Hannah Sixteen Month Update

I figured it was time to do a Hannah update. She is growing up more and more everyday. She is definitely a toddler and not a baby anymore.  She is such a sweet, happy and smart little girl with a really sharp sense of humor and a mop full of curly hair.

Eating
Hannah continues to amaze us with her hearty appetite and her universal love of every food she is offered.  Her recent favorite foods include arroz con pollo, Halo mandarin oranges, and blueberry mini muffins.   Although she is easy going in terms of what she eats, she is very particular in how she eats it.  She doesn't like to feel pressured to eat and she does NOT want to be fed anymore.  She would much rather struggle through spooning herself some yogurt than let me or Ryan feed her.  Like, she becomes enraged if we try to feed her. She also really want to drink out of an open cup, but we haven't been encouraging that.  

Sleeping
Hannah has been doing pretty well with sleep, although she has had a few rough nights with some new teeth coming in.  She will usually sleep until 8:30 or 9 and she is terribly grumpy if she has to be woken up before she is ready.  It takes her a good 20 minutes until she is pleasant.  Her naps are still all over the place.  Sometimes she takes a morning nap, sometimes not, she often takes an afternoon nap but sometimes she drifts off around 4:30 or later which is the worst!!!

Words/Communication
Hannah lets you know she wants to eat by pointing to her high chair.  She will even take your hand and walk you to it.   She babbles constantly and more and more real words seem to be mixed into the gibberish. She says: no, daddy, mum, I dunno, Eesa (Lisa), kay (okay), whee! and cheep cheep (when she sees a picture of baby chicks).  She will consistently wave hello and goodbye and will also independently wave to strangers if she wants their attention.  The only sign she will do independently is "all done" but we are working on "more" and "please".  She will shake her head no and say "uh-uh" or "no" but she doesn't use a word for yes.  She just holds out her hands and makes frantic begging sounds or points to what she wants.  When she wants a diaper change she will lay flat on the ground and put her legs up in the air.  That makes me excited, like maybe she will potty train early.  If she wants to go outside she will bring you her shoes.

Although her expressive language is still rather limited, her receptive language grows by leaps and bounds every day.  Ryan bought her a little brush and he told her to go get it thinking it was in our bedroom with us.  It turns out, it was downstairs, but she found my hairbrush and brought it over to Ryan instead.  She will point to all of her family members when asked

Likes

• Isaac.  She wants to be as close to him as possible at all times.  

Good thing he is usually pretty patient.

                                                

• Sesame Street.  She watches it with rapt attention and dances to all of the songs.  
• Binkies.  She will never give it up. 

• Having her feet tickled.  
• "Singing" and dancing or when other sing and dance.  
• Her toy kitchens, her Elmo doll that sings about being a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, and her shopping cart.
• Cheering, clapping and jumping up and down at sporting events.  It is SO cute.
• Giving kisses, sometimes aggressively, with a loud "MWAH!"
• When Ryan talks to her in silly voices.  She CRACKS up.

Dislikes

• Having dirty hands.  She comes to us over and over during Isaac's baseball games to have us brush dirt and grass off her hands.  We loves to use handiwipes to clean them off.

• Sitting still, especially at sporting events.  She wants to storm the field at Isaac's soccer games.  She want to climb up on things and immediately get back down.  She also drops out the bottom of her stroller if she is not strapped in. 
• Swings.  Our neighborhood has a small playground with a few infant swings and she HATES them.  She will scream bloody murder the whole time.  
• Open doors.  She always has to close them.  No matter what.
• Bathing.  I thought we had conquered her fear but suddenly she is terrified of it again. 

Milestones

• She has gotten really good at going up and down stairs.  She can go upstairs holding a railing totally upright, like a regular little person.  For a while she was going feet first and on her stomach to go downstairs but now she sits on her bottom and scoots down.  
• At least two more teeth have come in.
• Wears 18 month clothes, some size 4 shoes and some size 5 shoes.  She wears size 4 diapers.
• Taking off her pants and attempting to take off her diapers.

Poor baby...

Hannah went to the allergist today and had a ton of allergy testing to figure out why she has been covered in a rash from head to toe for over a month now.  The good news is she is not allergic to molds, dogs, cats, horses, dust mites, cockroaches, feathers, wheat, soy, milk, eggs or peanuts.  I'm so glad, because I would have felt horrible if I was feeding her something or exposing her to something that was making her so sick.  The bad news is her rash is probably a combination of eczema and some sort of fungal infection and now we have to try to get her in to a dermatologist.  She has two more creams we have to try on her body.  I really hope she gets some relief.

