How to...

Before

After

Playing with our new kitchen!


So, I've had a couple of requests about how I did Harper's kitchen (see pictures). The original idea came from here. (via Pinterest). In case you don't know about Pinterest, you should, unless you value your free time. Okay. Here goes. Harper's total cost for her kitchen was approximately $20. For all materials. The website I referenced has pretty good detail but some things I changed and some things she left out. So here goes.
1) Find an old tv stand, preferably one with a door (we had to add one which added a whole boatload of steps because ours didn't have a door). It would be great if you had an old one you wanted to get rid of, we didn't, so we found one at a thrift store. Cost $6.00
2) Cut a hole using a sabre saw to fit the sink. We used an old metal dog bowl that Jason found in the woods. Cost $0. They are cheap if you wanted to buy a new one, though.
3) We put two coats of primer (Kilz) on the tv stand to cover up the ugly wood laminate. Cost $0 since we already had the Kilz leftover from another home project.
4) Painted topcoat color on once primer dried. Cost ~$10 (bought way too much paint, tons leftover. You could use spray paint if you wanted for a fraction of the cost. The paint basically doubled the cost of this project. Long story made short, I was supposed to be able to get free paint and it didn't work out).
5) Painted 'eyes' of stoves with craft paint ($0.99).
6) Added stove knobs. Cost: Free (many appliance stores will give you old oven knobs for free).
7) Added door. This involved buying a scrap piece of lumber from Home Depot, getting them to cut it to size. Cost: $0.51. Seriously. Always check in the scrap section for projects like this. Had to paint and prime the door as well. Used the craft paint to paint detail on 'microwave' and 'oven'. Bought hinges and 'oven' handle for less than $2.00. I recommend always checking stores like Habitat Restore, that resell used or surplus construction and home project stuff (everything from cabinets to door knobs, to used furniture, to new ceiling fans) for these items. They sell them CHEAP and the money benefits people in need. I got the 'faucet' for the sink for less than $1.00 from our local store. This would be a great place to buy a tv stand, too, but our local store had tv stands that were too tall for Harper. We used liquid nails to place the 'faucet'. It takes 72 hours to set so take that into account before you give it to your little one.
8) Added fabric. I hemmed 1/2 yard of fabric to make a curtain then used a staple gun to attach it. The tutorial I linked to made a curtain with a curtain rod, but since I didn't have anything to attach the curtain to since it was an open piece originally I just stapled it. The fabric was on sale, I can't remember how much I paid. 1/2 a yard was probably around ~1.50. I picked a fabric that was retro looking, had muted colors that coordinated with my paint color, and wasn't too obvious for a kitchen. I looked a one that was fruits and veggies, but this was so much cuter and seemed more retro kitchen-y somehow.
The tv stand came on wheels but I took those off and added padded furniture strips to protect our floors and to make it a better height for Harper. Time wise this whole project didn't take that long, mostly just waiting on the paint to dry. We did have one issue since we had to add a door. I bought a pretty thin piece of wood since I didn't want the door to be heavy. The hinges, however, had screws that were too long and poked through the back of the door. In order to be able to mount the door correctly Jason had to use his dremel tool (cutting head) to cut the back of the screws off. Which required a Christmas Eve trip to Home Depot. Other than that, this was a fun, low stress project. And it is special because we made it just for Harper. I hope you guys are inspired to try your own project!

