Hannah's 4 Month Check Up

Wednesday we visited Dr. Boonstra.  Dr. Boonstra has been Henry's Dr. since birth, and now Hannah sees him as well.  He is the best Dr. ever.  He is super laid back and the kids are always so happy around him.  He is very realistic about everything, and seems to be on the same page as I am with all my routines.  He has two young boys of his own, and we seem to follow a lot of the same ideas.  He mentioned we could start rice cereal anytime, but there is no real need to until she is 6 months old.  We aren't in any rush to start, so will probably give it another month or so before we introduce.  It is just one additional thing to have to get ready, so we will keep it as easy as possible while we can.  I am anxious to introduce the spoon to her and she how she reacts.  She is showing all the signs that she is ready...constant drool, very good head support, and interest in when we eat.  I remember we started rice cereal with Henry around 5 months.  He had no interest at all so we didn't push it until he hit 6 months.  So maybe a few weeks from now we will see how she does.  It will be fun to see how Henry reacts too.  I am sure he will want to feed her himself.  He now says 'Me Too' for everything he wants to do. 

I forgot to mention at Hannah's two month check how Dr. said not many babies social smile as much as she was doing.  She is so advanced I know:)  He said everything is going perfect with her.  The only concern I have is her terribly dry, sensitive skin.  It doesn't seem to bother her.  I just lube her up as much as possible.  Dr. said to try and do it right after her bath while her skin is still a little wet. 

One new milestone Hannah hit this week is finding her feet.  She reaches for them so hard, grabs them and brings them to her mouth.  Every time her clothes are off her feet are in her hands and toes are in her mouth.  It is so cute!  She also rolls over every time she is on her back.  She started rolling occasionally right before she turned 3 months old.  She now does it constantly.  This is another thing that Henry didn't ever do.  He went right to sitting, which will be the next big milestone for her. 

Here are Hannah's 4 month stats:

Weight - 13 lbs 6 oz = 46th percentile
Height - 24 3/4" = 72nd percentile
Head - 16" = 42nd percentile

Perfect in every way.

As usual - here are the 4 month comparisons between the two kids. (Hannah is on the purple blanket, Henry on the blue)

And one more thing realization.  I don't think Hannah's eyes will be blue.  Babies eye color isn't permanent until 6 months, but currently her eyes have turned hazel.  She got her Grandpa Dale's hazel eyes. 

I Love Etsy!

I learned of a website called etsy from a few friends.  It is a website where very creative people hand make items and sell them.  I have fallen in love with it and have ordered a few things.  I placed an order for Hannah's letters a few weeks ago, and they finally arrived!  I am so happy with them.  They dress up her side of the room and are absolutely adorable!

Henry has learned how to climb into Hannah's crib.  Luckily he can't climb out of his own yet (he is very close - he knows how to stand on the very top bar...which he gets in big trouble for doing.)  So I don't worry about him climbing in her crib in the middle of the night.  I snapped some pictures of his new ability.  He is pretty proud.

Henry has also become more and more obsessed with his little sister lately.  He won't ever keep his face more than an inch away from her.  It is pretty precious....but annoying at times as he isn't always the most gentle and I have to watch him every second and always be within an arms reach.  It is just another stage he is going through, but a pretty cute one.  Here he is giving his sister some lovin'.

Happy 4 months to my baby girl.  Will post her 4 month pictures tomorrow (since I have yet to take them) and her stats from her Dr. apt today.  She is right on track!!

Pumpkin Carving

This weekend my parents watched Henry and Hannah while Andy and I tailgated down in Iowa City for the day.  Henry was SO excited to wake up and play with Papa for the day that he woke up at 4am.  It ended up being a very long day for mommy and daddy....and Papa and Grandma.  Henry carved his first pumpkin before we left Sunday.  He did such a great job helping clean out the pumpkin and carve the face. 

Here he is helping Grandma cut the pumpkin open.

Reaching in to help clean out all the seeds. He isn't so sure what he is getting into.

Showing off his pumpkin!

                           Is this not the happiest face you have ever seen??  So proud of his hard work.

The Protective Older Brother

I had to share this with everyone.  Today when I picked up the kids the sitter was raving about how good Henry has been lately.  Andy and I have really noticed too how good of a boy he has been.  Not throwing nearly as many tantrums, being such a great helper, learning so much every day, and being so much fun.  So Melisa was talking Henry up saying how he ate and played so well all day. 

