We're getting BIGGER

I think she's just about outgrown the smallest preemie clothes she has, and she's just about too big for all of her preemie clothes entirely! I'm so glad she's growing, but I'm having a hard time letting them go - they're just too cute! She's now fitting into some of her "newborn" outfits, depending on the brand. Yay!

Here Harper is demonstrating how tight her "Smile" onesie is getting!

Play date with Grandma!

Jon and I took the opportunity on Wednesday to go to lunch and a movie while Grandma babysat Harper! We thought it would be a good idea for her to have a longer practice run at her house to kind of get an idea of how things might go when she's got Harper on Mondays and Tuesdays. It went great!! Harper pretty much knows she's got Grandma wrapped around her little finger.

We had a nice lunch and went and saw Indiana Jones. It was a fun movie, but we were disappointed in the plot. Oh well... As parents, we feel we have a responsibility to Harper to make sure she always sees the original movies, no matter how "old" they are!

Happy 1st Birthday Tobin!!!

Today Tobi is ONE!! Happy Birthday, sweet little boy. Hope you have a wonderful first birthday. Harper can't wait to meet her cousins!

Portrait Outtakes

Just because these make me laugh....

"Fallin' over... Little help here"

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?"

"Umm, little cold here. Can I get a shirt or somethin'?"

"OoOoOo.. the lights make me a little crosseyed"

"BLAH!"

"Can you keep it down please? We've got a photo shoot goin' on over here!"


"Ew, what's that smell?? Must be my diaper!"

"Yikes!!"

"Wheeeee!!! I'm floating!!!!"

Time with Grandma

I never posted last week about Harper's first babysitter - Grandma!!! Grandma was kind enough to come over and go through a "practice run" one day while I went and got my free microdermabrasion! She fed and changed Harper and sat with her while she napped. It was great to get out and get my "face scraped" as Jon put it, even though the dreaded pregnancy mask is still there. Oh well, hopefully it starts fading soon.

I think Jon and I are going to plan a date this week and go to the movies and lunch in order to give Harper (and Grandma) a chance to get familiar with things at her house. My time to return to work is creeping up very quickly, unfortunately. Grandma has gotten Harper her own crib, bedding set, crib positioner and things to make things all ready for her. Harper is very excited to see it!

New Videos

Here's a couple of videos from the last few days. They're more for my enjoyment only, but I know at least Mimi and Grandma will enjoy them as much as I do. :)

This is the conversation I have with Harper about 6,000 times a day. You can see how close she is!!!

This is "demon child" because she freaks me out when she does this. She's actually sleeping in the first 90% of this video. Creepy!!!

And here's Harper playing on the play mat handed down by Wendy (Camden and Tobi). Originally given to her by Lucille. Thanks Lucille!! Harper loves it!! (sorry about the quality of the video - not sure what happened).

Photo Shoot!

I'm seriously lagging in posting, I know. I'll go ahead and blame my computer. My wireless network keeps shutting off and on and I have no idea. It's very frustrating. I guess I need to just call and see if the problem is our network or my computer.

Today we went and got portraits for Harper done, and they turned out so great!! I got lured in by a great deal they were having on packages, and of course we ended up buying EVERYTHING, spending way more than I had planned on. Oh well... they look great and she's our first kid. Plus, I'm not really a big portrait person, so this was a special occasion. But maybe I'll turn into a portrait person now since these look so good. She was in a good mood and actually awake!! We did a few outfit changes, and we think they turned out pretty cute. Have a look...

Fun with Harper

Here's just a few cute shots we've taken lately.

This was after bath time in her ducky towel. The last 2 baths have been really mellow. I've been putting her in the sink, and she really likes it!!! We'll see if it keeps up.

Jon was changing Harper's clothes and in the process, gave her a new hat! Cracks us up.

These were the pics we used for our Mother's Day presents this year. A few people have asked where I got them, and I ordered them online. There's tons of places that make them. Thankfully they got here in time so we could take the pics before Mimi got here! And Mimi found her shirt on Main Street in Grapevine. It's only the second place we've found that carries Mimi things, so we always make sure and stop there when she's in town.

She just keeps growing! (and we're shrinking!)

Today Harper had to get her second round of Hepatitis shots. Unfortunately we were just under the time frame allowed last week, so we couldn't do it when we saw the Dr. We had to make a special trip just for shots - oh yippee!!! She actually did really well! And I didn't freak out either. I think after seeing her in the NICU for those 10 days, and seeing them poke and prod her, it let me know how much she can handle. So a little shot is no biggie. Don't get me wrong - she SCREAMED!! But she was over and done with it within a matter of seconds and all that lingered was a pouty lip.