thanks. part 2

So, I had intended this to be a sweet post about how I am thankful, not only at Thanksgiving, but also at this time of year. For an amazing family, for my dad who sends Harper musical Peanuts cards in the mail just because she dances to them, to my mom who drives twelve hours to spend one day with Harper, to my father in law who tuned up my car before I went on a road trip giving me peace of mind, to my mother in law who teaches me important things like tying bows and how to be a great mom. And how this time of year I am thankful for the gift of babies...Harper and Jesus. Not in that order. Anyway. That was BEFORE I had one of my top 5 scariest moments of my life. I got home from work, unloaded my car (including Harper), let Toby out of his kennel, and as I was doing this got a call from Jason. He was on his way home from work (45 minutes a way). Then I turned on the Christmas tree lights. Toby and Harper were running around together. Then I opened our front door to turn on our Christmas lights outside. We have a regular door and a storm door. I left both open as I reached around the storm door to plug in the lights. Then I heard a click. I looked behind me. Harper and Toby had closed the door. Aggravated I try to open the door, "How did they get to the door so fast?" I think. The door does. not. open. I push. Horrified I slowly realize that the doorknob must have gotten locked (can Harper reach that?). 'Don't panic' I tell myself. I probably left the door into the laundry room through the garage door open. Now I hear Harper crying through the door. I run to the garage door. It was not unlocked. And no amount of shoving it with my shoulder opened it. 'Maybe I left the back door unlocked when I let Toby out to go to the bathroom earlier.' Now Harper was REALLY screaming. I ran to the back door. Also not unlocked. Of course. I am so cautious about anyone ever getting into the house I ALWAYS lock the doors. Now, you may be saying "why is she panicking? why doesn't she just get the key out of its hiding place?". Well, several weeks ago my hidden key fell in between the slats of our deck making it impossible to reach. So now my child, keys, cell phone, and dog are all in the house. And I am out. And it is raining. I stayed calm externally. Earlier, when I was still inside and I had let Toby out I had pulled up the blinds on the back door so Harper could see him outside. Now I was so thankful that I could sit by the backdoor and see her inside. We sang. We identified our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. We (well, I) screamed and banged on the door at Toby when he stole her brand new stuffed animal and tried to tear it to pieces knowing I couldn't do a thing about it (I mentally told him he was lucky I couldn't get in). All with a door between us. I could have gone to a neighbor's house or gotten them to call the police. But really they would have just done the same thing I could have done. I knew I could either a) retrieve the impossible to retrieve key (which I tried multiple times) or b) wait the (now 30) minutes until Jason got home. So we waited. Harper cried. I wanted to cry. I am not sure if she was crying because she knew something was wrong or because she wanted to be outside. Finally after exhausting all songs, memorized books, and non-curse bad words (to Toby) that I know I heard a truck go down our street. I ran around to the front and thought I saw a truck in the drive. I blinked. It was really there. Jason was home. I ran screaming and crying "unlock the door, they locked me out!". He thought someone in our family was dead or seriously injured by my reaction. It is hard to be a grown up and keep it together forever, though. Anyway. So after my afternoon (followed, sweetly, by a dinner at Panera and a Shake's frozen custard), my new thanks list is as follows:
1- I am thankful that I worship a God who is bigger than door locks and fear and terror and mistakes.
2- I am thankful that God gave me 40 minutes of (mostly) calm so I did not freak out my child.
3- I am thankful that on the same day a sweet friend at work gave Harper a new teddy bear for Christmas she had something new and cuddly to cling to while she watched her mommy sit outside the door.
4- I am thankful I have a husband who calls me to let me know when he is coming home and that I actually got that phone call prior to the locking out. Otherwise I would have broken the glass. Also I am thankful Jason remained calm and took me to eat, which he knows makes everything better (although I felt so sick to my stomach after this I didn't eat much. Harper did, though!)
5- I am thankful I have a dog that is sweet as sugar to my baby and so even though he stole her teddy bear (which she took back) I did not have to worry about him hurting her.
6- I am thankful for my sweet, spirited daughter who loves to investigate and explore. Even door locks.
PS- this is our 100th blog. When we started this thing I never thought I would be posting about my child locking me out of the house!

