More cousins!

Colton


Emma (left) and Sebastian (right)


Welcome to Colton Quentin Thell and to twins Emma Leanne and Sebastian Joseph Bertsch!

Colton was born at 8:25am, November 20th to Emily Trudeau and Justin Thell. He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 20 1/2 inches long

Bethany and Steven Bertsch received their twins the day after Christmas.
Emma was born at 12:12pm, December 26th, and weighed 5lbs 1oz.
Sebastian was born at 12:13pm, December 26th, and weighed 5lbs 4oz.

2008 has seen a bumper crop of babies!
Ivy Jane Tierney, born June 6
Nesiah Kiri Nelson, born July 25th
Aria Grace Walburn, born August 13th
Sula Marie Hines, born September 12th

Pickles & Bananas

Hannah loves pickles. Who knew? Not us... until yesterday. We wanted to see her make that funny sour face. About a minute later we could barely pry the pickle remains from her kung-fu grip.

In other headline news... I've tried to get Hannah to eat bananas for a couple of months. Mashed, mixed, or chunks of different sizes (to feed herself) didn't seem to be her thing. I tried again today - same reaction. Later on Dan gave it a try. It worked - she loved it! Here's his ingenious technique: peel banana, take a bite, then present it to the baby. He's like the Fonz for babies.

First kiss

Hannah's mama and I were treated to some noteworthy firsts these past few days. On Christmas day, during Hannah's evening meal she looked right at me and clearly and emphatically said "DUM!" She then returned to actively dodging spoonfuls of squash.

The next day, we were enjoying some family cuddle time when Hannah sweetened the deal by giving each of us a kiss. This was Hannah's first such act of love and appreciation. And it was also memorable for its uniqueness: she opened her mouth wide, planted it on a cheek or chin and licked the recipient a couple of times.

Reunions, New Friends

The holiday season is also remarkable for the reunions of friends and family under joyous circumstances. In my adult life, I have appreciated this very aspect of it. And now, it's afforded Hannah the opportunity to meet some of my long-time friends.

Corbin and Hsin-Lun paid a visit yesterday and gave Hannah some very generous gifts. Corbin was intent on making a positive first impression. I believe I would be quoting him correctly when he said "I want Hannah to associate me with fun."


Later he offered to feed Hannah again saying "I want her to associate me with nourishment."


When Hsin-Lun noted that this left her in the cold, Corbin noted that if she plays her cards right "Hannah would associate Hsin-Lun with Corbin," which would be a good thing, indeed.



In all, Hsin-Lun and Corbin made a great first impression. Hannah had a great time and got a fun new toy with which to remember it.

Merry Christmas

I have very fond memories of my childhood Christmas experiences. My parents always indulged in the holiday and, it seems, the weather always obliged to make a winter wonderland in St. Paul. So I was truly gratified that Hannah has experienced a white Christmas. She was able to see many members of her extended family and we've had a festive, fun-filled 24 hours.

Hannah's first attempt at unwrapping presents tastes great.

Hannah is surprised that there's fun stuff underneath all the pretty wrapping paper.

Shocking. Truly.

Hannah and Grandma Eidsmoe check out Hannah's pile of gifts.

Solstice

Hannah's nearly 10 months now and she's collected a few milestones in her life rather recently.

She has a new first cousin - Colton, who was born just before Thanksgiving.

She has been crawling for a while now - maybe 6-8 weeks, but it's a funny army crawl. Ada Tierney did the same thing, so says her dad, Chris. And he described Ada's crawl as a "wounded army soldier." I think that is a fitting description.

And now, Hannah is starting to pull herself up on furniture and shuffle her feet a bit. Here's some charming evidence from Ada's 3rd Birthday, which happened on the day this entry was posted.

Big girl

At Hannah's 9 month check up, she measured 2' 6" long, which ranks in the 99 percentile for all girls her age. Whoa! This is remarkable too because Hannah was such a peanut when she was born almost a month early. Way to grow Hannah!



This is a picture of Hannah at that time. Alas, I wish I had abetter object to mark the scale than the exersaucer. She's geared up in a harness for her bungee baby bouncer. She loved that contraption. And she became quite proficient at bouncing. We haven't been able to use it since Thanksgiving, when we decided she had become too big for it.

Tip Top

Back in mid-October, we took our first family vacation. We went away to "Tip Top Resort", which is in Pequot Lakes, MN. We has a lovely 3 day getaway and managed to witness the peak of the fall colors in the Pequot Lakes.



Hannah had a great time observing the vibrant colors and the Northwoods forested setting.

'ssup cuz?

Sweet ring, huh?

Just ducky

Fall is here and Hannah is doing well. She caught a mild cold last week and she recovered quickly. She is teething again. This causes her some distress, but she is managing the pain well.
This picture is too darling to pass up. She loved her duck towel! More importantly, she really enjoys the bath. She kicks and splashes and enjoys chewing on her bath toys.

Pretty Cool

Hannah is now (just barely) big enough to wear her own shades. That's pretty cool.

Bananas are OK with cereal

Hannah's adventures in eating continue to unfold. She's actually quite fond of bananas when they are mashed into rice cereal, a semi-solid food staple for her. She's tried some winter squash too and enjoys it a lot. I personally can't wait until she graduates to sushi.

6 months

It's surprising to know that Hannah was born six months ago. Time has passed so quickly! She was a tiny thing when she was born. Most of her measurements were in the 10th percentile for full term (i.e., 9 month gestation) girls. She's grown a lot though. Her measurements now rank in the 75th percentile. She's 26 & 3/4 inches long and weighs 17 pounds and 2 ounces. She's actually a pretty long baby - on that statistic alone she is in the 85th percentile.


