July

I haven't done a great job of consistently posting on the blog. Good news: the reason for this is that we stay pretty busy and are having a blast. Harper turned 15 months on July 2. It felt like it rained FOR WEEKS. John and I ran the Peachtree Road Race. John's parents and sister, Meagin, and our nieces, Baylee and Madison, came to visit. Harper cracked a tooth. First trip to the dentist. Harper went on a boat ride on Lake Lanier with the Zavorski family. We co-hosted a wedding shower for Ricky and Keri. JULY HAS BEEN BUSY -- but a blast.

I did leave out some things, but we can start from the top. Harper is 15 months old. That is insane. She has added a few new words: daddy, mommy, and hot. (She also just started signing for "more." I did it one time to her and she picked it up. I am not going to do this anymore because she is pretty vocal/verbal and I don't want her to take a step back -- if that makes sense.) At her 15-month check-up, she got her Chicken Pox vaccine and her MMR. She is 33.5 inches long (off the charts -- we had a tall girl!) and 25 lbs 6 ounces. She has fallen into the 80th percentile for weight, which the doctor attributes to her being so tall. Her head circumference is still in the 75th percentile. She showed off for Dr. Gaines -- waving, talking, laughing -- it was like we had spent days rehearsing. She is doing great and is healthy. Harper did crack a tooth at the beginning of the month -- it is nothing major. Most people probably can't see it. We went to the most amazing pediatric dentist and everything is fine.

The Clarks (John's parents) and his sister, Meagin, and her two daughters, Baylee and Madison, came to stay with us for a night. The girls had fun playing -- making playdough, painting, coloring and watching it rain. a ton.  We had an Independence Day Lunch where John cooked ribs for the first time. They seemed to be a hit. My parents, Aunt Janice, Ricky and Keri also joined us.

The Clarks looked after Harper while John and I ran the Peachtree Road Race. It was a crazy morning and we basically started as soon as we got to the race (our wave had already started so we jumped in another group.) It was a lot of fun. We were so fortunate that it didn't rain on us. The threat of rain kept me from bringing my phone which tracks our time and pace. So, we just ran for fun. We finished just under 1 hour and 12 minutes. Not great, but we had a blast. Piedmont Park was so muddy from all of the rain. We got our shirts, some snacks and then rushed home to be with family. I haven't run with John in a long time and I loved it. I joked and said we were "sole mates." I want to run a big race with him. He is just the most encouraging and patient person.

John had a couple of days off for the holiday, so, despite the weather, we took Harper on a picnic. (LESSON: do not take your child for a picnic in a park that you primarily visit to feed the ducks. S/he will have NO interest in eating.) We had the park to ourselves. After spending a while trying to get Harper to eat (and taking turns chasing her and eating our food), we put the food away and found the ducks and played on the playground.

We also had fireworks going off for several days after the 4th of July. I tried to be patient -- but it's hard when you have dogs that go crazy barking and a child that doesn't respond well to loud blasts outside. We kept her awake a few nights to watch -- our neighbor gave us ear protection for her. Despite her face in the pictures, she really enjoyed the fireworks. 

We went to the lake to visit with a friend of mine from highschool. Rachel, and her husband, Jared, were in town from DC to celebrate Rachel's 28th birthday with her family. The Zavorskis live on Lake Lanier.

Also in July, Chickfila held Cow Appreciation Day. If you dress up like a cow, your meal is free. Our playgroup met up at Miss Mary's Music Time on Friday then caravan-ed to Chickfila. Aunt Janice was so sweet to make Harper's outfit. I bought the tank top and she did the rest. (I sent her an email late one night asking if, by chance, she had any cow fabric. She responded quickly with a YES! CALL ME! I found this hilarious. She has quite an extensive selection of fabric.)

Stephanni with Eva, me and H, Jillian and Caroline, Stacey & Brendon and Lhoris with William (and baby Michael!)

I will do a separate post about the wedding shower. It was great. I hear Harper waking up from her nap so I need to get her. Yup -- she just threw her paci at the monitor. I love that girl.

First Days of Summer

What does summer look like to you? Here is what our summer looks like....

playing in the sprinkler and water table

walking around the Square

Sweet Treats with Daddy

I'll share ice cream with you any day

...and the perfect day? That might have been today. Music class in the morning, where Harper showed off some new dance moves and tried to touch all of the babies. Lunch with friends from our playgroup. Daddy (John) taking a half day and coming home to take us to the Square. Walking around the Square and eating ice cream. I mean....perfection.

