To Hannah at 5 1/2 months

This past month and a half has been extremely busy with traveling, Halloween and all the other little things that I can't even name off. So, with all of the excitement going on, I haven't had time to sit and write Hannah's 5 month letter. Poor girl! Don't worry, I've been spending a lot of time with her and taking in all of her little rolls! She is such a sweet sweet girl! So, better late than never!

 

Dearest Hannah,

I can hardly believe how big you have gotten! This past month somebody asked me if you were 1! Yeah, they were just crazy, but you really have been growing a ton! And it's no wonder with how much you love to eat! You already eat 2 hefty solid meals a day and still love to nurse. So far you have tried oatmeal, mixed grains, peaches, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears and bananas. The only thing I'm not sure you agree with is bananas. So, we'll try that again at a later date. But you love food and surprise me with how much you can consume in a sitting.
Other new developments in the past month and a half are that you can sit up for short periods of time. This actually happened just a few days ago. The first time I was able to get you to sit up (while Lydia entertained you with a picture of Christ) you lasted an entire minute! This happened twice in a row. You are already quite the spiritual young lady :).
Our family went on a long trip this month for Daddy's residency interviews in El Paso and Albuquerque. You didn't do very well.  Once you slept as long as you could in the car, there was nothing for you to do but scream. And then you didn't want to sleep at night, which made it more challenging to drive for long stretches. But, luckily, you got to meet your Great Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. It almost didn't happen because Grandma had to go to the hospital and children weren't allowed to visit there. Fortunately she was discharged the day we were leaving, so we got to visit for about an hour. You charmed them quite well with your sweet smiles. They loved holding and cuddling you. We also got to spend some time in San Antonio with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and Uncle Neil. And we spent a day at Sea World. You didn't really watch the shows and whales, but you didn't appreciate it when Shamu sent a huge wave of water all over the audience! But neither did your sister :).
You experienced your first Halloween. Though you didn't go up to each door with your sister to get candy, you matched her in costume. Lydia dressed up as Fancy Nancy and the rest of the family dressed up as Fancy Nancy's family. You looked adorable in your pink leopard print dress, ballet shoe socks, wings and feather headband!
The month started off with your main "talking" consisting of high pitched squeals and has evolved into sweet babbles. Though the squeals were cute also and unique, I'm glad that they didn't last for too long. It's so sweet to hear you talking to your mobile and you play with your feet in bed. And to have you tell me how yummy the food I just put in your mouth tastes, though it is much more messy that way.
Our main goal for the next month is for you to sleep through the night. We began the painful process lastnight as you screamed for nearly an hour halfway through the night. You usually wake up to eat once each night and then a couple of other times for Daddy to rock you back to sleep. While we endured this for almost 6 months, it is time to end. We love you and love holding you, but we want to be more rested in the morning when your sister comes in our room around 6. I pray this transition goes well :).
Sweet Hannah, I love having you in our home! Your smile illuminates the room and your eyes sparkle when you laugh. We love you dearly. I wish I could describe my feelings for you more eloquently. But I'm not a writer, nor am I very good with words. So, in the words of Fancy Nancy, "I love you. Because there isn't a fancy-or better-way of saying that".

love,

 

Momma

 

PS: I tried to upload some videos to this post of Hannah, but my internet was too slow. So, look at the pictures link to see them :). And please let me know if there are any problems with the link.