15 months

 

Weight: 21.3 pounds/49th percentile

Height: 30 inches/ 30th percentile

Head Circumference: 46 centimeters/ 58th percentile

There is absolutely no shortage of personality in our house, which has been made even more apparent as Hannah comes into her own.  She is a determined, goofy, cheerful, affectionate, expressive, loving little person.  She is full of giant, nose-scrunching smiles and loves to give kisses.  Hannah has become more interested in asserting herself; because she can.  One example: if given the choice (which she never is) she'd much rather be held while grocery shopping than sitting in the cart.  Sometimes, she gives me no choice (which she manages by pulling me to her by my shirt, tightly hugging my neck, pulling herself up and wrapping her body around me.)  Needless to say, I don't shop at a leisurely pace.  

Mobility: Hannah is a walker now!  She is on the go whenever she is not restrained in her crib, high chair or carseat (which are also the most calm moments of my day.)  She is into everything, especially now that she has mastered the door knobs in our home, that, don't seem to be child-proofable.  She is getting much faster.  Her speed is especially apparent when she is getting into something she's not supposed to, or trying to swipe Emmy's toys or sippies.  She's very proficient at crawling up the stairs, and has taught herself to go down the stairs backwards.  I am skittish with her near the stairs inside the house, but she gets her practice on the deck stairs because that's all she (and I) seem to do when we are outside together.

Eating:  She is eating all table food, and is very upfront with whether or not she likes her meal.  If it appeals to her, she lets out and empathic "MMMMMM," and it she finds it unappealing, she with spit it out as if I'm trying to poison her.  The kids' reaction to my cooking is a giant dose of humility.  Luckily, Hannah is easier to please than Emmy is.  For breakfast, Sissy will eat muffins, pancakes, waffles, any carb, really.  She loves fruit, particularly bananas, strawberries, pears and oranges.  For lunch, she loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ham sandwiches, bean and cheese quesadillas (we go easy on the cheese, because, much to her chagrin, she is dairy sensitive.)  She loves carrots and hummus (she usually uses the carrots as a vehicle to get the hummus into her mouth and then pitches them to the dogs, who have become increasingly picky with the table scraps they'll consume.) For dinner, she most loves anything with pasta (surprise, surprise), pizza, and sweet potato fries.  For snack, she loves graham crackers, applesauce, crepes with nutella and strawberries.

Sleep:  Sissy goes to sleep without any fight each night around 730 (something that we appreciate tremendously.)  Lately, she sleeps until anywhere between 630 and 7 (the time change proved to be very beneficial for us.)  We are still ironing out our daytime sleep, because if it were up to her, she'd play until 1030 or 11 and then take a nap, but, frankly, that doesn't work for the group.  So, I lay her down around 8-830 each day for about an hour or so.  A lot of times she'll sleep, but sometimes she'll just play in her crib, but it affords me a shower before we have to head out to school, errands, or whatever might be on the schedule.  Then, she goes down for an afternoon nap at 1 (the same time as Emmy) and will sleep for about 2-3 hours.  

Teeth:  Sweet girl now has 12 teeth!  She has the front four on both the top and bottom, and four molars!  She sprouted the last two molars the same week that she got her 15 month shots, it was a rough one, but she (we all) got through it with some Ibuprophen, snuggles, and a good bit of patience.

Favorite pastimes:  Hannah's favorite toys are her balls, bath ducks, blocks, kiddie "computer" and phone.  She likes to carry her toys from one place to another, preferably within a vessel of her choosing.  She loves to "bow" (bounce) on the couch and "da" (dance) to music by vigorously swaying her little body to and fro. She is a cuddle bug in every sense of the word, and we both cherish every moment of it.  Nick told me last night that snuggling with Hannah in her chair before bedtime is his favorite part of every day.  I couldn't agree more.  Sissy likes to take pictures with Emmy's kiddie camera by standing right in front of us and saying "cheee!"  She "talks" on the phone throughout the day, usually to Nick. She adores "reading" books, and can spend an impressive amount of time flipping through books on her own, but really doesn't have time for anyone to read them to her.  She finds great satisfaction in pressing Emmy's buttons, and usually sets her sights on whatever Emmy is working on/playing with/eating or drinking.  The look on her face as she tries to get away from Emmy, who is hot on her tail, is hilarious.  Tracing out the lyrics to "Itsy Bitsy" on her belly will usually buy me a few seconds of stillness.  She is highly ticklish on her neck under her chin. :)

