Christmas morning

Did you all have a nice Christmas?  We did, but it was B U S Y!!  I have a very long to-do list now that we are back home, but I thought I'd post a couple pictures of Harper that we took on Christmas morning.  She is such a happy little girl :)  

Now back to that to-do list while Harper is still napping...

Harper and Santa

Merry Christmas everyone!

Saturday

I put Harper in her high chair on Saturday morning so that she could sit at the table while Jason and I had our donuts and Starbucks.  She loved it!  Look how happy she is!

Then I put her in her infant chair with a few toys while we got ready.  This is what I saw when I looked down a couple minutes later {except she had Sophie's feet in her mouth}:

We drove over to Chad and Jill's house that afternoon because Harper and I were invited to a mother-daughter tea.  We took a few pictures of Harper with Pa, Nani, Kayla and Allen.  But as usual, there are no pictures of ME and Harper.  I have got to start remembering to do that...

Jason and I went to our December Dinner Club at Erin & David's house that night.  I was really looking forward to dinner club this month.  I mean, I look forward to dinner club every month, but Erin and David always wow me with their food.  Saturday night was no exception.  I would tell you about all of the delicious food, but it wouldn't do it any justice.  I'm not a food blogger.  I will say that there was shrimp, leeks, broccoli, blue cheese, endive, candied nuts, Oreo Truffles and peppermint martinis involved.  I asked them to come up with the menu for June Dinner Club (at my house), but I don't think they took me seriously...

We were so fortunate that Nani could watch Harper that night so that we could actually spend more than one hour with our friends!  Harper took the whole bottle that I left, went to bed with no trouble, and slept 11.5 hours that night!  Nani, you are welcome ANY time!

Three months

Isn't she just precious?

What an amazing three months it has been.  Jason and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet baby girl.  She is definitely worth all of the shots, medications, blood draws, ultrasounds, heartache, and everything else that I went through over the two years before she was conceived.  I couldn't imagine life without her.


Harper at 3 months old...

• She weighs 12 pounds, 8.5 ounces.
• She can still wear some of her 3 month size clothes, but some 3 month sizes are too small (not long enough).  So she is wearing 3 month, 3-6 month, and 6 month sizes.
• She sleeps about 9.5-10 hours straight at night, eats, and then sleeps another 3 hours.  
• She loves to be swaddled to sleep. 
• She can now put herself to sleep for naps with minimal fussing.  If she does cry, I walk and shush her for a couple of minutes and she calms down and puts herself to sleep.  I am so thankful that I did not have to go through the "cry-it-out" method!  
• She loves to look at her crib mobile.  We use it at nap time.  She looks for it immediately when she's put in her crib.
• She is eating 5 times a day on most days.  I think she may be starting to push it from every 2.5-3 hours to every 3-4 hours during the day.
• She is still exclusively breastfed.  I do give her vitamin D in the morning and she takes it so well now.
• She has started to refuse to drink from a bottle.  Not good.  We've really got to figure this one out...  I had to wake her up when I got home from bunco on Monday to feed her because she wouldn't take a bottle from Jason.  
• She still doesn't care for a pacifier but she loves to suck on her fingers.
• She can roll over from her tummy to her back.  
• She can grasp and hold toys put in her hand or that her hand comes in contact with.  She always reaches for toys with her left hand.  Hmmm.....  
• She really only cries when she's tired or over-stimulated, mainly in the evenings.  I think we need to move up her bedtime to 7:30.
• Her nicknames include Harp, Harpster, and little pooh.

Her smiles make my heart melt.  Seriously.  She is such a happy baby.  She smiles so big at me while having her diaper changed and when she sees me walk up while Jason is holding her...  she will also pause while eating to give me a smile.  I love it :)  

FINALLY

Jason is officially DONE WITH SCHOOL!  I've been waiting so long to be able to write that!  He finished his last assignment this past Saturday.  So no more 6:45 am to 9:30 pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays and no more studying in the evenings and on the weekends!  I think I'm equally as happy about this as he is :)

Last weekend (a little bit early), I threw Jason a surprise graduation party.  I'm not the sneakiest person around so I don't know how big of a surprise it really was...  But still, it was a fun evening with friends.  A BIG thank you to Haley for having the party at her place!!

Also, I forgot to put this picture in my last post...  Harper usually goes down very easily at night, but there was one night a couple of weeks ago that she wanted to stay up and hang out and "watch TV" with Jason and me.  I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Lastly, I have a question for Nikon users... is there any way to edit pictures in the Nikon ViewNX???  I can not figure it out if there is.  I have other pictures that I'd like to post, but they really need some cropping first.  If there is not a way to edit in the ViewNX, what do you all use to edit your pictures?

