Hannah's Enemy

I think she's beginning to sense that it is coming. She might even know when Jeremy and I are talking about it. I think sometimes she begins to scream just out of anticipation, sort of to try and prepare herself for its arrival.

I'm talking about the dreaded blue bulb syringe. Hannah has had a cold for the past few days and the amount of snot in her nose is out of control. Sadly for Hannah, the only way Jeremy and I can get it out, is to use the bulb syringe - otherwise known as the instrument of torture. Oh, the screaming that ensues while we are "sucking her brains out." Not literally (duh!), but that's sort of what it feels like. The snot just keeps coming and coming and Hannah just screams and screams, which of course just breaks my heart. I feel like when I'm using it, she is looking at me with a look that says, "Mama, why are you doing this to me? I thought you love me?" 

It's just downright terrible. I hope this cold doesn't last too much longer - none of us are having any fun. 

4 Months

Here we are again, celebrating the passing of another month in the life of Hannah.  Before we go too far, let's just get the specifics out of the way. She had her 4-month appointment yesterday and now weighs 15lbs, 7.5oz. This puts her in the 90th%, up from the 50th%, which is where she was, at her 2-month appointment. She is now 24 inches long, which keeps her in the 25th%.

This month has certainly brought with it A LOT of talking.  Hannah has certainly discovered her voice and loves to use it.  She often wakes up just "talking" away in her crib. She's pretty chatty in the morning and again in the afternoon.  I can only imagine all of the fun things she is trying to tell me. Sometimes she gets this look on her face and I can imagine her saying, "This is very serious, mom." It's so cute!

She has become a little more independent this month.  For example she is definitely holding on to her bottle during feedings and not wanting to let go. I usually have to pry her fingers off of it when it's time to burp. Burping is still not a favorite pastime of her and I'm not sure it ever will be.

Her sleeping positions have taken on a whole new personality as well. She's beginning to squirm around and we are often straightening her out. There are times when I really don't know how she can be comfortable.

We were able to enjoy a warm day this past month and it was nice to be able to take Hannah out in the sunshine. You can tell she was born in the late fall, because the sun really bothered her at first. It was this foreign object up in the sky that was making her world brighter than it had been in months.

All in all, it's been a good month. It's still surreal at times to think that she is mine. She is such a precious little girl and now that her personality is starting to come out, I know that we're in for some fun times.

Happy 4 months, Hannah!

Only in the Movies? Apparently Not.

This morning, my good friend, and fellow 4th grade teacher, Karen, came walking into the room and said, "You'll never guess what I just dealt with on the playground." Not being a good guesser, especially without coffee in my system, I waited for Karen to share the news.  "[Student]  just stuck his tongue to a pole out on the playground." 

Yup, just like that great Christmas move, A Christmas Story.  Except, here's the kicker, no one dared him to do it.  He just did it.  On his own.  Can I just remind you that I live in Michigan, where it has currently been in the single digits in the morning?  What in the world was he thinking?  Oh wait, he wasn't thinking! :)  

The morning recess ladies had to go get hot water from the school building to put on his tongue so they could get him off the pole.

This is why I love my job. 

3 Months - plus four days

My little peanut celebrated her 3 month birthday on Wednesday, which is incredible. It has been a pretty busy month, which I suppose is why I'm just now getting to this post. A lot has gone on this past month. Hannah celebrated her first Christmas, which she did in true Hannah fashion - she slept through it.

We also spent a lot of time inside this past month, due to tons of snow and bitterly cold temperatures.  In order to go outside, we had to bundle Hannah up in her snowsuit, which she really doesn't like.  It just became a lot easier to stay inside.

In the past month, Hannah has really started "talking" up a storm. It's so cute to listen to all that she has to "say." She gets a real kick out of it when Jeremy and I "talk" back to her.  It makes her want to talk all the more. Here's a cute video of her "talking" during tummy time.

This month Jeremy's work schedule changed, so he's now home with Hannah three days a week. We're both really excited about this. Not that we don't like Hannah's daycare, but it's such a special thing for Jeremy to be able to spend so much time with his little girl. Of course I'm just a little jealous. :) However, the two week days that he does work has him gone until 1am, so Hannah and I get to have our own time together as well. :)

In other development news, Hannah is really holding her head up now. When we sit her on our lap, she can keep her head nice and steady for a long time.  She's also tolerating tummy-time a lot better now and can often spend 10-15 minutes at a time on her tummy before she gets too fussy. She still has a full head of hair, although because she's moving around more, she has a nice, round, little bald spot right on the back of her head. I have confidence that her hair will grow back. :) Her eyes are still dark blue and beautiful. Everything, especially her hands, finds its way to her mouth. She's constantly sucking on her hand, not her fingers, or the side of her bib or her sleeves. Most everything she wears, ends up with wet sleeves.  We do just think she is absolutely precious and couldn't love her more.

2008 in Review

With a new year upon us, it's always nice to stop and reflect on the past year and the highs and lows that it brought.  For my family, there was quite a mixture.  

January saw quite a few unfortunate events for the family.  My sister slipped on ice and fell, breaking three bones in her ankle.  This required surgery and many months of recovery as well as faith that everything would be okay.  At the time of the accident, she was unemployed and therefore uninsured.  It was certainly a frightening time, but one that brought us all a little closer.  That same month, my dad was in a terrible car accident.  He found himself in an icy road situation and rolled his truck.  The jaws of life had to be used to remove him from his truck.  When we finally were able to see pictures of the accident, they were very humbling.  Let's just say, we're very fortunate to still have my dad with us and for him to have no serious injuries.  My dad is 6' tall.  When he was standing next to his truck, he was taller than it.  That's how squished it had become.

