Hannah: 37 Months

Hannah,

This stage is a fun one!  You are knee deep in the pretend play stage and I love it.  You got dress up clothes for your birthday and your favorite is the pink waitress costume.  You are the cutest waitress I have ever seen.

While I love most everything about this age, I do not like the pooping struggles we have been dealing with around here.  You refuse to even try to poop on the potty, always saying, "I won't".  You only go every 2-3 days or longer and only in your diaper (at night or nap) or even rarely in your panties. 

You still walk on your tippy toes 24/7.

We spent a week in Panama City at Grandma and Grandpa Vaccaro's house (March 23-30).  You absolutely loved the jumpy pillow at Pier Park and the beach. 

You are such a funny little girl.  Just the other night you were laying in bed with Daddy and you asked him to tickle you.  You stuck your arms up over your head and said, "I have my arms open and stuff."  HAHA

We had your 3 year well check-up this month (late) and you did GREAT!  I give all the credit to your favorite TV show, Daniel Tiger.  Thank you very much for having a doctor visit episode Daniel!

Riding a tricycle can be added to your can do list this month, although you still need lots of help.  You can also walk up the stairs alternating feet very well now.  However, going down you always lead with your left foot.  These were skills we were told to work with you on at the physical therapy evaluation we had a few months ago.  Unfortunately you are still walking on your tippy toes 24/7, so we will need to start some sort of physical therapy soon.

37 Month Stats
- Favorite foods: carbs, broccoli, candy ("special treats"), meatballs, peas, plain yogurt, cereal bars ("Kashi bars"), frozen blueberries, carrots, hummus, beans, cheese
- Least favorite foods: strawberry yogurt, strawberries
- Favorite TV show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Hannah: 3 YEARS OLD!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our "Little Peanut"!!

3 years old....how is that possible?  This past year has FLOWN by!  Your third year of life was filled with so much excitement and so many changes!  The biggest of all was that you became a big sister.  And let me just say that I am so proud of you!  You are such a wonderful big sister!  Emma is blessed to call you "sissy".  I can't believe how big you seem this year compared to last.  There is a huge difference between 2 and 3 years old.  You are truly a little girl now, no longer a "baby".  I have so greatly enjoyed watching you grow this past year and look forward to many more years to come!!  You are such a sweetie, learning to explore your independence (this can be hard at times, but we know it is a necessary skill), loving, cuddly, happy, and full of energy. 

Here's what makes you YOU at THREE....

You are officially POTTY TRAINED!  I honestly didn't think I would be saying that for a LONG time.  We have struggled so much with potty training!  But at the beginning of this month, we tried again and succeeded!  The first few days were HARD...lots of screaming and tantrums and more holding episodes, but by day 4 things were much better!  Peeing is not an issue at all now (AMAZING!) but pooping is.  This doesn't bother or surprise me much as I have always heard this is a struggle when potty training.  Your issue is not that you are having accidents, but that you are holding it for several days saying you are "scared".  Breaks my heart.  You have resorted to pooping in your diaper in the middle of the night which is annoying because of the middle of the night wake up call, but honestly I'd rather you do that then hold it continuously.  I know you will figure it out eventually!

You can now identify nearly every letter of the alphabet (capital and lowercase), although there are some that still trick you up.  You also know every color and shape without a problem.  Your vocabulary is nearly on par with an adult and you are understandable 99% of the time.  You still have trouble pronouncing certain letter sounds correctly, but that is very normal for a 3 year old....and cute! :-)

You are such a wonderful big sister, always trying to help and make Emma happy.  You do all kinds of silly things in hopes of seeing Emma crack a smile...precious!  In the beginning of the month, Emma was very sick and you were just so incredibly sweet.  I spent several days taking care of Emma, meaning you got very little attention.  But you were such a champ and a wonderful helper.  I'm just so proud of the little lady you are becoming!

Your favorite activity is swinging on the swings in our backyard.  You are a bit obsessed!  The only downside is that you refuse to pump your legs and if we can't push you, you have a meltdown.  Not fun.  :-(  You also LOVE the show 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood' on PBS. Your other favorite activity is being tickled. :-). Your still obsessed with the color pink, so that was the theme of your third birthday party. :). Pink everywhere!

One negative effect of turning 3 seems to be the whining and sass that come with this age.  I've always heard that 3 is worse than 2 and I definitely believe it.

3 Year Stats

Height - 39.5"

Shoe Size - 8.5 or 9

Clothes Size - 3T-5T (varies by brand)

Diaper Size - 6 overnights & 3T-4T pull-ups for nap time

Today, on your third birthday, I conducted your very first birthday interview which proved to be rather funny.  You didn't quite understand the concept and simply answered the questions with whatever first popped into your head. But isn't that what being 3 is all about anyway?  Here are some of my favorite answers:

- Favorite thing to eat for lunch? "Peas"

- Favorite outfit? "Lovie pants with the kitty cat shirt" (your pjs)

- Favorite game? "Matching game because I do really good and that makes me happy."

- Favorite song? "I Love You", "Lullaby" and "Goodnight Sweetheart" (your 3 bedtime songs)

- Best friend? "Emma" (melts my heart)

- Where do you like to eat? "Pamera" (Panera)

- What is Mommy's job? "Feed Emma and me"

- What does Daddy do at work? "Work, work"

- What makes you happy? "Mommy & Daddy"

Precious girl, YOU make us happy!  Your smile brightens up a whole room and your laughter is contagious.  We love you all the way to the moon and back...that's a lot of love!!!!

Hannah: 35 Months

Hannah,

Sickness, oh sickness. I am SO sick of sickness! You had yet another cold at the beginning of this month. I started something new this time - elderberry syrup and echinacea drops. I'm not sure if it worked or not, but it did seem to speed up the sickness, which is huge! I will definitely try it again next time you are sick, which I'm sure will be very soon!  This sickness was the final straw and the catalyst for a big decision....homeschooling!  We pulled the trigger and decided to take your out of preschool.  Homeschooling was something we had seriously considered but when enrollment began (January 2012) we decided to sign up at the very last minute.  With your little sister coming, I knew it was going to be a crazy time and I thought it would be a good break for both of us.  You loved school, but unfortunately your immune system did not!  You spent the entire time sick, from one cold to another.  Every time you got sick, your sister did to and it was just too much.  Since I had always been on the fence about preschool (especially two year old preschool) I knew it was time to pull you out.  It took you a few weeks to realize you weren't going back because you kept saying, "When I'm better I will go back to school."  But now when I ask you about school you say, "Mommy is my teacher" and you tell me that you would rather be home with me and Emmie.  Love that!  Here's to hoping the sicknesses will subside now that you are away from all the germs!

