Great Danes and Baby Names

Arizona Babies

2012-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

We took this picture of little Kinley last night at a western themed dinner that we attended. Man she is so adorable! This next picture was taken in July of 2010. It's little Miss Harper wearing the same boots and hat in her own little cowgirl outfit.

Kinley is 3 1/2 months in her picture, Harper is 7 months in hers. I hear mixed opinions as far as how much they look alike. Some people say they look exactly alike, others say they are totally different. Apart from how gorgeous and perfect they both are, I personally see them as very different. What do you think?

2 Months at a Glance

2012-01-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

December and January...where did they go? Catching up, in no particular order....

Kinley's first plane ride

Harper got 2 new teeth

Introduced Kinley to our east coast family

Kinley's first Christmas

Kinley turns 2 months old

Harper's second Christmas

Kinley moves to 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers

Harper turns 2!

Kinley technically slept through the night

Winter camps started for Chris

Kinley moves to 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers

Taxes are done, 10th anniversary trip planning has begun

We got iPhones that take amazing pictures of my little beauties

Kinley turned 3 months old, Harper started sleeping in a toddler bed, Chris and I scheduled a new date night, Kinley started staying at home with our babysitter, we started potty training and stopped potty training, Kinley smiles when she hears the word "smile", Harper can count to 10 and knows her colors, Chris is going eggs free in 2012, and I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

Sleeping Beauty

2011-11-22T06:10:00.001-08:00

Hangin' With Dad

2011-11-20T06:12:00.001-08:00

Uncle Will's Star Wars Party

2011-11-15T05:46:00.001-08:00

Our friend Will is probably one of Harper's best friends in the whole world. Whether it's because he kind of looks like her dad, or because somehow she knows that she's the only baby he's ever liked, they are best buds. And since Will is one of our best friends, too, we threw him a birthday party this weekend. He loves Star Wars, so with the help of Pinterest here's how the party turned out...

Carbonite Jello

One Month

2011-11-14T12:28:00.001-08:00

I can't believe a month has already come and gone! My little Kinley is not so little anymore...for a preemie, she sure does have some chunky thighs, and I love it! Life with her is so much fun. We all just love her so much, including Harper, who is such a great big sister. Every time she's around, Kinley is really quiet and happy. They don't really look alike at all apart from the red hair and the nose. But Harper was a really good baby, and her little sister is no different in that department. I love our family of four!!

Look at that chin and those cheeks!!! Love!

Bath Time

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Bye Bye Pacifier

2011-11-10T12:16:00.001-08:00

Harper has used a pacifier since she was about 4 months old. But for as long as I can remember, at least for the last year, the rule has been that it is only for sleeping. It stays in her bed, with the exception of road trips and airplanes. But over the past week, Chris and Harper have been talking about getting rid of "paci." So four nights ago, we were all in Harper's room getting her ready for bed when her daddy asked her if she wanted to throw her paci away. She nodded, got up, took it out of her mouth and said "trash!" Then she walked out to the kitchen and threw it away. She waved at the trash can and said, "bye paci." Chris and I just looked at each other thinking there's no way it's going to be this easy.

It hasn't been, but it also hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought. She did cry that night when we actually put her in bed and she asked for her paci. And every naptime and bedtime since then she tries to find ways to stall or cries until her daddy comes in and talks with her. But she doesn't get up in the middle of the night asking for it or anything like that. It's just the initial falling asleep. After her first night without it, Chris went to the store to get her a present...a doughnut with pink sprinkles and a pink balloon that he decorated. (She loves pink!) We are super proud of her. She is growing up so fast, and I love watching her make her own decisions. I don't think she realized the consequences of that decision until it was too late, but that's just part of the learning process. She's such a great kid, and I am simply crazy about her!

Due Date!

2011-11-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Kinley is almost 4 weeks old and today is our due date. She's grown so much in the last 26 days...no more newborn onesies, no more newborn diapers, and she's getting some mighty nice thighs and cheeks! Her receding hair line is already starting to fill in a little better. She knows the difference between day and night. And when I hold her hands and pull her up to a sitting position, she keeps her head in line with her body. When she was born she weighed 6 lbs 12 oz. Today we weighed her on our food scale (in a salad bowl!) and she weighed 8.9 lbs. She is almost 9 lbs today!! I know that's not necessarily what she would have weighed had she been born today, but let me just say how glad I am that she was early! She was 19 inches long at birth, and today she is 21 inches long. She will be one month old on Monday. I wish I had thought to do this with Harper since she was early, too. I'm so glad Kinley came when she did, because the last 4 weeks have been wonderful. I love holding her, getting to know her, watching Harper step up as THE big sister, and driving to church with a full car...filled with our family.

Beautiful Girl!

F is for Fall Fun!

2011-11-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy, but they've been so much fun! Harper is at such a great age, and it's the first fall where she is able to really enjoy the season and what it brings. For example, with the cooler weather, my wonderful husband has been making me Nutella hot chocolate in the mornings. So we let Harper in on the secret goodness of hot chocolate. Here she is enjoying her first cup ever in her own little Harper-sized mug...

Harper has discovered pumpkins now, too. Her Grandpa Holohan sent her "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", which started her love for the festive icon. So I found some sugar cookies with pumpkins on them for us to bake together. This was our first time making cookies together. She was such a great helper!

Then it was time to put them in the oven. Who knew that would be so tragic? Harper did not understand why she couldn't have a cookie after being such a great helper! The concept of "waiting for them to bake" was not one she cared to understand. We were able to distract her eventually, and after a very long 8 minutes, she was able to partake in the "puckin tookies."

Costume Crisis

2011-11-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Let's just say I wasn't expecting to get to do Halloween at all this year, but then little Kinley decided to come early. Then, not only could we do Halloween, but I had two costumes to come up with! I was going to make Harper a Minnie Mouse costume, and a pumpkin costume for Kinley. Who would have thought how difficult that would be with a 2 week old and a 22 month old? Well, I accomplished one of them, but Harper's costume just wasn't going to happen in time. So Sunday night I ran to Target to buy a last minute costume...she was to be...an ice cream cone. Cute, right? Except the next morning when I showed it to her, she was very much afraid of it. So I found an outfit that my mom sent as dress up clothes from Saudi Arabia, and our little Harper went dressed as a gypsy.

Crisis averted, Trick or Treating commenced. It was Harper's second Halloween, but her first one where she could actually Trick or Treat. (or Teet Teet as she would say) I explained it to her while we started getting ready, and she got so excited she headed straight for the door yelling "Teet Teet!" But I told her we had to wait for daddy. An hour later, he walked through the door, and Harper yelled, "Daddy! Teet Teet!!" And then we were off. We took a lot of pictures with the help of our friends, and Harper hit up a few houses for some yummy candy.

Ready to Go!

Special thanks to Jess Medlin for the hat!

Teet Teet!

Sisters

Our little fall baby

Sisterhood

2011-10-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

The beginning...

Harper's first encounter with her baby sister

Kinley was born on a Friday night, so Chris and I stayed at the birthing center for 2 nights. We decided it was best for Harper to wait until the day we left to meet Kinley so that we could all go home together. So on Sunday morning, my dad brought Harper to the hospital. We put Kinley in the bassinet so that we could greet Harper like normal. Then once she saw us, Chris brought Kinley over so they could meet. Once Kinley ended up in my lap, the crying began. Then the tantrums came. And anyone who knows Harper knows she doesn't throw tantrums. It was really hard to watch...I wanted to just scoop her up and let her cry in my arms and tell her everything was okay. But we knew the rules had to stay the same: tantrums aren't allowed. She has had a sister for 12 days now, and the tantrums were extremely short-lived! Now she asks for her sister and doesn't seem to mind when I'm holding Kinley and can't come right when she wants me all the time. She is such a great big sister, and we are so proud of how well she's doing.

Not only did Harper get a little sister last week, she also got 3 molars! Talk about a hard week!! (And the week before Kinley came, Harper had croup and pneumonia!) So far having 2 hasn't been as crazy as everyone says, but we've had our moments. One day in that first week, I was nursing Kinley when Harper woke up early from her nap. She was crying due to another molar that had popped through. So I went into her room, put Kinley in the chair, and took a crying Harper out of her bed. Kinley, meanwhile, began to cry for her meal...which she had not finished. So I sat on the floor holding both girls in my lap as they both screamed into either ear. I wanted to cry myself, until I imagined what we must look like! So then I laughed instead and thought to myself, "well, I don't really know what to do right now!"

I love having my two girls, and all the challenges that are sure to come with it. They are amazing!! Here are some more sister shots from the first 2 weeks...

Harper wanted Kinley to sit next to her while she watched Mickey Mouse

Matching red bows...Harper thought that was fun!

Having a blast at the pumpkin patch...Kinley is such a party animal!

Kinley Patricia Holohan

2011-10-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Kinley Patricia Holohan
October 14, 2011 at 8:26 pm
6lbs 12 oz, 19 inches long

She's here! Sweet little Kinley made her debut 26 days early, making her premature at 36 weeks. But she is very healthy and doing great! Her timing was perfect because my dad happened to be in town visiting, so he was able to be there for her birth.

Everything was totally different this time, which I'm sure is usually the case. With Harper, my water broke last right before she was born. This time, my water started leaking at 2:00 in the morning. I went to my OB, and she said it was time. I went home, took a shower, we packed...we took our time, because at that point contractions still hadn't started. We got to the birthing center at 11:00am. I actually got the same nurse that helped me deliver Harper, which I had been praying for! They had to start me on pitocin, which really upset me. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to deliver without an epidural because pitocin makes contractions so much stronger. But I did it! I will say, it was WAY more painful than last time. But Chris did a great job at keeping me calm and focused when I would start to get discouraged. At one point I even threw up from the pain. Then at 8:26 that night it was over, and she was here.

