Happy Eleven Months!

Happy 11 Months B E A N!!!

Age: 11 months

Weight: 

Height: 

Milestones:

• Mastered walking
• Started running
• Plays chasing games with other kids and Brodie
• Dances when a song she likes comes on
• Plays the recorder & blows on hot food (blows air out)
• Top two teeth completely through
• Jumps on things...pillows, ballpit, blankets.
• Pushes herself while sitting on riding toys
• Says..."dah" (daddy) "mah, mah, mah" (mommy) "yesss" "go, go go" "ohhhh" (uh-oh)
• Animal Sound...Brodie says "woof woof"
• Car Sound...."vroom vroom"
• Loves to play with legos, matching shapes, books, and instruments

Sleep:

Takes her bath at 7:00. Then, gets in jammies and reads books with daddy. Around 7:30 mommy and Harp cuddle and have a bottle. Harper takes a binki and falls right asleep. She will sometimes wake up and look for her binki but is able to put herself back to sleep.

Naptime: Morning ranges from 40 minutes-a little over an hour and and afternoon nap is usually 2 hours.

Mommy's Favorite Moment:

Love that my little girl is finally calling me "mah." Harper is full of big wet kisses and the best hugs. I love our nightly routine and the moments right after her bottle. She puts her head on my shoulder and just snuggles. Those few minutes at the end of my day are priceless! This Christmas was also the best. I loved watching Harper open her gifts. Each and every time she ripped the paper she would look up and gasp. It was hysterical!  

Daddy's Favorite Moment:

Harper had a great Christmas.  She has so many new toys, clothes, and books.  She loves to read with daddy.  Every night after her bath she walks over to her bookshelf and picks up her three favorite books.  Her very favorite right now is about bears and it has different textures that she likes to touch. She is such a little busy-body and loves to chase Brodie around.  She steals his toys and yells "go, go, go" as he runs after her.  She got her first pair of Nike sneakers and her first soccer ball this month. Can't wait to get her first pair of cleats!

Health:

All good this month. A little snotty nose here and there but nothing serious.

Eating:

Bottles- 8 ounces with 2 scoops of rice. Usually she gets an 8oz. bottle at 9:00, 1:30,  and 7:00. Then, a 4-6oz. bottle sometime in the morning and when we get home from work (before dinner). 

Solid- Eats E V E R Y T H I N G  Loving...blueberries, Sicilian pizza, mashed potatoes, roast beef, mac & cheese, yogurt 

Things I Want to Remember:

• Wears size 12-18 months clothes
• Wear size 3 diapers
• FIRST Christmas- Christmas Eve at Granny's and dinner at Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Knotts'
• Celebrated the new year with Chele and friends from daycare
• Played with Arihanna at Mom-Mom & Pop-pop Wood's on Pop-Pop's b-day
• Playdates with Tommy Zebley and Joey Palladino and had dinner with Ryan and Patrick P.
• Made special gifts for Christmas presents

Valentine's Day Plans

I can't believe Harp is going to be celebrating her last "first" holiday. Celebrating the holidays big and small has definitely been a highlight of the year. Since Valentine's Day is around the corner so I have been doing a little planning and gathered a little bit of inspiration.

Heart Beanie |  Indigo Heart Romper | Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls | Love You Forever 

Guess How Much I Love You

Harper goes to daycare during the week and I wanted to make something for her to give to her little friends there. I love these cute butterfly valentines and maybe make these yummy pretzel candies for her babysitter. 

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Monthly Favorites (months 5-8)

Yes, I know, Harp is almost 11 months old. (Sigh) 

It seems when I went back to work in August, this little blog took a hit. 

My new year's goal is to get things back on track and share all the little things 

that have happened, are happening, and will be happening. 

FIVE & SIX MONTHS

Baby Brezza One-Step Baby Food Processor

We made all of Harper's for the first few months. We loved the Brezza. It was easy to make a weeks worth of food and clean up is a cinch!!

Little Tike Snug-n-Secure Swing

Love this swing. It really is a classic. 

Bath Toys

Once Harper started sitting, bath time really became a time to play in water. These little guys are great in and out of the tub.

Little Einsteins Activity Jumper

Bright colors. Entertaining toys. Lots of movement. 

BABY BJORN Baby Carrier 

We couldn't have done any errands without a carrier. I wish I would have done a little more research but the BJORN was easy to get Harp in and out of. It also grew with her as she got bigger. 

 SEVEN & EIGHT MONTHS

Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair

This is a small high chair. It works great for us because our dining area is small and we have a high top table. I also like that it is easy to take with us when we visit friends.

