february/5 months old!

five months old!

Little monkey loves his toes!

Even though February is a shorter month, it feels like we have fit a lot in!  Plus, our sweet Hunter turned five months old this month; we can't believe that he is almost halfway through his first year.  Here is what we have been up to lately:

At five months, Hunter's sweet personality continues to emerge.  He is a content little guy, full of smiles and the cutest little laugh.  He loves to just lie back, grab at his little feet, and watch his sister's antics.  Hunter has a very good nature.  

First time with baby food!
Yummy carrots

He is also making great physical strides; whether he's doing baby crunches in his chair, hanging out in his swing, or sitting up in his Bumbo chair, we have to buckle him in all the time so that he doesn't try to escape.  As Harper says, "That silly guy is trying to run away!"  

Maybe it's all the veggies that is giving him such superhuman strength; well, maybe just a few veggies.  Hunter tried carrots and sweet potatoes for the first time recently.  Neither was a huge hit, but he seemed to do a little bit better with the sweet potatoes.  It will be a work in progress.  Milk is still his favorite.

Hunter has also been enjoying playing with toys more and more.  He has a powerful grip, and he tries to get his hands on anything within reach.  He is now also fascinated by the toys that make sound.  Sophie the Giraffe is a special favorite.  When Harper was a baby, Sophie was the "it" baby toy, and I really tried to convince her to favor Sophie, but in typical Harper fashion, she wasn't convinced.  However, Hunter received his very own Sophie at my baby shower, and whether it is squeaking Sophie, holding onto her, or gnawing on her, he just loves his Sophie.  Now that Hunter plays with Sophie constantly, Harper has resurrected hers too.  When he is playing, she is is sure to make the distinction, wanting to confirm that he is playing with "Hunter's Sophie" and not "Harper's Sophie."  

The Sophie situation is just one example of Harper's growing possessiveness, which we correctly predicted would surface as soon as Hunter started getting his hands on everything.  The word "mine" is definitely part of her vocabulary these days, but she is also learning that it is important to share with her little brother.  One of her favorite things to share is her crib.  Whenever I come in to get her up from her nap, if I happen to be carrying Hunter with me, she will ask if he can get in her crib too.  He loves being in there with her, kicking his little legs, all smiles.  She gets such a kick out of having her little brother visiting in her crib, and she will sweetly snuggle up to him.  I hope this love never changes.

Hunter has also become quite the little laugher.  His baby giggle is just about the sweetest sound you will ever hear.  Harper completely agrees, and she loves doing different tricks to make him laugh.  She is such an amazing big sister, and Hunter is a very lucky boy.

   

Reading Corduroy to Hunter

Harper also loves to read to Hunter.  She has a fantastic memory and lately has memorized some of her favorite stories, which she then "reads" to little Hunter.  He is enamored with everything she does, of course.  Our time together lounging in Harper's room and reading stories is something that I cherish.  Even on some of the more challenging days, we can always seem to find a few peaceful moments on the daybed, stretched out and reading story after story, which Harper is more than willing to pull out of the bookshelf.

Our little snow bunny during yet another snow storm

Although, spring is getting closer, unfortunately we are still spending most of our time indoors.  While cabin fever definitely sets in from time to time, we have also found fun ways to stay occupied.  Here are a few sweet, fun, and memorable moments from this month:

A visit with Great Gramzy on a chilly Friday

Snuggles with Daddy

Harper discovers Barbie on the iPad

Laundry day

On the bright side, we have also been lucky enough to enjoy a few unseasonably warm days as well.  On those rare days, we try to spend as much time as possible outside, going for walks and even to the park.  The park is still covered in snow, but that doesn't stop Harper from enjoying the slides and the swings, even if it means getting a little wet.  After far too many months spent primarily indoors, Harper is thrilled when she has the chance to play at the park.  Spring can't come soon enough!

It has been a long, cold winter, full of changes and challenges for our little family. We are so looking forward to longer days, warmer temperatures, and hopefully--if it's not too much to ask--a little bit more sleep...  In the meantime, our sweet little Hs keep us smiling.  

happy valentine's day!

valentines for Harper and Hunter's school friends

Happy Valentine's Day!  We had such a fun holiday celebration this year.  On Thursday, Harper and Hunter took valentines to school that we made for their school friends.  If I do say so, they were pretty darn cute: a little matchbox car with a card that reads, "I wheelie like you, valentine!"  According to their teachers, the valentines were a huge hit.  

Then, from morning until night on Friday, Valentine's Day was packed with fun.  Harper and Hunter's little friend, George, came over in the morning to play--and he and his mommy brought some delicious pastries for us to enjoy as well.  Harper and George were such fun, silly playmates.  They especially loved playing together with puzzles, and Harper showed George her fishing puzzle.  When it was time to say goodbye, George gave Harper the biggest hug ever; too cute!

Then Harper got to open a special valentine from her Great Grandma Berry, a personalized puzzle with her very own name on it!  I confess, she especially loved taking all the pieces apart; putting them back together didn't hold nearly as much appeal.  Classic.  

Later that afternoon, the music school where Harper takes music class on Saturdays held a special Valentine's Day class for school families and friends.  We invited Harper's little friend, Noah, who came with his mom and baby brother.  Hunter joined us as well, and it was a lot of fun.  