Height and weight aside, she's developing a lot of capacities for independence: She's starting to sit up on her own; She likes to feed herself cereal; and she desperately wants to stand up and walk. Thankfully, she can't yet crawl. Although, I do look forward to her being mobile. We're also using signs when we speak to her. Hopefully she'll begin to use them to communicate.

Breakthrough!

At least one of Hannah's teeth is emerging, possibly two. We think she's pretty proud of them. But they're like little razors. Mama beware!

Rice? yes. Applesauce? No!

Last Sunday, Hannah had her first meal of solid food. Perhaps I should say semi-solid. She sloppily ate rice cereal with much enthusiasm. She tried applesauce a few days later and didn't like it at all. I wish I had a camera to capture the look on her face. Her cheeks recoiled in disgust and she flashed a look across her face as if to say "why would you ever put that in a person's mouth? what's wrong with you?" I guess it was too sour.

Drool

There's lots of it now because Hannah is teething.
See exhibit 1.


She's still pretty cute despite being moist.
See exhibit 2.




Who knows how long it will be until the teeth break through? We can only wait.

In the meantime, she has taken an interest in adult food. She is particularly interested in my oatmeal. In the mornings, I like to eat my cereal while watching her play in her exersaucer. As of late, Hannah watches me eat my oatmeal. Of course, she is drooling all the while. I suppose this is good because oatmeal is not at all unlike baby food.

Nicknames

Hannah (han'ə):

n.
[Heb hannah, lit., graciousness]

a feminine name

-Syn. button, mugwump, aitch, the girl, sweet cheeks, the hannahmonster, palindrome, party pooper, muskie bait, drool bucket

First Day

Hannah started her first day of day care today. Sandy, a woman who lives about 3 blocks away and runs a daycare, is caring for Hannah. Sandy reminds me of Olga Trudeau, my grandmother, who also cared for me and taught me to play an assortment of card games. But enough about me...Four other girls attend Sandy's daycare and three of them live in our neighborhood. Sandy said that Hannah enjoyed watching these other girls during the course of the day

Sandy also created a log of Hannah's first day at daycare. I thought it was really sweet. Part of me thinks that Sandy prepared it to ease my discomfort of handing off Hannah for an entire day. Regardless of her motivation, I found the note touching and thought it was another milestone and a "first" worthy of recording in this blog.

4 months old

Hannah weighed in on June 30th at 14 lb 5 oz and 23 inches. She is a very sweet, happy girl and loves to laugh and socialize, but has been known to be a party pooper from time to time, literally speaking. She is not ashamed to drop a massive BM in even the most formal events. Hannah is still sleeping 10 - 12 hours a night. Around the 4th of July she seems to be teething.

3 months old

whose nose, whose eyes?

We're sure Hannah has inherited only our best traits, but whose traits went
where?




































Clockwise, from top-right: Hannah, Lise, Dan, Lise, Hannah, Dan

2 months old

It has been a busy month for Hannah and her parents. Hannah has been hard at work growing and marking some significant milestones. She now measures 11 pounds, 5 ounces and 23 inches long. In the last week of April, she made her first smile and now she has been smiling and laughing with some frequency -- though she seems to be shy in front of the camera. Hannah is also starting to
hold her head up on her own. Her days are still largely punctuated by eating and sleeping, but there are wonderful interactive moments and they seem to be taking place more often.

Seasons change

Spring has sprung. Hannah is taking her cues from nature and has been growing quickly. She also looks pretty cute in green.

We have no official measurements, but she's marked some significant milestones nonetheless. She has graduated from the newborn to a size 1 diaper. Likewise, newborn sized clothing is too snug, but Hannah fits comfortably into the clothing marked 0-3 months.

We're also learning more about Hannah's preferences. She likes warm baths, but becomes irritated with bright lights. She sleeps long hours during the morning, but prefers to be awake in the afternoon. She enjoys frequent outfit changes, but doesn't like to wear a hat. She prefers lying on her side and protests being slung over the shoulder.

She likes the pink nuk, but not the green one. She also likes it when you sing to her.

It's a pretty exciting and dynamic time!

Easter Bunny

Easter Sunday was a big, big day for Hannah. Our bundle of joy got to meet a lot of her relatives on both her mom's and dad's side. Hannah got dressed up for the big event in this too cute bunny outfit that Auntie Em's friend Amy (who was also a neighbor from the Grand Ave days) gave Hannah on her birthday. The bunny ears hat is still a little big for her, but Hannah is growing fast. She is now filling out her newborn sized outfits. Pretty soon they'll be too small!

This slide show documents Hannah's big day. Clicking on the slide show will take you to a different site where you can view the photos in a larger format ordownload them to your personal collection.

Being two weeks old means that you sleep a lot. We haven't measured how much, exactly, but the baby books tell us it's usually around 17 hours a day. Obviously it doesn't all happen in one or two long stretches, though Hannah's parents sometimes wish this was the case.


In between the eating and sleeping (and wardrobe changes) Hannah has moments when she is quiet and alert. Her eyes are open; she is curious. She will look around and focus on different objects, including your face. These moments have been some of the most rewarding for me and Hannah's family as they have afforded time when we can just "be together."

Hannah has also met the cats. Though neither party has taken a real interest yet. We're hopeful that in time Suva, Takato and Hannah become best pals (and that Takato really is g-rated).