Hannah is 1!

Well, once again I am pretty late with this update. My sweet Hannah Marie turned one the day after Christmas. She seems so grown up all of a sudden. Somehow she is not a baby anymore and is a vibrant, silly toddler, full of personality. 

Eating
Hannah continues to be a great eater. She likes almost everything although she has moments where she will randomly refuse foods that she has always enjoyed. She wants to be independent with eating and this creates a huge mess about three feet in diameter around her high chair. For the most part she is done with "baby" foods and will eat whatever the rest of us are eating. She still only has the six front teeth but she does really well chewing her food. Recent favorites include spaghetti, potato wedges, warm chocolate chip cookies, blueberries, peaches, and biscuits. She is also done with formula and is drinking whole milk now. Unlike her brother, she doesn't seem to have any trouble with it.   She is using a sippy cup with a straw and doing great with it. 

Sleeping
Sleeping is still hit or miss.  She would very much prefer to cosleep between me and Ryan but after some tough nights redoing sleep training she has resigned herself to the routine of sleeping in her crib.  She will not always sleep through the night but is usually able to settle herself as long as she can find a pacifer in the middle of the night. 

She can't seem to decide if she wants to take one nap or two naps.  Some days she will only take a morning nap and then she is sooo exhausted by the time 6:30 rolls around (which, some nights, is right when we need to leave for basketball).  She also has done a 3:30/4:00 nap a few days, which I don't like either.  I have to wake her up or I am worried she will never be tired at night.


Likes

• Elmo, especially the Elmo toy someone gave us that strums a guitar and sings about being a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. 
• Dancing.  This girl LOVES to move and shake anytime she hears music. 
• Isaac.  Seriously, she loves Isaac.
• Playing peekaboo. 
• Getting into random things.   She can spend 20 minutes unloading my nightstand drawer.  She loves to put socks in and out of laundry baskets.  She loves to open cubboards and see what is inside.
• Remote controls, cell phones, pressing buttons on the TV and cable box.
• Books.  She will ask to read the same board books over and over.

Communication/Words
She very clearly says no, whenever she hears anyone ask a question, whether it is directed to her or not, she will shout out "No!"  That is really only consistent word at this point, but she has come up with all different ways to let us know what she needs.  She will stand under the cabinet where I store snacks and point and scream at it.  She will let us know when she is done eating by ripping off her bib.  She waves "bye bye" independently and will also blow kisses.  She is pointing more consistently to things and if there is something she wants us to take notice of she will even take our face and turn it to see whatever it is she is looking at.  She can identify her feet pretty consistently and her tummy and nose somewhat consistently. 

Dislikes

• Being contained during Isaac's activities.  She wants to run out onto the basketball court or soccer field and get in the action.  She also claps whenever there is applause which is so adorable.
• Having her face cleaned off or nose wiped.
• Bathing, although  I did get in the tub with her and she did allow that as long as she only sat on my legs and never on the tub floor.
• Transitions/being left with a sitter.  She is still in the middle of intense separation anxiety and good byes are almost always tearful.
• Wearing socks and shoes.
• Strangers, especially unfamiliar men.

Milestones

• First Thanksgiving.
• First Christmas!
• Stayed up till midnight on New Year's Eve.
• Finally warmed up to grandpa and allowed him to interact and hold her during Christmas.
• First birthday!
• Runs, climbs and tries to kick a ball.

• Wears size 4 diapers, size 12 and some size 18 month clothes.  I think she is in the 700th percentile for hair.
• She will give very big, wet, aggressive kisses.  Sometimes they are spontaneous and sometimes by request.

We love you so much little Hannah Marie!

Steamrolled by September

My last blog post was labeled "Goodbye August" and at this point I feel like this one should almost be labeled "Goodbye September".  September tends to steamroller me, but I have been trying to stay organized, stay on top of things and establish routines and this has probably been one of my better Septembers as a result.  I made a list of mini goals I want to accomplish.  Little things, like going to yoga two times in September and decorating the house for Halloween.  It is nice to have a list I can reach for when I have a few moments to really accomplish something, rather than just zone out in front of a screen.   One of my goals is to blog weekly which has been a challenge.  But here are a few updates. 

