aaaahhhh

aaaahhhh

Big Day

Today Hana and Mommy went to the Israel Day Parade and Concert in the Park. We set up our blanket under a nice big tree in the East Meadow, and had a little picnic and listened to Blue Fringe, our new favorite Israeli pop band. It was lots of fun. We hung out with Hana's little friends Yona & Meira and their Mommy. They were very happy to see Hana, and she was very Happy to see them. After the concert we came home and had a nice bath in the sink, and then went out to dinner with Hana's Great Auntie Franny and Great Uncle Jack, and cousin Talia at Nargila restaurant. Hana really likes the pita there. By the time we got home and into bed it was 11pm. Poor little Hana was very tired. She was a very good girl and hardly fusssed at all considering how sleepy she was.

standing

Hana stood up today for 20 seconds. All by her self. She had pulled herself up by her Daddy, and then reached out to take a toy from him, and then she was just standing there in the middle of the floor holding the toy. Hurray! Super baby!

sleep climbing

Sand

Today we had a playdate with Paige and her Mommy. We went out for lunch at Bagels and co and Hana had here usual, pizza crust. Then we walked over to the play ground, and Paige fell asleep in her stroller. Hana was all excited as we arrived at the playground as usual. She knows exactly what it is by now. And as usual we went right for the swings. Little Hana was bouncing up and down with anticipation as I put her on the swing, but as soon as I pushed her, she began to cry. This had never happened before. I took her out and checked to see if there was something bothering her, and then tried one more time, but she definitely did not want to swing. So we decided to try the slide so the whole playground trip would not be a wash-up. Perhaps it was just that Hana wanted to go on the slide, because as soon as she got there she was super happy. No more crying, no more clinging to Mommy. She slid over and over and then played at the bottom of the slide where the sand is, and then she looked over the edge of the slide to the ground where there is even more sand. And so, Hana sat on the ground, right next to the big sand box where there is plenty of sand spilled all over, and touch the sand to her heart's content. And, Hana found a leaf and then a pebble and gave them to me. They did not belong in the sand. I kept the pebble.

Avocado, sweet potato & pear on baby.

Messy house

Today two big messes happened in our home. One was Daddy starting the renovation of the bathroom by demolishing the old tile, and the other was Hana having dinner.

a whole plum

Happy Memorial Day!

Hanging out in Prospect Park.
(Joey's Bike)

Ouch.

Hana has learned to head butt. She does it to her Daddy, and she did it to me, and she also does it against the wall when she is in her crib and wants to get out. Of course this also makes her cry. I really don't know what to do about this new behavior.

Soap curls 

New Stage

Hana has begun containing things. She started out last week putting little toys into her tupperware, and her books into her little book box, and now she has discovered the laundry hamper. I was taking things out to wash yesterday and I found a little wrestling man. "How odd" I thought, it must have been tangled in the clothes, and off I went to wash the laundry. When I came back, I noticed that there was now a book in the hamper. "Very cute Hana," but books do not go in the laundry. Later I saw her playing with a block, she scooted over to the hamper, pulled herself up to a standing position, reached up, and dropped the block in.
Daddy says maybe she is practicing for the WMBA.

Wipes

This morning Hana woke up when Daddy was getting ready for work. When he was all dressed, he picked her up and brought her to me, "surprise Mommy! Its time to get up!" Since it was 7am, and I was still sleepy, I decided to let Hana nurse in bed with me. When she was done I tried to get her to fall asleep next to me, but no luck. She sat up and started to play. She was being very cute, and then she spit up milk all over the bed. Luckily I had her wipes right next to the bed on that little shelf, so I reached over and grabbed one and wiped up the mess. Hana reached out and took the wipe from me. She looked at me and said, "ah?" So I lifted up my hand and asked her if she would like to wipe my hands for me. And she did. The right one, and then the left. And I thanked her, and then she gave me the wipe, and I threw it away.

Later when Hana was ready for her nap, I put her in her crib as usual and went out into the living room. After a few minutes I heard her giggling, and I supposed that she was not tired yet, but was enjoying a little play in her bed. How sweet I thought to myself. As time went on I could tell that she was not sleeping, so I went in to take her out of her bed and there piled up on the floor were more wipes. Sometimes babies are smarter than mommies.

Flop

Hana has a new behavior.
Tonight after her bath when we were on my bed reading books, I noticed that she was flopping all around and laughing. She sits up, looks for a nice soft spot, or a big pillow, and then flops onto it face first. Over and over. Rolling all over the bed, and then all over me. Apparently it is great fun to play on the bed with your Mommy.