Random

So I braved the crowds yesterday (which, in all honesty, are nothing compared to most places this time of year...I shudder remembering when I lived in Birmingham! You can't even get near the Galleria this time of year!). Anyway, back to my original point, I braved the crowds and had some adventures.
1) Apparently it was men in kilts convention at Tiger Town- there were tons of men (I mean, upwards of 10) wearing kilts. Nice.
2) As I waited in the drive through line at Chick-Fil-A just to get the Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake and it seemed to take forever, I thought "Is this really worth it?". IT WAS! That milkshake and all its glorious calories got me through a three hour shopping trip!
3) Stores sell a lot of crap. You have a lot of time to look around as you wait in line and there is all kinds of junk being sold. It's the kind of stuff that wouldn't sell at a yard sale for a nickel! Why do they have it?
4) The Books a Million lady got angry with me when I turned down their special card offer. I told her "I never shop here" and she then went into this whole spiel about how it would only cost me $12.99 today instead of the regular $20. I said "So I get to use it today if I purchase it?" and she said well, the discount can either be looked at as applied to the purchase or the cost of the card. I say: "so basically I am just adding $12.99 to my total purchase price? No thanks." and she got really offended! Point is- do they get commission off these cards or something? And honestly, I almost always buy my books off Amazon anyway, so I'll just be wasting the money. I was already spending a lot of money at their store, just leave me alone!
5) I love love love to give presents. Jason would tell you that if he didn't watch me, I would spend all our money on food and gifts. It is just fun to pick out something that you know will give someone happiness and give it to them! I also really love wrapping gifts. Anyway, all that being said, I really lost sight of the joy of the season during yesterday's holiday shopping. Oh, I got excited about finding just the right thing, but all in all, the craziness and business of this time of year really usurps the real reason we celebrate Christmas. I need to continue to try to focus on THAT and not let everything else get in the way!
Merry Christmas!

thanks.

Waste Not

My small group has been reading the book by John Piper "Don't Waste Your Life". I recommend this book to anyone, but I am not going to talk so much about the book but more about a decision I made because of reading the book and feeling a tugging at my heart. I decided to give up television and facebook for a week. Not so hard, you might say. Well, it honestly wasn't. But I've had quite a few people ask me "Why?" so I thought I'd explain. First, I read this from Piper's book:

"Television is one of the greatest life wasters of the modern age....The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you're watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacit of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels. Neil Postman shows why.

What is happening in America is that television is transforming all serious public business into junk....Television disdains exposition, which is serious, sequential, rational, and complex. It offers instead a mode of discourse in which everything is accessible, simplistic, concrete, and above all, entertaining. As a result, America is the world's first culture in jeopardy of amusing itself to death."

-John Piper Don't Waste Your Life
It got me to thinking about the reasons I watch tv and get on Facebook. I couldn't really come up with any GOOD answers. I guess the biggest reason is to literally waste time. Most shows I watch are not quality, informative programming. They don't do much more than to provide a background for whatever else it is I'm doing. Or not doing. Sometimes I turn on the tv when I'm bored. Because it's there. It beckons "turn me on, I'll help keep you mildly entertained for a while". The same is true, for the most part, for Facebook (oh sure, I keep up with friends and family far away, but mostly, I just got on because I was wanting to waste some time). Thinking all this over I came to the conclusion that I have so much more LIFE to be living and that I am called to live it, not waste it. So for a week I watched no tv and did not get on Facebook. Oh, I fretted "What if I miss something?", "What if someone tries to contact me and thinks I am rude for not replying?". Well, those are silly reasons. Guess what? A tornado hit the city I live in, people tried to contact me, and I didn't get on FB or turn on the TV. And I'm still here. My friends still like me. The tornado would have come whether or not I knew about it. The destruction would have been there whether or not I turned on the tv to gawk at it like a rubber necker at an accident. So, I gave up Facebook and tv to start living life a little more. What did I do? How did things differ from before? Now that it is over, have things changed? Well, I spent more quality time with my daughter, dog, and husband, spent more quality time in the Word, and was able to find time to do more things for others, even silly things just to say "thinking about you". Today was day one of being back to 'normal'. I turned on the morning news for a little while, checked Facebook, even uploaded a video! But my attitude about it was different. It wasn't something I was doing just to waste time, I had a purpose, I fulfilled that purpose, and I moved on. Do I think I had some sort of "problem" with TV or FB? No. No more than any of you reading this. Do I think I am better than anyone for having given it up? Of course not. I do think I am a better ME, though. So, if you ask "why?" there you go. My life is being shaped and changed so that I live each day in an effort to glorify God and use this life wisely! And by the way, the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon (By Bill Watterson) has always made me laugh and is so appropriate I had to include it!

Messy

Sometimes life is messy. Literally and figuratively. When life (and children) give you messes, take a picture because then you'll laugh later!

