Archive for March, 2007
Dear Hannah, Newsletter #2
Author: Emily
Dear Hannah,
You are now eight months old. We wondered when the day would come, and it finally has. . . you are officially out of your clothing that should fit a 3-6 month old baby. In fact, you have had quite the growth spurt. Since Grandma and Grandpa Probst came to visit over a month ago, you have grown an inch and a half, and gained three pounds! You are now 28 inches long and weigh 20 pounds. We are so happy you decided to grow! I was beginning to think I would have to call you “my little peanut” forever. You now have a new nickname. I like to refer to you as my “little bird”. You open your mouth so cute when you are anxious to nurse. You look just like a little bird opening its mouth waiting for its mother to spit regurgitated food. Yummy.
You are in the stage where you are deciding whether or not you want to learn how to crawl. You rock back and forth on you hands and knees, talking. I’m sure in your secret Hannah language, you are either giving yourself a pep talk, or discussing the pros and cons of becoming more mobile. Usually, you can’t decide if you should put one knee in front of the other. So in the mean time, you sit and think about it. Then you get back on your hands and knees and stick your butt up in the air. This makes you so happy; you can’t help but grin as you show off your butt. You eventually push yourself backwards around the whole room. You are now the official mop. I would classify myself as a pretty clean person and am quite particular about keeping our house clean. I think I do a good job at keeping a clean house, but you seem to find dust, dirt, bugs, and dog hair anywhere and everywhere!
You love your new found freedom of pushing yourself backwards all over the house. You try to get to the floor any way you can. When we hold you, you push, squirm and bend in half, willing to fall to the floor, just to get down so you can “mop the floor” for us. Your dad and I have to be pretty entertaining for you to stay in our arms. You love it when we help you walk. You smile and laugh like you are really something cute. Which, of course, you are!
Often times, you wake up and use a loud authoritative voice. I like to call this, “your voice of authority”. You wake up, and very loudly and confidently talk about whatever. If I try to talk to you, you just talk louder until you are finished. You let us know you are finished talking by smiling. I’m sure whatever you have to say is VERY important. I just wish I spoke “Hannah”. You have also decided it is your job to be the loudest person in the family. The dogs are not allowed to bark louder than you can squeal and talk (well, sometimes it sounds like you are yelling. . . but anyway) and the vacuum certainly is NOT allowed to be louder than you! Most children are afraid of the big, bad, loud vacuum, but not you! When the vacuum is turned on, you turn up your own voice volume. You speak in your authoritative voice to tell the vacuum who is boss. Don’t worry, you are LOUDER than the vacuum. I didn’t think that was possible.
“Teeth check!” is what you wish you could say. Instead of talking, you grab my finger, stick it in your mouth to feel your gums, and then I proclaim, “Sorry Honey, no teeth yet!” This activity repeats itself a few times during the day. I promise though, when we do a “teeth check” and you actually have teeth, I’m sure you will use them on my finger and I will be the first to know. Then I will call everyone we know. Don’t you worry!
You are intrigued with my long hair. Mostly because I always have it back in a pony tail. One day you will understand why moms with small babies wear their hair back. On the few occasions (and I mean very few) my hair is down and not in a pony tail, you look at me like you just won the baby toy jackpot. All ten of your fingers make their way to my long dark curly hair. Surprisingly, you are very gentle with my hair. You like the way it bounces and the way it feels between your fingers. I can’t say the same. . .
You are not as gentle on our faces, or with dad’s glasses. You are quite aggressive actually. Something I find particularly funny is you DO NOT like your dad’s chest hair. In fact, you have made it your personal mission to pull out all twenty of his hairs individually with your tweezerman fingers. I’m glad I’m not your dad!
Disneyland exists on
You rode in a stroller for the first time last week. You loved it so much, you literally squealed at everyone that asked you how you were doing. I’m so glad you are easy to please. You are just a doll, and everyone around you is taken in by your charm. We’re so glad you are in our family!
read comments (0)Yes, He Said These
Author: Emily
David, my handsome husband, is quite proud of the fact that he can speak “woman” fluently. I do admit he is almost fluent. Every so often he will speak “man” intermittently with me. I thought I would share some of his comments that probably could have been worded a little differently.
“You are lactating, and nursing women have a higher metabolic rate. Therefore, your body is producing more heat right now than when you are not nursing. Also, you are carrying more weight which insulates your body making you hot.”
-David trying to explain why I am so hot all the time
“I think you are a better mother than you are a wife”
-David sincerely complimenting me on being a mother
“I think I will take down your ‘Musings’ page on the website. You haven’t posted anything in a while”
-David trying to motivate me to write more often
Mom Needs the News, Dad Needs to Snooze!
