Bath Time Sillies

Harper loves bath time, and it has become part of our Saturday evening routine so that she's sure to be fresh and clean for church on Sunday.  This past weekend, our little girl was feeling especially silly at bath time.  Here are some of her funny faces:

4 Months

4 months old!

Last week, Harper turned four months old.  It is hard to believe that four months have passed since this amazing baby girl came into our lives, but our appointment with the pediatrician today proved that she has been growing by leaps and bounds.  At today's visit, Harper weighed 13 lbs 5.5 oz and measured 25 1/4 inches long.  This puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height; clearly, she has been blessed with her daddy's physique!


At four months old, Harper has been keeping busy.  Here are some of our little girl's favorite activities...


Smiling- We waited a long time to see Harper smile at us, but it was worth the wait because now she gives us the cutest smiles all the time.  We look forward to the day when little giggles accompany those adorable smiles too.


Tummy time- While Harper still isn't the biggest fan of tummy time, she continues to make major progress.  Now she can hold her neck and head up, and she has even rolled from her tummy to her back three times!

Yummy toy!

Playing- Harper received a LOT of toys from our generous friends and family, but it was just recently that she started playing with them.  She isn't yet able to grab for her toys, but once she gets her hands on them, she loves playing and putting anything and everything in her mouth.  This multi-colored toy from one of her Grammy Sue's coworkers is one of her favorites.


Those hands- Harper still loves her hands, and they may be her favorite playthings yet.  She is constantly trying to get one or both hands in her mouth--even if there is a pacifier or bottle already in there!

Taking a snooze while out walking with Mom

Walking- We have been fortunate to enjoy some unseasonably warm weather here in Boston this spring, which means that we have also been able to enjoy a lot of walks outside.  Harper loves being in her stroller!  She used to fall asleep right away, but now she stays awake for a bit longer; it has been fun to watch her observing her surroundings with her big, pretty blue eyes.


Bath time- Harper still loves her baths, and she is becoming quite the water baby.  We are looking forward to taking her to the beach and the pool this summer!

All wrapped up in her bath towel

Story time- We have been reading to Harper a lot, and she loves to listen to stories.  She is so alert!  Some of her favorites are Goodnight Moon, The Little Fur Family, Runaway Bunny, and Madeline.  Her daddy is in the process or refinishing a bookshelf for her room, and we can already tell that it will get a lot of use.

It has been such a fun four months, watching our little girl grow bigger and stronger right before our very eyes.  Today our pediatrician told us that we could start introducing solid foods to Harper's diet, beginning with orange veggies and whole grain cereal, then moving to green veggies.  We are really excited about this milestone--and what promises to be a great photo opportunity too!  Who knows what other fun and exciting things we have to look forward to in the days, weeks, and months to come...

Sleepy baby-
Being 4 months old is hard work!  

Girl on the Go

When Harper first came home from the hospital, I was anxious about taking her in the car when I was by myself.  I worried that she would get upset and that I wouldn't be able to pacify her while I was driving.  As it turns out, Harper LOVES the car.  Usually, she falls asleep right away, but lately she's decided that she only loves the car while it's moving.  As soon as we stop for a red light, Harper will start to whimper...and once we're moving again, she's totally content.  This is one little girl who loves to be on the go--and she is my very favorite passenger.

All buckled up and ready to go!

Smiles for Daddy

This weekend, Dallin decided that he was going to capture one of Harper's adorable smiles on camera.  But as I have mentioned before, Harper isn't a big fan of performing for the camera--or the iPhone, to be more accurate.  As soon as she spots it, her smile usually disappears...  But not this time!  Here is our sweet baby girl giving her daddy a very big smile.

Farm Weekend

Holding hands with Aunt Annie--
wearing her very first Patagonia from our friend Marian!

Taking a little nap in Auntie's arms

We spent last weekend out in Western MA at my mom's house, which we refer to as "the farm."  Harper hadn't been to her Grammy Sue's house since Christmas, and she has grown up so much since then!  It was a cold, snowy weekend, but thanks to her amazingly cute new Patagonia vest from our friend, Marian, Harper was cozy and warm.  It also helped that Grammy Sue, Aunt Annie, Uncle Ben, and Gil all took turns snuggling her.

