Seven Month Anne-iversary



Yep, she's a drooler!

The stats:  My doctor says I weigh just over 18.5 lbs, which puts me in the 80th percentile.  They swear I feel even heavier, though.  It must be because I'm into trying to dive out of my mom and dad's arms all the time and/or shove things into my mouth with all my strength.

Best friends: My Grandma and Nana.  They have started taking care of me through the week, now that Mom is back to school.  I thought I'd scare them a little first, to keep things interesting, by crying when they held me or trying not to look at them while still in my mommy's arms.  But when push came to shove, I couldn't terrorize them too much.  They are great!  Instead I of crying I just laugh and laugh when they're around.  And sometimes I try to eat their glasses.

Enemies:  Naperville Central High School, the East Aurora School District, and Little Shepherd Day School.  Why does everyone get to go to school but me?

Favorite place:  Everywhere.  Seriously.  I am a very happy girl.

Things I like: Talking!  I can't say real words yet, just "mamamamama" (my mom likes to think I'm calling her name) and "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHKKKK" (my grandma thinks I'm calling the dog).  I know this is all baby babble still, but I've got to start warming up the ol' vocal chords.  It's going to be hard to get a word in edgewise.

Things I don't like:  Things I can't reach or eat.  I'm trying to figure out this crawling thing--I mostly scoot on my tummy and reach my arms out as far as I can--but there are always tasty looking things that I can't quite grasp onto.  Like blades of grass.  Or my brother's magnetic letters.  Or the dog's ears.  Or the remote.  Why won't they ever let me eat the remote??? 

Major accomplishments:  Eating more food (sometimes I'll swallow the cereal or some baby purees), babbling, playing with lots of toys on the floor, being generally cute and smiley and accommodating.





Mark and Anne of Fridays: The Beach

 

We're a little bit behind here in the Hanley house--summer is over and we're all back to school--but we thought we'd post some photos from our summer vacation to Myrtle Beach.  We had a great time!

Mark really enjoyed seeing, playing in, and talking about the ocean (ad nauseum).  Lynne and Matt enjoyed seeing the ocean through the eyes of a child.

And Anne? ... She was just as happy near the ocean as anywhere else (which is pretty darn happy).

 

Mark and Anne of Fridays: Something Strange

 

Closely analyze the following picture of Mark and Anne, taken at random the other day.

 

What did you notice first?  That the boy is wearing a baseball glove in the house, or that he has also forgotten his pants?

Anne of Fridays: The look-alike game

Left: Anne, age 6 mo (pictured in stroller under dangling zebra... but her Pretty Girl Smile is surprisingly hard to capture)
Right:  Pap Seago, age 6 mo (pictured in strange sailor suit)

Is there a little similarity there??  Ohhh... I think there is!

Six Month Anne-iversary: Sitting Pretty

The stats:  I weigh 17.5 lbs, according to the scale at my Great Grandma's house.  No official weight yet, since back-to-school physicals have made my 6 month checkup a few weeks behind schedule.  But, things are looking up.  My grandma's have started saying I look "less chunky."  I'm not going to hold my breath.

Best friends: Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, mom, and brother.  I light up whenever I see them.  But much to my dad's chagrin, I am also fascinated with Jack, the dog.  I want to watch his every movement, even if that means arching my back like a crazy girl or wiggling out of my dad's arms to get a better look at him.  I also want to grab his fur, maybe even shove some of it into my mouth.  He looks so very interesting.  And tasty.

Enemies:  Hmmm.... none.  Well, maybe teething.

Favorite place:  Hmmm... everywhere?  I'm really pretty happy most of the time.

Things I like: Sitting up!  It's awesome!  Now I can see everything so much better, and there are so many more toys to play with.  I can even sit up in the bathtub now, which means I can splash with wild abandon.  It's awesome. 

Things I don't like: I'm not too crazy about eating in my high chair.  It's not like I cry or protest or anything--no need to be such a bother--I just keep my mounth wide open and let all the food drool out.  For a kid who shoves everything into her mouth, mom and dad marvel that I don't much care to put FOOD in there.

Major accomplishments:  I sit up, eat lots of different types of mashed-up food, made a 15 hour road trip to South Carolina without really crying in the car at all.  I have two teeth (both on bottom).  I have also effectively grown out of my baby car seat (I did a seat switch with my brother!), my Bumbo seat (chunky legs get stuck!), Baby Bjorn (we upgraded to a Hefty Baby model that shifts weight to mom's hips), and the baby tub.  Mom and dad can't wait to put some of that stuff on eBay!

Quotation Mark Mondays: I feel the need for speed.

"Dad, I am built for speed."
- Mark Hanley, prior to his first race

Mark competed in his first race last week, a 100-meter-dash in Geneva. It took him more than three minutes to run a relatively short distance. But there's actually a pretty good reason.
Prior to the race, Matt tried to explain to Mark how it might work. Matt gave him the basics: you'll all line up, the man will say go and then you run all the way to the finish line.
Matt added in that he might have to run in a certain lane and he should be careful to stay in the lane so he doesn't crash into other runners. Mark had some questions about this lane issue (mainly, 'What is a lane?') and then seemed ready to run.
Mark was super excited for the race. He lined up in the second row and stared down at the finish line.
Matt saw the start of the race (pictured below) where Mark took off with his super speed and a look of grim determination. There was about 40 kids in the race, all heading to a big red arch, that covered about half the finish line. Matt lost track of Mark near the end but he seemed to be doing pretty well. Matt headed to the finish line, but Mark was nowhere to be found. There were dozens of kids and Matt searched everywhere. Matt started to feel that panic of a missing a child. Did he wander off? Was he hurt?
Nope, nope.
Mark wasn't lost.
He was still on the track, running.
Sort of.
Because the finish line arch didn't cover all the lanes, the organizers had placed cones in the other four lanes to funnel the kids toward the arch. So when Mark was about 87 meters through the race, he came up to the cone.
And then he stopped.
To be fair, his legs and arms kept moving, like a video game character that has hit a wall, but continues to run. Mark just ran in place, right in front of this cone.
Why? Well, he later explained that his dad told him to stay in his lane. But this cone was in his way. So he just stayed in his lane, awaiting further instruction. Once, Lynne and Matt found him, they pointed Mark to the finish line and he ran through.
He's a great kid.

Mark of Fridays: At the home of Benjamin Harrison

Well, Matt insisted that the family make an important stop on the way to South Carolina: at the home of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the United States. A perfect place for kids. Here's Mark thinking about how lucky he is to have a dad with such great taste in pit stops.

Not every kid gets to visit Benjamin Harrison and Rutherford B. Hayes' house in one year!