Updates on Hannah

Our bundle of joy is a fast-paced ball of energy these days. She is hitting milestones left and right, has two teeth, and is staying up late at night in order to practice her new skills. Her new skills include clapping (yay!), crawling, pulling up on furniture and people, and (as of today) is cruising along said furniture and people. She's also teething and we wait patientlly for signs of more teeth.

She has also begun eating solids and thus far she has tried rice, oatmeal, peas and sweet potato. I have been trying to make her baby food and have had mixed results. I was unable to get carrots or green beans to puree in my little food processor and getting the food out of the ice cube trays has been a challenge too. (I discovered that thawing the trays for a few minutes in the refrigerator is sufficient to get the food out and keep it from actually thawing.)

My current goals this month are to get her to eating twice a day with a cereal and/or fruit in the morning and a vegetable in the evening. We'll see how things go!

Other areas of Hannah's life. Our darling dear is also shrieking, growling, grunting, and chattering. Her eyes are still a wonderful shade of "I don't know." Somewhere along the lines of gray, brown, and green. I would say hazel, but they are like no hazel eyes I've ever seen. I would say gray, but then there are days when they clearly have green flecks or brown flecks. Her hair is red and appears to be very close to the same shade of red as my own.

I will try to add pictures soon!

An Eye Opening Experience

In the last two weeks I have been put through the spiritual ringer. Or at least it feels that way. I have been reading a friend's 'infertility blog' and it has broken my heart and opened my eyes. It has opened my eyes to more that just the plight of women who battle infertility but also to the very knowledge (or reminder of the knowledge) that ALL children are a blessing from God. I am ashamed of my own behavior and other people's behavior. I'd like to go back in time and slap myself for every time I said anything negative about someone else's child or even my own.

I certainly cherish Hannah even more after reading that blog, but that's not to say I didn't cherish her before-I did. But I think its easier to cherish her even more now. Easier to be grateful for her no matter what current irritating circumstance is happening. There's now a little reminder in the back of my mind that at least I'm getting to have this experience even if I'm sleep deprived, have a massive headache, and the baby won't quit crying. I remind myself constantly to enjoy her while I have her. There's no guarantee that I will have her with me tomorrow or even an hour from now. And each day is special because she changes each day and each week and each month. It's incredible the differences from the day she was born to now, seven months later.