Harper showing off her aerobic skills!

Usually, I am the one behind the camera, but as luck would have it, this weekend my sister caught some fun Momma and baby moments too.  Harper is getting more and more active each day.  While laying down on Grammy Sue's bed, Harper got to show off how good she is at kicking her legs and waving her arms.  Perhaps the best part about her baby aerobics is her focused and very serious expression.  Being a baby is hard work, but it was definitely a fun farm weekend for this baby girl!

Momma and baby

Baby Smiles

Harper has become quite the smiley baby!  In reality, she has been smiling since she was born--but those were the unintentional smiles, rather than the kind where she is looking right at you with a big smile.  Now, she will make eye contact and smile wide, often cooing and talking too.  It is absolutely the most heart-warming thing I have ever experienced!  Of course, every time I whip out my iPhone to capture these precious moments, the smile vanishes.  It would seem that Harper doesn't appreciate my paparazzi tendencies.  But I won't give up!  Here is one of the cute smiles that I have managed to capture on camera...

Our cute, smiley baby!

It's A Jungle Out There!

Harper has been lucky to receive some fabulous fashion hand-me-downs from her cousin, Kate, who is about 15 months older than Harper.  It has been so fun seeing Harper in some of the same outfits that we remember Kate wearing when she was a tiny baby!  This leopard print vest is one of our favorites, and we love that it has little ears on the hood too.  It's a jungle out there!  Here's our wildly sweet little girl in her leopard print vest making some funny faces...

Harper's signature wide-eyed look

It's a jungle out there!--Harper checking things out.

Trying to eat her zipper

On the alert

Baby Blessing

Harper hanging out with her Uncle PJ

Last month, on February 5, Harper received her baby blessing.  While many churches perform infant baptisms, our faith does not do baptisms until the age of eight.  Instead, a baby blessing is a wonderful opportunity to welcome a baby into the church and present him or her with special blessings.  For Harper's big day, we were lucky enough to have some of our favorite out-of-town relatives join us for the weekend, including: Harper's Grandma Annette, Uncle PJ, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Travis, Grandpa, Aunt Erin, Uncle Ben, and baby cousin Riley.  There were a LOT of new faces and even more snuggles for Harper to enjoy over the weekend.  What a lucky girl!  On Saturday night, we all went out to dinner to celebrate; another "first" for our little baby!

Lounging on Saturday morning with Aunt Kelly

Then on Sunday, Harper's baby blessing occurred during our church service.  In addition to all our fun visitors and our church congregation, Harper's Grammy Sue, Aunt Annie, Uncle Ben (Harper has TWO uncles named Ben!), Great Gramzy, and cousin Emily joined us for this special occasion as well.  Harper is VERY popular!

All dressed up for church--
wearing her very special dress and sweater from Auntie Roz
and monogrammed bracelet from Aunt Kelly, Uncle PJ, and her cousins!

With the help of family and friends, Harper received a blessing from her very own Daddy, which was thoughtfully recorded by her Aunt Kelly:

Momma, Daddy, and Baby

Harper was blessed to grow, develop, and mature so that she may perform the functions she needs to and to accomplish those things that she sets out to do.  She was urged to always remember to treat her body like a temple.  Harper was also blessed to have a quick and inquisitive mind, and to search out knowledge and take her studies seriously.  She was blessed to have a sweet spirit, so that she may search out opportunities to serve others.  She was urged to have empathy for others and to be an example to those around her, especially her family--that she may inspire them to follow the teachings of Christ by the way she lives her life.  As she grows older, Harper was blessed to live in such a way that she will be worthy to enter the temple and into a temple marriage so that she can enjoy the blessings of an eternal family--and to always know that her Heavenly Father and her family love her very much.

A sleepy baby at the end of an exciting weekend!

Harper's blessing was a truly special experience for Dallin and me, and we were so grateful to have so many family and friends there with us.  After church, we were able to enjoy a last brunch together with Dallin's family before most of our out-of-town guests had to leave for the airport.  Her Grandpa, Uncle Ben, Aunt Erin, and cousin Riley stayed on Sunday night though so we got to watch the Superbowl together, but Harper slept through most of it.  The weekend passed much too quickly, but Harper was tuckered out after all the excitement!