The Kello Show

Lovely light streaming into Hannah's room made for some good picture taking time.  Here she is, in all her drool-covered glory.

Hannah got the perfect onsie as a baby gift from Rachel. It's from Powell's and it says, "Book Monster." We love it and we're so glad she's finally grown into it. 

For those of you who don't know what Powell's is, it's pretty much the most awesomest book store ever. It's in downtown Portland. Kell and I hate going into P-town, but when we do, we like to make a Powell's stop. It's glorious.  Now, if only we could go in without all those whacky Portlanders. 

Please note, our little miss is pretty much sitting up on her own here.  She does fall backward sometimes, but she's really getting the hang of it.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with our dear friends. It was a nice, relaxing, yummy day -- perfect! We ate a ton, watched some Thanksgiving episodes of our favorite shows ("Slapsgiving" from How I Met your Mother was a fav!), and played some serious Cranium.   Good times.


And now for something completely different...

Our girl is five months old. This has been a very interesting phase for us. I almost think it has been as difficult as the newborn phase.  Hannah is growing like crazy, and that means eating like crazy, and that means waking up a bunch during the night.  She was eating so much I couldn't keep up, so we made the VERY difficult decision to add one bottle of formula in before bed.  It was really hard for me to decide to do that, but it helped some...at first.  Now, we're still getting up twice/night.  Boo! We were doing so well before.  I know she'll outgrow it though. 

People still say she looks like Kelly, but Kelly says she looks like me.  The other day, Hannah was giving me this look like, "mom, I'm so bored with you" and she looked just like my sister Anne.  Kell says he sees his brother Jamie sometimes too. Who do you guys think she looks like?

In other H news, she is getting so good at rolling over.  It's a little too good. I don't want her mobile too soon.  She is seriously working on the trying to crawl thing.  She scoots her little legs under her, but can't get up on all fours. Those attempts usually result in a face plant. It's OK though because she doesn't have far to go.

We still can take a walk almost every day.  The rain usually lets up long enough for a short one at least. I'm sort of dreading snow -- if its anything like last year -- because we really love our walks, and I'm not snow suiting up a baby to take in four foot snow banks. She still fits in the Bjorn OK, but it's starting to get a bit heavy for this out-of-shape momma.

Hannah and Bella have really started bonding.  Hannah reaches out to Bella and Bella will come lay next to Hannah when she's on the floor or in her Bumbo.  Bella is so good with her. She lets her tug on her ears and pull her hair. Hannah tries to kiss Bella, which involves an open mouth and a lot of fur - yuck!  Bella returns the kisses, licking on Hannah's feet.  She's such a sweet dog! It's only a matter of time before they are best buds.


Hannah is really getting into her toys now too, doing a lot of reaching and hollering if the toy is out of reach.  She really likes the soft toys that she can stick in her mouth and bite down on.  Bella likes the ones with squeakers -- she ate Hannah's rubber duck when someone (me) forgot to pull it out of the tub after bath time.  Speaking of baths... Hannah still LOVES them.  I mean, she really, really loves them.  She kicks like crazy, splashing all over the place, cooing and hollering the whole time.  She gets that from momma.

Five months old! The time has gone way too fast. 

Hannah just keeps getting better. Who knew it was possible?

What's our little 4-month old up to?

1. Hannah has left rolling behind for a bit while she focuses in her vocalizations. This is the really fun stuff for her linguist momma.  She has all her vowels except the high front (think "cheese").  She has /g/, /d/, /m/, and /h/.  This is pretty spot on for typical order of development.  Kell says she's been saying "momma" for a long time. I think it's more like a fussy whine, but if "momma" is her first "word," who am I to argue?

2. Hannah has also taken to squealing with glee. The first time, it surprised her, but then she decided she loves it! And loves it. And loves it.  It can be a bit alarming sometimes.

3. Hannah still fits in some 3 month clothes (Circo is so much bigger than Carters).  With cold weather coming in, we're going to have to stock up on some warm stuff.

4. Hannah is getting better at comforting herself in the middle of the night. She's really into the babbling brook on her Sleep Sheep right now (thanks Aunt Jackie). I think it drowns out rude neighbor noises (we love diesel trucks that rev their engines!). She will suck on her hand and go back to sleep unless she's really hungry. She eats about every 4 hours during the night, so we still get up a couple of times.

5. Hannah has been playing in her Bounce, Bounce Baby exersaucer. She really digs it.  (Thanks to the Ballengers for lending it to us!)