This pregnancy was a lot harder than my first, but my recovery has been much better this time. And now I have 2 beautiful little redheads! Harper had a hard time the first few days with Kinley, but it's been less than 2 weeks, and she's doing so well! She's a great big sister, and such a good kid. She gives Kinley kisses and asks for her in the mornings. She also helps us change Kinley's diapers by climbing on her "big sister stool" and handing us the new diaper. We are so blessed, and I couldn't be happier!

Progress

2011-10-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

Daddy starting to assemble the new crib

Mommy doing the honors of putting in the final bolt

Harper seeing Kinley's bed for the first time

A Crazy September

2011-09-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

This month started with tragedy, and since then has been filled with lots of ups and downs. On the first day of the month, friends of ours here at the camp lost their 7 month old daughter. She went down for a nap and didn't wake up. It has been so sad, and also a huge wake up call. You just never know how much time you have. I haven't been blogging, because I just couldn't figure out how to start back. Since she died, a lot of things seem a lot less important than ever before.

But my blog is important, because my girls and my family are important. And we want our families and friends to be able to see our girls grow. So here's an update. Harper is almost 21 months now, and she is growing up so fast!! She has a huge vocabulary, she's a lot taller, she has 7 teeth (a huge improvement!), she likes to count, and she's starting to show interest in the potty! My girl in my belly, Kinley Hazel, is anxious to be here. I've been having about 20 contractions a day for several weeks now, and I am only at 33 weeks. So the doctor has been doing a few tests, and as of now I have been ordered "off my feet." Not bedrest yet, and we're trying to keep it that way. He wants us to get to at least 36 weeks, so we've only got 3 weeks to go to be out of the "danger" zone. If I go into labor before 36 weeks, they'll have to fly me to Phoenix to have her there, and we don't want that! So I'm sitting on the couch with a pretty bored Harper, who's getting to watch far more tv than she's normally allowed. But Kinley just isn't ready yet, so we'll do what it takes to keep her in there. Chris and I are working on her room and hope to have it mostly finished by this weekend. And otherwise, we're looking forward to October. I'm kind of done with this crazy month.

Here's a recent picture of Harper, right after eating a peanut butter and nutella sandwich. I don't have any current belly shots, so that will have to be in a later post.

Dr. Seuss Baby Shower

2011-08-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

When we were home in July, my sisters threw me a baby shower. They did such a great job planning and coming up with a theme. It was a Dr. Seuss shower, and super cute!! One of the best parts about it was that I got to see several of my Georgia friends that I rarely get to see anymore. I miss you all so much!! And of course, my family...I miss my family very much. But they all got to be there except for my Grandma. I wish she could have been there. Even my 2 cousins were there! And being a Seuss themed shower, we got to return home with several more books for my girls. We love books!

Fun With Family

2011-08-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Harper and I took a trip to Atlanta in July to visit my family. It was one of our best visits. I definitely needed the break from camp, and Harper is at such a fun age. My mom was their visiting too, from Saudi Arabia, and my dad and Rosie came up one weekend while we were there. We went to the Atlanta Zoo the first weekend, Harper's first zoo experience...

Harper looking at animals with her Grandpa and Aunts

Harper and her Nana

Harper's new panda, a gift from my Aunt and Uncle who were also there

Harper with her Uncle Brian, Aunt Nae Nae, Aunt Kelly, and Uncle Mike
She is very loved!

Swinging like the monkeys back to the car

In addition to the zoo, we had a Bellmoff breakfast (a family breakfast tradition involving family, lots of yummy food, and overeating), my sisters threw me a baby shower (pictures to come later), went swimming, ate lots of ice cream, went shopping, and basically got spoiled (Harper and me). It was wonderful!

Harper's first ice cream cone

Harper with my sisters...I'm so happy that Harper is getting a sister, too! It's the best!!

Harper with her Uncles...she had so much fun with them!

To my family: thank you for such a fun time and a much needed break. We miss you all already, and we love you so much! Eeyore sends his love, too.

Things are lookin' up!

2011-08-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Summer was rough for me, what can I say? As I've mentioned (well, a while ago...), Chris was extremely busy this summer with camp and I was sick. I ended up having a colonoscopy which was no fun at all, and it turns out I have microscopic colitis. The doctor was pleased with this, because apparently we caught it very early. And since then, I've been controlling my symptoms with diet alone, so no medication! I actually have more energy now than I've had all summer, and I just entered the third trimester yesterday ironically enough. I kind of missed out on the glory days of the second trimester this time, but I still got to enjoy all the flutters and kicks that make pregnancy so much fun. This little girl is moving like crazy, and I love it!

Camp is now over, and I have my husband back, which helps so much. I went to Georgia to visit my family and then my mom came out to Arizona to help out here for a few weeks. Harper had a great time being loved on and spoiled a little...it was good for her. Now life is getting back to normal. Of course in a couple of months that will change again, but only for the better.

Harper is talking now, and it's so cute hearing her little voice! My favorite word at the moment is "yogurt", which sounds like "Eegut". She's grown up so much over the last few months, and I couldn't be more proud of her. She still only has 5 teeth, but she manages well enough without the others.

Just before my mom left, we took her on a surprise camping trip to the Grand Canyon. She's never been, so she was pretty excited. Here are a few pictures from our little excursion.

3 of my favorite people!

Nana and Harper, swinging like monkeys

Me and my two girls, up in the tent

Cold mornings at the canyon

French Toast and....

...bacon for breakfast. Mmmm....

The Next Step

2011-07-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not any better. In fact, I'm feeling a little worse. I went back to the gastroenterologist last week, and again all the tests are negative. At this point, it seems he's thinking that I may have Crohn's Disease. Man I hope he's wrong. But the only way to test for that is through a colonoscopy. I think x-rays may work, too, but since I'm pregnant that is out of the question. Normally they put you to sleep for a colonoscopy, but because of the baby, I guess they just give me some sort of sedative that makes me out of it, but doesn't put me completely under. He said that if it is Crohn's Disease, there could be risk to the baby if left untreated, which is why he wants to move on to this next step.

I have mixed feelings. Well, I have no good feelings about this. But if it's possible that I might have Crohn's and we don't treat it, I can go into pre-mature labor. If I do the colonoscopy, I have to take a sedative. I didn't take any drugs with Harper except Tylenol for the occasional headache. I had her naturally not so that I could talk about it or to prove anything. I did it because I didn't want to take any drugs while pregnant. The thought of taking this sedative really bothers me. I'm checking with my OB today to see what they think. I'm pretty sure we have to go with the colonoscopy, but I am also praying that this whole thing miraculously stops and I get better before the 26th, which is the scheduled date of the procedure.

So friends, please pray for me. I want to make the right decision, and I really want to get better. Being sick several times a day is making me exhausted! Sorry for the gross update, but it is what it is. Oh the joys of pregnancy!

More Tests

2011-06-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the Gastroenterologist this past Friday, and he's running 10 new tests to see if they can finally figure out what's wrong with me. I'm going on week 5 of this, and it's pretty exhausting. I see him again this Friday, and most of the results won't be in by then. But hopefully the ones that do come back will tell us something. Meanwhile, I'm trying to stay hydrated and keep a positive attitude.

Harper is doing really well. Her vocabulary is expanding a lot, although she doesn't "use" her words on her own initiative. If we tell her to say something, she'll say it. It's really fun to hear her talk. She still has only 4 teeth and will be 18 months old on Friday...geez. When I ask her 'where's the baby?' she points to my belly and laughs...very cute! I've mentioned her dancing before, but now it's an even greater passion of hers. She doesn't just bounce like most toddlers, she has moves. She'll shake her hips, dance with her shoulders, shake her head, clap her hands, hold up a finger and shake it, stomp her foot...and she'll wait for the right song, too. If it doesn't have a good beat, she'll change it to one that works. She's hilarious. We love watching her grow and develop into herself!

Baby #2, previously known as Questington, is still nameless. It just doesn't seem right calling her Questington, but we just haven't agreed on her actual name yet. So some people have taken to calling her Questingtina...hmm. But you mothers out there will understand that for me, she doesn't have to have a name yet. She's my little baby girl, and for now that's enough. I don't have to address her because we just talk to each other...her with her kicks and squirms, and me with my sweet nothings. Being pregnant isn't always a walk in the park, but it is always worth it. I love my girls, and I can't wait to see who this one is going to be. Another dancer? Or is she going to be our sports lover? There's so many things she can be, and it's so exciting not knowing yet. 19 weeks to go!!!!

The Big Announcement!!!

2011-06-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday, and everything looks great! The baby is weighing at about 12 oz. All the stats look good, and baby Q is developing nicely. We were going to do the whole gender reveal cupcake party, but being that we are in the middle of summer at a summer camp, there is no good time to do it. So we found out! And for those of you who don't know, we didn't find out with Harper until she was born. So this is definitely changing things up a bit. It was fun waiting the first time, but I have to say that after going through labor and delivery, I completely forgot to wonder what she was. They told me it was a girl, and I remember thinking, "Oh yeah!" We also felt it would be good to name the baby before it's here and use that name with Harper, to help all of this make a little more sense to her.

So now for the great blog reveal.....It's a girl!!!! Harper is getting a little sister, and we are getting another daughter! We are so blessed and excited! As for names, well...we're still working on that. We were both so convinced it was a boy that we focused much more on boy names. We actually had one picked out, so now it's back to the drawing board. Here are some pictures of our next little girl. She's incredibly squirmy and not very cooperative...a good sign, right? I'm pretty sure she's going to be our wild one! We didn't get a good profile shot, but here are the few that came out pretty good.

