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.

goodbye 2012

some highlights of december:

- harper's first trail of lights with friends joining in the fun
- weekend in new braunfels at a friends river house
- making christmas cut out cookies (twice!)
- one week visit with grandfather and grammy
- holiday dinner in sun city with grandma marie and grandpa ted
- gift explosion on christmas morning for harper
- harper beginning to babble. saying hi and buh bye
- receiving lots of christmas cards/photos
- reading christmas letters that included harper from various family members
- we finally found and tried the filipino food trailer! yum!

looking forward to a wonderful 2013. bring it!

thanksgiving

we had a wonderful thanksgiving again this year. 23 people and a baby sat around the ping pong table in the garage. things went pretty smoothly, i have to say. harper was happy to have her framily entertain her all day long. each time i saw her, she was with someone different. it is nice seeing her interact with everyone and also nice to get a little break too. harper also had a chance to spend time with amy's mom and bill. they visited us for a week over the holiday. we are looking forward to seeing amy's dad and rhoda over christmas too.

we are thankful for so much in our lives. i hope harper realizes just how much we and everyone around her love her.

hi mama

i came home yesterday and as soon as i walked through the front door, harper looked straight at me and said, "hi mama!" it was so clear! it was so sweet. it made me smile. she walked over to me and gave me a hug.

i love her!

bossy pants

auntie jean watched harper sat night while we went to our first UT football game. she gave her dinner and put her to sleep. jean heard about all of the babysitters having such success i think it made her a little nervous. come to find out, harper basically told jean what do and when, pointing at various things. she pointed to her mouth when it was time to eat. she told jean she was all done with reading and pointed to her crib. she is pretty much awesome. i'm allowed to say that, right? auntie jean texted in excitement saying she is part of the no crying club now since harper went to sleep so easily.
we love that she feels comfortable with others and is such an easy baby. fingers crossed it continues this way!

14 months old

our little girl is getting so big. i can't even remember what it was like when she used to crawl around.

we went to a concert last weekend while kerry and harris watched harper. very kind of them to volunteer and brave to want to put her to sleep. the last time someone put harper to sleep other than amy or myself, she had to cry it out. it was only for about 8 mins but auntie jean felt bad. that was four months ago and i just finished breastfeeding too. she wants to redeem herself since kerry had such success. after reading a few books, she said harper fell fast asleep. everyone was happy. we had a fabulous time at the concert and harper was happy with her babysitters.

she is soaking everything in. she understands what we are saying, responds to us and observes everything around her. it is amazing to watch.

and she is off!

we have an official walker on our hands. granted, she walks like a zombie with her arms down by her side, but it sure is cute. it is amazing to watch her develop. i'm glad she has padding on her bum because she still walks like she is drunk at times too. she is probably enjoying her outside time at school now that she is mobile. they go out twice a day for playtime. so far she still sits in her high chair when we go out to eat and stays in the shopping cart. i've heard that i should enjoy that now, since she soon will want to go go go!