Safety 1st Essentials Child Proofing Kit

Once Harper was on the move, it was time to child proof the house. 

Soft Sole Shoes

Loved these shoes. Inexpensive and easy to put on her feet.

Gerber Puffs

Harper's very first snack!! These little puffs melt in her mouth.

VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker

This is Harper favorite toy! 

Shopping Cart Cover

Simple to put on any cart and is a great barrier between baby and the disgusting cart germs.

Sippy Cup

Dating my Husband

12 Months of Dates

Ever since Harper was born our parents have been more than willing to take Harp for a few hours here and there. Even in the beginning. Nick's dad would come over and just sit and hold this itsy-bitsy baby while we went out and got dinner. Now that she is older, my mom has a standing date with her every Sunday from 3 until dinner time and she has a sleepover at Mom-mom and Pop-pop Wood's just about every other month. The funny thing is, when Harp is gone, we never know what to do. We run errands, watch tv, and even sleep but nothing exciting. Sometime we hardly talk. 

The problem is we forgot how to date and how to spend time together.

I am determined to change this in 2015. So, for Christmas, I decided to make Nick the 12 Months of Dates I have seen all over blogs and Pinterest. Each month is a special date that is planned and put into an envelope. The plan is to open them at the beginning of the month and decide when to go. Some take place right in the house while others are at places like restaurants, movies, sports games and even mini-vacations. 

(I must admit...there are ideas all over Pinterest. I used some dates I found, made some minor changes to some, and even came up with my own. The opening letter is the basic letter I found most people were using.)

This is the letter I attached to the front cover. 

Today, we are going on our very first date of the year. It's a simple date but very important.  

Happy Ten Months!!

Happy TEN Months Sweet Girl!!

Age: 10 months

Weight: 20lbs 11ozs

Height: 27 inches

Milestones:

• Started walking on her own.
• Eats only regular solid foods.
• Got her ears pierced.
• Dances to music- every night we listen to the radios while daddy fills the dishwasher
• Harp found her tongue- loves to stick it out while she walks around

Sleep:

This month was so much better!!!!!!

Takes her bath at 7:00. Then, gets in jammies and reads books with daddy. Around 7:30 mommy and Harp cuddle and have a bottle. Harper takes a binki and falls right asleep. She will sometimes wake up and look for her binki but is able to put herself back to sleep with out us.

Naptime are great. Morning ranges from 40 minutes-a little over an hour and and afternoon nap is usually 2 hours.

Mommy's Favorite Moment:

Holy Moly...my girl is a walker. I can't even believe it!!! We are super busy chasing around this little ball of energy but Harp has open doors to an even bigger personality. She is talking a lot more and giving more kisses. We had so much fun this month celebrating Harper's first Thanksgiving with a special bib, fancy Turkey hat, and lots of yummy food.

Daddy's Favorite Moment:

Harper is walking everywhere!  She can get up on her own and really moves quickly.  Now that she's walking, Brodie is starting to warm up to her a little more.  They take turns stealing each others toys and she likes to chase him around the living room. We got to go pick our first Christmas tree even though it was very cold.  Harper is so curious about everything she can get her hands on.  She loves to read books with me before she goes to bed.  It's amazing how fast she is growing and how smart she is! 

Health:

9 month check went awesome!!! Harper is right on track growth-wise. She had half of her flu shot and will get the other half next month.

Harper had a little bout of a stomach bug which caused diarrhea but didn't cause any other discomfort.

Eating:

Bottles- 8 ounces with 4 scoops of rice. Usually she gets an 8oz. bottle at 9:00, 1:30,  and 7:00. Then, a 4-6oz. bottle when she wake up and when we get home from work (before dinner). 

Solid- Loves food!!! Eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast, Harp loves...waffles, french toast, and breakfast bars. For lunch, harp loves...pizza, perogies, chicken, green beans, mac and cheese. For dinner, Harp loves...anything we have for dinner. At her check-up the doctor said she an have anything except honey.

Things I Want to Remember:

• Wears size 12-18 months clothes
• Wear size 3 diapers
• Enjoys first Thanksgiving at Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Knotts'
• Went car shopping for daddy's new car
• Christmas Pictures
• Got ears pierced at the mall- didn't cry until second hole and stopped as soon as she got a lolly-pop
• Decorated for Christmas with mommy and daddy- picked out a Christmas tree and helped decorate it
• Went to best friend Rylee's first birthday party

Happy NINE Months!!!

