Bad Egg

Scrambled eggs are typically one of the first real foods that babies are offered so I whipped up an egg for Harper to eat for lunch. She's had lunch meat and lots of carbs (pancakes and mac & cheese) so I thought it would be good to get something a little more nutritional in her stomach. My plan to get something good into her tummy backfired because it turns out that Harper is allergic to eggs.

Harper ate a little bit of the eggs and fruit but became fussy by the end of the meal. A few minutes later, we went for a diaper change and I discovered that her face was all red and she a small rash on her arms. After I finally got her calmed down, she took a nap in her swing and I thought that was the end of it. However, she must have eaten more egg than I realized because during her nap she got sick and her rash worsened.  The poor kiddo! She took a quick bath to get cleaned up, ate a bottle and then curled up on her dad for another nap.

Table Food is Delicious

Harper recently decided that she is a grown up girl and that she needs to eat table food. For the last week, she has been refusing to eat her baby food - both fruits and vegetables. We had been doing fruit and puffs on a regular basis, but her recent distaste for baby food made us expand the foods we are offering her to eat.

The first night I was having salad - which isn't very baby friendly - so I made her a little pack of mac & cheese. I offered her that mac & cheese, string cheese and pears - and she gobbled up almost the entire tray of food! The next morning, Ross whipped her up a pancake for breakfast and she inhaled that, too! For the most part she is loving all the new foods and the Independence of feeding herself.

Lazy Saturday

Today was a lazy morning at our house that ended up with the animals and Harper all hanging out on the bed. Harper would take turns petting Grady and Riley. She is especially interested in feet (well, paws) right now. She also thought Grady's tail and Riley's collar were very fun to pull. Harper was so determined to get what she wanted that she even got up on her knees to reach for things - which is almost unheard of for her!

5 Years

On August 18th, Ross and I celebrated five years of marriage. I have to admit it feels like just yesterday that we got married...but it also feels like we've been together forever (and I mean that in a good way). We are very lucky to have found one another and are just as "in love" as we were the day we got married.

If you are wondering what romantic gift we got one another, you should know that the traditional 5 year gift is wooden. So, we just looked out at the deck and at our beautiful hardwood floors and called it good.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

                                                                                    (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Feeding the Animals

Harper learned a long time ago that Riley likes her food - she will sometimes pass down her teething biscuit to the dog or let her lick a puff out of her hand. Harper loves that Riley is paying attention to her so it's worth sacrificing the snack.

Tonight Ms. Harper took the responsibility of feeding her animals a bit farther when she tried to feed Sophie the Giraffe. She sat for 10 minutes feeding Sophie. One puff would go into Harper's mouth and the next puff would go up to Sophie's face. We were pretty impressed with her willingness to share and took it as a sign that Harper really is a genius with a giant heart.

10 Months Old

Another month has passed - Ms. Harper is 10 months old. Our little girls seems more grown up every day. She loves to chatter - she doesn't have real words yet, but she is very good at conveying her mood and will sometimes giggle at the end of her thought. She is becoming more interested in feeding herself. She loves cheerios, string cheese and has devoured shredded chicken. She has also tasted green and black olives - and like her mom, she thinks they are delicious. Harper recently moved into the next room at daycare. The transition was difficult for her - and she let everyone know how unhappy she was about the situation. Her mood was likely also made worse by another double ear infection. However, now that the infection is clearing up, she is much more cheerful and accepting of the new room and teachers.

Iowa State Fair

Our friend Krista, and her boyfriend Danny, made the trip from Omaha to spend the weekend and attend the fair. Krista hadn't attended the fair in years and Danny had never been - so they were in a bit of shock at all the delicious (and artery clogging) food and drinks. We spent a few hours walking around the fairgrounds. We stopped to see Captain Hook whose owner claimed him to be the World's Smallest Horse. He also had a giant billboard that said ALIVE. I don't think people were questioning that fact, but the sign piqued our interested so we had to go in and check it out. He was small  - but we were more entertained by the Harper size saddle! The highlight of the trip for Ross was the Craft Beer tent - a new addition in 2012. Harper and Ross enjoyed a beverage together outside the tent. As always, the fair was good people watching. Harper took it all in - she thought the crowds were awesome. We also thought the crowds were awesome and spotted nearly 200 jazzies....and likely only 15 people of them actually needed to ride them through the fairgrounds. This year's tagline for the Iowa State Fair was "Nothing Compares" and the fair lived up to its promise. 

Bath Update

Harper still loves bath time! Recently we've moved her back to the sink. It's easy for us and Harper really enjoys playing with the faucet. Sometimes we will turn it on low and watch her try to "grab" the water. She seems perplexed that she can't hold it in her hand but enjoys continuously trying!

Bookworm

When I was pregnant I swore that I would read to Harper every night starting from the day she came home from the hospital. And, while she was little, we would take turns trying to read to her in the evenings. However, like most itty bitty babes, she had no interest in sitting and looking at a book. More often than not, she would become bored (and fussy) by the second or third page. So, my plan of reading to Harper on a nightly basis quickly crashed and burned.

However, now that Harper is getting older, she is finally starting to appreciate the pictures in books. She likes turning the pages and is especially fond of pop-up and feeling (soft, furry, etc) books. Although she still has a short attention span, we now can sometimes get all the way to the end. Perhaps it's time to reinstate the nighttime book!

