She passed

Taken this morning while we celebrated her success!

Baby bootcamp that is!

Yep...Harper finally slept through the night. 8:30pm to 6:00am. And it was glorious!

Of course, since Daddy has been home Harper has been a happy baby. Oh well, I'm just thankful to have a happy baby again.

I'm so excited to only have to work two half days this week and then I'm off until Jan. 2nd!!!! Work and life have been so busy since having Harper...I'm looking forward to a nice break. Although, Harper will have some big changes coming her way in the New Year.

Harper and I will be spending the next couple of days getting our house in order before we leave. We also have to catch up on laundry and pack. We are so excited to be heading home to WV for Christmas.

Enjoy the pictures of my baby girl...is she not the cutest thing you have ever seen?! I mean, seriously!?!

Helping cook dinner...isn't she just adorable!

Practicing sitting in her highchair

Aunt and Uncle Porkchop sent a special treat to the Cutlips...she was asking if she could have a piece.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

Oh.my.gosh!

We had a marathon Christmas weekend. It started at 5:30pm on Friday when I got off work. Kelsey, Harper and I headed to a couple of stores to get a jump start on my shopping. Saturday morning when Will got home, we all got ready and headed to Tyson's mall to (hopefully) finish our Christmas shopping. The mall was of course jam packed and parking was a nightmare, but we kept saying it was the experience we were looking for!

Harper sat on Santa's lap and she was an angel. We couldn't get her to smile for the life of us though.

After the mall we made a couple of stops at on the way home, but still went home with items still on our list. I had lunch (without Harper!!!) with a sorority sister Sunday and when I got home Will, Harper and I headed out to officially finish our shopping. Six hours later we were home. But the fun was just starting. WE, I mean me, had to start wrapping the presents. As I made a holy mess in the family room, Will and Harper made buckeyes. First annual Cutlip family tradition. Will grew up making buckeyes as a child, so we decided we wanted to pass that tradition on to Harper.

Helping Daddy make buckeyes...don't worry we didn't give her peanut butter

Of course Trooper had to get in on the action

Trooper wrapped his very own present to his sister

Trooper helping (or eating) make special treats for friends

After getting caught eating marshmellows....

We leave early Thursday morning to head to home for Christmas. It's going to be chaotic, but I'm sure we will have a blast!



Baby Bootcamp

If you have tried to get a hold of me these past two weeks and I haven't returned your call or ignored your attempts, please don't take it personally. I've been running a baby bootcamp in the Cutlip household. And it's been exhausting to say the least!

I have realized that Harper's life will be so different once she starts going to the babysitter's house in January. Which means life as she knows it will be turned upside down. So I decided I needed to start working on getting her on a schedule. Of course I decide to do this when Will is gone, but it HAD to be done.

For the first four months of Harper's life I would proudly tell everyone that she was a great sleeper. She would only wake up once a night and take a bottle and immediately fall back to sleep. I just didn't understand the "Oh you are a new mom...good luck getting sleep!" mentality. It didn't really apply to me....until last week. Oh my gosh, she was waking up 3-4 times during the night and staying up. It was HORRIBLE. I had to go into work late on Tuesday because I was up I finally decided enough was enough. She was cranky, tired and honestly high maintenance. I just envisioned the new babysitter saying she couldn't handle Harper and refuse to watch her. So I knew it was time to get tough. :(

After some research, I decided the "cry it out" method would work for us. On top of that, I have implemented a schedule...I told you is was baby bootcamp at our house! We have succesfully(?) completed 3 nights. The amount of crying in the middle of the night has decreased somewhat...but we still have a long way to go. I know it will be worth it in the end, it's just been tough. Oh and she used to only sleep in her Nap Nanny in the crib, yes I am aware this isn't good, but she no longer sleeps in that.

And now I'm starting to wake her up in the mornings and get her ready just like she will start having to do next month. I'm praying my hard work will pay off and I will be have a scheduled baby.

Will got lucky this time-I'm doing all the hard work and he will hopefully come back to a well rested, scheduled baby. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Christmas gifts

Christmas came early for Miss Harper!

