First Sick Day

Well, we all knew this day would come - Harper's first sick day home from daycare. Technically she would have been ok to bring into the center (no fever), but it was very obvious that she wasn't feeling well. Harper's cold had given her a runny nose, a cough and a bad attitude. We were going to have her rough it out at daycare, but soon after getting up this morning she had a meltdown. I decided what she really needed was a day of rest - and to be honest, the infant room isn't the quietest. So, I called into work and we hunkered down in the living room. I also have a cold so it was a good excuse for me to lay on the couch, too. Harper slept most of the day. She woke up twice to eat, but otherwise slept in her swing. Finally, at 3 pm, she opened her eyes and gave me a big smile. We had some good play time and are in a much better mood tonight. Fingers crossed we made it through our first cold!

Super Cute

I'm just saying, Harper is super cute...

Early Mornings

Although neither Ross or I have ever been morning people, we both work an early shift. We are at work by 7 AM (well, most days). In order to get Harper up and ready for daycare, we have to get up extra early. I get up at 5:15 and jump in the shower. By 5:45, I'm partially ready for the day and get Harper up for a clean diaper, an outfit change and a bottle with her medicine. Ross gets up around the same time and get's himself ready for the day. While I feed Harper her breakfast, Ross usually eats his - it's a nice way to begin the day. At 6:15, we load Harper into her car seat and Daddy whisks her off to daycare! Sometimes she babbles on the way, other times she falls back to sleep. So far the morning routine seems to work - fingers crossed it continues to work!

Flying Baby

It's a bird, it's a plane.......no, it's Harper! Daddy loves to play airplane with Harper. He lifts her high in the air and she smiles down at him. It must be fun to be flying high! Ross has been told numerous times - "Watch out! She will get you." And today she finally did - Daddy did the airplane a little to close to her morning bottle and got formula in his face! I think Ross will still do the airplane...but maybe just not right after Harper eats.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child....

At our house, it takes a roomful of pets to put a child to bed. Harper likes to be held before bed. Ross and I will hang out in her room when she begins to get tired. We turn on her sound machines, the nightlight and listen to a CD. Most nights we get reinforcements - meaning Riley and Grady come in to help put her to bed. I don't know if they like the dim room, the sound machine or just our company, but the pets are becoming a regular part of the bedtime routine.

Stylish & Comfortable

This Christmas I received two pairs of snoozies. Snoozies are half slipper, half sock and I LOVE THEM. I wear them every night and morning. My snoozies are the last thing I change before leaving the house for work. Sometimes I imagine wearing them out of the house and how comfortable it would be to pad around the office. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure that snoozies wouldn't meet NCMIC's dress code. This week I decided that since I can't wear my slippers to work, Harper was going to wear hers to daycare! What's not to love about having toasty feet during the winter?!

White Man Overbite

Harper inherited Uncle Dave's "White Man Overbite". Dave does it when he dances, Harper does it when she plays hard. Somehow she makes it look good....

Trying New Things

A lot of things bring a smile to Harper's face. Ross and I agree that when she smiles at us, we feel like we've done something incredible. There is no better feeling than making Harper happy! So, we are constantly looking for new ways to make her smile. This week, she tried swimming in the bathtub. This is not a new favorite thing - although we are glad that we tried it, Harper prefers that we stick to her infant tub for now. We also got out one of her pianos and played some tunes. She enjoyed listening to the music and watching the light display. By the end she was hitting the keys and playing along. Harper also listened to Ross read Dr. Seuss's "Oh The Places You'll Go" for the first time. We can only guess at the amazing journey that is in front her her.

On a less fun note, Harper also tried (and succeeded) in scratching her face this week. She woke up from a nap at daycare with scratches - poor pumpkin did a number on herself! (Her nails were trimmed as soon as she got home - mom feels terribly guilty!) But, life is full of ups and downs - not every new experience is a winner. Life is about the journey and Harper is living each day to the fullest that a 3 month old can!

3 Months Old

Harper celebrated her three month birthday this week! Lately we've been commenting on how big she is becoming. Her 3 month clothes are becoming snug and she's even worn a couple of 6 month outfits. Her size one diapers (up to 14 lbs) are also getting tight and we will be moving to size two in the next week. She is eating more - at night she will drink 5 - 6 ounces and is eating 4 ounces on a regular basis during the day.

In addition to growing, Harper is also acting older. She is becoming much more alert and likes to take in her surroundings. She really likes her activity mat. Her favorite thing at daycare is to play with the farm animal activity gym - she frequently spends 30 minutes playing there. She has become much more hands on - she likes to clutch items and hold them close to her. She hasn't been using her binky at all lately, but, likes to bring her hands up to her mouth when she's tired. She will also play with her tongue - she clucks when she sticks her tongue in and out. She's growing up very fast - we know it won't be long until she's rolling around!

