Bedtime

I've been trying to find ways to simplify all areas of our life.  We've cut out almost all processed foods, I've been adopting a more Waldorf-like atmosphere in our home (more on this to come), and I've been trying to make our "routines" more simple.  I don't have a set schedule that we follow everyday.  We usually take our time saying good morning and rising out of bed followed by a slow transition to the kitchen for breakfast.  We spend our days either on the go running errands and meeting people for lunch or we stick to the house where we read, listen to music, play with blocks/trains/animals/dolls/instruments, or (if we're lucky at this time of the year!) play outside.  Harper is also into helping me do chores throughout the day.  After all of that (with a little nap thrown in somewhere), we make and eat dinner.  


And that's a very brief overview of our days.


And then there's nighttime.  It used to be a time I dreaded, back when Harper had colic.  Then I tried a more regimented schedule that lasted just a few short weeks.  Between my night classes and Wade's, it was just too difficult.  Our current bed time "routine" is working pretty well and has Harper asleep the majority of the time within 30-45 minutes.  It's like this:


- Take vitamins, let dogs out one last time, last drinks of water, and potty time for everyone


- Dogs in their bed and everyone puts on their jammies


- Snuggle down in bed with a couple of books that get read no more than twice each (otherwise she'd stay up all night looking through them!)


- Lights off and we sing songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" (of course!), "Six Little Ducks","You Are My Sunshine", and "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."  What's really great about this is that Harper has recently started singing these songs along with me.  I've even heard her singing to herself or her animals/dolls while playing.  Cutest damn thing EVER.


Some nights, if she's worn out enough, the singing alone is enough to soothe her to sleep.  But if she's particularly wound up, we snuggle up next to each other and she has to hold my hand(I love holding her hand, but this is something she has to do for security, I think)(or rub the skin under my neck which becomes unbearable after awhile), and I usually have to redirect her several times to lay still and close her eyes before she falls asleep.  We have had very little tears doing this.  If she does cry it is because she A.) Doesn't want to go to sleep, even though she's beyond tired or B.) Doesn't want to put on jammies so we just wear a diaper and t-shirt.  Obviously, this is all subject to change as we approach new milestones, but, hey, it works right now and I love it.  It's happy, peaceful, and honestly fun!  Having her in our bed is something I will always remember and cherish.


P.S. Harper has lately become very into what belongs to whom.  At night we have to identify which pillow belong belongs to Momma, Daddy, and Harper.  And heaven forbid if one of us is on the wrong one!  Still, another absolutely adorable thing she does.  But then I'm biased, right?

23 Months

Harper - 
   You're just a few short weeks away from turning two years-old.  I'm incredibly excited.  You are expanding and growing and learning every moment of everyday.  You are, without even knowing, teaching me along the way.  There are many days where we struggle together, but each time we come out better than we were before.  You astound me with how much you're absorbing: ABCs, the lyrics to songs, realistic make-believe play (with dolls, trains, household chores, etc).  You're speaking in small-ish sentences and there are always a few words that just about anyone can decipher.  Of course, most of the time they just look at me for translation.
    You're very into modes of transportation (which our trip to California helped to bring to life!)  Trains are by far your favorite, but you also love school buses (you call all buses and many other things "boo buses," which is really adorable), planes (you especially love to see the planes from the small airport nearby fly "up in da skies" as you say), and big trucks.
   You're starting to learn your colors.  The thing is, when we ask you what the color of something is, you always answer "blue."  However, you will point at things and say the correct color.  I know this in not a fluke because it happens quite often.  This is similar to when you first started to learn what sounds animals make and you always answered "moo."
   You're also starting to learn how to dress yourself (though not always successfully) and you're learning right from left.
   I know I say this every time, but this is such a fun age!  Even on the difficult days there's always some sort of fun to be had or love to be shared.  I'm so thankful that I've been lucky enough to be part of your life everyday for the past 23 months.


I love more forever and always, with all of my heart,
Momma

Crazy Weather

Our weather last Friday went from rain, hail storm, heavy rain with lightening and thunder, to sunny with birds singing.  All the while remaining at around 60 degrees.

