22 months

Harper is 22 months old today! I'm not sure if that's is more shocking or the fact that I'm updating the blog on time.
In the past few months Harper has totally become her own little person. She is absorbing so much and surprising us every day with what she understands and does.
A few days ago she impressed us all by counting to 4. I tried to catch it on video but so far the sight of the camera is a total distraction. She holds up her little fingers as she counts and claps when she's done. It's heart melting.
I think this November was the fastest month to date. We started a house project in our living room. We painted which involved two colors and some detailed work and touch up. But it looks great. We bought curtains for the room but we are waiting to hang them until we put up the crown molding. Hopefully this month.
Will went on a hunting trip over Thanksgiving so Harper and I spent the week in Brattleboro. It was a nice treat to see so much of Nonie and Poppa and Harper got to see a little extra of Alex and Kyler which is always nice.
Harper has become a bit of a climber. As you can see from that egg on her head. She actually fell off two dining room chairs at two different houses in one day. The first fall she hit her chin and the second got her forehead. Aiyiyi.
Other than that we've been enjoying our friends Stella and Jackson in Lebanon, taking lots of walks with Bella and trying to get Harper used to riding in the ergo again since it could snow anytime. We have a couple parks near our house, one of which is at a school and has a couple of slides. Harper went down the park slide alone for the first time. She was clearly nervous but excited when it happened and did it again and again. She has had lots of practice with the mini slide in our yard.
Harper's favorite things are birds, fish, the moon and of course elmo. She loves to be outside and look for birds, squirrels and the moon and she is constantly talking about fish. She always asks to read fish books. She recently got a super cute pair of elmo slippers from Auntie Megs that we haven't been able to take off of her.
Below are a few of our favorites this month:















Holiday art project



















Bundled up and ready to play












Bird watching at Nonie & Poppa's













Sliding all by herself

21 month's old

October brought us lots of beautiful fall days. We tried to soak up as much outdoor time as possible and shared the joy of leaf piles with Harper.
This was Harper's second Halloween. We (Papa) made her a bumblebee costume that was very cute. She wore it at her music class the week of Halloween and then again at the party at Will's fire station on Halloween night. The best moment was when a little boy came to the station dressed as Elmo. She spotted him from far across the room and walked right up and stared. Then she kept saying "Elmo shoe" and pointing at his red fur covered sneaker which he kept showing her.
It is fitting that Harper's birthday photo this month is with Mallory because she LOVES her. It's a little reminiscent of Lennie from Of Mice and Men because she just wants to hold her and squeeze her and while Mallory is very accommodating the elderly cat can only take so much. To date there has only been one incident of a scratch and it was well warranted. She getting better though because she'll pick her up now and after only a few seconds say "down" and drop her (literally.)
Other exciting things this month include learning to say and recognize the color purple. She also practices counting on her fingers although the only number she seems sure of is 3. The most fascinating part of her development is still her speech. She can understand virtually everything we say to her and as her vocabulary grows so does her understanding of things. Will, Harper and Bella went for a walk the other day and Harper pointed to the brook and said "Wa wa fish." Her favorite food is "Papa cheese" which is a fancy cheese that the two of them enjoy together (but cream cheese works in a pinch.) The second we pull out of the driveway to go anywhere she says "where's bella?" or "bella walk?" which can get old, but "yesh" is still one of her favorite answers (unless she really means "no") and I'm thankful for that.
Lulu is still very important to her and she just loves babies in general. Lucky for us we know a few people with real babies on the way!
Here are a few of our favorite October photos:














Say cheese Harper!













Very cool



















At Jackson's birthday party















We put her in charge of the stickers.

20 Months Old!!!

September was the perfect kick off for fall. Harper had her first experience apple picking (she ate more then she picked.) We also visited a farm and picked some pumpkins. Harper liked the baby pumpkins. We have also been exploring the leaves that are falling at an amazing rate. Our first trip in September was a visit to Maine for Jaiden's first birthday and enjoyed a visit with Theo.

This month Harper took her first dance class. It was a five week class and Harper got more and more interested every week. She can even show off a few of her moves. I'll try to catch her on video soon.

This was also a fun month for Will and I as we went to one wedding in September and another wedding in early October. We also celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on October 1st. That means we had three date nights in only a few weeks. Definitely a special treat. Grandpa Gerry has gotten really good at getting Harper down to sleep. We're trying not to abuse this new skill :)

In other news Harper is still at a super fun stage. She learns new words everyday and shocks us with the things she knows and understands. She's becoming my little helper in many ways. She is also starting to exhibit some confidence and defiance. If she doesn't want to do something she let's you know. A few of her favorite things include her baby doll Lulu, coloring and playing with stickers and going for walks. We are also taking music class again and it's so fun to see how much she remembers and how much she enjoys it. I also have to admit that singing goodbye to those instruments a few times every week makes transitions at home a lot easier.