She then mentioned that the only time he gets upset is when they lay Hannah down for a nap.  She said he gets gets really concerned about where she is going.  Then she mentioned that a few times he has actually gone upstairs to the room that she sleeps in and he lays on the floor in the bedroom while she falls asleep.  While all the other kids are playing outside or downstairs, Henry is more concerned about his little sister.  Is that not the most precious thing you have ever heard?!  My heart just melted.  I knew that Henry loved his little sister - but hearing this story just confirmed how much he really does love having her around.  Hannah is so lucky.

Hannah's Sleeping Habits

Since I have gone back to work little miss Hannah has added in an additional feeding in the middle of the night.  She now wakes up around 1am and 4am to eat.  Isn't it supposed to be the other way around??  My latest 'Your baby this week' email states that babies her age can be sleeping through the night at this age,  doing 6-8 hour stretches.  Her schedule has changed since she is now going to the sitter, so that could be it.  We also put her down earlier at night too, so maybe that is it??  Or maybe she is growing?? 

I am trying to figure it out since I now have to wake up at 6:30am and work a 9 hour day.  I don't get my usual afternoon naps in anymore.  And when I was on maternity leave this little girl slept like a champ only waking up once or twice per night.  Last night I tried something new.  She napped from 6pm - 8pm and we kept her up until 9pm.  Her last feeding of the night was at 8:30pm instead of 7pm.  That seemed to help a little.  She slept from 9pm - 2:30am.  That seemed to work a lot better since I go to bed around 9pm usually.  So I got a nice 5 hour stretch which was nice.  So I think I will continue with that for awhile until she starts doing longer stretches again. 

I keep saying it is probably because she misses hanging out with her mommy all day long.  Yep - I'm pretty sure that is the case:)  The nice thing about being a second time mom is that I know this won't last forever.  It will change again soon - I just hope for the better!!

Weekend Alone

It has been a great weekend.  Just to give you an update, Andy and I did fall back asleep from 6am - 8am yesterday morning.  It was great!  Then we went downtown to the Farmer's Market for one last Farm Boy burrito and breakfast pizza.  We went out to lunch to an Indian Restaurant that Andy has been trying to take me to for years, and I booked a last minute hour long massage before heading to the wedding.  It was a great day. 

This morning we slept in until 6am, got up and made our big grocery run.  We were the only people at Walmart - it was fabulous.  We were there for an hour and a half!  We really took advantage of not having the kids with us.  Then headed back home to relax for a few more hours before picking up the kids this afternoon. It was sure nice to have a break, but it is too quiet around here.  I'm ready to have my kids back!

Kid Free for the Weekend

Last night we dropped off both Hannah and Henry to stay with their Grandpa and Grandma Schmidt for the weekend.  Andy and I have a wedding tonight and Deb and Dale were so thoughtful and offered to take them all weekend.  Last night on our drive back to Des Moines it felt like a weight had been lifted off of us - almost like we were on vacation!  We stopped by a store on the way back and it was so strange not having to be on our toes at all times knowing where Henry was every second and figuring out which way to bring Hannah in the store - baby bjorn or car seat it (which then you have to figure out how to fit the car seat the cart - and if the store has carts, because if they don't then hopefully the stroller is in the back of the car!). 

The most exciting thing we were looking forward to was getting some much needed sleep!  But as you can see, it is 5:20am and both Andy and I are wide awake!!  And...I'm already missing the kiddos dearly.  I can't stop thinking about 'how they slept? are they awake yet? I wonder if Hannah ate ok?' I know they are doing just fine, but I guess the constant worry just never leaves my mind.  Part of being a mom.

Though we are up bright and early, it is pretty nice not having to tip toe around the house praying the kids don't wake up.  Though on the other hand by 7am Andy and I are usually bored and purposely make loud noises so they do wake up because we are ready to play with them too:)  But the best part about today is, when we get tired again in an hour or so, we can crawl back in bed for a morning nap!

Thank you to Grandpa and Grandma Schmidt for watching the kids!  I hope Hannah slept for you!!

Toddler Bed No More

After seven days of trying the toddler bed with Henry Andy successful converted the bed back into a crib.  Regression I know...but it was for the best for everyone.  This is another one of those situations where the parents (well the mom in this case) was excited for the next big step a little too early.  With Hannah we aren't nearly as eager to try things earlier than needed since we've been there before.  Another reason why the second one is much easier. 

