Hannah's Big Girl Room

Hannah spent her 1st night in her big girl room and big girl bed!!  She did absolutely AMAZING!  We were just completely blown away.

On night one, we continued the same bedtime routine we have always done with her and she laid down with no problems.  She got out of bed and came running out of the room 4 times in about 5 mins after we turned out the lights, closed the door, and left.  Once we figured out that she wanted to keep the bedroom door all the way open, she didn't climb out again and rolled over and went right to sleep!  No falling out of bed, no crying, no waking in the middle of the night, NOTHING!  She slept all night in her bed and woke up in the morning asking for daddy which we heard her on the monitor.  She did so good, we were shocked and so unbelievably proud!
 

Day 2-  the first afternoon nap in the bed.  She did pretty good.  She climbed out of bed a few times but didn't run out of the room at all.  Finally I covered her up and told her she could not get out of bed until Mommy or Daddy came in to get her up from her nap, and she listened.  After rolling around in bed, playing with MooMoo, singing, and finally finding her comfy spot, she fell asleep and slept for about an hour and 15 minutes.  She typically sleeps between 2-2.5 hrs on a good day.  I think once we hang some curtains on the windows, she might do a little bit better.  The blinds block some light out, but not enough to really make it as dark as the nursery did.  Once we find a comforter that we like, and something to put on the windows to match that, we will get some curtains hung.

Night two, no issues at all.  We read her 2 usual stories, said a prayer, sang a few songs, and she rolled over and that was it, slept all night.

Nap during day 3 went well, it took her about 30 minutes to fall asleep, but once she did, she slept almost 2 hours.  When she woke up, she didn't get out of bed, but sat there and read her stories at the bottom of the bed -- what a good kiddo, listening to her Momma!

Night three, I was by myself to put Hannah to bed as John had 2 softball games that evening.  Everything went great, no bedtime issues at all.  She fell right asleep.  About 10:15pm I heard Hannah start coughing on the monitor, and it continued for quite some time.  I figured I should go peek in on her just to see if she was alright.  I turned on the hall light, and she was laying on her pillow.  "Mommy, I'm sorry" is what I hear my little baby girl say.  I turned on her bedroom light and found that she had thrown up all over her bed! Hannah has never been sick like this before so it was a little enlightening to my sensitive sense of smell.  I took off her jammies, stripped the entire bed - sheets, blankets, MooMoo were all covered.

Immediately, I kind of freaked out!  We didn't have any other twin bed sheets in the house, what was I going to do now?  Was she going to go back to sleep in there after being sick?  Now that MooMoo was out of commission for the night, would she sleep without him?  For some reason my brain did not want to do any problem solving. So I said to Hannah, Mommy is going to put you back to sleep in the baby's bed now (what we have been calling the nursery/her old room now).  She started to cry and told me, "No Mommy, my want big girl bed".  Well, this shocked me, I couldn't believe she didn't want to go back to the crib.  She clearly doesn't mind sleeping in a big girl bed after all.  Thankfully John walked in the door shortly after the puking discovery so he could help and hold Hannah as I threw some queen size sheets on the bed.  He was able to hold her, sing her a few songs, and put her right back to sleep like nothing had happened at all.  She fell asleep almost immediately and woke up in the morning asking if MooMoo was all clean again.  Smart kiddo, always making us laugh!

Not only were we shocked at Hannah being upset for not wanting to go back into her crib, we were also pleasantly happy to know that this transition is pretty successful so far.  For all my worries about her not sleeping through the night, constantly climbing out of bed and not sleeping, falling out, being scared of a different room, etc etc... she has started off great and she is going to do just fine!  This little girl is truly wonderful, she continues to amaze me every single day :)

nap time on 9/24, we'll get this sleeping-on-the-pillow-business figured out!

