Hannah Update: Month 21

The last time I updated on Hannah, she was 14 months old (7 months ago!) so I figured I should probably update again! I'll let you scroll to the previous post for some recent pictures.

Although she has been pushing our buttons more and more and now needs very consistent disciplining, she still is such a joyful spirit. Joyful and independent. She loves to try and do so many things on her own, which is good most of the time, but can be challenging other times.

For instance, the things she loves to do on her own and is starting to get the hang of:

1. Using a spoon and fork. Although it's inevitable that some of it is going to get other places, she does quite well using both. The problem sometimes arises when she wants to use adult-size forks and spoons because she sees Mommy and Daddy using them, then she has trouble getting the food in her mouth and gets frustrated. It's always a great night when she is content using her "Hannah-size" spoon and fork.

2. Brushing her teeth...well, kind of. She loves to brush them and as long as she's not distracted by the running water or trying to get the soap to wash her hands, she can do a reasonable job. It always helps if I brush mine at the same time and she tries to mimic what I do.

3. Putting her toys away. Ok, this one she might not like to do as much, but as long as we make it a game, she will be competitive and try to put them away fast. :)

4. Blowing bubbles. She L.O.V.E.S. bubbles. She always tried to blow them herself and usually ended up just eating the soap....until about a week ago until I bought the Bubble Oodles from Gymboree. Have you all seen these? They are great! You can blow them out of the little instrument and the bubbles don't pop for quite awhile! I saw them first when we were visiting our dear friends Scott, Fiona, and Olivia in Colorado and Fiona had them. I made a note to get some myself! Not only does it save you from having to blow bubble after bubble, but the little blow wand is a lot easier to use and Hannah now takes great delight in being able to create her own bubbles.

Other things Hannah enjoys doing on her own are climbing off and on anything (dining room chairs, couch, glider, etc), washing her hands, turning on the TV (ok, maybe not a good thing :P), turning on the radio, shutting doors (she's still learning to open them- she can if they aren't shut all the way), and basically trying to do anything we're doing.

This also has lead to her becoming Mommy's little helper. She loves sweeping and I can't get out a broom when she's around otherwise she'll be the one "sweeping" everything up! If I'm wiping down a countertop, she wants her own paper towel to "clean" things, and she can help set the table with small items like utensils. I think we should start trying to bake something together soon! It will be messy, but I'm sure she'd love it.

She is also becoming a little chatter box. She isn't speaking in sentences yet, but her jibberish "sentences" are now starting to include an actual word here and there- and she's very serious about them- like she knows exactly what she's saying and expects us to know as well! "La juba kiki bobaju baby likilu" Hearing something like this is common- she loves talking about her baby doll!

Here are the words she is saying (I've tried to keep a list this month). Now, granted most of them aren't fully formed, but at this point, these are words which we can definitely tell what she's saying:

Daddy
Mama
Hannah
Baby
Ball
(basketball, baseball – baball)
Shoe
Sock
Car
Duck
Eat
Please
Hi/ hello
No
Banana
Nana
Papa
Bar
Go
Stop
Yogurt
Bunny
Hat
Hop
Row
Truck
Rock
Eat
Me
More
Purple
Yellow
Blue
Green
Sky
Star
Fly (with a “p”)
Butterfly
Hot
Eye
Bye (bu-bye)
Cold
Mint (she recently discovered my stash of mints and will ask for one regularly. If she’s lucky, she sometimes gets one)
Bubble
Cheese
Feet
Toe
Stuck
Circle
Doll
Milk

It's so fascinating to hear new words develop almost daily at this point. I'm sure sentences will be right around the corner!

She is such a blessing, and I need to remember that even on days when she tests the boundaries to see how far she can go. Today was one of those trying days, but I need to remember the treasured moments throughout the day- like today when she cuddled up close to me in my bed and just stared into my eyes with a content little smile on her face.

Thank you, Father, for the miracle of Your children.