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!

Emmett.. 2 1/2

My baby boy was born 2 1/2 years ago today... The time has gone by so fast. This is such an interesting age. At times I feel so bad for Emmett that we are just feeling our way through parenting him and every new phase that comes up is a new experience for us to try to figure out and he in turn can see how far he can push our buttons. I've been referring to it recently as the "first child syndrome". Parenting is quite the journey! It is so much easier when phases come up with Hattie because we know exactly how to deal - we've been through it already! So, 2 1/2 is not all roses.. but I wouldn't change our Emmett for the world.

On Talking..
Emmett is an excellent communicator. He speaks in full sentences. When we tell him a new world or phrase he almost always repeats it immediately afterwards. Tonight I was reading him a book (The Berenstein Bears New Baby) and he pointed and said "That's a boat." I responded "Yes, that is a boat. It is called a canoe." "A Canoe??" He also has the ability to tell us exactly what he wants. "Be quiet. The babies are sleeping!" He must hear that request often at daycare. Recently he told us "I'm the boss!" at the top of his lungs. We often choose to ignore these types of comments.

On Playing...
Emmett loves to play football - especially with his Dad. He will announce "It's time to play football!" Then he will go and get his football along with a baby bottle he plays with. We're not sure where the baby bottle came in but he puts it in his mouth and shakes his head from side to side. Hattie finds it hilarious. He is also really into playing pretend. He likes to pretend Daddy is sick. "Do you have a fever? Do you need a blankie? Do you want some medicine?" etc. He will make us supper in his kitchen, bring us coffee, cupcakes, soup, etc. He likes to pretend things are hot so that we have to blow on them. He plays well with the other kids at daycare. The like to pretend they are animals, play ring around the rosy or London bridges, dance and sing. Jack seems to be his closest buddy but they are all friends. The other day when we were leaving daycare Jack shouted after us "Bye Emmett, I love you!" To which Emmett replied "Bye!!! I love you Jack!" It may have been the sweetest thing ever.

On Sleeping..
We have struggled with Emmett's sleep lately. It seems to be better now. He has always been such a good sleeper, but there was a 3 week stretch where things weren't going very well. He was occasionally missing naps at daycare and he was fighting naps with us at home. We would have to go in and keep putting him back in his bed. There were 1-2 times where we did eventually give up. Then, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse he started resisting going to bed at night. On October 25th he kept getting out of his bed, I would put him back in, he would get out, I would put him back in etc. Rustin and I were taking turns until we finally realized that we were rewarding him by going into his room period. When we would go in each time he would have a little smile no his face and each time we would leave he would scream. So, we didn't go back in and by finally around 10pm he fell asleep on the floor of his room by his door. At 1am he cried again and went back and placed him in his bed. We told him from then on that we were not coming back when we put him to bed and had two nights of less than 10 minutes of crying and now we have hardly any crying at all. He is back to napping regularly at daycare as well. Looking back I know he was trying to test us. I think it is just what they do at this age. He needs to learn that we are in charge and we need to learn to be as consistent as possible. He needs to take a nap every day. He is exhausted if he doesn't get his nap. Like today. He practically fell asleep on the ride home from daycare.

On Being a big Brother...
We are still struggling a little in this department as well. Hattie admires Emmett so much. You can tell she is always looking to see where he is and what he is doing. For the most part he is good with her. Since she can crawl now they have started to chase each other around and play peek-a-boo etc. But, every once in a while he will hit or push her. I think that because they are both so little he struggles a bit still with her taking attention away from him. He doesn't like it if someone is giving Hattie attention when he wishes they were playing with him (like grandma or grandpa or anyone else that we don't see all the time). He does love her though and gives her kisses. He tickles her tummy and gives her toys. He struggles with sharing things with her but is willing to trade her for something etc so it is a good lesson for him. Hopefully they will have a good relationship.. but I suppose that will be up to the two of them eventually.

Happy 2 1/2 birthday to our little spider. We couldn't love you any more!!!

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..