**Update:  We had our first fall out of bed last night (9/26).  It was right before 10pm and we hear a loud thud on the monitor.  John and I ran upstairs and found Hannah was crying and walking toward the door.  She cuddled with her daddy for a little bit, then back to bed she went.  No more falls for the rest of the night.  It will take some time for her to figure it all out, but we were glad she went back to sleep and did good for the rest of the night.

Hannah's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Hannah's 2nd birthday with a party this Saturday afternoon.  Family came over for a little cookout and some fun times spent playing in the backyard.  It was a nice and sunny day, a little breezy, but overall a wonderful day to be outside.  Hannah enjoyed the extra-special attention and was busy running around saying hello to everyone and being her silly self.
                                                                                

A few weeks back, Hannah had requested an Elmo birthday party when we were looking online for her invitations.  Sure kiddo, if that's what you'd like!  It was pretty easy to find party supplies with Elmo on them, the cake, that was another story.  Our local Kroger makes the best cakes, hands down!  We've ordered from the bakery for numerous occasions and have never been disappointed.  As I went to look at their cake selection about a week before the party, they only had one Elmo cake option -- Elmo fishing.  Now I'm not all about making Hannah out to be so "girlie girlie", but I did want to find something that was a little more suited for a little girl.  Because of copyright issues, Kroger couldn't do too much with fishing Elmo, but did tell me if I found any kind of Elmo/Abby figures on my own, they could create a "girlie" scene as best as possible.  So for the next few days I went everywhere in search of small figurines -- Meijer, Target, Walmart, Babies and Toys-R-Us, and every little shop around here that may have had something.  I ended up finding a soccer Elmo, and plain Cookie Monster, Tele, and Count figures.  Hannah picked out 3 of the 4 that she wanted to be on the cake.  I told Kroger to do whatever they wanted, because quite frankly, I just wanted it to look nice!  It turned out great, and it was delicious!!
 

Hannah loved having Happy Birthday sung to her, she even sang along!  She was all smiles and even snuck a little bit of icing when she blew her candle out.
 
 

She was excited to open each of her presents, even smiling and posing with her things to take a quick picture.  She got some much needed 24months/2T clothes, puzzles, books, a toy airplane, baby doll stroller, doggy purse, Little Tykes pink Truck, and a Red Flyer Tricycle -- "my bicycle" as she calls it.  She loved all her gifts and we are so very thankful for everything she was given, what a wonderful birthday!
 
 

Hannah got an extra piece of cake that evening after we ate dinner, here she is being a little ham as she ate it.
 

What a fun and special birthday for our wonderful, lovable, adorable, and perfect little TWO year old!  We love you to the moon and back Hannah!!
                                                    

Hannah's 1st Sleepover

My little girl had her first sleepover at her friend's house, how crazy is that to hear/say?!  John was in Detroit for work for a week.  I had to work and wasn't able to switch my schedule around, so off Hannah went to the Vogel's house for the night.

I had been telling Hannah about her special sleepover for a few nights, so when the day came, she woke up asking if she was going to Sydney's house to sleep.  She was pretty excited.  I dropped her off and headed on my merry/nervous way to work.  

Diana was sending me pictures and updates as the night went on, the girls looked like they were having a great time!  They even had cupcakes, sang Happy Birthday to Hannah, and got her a birthday gift to go along with it!  What special friends Hannah (and we) have :)

We were so thankful for Diana and Ben to keep Hannah overnight, we knew Hannah would be fine and have a good time.  I'm so glad I have a Spartan Sister who lives close by and we can do things like this together.

   

Play date with Chase

Hannah and I met up with Jamie and Chase in Howell to spend some time playing with the kiddos.  We went to Castaway Play Cafe near the Outlet mall, this place was pretty neat and the kids had a great time!  We were the only 2 people in the place, which was nice so we didn't have to hover over the kiddos too bad.  

We will definitely be back to play here again!!

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                 Little love birds :)  

Hannah - 2 Years

Today is our little girl's 2nd birthday!  Two years old, I just cannot believe it!  Time does not slow down one bit, it only seems to move by at a lightening speed.
  