Harper "reading"

Harper's favorite book currently is "Hurry Hurry" by Eve Bunting. In fact, we've read it so many times that she has memorized parts of it. Here she is "reading" it with her Daddy! (And no, we did not use 'Your Baby Can Read').

Happy Halloween!

Here is our sweet little chicken... she thoroughly enjoyed her costume and even liked to dance in it, which was super cute because all the feathers bounced. Thanks to Martha Stewart for the cute, easy, costume idea!

Chatter box

So, all non grandparents and non SLP's will probably not be interested in this post. However, this is the best way for me to keep up with all of Harper's developments. Harper is beginning to enter that 'language explosion' period. She is learning new words almost every day now. My favorite language development is that Harper (finally!) says 'mama' consistently!!! Not just when she wants to eat, but when she wants me to pick her up, when she just wants to see me, when she wants a kiss- she says mama! Yay! She also learned to say Poppa, which is what we call Jason's dad. Since he helped us with the yardwork she occasionally points to our new sod and says 'Poppa' as well! Usually she whispers it when she says it, which is so funny. She says 'go' all the time now. She uses it for different things, like when we are leaving daycare she usually says 'go!'. Then she says 'go' in response to 'ready, set...' when she goes down the slide. She says 'go' when we are grocery shopping when she thinks I've stopped the cart too long. So funny! She says 'hot' and 'hat' now. I don't think I've logged those before. She is so funny everytime she gets near the stove she waves her hand in front of her and says 'hot' with the final consonant! We have hats hanging by our garage door and she says 'hat' and touches her head which means she wants to put one on. She also tries to say 'War Eagle'. She waves her hand around in a circle in front of her and says "whoaaaaa"! She says 'shoe' very clearly now and labels any shoes she sees at home. She also likes to try to put our shoes on. She says 'yes' every now and then when we ask her a question but that isn't consistent yet. She now says no, too. My LEAST favorite word. Most of the time she says it to Toby. She actually spanked Toby one day after we had fussed at him for trying to eat Jason's dinner! We told her 'be gentle' and she petted him sweetly and hugged him. She also says 'nuh nuh nuh' if you pick her up and she doesn't want to be held. She said 'bus' yesterday when we left her daycare and she saw the bus they have parked there. She says door, but it sounds more like 'doh'. She has been imitating several two word phrases, as well, including 'go car', 'hi daddy', and 'close door'. She says 'hey' now when she picks up one of our cell phones and will whisper 'hey' while waving to people we see at the grocery store. She continues to be social and loves meeting new people. However, when in a new environment with lots of people she usually has quite the serious face and likes to just watch and observe for a little while before making friends. Physically she is now able to climb...anything. She climbs up steep stairs, climbs the ladder to her play set, tries to climb our bookshelf. She runs faster and faster each day (occasionally away from me!). She is still snuggly and still loves to eat everything. She still loves to read and in her favorite book (Hurry Hurry) she actually tries to read it out loud by herself and babbles the correct number of words and syllables per page (i.e. on the page that says 'Hurry, Hurry' she says /h^d^ h^d^/ and the page that says 'Ready? Read?' she says /rE^ rE^/). Sorry to those of you that don't know the IPA. It's fun to learn! I am so amazed by this little girl and my prayer is that I can be delighted in all she does and that in everything I do I can do it for God's glory. John Piper says even changing diapers. I'll keep working on that one! ;-)

DIY

Jason and I have been hard at work all weekend updating our yard. Thanks to the help of his parents, we made a ton of progress on Saturday and finished up the last little bit today (which took almost as long as it did on Saturday, mostly because we had Harper helping us!). Here are before and after pictures- we LOVE the results and ended up being the neighborhood entertainment this weekend thanks to the big change!
The pictures are, from bottom to top: 1) Before...welcome to the jungle, 2) In process, 3) front of house- it looks so much bigger!, 4) flowers by the mailbox and Toby who just HAD to be in the picture!

Happy Birthday Harper, part 2

Harper had a fabulous birthday weekend, full of lots of family and friend time. It started with the arrival of my parents Thursday, then Jason's parents Friday. We all went to the raptor show which Harper LOVED. She even won a coloring book because she was having a birthday! (Which reminds me, I need to add to the other post- she claps now and says "yay"). Saturday (her birth DAY) she woke up to all the grandparents here. Jason's parents got her a playset for outside which she loves. She has already mastered sliding and is getting better at climbing! Then Sunday we had her party. She did SO well with all the people around and she was miss social hostess with everyone. So glad she enjoyed it- because that is why we had a party! Here are some pictures of our fun weekend!

