Wow, we have not been very good about updating this blog! And yet, there have been so many great, new things to report! Firstly, Harper started crawling on July 21st! I took care of a little boy, Silas, who is walking and I think watching him move around on his own was her ultimate frustration. She just HAD to crawl so she could keep up with him! She took a few tentative, well thought out moves forward, and then, she was OFF! She got really fast, really quick! Since then, she can cover the main level of our house in a matter of seconds, pull herself up to standing, crawl up and across the base of the island in the kitchen and get just about anywhere. She's had a great time exploring here, there and everywhere! Everyone said we'd be sorry once she was mobile, but we are thrilled. She is so much happier now that she can get her own toys and go where SHE wants to go! One of her favorite places to go, unfortunately, is in Jake's food dish. Thankfully, he could care less and she has no interest in putting anything in her mouth. We try to put her way across the room when we feed him, but she gets so excited and crawls to his bowl as fast as she can, laughing all the way. It's pretty cute, but not the best habit. Jake is very patient and eats food off the floor, out of her hand, wherever it happens to be. The water bowl is also fun to splash around in. Oh boy...
We spent my birthday weekend in Frisco with Rebecca, Luciano and Lola (who is 4 days younger than Harper). Adults and kids had a blast! We put the girls in the double Burley to bike around Lake Dillon & have drinks at the Tiki Bar on the lake. The next day, we hiked along North Ten Mile Trail and had lunch on the creek. It was a great weekend with lots of fun activities, great company and cool mountain air.
Harper and I spent two nights at Karen & Sal's last weekend. It was rainy a lot of the time, so we didn't do too much outdoors, but it was nice to get away for a bit and give Tom some alone time at home.
We're enjoying summer: trips to the pool, park, creek... bike rides, long walks, Farmer's Market, hikes... anything to get outside and enjoy beautiful Colorado!
At 11 months, Harper is eating just about everything we can throw at her. Most meals, she eats what we eat. She loves fruits, veggies, pasta, meatballs, fish, chicken, meat, cheese, burritos, pizza... everything. We got the go ahead from her doctor to begin introducing cow's milk gradually to work toward weaning. She's needing less and less of my milk, so we're needing to take advantage of this and get her onto regular milk. She still has no interest in feeding herself, but she is just starting to eat crackers on her own. It has to be something she can hold in her hand that is long enough to poke out. She hasn't figured out how to open her hand and get small foods into her mouth. But she is very good at feeding me, Tom and the dogs. (;
We've got some exciting things coming up... Harper will have her very first overnight at Karen & Sal's on August 22nd so Tom and I can enjoy an anniversary party all by ourselves! The following weekend is Harper's first birthday party, and then our fourth anniversary. I also just booked by very own, first weekend away in October! I'll be going up to Granby for a Yoga retreat and training weekend with Julie Goodnight. I am too excited for words. A full weekend of time for myself is very much needed right now. I'll miss Tom and Harper, but I'll come back refreshed and rejuvenated!
Starting in September, I will be watching Silas two days a week. His mom and I connected through Craig's List and it seems like a great match. Turns out, her mother in law is a volunteer at the riding center where I used to work, so she gave me a good recommendation. He is 6 months older than Harper, but they get along great, and he is very easy going. So, he'll be here on Tuesdays & Wednsdays, and THEN, Harper will spend Thursdays with Lola and her nanny. As much as I LOVE being home with Harper, she is needing more interaction with other kids her age, and I'm really needing a break here and there. So, this will be good for both of us. Then we can all enjoy family time in the evening instead of me running here or there once Tom gets home. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it all works out. Harper is going to meet Toni, the nanny, next week to make sure everyone is comfortable.
Harper & Lola in Frisco!Harper watching "Baby Einstein's Baby Signs"
