HK at 3 & 1/2

FYI: This is a really long post

Hannah Kate turned three and a half last month. She's changed so much since her 3rd birthday it's crazy. She's not a baby anymore for sure. She's a "big gurl." And she lets us know it. Three is a very challenging age at times. While she's showing her independence she's also talking back more and testing all the boundaries.

She is very smart but sometimes too smart for her own good. She's also very dramatic and cannot be forced into any situation she's uncomfortable with. She's just figuring life out right now.

Hannah is so funny and makes us laugh all the time. She also has a serious and shy side to her too.

Hannah has been so great with Hudson. She loves him so much and is really helpful when it comes to him. Sometimes she doesn't want to share her toys with him, but other times she's quick to get him a toy if she thinks it'll make him happy. She always tells him to "Stop crying Hudson" "Its okay." They are really starting to interact with each other and I know that bond will only grow stronger in the next coming months and year.

Hannah also loves her cousin Harlan. We talk about Harlan at least twice a day. I hope they'll always be close. 

Hannah finally is potty trained!!! I think I deserve a gold medal for this one. I've been trying to potty train her for a year now without any success. I tried everything to get her to use the toilet. We used little potties, the toilet with a special seat, dvds, books, games, songs, bribes and I paid for two different online e-books on how to potty train. In July I put her in panties and didn't look back. No more diapers during the day. She went to school and held it all day til nap time and she would then go in her pullup. That's how we rolled for over two months. She wasn't having many accidents, but she wasn't going in the toilet either. She was moved into a new class that has kids that were mostly all potty trained and I felt so embarrassed that she wasn't yet. Then one week she started having accidents every day. It was terrible. She was peeing all over my house. The world was her toilet and she could care less. One Sunday she was on our couch watching a movie when she announced "I went pee pee." Sure enough she had peed all over my couch. I was livid. I couldn't believe the mess. It was awful and I didn't handle the situation very well. I went out into the garage and cried. I could tell she felt sorry for me. She said, "Mom, you okay?" "No baby I'm not okay. Next time please go to the potty to pee."

That Thursday night I was at a baby shower when I got a text message that Hannah had peed in the potty. Apparently she was playing outside and came in the house and without prompting peed in her potty. She came into the kitchen an announced to my mom, "I went pee pee." My mom's first response was "Where?" "In the potty!" And sure enough she had. From then on every day she's been going poop and pee in the potty. She still has the occasional accident, but for the most part she's potty trained. I could not be happier.

Here are some other things about Hannah at 3 1/2: 

• She wears mostly 3T but moving into 4T clothes
• She wears a size 8.5 - 9 shoe size
• She hates having her curly blonde hair brushed
• She hates brushing her teeth
• She loves playing outside 
  
• She loves to talk and make up stories
• Her favorite Disney Princesses is Rapunzel & Bell and she doesn't like Ariel or Sleeping Beauty
• She loves to be read to. Some of her favorite books are The Little Engine That Could, Pout Pout Fish and The Big Big Dark, The Cat In The Hat, All Sandra Boynton Books, Clifford, The Jolly Barnyard, Duncan and Dolores, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Amelia Bedelia.
  
• Her favorite TV shows right now are Doc McStuffins, Caillou, Dora, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood,  Sid the Science Kid, Clifford, Curious George, and Jake and The Never Land Pirates
• She can identify most letters but has little interest in writing or coloring. She's too much of a busy body. Maybe at age 4 she'll like to do that more.
  
• She loves to play with dolls and her kitchen. 
• She still sings and is learning new songs at school
• She's in Early Preschool now so she has more of a structured learning environment. She likes school.
• Going from one place to the next is a challenge. She never wants to get into the bathtub and never wants to get out. 
• She's still a pretty picky eater. She loves pancakes and waffles the most. She doesn't care for many veggies.
  
• She doesn't drink milk. She prefers water.
• She loves going on adventures with her daddy. She loves going to the grocery store and to Costco. 

I can't believe Hannah will be 4 in March. That seems so old. I'm trying to soak her up at this stage of her life. The holidays will be so fun this year. Can't wait to spend them with her. 

Finally a Hudson Update

I don't know how I let another month past by without posting something about my boy. I've been super busy with work and keeping up with two crazy kids that I completely skipped Hudson's 8 month update. It's been really hectic around here lately. My 3.5 year old is pushing every button I have and my sweet boy just can't get over his ear infection. I'm so worn out and emotionally drained.

But I thought despite all that I really should post his 9 month stats before he turns 1 ;)

9 Month Update  
He's officially as old now as he was inside my belly
 
Weight: 20lbs 9oz
Height: 28 inches

Features: You have dark greenish gray eyes. You have dark blonde hair that curls up in the back. You don't have much hair though. You have the cutest dimples and rosy cheeks. You have very chunky thighs. You have two more teeth up top and for now a gap between them. It's really cute. Your face is much longer compared to sister's very round face. Your skin is also much more fair than Hannah's.

Clothes: You are out of 6 month clothes mostly. You had a lot of them so I kept putting you in mostly of them til they were really too tight. You now wear a lot 6-9 month, 6-12 month and 9 month clothes.