"Words:"  I use the term "words" loosely because although she chatters away nearly constantly, mostly Nick and I know which words she is saying...

Mama

Dada

Darla

Molly (Mol-Mol)

(Still no name for Emmy yet, although she often says something like "A" when we are talking about Emmy.)

Jakie (For her cousin Jacob, it sounds like Dakie.)

Baboo (Which applies to any stuffed animal, really.)

Thank you (Pronounced "tay" with a couple of head bows."

Snack (Sounds like "nack.")

Water ("wawa")

Bottle ("baba")

Num Num (food)

Banana ("ba")

Dog ("do")

Bath ("ba")

No (Usually said with wide eyes, shaking her head vigorously.)

Floor ("foe")

Stuck ("tuck")

Down ("dow")

Baby (said exactly as it should :)

...There's more that are escaping me right now...

Our favorite Hannah Antics:  We sing a song for grace before dinner each night.  Up until recently, Hannah would just watch, but she now holds our hands and at the end says a big "'MEN!"

Emmy's First Haircut!

Something strange happened this morning at breakfast; Nick announced that he was ready to take Emmy to get her hair trimmed.  While I love her long hair, I'd been feeling it was time to cut off some of the split-ends for awhile now, but Nick was adamant that she not cut her hair indefinitely.  He told me, explicitly, that if I took her to cut her hair, or worse yet, she was unsupervised with scissors, he would cry.  Obviously, I would never go against him, so, I resolved myself to waiting patiently.  This new development was entirely unexpected and huge.

Emmy was so excited up until we walked through the door when she assumed her "shy Emmy" persona; but sat dutifully in the chair as the kind lady evened out her mane.  She was thrilled to receive a lollipop at the end for being so cooperative.  Nick did wonderfully, too, and mentioned that it wasn't so bad afterall.  He was intrigued, and excited, to learn (from the stylist, because he didn't believe it when I told him previously) that her hair will grow longer and healthier with periodic trims!  Nick can rest easily knowing that, because of his concession, it wont be long before we have our very own Rapunzel sleeping upstairs...

The first cut!

So serious!

We coaxed a smile out of her at the end :)

15 & 16 weeks

15 weeks with hair styled by Emmy Horn.

16 weeks

Spring finally arrived this week! With the proliferation of greenery and lush trees, my nausea has subsided!  Unfortunately, on it's way out, my nausea high-fived with my new dizzy and light-headed spells.  I experienced these badly with Emmy, so this is very familiar to me.  Typically, it will gradually go away with some good swigs of water and horizontal rest.  I am doing my best to minimize public outings with both kiddos while these are occurring, though, because passing out would be so terribly uncouth of me.  

I have still been really tired, but have had an overwhelming desire to start knocking stuff off our to-do list.  This past weekend, Nick kept the girls for an afternoon so that I could hit the Nashville pavement running to do some shopping/research.  It takes me forever to commit to household decor because I have this need to see everything that's out there first, taking into consideration the cost, style, size, color...The list goes on and on.  I was most productive at Joann's, though, and scooped up fabric for the twins' robin's egg blue and candy-apple red nursery.  I am really excited about this one. :)

Also worth mentioning, I had an OB appointment last week, which was pretty unremarkable (just like I like them to be!) My blood pressure was pretty low, which only offered numerical proof to what I was already feeling, and the babies' heart rates were good!  Next appointment is my thorough anatomy scan at 20 weeks, which will take place at a special ultrasound clinic in Nashville!  It's hard to believe we'll be more than halfway there at that point!

