holiday season

lights are up. the tree is up. harper can sing jingle bells. what else do we really need?

we went to the elgin christmas tree farm to cut down a tree for the living room. h seemed to have fun riding behind a tractor and watching mommy cut down the tree. unfortunately someone accidentally took our tree somewhere between paying for it, getting snacks and playing on the playground. it worked out ok because they let us have a frazier fur tree that was much nicer than the one we picked out. she didn't seem to be overly interested in helping us decorate, but she did enjoy watching rudolph and would occasionally look at some of the ornaments. right now, she understands that santa is coming. he brings gifts to all of the good boys and girls. rudolph's nose is red. santa says ho ho ho. i'm sure she is going to get tons of gifts, which makes it hard to figure out what to get for her.

she has is going to have lots of visitors in december. lolo and lola are here right now. merrily arrived last week. jan and bill are coming at the end of december. it is nice having family around for the holidays.

#2 in the potty

we decided not to fully start on potty training until h was able to really communicate with us and when we could dedicate some time on it as well. you know, no weddings, trips and such. we have had a potty for a few months trying to introduce her to her it and be aware of what it is. once in awhile she will ask to sit on it and we let her. the other morning, 11/23/13, to be exact, she asked to go poo poo in the potty. i was a little surprised but let her go for it. she was sitting on the potty, enjoying her time. i left her alone to do whatever she thought she was going to do, figuring nothing was going to happen. sure enough. we heard the music go off. it sings a song and says hooray when there is some sort of contact with it. amy and i both ran into the bathroom and there it was. her first poop! we high fived and praised her. she even got to have 2 M&M's. i wiped her and she knew she was supposed to wash her hands. it was an exciting morning for the reitz-castillo household. not sure if our framily would agree after receiving a text of the picture of the poo in the potty. surprise!

clippard clan

we had the most wonderful trip to greenville, south carolina last weekend to see harper's uncle robert get married. this is lee's (daddy) brother. he was married to the lovely jan, or as h says, aunt janny. downtown greenville was a perfect place to have the family gathered. there were lots of shops and restaurants to keep us busy over the weekend. many of the clippards were able to meet h for the first time. it was nice seeing everyone again and harper was happy to see all of her cousins. she is enjoying weddings these days, this being her second in the past month. the morning after the latest wedding she said, "go another wedding?" she was a trooper staying up late a few days in a row and partying with the family. most of us stayed in the same hotel, so it was nice to see everyone every morning for breakfast before we started the day. super sweet to see her and her seattle cousins playing together. the wedding was beautiful. it was nice to be included in the family pictures too.

h did well on the plane there and back. poor thing didn't get to sleep til 1:30am on monday. our flight was delayed after flying into chicago airport. this was during some horrific tornados and weather that showed up. very surprised that they allowed us to fly into chicago from greenville considering the high winds. i think it would have to be one of the most scary flights/landings i have ever been on. one where the people clap at the end, thankful they didn't die. not sure why i was looking out the window, but all i could see was the ground, then wing. ground, then the wing. h was asleep most of the flight and was woken up with a rough landing. she cried for a few mins but i'm sure no one minded since it was such a dramatic landing. we didn't leave chicago until 10pm that night. i am surprised that we even made it out of the airport with all of the delays and cancelled flights. auntie jean was kind enough to pick us up at the airport too. didn't feel right waking h up 4 hours after she finally went to sleep for daycare, so we stayed home the next day to rest.

very thankful for our extended family. they are amazing.

because

h: want to go outside
me: why?
h: because my mommy

h: want to take my socks off
mommesh: why?
h: because my mama


not sure what that is all about, but it makes us laugh.

wedding weekend fun

we had the most unbelievable wedding weekend every. our good friends amo and mel got hitched over the weekend at juniper hills farm . sibby's place is magical already, but when there is a wedding involved, it is almost a fairy tale. it was a perfect weekend of good food, friends and love. H was in a wonderful mood too. she did so awesome walking the aisle with another little boy. they held hands and had a shaker in the other one. there was not a dry in on sat as we witnessed the ceremony. jean, amy and i even had a little song surprise for the girls. it was fun performing for them and their friends and family.