I'm ready for summer.

Happy (belated) March

So it's finally March.  It's almost spring!  (It's almost Harper's 2nd birthday! YIKES!)  It's been a pretty mild winter.  There have been very few snow showers and almost no accumulation (at least none that lasted very long).  We've had more thunderstorms than we did last summer.  But all we can say is, "Hey, it's Indiana."  If you live here you know that's true.


We usually celebrate the warmer days by going to the park.  And that's just what we did this week, knowing that the days following would be rainy and cold.  

Home Again

We made it home late Tuesday evening...just in time for me to go to class (I know, I know!  I am a model student)(who actually only read one part of her reading assignment).  It was a pretty fantastic trip.  We did lots and lots of walking: around Seaport Village, the Gaslamp Quarter, the San Diego Zoo, and a day and a half at Disneyland.  And so because I'm a bit lazy, I'll just do a little synopsis of each thing we did:


Wednesday night: got to our hotel around 11:30 pm and passed.out.


Thursday: spent the day walking around Seaport Village looking at the shops, eating, walking some more in the Gaslamp Quarter (which would be a really awesome place for a date night...they have rooftop restaurants and bars!), and then promptly passing.out


Friday: Met up with Sarah and Charlotte at the zoo.  We saw some animals, petted a couple, watched the girls climb on everything, and did a lot of talking.  It was a really terrific time and I hope we get to meet up again with them in the not too distant future!  


Saturday: Harper and I did A LOT of walking this day.  All I wanted was a pair of flow-y pants.  I didn't think it would be too hard to find a pair since we were near beaches and water.  I guess I was wrong.  So we spent all day walking and looking for a stupid pair of pants for me to wear on a yacht that my mom's work invited us on.  I was to meet her at 5:00 and I finally found some pants at like 3:00.


Sunday: Took the train to Anaheim, checked into Paradise Pier Hotel and went to Disneyland for the first time.  Harper was amazed!  She was just in awe of all the Mickey Mouse.  I swear she pointed out every shirt, hat, sign, or building that had him on it.  She was star-struck when she met Tinkerbell (who was totally awesome and did an excellent job in character).  She loved It's a Small World, the tea cups, and Dumbo.  Depsite the fact that Disneyland is tiny compared to Disney World, it was fun experience overall.


Monday: Spent part of the day at California Adventure, but since most of the park was closed for renovation, there wasn't much to do.  The Aladdin play was pretty fabulous and definitely worth the ticket price (although Harper slept through the whole thing).  We weren't terribly upset when it started raining and we had to go catch our train back to San Diego.


Get ready for picture overload!  These are just a few snapshots I took (if we're friends on Facebook you got to see some of these and more, you lucky devils!)

Eye Ub Eww!

While it's still a struggle sometimes to understand Harper, she has come leaps and bounds from where she was even a few short months ago.  Some days she amazes me with how much she actually knows.  For example, I sneezed the other day and she called out, "BESS YOU, MOMMY!"  She's also good with her manners about 75-80%.  

Playing outside on one of our many unseasonably warm days.

She says please, thank you, excuse me, you're welcome, I sorry.  She also recently started saying how things make her feel: scared, sad, tired, happy, silly.  She even does facial expressions for each one.   Within the past few days she has started to say I want this or I don't want it.  

Valentine's Day.  She looked super adorable!

And my most favorite of all, "I love you!" or, as the title says, "EYE UB EWWW!"  At first I thought she was saying emu, but slowly I figured out what she meant and she has started annunciating even better each time she says it.  It really makes me swoon every time she says it!  This is such an exciting and downright fun age.

Getting ready to go eat with Mimi and Papa

On another note, we are leaving for about 6 days to go to California.  We'll be going to the San Diego Zoo (where we will hopefully be meeting up with a fellow blogger!), going to the beach, and even stopping by Disneyland for a couple of days before we head home!  I'm really excited for this trip!  I've never been past Missouri so this should be a really good time.  Cross your fingers that the plane rides are smooth and incident-free!

Singing ABCs