February was a great month for Jeremy and I.  It was the beginning of February when we found out we were expecting.  What an exciting bit of news that was, but also a scary time as we also found out that I had some low hormone levels and would have to take some extra measures in order to keep the baby growing and developing.  Because of this, we made the decision not to tell our families until we were into the safety zone.  That meant keeping our secret until the end of March, when we would share our news during the Easter holiday.

March brought with it some fun times.  I was able to spend a weekend with my sister, Heike, and her two children.  While with them, I attended the annual Michigan Reading Association conference, which was a great time of learning and buying children's books, my favorite thing in the world!  Like I mentioned earlier, in March, we finally reached 12 weeks of pregnancy and could share with our families that we were becoming a family of three.  Needless to say, all parties involved were very excited.

April brought with it our first trip to see the Detroit Tigers play.  We were able to take my niece and nephew with us and had such a good time.  Sadly, the Tigers lost, but the experience and time with Amber and Baeley was fantastic.

May was a fun month.  I had the annual "Michigan, Our Michigan" play at school.  As always it was a great success.  The kids did a great job and all the teachers involved were very thankful when it was all over with.  May was also the month we found out that our little bundle of joy would be a little girl.  There had been much discussion about this, with most of our friends and family thinking we would have a boy.  The outcome really didn't matter to us, we were just thankful to find out that our baby was healthy and growing and doing very well.  My students also threw me a baby shower this month, which was a lot of fun.

June, July, and August were crazy busy months for us.  Jeremy worked and took classes at GRCC.  I worked in the school office and tutored a few students.  My parents also came to visit, as well as my sister Shannon and her husband Tom.  Shannon threw a wonderful baby shower for me and totally outdid herself with food and favors.

Truthfully, I don't remember much of September.  I know school started and I know that I was great with child.  Which is probably why I don't remember a lot.  I wasn't sleeping real well and when I was sleeping, the only place that was comfortable was the big, overstuffed chair in our living room.  

Then October came.  Along with it, came my due date, which also went away.  Thankfully, sweet Hannah didn't keep us waiting too long.  She made her dramatic appearance on October 14th, at 10:45am.

The remainder of October, and the months of November and December have been a general whirlwind for us.  We have become parents and a lot of changes have come along with that.  Much take-out has been eaten and much sleep has been lost, but we've made it.  We've kept each other sane, most of the time, and have fallen head-over-heels in love with our daughter.  I had 7 weeks off from work, which was a hard thing for me, as I'm not used to being home day after day.  It was also hard for me to not have any control over the happenings going on at school in my absence.  But, I wouldn't have given up those weeks at home with Hannah for anything.  It was a precious time for us to spend together and to get to know each other.

All in all, it's been a good year for us and we feel so blessed.  I have left a lot out...other family health problems and other family situations, but those things have passed and we've moved on.  We've grown closer together and have learned so much this year.  

I'm looking forward to what 2009 holds for us, especially how we will see Hannah grow and develop.  May all of you have a wonderful New Year!

Christmas 2008

A lot of people told me that Christmas would take on a whole new meaning, now that I have a child.  I listened, I smiled, I nodded, but I didn't really take it to heart.  However, I should have listened.  Christmas was amazing this year.  Not because Hannah really participated in the holiday, but because of the meaning behind Christmas.  Having a newborn made me realize, more fully, exactly what God did all those years ago.  I can't imagine sending my only child away.  Hannah is such a precious part of who I am and the thought of sending her away is something I can't even fathom.  But that is precisely what God did.

We had a fantastic time on Christmas and hopefully did a few things that will become family traditions.  Of course we know Hannah won't remember her first Christmas, but that doesn't mean we can't try to get things off on the right foot.

Our holiday week started off with a trip to Frederick Meijer Gardens.  I really wanted Jeremy to see their "Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World" display.  I have seen it before, with my students on a field trip, but I knew that Jeremy would really appreciate all of the fun, historic facts that come with each tree.  Hannah enjoyed looking at all of the lights.  Of course our visit wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Ireland tree.  Apparently their big holiday tradition is to decorate their trees around "The 12 Days of Christmas."  Here is a family picture in front of the Irish tree.

Sadly, we couldn't make it to church on "Christmas Sunday" because of the weather.  It was too crazy outside, so we stayed in and had a family day.  By Christmas Eve, the weather had cleared up and we were able to make it to a very meaningful service at church.  Our pastors focused on the different elements of the traditional Christmas tree and how they relate to the true Christmas story and to the Christian life.  It was fantastic.  Christmas Eve was also Hannah's first trip to the church nursery.  I'd like to say that I handled it okay, but truthfully, I was a nervous wreck the entire service.  Of course, she slept the entire time she was in their, so I had nothing to worry about.

Christmas morning we lounged around after a delicious breakfast of waffles and bacon! YUM! We opened gifts, mostly for Hannah, and just spent the day as a family, watching Christmas movies and hanging out.  Since all of our families were out of town over Christmas, I fixed Jeremy and myself a Christmas dinner with most of the trimmings.  Hannah feasted on her usual bottle of formula.

All in all it truly was a wonderful day, all that we could have hoped for.  We have been so blessed this year and are so thankful for everything God has given us.  We're looking forward to the new year and all it has to bring.