These Days...

Life these days...

Life with a 3 month old..

Felix now goes to bed early! He likes to be in bed by 7pm or he will start to get fussy. This is new within the last 3 weeks or so. I don't remember when we had to get a child in bed by 7! But I must admit I kind of like the freedom we have in the evenings. He is typically getting up once around 3am. He is just so smiley and lovable.. We can't get enough of Felix.

Life with a 29 month old... (almost 2 1/2!)

Hattie is a little fireball. I never know what she will say. One moment she's a kitty.. the next she's a baby... She has her Daddy (puppy) wrapped around her little finger. Each morning she has to have "two toasts". She loves watching Umi Zoomi. Hattie is very loving to Emmett and Felix. Although she did step on Felix the other day.. which might have been on purpose. She's happy happy happy almost all the time and literally does not stop talking unless she is watching Umi Zoomi! She goes to bed around 7:30pm and we are careful not to go too far past that or she will get over-tired and sometimes throw a tantrum. As she says "I threw a fit!". Luckily those are getting to be few and far between. We love our little chattie Hattie.. or Had! :)

Life with a 49 month old.. (Ha! just over 4!)

Emmett is sweet. He has finally learned that when we put him to bed he needs to stay there. He does a great job with that especially at night and goes to bed around 8:30. He's reading longer books. He's going to the bathroom all by himself (sometimes). He calls his sister "Had". If anyone else tried it I don't think I'd be too pleased, but coming from Emmett it might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard. He talks nonsense sometimes and thinks he's funny! He makes up words and then says - That's why. He's testing us each day by seeing what he can and cannot get away with but at the end of the day he just wants to be loved. And we do love him so much!

Hattie - 2 years old

My baby girl turned two on January 30th 2015. There's so much to say about this spunky little girl it's hard to know where to start.

Dear Hattie,

At two years old you are so much more than I could have ever imagined. You have always been ahead of the curve. I've never worried about your development. You always have something to say these days. You tell stories. Some of your favorite stories that you tell over and over that Daddy and I would like to remember include: the time you rode the camel with Daddy at the zoo, that there are "no ghosts in here", or "shhh.. the ghosts are sleeping", "I was crying on santa's lap. I wanted Mama.", "Andreas took Emmett's cup.. at daycare", "We don't pull hair", etc. You always seem to know what is going on and what we are talking about. You are very aware at the mere age of two! You can count past ten but for some reason like to shout out the number 11 and stop. I'm not sure how high you can actually count! :) You are learning your letters like crazy - which I cannot believe. You know H for Hattie, D for Daddy, G Grandma, E for Emmett, X, U, W (which seems to be your favorite letter although we don't know why!), O, I, F for Felix and Papa Frank, etc. I think smart would be an understatement. You know that your birthday is January 30th and that you are now 2. You can also tell us what month each of us were born as well. You know what Mommy and Daddy's real names our as well as your first, middle, & last name.

You can be very particular about certain things. If you are tired and something doesn't go your way (Mommy tries to dry you off with the minion towel instead of the monster towel after bedtime for example) you can throw a fit that lasts a good while. We often make you go to time out until you calm down. Then you are comforted with some hugs from Mama, your white blankie, and your water. Your favorite stuffed animals are your monkeys - "Ooh Hoo" and your newest monkey named "Baby Monkey" that you got from Lucy at daycare for your birthday. Lucy also shares the same birthday as you and has a special place in your heart as does Jessica as well.

You have really developed a love of books over the last 6 months of so. Some of your favorites include "Hooper Humperdink, Not Him", "The Napping House", "I wish that I had Duck Feet", "Elmo & Friends Look & Find", "The Christmas Story" - which you refer to as the purple Jesus book, "Silly Sally", "Baby Dear", and many others.

Your favorite toys/activities include the Elsa doll you got from Christmas, Minnie's bow show figurines with outfits you can change, play food, coloring - and we have caught you coloring on the floor and wall at least 3 times now (which really makes Daddy mad!), as well as dress up clothes. You play with Emmett's toys too - cars, trains, etc you name it! You always ask us before getting into something "Can I play doctor?". :)

Favorite foods include macaroni & cheese, hot dogs, carrots & ranch dressing as well as lettuce & ranch dressing, breakfast foods like scrambled eggs, cinnamon raisin toast, and cereal. You really struggle with a lot of fruits and vegetables but we keep giving them to you anyway! Broccoli is typically something you will eat as well as apples, oranges, bananas, sometimes grapes, and cantalope.

