Gender Prediction Poll

I've posted a gender prediction poll. Our BIG ultrasound is the morning of November 10th, so I thought it would be fun to put up a poll to see if more people think this baby is a boy or girl.

Happy Voting!!!

Vacation Wrap Up

We just got back from our second annual vacation to Las Vegas and California! And overall, Harper was an amazing trooper and traveler. She actually slept well for the most part, which was a huge help in her keeping up and having a good attitude. We brought along ALL her sleeping helpers to make things as comfortable as possible, and though it was a lot to drag along, it was definitely worth it. We brought our video monitor, sound machine and a couple of her blankies and stuffed animals.
We could've said the trip was a total success-- if it wasn't for the plane ride home. It was unfortunately scheduled right when she would've taken her afternoon nap, so it was not a good start. And it went downhill from there. It was a terrible time for all of us, and the poor thing was just so tired and wouldn't sleep on the plane no matter what we tried. But we survived!!!

Here is a quick wrap-up of the highlights from our trip!

Plane ride there. She was an ANGEL! We wish we could've had the same child on the way back.

Kissing Hanz at his 50th birthday party. He's very special to our family - he's my former boss and he married Jon and I!

Family pic with the sisters and all their kids.

Getting Poppy to pucker up. She's got him wrapped around her little finger for SURE!


Had a blast in Mimi and Poppy's jacuzzi!

Loved hanging with "Auntie" Heather.

Finally got to meet Uncle Chris!

Auntie Wendy got a ghost painted on Harper's cheek at the pumpkin patch.

She got her first haircut!

Loved hanging out with the little pumpkins.

Mommy got to hang out in the mud on her 31st birthday. :)

Harper encountered "Nana" Chery's verrrrry large dog Charles.

She went to the beach for the first time!

And successfully ate a lemon, complete with sour faces.

All in all it was a wonderful trip, and a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday - surrounded by my friends and family for a week straight. Can't wait to do it again!

18 Months Old!

Okay, fair warning. This is a very long and very braggy post. But 18 months old is a big deal, and I want to make sure I get all of the milestones down. Or, at least those that I can remember. :)

Wow - how time has flown! It's hard to remember back to the days of when she was just a mushy little newborn, but I also can't believe how quickly she has grown into this walking, talking little toddler! I know I sound like a broken record, but she is truly an amazing girl. She astounds us each and every day with the things that she knows and takes upon herself to do. For instance - she cleans up after herself! And I don't recall ever really "teaching" her how to do this. If she empties her drawer in the kitchen before dinner, then ask her to clean it up, she'll take each item and plop it back in, then shut the drawer. Of course we applaud big and give high-fives when she does this, which she loves. But it's just amazing! She'll do the same with her toys, though, understandably this takes a bit more time due to the distraction of just having to play with the occasional toy as she puts it back. ;)

Today was her 18 month check-up. Here are her stats:

24lbs 15oz - 50th percentile

33 1/4 inches - 90th percentile

She's hit all her milestones they look for. In fact, the last question the nurse asked me was if she was walking backwards. I made a bit of a confused face and said, "no, I don't think so", then the nurse agreed it was a strange question. Not 15 minutes later when we were waiting for the other nurse to come in with her shots, did Harper prove me wrong by pulling the wheely stool across the floor -- backwards!

Here's a few of her favorite activities and milestones I wanted to recognize:

Doors & Drawers - she loooves to shut doors and drawers. Any time the fridge, pantry, closet, bathroom or any door is open, she wants to shut it. Most times this is helpful, other times it might not be. But we indulge her and make sure to celebrate each accomplishment.

Counting - She also loves to "count" though she doesn't get past 1 on her fingers. When we get to 5, there's always a high five which she is anxious to jump straight to. Peas are her favorite to count out on her plate, and she loves books that count animals.

Animals- Loooves animals and knows a lot of their sounds. Each day on our drive to and from Nana and Papa's house, we pass several pastures of horses and cows and even one with bison (and a camel!). She knows when those spots are coming up and is usually "moo"-ing way before I even spot them. She also knows horse, monkey, owl, fish, lion, dog, cat, bird and snake. She's learning elephant at the moment.

Body Parts - She knows 16 body parts and loves to point them out on other people more than herself. Mine and Nana's favorite is when she points to Elmo (on her diaper or in a book) and she gets excited then points to your (or her) elbow. Good sound recognition there! She currently knows head, hair, eyes, nose, ears, tongue, mouth, teeth, elbow, hand, fingers, knee, foot, toes, belly and bellybutton.

Signs - I haven't been teaching her too many new signs lately, but there is a reason other than busyness. She knows plenty of signs, but I've noticed that she doesn't attempt to ever speak those words except for "thank you". I'm so glad I can communicate with her via sign when needed, but I also wish she would try to speak some of them too. All in due time, I realize. And I haven't completely given up signing by any means. Our two most recent signs learned are plane and rain. Right now she knows eat, milk, sleep, bath, fan, all done, please, thank you and want. I'm sure I'm missing a few - Daddy and Nana, help!

Words - Though she signs plenty, she also speaks plenty!!!! More and more comes out of her mouth every day it seems, and it's so funny. I've noticed she's not so much a copycat on most things. Like walking, she likes to hear things and learn then before trying them. This girl doesn't rush into anything! We've been working on "I Love You" for I don't know how long, but not a peep outta her. She does say the following: dog, Mama, Dada, Nana, Papa, Mimi, Dora, Hi, happy, baby, bird and door. (again - probably more I'm forgetting!) She has a few phrases she says too: Hi Mama, Hi Dada, Hi Doggy, Thank You, Thank You Dada.

We look forward to the next 18 months and the huge amount of learning she'll do during that time!

We love you sweet girl!

First Visit to the Zoo

While Dylan and Stephanie were here, we took Harper to her first visit to the zoo. She really didn't know what to make of it all at first. She was mostly scared of the animals, but got more used to how things work there as the day went on.

Here she is kissing her favorite things - the fish!

She also loves fish, but wasn't too comfortable getting very close to see the Coy fish without holding Mama's hand.

She got into her groove as she played in the interactive kid area. She loved hitting these buttons to hear the animals make their sounds.

And she shocked me by wanting to pet this chicken in the petting zoo!

A few of the other animals we saw:

A very stinky rhino

Kangaroos

A huge white tiger

a very big elephant

Sleeping Tigers

Sleeping Harpers (grasping her monkey)

Waving to Daddy while keeping a safe distance from the orangutans.

The Fort Worth Zoo is the oldest zoo in Texas and it is really beautiful. I can't wait to take my family to the San Diego Zoo some day since I feel like that was my "local zoo" growing up. But I look forward to many more visits to the zoo, no matter which zoo it is!