Quite the Fashionista

Thanks to her "Aunt" Jenessa, Harper is up on the latest trends. Now... the one-piece jumper is not something you will see me wear, but Harper loves hers! It's still a little big, since she is still wearing 0-3 month clothes, but I just had to put it on her today! She looks so serious in her picture. You should've seen the faces Corby and I were making behind the camera to get her to smile... she simply wasn't interested. This girl has her own agenda, and I love every minute of it!!! She also went swimming today with Mare, Emme, and Luke. She loves the water so much! This was her second time in the pool... the first was last week at the pool in our neighborhood. It was a little too crowded for my liking, so I doubt we will go back there. So until we get into the other pool (the waiting list is 2-4 years!) in our neighborhood, we will count on Mare and her apartment's pool! 

Our little model

When we were in LR in May, the fabulous Ashley Carson took some wonderful pictures of Harper. I ultimately did them for Corby for Father's Day, and he was so surprised! I also know I have antsy family members who are ready to get one of these in their hands... patience, people. It is just too darn hot to run errands during the afternoon with Harper. She sweats like a mad woman in that car seat, and I'm not gonna lie, I sweat too. I promise to get them to you all soon- at least by November when it finally cools down around here! 

So maybe I was a little crazy earlier this week, perhaps sleep deprivation was kicking in, but I decided we were going to stop swaddling Harper. She breaks out of it every morning, and I thought she might sleep longer if she wasn't so mad about that swaddle. I am pleased to report that although the first night didn't go so well, she has slept all the way through the night the past 2 nights! And once she wakes up, I feed her and put her back down....and she sleeps at least 3 more hours!!!! Sweet little thing sleeps on her side, and it is the most precious thing I've ever seen! She is also enjoying her new found freedom... touching everything in her bed and trying her absolute hardest to roll over. She is SO close to rolling from her back to tummy! I am so proud of her! Enough of my rambling... here are the pictures that will make your heart melt! 

She was done by this point... 

she wanted nothing to do with the red couch

She loved laying in this basket!

Checking out the camera

How precious is she?!?!

Just hanging out in the wildflowers

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!!! 

Holding her a little tighter

This morning began quite early, and I'm sure Corby was a little concerned when he left for work. I was quite the "Grouchy Ladybug" (a wonderful Eric Carle book....and what I called Annalise when she was grouchy) at 5:30 when Harper decided to wake up. However, my attitude quickly changed when I thought about my sister's good friend Sarah and the loss of her baby girl, Mamie. She was due in 2 weeks and lost her yesterday. I can't imagine her pain as she delivered that sweet baby and won't be bringing her home. Then later today, my sister called me to tell me about the Rumley (from Little Rock...not sure if they still live there) family, and the loss of their 4 month old during his nap. There are just some things that I will never understand. Needless to say, Heaven received 2 beautiful babies that will be in the arms of Jesus as they wait on their mommies and daddies to join them. And me, well, I am holding Harper a little tighter today.  

Last Week in Pictures

As you may remember, Annalise and my mom came to visit last week. It was such a busy week! Whew... I don't know how people take care of more than 1 child at a time. I literally don't know what I would've done if my mom hadn't come to help! She was so wonderful all week, playing everything Annalise wanted to. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week. She was so great with Harper and loved her so much! It was precious! 

My mom with her girls! 

Kissing on Harper

Annalise loved holding her... 

Harper's eyes reveal that she might be a little concerned

Best friends!

She loved playing with her in her gym

The gym was very full once the baby doll was added to the mix

On another note, today has been a lot better! She has been a little grouchy this afternoon, but at least it hasn't been all day! :)

Corby, you can come home now. Thank you.

Whew... it has already been "one of those days", and it's only noon! Our sweet child has been choosing to wake up earlier than any of us would like, and I just wish there was something we could do about it. Today has been worse than ever.... not only did she wake up at 5:15, she has hardly slept and cried almost every second that she was awake. The patience is running thin and at one point, I just cried with her. Needless to say, we are both VERY ready for Corby to be home. I need 6pm to get here quickly! 

Adding time to my day...

No, this isn't a post about tivo... although I could talk about it all day since it does add time to my day too, I am writing about my new hair dryer. My mom was in town last week, and she noticed how long it takes to dry my hair. I told her that I'd get a new dryer when mine broke, and she said at this point in my life, every extra minute helps and that she would get me a new one. What a treat! Who needs a new shirt when you can get a new hair dryer??? I certainly took the dryer over something from Gap. Needless to say, this high powered dryer is changing my life. Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but seriously... it takes me just a few short minutes to dry my hair now! If you are in the market for a new hair dryer, I highly recommend the Remington Blowout! 

Happy Father's Day, Corbs!

Corby,

Harper and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are such an amazing father...but I'm certainly not surprised. Thank you for your devotion to our family. Your hard work has certainly not gone unnoticed. I am forever thankful that you work so hard to allow me to stay home with Harper during the day. I seriously can't thank you enough for that! Thank you for all of your help with Harper in the evenings. I know that you are exhausted from a long work day, so it really means so much that you do her bed time feeding every night! I know she looks forward to her time with you every night! I love listening to you talk to her, telling her all about things like the Olympics, bamboo, many different sports, and the continents. I can't wait to continue to watch your relationship with her grow! Y'all are going to have such a special bond. I love you more every single day. Happy Father's Day!

