The Hals Family World Adventures: Hannah @ Seven Months Part 2: Teeth, Standing, Solids, and Raspberries!

So how IS Hannah doing??

Hannah between 6 and 7 months

Hannah between 6 and 7 months :)

It has been an incredibly busy month of moving, traveling to San Francisco, and growing up incredibly fast!!!

Accomplishments

Two teeth! Her bottom teeth are poking through and steadily creeping up into place - it is so cute! She has become a very adept crawler who seamlessly can roll onto her tummy, turn/roll to the sitting up position on her own, curl her legs underneath her and grab furniture and pull to standing...and when she drops something, she can very smoothly and gracefully kneel down to reach it or transition from standing to crawling to get it if necessary. It's absolutely amazing. And she makes it look almost artistic (in my opinion) because she flows from one position to another with crazy grace for just turning seven months old. I know I'm her mom and therefore everything is impressive. But for real. This kid has some pretty decent coordination!

Look at those teeth! :)

One of the first times I caught her pulling to standing on something I wouldn't have expected/other than the crib...I definitely had a "really?!? already?!?" moment!

She actually started pulling to standing the week before we moved - so I was a nervous wreck when she was in her crib! I slept horribly that week because the second she started to cry I would tear into her room to get her before she started standing and trying to climb out. (We were going to lower the crib level when we disassembled it to move...it was too hard to do before that point and too time consuming).

I love this face!

I can do it!

Coy. ...Whatcha looking at? Don't mind me...just heading for the stairs...

She's also eating solids like a champ (more about that in a minute), blowing adorable and ridiculously hardcore raspberries, and has pretty great dexterity and coordination when it comes to picking up all kinds of little small things and managing to shove them into her mouth. (Yikes!) Not a big deal when it is a little tiny chunk of banana. Much bigger deal when we are in a non baby proofed area. This month she also visited her eighth state this month (California) and has now been on nine different planes! Ridiculous!

Landed in San Francisco! Adventure time! :)

Mid Raspberry blowing...one of her favorite things to do to get our attention this month :)

Happy Hannah on move in day! :)

Sleep

Still inconsistent, but I am not going to complain! Some nights she is up twice before it is time for me to get ready for work, some nights she sleeps from 8/9 - 4/5! It just depends. We've never had more than three good nights in a row. But it's truly Russian roulette. The weekend around the move she was teething and very clingy, we had three glorious nights once the teeth broke through, and then during the San Francisco trip and for the ten days after it she wasn't sleeping well at all - she wouldn't let me put her down in the crib at the beginning of the night without going ballistic and even when I finally did, I spent about half of every night in the recliner with her. So...yeah, just depends on the night and her moods. But overall, she is doing well and the fact that there are any miracle nights is well, a miracle.

Nom Nom Nom!

We are successfully eating solids! Still nursing too! And so far I have been successful at making my own baby food! Hannah only gained three ounces from month 5 to month 6 because she was soooo active (that was the month she started crawling like crazy)...but because of the previous issues with solids I really was holding out until the six month mark to give her anything again. I started her on them the week before her checkup, so that if there were issues the pediatrician and I could discuss a battle plan. But! It seriously changed her life! I know you are supposed to graduate them to eating one meal and then later on add in a second...but she was soooo hungry all of a sudden (and I had seemed to top out in milk production - I tried a bunch of different things at work and just could not get past a certain amount). Regardless - the first week we sent food to daycare changed Hannah's life. The weeks prior she was really cranky in the evening and was really tired and going to bed early. Once we sent solids to daycare (along with all the milk too) she suddenly was cheerful and happy and was going to bed at 8 again (instead of breaking down at 6) and her caregivers at daycare said she was just SO much happier through the day. YAY! Huge win!

She actually loves food...but this food had a different taste than she was expecting and her initial reaction was too hilarious not to share!

...this puff...sticks to my hand...and has to make it into my mouth?

She loves carrots!

