Four Months

My Sweet Baby Harper,
    It has been four ridiculously wonderful months since we first welcomed you.  Even though we spent many hours in the beginning trying to soothe your cries, I wouldn't trade one millisecond for anything.
    You have definitely become quite a little person over the past month.  We no longer have to contend with your colic (AMEN! for both you and us!).  In fact, we have fallen into a routine that helps you settle down for the night (food, bath/singing, jammies, more food while being rocked).  You're beginning to giggle at the silly faces and noises we make at you.  You're "talking" more and more everyday and sometimes you like to sing along with our songs; one of the many ways you melt our hearts.  You finally found your feet and get closer everyday to putting your cute little toes in your mouth.  You still love bath time and being outside.  You've also started liking being on your tummy and back so you've been playing more often (usually with someone down there with you!).  You're rolling over more, but only from your back to your front.  Oh, and you've also been able to lay down by yourself to go to sleep.  You don't always have to be in your swing (even though you don't take 3 hours naps anymore!  Usually they're only an hour if you're laying down).
    The biggest milestone you hit is one I wasn't planning on until you were six months or older: food.  Real, smooshed up baby foods.  But you have been SO COMPLETELY interested when we eat near you, including reaching for our food, that I decided to let you try natural foods, like blueberries, watermelon, and cherries.  Since you giggled so much and got a little angry when we didn't feed you when we ate, I decided to mash up some bananas and organic cereal to see how you'd do.  Gramie and Grampie said they had never seen a baby eat so well off a spoon their first time.  So far you've eaten bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, and carrots (which have been your favorite so far!).  You're much happier in your car seat when you're being fed and last night you slept 5 hours straight (though that was the first night that's happened since we started you on food last Friday).  So, the one thing I swore I wouldn't do until you were older turned out to be a good thing!  You're a natural! (You're still nursing quite a bit during the day and at night, though!  We call you a little chunker cause you're always eating something!)
    We are going on a long trip next week so you can meet Daddy's side of the family.  You're going to have so much fun and get so much lovins!  I just hope the car ride there and back isn't too horrible!
    We love you so much, baby girl!  You are our everything!

At a Loss

For those of you who read this little blog, I'm in need of advice!  In about a week and a half we will be traveling about 16-18 hours away.  With a four month-old.  Who LOATHES her car seat.  How is this going to work?!

Harper does well in her seat for about 10 minutes at a time.  Then she starts to fuss followed by whimpering and ending in full-blown crying.  This is difficult for me to bear and it's not going to be possible for us to stop every 10 or 20 minutes.  I've got a pump that can be used in the car so hopefully she'll take a bottle (which has been pretty unsuccessful so far).  She usually calms down when we play The Wheels on the Bus; however, 16 hours of that song and we will be committed.  We have toys on her seat, but she gets bored with them pretty quickly.  Obviously we will be stopping every couple of hours to let her out of her seat to play and stretch.  But how are we going to be able to get her to stay in her seat without screaming the entire time?

Do any of you have babies that don't like their car seat?  Have you ever taken them on a long road trip?  How did it go?  What did you do when they cried?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

{This is her new goofy smile.  LOVE. IT.}

This Week

This past week has been a flurry of activity with, sadly, very few pictures to show for it.  Here are just a few of the things that kept me from writing:

::Last Friday and Saturday were normal...slumber party at my parents, usual running around, same ol' fun!

::Sunday was spent cleaning the ENTIRE house and doing laundry and trying to keep Harper happy so I could do both of those things

::Sunday was also the day my in-laws came into town.  It was late when they arrived, Harper wasn't having a very good day, and so bedtime was exhausting.

::Monday was spent catching up, cooking out, and staying indoors/out of the rain!

::Tuesday was pretty much like Monday.  Good food and good company!

::Wednesday was my husband's birthday so he chose the activities and food for the day.  We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and a local BBQ place for dinner.  He also wanted homemade apple pie, blackberry pie, and jalapeno poppers so I spent a few hours making those.  A very good day!

::They left yesterday morning.  I met my mom for lunch, cleaned when I got home, then went to my parents and joined them for dinner since they had company.

And that was my week, more or less.  Harper had a pretty good week.  She's starting to giggle more, play with her toes, and she's getting really good with her hands!  She also started "talking" a little bit more this week.  I sing her this one silly song and she starts to sing with me!  I love it!

I hope everyone has a lovely and relaxing weekend!

