Ten Months Old

Oh baby girl, your personality is really starting to shine and you make us laugh + smile every single day.  You are always happy and your joy for life makes me so proud.  I hope you always enjoy the world with as much enthusiasm as you do now.

Likes:
Blowing raspberries
Screaming (for fun)
Big brother, as always
Didge, our dog
Food

Dislikes:
Formula- she doesn't finish her bottles these days and prefers real snacks (unless it's 2 am)
Being tired

Schedule:
Eats when she wants and sleeps when she wants, which is usually not all night.  She's adaptable to whatever we are doing, but we are pretty consistent with bed time and she goes to sleep without a fight. 

Features:
Brown hair, blue eyes, approximately 20ish pounds, +  TWO bottom teeth!

Milestones:
Army Crawling
Can go from crawling to sitting and sitting to crawling without hesitation
Mimics sounds
Can hold on to something and stand
Trying real foods

Firsts:
Teeth!
Memorial Day
French fry (her fave)

Challenges:
10 month photos.  Why sit still when you can MOVE?!

Thoughts:
Can they both just stay little?  It's so refreshing to watch their innocence and I dread the day when that is taken from them.  I am doing my best to raise good, kind souls and soaking up every second of them just being little. 

Read More

Nine Months Old

Nine months has a lot of meaning to me.  It's the last month of single digits in babyhood and she has now officially been out longer than she was in.  It's a mystery to me how quickly time has gone.  I feel like I was just waddling around waiting to meet her last week, but it also feels like a lifetime has passed since she was a newborn.  I would give anything to hold that sweet, precious infant again, but my heart also explodes with happiness watching her grow.  Parenthood makes me feel all the feels.

Likes:

Puffs

Purees

Harrison

Her newfound ability to explore

Dislikes:

When Harrison takes a toy from her; we're still working on that whole sharing thing with big bro. 

Schedule:

Harper gets three to four 6oz bottles a day, with the occasional midnight snack, and solids in between.  She takes a good three hour nap in the late morning and if the stars are aligned will take another hour nap around 5pm.  She goes to bed around 7:30, has a bottle more often than not in the middle of the night, and then wakes up between 7-8am. 

Features:

Her brown hair is starting to lighten, but is becoming thicker.  She is in size 3 diapers and wears 6-9/6-12 month clothes.  We are starting to question if she will ever get teeth, but her gummy smiles are pretty darn cute so we aren't in a huge rush to begin the nightmare that is teething. 

Milestones:

Crawling?  Harper is sort of crawling.  It's more like she is half crawling.  She can pull her body in whatever direction she wants to go, but is not moving on all fours yet.  

Clapping, sorta

Can hold onto something and stand briefly 

Goes from belly to sitting (ok, once, but it counts)

Firsts:

Says MAMA!

Wedding

Challenges:

That work/life balance thing I mentioned last month is still a struggle.  I desperately want to be the best mom and the best at my job, so I'm working really hard to dedicate specific time to both.  I'm learning that multi-tasking is not beneficial in those roles and it's ok to take time for just family and for just work.  Advice welcome. 

Thoughts:

Her personality is starting to show and it's so incredibly amazing and interesting to see the differences between Harper and Harrison.  Harper is always content, takes her time to do things, and is cautiously curious.  I can't wait to see her soul shine through more as she gets older (😭 + 😊) and look forward to many moments of laughter with her.  

Read More

Eight Months Old

Harper Ellen has become my little sidekick -- coming to the office and appointments with me-- and I feel so lucky to be able to spend this time with her.  Of course she doesn't make work easy (girlfriend is distracting because she's so dang cute), but I treasure the extra time I get to spend with her.  The whole reason I started this crazy adventure a couple years ago was for my family and I feel so grateful for these extra moments I get with my daughter.  Being a working mother has its' challenges, the hardest for me being work/life balance, but I honestly believe I have the best of both worlds.  Harps gets cuter + sweeter each day.  Her smile can light up any room and she is such a joy to be around.  She is a very happy baby and only complains at night if she wakes up hungry, which is understandable.  Oh baby girl, you have our whole hearts.

Likes:
-Smiling
-Harrison, Mommy, Daddy, + Didge
-Sitting up
-Food
-The camera
-Attention

Dislikes:
-When we walk out of sight

Schedule:
Harps eats a few bottles a day and is loving the solid food life -- she has mastered the pouch and loves any and all purees, puffs, + yogurt melts.  She's tried some actual people food and is a fan -- bread, turkey, eggs, potatoes, and cheese!

Features:
Her hair is getting thicker and lighter and her eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue.  Her chubby cheeks and double chins are my favorites and every time I look at her I wonder how we got so lucky (twice).  Oh, and she' still all gums.

Milestones:
-Rocking bath and forth on her knees
-Scoots backwards + sideways
-Adult foods
-Says baba, yaya, lala, and of course....dada.