Isaac is in fourth(!!!) grade this year and is really showing a lot of maturity.  He is only going to the YMCA in the morning now.  In the afternoon he takes the bus home and lets himself in.  He has about 30 minutes until I come home with Hannah.  He has been really responsible with using that time until I come home to knock out his homework.  Part of his homework is always to read 30 minutes.  He has really stayed on top of that well without a  lot of nagging from me which I appreciate.   We recieved his PSSA scores in the mail and I was proud to see that he is advanced in math.  He is continuing with the viola and this year has started the trombone.  We are also fully in the swing of travel soccer.  His league this year includes teams in Delaware and Maryland, so it really is a lot of traveling.   It is a lot to keep track of but I am impressed with how well he can handle it. 

We made it out to my parent's house for dinner last weekend (another mini goal for September).  Isaac has been asking and asking so we squeezed a dinner trip out there on a busy weekend.  Isaac loves the basketball hoop there and even took some time to play with Hannah.  These pictures from that day have becomes favorites.  You can really just see how sweet he is to her. 

 

 

Hannah is still the light of my life.  She is trying and trying to walk and is getting better everyday. She loves to give herself applause for her efforts and then she knocks herself off balance and falls over.   She also loves to dance and will do so any time she hears music, even the organ playing the hymn at church gets her moving.  She is becoming really destructive curious.  She loves to tear apart Ryan's magazines and drop all kind of objects between the slats in our head boards.   Any open drawer is fair game for her to start unloading clothes.  She grabbed my tablet the other day and I discovered that she friend requested all kinds of people on facebook including my principal... awkward...

It is starting to feel like fall here finally.  A busy time of year for us but also my favorite time.

Hannah's 5 Month Update

Oh Hannah Banana!  Stop growing!!!

 So as you can see from the picture, she has all of a sudden gotten HUGE.  At her well visit last month they said she weighs 17 lbs  which is 90th percentile and she is 96th percentile for height.  Suddenly carrying her in the carseat carrier is hard work and it seems like her fat rolls have fat rolls now.   She is wearing a lot of 6 months clothes and some of her 6 month sleepers are even getting to be too small.  She is in size 3 diapers also.  I bought a pack by mistake and then realized they probably fit her better than size 2 after all.

She is still a very happy and easy going baby.   She loves attention from anyone and still loves to cuddle.


Sleeping

Her sleeping is still hit or miss.  She is still up several times a night (boo, hiss) but we are working on having her fall asleep at night on her own initially by putting her down when she is sleepy but not asleep.  She is doing pretty well with it.  We are also working on keeping her in her bed all night.  I wish she would sleep for longer stretches.  This coming month we will (finally!) be getting her out of the pack and play and into a crib, so I am hoping that helps.  Her napping is feast or famine.  She will either take only brief catnaps or will sleep for three straight hours.

Eating
She is doing well with eating baby foods.

 Most of the foods she has tried so far are ones I have made for her.  It's so much cheaper.  She has liked pretty much everything she tried.  To date she has eaten:

• Pears
• Bananas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Peas
• Avocado
• Peaches- she was crazy about these.  Like, she grabbed the spoon with both hands and was cramming it into her mouth. 

Milestones

Her biggest accomplishment this month is sitting up.  She is still a bit wobbly but she can hold herself steady for longer and longer periods of time.  She suddenly looks like such a big girl sitting up and playing with toys.  Of course, all of the toys go straight to her mouth.

She is babbling all the time and really experimenting using her voice.  This month she started making an excited "Eeee!" noise.  I have even heard her throwing some consonants in the mix when she is babbling to herself.

She has no teeth yet and is still drooling like crazy.  Buckets and buckets of drool.  It is my biggest laundry challenge to keep enough bibs clean for her, because she goes through so many each day.

She is able to keep herself amused for longer periods now.  If the mood strikes her right she will keep herself busy in the excersaucer or on her playmat with toys for up to 20 minutes.

Likes

• Trying to sit and stand up whenever she can.
• Her jumper.  Especially now that Grandma replaced the batteries and it is very noisy again. 
• DADDY.  She gets so excited whenever she sees him.  When I have her in the bed with me and he is still sleeping she scoots herself up to him and bats at his face, trying to wake him up and get his attention.  She gets so excited when he comes home from work and she thinks everything he says or does is HILARIOUS.
• Her toes/feet.  She is always grabbing for them, pulling off her socks and has even stuffed her toes in her mouth.