Right Now

Right now it is a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  I couldn't waste the whole day just sitting inside, especially when Harper was full of smiles.  So we ventured outdoors armed with a blanket, my camera, and two crazy dogs.  These are just some of the many (many) pictures I took for Right Now Wednesday:

Everyone Can Say "I Told You So!"

The one thing every (and I do mean EVERY) parent I've encountered has told me is to treasure each moment because IT FLIES BY.

Now, granted, I can't believe Harper is 3 and a half months old.  It really does feel like I had her yesterday.  But so far time has moved at a very nice pace.  I've been able to enjoy each and every second with my little darling one.  I understood what those parents were saying, but it didn't fully sink into my brain.

Until this morning.  That's when I sat Harper on her diaper changing pad and she did this:

{Silly face, but I was trying to hurry and capture the moment}

{

{Not completely sitting up, but close enough!}

Where did my little baby go???  I didn't think this was supposed to happen for a couple more months.  But this is what she has been trying to do for awhile now.  She has been trying to crawl, walk, sit up, and roll over for the past few weeks.  She gets incredibly angry when she realizes she can't.  And I'm okay with that for now.  I'm not ready for her to be such a big girl!  But Harper is very independent already so I guess I'm going to have to get used to the idea.

{Harper just 6 days old}

I have to admit that I blubbered like an idiot this morning.  I fear this won't be the last time I do that.

Weekends

Even as a stay-at-home momma, I still look forward to the weekends, even though Wade works A LOT during them.  Friday nights you can usually find me and Harper next door at my parents watching old black and white movies.  And since Wade bartends on Fridays and Saturdays, he doesn't get home until 4 or 5 in the morning.  I do not like to be home all night alone.  With a baby.  I'm chicken, okay?  Even with two dogs.  So we have been having slumber parties at my parents on Friday nights.  And we're usually up pretty early on Saturday to go to the Farmer's Market (yay!) and then do our thrifting.  Or book sale-ing.  Or whatever else the weekend brings.  For the most part, our Saturdays look like this:

:: Wake up, change/nurse Harper 3 or 4 times (HA!), get dressed
::  Breakfast of our choice
::  Head to first thrift store about 5 miles away.  Not the greatest place in the world, but Dad and I have been known to find some great treasures buried there (like my $3.99 canning pot with rack!)
::  Farmer's Market is usually the next stop (and if it's the second Saturday of the month we go down the street to our library's book sale!)
::  By now it's lunch time so we head to Wise Pies.  YUM!
::  Third thrifting stop is usually Goodwill.  Say what you will, but this is where the majority of Harper's clothes have come from.  And many items in  my home.  You wouldn't believe what people donate!  And it's waaay cheaper than buying anywhere else.  Plus, we're reusing items and reducing our carbon footprint this way.
::  By early to mid-afternoon we have listen to "The Wheels On the Bus" 1,346 times, Harper's had enough of her carseat, and we head home.
The rest of our day is spent napping, cleaning, cooking, gardening, and enjoying the outdoors.  We spend the night watching old movies (and sometimes newer ones), playing with Harper, and reading/eating (hey, it's that what weekends are for?)  Then Harper and I head home to cuddle, nurse, and read some more.
Sundays are never the same.  Though we usually have some sort of family meal and Wade generally has this day off so Harper gets some quality time with him!

For those interested, here are photos of some of my recent thrifting finds:

{My dad makes fun of me for buying this duck, but I absolutely love it!}

And for some baby spam:  Here's Harper on Saturday morning before we left, talking to her Grampie:

I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

A Day In the Life of Harper Leigh

8:15 am - I wake up hungry!  Silly Momma forgot to put her camera next to the bed so she didn’t get a nursing in the morning photo!

8:30 am - Time for a diaper change and to get my clothes on!

8:40 am - It’s story-time!  Today we read “The Rainbow Fish” and I love looking at the shiny scales!  (I also get another diaper change ‘cause that’s how I am in the morning!)

9:00 am - Momma and I have play time!  I sit on her lap and she sings me songs like “Patty Cake” and “Little Bunny Fufu.”  I love songs with hand gestures!  Then I sit in my Bebe Pod because I think I’m a big girl!

9:30 am - It’s time for my mid-morning snack before going in my swing!  I love to sit in my swing!  I do this so Momma can eat breakfast and shower! 

11:30 am - Momma changes my diaper and clothes.  Then I get a little snack before we head out the door!  Today we’re having lunch with Grammie and some of her co-workers!