At bedtime you like to have us sing you several songs. Mommy usually sings "Twinkle Twinkle", "Are you Sleeping" and "Brahms Lullaby". If you are really tired you are asleep by the time I finish singing. Sometimes you will tease me and say "No songs" (typically when you are tired). And then as soon as I close your door you cry and say "songs Mommy!".

Some of your favorite games include pretending to be a ghost with a blanket over your head. Running around with Emmett and hiding from Mom and Dad upstairs - which usually happens before bath time, and pretending that Daddy is a puppy. Sometimes you won't give Daddy a kiss, but you are willing to give the puppy a kiss! You like it when Daddy puts you up on his shoulders as well as flips you over on to the bed. Although it makes Mommy nervous. You are a little daredevil! You have never been afraid of slides or anything else really for that matter.

For your birthday this year we went to Omaha to the children's museum. January 30th was on a Friday so we took the day off of work. You and Emmett really had fun. There were so many great things for little people to play with. We let you ride the carousel 3 times and you would have ridden several more if we had let you. You both enjoyed riding the little train they have there as well. I think the carousel was your favorite part. You really liked "riding the horsey".

We love you so much Hattie! You are the sweetest and spunkiest little girl that I know. You are Mama's girl and always will be (I can hope, right?)! You are such a joy and I am so happy that you are a part of our family. We love you forever Hattie Jeanne!

Mommy, Daddy, Emmett & Baby Felix

Update...Hattie Jeanne

Hello blog.

There are many updates to be shared but I will start with my precious little Hattie Jeanne. Hattie turned 16 months on May 30th 2014. This time with her has really flown by. She is a joy at this age but she's really starting to test her limits. She's always looking for some attention and a reaction from Mom & Dad. Her newest trick is climbing onto the couch or chair and then she jumps up and down and looks at us for our reaction. There were a few times I didn't notice she climbed up so she yelled for my reaction. I'm guessing Daddy or I might have laughed/smiled the first few times we saw her do it.. and now we're in real trouble and trying to correct ourselves to let her know that is not ok!

She now walks up and down the stairs. She has the potential to do it on her own but so far we are always right there making sure she has a hand to hold. 

Hattie's vocabulary is expanding by the minute. She likes to greet us with "Hi Daddy" and "Hi Mommy" and then smiles. :) Some new words that come to mind are pizza, George (Curious George), Open (sounds like apple), thank you, ME!!, etc. She started saying "Hattie" at 15 months but has been saying Emmett for many months now.

She has started to sing. Her debut song was "Let it Go" from the movie Frozen. It's no wonder this is the first song she's sang since it is so popular. Emmett's first song was "Twinkle Twinkle" and we probably didn't even let him watch TV at her age.. 

She has a new affectionate nickname for her binky - it's her "Di-di". She's becoming quite attached to her precious di-di too.. She has started to ask for it at very inconvenient times like in the middle of supper. We are trying to wean her from it and only allowing it at nap and night time for now.

Hattie is into playing with puzzles and bubbles. She really likes her new swing set and points to her swings and says "Whee!" She also goes down the slide and likes to climb back up. 

Her hair is finally long enough to be put into a pony tail (with a portion of it) or piggy tails. It is styled in a bit of a mullett right now but I plan to change that once her sides and front grow out a little more so she won't look like a boy when we do cut it. She already seems to like bows and bracelets etc. 

At her 15 month appointment she weighed in at 24 pounds even and was 33 inches. She is still at the top of the charts for height.

Her stranger anxiety continues as well. It is considerably better than before. However, places like doctor's offices or portrait studios are places she would rather not be. Especially if someone she doesn't know might try to talk to her or touch her. Oh Hattie.. :)

She and Emmett really don't get along all that great. They have good moments. And bad moments. But they are always keeping tabs on each other. If Emmett isn't sitting in his chair for a snack or meal with her she points to his chair and says "Emmett?" When Emmett woke up in the middle of the night last night (very rare and he actually stayed home sick with an upset stomach today) he said - "Is Hattie awake?" Obviously not, it's the middle of the night! But, they are always thinking about each other. Two peas in a pod. Two peas in a pod who sometimes hit or push the other pea. But they always say "Sorry". :)

Caught!

