11 Months -- So Much Personality!

Wow!  It is just setting in that next time I write a blog post, Hannah will be one year old!  Where does the time go?  Hannah is just such a happy baby - a perfect mix of sweet and spunky.  She is loving and loves giving kisses and cuddles.  She is also strong-willed, knows what she wants and is pretty good at communicating to us what that is.

Hannah weighs 22 pounds and is looking more and more grown up by the day.  She has a healthy appetite and loves eating real food.  She's not really a fan of purees any more.  Basically whatever Emma is eating is what she wants!

Our active baby girl loves pushing anything and everything around the house.... her high chair and chairs are some favorites.  Who needs walkers when you have a creative mind like Hannah?!?  She lets go of things with both hands and stands on her own for up to 30 seconds.  When she realizes nothing is holding her up, she sits down.  She loves 'finger walking' too; especially when we walk her around outside.

Hannah still loves reading books.  Her current favorite is 10 In The Bed.  She is quite verbal and tries to repeat almost everything she hears.  Some of her latest words are: no-no, Emma, thank you, go, milk, more, all done, car, dogs, snack, wa-wa (water).  Hannah also lights up with smiles and giggles when Dora or Mickey Mouse come on TV.  She dances during the songs, and is a big fan of the Hot Dog Dance!

This past month Hannah got to go swimming for the first time, and she loved splashing around in the water.  She also had a lot of park time and mastered not only crawling up stairs, but also climbing slides!  Just like Emma, she loves going on the swings too.  Justin got the bounce house out recently too, and the girls entertain themselves for hours on end bouncing inside and going down the slide.

Happy Spring from our family to yours!  Sending hugs your way.

10 Months Old - Our Social Butterfly!

Hannah is officially 2 months away from her first birthday and has such a fun, social personality. We get comments from strangers frequently about how social she is... she loves smiling and 'talking' to everyone who crosses her path.  Of course she wins over people's hearts quickly with those big blue eyes and sweet smile!

Our chubby little sweetheart weighs 21.2 pounds.  She's catching up with Emma quickly (only 8 pounds away)! She now has four teeth on the top and two on the bottom, and still loves putting anything and everything in her mouth to chew on. She is eating more of the foods that we are eating and loves scrambled eggs, spaghetti, and especially peas and macaroni & cheese.  She loves being able to eat what Emma is eating.

This month Hannah has continued to walk along the furniture, and will let go with both hands and stand on her own for several seconds.  She uses her push toys to test out walking from time to time but isn't a huge fan of the idea yet.  We are amazed at how many words she has started saying recently.  Some of these are: mama, dada, Emma, Jersey, no no no, here go, more, and neigh.  She also signs for more and all done.

Hannah loves playing with Emma and they are quite attached at the hip!  Of course, it's not always smooth sailing.... they usually want what the other one has and there are meltdowns from time to time when one takes something away from the other.

Hannah is loving our beautiful Arizona sunshine because that means more park time!  She loves the swings, sand and grass.  Today we went to the train park and she had a blast riding the train and carousel.  Being outside is one of her favorite things to do.  Many afternoons we take her outside in her walker so she can cruise around the driveway.

We hope everyone is having a great February and if you don't already follow us on Instagram, you can find us under akamyjohn and sprit12.  We post pictures of the girls daily on there!

January 2014 - 9 Months

Happy New Year to all our friends and family.  We just got back from Hannah's 9 month doctor's appointment and she is doing great... aced the 9 month questionnaire!  She weighs 20 pounds, 11 ounces (84th percentile) and is 28 inches long.

This past month, Hannah has been changing so much and doing new things on a daily basis.  She is crawling everywhere very quickly and loves following Emma and the dogs around.  Our big girl is pulling herself up on to furniture, mommy and daddy's legs, and anything she can get a hold of!  She is also walking along the furniture and even lets go with one hand.  She is babbling more and more, and says two syllable words like ma-ma, da-da, ba-ba, ga-ga.

Hannah loves to play Pat-a-Cake, and do Itsy Bitsy Spider.  It's so cute to see her clap along and her face just lights up.  She also loves playing peek-a-boo and hide and seek with Emma.  They are playing together much more these days and Hannah is loving it...she feels like such a big girl!  Just like her big sister, Hannah loves reading books and will sit and turn pages on her own.  Her favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

She has four teeth (2 top and 2 bottom), and is eating some real food now.  She loves mac and cheese, peas, Cheerios and blueberries.  Teething biscuits are another favorite since she is teething lots lately.

We are still working on sleeping through the night.... we got spoiled with Emma sleeping through the night at 4-5 months, so this is all new to us.  The doctor recommended giving her water when she wakes up at night, so we'll see how mad that makes her tonight and report back next month!

That's all for now.... Hugs from all of the Johns!

