Thanksgiving 2010

You made your second long car trip for the Thanksgiving holidays. We traveled to Daddy's hometown of Gadsden, Alabama. You rode through IL, IN, KY, TN and finally AL. Incidently, it was on your 2 month birthday.

Your first Thanksgiving was filled with family and good friends meeting you for the first time. Gran was at the house bright and early. She fell in love with you immediately. Daddy brought you upstairs and her eyes filled with tears when she saw you. She said you have Dosh's eyes. She just stared at you. It was a very special moment.

Your Great Aunt Bess also met you for the first time that morning. She thought you were beautiful and that you looked just like your Daddy. She said you were "Wes in a dress" and you know what, she's right. Mimi found a picture of Daddy when he was little and the pictures were really similar. You definitely look like your Daddy!

You went down for a long nap mid-morning and woke up right after we ate lunch. Your Uncle Cliff, Aunt Kristina and cousins Madeline, Bailey and Cannon were all eager to meet you. Cannon kept asking about "Baby Hannah." Madeline loved holding and talking to you.

You loved looking at Aunt Kristina

Cannon was so excited about meeting you!

We had you dressed in your Thanksgiving best, including special bloomers :)

Gran and all of her great grandchildren

Later in the day, Daddy's best friend Mike and his wife Michelle and son Zac came to visit you.

Daddy and Mike have been friends for a very long time. They were even roomates for a couple of years in Atlanta. Daddy and I met Zac last Christmas when he was 4 months old. It was fun introducing you to them this go round! We wish we lived closer so you and Zac could play together more often.

Happy Thanksgiving Hannah! Your first one was filled with love, family and friends! We had a great time in Alabama and can't wait for our next trip!

2 Month Post

November 24th, 2010

Dear Hannah,

Daddy and I can't believe you're already 2 months old! My, time sure is flying by. You bring so much joy to our lives and we love the new adventures each day brings.

You are a very well adjusted baby and "go with the flow." You haven't had what most would consider a "normal" first 2 months in the world. We moved to Chicago, IL when you were 5 weeks old. From the time you were born until about 6 weeks of age, we had visitors staying with us. It was a huge help to Mommy ad Daddy. We lived in a hotel for a little under a week until our new house was ready to move into. You were a trooper. I had heard stories of babies that have trouble sleeping anywhere but their own crib, in their own room. You were perfectly content napping in your car seat and sleeping in hotel rooms in your Pack and Play.

We wanted some sort of normalcy in your life, so we decided to implement somewhat of a 3 hour routine during the day (give or take a little). You are officially sleeping through the night as defined by a 6 hour stretch of sleep (YAY!). You really started this around 7 weeks. We put you down around 9pm and you generally wake up around 3am to eat. You go down for bed very easily. You don't cry at all and generally nod off within about 5 minutes. You usually wake up once during the first hour wanting your paci. Your 3am feeding is quite easy. You are an efficient nurser and know that when you're done it's time to go back to sleep again. You get up in the morning any where between 6-8am. That's your official first feeding, we play a bit afterwards, and then you go down for a nap. This pattern is repeated every 3 hours until bed. You still sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room in your bassinet at night. We will try you in your own room soon. Right now, it's easier for Mommy to feed you in the middle of the night.

You are a growing girl! You have officially outgrown your newborn clothes. I asked daddy to dress you one day and he brought you down in a onsie that didn't quite fit any more. It made us laugh a little! Here you are after you'd just eaten in said onsie. Look at that tummy!

You have gained a lot of good head control this month. Tummy time has been wonderful for you. You still aren't the biggest fan of it, but you do still like to nap on your belly.

You LOVE the play mat Mimi and Smooth gave you. You lay under it and have just begun intentionally swatting at and trying to grab the toys. I even caught you with the parrot in your hand one day. I was so excited and proud of you!

You love to take walks outside. Fortunately, IL has had some really nice weather in November. We walked several forest trails and you were in short sleeves in November! I saved the leaf in the picture below. I have it pressed in a book. I thought it might be fun to look at down the road. The leaf was almost as big as you were in this picture!

Daisy is slowly warming up to you. She still gets a little jealous of the attention you get from us. She does seem protective of you and is very careful around you.

You had your 2 month appointment and immunizations. You did extremely well. Dr. Ayuste gave you five shots. You cried (Mommy did a little bit too), but I had a bottle of milk ready to put in your mouth when the shots were over. You calmed down immediately! You do love your milk and it seems to fix any hairy situation. We had a lot of snuggle time that day.

You weighed in at 12lbs, 9oz and you were 23 inches long. Dr. Ayuste said you were a very healthy baby and developmentally right on track.

You still love to feel different textures. The "Hannah" blanket that Aunt Tiffiny, Uncle Bill and Max gave you is a favorite.

You are socially smiling all the time now. We absolutely melt when you do! I love to get you up from a nap or peer over your bassinet in the morning. You get the biggest smile on your face. Daddy and I can't get enough of it. We can't seem to catch that beautiful smile on camera, although we've come close a few times. Aunt Tiff really got you smiling, but the camera clicked a little late and we got you during the fade away.

Hannah, we love you more and more with each passing day! Happy two months little one!