I'm a little behind here so these pictures were taken March 1st. This little girl is everywhere. Climbing, running, you name it! She'd like to be able to climb up on the couch or the bed but isn't quite there yet. She stands up on stools and is impressively learning to listen to Mom & Dad when they say no standing on chairs or beds.

 She is a sweet little stinker. We have been busy loving on her and her brother!

Hattie Turns 1!

I can hardly believe that our baby girl is a 1 year old. She is a toddler. She is a wild, loving, and sweet little girl. :) We have enjoyed celebrating her birthday with her which that and our busy life have kept me from posting this most important update.

• Hattie has all eight incisor teeth - four on the top and four on the bottom. I also noticed just today that her top molars are starting to come through. 
• Her favorite food is cottage cheese these days she eats it by the handfuls.
• She says "Ma-ma" all the time and tells us when she is ready to go "Ni-night".
• Hattie is starting to say a lot of new words including book, Elmo (Melmo), quack quack, ball, basketball (b-ball), yeah, yay, etc.
• When we ask if she wants to go to the basement she walks over and starts tapping on the door to go downstairs.
• Walking is definitely her made mode of transportation at this time and has been for several weeks.
• We were attempting to get her 1 year pictures taken about two weeks ago and the poor girl hit her head on the window sill. She went to put her hand on it, missed it and fell forward into the edge and hit between her eyes. Mommy might have panicked slightly. We went to the doctor, she got some glue on a cut on the outside corner of her eye, and was deemed to be ok. :)
• Hattie likes to cuddle and be held by her Mom and Dad.
• She is still a little anxious around people she is unfamiliar with.
• Hattie is enjoying books a lot more these days and wants to read them with us all the time now. Her attention span has greatly improved. 

Remember what the second year was like with Emmett makes me look forward to everything we are going to experience with Hattie over this next year. She is going to learn so much. It will be so fun to see. She is my sweet little Mama's girl and we are enjoying her so much at one year old.

Our Little Walker

Hattie is 11 Months!

• We have a little walker on our hands! Hattie started walking in about the middle of December at 10 1/2 months. While it still isn't her preferred mode of transportation, she is getting there. She stands alone for long periods of time in the middle of the room, has been cruising for quite some time and will take possibly up to 7 steps between us or starting from standing in the middle of the room. If I just would keep walking away from her she might go longer, but she knows I am going to catch her so she just collapses! It's adorable. :)
• Hattie celebrated her first Christmas recently. She truly handled traveling really well. What I am most thankful for is that she has remained very healthy. She doesn't sleep very well away from home, but what 11 month old does?
• She has two new teeth. On December 4th her bottom right lateral incisor finally came through to even things out on the bottom (she had 3 teeth for about a month, they usually come in pairs!). Then on December 14th I noticed another tooth! It is the upper right lateral incisor. Odd! The first time I saw it she happened to be eating some cottage cheese (favorite food!) at her great grandma's 95th birthday party and I thought that could not possibly be a new tooth... However, on our way to Grandma Nelson's house afterwards I was glancing through some pictures and noticed it again on a picture from the night before where she had a huge smile. So, I'm not sure exactly when it came in but it was there by December 13th. That explains her increased night-waking! The other 3 are close, but nothing yet. Rustin has started to call it her "snaggle-tooth" as it grows in more and more. In an affectionate manner, of course!
• Her vocabulary is increasing and she now says "Go!" when Rustin encourages her to say "Go Hawks!". Of course that would be one of her first words... She is also increasingly vocal about letting us know what she wants. When she sees the cottage cheese container she then grunts and points until we give some to her. Crazy girl. She knows what she wants. :)
• Hattie is also able to communicate what she needs better through her actions recently. She will grab her sleep sack when ready for "ni-night" or cuddle down on the ground like she is going to bed. She also stands up by her height chair and taps on it when she is ready to eat.
• Some of her new tricks are blowing kisses. She puts the back of her hand in her mouth and says "mwah!". She tends to do this when we tell her to say ni-night to Emmett or Daddy etc. Hattie also enjoys saying cheers with her sippy cup at dinner. She smiles and laughs and holds her glass up to us. Sweet girl.
• Hattie has started to be a little bit rebellious. I have found that if Mommy tells her No to something - such as when she heads to climb up the stairs from the basement on her own, she obeys. However, Daddy tells her No and smiles and laughs and then she does not obey him. Unfortunately I think he's taught her it's ok to stand up on Emmett's little brown rocker because of that! It's not ok little girl. :) She will learn in due time.. She has him wrapped around her little finger already...