Dislikes

• Being alone or thinking she is alone
• Reclining.  She will always try to sit up now when she is in the bouncing seat or if she is not strapped into her carrier.
• She was not too crazy about bubbles either.

What I Have Learned About Parenting Babies (So Far)

What I Have Learned About Parenting Babies (So Far)

1. You could spend a small fortune on things for your baby.  You honestly could.  But you really don't need to.  Babies (especially tiny ones) really don't need much.  True story, when I brought Isaac home from the hospital he slept next my bed on a pillow in a laundry basket.  What they do need, you can scrounge up.  Almost everything we needed/wanted for Hannah we have been able to secure for free from church swaps, facebook yard sale sites and tons of stuff from a coworker whose kids are older: two excersaucers, a jumparoo, a high chair, two bumbo chairs, a doorway jumper, bottles, feeding supplies, burp cloths, etc.   And of course, she likes the jankety swing we found on the side of the road with a "free" sign on it much better than the nearly 200 dollar swing handed down from the coworker.  She could care less that it swings multiple directions,  plays soothing womb noises and you can plug your ipod into it.  We never got around to getting a crib mobile but she loved staring at our ceiling fan.  It's easy to get carried away when you are pushing a cart around Babies R Us or pinning amazing nurseries. Keep it simple.

2. It's okay if you don't hear the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus when you first see your baby.  Maybe it's just me.  Labor and delivery is a really intense mix of anxiety and hormones and drugs and lack of sleep and the result of it may not be an instant rush of fierce motherly love for the screaming vernix encrusted little newborn they hold up to your face.  But it will be come.  From what I understand talking candidly to my girlfriends, it's also pretty normal at some point during that first day/night home with your newborn to think to yourself, "What on earth have I done?  I just want things to go back the way they were".

3.  Breastfeeding may be natural, but it's not easy.  Breast is best.  I know this. We all know this.  I have chronicled my painful attempt at breastfeeding Hannah on the blog (three weeks of agony-- literally the most painful thing I have ever experienced). It's not as easy as the baby opens her mouth and you jam your boob in-- there is pillows and propping and positioning and baby's tiny mouth and flailing arms and suction, cracking, bleeding, cramping, leaking and engorgement....   I called the nurses in more than once as baby and I were both in tears while she was rooting around in a panic with my nipple already inside her mouth. Aside from how physically hard it is, I personally found it terrifically overwhelming to be the only person who could feed the baby, especially once Ryan went back to work after two weeks.  Cut yourself some slack if breastfeeding is not the warm, glowy, easy experience the happy lactation consultants or your well meaning girlfriend described to you when you were pregnant.  Everyone's situation is different.

4.  Don't get too caught up in what you're "supposed" to do.  For example, Ryan and I were determined we would not give Hannah a pacifier.  Everything we read said it was supposed to impede on breastfeeding progress and I had nightmarish flashbacks to Isaac still using his at almost age 3. "Not going to happen this time around.  No plastic comfort object for our little princess," we said confidently.  When  Hannah came back from the hospital nursery with one inside her little isolette on our second night, we threw it in the trashcan in self righteous anger.  Flash forward 24 hours when I made Ryan fish it out, wash it off and give it to her.  We discovered that Hannah had a very, very strong need to suck to be comforted and since we weren't offering her a pacifier, I was becoming the pacifier (see number 3-- intense pain).  Whether it's trying to decide how to get your baby to sleep, or how to feed him, or any number of things, you will find that everyone has an opinion.  Don't get caught up comparing milestones and parenting styles, but trust your gut about what is best for you and your family.

5.   It's okay to want to go to work.  And it's okay if you don't want to, too.  I had a lot of different feelings both times I returned to work after having my babies.  With Isaac, I dropped him off at daycare and expected to feel crushing guilt and found that I had an odd sense of relief as I drove into campus for my first day back.  With Hannah, it was not that easy. There have been times when I have called the sitter to check on things and have heard baby crying in the background and it was a stab to the heart.   But I don't feel guilty saying I enjoy my job and I was excited to go back.  There is something about office life that appeals to the human need to accomplish things, a need which seems to never be fulfilled on maternity leave.  Jonny's IEP-- check, it's done.  Lesson plans for the week-- check, they are complete.  Parenting a newborn is the opposite of that.  It's endless circles of laundry, rocking the baby to sleep, diapering, feeding, bathing.  It's work that never really gets done, and, honestly, is a bit monotonous and isolating.  I was desperate to talk to grown-ups both times I was on maternity leave. But on the other hand, there is a real biological need to be with your baby when they are little.   I remember I would count down the days until it was Isaac's visitation weekend with his dad, when I could finally, finally get a break.  And then after about an hour or two I would miss him terribly.  Again, to work or not to work is one of those things that everyone has an opinion to share and there is plenty of guilt to go around.  Try to minimize contact with people who are not supportive of whatever decision you reach.