Happy 9 Months Love!! <3

Age: 9 months

Weight:  20 lbs

Milestones:

• Climbs up steps
• Walks while holding hands
• Takes a couple unassisted steps
• Makes sounds like she is asking a question
• Points at things she wants
• Eats finger food
• Gives hugs to people, Brodie, and her baby doll

Sleep:

Sleep has been very rough this month. Typically would go down at 7 p.m. but would wake up several times during the night. We were going nuts. Harp would sometimes drink up to 8 ounces in the middle of the night.

On top of not sleeping well, we had to prop her bed up for 2 weeks due to a bad cold and croup. This made sleeping even worse.

Mommy's Favorite Moment:

On October 31st we celebrated Harper's first Halloween. She dressed up as the cutest little monkey which is so fitting since she would swing tree to tree if she could. We started a little tradition of having dinner with my parents and visiting friends. 

Daddy's Favorite Moment:

The best moments from this month was Harper's first Halloween.  She was so happy to put on her costume for the first time.  Her monkey costume was adorable and Jess "dolled" it up with makeup and a pink bow.  Also...she's on the move. She's everywhere!  She so adventurous, has no fear, and loves climbing on things especially the steps. 

Health:

Oh my goodness! Our poor little baby had such a rough month. Starting out with a bad cold, mix in a little teething, and croup. It was rough on all of us. Harp didn't sleep much and was on a lot of meds. Steroids for the croup and ibuprofen for fever and pain.

Eating:

Bottles- 8 ounces with 4 scoops of rice. Usually she gets an 8oz. bottle at 9:00, 1:30,  and 7:00. Then, a 4-6oz. bottle when she wake up and when we get home from work (before dinner). If she wakes in the middle of the night, she'll usually take a 4 ounce bottle. - This pretty much stayed the same this month but when she was waking up she would sometime take up to 8 ounce (2 bottles) at night.

Solid- Harp loves food!! Finger foods all the way. She loves...perogies, broccoli, green beans, peas, waffles, and mashed potatoes.

Things I Want to Remember:

• Went fall clothes shopping- Size 9-12 months
• Wear size 3 diapers
• Decorated a pumpkin for Halloween
• Loves to take things out of the refrigerator
• Loves climbing and jumping all over the couch
• Makes a huge silly smile when you say "cheese"

Catching up with the Holidays

We had so much fun celebrating Christmas the entire month of December!! We started some awesome traditions I hope we can continue in the years ahead.  I am pretty sure Harp had no clue what was going on but she definitely got the "ho-ho-ho" and surprise/dramatic "ahhhhh" sound down pat!!

We started on the month creating a bucket list for Harper. 

We spent the first Saturday of the month searching for the perfect Christmas tree.

Harper did her very best to help decorate the house and tree.

I made Harper a very special felt Christmas tree. She could remove the ornaments and put them back on. She liked it but I think she like trying to tear it down and eat the ornaments more than anything. 

We did Christmas Pictures which turned out awesome!! Thanks to Kristin Ann Photography.

 We went to see Santa at the mall.

We made our very first family gingerbread house.

 We sang a lot of Christmas songs throughout the month but our favorites were Jingle Bells and Frosty which just happen to be on repeat as we got dressed for Christmas eve.

This month was full of memories that I will never forget. We had so much fun and so much needed family time over the winter break!! 

Happy New Years!! We celebrated the night with our friends. Harp is a party animal and made it to 9:00 full of chocolate and soft pretzel.  

Happy New Year!!!

Wow! Is it really 2015 already???? This year definitely goes in the book as being the most life changing. Nick and I started the year as a family of two and then welcomed a beautiful baby to the world becoming the magic number 3. We enjoyed watching Harper reach milestone after milestone, created traditions and memories, and learned how to be parents. 

Along with the happiest moments in our life, we also suffered from loss. Our miscarriage in November has caused us to revisit our plan to expand our family which is why, as exciting as 2014 was, I am thrilled to be starting FRESH!! 

I honestly love New Years!! I used to be like everyone else and set resolutions...you know....lose weight, run, eat better, spend less money, yada, yada, yada. Basically, I said I would do something then I would drop the whole idea months later. 

Now...I like to use New Years as a time to reflect on experience and set goals for the year ahead. 

L O O K I N G  A H E A D

1. As Jess, focus on my dreams and time for myself. Find time in each and everyday to do something I enjoy: blogging, DIYing, and pampering myself with a manicure.

2. As a wife, listen to my husband and say "I'm sorry." Basically, be less stubborn and show more kindness to the one I love.

3. As a mommy, live in the moment. Time is so precious. I do not want to lose any of it as quickly as Harp is growing and changing.

4. As a teacher, leave work at work but plan ahead. - I hope to get a hang of this someday.

What are your goals??

May your New Years be filled with lots of happiness!!!