.:Birthday Fun:.

My birthday was back in April, and a couple of my other friends had birthdays around the same time, so we headed out for a girl’s nite to do some mass celebrating.

We loaded most of us up in Jill’s car to make the trek across the valley from the west side to Pizzeria Limone. This place is amazingly delicious, and I am always looking for excuses to go there!

After eating some yummy food, it was of course, time to open presents.

And then we had some fun taking pictures.

Why is this face so popular? Am I getting too old to understand?!?!?

Yep, we’re kind of dorks. It’s cool. I’m sure the people sitting around us were enjoying the show!

After our feast, we headed to the mall to do some shopping at H&M.

And then we capped off the nite with some cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory.

Would you believe that this is the first picture Sarah and I have together?

I was also able to do some celebrating with my friend Britney, who I used to teach with. We made it out for an evening without kids that included dinner, chatting, and more gifts! This picture isn’t from that nite but was oddly enough from another kid free nite at a boutique.

I say it all the time, but I truly believe I have the best friends ever! I feel so incredibly blessed to live where I do and to have met each of this wonderful ladies!

.:Downtown:.

A couple weeks ago, we headed downtown with some friends to check out the new City Creek shopping center, and do the fountains at the Gateway. We went to Gateway first to eat lunch, and then rode Trax over the City Creek. The girls LOVED being in the Disney store. I wanted to buy them everything, but somehow made it out without purchasing anything!

We loaded back up on to Trax (thanks to some helpful people helping me lift my double stroller up the stairs) and enjoyed some time outside in the fountains. We never got our suits on, but that’s part of the fun of it, right?

.:Six Month Stats:.

Harper had her six month checkup yesterday. She is basically perfect, growing and developing just as she should! 

She took her three shots like a champ, and probably cried for all of 5 seconds until I was able to pick her up and then she was totally fine. Go baby!

WEIGHT: 13 lbs. 9 oz. (9th percentile)

HEIGHT: 26.22 in. (68th percentile)

So still long and lean (which apparently skipped a generation when going from my parents to my kids). Her doctor isn't worried about her being so small because she always has been, and she is staying consistent. She has gained almost two pounds since her four month appointment, so she's a growing girl!

.:Harper–Six Months Old:.

Halfway to one??? What the??!

Harper continues to be just such a happy, smiley, social baby. She LOVES to talk, and constantly looks like she’s having her own little private joke about things. She talks and squeals, and has started doing this cute thing where she gasps.

Instead of her spitting getting any better, she seems to be getting worse! She is always spitting up most of what she eats. It is really gross, and while I know she can’t control it, I’d sure like her to stop. I am always covered in spit up, as is our couch and Harper. No wonder she is so skinny! She is also a gassy little thing. Man, can she pack a punch! Who knew that tiny body could be capable of so much!

Whenever Harper is laying on her back, she is always straining as if she’s trying to sit up. It’s the funniest thing! She is getting better at sitting. This past week I have been able to get some decent stretches of her sitting unassisted. I can’t wait for her to start doing it consistently! I love when babies can just sit there with toys and be happy.

We’ve been working on Harper’s nite sleep. Overall, she is doing pretty well and I can usually get her to go from 11 until 6 or 7, and she will usually sleep for anywhere from 1-3 more hours if I give her a little to eat then. She’s had a couple nites where that didn’t work lately, but I’m thinking that is more because of teething, rather than being hungry. And then, sometimes you just get worn out when playing!

Harper loves to stand in my lap and jump. She just gets her legs going and it’s like she can’t stop! She always looks like she’s so pleased with herself when she does it.

Harpie is sooooooo ticklish. She is super easy to get a laugh out of if you just tickle her chest, her back, or her legs. I love listening to her giggle, so I am constantly trying to tickle her!

Reece and Remi are still loving on Harper all the time! Reece tells me at least 3-5 times a day how cute Harper is, and Remi loves to try to get Harper smiling or laughing. I love how much they love each other. How do I get them to always feel this way about each other???

Harper gave up her binky on her own awhile ago. She doesn’t need it often, but I was still sad about it. And what was worse about it was that she was starting to suck her thumb! Ah! We haven’t had a thumb sucker yet, and I was hoping to avoid it. She hasn’t been as crazy with her thumb lately, as just her fingers in general. I’m pretty sure she is teething, so that may be why. For whatever reason, I’ve been able to get her to take her binky the last few days when she’s been fussing so I guess it remains to be seen whether or not she will be a binky baby or not!