Sleeping

Harper is getting very good at her bedtime routine. She typically goes down for the night around 7 pm. She prefers to be rocked and padded to sleep. Ross and I are guilty of giving in to her desire to be snuggled into a deep slumber. Eventually we will have to stop, but it never seems to be the right time - we always say we will start tomorrow. It's so much more fun to snuggle her than listen to her cry at bedtime!

In her room we have two sound machines - both produce the sound of rain. She has matching white noise machines hidden in a lamb - the large version stays in her crib at home and the miniature lamb is at daycare for nap times. At night we will rock on the glider in her room and listen to a cd while she falls asleep. She will often wiggle a lot right before she falls asleep - one minute she is wiggling and writhing and then next she is passed out. Once she is asleep (or if she is content enough to be laid down awake), we swaddle her in two blankets to keep her warm and toasty. No matter how tightly she is swaddled at night, by morning she has wiggled out of  the blankets.

Bath Time

Harper LOVES to be naked.  Diaper changes always put a smile on her face so you can imagine how happy she is to take a bath. She has liked baths since day one (literally you could tell she loved her first one at the hospital) so bath time is the highlight of her day. As she is getting older, her bath is getting deeper. At first we were so nervous about her face getting near the water or her slipping. But now that she is getting older, bigger and stronger, we are much more relaxed during her baths. She loves deep water - the deeper, the better! She kicks and splashes and by the end of the  bath our counter is one giant puddle. She even loves getting her hair scrubbed and then rinsed. We typically let her play for a few minutes after she is officially cleaned up - she gets so excited to kick and slap the water and doesn't even mind when it lands on her face.

However, there is one big downfall to bath time..... getting out of the tub. We immediately place her in a soft towel and begin to dry her off so she doesn't have time to get chilly. Even so, every bath time results in a major tantrum. She cries and cries until she is diapered and dressed. In the scheme of things, a few tears are worth the joy that bath time brings!

New Toys

After Christmas, we ordered Harper an Activity Gym. She's become much more alert and interested in grabbing toys so we thought she would enjoy the activity gym. It turns out that it is fun for the whole family! Harper, of course, loves to play on her new toy. She grabs and kicks at Mike the Monkey, Gerry the Giraffe, Leo the Lion, and  Francisco the Rhino (names are compliments of daddy). She will hold onto the rings and give them a strong shake before screaming out in excitement. 


Although the activity gym was meant for Harper, she's not the only one who likes it. Grady was immediately was drawn to it - as soon as we put it up, he intently watched Harper play under it. When Harper was finally done playing, Grady took a turn slapping the dangling toys before running away in excitement. He will often perch on the edge of the toy and admire all of the hanging toys. Riley has also laid on the edge of the mat - she isn't so much interested in playing, but  just wants to be close to her baby sister. 

Crazy Weather

We have had a wonderful winter so far - and by wonderful, I mean that it hasn't felt like winter! The temperatures have ranged from the 30s to the mid-60s. On January 10th, our family took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and took a walk. That's right - Ross, me, Riley and Harper (12 weeks old) went for a walk in the middle of January! It was awesome to get some fresh air. Riley was especially excited since we have been terrible at getting her daily walks in lately. Harper was a awake for a few minutes, but was tired from a long day at daycare and fell asleep about 5 minutes into the trip. It was likely the last time she went spend an extended period of time outside until Spring....which is hopefully coming sooner than later!

Daycare

Harper started daycare this week. Ross and I had researched and toured  numerous facilities when we were pregnant and finally decided on Loving Arms. The center is located at a Lutheran Church in Johnston - we liked the facility and were impressed by the director. In addition, many of the teachers have college degrees and some have MBAs in Education. Even knowing all these wonderful things about the center, it was still hard for us to take Harper to daycare for the first time.

Ross and I both went to drop her off in the first morning. I only cried a little as we were leaving - which I think is pretty impressive. (Don't ask me about later in the day when I picked her up - that's a whole different story!) Harper is one of six babies in the infant room - she typically is the first one to arrive and leave every day. According to the staff, Harper is doing well for her first week. She is having a hard time napping - probably because there is so much going on! But, short naps are also common at home so it's not out of the norm for her. Overall we are off to a great start - mom and dad are back to work and Harper is learning to charm her classmates and teachers!

Self Control

Because of Riley's numerous health conditions, she gets medication several times a day. Consequently, she gets treats several times a day. We will often hide her pill in peanut butter and give her a treat as a reward for getting an eye drop. She willing comes into the kitchen to get her medication since she knows there is a treat involved. This week she got a piece of leftover ham as a treat. Ross left some sitting on the edge of the counter for her next round of eye drops later that night. For about an hour, Riley paced between the living room and the kitchen - she knew the ham was waiting for her. 

