Saturday morning helper

During Daddy daycare on Saturday mornings, poor Harper usually gets put to work helping with the chores. She enjoys helping with the laundry the most because she can climb in and out of the basket and throw the clothes all around. She does get distracted from time to time by nearby puzzles and toys. She is aware her pay does get docked for this. 

She also likes to take the dogs out so she can sit in her chair in the sun. 

9 Months Old

Alright at this point Harper is getting too close to her 1st Birthday, she really needs to slow down... yeah right!  This little baby is changing so fast and becoming more toddler like everyday.  This has been a busy month, so many firsts and milestones to talk about.  Harper had her first visit to a pumpkin patch, a family vacation in the beautiful Watersound, a visit to Farm Day, and her first Halloween just to name a few!  She has perfected her cruising skills to now standing without assistance for brief moments. She has a mean squat too, this little girl has some thunder thighs on her.  Will's favorite milestone this month was getting to hear Harper say "dada."  It started out as a whisper but it has turned into a yell. She is getting quite loud these days.  She has also mastered a sweet little wave.  She will wave at people in stores, she waves at the pets, and she will wave at herself in the mirror.  Clapping on the other, had her a bit confused for awhile.  However, she just figured it out last week.  Now she is a clapping fool!  She absolutely loves to clap and does it perfectly every time you prompt her to.  Watching her learn these behaviors have been some of my favorite moments so far.  In other big news, Harper has finally had her top two tooth rupture through the gums.  They came through just a day apart so teething has been a bit rough, but she was instantly better after they appeared.  Harper now has a new favorite part of her bed time routine.  I strip her down naked and let her loose.  She will crawl at the speed of light to the bathtub and stand up and squeal with excitement as we get her bath ready.  She still LOVES bath time and has intense splash parties every night. 

Harper's Halloween was a huge success.  We went trick or treating with some friends who have an 18 month old daughter.  Harper went dressed as a pink Octopus and she was quite the hit.  She managed to rake in an impressive amount of candy for her parents.  Our church had a huge pumpkin patch so we took Harper and she made a new hobby of pumpkin slapping.  She loved the sound it made when she hit them with her tiny hand.

We had a wonderful family vacation with all of the McCallens in Seagrove.  Harper enjoyed all of the attention from the fam and hanging out with her cuz Nora.  We went to a Halloween festival, and to the halloweiner derby which is a dachshund race.  Harper seem to enjoy it all and did well in the mass crowds.  Our last big outing this month was to Farm Day in Defuniak Springs.  There were a lot of animals for her to look at, including donkeys, horses, pigs, sheep, and even camels.  The point of farm day... I'm not sure I quite figured that out while we were there.  Oh well, I got to pet a bunch of animals and that is always fun! After that we went to play in a giant cotton field at our friends house.  They have a little boy that is a year old and he seemed to have a crush on Harper already. 

Harper is starting to show that she must have her mom's tiny genes.  She is in about the 15-20% at 17.5 pounds and 26 inches long. 

Here are the pics of the month!

Clapping!

 

Beached Octopus, it is a good thing I am trained for this kind of thing.

 

Harper approves this message...

Relaxing in the countryside

 

Balloon animals in Seaside

Helping daddy get the bath ready! 

 

Was this Harper's 1st date???

 

8 Months Old

Ok so I am a little late considering Harper will be 9 months in just a few days, so here is quick review of her 8th month and I will be posting again soon for her 9th month update.  

During Harper's 8th month she started babbling finally.  She even said her 1st word... "Mama!" 
It has been so special to actually hear her little voice making sounds and trying to talk.  She has become quite efficient at crawling and getting into things which is keeping us on our toes.  I have invested in a baby gate and other baby proofing items! Harper has started using the coffee table and couch to pull up and take steps to move from one end to the other.  Both of these new abilities have made our monthly photo sessions quite the challenge so I must say that this month's pics are not very good.  We both were frustrated and fed up with the whole thing as you will see in the pics below.  Hopefully next month will go better...