6. Hannah has been working on her application to Drooliard.  We think she's got it nailed.

Hello all,
I know it's been a long time since I've posted. We were on vacation and we're super busy with work, but I will get some vacation pictures up soon. For now, here's a little video of my girl I just had to share.  Sorry about the quality. I shot it with my cell phone.

Going for a walk is a pretty regular thing around here.  With Kelly and I both working from home, an afternoon stroll is a nice way to break up the monotony of staring at a computer screen.  These are a couple of shots from our walk, because I couldn't resist how precious our little Hannah Beth looked.

Today was Kelly and my first anniversary.  We decided to relive a little of the wedding and ate at the Sassy Onion in Salem. They catered our wedding at the Oregon 4-H Center. The wedding food was stupendous. At least, we heard it was. Kell and I got to eat very little of it, as our photographers wanted us for some shots with the sunset.  We're glad we did the pictures. They were beautiful. We ate breakfast today at the Sassy Onion, and it was really good. 

After we ate, we picked up our cake. The bakery that we ordered from does a free 7" cake decorated like your wedding cake, with one of the cake flavors for your first anniversary.  We picked the chocolate and fudge layer (the others were white cake and marionberry cream, and pink champagne cake with peach cream). It was delicious.

We have had an amazing year since our wedding -- the most amazing part is our beautiful daughter.  We are so lucky. 






I love this picture because she's got Daddy's hand and you can see his wedding ring. 

So, I took all those lovely peaches and pears from the Fruit Loop adventure and canned me up some yummy goodness. Out of about 15 pounds of peaches, I got 6 quarts, 6 pints, and 9 small jars of pureed fruit to feed to our sweet girl when she starts solids. Out of 10 pounds of pears, I got 5 pints.  They are packed pints though. 

I did the peaches Wednesday night, and I do mean night.  Kelly had a headache and went to bed early, but I had to get them done before they went bad.  So, I feed Hannah and kept her in her bouncy seat with me while I blanched, peeled, and sliced.  Then, I feed her again and put her to bed and then put them in the water bath.  I did a hot pack method, so I cooked them in apple juice first for a few minutes.  I decided not to use syrup because I don't want all that sugar, so apple juice was a better choice.

I did the pears today after I took a two hour (!!!) nap.  Thanks for letting me sleep, Kell. The pears went much faster. I think it was because I knew what I needed and had all the tools ready. The house smelled so good from the simmering apple juice. 

This was my first time canning (if you want good directions, Pick Your Own has good ones). I've made jam a couple of times, but this is a little different.  I am so excited. I love knowing where the food we eat comes from and I love that in the dead of winter, when we have no electricity because of a snowstorm*, we will have peaches to eat. Plus, they look so pretty in the pantry.




*Everyone I know that has lived here for a long, long time assures me that getting a lot of snow is really the exception. Well, we've been here three winters and we keep getting a lot of snow. So, I don't believe them anymore.  Last winter, four feet.  We were stuck in the house for about a week.  "Exception" my patella.

Today, Kelly and I decided to take Hannah to the other side of the Mountain -- Hood River -- to visit the Fruit Loop. For those of you who aren't in the know, the Fruit Loop is a 35-mile farm loop through Hood River. We only stopped at about 5 farms, but it was fabulously fun.

At the first stop, Draper Girls' Farm, we bought about 10 lbs of peaches. They are Red Globes, which are good for canning because they have a loose stone.  We also bought some crazy red pears, but I can't recall their name. Can't wait to taste those. 

Our next stop was Alice's. For Labor day, they do a BBQ. I had pulled pork and Kelly had chicken. The cider baked beans and pear slaw were grubbin'! 

Then, we stopped at Lavender Valley. It smelled so delicious.  I wanted to roll around in all the lavender.

Our next stop was the White House. There we took some amazing pictures in the Dahlias.  And, they were pet friendly, so Bella got to get out and stretch her legs. 

Our last stop was a hidden secret.  It was a no-name farm, not officially on the Fruit Loop, but we got pears for 25 cents/lb. And, he said in July he has cherries for 95 cents/lb.  Can you believe it? We are so going to visit him again. Now I have a ton of canning to do.

We had such a great time, and when we got home, there was dinner waiting for us in our mud room.  My co-workers at AEC are awesome and are bringing us meals 3 times a week.  How great are the people I work with? I love 'em!

OK, MommyBrain and SupahMommy, I'm in . I've made some pretty bad errors in fashion judgement. I do not have photographic evidence at this time, but I might investigate and provide it later.