Eventually I went and told Ross how impressed I was with Riley's self-control. It's not every dog that would leave the ham alone when she could easily grab it if she wanted! Afterwards I went into the kitchen for a glass of water and found the ham had disappeared from the counter. What a turd!

New High Chair

Harper received a highchair from Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Denny for Christmas. We immediately set it up so that Harper can hang out with us while we eat dinner. The first night she tested it out, it was a hit! She comfortably lounged while we ate and even played Ellie the Elephant. 

   

Growing Up

Harper is now 11 weeks old - she is learning and changing every day. She is becoming much more interested in toys - she recently began holding onto her ring rattle and grabbing Ellie the Elephant. Of course everything she grabs ended up going towards her mouth. She still doesn't understand exactly how to control her arms and hands - but somehow everything seems to drawn to her lips! In addition, she  has began sitting in her bumbo chair. It's very strange to see our little girl sitting all by herself. Her neck control is improving and she will look around the room.... and even try to watch tv! (little stinker.)

Cuddles

Sometimes, it's just nice to snuggle up with someone you love. Riley is always very gentle and loving with Harper. They will often share the couch - Harper plays and Riley will either sleep or supervise what is going on. One night, during playtime for Harper, Riley decided that she needed to snuggle up to her baby sister. Although Harper looks unsure in the photo, she just continued playing - kicking, swinging her arms and chattering - while Riley caught up on her sleep.

Back to the Grind

I finally went back to work on January 5th. I was very lucky to have spent more than 11 weeks at home with Harper. Part of me was ready to return to work and adult conversations, but another part (a bigger part) would have preferred to stay home with Harper indefinitely!

We were lucky that Grandma Judy was willing to come and watch Harper for my first days back.  Grandma was excited to spend some time with Harper, too, so it was a good deal for all of us! I thought I was going to be fine heading to work the first day since Grandma was here with Harper - but, when I picked her up out of her crib to kiss her goodbye, she gave me a sweet smile that said "I love you, Mommy!" and instantly tears began to roll down my face. It's hard to leave someone you love so much - even it's only for 8 hours! Harper was very well behaved for Grandma - she was happy and took longer naps than normal. The day passed fairly quickly for all of us and soon I was back home to snuggle with my baby.

Goodbye 2011

2011 has been an amazing year for our family. I completed my MBA, we added another bathroom in the basement, and took some memorable vacations with family and friends (our getaway to San Antonio, Texas, camping in Minnesota with cousins, visiting my parents in Wisconsin, the Perry family reunion at Lake Rathbun, Ross's boys trip to MO, and a trip to Chicago with the Langfalds). And, biggest and best of all, we had Harper.

Every year has challenges and adventures - but it will be hard to be more action packed than 2011 was for our family! It's fun to sit back and think remember how lucky we are - and even more fun to think about what fun lies ahead! Bring on 2012 - the Whittlesey family is ready!

Christmas 2011

As always, we had a wonderful holiday visiting all our family! It is a whirlwind trying to see everyone, but we enjoy the time spent with family. We began the trip with the Thompson Christmas  - this was the first time for Harper to meet most of the Thompsons. Unfortunately, our little sweetie got her first fever that night  (102.5) and consequently was a bit grouchy. Luckily her fever broke with a single dose of Tylenol and she was quickly feeling much better. Ross and I had a nice time chatting with the adults and I think the parents enjoyed reminiscing about when their kids were Harper's age.

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandpa Kirk's house. Linda had prepared a special activity for us - making Lefsa! Lesfa is a traditional Norwegian flat bread - Ross LOVES to eat it when it's been prepared with butter and sugar (and sometimes a little cinnamon). Linda had worked to find a recipe and the tools for us to make it at home - it was a great way to spend Christmas Eve. That evening we went to church before opening gifts in front of the fire.

Christmas Day was spent back at Grandma Ruth's house. We lounged around in our PJs and had a relaxing day - it was wonderful to have the time to reminisce about all the blessings we have received this year.

A few days later we went to Iowa Falls to celebrate with Grandma Judy. It was a full house and an extra special holiday since it was the first celebration with Harper and Reid in attendance! The older kids were very excited that Santa had dropped off a few extra presents for them at Grandmas house, too.  We are so blessed to have so many people who love us!

Santa

My company, NCMIC, has a holiday party for the children every year. There are lots of crafts and treats for the kids to enjoy. And, best of all, Santa stops in to see all the kids! Harper was happy to sit on his lap. We don't think she whispered anything into Santa's ear, but we are sure that she has secured her place on his nice list!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry for the break in posts - we lost both our computers within a few days! The hard drive on the laptop went out and a few days later a mean virus developed on our desktop. Thanks to Dave for helping us retrieve all the data from the computers and to Kirk for giving us an older tower to use!