Harper's First Veggie!

Harper tried sweet potatoes for the first time this week! She had been gobbling up her oatmeal so we figured she was ready to begin eating a vegetable.Thanks to the Baby Bullet (compliments of Grandma Ruth), we were able to make Harper's first dish.

Harper shuddered when she first tasted the sweet potato - it was very different than anything she has experienced thus far. After the initial shock wore off, Harper began to move it around in her mouth and decided it was delicious. Soon we couldn't feed it to her fast enough. Although the sweet potato is tastier than formula, the downside is that it isn't a constant flow. Soon she was chattering at us in between every bite and grabbing the spoon to lick it clean and shove it back in her mouth. She finished off the entire jar on the first night! On day two, we wanted to increase the amount of food without increasing the amount of veggies, so we mixed in a bowl of oatmeal with the sweet potato....and she cleaned that bowl, too! She can get a little messy since she likes to help feed herself, but so far we don't mind - it's just so exciting for us to see our little girl eating food!

Tummy Time

Harper recently decided that tummy time isn't all bad. She used to HATE to spend time on her stomach. She had excellent neck control and could sit for extended periods of time in her bumbo, but disliked spending any time on her stomach. In the last few weeks, she's accepted tummy time as a part of daily life. She will spend up to 20 minutes at a time on her stomach. Sometimes she plays and sometimes she watches what is going on around her. She spend a good chunk of time watching Riley chew a bone one night - it was a very interesting event to Harper. Sometimes she will roll over on her own when she has had enough, but other times she is too tired and forgets how to roll onto her back so we need to help her.

Cousin Photo - March 2012

Of course we had to get another photo of Harper and Reid at the March Wii Party. Both kids are growing like weeds. Reid is already rolling (much to Stephanie's horror) while Harper prefers to whine and get picked up if she needs a change of scenery. It won't be long until these two kiddos are on the move around the house!

School Pictures

It was recently picture day at Loving Arms Children's Center and Preschool - and no classroom was left out of the excitement. In the group shot, Harper is sitting on Ms. Ann's lap. Ann is the main leader in the room who has been with the Center for nearly 20 years. Believe it or not, Ms. Ann is 78 years old! Also pictured are Ms. Ruth (who works in Harper's room) and Ms. Debi, the Assistant Director. Unfortunately the afternoon girls (who Harper also adores) couldn't make it for the group photo. Although all the kids in her class looked adorable, I was told that Harper was voted "Best Dressed." Although class pictures are a little silly for infants, I'm happy to have a photo of Harper and her daycare providers who are taking such great care of her!

5 Months Old!

Harper turned 5 months old on Monday, March 19th. Harper has grown so much in the past months. She is continuing to have more happy days at daycare and at home. She loves to be tossed into the air by daddy and will flash a big smile whenever he lifts her up. She is still learning to roll over - she can do it, but sometimes forgets which hand goes up by her head and/or which way to lean.

Harper is becoming more aware of her hands and mouth...and her hands are frequently in her mouth. Toys are a lot of fun to taste, but her fingers are still her favorite thing. She has been eating around 6 oz at a time. When she is full, she likes to play with her bottle and will firmly grasp it and pull to her mouth and then back out. Sometimes she misses her mouth and her face ends up dotted with formula. She is also becoming a pro with oatmeal - she can chew/gum and swallow it on a regular basis so it won't be long until our little angel tries vegetables!

Sideways

The instructions that come with all infant swings tell you to always strap your baby in the seat. Until recently we didn't follow the directions. One Saturday morning, Harper went back to sleep after her 5 AM bottle. I put her in her swing because she will often happily doze there on the weekends. At 7 we heard her wake up and start chattering so we came out to start the day....and found that she had turned 90% in the seat! We've been much more diligent about strapping her in the swing since that morning.

Smiley

Harper has gotten very smiley during the past few weeks. She will smile when you get her up in the morning. She will smile at you when you change her diaper. She will smile when the puppy walks by her. She will smile when someone new comes into the room. Harper will smile when you talk to her and sometimes talk gibberish right back. Ross and I have never seen such a gorgeous smile - once she flashes it, your heart  will melt!