This stage is the best I must say. She is learning so much and is sweet and snuggly. Her separation anxiety has gotten better within the last month so that is a little bit of a relief. We are really enjoying this stage. She is easy to take care of and showing so much personality.

Hattie is 10 Months

Hattie Jeanne is such a joy at 10 months old!

• She pulls herself up to standing on anything she can get her hands on.
• She crawls all over the place.
• Hattie is also cruising along our couches, coffee table, etc. She can also stand on her own for a few seconds at a time.
• She is slightly obsessed with her Mama! She will crawl to me and tap on my legs to be lifted up. She also has separation anxiety and is uneasy around people she isn't familiar with. She still enjoys Jessica & Lucy at Dragontots.
• She says "Uh oh", "Mama", and "Ni-Ni". She can also nod yes and shake her head no.
• Hattie can clap her hands and loves to play pat a cake and "so big!" It's also been reported to us that she can blow kisses.
• She likes to play with Emmett's play food including chewing on the bologna, lettuce and burger patties. Our remote control is another favorite "toy".
• Hattie enjoys playing with Emmett and they like to chase each other around.
• She gets very excited when reading books and likes to hit, grab and try to chew on them.
• She is now eating all finger foods - no more baby food. She still drinks her milk/nurses about 5 times per day. She enjoys eating just about everything. One of her favorites are Gerber "lil crunchies".
• Hattie now has 4 teeth. For the longest time we have been wondering where her 4th tooth was as she has had 3 bottom teeth only since October 16th. Her 4th bottom tooth (lower left) finally popped through on December 4th.
• She likes to grab our faces and glasses. We have noticed she is quite touchy. She tries to touch Emmett's hair, especially when they are in the bathtub!
• Hattie is a little dancer. She likes it when we sing to her or when music is playing. One of her favorite toys is a toy Emmett loved as well - the Fisher Price Musical Walker.
• She can walk with the wagon but we haven't practiced as much as we probably should.
• We think she will be very close to walking soon - probably around a year old.

Hattie is a great little girl. She is more vocal and opinionated these days. She is becoming so independent. Looking back it feels like she wasn't even a baby for very long! We are really enjoying this age - especially seeing them start to play together and enjoy spending time with each other.

Hattie Walking with the Wagon

It is crazy to say but Hattie is making a lot of progress towards walking lately. She can pull herself up to standing and will try it every time we turn around. Lately we set her somewhere just to look back and she is standing up. I'd like to be right there just in case at all times but it's impossible. Today was her first day trying to walk with the wagon. She did so well! I follow her more for me than for her I think (I am definitely more concerned that she might fall than she is!). It won't be long before she is walking all on her own!

Hattie's Crawling

Hattie has made some major progress on crawling in the last couple of weeks. Here is a video from October 23rd where she could crawl for a few feet at a time..

 

Here is a video from November 1st.. She is now crawling across the room, when she chooses. 

 

Honestly it seems that Hattie wishes that instead of crawling that she could walk. She now cruises a little bit and pulls up to knees and almost to standing with one foot on the floor.. so close! She loves to walk holding on to hands and it may not be long before she is walking on her own. We've got a pretty determined little girl. :)

Halloween!

Mickey and Minnie had a lot of fun trick or treating on the 30th.

It was a really nice night for Hattie's first Halloween and Emmett actually enjoyed going door to door. The worst part about Halloween is definitely trying to limit the amount of candy he is eating afterwards! He would eat his entire bucket if we let him.

 

 

Hattie is 9 Months Old!

Hattie turned 9 months old today. We celebrated Halloween tonight with her first trick or treating outing. Pictures to follow..