Author: Emily
It actually happened…my parents came to visit us on Saba! David, Hannah and I waited patiently at the airport for over an hour for their flight to come. We waited with “baited breath and whispering humbleness” as my Dad would say. Mom was the first one off the tiny plane, Dad followed after several other people deplaned. I wondered why they weren’t sitting next to each other. After all, the landing is almost like a death wish, so I thought they would want to be next to each other if the plane didn’t make it. Dad later explained that he and my mom were sitting next to each other, but the pilot asked him to move up to the front to balance out the plane. Apparently his weight was needed in another area of the plane! Ha Ha! I shouldn’t laugh, but I am because Dad was laughing!
Saba is a wonderful place to relax and visit. That is just what we did. Mom and Dad both enjoyed watching the sunrise every morning. We drank hot chocolate and sat on our patio that overlooks five different countries with our morning breath and bed head. Pa even showcased his style when he wore his blue plaid lounge pants and a blue plaid shirt. The plaids of course didn’t match, so I had to take a photo just for my sister Charmain. She constantly teases my Dad about wearing plaid on plaid. Interestingly enough, you can do that on Saba and no one thinks twice about what you are wearing.
I was “tour guide Barbie” for the parents. They saw ALL five square miles of Saba. It took us three hours to travel from one end of the island to the other and back. Of course, we stopped several places along the way. When we finally returned home after our three hour jaunt, both Mom and Dad said, “I can’t believe this island is only five square miles. Are you sure they measured correctly? Maybe the footprint is five miles, but it is five miles up and down too!”
We saw several different places: The Bottom, the Medical School, Fort Bay, the gas station, the hospital, St. Johns, Windwardside, The Level, Booby Hill, the soccer field, grocery stores, the cemetery, “the property” (on Booby Hill), Hells Gate, Cove Bay, and the airport. Mom and Dad were fascinated by a cashew tree. We took some photos of it. After seeing the island, we had a lot of time to talk and hang out. During this time, I learned a couple of things about my parents….
First off, Hannah is a baby. She needs LOTS of sleep. In fact, sleeping is one of her favorite things to do. She will go right down for a nap without a fuss. She looks forward to her naps. Dad was starting to feel that Hannah’s naps were getting in the way with their bonding time. He sometimes would complain that Hannah was always going down for a nap. This is the funny part…Dad is the nap king. He was always taking a nap! He would need a nap to wake up from his nap! I wasn’t really sure how Hannah’s naps were cramping his style, maybe it was all the napping he was doing that was cramping his own style!
Second, Mom is in love with the news! I really had no idea that anyone could be so glued to the news, CNN of all networks! She had to turn it on whenever she had a chance. I thought maybe since she was on vacation on “Planet Saba”, the news would feel a world away from her and she would have no desire to watch it. Not so! While enjoying CNN at our house, she decided that she needed to upgrade her cable at home so she could watch CNN everyday! I told her CNN stands for “Constant Negative News”. She didn’t buy it. What did I learn about my parents from this visit? Mom needs the news, and Dad needs to snooze!
Hannah was very excited everyday to have four adult admirers in her house. She smiled, talked, and laughed all week long. One night, my parents asked me if Hannah ever cried. I of course laughed and said YES! My Mom proceeded to tell me Hannah had not cried once all week. “Not once!” She kept saying. I am so glad Hannah was a perfect angel for them . . . but just for the record, she can really belt out a cry that will make you wish she would never cry again!
It was so wonderful to have my parents here. Now they know where I live, they have been here. I no longer live in some imaginary place in their minds. It was fun to show them the island I have learned to call home. They were really impressed with the island and the people. They had a wonderful time. We hope they come back!
Dear Hannah, Newsletter #1
Author: Emily
Dear Hannah,
You are 7 1/2 months old as I write this letter. You are growing up so fast! I wish I could stop time and let you be a newborn baby a little longer. Your dad and I have enjoyed you every minute since you joined our family. Everyday you get cuter and smarter. This letter is the first of many that will document your development, experiences and our feelings.
Your hair has gone from almost black to light brown, and now it’s turning blond. If you didn’t look so much like your daddy, people might think you came from the milk man! This past Sunday, your dad gelled up your hair and you both had the same hairdo! You LOVE everyone. You have no concept of “stranger danger”. You will happily go to anyone without question. Your dad and I don’t get to hold you very much at church because everyone else wants to hold you. You have a unique talent for making everyone feel like they are your favorite. You love to study people’s faces and you have a very fast and strong grip when it comes to grabbing necklaces and glasses.
You are learning how to communicate with us. We secretly think you speak English. We’re almost positive you are waiting until a later date to debut your speaking skills. In lieu of talking, you have chosen to grunt, laugh, squeal and cough to get our attention. I have to admit, the fake cough is pretty clever. You will have a full conversation with us by grunting. You grunt, then we grunt copying you, then you grunt, then we grunt. This goes on far longer than it should, but in the end we both feel understood. We love the fake laugh. We’re not really sure how or why you learned it, but none the less it is dang cute. You are clever enough to think we actually believe your fake laugh is real, and we are clever enough to let you believe that.