On to bigger news! Here's her stats as of today:
7lbs, 15oz
20 3/4 inches

That's 13 oz and 3/4 of an inch in one week!!! At this rate she'll be out of her preemie clothes in no time.

In smaller news, we're losing all of the weight Harper is gaining. Since I gave birth, I've lost 30+ pounds. Since I only gained 15 in pregnancy, I'm very happy! Breastfeeding is working wonders.

ANNNDDD.... Jon joined Weight Watchers through work and in one week he lost 12 lbs!!!!! When his coworkers asked him how he did it he said "I dunno! I ate Olive Garden twice!". Too funny. We're very proud of him, and once I don't feel quite so foggy all of the time, I'm going to figure out my points and join him. Although I lost 3 lbs last week just by him being on the program, so it's already working for me too.

Here's a picture of her ouchie spot.

My First Mother's Day

I had a lovely day on Sunday. I really tried to get a lot of sleep, but it wasn't in the cards, so I got up and spent the morning just hanging out with Harper. When Jon got home from work, he had me open my gifts. He got me a sweet little pink polka-dotted coin purse with Harper's picture on it. I really needed a new one, so this was PERFECT in every way! Inside, he had put a gift card for Old Navy - my favorite!!! I was so excited, but then he pulled out another gift. It was a very sweet poem written by one of our favorite Pastors, that Jon personalized and framed. Of course it made me cry - something Jon is very good at doing, in a good way.

Don and Jane came over for dinner. We had a nice visit and Harper had some good awake time and was great entertainment for us all. They gave me some shopping money (more shopping - WOOHOO!!!) and Don and Harper gave me a new copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and a biography on Harper Lee. Can't wait to read it!

Here are some pics. My mom gave me the flowers and balloon before she left. Lilies are of course my favorite flowers, so they are like, the best thing ever. Sitting in front of them now enjoying how beautiful they are and how wonderful they smell. Love them!

Mimi Time!

We had a fabulous time with Mimi here. We didn't want her to leave - and she didn't want to either! Harper and Mimi got to spend some nice time together. Here are just a few of the pics.

Mimi's shirt says "This Mimi is Loved" and Harper's says "I love my Mimi".

Mimi's Here!!!!!!

Mimi got here on Tuesday and we've been having a blast all week hanging out with her. She's been loving getting to see Harper and spending all the time she can holding her and playing with her. Harper loves it!!!!

I've been taking pictures and will post them soon...

We don't want her to go home. :(

1-Month Stats

Harper visited the Pediatrician today and we all got some great news!

Weight: 7lbs, 2oz
Length: 20 inches

This means she's gained 2 lbs since birth and has grown 2 1/2 inches!!! Her doctor was so pleased!!!! Other than diaper rash, everything else looks great! She's obviously still small compared to other babies her age (she's in the 10th percentile for weight), but the doctor still says that she should be pretty much caught up by 6 months.

And more great news for Jon and I - we can extend her night feedings to 5 hours!! YIPPEEE!!!! We had been on a 3-hour feeding schedule all night and day. We were managing pretty well since we were alternating each night feeding between the two of us, but it got tough this week when Jon went back to work and I took over exclusively so he could sleep. WOW, that really wore me out.

She's our BIG girl, and she's doing SO WELL!!!

Happy Due Date Harper!

Today is Harper's due date. So weird!!!!!!

She's already 5 weeks old. I can't believe this was her scheduled day to come.

Mommy and Me

Daddy went back to work today, so Harper and I just hung out!!!

Pics

I took advantage of her awake time today to take some pictures of her. Enjoy!

Wide awake in the swing

I got some good video of Harper wide awake yesterday. She likes her swing (most of the time) and we usually put her in it after her tummy time. She's staying awake for longer stretches now, so I wanted to show you all!

Bath time!

We've been giving Harper quick sponge baths on the counter since we brought her home. It's been working out fine and lets us both have our own jobs so it gets done more quickly. I typically wash her face and body, and Jon make sure her hair and scalp get clean. Then Jon does the lotion while I'm trying to diaper and get clothes on. There's been a couple of times where she stayed pretty quiet, especially enjoying having her head rubbed and the lotion put on. But for the most part she screams throughout the entire process.

The other night we decided to try a sink bath. This will probably be the last time we try this for a while! Not only was it the usual mix of our hands and arms trying to get in and out, do this or that... but with a wet, slippery baby!! I managed to get a few shots of Jon doing the washing until he politely (kinda) asked me to put the camera down and help. And yes, she still screamed throughout the entire process....