First of all, I have to correct my last blog... Grammy is only 52, not 53... Harper lost count somehow ;)
Harper met two brand new baby friends this month and it's amazing to see how different babies are in such a short time. We got to meet Peyton, Shellain's sweet baby girl, last week and she sure was a pretty baby!! We also met Victoria, the daughter of a pharmacy school friend of Grammys, this past weekend. It was so fun to love on these brand new babies and I'm excited for Harper to finally have some buddies. Speaking of which... I didn't mention this on the blog last month because they hadn't officially put it out for the world to see but we are sooooo excited for baby hamilton who is due to arrive August 30th!!!! We are hosting a gender reveal for them in a couple weekends and cannot wait to find out if we are going to be welcoming a baby boy or girl into the fam!
Harper is currently going through a phase of loving her mom to the max. We are the best of buds right now... and she let's me know how unhappy it makes her if I leave the room without her, don't sit on the rug and play with her, etc. ;) Sometimes I don't even have to play with her, she just likes to reach over and pat my leg to make sure I'm still nearby. This little stage is pretty amusing but at the same time her pitiful little eyes sure do tug at my heartstrings when she's upset with me! haha... She is just a tiiiiny bit spoiled ;)
On Harper's first Valentine's day, she made her dad the cuuutest Valentine which he decided to frame and hang in the bathroom! We also made our first trip to the doctor for an acute illness on Vday... so romantic :) Harper had a fever/cough/congestion going on for a couple of weeks. I did my own little exam and thought she was totally fine but we decided that maybe we should go see the real doctors ;) They said she looked great and I'm guessing the only reason it drug on for so long was two separate viruses that just meshed into a couple weeks of our girl not feeling so well. After she got over her congestion, she became the happiest baby all of the sudden!! Harper has a habit of becoming a bit of a grumpalump around 7:30 in the evenings but she has gotten so much better. The only time she gets seriously unhappy is if she stays up too late but she has definitely become a little more flexible.
We are still not crawling but so so close! She gets up on all fours all the time, rocks for a bit, then slides down to her belly, rolls around to get what she wants, then pushes herself back up to sit... or whines until someone else sits her up ;) We bought her a little leapfrog table thing that she loves to stand at and play. Since we got it, honestly all she wants to do is stand! Sometimes when you try to sit her on her bottom she becomes stiff as a board and won't bend at the waist or the knees so that you have to keep her standing. It's pretty amusing. She has pulled herself up to standing a couple times at the table but it's not sturdy enough to support her without someone holding down the other side of the table.
A new trick she has acquired is giving fives! Her dad is awfully proud of this and it is pretty darn cute. We thought she might be trying to say her first word.... up. haha Whenever I'm helping her stand or about to pick her up I will always repeat 'up,up,up,up??' The other day she was sitting on the bathroom floor while I was getting ready and she scooted herself over to my leg, reached up her arms and starts saying '-p, -p, -p'. I told Andy and he didn't believe me but he babysat one Saturday morning and thought she was actually intentionally saying it as well. We haven't heard it in the past couple days though so who knows. She loves repeating other syllables though!
I caught her doing the cutest thing the other day - she was sitting on the floor playing with her babydoll and I watched her taking her paci out and trying to put it in her babydolls mouth :) She is always trying to put it in other people's mouths now but I thought it was sweet watching her and her doll.
Harper's favorite toys currently are her stand up table, her big dog that she can put toys in the mouth, balls, books and her farm magnets for the fridge. The farm magnets are seriously the best thing ever. Whenever I'm trying to cook I just plop her on the ground in front of the fridge and she plays with the magnets for a few minutes. She loves, loves reading books. Every night before bed, we read her books and she will sit there for at least 6-8 books until she gets really fussy. Sometimes she likes to help turn pages and sometimes she will just chill out and watch. Before bed we also brush her teeth! haha... all two of them!! :)
Andy loves showing off Harper's situp skills. When she's on her back she will push up with her elbows but can't quite get to sitting that direction... unless you hold down her legs for her. Then she sloooowly uses her little baby abs to get to sitting... it looks exhausting but doesn't seem to bother her! :)
We had a couple of big events - we went to Grant and Liz's wedding and Harper was so well behaved! She was quiet during the ceremony, took a power nap before the reception, then boogied down on the dancefloor for a couple of songs. She also got her first bite of wedding cake... haha. We also went to ESPN gameday! She was mesmerized at first by all the people.... and then took a nap. haha
She's still wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes and either size 2 or 3 diapers. :) Her hair has gotten so much longer and she is still sporting a little ponytail (or rat tail... call it what you like) in the back :) I can now clip little bows in her hair and she is a lot better about leaving those in than she is about headbands. She is still a pretty good eater. She normally gets cereal for lunch then fruit/veggies/cheese/yogurt for dinner. Dad gave her some dehydrated apples which she loves! They are the perfect snack when we are out because she gums on them forever.
We are ready for some warm weather for sure!! Harper loves going on walks and it has just been too darn cold for any of that lately. I'm finished with school in 2.5 short weeks so I can't wait to hang out with my girl all day long! :)
Here's a few pics :)
bathtime hairdo courtesy of dad
harper LOVES being tossed into the air by her dad
sleepy sleepy baby
harper says, "whatcha lookin at mom"
thought we might get on tv at gameday with this paci ;)
harper loves tasting the air when she goes outside.. haha
she has an affinity for pretty necklaces!
her fancy purple peacoat!
at the wedding
evvveryone loves making harper smile :)
with her grammy
telling cam which card he should play..
this was a challenging month to get a good photo
had to move this photoshoot to the floor...
this face looks like trouble to me!
when she's excited she flaps her arms like a wild child! :)