Ready for her First Christmas - 8 Months Old!

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.  Hannah continues to bring us such joy with her happy, silly nature! She now weighs 20.4 pounds and seems to be getting taller lately.  Her top two teeth are coming in, so the teething is in full force right now!

This past month has been one of many milestones! She started crawling at 7 1/2 months and is now pulling herself up.  She keeps herself busy trying to keep up with Emma and the dogs. Hannah loves to squeal, giggle, laugh and imitate sounds.  She also waves and claps now, which is quite cute!  

It has been really fun watching Hannah interact and play with Emma more.  She gets all excited every time we go into Emma's room to wake her up in the morning or from a nap because she knows she gets to get into Em's crib with her and play.  We are so excited to watch this bond between the two of them continue to grow stronger.  

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

7 Months!

Hannah Renee is seven months old today and is such a smiley, lovable bundle of joy.  Her little dimple when she flashes a big grin is the cutest thing.  She weighs 19.8 pounds and is as healthy as can be!

She continues to be on the verge of crawling.  She gets up on all fours, and rocks back and forth then usually pushes herself back into the seated position.  However, she can still usually manage to get where she wants to be by scooting and rolling herself across the room.  I keep saying any day now, so we'll see!

Hannah is eating lots of cereal, fruits and vegetables and seems to be eager to eat what we're eating!  She watches each bite as it goes into our mouths and sometimes gets frustrated she can't get a bite.  As far as teeth goes, she still just has the two, but seems to be doing a lot of teething lately so we'll see if any others pop up!

As the holidays approach, she is loving all of the lights, decorations and Christmas music, both at home and out shopping. Her favorite toys are ones that dance and sing!  Hannah's little BFF is still Emma and they get along really well.  Hannah  wants to do everything Emma is doing.  She is starting to teach Emma lots about sharing and patience,as she grabs at Emma's things more and more. ;)

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful start to the holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!

6 Months Old!

Just last week Hannah celebrated her half birthday!  Hard to believe how quickly time flies by with this little angel by our sides.  At her 6 month doctor's appointment she weighed 18 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 26.5 inches long.

She is quite active, sitting and rolling herself/scooting across the floor to get where she wants to go.  Little Miss Hannah is determined to keep up with that big sister of hers!  Another favorite activity is going to the park with Emma and swinging on the baby swings and playing in the sand.

Hannah is eating solid foods several times per day now.  Her favorite are the vegetables and rice cereal/oatmeal.  She seems to think some of the fruits we've tried giving her are too sweet.  We'll see if they grow on her!  

Our sweet baby girl got her two first teeth right around 5 1/2 months. She is really teething a lot lately and it makes her a bit fussy at times.  Overall she is such a sweet, happy, good-natured baby.  Any time we get a camera out she smiles right away!  It is so much fun watching her grow.

5 Month Update

Fall is just around the corner and Hannah is already 5 months old!  We weighed her this morning and she is up to 17.9 pounds.  We just can't get enough of her chubby little thighs....so kissable!

This past month has been quite eventful for our baby girl.  She is now rolling over easily and always seems to like to be on her stomach.  Whenever we lay her down on her back, she is on her belly within no time! Hannah also scoots around quite a bit - kind of like an 'Army Crawl.'  She can turn herself around in a full 360 degree circle.  It's obvious by the way she watches Emma that she can't wait to be able to follow her around.  Lately she's also been liking sitting up (with our support).

In the food department, we have introduced her to brown rice cereal and oatmeal.... She loves both!  We tried giving her bananas today and she seemed to like them at first, but quickly changed her mind and acted disgusted by them.  Maybe they are too sweet for her.  Tomorrow we'll try a vegetable and see if she likes that better.  

Now that Hannah is older she is able to participate in the library classes (story time, music, tiny tots, etc.) I take the girls to, and she seems to really like them.  During the music class she kicks her feet with excitement and loves watching all of the big kids dance.  At Gymboree she loves watching the bright colors of the parachute and the bubbles.  She is very observant and engaging when people come up and talk to her.  

We hope all is well with all of our wonderful family and friends!  :)

August - 4 Months Old

Sweet Hannah Renee is already 4 months old and is doing so well.  She had her 4 month check-up yesterday and weighed 16 pounds, 3 ounces (84th percentile).  She measured 24 inches long.  Little Hannah impressed the doctor with how strong she is! :)  All went well except for a bit of swelling in her legs where she got her shots....poor baby! She got the go-ahead to start eating cereal, so she has had some brown rice cereal the past couple of days. After her very first bite, she was all smiles so I think it was a hit!

Hannah is awake a lot more now during the day and sleeps through the night most nights (knock on wood!). She really seems to enjoy her Tummy Time.  She rolled over on her 4 month birthday but of course it was when Mommy was looking away!  I was changing Emma's diaper and had laid her on her stomach on the floor, and when I turned around she was on her back.  Of course I've been trying to catch her doing it again so I can video tape it, but haven't had any luck!  She also likes spending time sitting up in her Bumbo chair....she feels like such a big girl!