Two Great Men

2011-06-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

My husband is one of the best men I know. He is loyal, loving, strong, smart, talented, and capable. Seeing him as a dad for the last year and a half has been amazing. We've watched each other grow over the years in so many ways, and getting to watch him grow as a father has been incredible. The love that he has for Harper is so beautiful. He takes his role very seriously, which I appreciate. Every girl needs her daddy. Yesterday Harper was dancing, and every few seconds, she would look behind her. She wanted to make sure that her daddy was watching. Mommy could watch if she likes, but daddy had to. I just love seeing Chris as daddy to Harper.

My dad is the other one. A great man whom I love very much. I remember how he used to hold us and pace back and forth when we couldn't sleep. How he would reach behind his seat and tickle our ankles at red lights, every time yelling out "Red Light!!!" And seeing him with my own daughter brings a whole new level of love that I didn't know was possible. I get to see him in 3 weeks, and I can't wait!! I love you daddy.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Harper and Hats

2011-06-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

9 Years Ago Today...

2011-06-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

...I married my best friend.

We have had an amazing and adventurous 9 years at that! We spent our honeymoom in Highlands, NC, and then went to UCYC for a week of camp the very next week. We traveled with some amazing friends in our sketch comedy group called Traveling Mercies for 3 years, crossing off almost every state. After that we moved to South Africa to work with our favorite performing arts ministry, 13th Floor. We bought our first house, our first dog, our second dog, and we grew together in ways we can't describe. On January 1, 2008, we landed back in the states to move out west to Prescott, AZ...back to UCYC. On December 31, 2009, Harper Grey was born at 1:42 in the afternoon. We waited a long time for her, and it was worth it! She is such a huge blessing to us, and we are absolutely smitten over her. Today, 9 years from our wedding day, we are in full swing at camp, tired but having a blast. We are expecting mystery baby #2. And we love each other more than we can express. We have shared so many amazing experiences together, and I'm excited to see what else is in store for us. We're currently getting the negatives from our wedding burned onto a disc (yes, 2002 was a long time ago!), so for today, I just had to take pictures of my pictures in order to post them. But here they are....

June 15, 2002
Savannah, Georgia

Baby Driver

2011-06-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went down to Phoenix to spend some time with our great friends Shaun and Melisa who were there on vacation. It was a short visit, but we had a blast as usual. The girls (Harper and Braelyn) are getting to the age where they can actually really play and interact together, which is really fun to see. One night we all went to REI for a big sale they were having, and it ended up being a really fun trip for the girls...

Harper loves pushing the stroller! And I'm pretty sure Braelyn enjoyed the ride, too! Luckily REI shoppers are also baby lovers, because the other shoppers thought Harper and Braelyn were pretty cute rather than being annoyed at the wild toddlers. And Harper needs all the practice she can get being a big sister and helping mommy with the stroller...

I Need Answers

2011-06-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

I've been sick for over 3 weeks now. I haven't written about it, because it's not the kind of sick one likes to talk about. A week ago I went to my doctor, and she said it isn't the pregnancy, but they don't know what it is. So they sent me to the lab to have some tests done. This past Friday I went back, and not only have I lost 2 lbs in a week, all the tests were negative. It's very frustrating. And I am not in a position where I can lose any weight, since my baby is trying to gain some. They're sending me to a gastroenterologist this week. Always a specialist...when I was pregnant with Harper I had to see the cardiologist. What's with that? But my doctor also told me that Baby Q probably doesn't care about any of this. We heard the heartbeat right away at 160/bpm, and the kicks are getting reassuringly stronger. As long as Questington's okay, I'm okay. I don't know when my appointment with the GI specialist is, but our big ultrasound is one week from tomorrow!!! I'm so excited! Hopefully I'll get better soon so that I can go back to eating everything!

Our Little Musician

2011-06-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

One of Harper's new favorite things is playing the piano. You've seen her dance moves...there's never been any question of her love of music. But she really likes tinkering on the keys. She doesn't just bang, sometimes she plays lots of individual notes. Today, she got very interested in my music books. I think we may have a little Mozart on our hands!

True Love

2011-06-09T06:49:00.000-07:00

Bieber Baby?

2011-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, Harper loves the Justin Bieber song "Baby." My friend plays it in the dining hall, and Harper loves to dance, and sometimes sing, along. It's definitely not the favorite song I would have chosen for her, but when you see how happy she is, you wouldn't deny her either! Notice how she actually says "baby" along with the music.

Camp Days

2011-06-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned already, Harper and I don't see too much of Chris during the summer. We have two parts to our camp, and there are different ages having different camps at the same time...if that makes sense. This year Chris is in charge of both of them, which means he's even busier than he used to be. But he's started a great new summer tradition. Every evening he comes to get us before dinner. He puts Harper in her hiking pack, and we walk down to the dining hall together. (That is where we literally eat every meal during the summer. No grocery shopping for 2 months is definitely a perk of summer here!) We get to eat dinner together, and then we all walk back up before he leaves to go to the evening sessions. He is such a great husband and dad, and we are so lucky to have him. We're only in week 2 of summer, and I know he's already so tired from his 15 hour days, and yet he makes time for us every day. And man do we love him!

Baby Q...18 Weeks?

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Baby is now the size of a sweet potato!

At my last doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, we couldn't hear the baby's heartbeat, which is always a scary feeling. So they did an ultrasound, and everything is great so far! The heartbeat was strong at 155/bpm, and little Questington was all over the place. I have never seen a baby move so much in an ultrasound. This baby was literally kicking off of the uterus wall, sucking it's thumb, swallowing, waving...it was so great. And I'm feeling kicks! That is of course my absolute favorite part about being pregnant.

But at this ultrasound, the baby seemed to be further along than they originally thought. My first due date was November 13th, but it looks as though they may be changing it to November 4th! That puts us at 18 weeks today. Almost to the half-way point!

My next routine visit is in one week, and I'm really hoping that my big ultrasound will follow shortly behind. I'm really excited about finding out if this little one is a girl or a boy. I really feel like it's a boy. It's big and extremely active, and it just feels a lot different than it did with Harper. But either way, we will be simply ecstatic! I would love to have a son. I also love having a little girl. It's really a win no matter what. I just pray that the ultrasound shows us a healthy baby...every parent's wish.

17 Months!

2011-06-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Harper is 17 months old now, and she is just full of personality! She is incredibly friendly and waves "hello" to everyone she sees. Even if we're in the living room, she'll wave if she hears a car drive by. She loves going outside any chance she gets, although she's a very cautious little girl. She is very careful with steps, even if we're talking about ground that's 2 inches higher than the ground she's on. She isn't afraid of stepping up and down, she actually enjoys the challenge, but she's cautious. Her words include: ball, dog, baby, mommy, cheese, banana, more, and a few of her own variations...up is "da", please is "meme", thank you is "deh", shoes is "bbbbbb", and kitty cat is...her tongue sticking out. What can I say, she's so smart she's created her own language. She still only has 4 teeth. And here are some of her favorite things:

Dancing. She will dance to the slightest beat. And if the music stops, she says "more" over and over until it plays again.
Balloons. But what kid doesn't?
Dogs. Any and every dog makes her happy.
Brushing her teeth. It is her favorite times of day! Her toothbrush has a picture of Eeyore on it, and she now stops brushing her teeth to give him hugs and kisses.
Food. It pretty much always brings her joy...just like her momma. She especially LOVES bananas!
Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She has Minnie Mouse pj's, and loves to point out where Minnie is.
Playing chase with her dad. When Chris says he's gonna get her, she runs, and then he catches her and throws her in the air. She squeals with delight!
Hugging her daddy. She's loving to me and other people as well, but she saves her strong neck hugs just for her dad.
Sitting in my lap. She does this a lot now, and I love it. Even though my lap room is currently limited.
Other kids and babies. She is going to be a great big sister!!
Smelling flowers. She puts it to her nose and breathes in and out. Then it tickles her nose and she laughs.
Justin Bieber. Yes, it's sad, but also true. She sang her first song yesterday, and it happened to be "Baby." In my defense...a friend of mine has that ring tone for her teenage daughter, and Harper has been dancing to it in the dining hall whenever we go down there for meals. That's where she learned it. I don't have it playing in my house!

I'm sure there's plenty more, but that's what I can recall at the moment with my lack of brain cells. She's pretty awesome! She's sweet, funny, smart, beautiful...the list goes on.

June Resolution

2011-06-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well there went the month of May! Camp has officially started, which makes me a pregnant working single mom again. So life around here is pretty crazy. But it's good... it's always good to see all the kids get here and the excitement that they bring. To know that many of them will have their lives changed, that's worth all the effort and work we put in. Chris is working like crazy, hence his absence, but he's doing such a great job. I couldn't be more proud.

My summer plans?

Playing outside with Harper. She loves being outside, and I am in complete agreement! Still wish we had grass, but she seems content enough.
Blogging again. Last month was pretty bad. I was busy, but I was also highly unmotivated. Not that I didn't have plenty of inspiration from Harper, baby Q, my hubby and the dogs...I was just kind of drained. Excuses, excuses.
Gardening. Let me just say, I have a black thumb. Really, I can't grow anything green. But I'm gonna try! I seriously admire anyone who can grow plants. It's just not in my natural skill set. So I'm starting out small. We have a very long flower box in the front yard that I cleaned out, and tomorrow I'm buying some flowers and planting them. (I got some tips from my good friend Laura...hopefully I will make her proud!) Harper loves smelling flowers, so she is my inspiration.
I'm going to Georgia!!! I'm taking Harper and my expanding belly home to see my family in July, and I am super excited! I wish Chris could go with me, but for obvious reasons he cannot. But we'll be staying with my sister Lynnae in Alpharetta, and my other sister lives only 5 minutes away! My dad is coming up to visit, and hopefully my mom can make it back to the states to visit, too.