Our first 3 weeks of homeschooling were great.  I found a "curriculum" online that is bible based and I love it.  You have been excited about "doing school" every day and I have loved watching your eyes light up with excitement when you learn something new!  I think I am really going to love homeschooling!

Another big transition this month was to a full size bed.  You were getting way too big for your toddler bed, so we knew it was time.  We had recently purchased a new bedroom set for the guest room (finally upgrading from a full size bed to a queen) so we moved the old mattress into your room and converted your toddler bed into a full size.  We pushed one side up to the wall and have a guard rail on the other side, in hopes of encouraging you to stay in the bed.  So far you have done great with that.  You have gotten out a few times, but never left your room.  Let's hope that continues!  You look so big in a full size bed and definitely more comfortable!

The age of fears is upon us! You have suddenly started being afraid of everything - the potty, the stairs, sitting on something high (like the counter), anything or anyone touching one of your "boo-boos", pulling a shirt over your head, and more.  The potty fear is still very much an issue and you continue refusing to pee or poo on the potty.  The other day you did trick us into giving you a lollipop by saying you would poop on the potty while you ate it.  I'm willing to try anything to get you potty trained, so why not!?  5 minutes later and you came walking out to give me the stick and said, "I don't want to go potty."  Oy vey!  You kill me child!  You may very well end up being the oldest child in diapers.  However, we did tell you that when you turn 3, the potty fairy will be coming to take away all the diapers.  Can you tell we are getting desperate!?

We started using a chore chart this month.  You have two chores - feeding Bubbles and helping with laundry (pulling clothes out of the dryer, matching socks, putting clothes in the dryer, and "folding" washcloths).  You have really enjoyed helping out around the house and I have enjoyed the help!  Overtime we will add more chores to the chart.  Right now you are perfectly happy with a reward of putting another magnet sticker on the chart, but eventually I think we will have to figure out another incentive to keep you motivated.

Your sisterly love continued this month.  A few days ago Emma was playing with your baby doll stroller and pulled it down on top of herself, falling backwards onto the wood floor.  She was crying and upset when you ran over and grabbed the stroller and said, "Let's get this out of here so Emma doesn't get hurt.  I'm so sorry Emma."  Oh my big girl, you are just so sweet!  Emma is blessed to have such a great big sister!

Your favorite foods this month were pancakes with syrup, "kashi" bars (any cereal bar), apricots, sweet potatoes, cottage cheese, and shredded cheese.  Your favorite snack continued to be the Clif Bars and fruit snacks.

Silly, silly girl.  Your latest favorite saying is "Aka Whack".  Huh?!  I pray that you never lose your silliness!

Other 35 Months Stats:
-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)
-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)

-You wear size 6 diapers

I am so excited to begin this homeschooling journey with you and be able to watch you learn every single day.  I know just how fleeting these young years are and I will never be able to get these years back.  We may not decide to homeschool forever, but I know that I will absolutely never regret keeping you home this year!  We will just take it one year at a time.  I love you precious girl....oh, and can we stop this whole "mom" and "dad" business!  You are way too young to be using those names!  Let's stick with "Mommy" and "Daddy", okay?!

 

Hannah: 34 Months

Hannie,

Another month, come and gone.  Just 2 more months and you will be 3!!  Yikes!  This past month was a busy one - Christmas, PT & OT evaluations, and more sickness. 

Leading up to Christmas we were very busy with preparations.  Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Chris all came for Christmas, so we had a lot to do to prepare.  In the midst of preparing, we were dealing with even more sickness (you and Emma).  We went back to the doctor on Dec. 22 and you were diagnosed with a sinus and eye infection.  You were put on amoxicillin for 10 days and a round of eye drops.  It was a nightmare trying to do the eye drops with you.  I don't blame you...they are definitely no fun.  We ended up only do two days of those before we just gave up.  Thankfully the amoxicillin cleared up both infections.  Just three days ago we went back to the doctor for a suspected yeast infection.  You kept complaining about your "girly parts" hurting.  They needed a urine sample, but since you are not potty trained, trying to attain one was impossible.  They stuck a bag on you in hopes of catching some, but you are WAY to smart for that.  There was no way you were going to pee into that.  You were hysterical about having it on you and wanted it off right away.  Amazingly I convinced you to keep it on for about an hour, but after that it was a wasted cause.  I started putting anti-fungal cream on you and thankfully that seemed to clear it up.  Who knows?!?!  In addition to your two doctor visits, we took you for two different evaluations as well.  On Dec. 19 we went for a physical therapy evaluation.  Our biggest concerns were your toe walking and severe resistance to potty training.  They gave us a few stretches to do with you and a plastic brush to use on your arms, legs and back to work on desensitizing your heightened senses.  Overall, they suggested an occupational therapy evaluation for slight sensory issues.  We did the occupational therapy evaluation on January 3.  It was essentially a complete waste of time.  You scored very well in every area, with just a few quirks that stood out.  But honestly, you are just a typical toddler...certain things scare you and you are more sensitive to certain things, but nothing concerning.  They did recommend a few months of therapy, but unfortunately it is not covered by our insurance, so we most likely will not do it.  Of course if we were really concerned we would do the therapy in a heart beat.  Our plan for now is to just keep an eye on things.

Christmas was wonderful.  This was your first Christmas at home and it was so memorable!  We went to the Christmas Eve service at church and it was your first time sitting in the "big" church during a service.  You did great!  You loved all the singing and sat quietly during the sermon, thanks to lots of snacks. :-)  My favorite part of Christmas Eve was at our house when you sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.  I even got it on video. :-)  We tried our best to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas.  Seeing the look on your face when you came down and saw all the presents on Christmas morning was priceless!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, our tree was overflowing!  Your favorite presents were the Bitty Baby crib, the mobi-go game system, and the Playmobile schoolhouse.  But truly I think you were just overwhelmed with all the people and presents. 