Love,

Lauren and "Little H"

Corby and I would also like to wish our dads a Happy Father's Day! We hope that you have a great day!!! Love you! 

Like mother like daughter...

I still can't get over this picture! I laugh every time I think about it. Which let's be honest.... how could this not make you laugh? Annalise had this wig, so I couldn't resist putting it on Harper. I can't help but assume this is just the beginning of my child dressing up. If you know me at all, you know that dressing up is one of my favorite things to do. Oh, you'd like an example, well here you go. 
Don't worry.... this was just a usual night at my mom's. Guitar Hero can only be played in character as far as I'm concerned. That denim jumpsuit has been worn more times than I could've ever imagined. Thank you Dillards juniors department, and more importantly, thank you Britney Spears for encouraging Dillards to carry such a hideous item. 

A Fancy Nancy Kind of Day

We had such a great time in St. Louis for Annalise's 4th birthday party! She has grown so much... I can hardly stand it! Our weekend was very busy, but it was so much fun. Harper did great on the plane rides; she slept almost the whole time! This was a definite blessing because she has been known to scream, and I was so worried the whole day that she might ruin the flight for those around us. Thankfully the people behind us didn't even know I had a baby with me! Way to go, Harp! Annalise was so excited to finally meet Harper. I have a few pictures of them, but I'll post those another time.... this post is dedicated to the birthday party! It was nice to meet all of her friends and her nanny, Summer. I've heard so much about all of them, so it was nice to finally put faces with names. Annalise is now here with us for the week, so we've been really busy. I'll try to post later on today some other pictures from the weekend. But for now, I hope you enjoy these birthday party pictures. Pardon the poor picture quality... I left my nice camera at home since we had to pack most of the house for Harper! :) 

Her Fancy Nancy cake... it was quite tasty too!

She loves to pose for pictures! 

Hanging out with the birthday girl!

Annalise and her parents

Playing at the Little Gym with her friends

She blew out all of her candles (and didn't cry during the happy birthday song... which is something that has happened at every other birthday party!)

3 Months old...seriously???

I can't believe that Harper is 3 months old today! She is growing so much... I can hardly stand it! We had to buy her bigger pajamas last week, and I could've cried right there at Target if I had thought about it long enough. I wish I were kidding. She is still wearing 0-3 month size, but is getting very close to moving up! I don't know how much she weighs... hopefully more than what she did at her 2 month check-up (but sometimes her spit-up amounts make me question her actual intake!). She is finally on some reflux medicine that seems to be helping... a little. I wonder if her dosage needs to be higher, but I'll wait until her 4 month appointment to talk with her doctor about it. She is sleeping great at night, usually 9-7. She also naps like a champ! I think the weather really affected her today because she slept for nearly 4 hours this afternoon! It was crazy! I decided to just let it happen. Okay, enough details that no one (except me) really cares about... I know what you really want- pictures! Here are some of my favorites from the last week. Enjoy! 

Not too pleased with her posed picture

She loves being naked... should we be worried? 

Playing with her bee and giraffe

Stylin' as always

Looking like a big girl before our walk!

Tummy time is a little more enjoyable now!

She loves hitting the bird on her gym

Yes, maybe a little vain, but she really likes the way she looks!

Can you blame her, though?

Happy 4th Birthday, Annalise!!!

I seriously can't believe that Annalise is turning 4 today!!! It literally seems like just a few months ago I was rocking her to sleep at Callier Child Development Center. (If you don't know who Annalise is, then you probably don't know me- I nannied for her for most of her life, until she moved last September... we were best buds!) I have been at every birthday party, and this year is no exception. Corby, Harper, and I are flying to St. Louis on Friday to be at her birthday party. We are SO excited to see her. I can't wait to watch her with Harper. I'm hoping that Harper is on her best behavior, as traveling has proven to not be her favorite thing! Either way, I know we are going to have a great time!!! 

Here are some pictures from her first through third birthday parties. I always had so much fun planning her parties... I really missed it this year! 

Right before the happy birthday song really scared her! 

Enjoying her lady bug cupcake!

Right before we really wore ourselves out jumping in the bounce house!

Happy Birthday, Annalise! We love you and 

can't wait to see you this weekend!!! 

Dressed to Impress!

Today was our first day at The Village Church Dallas at Northway...whew that's a mouthful! It was a really neat service, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little misty-eyed at the end! For the worship time, we mostly sang older hymns that took me back to the good ol' days at my Gran-D's church. And then their preacher gave a small sermon and then we prayed over the new staff. Starting next Sunday, it will feel more like the Village... but today was a celebration of how Northway has transformed over the years. Since it was a pretty big occasion, Harper had to wear her finest clothes! She wore such a beautiful dress that my dad got her when she was born. We haven't had an occasion nice enough for her to wear it, so I figured today was the perfect day. I took some pictures of her once we got home... Enjoy!

Lookin' fancy!

She's probably annoyed with the amount of pictures I was taking!

Who are you and what are you doing in my chair?

Checking out her daddy while loving on her lamb

Dancin' in the streets of New York City...

Little Leah (my sister) is finally in New York! Her internship with Seventeen magazine started yesterday, and she has already sorted through more shoes than anyone should deal with in a life time! I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. I wish that everyone could know her... she's amazing! She has started a blog (asummerinthecity.blogspot.com), so go check it out and follow her journey this summer! I love you, Leah.... and I love that picture of you so much that I had to share it with the blog world. You're welcome.