One Skinned Knee, a Fat Lip, and A Rash

We spent our 3-day weekend in Tahoe with the Habers. Hana had a fabulous time playing with her friend Izzy, as indicated by the multiple hugs and affectionate stealing of toys. Her vocabulary seems to be exploding yet again, with new words like shower, trash, push, hold, buckle (she LOVES to play with buckles and clasps), eat, car seat, and avocado. This afternoon on the car ride home, she was like a Jewish mother trying to force me to eat some bread: "Eat! Eat! Eat!!!" This was after pulling all the wipes out of the packet and leaving them in a heap in the back seat of the car.

At the pool this weekend, in her excitement, Hana went running and tripped and fell and skinned her knee. We cleaned it up and she got some Neosporin and band-aid. She was very excited about the band-aid, and all weekend she's been asking what it is, and we've said "it's an owie." She now likes to point to her knee and yell "Ow!" She also developed a rash on her arm this weekend that looked suspiciously like poison oak. But then it showed up on the backs of her knees and legs also, so I think it might be eczema. So there is hydrocortisone for that. Then last but not least in the owie department is the fat lip she gave herself while running across the room after we got home and landing flat on her face. She bit her lip really hard. There was quite a lot of blood. We ruined both her shirt and mine. Once she calmed down, she was OK sucking on some ice. Her lip is now a sort of reddish purple and swollen, and you can see the two teeth marks where she bit herself. Pete said I was mean, but after she felt better I said, "See, that's what it feels like when you bite people." :) (And speaking of biting, we stopped to visit cousins Mia and Kasey on the way home and Hana bit Mia and pulled Kasey's hair. I don't think we're going to be invited back anytime soon.)

Seriously, the poor girl really took a beating this weekend. In addition to all this, she fell off a bench at the table twice this weekend and landed on her back on the ground (she was more scared than hurt). Not only does she never stop moving, she's resilient as anything. A few tears, and she's back in business. At some point, I'm hoping a healthy sense of caution will develop, but for now, she can't help but give it 120%. She's just lovin' life, and no matter the little inconvenience of a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises. She went in a bouncy house for the first time on Saturday and loved it. If we could get her her own bouncy house for the backyard it would be like a little safe haven where she could go crazy to her heart's content and not worry about injury. I'll have to look into that!

Fruit Overdose

Last Sunday, we inadvertently (and very unpleasantly for Hana) found out what happens when she eats too much fruit - like strawberries, several plums, oranges, and lots of blackberries from the empty lot next door - all in one day. She poops and it STINGS! I haven't heard her scream so loud since we took her for her kidney tests. She was hysterical. Wouldn't let us get anywhere near her. The rash went away by the next day, but the poor girl was miserable. We kept her off fruit for 2 days after that.

Other than that, she continues to be a happy chatty Cathy. We've had a bit of "regression" in terms of nursing. We were just nursing in the morning, but in the last week or so, she's been asking for milk several time a day and I've given in a few times to end the whining and tears. So we might be back to a more regular 2-3 times a day, unless I decide to cut her off. On the one hand, I hate to do it, because she enjoys it and it's good for her. On the other hand, I don't mind once a day, but 2-3 times a day is a bit much. Plus I can't dye all that gray hair she's given me until I wean her, because of the chemicals!

The Little Stinker

Hana is still biting. We have a new routine now, which I think will work eventually. When she bites me or is about to bite me, I say "Hana, no biting. Mommy says no bite. If you bite me again, you are going in the crib." Then, inevitably, she bites me again 2 seconds later, so I pick her up, whisk her away, plop her in the crib, and leave the room. She does NOT like it. She wails. I let her cry for about 30 seconds or so, then I go get her, remind her no biting, and tell her I love her and I forgive her. So far, this has cured the biting for the rest of the day.

Today when she went to bite me and I said "Hana no bite" she looked up at me, eyes all innocent, and clear as day said "I want to bite." The little stinker. I had to laugh when she said that because it was just so darn honest.

Bunches and bunches of new words every day. Today: dance, clap, hug, ice cream, blackberry and "no touch."

SF via Ferry

Squishy Face

Molars

Hana's got two molars coming in, one on each side on the top. She's really been a pretty good sport about it, given that it must hurt to have hard bony things pushing through your gums. She's been chewing on her hands for the better part of the week and I caught glimpse of them when she was lying on the floor laughing. I know better than to stick my finger in there to see how far along they are. :) Alas, she still thinks biting is super hilarious.

After several months of being totally fine with nursing just once a day in the morning, the past week Hana keeps asking for milk every time she sees me. She says, "muk muk," tries to lift up my shirt, and gives me the most pitiful puppy dog look. When I say no, a slow whine builds, which I can usually cut off with a piece of cheese or other solid food distraction. I wonder if this new development has to do with teething.

Pete got some great pictures of Hana scarfing down blackberries we picked from the brambles outside our house today. I'll see if I can get Pete to post them.

the runaround