Halloween

A baby's first Halloween is all about the parents. I mean, the baby isn't aware of what is going on, can't eat candy and probably hates being put in costumes. That being said -- I was very excited about Halloween. Unfortunately, GE had other plans for John. He was in Greenville, South Carolina the whole week of Halloween. It was the first time he was away for so long.

We went to a church Halloween get-together the Sunday before Halloween. Then, on October 31, Jason and Betsy invited me and Harper to come to their house for dinner and trick-or-treating.

It has turned into an unplanned tradition -- carving pumpkins with Keri and Ricky. Next year at this time THEY WILL BE MARRIED!

We let Harper play with the pumpkin innards -- and she loved it.

Eating her nom-noms.

At the church Halloween get together.

With her cousin, Hadley on Halloween.

Hayden, Hadley and Harper.

Harper loved playing with her cousins -- Hadley and Hayden will tell you that Harper is very loud AND that she accidentally poked Hayden in the eye. After dinner, we took pictures and then Harper and I went home. I was worried about no one being home for trick-or-treaters. My mom was sweet to come stay the night with us and help with all 12 of our trick-or-treaters. We missed John, but we were able to Facetime with him.

Beach trip!

We wanted to take Harper to the beach this summer, but we were worried that she might be too young and it might be too warm. So, we decided to take her to the beach in October. Now, where to go? We decided to take her to Panama City Beach because that is where I used to go when I was a child. My parents owned a condo at Edgewater Beach Resort....that is where I learned to dive. I remember a college student asking my Big Mama to dance at the Palapa. We used to buy the big, chewy Sweetarts at the giftshop, and spend lots of money at the arcade. We always ate at Sweet Basil's, and got salt water taffy from The Candy Basket. It just felt right to take Harper (and John).

My parents came along with us. It was such a special trip. Panama City has changed so much from when I was 14. That's when my parents sold our condo and bought a place in Destin.

The weather was gorgeous and Harper, as usual, was an angel. She slept a lot and my parents looked after her, so John and I were given a good bit of beach time. Harper loved the sand. She enjoyed the ocean water -- not the pool water. 

Did I mention that John and I got sick at the beach?! Who does that? I haven't had a cold in over a year. It was a bit disappointing -- but if you have to be sick, be sick at the beach. Luckily, Harper didn't catch it -- maybe just a  slight runny nose.

We ate lunch at what used to be the Palapa, but is now called Ocean's.

  I think that my parents are hysterical...and OH SO cute! I was taking pictures with the condo in the background and I said I wanted one from the other side....haha.

After dinner at Captain Andrew's, we walked around the dock and looked at boats.

Harper had a great time with Nana and Popi.

On our last morning there, John took Harper up to the 12th floor and took a picture.

In case you were wondering, yes, Harper had a different swimsuit for each day. Actually, she had more that she didn't get to wear and some that we didn't capture with the camera. I certainly over packed for her, but I had several months to get precious outfits for the beach. She has so many outfits that she never got to wear. Solution? We will just have to have another girl. Clearly we want a boy, too....but another girl is a must.

A Beautiful Sunday

 Harper was baptized on Sunday, October 14. It was a very special time for us. Add to that our friends and family who joined us for the occasion. It was such a special day. John grew up in the Baptist church, but he joined the Methodist church several years ago. He was baptized by the same man who married us, Dr. Sam Matthews. Dr. Sam also baptized Harper. It was wonderful

It was Children's Day at church, so the ministers didn't wear their robes. Harper did a great job.

Here is Harper in her dress. John's Aunt Janice made the bonnet for Harper. She also made the most precious bib.

This was during the prayer after she was baptized. I couldn't help looking at her and smiling.

After the baptism, we had all of our friends and family over for lunch -- we catered Williamson Bros. BBQ. Everything was perfect -- many thanks to Ricky and Keri for all of their help.

After everyone left, we put Harper down for a nap and John and I rested a bit. Once Harper woke up, we picked up Keri and headed to the pumpkin patch. I was used to going to Burt's Pumpkin Patch, but that was just too long of a drive for us at the moment. 

Here I am with Harper in the "petting zoo" area.

She is just the sweetest.

Both mesmerized by the object before them.

Now we have a few days before we leave FOR THE BEACH! I am so excited. I have been waiting for this all summer. We waited because we wanted Harper to be a little older, and for it not to be so hot. It is perfect now since she is also sitting up. My parents will be joining us. I have had precious outfits and swimsuits waiting for our trip.

ALSO -- we have scheduled our first night away from Harper. When John brought the idea to me, I immediately started crying. What if someone can't calm Harper like I can? What if she NEEDS us? He reassured me that one night away will be fine. We are going to a friend's wedding in Nashville in early November.

6 months!

Harper is 6 months (and 1 week) old! She did so well at her doctor's appointment. She is 19 lbs 6 oz and 28 inches long. She is in the 95 percentile for height and 90 percentile for weight. Our daughter is definitely proportional.