Guilt

Harper rolled over from her stomach to her back on Saturday! Of course I froze and didn't get it on camera. I had major guilt afterwards, but at least Jason and I both got to witness her rolling over. She did it again today and this time I had the video camera ready! Hopefully this has taught me to be prepared for future milestones.

I was also feeling guilty about not getting a Christmas photo card out this year. I'm not sure why I was feeling guilty about this... especially when I've never sent out Christmas cards... but I was. So to get rid of the guilt, I had us take a family picture in front of the Christmas tree yesterday with the self-timer on my camera.  And then I ordered the cheapest photo cards from Shutterfly that I could.  It's definitely not the card and picture that I had envisioned  in my head, but it will have to do for this year.

The guilt doesn't really end there either.  I feel guilty about not getting things done that I want to get done.  Such as printing and organizing pictures, creating a photo book, setting up Harper's college savings plan...  The list seems to go on and on.  I thrive on being productive and lately I just don't seem too productive.  Jason says I need to change my expectations, but I just don't know how...

I'll stop with the negativity and end with some pictures of Harper :)

Big night + Thanksgiving

Last night was a big night for little Miss Harper.  It was the first night that she slept in her crib!  I don't know what took us so long to put her in her room.  She's been ready, I just don't think I was ready.  As expected, she did wonderful last night!  We put her down at 8:30 and I didn't have to get up to feed her until 5:15 this morning.  After she ate, I put her back down in her crib and she slept until 8:45!  She was all smiles when I went in to get her.  She didn't want to smile for the camera though.

 I have no idea how she ended up in the bottom left corner of her bed

have I mentioned how much I love to watch her stretch when she's unswaddled?

I have to say, the "swaddle me" wraps are the best.invention.ever!  We didn't start out using them (don't know why) and when we first started using them Harper would get mad, turn red, and try to fight her way out of it.  Now, however, she is very happy when we put her in one- she'll even stop fussing and start smiling.  She really does know that it means bedtime!  We've also started swaddling her for her naps, too, and I have to say that naps are getting much, much better.  While we were in Longview for Thanksgiving, we put Harper down for several naps, sleepy but awake, and she would go to sleep!  Only a couple times did she fuss a little before falling asleep.  Some naps were short, but others were almost 3 hours long!  We hope it wasn't just because we were in Longview (is it just Jason and me, or does being in East Texas make you so much sleepier?  We can't figure out what it is, but it happens every time!).

So Thanksgiving...

We drove to Longview on Wednesday and, get this, Harper slept the whole way!  This was Houston to Longview... a three and a half hour trip!  I could not believe it!!  No crying and no having to stop to breastfeed Harper in the car!

So we get to Longview thinking that Harper would be ready to eat and play after that long nap, right?  Wrong!  She was in a BAD mood.  Poor Bryan and Tori.  The only time they got to see her and she wouldn't stop screaming.  Turns out, Harper needed another nap.  As soon as I swaddled her, she started closing her eyes and took a long nap.  After that, she was in a great mood the rest of the time in Longview, smiling and "talking" up a storm for everyone.

We stayed with Jason's parents on Wednesday and Thursday.  We mainly hung around the house, relaxed, watched football and ate good food (Bodacious, Pizza King, Thanksgiving meal, homemade donuts...).  We also got to meet up with our friends Brandon and Libby that we rarely get to see.

Harper with her Nani and Pa

Then on Friday we went over to my parent's house to stay the next couple of nights.  That evening, my parents grilled burgers from the Butcher Shop and Clay fried up some homemade French fries (YUM!) for all 23 of us.  Yes, 23 (not including Harper).  Harper got to meet the rest of her first cousins, plus second cousins, a great aunt and uncle, her great grandmother, and more.  It was a houseful!  We still put her down at 8:30 that night and she slept through all the LOUD noise (of the 23 people, I think 11 were under 18 years old.  just saying).

Harper met even more of her second cousins and another great-grandmother and her great-grandfather on Saturday.  Everyone wanted to hold her and they really wore her out!  We put her down around 8:30 on Saturday night and she slept until 6:45... and then we actually had to wake her up at 9:15!  She slept in the car all the way from Longview to Livingston, fussed a bit, and then slept all the way home!  She did not want us to hold her yesterday afternoon/evening at all.  She was much happier playing on the floor.  Who could blame her after being held so much.

with her cousins, Big Cayman, Campbell and Little Cayman

with her Great Aunt Debbie and her Great Grandmother, Nannie

with her PaPaw

with her Great Grandmother, Grandmama

with her Uncle Kevin and Aunt Ashley

Kade, Grammy, Harper, Campbell, Cayman and Madilyn

Harper and her Grammy

Okay, enough for today.