Firsts:
-Commercial (Drools Teething Tools - coming soon to Kickstarter)
-Real people food
-St Patricks Day
-Easter Egg Hunt

Challenges:
Sleeping through the night -- she'll sleep through the night three nights in a row and is ready to party the next four.  We have seen progress, so I can't complain too much, but she has a serious case of FOMO between 11:00 pm- 1:00 am.

Thoughts:
Can I bottle her up and keep her this way forever?  She is so happy + curious and I never want that to change.  This whole parenting thing is challenging, exhausting, emotionally draining, and absolutely the best.

Read More

Seven Months Old

I love this age!  Harper is so much fun these days.  She loves to bounce, laugh at her brother, and ham it up for anyone that looks her way.  She is possibly the loudest child in the entire world and I love each crazy sound she makes.  She is learning every day and it's amazing to watch her take in the world.

Likes:
-Waking up at all hours of the night
-Food
-Baths
-Big brother
-Toys
-Our dog
-Mommy + Daddy

Dislikes:
-Sleeping through the night

Schedule:
On a good day she has four bottles, two snacks, and two long naps.  Days where we are on the go are a little less scheduled, but we manage.  She goes to bed without an issue around 7:15 and sleeps for a few solid hours before she decides it's snack and snuggle time.

Features:
She's lucky she's cute because man are we tired!  She has the best smile in the world and an infectious laugh.  At her 6 month check up, she was 15 lbs, 12 oz and 25 in long...so if I had to guess she is probably almost 17 lbs and a little bit longer now.  She is rocking size 3 diapers and is moving up to her 6-9 month wardrobe.  Have I mentioned how cute girl clothes are?  I can't stop shopping 🙊

Milestones:
-Waving
-Working on consonant sounds -- she's got "B" down!
-Holds her own bottle
-Sits with no problem

Firsts:
Alligator Farm
Valentine's Day
Bath in the tub
Teething Wafers
Walker

Challenges:
The lack of sleep is starting to catch up to us.  I keep telling myself that she'll sleep one day.. right?  RIGHT?!

Thoughts:
Harrison is finally starting to pay attention to her and the giggles between the two of them make me happier than I could have ever imagined.  As an only child, it is really special to me to see the bond forming between them and I look forward to watching it strengthen.  I know we'll have plenty of arguments between those two in our future, but we will also have a whole lot of love.  💚

Read More

Six Months Old

Happy half birthday to my sweet girl!  It's so special that my children share a celebration together -- today my first is three and my second is half a year - oh how time flies.  Harper is such a joy and I am amazed at how fast she changes and grows every day.  She is entering such a fun age of babyhood and I'm enjoying every giggle and smile that she gives me.  Harps seems to learn something new every day and I am just so incredibly amazed by her.  I know the next six months will go faster than the last, so I'll just be over here soaking up every single moment.  

Likes:

Eating- Harper is loving solid foods, especially apples, and would drink milk all day if you'd let her.  

Sitting- Harps is not a happy girl on her back or tummy anymore, she prefers to be sitting up on her own or in her bouncer.  She loves to play with all the toys on her bouncer and jump up and down like crazy!

Big Brother + Didge- No one can make Harper laugh like her brother or her dog.  It's the cutest.

Toys- She has started to really plays with toys and is especially fond of her Minnie Mouse crinkle book.

Dislikes:

When mom or dad are not in sight

Being overly tired 

Schedule: 

It's ever changing, but generally she has four bottles from 6-8 oz of formula a day and one or two solid food snacks.  Her naps are more predictable, typically an hour in the morning and about 45 minutes in the afternoon.  She goes to bed around 7:30 and is officially sleeping in her crib all night!  Don't get too excited for us, she still needs us 2-6 times a night to put her paci back in, but we are making progress.  I get my bed back at night and get my snuggles in when she wakes around 7.   


Features:

Her brown hair is still growing in and her eyes continue to be the most beautiful shade of blue.  She's about 17 pounds (we'll know for sure at her doctors appointment next week) and has rolls in all the right places.  She'll be outgrowing her 3-6 month wardrobe any day now and is in size 3 diapers, although she's currently rocking a 2 because those suckers are expensive.    

Milestones:

Sits unsupported for a good chunk of time

Rolls all over

Sleeps on belly

Plays with feet 

Sticks out tongue

Makes all of the noises

Firsts:

Fruit

New Years 

Challenges + Thoughts: 

Our breastfeeding journey has come to an end.  When she started skipping night time feeds I knew it was coming, but when the flu hit and I quarantined myself from Harper for two days I knew our morning feed from the previous day was our last.  It's such a mix of emotions - I'm happy to fully have my body back, but sad that the one thing only I could do for her is gone.  It's strange to think that this stage of my life is over... pregnancy, infancy, breastfeeding (unless you want one more Mike??), and my emotions are completely mixed, but at the end of the day I know Harper loves me and that she is healthy and fed, which is what matters most.  Love you Harps- happy 6 months! 

Read More