• This little girl loves to wave! Every time we tell her to say "bye-bye" her little hand starts moving up and down. It is so sweet.
• She is starting to talk a little bit - She can say Mama, Dada - she also says " Ni-ni" for ni-night etc.
• Hattie can pull up to her knees. She tries so hard to pull all the way up to standing but isn't quite there yet. She is so curious and pulls up on just about anything including coffee tables, drawers, and Mommy's leg.
• She has started to crawl as well. She isn't quite moving all the way across the room in a crawling motion but she can get all the way across the room through a combination of movements over time. She will crawl a little bit and then drop down, go back to sitting, roll over, etc. If she sees something she really wants she goes after it.
• Each time I go to get Hattie out of bed in the morning or from a nap she is sitting up quietly playing. She hardly ever makes a peep when she wakes up so we have to check on her periodically to see if she is sitting in her crib awake.
• She is awfully stingy with her smiles. The sweet little girl likes to hold out for her favorites - Mommy, Daddy & Emmett. She often will give strangers a blank stare, or sometimes if she is afraid that Mom/Dad might leave she will give them her pouty lip. Please don't take offense! You can say that separation anxiety is in full effect.
• She really enjoys daycare. Hattie loves Jessica, Lucy and Fabi that take care of her every day. I think she also enjoys seeing all of the kids play, sing songs, etc.
• Hattie is still wearing size 12 month clothing although some brands are getting short and she is wearing size 4 diapers.
• She weighed in at 21 pounds 6 ounces (87th percentile) and was 30 inches long (>97th percentile - tall girl!) at her 9 month appointment.
• Her 3rd tooth came in on October 16th. It was her lower right lateral incisor. No top teeth yet which is not the order that Emmett's came in.. They are different babies, that is for sure!
• Hattie has moved on to "real people food". She enjoys trying new tastes and textures and was getting quite bored with baby food. We still give her some baby food at each meal but I thinks he prefers real food. I hope to wean her off of baby food within the next couple of weeks or so.

9 months is such a great age. We enjoy Hattie beyond words. She is a sweet little Mommy's girl. She loves chasing her brother around and being with her family.

Hattie is 8 Months!

Our sweet little Hattie Jeanne turned 8 months old on September 30th. Wow this has gone by fast!

• Hattie now eats 3 meals a day of baby food. She isn't on to finger food yet. We have tried a few things and she mostly just messes with them in her hands.. squishing bananas, squeezing mandarin oranges, squashing steamed broccoli etc. She will get onto it sometime soon I am sure.
• She can now drink from her sippy cup on her own. We started giving her water in her avent sippy cup (Emmett's old cup and yes it has held up very well being hand washed only). She grabs a handle and gets it in her mouth, tips it back and drinks water. She really likes her water which is surprising because Emmett was completely weirded out by the idea of drinking anything other than breastmilk.
• She nurses 5 times a day - morning, 3 bottles in the day and night time. I can really tell that the weaning process has begun. It makes me a little sad and also a little glad that it will free up some time both at work and at home when I am done nursing but I will miss the snuggles with my little girl. What can I say, she is growing up! :)
• Hattie is getting very close to crawling. She does a bit of an army crawl.. moves in circles, pushes herself backwards and gets up on her knees. Just recently she has begun to pull herself forward a little bit with one knee under her and then she drops back down. It won't be long!
• Her favorite thing is probably her brother right now. And he likes her too! Today they ran up and down the hallway "chasing" each other (Mommy helped Hattie a little) and were having so much fun screaming and giggling. Sometimes Emmett will say - I want Hattie! or I want to hold Hattie etc. She is about 2/3rds his size though so holding or carrying her is pretty much out of the question.
• Hattie loves to stand. If someone will let her stand up next to something (we have to be there spotting her at this point) she will stand unassisted for quite a while.. She also loves walking holding onto our hands. You can tell she feels like the big girl while doing this!
• She would still rather chew on books than listen to us read them to her.. which has been a challenge! Today I read books to her and Emmett together and she kept grabbing it. Finally Emmett told her "No Hattie". Ha. Her hands were getting in the way of him looking at the book!
• Hattie took her first airplane ride on August 29th. We visited her Aunt, Uncle and cousins in DC. She did well but unfortunately had a fever after the ride there. My guess is that she picked it up on the plane. Poor girl didn't feel well and gave it to her Daddy too! We had a great time there and were able to go to the zoo and some interesting parks.
• She is an easy going girl. Mostly happy on the floor playing. She enjoys her jumperoo for a change of scenary but it isn't her favorite.
• Hattie is also a big of a Mommy's girl. If Mommy comes in the room she gets very excited but if she doesn't get picked up she can become a little fussy at times. Usually she is happy playing though unless getting hungry or tired.
• She still takes two naps and goes down super easy now. She almost always sleeps on her tummy and will rub her face into the mattress. She always sleeps through the night from about 7pm to 6am. She is a good girl!