2:00 pm - After a long day of being out (and yet another clothes change!) I am worn out!  Momma and I cuddle while I nurse and then it’s time for a nap!

5:00 pm - I’m ready for another diaper change!  Momma loves to take my picture while I’m on the changing pad!  Sometimes I like to smile for her, but usually I just stare at the big camera!

 6:30 pm - Time for more nursing and another nap!

9:00 pm - Momma wakes me up (nurses me!) and we go to Grammie and Grampie's so I can say goodnight!  It's been a long day!

10:00 pm -  I get to say goodnight to Daddy and get my jammies on!

10:15 pm - Time to crawl into bed!  One more nursing and then I'll be sleeping!

Right Now

Right now she's sleepy.  I'm sleepy.  We're both fighting it, but for different reasons.  As she starts to get cranky I begin filling up her bath tub.  Bath time is fun time for her.  She gets in the day's last smiles and energy.  After being toweled off and getting her jammies on, we lay down on the bed, tummy to tummy, and she nurses.  This is my favorite nursing time of the day.  She looks straight into my eyes with her big baby blues.  She nurses for a second or two, pulls off, and talks a string of vowels to me: "oooh ah ah ah! oooohah!"  I watch her mouth with each sound.  Her whole body pushes out her "words"; even her nostrils flare a bit to get them out.  I look deeply at her and tell her how much I love her.  Even three months postpartum I still get emotional.  An ocean of feeling wells up inside me and starts to seep out.  I don't wipe away my tears for fear that any movement on my part will spoil this wonderful moment.  I treasure each millisecond of these moments.  I know they won't last much longer.  When she's almost finished, I gently rub the blonde fuzz on her head and kiss her soft cheeks.  We get up from the bed, go into her room where the rocking chair is waiting.  I wrap her in a soft blanket, hold her close, and slowly, softly I sing "Rock-a-bye Baby" while her eyes flutter closed.  I sit there rocking, soaking up every ounce of this beautiful little girl.  She's stolen my heart and changed every aspect of my life.

I'm so happy she did.

Harper's First Fourth

Harper's first Fourth of July included -
:: Wearing a very cute red, white, and blue outfit.  And then pooing on it about 1.5 seconds after I finished taking pictures of her.
::  Going to my aunt's house for a cookout.  Harper was enthralled with the little kids playing in the sandbox.
::  Hanging out with (and chewing on) many relatives.
::  Yet another impromptu photo session that included Elmo.
::  Getting completely freaked out by the LOUD fireworks, crying her little heart out, and then heading home where she was much happier in bed.

All in all, I think she had a pretty good day!

Three Months

It's been three months since Harper made her way into this world.  THREE MONTHS.  I have never had 90 days fly by so fast in my life.  I've watched her morph from a little sleeping/eating/pooping bundle to a partially rolling over/smiling/cooing/sometimes laughing-out-loud baby!  Here's a little summary of little Harper Leigh so far:
:: This kid is ready to be mobile.  She moves her arms and legs frantically when she's on her belly as if she could take off at any moment.  She LOVES to stand up and sit up.  She's not one for laying down.
:: She has rolled from her back to her front three times.  This morning she even moved her left arm from underneath herself so she could be on her belly completely.
:: She wants to grab everything and gnaw on it - faces, hands (especially her own, which are always in her mouth), glasses.  She can't reach out and grab anything, but she does move towards things with her mouth open.
:: She has become VERY observant lately.  She loves watching dogs, people eating, and mobiles.
:: Her favorite song is The Wheels on the Bus.  This is the ONLY song that will get her to stop crying in her carseat.  There have been many outings that have resulted in us listening to this ridiculously annoying song OVER AND OVER AND OVER.  But it makes her happy so I grin, bear it, and sing along.
:: I think she's going through a phase where she wants me all the time.  She doesn't like to lay down to sleep (unless it's at night with me) or even sleep in her swing, which she normally does without a problem.  I love it to be honest.
:: Speaking of sleep - it's getting better.  Slowly.  She's had more good nights than bad.  She's been getting fussy between 8 and 9, then ready for bed by 10.  I'll nurse her, she coos and talks, I pop the binky in and she's out.  If it's a bad night I have to swaddle/swing/bounce her to sleep.
:: She gives me the BIGGEST smile ever when I say "OHMYGOODNESS" to her.
:: While she can still wear 0-3 month clothes, 3-6 months seem to be fitting better.  My baby's a chunker!

These have been the most incredible three months of my life.  I love this little girl so very much!