Here are a few of our favorite Harper photos from the past month:

Relaxing

A quick wash in the sink. Harper LOVES to brush her "cheeth"

Say cheese!

It's the pumpkin queen!

Mmmmnnnn fresh picked apples

So blond!
Click here to see the rest of the September photos.

19 Months!

August certainly was an eventful month!
We began the month in Chicago visiting with family. We spent the first half of the visit in Lockport with Joel, Ami and Abi and went to the zoo, ate lots of delicious food that Aunt Sandy made and even made a trip to downtown Lockport. Then we went to stay with Aunt Sharon and visited millennium park, went shopping in the city, and went to Indiana to visit with Gail at her house. Harper had the best time with all of her cousins. It's so great to see her interact with all of our family. We're already looking forward to the next visit.
When we got home Harper and I had the pleasure of meeting Ella (Cedar's daughter) for the very first time. They were visiting New England so we got to have two playdates with them and it was so good to finally see Ella. She and Harper are going to be pen pals until their next visit!
Next we enjoyed a weekend visit from Jim, Julie, Bailey & Ali Young. They drove down on a Thursday and spent Thursday & Friday nights in the Lebanon area and we visited Quechee & Simon Pearce, the Montshire Museam, King Arthur Flour and went out to dinner. We even had a slumber party at our house with Ali and Bailey on Friday night. Then Saturday we all piled into their van and went to Brattleboro where we all visited the Retreat petting farm, had some VT ice cream and visited with my parents. Sunday we had brunch at my parents before they left. Harper was completely smitten with Ali and Bailey. She had their full attention and she loved it. They held hands the entire time and she was always reaching for them to pick her up or to rescue her from my arms. She really fell head over heels for them which was so fun to watch.
As if all of that wasn't enough Harper went to the doctor for her 18-month check up. She's in good health and nearly 18 lbs.
She has more words by the day. The other night she reached into the kitchen drawer and pulled out the ice cream scoop and started pointing it at Will saying "icshwem". Of course he gave her a little! She also got her first potty and started taking her first toddler dance class. She got her first doll in Chicago which we have named Lulu and she LOVES her. "Bebe" gets lots of walks around the house in her doll carriage.
Will and I are still trying to fully unpack but we are definitely getting there. We have a fence to put up and Will has already done a lot of yard work. We'll get there!



















New PJ's



















A little reading on the potty















New shoes!

18 Months

Oh boy is this post late. With summer finally arriving with the month of August and our annual trip to Chicago all happening on Harper's 18 month milestone I found myself falling farther and farther behind with the post.
We have had the rainiest summer I can remember so we've been making good use of the dry days we have. Harper enjoyed her first Fireworks and she made all the appropriate oohs and aahhhs along with me.
July also brought a visit with Theo and his parents. The older they get the more fun it is to watch them play together. There was even some grape sharing.
Steph & I took Harper to a Junkman music fest in Woodstock. She seemed to enjoy herself and met up with another pal from playgroup.
In the most exciting news this month Kyler turned one. But she's already been walking since last month so she's an old pro now and it's so fun to watch her and Harper run around together. The entire dynamic of their relationship has changed now and they are on a much more even playing field. Harper still tries to smother her with hugs and kisses but now she can run away if she's had enough. But most of the time she hugs her back. They are adorable.
This month Harper learned to take bag clips off which has required some cupboard reorganization. But I still keep her snacks pretty low and if I'm trying to get something done in the kitchen I'll often turn around and she'll be gone. My first place to check is the bottom of the stairs where she sits with her newly found bag of snacks and helps herself.
We also learned this summer that she hates to get her feet dirty. My dad built her a sandbox but she prefers to play from the perimeter rather than diving right in. I can't say I blame her but it is funny at the beach. I ended up buying her water shoes to keep those toes as clean as possible.
Most of July was spent unpacking and trying to organize the new house. It's been fun and stressful at the same time but it feels more like home everyday. Now we just need some paint on the walls and a few final boxes unpacked. Come visit soon and weigh in on paint colors!














Pass the grapes please.















Daddy's girl


















Making music with junk...how fun!















High Five!

