What a month. It's crazy to think that just over a month ago Paisley was still in my belly and Harper was still an only child. I couldn't have hoped for things to be going better than they are. Harper is such a good big sister. So loving and such a great sharer. She is nothing but affectionate with Paisley and our only hiccups come at night time if she wants her mom and I'm nursing Paisley or trying to get her to sleep. And even then it's pretty minor and easy to navigate.In so many ways this has been a very eventful month. We've all been fighting coughs and colds which hasn't been much fun and Will had a hockey injury that has put him in physical therapy and out of work for 6 - 8 weeks. He was run into the boards and the pressure all went to his knee. They were concerned at first that he had ACL damage but we were happy to find out it was only MCL and LCL damage which won't require surgery. If it had been ACL he may have had to be out for 6 months. I can't say it hasn't been nice to have him home more and I still haven't had to try to get both girls to bed alone yet so that's been a treat.
Between Paisley and Will's knee our friends have really come through with help and food. People made us meals or came over and brought food. It's been such a major help and we are so grateful. My new baby gift of choice is going to be food for the family. We are just now starting to get a handle on things and prepare meals and clean up and get to the grocery store.
We enjoyed a visit from Leah, Theo and Ana. It's always good to see them and never long enough. I keep hoping they'll sell their house and move MUCH closer ;)
We also had a great visit with Aunt Sharon. We were lucky enough that she had a ticket to use and decided to come out and meet Paisley and spoil Harper. She visited from a Friday until a Tuesday so it was a wonderfully long visit and we had a great time. Paisley loved to snuggle with her which was a huge help and she even let Harper do her hair. Everyone had a blast.
Paisley's first Halloween was also the first one that Harper really enjoyed and understood. Paisley was a lion and Harper was a tiger. I made Harper's costume so she spent a couple days watching me paint the stripes on her costume and had to use all her will power not to touch the paint. She was so sweet and excited. It was a lot of fun. She asked to be a tiger. She loves animals but has been especially interested since we went to the Chicago Zoo this summer and she got to see them for herself and not in books. We spent Halloween with Will's parents and sister and went to the party at the fire station. I think it's going to be Halloween again this weekend so the girls can wear their costumes for my parents.
Paisley had her one month check up. She is doing great. She's 9 lbs 6 oz now and 22 3/4" long. She is smiling now and Harper gets the majority of the smiles. It's so sweet.
Harper is at such a fun age. She is so into playing with her dolls and loves them each so much. We dress them often and play "slumber party" with them. I think she learned the phrase when we told her she was going to have a slumber party with Pat & Steph when we went to the hospital to have Paisley. It's become a favorite game. And just the other day she introduced us to her first imaginary friend. It's Sally from the Cat in the Hat and she lives inside and empty plastic gerber baby food container. Sally has a tendency to jump out of her "box" and we have to chase her and get her back in. This game has proved extremely successful when trying to navigate through a store with a 2 year old. Sally has been around for a couple days so it will be interesting to see if she becomes a permanent part of our days. This morning I had to change her diaper and get her dressed before I could get Harper dressed.
Being a family of four has been wonderful so far. Harper bought Paisley her first Christmas present that we tucked away in the closet. I am so looking forward to the holiday season and celebrating with our little family.
Below are some photos from the month. Enjoy.
Papa helped H climb a tree
Sisters
H reading Peekaboo Zoo to P
Paisley's second favorite spot...other than our arms.