I'm looking forward to the summer...watching Harper play while feeling little Questington squirming in my belly! What could be better?

Sedona Camping Trip

2011-05-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed up to Sedona in our "new to us" Land Cruiser. We love to go camping, but it's actually something we never do. For whatever reason, it usually just doesn't work out. We headed out Friday after work, but when we got to Sedona, all of the sights that we knew of were full. We ended up having to come all the way home (it's about an hour and a half away). It was a long and miserable night. We felt pretty defeated, but we decided that we couldn't let it stop us. So Saturday morning, when Harper was ready for a little cat nap, we set out again. This time, we had a blast!! We found a very secluded camp site in another part of Sedona. It's up an extremely rocky 5 mile road that took us about 40 minutes to get through. But the bumpiness was perfect for Harper, it put her straight to sleep. Then we had to do a short bit of rock crawling to get up to the cliff where our campsite was. It was super fun, the Land Cruiser handled wonderfully, and our campsite was beautiful. Here are a couple of pictures, but there are plenty more on my facebook page.

Oink Oink!

2011-05-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Like mother like daughter, what can I say? My child loves to eat. I've mentioned before what a great eater she is, but really...unless you see her in action, you can't fully understand. Not only does she eat a TON, she has a pretty good palate, too! A couple of weeks ago I gave her a bagel with cream cheese and lox, which she loved. Later that day I gave her a hot dog for the first time, a child staple, and she wasn't too impressed. On our way back from Vegas we got lunch at Whole Foods, and what did she eat? A Greek pasta salad which was made of orzo, red and yellow bell peppers, onions, black olives, fresh basil, sundried tomatoes, feta, and oil and vinegar. She ate it up!

That morning her Papa was feeding her breakfast at the hotel in Vegas, she ate the entire yogurt parfait (from Starbucks...an adult portion for sure), more than half a bagel with cream cheese, a fruit cup of peaches, and probably 4 servings of veggie sticks (basically a potato kind of snack). Here she is on a different occasion demolishing another yogurt parfait...

Las Vegas!

2011-05-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Last week our family from Illinois came to Vegas for a visit/vacation! Chris' dad, stepmom, and the three siblings plus spouses. It was SO good to see them. We got to Vegas Wednesday night and went out to dinner for Chris' birthday (which was Sunday by the way). We hardly ever get to spend time with family, so it was really nice for us, and a real treat for Harper. I love it when she gets a chance to spend time with people in her family and get to know them. And it's nice for her to get a little spoiling, too! Her grandparents came with a loaded Easter basket, which Harper loved.

Harper and Nana (and Eeyore of course!)

Papa found the way to Harper's heart

Harper and Papa

It was a short visit, but much needed. They left on Friday to make the long drive back home. Then Friday afternoon the McDougall's met up with us to spend the rest of the weekend together. On Saturday we took the girls to the Bellagio (my favorite hotel). Every hotel on the strip has a theme, and theirs is flowers. They have an amazing conservatory that they change all the time. It's never been the same each time I've gone. I figured they would love looking at the flowers and the butterfly house, which they did. (And notice in some of these pictures Harper's new smile. She now poses for the camera.)

Balloons made of glass. Harper LOVES balloons. This was possibly her favorite part!

Beautiful Harper

Harper's Smile

Me and Harps looking at swans made out of tiny flowers

The Fam

There's that smiley face again

Playing in a fountain outside the Bellagio

Baby Brennan McDougall

Harper and Braelyn: BFF's

We had such a great time with friends and family! It was nice to get away and have a good time. And a special thanks to our great friend Nicolette who babysat twice for us so that Chris and I could enjoy the city!

Ouch!

2011-04-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

I fell yesterday. Hard! Not too worry, baby Q is fine. But I have some pretty ugly bruises. I was on skype with my mom and playing with Harper in her room when I heard the dogs barking outside. Damar (our largest of the great danes by far) has a tendency to run after anyone and anything. She's harmless, but she definitely doesn't look it! So I ran to go get them (yes I know, I should never run) and I slipped on a tiny fridge/magnet/toy thing of Harper's that was not on the fridge. As I fell to the ground, I was stopped by the kitchen trash can, right in my rib cage. It scared me at first, because I got the wind knocked out of me. My rib is bruised and so is my arm. It hurts to lay down or take a deep breath. Otherwise, I'm ok.

The last time I was running around the house over something silly was when Harper was 5 weeks old. I tripped over my own two feet and broke my pinky finger. So, once again I learn the lesson that God did not make me to be a runner. Maybe this time I'll listen. Maybe.

Happy Easter Harper Hoo!

2011-04-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Easter morning started with a hunt for Harper's Easter basket that her Nanny and Aunt Jo sent. This was a tradition of ours growing up, our parents would write clues and we had to follow them to find our baskets. Since she can't read a clue, I put the basket in her crib and asked her where Eeyore was. I took a video of it, but I'll have to post that another day because it's not loading correctly.

Once we all got dressed, we headed to church to celebrate Jesus and have fun. They had a petting zoo set up for the kids, which Harper loved!

Harper's New Favorite Thing

2011-04-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been brushing Harper's gums and lack of teeth with my finger for a while now, mainly because there hasn't been much to brush. But the other day I decided it was time to teach her how to brush her own teeth. So I went out and bought her first tooth brush. It's pink and yellow and has a picture of Eeyore on it. For those of you who don't know, Harper LOVES Eeyore. She has an Eeyore doll that her Grandpa and Nana Holohan gave her that she sleeps with every night.

So the other day I sat her on the counter in the bathroom and started to brush my teeth (which she loves to watch). Then I handed her her new tooth brush and asked her where Eeyore was. She found him right away and got super excited. Then I put her toothpaste on it, and she immediately put it in her mouth and shook her head from side to side. The whole experience was really good until it was time to put it away. That's her least favorite part. Yesterday after we were finished, I took her into her bedroom, and she walked right back to the bathroom and pointed up at the sink. Here's a quick peak at her new hobby.

10 Weeks

2011-04-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are at 10 weeks, and as of yesterday I am feeling a bit better. It's ironic actually, because this past week has also been the hardest. I felt terrible all week. I had a hard time getting out of bed and had no motivation. My house definitely suffered from my lack of anything. But two nights ago, I changed up my pillow layout, and it's helping me sleep better. That makes all the difference in the world! It's just weird to have to do that so early. I didn't have to do that the first time until well into my second trimester. But I'm getting restful sleep now, and I feel good when I wake up. Yesterday Harper and I went to the square downtown with my friend Tweed and watched all the dogs and ate ice cream. Harper would just start laughing every time she saw a dog, and there were a lot! During her nap, we finally got our bedroom painted. We've only needed to do that for about 7 months. It looks so great. And then after her nap, we took her down to see our friends' chickens. At first she was kind of freaked out, but then she started laughing at them. She especially liked it when Laura and I would tell her what a chicken "says." It was a great way to end a pretty bad week. And I am loving this warmer weather! I'm sure that helps.

Silly

2011-04-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here's some fun Harper silliness. And no, I don't think she meant to dip her face in the water!

Tooth #3 is Finally Here!

2011-04-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

It is about time. My poor daughter is 15 months and 2 weeks old, and her third tooth finally broke through last night. Now I know they say the longer it takes, the better for her teeth, and I certainly hope that's the truth. But those top two teeth have been right there at the surface for 3 1/2 months! Every other week, they would get super swollen and she would be "teething", but nothing would happen. It hasn't been fun for either one of us. Of course, the other one still hasn't come out, but now I know it will happen. I don't know when, but I know it will.

The other drawback to Harper only having 2 teeth, and maybe I've mentioned this before, is how much she loves to eat! I've been blessed with one of the best little eaters I've ever seen. And I will say she does amazingly well with those two little things. But there's a lot she just can't chew, so I've been having to make her separate dinners still. It will be nice to sit down to the same meal together all the time. Although, at this rate, Q will be eating solids before all of Harper's teeth come in!

I am grateful though. I'm so glad that tooth finally made it's way out. Seriously, it's about time.

First Trimester Blues

2011-04-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

I've been a slacker. But I've also been feeling very bleh. I don't throw up much during pregnancy, which might make some people hate me. But that doesn't mean the nausea doesn't visit. I feel sick every day, always in the morning, and sometimes later, too. Sometimes it's so bad I wish I would throw up, because I think I would feel better. But it is what it is. The first sypmtom I've experienced with both pregnancies, however, is the bloating and constipation. I know, not a pretty topic. But with Harper that only lasted the first trimester, and that symptom does seem to be easing a bit now. I'm already showing, which is crazy to me since I'm only 9 weeks along. Yeah, yeah...second baby I know. But 9 weeks??!! Oh well, the maternity clothes have been unpacked.

I write all this to say, that while I'm going to do my best to get back to blogging every day for those of you who are daily readers (aka my mom), I just don't always have the motivation right now. But I'm only a month away from my second trimester, and hopefully my energy will pick up a little.

As far as the rest of the family goes, Chris is very sad these days because he sold his jeep. We had an awesome jeep! But we had to change health insurance for little bittie Questington, and it's costing us $300 more a month, which is about how much we were paying on our Element. So we put both cars up for sale, and the jeep went first, and fast! So Chris is now looking for an older 4x4 vehicle, and we are debt free. That car loan was all we had. So there is definitely some good amongst the sorrow...

Harper is a walking machine. She isn't saying too many words, but she "talks" a lot! She's still the best little eater I've ever seen. She's 50th percentile in weight, height, and head measurements...just perfect all around! She's so good, and I'm assured more and more every day at what a great big sister she's going to be.