One of your newest fears is "the man".  Every night after we put you to bed, you scream until we come back in and then you smirk and say, "the man" as you point to your curtain rod.  We've started praying with you for Jesus to help you to not be afraid.  You also have a new fear of getting "stuck" in a shirt.  You only want mommy to dress and undress you because of this, but thankfully you are getting pretty good at doing it yourself, which helps ease your fear.  You can nearly undress yourself completely unassisted - socks, shoes, diaper, pants, and shirts.

Your favorite game right now is hide-and-seek.  You love playing with daddy, but you don't quite get the rules and concept of the game.  You are always the "seeker", even when you are supposed to be hiding. :-)  You are still in love with all your baby dolls.  You love to push them around in the stroller, "feed" them in Emma's highchair and change their diapers.  Such a good mommy!

Thanks to preschool, you can now put your jacket on all by yourself.  They taught you a cute rhyme to remember how to do it - "Tag at toes, arms in holes, flip it up and over your nose."  You are just getting so big!

You continue to amaze me with how great you are with Emma.  I overheard you talking to Emma just yesterday when she was fussing during lunchtime.  You said, "What's the matter sweet girl?  It's okay.  One day you will be big like me, Emmie."  So cute!  You just love Emma.  You love to make her laugh and smile.  You are even doing better with sharing with her, but this is definitely still that hardest part of being a big sister.  Sharing is hardest if Emma is playing with something pink.  You always take away all the pink toys because that is your favorite color.

Your favorite foods this month were yogurt in a tube ("Panera yogurt") but only the pink ones, grilled chicken, bread, plain pasta, frozen peas, broccoli (cooked or raw), oatmeal ("oakie milk"), mommy's baked chicken nuggets, shredded cheese, strawberry poky sticks, bean & cheese quesadilla, and candy canes.  Every day you want the same "snackie" after nap time - Welch's fruit snacks and a Clif Bar (chewy granola bars).  You are definitely a creature of habit....typical 2 year old!  Foods that you didn't like this month were (yes, shockingly there are a few things you won't eat) - blueberries, tomatoes, sauce, grapes, anything green (except you do like broccoli and peas), or skin on apples or potatoes. 

Other 34 Months Stats:
-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)

-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)

-You wear size 6 diapers

 

Welcome to 2013 sweet Hannah Grace.  I can't wait to see what this new year holds for you.  One thing I know for certain - our love for you will grow even deeper (how is that even possible!?)  We love you little peanut!!

Hannah: 33 Months

Hannah,

My beautiful girl!  Your 33rd month of life has been full of ballet, traveling, Thanksgiving, sickness (again), Christmas countdown, and another potty training attempt.

One of my favorite conversations with you happened this month.  It went like this:
You: "Mommy, I like you."
Me: "Hannie, I love you!"
You: "No Mommy, I like you!"
Me: "Well, I like you and love you Hannie."
You: "I love you too Mommy!"
Sometimes, you just make my heart melt!  I will never stop loving you precious girl! 

For Thanksgiving we went to MeMaw and PaPaw's house in Florida.  You did such a great job on the ride down and back!  You even did great when we drove home through the night and had to transfer you into your bed at midnight.  It was so fun to see family!  When we returned from Florida, we wasted no time to start decorating for Christmas.  We started two Christmas traditions this year.  First is our advent calendar with a winter playmobile scene and bible verses that tell the story of Jesus' birth.  You love pulling a new piece out of the calendar to add to the scene every night.  Our other tradition is our Christmas countdown books.  We have 24 Christmas books in a basket under the tree and each night you pick one for us to read at bedtime.  Our first book (on Dec. 1) was "The Bearenstein Bear's Christmas Tree"...a family favorite from when I was little!  We all love spending time snuggling under the tree. :-)

This month you napped more often than not, which was a nice change!  Unfortunately your naps are still very short (never longer than 45 minutes) and you wake up screaming, crying after your cat nap...still tired and yawning. :-(. You are also taking a long time to fall asleep every night (1-2 hours some nights) and waking during the night and early in the morning.  You are just so overtired!  The great news though is that you are still sleeping in your big girl bed like a champ! You have still never attempted to get out of bed on your own...amazing!

Ballet lessons continued this month and you still like them very much.

You truly are the best big sister!  It is very rare that you are mean to Emma and are always wanting to hug her and play with her.  Every time I put Emma down for a nap you say, "Make good choices Emma.  Have sweet dreams.  Wait until your light is green.  Night Emma."  Just so sweet.

You spent most of this month sick with two more colds.  Yikes!  Will we ever build up immunity to all these germs?  Unfortunately all this sickness has been the hardest on Emma and this month things got pretty bad for her.  At the beginning of the month, Daddy went to Vegas for a work trip and we were on our own for the first time.  Scary!  Things got very bad on the second night that daddy was away when Emma took a turn for the worse and I ended up having to take her to the ER in the middle of the night.  I had to call my friend to come over and stay with you (since you were already asleep) and you did such an amazing job!  I ended up having to stay at the hospital with Emma for almost 24 hours (she was fine, but it was just precautionary) and since Daddy was away, you were shuffled around to several different people.  You woke up to Mrs. Asheley and you didn't bat an eye.  You did try to get her to give you candy for breakfast, but who can blame you.  ;-). When Mrs. Asheley had to leave, our neighbors came over to watch you (an older couple that you have met just a couple times).  Again, you didn't have any issue with that.  You just went about as if everything was normal.  So amazing!  When I realized Emma wasn't getting discharged anytime soon, I called another friend/neighbor to come get you.  You went over to their house with no fuss.  Thankfully I was able to get out by about 5pm and come get you at their house.  You were completely fine and didn't want to leave.  I was shocked by how adaptable you were throughout the whole ordeal!  I am forever grateful to our amazing friends and neighbors for being so incredible that day!  And I'm so proud of you for being so big!

Yet another attempt and failure with potty training happened at the end of this month.  Same results...holding your pee all day long.  Back to diapers.  Some day.  We scheduled a physical therapy evaluation to discuss your toe walking and potty training issues at the end of the month.  My guess is that you are dealing with some sensory processing issues, but we will see how it goes.  No matter what the outcome, we know that you are PERFECT!  There is nothing major that we are worried about, but just want to do everything we can to help you overcome these little struggles.