Once I heard that Henry was taking a nap on a mattress at the babysitters I figured for sure we should try it at home.  It will be so fun - we can get him new big boy 'toddler' bedding..he can crawl in and out on his own...he can crawl in and out on his own - WHAT was I thinking??  Henry would go to bed just fine.  Some nights it would only take one time of putting him to bed.  Other nights it would take a few times, but never more than three.  So that part was fine.  It was the morning that was the problem.  I would hear his little feet pitter patter across the floor at 5am!  That is waaaay to early for this mom who is getting up twice a night with Hannah.  So we gave it a week.  It improved by like 5 minutes a day.  But he never slept in past 5:50am. 

So Sunday night I decided it was time to put it back on.  I should have known it was a bad idea when my mom told me her coworkers at work said 'What - why would she ever do that before he can climb out of it??!!  Does she know what she is getting into??' 

I know every child is different.  I've had several friends whose children are scared to get in and out on their own and will call for their parents in the morning to still come pick them out of their toddler beds.  Well, not this boy.  It took him one nap to figure out he could get in and out on his own.  So...until he is climbing out, or has completely outgrown it, he will be sleeping in his crib.

Since we've turned it back into a crib we have had to wake him up at 7:15am to get ready for the day.  I think Henry is even happier having his crib back together.  Much better for everyone.

Henry's Birthday Party

Saturday we had Henry's birthday party.  We started out the day at Patches Pumpkin Patch in Adel.  Henry's cousins Bennett and Camron met us there along with all of his aunties, uncle Nathan and grandpas and grandmas.  It was a great turnout and a beautiful day (October 9th and 86 degrees).  We started out at the petting farm.  Henry got to go in the cages with all the farm animals.  Then Henry rode the biggest horse they had!  He loved it and did such a good job!  I even got up on the horse all on my own:)

He then played in the bouncy tent with his cousin Camron.  He loved it and did such a good job keeping his balance!

Aunt Bri rode with him for the cow tractor ride.  He rode twice and picked the caboose each time.

Aunt Heidi holding Hannah.

On the tractor ride.

Henry picking out his pumpkin in the patch with daddy and grandpa.

Each boy picked out their very own pumpkin!!

All the cousins together!

Henry loved the swing.  Bri pushed him so high.  He didn't want to leave!

 When we got home it was time to eat, open presents, and eat cake and ice cream.  Grandpa Dave made a train table for Henry.  This is Henry helping both his grandpas put the legs on his very own train table!

 Grandpa and Grandma Schmidt got Henry his own lawn mower 'mow mow'.  He hasn't stopped using it yet!

Time for cake!!  Henry did a great job blowing out the candle.

 Henry saying 'cho cho' as Percy rolls by. 

It was such a great day.  We are so lucky that everyone lives so close that we could all be together.  It has been so fun watching Henry get to know his cousins and try to keep up with them.  They all play together so well.  Today he continues to ask where 'Bent' is (Bennett).  Henry and Hannah get to spend next weekend in Carroll with Grandpa and Grandma and are already looking forward to spending time with them and seeing their cousins.  Thank you to everyone for the great presents.  Henry is one spoiled little two year old.  

Henry Turns 2!!

Happy birthday to my precious baby boy.  Well not baby anymore...he turned two today!  When you ask him 'how many are you Henry' he yells back 'TWO!!'.  It is too cute.  We had his two year old check up today and here are his stats:

Weight: 24lbs 8oz = 23% (up from only 10% at his last check up - he is finally growing!!)
Height: 33" = 20% (He would not cooperate for this part and his knees weren't straight, so I'm pretty sure they didn't get it accurate, I would give him at least 34").

Dr. said we can switch him from whole milk to the milk we drink.  He also said we should start potty training, as the older they get the more stubborn they get.  Something Andy and I need to put on the to do list.  We will work on that after we get the toddler bed conversion down.  After two nights with no problems at all Henry decided he wanted to get in and out of his new bed several times last night.  I think he was just excited for his birthday today.

He is a very healthy, active, stubborn and dramatic little two year old.  We wouldn't wish for anything different.

Hard to think that two years and one day ago Andy and I were a small family of two.  We have been so blessed over these past two years and wouldn't change it for anything.

We love you Henry.

Fail Try with no Swaddle Blanket

So I think we will be sticking to the no swaddle at nap time only for now.  Hannah woke up last night at 10pm and this momma was not ready to be woken up every 2 hours, especially on a work night.  So I swaddled her back up super tight and it held until 4am.  So she will continue to be swaddled until she absolutely will not stay in it.  The great news is I got 6 hours of sleep straight last night!!  So check back again in a month or so...we may be trying it again, but for now this little girl will get to keep bundling up in her favorite pink swaddle blanket. 

