Spring is Here!

Yesterday the sun was shining so I took advantage of the light for some pictures. Hannah is getting so funny when you get her to smile. She literally smiles with her whole face-such a ham! It makes me laugh.

A few of my favorite things

Do you ever find yourself giving advice to people who don't necessarily ask for it? Being a mom has apparently made me think I can do that often. For example, the last time I was at Babies R Us I had Hannah in her Sleepy Wrap and someone was checking us out. I decided that I would let her know that the Sleep Wrap is the best and that we use it all the time. Did she ask me about it-no, maybe she wanted to and I beat her to it. So I've decided to share a few of my favorite things with all of you. They include the BOB stroller- the best jogging stroller, a food processor, Kaboom shower cleaner-I just tried it today and it works like magic, 4oz jelly jars to can your own baby food, Pinterest, the Disney channel, the Sleepy Wrap- thanks Mikell and Heidi, online shopping-great deals, better selections, and less traffic, Pampers diapers, the Garmin Forerunner watch, Smartcare shirts-they sell them at Nordstroms and we only buy them during the men's sale but they really are WRINKLE FREE, the Cuisinart homemade ice cream maker, Chobani greek yogurt, and the Sonicare toothbrush- we got one for Christmas and it really is as great as they say.

7 Months

What can I say about that sweet face....just that she really is sweet! She has really set the bar high for siblings to follow. She loves to snuggle, smiles all the time, says mama, plays well with her toys so I can get stuff done, watches the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my lap in the morning, thinks dancing is fun, enjoys car rides, loves baths and showers, and loves to eat. She does hate to be put down for naps. If she had it her way she would stay up all day just to make sure she wouldn't miss out on anything. She isn't crawling yet, but I'm waiting in anticipation that it will be soon. I have the video camera charged and waiting on the kitchen counter to capture the big moment. She scoots backwards and does get on all fours, but that's all for now.

Seeing Herself

How fun is it when your baby notices their reflection in the mirror?! Hannah finally realized that about herself last week. She can't get enough of looking at herself and grabbing at mirrors now.

Splish Splash

We took these the other night in the tub. So fun!

6 months

This weekend Hannah will already be 6 months. It's amazing how much changes from month to month with this girl. I think from month 5-6 has been the hardest for me. At the beginning of last month I was happy with how well things were starting to settle. Hannah was like clockwork with her naps, she was starting to sleep consistently through the night, and I could get caught up on sleep. The past 2 weeks have been a nightmare, ending with tears from me on most nights. She has always loved to be swaddled, still to this day. The downfall to her liking to be swaddled is that she now rolls over onto her tummy, but not back over very well. You can imagine what that must be like when your on your tummy and your hands aren't free. It turns into a constant battle during her naps. I'm forever going into her room to turn her back over. She hasn't figured out that she can sleep on her belly if she turns her head to the side. The funny thing about this post is that I wrote all of this yesterday, but now as I sit here today things are SO much better. We had a check up this morning with her pediatrician and she assured me that Hannah is doing great! She actually uses the word "perfect" and she probably says that about all the babies, but I like to think that it's only for the truly perfect ones. She is growing like crazy; 87% for her head size :), 57% for weight, and 75% for height. She gave me some suggestions about her napping, and I tried it today and it was pure bliss. She told me that Hannah may be one of those babies who doesn't like to nap as often as she once did. She used to take a one hour nap in the morning, a 2 hour nap mid day, and another one hour nap in the afternoon. Today we tried the nap in the morning and she slept for one hour. Then really late this afternoon we tried another nap and she slept for 2 1/2 hours. Let me tell you, it was exhausting keeping her entertained today from 10:30 until 2:00. I know that doesn't really seem like a long time, but when I'm used to her only being awake for 2 hours at the most, it was challenging for me. I needed a nap too. Hopefully this new schedule will continue for a while.

These pictures are so funny to me. It's so hard to get a picture of her smiling at the camera. She just loves to give the pouty look.

Rice Cereal and Sitting Up

Hannah has been eating rice cereal now for 2 weeks. These are some pictures we took from the first time we introduced cereal to her. The pictures tell it all....she thought it was gross. We kept at it and now she loves it and even makes a "yum" sound after each bite. This weekend I was able to introduce one more food to her. We chose bananas and instead of buying baby food I thought I would make my own. I tried to puree the banana, mash it with a fork, mix it with a little apple juice.. you name it she would NOT eat it. It was so funny because she opened her mouth every time I came at her with the spoon but she literally gagged every time she realized what I had put in her mouth. I thought it was maybe the texture she hated more than the flavor itself, so I broke down and bought a jar of baby food and she loved it! She took to it right away, with the "yum" sounds and all.

It's so easy to have Hannah play on her back or in her Bumbo, but lately I've been working with her to try to sit up without any support. She does okay for a little while, but then topples over to the side. I was able to get this really cute picture of her sitting up all by herself, and she even had her adorable mouse hat on.