Hannah is 11 months old today!!!

Wow! Another month has already flown by and Hannah has changed and grown in more ways that I ever could have happened to my little sweetie! She changes and learns things daily!!!

Also, in this last month Hannah and I have really gotten our groove on. We're on a bit of a schedule, at least enough that works for us and besides that, we've begun attending a few 'Mommy and Me' things that are great!

Our day normally begins sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 am when we wake up and spend some fun time playing together in mommy's bed for about an hour. Just hanging out, chatting, reading stories and slowly beginning the day together. From there it's time to brush our teeth/gums, a diaper change for Hannah and we head downstairs for breakfast. Hannah is now eating stage 2 and 3 Heinz cereals and are either flavoured oatmeal or rice cereal which I add apple sauce to. This morning I introduced plain yogurt to the menu. You can see here what she thought of that!

Lunch normally consists of baby food veggies (sometimes with meat) and fruit and then an 8oz bottle of formula. She normally eats about 1/3 of a small jar of each at each meal. Supper is very similar to lunch although I've reduced that bottle until 4 oz. as she was often spitting up in the evenings. It was 2-3 hours after her bottle so not sure what was causing it but reducing the amount of this feed has helped some. I must admit to being surprised that Hannah is still sick almost every day but the doctor says it's nothing to be concerned about. This morning she had great aim as just as we were ready to go out she coughed a bit and then lost most of her cereal right down mommy's top and into her bra. Mmmmmm....that was a treat! ;o)

Our day normally ends with a bath, stories, bottle and bed. This month we began to really enjoy some of Sandra Boynton's books. 'Moo, Baa, La La La', 'The Going to Bed Book', 'Barnyard Dance' and many more! Some we own and others we are borrowing from our local library.

Our other book that we read as our final story each night is my favourite! It's called 'Mommy's Best Kisses' and is written by Margaret Anastas. It's a great little book talking about animal mommies and the precious little places they kiss. Hannah and I act it out and it leads to mommy placing kisses on her little love`s hands, belly, neck and soft hair. Highly recommended to all!!

Hannah at 11 months: ¸
Height: 30" (she's grown 3/4 of an inch in the past month and is still somewhere between the 90-95 percentile for height)

Weight: 18.12 lbs. (she gained 1/2 a pound this month and is around the 20th percentile for weight.)

Teeth - One!!! Hannah has a tooth!! It was cute...the first day the tooth was there she played with her tongue all day long trying to figure out what this new little thing in her mouth was all about! She knew something was different but didn't have a clue what it was.

Long and lean is my little love and still wearing size 2 diapers (Pamper's Swaddlers) but we may need to move to the 2-3 Swaddlers soon simply because the size 2's are beginning to leak sometimes.

We were at the doctor's the middle of the month for her check-up (he's seeing her each month for the first while we're home) and she received her 2nd set of immunizations. After re-reading some of the information I've received from my agency and talking with Auntie D, the doctor and I decided together that we would begin her immunizations from the beginning but fast track them a bit. There is concern that even though her immunization records were filled out when I received her, there have been problems in the past with those immunization either being expired or not properly stored so not always effective. Better safe than sorry when it comes to immunizations in my books. Doing what I believe is best for my daughter based on valid information provided to me.

Hannah's 10th month was monumental when it came to changes!!! Monumental to say the least! She went from laying down to sitting up on her own (January 10th)
sitting to hopping, hopping to crawling,

and crawling to pulling herself up to a standing position!! What's not seen in this video is me tossing the video camera aside and diving to protect Hannah from the fireplace! I suddenly realized how close she was.I'd say the toughest week we've had in some ways was the week she learned how to stand up but wasn't too effective at getting down. The first few days she felt falling backwards onto her back and head was the best option and I was often found diving to catch her and protect her from hurting herself. It was also a challenge when she was in her crib as she would try to stand up over and over again but she was crashing into the bars if I didn't lay her down so I just kept laying her down. For 3 nights I did my best 'Supernanny' impression and just sat in the dark and kept laying her down every time she stood up.

Eventually she learned to sit down and we've had far less bonks since then. They still happen but not nearly so often and she's much, much better now at not crashing her precious little head

This month Hannah's very first tooth also made it's appearance!! It's her lower right in the front and first broke through around January 7th. We brush it faithfully each morning although I think she's more interested in chewing my finger that has the little toothbrush thingy on it.


Hannah did really well with the tooth and didn't display any of the signs that I thought she might. She wasn't cranky; didn't drool or have messy diapers and her cheeks were only a little pink. Wonder if the rest will happen in a similar manner? What also surprised this first time mommy is how long it takes a tooth to come up once it's broken through! It's now 3 weeks later and it's still only about half way up. No signs of any others yet but I have a feeling this month we'll see at least one more. Will it be the other bottom tooth or one of her top ones?

This month my little love also became discerning about her bath. She loves the bath but saved her pee pees for after the bath! 3 times this past week she's gone as I've had her wrapped in her octopus or rabbit towel and was heading to the change table. Being the one who shares the tub with her I must admit to appreciating this discernment. :o)

We also began a few classes and are really enjoying them! Tuesday morning is, 'Books and Bounces' at our local library.
Thursday is swimming lessons (Sorry, no pool pics yet. Cameras are ¸only allowed week 6 of lessons so my photographers are booked to capture pictures and videos of all our splashing fun! Auntie Joy may also come with her camera so Hannah will have her own little poolside p*parazzi. )
Friday's we go to a music class with Auntie K1, Chick and Pea.
We had very little snow for January which meant we could go outside for walks a couple of times each week. Hannah normally slept and we both enjoyed the fresh air!
The amount of TV she watches is extremely limited as she loves to play so why sit her in front of the TV? That being said, about twice a week when she's taking her time waking up from a nap or we're just enjoying a little cuddle time together, I'll turn on an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that I have recorded on the PVR.` Hannah really enjoys it and it`s a fun, educational little show that is fun for both of us to watch. Besides, it`s never too early to introduce my little love to Mickey Mouse!!

Hannah tried a few new foods this month as we`re slowly broadening her options. I`m thinking more teeth will help this. This month she was introduced to: rice, pasta, yogurt, watermelon, cantaloupe

Here are some of my favourite pics taken over the past month.

Playing horsie with Grandpa Ryan


Watching the snow fall
Finding new ways to play with the exersaucer
Visiting with Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma
Playing the piano with the help of Grandpa Perkins
Distraught by the amount of laundry! Oh Hannah, I understand this feeling completely! Mommy only wishes she could kick her feet and cry about it too!
Meeting her new little friend Alyssa
Visiting friends with mommy
Occasionally trying sleeping on her tummy until Mommy notices and moves you back onto your back. You sleep very still and normally don`t move from your back or the spot you fall asleep for the entire night! Only your little head rolls from side to side occasionally and your arms and feet may move but basically you stay in the same position for 10-11 hours! Mommy fidgits at night and wishes she could sleep so still!
You get pretty excited when you find Mommy`s video camera or regular camera to play with!
The beautiful face that melts Mommy`s heart many times each day!