While Daddy's away, the girls will... play?

Harper had her 2 month appointment last week and she was a whopping 10lbs. 9oz.! She sure is growing! She also got her first round of vaccinations and it was absolute torture. I'm still not sure she needed all of them, but they group them together so there are fewer shots. We'll need some for travel, so we just had to go with it. It was very hard to see her scream when the gave them to her. She was also 'not right' for a week following the shots. I'm not sure if she was just tired and off in her routine (we stayed with Karen & Sal for a few days), or if her tummy was upset from the Rotovirus and Pertussis vaccines (that was my guess). Poor thing! Thankfully, she's back to her mostly happy self now.

She has been sleeping great through the nights with only one feeding around 3-4am. This has been pretty consistent for almost a month now and we're all thrilled! Such a good little sleeper... we hope it continues FOREVER!

No pictures this time, Daddy has the camera in China with him. It's been hard having him gone, but we're trying to keep busy. We spent 3 nights at Karen & Sal's house... it was so nice to have the company and support while we were there! Julie was here Sun-Thurs, which was amazing. Just to have some social outlet was key for me, and we even made it to the Med for dinner one night. We're very sad now that she is gone. We're on our own for a few more days until Tom is back. Cana kindly called & offered to watch Harper on Sunday for a couple of hours so I can go do something for ME! I'm going to go get my poor horse moving and spend some time at the barn. I am badly in need of some horsey time!!!
So, while Daddy's away, the girls aren't really playing... just surviving till he gets home! Come home soon Daddy, we miss you!!!

Halloween Fun!

The Halloween gang

Harper is now two months old! Time has flown by! We dressed her up as a pumpkin for the neighborhood Halloween parade... her friends Tucker & Haley joined in the fun. Tucker's mom, Christie, got some great shots of the two little punkins! Harper dressed up again on Halloween night to hand out candy to trick or treaters. She got rave reviews from all of the kiddos who visited!

Today, we have her 2 month check up and the first round of immunizations. I have been so torn on what to do about them, but we decided to go ahead and give them to her. We'll need them for travel, and, they give them for a reason. We'll take our chances, I guess.

Harper continues to sleep through the night, with one feeding, usually around 3-4am. This time change is terrible, she's sleeping by 8pm, and I'm not ready to go to bed yet. Then she's up at 6am and I'm definitely not ready to get up yet! At least she's consistent, and still sleeping for hours at a time. I really shouldn't complan (but I will anyway!). Hopefully she'll get on the new time change soon (why do we still do this anyway?!).

We'll be staying up late to check the election results tonight. Tom leaves early Thursday for China... so our last couple of evenings together before he leaves. I'll pack up and head to Karen & Sal's until Sunday, then Auntie Julie gets here for a few days! We're so excited, but I have already told her Harper is NOT going to the Bobbi Brown counter at Nordstrom's until she is AT LEAST 17 years old (or even better, never)! Ha! Still hoping she'll be a bit of a Tom Boy... I dress her in cutsie things, and all that is pink, in the hopes that she will grow up to hate pink and anything too girly. Ha!

I'm growing!

Harper is now nearly 8 weeks old and is settling into a nice routine! She has had over a week of good nights, sleeping for 10-12 hours a night with 1 or no feedings! She's going longer in between her daytime feedings too. The "witching ours" in the evening are much shorter in duration, and some nights, she is as content as can be. We realized changing things up seems to work best for her... going for a walk at 5:30, going to dinner, doing tummy time, etc... anything to break of the monotony of the evening. Mommy & Daddy are trying to be better about relaxing and enjoying each other's company--we remembered that we have a wonderful hot tub in the back yard and we try to go in it when Harper goes to bed at a reasonable time. We are also getting good nights sleep too, which is so helpful! Last weekend, we ventured up to Wild Basin for Ryan & Cara's wedding. It was so beautiful and it was our first extended time away from Harper. She stayed with Auntie Karen, Uncle Sal & Max and was great! We stayed over and she even slept through the night at their house. We're hoping we're onto something... (picture of the 'family bed' before we put Harper down in the pack & play--she's hidden in there somewhere with the dogs & Daddy).

This picture is of Harper in what was supposed to be her going home outfit after she was born, but it was WAY too big. Look how much she has grown! This outfit is snug on her now and she has graduated into size 1 diapers! (After 2 major blowouts of the newborn size, we figured it was time to move up!) She is very healthy & happy--cracking smiles and cooing all the time! She still loves to be on the move all day... she won't nap in her crib, but will pass out in the swing, bouncy chair, Moby, car or stroller. BUT, she sleeps great in her crib at night, so it's working for us. I feel like we're getting into a good routine (we hope!).  She especially likes going for walks with her baby friends during the day--it's great to have so many mommy friends who are also home (for now anyway).

Harper has her 2 month appointment next Tuesday, Nov. 4th. Still debating over what to do about an immunization schedule... we have to do some becuase of our plans to travel out of the country at some point but we don't want her little body to have to undergo 12 immunizations at 2 months!!! Crazy! We'll see....
Also, on Nov 4th, Harper says don't forget to VOTE!
(Unless you're voting for McCain, then she says just stay home--ha!)


Harper is very sad about the Red Sox... she rallied and tried to stay up to watch the games but it didn't work. Maybe next year. You've got to suffer a bit (or a lot) to be a true fan.

