Other Holiday Pics

The last two are the funniest. The giant blur in front of Grandpa is Hana, The Little Girl Who Can't Sit Still. The last one is the famous pout, although I think in this one she is actually just gnawing on her lower lip as part of teething, but it looks like she's pouting.

First Christmas

6-Month Pediatrician Visit

Hana weighed in at 18 lbs 12 oz and was 28 inches long! Her growth has slowed down somewhat (thankfully) but she is still at the top of the curve. She also got some shots, including her seasonal flu shot. They were out of H1N1 so she didn't get that. When she cried, we tried to cheer her up by saying, "Look! You got a Snoopy bandaid!!" She was not impressed. I believe her exact words were, "I don't want a Snoopy bandaid! I want you to stop taking me here and letting them put needles in my legs!"

The pediatrician also said we should (gulp) not feed her anymore in the middle of the night because she doesn't need it and needs to stop getting used to it. So tonight Hana's last nursing was at 6:30 pm and she won't get another until 6 or 6:30 am. We'll see how that goes. She also said (double gulp) that we need to get her in her own room, and that there is no reason why we can't move her downstairs and have us be upstairs. We'll have to see about that one.

We got the green light to move ahead with solids, in whatever form we like. She was very supportive of the idea of Hana eating the same food as us so we don't have to prepare two different meals. So, for example, if we have butternut squash with olive oil and sage, that's what she can have, only pureed. We can add cheese and yogurt at 7 months and meat around 9 months. She said just don't feed her any peanut-encrusted scallops just yet.

Tomorrow we have a trial run of me going to work/Pete being the "manny" (which is apparently the word for a male nanny). I have a work meeting from 10-noon but I'm going to leave the house at 7 am and not come back until about 5:30. We'll see how she does taking the bottle all day and how I do having to pump every few hours. I already know the pumping is going to be ANNOYING.

Latest Updates and Pics

Hana is such a big girl now!! And quite the personality. Never stops moving. Even while nursing, she's flailing. We're lucky we can get her in the car seat at all. She's doing great on the solids - so far, she's had sweet potatoes, apples, butternut squash, bananas, pears, and avocado. The sweet potatoes are her most favorite, apples her least.

Sleeping is going better. We are letting her "cry it out" at bedtime. The first night was the worst - 40 minutes of screaming. Then we had two night of 1 minute and 8 minutes of crying. Tonight was 20 minutes - but it was intermittent and, except for a few minutes, more like loud whining, not heart-breaking wailing. I let her "fuss" through her night wakings and only get up once around 1 or 2 am to feed her, then she sleeps until 5 or 6, I feed her again, and then we usually can get her to sleep another hour or two before she is up for the day. So it's not so bad. It's very hard to leave her to cry in her crib because I know she just wants to be held and comforted. But it's better for all of us if she can learn to get to sleep on her own.

We are getting ready for Hana's first Christmas. She has so many presents under our tree. I don't think I've ever see that many presents, largely thanks to the grandmas and grandpas. This is going to be one spoiled baby!

A Busy Weekend

This weekend, holiday festivities were in full gear. On Saturday we went to dim sum with my moms' group and all the babies and husbands. This morning, we had a reunion with our birth prep class group (pics above). We also paid a visit to none other than...SANTA! Hana sat on Santa's lap and was perfectly content. We even got a little smile out of her. The photographer's photo of her is better. One of these days I'll get it scanned and posted.

The Hair Dryer Dance

"I'm So Cute, I Could Just Eat Myself Up!"

Christmas Preparations

This past weekend, Hana helped us pick out our Christmas tree! We decorated it on Sunday. She especially loved tasting all the ornaments before hanging them on the tree.

Fun at a Diner in Tahoe

We took a 1-day trip to Lake Tahoe yesterday to look at a house my parents are interested in. We stopped at a diner afterward. Hana was all riled up after having been in her car seat for about 4 hours and she wouldn't sit still. Here are some pics and video.

We also started solids this week! So far she has eaten sweet potatoes and apples. Her reaction is not as enthusiastic as it is for getting a bath, but she is definitely curious and pensive when food is placed in her mouth and she does ask for seconds. In fact, she has learned to feed herself after just a few days. We put the food on the spoon, and she grabs it by the handle and puts it in her mouth, sucking the food off the spoon. Amazing. Of course, much of it ends up on her face and other body parts. We know she is done when she begins banging the spoon on the high chair and flinging the food everywhere. Pete has some video, which he will post soon.

Sitting Up and Rolling Over - All in One Weekend!

Thanksgiving with the Habers

She Says Dada!

She's been saying it for the last two days. Pete says she's been saying "mommy" for a long time, but I've never heard it. She CLEARLY says dada. I'm not sure she necessarily associates it with Pete, but she just loves to rattle it off over and over. We've tried to get it on video, but whenever we've put the camera on her she stops talking and just stares at it.

Playing "Boo!"

