Winter Wonder

Somehow, Harry got his hands on the camera this morning. I was running errands while Kevin played with the kids, eating Eggo waffles in the family room. I used the camera a little later to take pictures of the kids outside, and when I transferred the pictures I realized that Harry had taken about a dozen pictures of our Christmas tree, as well as four pictures of Harper's butt. 

We had our first significant snowfall about two weeks ago, but it was bitter cold. I was only letting Harry outside for 10 minutes at a time, and Harper was trapped inside completely, so here are our first pictures of playing in the snow this season.

1

It seems like I am always playing catch-up since becoming a mother of two, so I guess it's only fitting that my post about Harper's first birthday is three days late.

We had a big family party, and got to visit with people we don't see often enough. Harper refused to nap but remained charming. Harry helped open all of her presents and blew out her candle. We are now hip deep in adorable dresses and V Tech toys and balloons and leftovers, which I'm pretty sure is how one measures success when it comes to first birthday parties.

Our little family, getting ready for cake.

Getting appropriately messy with her frosting.

The doll that we gave her, on a cute little chair from Great Grandma.

In the yard with Harry:
I think this picture captures what it is like to have an older brother.

Here's hoping for many, many more birthdays like this one. . .

Step by Step

Harper took her first steps today. I could go on about how big she is, how fast she is growing up, et cetera, et cetera, but that would just make me sad. It's bittersweet to think about that: how this is the last time I will watch one of my children walk for the first time. . .

But Harper walked today! So let's just focus on the "sweet" part, okay?

She's a Cookie Monster

My girl has been killing with her want-a-cookie routine. It goes like this:

Harper: (holds out drooled-upon, soggy, half-eaten cookie in my direction, smiling as above.)

Me: Oh, thank you, Harper, I would love a bite of your cookie. (opens mouth and leans towards cookie.)

Harper: (snatches cookie back.) Mwa ha ha ha ha!

The Kindness of Strangers

So, I'm on my own this week with the kids while Kevin is skiing in New Mexico. It's kind of daunting to know that reinforcements will not be arriving at dinnertime, and that not only am I going to be putting both kids to bed, but I am also the one who will be washing dishes and folding laundry once they're asleep. The bathroom could use a good cleaning too, but I am only one woman.A complete stranger did me a solid today, though, relieving some of this temporary-single-parent burden. Harry and I had just gone outside, shovels in hands after putting Harper down for a nap, tasked with clearing four inches of new snow off of the driveway. This very nice man was clearing the drive of the older woman across the street, and when he saw me and Harry shoveling, he waved. I waved back. When he was done with her drive, he stopped in front of my house and said, "Would you mind if I gave you a hand?"My emphatic answer: Of course not!I just wanted to share that, the kindness of strangers, which is something I've been trying to impress upon Harry. Yes, there are bad, scary strangers in the world, and anyone who tries to hurt him or take him away is a bad stranger, but there are also nice strangers in the world: kind, helpful, friendly people whose names we just don't happen to know. I'm hoping today's experience was not lost on him.
And because you may be forgetting what my babies look like since I post so infrequently. . . 

Solid food! So far Harper has eaten (and enjoyed!) oatmeal, acorn squash, bananas, and peas.

Harry, pretending to be a tree.

Harper, with dramatic lighting.

Sometimes I Forget

I was having one of those mornings where essentially every single thing my children did was getting on my nerves. Harper spitting up on my last clean pair of jeans? Annoying. Harry yelling at me from the basement for help with a video game while I was nursing Harper? Aggravating. Harry telling me wasn't hungry, then asking me to make his lunch two seconds after I sat down to eat my own lunch? Frustrating. Harper waking up while I was making Harry's lunch while my own lunch grew cold? The end of my rope. 

And then we went to Target. After putting the kids in the car, I climbed in, buckled up, and said to Harry, "I'm going to use this car ride to put myself in a better mood," and he said, "Me too, Mom." So we spent five minutes quietly in the car, then shared a pretzel as we strolled through Target and Harper napped. Thirty minutes later, everyone felt much better.

And once my mood had improved, I was able to remember how adorable and bright and fun these kids are, and how lucky I am to have them in my life and in my family.

She always looks this happy after spitting up. I guess it's therapeutic.

Looking pensive. Before the mood-improving pretzel, obviously.

Thankful

On the list of the many, many things for which I am grateful, these two precious bits of wonderful are at the top. Harry has been and continues to be the most amazing big brother to Harper, and Harper is such an easy, happy baby. They make being their mother a joy. 

It's hard to leave these two kids at bedtime to go work, but I am also thankful that I have a job that I love, and a wonderful husband who takes such good care of them while I'm at work.

We have one more day of work this week, then off to spend Thanksgiving with family. I hope you have safe travels, Dear Reader, and a thankful heart.

Cheese!

Harper will be six weeks old tomorrow and has started to smile! Harry and I love propping her up on some pillows, getting right in her face, and saying, "Smile, Harper!" Sometimes we get a fake/gassy smile followed by a diaper blowout, but sometimes we get the real deal.

Falling for Fall

We took advantage of really gorgeous weather to make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We got there later in the morning on Sunday, before the after-church crowd showed up. We paid one dollar each to ride in a tractor-pulled wagon around the grounds. We bumped along the dirt tracks and made stops while people with the $8.50 wristbands were dropped off at the corn maze, the apple cannons, and the Back Forty, which included steer-roping (sitting on a sawhorse and throwing a rope around another sawhorse), a petting zoo (one mule and two miniature horses), and Corn Hole (tossing bean bags through plywood targets). I do not profess to know much about measuring acreage, but I'm reasonably sure the Back Forty was two acres, tops. 

Tip: Always have someone standing
in front of you for post-baby pictures.

Farm-made doughnuts, fresh from the oven.
We totally ate all six right at that table.

Harper slept the entire time.
She has no idea she went anywhere.

False advertising aside, we had a lot of fun. We ate delicious doughnuts, snagged a second ride on the tractor, and brought home our Halloween pumpkins. And we did it before NFL kickoff at 1:00. 

16 Days

Harper is 16 days old and has been home for exactly two weeks. Other than still being slightly below her birth weight, she is doing great. She's even sleeping for three-hour stretches at night sometimes, which is completely awesome for me. She does want to nurse constantly from dinnertime to bedtime, but if it fills her up enough so she sleeps, I'm happy to comply.

Harry and Harper are also getting along really well. More accurately, Harry is very excited to have Harper around, kisses her and tickles her and "reads" to her, while Harper tolerates his attention without much fuss.

It's About Time, Harper Louise!

Forty-one weeks is a long time to be pregnant. Even so, I was still a little apprehensive about having my labor induced on Thursday. Would the Pitocin work, kick-starting my labor? (Yes.) Would it send me into active labor quickly? (Yes.) Would I break down and get an epidural? (Yes.) Would I do the same thing I did with Harry, which was to decide I was ready to push and then literally be waiting for the doctor to get her gloves on so someone was ready to catch the baby, because I am just that awesome when it comes to pushing? (Yes.)

Harper Louise arrived at 1:59 pm on Thursday, August 30th, almost exactly six hours after Kevin and I showed up for our 8 am induction. 

One of her first portraits: 

Day 2 -- Pinker and happier:

Day 3 -- Home with her big brother:

We are so lucky to have had two uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries, and especially thankful for our healthy little ones.