We love our Hattie Jeanne and can hardly imagine what our family was like without her in it. Can't wait to see her get mobile so we can watch the two of them interact and play together more.

Our Little Hawkeyes

Iowa vs Iowa State Game 09.15.2013 

 

We watched the game at Ryan & Laurie's this year. Both kiddos were pretty well behaved and we had a great time with good friends. As much as I feel like a bit of a traitor (graduated from ISU in 2005), I must admit that I know I am raising two little Hawkeye fans. When your child knows the fight song.. dreams about basketball, football, and Hawkeyes you know the battle has been won. It's a good thing this Mama is admittedly not into sports..

Hattie is 7 Months

 

Our little girl turned 7 months on August 30th. We have been busy which is why I have struggled to post this!

 

• Hattie now has 2 teeth. Her second lower incisor came in shortly after the first. We keep thinking that the two on either side of these teeth are pushing through as well but we have yet to see them.
• She is a much better eater. She is eating baby food 2x per day (more recently up to 3x per day). She still nurses or takes a bottle while at daycare about 6x per day.
• Hattie has unfortunately been sick this month. She had pink eye during the second week of August. Then she had a high fever for about 3 days followed by a rash. And look out - because Hattie did not feel well and she was letting everybody know about it. When she finally felt better (about 5 days later...) she was a completely different person. Mommy and Daddy both said - Oh, there's our sweet girl! We missed you. We were extremely relieved when she started feeling better.
• Her hair is starting to grow in more. Mommy is excited for braids and barrett's. :)
• She has started to make some fun noises like raspberries and more recently "dada, gaga, baba..."
  
  
• She is not crawling yet. We are encouraging her to get up on to her knees but have yet to see a lot of progress.
• Hattie prefers to sleep on her tummy. It is to the point now where it is hard to get her to sleep in her carseat because she can't get comfortable. She wants to be able to flip on to her tummy to get some good rest. :) Makes it a little more difficult for us to travel but we make it work.
• At her 6 month appointment she weighed almost 20 pounds and was 28 inches long. She was in the apx 95th percentile for everything.

Overall Hattie a lot more active and showing more personality. She loves to be held by her Mommy but watch her Daddy and Emmett. You can tell she wishes she could play more with her big brother. She is just as sweet as can be and so squishy and lovable. We couldn't have asked for a sweeter little girl.

Flashback Video.. Hattie's first smile

In looking through some older videos I found this treasure... :) There is some random chitter chatter but the most special thing (thatI probably didn't want to admit at the time) is that it captured what I'm pretty sure was Hattie's first smile at only 1 month old on March 2nd. She smiled for her Grandma Pat.. then quickly wanted her Mama as babies do... She was so little!

Hattie is 6 months old!

 

Hattie Jeanne is 6 months old today. It is really hard to believe that she has already been in our lives for 1/2 of a year. She'll be celebrating a birthday in another 6 short months!

 