Happy Birthday Harper, part 1

So, I want to remember Harper's birthday and I want HER to know how much we love her and what she is doing right now. Maybe she'll read this someday. That's half why I write it down, anyway. So, this is the mushy, to Harper, part. Skip it and just look at the pics from her birthday weekend if you want.
Dear Harper,
Somehow when you become a parent, you get the magical skill of making time speed up. Unfortunately, I would prefer just to have it go slow, or at least regular speed, because I truly enjoy spending time with you! I was not sure what to expect before you were born. Your Daddy and I took a class and read books and articles about being a mom and dad, but nothing can really prepare you but experience. You have made being a mother SO much easier than I ever imagined and have been the sweetest girl since day one! Each stage of your life has come with challenges and joys. I enjoy each one more and more (I always think, man, I'll miss this stage, this is my favorite, and then the next one comes and I love it, too!). Your Daddy and I were talking the other night and we were remembering how nervous we were when we first brought you home. Our goal that first night was just to make sure we kept you alive! And we did it! :-) Harper, you are truly a gift from God. I pray that you will come to know and understand true and lasting JOY, that can only be found in knowing your heavenly father. He has given me so much and entrusted me with you! I pray that this quote can be recognized in your life: "She knew that she was formed by God's hands, dreamed up in His heart, and placed in this world for a purpose". Your Daddy and I joke about what that purpose will be, but I want YOU to discover that on your own and not let the schemings of others decide your purpose. Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter!
I love you,
Mommy
PS- Here's the stuff you probably care about:
Height: 28.5 inches...although I think they measured you wrong, because they usually do and then they have to remeasure. You are slightly taller than average for your age. Big shocker there considering your family.
Weight: 19.23 pounds. You eat like a horse and I wouldn't be surprised if you were 30 pounds the way you eat! Thanks for being such a good eater!
Speaking of food- you drink out of a straw and regular type sippy cup now, you drink whole milk (organic of course!), you eat table food, and you (thanks to your birthday) have a big sweet tooth like your mommy. Your favorite foods are still blueberries, but really any kind of fruit. You also love carrots and sweet potatoes. You are also a big meat fan and have eaten everything from fish to pork to beef to chicken to lamb.
You wave hello and bye appropriately now (that just started a week ago). You used to waved towards yourself but now you wave palm out with fingers outstretched.
You also sign 'more' spontaneously and consistently now. You look so proud of yourself when you do it!
You are walking, running, climbing, dancing, and 'throwing' now (throwing is more like dropping).
You are talking up a storm. Thank goodness! You say: Daddy (a lot), Mama (hardly ever unless you want to eat), duck, dog, up, uh oh, hi/hey, bye bye (which you whisper when you say...we haven't figured out why!), brush, baby, that (your new favorite word...you point to things you want us to show you and say /daet/), bird, and /bob/ for Toby. I don't think I left any off. You imitate a lot of things we say but don't say them spontaneously yet, like cat.
You follow directions very well (give me the ___, put the ___ in the bag, hands down, give ___ to Toby). I hope you KEEP following directions your mom and dad give you well.
You are VERY social and you wave to everyone we see. You love being the center of attention but you are still pretty chill when you aren't. You let strangers hold you and pick you up and you even reached your hands up to the waiters at the Mexican restaurant when you saw them. Mommy does NOT like you wanting strangers to hold you. At least you are friendly, though.
You love to play, whether it is peek a boo, which you will initiate, chase, hug your stuffed animals, pretend with play food (you feed Mommy and Daddy), you love toys that you can dump out and then put back in (although they usually end up out when you are done!), but most of all you LOVE to read. You pick up a book then back up against a person until you are in their lap! You want the same books read to you over and over. Currently they are: Little Kitten, Aubie Loves Sports, Goodnight, Baby, Hurry Hurry, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You also love lots of other books that are on the 'forbidden' bookshelf so you don't rip the pages.
Speaking of ripping pages, you get in trouble sometimes, too, now. That is new! You love to play in Toby's water and you know you aren't supposed to be there, so you sneak in to play. You pull books off the grownup books shelves but usually respond if we say "Harper...." or "no ma'am" or "hands down". You also like to play with cords and you try to wrap them around your neck. Which is giving me gray hair. You get in BIG trouble for that because it is not safe. Oh, and for running down the driveway towards the street. Which is hilarious to you but frightening to Mommy.
Okay, that is all! Love you sweet girl!

