Mass Trip!

We're back from a month long trip to Massachusetts! It was so great to see all of our east coast family and friends! We had a lot of quality time at Memere's house... for 2 weeks we shared the upstairs with Jeremy, Austin and Analyse. It was tight quarters, but we really enjoyed spending so much time with them. Harper enjoyed 2 beach trips and absolutely loved playing in the sand and water. She is definitely a beach baby!

I flew with her by myself both ways, and she was a champ. She is so eager to move these days, so she was very squirmy, but generally content most of the time. Harper also started chowing down on any kind of finger foods we can throw at her. She doesn't like anything pureed and the only thing she'll eat from a spoon is yogurt. In MA, she ate and loved haddock, watermelon, mango, steak, chicken, zucchini, pasta... you name it, she'll eat it. It's great! BUT, she still will not feed herself. She's pretty content being doted on and hand fed by us. Such a princess. (;

Tom and I enjoyed a day of golf, a trip to Fenway for the Red Sox v. Yankees game, and a fun night out for Jeremy & Lindsey's wedding. We haven't had that much time without Harper since before she arrived. It was a nice treat... we were lucky to have so many family members & friends willing to help out so we could make this happen. Thanks everyone! Mom and Granny said she was the best behaved baby in the world. Yup, you heard it, in the entire world. ha ha! Not sure about that, but she really IS a good, fun, energetic, entertaining, smart baby girl.

While we were gone, Harper started to almost crawl... she is soooo close. She also got to try out a baby walker at Memere's house. She thought it was a bouncy chair, so she only moved backwards. We decided we had to have one at home, so we picked one up from someone yesterday and she's getting the hang of it. She can turn and go backwards like a champ, but it takes some effort to take steps forward. Same with her crawling... she can go backwards, sideways and roll everywhere, but hasn't gotten the hang of going forward yet. She's ended up under the couch, crib and dresser with her little head and arms sticking out.

We're getting back into the swing of things here. We have yet to download more pictures, these were taken with my phone. I'll get more up as soon as I get organized.

#1 Nuggets Fan

Since the Celtics are out, Harper decided she'd be the #1 Nuggets Fan. Fair enough, she was born in Colorado! After a Nuggets win, she woke up with this Birdman hair-do. No joke, we didn't touch it, this is how she woke up! (I did photoshop in the "jersey")

Harper and I leave for Massachusetts in a few hours... we're very excited but wish we didn't have to have a day of travel to get there. Thankfully, she's a good baby, so we should be okay. I've got $$ in my wallet, so if all else fails, I'll buy drinks for the folks around me (thanks for the tip Andrea!). And, a string tied to her favorite toys will keep me from searching under the seats at the end of the flight (thanks for the tip Rebecca!). We sure are lucky to have so many great Mom friends!!! We'll be sure to update the blog while we're gone. See you in 4 weeks Colorado!

Da Da Da!!!

SO MANY NEW THINGS! Every single day!!! Harper's latest is saying, "Da da da" and blabbing as if she is having a conversation--lots of times, with herself. Tom is, of course, loving this new babble, since it sounds like Daddy! When she's tired, upset she says, "Mum, mum", but when she's happy it's now "Da da". What's wrong with this picture?! (;

She's also moving along to finger foods. She's eating egg yolks, beans, cheese, potatoes and she even tried some chicken, courtesy of Da da da. No wonder she loves him so much!

She's still rolling here, there, everywhere. We had to set up the pack & play outside the bathroom so she can sit and play while I shower. She seemed to like it, as it has all of her favorite toys inside!

Last night, she went to bed screaming because it was so HOT in her room.  We played with her for a bit and got her room cooler so she could sleep.  When I put her back down, she was still a little upset, so I handed her "Piggy".  She smiled, hugged and "kissed" piggy and immediately calmed down.  When I checked on her later, she was sound asleep, on her tummy with her legs curled under her and using Piggy as a pillow.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.  I gently moved Piggy and turned her over, without a peep from her.  I think Piggy will be her lifelong favorite.  (We aren't even sure where Piggy came from!)

Back on the Food Train

After a phase of not wanting to eat, Harper has finally jumped back on the food train! For the past week, she has been loving just about everything we can throw at her: yogurt, peaches, peas, prunes, soggy Cheerios, pears, avocado, sweet potato, toast, pancakes, croissant... she loves trying new things! I make most of her food, but gave in to some jarred baby foods when she wasn't wanting to eat. Making all of that food just to be tossed was getting annoying. Now, she eats mostly homemade stuff, some jarred (prunes, pears).

Harper is a rolling machine! She mostly rolls to the left... so she rolls the length of her room and then has to be turned around to roll on back. She LOVES it... smiles & giggles the whole time and looks so proud of herself when she reaches a toy.

She continues to be a good baby... hardly fusses at all (really, truly), sleeps great, naps, plays, loves to go for walks & drives, is content as can be when she's outside.

Harper & Squirt 8 months

We had our very first Mother's Day last weekend. Daddy & Harper cooked brunch while I went to my endurance swim group... I came home to my favorite flowers (calalillies & tulips), a nice card & photo of the two of them and an amazing brunch! It was the perfect first Mom's Day!