Other 33 month stats:

-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)

-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)

-You wear size 6 diapers 

You are such a joy and we are blessed to call you daughter! 

 

 

Hannah: 32 Months

Hannah Banana,

Wow! What a crazy month we have had! We spent the month dealing with more sickness, celebrating Fall and Halloween, starting ballet lessons, voting in the presidential election, and just having fun!

This month started with yet another runny nose for you! :-(. I tried a natural cold remedy that I found online (1T honey mixed with 1t cinnamon four times per day) but I honestly didn't notice much difference. Thankfully you are not usually bothered by a cold and still have a ton of energy and are just as happy as can be. You did have to miss one day of school this month because of all the snot though. :-(. At the end of the month I also noticed a rash on hour cheeks, chest and arms. It lasted for just two days and didn't bother you at all, so not sure what it was....possibly fifths disease or a reaction to a new pair of pjs you wore. Who knows!? During Emma's 4 month check up I also mentioned to the doctor that you are still walking on your tippy toes. She checked the range of motion in your feet and referred us for a physical therapy evaluation at the local children's hospital. We will make that appointment soon.

We took our annual trip to Cagles Family Farm to take pictures in the pumpkin patch and kick off the Fall season. You spent most of the time on the bouncy pillow thing and we had to literally pull you off of it to head home. You would have jumped for hours if we had let you! You were also a big fan of the pumpkin bread we had there for snack. ;-). The next day we went to the pumpkin patch at the church behind our house. Since both you and your sister started melting down the day before at the farm, we weren't able to purchase pumpkins there, so we picked them out at the church. We picked a big one and two little ones (one for you and one for Emma).

I tried to plan several fun at home activities this month. The first was building a pillow tower, which gave you hours of fun. You loved climbing on it and falling off. Lots of giggles and smiles despite feeling sick that day. We also made a sock puppet which you were in love with for several days! You held me hostage for the entire first day saying, "Talk to Hannah" and showing the puppet all of your toys. You also surprised me this month when I realized that you know nearly all the letters of the alphabet now. It had been a while since I "tested" you on them and you knew all but 5 or 6.

Naps were hit or miss this month, with days of napping vs. days of not napping being 50/50. We also noticed a dramatic decrease in your appetite this month. You eat very little at every meal and waste so much food unless it is a "snack", which you seem to have no problem eating! The few foods that you did like this month were feta cheese, watermelon, "oakie milk" (oatmeal), salmon, grilled cheese, candy, sweet potatoes, broccoli, pasta, meatballs, and cheese in general. One of my favorite quotes from this month was after I had a very rough night with Emma and I told you I needed a nap. You said, "Lets go eat. It will make you feel better Mommy." Haha. More of your other favorite quotes this month were, "Mommy, how does your neck feel?" (I have been going to the chiropractor for a while now because of my chronic neck pain), "Oh yeah", and calling me "Momma". Your go-to prayer at bedtime is "Heavenly Father, thank you Jesus for this wonderful day. Thank you for protecting us and making me feel better. Amen."

Your favorite things this month were the moon (when you see it you get so excited and say "hi moon"), going to the "toy store" (any toy that has toys...but you are so good because you never ask us to buy anything and when it's time to go you simply put the toys back and walk away with no problem), your pink lovie (you carry it around everywhere with you in the house but we have a rule that it has to stay in the house or in the car), when mommy talks for Emma to you ("hi sissy"), the song "Children of The Lord", when daddy does "roll the baby" in the towel after a bath, and singing yourself to sleep at bedtime and nap time. One of your least favorite things this month was washing your hair at bath time because of your fear of getting water in your ears. :-(.

We celebrated Halloween in a few ways this year. Our first activity was trunk or treat at your school. You dressed as a princess in one of mommy's old ballet tutus and a crown...so cute! Next was your halloween party at school. When mommy got to the school for your party I saw your class walking down the hallway and you were the line leader for the day! So cute! Our final celebration was on halloween when we went trick or treating with your friend Anne in her neighborhood. You dressed up as Little Bea from your favorite bedtime story because my was way too cold for your princess costume that night! For the first few houses you were very timid but after you realized what was happening, you had a blast and didn't want to stop! You also had a major obsession with our neighbor's blow up pumpkin. You would ask several times each day to "see that man's pumpin" and always laughed at the witch that sticks out of it.

We had your first parent/teacher conference this month at school. It was surreal to be on the parent side of a conference! The teacher pointed out that you are very attached to your friend Hannah and that you really don't play with anyone else. That made me a little sad because I want you to be confident enough to be your own person and not be a follower! But I also realize that not everyone can be a leader or should be. We will just have to be very mindful of the friendships that you keep as you get older as you will likely be very influenced by others! Speaking of friends...you had a very hard time sharing with your friend, Anne this month. She came over for dinner one night with her parents and you spent more than half the night throwing a fit over every single thing she touched. I hope it was just a combination of you being tired from no nap that day and the time change, but whatever it was, I definitely did not like it!

One of mommy's dreams came true this month when you started ballet lessons! Mommy took dance lessons for 15 years and absolutely loved dancing, so when I found out that I was going to be a mommy to a little girl I was beyond excited to pass on my love of dancing. Your first class on on October 29. We went to the local ballet store to buy your first leotard, tights and ballet shoes and you were so excited to be a ballerina! Your first class was a success and you loved getting to dress up as Snow White (each week you will dress up as a different character from a story). You dressed up as Sleeping Beauty in your second class and learned first position.

You came with mommy when I voted in the presidential election and really liked it. However, the only reason you liked it was because it meant that you got to play on the playground at the church (our polling place) after I finished and they gave you an "I voted" sticker. ;-). When I told you that our candidate didn't win (the next day) you said, "Awww, maybe next time." :-)

Other 32 month stats:
-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)
-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)
-You wear size 6 diapers

Hannah Banana, you make me laugh. I love your sense of humor and the joy you bring us is immeasurable! We love you more than you'll ever know!

Hannah: 31 Months

"Little" Peanut,

Not so little anymore, but as I always tell you, you will always be my baby! Another month has sped by and we are gearing up for a crazy time of year with Halloween, Thanksgiving and then Christmas! It will be 2013 before we know it! Speaking of Halloween, we pulled out all our fall decorations this month and you have two new favorite toys now! Grandma's friend, Mrs. Lori, gave us two large stuffed animals (as talk as you). One is a black cat and the other is a ghost. You love them and play with them every single day. You are constantly giving them hugs and carrying them around the house. So cute!