2 down!

Thanks to Dutch, the beautiful horse in the pictures, I accomplished item number two on my thirty bucket list! He was a very sweet animal and made riding a horse VERY easy. He also kept trying to stop and eat, which I thought was hilarious! I was good and told him no and pulled the reigns up!

Eleven.

(no more paparazzi mom!)
So, Jason and I are now the proud parents of an 11 month old! So crazy how quickly time flies by. Having a child reminds you to not live for tomorrow but to cherish every second that we have! So here are some Harper updates:
-she is now running and walking. She loves to dance with her daddy (which basically consists of bouncing up and down). She climbs now and actually climbed out of the pool yesterday! (help!) She also opens and closes doors as long as they are not shut all the way. She also learned how to climb in and out of baby sized chairs last week (thanks to Cooper!) and keeps disappearing. When I find her she is sitting, grinning from ear to ear, in her bumbo chair in her closet!!!
-she is still babbling away. She also says up, uh oh, dog, /m^m^/ for more, mama (yay!), dada (but she usually whispers this when Jason walks through the door...haven't figured that one out yet!). She also makes a noise when she is doing something sneaky that sounds like /s-s-s-s/, almost like a little snicker. Usually that means she is trying to get into Toby's food or water. She will also imitate a lot of what we say (yikes!) and has imitated duck, quack (/wae/), go, ball, and several other things I can't think of right now. She said ball a couple times by herself but doesn't do that one consistently yet. She also imitates the sign for 'more' occasionally but mostly she just growls still.
- 6 teeth! (can you believe it?). 3 tops ones came in on one day. That was actually not that grumpy of a day, either! Two on bottom, four on top.
-She now eats mostly table food. It is a little sad not to be making baby food so often but now I will just give her what we are eating, prior to salting it (i.e. she ate black beans and rice the other night., she eats beef stew, boiled chicken with veggies, etc.). She is drinking much better from the sippy cup but I still can't find a good one with a straw. She still won't drink that well out of her cup at daycare, but she usually at least drinks half now.
- She is becoming quite bossy with other kids (I don't know WHERE that came from...) and I have seen her take a toy from a group of boys. They literally just sat there with their mouths open. She is also incredibly sweet and is nice to the other babies mostly. She also shares well, we had friends visiting last weekend and when their son was crying one time she offered him her prized tupperware lid she had gotten out of the cabinet. She and Toby are still great pals, although he is not the biggest fan of being climbed on.
Well, that is 11 month Harper in a nutshell. I dread posting next month!!! But I am also thrilled to be the mother of such a wonderful little girl. Oh, and PS (if there is such a thing in blogging) I gave her a language assessment (PLS-5) and she scored 5 months above age level! Did I have any doubt, though?

One down- 4 to go!

Thanks to our family trip to Gulf Shores, I was able to check one item off my 30 bucket list. Yay! (If you are confused, click here )