  
                                                           
 

At two years old, she is quite the little lady. Hannah is so talkative, she never ceases to amaze us with how much she knows and says.  We hear from people all the time how well she speaks, must be all those books she loves and we read to her.  She is putting 5-8 words together. It's cute hearing her talk in the third person, "Mommy look at Hannah" or "Mommy, what's Hannah doing?"  It's funny because I catch myself having a conversation with her now.  I ask a question, she answers back and vice versa.  She is no longer my baby.

Hannah can count from 1 to 12, she can also count on her fingers by selecting each one.  She knows that she is "two" and holds up her two fingers. She can recite her alphabet for the most part, but when she gets to J, she skips to P and continues on from there.  She is able to write the letter "H" and points to it and says "Hannah".  When you ask her her name, she will tell you "Hannah Elizabeth", when you ask her her last name, she says "LaMacchiama". She can tell you the basic shapes and point them out when you show them to her.  She is pretty good with colors, she seems to have the basics down there as well.  At daycare they will start to do some "school" work so I'm sure that will help her learning continue to improve.

Hannah is a very friendly and outgoing person.  She is always waving and saying hello to people, although she will have her shy moments where she hides behind mommy or daddy.  She is a leader and very adamant at times.  Hannah will take control at daycare and around other kids by leading them around or choosing the activity to play with.  We are still learning and figuring out the whole sharing business, this is definitely a challenge.

Hannah is such an independent person, frequently telling us "Hannah do it".  We try our best to let her do as much as she can safely, but sometimes we just have to help.  She is getting good at climbing the stairs going forward, and taking a few steps going down, but it still makes me nervous!  She is running and kicking, and jumping all over.  She has been jumping for about 6 months or so now and when she gets really excited she especially jumps around.  She has also been perfecting her forward roll.  For the past 2 months it has gotten so much better, it makes me smile every time she does one!  My little gymnast!  Hannah is still working on throwing a ball but gets a big kick when it goes straight up in the air and back down behind her.

Hannah loves playing with her babies, rocking and singing to them.  She gets so sad when they are sad, and holds them up on her shoulder when they need to burp after their bottles.  She practices changing their diapers and tells me all the time that she "needs wipes for the poopy."  She still has her favorite animal MooMoo, but boy is he ever stinky.  I wish we could "lose" him but I know she would be so upset.  I wish he would wash up nicer in the washer machine, but I will keep searching for a backup, just in case.  Hannah likes to sing: Twinkle twinkle little star,  Itsy Bitsy Spider, a song I made up called Hannah baby, and The Wheels on the Bus", complete with hand motions.

We have a great bedtime routine that has been going strong for quite a long time.  Typically we read her two "night-night stories" which are "Moose and Mouse" and "Goodnight, I love you."  After we read, we say our  nighttime prayer together (all 3 of us if we are all home), then we sing a few songs while rocking, and off to sleepyland she goes.  Hannah does great with this routine, and we are so thankful that she sleeps so well and has slept so well for a very long time!  We are hoping this will continue as we transition her to her "big girl" room and bed here shortly.

We have been working on potty training pretty seriously for a few weeks.  She isn't very good about letting us know when she has to go, but we put her on the potty about every hour to hour and a half to try.  It seems that every time we put her on, she goes.  Her reward is M&M's, which we call big girl candy, she calls it "big candy".  We have days where she is dry all day, and others where she has accidents in her diaper here and there.  Naps and nighttime are hit or miss, some days she wakes up completely dry, others not so much, but we are getting there.  I think I'm going to try the 3 day method and hope to do it once and for good.  My goal is for her to be potty trained before this next bambino comes along.