After that, the cherry on top of our fabulous day was a special Valentine's Day dinner at...Shake Shack!  Obviously.  It was a fun day with a delicious end, and mostly we were glad to get lots of love and snuggles from our funny little valentines--love these two beyond words.  Happy Valentine's Day!

hunter's baby blessing

Having fun with Uncle PJ

This past Sunday, we had the special opportunity to bless Hunter in church, and we were grateful to share this experience with family and friends.  Dallin's brother, PJ, made the trip up from Florida for the weekend to participate in the blessing, which made the weekend even more special.  He arrived late on Friday night, and Harper was thrilled to wake up on Saturday morning to see Uncle PJ--and the fact that he brought her a special Lego Duplo set won her over even more.  

On Sunday, in addition to our friends at church, we also had PJ with us and Mimi, Great Gramzy, Great Auntie Roz, Uncle Ben, Aunt Vivi, Aunt Annie, and Gil there at church with us for the blessing.  We were so grateful to have everyone with us, and Harper was beyond thrilled to have so many of her favorite people with her at church.  Hunter usually sleeps during our sacrament meeting so Dallin and I were both a little worried that he might have a total meltdown, but our cute little man held it together--yay!  We really felt the spirit, and the blessing was very touching.

My sweet friend, Cara, wrote down the details of Hunter's blessing for us:  

Hunter was blessed to know that his family loves him.  He was blessed to grow healthy and strong; to have a pleasant disposition; and to be a peacemaker.  Hunter was blessed to be a good example; to do good works; make good decisions; and be mindful of others.  He was blessed to develop a strong testimony and to bring any doubts or questions he might have to the Lord.  Hunter was blessed to live righteously; to serve a mission; to have the desire to go to the temple; and to enter into an eternal marriage.  He was blessed to seek to follow the Word of Wisdom, that he may have a strong, healthy body and a quick and curious mind.  He was blessed to seek gospel truths and to be diligent in his school work.  Finally, Hunter was blessed to know his Heavenly Father loves him and to turn to him always. 

 

After church, everyone came back to our house for brunch and to visit together for a little while.  It was a great weekend, and even though Hunter was the one who was blessed this weekend, we all felt blessed and so grateful for our church; the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father; and the amazing family and friends who support and uplift our little family.  We look forward to seeing Hunter grow and realize the gifts promised in his blessing.  

    

january/4 months old!

4 months old!

Two little Hs at school together!

A New Year, new milestones...  I returned to work a few weeks ago, after being at home with my two little Hs for the past three months.  What's more, I returned to a new/old job.  Unfortunately, I was unable to work out the work schedule I was hoping for with my job, but despite my initial panic, everything turned out for the best.  A new position became available at my former company, the company I left after Harper was born, and I jumped at the chance to return to a workplace I loved, working in a new capacity, with the schedule I was hoping for!  And so Hunter began attending school with his big sister while mommy went back to the office.  Of course, it has been a huge change for us, but so far things are going okay...

Then, our sweet little guy turned four months old!  In reality, however, he's not so little.  At his doctor's appointment today, Hunter weighed 19 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 27 3/4 inches long.  This puts Hunter in the 95th percentile for weight and the 100th percentile for height.  Our cute guy is shaping up to be a tall drink of water, just like his daddy.  Hunter received a clean bill of health and was pronounced "perfect" by his pediatrician, but he also had to receive three shots and one oral vaccine.  He was pretty upset, but he rebounded like the little trooper that he is; whatever it takes to keep this sweet boy healthy.

This cute growing boy has been super active, especially with a partner in crime like Harper.  The two continue to be sweet little friends.  Harper loves the fact that Hunter comes to school with her now, and her teachers tell me that she is very attentive to her little brother, always running to check on her "buddy."  Hunter is loving his new school friends too.  The one downside to that is the fact that he doesn't want to miss a moment of activity, so much that he basically never naps during his school day.  Just like Harper, this little guy is proving to have sleep challenges of his own--namely nap time rebellion.  We are hoping and praying that these issues will resolve on their own.

Snuggling with Sophie the giraffe

Tummy time!

His lack of napping doesn't seem to be slowing him down, however.  It's interesting to note the differences in the way Hunter is developing, as compared to Harper at his age.  While Harper was more of a quiet, thoughtful observer, Hunter is much more physical.  He recently rolled back-to-front AND front-to-back for the first time!  We have also been working on tummy time a lot, and he has been grabbing everything in sight.  He occasionally even grabs on to of Harper's hair; that's pretty much the only time my cute girl gets upset with her bud.  One of the things I love the most is when he "talks," these cheerful little squeaks and squawks that brighten the coldest of these winter days.

Feeding the bunnies at school!

Harper has been keeping busy too!  It feels like she has become such a little lady lately.  Her language skills are incredible, and she has also mastered her colors and counting from 1 to 10.  One of her favorite activities lately is singing.  We take her to music class on Saturday mornings, where she has learned dozens of new songs and had the opportunity to play with different musical instruments too.  Unfortunately, our little musician isn't always the most focused of students; she is constantly running around the classroom like a wild little banshee.  Who knows what the other parents in the class think, but when Harper comes home and sings along with every word of her music class CD, I know that she is soaking it in--and that's what matters to me, as well as her having fun. 

Here are some of the other things my sweet girl has been up to lately:
   

Silly bath time fun

Most genius indoor activity:
thinking (and coloring) inside the box!

A little light reading--
also in the box

A visit with Great Gramzy

Bundling up to play in the snow

Mommy's little helper:
grocery shopping in the coolest cart

This weekend, we are looking forward to another important milestone, as we will be blessing Hunter in church on Sunday.  Also exciting is that Harper and Hunter's Uncle PJ will be coming up from Florida to spend the weekend with us and to participate in the blessing.  Hunter has never met Uncle PJ before, and it has been more than six months since Harper, Hunter, and I last saw him so--needless to say--we are all pretty excited.  It should be a really fun, special weekend.  Stay tuned!