we even let h stay up til 10:00pm. not a peep out of her. maybe because she was tricking everyone and getting spoonfuls of dessert everywhere she went. despite the sugar high she was probably on, she had fun. it was a western theme, so it was fun dressing up. harper's tiny boots are so so cute. she wore them with the white dress with lavender on it we got in a french market. she didn't want to take the boots off the entire night. who would have thought! everyone looked so awesome. it really was a fun weekend...so happy for our friends too.

words in to sentences

it is fascinating how children develop language skills going from grunting to sign language to words to sentences. everyday harper says or does something new. right now she likes to copy what you say, which is really cute. to hear her say certain words for the first time is amazing. here is a typical conversation with her right now.

h: where going mama?
me: we are going to school
h: oh!

h: what that mama?
me: it is an umbrella
h: oh!

she also learned the word "cause."

h: need dessert
me: why?
h: cause. i'm hungry

her first ACL festival

harper went to her first austin city limits festival. it was going to be a nice day, high temp was 80 degrees, how could we not bring her? we went from 11am to 6pm. started out by going to the austin kiddie limits area that had tons of kids stuff for them. listened to casper babypants (which is the lead singer of The presidents of the united states), colored and even got some free stuff. they even had a baby changing area. thank goodness because i accidentally left the wipes at home. it was a cool set up.
fortunately she likes the headphones. things are just "too loud" sometimes and she asks for them. which is fine by me. we then went to grab some lunch but on the way back, she fell asleep. she actually slept for about 1 hour while we had lunch and watched a band play. amazing how kids sleep through things like that. but if you are tired, you got to do what you got to do. after she woke up, we went back to see daddy and papa play in the drum circle and did more kid stuff. she was pretty happy. it is nice being able to take her with us. i love seeing her enjoy the outdoors and live music.

what did she say?

harper was playing quietly at her activity table the other day and she didn't realize i was watching her. she had a (washable) marker in her hand and began to draw on a block. intrigued, she then started to mark on the stained concrete floor. i immediately said, "harper, do not do that. we do not mark on the floor." she gave me an evil smile, put the marker behind her back. looked at me and said, "mama, walk away."

i tried so so hard not to laugh but wanted to so badly. they say that to the kids at school if they are fighting over a snack or toy. i told her that she needed to clean it up and she was happy to do so.

it's starting!

i'm behind!

can't believe my last post was in june. so much has happened and i promised myself i would keep up with the blog so we could look back and remember some highlights. i have already forgotten when she first took a step or laughed for the first time. time is certainly flying.

- went to france in july with amy's mom and stepdad. had a wonderful and LONG trip. h did so well on the plane. traveling for 24 hours is tough on us, so proud of her for being a trooper. rose wine and chocolate croissants, how can you go wrong?
- h turned the big 2! had a yo gabba gabba party for her and the entire framily showed up. amy made an awesome brobee cake. she still talks about it.
- lolo and lola visted again. they babysat her for a few days and enjoyed every minute of it. it was a nice visit. they get a kick out of her, dancing and singing with her.
- had a fun labor day out at sibby and shelley's. hung out by the pool and relaxed.
- did a day of service and planted wildflowers on the lady bird townlake trail. her daddy joined us too.
- she moved to a new classroom at the start of the new school year. her new teacher is ms. peggy and she could not stop talking after her first day. h told everyone that she was going to the Big Playground. they get to enjoy new activities like the computer room and library.
- we have been going to deep eddy a lot to swim. daddy and papa with often join us.
- her sleep patterns have been thrown off since the france trip. she tells us to "sit there." meaning, she wants us to sit in the chair beside her crib when she lays down after we turn off the lights. for the past week, she has been sleeping til 7, which is very nice.
- h's hair is super long. not sure what to do with it these days. guess i need to learn how to put hair in a ponytail. by the time amy picks her up in the afternoon, her hair is a mess
- it is amazing how much she is talking. or at least trying to talk. she can sing her ABC's and count to 15 right now. harper is very observant. she likes to repeat words and seems like it she is soaking it all in.
- her teacher says that she loves to learn. apparently some of the kids in her class don't really pay attention.
- we have an upcoming trip to south carolina in nov to see lee's brother get married. uncle robert is getting hitched! we get to meet lots of family members on the clippard side and see/meet her cousins.
- the annual framily trip is in concan again in nov
- lolo and lola are coming to visit again in dec
- gran is coming in for an extended stay. dec thru jan? we are looking forward to hanging out with her and for her and h to get some quality time together.
- she started a dance class at school. they pull her out of class at 3pm every thursday. you should see the tiny ballet shoes
- auntie still can't go 24 hours without seeing her
- we really appreciate all of our babysitters. sometimes you just need a date night.
- h is just so aware of what is going on and has an unbelievable memory

we are just enjoying every minute of her.

