Say a Little Prayer

We are trying to teach Hannah that you can pray anytime, not just before you eat.  We talked to her about how we can tell God about what we are thankful for and if we are sad or anything else we are feeling.  She didn't have a very long nap today so she was a little grumpy.  Then she was playing with her rocking chair and bumped her knee which eventually led to a full blowing crying melt down.  We gave her hugs and kisses and attempted to try and calm her down.  It wasn't working so we sent her to her room to cry until she was was ready to come out and be happy.  We've done this before so she cried for few minutes and then came out.  We asked her if she wanted to pray and tell God that she was sad.  So her prayer went something like this:

Dear God,
I was sad because I fell and bumped my knee.  Then I cried and had to go to my room.  Then I came out and we dried my tears.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen

SO SWEET!

Thirty Three Months

Hannah is looking and acting more and more like a big girl.  She is definitely growing up!  She has recently started helping with a few chores.  She likes to hand me pillows when I make the bed and when we empty the dishwasher she stacks the plastic bowls and puts them in the cabinet.  Nathan brought her bathroom stool over to the silverware drawer the other day and she put away all the forks and spoons too.  She thinks it's very fun!



We also converted her crib to a toddler bed a few weeks ago.  For those that don't know what a toddler bed is...it's basically a day bed with a short rail that goes across half of the front.  Leaving an opening on the other front half so the child can climb in and out independently.  Hannah is very good about staying in her room when she is supposed to be sleeping, but we have had a few talks about not getting out of bed to play with our toys.  I don't think she realizes that we can hear her making noise even though the door is closed.  LOL!  Our biggest motivation in converting her bed was so Hannah could come out and tell us if she needed to go potty.  She will often wake up in the morning or after a nap before I go get her....usually because I am nursing Abigail.  She's so good about telling us if she needs to go potty while she's awake, but obviously couldn't come get us when she was stuck in her crib.  Even though we tell her every day she can open her door and come get us if she needs to go, she has yet to actually do it.  She will occasionally knock on her door...but that may just be part of her playing.  I'm sure she'll figure it out soon.  And I'm thankful she is good about staying in her room even if she's not sleeping so mommy still have quite time while Abigail is napping!

Since Abigail has started crawling she has become even more interested in what Hannah is doing and playing with.  For the most part Hannah is very good about sharing her toys, however she will try to give Abigail some other toy so she can play with the one she wants.  =0  Hannah is also learning to put certain toys away or put them up high where Abigail can't reach them.  She really is a sweet big sister though.  She was playing on her swing in the backyard last night and made sure we gave Abigail a turn.

Eight Months

Thought I'd start with monkey photo this time.  Sweet girl is almost as tall as monkey is.  Not very smiley this month, but she is definitely showing some personality in this photo.  =)

 "Little missy" took off about 2 weeks after I wrote last month's post.  She is thoroughly enjoying her new freedom.  She loves crawling all over the floor, exploring, and trying to get whatever Hannah is playing with.  We do have 2 small steps in our house, one down into the living room and another into the play room, and she those can frustrate her.  She can actually go up the step sometimes if she has the right motivation, but she has no idea how to get down. =} She seems more determined than Hannah was.  If Hannah wanted to play with a cord or the TV she was usually pretty easy to distract.  I have to chase and redirect Abigail MANY times before she will decide to play with something else.  Sill girl!
 



Abigail still loves to eat.  She is now eating 3 solid meals of two ounces every day in addition to nursing 4 times.  The new foods we tried this month were:  bananas, pears, apples, peaches, and green beans (not a fan).  Interesting fact:  Hannah never liked pureed green beans either.  However, Hannah LOVES to pick them up and eat them now.  I will probably hold off giving them to Abigail again until she has teeth to chew with.  We have also let Abigail chase a few rice puffs around her tray.  She seems to like them, but has a hard time picking them up.  We'll introduce more finger foods next month.

Still no teeth!  Abigail has days where she is super grumpy and will refuse solid food.  Very unlike her.  I think her gums are swollen and they hurt, even though no teeth have broken through.  Hopefully they come in soon, so she can feel better.  She is usually a very happy girl.  And sometimes she poses for the camera!



Nathan and I plan to teach Abigail sign language just like we did with Hannah.  It was so nice to be able to communicate and once Hannah started talking her vocabulary took off because she knew so many words.  I have just started introducing a few signs to Abigail.  We'll see how long it takes her to pick up words.  Hannah of course loves to copy me.  She hardly ever signs now, but will still use "please" occasionally.