In the past few days you have discovered that your tongue helps you concentrate. The harder you focus on something, the longer your tongue gets. It is adorable. In fact, we think you are the cutest baby that was ever born. We love to take your picture and you love to be photographed! To date, we have over 1,300 photos of you! You smile and squeal for the camera, you are the perfect baby to photograph.
About a month ago you decided you no longer wanted to be wrapped up like a burrito when going to sleep. Instead of telling us in English (which we know you can speak), you decided a more dramatic approach would work best to get your point across. One night, while putting you to bed, you screamed and screamed for no apparent reason. After we spent what seemed like hours troubleshooting the problem, we unwrapped you. You smiled and cooed and went right to sleep immediately. You are enjoying your new found freedom, sprawling your body all over the bed. When you are put down for a nap you must try out every sleeping position before choosing one. We know you have had a good nap when you wake up backwards and on your belly facing the wall.
We have started teaching you American Sign Language. You seem to understand what we are saying, you are just not signing back yet. Again, we are pretty sure you know how to sign, you are just waiting for the right time to debut your bilingual skills. You have started to mimic us. You don’t wave or clap yet, but you have tricks way more exciting than that. You will scrunch up your nose and breath through it really fast while smiling. It is a lot cuter in person than the way it sounds on paper. You and your dad have a nose scrunching contest everyday. Don’t worry, you always win!
You are constantly happy. You will smile and laugh even when rubbing your eyes and yawning. You must have read the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” while you were in heaven because you sure know how to wrap everyone around your little finger! You have recently learned the concept, “you can win more bees with honey than with vinegar”. We will put you down to sleep, and then we will leave the room assuming you will nod off any minute. Sometimes after we leave, you will decide that sleeping really isn’t what you want to do. Instead of crying like most babies would, you squeal, laugh, and talk to yourself. If you think we haven’t noticed you, you turn up the volume adding a few fake laughs and more squeals. Inevitably, this charming personality of yours entices both your mom and your dad enough to run into the room to see your happy smiling face. You of course win again. You are already a little flirt. We are going to keep an extra watchful eye on you! When you decide you are ready to go to sleep, you moan yourself to sleep. It is very cute. It puts me to sleep, but not your dad!
You love to inspect everything, especially anything that has a tag. You LOVE tags. You are very particular about what actually goes into your mouth. Items will only enter your mouth after careful inspection and much consideration. You definitely discriminate as well, not everything is mouth worthy. Some things just do not make the cut! You study everything and everyone around you. You always find the smallest things. Leave it to you to find a piece of thread, lint or dog hair. We know you are smart. You are very interested in other little kids and babies. We have to watch you because you love to grab other babies’ faces, arms, and ears!
Nursing is one of your favorite pastimes. You love to nurse and when you are hungry you will pull at anyone’s shirt hoping for a meal. You are obsessed with knowing the whereabouts of your dad. You have to know where he is all the time. When you are nursing, you will stop and look around for him. When you see him, you will smile and grunt to get his attention. If he doesn’t respond, you will grunt louder until he smiles at you and says, “hi Hannah!” This of course makes your day and you flash him your million dollar smile. You can then resume nursing for a few more minutes until you start to wonder where you dad is and then the whole process starts over again. We call you our “little social eater”. You like to hum in between sucks when you are nursing as well. This is makes it an interesting experience for both of us. You also like to kick or twist your feet around. Maybe nursing is more fun when you are active.
Speaking of your dad, I like to refer to him as “dessert”. Because that is exactly what he is to you! You get to hang out with me all day, and when daddy comes home you squeal with excitement. He, of course, roughs you up, teases and tickles you, and then passes you off to me. I’m pretty boring compared to him. You think everything he does and says is funny. You LOVE it when he rubs his scruffy beard across your hands and feet. You are very strong and you love to stand up in your dad’s hands. Doing this will put a smile on your face and sometimes you will do the “scrunch your nose” trick at the same time. You wave your arms around and squeal in delight, you are just TOO CUTE! You and daddy dance and sing together. Nothing makes you happier.
You have no teeth yet. All your baby friends have two or more teeth than you. Don’t worry, that doesn’t seem to bother you. You just keep flashing your million dollar gum smile to everyone. You are definitely a talker. Maybe you don’t have any teeth to show your friends, but you sure do have a lot to say to them! When you are talking you will go on, and on, and on (sometimes about nothing we think). However, if anyone interrupts you, you will talk louder and louder until you are finished.
I took you swimming for the first time a couple days ago. You loved it! I thought you would since you love splashing around in the bath. The water was a little cold, but that didn’t seem to bother you. You smiled, squealed and laughed as you shivered in the cold water. I dunked you under the water and you came up with a look of, “what was that for?” You splashed and had a great time.
Grandma and Grandpa Probst visited us on