the baby whisperer

We've been having high chair fights with Miss Hannah for about two weeks. We've been lucky if we can get 3/4ths a jar of baby food in her during meal times, but she'll always eat cottage cheese. Some solids we've given her have stuck in her mouth and made her gag... and that's no good either. We've been scratching our heads with what to do.

Last night we'd arranged for Hannah to stay at our friend Amy's house while we were busy with a fundraising event. This was her first time away from us... other than frequent fun times with Nana and Grandpa. I dropped her off and watched her play surrounded by attentive kiddos until she was comfortable, and I slipped away. It was hard... but I knew that she would have a lot of fun and be well taken care of in experienced hands.

When we picked her up at nearly midnight, Amy told us things about our baby that were shocking. So shocking that I said, "Who is this baby you are speaking of... and what have you done with our daughter?" Amy described a baby that was a little pig. She ate so much that she pooped twice. WHAT??? The Hannah we know often refuses the spoon and poops just once every other day. Apparently... Amy is the baby whisperer. She needs her own TV show like Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer. We learned that Hannah has decided that she's not a baby anymore. She wants real food, nothing pureed... and would rather not have things fed to her on a spoon. She wants to do it all herself. She ate whole wheat toast with butter, diced peeled grapes, Havarti cheese, pancakes with maple syrup, and a whole long list of things I can't remember. She pointed at everyone's glasses and wanted to drink from a cup, so she was given a Dixie cup that all of the kids helped her drink out of.

Hannah's changing and learning so much right now. The reaching for our glasses just started about two weeks ago. She's pointing at things all the time, and we're working on naming everything she points at. She's not using words with us yet, but she mimics our sounds sometimes.

Next thing ya know... she'll be asking for the keys to the car.