And so the solids begin

Harper had her first taste of cereal this morning.  Some of you may be thinking, "shouldn't she already be eating cereal?"  And some of you may be thinking, "already????"  

I was in no rush to start her on solid food.  Even though most pediatricians {Harper's included} tell you to start solids when they turn 4 months old, this dietitian believes that breast milk only {or formula if BM isn't an option} is best for the first 6 months.  I could tell you my reasons, but who out there really cares?  And yes, Harper isn't quite 6 months old, but she's a lot more ready for solids now than she was at 4 months!

She did really well with the cereal, too, as you can see in the pictures below.  I have a feeling she is going to love all kinds of food, just like her momma :)

And no, I haven't bought any vegetable or fruit jars yet.  Baby steps people.

 Yay!  High chair time!

 "If I eat this, can I please have that bowl?"

"I think I like it!"

 Isn't this the cutest bib ever!?  Thanks Libby!

Oh Harper

Oh Harper, I love you so much.  There is not a single thing that I would change about you.  But.  It would be nice to make it to the store without having to change a very dirty diaper and your clothes in the backseat of the car once we got there.  It's only a couple of miles.  That's all.

weekend visit

Harper got a visit from her grammy and papaw this past weekend.  We discovered after they arrived on Friday that Harper has a little "stranger anxiety" already.  She'd cry if my mom or dad held her, but the second that Jason or I took her, she would turn and give my parents the biggest smile.  Fortunately, this was only on Friday.  By Saturday she was all warmed up.


I'm so glad my parents could see her.  She's changed so much since Christmas.  She was full of smiles for them all weekend.  And talkative.  But somehow I managed to not take any pictures of the weekend except for a couple when she opened her gifts from Aunt Debbie & Uncle Bobby.  

 I think she likes her new books!

That was about it!  And my camera was sitting right there on the ottoman all weekend!  So all I have are some pictures from my mom's phone.  {Dad, do you read this?  Mom needs a new phone.  One with a flash.  But then again, she does want an iPad after this weekend...}

Also, my mom brought some crackers this weekend that are sooooo delicious.  Here is a picture and recipe from the web {except my mom used cayenne pepper- not sure how much- instead of the red pepper flakes}.  These are simple, but they are really, really good.  And highly addictive.  Not recommended for a road trip since you won't be able to walk away.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Spicy Hot Crackers

And on a totally different note, I thought I'd mention that two years ago on Saturday was when the-worst-thing-that's-ever-happened-to-me happened.  Two years ago and I can still see the look on my doctor's face when she said those awful words, "I'm sorry."  In fact, I still remember every single detail of that entire day {and it makes me teary to think about it even now}.  But I've learned some things in the past two years:

1) Time does help heal.

2) You can heal, but you can't ever forget.

3) Pray.  Pray, pray, pray.

4) God really does have a plan.

5 months!

Harper is 5 months old today!  Seriously hard. to. believe. 

Here's what she's up to:

• She weighs ???????  Even though it wasn't a problem at 3 months, the pediatrician's office told me today that I had to make an appointment to get her weighed.  I'm not having the insurance billed just for a weight.  I'm not happy about this.
• She's sleeping 11.5-12 hours at night.  We start getting her ready for bed a little before 7:30, I feed her, and then put her down around 8-8:10.  She gets so excited when we start getting her ready for bed.
• She's not very flexible with her bedtime.  If we're out, as soon as 7:30 hits she turns into a fussy, crying baby.  Like yesterday at dinner club...
• She takes 2-3 naps a day.  She usually has a good morning and early afternoon nap (anywhere from 1-2.5 hours, but usually 1.5 hours), and then a short nap in the late afternoon/early evening if she's been up for awhile.  She still puts herself to sleep, but she does sometimes struggle with that third nap and I'll end up putting her in the swing.

• We no longer swaddle at all.  Which means no more cute stretches when she wakes up in the morning :(
• She rarely cries.  Really the only time she does is when kept up past her bedtime.  And sometimes she gets a little overwhelmed when we're around our friends.
• She likes it when I sing.  Seriously.  It can calm her down when she does get upset.  Favorites include "You Are My Sunshine" and "If You're Happy and You Know It".
• She loves to chew on her toes!  Especially when I'm trying to change her diaper.
• Really, she loves to chew on anything... her teethers, Sophie, rattle, links, high chair, seat belt, fingers, bottom lip, burp cloth, clothes, my arm...
• I check every day to see if she has a tooth poking through but nothing yet.  I don't think so anyway.  It is very difficult to get a good look in her mouth.

