Harper - 12 months!

Happy Birthday, Harper! I can't believe a year has already went by!

This is so crazy to me but you already have quite a vocabulary. Some of the words that we have heard you say: doggie, puppy, daddy/dada, mama, yummy, cracker, Bible, banana, Harper, thank you, amen, and hi.

You just finally started crawling on your hands and knees (2/19/12). I am so happy that your clothes will stay a little cleaner now that you are no longer sliding around on your belly everywhere.
You love bath time and bubbles and you have so much fun when you try to tickle your sister. You have been going to story time and you are such an observer when we are there.

We will celebrate your birthday this Saturday with some family and close friends. Sometime before I forget I should write down your birth story some of the details are still so vivid to me and it was such an amazing day!

We love you sweetie!

 

 

Not ready for this!

I usually don't post things until much after they have happened but last night as we were fixing dinner Harper was exploring. She likes to sit in front of the refrigerator when we are getting things out, just like Avalyn did when she was Harper's age. She has recently figured out how to get drawers open so she had opened the bottom drawer and was pulling things out. As she was pulling out blocks of cheese and butter (and sunk her teeth into a stick of butter) we laughed that it would be so funny if she stood for the first time in the refrigerator. It was maybe 1 minute later that Harper started to try and pull herself up! Thankfully I had the camera right on the counter so I was able to grab a few quick shots while Josh and Avalyn stood guard in case she fell over! :)

This morning she pulled herself up on the side of the bathtub when she was waiting for her bath and then today she pulled herself up on Avy's helper tower a few times. Wow! I am sure it won't be long until she is standing in her crib wanting us to get her out.  She could hardly straighten her legs all the way at first but even today after I saw her do it again a few times her legs are getting stronger and she is able to support herself on her legs much better.

And now, if you know our dog here is proof that she really is calm most of the time and the girls do crawl all over her and she just lays there! Apparently she makes a pretty good prop to pull yourself up with too.

 

P.S. I promise, Harper does have (and wear) pants. It is just easier for her to get traction to move around on the hard floors when she doesn't wear pants or socks! :)

Avalyn - 32 Months

32 months? Did I add that all up correctly?
Avy, you are growing up so quick! You love to sing and dance, especially trying ballet moves. You are a great helper with Harper and you are doing so well with sharing.

You have been working on good behavior and have made some great improvements! We are still working on potty training, I know you will get it eventually! At this point it feels like a battle of the wills so we try not to pressure you with it too much.
You have quite a few books that you can "read" to us and you really do know them word for word. The same with your songs that you like to sing before bed. We are amazed at what you can remember.
You really like to Skype with Aunt Lacey in China and Grandma and Grandpa Miller in Michigan. You will ask many times each day to see if they are home on the "peeka".
You like going to the park and to the library. Lately you have been asking to go to church every day so I think you enjoy going to church too!

Today you got to eat a Thin Mint cookie and I know I saw you take one bite but then the cookie was gone...smart girl! :) I hope you enjoyed it!

Harper - 11 months!

Harpsy, as Avalyn loves to call you. Or Harpery. How she comes up with these things we will never know!
Harper, you are getting to be quite the talker. You love to make noise, and loud noise at that! You are sliding all over the place on your belly and are pulling yourself up to your knees. You got another new tooth so you are now at 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. Some of your favorite foods are crackers, oatmeal, applesauce, crackers, cheese, avocado, crackers, cheerios, crackers, cheerios....and you also like shredded chicken and peas.
Yes, we are still trying to get you on a more balanced diet with table foods but you know how to tell us when you don't want/like something. You throw it off your tray for the dog to eat and shake your head "no"!
You are doing better with being comfortable around new people and you have stayed in the nursery at church with no problems the past 3 weeks! YEAH!
You also enjoy going to story time with Avalyn and riding in the stroller at the park.

We recently moved Avalyn and Harper into the same room and after a few days of listening to 2 little sisters chatting through the monitor at nap time I think you are finally used to sleeping in the same room and are both getting much more sleep now.

Harper - 10 months!

Harper was 10 months in December! Here are the highlights from month 9 to month 10!
-Went on first road trip, to Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house. Slept all night in the car while we drove 1300 miles!
-Shortly after we got there we found out you had three more teeth that came in. We didn't even know! Your Uncle Ryan was holding you and saw them, the fourth on top is still just below the surface and hasn't quite broken through.
-You got to meet some cousins and aunts and uncles that you had not yet met.
-Mastered moving from seated position to your belly and you army crawl everywhere.
-Started trying to repeat our words.
-Had your first Christmas. You tried to help Avy blow out the candles when we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

We can't believe you are almost 1 year old! In some ways it seems like just yesterday we were driving to the hospital to have you. In other ways it seems like you have been with us forever. We love you!