1. Hair --  this is a big category for me. 
So, first, yes, I did it too: the poodle perm. I was still in elementary school and my mom let me do it.  Let me say, I have two older sisters who greatly influenced my fashion sense, so really I blame them. 
Then, there was the crimping iron. Whoever came up with that one should be shot, except perhaps it lead to the straightening iron, which I'm a fan of. 
The wave bangs. We all had them. Enough said.
And, then there was high school, when I was known to dye my hair with Koolaid --  fun colors that only lasted a few days, but what a mess in the shower. 

2. The grunge period. This involved flannel, overalls, torn jeans, and wearing the same vans as all my male friends. And, of course, I wrote all over them. I blame Seattle and their good music. 

3. Pegged jeans. Why oh why could we not just leave our paints alone? Why did I have to fold them over and roll them up? And wear them with a baggy Guess shirt tucked in, and Keds? Issues, people. I had serious issues.

4. Local Motion in neon. I was forever wearing my Local Motion t-shirt with my neon bike shorts. Or, my Body Glove shorts that had a hand print on the rear.  OK, I'm from Southern California, so forgive me my surfer roots, but everyone was doing it.

5. Matchy-matchy outfits from Wet Seal and Charlotte Rouse. Remember those Bongo shorts that had matching shirts with the same print? Nice.

All I can say is: Dang, I looked good. 

Hannah turned two months yesterday and today was her doctor's appointment.  At two months, our girl weighs 9 lbs, 12 oz and is in the 10-25th percentile for weight.  She is 22 inches long and in the 25-50th percentile for height.  I think she's got daddy's metabolism (thank goodness for small miracles!).

She "chatted" and smiled with the doctor.  She was a perfect little patient.  And then she got her shots.  Three of them. She cried some, but was fine once she got her breast friend.  She slept on the way home and has been her normal happy self ever since.  That's our girl!


And now for something completely different...

I am a domestic goddess. That's right. Yesterday, I decided to whip out the stand mixer (thank you Aunt Jackie!) and I made chocolate chip cookies, bread, and cinnamon rolls. I don't know exactly what got into me, except to say that I can't do anything without going big. That's just how I roll.  So, the house has smelt delicious for two days now and I think Kelly might just be coming out of a butter-induced coma.   

I never want to buy a loaf of bread again. It's so easy when a mixer does all the work for you. And, I can actually pronounce all the ingredients that go into the bread that I make.  Definitely no high fructose corn syrup here (says the girl who loves a nice coke every now and then).

OK, they didn't MAKE me do it, but I've always wanted to be a cool kid, and I feel like this is my one chance. 


In case you don't know what the hey diddle diddle I'm talking about, head over to Supah's blog and see what it's all about. 


5 Quirks


1. Let's start with a pretty pertinent one: because I am tragically unhip, I had no idea that "meme" was may-may, I thought it was meeeem.  I have this issue sometimes because I read a lot, so sometimes I know a word and what it means, but I haven't got the foggiest how to say it.  Yeah, didn't learn the Greek and Latin roots.  Perhaps that's why I didn't rock the verbal GRE.  Bring on the analytical!


2. I'm not a very good speller. This is particularly odd when you know me pretty well, because, well, let's see: a. I was an English undergrad major (and read a lot - see #1) , b. I studied linguistics in graduate school, c. I formerly made a living as a college writing instructor, and d. I currently make a living as an editor and writer.  I blame this on my dad who has been known to spell his own daughters' names incorrectly (Sorry dad, it's true). Thank goodness for spell check.


3. I have a deep-seated desire to be musical, and I am in no way musical.  I played the cello as a child, but quit before jr. high because I didn't want to be a "band geek." Oh, if only I had known.  I have very musical friends. In fact four of them live in the same house (Julia-Rach-Jack-Cody).  It's rough.


4. I like all things medical.  I like watching having my blood drawn. I get this one from my mother-the-nurse. Family dinners at our house growing up often involved discussions of blood. I used to watch the surgery channel quite a bit.  I like hearing what procedures people have done and I ask lots of questions of doctors.


5. I'm not really a fan of clothes or shoes. As soon as I get home, all non-essentials get taken off.  I don't want to wear anything "nice" around the house, including jeans. It's usually all about the sweats.  

So, Supah, I played along. Ain't you proud?