We started food with Harper a couple of weeks ago. So far she’s been a big fan of rice cereal and oatmeal. We just started the real flavors, and peas are all we’ve tried so far. She was not impressed – at all – the first time, but she has warmed up to them. We’ll probably try carrots or beans next. She may have gotten a sneak of applesauce the other day from a certain helpful two year old, and Harper was pretty excited about that!

Harper is just a super good, super cute, super fun baby!

At six months old, Harper likes:

- smiling

- laughing

- being tickled

- talking

- being in the saucer

- eating

- nursing

- Baby Einstein

- watching Reece and Remi

- grabbing

- squealing

- play mat

- mommy singing

- sucking on her hands/fingers

- toys

- rolling

- sitting (kinda)

At six months, Harper does not like:

- being in her car seat too long

- being left alone for too long

- getting stuck on her tummy

- going to bed (she gets mad when she realizes what is happening!)

We love our Harper girl!

.:Rice Cereal:.

Harper started rice cereal this week! I’ve been putting it off because baby food is not my favorite, but we could tell that she was ready.

And boy was she ready! She was hooked from the first bite! She was totally lunging at the spoon and slurping it right off. She has had a little bit of the tongue thrust back out, but for the most part, she has known exactly what to do.

We’ll probably give oatmeal a try next, and then start getting into some of the veggies and fruits. If she likes rice cereal this much, I can’t imagine how much she is going to enjoy those!

Open wide!

Thanks, Mom!

A little video for your viewing pleasure.

And of course, Reece wanted to help, so here’s a little video of her helping.

.:Zoo Day:.

We were able to get out last week and hit the zoo with some of our friends. The weather was pretty much perfect, and we all enjoyed a lovely day of walking, talking, and trying not to lose our kids. (Okay, no one was really in danger of losing their kids. Josh just always reminds me not to lose our kids whenever we go somewhere like that.)

Remi is getting to a fun age where she is more observant and interested in other things than just what she is immediately doing. She had fun pointing out animals that she could see. Reece, of course, enjoyed making animal sounds and running around. While she is definitely a girly girl, she still enjoys being not girly! Harper was pretty much perfect, she is such a good baby!

We rounded out our walking around with some quality time at the playground. Why not wear them out a little bit more after walking around in the hot sun?

My friend Mandie took some cute pictures of my girls while we were there. She has a big girl camera and knows how to use it! You can definitely tell the difference between her photos and mine! Here are a couple she took of Reece and Rem.

Playing on the fake rhino

Harpie just hanging out

Playing at the playground

Surprise! Remi is playing in the dirt! At least she wasn’t eating it (that I saw).

Slide time!

Riding the train

And playing in the water before we left (which Remi did put in her mouth – she is so funny!)

Time to go!

We love our friends!!!

.:Klamath Trip:.

Since Harper came in the fall, we weren’t able to go up to Klamath for the holidays at all, which meant that I hadn’t been home in awhile. I wanted to make a trip out there, so even though Josh couldn’t come, I decided to load up the girls and drive to Boise, and then on to Klamath – caravanning to Klamath with my parents. We found out the day before we wouldn’t be visiting alone:  the Harmon fam was going to be going there, too. The girls were excited to spend some time with their cousins.

We left on Easter, and got up and moving the next morning to finish the drive to Klamath.  My dad was awesome and drove my van from Boise to Klamath. It freed me up to help with kiddos. He was patient with us being a bit slower driving because of nursing stops.

It was nice to spend some time up there. We just hung out at home, and tagged along when we could. It is just a nice break from our day to day routines. It was my nephew’s birthday while we were there, so we spent the morning at Jumpin’ Jax, and then had an Angry Birds themed birthday party.

Unfortunately for us, real life doesn’t stop for anyone when we are there. We try not to be in the way too much! My mom had a bridal shower to throw, so my dad took us ladies out to dinner that evening. Reece serenaded the booth next to us, and entertained quite a few people in the process! We also spent some time with Alli and Nic, though not nearly enough.

Our last day there, my mom and I finally got to do some sewing. I wish we could have had more days like that! Grandpa made popcorn with Reece, while Harper watched my mom and I sew dresses for all the girls for our annual summer trip. We had a nice day hanging out and spending time together, which was great before we got in the car again to head back home!

We had a nice visit, and are always sad to leave. We’re already looking forward to going back this summer.

The girls were AMAZING in the car; very few meltdowns (and Remi was even sick on the way home!) and the ones that did happen, were so short and minimal. I was proud of them, and don’t know that they could have been much better!