So over the past month she has steadily tried new things - the continual go to foods for her are carrots, baked apples, peaches, and butternut squash, but we are continually adding new things. Pumpkin was a hit, avocados are acceptable so far, and she also loves pears. And I've made all of it myself! She does have a few store bought pouches on emergency reserve at daycare (as well as some frozen things too) but other than that we've been doing well! I use ice cube trays to freeze things and also use the Kiinde Foodi system, which I really love (they are the same bags I use if I need to freeze breastmilk so it's great because it is all one system - and Daniel and I really really like the spoons and spouts that attach to the food pouches). http://www.amazon.com/Kiinde-Foodii-Squeeze-Starter-Kit/dp/B00JGF1LJ4

Favorites?

In many ways this month was less about toys and more about just exploring and exploring! She still loves books and all the soft toys that are easy to nom on - particularly

Hannah in a beautiful dress from her Great Aunt Betsy

when she was in full force teething mode. The stuffed beach ball that Natasha gave her has been a particularly big hit the past few weeks too. Really - she just wants to be going and standing. As much as possible.

Definitely Still Growing!

So at the six month appointment Hannah was 17 pounds 3 ounces. I was worried when the pediatrician came to go over height and weight, etc. because at a check at 5 months (she had a bad cough) she was 17 pounds...so she was only up 3 ounces. But! In that month she had started crawling like crazy and had not started solids yet. In the end? Completely normal - her pediatrician looked at me as if I was crazy when I started gushing with a defense about why she hadn't gained that much and how she's been so active - and then he pointed out that she is actually right in the proportions that she has been all along (except for at birth) - about 66% for weight. 27 inches tall (84% for height) and 97% for her big ole head (brain!)

bath time! :)

She's definitely longer and leaner, although she still has THE BEST cheeks! OMG so so so deliciously nommable! In terms of clothing, as we hit six months we were at a major crossroad - not only were her six month clothes rapidly not fitting, there were two big changes that affected her wardrobe as well - weather and activity level. As an active crawler she really needed more things that had pants or thick tights to give her knees some protection and as the weather cooled and crisped she needed long sleeves and long pants and socks (oh yeah those?) Her largest six month PJs still fit, but we have mainly moved up to 9 months! The 9 month pjs had looked SO BIG when we were first given them...and now are little wiggle worm fills them from top to bottom! So crazy! I've invested in some of the warmer and larger sleep sacks to wear over the PJs at night too. During the day she wears the 6-9 month size or even 12 month depending on the outfit and how it is sewn! I had called Daniel's mom to check if she had stuff "waiting" (she told me she has quite the stash) before I unneccesarily spent money on a bunch of clothes. She said that she really didn't have much in that size. So I actually got to do a little shopping (ironically it was all online...because seriously who has time to go to a store?) But I guess that question was all she needed because all of a sudden we received several packages full of the most beautiful clothes for this fall! It was like Christmas in October! So excited to share pictures of some of these outfits in the next few months! Thank you Pam!

The Pups -

Hannah just loves these puppies. Daniel swears Holly is the best baby sitter in the morning and I love watching her face widen into a big happy grin whenever the dogs are near and she catches sight of them! She loves feeling like she is chasing them - we play in the yard or around the house (Holly loves a good game of catch me if you can) and she just laughs and laughs. Sometimes on walks she just laughs as we "chase" the dogs forever...as they walk just ahead of her while she's in the ergo or stroller. The pups handled the move decently - Chance actually did really really well. Holly was much more stressed. She chewed up a bunch of carpet the night before the move and then got sick everywhere - then on moving day she was shaking from head to toe and I was carrying her around almost more than Hannah to try to help her stay calm. :( Poor fur baby. They are great now though - they love the new house with all it's new nooks and crannies, seem in love with the yard, and absolutely love love love the trails we are connected to for awesome walks.

