I get ready for work in the mornings, as I think she was starting to get bored with her bouncer.  I am just amazed at how much it seems like she is changing every day.  She is constantly finding new sounds to entertain us with and is becoming increasingly coordinated.  Last night at dinner she knocked my water over when she reached for and successfully grabbed the straw out of my glass.  Then this morning she held her bottle by herself for almost half of her feeding.

Playing in the exersaucer



I have not had a chance to post since the Thanksgiving break, but we had a wonderful holiday traveling all over West Texas.  Hannah did great on the flights again, and we enjoyed seeing and introducing Hannah to more relatives on both sides of the family.  We spent a few nights in Midland, enjoyed Thanksgiving in San Angelo with Tanner's family and then Tanner and I spent our first night away from Hannah in Lubbock for the Tech-UofH football game while Hannah stayed with my parents.  As much fun as all of our November travels have been, we are looking forward to spending December in Houston until we head to Midland for Christmas.

Hannah and Dad on Thanksgiving in San Angelo

Meeting Mollie Manulik

Crazy hair during bath time in Midland

Talking to Nana

Playing with Lucas and Landry

Sitting on Santa's lap







Miss Hannah goes to Washington

I had a board meeting in DC on Friday, so Tanner and Hannah came along and we spent the weekend.  We had such a wonderful time enjoying the city and catching up with friends we do not see as often as we would like.  I love the fall, as I told Tanner about a hundred times over the course of the weekend, no exaggeration.  We were so, so lucky with the weather; it was absolutely gorgeous.

On Friday after my meeting, we walked to the White House, stopped for a drink at the bar at the top of the W and walked over to the mall.  We had dinner at the Georgetown waterfront with Tommy and Catherine.

Hannah's second White House visit (GrandJackie took her in September)

View from the W bar

Saturday morning, we had brunch with Emily in Georgetown then hit the Natural History and American History museums.  I cannot wait to take Hannah back when she will be able to appreciate all the life-size animal replicas, cool cars and trains and fun kids' activities that the Smithsonian has to offer.  But this Saturday, she was a great sport while Mom, Dad and Emily took it all in.

With Emily in front of Julia Child's kitchen

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Trying to check out the giraffe at the Museum of Natural History

All bundled up for dinner Saturday night, even though it wasn't that cold.

Sunday morning I woke up early and took Hannah for a long walk while Tanner slept in a little bit.  We walked through Georgetown and across the Key Bridge to Virginia.  Did I mention that I love the fall?

 

View from the Key Bridge


Tanner and Emily met Hannah and me at an amazing Spanish restaurant in Georgetown for brunch, and then we headed back to the hotel to pack and fly home.

Hannah, when you read this years from now, remind your father and I how lucky we were to have such an amazing baby.  You slept and played through two 2.5+ hour-long adult dinners, you happily rode in your stroller all over DC for hours each day, you slept nine hours straight three nights in a row in a foreign, hotel-supplied crib and you were as well-behaved on your tenth and eleventh airplane rides as you had been on your previous nine.  You even entertained Mommy and Daddy endlessly as you literally found your voice this weekend, precious girl.  Your Dad and I laughed and laughed as you practiced your newly discovered vowel sounds, repeatedly and as loudly as possible.  Sorry for stuffing the pacifier in your mouth a few times on the airplane ride home, we were concerned the surrounding passengers might not find your vocals so resonant.  You have brought so much joy to our lives, and we loved our first true family vacation with you.