The weekend

We've had another busy but fun weekend!  A new friend that I met at bunco invited Harper and me to the zoo with her and her two boys (and another mom from bunco and her two boys) on Friday.  Harper fell asleep and slept half the time we were there, but I really enjoyed the zoo.  It was nice to get out of the house and chat with a couple other moms.  Not to mention I got in free since Allison has a membership and I got to see the giraffes!  

my little cutie :)

The giraffes!!

Jason, Harper, and I went to Laura's annual Thanksgiving dinner party on Friday night.  Laura cooks the turkey and everyone else brings a side, appetizer, dessert, etc.  There is always yummy food and we always have a good time.  Well... I take that back.  Harper wasn't having a good time for awhile.  She started s c r e a m i n g (very rare) and we had a hard time getting her to calm down.  I think she was overstimulated with all of the talking (it was pretty loud) and being passed around.  After a "snack" she was finally able to calm down and then fall asleep in my arms.  

Jason put up the tree on Saturday and I decorated the house for Christmas.  Haley came down that evening for our traditional hanging of the ornaments.  I think this was the 5th year that she's come down to help.  Gotta love our traditions :)  

 Harper was saying "feed me and put me to bed!!"

There are more fun things to come in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned!

Oh- and if you are a mom of a little one, would you please let me know the best toys for a 6-12 month old?  I need to know what to get Harper (and what the grandparents need to get Harper) for Christmas. You can leave a comment or email me.  Thanks!

Two months and a busy week

Harper turned two months old on Sunday!  

A little bit about Harper...

• She had her two month well child visit last Tuesday and weighed 10 pounds, 14.5 ounces and measured 22.5 inches (both at the 50th percentile).  Her head was at the 50th percentile, too.  So she's pretty perfect!  
• She's smiling and cooing all the time now.  She will lay on her blanket and "talk" even when no one is close by.  I love it :)

• She loves looking at fans and mirrors and has started "batting" at toys.  She also rolls onto her side when laying on her back.  She holds her head up really well during tummy time, but she only lasts a couple minutes before she starts to get fussy.
• She likes to put her fingers in her mouth and lick them.  She also tries to eat her clothes when we're changing her.  She will sometimes take the pacifier but not for very long.
• She is still breastfeeding only.  She has taken a few bottles of expressed milk with no problem.
• She doesn't like to sit still.  She wants you to move around when holding her.  
• She sleeps well at night.  She actually slept from 8:45 pm until 7:20 am on Sunday night!  Last night she went from 8:30ish until 5:50 and then until 8:20 after her feeding.  When we get her up and unswaddle her, she stretches SOOO big.  It's the cutest thing ever.  Jason and I love it when she does this.  She's still sleeping in our room, but I *plan* to move her to her room soon.

Harper's Nani (Jason's mom) stayed with us for a few days last week.  It was w o n d e r f u l!  It was so nice to have someone to help out with Harper, but it was also so nice to have someone to talk to during the day!  (I must find a mom's group very soon!)  We had a very busy week.

Tuesday

Harper had her two month check up and shots.  She only cried a little after the shot; however, later in the day her leg looked pretty swollen and she cried like she was in pain :(  It didn't seem to last too long though.  

Since Debbie was here, I went out and got a pedicure that afternoon and then made this pumpkin bread that I've been wanting to make for awhile.  It was sooooo good!  AND I still have a whole loaf in the freezer :)

Wednesday

We drove over to League City to visit Chad, Jill, Kayla and Allen since Jason had class that night.  Kayla and Allen had fun playing with their little cousin.

Thursday

We braved the Nutcracker Market with Harper (I would ONLY brave this with Debbie!).  Harper did really good.  She slept in the Baby Bjorn for awhile and then I fed her (gasp!) in public.  I did have a nursing cover... but still, it was my first time to do this so it was a big deal to me.  I was pretty proud of myself :)  We sampled just about all the food that was there and bought a few gifts.  Next year we will be going sans Harper and we'll be able to buy lots more!

Nani watched Harper that evening so that Jason and I could go to dinner alone (Gringos of course).  

Friday

Jason had off so he got outside and started putting up the Christmas lights (don't judge us, we're not turning them on yet... this was just the best time for him to do it) while I went and got a haircut.  Then it was time to say goodbye to Nani.  I was really sad.  She promised to come more often after the holidays though.

I think Harper was pretty sad, too.

Friday night I got together with some friends to see the musical "Winter Wonderettes."  It was a really fun night!

Saturday, Sunday & Monday

Jason, Harper and I attended a shower for a couple of friends on Saturday night.  I took Harper to dinner club with me on Sunday, and Jason kept her Monday night while I went to bunco.  All good times!

I don't have any pictures of these events so I'll just post more pics of Harper :)

Look at those eyelashes!