At the Park

Today after work, Dallin, Harper, and I decided to go to the park down the street from our house.  With Harper doing a better job sitting up on her own, we thought that it would be fun for her to try swinging.  She was a little unsure at first and she held on tight, but she did a great job and had fun.  We also went on the slide.  But it was a tiny little baby slide, which wasn't super exciting.  The big kid slide on the other side of the park was a little too high though--so that will be something to look forward to when she is a bit bigger...

Daddy pushing Harper

Baby girl holding on tight!

Harper and Mommy on the slide

Whee!

7 Months!

7 months old!

Last week, Harper turned 7 months old.  How is it possible that my little baby is 7 months?!  I recently heard the saying, "The days are long, but the years are fast."  While we aren't technically into years yet, the months sure are flying by.  Harper is more than half-way to one year, and she has been a busy little girl! 


Here is what our 7-month-old baby has been up to lately...

Harper is a girl on the go.  She LOVES rolling!  Whether it is from tummy to back or back to tummy, she will set her sights on something and then roll to it.  This video is from several weeks ago, when she was first perfecting the art of rolling, and you can see just how proud she is about her newfound skill.  Now, she is quite the pro.  She can move from one end of the carpet to the other so quickly that it makes me a little nervous actually!  We can't take our eyes off that girl for a minute.  It's clear that crawling is coming soon too since now she is using her arms and upper body to pivot and turn.  Any day now...

It's hard to believe this smiley girl used to cry about tummy time!

Turkey with rice: yum.

Our girl loves eating, and we have had such fun exposing her to different foods.  At Grammy Sue's house a couple of weeks ago, Daddy thought it would be SO funny to give Harper a pickle.  We all waited to see her reaction--thinking that she would make a funny face at its sour taste.  Harper didn't react at all!  She just loved that pickle.  Dallin had to hold on to one end of the pickle for fear that she would swallow it whole!  At her six-month check up, we got the green light to give Harper meats so she has been enjoying chicken and turkey baby food so far.  Next on the list: beef with veggies.  Yum!

Baby smiles

Harper has been developing quite the personality.  Her smiles are the biggest, cutest smiles I have EVER seen--and her little laugh melts my heart.  She isn't laughing super regularly yet, but that giggle is worth the wait.  She is also a girl that knows what she wants and likes vs. what she dislikes.  Some of her favorite things: rolling, eating, her bottle, the TV remote, Mommy's iPhone, her activity chair, baths, the computer keyboard, her pacifier, and anything someone else might happen to be holding that she lays eyes on.  Her dislikes: when her bottle is empty, showers, when someone holding her tries to make her lie down, green beans, and when she isn't allowed to hold something she wants.  She certainly has a strong sense of self for such a little person!  At least her list of likes is longer than the dislikes!

Jackie O in training

And one more thing she likes: her new sunglasses!  Harper's pediatrician recommended getting her used to wearing baby sunglasses so, of course, I had to order her a pair of oversized retro baby sunglasses; like mother, like daughter.  She couldn't be cuter in her new Jackie O style frames, and she doesn't seem to mind wearing them either.  What a little fashionista-in-training.

This girl cracks me up.

Perhaps Harper's biggest accomplishment lately is her sleeping.  We saw a sleep specialist about two weeks ago to get some guidance regarding Harper's sleep (or lack thereof).  After telling him about our struggles, he suggested that we were putting her to bed too early and letting her sleep for too long.  So, even though she wasn't sleeping consistently through the night, her cumulative sleep "used up" her sleep reserve, making it more difficult for her to get sound sleep at night or to feel "tired enough" to have solid naps during the day.  His recommendation was to put Harper to bed later (around 8:30pm) and to let her get a total of 9-10 hours at night, waking her up if she didn't wake naturally after that length of time.  He felt confident that, if we were to do this, she would go to bed more easily (and with less crying) and that the naps would follow. 


I confess that I felt skeptical after hearing his advice; it didn't sound so vastly different from the other tactics we had tried without success.  But of course, we were willing to try anything!  And thank goodness we did.  Harper has made HUGE progress in less than two week's time.  She goes to bed (her OWN bed) more easily with much fewer tears, she sleeps more soundly at night, and she is even napping in her crib for much longer than the 20-30 minute threshold that had become standard for her.  Her naps still aren't perfect, but we couldn't be happier with how far she has come in such a short time!  It has really made a huge difference in our quality of life as parents, and I feel that she is happier and better rested too.

Sleepy baby

It also helps that Harper has learned to put her on pacifier in!  Before, when she awoke to discover her pacifier had fallen out, she would start crying and remain distraught until Dallin or I came in and put her pacifier back in her mouth for her.  Now that she can retrieve her own pacifier, it has really helped her stay more peaceful in her own crib.  Yay dexterity--and yay sleep!  


Our girl is one busy, growing baby, and now that summer is here and the temperatures are hot hot hot, we are looking forward to a new rite of passage: her first time at the town swimming pool!  Harper loves her baths, but we're wondering how much she will love COLD water.  Luckily, her Grammy got her an adorable swimsuit so she will at least look the part.  We continue to love the adventures of our sweet girl.  

Sweet Potato III

I know what you're thinking: how many times can Laura write about Harper eating sweet potatoes?  Well, I suppose the answer to that question is now three.  What can I say, I'm convinced my baby girl is the cutest little sweet potato ever.  I took this video of Dallin feeding Harper last week, and perhaps my favorite thing about it is how aware she is that she is being watched.  In fact, I don't know what she likes more, the sweet potato or the camera.  Either way, she's pretty darn cute.

Girls' Day Out

Grammy Sue, Auntie Annie, and HArper

Last week was Grammy Sue's birthday, which fortunately coincided with my day off.  Harper and I had planned to spend the day with Grammy, and then Auntie Annie decided to take the day off too: added bonus!  Although, the weather couldn't have been worse with rain all day, we had a fun girls' day out.  We went to Concord Center, one of our favorite spots.  We had a delicious lunch out, and Harper even got to enjoy her very first french fry--an important rite of passage for any girl!  Then we did a little shopping and finished the afternoon with ice cream at Bedford Farms; this time, Harper just had a bottle.  Even though it was Grammy's special day, it was a special day for us too.  Happy birthday, Grammy Sue!

All tuckered out after a busy day with the girls!