...with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "E," which stands for "energy," which I have little of these days.
So, our little munchkin has a cold (Oh, the guilt! Do we take her out too much? Did we let someone hold her who was sick?). She started feeling yucky on Tuesday night. Her eyes were all watery and she was congested. So, for the last few nights, she has been waking up every two hours or so. Mostly, she snorts and then coughs or whines, and I run to pick her up because I'm paranoid. I spoke with the doctor's office and they said no need to worry. Just use a humidifier and elevate her head. Check. So, she's starting to feel better, but this not sleeping has got me thinking about sleep. A lot.
I wonder if our sleep routine is "normal." I hate the word "normal" when it comes to babies, because they're all different. But, who are we kidding? We compare anyway.
So, this is the nightly routine for us, give or take half an hour:
7:30 breastfeed
8:00 bath
8:30 bottle with daddy (this one gets her good and full for a longer sleep stretch)
9:00 humming and rocking with mommy
9:30 if the humming and rocking didn't work out so well, top off of breastfeeding and then more humming and rocking
She's usually down by 9:30, but often 10:00. I would love to get her to go down a little earlier, so Kell and I can do the things we like to do, but never can find time to (Sewing for me, and writing for Kelly). But, even if we bump the routine up a little, I'm still rocking and humming until 9:30.
Then, she wakes up somewhere between 1:00 and 3:00 and then again between 4:00 and 6:00 and is usually up for the day between 8:00 and 9:00. It's not too bad, really, except for this last week. I feel worked.
So, anyone want to come for a sleepover? MommyBrain? You can bring ToddlerBrain. SupahMommy? BroadBrains? Bueller? Bueller? I promise to save the 3:00 AM feeding for you. And, Hannah's room is really comfy.

Today our girl is 8 weeks old. She is really strong and smart (don’t all parents say that?). Here’s what she’s up to these days:

• She sits up against her Boppy.
• She loves to have us sing to her. Kell and I make up all kinds of crazy songs for her, often involving lyrics like “Bella Girl loves Hannah Beth” and “Mommy wears her glasses at night” and “Daddy loves to kiss the baby” and "I'm a duck, quack, quack." You know, whatever seems pertinent at the time.
• Two nights ago, she went down at 10:30 and slept until 4:00. Wow! But, then last night, she was back to every 3 hours. You win some; you lose some.
• She can hold her rattle and shakes it, but it’s completely unintentional.
• She loves mirrors. When I change her in the bathroom, she turns her head to watch me in the mirror.
• She will copy what you do. If I stick out my tongue, she tries to stick hers out (and she’s pretty successful).
  
• Kelly swears she says things like, "Momma," "no," and "Hannah." I don't have the heart to tell him that's just how babies cry.
  
• She recognizes Kelly and me and smiles in response to us. This has to be the coolest thing ever. Melts my heart every time.

Yesterday, Hannah went for her first hike. We went up to Wildwood to hike along the Salmon River. It was lovely. The trail was really well maintained and there is even an underwater viewing area ala Sea World. Hannah slept the whole time in the sling (thank you, Aunt Jackie!). Bella had a blast splashing in the river. It was so much fun.

Speaking of birthdays (What?!? We weren't speaking of birthdays? Oh well!)... my 30th was yesterday, hence the day off for Kelly and the hiking. It started with breakfast -- chocolate chip pancakes and bacon -- then the hike, then Kell made dinner (meatloaf, at my request -- he makes the best meatloaf). We even watched Pride & Prejudice, which I've seen at least a million times and still love. Jane Austen rocks. And, Kell got me a gym membership and an offer to watch the girl for a couple of hours so I can hit the gym. That is so awesome. It was the best birthday ever.

Hannah is six weeks old now and getting bigger. She is finally filling out the newborn clothes and we might even be able to start putting her in 0-3 month stuff. It's been too big thus far.
While I'm on the topic of clothes, perhaps Carter's can explain something to me: Sleepers. They fit her in length (maybe even a tiny bit short). You can fit another whole baby in around the waist. And, the arms are insanely long. Who are these long-armed fatty shorties that Carters designs for? I'm sure other people have other issues, which makes me wonder, do any babies fit perfectly in these things? But, I digress.
Our girl is getting stronger every day. During tummy time this morning, she lifted her whole upper half up off the mat. She's getting good at finding her thumb for sucking too. She's happy about 98% of the time and when she's not, I'm sure it's my fault (I'm just prepping myself for when she's a teenager and loathes her mother). But really, she's the best thing since sliced bread, which, if you really think about, is pretty great and useful.
Kell's mom and brother are in town from Tacoma for a visit to meet our sweet girl. Uncle Nick is excellent at rocking her bouncy seat to put her to sleep and Grandma Sheila tells us things that daddy and Hannah have in common. Everyone agrees that she's beautiful. :)