We plan to frequent Laurel Park, where 50-75 ducks (not geese) approached us yesterday before we had a chance to get near the pond. Eva and Harper loved feeding the ducks -- I mean, eating the bread. We plan to go back to the aquarium, where Harper loved seeing the animals and watching the people. We plan to go to a water park (yes...ack!) and play with our friends. I hope that everyone has a wonderful summer!

Harper looking at the Beluga Whales

just before the dolphin show-- which Harper loved (despite her face)

everyone has chores. :)

Sweet Summertime (14 months old)

SUMMER! I mean, it is probably technically Spring -- but it feels like summer. Harper and I like to stay active and be outdoors, so we love this weather. Ehh -- we love this weather in the shade.

Harper had a cold and a sinus infection a few weeks ago. I got sick and we were pretty much stuck in the house for 14 days straight. 14 days. Who wants to stay inside? It was no fun at all. Not only did we miss a dozen play dates, we just didn't feel inspired stuck inside the house. So, once everyone was feeling much better, we resumed our normal schedule. Play dates. Trips to the park. Playing outside all the time. Story time at the library. I am so thankful for my group of mommy friends. Not only does Harper love playing with their children, we always have great conversations and I always learn a lot. It is really important for kids this age to be social. Harper doesn't have to cling to me (except when I am cooking dinner -- during that time she NEEDS me) to feel safe. She says "hi" or "hey" to people in stores and at the park. And if you have a dog with you? Oh my -- Harper will love you and guilt you into stopping whatever it is you are doing to play with her.

So, what's new?

Food:
Harper loves fruit. That has never changed. She will still eat green beans and carrots, if I season them. She likes lots of flavor. I don't blame her. She will eat broccoli but only when I prepare it just like Ina Garten does. She only eats one puree a day, which is one of those pouches that has fruits and vegetables in it. She loves yogurt. She only drinks milk or water. No juice. I tried a little juice a couple of times, but she wasn't a big fan and I would rather her eat fruit than drink juice.

Development:
Oh, this child. She has been walking for over two months so she is very confident. She will walk up a single stair (like on our porch) and never break stride, slow down or use her hands. It was terrifying for me at first because I just knew she was going to fall. I was wrong. If she is going up multiple stairs and can reach the handrail, she will hold on and walk up the stairs. Going down the stairs? A different story.

She says several words, although John and I might be the only ones who understand a few of them. Dog. Jackson. Dada. Momma. Cat (she said at playgroup yesterday...what?) Hi. Hey. Yes. She is also very aware of what we are saying to her. If you tell her to do something (pick up the ball), she will pick it up. Everyday I say "let's go feed the dogs" and she RUNS to the backdoor, waits for me to open it, waits for me to hand her one of the dog bowls and then she races to the pantry (where we keep the dog food.) I open the container and she  uses the scoop to put food in the bowls. She doesn't get much food in there, so I clearly have to help her, but she LOVES this. She giggles while they eat. She climbs everything. The couch. The dogs. Chairs. Boxes. Ladders. Slides. She is always on the move. She likes to use a fork to eat, but we obviously have to help her put the food on the fork. Haha. I think our favorite thing she does when she wants some of what you are eating is she points and then opens her mouth really wide "ahhhh." She will also shake her finger at me when I tell her no. I have no idea where she learned that. :) She stacks blocks, puts toys away and likes to "read" books on her own. She does really well playing by herself. She doesn't need us there to entertain her. Basically, despite her "hangry" outbursts, days of teething and her strong desire to eat whatever is on MY plate, I'd say Harper is pretty awesome. We have our moments. It isn't easy, but I'd say that we are doing just fine.

she likes to draw on the chalkboard -- for about 30 seconds

post bath under counter playtime

first time eating watermelon. success.

heading to church

the Schaefers came over for dinner

a little sprinkler fun in the backyard

water table? I'd rather play with rocks, mom.

Playing Catch Up

So this is what happened -- she started walking. BAM! Life changed. We are now constantly moving. She started walking a little before 12 months. It was really exciting, and then it got scary. John and I had avoided baby proofing for as long as we could and then we had to give in and buy baby gates and cabinet locks. It has been really fun walking around the yard/neighborhood with her, and walking into stores together. You want to know what is really frightening, though? A very mobile child who has no fear.

Let's back up...we went on a cruise for my dad's 60th birthday. I don't have a lot of pictures (I still need to get them from Jason and Betsy), but I will share a few.

Keri in Aruba

Harper and me in Aruba (yes, it's Harper and me, not Harper and I)

Ricky loving on Harper while Keri does my hair :)

Harper, Uncle Philip and Hadley at dinner

they sang for my dad. Happy Birthday!