Harper got a Christmas gift from her Aunt K.Hart and Uncle Michael. Here are a couple of pictures of her opening some of her first Christmas gifts. They sent her a reindeer pajamas (which she wore to bed that night) and a book. They also sent me a beautiful ornament that is hanging proudly on our tree. Thank you so much!

Excited to open her gift!

Checking out her new book

Discovering paper

Weekend Recap

All dressed up and no where to go

Will is still gone in case you were wondering. :)  But I'm starting to get in a groove, so things are getting better in the Cutlip house. I was a ball of stress the first few days. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it, but being a mommy makes you realize you can do all kinds of things you didn't realize you can do. I have honestly enjoyed my alone time with Harper. I feel like we have bonded so much since Will has been gone. She is usually a Daddy's girl, but has become quite the Mommy's girl. I can't complain, but I think Trooper is a little annoyed and my house isn't in the best shape because of it. We do Facetime Will everyday so Harper can at least see and hear him. She recognizes his voice.

Friday night I came home from work and practically collapsed on the couch. I was EXHAUSTED to say the least. Harper had the roughest night ever Thursday night and I was exhausted from being so busy at work. I wish politicians would go home all ready... I don't want them here in DC! Hahaha!! For some reason Harper is waking up every 4 hours to eat in the middle of the night. Who knows what is going on with her.

Saturday I woke up feeling a little better (somewhat rested) and decided to go to my sorority sister's cookie exchange party. I (me and Kelsey) whipped up 5 dozen cookies and headed to Ali's house. Harper wanted to be held all day, but I had cookies to bake. So I strapped her on and baked. She LOVED it! Harper fell asleep on the way there. I thought that would be good thing, she would wake up nice and rested..I think not! She woke up in a BAD mood. For some reason, everytime we have a family gathering or go to a party she is not a happy camper. I don't think she likes parties...whose child is she?!!! Christmas should be fun this year! :) Anyway, we skipped bath time since it was late by the time we got home.

Fuzzy iPhone picture...this is how I (or we) baked 5 dozen cookies

Nap time...don't let this picture fool you, they are far from friends.

Sunday we didn't officially get out of bed until 10:30...my girl would rather sleep late than sleep through the night! I got lots of snuggle time though! We spent the day being lazy. She napped often and we watched Christmas movies. We played, cuddled some more and talked to Will. It was such a nice day. I cooked dinner from a pinterest recipe...it was okay to say the least. We ended the weekend with a little Christmas project that went terribly wrong! I don't suggest paint and a 4.5 month old. I will be washing paint out of her hair for at least another 4.5 months. Oh well, we tried...maybe next year!

Sunday Funday

This week is a pretty low key week I think. I just have my company Christmas party on Thursday and a special person's (Aunt Chop) birthday on Saturday. And Will comes home! And oh my goodness...Christmas is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

PICTURES!

I remembered to bring my camera to work so I could post some pictures. Here is my catch-up post in pictures. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving table

Thanksgiving spread with Dad putting the finishing touches on the food

My amazingly awesome pecan pie....

If you know my dad, you know what he asking here..."Let me do a taste test on these?1"

One little detail I left out in yesterday's post was the little situation we had. It wouldn't be a holiday without a situation. Will so lovingly peeled all of the potatoes, but didn't realize they didn't belong in a garbage disposal. So he clogged the sink. Nothing Randy couldn't fix! It just happened at the exact wrong time.

Look at that! And at the disaster I like to call my kitchen!

Harper watching her first Thanksgiving day parade.

Cutlip Family Christmas Tree

Will is going to kill me for posting this picture...

Harper helped check every bulb

We tried out her high chair to see if should would like it.

Nap time in the Cutlip house-pure heaven for me :)

Alive...

I'm so sorry everyone...life has been beyond chaotic since Thanksgiving. But I'm back!

Thanksgiving went great. The food was delicious, we had awesome company and lots to be thankful for. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, Tidd kids, Kelsey and 2 fur nephews all celebrated Thanksgiving with us. It was a house full, but it made me so happy to be surrounded by my family. And I love that we had a daughter to spend Thanksgiving with (even if she was going through a growth spurt that week)! My mom and Kelsey went shopping at midnight and the Cutlip's headed to bed. We had an early morning on Black Friday. I scheduled pictures for us. A co-worker took them for us and they turned out pretty good. After pictures, turkey sandwiches and a nap, we did a little shopping. But the most exciting part of Black Friday is the WVU vs. sPitt game. Harper experienced her first Backyard Brawl. She fell asleep during the game, but couldn't sleep long with her Uncle Matt screaming at the TV.

