may / 8 months old!

May already!  Spring is in full bloom, and life is busy as ever.  Here is what we have been up to this month:

8 months old--and 6 teeth!

Our sweet little Hunter turned eight months old!  He has added another four teeth to his sweet little grin, bringing his tooth count up to six.  He is a smiley, energetic little man.  He's been playing in his walker for a while now and is loving his newfound independence.  He is a force to be reckoned with in that thing and is known to come running right at you, even squashing your toes as he scrambles to get to the dishwasher when it's open or to grab something off of Harper's little table.  Watch out!   He scoots/runs all over the house, going after anything and everything, but probably his favorite toy right now are balls--classic boy.

At the doctor's office--
Harper making sure dolly gets taken care of too

Unfortunately, this little guy on the go has also had his share of sickness lately.  This spring, it seems like Hunter and Harper have been passing sickness back and forth between them over and over and over again.  Sigh.  So many colds--which, of course, get passed on to parents sometimes too...  Hunter and Harper have been troopers though.  Hopefully this means they will develop immune systems of steel, right?  Here's to hoping.  In the meantime, these kiddos have found themselves snuggling with Mommy and Daddy on more than one occasion lately.  Truth be told, Mommy and Daddy love snuggling with our little Hs. 

Poor sick boys 

A few of Hunter's favorite things lately:
-Balls
-His walker
-Crumpling and/or tearing paper
-Chewing on the feet of Harper's baby dolls (soothes those incoming teeth I'm sure!)
-Playing with Harper
-Bath time
-Bananas, lots and lots of bananas

A few things Hunter isn't liking so much these days:
-Getting dressed or undressed
-Being cradled (He's waaaayyy too grown up for that obvi.)

Next on the agenda: crawling!  Hunter has been working hard, and he is getting REALLY close.  We feel like it's going to be any day now!

In the meantime, Harper has been busy too.  She is currently taking swimming lessons at the YMCA and is in the "perch" class (each class has a cute aquatic themed name), which is the parent/child class for ages 2-3.  Despite being super excited about her new bathing suit, the first class wasn't a big hit.  She was mostly scared and teary the whole time, even though I was right there with her, holding and helping her.  However, she has been improving ever since.  She really likes her teacher, Cindy, and her friend, Noah, from church is in class with her so that's fun too.  The kids get to hold on to kick boards to practice their kicking, practice scooping water, floating on their back, and jumping into the pool.  We are still a LONG way off from Harper feeling comfortable enough to venture in the water "alone" (with floaties on and parent by her side), but it is exciting to be beginning the process.

My little cutie--
Ready for swimming lessons!

In addition to swimming, Harper loves to be outdoors.  Drawing with sidewalk chalk and going to the park are pretty much her favorite activities of all time.  No sooner do we come home from the park, Harper will be asking to go right back!  It is a little challenging being at the park with Harper and Hunter together, chasing her while trying to hold him, but we are managing.  It's just so lovely to be able to spend time outside regularly, and they are soooo happy and in their element at the park.  The expressions of joy on Harper's face particularly is worth its weight in gold.

My lovely flower--with a handful of petals

Park play!

Sidewalk chalk bum

We have also been going for lots of walks.  Walking is our (my) happy time, children somewhat contained, enjoying the fresh air.  Sometimes my little Hs can catch a few Zzzzs too: double yay.

When we aren't outside, Harper still finds a million ways to keep busy.  That girl is always on the go, and her brother is taking after her.  Painting is another favorite activity these days.  Our  friends who are also are upstairs neighbors (we are lucky) gave Harper a set of watercolor paints recently, and she just loves using them.  Despite the rainbow of colors to choose from, she prefers black.  It is special to watch her paint, knowing how much her Grandpa Nick would have loved to paint with her.  Perhaps she will inherit his amazing talent for the arts; she certainly has his love for creative expression.  We have her drawings and paintings hanging everywhere, but there is always room for more.

She was so excited about her cool braids!

A few of Harper's favorite things right now:

-Playing on the swings and slide at the park

-Drawing outside with sidewalk chalk and playing hopscotch (her version of the latter)

-Fixing Dolly's hair

-Braiding hair (or having hers braided at school by her beloved teacher, Becca)

-Painting

-Stamping (thank goodness for washable ink!)

-Playing playing playing with friends

And what she's not keen on?

-Animals (I can tell, you're not shocked.)

Another special highlight of this month was Mother's Day.  In the morning, we were able to visit Gramzy in her rehab facility again.  It is so tender to watch Harper and Hunter with her, over 90 years difference in age between them, yet so much love.  We had a great day.

Snuggles with Gramzy

How quickly our sweet little Hs are growing up.  At the end of each day, we feel exhausted and completely blessed at the same time.  We can't wait to see what the summer has in store for us!  We are feeling ready for hot days, the cool pool, and lots of watermelon.  Hunter is already practicing:

And we couldn't help but flash back to Harper at the same age, watermelon in hand.  Yum.

Harper, July 2012 (8 months)