catching up

Two major things have happened with Hannah Grace over the last two weeks:

1. She has been consistently sleeping all night and waking up around 7:15. I realize most nine month old babies have mastered this, but Hannah Grace held tight to her 5AM 'bottle'. I'm not much of an advocate of crying-it-out, so I never tried to force her off this feeding. This was mostly because she would down the formula in a few minutes and immediately fall back asleep, so it wasn't like she would drink half and then want to play. I believe she truly was hungry. Anyway, I'm happy to say that she has been sleeping through that feeding, and I am waking up feeling much more refreshed!

2. Speaking of formula, Hannah Grace is FINALLY on whole milk. Again, this is something most twelve to thirteen month olds have accomplished, but Hannah Grace did not like the taste of milk for such a long time. I started and stopped the 'weaning' process several times, but it never went anywhere. Finally last week I bought a half gallon of milk and began mixing (half and half) with the formula. From there I gradually decreased the amount of formula until a few mornings ago, and I gave her straight milk. She drank it right up and hasn't been on formula since!

As for me, I've begun to freeze a few meals, including breakfast burritos, calzones, and white bean chicken chili. While I originally planned on these (well, the chili and calzones) to serve as dinners on nights I didn't feel like cooking, I may use them for my lunches, too. I don't know why I ever thought freezing meals was so difficult-- it really isn't!

We've had a nice weekend. I needed to run a few errands yesterday and asked John if he wanted to join me. He said yes, and we made plans to just have a quick lunch at Sam's before we picked up a few items. However once we got to the Sam's parking lot, he asked if I'd rather go to Cheddar's. Yes. Yes I would. It was nearing noon, and Hannah Grace hadn't had a nap yet, so I was a little nervous she would be really fussy, but she did great! I think letting her just sit with us in the booth (rather than put her in a high chair) made her much happier, and I don't really blame her. Those chairs don't appear to be very comfortable. Anyway, our lunch was delicious-- John had a huge chicken tender plate, and I had grilled Cajun catfish, served with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes. Hannah Grace just ate off our plates :) We both got water, so after a tip we paid right at $20, which was great, considering John still had food leftover!

After Sam's we went to Big Lots where I got a few cleaning products, and then we came home. We watched MTSU play their homecoming game and just had a nice quiet evening. Today was similarly laid back-- church, lunch, Titans game, cleaning, John mowed, and a simple dinner.