• She has rolled over from her back to tummy twice, and she is still rolling over from tummy to back all the time.
• She sits very well when supported but lasts maybe 10 seconds at the most when unsupported.
• She has started shaking her head back and forth.  Jason and I find it hilarious.
• She squeals and "talks" quite a bit.  Every now and then she'll throw in a new "word."
• She eats 5 times a day.  Still no food other than breast milk.  I'm thinking we'll start cereal in a couple weeks...
• She is wearing 6 months clothes.  Some things fit her perfect and some things are a little big.

I could really go on and on, but Harper needs to eat before I leave for bunco!

a little surprise for Harper

Don't you just love getting surprises in the mail?  I love it!  Harper had a package waiting for her when we checked the mail yesterday- a little gift from her Nani and Pa for Valentine's day.  I thought it was too cute not to share.  

And while we're on the subject of Valentine's day, I made some yummy treats yesterday that I thought I'd share with you.  I was actually planning to make these on Valentine's day, but I couldn't wait any longer.  Every time I opened the pantry door and saw the bag of M&Ms it was all I could think about.  Have you ever made blondies?  This was my first time, but they were so easy and tasty that I'm sure I'll be making these again!

M&M Blondies

(I actually took this picture!  I know, I'm shocked, too!)

This and that

I've had so much on my mind lately that I'm not even sure where to begin.  Most things are really not blog-worthy, but then again, what is?  So here is a list of the things we've been doing lately, plus some other random thoughts... and a few pictures of Harper thrown in for fun :)

• We recently enjoyed seeing our friend Kellie for the first time since she moved to San Diego last May.  Jason and I are tentatively planning to visit her later this year {after Harper turns one... and I'm no longer breastfeeding}.  I know it's a long time off, but time moves by very quickly these days!  
• I had lunch with a friend last week which was nice.
• We went over to Haley's place for the Super Bowl on Sunday.  It's always fun to get together with our friends.  I made these pizza roll-up things that were a big hit.
• We celebrated a friend's birthday last night.  Two other couples with little ones, pizza, cookie cake... it was a good night.

• It's Friday.  I love Fridays.  Take out and a movie from Redbox makes for a perfect night these days.
• I got my car washed on Wednesday for the first time since October (?).  It made me feel almost as good as a pedicure does.  
• It's very rainy today.  And since my car is clean, I have no plans to get out of the house.  Which makes for a nice, no makeup kind of day.  Sorry Jason.
• I have added a little jogging to my walks with Harper this week.  I'm a long way off from being able to go for an easy 3-mile run, but I've got to start somewhere.

• [This should really be a separate blog post entirely...] Jason and I have been spending an increased amount of time talking about our next house.  To the point that we drove out to Katy last weekend.  It makes me very excited and anxious at the same time.  Excited because we found a floor plan {if we were to build} that meets almost everything on our wish list... a 4 bedroom, 3 {possibly 3.5} bath home with a study, dining room, play room, AND a mud room, in a ONE STORY home.  Oh, and with a big kitchen island.  Just not a 3 car garage {for storage, not for 3 cars}.  Very exciting to think about.  But also scary.... selling our home?  Yikes!  Finding a new dentist {I really like ours} and a new ob/gyn {I LOVE mine!}.  Would our friends ever come visit us way out there???

• Looking at homes has also led us to look at our spending habits.  Jason has agreed to work on cutting back on Starbucks after I showed him how much he actually spends on it.  I'm a little embarrassed to tell you how much it is.  
• I've agreed to stop the house cleaning service and clean the house myself.  It just doesn't make sense anymore. It made sense when I was 8 months pregnant and working while at the same time Jason was working over 40 hours a week plus taking 2 summer classes for his MBA.  It also made sense when Harper was a newborn and I wasn't getting much sleep and was nursing around the clock.  {If we are fortunate enough to have another baby, I'd pay for it again during that time.}  But... now that I am getting a full nights sleep... and not working... it doesn't make much sense.  Even though I won't do as good of a job as the cleaning service does.  I'll just have to accept that the house won't be as clean.  
• I've actually spent a lot of time this week trying to come up with a cleaning schedule for myself.  One that I think I can actually stick to.  Do any of you have a cleaning schedule?  
• A lot of people have been asking me lately if I am enjoying staying at home with Harper.  And you know what?  I love it.  I wish I could capture so many more moments on camera so that I'll never forget them.  It all goes by so fast.