Sleep: Sleep is for us is never consistent. Some nights you sleep all through the night and are easy to get to sleep as well, but others you fight falling asleep and wake up around 4am ready to eat and won't go back to sleep. Those ears of yours give you such trouble and really affect your sleep most nights. We just lowered your crib because you can pull up to a stand now. I saw you do this on the baby monitor one night and was scared you would topple out of your crib and hurt yourself. 


Eating: You still love to eat. You take 5 6oz bottles a day. Sometimes more and sometimes it's less. You also have baby food once a day and eat snacks too. You are really good at feeding yourself. Your have foods are sweet potatoes, apples, squash, blueberries, peaches, and pears. You are not a big fan of carrots and bananas. 
 
Milestones: You sit, rock, roll, scoot, and pull up to stand. You are really all over the place now without going very far. You are becoming more and more independent daily. Sister wasn't near as adventurous as you are at this age. You cut your top two front teeth. You say "mama" "dada" and mimic a lot of other sounds. You squeal with delight and frustration often. You are very expressive and smile all the time. You're belly laughs are so cute. I love it! We are going to start the ENT (ear, nose, throat) process this week. You really can't shake this last ear infection and with winter coming, it's only going to get worse. I really don't want you to have tubes, but it might be the best thing for you.

Hudson you are such a sweet little baby. I love you more and more every day. You make me so happy. I'm really starting to enjoy the whole "boy mom" thing :)

Hannah & Hudson at 9 months old

7 Months

Hudson turned 7 months on July 18th. I really love this age. They aren't little newborns anymore. They sleep better, starting eating real foods, are learning to crawl and babble all the time. This month was a big month for our boy once again. He's really growing and changing all the time. Just love him so much.
 
7 Month Update 
 
Weight: 19 lbs 3oz
Height: 26 3/4 inches


Features: You have dark greenish gray eyes. You have light brown hair that sticks up in the back when it's humid. You have the cutest dimples and rosy cheeks. You have very chunky thighs. You still just have your two bottom teeth for now. 
 
Clothes: Clothing size stayed about the same this month as last month. You wear mostly 6 months and 6-9 month clothes. You do wear some 9 month pants and couple 9 month tops.
 
Sleep: Sleep has become a little more consistent this month. You have a night routine of bath, bottle and bed. You go down around 7pm and sleep anywhere from 12:30am-4am then you are ready for your middle of the night bottle. I get up with you, change you and feed you. Then you go back to sleep til around 6:30am to 7:30am. Then you are up for the day. You take a short nap around 9am. Then a 2 hour nap around midday. It's not the best sleep schedule, but it works for us. The best news is that you learned how to self soothe and put yourself back to sleep pretty easliy. Now if we could only get you to drop that middle of the night feed. 
 
Eating: Eating became really fun this month. You still eat 5 6oz bottles a day. You are still on soy formula and it's the best one so far. You still have some eczema on your back so I'm not sure if that's allergy related or not. You are now eating baby food twice a day. A fruit in the morning and a veggie at night. I buy some organic baby food, but I've also made some myself. You like Mama's food the best. Your favorites are sweet potatoes, apples, zucchini, avocado with brown rice, and peach banana. I also just made some pears so we'll be trying those next. You are not a fan of peas. 
 

Likes: You love your sister. She makes you smile and calms you down. Daddy has also been a big hit this month. You grab his face and just laugh at all his silliness. You love to roll to where you want to be. You love playing with rattles and rings. You love to be held and looked at. You are really good about letting other people hold you even strangers. As long as Mommy isn't too far away. You love to splash in your bathtub. You think that is so fun. I need to wear a rain coat just to bathe you. You also love your outdoor swing. 
 
Milestones: You are now a rolling machine. You roll all over the place. You also have gotten so much better at sitting with out falling over. I can leave you for longer periods of time like that which is great. Gives my tired arms a break from holding you. You don't crawl just yet, but you can get in the crawling position and rock back and forth. You babble a lot and squeal with delight. I saw you trying to reach for things above you and pull yourself up. It won't be long now til your a mobile baby. Hope we're ready for that. 
 
Hudson, you are just so sweet. You are a much different baby than big sister. You need a lot more attention. That's just you. You fit into our family so well. And life is just more fuller with your in it. It's a busy life, but it's a blessed life. Can't wait to see what month 8 brings.  

Hannah 7 Months & Hudson 7 Months

Hudson Jacob Half a Year Old!!!

Wow! Can't quite believe my sweet boy is 6 months already. It really did fly bye. It went by way faster than the first 6 months with Hannah for sure. I'm sure the next 6 months will too and before we know it, it will be December and we will be celebrating his first birthday. Eeek!!!

This month turned out to be a huge month for our little guy. He's really changing every day now. Here are his 6 months stats.
 
6 Month Update 
 
Weight: 18 lbs 8oz
Height: 26.5 inches
 
Features: Your eye color is a mystery to me. Sometimes they look dark blue and other times green with flecks of brown. Lets just say they're gorgeous :) You have light brown hair, chunky thighs and lots of dimples. You now have 2 bottom teeth. You look more like your daddy to me this month and less like your sister did at this age.
 
