9 Months Old!

9 months old!

Last weekend, on August 19, Harper turned nine months old, and it was a very busy week for her, with two VERY exciting things happening in the same week!  

Scooting into the closet:
my little fashionista-in-training!

First, she started scooting!  Her version of scooting is basically crawling with her belly down, and she is super fast.  Now we can't let her out of our sight for a moment!  She is obsessed with the cord to the fan in her room so we are constantly trying to keep her away from that corner of the room, but she thinks it is hilarious to keep trying for it.  She also loves to throw her pacifier and then chase after it.  Her big smiles make it clear that she is very happy about her accomplishments.

Harper also started cutting not just one but TWO teeth!  The day before her little teeth started coming in, Harper's Grammy Sue and I were actually discussing when she would be getting teeth.  Grammy predicted that it wouldn't be for another month or two, and I said that I had a feeling it would be very soon.  Call it mother's intuition, or maybe just a coincidence, but the very next day, there was a little something extra in her smile.  She's been a total champ with teething so far, and she hasn't been overly fussy--and her little toothy smile couldn't be cuter.

Here are some other things that Harper has been up to lately:

A new headband from Grammy!

Harper's hair is getting longer--and fuller--and so she has been wearing hair accessories!  She might like playing with her headbands and bows more than she likes wearing them, but she does a pretty great job keeping her little headbands on.  It really makes her look like a little girl; that tiny baby just isn't so tiny anymore!

Harper, playing with her hair accessories from Aunt Kelly

Harper is developing her sense of humor too!  She likes to play peek-a-boo and be silly.  Her little laugh remains as my favorite sound in the world.  I will act like a total lunatic if it means that sweet girl will giggle!

Sassy baby, working on the alphabet

Baby girl in the grown up tub--
with her favorite starfish too!

Harper continues to love bath time.  When she starts to get tired at the end of the day, nothing turns her attitude around like splashing about in the bath.  She has a new bath seat too.  After outgrowing her infant seat and tub, she has been in the grown-up bath tub for a little while now.  An accidental dunk in the water took her by surprise and scared her a little though, and so we have been using a new bath seat that gives her the ability to sit and play safely in the water (major thanks to Grandma Annette for finding such a perfect seat!).  Harper has really been enjoying her bath toys a lot too, and she is especially fond of her purple starfish.  She will splash around in the water until she finds it, and when it's time to get out of the tub, she often clings onto it while we get her in her jammies.

Harper, eyeing Uncle Ben's lirrle dogs cautiously...

As it turns out, Harper is a little bit scared of dogs.  The last few times that we have spent the weekend at Grammy's house, Harper has been very unsure about her Uncle Ben's two small dogs, Charli and Maple.  Sometimes even the sight of them has made her cry, but she did make some progress this past weekend, and we even took a family walk with the pups.

Coming back from a family walk with the pups

Harper has also been making strides with eating solid foods.  In addition to her bottles and baby food, she's also started in on finger foods too, including little bites of banana bread, pasta, and rice.  This past weekend, when we went to the county fair out by Grammy's house, Harper even tried Italian ice for the first time!  She loved it, of course.  With the exception of green beans, Harper has yet to meet a food she doesn't like.

Harper LOVED trying Italian ice at the fair this weekend!

Nine months has really been an exciting developmental milestone for Harper.  It has been a really fun summer, with a lot of swimming, playing, and scooting--and we have loved watching Harper grow and mature so much on a daily basis.  We can't wait to see what comes next!

Swimming with Daddy!

  

Crossing State Lines

Last month, our dear friends, India and Bobby, were married in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Harper crossed state lines for the first time!  It was a fun weekend in Maine.  While Mommy, Daddy, and Grammy Sue were pretty busy with wedding festivities, Harper was lucky to spend some quality time with her Auntie Annie.  

It was a hot, sunny weekend so Maine was the perfect place to be.  Harper went to the beach for the first time and got to dip her toes in the sand and the ocean water.  She and Auntie went on some long walks, did a little shopping, played on the deck, read stories, and she even got her very first Kennebunkport sweatshirt!  Harper wanted to help Auntie eat a lobster roll, but maybe next time when she's a little bit bigger.  Harper enjoyed her girl time with Auntie SO much that she was sad when it was time to say goodbye.  Looks like we'll have to go back to Maine again!  Darn.

A little unsure of the hotel at first...

But then she settled in!
Our girl in her little sailor hat while playing on the porch with Auntie

Ready to walk into town!

Harper's very first Kennebunkport sweatshirt
from Auntie Annie

Family photo--
wearing her sailor dress from Grammy Sue!

Little Swimmer

Our bathing beauty loves swimming!  Well, she loves splashing in the water--but that's pretty much the same thing when you're a baby.  Here's our little swimmer in action:

Mommy and baby playing in the water

Playing with toys in the pool

Swan Boats

Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McClosky was one of my favorite books when I was growing up, and it is a Boston classic.  The Swan Boats in the Boston Public Garden are featured prominently in Make Way For Ducklings, and I have been wanting to take Harper on the Swan Boats forever.  When Harper's Grandma Annette came to visit last weekend, we finally got to take a ride on the Swan Boats. It was a beautiful afternoon, and it was really special to see the Gardens from a different perspective.   Harper had a LOT of fun!  In fact, we all did.  

Waiting in line to ride the Swan Boats

Harper with Daddy and Grandma--
getting excited because it's almost our turn!

Here's our boat!

I don't know who was more excited, Mommy or Harper--
maybe Mommy...

Girls on the Swan boats!

Harper and Daddy, breaking the rules

8 Months Old!

It's a girl!
Harper on July 19, 2011

Last year, on July 19, Dallin and I found out that we were expecting a girl.  This year, on July 19, that baby girl turned eight months old, and we were struck by the enormous impact that sweet babe has had on our lives.  Eight months old!

8 months old!
Harper on July 19, 2012

Here is what Harper is up to, now that she is eight months:

Baby laundry!

Harper is developing her own little sense of humor.  She loves to smile and giggle, and is getting into "trouble" as much as she can.  The other day, Dallin and Harper were having some daddy/daughter time, and he looked away for a moment--and she disappeared.  But not for long!  She was hiding under her crib.  Our sweet girl is a lot of fun.

Silly baby

No more infant seat for this girl!  Harper has moved into the toddler seat on her stroller, and she is loving it.  She especially enjoys putting her feet up on the safety bar, and checking out her surroundings.  

Big girl in her toddler stroller

Harper is our little swimmer.  The weather has been ridiculously hot so we have been spending a lot of time at the town pool.  While she loves splashing around in the tub, I was a little nervous that she wouldn't be as happy with the cooler water at the pool.  It turns out that I couldn't have been more wrong; Harper is just a water baby, and she is unquestionably the cutest little swimmer this town has ever seen!

Our little swimmer

Harper is getting pretty adventurous.  I think it's safe to say that any baby who doesn't mind hanging out almost 7 feet off the ground is adventurous, right?  When her daddy hoisted her up on his shoulders, I waited for her to begin crying or at the very least to look a little bit uneasy, but sure enough...a big smile!  That girl loves her daddy--all 6 feet 7 inches of him.

Last July, when we found out that we would be having a girl, I knew our lives would change, but the past eight months have been full of more joy than we ever thought possible.  We are so lucky to have Harper in our lives.  Every day brings something new.