Video catch-up

So...I'm finally uploading and posting some videos.
(and btw this is the 100th post!!!)

In these you can see how she's grown and developed!
We have a lot more...but we'll spare the you the inundation of even more Hannah videos.

This first one is from last Saturday the 19th when she was walking. This was one of her first days walking all by herself. It's three different walking times in one.

This is August/September when she was picking things up.




This is also August/September when she 1st started feeding herself.




Now this one is a recent feeding session with daddy (1-14-08)...
Hannah's not the easiest to feed. This one is about 2 mins long.




And fun with the sippy cup on 1-13-08




I meant to post this one a long time ago...I wrote about it sometime last year but never posted. It's one of the first times she started being really vocal...on the alphabet mat we put in her room...the mats are put up now b/c she was chewing on them.

Photos finally!!!

Alright here are some photos from last week and a few weeks ago...
The following photos are of Hannah from totally different days.

Here's one of my favorites. Hannah in the "twin crib" made by daddy.


This Monday afternoon in the rain...right before we went to do a photo session with a family...


Last Thursday...the beginning of the cloudy weather...


Hannah in the basket that she really liked crawling into. I didn't set her up. She crawled into the basket on her own. I was going to use it as a prop for the shoot (2 Saturdays ago).


So update of the last few days...
This week was really difficult for me. Having all the stuff going on with buying a house, subletting the apt, trying to work on stuff & edit photos... Not having two cars - the Honda being in the shop getting the steering column & master cylinder fixed, and me being "stuck" at home. I was about to go insane!!! Tuesday and Wednesday both, dh came home and the 1st thing I said was "She's driving me insane!!!" Hannah's been sick and super fussy and whiny. Not her usual happy self. Yesterday, I called my friend C and she came over with her son S, and saved my sanity!

Hannah likes it when there are more ppl. She likes company. Yesterday, she totally wanted to be held by C and not me. (good and bad for me - sorta funny but also sad for me) She kept on crawling over to C. There was one time when S was on C's lap, and Hannah totally was trying to push/pry S off so that she could sit on C's lap.

Hannah's developing...when S was playing with some of her toys, she'd make a scowling face, go over and want to play with the toys, and try to grab it for herself. Before this week, she'd just find another toy or something. So it's time to teach her to share. Though she's usually pretty good at giving you something if you ask for it. I say, "gei ma ma" which means, "give to mommy," put out my hand, and she'll usually hand whatever it is over.

She's pointing at stuff and makes noises that she wants it. It's sort of variable and she's fickle. You take her to see one thing and then she wants to see something else. She also insists on wanting the remote control or the cell phone, especially where we're using them. I tried to give her an unneeded cheap calculator in place of those, but she only played with it a bit, and knew it wasn't the same thing, and wanted the remote or phone again!

So her sniffles have gotten cloudy. And there's a bit on congestion in her lungs and she's coughing now... the sickness is progressing/developing/whatever it's doing. I'll just keep an eye for more symptoms...

On the positive side, she IS WALKING everywhere! And standing and stooping and standing again. There is still some crawling, but there's A LOT of walking from one end of the room to the other!

Last night we were busy, came home later, and also had ppl come over to see the apt as a sublet interest. They came late and stayed late. DH was out also...so anyways, long story short, Hannah didn't get to bed till close to 11pm! AHHH! I nursed her at 6am and put her back down...

Anyways...she's now up...

Walking all over the house

of her own volition today...no coaxing or "dangling the carrot" on my part. She was just walking from place to place!

Yesterday afternoon after daddy got home, Hannah made the "ugnnnhh" noise (that we make when she goes poo) to signal her intent for the bathroom. Daddy took her upstairs and she pooed on the potty! It's her first time to say that so clearly. Usually she'll make little noises and we've taken her before, but this was clearly an intent to communicate with us!

So is is sick though and not eating well. She had a high fever Sunday (102/103 F)...and it lasted through Tuesday. I gave her Infant Tylenol Sunday evening, then broke out the Infant Motrin on Monday. The Motrin is GREAT! It lasts about 8 hours, and it seems to work more effectively on her. The fever was a bit less Monday-Tuesday (100/101) and so we didn't bother taking her to the doctor. She started having a majorly bad runny nose today - clear, but just constant downpour of mucus.

This afternoon, she also did the sign for milk with one hand!!!

(so I'm finally posting this post started Wednesday, now Friday.)

She walked

across the whole room just this morning! She was holding onto a chair, she let go and walked over to me, and I moved and she continued. By the time she was done, she had traversed a diagonal across the room (about 8-10 ft). She then continued to cruise, let go and walk a whole bunch, and cruise some more. She ALSO bent down while walking/standing to pick things up, put them back down, and started walking again! So exciting!!!

