Hannah at 14 Months

**An update on Hannah for March 28, 2010 to April 27, 2010**


Hannah at 14 months
Height: 31" tall (90th percentile)
Weight: 20.3 lbs (20th percentile)
Teeth: You have 7 teeth now with one that made it's appearance today as you turned 14 months old! You like to chew on your fingers a lot.

Sleeping: On average 9 1/2 - 10 1/2 hours each night. Normally you fall asleep sometime between 9:30 - 10:00 at night and sleep until sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 the following morning. When you're in your crib you sometimes open your little eyes just to make sure mommy is still there. Once we both settle for the night you're good to go until morning. Sometimes you let out little squawks but normally they don't wake you. You're moving around in the bed a little more now than before and it's not unusual for me to find you upside down in the bed. You love to nap when the car is moving and normally I can carry you into the house in your car seat (still in the bucket seat as it's good until 32") to finish your nap. You normally nap 2-3 hours a day but at a variety of times and lengths depending on what we're doing each day. Something I never thought I'd do but find myself doing is putting you in the car to take you for a drive so that you'll nod off for a nap. You go to sleep like a champ at night but sometimes naps are a little harder on you so we go for little rides to help out. You also like to nap in your stroller when you're tired so the nice days not only mean we get to enjoy the fresh, warm spring air but you get some napping time in too. It doesn't matter to you where we are...when you're ready to nap you're ready to nap! I love that you find sleep so easy to come by...just like your mommy.

Weekly Activities: Books and Bounces (Library on Tuesdays); Crawlers and Cruisers (Wednesdays); Swimming lessons (Thursdays); Music Class (Fridays with Auntie K1, Chick and Pea)

Words Hannah is saying: Mama, buh bye, ball, woof, baba (bottle), back, toe toes, papa, hi, baby. Her use of 'back' is really cute. I didn't realize how often I'd say to her, 'Mommy will be right back' until she started to repeat (or initiate) the word 'back'. It happens each time I load/unload the car, run upstairs/downstairs, go to the bathroom and other times too. She's so cute when all of a sudden she stops what she's doing and I hear 'back!' with great emphasis!

Signs: We watch 1 of 4 'Baby Signing Time' DVD's each night before bed. The signs you currently use are: all gone, bath, brush teeth, book, please, dog, hat, eat, bottle, bye bye, hi, cat, fish, diaper, baby, signing, cracker, horse, cereal, cookie, shoes, birdie. Signing is a part of our daily life and you communicate so much with it! I am so thankful that we are able to use sign language to communicate as it helps you tell mommy what you want and there is far less frustration I believe. When I tell her it's time for 'Baby Signing Time' she settles into her special chair and doesn't say a peep for the entire time the DVD is on and can often been seen signing along.



Signing: More. I love how she does this one up near her face and those adorable little eyes plead with you over her hands. So cute! And how could a mommy say 'no' to a request like that?



Food: bananas, cheese, broccoli, noodles, yogurt, crackers, oranges, peaches, baked beans, chicken, baked potato, rice, turkey, avocado, strawberries, pizza, cake, beef, tomatoes, lettuce, pancakes, bacon, pudding, eggs, toast, chicken dogs, cereal

Wow! That's quite the list when I think it was less than 2 months ago that we began to add table food to your diet. Now you eat mainly table food for lunch and supper (still baby cereal with fruit for breakfast) but you still like baby food so I often use it to supplement other food and also when we travel or are out for a meal.

Hannah feels that dishes and cutlery are highly over rated and prefers the feel of food between her fingers...and, in her hair!

This month Hannah began to explore so much!! She loves to move around the main floor of our home looking into cupboards, drawers, closets and so much more. Unfortunately for her this meant that Grandpa helped mommy by installing locks on the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen but it was just so much better than having to tell her 'no' all the time.

I try to use 'no' very infrequently and redirect her attention instead. When I do have to use the word she pays attention (most times) as she realizes mommy means 'no'. It's taken conscious thought to do this but I try using positive reinforcement more and it works really, really well! When I see her thinking about doing something I don't want to (IE. standing up on the bed) I will quickly look at her and praise her for sitting on the bed on her bum or knees. This usually gets a big smile and we move on to something else to take her attention away from standing up.

My little explorer also has a cupboard all her own filled with plastic containers and bowls and she loves to play with all these! Many days the toys are barely touched but these containers are around the house after being carried by little hands. Oh how she loves to carry things around now and is oh so proud of herself that she can manage walking while carrying something!

Sadly for Hannah the exploring stage also meant that the gate at the bottom of our stairs is now closed so that she can explore while Mommy has peace of mind that she's not going up the stairs. She crawls up really well but doesn't yet have the concept down that turning around on the stairs isn't a good thing!

When we go out Hannah loves to smile, wave and say 'bye' to everyone! I cannot begin to count the number of lives she brightens on a daily basis with her sunny smile! It's funny when we're in a restaurant as over the course of the meal I see her waving to different tables and sure enough, when I look over they're waving back and mouth, 'she was waving at me...she's adorable!' I would be concerned if she showed any interest in going to these strangers but if they move closer she cuddles in to me and sometimes hides her head in my shoulder. She's happiest waving from the safety of mommy's arms and from a safe distance.

It's no longer necessary to burp Hannah after her bottles. She normally squirms away too quickly anyway. The cute thing is that she enjoys watching the Baby Signing Time DVD's and in one Hopkins burps which she thinks is hilarious and she giggles every single time. So cute!

When Hannah is really happy about something she gets this huge smile across her face, tilts her head and pulls her shoulders up. It's adorable!!