She weighs around 16.5 pounds

Bed hed

 

Trying so hard!

 

 

Her 1st fall

 

Oh so fussy...

 

And she is officially over it....

 

I know these pics are not much to look at but I will make up for it in the 9 month post.  Tons of great pictures and more exciting milestones to talk about! 

7 Months Old

Well this month we hit a huge milestone, Harper started crawling!  She went from scooting to full out crawling in just a few weeks.  Her motivation is usually a dirty dog toy or dog bowl of some sort that she is insistent on putting in her mouth.  Time to start baby proofing our house!  She is also very eager to pull up and stand and will use just about anything she can grab to do so.  She likes to lift her little booty in her baths now and try to step out of her baby tub which makes for a hard to hold, slippery baby. What amazes Will and I is the fact that when Harper holds our hands for support, she can already "walk" by taking right-left steps very smooth and effectively.  Hopefully Harper will give us a break and not be an early walker.  I want to enjoy what baby characteristics she has left and not have her running around the house just yet.  Her two teeth are easily visible now when she smiles.  I was finally able to get some pictures of those illusive little teeth.  Harper's new favorite trick this month is sucking on her top lip.  It is quite strange looking, but very adorable at the same time.  Her vocals are changing a little bit, she is just starting to make some babbling sounds that will one day lead to mama or dada.  I don't expect any first words anytime soon though.  Harper's weight this week is 16.2 pounds which puts her in the 35th percentile.  She is starting to take after me already.


Here are some photos taken recently...

She is always such a good little model for me.

 

Crawling off of the background that I had set up, notice the determination.

 

Very proud of my two teeth!

 

 

 

 

 

This is when I know the photo shoot is over...

 

 

 

Harper and her cousin Nora who recently came to visit

6 Months Old

For the past 16 months my body has been the only thing providing the nutrients that Harper needed to grow and thrive.  It is amazing to think that I have been able to sustain a life all by myself for that long.  That is until now because Harper has officially started on solid foods!  She is still getting mostly "my" nutrients, but took to rice cereal instantly. Soon we plan on introducing her to the usual carrots and other vegetables so hopefully she will continue to like the experience of eating solid foods.  It has been an exciting month watching her grow and change.  Harper is now sitting up on her own very well and enjoys figuring out new toys while sitting on her play mat.  She can even figure out how to turn on her toys by herself now.  She still hasn't met someone she won't smile for and is getting increasingly vocal.  Will and I hope to hear a "mama" or "dada" soon but I think we have quite a few months before that happens. She is laughing more and more, although she still has her signature pterodactyl screech mixed in.  It will be interesting if she hangs on to that trait through high school.  Harper's crawling skills are in the works, but she still prefers to "fly" with her arms spread far side to side.  She is getting better at getting her knees underneath her but I think we still have sometime before crawling occurs... at least I hope so.  In other big news, Harper is getting her first tooth on her lower jaw.  It is just visible under the gum surface so I expect it to cut through very soon.  Wish us luck, so far her teething hasn't been bad but I know that has been too good to be true and I anticipate the full power of a fussy teething baby to appear. 

Last Friday Harper had to tell her Aunt Heather, Uncle Blair, and Cousin Carter goodbye because they left to go back to China.  We will see them again hopefully in Jan. with a new little cousin for Harper to meet as well.  We had a fun summer with them and it is crazy to think that next time Harper and Carter hang out they will both be walking.  We also made a trip up to Birmingham to visit the rest of the family. It was good to see everyone, especially little Nora who is now walking and talking like a champ.   I think Harper has hair envy from her cousin Nora.  I promised her that she will one day have that much pretty hair!


Overall, the past 6 months have been so special and memorable.  I don't feel like they have gone by too fast, but then again I find myself hanging on tight to the little baby features Harper has left because I know she will be walking and talking before we know it.  I do look forward to those days as well, but I'm not in any hurry to have a toddler just yet.  I am really enjoying my immobile little baby for the time being.

 Carter helping with Harper's headband

Flying!

Gulf World visit

First solid meal of rice cereal 7/28/12