Backyard Campout

Nick had a brilliant, ambitious idea last week: to have a campout on Saturday night.  With the backyard camping trip on the calendar, I made sure to load up on foods appropriate for an outdoor feast (which was always my favorite part of camping.)  During naptime on Saturday, Nick erected the tent that I got him for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I prepped all the fixin's for our cookout.  Emmy awoke from her nap and sprung into preparation-mode as well.  After inspecting the tent, she took it on herself to set it up for she and Nick to sleep in, complete with their sleeping bags, pillows, water sippy, jammies, Barbie and Ken.  After everything was set up to her liking, she changed into her jammies and started "helping" Nick prepare the wood for our "campfire."  We grilled out for the first time of the season and enjoyed the seventy-plus degree weather with dinner on the deck.  After Sissy ate the last olive from her fingers, we got out the marshmallows, chocolate and grahams and lit up the fire bowl.  With Sissy bathed and in bed, Nick, Emmy and I hung out by the campfire, told stories, looked at the stars and laughed.  Emmy was her wonderfully vibrant self, but kicked up ten notches.  She was on top of the world...Nick and I laughed when she dutifully ran inside to go potty, that she was referring to us as "guys." She loves being in the middle of things.  Around nine thirty, I turned in (in the comfort of my warm bed, of course) leaving my Nick and my Emmy outside.

I woke up repeatedly throughout the night, checking Nick's side of the bed, certain that he'd be lying next to me.  But that wasn't the case.  I finally got up at 630, absolutely astonished that Nick and Emmy were still outside.  Ten minutes later, I watched them emerge from the tent, both with smiles on their faces!  I asked Emmy later if she was cold or if she was cozy sleeping in the tent with Daddy, and she informed me that she was cozy.  Come to find out, she and Nick cuddled all night long...His sleep was a bit broken, but I don't think it much mattered since his dream of snuggles with Emmy had come true.  Nick actually said it was easier to get her to sleep in the tent than it is to get her to sleep in her bed...All he needed to do was tell her they were playing the quiet game and she was out (granted, it was a little after 10 PM, but still.)  

Such a special experience; and the first of many backyard campouts, I'm sure. :)

Moving in.

Emmy had placed Barbie and Ken with their heads on her pillow.

Just Three Words...

ONE OF EACH!!!!

So, we found out that gender of our little bambinos a little sooner than anticipated thanks to Nick's insatiable curiosity and my total lack of self discipline!  We jumped on an appointment at the 3D ultrasound place in town and decided to fib and say I was 15 weeks to make us eligible for gender determination!  (For the record, I was very uneasy lying but Nick convinced me that it wasn't a big deal since we were literally a day and a half off.)  We weren't in the spa-like ultrasound room for more than a couple of minutes before our sweet boy was flaunting his "parts."  Nick was beaming and I was overcome with relief!  A few minutes later our sweet baby girl flashed us as well, leaving the tech "100% sure" of the gender of our babies!  Nick made sure to ask.  We are thrilled!!

To add to the greatness of the moment, Emmy and Hannah were on their very best behavior throughout the appointment.  There was a huge screen to watch the ultrasound picture and Emmy was entranced.  She told us later that her favorite part was listening to their heartbeats, both were in the 140 bpm range. :)  It just so happens that Dora also has baby brother/sister twin siblings, which made for a great frame of reference for our big girl.  Hannah was pretty oblivious to much of this, except for the pink "big sister" wristband that she was given after the ultrasound.  Most everything that Hannah does makes us laugh, but it's hard not to when thinking of her as a big sister.  Nick aptly described that Hannah will be the glue between the children; such a big job for such a little person. :)

Nick told me after the appointment that he was prepared for this scenario, of if they had been two boys; but was no where near prepared if they had been two girls.  The fact that he has a third daughter on the way still did take some time to process, but I reminded him that Hannah is certain the sun and the moon rise and set with him, and what could be more wonderful than another doting daughter?