Harper - 9 Months!

Harper was 9 months back in November!
Some highlights from 9 month checkup:
-weigh 17 lbs
-28.5 inches tall
-2 teeth on the bottom that appeared seemingly overnight
-love to clap and dance
-love to eat crackers...only crackers! It is hard to get you to eat anything else some days!
-still going strong with nursing
-wear mostly 9 month clothes but moving into 12 month sizes

Love you, Harps!

 

9 months

Giving Thanks #2

This little sweetie.

(Avalyn - 29 months)

Harper - 8 Months Old!

Harper! You are 8 months old! You are such a sweet baby. You like to eat...and your sleep is finally getting on track! You really have to be ALMOST crawling now. You can roll and spin and scoot backwards, you push with your hands up and then push up on your toes so you kind of do a teeny tiny downward facing dog pose but then you fall back down on your belly. You are trying to figure out how to clap your sweet little hands and you love music. You are having some issues with separation anxiety but it is just fine. You are such a blessing to us. Love you, Harper Baby!

Avalyn - 28 Months

Avalyn, you are 28 months old. I wanted to take a minute and record some of the sweet things you say and do so that we don't forget them when you are older!
You are a great big sister to Harper and lately have been asking to pick her up and move her. You want her to be wherever you are. You are a wonderful helper in the kitchen, putting your laundry in the basket and putting things in the trash.
You love going to the zoo to see the giraffes and feed them lettuce. You really like to watch baseball and to throw your ball outside.
You are sure to tell us "um yuv you" (I love you) and your compliments at dinner are so sweet, "Very dishus" (Very delicious) and "yummy."
You got to ride the carousel at the zoo the other day and you loved it. You cried when it stopped and didn't want to get off!
You are learning how to share your toys and take turns. Not always fun but you are doing a great job with figuring this out.
You can count to 5 on your own and to 10 or sometimes 20 with help. You can identify quite a few letters on your own too.
We love you Avalyn and are so thankful for you and your sweet spirit!

Just keepin' it real here.

 

 

   

Harper - 7 months

Harper, you are 7 months old now! You are getting so big! At your 6 month checkup you weighed 15 pounds and 12 ounces (average monthly growth is 1 pound) so I know you are at least 16 pounds and probably well on your way to 17. You are switching in mostly 9months size clothing and we had to buy bigger diaper covers this week! It seems like you are starting to understand eating more now and you really like to try whatever food we are having too.
This weekend we went to Famous Dave's with Grandma and Grandpa E and you ate chicken and a few pieces of corn and also tried collard greens, I think you liked it!
You like blueberries, yogurt, and oatmeal which is not surprising since it is still what Avalyn eats for breakfast most days. You also enjoy avocados, roasted carrots, green beans, and roast beef.
You can scoot backwards and roll/spin all over. We think you are trying to figure out crawling because the past few days any time we get you out of your crib you have had your knees up under your belly and are pushing your belly up too. You are a little chatterbox and you light up when you see your sister. You recognize your name when we say it and like to give kisses!

We love you, Harper!

Harper is 6 Months Old!

Harper, you are now 6 months old!
You are such a sweet baby. You are very social and love sharing your smile with people, except for me and the camera! You have really found your voice in the past few weeks and love making noise. You are trying some of the foods we are eating (bell peppers slices, avocado slices, spaghetti, garlic bread, nectarine slices, oatmeal, cucumbers, green beans, and pesto rotini). You have 1 tooth on the bottom that has broken through and a corner of the tooth next to it has popped out too!
You are rolling everywhere and sometimes even scoot on your belly. Nothing is out of your reach now! You love to sit up on your own and are starting to move from sitting to your belly on your own so that you can roll around the room!
You are taking 2-3 naps each day and sleeping about 11 hours at night with just one wake up in the middle.
You are wearing 6-9 month clothes and have already grown out of 2 stages of cloth diapers! You love your daddy and you light up when he enters the room.
Bath time might be your favorite time of day. You giggle and squeal and practically jump out of our arms into the tub!
We love you sweet Harper girl and we are so thankful that God blessed us with you!

Avalyn showing Harper a new book

Trying to get Harper to smile

Love those rings

And if the rings get taken away you use your fingers

1 Month

Avalyn was 1 month old on Tuesday of this week. Here are a few pictures. She has grown quite a bit and we are noticing some of her clothes are getting a bit too short!
We are finally feeling like this is normal and are all adjusting quite well. She is sleeping pretty well at nights and some nights will let us sleep about 5 hours at a time! She is such a mellow and sweet baby. She is also becoming quite cuddly and when she is awake we are getting a lot of smiles out of her!
God is good!