Three Months!

Harper is three months now, cuter than ever, and so much fun. We spend our mornings dancing in front of the mirror (a girl after my own heart!!), our afternoons playing on our playmat or with "friends", and our evenings cuddling with Daddy. Life is GOOD!

This month Harper has found her hands...

Hook 'em!!

Gone to the cardiologist for an Echo and EKG (no worries...she's perfect!)...

                     

Left Texas for the first time...

 Met some of her extended family...

and gone on her first hike...

It's been a big month for Harper; she's been such a trooper throughout all of our adventures this month. We can't wait to see what month 4 brings us...

Amazing.

After our visit in Denver, we headed even further up the Colorado mountains into Estes Park for Anna Eric's wedding. I wish I could describe the amazing weekend, but all I can think of is:

Harper was amazing.

 The view was amazing.

 The wedding location was amazing.

 The couple is amazing.

 My extended family is amazing.

This is the traditional cousin line up (minus Robert) that has been taken annually for I don't know how many years...Can you imagine a better backdrop for your wedding portraits?? No...I didn't think so. 


That's all I've got. As an English teacher, I'm actually embarrassed at my lack of words to describe the weekend, but when everything was as perfect as it was in Estes Park, there's not much more that I can say.

Denver Days

When we were finished with the Panhandle wind we drove through the rest of the Texas Panhandle, ventured into New Mexico, and wound our way through the Colorado mountains. We landed in Denver and spent the middle of the week exploring downtown, walking through rainforests at the Aquarium, meandering the Botanic Gardens, and just relaxing in the cooler weather with my brother and sister-in-law. It was the perfect way to spend our vacation. 

(Muncie looks a little crazed in this picture, while Petunia is completely unfazed.)

Harper was fascinated by the aquarium lights and sounds...the shark overhead definitely caught her attention too.

The Denver Botanic Gardens were a great place for me to practice my photog skills again...

We had such an incredible time in Denver with my brother and sister-in-law. There's nothing better than sitting on the back porch with family and a glass of wine just enjoying each others' company.

Going "Home"

It's official, Neal and I are on vacation. We're slowly making our way to Estes Park, CO for Neal's cousin's wedding. Our first stop was in Panhandle. I always love going home, but it's even more special now to see my daughter in the places I grew up. It's changed so much since I've been there, but it's still "home". Plus, I get to watch Meg's boys love on my little girl. What sweet boys!!

Harper got some extra love from Meg, too. Too bad she never gets a vacation from tummy time. 

I found a quote recently that says, "What I love most about my home is who I share it with." I've been thinking a lot about that lately because I feel like I have a lot of "homes". I go "home" to Panhandle. I go "home" to Austin. I am "home" in Dallas. The more I think about this quote though, the more I realize that it isn't where "home" is...it's who's there with me. I'm glad I've got these two to be at home with everyday. 

I love the next picture because I know that no matter where Harper calls "home" she's got these boys to back her up and take care of her. Any boyfriend of Harper's had better watch out...

We're in Denver now with my brother and his wife. More pictures to come...

Back to School

This week marked the beginning of a new school year. In the past, a new school year meant a fresh start, a renewed spirit, an excitement filling my stomach with butterflies. But this year is different. Adventures abound this week for so many. Whether it’s teachers preparing for a new group of kiddos to walk through their doors; students gearing up for new classes, new teachers, and new friends; or parents saying goodbye to their littles for their first day at kindergarten, not knowing who it’s going to be harder on...them or their babies. And as I watched my friends go back to work this week, wishing them good luck and small classes, I was preparing for my own adventures to unfold.

Monday morning while school buses were rolling down streets for the first day of school, I was sitting at home for the first time in about 22 years. It felt strange. I sat with my cup of coffee and stared out my front windows, watching the calm morning pass. It was a time of reflecting and thanking God for all of the blessings in my life. I am so thankful to have this opportunity to be at home with Harper; I know there are so many moms out there who would do anything to stay home but circumstances won’t allow it. How blessed Harper and I both are that we have Neal working hard so that we can have this time together. All week I’ve been thinking of all things that I’m looking forward to while I stay home with Harper.

I’m so thankful I get to be there for all of her “firsts.” The first time she rolls over, crawling, laughing for the first time, her first steps. I’m excited about play dates and conversations with other moms; putting her down for naps and being the first face she sees when she wakes up from them; watching her personality blossom as she gains new perspective on this big world she’s now a part of.

I’m glad I’m the one that will get to wipe away her tears when she’s fallen down or is getting new teeth or has a fever. I’m happy that when she’s sad, I’ll be the one to cuddle her and make her feel better.

And I’m glad that at the end of the day, I get to sit down and hang out with these two.

Life doesn’t get much better than this.

So even though there’s a small part of me that misses the challenges of teaching middle schoolers about grammar and literature, responsibility and time management, or knowing that I’ve made a difference in a seventh grader’s life; I know that I am exactly where I’m meant to be...at home with Harper, teaching her about life and love.

A "Different" Reaction

I just got pooped on. You know what my first reaction was? Take a picture. Don't worry, it was not photoblog worthy/appropriate. But it's amazing to me how my perception/reaction to things has changed now that there is an adorable babe involved.

You want me to go diaper diving and find the one with blood in it? No problem. Poop shoots three feet from changing table to bed skirt? Amazing. I couldn't do that. Babe's been crying for an hour? At least it's an adorable cry.

Getting out of bed in the middle of the night is not nearly as bad when there is a sweet smile greeting you from the crib. The second, third, and fourth time? As long as that smile is there, I could do it a dozen times.

These pictures have nothing to do with this post, they're just my visual reminder of why I don't get grossed out anymore when I have someone else's poop on my leg or how I can get through the day on limited sleep.

Someone should come up with a book called, "You Know You're a Parent When..." I'm going to start compiling a list of all the things parents do for their kid...I'll make millions. And to all my friends who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant...don't worry, this may completely terrify you now, but I promise...you'll feel the same way when it's your own kid.

I've Got a KID!!

There are times when something catches my eye and I have one of those “holy-smokes-I-have-a-kid” moments. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m pumping gas and leave my kid in a baking car and realize it...no, I could be changing her diaper and kissing her cheeks and after the millionth kiss, I remember, “Holy cow, this babe is mine.”

This happened the other night while I was picking up around the house. I was standing in our guest bathroom and looked up and saw Harper’s bathing suit hanging from the shower. We had gone swimming at the Williams’ that afternoon and hung them up to dry when we got home. But it wasn’t until a few hours later when my brain wasn’t going a million miles a minute that I saw it for what it really was...there are three of us now.

Whether it’s three bathing suits hanging up to dry instead of two or lazily laying out on a blanket watching my girl take in this bright new world, Harper has changed our lives.

This weekend the weather finally cooled off enough to enjoy being outside. We actually went for walks in the middle of the day, and Harper saw her first raindrops ever. She’s been here for 67 days without a single drop of rain. Saturday evening we took a blanket outside and enjoyed the cooler weather, watching Harper kick and listening to her “talk”. After a week without Neal (he was at training in Orlando all week), relaxing this weekend with him was definitely refreshing.

Remember when I mentioned swimming at the Williams’? My girl was adorable. I got her a swimsuit for all the swimming we do (can you read sarcasm on a blog??), and Becky/Nonnie got her a cute floppy hat to protect that precious, porcelain skin. She definitely takes after her momma...

Two seconds later...

That’s what we’ve been up to lately. I asked Neal to start taking pictures of Harper and me too, because otherwise 10 years down the road she may never know I existed. Ha!