Tummy Time

Harper isn't so sure about this whole "tummy time" thing--
despite her super fun activity mat from our friend Hoa!

Since her first tummy time in the hospital, Harper's enjoyment of this activity has unfortunately gone down hill.  We do what we can to make tummy time a comfortable experience for her--laying her on a soft blanket or a blanket with a fun print, getting down on the floor with her, talking to her and encouraging her...but no matter what, she just does NOT like tummy time!

At first, she doesn't seem to mind...
Must be the soft cupcake blankie from our friend Sandrine!

For the first few moments, she does okay, getting her bearings and trying to lift her little head up or kick her feet.  Then, as she realizes that she lacks the motor skills to make much progress, she gets frustrated.  And then the crying begins!  For a parent--or at least a first time parent--it's absolutely heartbreaking to voluntarily put her a situation that makes her cry.  Yet, tummy time is important to help strengthen her neck and head control and the muscles she will need for crawling.  So what choice do we have but to keep at it?


There was a time when Harper hated to have her diaper changed, and there was also a time when she didn't enjoy being in the bath.  Now she seems to genuinely enjoy both of those activities, kicking her legs and stretching to her heart's content.  So we can only hope that she'll eventually come around to tummy time too!  

Baby girl lifting up her head!

3 Months

3 months old--
and so excited!

Today Harper is three months old!  It is hard to believe that it's already been three months since this sweet baby girl joined our family--but at the same time, we can't imagine our life without her anymore.  Harper has come a long way in just a few months, having been born early, spending time in the NICU, finally getting home and getting settled...  It's been a whirlwind!  But we are having so much fun with her.


Now that she's three months, Harper is turning into quite the little person.  We love it when she "talks" to us; her cooing and burblings are so cute that they bring tears to my eyes.  She is also developing some good neck and head control.  She has the side-to-side motion down solid, but she is still a little bit wobbly when it comes to the front.  She is also really enjoying sitting up like a big girl, especially when that means watching Jeopardy with her dad.  Tummy time is still not her favorite so we don't do it as much as we should, but we have got to build that neck/head control somehow!  Harper also transitioned from newborn-sized diapers to size 1 a couple of weeks ago; such a big girl!  And while she has been enjoying her hands since birth, it seems that Harper has recently discovered her feet.  Particularly when we are changing her diaper, she loves kicking her legs.  Dallin calls it "riding a bicycle," though it seems a little more like baby dancing to me.  Either way, it couldn't be more hilarious--or more adorable, for that matter.


So many accomplishments in such a short time...  We are so proud of our very grown up three-month-old girl, and we look forward to watching her grow and develop more as the months unfold.

Little Cupcake

The many faces of our little cupcake:

*Harper's adorable cupcake onesie was made especially for her by our friend, Sandrine.  Check out her Etsy shop, dax&olivia, for your own custom baby fashion!

Funny Faces

From the very first few days of her life, Dallin and I have gotten such a kick out of Harper's funny faces.  While she may not know she's doing it, her little looks really do make us laugh.  I have hundreds of photos on my iPhone, many of them attempting to capture these adorable moments.  Here are some of our favorites...

Such personality--and only a few days old!

The raised eyebrows make us laugh every time...

Sleepy smiles

Such an excited baby!

How can you not smile at such a silly little smirk?

Being silly in her basinette

Wide-eyed with her Uncle PJ

So much to say!

Little Ears

Maybe one of my very favorite shots of Harper--
wearing her baby giraffe hat from her Aunt Kelly

My mom remarked recently on how so many of Harper's hoodies, jackets, and hats have little ears on them.  Her comment was, "Harper is a BABY, not a baby ANIMAL!" Well, clearly Harper is not a baby animal--but I maintain that little ears on our little girl couldn't be any cuter...

Baby Love

There is no question that Harper is loved.  Between family and friends, Harper has been surrounded by love--and given countless snuggles--since the day she was born.  Here are some of those precious baby love moments...

Holding hands with Uncle Ben--
just a few days after coming home from the hospital.

Meeting her great grandmother--
or "great Gramzy"--
who has 90 years of wisdom to share with little Harper.

Snuggling with Grandma Annette at Christmas time

"Talking" with Grammy Sue

Pajama day with Momma--
the first photo of just the two of us!

Cozying up with Aunt Annie

Making funny faces with Uncle PJ

Loves with Aunt Kelly

Meeting Grandpa Jon and Aunt Erin for the first time

Playing Favorites

Harper is not yet three months old, but she is already playing favorites.  Here are a few of her favorite things...