Clothes: You wear mostly 6 months clothing. Some 3-6 months things still fit but are getting pretty snug. You can wear some 9 month things but they are a little big.
 
Sleep: After a wonderful week of all night sleep, you started waking up again all night long. You continued to suffer this past month from an ear infection as well as teething and it really messed up you sleep cycle. On a good night, you wake up once around 3am and go back to sleep til 7am. I appreciate those nights very much. You take about 3 naps a day and they range from 30 minutes to 2 hours in length. You are really easy to put down to sleep. You sleep on your tummy most of the time and take a paci when you sleep. It's the only time you will take a paci. 
 
Eating: You eat 5-6 oz bottles usually around 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm & 7pm. We discovered last month that you have a milk protein allergy. So we just switched you to soy formula. It seems to be helping already with the constant runny nose and the eczema break outs on your back. You also started eating more solids a couple of weeks ago. Sweet potatoes are your favorite. You've also tried applesauce, green beans and bananas. You didn't care much for those.
 
Likes: You still love being held, rocked, soothed, your bath, eating, your play mat, playing patty-cake and walking around the house. Mommy is your favorite ;). You think daddy is pretty funny too. The baby carrier is a good way to get you to calm down when I'm shopping. You also like it when I sing to you and do the "wheels on the bus". You think your sister is pretty great. I can just put you next to her and instantly you calm down and start smiling. You really started interacting with each other this month.
 
Milestones: You had a big milestone month this month. 
 
You cut your bottom two teeth. They look so cute. I wasn't expecting teeth so soon because your big sis didn't get her first tooth until she was 8 months.
 
You also learned how to roll over. You are getting really good at it too. I put you down on your tummy and you roll to your back before I can blink. You've also rolled from back to tummy a few times too. 
 
You are learning to sit up without falling over. You are a larger baby so this might take a couple more months to perfect. But we are working on it.
 
 
You are getting really good at grasping things in your hands. You pull on my hair every chance you get. Ha! You are "talking" a lot more too. 
 
And laughing all the time. It just makes me so happy to hear the sweet sounds you make. 

Hudson you are the love of my life. I can't even begin to express how complete you make me feel. I love having you as my boy. Some of my favorite times are just rocking and holding you. I know you won't be a baby forever so I'm cherishing these moments with you. You are so sweet and loving. My prayer is that you will grow up strong, happy and always be kind to others. I want you to know how much you are wanted and loved. 

Hannah & Hudson at 6 Months Old

Hannah Kate Update

Remember this post from back in November when Hannah had to go to the Emergency Center because of a febrile seizure. Well it happened to us again, but this time it was scarier and a lot worse than before.

This past Saturday we were at my mom's house eating lunch. Hannah had felt a little warm to me that day, but nothing I was too concerned about. She was acting normal and not showing any signs of sickness. We sat down for lunch and she was talking about how she loved chicken and seemed to be in good spirits. All the sudden she got down from the table and was squatting on the floor. She was really quiet which is very unusual for her.

After a few minutes I picked her up and took here into the bathroom. I sat her on the toilet and talked to her. I asked her to talk to me, but she couldn't. Her eyes were glazed over and she seemed out of it.

I picked her up and laid her on my mom's bed. Brandon noticed she was hot so we put a wash cloth on her head and turned the fan on to try and cool her down, but she wasn't responding so I called 911. By the time EMS arrived she had been seizing for about 10 minutes. She was put in the ambulance where she was administered medicine to stop the seizure and Tylenol to bring down her 102 temp. We were told to follow the ambulance to the hospital.

When we got to the ER she had just stopped seizing. So the total time was 40 minutes. Last time it was only around 4 minutes. A lot different this time.

EEG Procedure

In the emergency room she was pretty out of it. She was not talking to us or opening her eyes. We were very concerned at this point. The doctors decided to admit her overnight for observation and to run some more tests. It was the longest 24 hours of my life. I spent the night with her in the hospital and Brandon went home to stay with Hudson. My mom had been taking care of him all day Saturday so we could be with HK at the hospital.

 

Hannah woke up around 5am the next morning and was really confused and wanted to leave. They had an IV in her hand and she wanted to pull it out. Since it was the weekend the playroom at the children's hospital was closed. Such a bummer. That was her biggest complaint. She desperately wanted to go in there and play. They did open it so she could get a doll house to play with in her room, but that only kept her busy for a little while. It was really hard to keep her happy on Sunday. She had a big meltdown around midday. They decided to let us go home around 2pm and she fell asleep soon after they took out her IV. In the end all her tests came back clear.

That night she was still wobbly and not quite herself. But she's getting better every day. We had a follow up visit with her pediatrician who is referring us to a pediatric neurologist. We'll see how that goes. Maybe this was nothing, but it could be something. We just need to find out for sure.

I'm tired, feel pretty overwhelmed and stressed. This is not how we were planning to spend Father's Day weekend. It's good to be back at work today though and back to a normal routine. I know God has big plans for our sweet girl. Please pray for her and our family.