We held our first Passover Seder this year. We invited Gary’s Mom and our friends Matt & Erika with their kids…nice and small to ease us into the craziness of a Seder. Of course even with only 9 people there, the 4 kids in attendance managed to make things very, um, lively. As it should be though! A Seder wouldn’t be a Seder without loud kids and some spilled wine. It was fun though, and Gary did a great job with all the food and leading the service.

Pictures were limited, but we got a couple nice shots of the table before chaos ensued.

Here’s the one shot I got of the kids playing. Nathan wasn’t too keen on getting his picture taken, as you can tell from this photo!

“What? We’re being good! I swear!”

I had to post this picture of Hannah dressed up for Easter. We were sent a huge box of clothes from a generous friend with a daughter a year older than Hannah and it included a lot of dressy-dresses. This was the first time we put Hannah in one and she was a big hit.

During the last month Hannah started rolling back to front and tried cereal for the first time…both pretty big milestones! She still loves her hands and almost always has them in her mouth. She get both in if she can! Nathan is doing better a playing with her, which is slightly more interesting as she’s getting older and interacting a little more.

Seriously loves those hands!

You can see Hannah is also going through an awkward hair phase right now. Cute, definitely cute, but slightly awkward

Heart melting

More pictures from April here

This month we gave Hannah a taste of rice cereal for the first time (April 10 to be exact). As expected, she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it, but she got better with more tries.

It’s a messy process!

All clean now!

Note to self…when feeding cereal to a baby, do not put bowl in a place within reach of that baby…odds are she will try to grab it and end up knocking the entire thing all over you and the floor. Not that this happened to me or anything

We also tried out the Jumperoo for the first time this month. She’s been a big fan and Nathan helped show her how to use it.

And we tried Hannah out in the outside swing for the first time. I don’t think she was quite sure what to do with it, but hey, at least it’s somewhere to put her down outside!

Hannah rolled for the first time from back to front on April 8th.

I put her on a blanket on the floor while I was getting dressed for work and noticed she was working hard on trying to get over, which I’d seen her do on and off for a week or so. Gary came into the room and we both just watched for a second as she finally got herself all the way over! Lots of cheering at that point Then I ran for the video camera and she continued to roll over a few more times for the camera. Yay Hannah!

Even Nathan was excited. He was sad at first because she lay on her back without doing anything at first, but finally she did it for all of us again, with Gary and Nathan on the floor cheering her on the whole way. Very cute.

Then on April 21, just shy of 5 months, Hannah rolled front to back, but I think she’s still working on that one because shes not doing a lot yet.

Nathan never really rolled except for a couple flukes, so it was cool to get to see the progress in action. There were so many times, with Nathan too, that it looks like the roll is going to happen and you’re just breathlessly waiting, and then, plop!, she’s back on her back…so seeing her actually do it for the first time was pretty awesome.

These photos are not from the first time she rolled, but I thought it was fun to see a back to front roll in progress. She sees the toy and then goes for it!

We started swim lessons for Nathan in late March and he loves it.

He hasn’t expressed any fear about being in the water or doing the things that the teachers asks…things like putting his face in the water, jumping in and floating on his back.

I did Mommy & Me lessons with Hannah at the same time…figured it couldn’t hurt. She didn’t really care much about being in the pool until the last couple sessions, but it was still fun to do.

We had one good scare when Nathan’s class (only 4 kids) was at the deep end of the pool taking turns jumping in with the teacher right there. One of the kids thought it was their turn and jumped in, and for some reason Nathan thought he was supposed to go too. Since the teacher wasn’t ready for him, Nathan sunk to the bottom and my heart jumped out of my chest for a second as I stood helplessly on the other end of the pool. But all was fine…the teacher pulled him right up and he wasn’t the least bit phased. I had anxiety about it the rest of the night of course!

As we’ve progressed through lessons Nathan has gotten better and better. He can float on his back without trying to pull his head up like he used to do. He jumps in to the shallow end all by himself, without anyone catching him. And he puts his face under for several seconds. All this, and he still loves it too. Can’t wait to get to the pool this summer!

At four months old Hannah is chewing on her hands like crazy, drooling a ton, and starting to bat at things with that jerky movement babies have. She’s been “goo-ing” a lot and seems to be starting to laugh, especially when we bounce her or make her dance around. She’s still a good sleeper, even going to sleep by herself if I put her down awake. This is SO different from our early experience getting Nathan to sleep and I’m very grateful for how much easier that is this time. Hannah is still pretty happy and laid back too, and with the chaos of having two kids now, that’s a very good thing!

Hannah is enjoying the bumbo and getting better at sitting in it. She also likes to sit up while we hold her and is standing a bit too. She’s started lifting one leg up when we hold her in a standing position, and rolling to her side when we put her on her back. She’s even starting to flip her top leg forward when she’s on her side, so I’m guessing rolling isn’t too far away. Hannah also seems to enjoy tummy-time and will happily lay on her back staring at the toys or mirror on her activity mat. She’s also just started to find her feet, which I’m sure will find their way to her mouth soon enough

Hannah will stare intently at you and smile when you sing to her. Ive been singing “Hush Little Baby” to her before bed each night and she loves that. Around the same verse toward the end, about buying her a goat, she’ll usually give me a big slow blink, then nuzzle her head into my arm. It’s adorable!

Her hair is a hilarious mess. She has a little bald spot in the back and on one side, but its also really thin on both sides in general with a lot on top. The top stuff is starting to get a little curly.

I think maybe she’s having a little nipple confusion because she’s started fussing when I breastfeed her sometimes. I think she’s getting used to the quick and fast flow from the bottle at school and getting a little impatient when she’s nursing.

She still loves her brother and smiles so hard at him, especially when she sees him and hears him at the same time. Nathan seems mostly uninterested in Hannah at this point…unless she’s in my lap and then he wants to sit there too. I get lots of time with both kids in my lap, and I really can’t complain about that! Still working on that two kid balancing act though, that’s for sure!

Just a few photos from March…

Lately whenever I take out the video camera, Nathan wants to take video.

Hannah lots her Rainforest Bouncy seat right now.

She’s getting good at her Bumbo seat too. Nathan was putting toys on the little table for her, but I think Hannah was more interested in him.

We went on a great walk at Oregon Ridge with the whole fam.

Hannah got into the spirit for St. Patty’s Day.

And she’s rolling to her side pretty well.

Especially when her brother is there!

A few cute pictures to round out the month

Hannah didn’t have a regular pediatric appointment for her third month, but we ended up at the doctor for a sick visit on the day she turned 3 months…she was 12 lbs 10 oz.

She had taken a bath right before this pictures, so her hair is very fuzzy

This is the first time Hannah noticed there was something next to her.

Can not go long without those fingers!

And she really is. Hannah is very laid back and content almost all the time. The only time we’ve noticed her getting upset is when she’s tired.

Waking up happy

Happy to chill out on her tummy for a bit

Or lay on her back watching the ceiling fan (best mobile ever!)

Content to let me take some pictures

And a good sport about trying out the Bumbo

(thankfully she had good entertainment!)

More pictures from February here