3 Months Old!

Believe it or not Hannah is already three months old!!  The time has gone by so fast.  It has been so much fun watching her grow.  Here are the pictures of her three month photo shoot and then some of when Henry was three months old.  People still say they look exactly the same - but I definitely think they look different. 

 Happy girl - she is always smiling.

 And here is Henry:

Now that I am trying to compare their faces I wish I would have gotten more up close ones of Henry.  I've been making sure to get them of Hannah. 

Hannah's three month weight is 12 lbs 4oz.

Hannah's Baptism

Last Sunday, September 26th Hannah was baptized.  It was such a special day.  We had all of our immediate family in town and together the entire day.  We are so lucky that we all live close enough that we can all be together.  Hannah looked beautiful and did such a great job.  She actually smiled during the entire ceremony - it was such a blessing seeing the Lord shine through her that day.  I have more pictures on my mom's camera that I will upload of her in her beautiful dress, but here are some of the ceremony:

 Sponsors Nathan and Heidi

Her pretty shoes.

Toddler Bed

Today we converted Henry's crib to a toddler bed.  Something we have been talking about for a long time but never knew when to do it.  This past week I learned from the sitter that they have had Henry napping on a mattress, much to my surprise.  So today we decided it was time.  Henry helped Andy while he converted his crib.  I was nervous at nap time to try it out, but he went right down.  I checked on him a few minutes later and he was in the rocking chair 'wocking' he said.  So I rocked him for one song and put him back in bed.  I went and checked on him a few minutes later, and again he was in the rocking chair.  So I rocked him for one song and then put him back in his big boy bed.  Five minutes later I checked on him and successful - he was sleeping!  He slept his usual 3 hour nap and called for me when he was ready to wake up.  Such a big boy!!  We will see how tonight goes...but I think he will do just fine. 

Here Henry is in his converted big boy bed:

And Hannah has taken three naps without being swaddled today.  I chickened out on the no swaddle thing, so have just been dealing with waking up twice a night sometimes.  I may try it tonight depending on how brave I am feeling.  Big day for everyone!!

Bye bye swaddle blanket...hopefully...

Henry's Gym Class

I signed Henry up for a gymnastics (we call it gym class, doesn't sound as girly) a few weeks ago.  He is in the 2-3 year old class since he will be 2 next Wednesday.  So he is one of the younger, if not the youngest kid in the class.  So far he is doing a great job! 

The first night at class I was a little worried because I spent most of the time chasing him around the room.  But he has been doing much better.  We start out the class in a circle, you find your 'star' to sit on.  There is a teacher that leads stretches, and then we run around in a circle marching, skipping, hoping, and Henry's favorite - running.  Then we start the stations.  Each class they have different stations set up that each kid gets to take their turn at.  Henry's favorites have been the trampoline, tents, tunnels, rings, and the basketball hoop.  They take a break in the middle of class where they line up to take a drink out of the drinking fountain.  Henry loves this part and runs faster than all the other kids to be first in line!  At the end of class they all get stamps on their hands.  It is so cute watching Henry get so excited and waiting patiently for his turn to get his stamps.

It is so much fun bringing him to class and getting to run around with him for that 45 minutes, just the two of us.  Experts say it is important for me to have my one on one time with Henry now that the baby is here, since most of my time is spent with the baby right now.  That will change as she grows, but I know these first few months have been a little hard on Henry, having to learn to share his mom.  We both look forward to our Tuesday night gym class together.  

Strait Jacket

As a lot of you know I am a huge believer in the Miracle Blanket, also known as the strait jacket.  This blanket was a life saver for us with Henry.  We didn't start using it with him until after he was a month old, when nothing else was working for him to sleep longer than a two hour stretch, but once we started using it he immediately started sleeping for longer periods (like 3 or 4 hours..which wasn't a lot, but so much better than 2!!).  This blanket is truly a miracle.  Thank you to my good friend Abby for buying it for us as a gift for Henry.  When we opened it up we had no idea what a blessing it would be!  We were actually so intimidated by it that we didn't try it until we had no more options with Henry.  We only wish we would have tried it sooner.