Picking out a story to read before bed

Brushing

Hana likes brushing her teeth. We have this little baby tooth brush that is like a rubber finger puppet with soft bristles, and it squeaks when it rubs on her gums, plus she likes the water, so she just giggles the whole time. I was reading that you are also supposed to brush the baby's tongue, if they'll let you, so tonight I tried it, and lo and behold, I said "ah" and stuck out my tongue, and she copied me, and I brushed her tongue, and she giggled more. She thought it was great. She even seemed disappointed when we were all finished, which is a good sign. Hopefully she will look forward to the great joy of brushing her teeth every night before bed. She must get it from her Daddy cause I hated brushing my teeth as a kid.

Sleeping with one hand up

move it

Since I don't have a changing table, I just change Hana's diapers in her crib. I keep the baby wipes on a little shelf near the crib so I can reach over and grab them easily. Now sometimes when Hana is in her crib, and not sleeping, she reaches out through the bars and pushes the wipes onto the floor, and so I know that I will have to move them soon, but I haven't really done anything about it. So yesterday I go into the bedroom to take Hana out of her crib, and there on the floor is a huge pile of wipes, The baby has a big smile on her face, so happy to see Mommy. Apparently it is time to move the wipes.

Cheerios for everyone. 

Playing

Today started out cold and rainy, but it soon cleared up. Anna who is two years old now, stopped by to play with Hana. Anna used to want a baby sister or brother, but now she just would like Hana to be her baby. She asked if Hana could go home with her. It was very sweet. The two girls looked each other over, and played ball, and ate cheerios and drank water out of fancy sippy cups. I watched Anna play with Hana, and thought about what it will be like for Hana when she has a little baby sister or brother to play with. I think that she will make a good big sister. She is a very nice baby.

Then later when I saw that it was sunny outside, I took Hana out for her walk. We went along the river to the big park at 85th street. Hana prefers that park because there are other kids there for her to look at. She loves to watch other kids play. We went on the swings, which was apparently great fun if you can measure fun by laughing and squealing. And then we tried out the little toddler size slide. Hana really enjoyed the slide, and I put her on it over and over. Plus, there was sand on the bottom part of the slide, which is apparently very enjoyable to rub your hands in. And also very dirty. It is a hard transition for a parent to go from making sure every thing your baby touches is clean and sanitized to letting them play in the sand box at the park.

Hana Leah
.

The cutest baby in the world.

sleeper

Hana has taken to napping all the time. This morning she woke up around 7am, nursed, and went back to bed. She got up at 10:30am, played, ate breakfast, nursed and back into bed at 11:30am. I've noticed that even if she sleeps in, she still wants her 11am nap. Plus she wants a 1pm nap and a 3pm nap, sometimes also a 6pm nap. I think she is growing again. Actually I don' t think she is actually sleeping right now, I think she is playing in her crib, but that' s ok. If she wants out she will let me know.

Hana likes to roll around in her sleep.

Food

I gave Hana little chicken pieces and tiny rice balls for dinner. She seemed to really like them. She has taken to spitting food at me if she finds it unpleasurable. Mainly baby food that is good for spitting. She prefers tiny bite size pieces so she can feed her self. Although she does still allow me to feed her cereal in the morning if I put bits of banana in it. She likes to have chunks in her food.

Little feet

Baby's got a new pair of shoes

Cutie Hana

Hana is very cute. Some times she is naughty, like when she pulls the cat's fur, or tries to eat little bits of rubbish she finds, or chews on books, but most of the time she is just so sweet and nice. I love her so much. Today we went on a nice walk down 2nd Avenue. All the old folks love Hana because she smiles at them. One old man told me that I should have more kids because I did a good job making a cute baby. Now that's a compliment.

Hana feeds herself

So fast

Little Hana is growing up very fast. She has started cruising furniture in addition to speed crawling all over the house. She understands when you call her to come with you to the next room, or tell her not to touch something. She can feed herself solid foods, and if you are close she will try to feed you too. It is very cute to get a cheerio from a tiny slobbery hand. She also had her first baby sitter the other day, and was totally fine. Mommy was the only one who was stressed out. My little girl is getting so big.

Pickles.

