14 Months Old!

14 months!
Harper's and her Schmoop, made with love by Talyn.

Last week, Harper turned 14 months old, and her sweet little personality is growing as fast as she is.  The weather here in Boston has been icy cold so we have had to amuse ourselves indoors.  Fortunately, this isn't a problem for Harper.  Here is what our growing girl is up to these days:

Harper is making great progress with her walking.  She is really solid standing up by herself without holding on to anything, but crawling is still her preferred mode of transportation.  However, she is slowly becoming more comfortable taking steps on her own.  It is so cute to watch her, getting increasingly excited as she treks along.  Shortly before she arrives at her destination, typically her Momma or Daddy's arms, she typically gets so excited that she basically makes a dive for it.  She will be running around in no time at all!

Hoarding chairs

In the meantime, she is getting good practice in a rather non-traditional way.  While some babies enjoy walkers, Harper has discovered something even more worthwhile: pushing furniture around.  It was months and months ago that she realized she was strong enough to move the two antique chairs we have in the dining room, since they are so light.  Since then, as she has grown in strength, she has learned to move our metal dining room chairs, as well as our metal desk chair.  Perhaps she has a very early grasp of feng shui, or maybe she just loves making a mess...  Either way, on any given day, the chairs will end up all in a jumble, with Harper skittering in and around them.  It is too funny.

Clearly, Harper continues to be the funniest and most mischievous girl I know.  She is constantly getting into "trouble," but it is impossible to get upset when you see her sweet little gap-toothed smile.  Just the other day, Harper and I were in the kitchen; I turned my back for just a minute while I checked my email on the computer, and when I turned back to check on Harper, I discovered her sitting in one of the storage bins that houses her toys.  Getting in AND under things is just hilarious to her!  She received a play tunnel from her Grandma Annette for her birthday, and she loves crawling through the tunnel.  We have quite the little adventurer on our hands.

Harper has also become increasingly aware of her surroundings.  Most recently, she has become very interested in what is going on outside.  She will cruise from window to window to see what's happening.  After a snow storm a few weeks ago, she was absolutely riveted watching her Daddy shovel snow.  I couldn't peel her away from the window until the job was done and he was back inside.  Nothing makes me happier than when her little face appears at the window when I'm coming up the stairs to our front door after work.

Harper received her very first purse from our dear friends, the Kellys, for her first birthday.  From then on, Pandora's box was open.  She is obsessed with bags now, and the bigger the bag, the bigger the challenge.  The other day, Harper went into her room and came out carrying her laundry bag.  Note, her laundry bag is a giant canvas tote so large that I could climb inside if I wanted to.  To Harper?  Challenge accepted.

Nutella goatee!

Harper continues to love snacking.  Her favorite foods include cheese, chicken, bites of her Daddy's bagel with cream cheese, fruit snacks, quiche, clementines, and pretty much anything that someone else is eating.  The other day, I was enjoying one of my favorite indulgences: a slice of bread with Nutella.  Harper couldn't bare to be left out so I had to give her a taste.  Nutella is definitely on her list of favorites now, and I can't say I blame her. 

Harper is also quite the little fashionista-in-training.  For Christmas, I received a really interesting, knit necklace from Harper's Great Grandma Berry (my grandmother); Harper has decided this necklace is ALL HERS.  She loves to wear it all day long.  Of course, for safety reasons, we do not allow her to wear it at nap time, and she is absolutely heartbroken when her necklace is taken away from her.  Since it is designed for an adult, it is quite a generous fit, and so she often wears it in creative ways, like under an armpit; as you can see in the photo of Harper in her storage crate, the red material is actually her necklace, worn cross-body style.  Another favorite accessory?  Our friend, Chloe, gave Harper the most adorable faux fur bear hat for Christmas.  Since we call Harper our little bear, it couldn't be more fitting for our sweet little fur child.  The shocking part?  She keeps it on her head!  This is quite a relief, considering how cold it has been here lately.  But really, does it get any cuter?

Our sweet little bear in her bear hat from Chloe!

Our budding artist

Harper has also been discovering her creative side.  Her Grammy Sue and Great Gramzy got her a starter crayon set several months ago that she has been enjoying even more lately, perhaps as she develops better dexterity.  She tried both markers and colored pencils for the first time this past week too.  We definitely have to keep a closer eye on her when she uses those tools, but it has been really fun to watch her creative spirit.  Perhaps she has inherited her Grandpa Nick's amazing artistic abilities.  Either way, her sweet little scribbles are absolutely refrigerator worthy.

Harper is definitely keeping us on our toes these days, and she is becoming more of a toddler and less of a little baby every day.  It is so amazing to think about what she was up to last year at this time (tummy time, snuggling, making funny faces, spending time in her swing) compared to now.  What a difference a year makes!  Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of Little H...

Standing up!

Merry Christmas!

This year was Harper's second Christmas, and we traveled down to Florida to spend the holiday week with her Grandma Annette, Uncle PJ, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Brandon, and cousins Brynn (8), Tyler (6), Dylan (4) and Kate (2).  It was a fun, festive time, and while we missed the first big snowfall in Boston while we were away, we were still able to celebrate a white Christmas--white sand, that is!

Getting excited about the airplane!

I was nervous about the plane ride, as it was Harper's first time flying.  Instead of sugarplums, I had visions of a screaming baby and lots of angry passengers dancing through my head as we counted down to our departure date of Christmas Eve.  As it turned out, I shouldn't have worried!  Harper was a total champ.  We flew to Atlanta, where we had a brief layover, before our second flight to Panama City.  Harper slept on both flights, and during the time that she was awake, she was a pleasant and smiley little jet-setter.  That was a gift in itself.