Mmmm....Toast

2011-03-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is how Harper eats toast. She has to lick the jam first. She eventually eats the whole thing, but not without having some fun first.

7 Weeks

2011-03-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

On Thursday of last week, I had a tiny bit of spotting. And if you look online, everything basically tells you that it either means nothing or that you could be having a miscarriage...oh, thanks. So I called my OB, just to be sure. She said it's probably nothing to be concerned about, but scheduled an ultrasound just in case. Sure enough, there was nothing to be concerned about. Baby is doing just fine and has a strong heart beat of 146 beats/min! Isn't it crazy that we can both see and hear that heartbeat already?? Seeing Questington, looking ever so tadpole-like, just makes it all feel more real. Of course, I know it's real. But when you feel like a crazy hormonal pregnant lady and you're so bloated you look 4 months pregnant when you're not, a little encouragement goes a long way! Here's to week 7...man do we have a long way to go!

When Did This Happen?

2011-03-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

When did my baby turn into a kid? Here are some picture from when we took her to the park last weekend. The juice box ones might be my favorite. She looks like she's 5 years old!

The Timing Is Ironic

2011-03-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure Harper's ready to go down to just one nap a day, so we're trying to do away with morning nap time. Which is perfect since I'm just now needing to start a morning nap time for myself. The first trimester is always the most exhausting for me. If I take a quick cat nap in the morning, I feel pretty good the rest of the day. If I wait till the afternoon, I'm pretty groggy when I wake up, my mood isn't the greatest, and I have a hard time going to sleep. If Harper takes a quick cat nap in the morning, she won't take an afternoon nap at all, and then she wants to skip dinner and go to bed at 5:30.

We've gone one week trying to skip morning nap time. Somewhere between 9 and 11, we both get very tired and grumpy. The weather is very cold again (we got snow on Monday), so being cooped up in the house is getting old, too. Over the weekend, before it was too cold, Chris and I took Harper to the park for the first time since she's been able to walk. She liked the swing, wasn't too sure about the slide, and played with her ball for about 2 minutes. Then she just wanted to read her books.

There was one day last week, however, where neither one of us made it. I put on Praise Baby (my saving grace...when that video plays, she sits still and just chills) so that I could do the dishes. Then I sat on the couch while Harper was in her chair (the one her Nana just got her...too cute!) and by the time Praise Baby was over, we were both fast asleep! Chris came in and found us and couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

Here's to one nap a day...woohoo!

Harper Cracks Herself Up

2011-03-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is Harper watching a video of herself. This is one of her favorite things to do.

An Heirloom

2011-03-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is Chris' chair from when he was a kid. It was one of his favorite things. He said he used it both as a chair and a table, whatever he felt like at the time. He thought about fixing it up and painting it fresh for Harper, but we decided it's much better left as it is. Now that she's walking and climbing, little chairs are her new favorite thing. She has 3 chairs now, and I'll post more pictures of the newest one soon. But this one is special...from Father to Daughter. I love it!

I'm Done!!

2011-03-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

I worked my last night at World Market, and I am so happy to be done! It's been harder to go since I got pregnant. I'm always so tired, and I can't stay up until 11:00pm and then get up at 4:40am to go workout. It just wasn't happening. But most of all, I'm already realizing that my precious one-on-one time with Harper is only going to last about 8 more months. I'm sure we'll have time together, but I know it won't be nearly what it is now. So I want to enjoy all my time with her that I can.

So long World Market...it's been nice, but I'm so glad to be free!

November 13, 2011

2011-03-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Any guesses as to the importance of that date?? Well, chances are nothing will actually happen on that day for us, but it is the date that the next 9 months will evolve around....we're pregnant again! We have enjoyed Harper so much, that we decided we wanted another baby! I'm only 5 weeks along, and I know you aren't supposed to tell people until after the first trimester, but we don't abide by that rule for 2 reasons: 1-we just can't, we get way too excited! 2-we want all of our friends to be praying for this little baby from the beginning. So please pray for Questington. That is the nickname for this little one, named such by Will Heck. (Thanks Will.)

Even though it's so early, this pregnancy already feels different than when I was pregnant with Harper. Some of the symptoms are the same, but I was not nearly this emotional! I only had a couple of crazy moments the first time, and I can remember them. Already I've had more mood swings than I can keep up with! And I so do not want to be that crazy pregnant lady!!

I'm extremely tired all the time...that's no different than the first time. But that just encouraged me to give notice at World Market, which I did on Monday. No more working till 10:00 at night and getting up at 4:40 to workout. I can't do both, so crossfit won. I know if I stop now, I'll never go back after the baby is born. But don't worry, it's very safe. Crossfit has a whole website devoted to pregnant women...what exercises you can and can't do, different things to be aware of during the different trimesters while you're working out...it's very helpful. You can see it here: Crossfit Moms

So thank you in advance for the prayers. We are so excited, and I'm also convinced that Harper is going to be an amazing big sister!! Can't wait to see her in action!

Balancing Act

2011-03-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is one of Harper's new favorite tricks:

Now that she's getting so good on her feet, she's starting to move around in all kinds of different ways. Our friends The Herrington's just recently gave us a tiny little slide for her, which is perfect timing because she just started climbing, too. Another look at my precious goof ball:

Peekaboo!

Harper's Summery Sunday

2011-03-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Really this post should be called her "Summery Weekend", but that just didn't sound as cute. It was so nice to have a weekend together with Chris and Harper where Chris didn't have to go anywhere. And the weather was perfect. I got to put Harper in a tank top, even if she had a light sweater over it, and she looked so adorable. On Saturday, Harper had her first experience on a trampoline! I thought she would be nervous because of how wobbly she still is sometimes, but she loved it! She got to play with her new buddy Savannah, who is so great with Harper. Here's a look at some static-trampoline hair:

Yesterday when I came home from the grocery store, I found this:

just chillin' on the hammock with dad

Finally, I think Harper's lunch even fit with the weather outside. She had an avocado, sliced strawberries (so good!!!), a "cottage cheese sandwich" (a piece of bread with cottage cheese smeared on it...she likes it) and her first ever glass of chocolate milk. I've had Chris home for 2 weekends in a row now, and it's been so nice having all three of us together. We worked on our storage room and got it all cleaned and organized, which feels so good. It was such a great weekend. One last treat for you, and I do think it's a treat. Here's Harper bouncing and giggling on the trampoline...

Who Needs a Radio?

2011-03-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

Harper entertaining herself in the car

Growing Pains

2011-03-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

Harper must be growing again. She's so tired! Not the whole day...she's not sick. But she's getting tired quicker. She's also probably pretty worn out from the new found walking, too. But it's pretty nice, because she is an excellent cuddler, especially when she's sleepy! Her 15 month appointment is next month, and I'm very interested to hear her stats. She was so small at her 1 year, but I feel like she's made up some ground since then. We'll see. Her eating is still going strong, so either way she's healthy. This morning she ate scrambled eggs, a whole banana, and then an entire blueberry bagel! The girl is definitely growing.

A Tired Harper Cuddling With Her Eeyore

March Madness

2011-03-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

She's Walking!!!

2011-03-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Untitled from Rachel Holohan on Vimeo.

Harper is now officially walking! On Saturday, we would have her walk between us ("Walk to Mommy" or "Walk to Daddy"). And she did it without any help! The coolest part about it was watching how excited and proud of herself she is every time she reaches one of us. I think this may be the first time I've seen that emotion from her...her knowing that she's doing something she's wanted to do but wasn't sure if she could. It made me so happy for her, and of course I am one proud momma! Congratulations Harper!

Like Mother Like Daughter

2011-03-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Her face may look just like Chris, but Harper sleeps just like I did when I was a kid...

Butt in the air! I love those rare times when I actually get to go wake her up and for a few minutes I can just watch her sleep. And then she starts to stir, and she always gives me a smile once she rolls over and opens her eyes. I so badly wish she would take naps with me, but if I'm with her she refuses to sleep. There's just something so soothing about a sleeping baby.

STRETCH!

GETTING READY TO START A NEW DAY

BedTime

2011-03-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Baby Driver

2011-03-02T06:13:00.000-08:00

Untitled from Rachel Holohan on Vimeo.

A Few Forced Steps

2011-03-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

Harper took some steps on Sunday! Do they count as her first steps if she didn't have the idea? Chris and I sat on either side of her, and we were playing with her and her pink glitter ball. She would throw it to Chris, and I would help her walk to him to get it and then let go. For the most part she would just fall into his lap, but one time she took 2 steps before falling into him! Later that night we were at our friends' house for dinner, Jenn and Tye, and we were showing them the trick with the ball. She took a good 3 or 4 steps one of the times! Granted, she's not standing up and making the decision to try it, we get her started. So she's not walking. But she's definitely right there. And I couldn't be more proud!

California

2011-02-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time visiting Shaun and Melisa and their 2 kids this week. I will say, going anywhere with the 7 of us is way more complicated than when it was the 4 of us! We all kept remembering things we did when it was just us, things we couldn't possibly do now with the kids. But I don't think any of us missed it that much. Having the kids is just so much better! Harper and Braelyn are finally getting old enough to start interacting with each other. They even gave each other hugs and kisses at random, which I regret to mention that I failed to get on camera. And sweet baby Brennan is such a good baby, and so cute, too. We went down to the Huntington Beach Pier and ate at Ruby's, a little tradition we have. Here's Harper and her daddy walking down the pier.

Harper is starting to walk holding onto just one of our hands now. She would do it before, but it scared her and she would cry. Now she's gaining the confidence she needs, and she's getting much closer to her first independent steps. More California pics to come.

