9 months old!

So, I knew Harper was 9 months old. But it really hit me when her pediatrician says "I'll see you again in 3 months...when she's a year old." WHAT!?!? How is that only 3 months away? But back to Harper at 9 months. She is 17.2 lbs, 28 inches long, with a head circumference of 49 cm (Jason thought they said 42 though, so..maybe that one is not accurate). She is in the 63rd percentile for height and the 15th for weight. I was worried maybe they thought she needed to gain more weight but Dr. Freeman looked at Jason and I and said "children usually take after their parents, she's just tall and thin". She is still on the same growth curve she has been on since last September so she is healthy, happy, and 'a beautiful, perfect baby' as Dr. Freeman says. She just got her first tooth last Saturday! Harper babbles all the time. Her favorite thing to say currently is /dada/ but sometimes she even says /dad/ or /dadi/. She uses this in reference to quite a lot, though, so unfortunately for Jason she isn't saying daddy just yet. She also says /baebaebae/ which sounds like bad bad bad and she says it to Toby a lot! She also loves making silly noises too and will either blow raspberries with her tongue to make us laugh OR will bubble her lips (we call it the motorboat sound). She also copies us when we make sounds! She does really well following directions with or without gestural cues (if we hold out our arms she will crawl to us to have us pick her up or if we say "Harper, come here" she will crawl to us as well). She also will give us kisses if we say 'give me a kiss' and thinks it is funny to attack us with repeated kisses. She also shares really well (thank you daycare). She puts her paci in your mouth if you say "give me your paci" and we pretend to suck on it for a minute then she takes it back. Just this week she's started sharing her food with us offering us the food on her fingers after she's stuffed her fingers in her mouth. She likes it when we pretend to eat it and then say "thank you!". Speaking of food, this child LOVES to eat real food. If you don't get the food in her mouth fast enough she makes this horrible growling noise that sounds like a wild animal. Her daycare actually videotaped it because they thought it was so funny. I have been trying to get her to use baby signs so she'll quit growling! She is busy crawling as fast as I can walk just about all over the house. She loves exploring things and banging them against the floor to see if they pass 'the baby test'. She is very close to walking and transfers from one piece of furniture to another and stands without holding onto anything (sometimes even with toys in her hand). She has actually taken a few steps (not at the same time) but we don't count that as walking because it is one small shuffle step and then she sits down. Toby is her best friend and she loves playing with him, taking his toys away, giving him her toys, snuggling with him. She smiles so big at him and laughs and talks to him more than anyone! She has days where she is a mommy's girl and days where she is a daddy's girl. She does really well when I drop her off at daycare and just goes straight to the toys to play but she is also always so happy to see me. She is starting to need to be told 'no' but doesn't understand what that means- maybe because she has heard us yell this at Toby her whole life. Overall- the past 9 months have been SUCH a joy and she has been an amazing tiny blessing!

30 Bucket List

I meant to post this a while ago but when I turned 30 we had just moved, so...here it is. I don't mean this to imply that I think I am going to kick the bucket because I am now "so old", I just meant this as a list of things I want to do before I am not 30 anymore. And if I post it in blogworld then maybe I will be held accountable to it!

1) Visit a new state
2) Eat something crazy (I am thinking raw oysters or sea anemone sushi...I've already eaten rattlesnake)
3) Ride a horse (believe it or not, I've never done this. I have sat on a pony/donkey and been led around but I've never actually gotten to ride by myself!)
4) Find the waterfalls at Chewacla (to those of you who live in Auburn you probably think this is crazy, but Jason and I have been to Chewacla several times and STILL have yet to see those falls!)
5) this is the BIG one...participate in the Music City Half Marathon! (Note that I didn't say run. I want to complete it but I also don't want to set myself up for failure in case I can't finish training for it. It will be completed and I will run MOST of it, hopefully all of it).

So- help me out peeps! Cheer me on! It's not a long list but it will be fun getting it finished...I only have 11 months left!

Why I make my own baby food

So, I think it would be fun to start my own blog just about making baby food but...I have a job and a baby and a life so, I have no time to consistently blog about things. BUT I wanted to at least share a little about it. So many people have said "you must be supermom" to be able to make HG's food, but the secret is- it is SO easy. I want other people to be able to do this as well, should they so desire. Also, this post is not meant as a judgement on people who use (*sarcastic gasp*) jarred baby food. I grew up eating jarred food. HG eats jarred food occasionally too. I really enjoy cooking and have time to whip up food for her (although, after you read this post, you'll see that you probably do too!). I don't think you are bad or wrong or notasgoodasme for not making your baby's food. Just like you didn't think I was bad or wrong for not breastfeeding (oh wait...but that is another blog entirely and a fiery issue as well so I am not going to touch that with a 10 foot pole!). I just want to share what I do in case someone else is curious.
So- why do I make my own baby food? #1- I enjoy cooking. It is relaxing and fun to me. If you loathe cooking this is probably not something you should do. Except some 'recipes' are easier than cooking! #2- If you look at the date on a jar of baby food you'll see the expiration date is sometimes as much as two years past the date of purchase. That isn't exactly fresh. Also, in order to get food to stay good for that long you have to cook it at such a high temperature it becomes pretty bland. How can babies develop a sense of taste if this jarred food doesn't have any? I want Harper to enjoy eating and be willing to be an adventurous eater (not Andrew Zimmern level, just willing to try new things!). The second 6 months of life is the time to introduce babies to a variety of new flavors to help develop their taste buds. #3- I have a secret desire for Harper to become a foodie. #4 (Addendum)- Thanks Jenn for reminding me of this VERY important reason- IT IS CHEAPER! That was one of the main reasons I got started and I totally forgot to mention it here!