Hana went to Nargila Grill for Auntie's Graduation Party

Fat lip

This morning while Hana was standing up and holding onto a wooden chair, she lost her balance and fell down and bumped her lip on the edge of the chair. She of course screamed and cried, and blood gushed out, and Mommy rushed to her aid and cleaned it up. Then her little tiny lip swelled up, giving her a fat lip. Poor little sweetie, she looks like she's been in a fist fight.

Hana in a box

Sweet Hana

Today we went shopping at COSTCO and Brachs kosher supermarket out in Lawrence which is just past JFK air port. The drive takes about and hour and 15 minutes which works out great because Hana can get a good nap on the way there, and be all nice and happy for grocer shopping. Plus she loves shopping carts. We got tons of stuff at much better prices than you can find in Manhattan, and then we drove home, allowing for another excellent nap.

When we got home we had some lunch, and then went out for a walk along the river and then stopped by the playground to go on the swings. Hana seems to enjoy the swings more and more each time we go. She is changing so much.

Hana spends her days pulling herself up on every thing she can find, including me if I am standing near her. And she is doing a little cruising, but mostly if she wants to move, she sits down and crawls over and then stands up again at the new spot. She is still doing her little coo-coo style crawl. She has also started blowing spit bubbles which is apparently a great way to entertain yourself when you are a little baby.

I think she has moved past the putting every tiny thing directly into her mouth stage. The other day she was doing it constantly and I almost lost my mind, but then after tasting the dust bunny, she started to pick things up and look at me first so I had a chance to take the rubbish out of her had before she ate it. Not that I can catch her every time, but I have definitely stopped her from eating quite a few tiny little pieces of rubbish that she found laying around the house.

She also has a new interest in books. I let her play with her board books now and she keeps them out of her mouth for the most part. We have been reading every night for a while now, but she finally seems to be enjoying it. She can sit still long enough for me to actually get thorough an entire book. Sometimes even two or three books. Of course I have to let her hold one book while I read the other one, but that seems fair. She likes to turn the pages and see how the thing works. Her favorite books to hold are the tiny little board books with pictures of babies. But the book that she seems to enjoy looking at on her own has pictures of animals on each page.

Getting tall 

Happy Mother's Day!

Eating

Hana really enjoys eating. And like many children her age, Cheerios are her favorite food. But she will eat just about anything you give her. We tried egg yolk yesterday, and we used the food mill to squash up oatmeal for breakfast with some banana. And for supper we had rice with spinach and carrot. A good balanced diet. And this morning she tried her first dust bunny. She didn't like it, and thankfully, allowed me to remove it from her tongue before she swallowed. Yuck-o dude.

Washington Square Park swings

My first Cheerios! 

9 month check up

Today we went to visit the doctor for Hana's 9 month check up.
Hana is now
22 pounds 2 oz
29.5 inches tall
and
super cute

The Doctor said that Hana can now try all kinds of different foods. The only things she can't have are peanuts, shell fish and honey. So we are all ready to go. We came right home and have some Cheerios. Hana loved them. She had a great time picking them up and shoving them in her mouth.
Tonight I'm going to give her some chicken for her dinner. And tomorrow some egg yoke for her lunch. Table scraps here we come.

So funny. 

little sleeper

a break through

Hana has found a new way of sleeping. Instead of falling asleep sitting up after standing and screaming until she is exhausted, she has taken to flopping over on her tummy in a sort of fetal position and sleeping face down. She does not wake up very happy. Silly baby. But at least she has found a way to nap with out me laying down with her. She took two naps like this today. So hopefully she is finishing up with the no nap stage.

What do you mean I have to go to bed? 

Mm. 

Pesach

Saturday night was the first night of Passover. We decided to go to the big Seder at the Synagogue instead of making our own. Any time we have to go out and be out late at night with little Hana I get worried and try to figure out how we can make her more comfortable, but with a dinner that doesn't even start until her bed time we are just asking for a total baby meltdown. But all in all, Hana did very well. She loves being out even if she is tired as long as there is something exciting to see. And in this case, the other kids there more than kept her attention. She had a great time, she ate her first matzoh and played and played and finally fell asleep at midnight. And of course for the second night of Passover we went to the Rabbi's house for another Seder and Hana once again stayed up until midnight. She only cried a little, and hardly even fussed. She sat in her stroller next to me most of the evening, or played on the floor beside my chair with all her toys. She would have nodded off earlier, but those same very exciting other kids were there to keep her up. Plus since I had gotten her to take two 2 hour naps that day, she was feeling pretty good. I figured that with staying up so late the night before and having to stay up again I had to get Hana to nap as much as possible during the day. Now of course, some of you may remember that Hana is not napping lately. Well, over Shabbos Mommy discovered a fantastic way to get Hana to nap. All I have to do is lay down next to her and hold her until she falls asleep. And if Mommy is also tired that day, well, Mommy can have a nice nap too. Hurray. The only bad part is that Hana is then sleeping on my bed so if she wakes up and I'm not there she could fall off the bed, so I have to stay with her. But at least she is sleeping. The next step is to put her in her crib and I sleep in the bed next to her, and then teach her it is ok to sleep alone. Crazy separation anxiety baby. My little sweet heart. She's so cute.