This month was full of sickness, family and cooler temperatures. At the beginning of this month Uncle Brent and Aunt Lauren came to visit and meet Emma for the fist time and MeMaw and PaPaw came too. It was great to see everyone and you loved all the attention! At the end of the month we took our first trip as a family of four to Panama City, FL to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Uncle Chris came down to meet Emma for the first time and Aunt Julie came home too. We spent a full week down there which was great. You did a great job on the ride down and back (thanks to the portable DVD player!). The four of us slept in the same room while we were there and that proved to be very difficult. You, my dear, are not easy to sleep next to! You snore louder than most grown men! It's intense. Mommy didn't get much sleep that week and decided that I simply cannot sleep in the same room with you. We will have to figure something out for our next visit. But thankfully you did do a wonderful job sleeping in the twin bed while we were there and didn't attempt to get out on your own. Still amazes me!

Preschool has continued to be a favorite activity this month. Still no tears and nothing but smiles when I drop you off and pick you up. This month we started morning carpool and you did great! The only negative part of school are all the germs you keep picking up! You just started your third cold since starting school and you've only been going for one month! Yikes! At the beginning of this month you had your second cold which turned into croup. You gave us a major scare one night when you woke up in the middle of the night gagging and choking with the croupy cough. Thankfully that was the worst of it and it went away after a few more days.

One of my favorite things you have learned since starting school is the prayer you sing before snack time..."Father thank you, Father thank you, for our food, for our food." It's precious! You also have learned "prayer hands" which I love.

Naps have been great this month! You have actually been sleeping for almost a full hour everyday! AMAZING! I realize that many toddlers sleep for much longer every day with no issue but for you, this is a big deal! A solid hour without screaming is amazing. I really think your 'okay to wake' clock is working and I'm thrilled. Of course all the sleeping could also be attributed to the many sicknesses your little body has been fighting this month. (Thank you preschool!)

Baby dolls continue to be a favorite toy as well as little people and other small animal figurines. Your baby dolls are constantly using the potty and wearing your big girl panties, but you refuse to do the same. You would think that as often as you talk about the potty that you would want to use it...nope! We had a few random moments this month when you wanted to wear panties so I let you. However you continue to be scared to actually use the potty so you end up holding it for as long as possible. But one time this month you did actually pee in the potty! This was a big deal for you and I was so proud of you. It took a lot of back and forth and you weren't eager, but you did it and did it all by yourself! I was feeding Emma so I couldn't help you. You kept running back and forth to tell me that you had gone when actually you hadn't. But then you finally did. To help you not be afraid I had put a cloth diaper in the bottom of your little potty and told you that you could sit on the potty and pee in your diaper. Tricky, right?! :-). While it worked for that one instance you were no longer interested the following day and I didn't push it. You will get there on your own and if not I will force the issue next summer. We have stopped all talk about the potty with you and have let you take the lead completely. So any little bit of interest is exciting to me.

This month your fear of bugs really started showing. That apple didn't fall far! Mommy and Daddy aren't big fans either. According to you, all bugs are called bees and when you see one (no matter how small) you freak out. Silly girl! Another quirk that started to show this month is how much you hate having your hands dirty. One day this month you had a complete meltdown at lunch when you were eating a PBJ and your hands were messy. Yikes!

This month we started doing formal time outs with you. Pretty amazing that we have never needed to do them before now. You truly are so well behaved! Unfortunately the time outs did not work very well as you seemed to really enjoy them. After a few days you started trying to get sent to time out. You would do something wrong, like pulling on Emma's arm, and then look at me and say, "I need to go to time out." Stinker! I think it was just the novelty of something new along with the timer that we used during timeout. We often found you sitting on the steps playing with the little egg timer and if we asked you what you were doing you would tell us that you were in time out. So silly. Needless to say, we didn't end up using time out very much this month. For the most part, we are able to discipline you just by talking to you (your communication skills are above and beyond the typical two year olds) or by giving you a spanking when needed.

Your latest silly saying is, "What's the big idea?" We have daddy to thank for teaching this to you. But I have to say that it's pretty adorable!

One thing that you really struggled with this month was sharing with your sister. I fear that this is only going to get harder as she gets more interactive, but we will see. Anytime I try to put Emma in the swing, bouncy seat, exert saucer, etc. you run to grab your baby doll and try to put her in before infer Emma in. When I tell you no you have a complete meltdown. You even try to pull Emma out of whatever I have out her in which is certainly not nice! Thankfully you have gotten a little better with this as the month progressed but it is definitely something we are still working on.

Favorite foods this month were hard-boiled eggs, nuts, bread (not toast) with almond butter, raspberries, baby bell cheese, crackers, squeezy pouches (puréed fruit and veggies), applesauce, sugar snap peas, and cottage cheese. I also made you your first almond butter and banana sandwich which you loved.

Other 31 month stats:
-You wear 3T and 4T clothes
-You wear size 8-8.5 shoes
-You wear size 5 or 6 diapers (6 at night for sure!)
-You weigh 33 pounds and are 37.5" tall (90th percentile)

Little peanut, I love you! You are so special and bring us so much joy! We thank God for you every day and are so proud to call you daughter!

Ready or Not...

We have started a new chapter in life...SCHOOL! Hannah started preschool on September 4th! She is in the two's class and going two days a week, for 3 hours each day. It was definitely bitter-sweet seeing her start "school". She was so excited on her first day and thankfully the excitement has continued.  She is in a class with one of her best friends (the "other Hannah") and she loves her teachers!  I love that she has something fun to do twice per week since there aren't a lot of fun things happening here with a newborn around.  I love that she is becoming independent, but I hate it too! :-(  My baby is growing up and there is nothing I can do to stop her.  Boo!

August 29, 2012 - Meet Your Teacher Day

Hannah did great!  I dropped her in her classroom for one hour while I went to a meeting for the parents.  She was happy when I dropped her off and happy when I picked her up!  I was pleasantly surprised!

 

 

 

September 4, 2012 - First Day of Preschool

Hannah had a GREAT first day.  Mommy and Daddy took her in for her first day of school and she walked right into her class, without hesitation!  A huge success!

