Walker...

Well, I guess it won't be long now... Harper got a baby walker from Mommy & Daddy for her first birthday and is all over the place with it! She gave it a try, had a few spills, and then got it down within a few days. Here, she is pushing her baby doll around--turn up the volume and you can hear her say "baby". That is one of her words she is saying pretty clearly. The others are: Daddy, Mum, dog, back, Rudy, Jake and most recently, Tom said she pointed to her turtle picture in her room and said "turtle". She understands a lot, just gets a little frustrated when she can't communicate. She speaks full sentences of "baby babble" as if she is having a conversation with you. She also does baby signs for milk, all done and more. We're working on a few more, but it's a start.

Movin' & Groovin'

Harper has gone from crawling to climbing and dancing pretty quickly! She loves to stand at the top of the stairs and "talk" to the dogs and dance for them. She says "dogs" and "Back, back" because we always tell the dogs to back up so we can open the gate. It's pretty funny!

Harper has also started using her sippy cup all by herself and is eating more on her own (finally!). She is also almost weaned. She will nurse in the morning and before bed, but that's pretty much it. She had her very first overnight at Karen & Sal's last weekend and didn't touch any of my milk while she was there. She ate solids and drank a ton of cow's milk. The sleepover went very well and we are all excited for the next one! Thanks Karen, Sal & Max! We had a blast and so did Harper!!!

Only nine more days of being a "baby"! Harper will be one next week and will offically be a "little girl"! It's bitter sweet! We'll have to do a blog page highlighting the milestones of the past year!

Crawling!

I just had to post a crawling video!

She's much faster & more coordinated now. We'll post a new video soon!

One BIG update!

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"

Summer fun!

We have been having a blast this summer! Every day, we get out and go to the pool, park or for a hike. Harper and her baby friends are really starting to enjoy each other's company. Last week, we hung out with Levi for a couple of days while his mom went off to work. Harper and Levi were so cute and kept each other entertained all day long! When Levi came down from his nap, Harper smiled and did her "happy dance"!

Harper is just starting to take her first moves forward crawling. She gets very frustrated because she really WANTS to move, but can't. She can pivot on her tummy, roll and push herself backwards to get where she wants to go, but crawling forward is a challenge. She'll move one arm, then one leg, then fall onto her stomach. Any day now... we're definitely ready! She's been fussy because she just wants to get to her toys!

Harper absolutely loves the water! She splashes, laughs and kicks her arms and legs in an attempt to 'swim'. Her favorite move is to "jump" in from the ledge. It brings a laugh every single time.

I'm realizing that Harper needs more interaction with other kids her age at this point. Being home with her is wonderful, but she's definitely missing out on some social time. I'm looking into watching a 16 month old for 2 days this fall. He would come to our house from about 8:30-3:30. Watching Levi last week made me realize how much Harper enjoys other kids. I think it's time... I meet with this other mom tomorrow. Turns out, I know her mother-in-law. We'll see how it goes, but I'm looking forward to it.

Harper is slowly moving toward weaning (pphew). She is eating a ton of solid foods and gradually decreasing how much milk she wants/needs. I'm VERY excited for this transition and I think she is too. She's getting to be such a big girl!

Baby hike!

Yesterday we went for a hike in Eldorado with Derek, Monica and their 11 month old Levi and Grant, Nancy and their 18 month old Porter. We had quite the baby brigade going on! I forgot my camera (grrrr!) but got a few shots with my phone. It was a great time and all of the little ones were so good and had a blast. We followed up with lunch at our favorite spot, the Southern Sun. We should definitely do it more often! It was the first time using our hiking pack, and we LOVED it.

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.