A Theory: How To Help Your Kid Stand On Their Own

2011-02-21T08:57:00.000-08:00

I call this a theory, because as any mom knows, what works for one kid doesn't work for them all. But a friend of mine last week suggested that we give Harper something to hold onto while she stands. (For those of you who don't know, Harper has a fear of standing without touching something. Even if she's barely leaning on something with one leg she's ok, but otherwise she won't stand alone.) So Friday, Chris grabbed two sharpie markers and held onto each end in each hand while Harper held onto the others. Then he let go. Lo and behold, Harper kept standing...just like that! I wasn't convinced that it would work, since she's always got something in her hands anyway, but for some reason this was different to her. Now she's standing on her own for a good minute or two before sitting down. Her new confidence is helping her learn to walk, too. She only holds onto one of my hands now while she walks across the room. She's had the strength for a while, I'm just glad she's starting to conquer her fear. Hope this helps someone someday, it sure helped us!

Snow Day

2011-02-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

I heard that we were supposed to get some rain and snow yesterday. I had no idea that meant we were getting several inches of snow yesterday and all day today! It's a beautiful winter wonderland outside again. At least, that is, until the snow begins to melt in a few days leaving our wonderful dirt roads a muddy slush. But for now it's very pretty, and I know I just need to enjoy it while it lasts. So here's some pictures of Harper in her cute little puffy vest and matching tennis shoes (thank you Carey Herrington).

I couldn't get her to look up in this second picture because she was so focused on the snow. And yes, she is standing by herself! I learned a secret just the other day and viola! The same day that we tried this new technique, she started standing on her own. I'll be sharing this tip tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Puppy Love

2011-02-19T12:41:00.000-08:00

New Things

2011-02-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

This has been quite a week! It's been busy, exciting, and filled with new things. On Valentine's Day, we got to stay at a friend's time share in Sedona...it was so nice to get away! We tried to find a sitter for Harper so that we could go just the two of us, but had no luck. However, she was an angel as usual. We had such a good time staying at the resort and feeling spoiled. Here are some pictures we took of the red rocks that make Sedona so beautiful.

On Tuesday I had my 31st birthday. It was a really fun day hanging out with Chris and Harper in Sedona. We went to some outlets and I got my first pair of skinny jeans! Yeah, I know I'm behind the times, I've just never felt comfortable enough to wear them. But I found a pair I really liked and took the plunge. I wore them today and actually felt good in them, so mid-life crisis or not, I think they were a good purchase.

Wednesday morning I got a call from the McDougall's saying that Melisa was being admitted and Brennan was on the way. They called at 2:30am and I was in the car half an hour later. Chris couldn't go because of work, and in a last minute decision, we decided it would be better for Harper to stay with him. I drove for 6 hours and then got stuck in LA traffic. Luckily, Brennan waited for me. He was born at 1:47pm, and he and mom did excellent. I got to be in the delivery room and hear little Brennan's first cry...which made me and everyone else cry! Melisa did such an amazing job, and I felt so blessed to be able to be there with the McDougall family. Little Brennan Robert weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 20 in long. He was 2 1/2 weeks early, but considering Melisa has been dilated for about 4 weeks, she did a great job keeping him safe until he was full term. Like I said, she was amazing! Here he is...

Wednesday night was my first night away from Harper. Knowing that she was at home safe with her daddy made it easier than I thought it would be. I also knew that we did the right thing leaving her home. We did a lot of driving Monday and Tuesday, then driving 6 hours Wednesday and another 6 on Thursday would have been so tough on her. It was really fun seeing her yesterday when I got back.

All in all it's been a great week that has left me smiling. Congrats again to Shaun, Melisa and Braelyn on the beautiful addition to their family!

Love Bug

2011-02-14T06:50:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

FROM OUR LITTLE LOVE BUG...

HOPE YOUR DAY IS FILLED WITH SWEETNESS!

MINE SURE IS!

The Cheerio Game

2011-02-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

Harper came up with a new game yesterday. You know how babies like to give things to people...or at least pretend like they're gonna give you something and then take it back? She would give me a cheerio, so I held out my hand. When she put it in my hand I closed my hand so that she couldn't see it. She then tried to open my hand, found the cheerio, took it back, and ate it. That's how it all started. Now when she's eating cheerio-like snacks, she places it in my palm, then she pushes my hand closed, immediately pulls it open, grabs the cheerio and eats it. The same thing with the next one and then the next one. I've always thought babies were cute, but I never knew just how cute they really are. Seeing Harper do something new every day is greater than I could have ever imagined. If someone had told me this story of their kid before I had kids, I think I would have found it cute. But these days, something as simple as a cheerio game makes my entire day!

10 Different Ways to Wear Tights

2011-02-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

For anyone who has ever tried to dress Harper, you know how much she's always hated it. I think I wasn't very good at it in the beginning and it traumatized her. Whatever the reason, she cries when you try to get her dressed. But we're starting to move past that...finally. Now she fusses a little when I put a shirt over her head (and only some of the time), and she's learned how to put her arms in the sleeves herself. That helps a LOT. Lately she's started taking any material and tries to put it on. Dishtowel, tights, my underwear when I was folding laundry yesterday...She's trying to put things on, and I think it's pretty cute. She really likes putting her tights on her head, and usually just ends up wearing them around her neck like a scarf. It's quite the fashion statement.

Camp Family

2011-02-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about living at camp is that all of your co-workers are also your friends and neighbors. This is our friend Kris holding his niece Rennie and Harper. Harper and Rennie love each other! And Harper loves bouncing on her "uncle" Kris' knee. There are several families here, and together there are 18 kids. (There were 19 camp kids, but the oldest moved into her own place not too long ago. She's still a camp kid at heart though.) They range from 18 years old to 2 days old. Bailey Renee, the baby I talked about the other day, was born the night before last, and she is beautiful!

Harper is no longer the baby of the camp family, which makes her seem so big. I'm excited about seeing another little baby grow up here at camp. And now Harper has another girl that's close to her age. Rennie, Harper, and Bailey...fun will be had!

BABIES!

2011-02-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Michelle and big sister Savannah

I have two very good friends who could have a baby any day now. Both of these little ones could even be born today! My friend Michelle is having a little girl named Bailey. She lives here at camp with her family, so she's close by. My other friend Melisa is having a little boy named Brennan. She lives in Orange County, a 6 hour drive from here. I would love to be able to see both of these babies when they're born. I don't know how I'm going to make it in time for Brennan's birth, but I really want to try. We have winter camp this weekend, so there's no way I can get out to California from Friday through Sunday morning. I could leave Sunday after the morning session and probably stay for several days, I just don't know that Brennan wants to wait for his aunt RayRay to get there!

Melisa and big sister Braelyn

I was talking to Michelle last night about contractions and birthing balls and whatnot, and last night I was laying in bed just thinking about babies! I thought about all the feelings Michelle and Melisa are probably feeling right now, about the excitement and fear of child birth, the questions that go through your mind...I remembered the moment they brought Harper back to me after giving her a bath. She was wearing her little pink and white striped hat that the hospital gave her. When they handed her to me, Chris took the hat off and all this fluffy red hair just popped out standing on end! It was beautiful. Many of our camp friends were in the room with us and we all gasped when we saw it. It is such an exciting time. I am praying for these two brave women and hoping that everything goes smoothly and that they and their babies stay safe and healthy.

Dishwasher Fun

2011-02-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

Harper does a pretty good job at entertaining herself. We play together a lot, but I also give her some alone time to play on her own. But one thing we both love is when Harper plays at the dishwasher while I'm either doing dishes or cooking. She still refuses to stand without holding onto or leaning on something, but the dishwasher door is a perfect height for playing when it's open. I give her some plastic-ware to bang on and she just has a great time. Lately she's started putting the dishtowel on her head. It's pretty adorable.

Childhood Best Friends

2011-02-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Are you still friends with anyone that you knew when you were 6 years old? See the little girl with the hat and sunglasses in the red jacket? That's Suzy. (And I'm the one in the awesome '80's outfit at the other end...the multi-colored heart shirt with the stone-washed jeans) We met when we were 6. We lived 3 doors down from each other, and once we met we were pretty much inseparable. We played Barbies every day after school, we built a "mall" in the woods behind our houses, and she was the one who invited me to go to church for the first time. Her family was like another family to me...still is actually, I just don't get to see them much. This next picture was taken at Suzy's high school graduation.

Melissa, Lynnae, Me, Suzy, and Becca

We went to the same college together, which is where Suzy met her husband Tim. Our husbands are also great friends and the four of us have so much fun when we get together. But it's been a while. They live in New York and we of course live in Arizona. They have two boys, Oscar who is 2 and Charlie who is not even a month old yet! And the saddest thing to me is that we have yet to meet each other's kids. We've video chatted on Skype, but it's just not the same.

Hanging out in Central Park post-college, pre-babies.

I love the Bomgardner's and I miss them very much. I think I'm having withdrawals actually. We really want to plan a trip out to see them soon. I don't know if it will work out, but it would be awesome if we could. I think this might be the latest picture of us that I have. It was taken at my sister's rehearsal dinner for her wedding several years ago. My dress has little black dots all over it that you can't really see. We bought them to "match." We're still 6 years old when we hang out together!

WE LOVE YOU BOMGARDNER'S!

She Has Eyes For Me

2011-02-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

I love how excited Harper gets when I come home from work! It's just crazy how even a few months ago she was still a little indifferent. Now her whole face lights up the way mine always has when I look at her. I love being important to her. There's nothing else like it.