Sleeping like a Big Girl

Finally, Harper sleeps through the night! The last two nights our little big angel has slept through the night. She will go down for the evening sometime after 7. If she wakes up, she will sooth herself back to sleep. This morning she slept until 5 - only about 45 minutes from the time we normally get her moving! It took nearly 5 months for her to be able to do this - and Mom and Dad are very excited that this time has arrived!

Baby on the Bike

Our friend Sam used to tease Ross about wanting a motorcycle. "You can't put a baby on a bike!" While she is totally right that Ross can't take her to daycare on his bike, he loves his toy all the same. The unusually warm weather has allowed him to start riding his bike to work so I've been taking Harper into daycare in the morning. Although it means we all get up a little bit earlier, I enjoy talking to the morning daycare staff and Ross loves getting to use his motorcycle. We let Harper check out the bike earlier this week. We think she is going to be a thrill seeker so I'm predicting that she will be requesting rides long before her mom is comfortable with her getting on a motorcycle!

Kissing Harper's Feet

Harper has the most kissable feet. Both Ross and I are smitten she her little toes. Harper detests socks and is a master at removing every pair we put on her so her feet are constantly on display. She loves getting her feet kissed (or eaten as we joke about) by her dad.

Go Iowa State!

The Iowa State Men's basketball team recently played in the Big Twelve tournament. Harper got dressed up to cheer on her team! Well, technically she was asleep before the 8:30 tip off, but she did show her school spirit before going to bed.

Hello, Feet

It's so awesome to have toys with you where ever you are! Harper loves her feet!

Mouthy

We've gotten the stage where absolutely everything goes into Harper's mouth. Her hands, her toys, our hands, etc. Anything she is able to grab is immediately brought up to her mouth for further exploration.

So Grown Up

Harper has been busy learning new things! In the last week, she rolled over for the first time and found her toes! She is learning how to use interactive toys and remembers how they make noise next time she plays with them. Luckily she's not all about depending on noise making toys for stimulation. She is very good at entertaining herself (and us!). She loves to watch us work in the kitchen and has already learned many useful cooking tips.

Ross has been working with Harper on rolling over for a while - this week, all their hard work paid off. While laying on the activity mat, Ross positioned her hand up above her head - and she began to kick and lean - and eventually rolled over! After a brief rest, Ross put her back on her tummy and placed her arm above her head again - and much more quickly she rolled onto her back! She isn't a rolling machine yet, but it won't be long until she is rolling around the house!

Harper is also becoming increasing vocal. She will sit and talk to you (or herself) for 30 minutes at a time. She is learning to control her voice - high and low pitches, slow and fast. She will sometimes mimic how Ross and I are talking to her. We are sure that she is going to be a chatterbox once she gets older!

Harper also found her toes this week! She has been looking further down her leg for the past few days. Yesterday she would reach down and grab her calf. But, today, she woke up and immediately grabbed her toes! She was very excited to play with her feet. It was a challenge to get her dressed this morning because she didn't want to let go of her toes. This afternoon, she used her feet while playing on her activity mat. She used them as much as her hands and would simultaneously grab and kick at the dangling toys. She is earning her nickname of Monkey!

Cereal

We recently began trying rice cereal in the evenings. At our 4 month check up, our doctor gave us the go ahead so we've been trying to get Harper used to eating off a spoon. Since Ross and I are champion eaters, I assumed Harper would take to it like a fish to water. But, that hasn't been the case. The first few attempts were meant with scowls and a few tears - more ended up on the bib than in her tummy. We are slowly improving. She seems to like the oatmeal much more than the rice cereal. (Ross and I tasted both types of cereal and we understand why - rice is cereal is kind of gross.) Harper still doesn't understand that cereal is food, but she is getting much better at swallowing versus spitting it back out. It won't be long until we try food for the first time!

Party Weekend

Last weekend was a whirlwind for the Whittlesey family. We had the House family over for the day - it was Harper's first play date at our house! Her new friend, Quinten, is a little older, but that didn't stop them from having a good time together. We kept joking that Q and Harper will someday get married - so at least we have a cute photo in case that ever happens! I even captured a shot of Q giving Harper a kiss on the cheek. What a sweetie!

The next morning, we gathered with our family for Reid's baptism. Reid did an awesome job and charmed the congregation with his smile. He loved being the center of attention - what a ham! Afterwards, we hung out at Dave & Steph's house for some conversation and good eats! Harper was in an excellent mood and showed off by doing some tummy time in front of her cousin.