Hannah turned one month old on July 30th and we wanted to post some updated pictures. She's growing up so fast. She's started to get a little bit of chub to her legs, but not much. She is sleeping longer at night (mostly 4 hour chunks) and she spends more time awake during the day. She is particularly alert in the morning around 9:30, and at night around 7:00. She's so much fun.
This was a busy weekend for us. We had the Sandy Relay for Life on Friday. We only stayed a couple of hours, but got to catch up with friends. Our friend Cody's daughters, Ava and Melody were so excited to hold Hannah.
Saturday was Tyler Ferguson's second birthday. For those of you who don't know, I met Ty's mom at work and we've been great friends since. We sometimes discuss an arranged marriage. Ty's little sister Olivia is just a few months older than Hannah and we know they'll be the best of friends. The party was lots of fun and it gave Hannah a chance to wear her new yellow sundress from Grandpa Frank. Isn't she pretty?
When Grandma Anna was here, she planted a Sweet Hannah rose. Well, because of all the heat, she's blooming already, sweet little off-white blooms. So delicate, just like our girl.

Well, since mommy and daddy never posted the final pictures of my nursery, I figure I better just handle things. So, here's where I lay my head...
Momma sewed the crib skirt and curtains because she's too picky to just buy something. She even appliqued bugs and flowers on the curtains to match my "spring meadows" theme. Daddy made the birdhouse lights. They're great for nighttime feedings, so it's not too bright. Daddy also re-purposed the changing table/dresser from the dresser that was his as a child. Good job, daddy. The crib, bed frame, and glider (momma recovered it) were all Craig's List finds. The beautiful art work on the wall was done by my ever so talented Aunt Jenn.
Daddy also made the bookcase with all my great books in it. The butterfly cluster on the ceiling were decorations at momma's baby shower and daddy put them up for me. And of course, daddy redid the pine floors because momma and daddy hated the carpet.
I think I'm pretty much the luckiest girl in the whole world. I love my room!
~Hannah

I know, I know, we haven't been posting. Well, see, we have a newborn, and that adds to the normal chaos around here. I will try to be more diligent.

At her two week appointment, Hannah weighed in at 6 lbs, 14 oz and was 19.25 inches long. That puts her in the 15 percentile for weight and 25 for height. Our teeny, little tater tot! If she keeps eating like she does, she'll shoot up the charts in no time.

Our little miss is three weeks old tomorrow. She has changed so much in three weeks.

Things she likes: The perfect tight swaddle that daddy does, dancing and singing to Pete Yorn with momma, tummy time (she's so strong), bathes, eating, and sleeping
Things she doesn't like: The car seat and pooping
Things momma and daddy like: Everything

Grandma has gone home now, and we sure do miss her. Thank goodness she left behind a freezer full of dinners (thanks for the recipes, Aunt Peg). Hannah misses her morning cuddles and I think Bella really misses all the extra walks. Kell and I miss our own personal gardener. :)


We are getting a pretty regular routine, which is fantastic. I won't call it a schedule, because she's just a tiny little thing, and we follow her more than she follows us. It works for us though. We're getting good sleep at night, and can even get things done during the day (I made blueberry jam while she napped yesterday).

Hannah Elizabeth was born at 11:26 on June 30th. She weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 18 3/4 in. long. She's such a tiny little peanut. She is teeny, adorable, sweet, cuddly, and infinitely entertaining (if you like watching sleeping babies' facial expressions, which we do). She is a good eater and sleeper and brings us so much joy.
Names she's been called so far: peanut, tater tot (Julia has referred to Hannah as food since she found out I was pregnant, including pickling cucumber and bratwurst), piranha (thanks to the lactation consultant), sweet girl (of course!), and Bella and Jillian (mom still calls Kelly "Terry" at least half the time).
Today, Kell was changing her diaper and announced it was a pee diaper. I said, "She hasn't pooped all day." And, as if on cue, diaper off, wipey in hand... squirt. That's our girl! Same sense of humor as mom and dad. I laughed so hard it made my incision hurt. It could just be sleep deprivation.
People have been requesting tons of pictures (we were in the hospital, people!), so daddy created a site just for Hannah's pictures. Enjoy!
Oh, and mom and dad are doing fine too!

So, our little girl won't budge. This means we have scheduled her birth date. It will be June 30th. She is scheduled for a morning C-Section, but I've had friends who have gone in and been rescheduled because there was no room at the inn. So, hopefully, the 30th won't be a popular day.