6 months old

Harper had her 6 month appointment on 10/7. And, just like before, her Pediatrician is so happy with her growth and development. Here's her stats:

16lbs 8oz (75th percentile)
25 1/2 inches (50th percentile)
And her little noggin finally caught up to the 50th percentile at 16 7/8.

Everything went extremely well. She got her 6 month shots and we also got her the flu shot. She's got to go back in 4 weeks for the second round of the flu shot, but that should be an easy appointment. The Pediatrician also talked to me about trying to continue to nurse her through winter in order to give her the best chance at a healthy first year. I've made it 6 months and never thought it would get here, so I'm going to shoot for a year now - can't believe I'm saying that! It's very tough being a nursing mommy working a full-time job outside of the house. I'm gonna give it my best shot!

We're to introduce a morning solid food meal within the next few weeks which means Grandma and Larissa get the messy experience of feeding her. Should be fun!

She got a little sick from the shots this time, but recovered quite well and it only lasted that day. She'll get more shots at 9 months, then again at 12, then I think there's a break.

So proud of our little girl!

Here's a few pics from her 6-month birthday. We called her Scarface all weekend because she got herself good in her sleep the night before. She's such a happy little baby and such a joy for us.

A Couple Cute Videos

I couldn't post them through Blogger because the files are too big. So here's a couple YouTube links. Check 'em out!

Harper and Her Puppy

Harper Says Hi

Think She Likes It?

The squash was a big success today. I wasn't planning on giving it to her for a few more days, but she ate the cereal with such verocity and was done in a flash, so I pulled out a few cubes and voila! She loved it!!

Martha Stewart

I don't cook very well. At all. I enjoy the process, but being married to someone like Jon who can whip something up with the most random ingredients - and have it taste AMAZING, kind of makes it less fun. In other words, I'd rather leave the process to him. :)

I also enjoy baking and have since I was very small. The organized, practical part of me (which is like, 90%) loves the measuring and preciseness of baking. However it doesn't make me feel very adventurous when I simply follow directions from a book or a box.

This being said, I'm happy to realize I think I've found a happy medium by making my own baby food! It's something I really wanted to do since I found out I was pregnant. I'm always looking for ways to save us money, and the idea of something so simple as bananas coming from a jar just never seemed right to me. Last year in the family Christmas exchange, I wound up with a mini food processor - PERFECT! That sealed the deal, and tonight was the first time I got to use it. I started out easy the other night by mashing a bunch of organic bananas and freezing them. - aha! Another use for the covered ice cube trays I used to freeze all that breast milk (which we still have a plentiful stock of, by the way! Harper still hasn't ever had a bottle of formula). Tonight I branched out and cooked two sweet potatoes and a butternut squash, pureed them in the food processor and they're now taking their turn freezing before getting popped into labeled freezer bags in the morning.

The bunch of bananas made 2 full ice cube trays last night. The 2 sweet potatoes filled 1 and a 1/2. Since I only have 3, I filled up one tray with the squash and had to put the rest of it into tupperware for freezing tomorrow. Tons of baby food!! For super cheap!! I tossed around the idea of making applesauce too but I really hate peeling apples, so I think I might spring for a big jar of regular all-natural store bought applesauce.

Not everything has gone perfectly. There was one casualty that I must mention. I bought mangos in the hopes of pureeing some of that as well. I love mangos but have never actually bought one and sliced it. Being a busy working mother with way too much to do, it proved much too time consuming to try to tackle on a regular basis. Heck, even trying to slice it open was like trying to break into pandora's box! Once I (Jon) got it open, I tried peeling the skin off and it was just coming off in little shreds. I think I spent all of about 4.5 seconds doing this before it all went into the trash.

Still on the list of things Stage 1 foods to try: organic carrots, which are sitting in the crisper drawer waiting to be cooked. Peas, peaches, pears, apricots, pumpkin and, yes, avocado. So excited to see how she's going to like (or not like) them all.

Fun stuff.

Harper and Wylee - A story of pictures (and video)

Pictures tell this story. A little background: The dogs have not really been allowed to be near Harper since she was born. We've been following Ceasar Milan (Dog Whisperer)'s tactic which is to teach the dogs to respect their new Pack Leader. Give her distance, don't allow them to feel like she is one of "them". Lately she's been showing a lot of interest in them, so we've loosened the barriers a bit. But after almost 6 months of not being allowed to interact with her, they're not quite sure what to think of these relaxed rules. Sarge really isn't too interested in her - according to him, she's still the one stealing all of Dad's attention, so she isn't worth really acknowledging. Wylee however, is absolutely dying to get near her and see what she's all about. It's hilarious to watch him push the boundaries to see how far he can go.

Here's a few pics from the other day:

They're still not allowed free reign, and really can only interact when one of us is around. Wylee still isn't sure he's not going to get into trouble when we tell him it's okay. These are some videos of Wylee and Harper trying to figure each other out.

..... AND, here's where I get into trouble. Pretty sure Ceasar wouldn't agree with this. Jon wouldn't either. Does it sound like I care?

Let's Give Eating a Try

A week away from her half-birthday, Saturday was the day: Eating! Well, we gave it our best effort. The majority of it ended up on her face and bib, but I think she actually got quite a bit down. It was pretty funny to be a part of. Jon played photographer taking pictures and filming the entire thing -- captivating footage that will be 20 years from now, I'm sure! Here's the highlights:

Umm, Mom? You sure about this?

Hmmmm.. Not much flavor, really.

I think the bib tastes better than that stuff.

Dad, do I really have to eat this stuff?

Oh, you'll give me chocolate later? Okay!

Saturday Afternoon at the Park