See all of July's photos here:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1072334016/a=13429038_13429038/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

17 Months!

June was an eventful month albeit terribly rainy. It kicked off with the annual strolling of the heifers parade. We went with the McClellands and our friends Becky & Jackson who had never been subjected to such an event before, they were good sports!
The next day Becky & Jackson hosted us as we all watched a 1/2 marathon in Quechee. Harper clapped for everyone and was a welcomed distraction for the runners.
We enjoyed a trip to the petting farm with the McClellands. Kyler learned to walk which has already changed the dynamic of her relationship with Harper. They are on a totally different level and it's a lot of fun to watch.
Harper began her flower girl duties at Pat & Steph's engagement party. We spent Father's day watching Will run a road race for charity. Harper is a fantastic spectator and claps and cheers for everyone!
The big event this month was our move. We closed on our new house in Lebanon and spent a marathon weekend cleaning, packing and moving all of our belongings. Harper & Bella both seem to love the new house. Harper has her own room which she loves and slowly but surely we are getting boxes put away and organzied. We had a ton of help an owe big big thanks to all our friends. We've promised them we won't be moving again for a VERY long time! We are looking forward to a visit from Leah, Ryan & Theo next weekend so we have a goal to be done unpacking before they arrive!















The cat was the most exciting animal at the petting farm.
















Daddy's biggest fan!















Helping Pat & Steph move.



















Too cute!














First night in the new house!

16 Months!

Thank goodness May was not as crazy of a month as April. Seeing Harper this month you would never know she ever hurt her leg. She is one busy girl! In May she enjoyed a trip to Maine and Goose Rocks Beach as well as her first tricycle ride. She has become attached to her first stuffed animal, Beatrice the Bunny. She seems to get a new word everyday. She knows where her ears, eyes, nose and mouth are. Harper gives high fives and eskimo kisses. Harper has her first chore, every morning when we get up it's her job to go turn off her noise maker. In May Harper also had the chance to host her first pool party (baby style) and has already visited countless play grounds and swingsets. At this rate it's going to be one fantastic summer!














Ready for bed! Harper loves Beatrice!



















Harper takes Theo's trike for a spin. Don't worry, we had a talk about riding and talking on the cell phone at the same time. It won't happen again.















She still loves to swing.















Exploring Goose Rocks Beach.



















Looking like Daddy



















Looking like Mommy.















Lounging in the pool with Jackson.