 

September 18, 2012 - 5th Day of School

Showing off her "I Love School" shirt!  It's true! :-)

 

 

September's Art Work

I am taking a picture of each of Hannah's creations that she makes at school.

 

 

 

 

Hannah: 2.5 Years Old/30 Months

Sweet, Sweet Hannah,

I can't believe it...2.5 years old!  Really?  I know I've said it before, but please slow down!  We have spent the last month adjusting to a new routine...Preschool!  You have far surpassed my expectations with how you have handled the transition.  I was so surprised with how well you handled the separation and am proud to say that you have not cried one time!  Amazing! 

You continue to amaze me with how well you are doing in the toddler bed.  You have continued to stay in your bed until we come to get you up (from naps or in the morning).  Even if you don't sleep, you lay in your bed the whole time.  Such a good girl! :-)  You also love when Mommy lays in your bed with you to read bedtime stories or say bedtime prayers.  It's my favorite part of the day too!  You and Daddy started reading the bible together every night, which is absolutely precious.  You always request the same stories - "Baby in a basket" (the story of Moses) and "The Garden Story" (Adam and Eve).  I wanted to give you a snapshot of our bedtime routine: We start the process at 7:15 or 7:20pm with a new diaper (an overnight diaper), pjs and "naked baby" time (where you run around like a crazy person).  Next we brush your teeth (Mommy or Daddy brush them first and then it's your turn).  Then you drink water from a small paper cup.  We then go back into your room and Daddy reads you one book and several bible stories.  Next we do bedtime prayers.  We ask you what you want to pray about (usually MeMaw and PaPaw, Grandma and Grandpa, your friends, or whoever you say that day).  Then you pray, "Heavenly Father, thank you Jesus for ______.  Amen."  Then one of us prays and you are sure to interject your requests the whole time. :-)  We then sing you two or three songs (always the Barney song "I love you" and our version of "Lullaby and Goodnight" and sometimes "Goodnight Sweetheart").  We tuck you in by 7:45pm, turn on your sound machine, fan, and clock.  We usually have to come back in at least one time to tuck you in again or threaten a spanking before you fall asleep around 8:30pm.  Thankfully this back and forth seemed to subside by the end of the month.  You are sleeping for 11-12 hours each night and 1 hour tops for your nap (every couple days, but for the most part you are just playing in your bed).  But I'll take it!

One thing that you surprisingly haven't ever been interested in is choosing your outfit each day.  I have talked to several friends and am always surprised with how opinionated their children are and what a struggle it is to get them dressed every day.  Thankfully we have never had any issues with dressing you!  So this month, I decided it was time to start giving you some options with your clothes.  I let you pick between two choices for either the top or bottom half of your outfit and then I pick the rest.  That way you are gaining some independence, but still matching! :-)  The only thing you are slightly opinionated about is that you LOVE to wear pink!

Your favorite toys are your new wooden blocks (love making "castles"), playdough, babies, little people, little animals, "teeny tiny baby" (a little plastic baby from the King Cake that Grandpa gave you), and reading.  Your favorite foods are beans, pita chips, cheese, raspberries, dried fruit, Annie's organic snack crackers ("bunnies"), cottage cheese, broccoli, carrots, frozen peas, ice cream, cake, cauliflower, bread, and pizza.  You continue to love water only to drink!  Your favorite TV shows are Super Why, Barney, Curious George, and Clifford.

Favorite sayings this month:

- "I have milk in my boops (boobs) now" - as you nurse your baby dolls

- "I'm so sared (scared)" - while you run away from Bubbles

- "Oakie milk" - for oatmeal

- "Mommy said ____" - you always remember everything I tell you!  Always keeping me in check!

- "Having a little sister is the best!" or "I love having a baby.  It's the best!"

- "It's a little bit spicy" - different foods you try, like Daddy's special chicken

- "Whatever" - thank you daddy

Speaking of sayings, you are so funny when it comes to following the rules.  Whenever anyone says "What the heck", you immediately snap your head around to look at me and say, "We don't say heck!"  I told you once that you shouldn't say that because it's not a nice word and you have never forgotten that "rule".  The same goes for "poopy" and "pee pee" because one day you were saying those words over and over, being silly and I told you that it wasn't nice to say that.  Now you have taken it to an extreme and anytime I say "Emma has a poopy" or "Let's change your pee pee diaper" you are sure to let me know that "We don't say that".  HAHA

Mommy is a little embarrassed about this, but we made your first blanket tent this month.  Yes, I know, I should have done this a long time ago, but it's one of those things I kept forgetting to do.  You loved it!  You brought all your babies into the tent and hung out in there for quite some time.  We made several tents this month.  And just to clarify, while this may have been your first blanket tent, it wasn't your first tent experience!  You have had your own pink tent for nearly a year now!  So you haven't been completely deprived! ;-)

Sharing has been a big struggle lately...go figure, a two year old that doesn't share well. :-)  While I'm not concerned, it is a bit embarrassing to have the child that cries every time someone takes something you want to play with (which always is whatever they have!) or that will have a meltdown every time your friends come over to play because you just don't want to share anything.  I know this is a phase though and am hopeful that preschool will be beneficial in this arena.

One thing that I have started to be concerned about is your love of walking on your tip toes.  You have been doing this for as long as I can remember (probably since you started walking, but I'm not 100% sure).  I made the mistake of googling tip toe walking and have now been working with you everyday to teach you to walk correctly ("heel/toe").  You can do it, but it is definitely not your natural inclination.  You always walk on your tip toes unless I constantly remind you to walk correctly, which drives us both crazy.  I am pleased to see that you can walk on your feet flat, but I don't like that it is so uncomfortable looking when you do it.  I need to call the pediatrician to see what she thinks, but I am hoping that this is just a little quirk that will fade in time.

