Hannah: 28 Months Old

Big Sister Hannah,

You are a BIG SISTER now!!  What a month it has been!  Your little sister was born on June 22 and our lives changed completely.  The first week was rough.  You struggled to find your place in the family and make sense of what was happening.  It was so tough on all of us.  It broke my heart to see you so upset and out of sorts.  It certainly didn't help that Mommy was so hormonal after giving birth, but we had several good cries together.  At nap time one day you were being especially difficult.  I sat down in the chair in your room with you and had a little heart to heart.  I asked you what was wrong you said, "Emma".  I asked you if it was hard having Emma here now and you whimpered and said, "Yes."  BROKE MY HEART!  I know that in the long run having a sister will be such a blessing for you, but right now it's just a hard transition.  Thankfully after that first rough week, things have gotten a lot better and you have become the best big sister!  You LOVE Emma and love to hold her and sing to her and hold her hand.  It's precious!  In time you won't even remember a time before Emma was part of our family....nor will you want to! 

This month we have had family at our house nearly the whole time.  A few days before Emma was born MeMaw and PaPaw came to stay with us and then the day before Emma was born, Grandma and Grandpa came too.  We had a full house!  Then throughout the month MeMaw and PaPaw and Grandma and Grandpa took turns staying here to help us out.  You were spoiled rotten!  You became a bit on the demanding side and started to display some of the "terrible two's" traits.  Not fun!  However, with all the chaos that a new baby brings, we have cut you a lot of slack and tried to be understanding of this major transition.

Your sleep has remained the same this month - bedtime at 7:45 or 8pm and waking between 7-8am.  Naps continued to be hit or miss this month, with napping becoming non-existent at the end of the month.  We finally installed a video monitor in your bedroom which has been great.  We can now see what you are up to and have realized just how restless of a sleeper you are.  It has also shown us just how big you are and how it really is time to move you to a "big girl" bed....something mommy has been dreading!  At the end of this month we decided it was time to get a clock for your room that will light up green when nap time is over ("Ok to Wake" clock) to let you know it's okay to get up.  We are hopeful that this will help you sleep or at least rest during nap time.  We'll see!

This month we noticed just how OCD you are (just like your mommy).  You love to line your little people up in a circle, all facing the same way.  Then you lay them all down (to go "nigh-nigh") one by one...repeat.  It is a very tedious process, but you love it.  You do the same thing with your crayons.  First you dump them all out, then you do a little scribble on the paper with one, then line it up.  Repeat with each color until you have a perfect little line of crayons.  Sorry for passing that character trait on to you.  ;-)  Your imagination took off this month as well.  When you play with your dollhouse or little people or baby dolls you have a full conversation with them.  Recently you started to pretend that your playroom is a forest, complete with animals.  You say, "I see a tiger" or "I see a mommy elephant and a teeny tiny baby elephant.  I want to give that baby elephant a big big hug."  It is so fun to see your imagination growing!

Potty training continues to be put on hold, per your request.  When we ask you if you want to sit on the potty you always say, "No" and then "When I'm older I will".  It is hard to convince you that you are old enough right now!  At the end of the month I did manage to convince you to sit on the potty for about 5 minutes, but you didn't do anything.  Thankfully your extreme fear of poop has started to wane a bit.  You still always tell us that you don't want to see your poop (which baffles me because we have never shown you your poop!), but at least you now admit when you have pooped (unlike last month when you were denying that you pooped at all).  You constantly tell us that you are going to go poop and I always ask you if you want to go on the potty and you say, "No, in my diaper".  It's a bit frustrating that you are being so stubborn about not using the potty when I know you could do it easily, but I know it will happen in due time.

Your favorite foods this month were cottage cheese (this is what you asked for at every single meal!), cheese, cookies (every time we go to Publix or Costco), ice cream (frozen yogurt really), grilled cheese, and almond butter and jelly sandwiches.

You now know how to count to 13 and can show 1, 2, or 5 fingers when asked (3 and 4 are a bit harder to manipulate with your fingers).

Other 28 Month Stats:
- You weigh 31 pounds
- You wear size 2T (getting too small), 3T, or 4T clothes
- You wear a size 8 shoe
- You wear size 6 diapers, day and night

I am so proud of you Hannah!  You have transitioned to being a big sister so well and are so sweet to Emma!  She is lucky to have you as her big sister and I pray that you will be best friends always!