2010

With the new year comes many new and exciting changes in the life of the Geckeler family. I went back to work this week. I'll be working 3 days a week for the foreseeable future, and Hana will stay home with Pete. So far they've done 2 days together and they went really well. When she's home with dad, she gets to do all kinds of fun things that mom would never think of - like play with the tupperware. When I've gotten home at night, she's happy to see me, but can't stop looking and smiling at dad even when I'm holding her. She's been doing great on the bottle. So great, in fact, that in 2 days she has finished almost all the milk it took me 2 months to pump and store in the freezer. *Sigh* Although I'm pumping at work, I don't think it's going to be enough to keep up with her appetite. There may be some formula in her future.

Hana's sleep is continuing to improve. We had a great start with "cry it out" before Xmas, and she was going down easily and nearly sleeping through the night. Then the holidays hit and we got a little loose with her routine which set things back. We started anew January 1 and after a few rough nights she is going down at night with little or no crying and basically sleeping through until 5:30 or 6:00 am. Yippee!! Starting this weekend Hana will have the bedroom all to herself, as Pete and I are going to start sleeping in our other bedroom. This will help with the brief wakings she has when she hears us come in for the night or get up to go to the bathroom, and it will help us sleep through her incessant leg thrashing. :)

Hana has been a little unsure about solid food. She was initially game for trying anything. Now some days she is very into eating, other days not so much, and sometimes (particularly if she is in a grumpy mood) refuses food altogether - this can result in splashes of carrot on the window. As we did with the bottle, we'll just keep trying and eventually we know she will get the hang of it. This week on the new food agenda are mango, spinach, homemade peas, and oatmeal.

As for new things she is doing, there are really too many to list. She is changing every day. In addition to "dadadada" she is now saying "babababa" and just generally talking up a storm. She can nearly get to her hands and knees from a sitting position. She really likes to stand while we are holding her, and if we prop her up against something she can stand by herself. She knows how to turn the dimmer switch in the dining room down and thinks it's hilarious when that results in the lights going off. When I dry my hair, I show her the hair dryer and she "gets in position" to prepare for the noise it's going to make by putting her hands up in the "startle" pose. Sometimes she lets me know when she is done with her bath by turning her body and grabbing on to me to be pulled out. One thing that hasn't changed - everything still goes right in the mouth!

We will look back fondly on Hana's first Christmas and New Year's, spent with the Sacramento Geckelers and Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Paul. It was Grandpa Paul's first time meeting Hana and she loved playing with him, and also with the golf balls they brought her. She didn't get to spend as much time with poor Grandma Wendy who had a terrible cold while visiting but is hopefully feeling better now and enjoying southern California. With any luck, there will be more visits in 2010!