Harper Grace: 16 Months



Harper is 16 months old today.  I look forward to writing these monthly updates because it seems that she is growing so quickly these days.  I love looking back and seeing where Riley was at this age and seeing how they are similar.  Here's what she's been up to:

• She still has just her 4 teeth.  I swear that she's been teething for months, but nothing seems to be happening.  We talked to Riley's dentist who said that if she doesn't have any more teeth in a few more months they will begin to question what's going on.  Most likely, she is probably just going to get 8 teeth all at once.  Yippee!  She'll go for her first dentist appointment in 6 months when Riley is scheduled to go back.
• She has an appointment with an allergist in November.  She has had a reaction to eggs several times and they seem to get worse with each exposure.  It seems crazy that we have to wait two months to get her in to be seen.  Until then, we'll just have to really keep an eye on what we are feeding her.  Luckily, we haven't noticed any issues with eggs cooked in baked goods, but we're trying to limit as much as we can since we really don't know the severity of the allergy yet. 
• She is rambunctious!!  She is super busy and it is impossible to slow her down!  She is definitely going to be the one to keep us on our toes.  She still loves to climb and wrestle.  She will now move toys next to chairs and couches to climb her way into them. 
• She is in a hair pulling stage.  I'm not sure why she started, but she will pull hair and laugh or she'll pull hair when she's mad.  It's to the point that we tell her no and get her to let go and she runs herself right to timeout without any prompting.  I don't think that it's a good sign when she thinks it's fun to sit in timeout. 
• The only show that she will sit through is TLC's Baby Story.  It's the funniest thing.  I take advantage of it since I seem to gravitate toward the show when I'm pregnant.  She now points to the TV and yells baby when she sees the show.
• Words: Baby, Riri, Mommy, Daddy, DDDAAADDD!, cheese (for picture taking, of course), ilk, ease (please), Uh-uh, up, bye, kitty.  She's got the head shakes down for no and yes, and will usually answer our questions correctly.
• She loves babies.  She love to carry them around and hold them right up by her neck. 
• She is wearing mostly size 4 shoes.  She's wearing 12-18 month clothes, but can still fit into her 9 month onsies.
• She is still sucking her two middle fingers on her right hand.  She rubs her pointer finger on her cheek to the point that she has her second sore on her cheek.  How in the world do you stop finger sucking??  If we take her fingers out of her mouth she laughs and thinks it's a game.  She only sucks them when she's tired or bored, but we're ready to see the habit go.
• She loves to steal her sister's toys.  Riley hates this and always cries or chases after her which makes Harper think it's a game.  So we're in this nice circle of sisterly love...already.
• She has a fascination with socks and shoes.  She LOVES them.  She is always putting random socks and shoes on.  It's not surprising to see her wearing one Christmas sock and one hello kitty sock.  Needless to say there are socks all around the house and finding a pair has become harder and harder.
• She loves the cat.  She will find him and grab his tail or plop down right on top of him.  We're lucky that she is really the only person that Sam has never bitten.  There have been plenty of opportunities.

Center Grove Apple Orchard 2012

We took another trip up to the Cambridge Apple Orchard this year. I love this time of year and going to the orchard is always something that we look forward to each year. Last year we skipped the trip with Harper being so young.  This year both of the girls had a blast.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any apples that we could pick, but there were plenty of fun activities to keep the girls entertained for a couple hours.  Plus, we came home with apple cider donuts, an apple cider slushy (my favorite), fresh honeycrisp apples, and some Redfree baking apples for my batch of apple butter. 

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Little Sister

I've been thinking a lot lately about Harper missing out on being the baby of the family.  Yes, she'll always be my baby and loved and hopefully feel special, but I worry about her missing out on the attention that she receives as the "baby of the family."  I find myself rocking her at night as she goes to bed.  No, she doesn't need to be rocked to fall asleep.  Really, she'd prefer to fall asleep on her own in her crib.  But, she's my baby and I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel a little guilty and sad that she won't be my youngest for much longer.  I've always found myself pushing the girls through milestones and realizing later that things will happen in due time. A few months ago I was talking about how hopefully we can get Harper potty trained before she's two and moved into the bunk beds with her sister by then.  Now, I find myself backtracking and questioning my urge to push her along.  Yes, it will be a pain to have two in diapers, but she's only one...surely we will manage.  She's a climber and adventurous.  Is it really safe to have her wake up in the morning and climb up to the top bunk and fall over the edge?  So, as excited I am to meet my new son I pray that these next three months slow down for her sake!

 

Riley's First Day Of 4 Year Old Preschool

Riley started 4 year old preschool today at Westminster Preschool.  This is her second year attending Westminster and all but two of her classmates from last year are in her class this year. She has been very excited ever since we went to the open house last week.  Just in the past couple days she asked if I could go with her and play with her there...nerves were setting in.  We set her clothes out last night, found her backpack, and talked about all of the friends she would see.  She did great getting ready this morning.  As we walked through the church she hid behind me and kept saying "I'm  so nervous."  We went into her classroom and she went straight into shy-mode - hiding her face and not saying hi to anyone.  She found her cubbie and hung up her backpack and jacket.  Washed her hands.  Colored her name tag.  Then we checked out the fish and hermit crab.  From there we had a few tears and a lot of hugging when it was time for me to leave.  She finally joined the class on the rug and listened to the good morning song and name game.  When I left there were no more tears, but a very quiet Riley.  Daddy reported that she talked the whole way back to Hedy's.  She had a great day and got a sticker for playing nicely on the playground.  Overall, success. Let's hope that Monday's drop off is a bit easier.

Blank Park Zoo 2012

I took a couple days off after Labor Day and decided to take the kids to the zoo since we had yet to go this summer. Riley was super excited and Harper was up for anything. We headed out at 9am since it was going to be in the 90s. Both of the girls were great and had so much fun. Riley loved seeing the sea lions, otters, and giraffes. Harper loved watching the monkeys swing around, otters swim under water, and the giraffes. Riley chose to ride the carousel instead of the train. We only had one mishap when Riley tripped and scraped her knee and dropped her banana. After a couple hours and a little toy from the guest shop we were headed back home! Such a great morning.