15 Months!

What a month. April was by far the craziest month we have faced since Harper joined our little family. First things first, we celebrated Easter with Harper a few days early because Will had to work on Easter. She loved following the trail of eggs the Easter Bunny left for her as well as her goodies, especially a wind up bunny. We would wind him up and she would kick him over and laugh ;) Easter weekend itself was not quite as fun. On Saturday Harper and I went to an Easter Egg hung in Brattleboro and then Dana and Ryan watched Harper while I went out to dinner. (Will was at home working.) When I got home from dinner we realized that Harper was not putting any weight on her right leg. We called the doctor and they told us to let her sleep on it and come to the ER the next day. Of course this was Easter Sunday and Will didn't go to work and drove down and took Harper to the ER with me. They did x-rays and suspected a toddler fracture so although the x-ray showed no break they put a little splint on and made an appointment for us on Thursday.
Harper wasn't a big fan of the splint and losing her mobility. We enjoyed Easter at the Houstons and we happy that Will was there to celebrate with us despite the circumstances. That Thursday Will and I took Harper to her pediatrician who took the splint off to see if Harper would walk on it. She also took another x-ray (no sign of break) and took some blood (traumatic for me more than Harper but the blood came back good.) She left the splint off thinking it was perhaps transient sinivitis (sp) which is a swelling in the joint that comes and goes without much reason. So we went home and tried to enjoy the weekend with out baby who still would not walk. Things were going well and she would take a few steps here and there until she had a high fever and we realized she was cutting four new teeth at the same time. Monday came and Harper still wasn't walking so we went back in to be checked again. We saw a different doctor on this day and she opted to take blood again just to be safe. When she called me with the results Harper's white blood cell count was up which was disconcerting to her and she consulted with Dartmouth Hitchcock here in Lebanon and they decided they wanted to see Harper in the ER that night. So Harper and I got back in the car to drive back to Lebanon, meet up with Will and go to the ER.
DHMC is a really impressive facility but they want to see their own x-rays and test their own blood so we had to put Harper through another round of x-rays, they started an IV and took a little more blood to test and they also took a urine sample with a catheter (poor Harper!) We were in the ER until like 11pm when they told us they were sending us home but wanted to see Harper first thing the next day. At that time they thought she had a urinary tract infection but were not positive and still concerned about the leg.
The next day we saw a pediatrician, pediatrician specializing in bones and lots of other doctors. They decided to do a bone scan of Harper's body so that they could narrow down where to look for a break or problem in her leg. This involved putting her under anesthesia while they did the procedure which was very stressful for us. The good news was that while she was sleeping they took the blood and urine samples they wanted for more tests so she did not have to go through that awake again. They were worried that the WBC may have been high due to a bone infection in the leg she would not use. The bone scan showed a problem in her right shin but that was all. The urine they took that time confirmed that she did in fact have a UTI. They wanted us to spend the night in the hospital that night just to be safe. The next day Harper had an MRI (anesthesia again) to look very closely at that shin area and low and behold they found a very tiny little toddler fracture in her tibia. At this point that and the UTI explained everything and were great news as compared to the alternative. Our last day at the hospital Harper enjoyed visits from Grandpa Gerry and Dana and her kids. We also had several visits from the guys that Will works with. They were all very helpful and supportive which was wonderful since our families don't live in the same town. We enjoyed our stay in the Childrens Hospital and feel very strongly that there's nothing better to make you realize things could be much much worse then spending some time in the children's wing of a hospital like DHMC. We feel very blessed that Harper's diagnosis was so minor and that we were able to take her home without even a cast. Since it had been 10 days already they only would have left the cast on for a few more so they were ok with letting her be. The next day she started walking around without holding our hands at all as she had been since the splint came off and the only memory of our time in the hospital was the antibiotics we had to give her twice daily and the baby sized hospital gown Will stole as we were leaving. This certainly was not an experience we will soon forget.
However April was a long month and beyond this it was filled with many wonderful things. We had another gathering with our new friends from Quechee. We enjoyed some beautiful weather and explored this funny thing called a deck that's attached to our house and believe me...it's fantastic! This weekend we celebrated Will's birthday with dinner courtesy of his mom and the most delicious cake I've ever had. On Will's actual birthday we had the pleasure of celebrating Jackson's baptism (the son of our Quechee friends Becky & Jason) and then went to softball practice (I even brough my glove circa 1989 that says KATHARINE GATZ on the side. I'm very good in case you were wondering ;) and after practice Pat and Steph came over and made Will a birthday dinner complete with goodies from Mike's Pastries for desert.
It was a good month and I'm sure I'm forgetting something but I can always update. May is also off to a great start with a trip to the museam today, baby yoga yesterday and little miss Harper is doing great at one long nap a day. She has also started giving those really great hugs where she grabs onto your neck and holds on tight. It's the best. We have our well baby 15 month visit tomorrow morning and we've planned a trip to Maine for a very overdue visit with Mr. Theo. We move into the new house at the end of June and all is well! Enjoy a few of our favorite photos from April!















Our Friday morning Easter celebration.















The day of the Easter Egg Hunt and the day Harper hurt her leg.



















Baby sized splint.















We took Harper for a tour of the hospital in a shiny red wagon. She waved to everyone we passed like a princess.















High chairs for three please (in Harper's hospital room.)

14 Months!

Harper is totally a toddler. She is exercising her opinion and pushing her limits. She's practicing her words all the time. She says Bella, toe, more, dog, woah joe (from our music class) and we've gotten her to say a few more things one or two times but she's getting more vocal everyday. She has amazed me this month with her coordination. She can now stack all the pieces onto her stacking ring and she can unzip her doll's dress and puts items in her little purses very easily. It's amazing how one minute these things are a struggle and the next she's an expert.
March was a very fun month. We had a mini-vacation with the Adams' at Loon Mountain. We stayed a couple nights and explored the ski mountain and tried some arts and crafts with the kiddos. Harper and Theo are enjoying each other more each visit. We can't wait for the next time! We had a nice visit and dinner with the Houston's. Harper loves Farley (their dog) almost as much as she loves Emily (her cousin.) They had a great evening together.
The McClellands made a trip to Lebanon to check out our bouncy house activity. Alex had a blast and it was such a nice day we made a trip to the park afterwards. I got trapped in a spinning seat made for 5 year olds and Dana had to rescue me. It wasn't embarassing at all. Harper loved the slide! She's definitely a climber. This month Harper started giving us the biggest grin ever, it's our new favorite thing. She can also strum her lips which she loves. And she's finally warming up to drinking milk.
In other news Will and I made an offer on a house and it was accepted. There still a lot that needs to happen before things are finalized but we look forward to being settled. Will is also starting a new part-time job. I'll share more on that later when I know more.
Here are some of our favorite photos from this month:















At Loon Mountain. If you didn't know better you'd think there were ski's on our feet.















That's the grin!


















My daughter is better dressed than me...















big smiles



















so fashionable!