gran was here!

harper had a fun visit with gran over the weekend. of course gran did not come empty handed. she got some new clothes, toys and books. h's new favorite toy is a puppy in a purse. she is carrying it around everywhere! she was able to come to harper's last swim lesson for the summer too. harper stayed home from daycare and they spent the day alone together. they had fun walking to the playground, going out to lunch and gran got her to take a record 3 hour nap! harper not only got to hang out with gran all weekend, but her daddy and papa too. we grilled out, went swimming and took them out for brunch on father/papa day sunday. it was a fun weekend.

we are looking forward to seeing gran again very soon.

her expressions are priceless

one of my favorite expressions harper has is when she comes home and walks thru the door after being at school all day long. it is a look of surprise and excitement. mouth open, eyebrows up, eyes wide open and her yelling out, "mama!" actually, my favorite is when i am in another room or she is playing with momeesh for a bit and she sees me (even if only after 15 mins or so), as if it were the first time for the day. my description does not do it justice. it is super cute and melts my heart. you will just have to trust me.

visit to PA

we had a lovely visit with friends and family in PA. we are very thankful that we are able to fly to one place and see so many people. amy's dad, step-mom, brother, his wife, their twins, my best friend, her family, another friend that worked with and her 3 kids and amy's best friend. sounds like a lot doesn't it? it is. it can get a little hectic trying to find time to spend with everyone, but again, we are very lucky to have them so close together. it was great seeing everybody and being around all of the kiddos.
i miss the east coast. it was so green during our visit. amy's dads house is nestled in the woods and the trees were so tall and amazing. it got a little cold during our last part of the trip, getting into the 30's at night.
we were able to fit in our usual spots of victory brewing company (yummy beer, soft pretzel w/ mustard), capriotti's (turkey sandwich with cole slaw) and apple cider doughnuts.
grandfather and grammy kindly let us borrow their car and also drove us around everywhere we needed to be. they also babysat while we went out to dinner with amy's brother and wife. it was fun hanging out with them as always.
our flight to and from PA on the other hand didn't go so well. the past 4 flights have been great. is it the terrible two's? did we not entertain her enough? was she just bored? not really sure but WE were the people that you did not want to sit near. she was fussy and nothing was pleasing her. i don't really blame her, it was close to a 4 hour flight. we had snacks, new toys, stickers, ipad, iphone, headphones...everything we needed. well, we thought anyway. it took a total stranger to entertain our child. the lady sitting one row back and to our right asked harper if she liked cats. she had a neat app on her ipad that entertained her for the last 30 mins. the kind woman said she has a 4 and 2 year old boys and was thoughtful for helping out. sure enough, harper loved it. all of the people around us did too, i think. oh well. what can you do?

swim baby, swim!

we finally enrolled harper in swim class at the emler swim school right behind our house. super convenient for us to just have to walk over for her lessons on saturday mornings at 10:30. momeesh gets into the water with her and they splash around for 30 minutes. they sing songs, learn how to walk the wall and try to get them used to being on their backs. she spent most of the first lesson crying, but as the instructor said, it wasn't a freak out cry. more of a, "what is going on here?" cry. then next lesson, she was little more comfortable and only cried a little. i think she is getting used to the routine and songs they sing too. she probably notices that things are so bad, especially seeing other kids in her class enjoying it. at the end of every lesson, they put the kids on a floating square, spin them around and sing, "bye bye (insert name here), bye bye (insert name here), bye bye (insert name here, we're glad you came to swim." the kids wave goodbye to their friends and each one gets to be the center of attention. this has become harper's favorite part. if you ask her if she wants to go swim, she will start singing this song. it is super cute when she sings it, as she says her own name. she pronounces it without the first "r." sounds like, "ha-pa." last saturday she went completely under the water. we were very proud of her. she didn't seem to get scared or alarmed in any way. oddly enough, when it came time for her favorite part to sing goodbye to everyone, she cried. they placed her on the float and she started to cry! oh well. maybe next time. it is very chaotic in the 90 degree indoor pool, with multiple classes going on at the same time. overall i think she is enjoying it. or maybe she enjoys the part where we walk across the street for lunch after her lesson where she devours a thundercloud turkey and cheese sandwich?