Crossfit

2011-02-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

CrossFit

I can now honestly say that I love CrossFit. I've never enjoyed working out before in my life until now. I never knew what to do in a gym. I was never athletic, so my coordination is definitely not the best. I would go to the YMCA and do some stretches that I learned from dancing and work on a few machines the best I knew how, and then the rest of my time was devoted to walking, not running, on a treadmill. (If you could see how I run, you would understand this) Now Chris and I are doing CrossFit, and it is not only a great workout, it's fun, too. It's a full body workout with a trainer in the class, and everyday you do something different. We do a lot of squats with barbells...overhead squats, back squats, front squats...and we also do push presses, dead lifts, etc. Who would have thought I could do any of that??? If you want to see the kind of stuff we're doing, click on the link above. And if you have one nearby, you should totally try it out! And even though Harper's a bit young right now, they have a CrossFit Kids that gets kids active and in shape. Someday Harper...

I'm Seeing Red

2011-02-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to say that I'm actually one of those annoying people that enjoys the month of February. I like Valentine's Day...there, I said it. But my birthday is also this month, which even though I'm getting older, I still enjoy birthdays. And what's better than a month of thankfulness? A month devoted to love. Even though the holiday is geared towards romance, I'm blogging about all the things I love this month. Starting with....french fries!

I love french fries. I actually love pretty much any fried potato product. When I got pregnant with Harper I wanted to give up fries and eat really healthy. It didn't last long, and I ended up eating so many french fries that I thought for sure she would come out looking like one.

Since we've lived in Arizona, it's been a birthday tradition to go to Red Robin for my birthday dinner because they serve bottomless fries. Yes, my heart is really that fat.

The problem is that Chris and I are trying to eat healthier. Fries don't really qualify as healthy...although given some time I'm sure I can come up with a few benefits to consuming french fries. But hey, everyone's allowed to splurge on their birthday, right? Two weeks of some good healthy eating, I'll be ready for a break. And yes, that is a strawberry lemonade with a ton of strawberry slices floating inside! You can come to my birthday dinner too if you want.

My Addiction

2011-01-30T05:42:00.000-08:00

I was never a big shopper. I didn't like hanging out in malls, and I hated window shopping. The same is still true now...except when it comes to baby clothes. And not just any baby clothes. I am addicted to Baby Gap. I would say it's due to the fact that I have a girl, and it's just so much fun to dress up little girls. But I think even if I had a boy next the problem would be the same if not worse. Cool boy clothes are hard to find. I mean look at this. Doesn't every little redheaded toddler need this dress?

Can you just picture little Harper with her pretty red hair in this green sundress? My mom gave me a gift card to Gap for Harper, so technically I could buy it with that. But I just can't bring myself to spend money on regular priced items. I keep thinking of all the clothes she's going to need in the next size, and I just can't justify it. This dress alone would be more than half the gift card! So I will wait, ever so impatiently, hoping it will go on sale before summer. And another new item that I want to start stocking up on...the 2 piece pajamas. I love the way she looks in all her footie pajamas, and I still want her to wear them. But my mom got her a 2 piece set before she left, and it makes Harper look so big in a really cute way. This one is also a regular priced item on Baby Gap's website, so it will also wait. I refuse to pay $22 for pj's that she will only wear for a few months. But dang, it's pretty cute!

Yeah, I Know It's January

2011-01-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

I know it's late, but it's such a great picture I just had to share it. They both look so jolly! Especially compared to the picture of her and Santa at our camp Christmas party...

My Toddler Isn't Toddling Yet

2011-01-28T05:56:00.000-08:00

Harper is almost 13 months and she still has yet to take her first independent steps. Actually, she won't even stand without holding onto something. I'm not worried, she actually has the strength to do it, because she has done it a few times without realizing it. Every now and then she'll be so occupied with something that she'll stand on her own. But it only takes a couple of seconds for her to realize. Then she makes this kind of panicked face and starts to squat for balance, and depending on what's around her she'll either grab onto something or very slowly fall down. So the strength is there, it's just a confidence thing. We've been advised to give her a stroller or toy that she can push around the house. Yeah, she has 3 of those and she loves them. She can walk with those like it's nothing, and she's great at cruising. She just has to be touching something. I was researching tips online to help her, and one website said that it's perfectly normal and you just have to wait. It also mentioned that since I may have to carry my toddler around for several more months, I should try wearing a fanny pack to act as a "shelf" for her to sit on. Yes!!! I've always wanted an excuse to wear a cool storage compartment around my waist.

You Moms Are the Best!

2011-01-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

I want to say thank you to all you moms who read my blog and leave comments. I think any blogger enjoys reading comments, to know that people out there want to hear what you have to say. But it's so helpful to hear what my friends are experiencing in their own parenting journeys as well. Isn't it crazy how we all started so in the dark? I mean, even if you were a nanny and you babysat every day of your pre-mom life, having a baby for the first time is pretty scary when you finally wake up and realize you have no idea what you're doing! And then the maternal instincts that God has blessed us with kicks in and we just do it and make it happen. I feel like I've learned more in this last year than I've ever learned in one year of life. And having the support of family and friends makes all the difference in the world.

Most of the women from our camp family and some other friends

Come On Already!

2011-01-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

Harper has seriously been teething since like 4 months old! Of course, I am a first time mom, so I could have been wrong, but I read a TON and she was definitely showing signs back then. Her poor little gums have been so swollen for so long. Her top two gums have been swollen off and on for a couple of months, and now some of the molar spots are swollen. Also, the tooth right next to the two bottom on the right side. That's a lot of action with no results as of yet. I'm not worried, I know it's not a bad thing for them to be coming in late. Actually, they say it's better for her teeth the later they come. I just want the discomfort to be over for her. Hopefully they'll start breaking through soon. Tooth count as of today: still 2.

Very Fortunate Woman

2011-01-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

In addition to having the best baby, I also have the best husband. Chris is my best friend, the person who knows everything about me, the one who always knows how to make me laugh (although I think he can make just about anyone laugh!) He's a great leader. He has had to overcome a lot in life, and yet he stays positive and tries not to dwell on the bad things. He has a very adventurous spirit. Since we've been married, we've been to 44 states and 7 foreign countries. Had it not been for him I don't know if I would have ever lived in South Africa. He was the one to give me the courage to go. He is incredibly artistic and talented, and he's the one to call if you need ideas. He's a wonderful musician. He is passionate about missions and is responsible for getting many of our friends involved in missions. He is strong, and he is the strength of our family. He is such a great dad, and I am so happy that Harper has him to lean on in her life. I'm so happy that I have him to lean on. He loves God and has committed his life to serving Christ. I couldn't ask for a better man. I love you Chris, and I love our life together!

My Latest Cake

2011-01-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

FOR MY FRIEND'S BABY SHOWER
CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU LITTLE BAILEY!

Her Dancin' Face

2011-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

When the music starts playin', she starts movin'!

Violet

2011-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Harper's Nana and Papa Holohan sent us a Christmas/Harper's Birthday package from Illinois that just got here a few days ago. It got lost in the mail, and we all thought it was gone for good. But it luckily showed up. They sent us some great gifts, but Harper's favorite by far was her new purple dog Violet. It's one of those toys that you plug up to your computer and download different things like your kid's name, favorite color, favorite food, etc. She loves stuffed animals anyway, but this one is probably a close second to Eeyore (which was also a gift from her grandparents...what can I say, my father-in-law has some skills when it comes to picking out toys for the babies!) She loves how it says her name and asks for hugs. Here are a few pictures of Harper enjoying Violet on Daddy's lap.

Harper listening to Violet

Harper giving kisses
(she always kisses dogs on the nose...even our danes)

Hugs for Daddy and Violet

The Decision

2011-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

I thought I would give a quick update regarding this extra job of mine. I'm going to keep working at World Market. It provides some really nice Daddy/Harper time, and it's really good for both of them. Tonight Chris showed pictures of siblings to Harper and apparently she loved looking at little kids with little babies! Hmmm, may need to work on that. I tried putting up a fun picture or video tonight, but blogger is not cooperating. Hopefully tomorrow.

On the Mend??

2011-01-20T08:24:00.000-08:00

So maybe I spoke too soon? The little red bumps are almost completely gone, and we have now gone 3 nights in a row of Harper sleeping straight through the night...no puking and no sore gums. (Did I mention she has like 4 teeth trying to come in amongst everything else?) So here's what I'm thinking: high fever in the beginning due to vaccinations (almost a given), and throwing up was actually a stomach bug that she caught (due to the fact that the next day my mom was sick and the day after that I had a very high fever). The mystery is the small red bumps that lasted a day and a half. Maybe food allergy? The only dairy she's consuming right now is formula, which I put her back on recently. Next week I'll slowly re-introduce dairy foods and then whole milk after that. The only new thing she had that I can think of was the tiniest little tastes of my chocolate ice cream. We're talking bites smaller than her pinky fingernail. But still, if she's allergic to chocolate, maybe that's the culprit. Thanks to everyone for the prayers, advice and well wishes.

Where's House When You Need Him?

2011-01-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

Ever since Harper's 12 month check up on the 6th, she's been having issues. She got 4 immunizations that day, and I'm starting to think everything could be related to that, but I'm not sure. And since we took her to the pediatrician yesterday who basically said she has no idea what's wrong with her, I still have no answers. So here you go readers. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Obviously I'm no doctor, and neither are most of you, but moms tend to know quite a bit through experience so I'm all ears.

January 6: 4 immunizations (including MMR which I'm thinking could be the culprit?)

January 6-8: High fever over 100F

January 11: Vomiting started after her afternoon nap. Probably about 8 times. Woke up happy next day.

January 13: Vomiting started after she went to bed. About 4 times. Woke up happy next day.

January 15: Vomited once after she went to bed.

January 16: Spent the day in Phoenix. She didn't sleep well on the ride at all, so very tired that day. Not eating normally. Kind of picky and not her usual appetite.