We have also been enjoying the lovely terrible two's.  I don't know if its because she is so strong willed, but boy can she be stubborn.  And a faker.  I love when she starts crying, and as soon as the next best alternative arises, the tears instantly stop and she's moved on.  I have to laugh at those moments, she is certainly a little drama queen at times.  We have also needed to use the time out corner for some things.  Lately she is becoming a challenging eater.  When she decides she doesn't want food, she just throws it on the floor.  This ultimately leads to a time out, where she cries and cries in the corner and immediately upon time completing, she runs over to myself or John saying "I'm sorry Mommy/Daddy, no throwing."  She knows, but still does it anyway.  Parenting certainly takes a heck of a lot of patience, but we will get there!

                                                          

24 Month Stats:

-Height: 34 inches (75%) 

-Weight: 25 lbs (27%)

-Head Circumference: 47.2 cm (24%)   

                                                                                                 
Hannah did great at her 2 year check-up.  She cried a little bit when we first got into the room (before she was weighed) but after that, she was good.  She cried for a brief moment after she was given her 1 shot and that was when the nurse put the band-aid on her leg.  Then she wasn't too happy and kept pointing at her "boo boo".  She checked out great, no issues or concerns from both sides.  On our merry little way and our next trip back will be in one year!    

Letting Loose

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and let your kids run around naked in the yard.  After a messy dinner I took Hannah's shirt off and told her she could go play.  Well she decided, no shirt, no clothes or diaper.  She took off running around for about 30 mins, just giggling and squealing!  Some day these photos will come back to haunt her, but for now, I think we'll enjoy the sweet innocence of childhood.

  
 

24 Weeks

4 more weeks have flown by, I can't believe it!  Within those 4 weeks we took a 9 day vacation to PA, 4 day long weekend up north, worked 5 nights over Labor Day weekend, so that certainly helped time to fly by more quickly.

  

At this point, I am feeling great. Besides the normal growing pains, I have been feeling really good.  I don't have any complaints, except heartburn again.  Gotta love the second trimester feel-good-moments!  My "bump" is certainly not a little bump anymore, in fact it seems to have jetted out there pretty quickly.  Compared to Hannah's pregnancy, I seem to look very similar size-wise, in the monthly pictures we took.

Things I am thankful for this month: I am thankful for comfy maternity clothes!  I'd have to look back and see when (and if) I documented the switch over, but boy do I enjoy the roomyness and comfort of these loose clothes!  Now if only my scrubs could feel that way.  Thankfully I get to wear scrubs to work.  This way I don't have to worry about dressing up and looking "nice" for an office job.  I love scrubs for that reason.  But, since we switched to uniforms, they don't offer any maternity scrubs like I got to wear for my last pregnancy.  Come on Grey's Anatomy, offer maternity in hunter green please!

I'm also thankful for a very helpful husband.  He is such a lifesaver most days when I need a little pick-me-up.  He jumps right in and takes over making my life a little easier.  He is just wonderful!

I'm thankful for our beautiful little girl, she is my sunshine.  I'm so thankful my work schedule gives me so much time at home with her.  And the days when she does go to daycare, I know she is in safe and loving hands, giving me satisfaction.  She is always so happy, and playful, laughing and giggling most of the day away.  I'm/we're so blessed :)

Hannah has been funny with the "baby belly" lately.  At night when we read our goodnight stories and sing songs, she will sit on my lap and tell me "baby kicking me" and holds up her hands on my belly saying "feel it".  I just love it.  Before she lays down for the night, she hugs my belly and lays on my chest.  I love those little moments.  I am convinced more and more that she is going to be a great big sister, I just can't wait!


24 Week Details:
-Baby is the size of a corn on the cob (12.5 inches)
-Baby weighs 1.25 lbs (We are in actually pounds now!)
-Over the past 4 weeks, baby's digestive system has continued to develop.  Baby's senses are also developing.  Taste buds are forming and nerve endings are developed enough to experience the sensation of touch.  Baby's respiratory system is rapidly growing, lungs are developing in preparation for breathing.  While there is still room inside the expanding uterus, baby is actively moving around, kicking and flipping positions.  It might even be possible to see the movements on the surface of the belly.