Baby Loves Disco

We went to event in SF today called "Baby Loves Disco." They open a night club in the afternoon for the kiddies and have a DJ spinning 70's tunes. Hana had a blast. All her favorite things - people, music, lights. There is also face painting and other activities for the older kids. Here is a video of Hana dancing - she's really kicking her legs around, just like she does in music class.

Some pics

Here is Hana in her high chair, practicing what it will be like to eat with us at the table. And the other picture is of Hana in her winter fleece, playing outside on the deck.

5 Months

Hana turned 5 months old this past Tuesday. The time has just flown by. She's still changing every day. She took a hiatus from her constant babbling for about 2 weeks, but now is talking non-stop again. Her teeth are now too sharp to let her chew on our hands. She's able to sit on her own now for about 15 or 20 seconds if I help her get balanced. And the sleeping is getting better - I've learned that instead of picking her up and nursing her every time she wakes up during the night, if I just let her fuss for 2 or 3 minutes she goes back to sleep on her own. Hallelujah!

Our friend Mike from Philly was in town and came to visit last night. Pete was out, and when he first held her I think she thought he was Pete. But a couple minutes later she looked at with me with the "Wait - This is not my dad - you tried to put one over on me!" look and started crying. She's usually good with strangers, but when she thinks we're trying to trick her, it doesn't go over so well. :)

More pics to come soon.

Final Blood Draw???

Hana got what is hopefully her last blood draw today. She was a champ. Didn't even peep, just a little squirming. Then screamed in the car all the way home. I am learning that there is a maximum amount of time she will spend in her car seat per day, and a trip to SF pretty much exceeds that limit most times, especially if she spends most of her time there in the stroller. This girl likes to be unfettered! In fact, she's really beginning to explore the world and not just toys and faces. We let her flop around on the floor and in our laps and she just delights in anything she comes into contact with.

The teeth are continuing to erupt. She has been experimenting with biting me during breast feeding - ARGHH! Unfortunately, when I say "OW!" or "NO!" really loud she thinks it's funny, and then I crack up because she's being funny. So I'm experimenting with an angry/unhappy face to accompany the "OW" to see if that helps.

Sleeping Beauties

Hana Gives Mommy a Birthday Present

Tomorrow I am getting a massage and a manicure/pedicure, courtesy of Hana. She has agreed to stay with Pete and drink a bottle while I go relax. Hopefully she will not have one of her "I only want mommy" days!

Stop the Presses...We've Got Teeth!

Hana was biting on my finger yesterday and it definitely felt sharp, but she wouldn't let me in there to look. Then today her bite felt even sharper and I pulled down her lip and there they were - the first little nubs of her two front bottoms. The left looks like it is a little more out than the right. Don't know how fast they come in from here, but the days of the toothless smile are numbered!

Hana has two friends here who are fairly close to her in age. She has surpassed Logan in weight, and Logan is 2 months older. And now she is sprouting teeth before Izzy and Izzy will be 1 year old at the end of this month! We are really hoping that this does not mean she is going to steal the car and go joy riding at age 8. We'd prefer it if the other major milestones could occur more or less on time.

Exersaucer? Pshaw. I Got a Jumperoo!

New Skills/Talents

• Playing with her feet, especially in the bath
• Chewing (she does a great imitation of us eating - solids may be in the near future)
• Removing own diaper and peeing in crib
• Pushing her hips up in the air and shoving herself backwards with her feet while lying on her back (I call it the 'reverse crawl')
• The half roll over, onto her side
• Allowing us to put her down in her crib after she falls asleep and not immediately waking up and crying (!)
• Ability to manipulate every toy on the exersaucer
• Crying or yelling if toy is dropped so someone will get it for her
  

The First Party Pics Are In!

Of course, I didn't take a single pic. I was too busy talking and eating. Fortunately, others had their cameras out. Here are a few that were sent to me. Clifford (Kym), cowgirl kitty (Amaya), and ladybug (Elan) are showing their Halloween spirit here.

Our Punk Rock Girl

New Noises

Although you can't see her very well in this video (it was dark), the point is really the sounds. One night in SoCal she was all wound up before bed and we were rocking her in her car seat to try to get her to sleep. As you can see, it only served to give her an excuse to make lots of cute and amusing noises.

A Visit to Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch in Irvine

While in SoCal we took Hana to a real pumpkin patch at a local farm. She loved the tractor ride and the corn maze. She did NOT like the goats at the petting zoo at all (see sour faces above). It's the first time I've seen her actually not like something new that we introduced her to. She usually loves things that are new and different.

SoCal Visit

Hana survived her first plane ride and had a blast at Grandma & Grandpa's house. We've got lots of pics and video to post, so here is the first batch. Hana took to Aunt Tami right away and they had fun until Hana spit up on her. :) Hana also tried out a big girl stroller that Grandma got and went for a walk along the beach trail in San Clemente (the last pic). We didn't get any pics of Hana and Trex (Grandpa's dog) together because...well, Trex was just plain scared of Hana! When Grandma tried to hold Hana up to Trex to sniff her, he jumped back about 2 feet like someone had touched him with a hot poker. Later in the visit he stole a couple of foot and head sniffs when she was on her back, but that's about it.