Well

The no nap stage continues.
I put Hana down for bed tonight at 8pm, she wasn't exactly ready for sleep, but I just couldn't take it anymore. She has been up since 7am with only one half hour nap from 9:30am to 10am.
She cried and cried, and when she finally got quiet I snuck in there to check if she was sleeping. She was. She was sleeping sitting up. I tried as gently as I could to lay her down, but no luck. She is awake again.
Crying.
Crying.
Crying.

look at those arms 

this baby is not happy

Happy girl. 

up on the couch

Lots of standing, not much sleep

Well, the standing in the crib crying instead of napping stage continues. Hana is so interested in standing up you can hardly get her diaper on before she rolls away. She seems to wake up at around 7am every morning ready to play, and yet to sleepy to be awake. In her previous stage this was the time I would put her back in her bed and she would sleep for an hour or so, but now if I try that there is only standing and screaming. And if you put her on the floor to play she cries and whines or falls over and bumps her head because she is so sleepy. So the only option sans insanity is to hold her. Of course this can be nice, you can read to her, or rock her, or just cuddle. But really, it is very hard to do this from 7am until 11am when she is actually ready for her nap, plus she is not really willing to hold still for that long. When the nap finally happens, and we have lunch, Hana is once again an angel baby and we can go out on our walk in the park. Until around 4:30pm when the reluctant nap hour once again arrives and continues until 8:30pm, when bedtime finally takes its toll on our little girl and sleep overcomes her.

having a drink on a hot day. 

New stage

Standing is very enjoyable. Especially standing up in a crib.
Teething is not very enjoyable. Especially if you are getting seven teeth in at one time.
Napping is not happening. Especially for babies who would rather stand up and are teething, and Mommies of those babies.

Bagel 

Dear Hana,
Standing up in your crib is neither resting nor sleeping.
Love,
Mommy

p.s.
Some babies think that standing up is way more fun than taking a nap. Even when they are so tired they are falling over, they just keep getting up. You can tuck them in all you want, but once you turn your back, up they go. These babies are also called, naughty babies.

A new place to hang out. 

Things Hana likes...

pigeons
dogs
chasing Baby Cat
big bouncy balls
helium balloons
draw strings
silly faces
tags
spoons
spinning around with Mommy
singing songs with Mommy
the eensy weensy spider
tickles
peek-a-boo
grape juice
candles
mirrors
looking up in the elevator
looking out the window
pulling off Mommy's glasses
pulling off Daddy's yarlmulke
pulling off her socks
chewing on books
the tv remote
her toys
standing up in her crib
riding on shoulders
sack of potatoes
going for walks
taking baths
pizza crust
other babies

Hello every body.

More teeth

Hana now has six teeth.
Three have come in, and three have just cut through the gums.
And there are another couple that are just under the gum line but trying to push through.
Poor sweetie, her gums are very sore. She is chewing on her little teething toys like crazy, but she does not seem to have the crazy drool that many babies get when they are teething. Luckily.
So many teeth!

Standing

For a while now I've been telling Hana that when she wakes up in her crib she doesn't have to just lay there and cry, she could sit up and play instead. Well, this evening she listened. Sort of. After eating some supper and having a bath I put her in her crib and tucked her in. I went into the kitchen and was making dinner when I heard her crying. I ignored her for a while, assuming that she was just having trouble getting to sleep, but as the time went on I realized that she was definitely not sleeping and so I went in to see what was bothering her. I found her standing up holding on to the railing of the crib, tears streaming down her face. Not only had she rolled over and sat up by herself, she had pulled into standing position and was yelling for me to take her out. So I rescued her. We had some more milk and then back to bed. So far she is sleeping this time.

Hello Daddy 

A new sleeping position.