Last night before going to bed, she kept on repeating na na na / ne ne ne. It was super duper cute. She finished nursing and lay on the bed staring at the coral reef and fish patterns on the wall. She was cooing and talking, and would flip around, cuddle with me, and flip back on her side or back. I hid under the blanket, and she'd "find me." Eventually, she just lay next to me (I was hidden in the blanket) and just babble a bit or be silent. I put the blanket over the bed a bit, and climbed out underneath it. I guess she didn't realize and assumed I was still under the blanket. She was playing with her Baby Einstein turtle, happy and content - didn't cry at all. I crawled out of the room, and I assume she fell asleep b/c the turtle music stopped and there was not a peep from her until this morning around 7am. No night waking, no vocalizations, nothing! This is definitely a developmental milestone in sleep!

Her current mannerisms include a shrill, ear-drum piercing shriek/scream. I have no idea why she does it. In its most intense state, it is deafening and physically painful to the ear. It's a form of communication, but it occurs at all different times, sometimes when she wants to eat, when she wants something, when she's pointing at something, when she wants to nurse, etc. She also flaps her arms from elbow to wrist - rather cute. She does it while sitting on the toilet, while sitting in bed, and at other random times. I think it means something, but I don't know what.

She also likes getting into boxes, baskets, and anything else you can get into. This morning she climbed into and sat in the back basket of her stroller. She's been sitting in a wicker basket that I had out for a session last week. She loves climbing into it and sitting in it.

I really need to video some of her cuteness. I haven't taken any video in awhile...and I need to post pics and take more pics of these moments.

Thank you to daddy

I absolutely love the last post by daddy. Hannah & I have lots of fun hanging out in her bed, whether just to play from her 1st waking up or trying to get her to sleep... and one of the things that mommy started doing was "hiding" under the covers. So I think it's so GREAT that she was "looking" for me in the bed! She's been catching on to a lot of things and learning so much.

Daddy watches Hannah quite often - even when mommy IS at home (so that she can do her stuff). He does a ton to help and picks up my slack all the time. Recently he's been feeding Hannah every night and enduring getting food splattered all over him. She's going through the wanting to feed herself phase and the consistently-inconsistent-eater phase. He also endured the bathing of Hannah when she was going through the I-want-to-climb-everywhere phase (including out of the tub) and the I-want-to-stand&now-I-want-to-sit (so she was constantly on the move). He helps so much when he's at home, and I totally appreciate all that he does.

Hannah's been rather attached to mommy. She's going through that phase of development now. She's very aware of my presence or lack thereof. She doesn't need to be held all the time (but when she's sick, she's super clingy), but she now just prefers my company over others. The traditional nursing to sleep doesn't work consistently anymore. Many times, when I break her latch, she wakes up and will sit straight up in bed. So then I have to just lay her back down and wave "bye bye," give her a kiss, and I leave. So there's been some CIO - but it's not bad, more of a fussing crying. She falls asleep quickly afterwards. Of course all of this is if I don't end up falling asleep with her while nursing! (which I've done more often than not this past week.)

Oh...I need to do sooo much better with E.C. I fear that I've undone a lot of good of earlier efforts by my lack of diligence in taking her to the potty during the day. We ALWAYS go in the morning & before bath time and most of the time after naps. But during the day it's been so inconsistent. With all that's been going on the past bit:the holidays, the traveling, the playdates, the errands, the inconsistent naps - falling asleep in the car, the crazy schedules, and my new projects. I don't pay attention to her signals as much, and I've not taken her to the bathroom. The past two days she's had diarrhea (I have no idea why). But it's been messy. I've caught it a few times, but missed it more often than not. Usually she's so good with only pooping on the potty. With diarrhea, it's really hard for me and probably for her. I think I've ended up "untraining" her with the pee...she used to hold it sometime ago...and now she doesn't b/c there's always pee in the diaper. But she does almost always pee when I put her on the potty too. Maybe she just has a lot more pee and poo now that she's older?

Home alone with daddy

As life continues to pick up momentum and our dear Hannah gets older, DW is sometimes required to attend to activities without Hannah. I am sure that DW welcomes this temporary reprieve. But Hannah, on the other hand, still wants mommy. No, she didn’t scream or shout or cry at the absence of mommy, she took up the search to find out where mommy could be hiding. Downstairs she crawled into the typical mommy location, the office; no mommy in there. We went upstairs to go to the potty, and found only a trickle of support. So we went into Hannah’s bedroom to play. Distracted only momentarily by the change in scenery, she pointed vigorously at the bed. I lifted her up and put her in, but she found no mommy. Undaunted, she looked under the covers. Alas, mommy wasn’t home, but daddy was home! Oh well, I had fun.

Happy 11 months Hannah!

You're 11 months old today! Wow, how times flies. In month 10, you've learned to stand up and stay up all by yourself. You've started to step around on your own. Letting go of what you're holding onto after you've cruised around.

You pee and poo in the toilet, and do a good job when we as your parents stay on top of taking you to the potty. You're still in diapers, but hopefully we'll do better at E.C. and being diaper free this year.