The cruise was a lot of fun. To be honest, I think being around my whole family for several days would be fun no matter where we were. I did get sea sick for the first couple of days. It was awful, and it has never happened to me before. This was my 8th cruise, so I knew something was different. I am wondering if this is something that changed about me after having a baby. If not, then I don't know what caused it.

Harper did well on the cruise -- ehh, she did the best she could. She doesn't sleep well in pack in plays, so each night was a bit of a nightmare. My parents took her for two nights, which was awesome. My mom has no problem sleeping with Harper in the bed. I am unable to sleep when Harper is right next to me. To all of you co-sleeping parents, more power to you. I.just.can't. She also had a bad diaper rash and was a picky eater. (I later learned that her molars were coming in -- oops. It explained everything.) The crew on the ship (and most passengers) just loved Harper. Everyone wanted to hold her and talk to her. As much as she loved seeing all the new and different people, I think Harper also loved seeing the familiar faces of our family night after night.


Harper actually turned a year old just before we left for the cruise. For that reason, I chose to have her birthday party at the end of the month so that party preparations wouldn't be stressful.

We had about 45-50 people (including kids) come to Harper's birthday party. Family, friends, neighbors. It was great! I was so worried that it would rain on us, but we lucked out and had a beautiful day. (It felt wrong to pray for no rain -- I told John that was a wasted prayer. We just needed to really hope.) I didn't get any pictures of the decorations and things before people came. Oh well. The theme (if you can call it that) was flowers -- you know, springtime. The kids painted flower pots, their "treat bag" was a little watering can...oh well. It was fun. Harper walked around the whole time not caring who was holding her. She really is the most social and friendly baby. I am very thankful!

Madison and Brendon

Hadley, Hutson and Mary Reese waiting for their turn at bat

Baylee, Hadley, Hayden, Mary Reese and Lily painting flower pots

Harper's eyes are red and watery -- why are so many people singing to me?

Not today, people. I will not eat this cake today.

Thank goodness we had cousins there to open all of Harper's presents!

I know that I am still so behind...but this is a start. I hope that the abbreviated posts on the cruise and first birthday party were sufficient. :)

A Busy Baby

For the moment, I am going to ignore the fact that Harper's birthday was on Tuesday and that she is now a year old. I am behind a bit so I will address that later. (She has been sick all week -- I mean, stomach bug throwing up and fever. So -- no birthday celebrations just yet.)

Last Friday, we went to the zoo with all of Harper's cousins -- all 7 of them. Hunter, Caroline and Mason Conklin, Baylee and Madison Miller, and Hadley and Hayden Perry. It was crazy keeping up with all the little ones. We brought a stroller and a wagon, which was annoying at times, but great to know exactly where the kiddos were (most of the time.)

Being spring break and all, the zoo was packed. We still managed to have a great time and no meltdowns, although we might have been really close to some.

LtoR: Mason, Hunter, Baylee, Madison, Caroline, Hayden, Hadley and Harper

snacking on some apples after seeing the lions

That weekend Harper went to my parents to play and help my dad get the garden ready for planting. Little does she know how many wonderful vegetables that garden will produce.

 Later, we met some friends on the square and took some pictures of the little girls. Vivian is 4 months old, and Harper is (essentially) 12 months old. The proud dads are John and Grant. They grew up together in Macon.

Look at those adorable thighs. ahh!

 This is a picture of me the Easter of 1985. I was about 6 months old. Do you think Harper looks like me? (same ears...same brown hair. My eyes are a deep blue, believe it or not.)

Sunday was Easter. Last year, Easter fell on April 7. Harper was born on April 2, so she had her first Easter last year. This year, Easter fell before her birthday, so we celebrated her second Easter before her first birthday. It was exciting in my mind.

I was sick Sunday morning, so we didn't make it to church. I was really upset about that. We have been bad about going to church. Mostly because Harper is a TODDLER and won't sit still or be quiet -- which is ok because that is was she is supposed to do. I just need to put her in the nursery for an hour. She would love it. She loves people and other kids -- it's just me holding her back.

Harper got the Little People Zoo Talkers and a TON of animals!

When I came downstairs Easter morning, this is what I saw...and it warmed my heart.

