Hannah is 16-months old going on four. She is growing up so fast and figuring out all the things and doing all the things. Hannah’s personality is huge. She is a ball of fun and a barrel of energy. She brings the party with her wherever she goes. She’s loud and boisterous and so cuddly and loving – she is just plain fun to be around.
- Weight:24 pounds 5 ounces {85th percentile – this is 2 weeks out of date}
- Length: 31″ {75th percentile – this is two weeks out of date}
- Clothing size: 18-24 months
- Shoe size: toddler size 4
- Number of teeth: eight! two new bottom teeth this month, and her first two molars just cut through.
- Eye color: I’m calling them “alpine lake” – the most gorgeous greeny blue
- Favorite foods: tangerines, pomegranate, smoothies, bananas, mangoes!!, crackers, cheese
- Least favorite foods: beef, chicken
- Favorite things/activities: playing with Ben, reading interactive books, playing with cars, taking things out of drawers or cupboards, waving at a dog passing by, going to the park, climbing, bath time, watching the garbage trucks, pushing her toy vacuum around
- Least favorite things/activities: waiting, not getting what she wants
This month Hannah learned to run as well as how to open the front door at the mountain house in the same day. She mastered the art of opening all of the kitchen cabinets and pulling out as many things as she can possibly grab all before I can stop her. Hannah has earned the nickname “sticky fingers” this month. She just grabs hold of whatever she can get and holds on for dear life.
She’ll reach into Alex’s pocket and pull out his phone or wallet, she heaves herself forward in her high chair and grabs something off the dining room table, or when we’re at the library or store she’ll grab as many things off the shelf as she can. She used to be satisfied splashing in Jackson’s water bowl, but now she has graduated to getting a fistful of Jackson’s kibble and throwing it as far as she can, all while cackling and looking riiiiight at me. Her favorite, though, is amidst a diaper change she’ll fling herself to a seated position, grab a handful of clean diapers and throw them behind the dresser.
Hannah is a great communicator. She’ll shake her head for “no” or say “yeah” for yes. She knows where everything she wants is and she’ll help point it out. That said, her speech is very difficult to understand. She has a few words that are very clear, but everything else sounds like “dada” at this point. In the last few days she’s been working on repeating some new words and we’ve heard a few new consonants come out of her mouth recently.
Comprehension is something Hannah has really mastered already. She understands everything we say. At this point she’s really a terrific listener and follows directions with tremendous eagerness. She’s quite helpful, actually, and loves to pick up and put things where they belong.
On her own she will put her laundry in her hamper and throw away her yogurt after she’s done with it. She has had a couple of colds this last month and she can go and get a tissue, wipe her nose and throw the tissue away all on her own.
Being involved is very important to Hannah. She wants to be a helper when getting her shoes or socks on and she shows me which foot to take care of first, then second. She imitates diaper changes – she’ll reach over and grab a wipe and try to wipe herself amidst a diaper change {not always super helpful!!}, and if I’m holding her while putting on my makeup she has to have a makeup brush to use on her own face.
These days Hannah is the queen of mimicking. Anything Ben is doing Hannah wants to do. If he raises his arms, she raises her arms. If Ben wants to ride his bike, Hannah wants to ride his bike too.
Hannah is working very hard at figuring out how to be a kid and do all of the things. She is getting darn good at it, too! We’ve had a lot more success this last month with things like play dough, coloring and painting. Hannah has been very interested in exploring art and creativity. For the first time, not everything has gone in her mouth!
Sleep has been awesome the last month for Hannah. She is typically asleep by 7:15 or 7:30 and wakes for the day anywhere between 6:15-6:45 in the morning. She takes one long nap in the afternoon, anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. If provided the opportunity, she will fall asleep in the morning if we’re in the car or on a run. Hannah falls asleep happily on her own, with us in the room for the most part, these days.
We adore our first-thing-in-the-morning Hannah. She’s so so so so so cuddly and loves to curl up in our laps and read books while she has her yogurt.
Recently Hannah has been very fearful of new people and in various settings. She has had a lot of separation anxiety when I’ve left her with babysitters. She is very clingy and really enjoys her time with mama and dada and has always been more reluctant to go to someone else.
This month Hannah started dancing. She LOVES to dance. I think her favorite song right now is “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel. She has the sweetest little dance bounce and it is precious!
Mealtimes in our house are often a challenge, especially at dinner. Hannah is very reluctant to eat most meat, aside from some pork products, and would happily survive only on fruit if given the chance. She does enjoy vegetables most nights quite a bit, too. She really is a terrific eater, though her preferences differ significantly from the rest of the family.
When Hannah is one-on-one with me {or Alex} she’s a different kid than when she’s around Ben. She’s much more calm and quiet and reasonable. I think she really appreciates her mama time and her dada time. She absolutely adores her big brother but he sure brings out her crazy!
Hannah is doing allllll the things right now. This is one of my absolute favorite ages and it’s a blast watching Hannah make the leap from baby to little kid.