You're sleeping through the night, with some occasional wake-ups once in a while (usually to nurse, or b/c you're cold). You nap either two short naps a day or one long nap now.

You're signing "fish" & "bye bye" and you say "mama," "bao" (hold/hug) and "yu" (fish) with intent and purpose. You know what a lot of things mean - especially "he ne ne" (to nurse/drink milk). You point to things you want, and you also go after them with full intent when you're able. You can climb up and down stairs very well. You open and close cabinets, drawers, pull things out, and put things into containers well.

You enjoy being outdoors, exploring new places, and being with other people, especially other kids. You like to push your stroller and the shopping cart, especially when you're in a baby carrier and can look foward and hold on to the handles.

You love Cheerios and can distinguish between foods you like and non-food items, though you still put most things in your mouth. You like the taste of juice, though we don't give it to you often. You can drink a bit out of a cup, though some still dribbles on your clothes. You open your mouth WIDE when you're hungry and take in food on a small teaspoon now. You eat some table food but mostly baby food still.

You've grown and learned so much! We love you!

Hannah LOVES fish.

She learned the Chinese Mandarin word "yu" and the sign for "fish" in Dallas at a-ma and a-gong's during Christmas. She got to watch the aquarium tank everyday and would do the sign for fish with her hand. If she wasn't near the tank, all she'd have to do was say the word, do the sign, and then someone would take her to watch the fish.

It's been so exciting! She's done the sign for fish and said the word for 2 weeks now. I've been taking her to the state aquarium each week here since we've been back, and she just absolutely loves it! She's enthralled by the fish.

Looking around her room recently I realized we have a lot of "fish" decor and toys. There's an aquatic theme to a lot of things in Hannah's room. Her baby Einstein turtle has fish that go around and around (Her 1st favorite musical toy that would entertain her for hours. She could watch the fish go 'round for a long time.) Her IKEA sheets are of a coral reef theme with fish and sea creatures. She has IKEA aquatic finger puppets. She has some Fisher Price aquarium themed toys and crawl-through. A few books with fish in them.

Since learning "yu," Hannah's been more aware of fish everywhere. Each time she sees them, she signs for them and says the word. So fun! So we've decided to get Hannah an aquarium tank and some fish for her 1st birthday...which is not too far away...time passes so quickly!

We've been working on other signs and words. (eat, more, dog, mom, dad, bye/hi, give me/"gei" in chinese, come here, hold/hug/"bao") I'm not sure if "yu" fish is her first word, or if it's just her first consistent word. She's said "bao" or to hold/hug, "ma ma" and "ba ba"/"da da" before, but not as consistently. The fish sign has gotten a bit confused this past week b/c it sometimes looks like bye/bye and seems to have taken the meaning of "go outside" the last few days.

She's gotten pointing down now. And she'll point to where she wants to go. Yesterday she wanted to see the dog at our friend's house...and was insisting on going outside by pointing and signing.

Oh and I think she's finally getting over her virus/sickness. The past few days, she still has a runny nose, but it's not so cloudy, and her cough has subsided. Her appetite seems to have returned today (b/c she ate so much more than she has in a week). She was basically sick all through the holidays to when we got back. It seemed like it was one thing after another (since it lasted so long). We took the nebulizer up north visiting family...and then she was still runny and had a phlemy cough upon returning. But hopefully it's all over...and hopefully she will be well for at least a week or two!

Almost walking!

She's been taking consistent steps daily since Sunday evening! Not completely walking yet, but standing freely on her own, and stepping from 3-6 steps at a time before sitting down or getting to her destination. She cruises around, then lets go of stuff and will step freely for awhile. The other way is that she stands up, steps, and sits back down. It's so fun watching her develop and learn!

Happy New Year!

We wish you a Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve, we celebrated with some friends in town and Hannah got to stay up to welcome the new year. Of course, she went to bed earlier, took a "nap" and then got her night-time sleep interrupted and went to the New Yr's Eve party with mommy and daddy.

I had written our short holiday letter mid-December, but never got it sent out or anything. I was at 1st waiting for a current family pic. We finally got those on the 20th, but then we left for vacation...and so once again, the letter didn't get sent out or published.

So here it is...revised a bit:

Well another year has passed, and where did the time go?! In February we had an addition to the family - Hannah joined us for the rest of our lives and eternity. We're parents forever now!

Isaac graduated in May from OU. We took an after graduation trip to Utah to see family & friends. In June, we moved to South Texas, so Isaac could work as an engineer for DuPont. Grace has been keeping busy with Hannah, home, and hobbies. Hannah's developing quickly - standard progress for a baby.

We've been making new friends, keeping busy with church (Grace is in the Primary Presidency and Isaac is in the Elder's Quorum Presidency), and continually on the lookout to purchase a house. Near the end of September, the girls left the country for 3 weeks to visit family in Taiwan. October brought more travels as Hannah's aunt Cristy got married, and the start of the holiday festivities as a 3-member-family...with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

We hope you've had a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest New Year.