She screamed -- I mean screamed during her shots. Once I picked her up, she was fine. She just glared at the nurse.

Harper now rolls from back to belly and belly to back. I was so happy that John was able to witness her rolling from belly to back for the first time. It was such a special moment. She can also sit up -- well, until she falls over. She is doing so well.

Harper now eats: apples, pears, prunes, bananas, green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocados, yellow squash and butternut squash. I have made all of if except for the prunes.

 Harper is just the sweetest baby. She smiles all the time. Well, I take that back .We went to Walker's homecoming game and Harper never cracked a smile. That was probably because we woke her up from her nap to go to the game. Oops.

Now for you to see our favorite of Harper's faces. This is her "I am frustrated, let me do what I want" face. Our girl is independent and feisty...as independent a 6 month old can be.

Photo Catch-up

 Spencer came to visit and have dinner with us one night. Aside from the newly groomed hair and the button-up shirt that fits :), he is the same ol' Spencer. There must be something about those Smith men...Harper was equally mesmerized by Spencer's dad, David.

This is from our visit to Macon a couple of weeks ago. Donna (John's mom) was teaching me how to sew. We also made an applique. She is such a great teacher. She was so patient with me, but she also made me practice. I can't wait to have another "Sewing with Donna" lesson soon.

 Harper loves her daddy. These two are my heart on the outside of my body. She loves going to Lowe's with her daddy. They both get a lot of attention.

What's in a name?

We found out we were pregnant on July 21, 2011. Almost instantly we started thinking of baby names. We honestly had more boy names that we liked. We actually had a boy's name picked out -- Mason Richard Clark. (Funny enough -- John's oldest sister Erin had a baby boy and named him Mason. Neither of us had talked to each other about it.) So, on October 23, when we found out we were having a girl, we didn't know where to start. John has always known that I like older, classic names, but I have also loved the name Harper for a long time. I remember when Victoria Beckham named her daughter Harper, I was crushed. I didn't want our daughter's name to be extremely popular. I looked at the most popular baby names list and made sure it wasn't in the top 10. I love the idea of  using family names. I want the name to mean sometime. No, I don't mean that actual meaning of the name as in "strong heart" or "warrior," although that is pretty interesting. We wanted to use the name of people special to us...who we would want our daughter to emulate. Fortunately for us, our families' had a name in common. Evelyn. John's paternal grandmother's name was Evelyn Hansard Clark. My paternal grandmother's name was Christine Evelyn Beck Perry. These also happen to be the only great-grandmother's that are no longer with us. And so it was...Harper Evelyn.

John and I wish so badly that Harper could know these great-grandmothers. I often get choked up because I know my Big Mama would be over the moon with Harper and I want to share this experience with her. My Big Mama passed away 2 years and 2 days before Harper was born. We like to believe that our grandmothers and grandfathers in Heaven were able to meet Harper before we did. I like to imagine Evelyn and John Clark Sr. and Christine and Richard Perry Sr. passing around sweet baby Harper.

Christine Evelyn Beck Perry and Richard Lewis Perry, Sr

John Dawson Clark, Sr. and Evelyn Hansard Clark

Playing Catch-up

We have been pretty busy here. Two weekends ago we had a Morris Family Reunion (my maternal grandmother's family) and Hadley's 5th birthday party. Last weekend, we went to Macon to visit John's parents and stay in their new house. This upcoming weekend is my high school's homecoming, the next weekend Harper is getting baptized and the next weekend we are going to the beach. YAY! September and October are such fun months. The weather is changing. I am baking pumpkin bread and watching the leaves change colors. John's birthday is in September and mine is in October.

Updates on Harper: she is such a funny baby. I adore her facial expressions. I can tell that she will have a fabulous sense of humor. She laughs a lot -- loves getting tickled by her daddy. She is eating more fruits and vegetables -- so far she has eaten avocado, banana, pear, prunes, sweet potato, carrots, peas, rice cereal, oatmeal and yellow squash. She loves the fruit. That will change, I am sure. I am looking forward to getting more direction (how often to feed her, what to feed her, etc.) tomorrow at her 6 month check-up. We also put Harper in her high-chair to eat now. She is growing so quickly!

 Here is Harper playing on the rug in the kitchen. As soon as she starts crawling, the dogs are going to think she is their new toy.

 We took Harper to the pool again. This time John did not have a cast. She seems to really like water.

 OK -- I know this pictures is blurry, but I wanted you to see my favorite new face that Harper makes. She crinkles up her face and breathes heavily through her nose. It is so funny.

 While taking pictures for John's birthday gift from Harper, Jackson did a run-by licking.

We are all doing very well. I have contacted a mom's group and should be meeting up with them this week. John has a new role at GE and will be a requisition manager starting later this month.