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.

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!