Thankfully the squealing phase left as quickly as it arrived. It only lasted a couple of weeks but oh, those were painful weeks! What 'broke' it was something so simple! She makes these adorable little clicking sounds with her mouth and we called them her 'nice' sounds so as soon as she'd squeal I'd ask her if she could make her 'nice' sounds and voila...screeching stopped and the clicking began. Ahhhh...SO much better!!

This month Hannah experienced her first Easter which also meant her first chocolate egg. No explanation needed here!!

We also attended our 2nd session of swimming lessons. I can see such improvements in Hannah already and she really enjoys the water.

Hannah's Passport arrived on April 1st and just 17 days later we used it to go to Florida!! What better place to break in her passport than a trip to Disney? My girlie will be a Disney girl for sure! I have saved up for our first 2 trips and have begun to save for a Disney cruise that I hope we can take in a few years.

Hannah was also dedicated this month by Pastor Rick Baker. My squirmy worm did really well!

Here are some of Hannah's accomplishments that I recorded on her calendar:
March 29th: You have a little chair that you sit in to watch your bedtime DVD (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Baby Signing Time). Tonight I looked over and you had climbed out of the seatbelt and were standing beside the chair on the floor!

March 30th: Today for the first time you put 2 pieces into the Fridge Farm all by yourself! You bade a 'horse-pig' but you did it! You also signed 'drink' for the first time today to tell mommy that you were thirsty!

March 31st: We were at a friend's house today and when we were leaving she asked you if you could blow a kiss and you did! I didn't know you knew how to do this. You also took a DVD today and tried to put it into the DVD player. Too bad the DVD was still in the box! :o) You're so observant and you keep mommy on her toes!

April 3rd: You have stopped falling asleep during most of your bottles. I miss watching you peacefully drift off to sleep but you still give me this pleasure some nights when you drink your bedtime bottle.

April 4th: Your first Easter with Mommy! Somebunny loves you too!

April 5th: You're now walking more than you're crawling. That happened fast...too fast!!

April 6th: 5th tooth today. 2nd tooth on your top right. You also discovered the stairs today so I needed to begin closing the gate.

April 7th: Everyday you try more and more to communicate with Mommy. Also, when you're playing you chatter away and it's absolutely beautiful!

April 8th: You've started to initiate signs now when you want something. Often you sign 'more' and mommy needs to figure out what you want more of. :o)

April 9th: Today you signed 'diaper' and sure enough you needed to be changed. So cool!! You've had a runny nose for over a week. We're having an early spring this year and I wonder if you might have allergies?

April 10th: Today when you were on the change table you picked up the tube of sunscreen and rather than just play with it you began to rub your hand and arm. You're so observant and so smart!!

April 11th: Your communication skills are exploding Hannah and Mommy loves it! You initiate signs, pull me to go places and babble at me truly thinking you're talking.

April 12th: You like to walk around with your facecloth and 'clean'. Mommy greatly appreciates your help! You also started helping tidy up your toys today.

April 13th: I booked our first (of many) Florida trips today. We leave Sunday! You fell asleep in your high chair while mommy booked our flights. This week's popular sign is 'birdie' and often you've seen one and other times you're just teasing me!

April 14th: Tooth number 6 made it's appearance today. 2nd tooth on your top left. You also love to walk, wobble, walk and if mommy is holding you you'll squirm like crazy when you want down.

April 15th: Today you said the word 'bottle' very clearly on at least 2 different occassions. Also, I'd say you're officially a 'walker'. Times of crawling are few and far between *sniff* Secured day care today for when mommy goes back to work in mid-August. Thankful but HUGE *SNIFF*

April 17th: Today you pointed to your toes when asked where they were and even said, 'toe toes'

April 18th: First trip to Florida! You flew like a trooper; waved at everyone and then slept both flights away. Raining when we arrived but you just laughed when the rain hit your face.

April 19th: Downtown Disney today with special friends D&D. We're staying at Disney's Pop Century Resort and whenever you see Lady or Tramp you flap your arm wildly for the 'doggie' sign and say, 'ooof ooof'

April 20th: Breakfast at Chef Mickey's with D&D. Characters were Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. Swimming outside for the first time in the afternoon. Fever of 40.0C in the evening. Even harder when we're away from home.

April 21st: We flew home from Florida today. You smiled, waved and said 'hi' to so many people today, especially when travelling through the airports in Mr. Snuggles. You made so many people smile! Your personality is truly delightful!

April 22nd: Today you shook your head 'no' for the first time and it was even in the appropriate place.

April 23rd: New sign 'cereal' when Mommy was getting your breakfast ready. You now say 'Papa' really clearly.

April 24th: So cool! Today I turned on 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.' You looked at me and shook your head 'no', dd the sig for 'Signing Time' and pointed to your special chair. Sure enough you wanted to watch 'Baby Signing Time'. Wow!! 3 things together! You're so smart. Still had a fever and bad cough. Took you to urgent care and you have another ear infection. Poor lamb! Right ear. More Amoxacilinand you take it really well. 2nd ear infectiona dnagain seems tied to teething.

April 25th: You were dedicated today!!

April 26th: I asked you if you wanted to read a story and you signed 'book' and then said a word that sounded like 'book' too! You amaze me every single day!!

April 27th: 14 months old today!! Your 7th tooth cut through today. Next one on your bottom left. We met the lady today who will care for you when Mommy goes back to work in August.

Mommy loves you Hannah XiaoFen!! More than she could ever, ever express to you!!!