I am beyond relieved to have a boy on board!  Nick might not remember telling me this, because he was a few drinks deep, but one night he gushed that he'd be happy with five girls if he could just have one boy...The bond those two will have will be unmatched.  I couldn't be more excited about the evolution of our family, knowing this special new dynamic!!

Nick and I couldn't help but laugh that we are the least likely candidates for a gender reveal party.  The two minutes in the ultrasound room felt excruciatingly long, let alone the time it would take to have someone bake a special-colored cake.  Instead, we did our own version and surprised our friends at church group (who were truly surprised because they had no idea we'd even made the appointment. :-P)  The cupcakes had purple frosting on the inside to clue them in. :)  Although, anyone could have just looked at the red and blue food coloring stains splattered all over my fingers as I eeked out the few drops Emmy hadn't previously squirted on the floor during an unsupervised cooking project...

It's a boy!!!

It's a girl!!!

Beautiful baby girl :)

Handsome little man :)

The best photo I have thus far of the two of them at once...Baby girl is on the bottom and baby boy is on top of her, as if they were laying on a bunk bed. :)

Reunited and it feels so good...in Saint Louis!

Last week, the girls and I made the easy drive to Saint Louis to reconnect with the Sacksteders and my spring-breaking mom.  We packed as much into Wednesday through Saturday as was possible with five children and a lethargic pregnant woman.  More than anything, it was just great to be able to spend the time together, it really didn't much matter what we were doing (said the lethargic pregnant woman.)

Mom came bearing gifts!

Kris found this playhouse on clearance at Target for $3!  It was more than worth the money spent.

Sissy is a little walking fool now! :)

We were introduced to The Magic House! Oh my goodness was it incredible!  We only played in one small portion of the facility-and were there for over two and a half hours.  We will definitely be returning!

Sissy found these doors, and behind them were different textured materials...

As soon as she opened this door, she shrieked "BABOO!!" and started rubbing her face on it...I was so grateful that I already had my camera up to my eye and trigger finger poised and ready to shoot when she started loving on the fur...It was so funny!

Whomever says that trucks and dirt are for boys haven't hung out with Emmy before!

Sounds about right.

Emmy got to play t-ball with Uncle JP, Andy, and Clairey...To say that she didn't/doesn't understand how the game works is a gross understatement.  She'll get it, though!

She and Hannah were far more interested in the sand table. :)

My girls love their Uncle JP! :)

Sissy grabbed ahold of Kris' sweater after dinner and pulled her in for some love...

I stole these photos from Kris' camera, I did not bring my A-game this trip...

The aftermath from our ice cream sundae bar. :)

Mimi and the big kids watched our favorite classic, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" complete with two full buckets of popcorn!

We all had fun playing at The Magic House!

Mimi and her grandbabies at the park minus a napping Hannah!

14 weeks

This week has been a bit of a turning point just as the pregnancy literature has promised.  While I don't feel awesome, I have hit a point where I have a little extra energy to begin tackling the endless list of things I need/want to do.  It could also be the spring-like weather or that I have just plain gotten fed up with just looking at my list, but no matter the reason, stuff is getting done!  I am in purge-mode, big time, to make room for our new little ones.  I took on the attic one day and was thrilled by the stack garbage bags containing crap that hasn't been looked at in years (it's funny the things you keep in high school/college thinking that they'll still have sentimental value 10 years later.)  I've been cleaning the house a little day-by-day, and was overjoyed to destroy the dust bunnies living on my stairs and to finally scrub out the ring in the upstairs toilet.  It was such sweet victory!  Emmy and I planted some potted herbs and strawberries and some flowers in my decorative urns at the front door.  What a difference clean, cheerful surroundings make when your feeling slightly less than fantastic!