A little airplane snooze

This Christmas was definitely a different experience for Harper, as compared to last year, since of course Harper is older and more present now than she was for her first Christmas.  Our busy 13-month girl is skilled in the art of unwrapping gifts/ripping paper.  She had a great time opening her own presents and was more than willing to help others with theirs too (whether or not they wanted help).  She also really enjoyed the excitement of a Christmas morning spent with other kids.  Outside of Church on Sundays, Harper doesn't have the chance to interact with other little children very often so it was a new experience for her to be in the mix of a big family.  She had a great time!  Her older cousin, Brynn, took great care of her, reading and playing.  She also learned to share with her cousin, Kate, who is close in age to Harper.  Kate is used to being the littlest in her family, but she was very gracious in sharing all her toys with little Harper.

Harper and Brynn

Grandma reading to
Harper and Kate

Since Dallin and I were married, our annual Christmas tradition has been to exchange Christmas tree ornaments.  Last year, Harper became a part of this tradition, when she received a beautiful glass teddy-bear ornament, her very first Tiffany's.  This year, we decided that we would both choose a special ornament for Harper.  From me, Harper received a little ceramic "H," and from her Daddy, Harper received a sweet, soft little snowman.  By the time she is grown, Harper will have quite the collection!

Not surprisingly, Harper was completely and utterly spoiled this Christmas.  She received SO many fun gifts from our amazing family and friends!  One of her favorite gifts actually came pre-Christmas: Harper's very own cellphone, a gift from our friends, Tania and Sandrine.  This cellphone flips open, has buttons that dial, rings like a real phone, and you can even record messages on it!  While the iPhone still occupies the number one spot in her heart, Harper's cellphone is a close second because of all its real functions.  We took it with us down to Florida in hopes that it would amuse her on the plane, and it was also a big hit with her Florida cousins, who took turns playing and recording messages.  

Harper and Momma, checking out the waves (and the sand snowman!)

Not so sure about the sand...

During our trip, we were happy to enjoy some time at the beach.  This wasn't Harper's first time at the beach; rather, her very first beach experience was last summer, when we were in Maine for our friends' wedding.  However, I was getting ready with the rest of the bridal party when Harper hit the beach with her Daddy, Grammy Sue, and Auntie Annie, and NO ONE TOOK A PICTURE (!).  So in my mind, with no photo documentation to show for it, that beach trip never happened, and this was Harper's first time.  Unfortunately, it wasn't super warm while we were there, with temperatures ranging from the high 50s to mid 60s; nonetheless it was still MUCH warmer than Boston, and we enjoyed walking on the beach and a nighttime bonfire with s'mores and hot-dogs.  Harper wasn't entirely keen on the sand, but she seemed to enjoy herself nonetheless.  It was good practice for some beach trips this summer.

Checking out the bonfire with Daddy

Yummy fried pickles!

We also got to experience some of the local Floridian delicacies.  Harper's Daddy had been hoping to try alligator, and while we weren't able to find that for him, we did get to enjoy some absolutely amazing fried pickles.  Harper's Daddy tried fried pickles for the first time last summer in Western MA and has been craving them ever since.  The fried pickles we ate at Toucan's, a beachfront restaurant in Mexico Beach, did not disappoint!  Harper loved them too and just kept shoveling them into her mouth.  Our friend Gil gave Harper her first pickle (not fried) last spring, and since then, that sweet little girl hasn't met a pickle she doesn't like.

Lunch on the beach

Playing on the stairs with
Kate, Uncle Brandon,
and Ashton

We were hoping that Harper would learn how to walk during our Florida trip, but she's not quite there yet.  She will only take one or two steps before she gets overexcited and basically falls into whoever is receiving her.  What she did learn, however, was how to climb the stairs.  At home, she hasn't had the opportunity to encounter the stairs since we live on the first floor, and our apartment is all one level.  At her Aunt Kelly and Uncle PJ's house, they have two flights of stairs to get upstairs, which are covered in nice, soft carpet, and whenever Harper disappeared from view for a moment or two, sure enough she would be climbing the stairs.  Hopefully she will be walking soon, and then the next order of business will be for her to learn how to get back DOWN the stairs!  

Headed down to the beach with
Uncle PJ and Tyler

All tuckered out at the beach!

The only downside of our amazing trip was that Harper's poor cousins were mostly ALL sick upon our arrival!  Sure enough, on our last night there, Harper had an upset, wakeful night and seemed to be coming down with something on the way home.  We flew home on New Year's Eve, and our amazing friend Denise left her New Year's party to come pick us up at the airport on a cold, snowy night!  We took Harper to the doctor on New Year's Day; usually Harper is a trooper at the doctor, but it was apparent that she wasn't feeling well because she wanted NOTHING to do with the examination.  Harper was diagnosed with her first ear infection--a pretty bad one too, as our sweet girl had a large blister on her eardrum; the doctor explained Harper had likely been in a lot of pain, especially on the plane flight home.  Knowing that, Harper did exceptionally well on the plane, mostly sleeping and only shedding a few tears.  She was put on antibiotics and seemed to feel better after just a day or two.  From what we have heard, the ear infection is a rite of passage for a little one, now Little H included.

Handprinted Christmas tree
Merry Christmas!

All in all, it was a very merry Christmas, filled with fun, family time, gifts, laughs, and a little sickness for good measure.  We are so grateful for all of the many blessings we have received, and feel particularly thankful all the love shown towards our little family this Christmas season--and all year long.  We wish our family and friends a New Year that is merry and bright and look forward to reporting on the many adventures of Harper in 2013!