Holly also turned a year old on October 5th! She is pretty close to full grown - she has ended up being a fairly petite shiba - smaller than some of the ones we have seen and her winter coat has started coming in and the fur around her neck is soooo soft and fluffy. Since she is no longer on puppy food I worked the salmon flavor made by the brand we always use into her diet to better mimic the type of food her breed was raised on (she's a Japanese breed) and I think it is making her coat that much more gorgeous. She is still very stately and cunning and spirited and playful. And stubborn. But overall doing very well and she is incredibly patient with Hannah - who has already jabbed her in the eye and grabbed her nose, etc (it happens in milliseconds!) and Holly usually barely blinks - she may pull her head away - but she stays so calm and unphased which is very very exciting! Our biggest concerns with the two of them playing is when Holly goes into puppy mode and wants to play with her teeth out (which we've always been super careful about) - but as she continues to outgrow that they should be better and better together.

Chance is still doing really well - the puppy comes out in him when they are in the yard too and he seems to really like the new place and loves the trails! He is such a loving big brother!

Holly at 8 weeks - the weekend we adopted her!

Holly at 1 year! What a beautiful young lady she has become! :) (Note the grass in her tail...she was having too much fun running through the backyard to even notice!)

Daddy

Daniel and Hannah are still bonding in the morning - some mornings are far better than others, but they definitely have their own "thing" going and have some really cute interactions that have developed and are heart melting to watch. He enjoyed (and conquered the challenge of) being a San Francisco trophy dad while I was at the conference and spent hours exploring the city with Hannah - and even enjoying some very cute lunch dates with her. Daniel was a beast on moving day and has definitely taken a beating the past few weeks, but we are hoping things smooth out soon!

A picture Daniel texted me while I was at work :) Hannah and her daddy getting ready in the morning!

Hannah enjoying a lunch date with her daddy in San Francisco

Mommy

Hanging in there! It's been a really tough month! I still really love my job and attending the conference was a great experience! The move has been a major challenge and definitely left me feeling quite stressed, but I am hoping that will continue to fade and it will eventually feel more like home. Hannah's been tough too - teething for a while and then very clingy every evening - many nights I cannot put her down. It's frustrating...because any other month I would have done a better job embracing it and enjoying snuggle time...but the two weeks after we moved this was in full force...which was exactly the same time all of this kicked in...so much for unpacking! I had a bit of a meltdown after two week of clingy...I was so torn between wanting to be able to unpack and pull our house together and not wanting to resent my daughter's needs. I cannot tell you how many hours the week of the move and the week after I spent with her tucked in the ergo while I worked or packed or mopped. ...The ergo is awesome...but even still it takes a physical toll. I really enjoyed getting to explore San Francisco as a family and getting away from everything! It was so nice to just be "us" and in travel mode. I'm looking forward to our next trip.

Heading upstairs for bath time!

Enjoying the view of the bay in San Fran

Redwoods in Muir Woods

Enjoying a latte at brunch downtown - cheers to 7 months!

...The way I survived this month? Especially when I found myself overwhelmed with frustration and a suffocating feeling of *I am NEVER going to get to accomplish what I need to accomplish*...or *I just need free hands for FIFTEEN MINUTES*. I eventually had to let go...but it was torturous for me. Honestly painful. I was doing the best I could in every part of my life...and even though my best wasn't always good enough or may have been altered by the beautiful little girl who needed snuggles more than I needed to unpack my clothes, we were surviving and doing our best to meet Hannah's needs and take care of our puppies. And that's all we can do. Columbus Day was a very welcome break - Daniel told me to throw out my to-do list and have a fun day with Hannah and I did! We explored the trails, had a snuggly nap together, shopped, and I swam while she was napping at the "kid space" at the gym. Bottom line - We're working on it! And I need to focus on all that we have accomplished and all the amazing gifts that we have.

At seven months our beautiful smiley girl is standing up every chance she gets and her smile is only cuter and cuter as her two bottom teeth work their way into place! Exploring and blowing raspberries to get your attention and bursting into grins when she catches your eye - Hannah @ Seven Months