Here is Hannah in her strait jacket:

Once we found out we were having a girl I went out and bought her a pink one.  We have been swaddling her in it since she was born, and she has been sleeping like a champ.  Up until recently.  She is now strong enough and smart enough that she has learned how to break out of the swaddle - which Henry didn't do until he was 5 months old!  So she now wakes up at 1am, and 4am.  Both times I go in she is unswaddled, and ticked off, because she likes the swaddle just as much as we do.  So I feed her to put her back to sleep and then swaddle her back up.  Since this blanket is the swaddle blanket of them all, I know there isn't anything else out there that will keep her in.  She is too smart and too strong.  So for the past 2 weeks she now wakes up twice a night, which has been a killer since I just went back to work last week.  So I guess it is time to start easing her into no more swaddle, which scares me!  First because that means she isn't a newborn anymore, and second, transitions are always hard!  I'm hoping she hasn't gotten used to being fed twice at night either...hopefully that wasn't a mistake on my part.  So wish us luck as we start to teach this baby girl to sleep without being swaddled.  I will keep you updated.  This mom (not 'momma' anymore...tear...) is ready to have her 6 hour stretch of sleep again.

Call me 'Mom' and I'm Sorry

A couple Henry stories:

Henry has called me 'Momma' since he first began talking.  Well this weekend he now calls me 'Mom'.  No more 'momma'.  Just 'mom'.  Short, plain and simple. What happened to my little baby boy??  I feel like he is so grown up! 

Yesterday Henry and I were downstairs getting out the fall decorations.  We had all the pumpkins out and he was getting ready to help me carry them upstairs when he accidentally dropped one and it broke.  He looked at me and said 'I'm sorry'.  It melted my heart.  I have never heard him say he is sorry before.  I about cried right there.  He helped me clean it up while he continued to say 'I'm sorry'.  Precious.

Back to Work and Hannah to the Sitter

Monday was my first day back at work, and also Hannah's first day at the sitter.  Both mommy and baby did great.  It was nice to get back to my adult life, though I did miss my little baby girl.  She did so great at the sitter.  She was exhausted when we brought her home.  She took an hour nap, got up and ate, then went to bed an hour later and only woke up once to eat.  It is tough work going to the baby sitters house.

Henry LOVES having his little sister at the sitter with him.  He kept telling everyone that came anywhere close to Hannah that she was 'his' baby.  'That is MY baby' he would say.  So precious.  I am so glad they have each other.  I think that is why it wasn't as hard leaving Hannah as it was with Henry.  It is reassuring knowing she has a familiar face there with her to watch over her.  He is such a good big brother.

Andy and I met for lunch and have every day since.  It is nice having an hour to catch up just the two of us.  There aren't many hours that we have without the kiddos screaming or in need of something.  That is one thing I missed a lot while on leave, lunches with my one and only. 

Being back at work has been bitter sweet, at times I think I should just stay home with the kids, but other times I know how good it is for me to be working, and how good it is for the kids to be around other kids.  It is the dreaded mom guilt. 

So far I have just dove back into the work load.  I have a new burst of energy being back on the job.  I actually turned around a project today faster than I ever have.  It is like a fresh start.  I need a 12 week break every 12 months!!

Freezer

The fridge in our kitchen has the freezer on the bottom.  This has become a major problem because Henry can now open it on his own.  And he does it ALL the time.  We had popsicles in the freezer for him from when he was having the teething problems.  Well now he goes in the freezer about every 10 minutes wanting a popsicle.  After the second one of the night we said no.  Which is hard because this kid hardly eats.  But he can't eat 10 popsicles in one night.  So Andy hid the popsicles so he can't keep grabbing them.  It is pretty funny though because Andy and I will be in the living room and we will hear rustling going on and sure enough it is Henry in the freezer searching around for something he wants.  So note to self, when we buy our own place we will make sure not to have the freezer on the bottom!

Though I do want to make a note that this week Henry has all of a sudden become a star eater.  He has been eating the most I have ever seen him eat - ever.  Hopefully he keeps it up! 

We've got a roller!!

This morning I had Hannah on her blanket outside the bathroom while Henry and I were showering.  She was laying on her back when I left her.  When I got out of the shower she was on her stomach!  I thought it was a fluke, but nope, she has done it two more times this morning!  The crazy thing is I haven't seen her do it myself yet.  It has always been while I've been running around chasing after Henry.  What a big girl.  Henry never rolled from his back to his stomach, he only rolled from his stomach to his back - so this is new to me. 

So the rest of the day I am going to try and catch it on camera, or more importantly, just see it in person.  I've read that babies can start rolling over as early as 3 months, which Hannah is just a week shy of.  I am excited about the new milestone, but sad too as this really shows me how fast she is growing.  I think she is more motivated with Henry running around as she is ready to start running after him...