6.  Just because you've done it before, doesn't mean you remember any of it.  Ryan and I already had 4 kids between us when Hannah was born.  One time the nurse in the hospital made an offhanded remark about how she didn't need to go over bathing a newborn, since we had done it before.  Both of us were like "Please!  Review it with us!".  When Hannah started drooling like crazy and my mother in law suggested it could be teething.  Ryan and I both looked at each other and shrugged.  Record things.  Write stuff down.  Snap pictures.  Read the parenting articles.  You won't remember it later.


Linking up with Molly and Carly

Hannah 4 Month Update

We are continuing to see more and more glimpses of this little girl's personality.  She has recently learned how to purposely blow spit bubbles and blow raspberries and she is quite proud of herself for that accomplishment.  Of course, she has her moments but for the most part she is a happy and easy baby, content to tag along for whatever activities the family has on the agenda.

Sleeping
Hannah's sleeping has been hit or miss lately.   If she had her way she would be cosleeping between me and Ryan at all times.  Cosleeping was way out of Ryan's comfort zone when we first brought Hannah home, but now he is like Hannah's little advocate:  "Aw, can't she sleep in the bed with us?  Look how happy she is." When she is in her pack and play she prefers to sleep on her stomach with her bum up high in the air.  She is doing some longer stretches at night from about 10-4 but she prefers short catnaps during the day. It doesn't help that she often has to nap on the go due to our crazy schedules.  Every time I think we are settling into a good sleep rhythm she changes it up and starts getting up every couple of hours again.  I am pretty exhausted still.

 

Eating

Poor Hannah still seems to be teething but no teeth have come through yet.  She continues to drool like a faucet and between that and spit up is going through 4-7 bibs a day.  If the mood strikes her, she will hold her own bottle, but she is not doing this consistently.

One of our biggest milestones within the past week or so was introducing some baby foods.  It is on the earlier side but I have been bottle feeding her on demand and girlfriend demands a LOT.  It was starting to seem like formula just wasn't enough. We started with rice cereal which was a hit and she seemed to be fuller and more happy.  She did great eating from the spoon and seemed to really like it.

Since then we have sampled peas, bananas ("cannibalism!" Isaac declared), and some homemade pear puree and she has gobbled everything down.

As far as other milestones, she is getting pretty good at rolling from her tummy to her back.  She is also starting to sit up a lot better with support.  Sometimes she will tripod sit for a short period of time before she topples over.  She is tolerating tummy time a lot better and will do a mini-push up and look around at the world.  She is starting to push with her legs in a crawling motion but she hasn't scooted very far yet.  She is also becoming more and more coordinated with her hands.  She is reaching for things with more intention now and even grabbing at things that catch her eye, including fistfuls of mommy's hair.

Likes:

• Daddy.  She cracks up at almost anything he says directly to her.  He really spends a lot of time each day playing with her and she eats up his attention.  I would have to say he is her favorite person in the whole wide world.
• 
• Isaac.  Isaac is a close second on her list of favorite people. They have a really adorable relationship.  She cracks up at his silly faces.  When she is crying in the car, she just needs to know that he is nearby in the backseat and that will usually calm her. I LOVE to see how much they love each other.
• Random kids TV programs.  Not that we are encouraging TV watching but sometimes we will turn on Sprout while she is in her swing and we are getting ready in the mornings and she seems to watch it and enjoy it.
• All food that she has tried so far. I think she actually likes peas the best.
• Peek-a-boo.
• Cuddling.  I hope she never outgrows her love of snuggles.
• Putting things into her mouth.  Hands, toys, bib, blankets-- it all is very purposely stuffed into her mouth to be sucked on.

Dislikes:

• Hiccups.  They make her cry and she gets them all the time.
• Having the sun in her eyes.
• Wearing shoes and socks.  She rubs her feet together until she pops them off.  
• Thinking she is alone.  When no one is in sight she panics.   

I love you so much Hannah Banana!!!!!

