Thursday, February 24, 2011
I love that I laugh so much with Harper.
11:49 AM -
updated by Leah
Monday, August 31, 2009
For those of you who just read my page through RSS feed- please update your bookmarks :)
feed://vacant.cc/?feed=rss2
10:03 AM -
updated by Leah
Friday, August 28, 2009
Taylor was out at band practice this evening so it was my duty to sneak quietly in to Harper's room at 10:30 to get her up for her last meal of the day. Usually Taylor does this because it is his only time to feed her during the weekday, so it's sort of a special treat when it's my turn. I'm feeling unusually emotional (which is crazy in the first place, since I'm almost always emotional) tonight so when I got in to Harper's room and found her sprawled out, looking so big, with both arms raised up by her head, I started crying. Silently, mind you, I didn't want to disturb her. I put one of my fingers on her relaxed left hand which made her baby reflex grab on to it, very softly. We stayed like that for a minute or two before I got her up out of bed. We got in to my bed and as soon as she started drinking, her eyes closed. After she was done, I held her and within seconds, she was fast asleep. I just sat there on the bed, holding this little thing that came from me and was overwhelmed. Entirely overwhelmed. I cried some more and one of my sniffles woke her up. She looked up at me through her tired, heavy eyes and as she closed them again, she smiled. I have a daughter.
10:59 PM -
updated by Leah
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Last night, we went on a family walk to the library with Harper in her baby bjorn for the first time. She loved it, couldn't stop looking around, didn't make a peep, couldn't take it all in fast enough, fresh air on her face, loved it. My shoulders/back? Not so much. On the way back from the library, I carried books in the bjorn and Taylor carried Harper. I'm such a wimp.
Anyways, I've been taking Harper outside more (we like to sit in the backyard in the early morning) because it is not outrageously hot in the mornings and sometimes it is even okay in the evenings. I figured today we would actually head out of the house bright and early for some outdoor fun because her new schedule keeps her up from 7:30 AM until 10:00 AM and that leaves us plenty of time for fun.
So, we headed downtown and met up with Jen to eat breakfast outside. From there, we headed to Town Lake, a beautiful trail, and took off. I was so excited for Harper to be able to look at all the trees and people. I put on her dorky new little sunhat, got her in her stroller and away we went! The walkway wasn't fully paved so the gravel was bumpy to her stroller. Real bumpy. But somehow, she managed to fall asleep. Dorky sunhat, cheeks vibrating with every stone we rolled over, eyes not opening. It was cute. Real cute.
Are you familiar with the new Taylor Swift song? You Belong With Me? Anyways, it's undeniably catchy and in my head and coming out of my mouth several times a day. And you know what? Taylor loves it too. So, earlier today, Harper was laying on my bed (our new favorite place to hang out and talk) and I grabbed her hands so she could do an arm dance while I sang the Taylor Swift song. And every time I sang, "You belong with meeeeeeeee" she would laugh. LAUGH. It was all sorts of amazing. Now, I'll always remember the song.
AND THEN!
We were at Robin's house visiting and thunder started so we rushed home so we wouldn't get caught in the rain. Right when we got home, it started POURING. We went and sat in the backyard and watched the rain come down for close to twenty minutes. Harper looked so content- her first rainstorm. I loved it.
AND THEN! I took one of my favorite Harper and Taylor pictures.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
How is it possible that Harper is changing so quickly? It seems like right when she figures out how to do something new or we change something, the next challenge comes our way!
Last Thursday morning, when Taylor went to get her from her crib in the morning, she had somehow managed to work her swaddled blanket down around her ankles AND turn 90 degrees in the crib. WHAT? I don't even think that I could do that (i've got to give myself more credit). We had already been leaving one of her arms out of her swaddle for the past two weeks since she could shimmy it out herself within a few seconds, but now this? Yikes. The thought of switching from a swaddled baby, secure in a blanket, to a pajama baby was pretty daunting to me. Not sure why, I just thought it was going to be a rough transition. But, we put her in a long sleeve onesie, got some pants on her (pants! so cute! my new favorite) and covered those feet up with some socks and BAM- she slept fine. She actually slept better than fine and awoke thirty minutes past her usual time. She had turned 90 degrees again, a wiggly little baby, but slept well. And look mighty cute, all sprawled out, if I do say so myself.
Then, on Sunday, I realized that we should probably be making some adjustments to her schedule. She's been on a 3 hour schedule since the first week or so of her life and she was awesome at it. Always napped at the same time, ate like clockwork, happy as can be. But over the weekend, we realized that she just wasn't needing all of those naps and she wasn't always hungry at the three hour mark. So on Monday, I decided to switch her to a 4 hour schedule. Again, the task was daunting, but it ended up being a pretty smooth transition. Now she just goes down for 2 1/2 naps a day and it's a lot more of awake and playing time. So, she rocked it.
But then, on Tuesday morning, she taught herself how to roll over on to her stomach from her back. Super cute and all, but she'll do it in her sleep, wake herself up, and cry because she doesn't know how to flip back over. So yesterday, every time she fell asleep, I'd hear her shortly after because she had rolled on to her stomach and was having unexpected tummy time. Pretty cute to see, but frustrating to go through. Just roll! Just roll!
So, that's where we're at now. In the past week she has stopped being swaddled, is awake for more hours out of the day, and can roll.
I expect she'll be driving by next Tuesday.
2:29 PM -
updated by Leah
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Okay, time to do a overhaul of the website. Too bad I stopped learning HTML in the 8th grade.
10:08 AM -
updated by Leah
Monday, August 24, 2009
It's weird that Harper used to live in my stomach. I used to walk around the block, talking with Taylor about our future family. And now she's sleep eating right beside me and this is my life.
One of my favorite baby terms is DREAM FEED. Dream feed refers to a feeding where you get the baby up, don't stimulate them, feed them, then put them right back to sleep. Usually, the babe will eat with out really waking up, thus DREAM FEEDING. Right now, Harper is pretty much fully sleeping but she's still sucking back that milk. What a talented baby.
Anyways, one time a discussion happened in my house where our friend Jarod asked Jennifer if she would please give him a dream feed. Complete with ribs, or something. And now, sometimes, I think of adults dream feeding and it makes my life so much better and happier.
10:37 PM -
updated by Leah