10 Months Old

So, it is hard for me to believe that in two (very short) months Harper will be a year old. Where has this year gone? Where has my tiny baby gone? I have been mourning her baby-ness for the past month (now I see why some people choose to have babies so close together- they stop being babies so quickly!) but I am so thankful for the times that she is still baby like- snuggling, sleeping so peacefully, her sweet baby voice. I am SO thankful for all the things she can do now as well (smile, laugh at us, give us kisses, etc.). Anyway, the past month has been especially hard for me since she has started walking- it seems to signal the end of babyhood. But it is also the beginning of an amazing little girl! Here is what she is doing at 10 months:
-walking (she started that a week after she turned 9 months old)
-dancing (thanks to Caedmon!)
-saying 'uh' and pointing up when we say "Harper, where is up?" and saying 'uh oh' after we say it when something falls (or, uh hum, is dropped)
-She loves opening and closing cabinets (especially forbidden ones), unscrewing drawer knobs, and climbing in and out of the rungs on the dining room chairs.
-She still loves giving us kisses and will do so virtually anytime we ask.
-She loves to 'swim' and will kick her legs and move her arms...but not at the same time. She also keeps sticking her face in the water which makes her mad, but she keeps doing it anyway. She also likes to drink the water.
-She FINALLY drinks from a sippy cup (we tried a new kind and it worked like magic) but she still takes her bottles, too.
-She is not as wary of strangers as she was a few months ago but still plays the staring game with people out in public...if they don't look at her she stares them down until she gets a smile!
-She is eating all sorts of finger foods now, any soft veggies or fruit (or soft cooked, like green beans or steamed carrots), she loves eggs (no salt or pepper, just scrambled and cooked in a little butter), her favorite food is still blueberries but she also loves her chicken with apple and sweet potato. She drinks water now in addition to formula and sometimes 'juicewater' at daycare just so she will drink something during the day (She went on a drink strike for a few weeks at daycare...not a food strike though!). She basically will eat anything we put in front of her and stuffs her mouth usually so we have to be careful not to give her too much. She doesn't growl as much as she used to but she still doesn't spontaneously use any of the baby signs ('more' and 'eat') that we are teaching her.

Well...I think that is about it for 10 month old Harper! We are still in awe of our amazing (notso) little blessing!

Adventures with Babies (also known as the weekend I 'witnessed' a miracle).

So, I am not sure how to even begin this post. I feel like I have got to write it down before the magic of this weekend goes away. And by magic I mean God's amazing provision in our lives. So, I think I might write this in bulleted points because otherwise I could get a little carried away (which you won't be surprised about if you've already read any of my previous posts). This past weekend I flew to Dallas to visit friends, help host a baby shower, and see my friend pregnant (because pregnant girls are TOO cute!). My dear friend Rachel flew with me and was my traveling companion/sanity saver/Harper's second mommy. THANK YOU Rachel for being such a help and being so sweet and patient with me and Harper...even when she woke you up every day of your vacation before 6:15am. Okay, gotta stick to bulleted points now...
1) flew in Thursday, got to introduce Harper to my Dallas friends and got to see how big their kiddos were (born and unborn)
2) Got to go to a crazy nice mall on Friday and eat French food from the mall food court and window shop. Oh, did I mention my friend's hubby watched our kids so we could have a girls day? He was a SAINT this weekend. Thanks Jeff!
3) On Saturday Harper inspired her friend we visited to walk. He had been kind of walking but I guess he thought "this little girl isn't going to come in my house and show me up!" or maybe "hey, that doesn't look so bad!". Maybe HG will be a physical therapist someday and inspire others....and in turn, the sweet boy taught her how to dance. I love it! All I do now is sing her a song and she bounces and shakes her hand. Poor thing. She'll probably dance like her daddy and I do.
4) Also on Saturday while in Texas we got word that my friend we were staying with was going to become an Aunt (her sister in law went into labor a week early!). It was a very exciting day, we were all pumped for the baby shower since we were all thinking in baby mode. The baby shower was lovely and such fun. Always nice to see old friends and meet new ones!
5) Sunday morning we were leaving for the airport. Harper woke up extra early and when I went out to the living room my friend for whom we threw the shower was awake (she hadn't really slept). She tells me she is having "cramps" and that her water has broken. WHAT!?!? Needless to say I was wide awake sans tea at this point. Sadly, I had no clue whether or not she was experiencing braxton hicks or real contractions, since I never really had any braxton hicks and since I was induced. So our Dallas friends headed to the hospital and Rachel and I headed to the airport. Thanks to Saint Husband Jeff who gave us a ride.
6) We are anxiously awaiting news while at the airport...it comes...our friend indeed is in labor and is progressing FAST. Oh. Did I mention her husband is 7 1/2 hours away in Middleofnowhere Texas? And that she is 3 weeks early? And that this isn't suppose to be happening right now? Yeah.
7) Stupid no phones on the airplane rule. It was excruciating waiting the 2 hour flight. We land and get word that her husband has made it PRE baby. What? How is that possible? They had to arrive at the hospital about 7amish. He probably didn't leave until after that. This was 1pm that we got word he had made it. To be able to drive all the way to the airport from Middleofnowhere, get on a plane, fly, drive from the airport to the hospital, all in that short time and all the while no baby has come. That is divine intervention. Also...her mom made it in town from many many miles away. Also pre baby.
8) 5pmish. A beautiful, healthy, baby boy arrives. :-) Praise God! HE knew what she needed and what her baby needed and provided a way for all of that to happen. Truly a miracle. If you aren't a believer in miracles, start looking for them. God is moving and working. As a brief aside, even if her husband hadn't made it, God would still be good. We would still praise Him. His perfect grace would still be enough. I know she would agree.
9) Our flight landed 30 minutes early. Miracle #2 for the day. Here are some pictures from our fun weekend.
S- sorry for telling your story...it is too amazing not to tell and since I was a tiny part of it, I felt I needed to share it!