A major point of contention this month was potty training (AGAIN!).  I was determined to get you trained (since you are definitely ready physically and you actually asked to wear panties!), so I started on August 17 with nothing but panties.  You were excited as well!  On the first day you had no accidents (YEAH!) but also no successes.  You literally held it all day, from wake time until nap and then from nap until bedtime.  You soaked your nap time and bedtime diaper!  I knew that couldn't be good, but I continued on in hopes that it would click.  On day two you had two pee accidents (one at our friend's house!) and 1 poop accident (also at our friend's house!).  Another day of no successful potty trips.  Frustrating!  On day 3 you had two successful trips to the potty!  You peed twice in the potty, but did have two poop accidents.  I was very excited for progress!  Day 4 was another bust.  Once again you held your pee all morning, until nap time (5.5 hours!) and then after nap time you peed all over the kitchen floor while running around saying, "I don't want to pee on the potty!".  UGH!  This fear of peeing on the potty is very frustrating!  I gave up on Day 5, seeing that you really weren't making any progress and were seriously afraid of going on the potty.  I decided to take a new approach and let you decide if you wanted to wear panties or diapers.  You went back and forth all day and even peed in the potty once!  But you were VERY scared.  You also peed on the couch once.  Oops.  I decided that a good compromise would be to use cloth diapers in hopes of you not liking how they feel and wanting to wear panties. Unfortunately it didn't work and the laundry required was just too much.  I tried for two more days (on and off) and you simply aren't ready.  It has been a VERY frustrating thing for Mommy, but I know that you will get it one day.  I just hope it's sooner rather than later!

On August 19, we asked you what you want to be when you grow up.  The first thing you said was, "A Mushroom".  Silly girl!  Then we asked you if you wanted to be a doctor, to which you replied "No".  We then asked if you wanted to be a Mommy, to which you replied "No".  What about a nurse at the hospital?  "YES! And I'll help the newborn babies and take them to my house and give them all a big, big hug."  HAHA  You are so silly and so precious!  I hope you chase your dreams sweet girl, whatever they may be!

Other 2.5 Year/30 Month Stats:

- You wear size 3T or 4T clothes (majority 4T)
- You wear a size 8.5 shoes now
- You wear size 6 diapers, day and night

2.5 is a very fun age!  We love you so much Hannie!  It is such a blessing to be able to watch you grow everyday!



Potty Training Nightmare

Call me crazy, but we have embarked on the potty training wagon over here.  YIKES!  Hannah will be 2.5 in less than one month and it is time!  She communicates in full sentences and can have a complete conversation with you (has been doing this for several months) and shows all the signs of being ready.  She tells me every single time when she pees or poops in her diaper and wants me to change her constantly.  Could she be more ready?  If only it were that easy!  For some reason, Hannah has a deep fear of going on the potty.  It is not a fear of the actual potty (she will sit there for a LONG time with no results), it is an actual fear of producing something on the potty.  She is also resistant to trying to go on the potty or even sitting when told.  That I understand - what two year old willingly does something when told (terrible two's, remember?!).  But the fear of producing I don't really get.  Today was our first day wearing "big girl panties" (again...we tried this two weeks ago) and she managed to hold her pee from 9am until 1:30pm and then again from 2:30pm until 6:30pm.  She didn't have one accident, but also didn't have any successes either.  Her diaper at nap time was absolutely drenched (and so was her entire bed) and then when we went out to dinner tonight she peed in her pull up (with panties underneath), after holding it for 4 hours.  So frustrating!  I did nothing but praise her today and stayed 100% positive (not easy when you can see her doing the pee pee dance all over the house and knowing that she is obviously uncomfortable!) so I'm not sure where this fear is coming from, but it's annoying.  I have been going back in forth in my mind of weather I should just put her back in diapers or press on with the "big girl panties" not letting her know there is another option. 

I realize that we have had a lot of big transitions around here lately and this may not be the ideal time to potty train, but what am I supposed to do when she is asking to wear "big girl panties" and constantly wanting me to change her diaper every time she pees?  She is cognitively well aware of her bowels and should be able to easily take care of business on the potty! 

Can you tell I am frustrated (never a good time to write a blog post)?  I would love to hear all your suggestions or words of encouragement!  My plan for this weekend is to press on with the "big girl panties" and load her up with tons of liquids.  Pray for us!  I do not do well with messes and I can just envision the puddles of pee we will have all over our house tomorrow!  UGH!

I will be thrilled when this is something I look back on and wonder why I was so stressed about it!  But for now, I will live in this reality and suffer through it.  ;-)

Hannah: 29 Months Old

Hannah,

What an exciting month this has been!  It has been a month of change around here.  You are now sleeping in a big girl bed!  This is a major development because it was something I didn't think we would do for a while still.  Mommy was so nervous to move you into the toddler bed because let's be honest...you are not the best sleeper!  I figured that as soon as you had the freedom of being able to get out of bed, you would never sleep again.  Well, so far you have proven me wrong....thankfully!  :)  We converted your crib into a toddler bed on August 5 (just one week ago) and you have yet to escape.  While I know that this won't last forever, I'm pleasantly surprised with how well the transition has gone.  I think it helps that the toddler bed still looks very much like your crib did, just with a shorter front rail.  Your sleep has not improved since we made the transition, but it hasn't gotten any worse which is all one could hope for. 

Since the transition to the toddler bed went so well, Mommy decided to get really crazy and take a shot at potty training!  On August 8, we started and for the next two days you were completely naked from the waste down.  The first day you did okay, peeing in the potty 3 times and only having one or two accidents.  However, you were definitely afraid of going in the potty.  The second you would start peeing, you would jump off the potty in fear.  This resulted in a lot of peeing ending up on the floor, which was not fun, but I was hopeful that this fear would subside as you got used to going on the potty.  On day two things went from bad to awful!  Your fear seemed to increase, causing you to hold in your pee for the majority of the day, despite showing obvious signs that you needed to go.  It was breaking my heart that you were so afraid and as a result so uncomfortable all day.  Not to mention that you hadn't pooped in over 48 hours.  You were becoming very resistant to even sitting on the potty, let alone going in it, despite all my efforts to bribe you with candy and special treats.  That night I had a minor breakdown, not sure what to do the following day - continue on in our potty training or throw in the towel?  When you woke up on Friday, I stripped you down and pressed on with our potty training adventure.  After two hours of nothing (you were obviously holding it in) I could tell you were going to have an accident any minute.  Emma was waking from her nap, so I asked you to sit on the potty while I was upstairs tending to Emma.  You refused!  I knew if I left you downstairs alone you would surely have an accident, so I asked again, to which you refused.  This was my breaking point.  I sat down on the floor with you and put a pair of big girl panties next to a diaper and asked you which one you wanted to wear - big girl panties like your friend Hannah or a diaper like a baby.  You immediately chose diaper!  Boo!  So that was it...back to diapers.  I told you that anytime you wanted to use the big girl potty that you should just let me know and we would.  Or if you wanted to wear big girl panties again, to tell me.  As soon as I put the diaper on you, you looked right at me and said, "I'm making pee pee in my diaper."  AHHH!  Thanks for rubbing it in little peanut.  What was I supposed to say to that.  I just said, "Ok" and then had a good scream in my head and moved on with the day.  While I was very frustrated that we had gone backwards in our potty training adventure, I have to say that there was a weight lifted off my shoulders having you back in a diaper.  Those two days of potty training were so exhausting and I wasn't enjoying being with you.  The moment you were back in a diaper I was able to enjoy my precious little girl again and we had the best day.  I know that you will eventually be potty trained (although I have a hard time believing that you will ever be willing) so I am trying not to stress about it.  We will try again in a few months.