Little Hannah is still so fascinated by her big sister and loves watching her every move.  She goes in with Mommy every day to get Emma up out of bed and her eyes light up, she grins and coos.  It is priceless! Both of the girls also like watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together, and it's part of our nightly routine. It is so fun watching the girls form such a strong bond.

That's all for now....stay posted for more updates!

3 Months Old - July 2013

It is so hard to believe that Hannah is already three months old.  We feel so blessed to be her parents and can't imagine life without her.  Emma is so smitten with her and gives her kisses spontaneously throughout the day.  She even tries to share with Hannah which is pretty impressive for a toddler. :) 

Hannah now weighs 14.8 pounds and continues to get stronger every day.  She is holding her head up and is getting better at controlling her movements.  Baby Hannah is not a huge fan of 'tummy time' and often decides to just take that opportunity to take a nap on her tummy!  However, she does seem to like sitting in her Bumbo seat to play and look around.  She is having longer awake periods throughout the day so she gets lots of play time these days!  When we hold toys or books in front of her, she grabs at them and pulls them close to her.  It's so cute to see her jerky little movements become more coordinated.  

When it comes to sleep, Hannah has done amazingly well.  Her longest stretch of sleep has been 9.5 hours, which she has done several times now....such a treat for Mommy and Daddy!  

July has been a busy month for Hannah.  She went on her first road trip to San Diego for the Fourth of July to visit Grammy, Papa, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Then Gramma and Pa came to town for a visit. Lots of spoiling going on!  Finally, to end the month she will be taking another road trip to see our friends in Telluride.  

As always, we will continue to post pictures of our growing family's adventures. :) 

2 Months - June 2013

We just had Hannah's 2 month doctor's appointment today and charmed Dr. A with some smiles and sweet coos.  He complimented her for being so strong... when he put her on her tummy, she pushed all the way up onto her arms and held her head up high.

Hannah weighed in at 12 pounds, 12 ounces (75th percentile) and measured 23 1/4 inches long (also 75th percentile).  She is already wearing 3 month clothes comfortably and even fits into some 6 month clothes!  Hard to believe!  Baby girl has a healthy appetite and eats every 3-4 hours during the day.  Just recently (and I should knock on wood...) she has been sleeping for 6 straight hours every night.  This makes for just one middle of the night feeding instead of two - heaven for Mommy and Daddy!

Emma is a doting big sister to Hannah and it has been fun to watch them together.  Hannah will just stare at her busy big sister at times and you can tell she adores her already.  It won't be long before she's trying to keep up with Emma!  When we lay Hannah on a blanket on the floor to play and do tummy time, Emma will get right down there with her and play with her.  Hannah seems quite content by her big sister's side.

This next week we will be taking Hannah on her first little road trip to see Grammy, Papa, her aunts and uncles, and cousins.  It will be fun to see her with her 'twin cousin' Grayson!

1 Month Old - May 2013

Hannah is now one month old and is growing and changing a little bit each day.  She had her doctor's appointment today and weighed 10 pounds, 2 ounces (61 percentile) and measured 21.5 inches long (55 percentile).  We feel so blessed to have another healthy baby girl!  We had a scare at one of Hannah's first doctor's appointments that she may have had hip dysplasia, but after having an ultrasound on her hip found out that her hips were perfectly healthy.  Thank goodness!

We are finding that Hannah is such a sweet, mellow baby.  She lets us know when she's hungry, tired or has a dirty diaper, but that's to be expected!  As I write this she is sleeping peacefully next to me in her bassinet. Just this past week she has been starting to be awake more and for longer periods during the day.  We read her infant books which have black and white illustrations and she loves to stare at them.  She also likes tummy time (most of the time) and is very strong.  Her little legs get going and she scoots forward on the mat a bit.

At night Hannah is still waking up every 3-4 hours most nights to eat.  Her longest stretch was 6 hours just a couple of nights ago.  Of course that hasn't happened again since! ;)  She is sleeping in her bassinet now, which is a relief because at first we struggled with getting her to sleep anywhere except on Mommy's chest.

During Hannah's first month, both sets of grandparents got to spend time cuddling and visiting their newest little granddaughter.  It was so nice to see them and to have their help!  Uncle Matt and Aunt Robyn also made a trip out and spent the weekend with us.  Aunt Robyn did a photo shoot of little Miss Hannah, and got some adorable pictures.  Robyn was so patient and Hannah did great!  

During the next month, we look forward to continuing to introduce our sweet Hannah Renee to more friends in the area and then in July we will be headed to San Diego for some fun at the beach with the family!