Summer seems to be offically here! The sun is out, flowers are in bloom, weather is nice... which means it's time for CUTE summer dresses!

Clever Baby!

Well, we always knew Harper was pretty smart, but last night she blew us away!  I happened to be up around 3am and thought I heard a little peep from her room.  I tip-toed to the door and low and behold, there she was in her crib, playing with her feet and cooing softly.  The crazy part is, her ocean wonders fish tank was illuminated and playing music.  She had turned it on all by herself.  I've seen her turn it off, but thought it was dumb luck that she had hit the button on the front of the tank.  This morning, when she woke up, I went in to feed her and she had turned it on again!  I have to think it is deliberate and she does it to have something to play with or to soothe herself.  What a clever little girl!  We are so proud!

Our month of visitors has sadly come to an end.  Grandpa, Memere and lastly Grandma & Crow, who left this morning.  Harper really enjoyed spending time with all of them!  Today, she is exhausted!  So much socializing has made her want to catch some good zzzz's, which is fine with me!  

She is now just over 8 months old.  She can now roll from her back to stomach (but doesn't care to, she much prefers to sit up or lie on her back), says "mum, mum" and "Ba, ba, blah", is back to eating some solid foods--but is as picky as her Daddy--her favorite being soggy Cheerios, sleeps all night, takes 2 naps a day and is generally very happy and content.  She is so inquisitive and serious at times, you have no question what she is thinking--all you have to do is look at her expression.  She is a very animated baby.

Harper and Mommy head back to Mass for 4 full weeks on May 27th!  We're so excited to visit everyone without rushing, and to go to Jeremy & Lindsey's wedding!  

Spring Fever!

We're heading into Spring and boy are we enjoying this great weather! Grandpa Jeff came to visit and we headed to Karen & Sal's for an Easter Brunch, spent a day in Estes Park, went to dinner at the Med and enjoyed nice walks in Boulder. Harper was such an angel, going here, there and everywhere without so much as a fuss. She really enjoyed her time with her Grandpa!

We had three full days of rain with a little snow last weekend. I think Harper and I were both in a bit of a funk and going a little stir crazy. But this week has been BEAUTIFUL with 70+ degree days. We have had a nice walk or hike outside every day this week! She has been in the best mood and is becoming hysterically funny. She laughs at herself all the time. And it's so easy to make her laugh... give her the raspberry and she is throwing her head back laughing!

Harper has decided solid foods are good again (thank goodness!). She's back on her favorite veggies and some fruits. Most fruits make her sick... she is very much a drama queen when it comes to eating. She gags, makes an awful face, then spits up everywhere. But, finally, she is enjoying pears and almost liking prunes. I'm still making all of her food and it's fun to experiment (except prunes, I buy those, not even sure HOW to make pureed prunes!). Her new favorite are "puffs"... tiny cereal pieces that melt in her mouth. When she was refusing all foods, that was what got her to try eating again. She's great at picking them up, but hasn't quite figured out that she can get them in her mouth herself. She'd much rather drop them over the edge of the table to the dogs... which is of course, hysterical to her. She cracks me up all day long.

Memere arrives this Saturday for one full week and we are very excited. Lots to do when Memere is here, and we can't wait for her to see how much Harper has changed.

Lots of new things!

I want to crawl!

Harper continues to grow, grow, grow! She is so lively and animated and has the cutest personality! She's starting to "play" with her other baby friends, reaching out to touch their faces and babbling back and forth & snatching toys from each other. It is VERY cute! She is completely sitting up on her own now and is kicking her legs when she is on her tummy, in an attempt to scoot forward. It won't be long until she is crawling around everywhere! She is generally content, rarely fussy, and is just an absolute Joie! She finally got the "nap thing" and takes 2 a day in her crib. She's still sleeping about 12 hours straight through at night too. Harper was doing great on solids, eating like a champ, until she got a little "backed up". We tried to feed her apple juice & prunes to help, but she didn't want to touch them. Could it be possible that MY daughter doesn't have a sweet tooth!? Absurd! So, she's been off solids for over a week now--won't even touch her favorites at this point. But, we're not pushing it, just letting her play with the food and figure it out. She's not "mouthy" yet... the only thing she puts in her mouth is her finger.

Harper helping with laundry & showing off her belly.

We head back to her doctor's next week for her next vaccination. We're still catching up on her 4 month shots, one at a time, to figure out which one gave her such a bad reaction at 2 months. We're fine with spreading them out, which is what we originally wanted to do.

We have lots of visitors this month! Grandpa gets in on Saturday for 5 days and then Memere visits for a week at the end of April. Grandpa has not met Harper yet, so we're pretty excited for his visit! And Memere hasn't seen Harper in over three months, so we can't wait for her to see how much she has changed. And then, Grandma & Crow visit in early May on their way back from Tahoe. After that, Harper and I venture back to Massachusetts for a full MONTH! Tom will join us for a week and a half in the middle of the trip, but he's sure going to miss his little baby girl!

Harper and Fiona playing