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!