12 “One”derful Months!

Last year, on February 20, at 10:54 am, after 31 hours of labor (birth story coming soon…), my precious little angle, Harper Marie was born. Our lives were forever changed, and we couldn’t be more happy. Having a baby is the best thing going. The love you have for them is indescribable. The joy they bring you is infectious. Motherhood is bliss.

And even though it feels like this year went by in a blink of an eye, I have so many memories that I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. And the best part? There are more memories to come. Every day gets better. My heart is overflowing with gratitude.

For 11 months I had the pleasure of taking care of my little baby. In this past month my little baby has grown up so much, I look at her now and realize that my baby is officially turning into a little girl. And with that, comes even more fun and adventure.

Harper’s Firsts:

First Time Going from Sitting to Standing Unassisted: Like I mentioned last month, Harper loves to pull herself up on things and let go, leaving her standing on her own. But now, she is actually standing up all by herself! Without anything or anyone to help her. She will be playing in the middle of the floor and then all or a sudden just stand up! It has been fun watching her progress and learn to keep her balance. I have a feeling we will have a little walker on our hands pretty soon :)

First Swear Word?: I am hoping that this one is mistake. Or that what we are hearing is not what she thinks she is saying. Harper has been gabbing up a storm and we are pretty sure we have heard her say the “sh” word more than once. At first, its funny to hear a baby say such an adult word, but then you realize that you don’t want them growing up with a potty mouth. So Freddie and I need to watch what we say and set good examples for our little talker. Oops…

First Dentist Visit: Harper went to her first dentist appointment today. Nothing too exciting, we just wanted to make sure everything was on the right track. We happen to know a great pediatric dentist in town so we figured we would start early and get Harper used to good dental hygiene. She wasn’t too keen on the quick exam, but she sure liked the yellow balloon and toys she earned afterwards. Guess going to the dentist wasn’t so bad after all :)

Harper’s Favs:

Favorite Toy: Harper is learning her shapes. This Fisher Price shape sorter has been a great way for Harper to differentiate her circles from her squares. She has fun figuring out how to fit them in their respective hole and has even more fun dumping them out on the floor when she is finished.

Favorite Song: My little girl is a dancer. Whenever any song comes on she gets to groovin’. One of my favorite songs to play for her is Mr.Sun. I play an instrumental part on the guitar that I call the “rock-out” section and she goes to town. It is so fun to see her respond so positively to music.

Favorite Book: Harper loves to read! Anytime she finds a book lying around, she brings it to me, places it on my lap and asks me to read it to her. She sits quietly with her hands in her laps while she listens to the story and admires the pictures. This month her favorite book is Look, Look!. Every time we finish it and we put it down, she puts it back into my lap and insists we read it again, and again, and again. I love that my little girl is a book-worm :)

Harper Sits…

Harper’s newest hobby is to see what strange items she can fit her little booty into. It’s fun to see where she ends up :)

…in her stroller.

…in a cake pan.

…in a platter.

Happy First Birthday Harper! I can’t believe only a year ago, you were in mommy’s tummy. And now, you are crawling around on your own, exploring the world and all it has to offer. Thank you for making our days brighter with your beautiful smile. Here’s to many more happy birthdays to come.

PS: Harper now has 5 teeth!