With all this big girl transitions this month I have really noticed just how big you are getting.  Having Emma to compare you to also makes you look so big!  I have been looking back at pictures and home videos of when you were Emma's age and it makes me realize just how fast time has gone.  Where did my little peanut go?  

You continue to be the best big sister to Emma!  When you see her you say, "Oh, look at that little cutie pie!"  When she cries or fusses you love to comfort her and say, "It's okay little girl." or "What's the matter Emma?" and give her her binky or hold her hand.  Absolutely precious!  You love to hold her and your favorite thing to do is make the three of us hold hands (Emma, Mommy and you) and sing the Barney theme song ("I love you, You love me"). 

This month you continued to love playing with your little people toys and even got a new little people princess castle to add to your collection.  You love it!  Your favorite thing to do continues to be lining up all your little people in a large circle and then turning them all so they are in a straight line and then lying them down to go "night night" one by one.  You also love building castles with your princess legos, playing with your baby dolls (taking them for walks in the stroller, feeding them from your "boobs", changing their diapers, putting them to sleep, etc.), and reading books.  You also loved going to church (the one time we actually made it there), which makes me hopeful for preschool, which starts in two weeks (on September 4).  Don't even get me started on the mixed emotions I have about you starting preschool!!  :-(

I have to say, the funniest thing this month were the random things that would pop out of your mouth!  There were so many funny things, but these are the ones I can remember:

- "I actually need some ice in my cup.  It's a need." (whenever you would say you "needed" ice I would ask you if it was a want or a need, so you started answering before I asked. haha)
- "They are going to the hospital to see the newborn babies." (talking about your little people)
- "Look at these pitty (pretty) stairs." (we got new wood on the stairs recently)
- "Hello sweetheart." (to Emma)
- "Come in my payroom (playroom)." (constantly!!)
- "She's such a cootie (cutie) pie." (about Emma)
- "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls." (before you would put on a dance show for us)
- "Momma" (your new name for me)
- "I want to do ____ for a couple more minutes." (hold Emma, play, etc.)
- "Talk to Hannah" (when you want us to be the voices for all your toys)
- "You member (remember) when we went to that wedding?  We see (saw) Lauren and Brent and Cody and Kyle and Audee (Audrey) and Buddy and MeMaw and PaPaw." (referring to my cousin, Lauren's wedding back in May...your memory is amazing!)

This month we used your new "Okay to Wake" clock for every nap and at bedtime.  While I was very hopeful that this would be the key to better napping for you, it has not been a magic cure.  For naps the clock is set on a timer for 1 hour and 15 minutes and then turns green to indicate it's time to get up.  Despite reminding you over and over and over again that you need to be quiet until the light turns green, you still continue screaming during nap time the majority of the time.  For part of the month (mid month) you were consistently sleeping for one hour for naps, but by the end of the month you were back to not sleeping at all.  I have read that this is a normal occurrence as a child begins to wean from their daytime nap.  Your bedtime remains 7:30 or 7:45pm and for the morning your clock always turns green at 7:45am.  You are fairly consistent in waking up around 7:30 or 8am.  There were several nights this month where you would struggle to fall asleep (calling us back in to switch your blanket because you were "too hot") or would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming.  Most of the time when we would go in during the night you didn't even talk to us, making me think that you might have been crying out in your sleep and not truly awake.  I would just tuck you back in and walk out.  There were a few nights where I was up nearly every hour with either you or Emma.  Brutal!  Thankfully that has not been the regular pattern of the month, so I'm hoping that will be few and far between!  Overall, you continue to be a great nighttime sleeper.

Your appetite has definitely dropped again this month.  Breakfast is your smallest meal, consisting of cottage cheese (still your favorite food) or yogurt and fruit (raspberries are your favorite right now).  Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before (grilled chicken, steak, pasta, etc.) or an almond butter and jelly sandwich, along with veggies and a piece of cheese (baby bell cheese is still your favorite).  Dinner is whatever we are eating (lots of grilled meats this month, since it is summer and it's the easiest and quickest dinner).

You continue to amaze me with your counting ability and you are starting to recognize even more letters of the alphabet.  I have been a little more intentional in working with you on these things this month, so that definitely helps.  You know every color, how to count to 14, how to count objects (one to one correspondence), and several letters (D, M, E, O, W, H, and others).

In two weeks you will be starting preschool at the local Methodist Church.  You will go two days per week (T and TH) from 9am-12pm.  I definitely have mixed emotions about this.  I am excited for you to have a consistent time away from me where you are learning and having fun with other children.  But I am also sad to not have you 100% to myself. :-)  I know it will ultimately good for both of us, but it's definitely bitter-sweet.  My little peanut is growing up and becoming more and more independent of me.  This coming week we will find out which class you are in and who is in your class.  Then the following week will be open house for mommy and daddy and then a day where you will get to go to the school for a Popsicle party to get acquainted with your teacher and classmates.  Big changes are ahead of us, that's for sure!

Other 29 Month Stats:
- You wear size 3T or 4T clothes (majority 4T)
- You wear a size 8 shoe
- You wear size 6 diapers, day and night

I love you so much Hannah Grace.  You are such a joy.  Your precious smile and silly laugh make everything so much better.  Your sweet heart and countenance brighten my day.  I love you all the way to the moon and back (that's a lot of love!).