Time Out.

I feel like the last few weeks in August passed so quickly and before I realized it, we had entered the -ber months...my favorite time of year. The end of August had many activities -- my race in Roswell, a wedding shower, a baby shower, a cold (boo!), a trip to the zoo, toddler time at the museum...the list goes on and on.

I had a great time at my recent half marathon. I learned a lot about myself and about races. 1) If it is a night race, don't expect the whole course to have lights -- it became scary/interesting the last few miles 2) don't overdo it on the energy gels 3) be sure to eat before the race and not walk around for the few hours leading up to the race -- if you can help it 4) find a friend to run with and spend a couple of hours chatting away 5) listen to your body but also tell your body to lock it up and finish. This was the first time I have ever really RUN the last mile -- as opposed to jogging to the finish line. I put in my earbuds, asked Cheryl did she mind if I took off (haha -- she also took off -- our take off speeds are different. She finished a bit ahead of me) and off I went. It was probably my fastest mile. Well, 1.1 miles. I passed a lady on the bridge about .4 miles before the finish line -- she looked like she was in pain and I felt awful passing her, but I could not be stopped. I didn't quite make my goal -- but that's ok. I really did learn a lot and I can't wait for my next race. Fall races are sure to be awesome thanks to the fabulous weather.

LtoR: Cheryl, Jessica and me

post-race

Harper has been learning so much -- and she is just so active. She will be on the table or the counter in a matter of seconds. Climbing rocking chairs is a passion of hers. She still loves shoes -- going to the shoe basket and bringing a pair to you. Trying to put shoes on your feet. At one point we had four pairs of shoes (Harper's) on the kitchen floor. There is no stopping her. She puts on my high heels when we are upstairs getting dressed. Yellow is still her favorite color to say -- blellow is a close second. She can imitate many animals -- dogs, cows, lions, sheep, monkey, duck, snake, horse and gorilla -- the gorilla is just her hitting her chest. She adores walking to the front of our neighborhood and seeing the horses. We have made friends with the owners of both pieces of property -- some of the kindest people who encourage us to feed the horses and go play with the chickens. We haven't ventured to play with the chickens yet -- one day. Harper loves pointing out flowers, helping me water our plants and playing in dirt/mud. She loves to jump in puddles -- perhaps that is just something we are born with...unless John taught her to do it. He did teach her to jump on the tops of sewers which makes me cringe -- apparently he doesn't remember Baby Jessica. Am I the only one who remembers that? Slightly different than jumping on a sewer -- but still.

We start our educational play dates this Friday. The kiddos are going to start learning about shapes. Our music class starts on Monday. We have library story time on Tuesday and sometimes on Wednesday. Thursday is music class and open play at a gym. My goodness -- this is why I am tired. :)  We are a week into one nap a day -- and it is pretty magical. She is also sleeping longer at night. We have had about 4 days of post 8am wake up times. Amazing.

Harper has really enjoyed play time at the gym. She is a little braver (more brave?) each time we go. (Braver doesn't sound right -- but she is waking up soon so I will continue...) She will climb into the foam pit by herself. She will also climb up a ladder and go down the slide by herself. My stress level is typically sky high at the gym, but that little girl loves it. She is extremely friendly with other kids, handing them toys and playing with them. She has become apprehensive around new adults...she likes to scowl at them. We knew this point would come, but overall she is extremely outgoing and friendly...and talkative...and active.

We have also started implementing time out. Ha. It was working great until she figured out how to make us weak -- she would just laugh the whole time. Eventually we would start laughing and it would all fall apart. I have been reading a lot about it and we are doing better now. She sits for about a minute and when I come over she says "I sorry" and hugs me. I melt.

with B and C at the zoo.

post-zoo horse visit

so many animals in one day!

she loves the foam pit

I had to fight every urge to make her stop

get comfortable, Harper

In other news, John will be turning 30 this month. We (read Harper and I) started the countdown 30 days out -- so, we have been celebrating "30 Days to XXX." Roman numerals, folks. Stay classy. He has been given a gift a day, and this will continue until his birthday on September 26. His friend is getting married the weekend immediately following his birthday, so we will celebrate it in Hilton Head in early October. I am very excited about our first beach trip with just the three of us. We will be staying in Sea Pines. yayayayay! John has a softball tournament coming up in a few weeks. He will be in Raleigh, North Carolina for a long weekend. I know that he loves this time to himself. He has also been keeping busy with his various jeep projects. He purchased another jeep about a month ago. It was a CJ that someone had rolled. John just wanted it for the axles, so he bought it, took it apart and is now selling the parts. He is not the type of person to ever slow down, so when he isn't at work or helping around the house or with Harper, he is in the garage working on the jeep or finishing my patio furniture. Or mowing the lawn. Naps? Never. Early bed time? Forget it. He is my superhero.

I will end here -- but first you must see some precious pictures of Harper from last week. This is the same field where John and I had our engagement and maternity pictures. These will serve as her 17 month photos because yes, she turned 17 months old on September 2.

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.