Out of Ideas

There comes a point in every day where I realize that I am out of ideas for things to do with Harper. We have colored, played with blocks, walked around the neighborhood, fed the ducks, played on the playground -- I feel like I don't know what else to do. I quickly remind myself that Harper doesn't need me to entertain her and I just need to let her find things to do. It can be pretty exhausting following a kiddo who is 16 months old around the house. We have fun, but most days I am exhausted. I try to run during her second nap (around 2:00) so that helps me get a little boost of energy. When I run during her nap, it is on the treadmill -- don't worry -- she is not alone.

One of my biggest struggles with staying home with Harper is that her first learning is up to me. The burden/pleasure of teaching her colors, manners, words, habits, etc. falls mainly on me. On one hand that is exactly what we want -- on the other hand, it puts a lot of pressure on me to know what is age appropriate, what she is ready for (developmentally) and making sure she is socializing with other children. That is not to say that people who don't stay home aren't teaching their children, all I am saying is that I have 10 hours a day (at least) where I have Harper all to myself. I mean, if she were to start saying curse words, people will look at me to blame. :)

The main reason that I feel that I am able to handle this daunting task is because I have found a great group of moms. Not only do we arrange play dates and field trips, we also text each other hundreds of times a week (not an exaggeration) about bumps and bruises, dinner ideas for picky eaters, educational activities and the ups and downs of motherhood. This fall we are starting a weekly educational play date and I can't wait. Harper and I will also be starting a 10-week music class this fall, and hopefully a gymnastics class this winter. I am looking forward to having set activities each week with her because sometimes I am just so tired. And those times are when we watch Curious George or Sesame Street. Haha. No television before the age of two I told myself. Things change. It is so strange how the exhaustion I feel from a day with her is so different from the exhaustion of teaching four classes of 30+ sixth graders -- and teaching them MATH. Harper is the cutest little energy sucker I know.

Here are a few moments over the past week -- this girl is expressive, passionate and brave.

"rock rock" in her room

leaning in for a kiss from Jackson

at the park

Stilesboro Biscuits

she loves books!

her baby cousin, Hudson Tanner Perry

coloring with BFF Caroline

bothering Reese

helping mommy bake cookies

our finished project -- I will get better!

lunch at Marietta Diner with mom and Popi

a little painting

no no no!

eating yogurt all by herself

oh this girl is dramatic

loves to climb

loves being outside IN the bushes

taking baby "meme" for a walk

drama drama

post-nap snack

we love visiting the horses!

16 months

Harper is 16 months old TODAY. Again -- it felt like the first two months were in slow motion and now everything is speeding up. She is changing everyday -- and she is becoming such a sweet and funny little girl. She is talking a lot more AND she has a lot of opinions.

Harper can say several words, but that doesn't mean that she will say them all the time or even say them perfectly. For instance, dog still doesn't have a g on the end of it. She also says mommy, daddy, hot, done, cat, cow, Popi, sorry, God, no, yes...what am I forgetting?  She likes to play peek-a-boo and read books. Her favorite books have animals in them. She can bark like a dog and "boo" like a cow. Yes, our cows say boo. We have very scary cows in Marietta. Also, we say a blessing before dinner everynight and two nights ago she (without our prompting) put her hands together, bowed her head and said "God." We were shocked and so proud. She also likes to watch Wheel of Fortune with us. She always cheers when someone solves a puzzle. ADORABLE.

trip to the zoo

putting rocks in her mouth -- ugh!

so dramatic!

driving Daddy's jeep

movie night at Laural Park

We still spend a lot of time with the kids and moms in our playgroup. Whether it is going to music class, play dates or story time at the library, I feel that Harper is getting a lot of social interaction and is learning a lot. We will soon be starting educational play dates for the kids. (It helps that several of the moms in our group are teachers.)

hugging her BFF Caroline

Harper sleeps like a champ -- except, of course, when she is cutting teeth. She has 9 teeth right now and several more will be making an appearance soon. Yikes. She loves bath time, sidewalk chalk, playing in her water table, the zoo, watermelon, dancing, and playing with shoes. She claps for thunder (it happened accidentally and we ran with it.) She uses sign language when she is done or she wants more. She insists on joining me in the restroom. She calls Jackson "Jacks" and I love it. She refuses to let me cook. The kitchen is the one place in the house where she can't see exactly what we are doing and she hates it. That's why I want one of these. It is a learning tower. She can stand in it
and still be safe.

John and I are celebrating 8 years together. We have been married for 3.5 of them. I feel so blessed to have met him at a young age (20) and fortunate that we have grown together. We are hoping to take a family beach trip (just the three of us) sometime soon. If not in the summer then perhaps the fall. October is a big month for us -- weddings and such. September is also an incredibly special month because that is when we will welcome our new niece and nephew (Perry side.) It will be nice for Harper to have younger Perry cousins since she is the youngest on the Clark side.

Harper is one of the most expressive people I have ever met. She has this happy/surprised face that she does ALL THE TIME. I finally got it on camera. :) I took the picture with my phone so it's not great -- but I got it!

(I don't feel like proofreading this -- so please, as always, forgive me for typos and grammatical errors. I am going to hang out with my husband.)

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.