Her monkey- Harper received monkey as a gift from Grammy Sue when she was just born, and monkey stayed with her in the hospital the whole time she was there.  In fact, the NICU nurses kept monkey right at the foot of Harper's little crib so that she would never be lonely.  Now monkey sits on the side table next to Harper's bassinet.  That furry little guy is always by her side!

Harper and a few of her favorite things:
her monkey, her blanket, AND her pacifier...oh my!

Her blanket- Harper is lucky enough to have a lot of cozy blankets to keep her warm and snuggled, but one of her absolute favorites is the blanket that her Uncle Travis got for her before she was even born.  It's green on one side and pink polka-dot on the other--and what girl can resist the combination of pink and green, after all? That blanket goes with her everywhere!  In fact, it is in ALL the photos in the post too...

It doesn't get much cozier than this.

Her pacifier- Harper was given her bright turquoise hospital issue pacifier when she was in the NICU, and she's had it (and half a dozen like it) ever since.  Dallin and I have tried to convince her to use a more attractive pacifier option, but that little girl has no interest in anything else.  She'll make a funny face and sort of lick it if you even try to give her a substitute.  She just knows...

Harper snuggled up with her blanket and pacifier

Her swing- Harper's little lamb swing is one of the things she has inherited from her big brother, and she absolutely loves it.  She loves it so much, in fact, that she falls asleep pretty much every time we put her in her swing.  It's the cutest thing to watch her rock back and forth, totally peaceful.  We need a swing in every room!

Our little cutie, snoozing in her lamby swing

We can't wait to see what else Harper will like as she gets bigger!  After all, she's not even playing with toys yet...and we have a sneaking suspicion that she's going to love love love the cupcake rattle her Aunt Kelly and Uncle PJ recently got her.

Baby Firsts

One of the fun things about having a new baby is getting to experience all the "firsts."  Because Harper was in the NICU for a few weeks, some of the firsts happened right there in the hospital, and others we have enjoyed--and continue to enjoy--right here at home.  Here are some of the highlights so far...


First bath: We started by washing Harper's hair, while she was still all warm and swaddled.  You can see from her face that she's enjoying this part of bath time; after all, what girl doesn't like to have her hair washed?  But then it came time for her to get in the tub...and she wasn't quite as happy about this.  She has made major progress in this regard since coming home though.  Now she loves the warm water, and she has even graduated to a real baby tub; no more hospital tub for this girl!  What a bathing beauty!

Washing Harper's hair in the NICU

Not quite as happy actually in the tub

Our little bathing beauty!

First tummy time: Harper started having tummy time while she was still in the NICU, and she was actually quite content.  Because she wasn't swaddled during this time, I think she liked the freedom of being able to move her arms and legs a little bit.  This has changed since coming home; tummy time is definitely NOT one of Harper's favorite activities anymore.  It only takes a moment or two on her tummy before that poor little girl starts crying and crying.  But she's definitely getting stronger, which is the point, so we'll just have to keep at it.

First tummy time in her NICU crib--
I just love those little legs!

First time in the bouncy chair: There was one day while Harper was in the NICU that I was sick and had a fever so I wasn't able to go in to see her that day (NICU rules).  Fortunately, it was a Saturday--so while I was devastated not to be able to visit with my baby girl on that particular day, I was comforted by the fact that Dallin would be there with her.  Over the course of the day, he sent me texts and photo updates, and this shot of Harper in the bouncy chair was one of the photos.  I love that her little mouth is wide open in what appears to be surprise or delight but is likely just a yawn.  After coming home, it took her about a month to adjust to her own bouncy chair; I think she was just too little for her lamb chair for a while there so it wasn't comfortable for her, but now she is quite content to be all snuggled up.

First time in the bouncy chair

At home in her lamb bouncer a month later

First walk: Boston has been blessed with an incredibly mild winter this year, which is such a relief after the brutal winter we had last year.  So finally, on one ridiculously nice "winter" day, with the temperature hovering in the 50s, I decided it was time for Harper to take her first walk.  Dallin had set up the stroller the night before, and so when my brother came to visit Harper the very next day, we ventured out into the great outdoors.  Because Harper seems to love her carseat, we opted to use the carseat attachment to fasten the car seat right into the stroller base.  Harper was so content that she fell asleep almost immediately, and even the terribly bumpy roads in our town didn't seem to disturb her slumber.  I guess the fresh air and her fabulous stroller was a recipe for a deep sleep!

All bundled up for her first walk

Uncle Ben proudly pushing the stroller

 With our little girl growing each day, we are looking forward to more exciting "firsts" that are still to come...

Growing Up

It's hard to believe that Harper will soon be three months old!  We feel so blessed to have this sweet baby girl in our lives, and we have already enjoyed watching her grow...