January 17: Very fussy, I'm sure mostly due to the lack of sleep the day before. Still not much of an appetite. 3 little red bumps on her belly that looked kind of like mild bug bites.

January 18: Same 3 bumps when she woke up that morning, no change. Still less of an appetite. After she woke from her morning nap, belly covered in many more bumps, and it started spreading to her arms and neck.

The doctor said that if it were chicken pox it would have been white yesterday (at least the 3 that showed up the day before). And she said that all of the symptoms combined don't make any sense at all. She's thinking possible milk allergy. But since Harper's been throwing up, I've cut out milk and gone back to formula. Other than the milk in the formula, she's been off dairy since Saturday. I'm going to keep her off of it this week and re-introduce it next week, but we'll see. She hasn't woken up yet this morning, so I'm interested to see how the bumps are today. When they weighed her yesterday she had lost a little weight. It wasn't much, but she doesn't have enough to lose in my opinion, so I don't like that at all. I just want her to get better.

Our Friend the Marathon Runner

2011-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Our friends Jim and Erin Warne are in town visiting, and today we all drove down to Phoenix, minus Chris due to work, for Jim's first marathon! It was really exciting watching thousands of people preparing to accomplish such an amazing feat. And I was of course proud of our friend for what he achieved today. We started early, getting up at 4am and leaving the house at 4:30...Harper being the only lucky one still in pj's. We got down to the valley around 6:30 and headed to the start while finding our way around the massive lines for the porta-potties.

Once Jim started running, Erin, Harper and I headed to IHOP. I know, the classic picture of health. Harper wasn't too impressed, being that she didn't sleep well last night and slept maybe a total of 20 minutes in our 2 hour trip down the mountains. Not a great start to her day. She was completely exhausted. After IHOP we went to Target for a few minutes, because for those of you who don't know, Prescott has the smallest Target in the nation. Uh huh, we're that lucky. On our way to Ikea, Harper finally dozed off, so Erin and I sat in the car with her in the parking lot waiting for her to catch up on some much needed sleep. After drooling over the merchandise and buying an overpriced (and mis-labled) stuffed animal, we headed over to the finish line.

It was a long day both for Jim and Harper. Jim for obvious reasons, and Harper for the fact that I believe this day holds the record for the least amount of sleep she has ever had in her entire one year of life. Take a look...

We're so proud of you Jim! Congratulations!! Great Job!

Sick Again

2011-01-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday night Harper was sick again. (And just for historical accuracy, Harper was sick Tuesday night not Wednesday...my bad). Wednesday night she seemed all better, but Thursday night, after she had been sleeping for a few hours, she started crying. When I went in to check on her, she was laying in her throw up. Very sad. So I got my chance. And in all honestly, there was no where else I would have rather been! I cleaned her up, changed the sheets, cuddled with her, and put her back to sleep. I stayed up until around 2am reading a book to keep me awake so that I could get her over the trash can each time. But after the fourth time I was pretty sure she was done just by the peacefulness of her sleep. So I brought in our single futon mattress and went to sleep. Sure enough, that was the end of it. She's been better so far. Last night she went to sleep at 6:00 and didn't make a single sound until 7:30 this morning! Let's hope she's on the mend for real this time.

Regret

2011-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Last night Harper threw up for the first time. She would spit up a ton when she was a newborn, but this was full on throwing up...several times...and I wasn't there. I was at work at World Market. I took a seasonal job there for some extra Christmas money, and they asked me to stay on two nights a week. I figured I get to keep the discount, so why not. But I missed it. I missed being here for Harper's first throwing up experience. I know many moms out there will say to themselves, "yeah, well you'll get plenty more opportunities honey." And other people may wonder why I'm sad about this at all. But all I can keep thinking is how Harper must have seen it: "I feel terrible and I want my mommy."

Before I was a mother, I thought about all the usual things I would never want to miss...their first word, first steps, first day of school. Never did I dream about her first vomit! But now I'm Mommy. I want to be the person to hold her when she's feeling great and pointing at everything because it's her new favorite thing, and I want to hold her when she's feeling sick and tell her, even if she doesn't understand my words yet, that everything will be ok. By the time I got home she was finally asleep, and Chris and my mom were exhausted. I went into her room to check on her before I went to bed. I found myself hoping she would wake up just so that I could hold her and let her know I was home. She did wake up around 4:00 am, but she was just thirsty. I gave her some Pedialyte and rocked her for a while. She's all better. It only lasted the few hours while I was at work, which is good. But it just made me think. Maybe I should quit World Market. After all, I quit my great paying banking job at Chase and took a job at the camp so that I could be home if she needed me. I think I have a decision to make.

The Loves of My Life

2011-01-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Thank You Aunt Lenny!

2011-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

HARPER'S CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM AUNT LENNY. SHE NEEDS HELP GETTING UP THERE, BUT SHE LOVES IT!

12 Month Stats

2011-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

So her weight's a bit low. And for anyone who's seen this baby eat, you know I can't possibly feed her any more. But the doctor said she's fine and that she just has my body type, which is good since she definitely inherited my appetite! Harper got 4 shots at this appointment, in addition to a slight cold and two teeth coming in. Needless to say she wasn't feeling so great the next two days. She was on Tylenol for the pain and fever, Benadryl for the stuffy nose, and Orajel for her poor swollen gums.

Bed Head

2011-01-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

In a Nutshell

2011-01-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Harper had a great first Christmas. I think someone must have let the cat out of the bag, cause she woke up really early on Christmas morning...as if she knew there were presents that needed opening. We had a huge breakfast and Harper got to eat pancakes for the first time. We broke out the video camera and got some great footage of Harper (or mostly mommy) opening her presents.

The next day Aunt Lenny (my sister Lynnae) came to visit, and we had a second Christmas. Harper got to open presents again. It was so great having Lynnae here to celebrate Christmas.

On the Wednesday after Christmas, Prescott got hit with a huge snow storm! It lasted all of Wednesday and Thursday. We got about 18 inches which was pretty fun. But Thursday was the day we had to drive Lynnae to the airport. We had a quick snow fight, and then on the way out, about 30 seconds from our house, our car got stuck in the snow. Good thing we left early!

When we got to the airport, a lady came up behind us and asked if she could get a ride to Prescott. When I turned around, my other sister was standing there with her suitcase! Kelly came as a surprise and got to be there for Harper's first birthday party! We had a ton of people come. The McDougall's came out from California, of course Harper's Nana and Aunt Kelly were there, and a ton of friends from camp. I made 3 cakes that day...kinda crazy. But her monkey cake turned out pretty good I think. Before we opened presents or gave her the smash cake, Chris thanked everyone for coming and prayed for Harper. It was really special. All in all, the party was a success. Happy first birthday baby!

We have had a very full 2 weeks. It actually feels more like 5 weeks! But it's been great spending so much time with family and friends and celebrating some pretty big firsts with the Harpsters.

Nana and Harper

Aunt Kelly and Harper

Aunt Lenny and Harper

HERE'S TO THE SECOND YEAR HARPER GREY! WE LOVE YOU!

Better Late than Never

2011-01-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

Hello world. Are you still there? It feels like it's been so long since I've posted a really good post. It may be a little longer still. I've been busy. But here's a sneak peak of the birthday girl at her party. More to follow soon. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow? We'll see if I can keep that promise...

Labor Pains

2010-12-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

This time last year my labor had started. Two nights before I would have contractions all through the night, and then they would stop just in time for me to go to work. That wasn't fun. But on Tuesday I told my boss that the baby was coming (even though she's my first and it was 2 weeks before my due date). So I skipped work on Wednesday. We had a doctor's appointment, and he said it could be the next day or weeks from then. We went to the movies and spent the whole day hanging out, just the two of us. At around 7:00 that night the contractions started. By 1:00am they were about 4 minutes apart, so we headed to the hospital. They kept me in triage for about 3 hours waiting to see if I would dilate more, but by 4:00 I was still around a 1 or 2. So home we went, with the instructions to come back when it became hard to even breathe. 11:00 that morning we went back to the hospital...it was hard to breathe. I sat on a birthing ball (which we found out later kept me from needing a c-section...long story). My water broke around 1:15pm, I started pushing at about 1:25pm, and little Harper Grey Holohan was born at 1:42pm! It's so hard to believe she's turning one tomorrow. It feels like she's always been in my life! Tomorrow is gonna be a pretty crazy day, we have a lot to get done. Harper's birthday party is at 4:30, and I think we have around 30 people coming, kids included. Should be pretty exciting!

This Time Last Year Photos...

Contractions at Home

Sitting in Triage...Look at that Belly!!

Heart Rate and Contraction Monitor

Finally in My Hospital Room

More to follow...

Nana!!

2010-12-24T07:41:00.000-08:00

My mom got into Phoenix at 11:00 last night. She flew about 28 hours from Saudi Arabia to get here. I am SO happy to have her here for Christmas!! It's been 7 years since I have seen my mom on Christmas day. And since Chris and I have been married, I've never been able to "host" Christmas. We have either been at someone else's house or alone. So we're very excited to have family at home for the holidays. Aunt Lenny (aka my sister Lynnae) gets here on Sunday, too! I love my family...best Christmas present I could have gotten. I'll be posting current pictures of Harper and her Nana soon...can't wait to take some!

I Think I Might Be Sick

2010-12-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for this one? So tonight we put Harper in the tub, and I ask Chris to watch her for a minute while I grab something out of her room. When I come back, I notice a little piece of poop in the water. Gross, right? Chris never saw it and had no idea it was there. So I put it in the toilet and turned back around towards Harper just in time to see her spitting some out of her mouth. That's right...Harper pooped in the tub and tried to eat it! And her dad didn't even have a clue!!! Here's hoping she doesn't inherit his ADD. At least she had enough sense to spit it out, right?