I mentioned earlier that Harper has been sick this week. It hasn't been fun. We got past the stomach ickyness on Monday, but have been dealing with the coming and going of a fever ever since. Her fever got pretty high. A little over 103. The CHoA nurse said if that happened again we would need to take Harper to the hospital. Thankfully, her fever hasn't spiked like that since.  We took her to her 12 month check up yesterday (Wednesday.) She is almost 23 pounds and is 32 inches tall. She is in the 70 percentile for weight and over 97 percentile for height. I imagine that her weight might have been off a little bit since she has been eating cheerios all week and drinking some water/Pedialyte -- but not as much as I wish she would. She got three shots and they did a finger prick to do some blood work. That caused her fever to continue today. She was miserable. She took about 5 naps...not particularly long naps. If she wasn't sleeping she was screaming and crying. Poor girl. I hope that tomorrow is better. We leave tomorrow night to drive to Ft. Lauderdale to get on our cruise tomorrow. Wish us luck!

357 days old...

I can't believe it is almost here...Harper's first birthday. Has it really been a year? The year flew by and we hardly noticed it. Now Harper is about to celebrate her 2nd Easter in under a year (which I find pretty awesome) and shortly thereafter...her birthday. I have slowly been planning her party and I love that it is during spring. Her party will be at the end of April -- here's hoping for lovely weather.

As I reflect on the past year I can say without a doubt that being a mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world. There are moments when I want to cry (or I do cry), where I want to get away for a while -- where I call John and tell him to pick up dinner on his way home. Yes it is hard to be at home all day. (as I imagine it is hard to be at work and away from your baby all day, too.) It is particularly hard to be at home all day when it is cold and rainy. But I love morning cuddles. I love watching Harper play by herself (if you can call her being amongst all of her toys "by herself") for at least an hour after morning cuddles and her bottle. It is hilarious to watch her imitate me -- which makes me realize I tell her "NO" and shake my head at her quite a bit. I love sending her daddy texts and photos of her during the day. I love Facetime with her grandparents and uncles. I love taking her to story time and playgroups. I love chatting with other stay at home moms who know exactly how I feel without me having to go into much detail. I also love the advice they give. I love the sound of the garage around 6:00. I love that my body (although definitely not where I want it to be) protected and nurtured our little girl for 39 weeks and 6 days, and that I would it do it all again if it meant she would be just as happy and healthy as she is now. I have a deeper love and understanding for my husband now than I did before we had Harper. She has made us stronger.

We have been extremely busy every weekend -- traveling to Charlotte for Mason's birthday, going to Blue Ridge for the weekend, traveling to Macon for Madison's birthday...and soon, we leave for our cruise.

In other news...

-Harper is walking -- a little. She still prefers crawling, but she can go 6-7 steps before holding on to something. ahh!
- Harper no longer wants baby food. She now has four teeth and she wants to use them.
- Harper has cousin #8 and #9 arriving in September. We are so excited (and this might mean I go back to work to pay for birthday and Christmas gifts -- ha, kidding)
- My long-term leave is up in April. Yup, not going back. We all knew that.
- John and I will be running the Peachtree Road Race on July 4. whoop whoop. (we might also do a half marathon in January.) I still don't think I will ever be a runner. Between keeping Harper all day, John getting home at 5:30-6, making dinner, cleaning up, bathing Harper, putting her to bed and cleaning up...ugh...if only you could burn calories that way. We shall see. :)
- October is National Get Married Month. At least for our friends (and family) it is. :)


OK ok -- here are some pictures. ENJOY!

A Teething Baby...

...is a drooling, runny-nosed, fussy baby. It's been a long month and a half. Harper has 4 teeth. Unlike other children who have multiple teeth come in at a time, Harper's teeth like to tag-team. They come in one at a time. The bottom two teeth weren't so bad...but the top ones? Yikes. I am somewhat impressed at the amount of saliva and snot my child can produce. The extra saliva is causing her to have some red spots on her face. This has something to do with the enzymes in her saliva while teething -- who knows, really. Apparently this is all normal. I also stopped breast feeding this month. A few days after Harper turned 11 months old, I decided to stop nursing. It was very emotional for me. Surprisingly, Harper didn't seem to care at all. Really. She went straight to cow's milk (although  I have been mixing in some of my frozen breast milk.) Cow's milk before age 1? What are you thinking? Well, I talked to the pediatrician. She said it was pointless to get Harper to drink formula for a month and then transition her to cow's milk, so we went straight to cow's milk.


We went to Charlotte on Saturday for Mason's 1 birthday. He is the first of the trio of cousins to celebrate his 1st birthday. It was quite a drive for a 24 hour visit, but spending time with family is important. Harper enjoyed seeing her cousins.

Below are some pictures we had taken Sunday morning.