Just 2 days old

Three days old

The day after she came home from the hospital
(Daddy picked her outfit)

One month old

Two months old

So far, Harper has her mom's brown hair and her daddy's deep blue eyes.  She is fun, feisty, and prefers sleeping in your arms to her bassinet.  She is a beautiful little girl, and we can't wait to watch her continue to grow and mature.  

Daddy's Girl

Quality time in the NICU

For as long as I've known Dallin, he has been looking forward to the opportunity to have a family of is own, and he was totally ready for the challenge of a baby girl.  It has been so sweet to watch him with Harper--and also a bit funny, considering how very, very tall he is compared to little Harper (especially right after she was born).

Daddy burping baby

Cozy together in winter hats

There are some things that a daddy just does best.  When Harper was in the hospital, after feeding, Dallin could get a burp out of her in no time, whereas I would struggle awkwardly and often have no success.  Back at home, when Harper was having a colic episode and crying for what felt like forever, sometimes it would just take a few minutes in her daddy's arms for her to settle.  Then there were those fateful diaper changes; while I reason that a clean diaper is a good thing, there was a time when Harper really hated having her diaper changed and would scream from start to finish--unless, of course, Dallin was the designated "soother."

Holding hands

These days, Harper has found a snug little niche in her daddy's arms, and I will sometimes return from running errands to discover them sitting together like that on the couch, usually watching Jeopardy.  It appears that Dallin is grooming her to be a Jeopardy champion, but whatever the case, it's just another excuse for that baby girl to snuggle up to her daddy.  And as a daddy's girl myself, I can't say that I blame her.

True love

Baby's First Christmas

Harper's pretty Christmas dress from Grammy Sue

This year, Christmas was especially fun and festive, as it was Harper's first Christmas.  Dallin and I rotate our holidays so that one year we spend Thanksgiving with his family and Christmas with mine, and then switch the next.  This year, we celebrated with my family at my mother's home in Western MA.  So on the Friday before Christmas, right after Harper's one-month visit at the pediatrician (where our growing girl weighed in at 8 lbs. exactly), we got in the car for our very first road trip as a family of three.

Well, perhaps it wasn't quite so simple; having a baby on board means a LOT of extra stuff!  Between Harper's baby gear and all the Christmas gifts, our SUV was so packed that it was slightly reminiscent of the Beverly Hillbillies.  But we made it out to Western MA safe and sound just a few hours later, greeted by the cheerful barking of my brother's two small dogs.  I had been slightly apprehensive about the meet-and-greet between Harper and her canine cousins.  But it turned out that I needed not fear; Charli and Maple were enthusiastic to be sure, but they kept a cautious distance too.  We joked that my brother had his babies, and we had ours.

The boys with the babies:
Gil holding Harper & Ben holding Charli

Harper napping in Grammy Sue's arms

It was a cold winter weekend, and snow was already on the ground out there so we spent our time indoors, cozied up by the fire, doing lots of snacking, and watching some of our favorite Christmas movies--but Harper was, by far, our favorite source of entertainment.  She was cuddled and snuggled by everyone.  Unfortunately, Christmas Eve wasn't her best sleeping night, and she stayed awake half the night with colic--and her dad stayed awake with her.  She may have been bright-eyed the next morning, but poor Dallin wasn't quite so awake.

Baby and Daddy snuggling

Still, Christmas morning felt especially festive with Harper in our arms; she really is the most amazing gift we could have asked for. And she was quite spoiled too!  She had already received her first Christmas gifts from her Grandma Annette during a visit the week prior, and on Christmas Day, Grammy Sue gave her a lovely little bird ornament and a book about animals on the farm.  Auntie Annie got Harper her very first L.L. Bean tote with her initials monogrammed in yellow; Gil had given her an adorable polka-dot romper on Christmas Eve; and Uncle Ben gave her a gorgeous grey cashmere beanie that she has been wearing practically everyday since.

Our excited little baby on Christmas morning--

wearing her special Christmas pajamas from the Kelly Family

Enjoying the Christmas tree with Auntie Annie

Dallin and I have a tradition where we exchange Christmas tree ornaments each Christmas so, this year, Harper received her very first ornament too: a tiny glass teddy bear from Tiffany's (I maintain that every baby girl needs to receive their very first little turquoise box).  We also gave her an adorable pink Northface fleece jacket, and two Madeline books.  All in all, I would say that baby girl had a great first Christmas.  Especially when you add in the lights on the Christmas tree that she LOVED to stare at, as well as all the love and snuggles from her family.  While she may be too little to remember these moments, it was a Christmas that the rest of us will never forget.

Our favorite Christmas gift