Blissful Weekend Retreat & Road Trip

Well, our road trip to visit Grandma (Tom's mom) in Saguache was a huge success! She gave us gift certificates for a stay at a local B&B and massages last Christmas, and we finally got around to using them! The 3.5 hour drive only took us 4, with one quick stop for Harper and 2-3 stops for Daddy. We stayed at a cozy, beautiful B&B run by Marge's friend, Starr. She spoiled us rotten! Amazing breakfasts, a beautiful room with a feather down king sized bed, fireplace, TV (for the Sox game), wood burning hot tub, a horse in the back yard, and the most relaxing, wonderful massages we've ever had!

It was just what we needed to unwind and rest up. Harper even followed suit by sleeping from 7p-9a on Saturday night, with only 2 feedings during the night! She continued this blissful sleep Sunday & Tuesday nights... we're hoping we're onto something here! Check out the B&B at www.bearmedicinewellnesscenter.com, it is about 30 minutes from Crestone, 45 minutes from Salida or the Great Sand Dunes. Definitely worth a trip down for anyone looking to stay in a small, quiet town and enjoy a relaxing weekend. The drive is beautiful too!

New Friends!

Harper is very lucky to have so many new baby friends!  It seems as though everyone is having babies, which means new friends for Harper!  

Rebecca, Luciano and Lola came over last Saturday.  Lola is 4 days younger than Harper.  They really didn't seem to care about each other, yet, but when they are old enough to play we're sure they'll be the best of friends.

We found out Daddy has to go to China & Tibet for 2 weeks in November, which makes us both so sad.  Not sure what we'll do without him!  But, "Auntie Julie" is going to visit for a few days and then we'll head up to Karen & Sal's for a few days too.  Harper is very lucky to have such supportive friends & family.

Harper is growing more & more every day!  I wake up, get her from the crib and swear she has gained a pound overnight.  She's getting into a little more of a routine with naps, but it's not 100% consistent.  She loves going for walks and rides in the car.  This weekend, we're going to visit Grandma in Saguache.  This will be a test for all of us!  A 3 1/2 hour drive, which will be much longer with feeding, etc. along the way.  But we think we're ready (check back next week to see if we all survived & are still sane)!

Photo Shoot & CU Tailgate

Our friend Heidi hosted a "Mommy's Lunch & Photo shoot" at her house last Thursday and got some really great, cute shots of Harper and her 2 new friends (Lily & John). All 3 babies are less than 6 weeks old! Harper was very photogenic, turning it on for the camera for every shot! Here are some of the photos we got. Heidi is an amazing, talented photographer... if anyone is interested in seeing her work, visit http://www.wholepicture.org/ and http://www.letterproject.com/. We are so appreciative of her for doing this!

A cowgirl in the making!

Last Sunday, we got all dressed up in our CU gear to try to meet up with some friends at the CU tail

gate. We were late (as we usually are these days) and missed everyone, but Harper was a trooper with all the noise & people. She slept through it all!

Things have been going fairly well, but we now call 5pm-10pm the "witching hours"... she may or may not have a meltdown, and it may or may not last 5 hours. It's a little unnerving, not knowing what to do for her. ): We've heard several theories from various people, but we think it's when she doesn't sleep enough during the day and is SO TIRED she just doesn't know what to do. We're working through it... she is not the 'ultimate non-fussy baby' as we orginally thought. Thankfully, she still sleeps fairly well at night and is rather content during the day.

One Month In & Harper's Carbon Footprint...

We made it through the first month! Although we think she is the cutest thing in the world & love her to pieces, we'd be lying if we said it was all smooth sailing. It's not fair really, to ask parents to figure out what to do for their newborn on virtually no sleep. That being said, we have gotten into somewhat of a rhythm (as much as you can after one month), we're getting more sleep and leaving the house as much as we can. I've been packing up Harper, the 2 dogs and the baby jogger and driving to Teller trail head nearly every day to go for a nice long walk. Tom often meets up with us after work. Harper LOVES to be on the move... in the car, on the trail, whatever. We think she'll be an outdoor girl! She's starting to make good eye contact and crack some smiles here and there. She is a pretty content baby overall, but does have her one meltdown a day.

Memere left last Saturday and Mommy had a meltdown on Monday morning when she realized she wasn't coming up from her room for coffee! Yikes! What would I do without Memere?! Who would I talk to?! How was I going to shower!? How was I going to eat?! Reluctantly, after a day of shedding many tears, I sucked it up and we managed to get into a routine and Harper has been nice enough to hang out in her swing or pack & play in the bathroom door so I can take a quick shower. And, she loves hanging out in her Moby wrap and will sleep in it for a couple of hours at a time. This gives me 2 free hands to do essential things like eat, pick up, do laundry, pet our neglected pups and update our baby blog!

Little girl, BIG crib!

We managed to take Mom & Aunt Karen out for haircuts and lunch last week, all with minimal fussing. Harper was a real trooper! That was our longest time out yet. Yesterday, Harper met Lakota! I think we've got a barn brat on our hands, she loved looking around at the horses and seemed intrigued by everything. She sat quietly in her Moby wrap while Lakota had his feet trimmed (well, sort of, he's been so neglected and underworked his hooves haven't grown--that will all change soon!) Last night, we met Sarah & Thaddius for dinner and Harper slept through it all. Aahhhh, our first peaceful dinner out!

Harper's latest trick is to pee right after we take her diaper off, before we have the next one ready. We see this as her way to help the environment. Her message to John McCain, "I'm saving 5-6 diapers a day, what are you doing?!" hee hee