i was never really (and still not) confident in the water. was it because i never completed swim lessons? or maybe it was because our mom didn't let us go to the public pool where we might get an infection. i really hope she learns to be an awesome swimmer and enjoys it. most importantly, i want her to be safe.

music in the air

fact. harper LOVES music. when she hears something she likes, she is either dancing, tapping her foot, tapping her leg or punching the air to the beat. two weeks ago, harper was able to take part in the craziness of sxsw. she was able to hear music on both sat and sunday. the biggest highlight of that weekend had nothing to do with the famous music festival. we took her to see yo gabba gabba at the bass concert hall. this is her ultimate favorite (and only) show that she watches. it is filled with dancing, music and overall usually has a good message to teach kids. it is a quirky show, but we all enjoy it. she loved every minute of it watching the stage the entire time. we spent most of the show standing up and dancing. it was cute to see her recognize the songs from the show and clap to them.

this past weekend, my cousins came to visit and it was our usual weekend filled with lots of food and music. she was able to hear her daddy play with the samba school friday night. we even let her stay up past her bedtime to be able to listen to all of the marching bands at the honk festival. the crazy characters in the bands kept her entertained. sunday morning we spent palm sunday at a gospel brunch at stubbs bbq. who would of thought harper would love gospel music too? we had a fun time eating some yummy food while listening to the group get down on a sunday morning. it was a little loud, but luckily harper wore her headphones. auntie jean bought them for her for protection. thanks auntie!

that girl has rhythm! it has been so much fun watch her enjoy so many different types of music here in austin. do we possibly have a future musician on our hands? we certainly hope so.

our official titles

harper has officially named us. i am mama. amy is momish (pronounced ma-meesh). it is totally adorable. for some reason she was having a hard time with saying mommy. one day she came up with it all on her own, like kids usually do. she clearly knows the difference and it makes me smile every time she says momish.

madonna! madonna!

every morning on our way to school, harper and i listen to her children's music cd's. we have been listening to the same ones for a very long time now. she enjoys it, often smiling and taping her leg to the beat. well, this morning i was trying to load a new cd that amo and mel got for her recently. while it was loading, papa don't preach by madonna came on the radio. i looked in the rear view mirror and harper immediately raised her right arm and started pumping her fist to the beat. i asked her if she liked this song and she smiled and nodded yes. we turned it up! sang and danced the rest of the way to school.

harper loves madonna! really, who doesn't?

18 months and counting

a common theme in my blog entries is that time is flying by. it truly is! everyday harper either says or does something new and it amazes us. she is enjoying some quality time with her lolo and lola (my parents) right now. they even watched her all day yesterday. they are so good with her, singing, dancing and laughing with her. mom will often call her a clown when she does something silly and laughs at herself. for some reason, she will not say lola. harper will say lolo over and over. it is hilarious. she knows the difference and who is who, but when we ask her to say lola, she says "lolo!" jean is very proud of the song harper has composed for her. it goes like this. "auntie, eh eh, auntie eh eh." very, very cute. not really sure why she started it, but auntie jean loves it. it's wonderful to see mom and dad enjoy their time with harper right now. i was worried in the beginning and almost gave up on them. but really, how can you resist that girl?

first time without harper

my cousin got married last week and we were invited to the celebration in norfolk, virginia. a few cousins were invited so jean and i made plans to join everyone. we had a fun time hanging out with family and celebrating such a joyous occasion. it was going to be a super quick weekend, so amy and baby decided to stay at home with the dogs. this was the first time i had been away from her since she was born. while i was a little excited to be able to sleep in, not carry around a diaper bag and eat dinner at a regular hour, i knew i would miss my girls. funny how i thought that flying was hectic pre-baby. i enjoyed reading my food and wine magazine while napping on the flight to and from norfolk. amy said she did really well while i was gone, sleeping in and taking long naps. she even went to the children's museum with daddy on saturday. there wasn't even any whining while i was gone. before i left she had previously been sick. it manifested into her wanting me and just me to hold her a lot. to the point of her following me around and crying until i did. i'm hoping a few days away has made her forget that she was starting to do that. she has been in a wonderful mood lately, which has been so fun. she is changing every minute of everyday.