So, how hard is it? If you can use a fork, you can make baby food. Some of my favorite 'recipes' are bananas and avocado. Here is the recipe: Mash the banana (or avocado) with a fork with a little of your baby's usual milk. Feed to baby. Ta da! The bananas actually stay fresh for a while, so I can make it at 5:30am and Harper can eat it at 10:30am at daycare (when it is refrigerated). Making baby food requires no fancy equipment. I do use some great products that make it easy, but in all honesty, I could just as easily use my blender or food processor. To make baby food what you'd need is: a steamer (a simple metal steamer insert is less than $8 at Target or Walmart), a food processor or blender (to puree the food), cutting board, knives, pots/pans, and ice cube trays. One thing that makes cooking baby food so easy is putting the prepared food into ice cube trays, freezing it, and thawing only what you need. That way all your (not so) hard work lasts longer!
Pictured is my Beaba Cooker (it steams and blends all in one- fancy and fun but not necessary), what I use instead of ice cube trays to make individual portions, and my bags of preprepared food in the freezer (sweet potato, flounder with peas and cheese sauce, cinnamon applesauce, chicken with apples and sweet potato, and strawberry/peach/applesauce). Harper loves eating all of it and hopefully will not be a picky eater as she gets older! If you ever want to know more or want some of these fabulous recipes just ask!

Beautiful

So, this seems like a pet peeve but I have thought a lot about it and I really think this is a much deeper issue in our society. It all started on my way to work. I have an hour (well, 45 minutes now post move!) to think or talk or listen as I drive to and from work. Every morning I was hearing the same ProActive commercial. Now I love ProActive- it works, but after hearing this commercial a billion times I think I may not recommend them so highly. The commercial is targeted to teens or parents of teens and says about acne:
"...it robs them of their joy."
I may be waaaay over thinking this, but even so, here is my rant. ACNE should not rob you of your joy. I firmly believe that joy and happiness are two different things and JOY comes from the Maker of the Universe.

Psalm 19:8 "The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes."

It breaks my heart when I hear this commercial (I know, I should change the channel or get XM radio). To think about how this commercial just falls in line with our society when girls are taught from such a young age that their joy and happiness should be derived from their looks. You are what you wear. You are equal to your beauty. See all those girls on tv, that is who you should aspire to be. This world has NOTHING for us. If your hope is built on the brand of clothes you wear, what you look like physically, or any other aspect of your outward appearance then you will surely have great disappointment in life. Now, I am not saying that I do not fall victim to this or that I don't care a thing about what I look like. However, my appearance is not what defines me. I am SO THANKFUL that my mother raised my sister and I to believe that who we are, and not what we look like, is what is important. She taught us to present ourself well, but more importantly, taught us that the kind of people we are is what truly matters. Now that I have a daughter the brokenness of this world is so much more evident to me. With the rise of social media (and media in general for that matter), the emphasis on physical appearance has increased since I was a child. I pray that my daughter grows up knowing that she is loved for who she is, not what she looks like. That she has a heavenly Father who loves her no matter how ugly she is (inside and out). I pray that she knows that her hope is found in Jesus and not in the pages of Cosmo. I pray that she knows her worth is not in what she looks like. I am going to try hard to keep her from believing otherwise. It is difficult because everywhere we go I hear "She is so cute" or "She is a beautiful baby". Well she is. But I typically say "She is a sweet baby" or something to that effect. I would think she was cute if she had four heads. But I want HER to believe that she is beautiful because she is herself. She doesn't need makeup, certain clothing, dyed hair, etc. to be beautiful. She is beautiful to our Savior. YOU are too, as a matter of fact. So, in summary:
Our joy comes from the Lord.
Please don't ever let anything or anyone tell you something of this world has control over that. We will have trials of many kinds in this life, we will have sorrows and disappointments and suffering. But we will always have joy if our hope is found in Heaven.

HOME!

So, it's been a while since the last post, but can you blame us? We just moved! Just a quick update- all is well at the new house. The move went great thanks to our amazing friends and family who helped from everything to physically moving furniture and boxes, strategizing how to get everything from point A to point B, caring for Harper so she didn't notice all the craziness, and unpacking some of our things (seriously, if these people weren't so great at their real jobs, I would hire them out to move- they made the event such a non stressor!). It was such a blessing to have things go smoothly (nothing even broke...that I know about anyway!) because moving with a baby was an extra stressor. You would think that someone who has moved 10+ times (not counting moving in and out of dorms every year during college) would handle it better but, I don't. I am so thankful to all of you who blessed us with your calmness, helpfulness, and strength! Included are a couple pictures of the new home. I am also thankful that we live in a house that I can feel safe in and a neighborhood with super nice, friendly people (close to friends, Publix, cupcakes, ice cream, and church!). :-) We definitely know that God's plan is better than ours and this home at this time is proof positive of that!