More facts about Hannah

Here are a few more facts about my sweet baby girl that I want to remember so will capture them here:

- She's wearing 9 mos. clothes and they fit her well. I have some 6 mos clothes with me and the summer stuff fit in Changsha and it didn't matter if the pants turned into capris but now that we're back in Beijing it's much cooler so her little legs must be covered. I brought 8 pairs of tights for her and am so thankful that I did as she's needed them most days. I've only been told off by one Chinese Grandma so far, letting me know that I didn't have enough layers on her. I just smiled, said thank you....and then took her picture to capture the moment! :o)

- When I first met XiaoFen 6 days ago she didn't really do much with her hands. When a toy was held out to her she didn't really know what to do. Now she holds toys, shakes them and truly plays with them. She also uses her soft little hands to run through mommy's hair or place on her cheek. Ok....she also uses them to scratch me occasionally and pull my hair but we're gently working on that and I wouldn't change it for anything. At least she is using them and I'm thrilled.

- My baby girl is long. She was 27" at 6 1/2 months but I'm not sure how tall she is now. When she is around the other babies about her age she seems longer than some. Also, I think she's about 17 1/2 lbs. Not sure how accurate this is as it's with me stepping on the scale alone and then again with her.

- When my sweeties is hot at night she will kick, kick, kick until the blankets are off her. Of course, when mommy gets up to check her she covers her up again. I keep a variety of weighted blankets near the crib and eventually throughout the night we seem to find something that we're both happy with. She....something just right and me....something she'll keep on as the room can be chilly at times.

- In some ways Hannah is much like your typical baby who spent her first days in an orphanage and others she is very different. Firstly, she drinks bottles slowly. Thankfully she is finally drinking (took 4 days before she really began to eat or drink much) but she takes her time. An average 8oz. bottle will take 30 mins to drink....and I love it!! 30 mins of holding her, snuggling her, whispering into her ears that I love her and making wonderful eye contact with one another. So thankful for this precious time that we share together numerous times throughout the day.

- XiaoFen has a beautiful gummy grin with no teeth to speak of yet. I'm guessing it won't be long but for now she's all gums. I feed her little snacks of Gerber Puffs that I break into teeny, tiny pieces and also bits of rice and watermelon from my fingers. She'll take a spoon but finger feeding seems most effective and enjoyable for both of us.

- Hannah is a cuddler and snuggler and has taken to her baby carrier really well! She spends hours each day in the Baby Bjorn and little bits in the sling. I also brought a Baby Hawk but she's a little bit too tiny for it yet so we'll wait and grow into that one. At breakfast today for the very first time I put her in the stoller for a bit and left her with mom and dad for a couple of minutes while I went to get food. Those from our group that saw me teased me as it was the first time they hadn't seen her strapped to me. :o) She enjoyed herself and before we knew it she was in the carrier again and we were off for the day! I am SO thankful for the carriers as it's healthy for both of us. My back sometimes aches but it's a good pain and I wouldn't change it for anything!!

- Hannah loves to be naked!! Whenever her diaper is being changed or after her bath she does this adorable little dance! Here's a video of it taken just a couple of hours ago.

That's all for today but I'm sure I'll have more 'Hannah Facts' in the future.