• Hattie is now sitting up. She sometimes falls over so we always have her on a soft surface. She is typically very steady though.
• She has a new tooth! As of July 27th we noticed a few white dots pushing through and it has now come fully through. It is her bottom right tooth. She has not been extremely fussy with this tooth and is very good at manipulating teethers, which make her feel better.
• Hattie rolls onto her tummy all the time. We can't keep her on her back for more than 1 minute. While we still always put her down to sleep on her back we find her on her tummy 100% of the time when getting her out of bed.
• She has been enjoying eating cereal 1x per day at lunch time and is now up to 1-2oz. We are starting to introduce some baby food too. Tonight she tried a little sweet potatoes. She wasn't quite sure about those!
• She also has her own high chair now and loves it. I had put Emmett's chair away for a few months hoping he would sit in a booster seat at the table. However, when I brought it back up for Hattie to use recently he exclaimed, "My chair!". Now we have one at each end of the table and they love looking at each other during supper every evening.
• At this point Hattie is on a pretty regular schedule. As of last weekend she goes down much easier for naps and bedtime (hardly any crying, yay!). She typically takes 2 naps a day - one from 9-10/10:30 and another in the afternoon with Emmett from about 1-3:30. They actually sleep in the same room at Dragon Tots. It is awfully sweet and I think they enjoy that. She goes down for bed around 8pm and gets up typically around 5:30/6am.
• Hattie is a very smiley and happy girl. She is starting to express how well she knows her Mommy and Daddy. She likes to be able to see Mommy, but Daddy always makes her smile and laugh.
• She doesn't do a lot of talking at this point but is very interactive with her facial expressions. She says MMMmmm at times but we are still waiting on any "dadas" or "babas", etc.
• Her favorite place is still the floor for playtime. She is very active and is getting stronger every day. She is content in her jumperoo and her high chair as well.
• Hattie still nurses 6x per day: once in the morning, 3 bottles at daycare, once when we get home and then once before bed.
• She still fits into 9 month clothing but some are pretty tight so we mostly have her in 12 month clothes at this time. She is wearing size 3 diapers. I would guess her weight to be in the 20 lb range but we will find out at her six month appointment next week.

Hattie is so much easier now at 6 months of age. As long as she is fed and well rested she is a super happy little baby! I am reminded each day of how much I love this baby stage. Life doesn't get much sweeter than having our little girl in your arms!

Sitting Pretty

Little Hattie Jeanne is sitting up all on her own at 10 days shy of 6 months! Tonight I also saw her go from laying on her back on the boppy to sitting up and then turning as if she was going to go down on her tummy and start crawling.. this girl is going to really take off soon!

 

Look Mom, no hands!!

 

 

Here is a video of her in action..

Hattie is 5 Months Old!

Our baby girl is 5 months old as of June 30th. She is so much fun. She loves to kick kick kick, arch her back and smile at Mommy, Daddy & Emmett.

• Hattie can now roll over as of June 24th. She will roll from side to side on the floor and rolls over periodically.
• Her favorite place to play is on the floor, mostly on her back but she also endures playing on her tummy. She can scoot on her back quite a ways. When we leave her to play for a few minutes we sometimes come back to find her under a table or across the room. :)
• She has recently found her feet and holds onto them frequently.
• Hattie is talking more. She opens her mouth wide and makes noises moving her tongue around. She has recently started in with "Mmmms". Maybe she will say Mama soon!
• She really wishes she could sit up on her own. You can tell that it frustrates her that she cannot see everything around her. We help her sit up often with minimal help but she cannot do it all on her own just yet.
• Hattie enjoys playing much more now. She is always interested in what her brother is up to. She likes to play in her jumperoo. Her fine motor skills are improving rapidly and she can spin and grab all of her toys. She is also entertained by her mobile in her room and the ceiling fan.
• Her night time sleep is pretty good. I really shouldn't complain because once she goes to sleep she is down until 4:30am at the earliest. She usually goes down sometime around 8pm and gets up between 4:30 and 6:30 for her first feeding.. then usually goes back to sleep for a short time. The problem we are facing right now is that it takes some time for her to settle down. For the last 3 weeks when I put her down she always gets back up - sometimes up to 4 times before she is finally down for the night. Starting today we have decided to let her cry herself to sleep so she can learn to self-soothe. She has this issue at nap time as well. Today she cried for 15 minutes before finally falling asleep for her morning nap.
• Still no teeth but she has started to gnaw on her hands and wrist more so they must be coming soon.
• Hattie is eating 1 oz of cereal per day and still nurses/takes a bottle 6 times a day. We'll plan to introduce more baby food once she turns 6 months old.
• She is still in size 3 diapers and 9 month clothing although she does wear some 12 month as well.

We look forward to a better and more consistent sleep schedule without rocking her to sleep.. :) I hope this next week or so while she is learning to self-soothe goes quickly. It is hard to hear your baby cry! We'll get through it though and it will be better for her in the long run. And I hope Emmett can sleep through it too! :)

Hattie's Rolling Over!

Hattie rolled over for the first time today! Please excuse the crying fit Emmett has at the end of the video.. We're still not sure what exactly that was about.