3 Month Hannah Update

 Holy cow!  It's hard to believe Hannah is three months old.  On the one hand, it feels like time has flown by and she is growing up so fast.  But on the other hand, it is hard to remember a time before she joined our family. 

Our little Hannah Banana continues to be rather serious, and at the same time, quite sweet.  We found a great deal for The Picture People through Groupon, so we took her in over the weekend for some shots.  She was giggling and grinning the whole way there, but she would hardly crack a smile once she was in front of the camera.  She is also cooing and talking a lot more.  Sometimes in the morning she will lay in her crib making "ooh" and "ahh" sounds to herself.  It's adorable. 

 

She has started drooling like crazy and is going through 5-6 bibs a day. I finally gave up and got her some 6-12 month socks too. Although she is only 3 months, her 0-6 months socks keep popping off her big feet. She never misses a meal and has been growing like crazy.  I am not sure how much she weighs at this point, but some 3-6 months clothes are starting to be too small, especially one piece outfits.    She is definitely gaining more control over her hands and arms, and she will often shove a fist into her mouth.

 

We have moved her back into our room in the pack and play and that has sort of caused her to regress a bit in terms of sleep.  About half of the time she will get up one time a night and half of the time she will get up twice.  Ryan always tries to get me to do the first feeding, gambling that she won't end up waking up the for the second.  She also LOVES to sleep late.  Saturday it was almost ten o'clock when she woke up.  Her brother has always been an early riser, so it is a great change of pace. 

Daddy's mini-me

She likes:

• Reading books with Grandma.
• Riding in the Moby wrap.
• Looking at people.  The other day at Isaac's baseball practice she was staring so intently at the lady sitting next to me, it was hilarious.
• Short periods of time in the excersaucer.
• Watching her brother Isaac.

She dislikes:

• Too many trips in the carseat in a single day.
• Being flat on her back.
• Hiccups.
• Having lotion put on her.
• Sitting in a dirty diaper.  Isaac never seemed to mind as a baby, but she will fuss right away.  

We have loved watching you grow and change this month Banana!

Old Ladies

I stopped at Wegman's to buy a few essentials to get us through the latest storm.  As I am pushing the cart around a tiny old lady with hot pink lipstick spotted the infant carrier in the cart and exclaims, "Oh! A baby!  Can I see her?"

I agreed and proudly angled the cart so that she had a view of this sweet face. 

"How old?" she asks as I swing the cart.

"Two months."

"Look at those eyes.  She can really see."

"Yes, she can."

The woman really peers at Hannah and then says, "This is your baby?"

"Uh, yes."

"Her dad must be really dark then."

Sigh.  "Yes, she is biracial."

"Well, it's probably better for her to have a variety of genes."

??? Isaac and I have such different complextions I am used to people beig confused or making comments but this exchange was just bizarre.

SIA and a Baby Shower

I have drafted a few posts but I haven't managed to get anything posted recently. I have been busy and Miss Hannah has been hit or miss with sleep at night.  Plus everyone at our house has been sick which has contributed to the craziness.  

Anyways, I did put together an outfit for Style Imitates Art.

Here is the inspiration piece, a Vermeer:

And here was my take on the painting:

Scarf: South Moon Under, shirt and khakis: Old Navy, shoes: boutique in University City.

Click here to see other outfits inspired by the painting.

I wore that outfit to a little double baby shower thrown for me and Miss Hannah and another mom and baby Asher.   It was really lovely and we were showered with adorable outfits and lots of diapers and wipes by the women of our church congregation.

Hannah was a little doll at the party but by the time I went to take a picture of her outfit after we returned home she was about out of patience for a photo session.

More tomorrow hopefully.  :)

Stir Crazy, Party of 3

We just got a call that school is cancelled again tomorrow because of lack of power in the schools.  Isaac has had only a half a day of school so far this week.  We are going CRAZY here at the house especially with several stints with no power.   The baby cocoon from Mom Mom Horne came in handy to keep Miss Hannah cozy with the heat off.

This is the first real dilemma I have had with the age gap between Isaac and Hannah.  My go to "get out of the house" activities of the movies or bowling simply won't work with a newborn.  My mom has plans tomorrow so we can't visit her. So I'm officially out of ideas.  We've baked cookies.

We've played board games.  We have read books. 

We've done the rainbow loom. We've all done a little bit of this:

We have watched more hours of TV than I care to admit.  My hat goes off to my home schooling friends because we are having  a bit of a rough time.