Put Your Hands Up, Put Your Hands Up...

Even Big Bird has his hands up in this photo, HA!

Just like 'old' times.... (Hannah at 9 weeks.)

Hannah Houdini's Incredible Crib Escape

On this day the Houdini resurfaced,
it was the part of the night that is really the inky dark "early-morning" night,
I recall the time.
It was EXACTLY 3:10 ante meridiem,
Hannah, when YOU ANNOUNCED
YOU CLIMBED OUT OF YOUR CRIB!

Hannah, HOW you did it is still your secret,
although you did say,
"See, Mommy, I'm o.k., I climbed out of my crib. I'm not hurt!"

The only evidence of any magic,
was the calling card that you,
Hannah Houdini,
left for your
Stunned,
Shocked,
Awakened,
Astonished
and surprised
admirers...
What will Hannah DO next!?!?!?
I do not know,
But I am pretty sure I will lose sleep over it!

My Crib

We're pretty sure this is not what the "experts" meant when they recommended creating a neat, safe and un-stimulating crib environment to encourage healthy sleep habits. But for us, if not for these books, which Hannah reads after her 8pm bedtime until she finally falls asleep (sometimes that's 10 minutes, sometimes an hour+), and in the middle of the night when she wakes up for whatever reason, we'd be suffering a lot more crying and crib battles. So, to each his (or rather HER) own!

Some of her favorite crib trappings, as seen above, include "Listen, Listen," "Picture Dictionary," "Oscar and Slimey" (vintage 1981 Sesame Street), and last year's holiday cards of her best friends. And of course, her beloved blankie, Hoppy.

17 Months: Jumping Jack Flash

Hannah turned 17 months old, so it's time again for a status update on all the things she's been up to lately. First of all, she continues to be her cheery self most of the time. She loves smiling at each and every stranger we pass by on the street, and loves to "bother" all the patrons of her favorite coffee shop (Martha Bros. on Clement) where Claudia always gives her a big smile and a treat. In fact, she's a little bit too friendly, especially with other little kids, whom she won't hesitate to go up and hug, usually much to their chagrin. I'm never sure if I should be apologetic to the parents for her unrequited love, but they are usually the ones apologizing when their toddlers, who are much more shy and don't like having their personal space invaded (rightfully so! where does she think she is - Europe??), give Hannah a chilly reception. But she just can't help it - so affectionate, giving out kisses to everyone, including her dolls, rubber bath toys, and even pictures in her books and other inanimate objects.

Speaking of books, Hannah is as vocal as ever and has added all kinds of new words and phrases to her vocabulary. Thanks to Memaw and Bapa's constant refrain of "How 'bout that?!" - Hannah's new favorite phrase is just that. "How-bow-da?" Whenever she's asked where something is, including Where's Hannah?, she replies with the sweetest little high pitch at the end, "IunNo...?", as if she really does not know. She knows her Memaw and Bapa live in "'Cago," which she now always says after she mentions their names. When handing us her trash, she always says, "Ja-Joo" (or Thank You). And in games of chase, she loves to growl "I got you!" (this sounds just like it is), even when it's really us chasing and catching her. Her all-time favorite book lately has been Maisy's Amazing Book of Words, which definitely has had a hand in her vocabulary development. She will try to repeat back to you just about any word you ask her to (some come out better than others), but can point out practically every item in this book by name. And she really loves to point out each item, when come across, on the other pages where it can be found, as she frantically flips back to the back cover or page where she knows it also resides. If you don't have this book, get it! Oh, and her two new favorite animal sounds? "Goggle goggle," "Cock-a-do-do," and "Wakka-wakka" (ok, so that last one is her Fozzy Bear imitation, but it still counts as an animal sound, right?).

Besides talking and "reading," one of her other favorite activities is creating "Artwork," which she can now safely perform in the bathtub thanks to these little messy drippy crayons. As the pictures show, she takes her punk artwork very seriously...















Dancing and hiding/peek-a-boo remain consistent favorites as well. She loves peeking around any corner, barely catching your eye, or her own in the mirror!








And whenever she gets the chance, she loves JUMPING! She'll stand there in position and do the countdown before she makes the leap (although her countdown is more like "Two-two-two" vs. 1-2-3..) As we've always suspected, she is definitely going to be a thrill-seeker kinda girl. Scary....

Last but not least, she is sleeping. Not always quite as much as we'd like her too, but she seems to have transitioned to the one-a-day nap on most days, and makes it through the night half the time, maybe? Every week is different, so it's hard to say really. There is certainly the occasional "night terror" (usually around 10/11pm), and also the occasional 3/4am bottle-call. As for waking up to face the day, well, some days are better than others...