Meredith's manners- travel etiquette with children

I love people watching. Here are some travel tips based on my observations this weekend.

1) Just because I have a child does not mean I like your children, nor do I want them climbing on me, my luggage, or my child, especially when said children have been coughing and crying.
2) When in a crowded public area it is best to actually keep an eye on your children. Otherwise they might wander off and meet strangers, get lost, or bother other people (see above).
3) Allowing your child to kick the back of someone's seat on a plane is NOT polite.
4) This goes for all travelers: while I do enjoy chatting with people next to me on the plane, I probably don't want to hear your entire life story the entire flight. Sometimes I like to sleep or read. This also goes for most other travelers. When you increase the number of alcoholic drinks consumed that does not increase the likelihood that I want to hear about your friends from when you were in high school. (This makes me sound anti-social...I really do enjoy chatting with people on the plane, but I observed a lady today who went on and on the entire flight to the guy next to her and she never got the hint that he didn't want her to keep talking!)
5)This goes for all adult travelers: consuming large amounts of alcohol, either in the terminal or on the flight, is probably NEVER a good idea. It results in quotes like this- said loudly on the large escalators at the Atlanta airport in front of a LOT of people "I had an epiphany today. I don't hate babies. I like them. I sat next to this 12 year old on the plane and it gave me hope." HAHAHA!

By the way, miraculously- our flight arrived home 30 minutes early!!!

Walk like a baby!

June 30, 2011...Harper took 4 steps in a row unassisted. Since then she has been standing up all by herself (without pulling up) and taking several steps (up to 8) all by herself. She still prefers to crawl, though, since she can get there faster. She is definitely proud to be walking, she gets the cutest look on her face when she does! I can't believe my baby is walking!

Sharing!

I have been in "house mode" for the past 3 months or so (Jason would say for MUCH longer). Since our contract was finalized on our house, however, I have been crazy about HGTV and looking at blogs about renovations, etc. We are fortunate in that our house had no immediate changes that needed to be made (no painting, no wallpaper removal, no appliance updates). I know that we will eventually update a lot of things (first...the kitchen, then the light fixtures...especially our horrible gold arrowhead chandelier- see it here). However, I love looking at renovations and gathering ideas for later dates. Here is a blog post that has some amazing renovations. I LOVE this kitchen, so much natural light and so functional but beautiful.

Harper's first Fourth!

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays...how could I resist a holiday that has celebrations that include yummy grilled food, WATERMELON, and blowing things up! This 4th Jason, HG, and I were lucky enough to get to go to Destin for a long weekend! We got to introduce Harper to the beach- one of our favorite places, spend some time with friends, and just enjoy some family time! Here are some pictures of our fourth. Our friend Kevin's parents took us for a boat ride to watch the fireworks from the boat. It was fantastic! Harper slept through most of it (thanks to the boat ride) but woke up during the finale and watched wide-eyed. She wasn't worried though, she was safe in her daddy's arms! Oh- we also got to see an air show- it was so fun! We didn't know it was going to happen but we walked outside the house and looked up and there were these cool old planes flying up and down and sideways and upside down!

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!