Why did we wait?!

As with most home improvement projects, as soon as the project is complete you say, "I wish we had done this sooner!" That is most definitely the case with our hardwood floors.

When we moved into our home (nearly 6 years ago) we immediately tore up the rose colored carpet on the main level. We had pulled a corner up while we looking at the house and the hardwood appeared to be in OK condition. We weren't expecting perfection when we pulled up the carpet, but we also weren't expecting to see hundred of nails/screws in the hardwood either! The floors were livable until recently when the wood by the front door began to wear down. We either needed to refinish or carpet the main level - so we made the decision to keep the hardwood. We found a wonderful contractor who agreed to do the project while we were on vacation in Wisconsin. Since we needed to be out of the house for a week because of the fumes, it was perfect timing. On the downside....moving furniture out and back into the house before and after vacation! I'm not going to lie - that was a lot of work.

Upon our return home, we discovered that he did a WONDERFUL job. The floors were actually better than we expected. That darling man went through and filled every single nail and screw hole so they are hardly noticeable now. We love the floors so much that both Ross and I are nervous to wear shoes on the hardwood now - we don't want to be the first one to scratch it! It was well worth the money and effort - I wish we had done it sooner!

                                                       Before - scratched and dirty!

                                                       After - absolutely gorgeous!

Wisconsin Vacation, 2012

Every summer we travel to the Northwoods to visit my parents and spend some time enjoying the outdoors and relaxed atmosphere in Northern Wisconsin. This year's trip was extra special because we were celebrating my parent’s 20th wedding anniversary. The Connell Compound was crowded with lots of family - it was awesome to get relatives from both sides to come out for the event. In addition, this was Harper's first trip to Wisconsin. Her presence obviously diminished the amount of time we spent at resorts, but it was a lot of fun to take her around to our favorite places and let her explore the outdoors. The following are some of the highlights from the trip....

• Dick & Judy's 20th Wedding Anniversary. The Connell Compound was packed with 38 people who all came together to celebrate. Aunt Ruth did the majority of the cooking (Mmmmm, delicious as always). The cousins (Greg, Renee, Annie, Scott & Erika, Sarah and Ross) did a tube ride down the river during the afternoon. After a rowdy Newlywed Game with the relatives, some of us visited Flaters Resort - which was much crazier than normal due to their annual softball tournament. 
• Cousin Greg arrived a day early - we didn't know he was coming, and he didn't have the address. Luckily, his mom (Aunt Nancy) called to ask if he had arrived....and he was soon found wondering around at Flaters!
• Canoeing and kayaking down the Flambeau River - gorgeous as always. This year we saw deer (mother and her fawn) and a bald eagle.
• Harper's first visit to Great Grandma's house. She enjoyed the visit and scarfed down Grandma's mash potatoes and gravy. She also got to visit Irvine Park in Chippewa - the park hasn't changed too much throughout the years so it's a lot like how I remember it as a child!
• Harper went resorting for the first time! Although she was a bit under the weather, she enjoyed seeing the bear at Flaters, meeting Baby Oliver and playing on the bar at MDs (Headquarters). Harper was so comfy at MDs that she even put her feet up on the bar while having a bottle and was later provided toys to play with while we visited with the owners.
• Lunch at the Norske Nook in Rice Lake. The restaurant is known for their Norwegian and American food. Grandpa Dick was the most daring and had a Lefse Meal Wrap (meatball, mash potato rolled up inside lefse). The Norske Nook is also known for their award winning pies - so our table ordered 3 slices. Harper (and Ross) had their first bites of strawberry pie - not surprisingly, they both loved it
• This was the first time that all of the Harper kids (Dave, Renee and myself) have been to the Connell lodge at the same time. It was extra special to see all of the grandchildren (Addy, Sydney, Addison, Brody, Harper and Reid) there at the same time.

 

Bye Bye Bumbo

All good things must come to an end....and it's the end of the Bumbo era! Harper has gotten a lot of great use of her bumbo. In addition to helping to teach her how to sit, we used the bumbo as a mini highchair for months! Since Harper is a peanut, she fit in the chair longer than most kids. But now she is getting a little too long to sit in the chair and her legs are a little too chubby to easily slide in and out. On the upside, now we get to utilize her high chair - and she LOVES it!

Baby Harper - teeny tiny

July - her feet touch the ground

Styling in her new chair

Girls Weekend

Ross goes on a Boys Trip to Missouri every summer. The guys head to the River Ranch Resort in Knoll to canoe down the river. This year, they went down a night early and spent a day playing golf. It's one of Ross's favorite vacations because it allows a group of 30 year old men to act like 18 year old boys. 

While Ross was out of town, Harper and I took the chance to embrace a girls weekend. For the most part, it was pretty low key. We met a friend for coffee, ran to target and the grocery store and spent a few hours visiting her cousins. Harper and I hadn't spent that much alone time together since I was on maternity leave so it was wonderful spend all day (and night!) with my little princess. We received numerous compliments on how well behaved she was which made me a proud momma! Although we really enjoyed our girl time together, both Harper and I were excited to see Ross on Sunday afternoon.