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!

Recently

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday was... rough to say the least.  I could not get Harper down for a good nap which makes her (and me) overtired.  I felt like such a failure as a parent.  Anyway, I won't dwell on it, but it was tough on me. 

However, she was so tired by the end of the day that she slept from 8:15 pm until 4:45 am!!!!!  Now, again, I'd much rather her nap during the day and get up during the night, but after yesterday I needed that sleep.  So I fed her and put her back down around 5:30 and she slept another two hours!  Then she got up, took a bath, ate, played a little on the floor and started looking sleepy again.  So I put her in the stroller and went for a walk (since she won't let me rock her to sleep).  She fell asleep quickly and has now been napping for almost three hours!  I have a feeling it's going to be a good day today :)

Harper has been so much fun lately now that she's smiling and "talking" a lot more.  I'm trying to get a good picture of her smiling but so far this blurry picture is the best I have...

Here is a picture before we left to go to Kevin and Jenae's house to watch the A&M game on Saturday.  I should have posted the other pictures we took before we got this one.  Harper was trying to eat her jacket.  (She has started licking or "eating" anything that gets near her mouth... she discovered her hands recently and that's her favorite thing to put in her mouth now.  Still not a huge fan of the pacifier though.)  I didn't get to watch much of the game since I was watching Harper, but it was really nice to visit with Kevin and Jenae.  We don't get to see them too often.

Jason and I had attempted to go to Gringos on three different occasions in the past few weeks with no success (too long of a wait or Harper was crying in the car on the way and we chickened out).  Well, we finally decided to just do it and see what happened.  So Saturday evening we went to Gringos (at 5:30... no wait!) and Harper actually fell asleep right when we got seated!  I think the LOUD restaurant lulled her to sleep.  Jason and I enjoyed a great dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant :)

I think her outfit was so cute on Saturday!  We also love how she sleeps with her hands up at times...

This was Harper's Halloween outfit that my mom sent.  Hair bows are only for pictures... Harper's not much of a fan.

And here is a picture of Harper and her daddy that I thought was sweet.  It's rare that she'll lay still like this!

Better go.  I have a feeling Harper will be waking up soon... please pray that her naps will get easier and more consistent!  It makes for such a better day.  Thanks!