On Saturday, we decorated the house for Christmas. In typical Cutlip fashion, the tree is entirely too big for the room, but we love it.

Sunday we recooped from the busy holiday weekend. And prepared for a full week of work.

Last week was busy as usual. I had a fundraiser, Harper had her big 4 month appointment aka shots, and Will left town for 2 weeks! :(

This week has been even crazier. I had 4 fundraisers, interviewed/hired a new babysitter, still being a single mommy and running (sort of) a household. I have had my hands full to say the least.

Will is gone for two weeks for military duty. He was supposed to go 2 days after Harper was born, but obviously that didn't work out. So December was when they made him go, not the most ideal time, but such is life. We spent the days leading up to his departure decorating, cleaning and interviewing potential babysitters for Harper. We tried to get Harper to roll over while Will was still home, but she wasn't having that at all. So 2 hours after Will walked out the door, Harper rolled over for the first time! Once she started, she hasn't stopped. It's adorable. I know some may be wondering why we are firing Kelsey...she needs to finish college. So it's a bittersweet situation, she will be missed so much but education is priority. Harper loves "Nanny McPhee" so much and she has been my lifesaver while Will is gone and pretty much everyday, so life will be much different after she leaves. I'm not sure who Will will pick on once she leaves!

We did hire a new babysitter with help from my boss. He knew of someone looking to babysit for some extra cash. So it worked out perfectly. Harper will be going to her house to hang out with her 4 kids! She is a very nice lady and her kids are wonderful. I feel confident Harper will be very happy with her.

Last but not least, Trooper is very depressed his Daddy is gone again. He didn't take the deployment well at all, and he is quickly falling into that same depression. Leave it to MY dog to have issues!

I will post pictures in the next couple of posts, I just don't have time to do it right now.

Thankful

Since I will be working my tail off (I hope literally) in the kitchen tomorrow I thought I would share what I was thankful for this Thanksgiving...in no particular order.

A healthy preemie

A successul pregnancy...sorta

A GOOD baby!

The world's worst...I mean best Hound dog!

The best grandparents Harper could ask for!

A healthy and loving family

The best brother I could ever imagine (but I give my sister-in-law all the credit!)

The most adorable niece and nephew I could ever ask for

My husband's military service

My mom's help and advice this last year. I don't know what I would do without her.

My husband, best friend, world's best baby daddy, Mr. fix-it and the list could go on and on...

Harper's Nanny (my cousin) Kelsey...we will miss her so much!

My sister-in-law and all of her advice, guidance, opinions, sweetness, etc.

And because I have no pictures, I'm also so thankful for our jobs, my amazing friends, Will's family, my family, my iPhone, our house, our neighborhood and "small" town, my breast pump, the nap nanny, our cars, our neighbors, my doctors, DVR, my fur nephews- Mo and Ryder, I could go on and on...but I have so much to be thankful for this year. More this year than ever.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!



4 month pictures

I posted about Harper's 4 month birthday, but didn't post any of her official 4 month pictures for your viewing pleasure. And yes, I know she is the most adorable little girl on the planet! :)

Also, in case you forgot, tomorrow is Harper's first Thanksgiving! She is so excited she can barely stand it. She went with us to do the big Thanksgiving day grocery shopping. And of course Mommy had to take a picture.

Trish/Church/Tri/Trash/Pat/Carol

Last night one of my best friends from college graced us with her presence. Miss Patricia Carol Turner.

Again, because I honestly have some of the best friends a girl could ask for, Trish came in town to visit me and meet Harper for the first time. We went out to dinner (which was honestly the best meal I've had in a very long time) and caught up with each other. We hadn't seen each other since my baby shower in May. We picked up right where we left off. Harper thought she was awesome. She smiled and giggled for Trish and was a very good girl at dinner. I just love hanging out with my friends and it makes it even better that Harper gets to meet them too.

So let me tell you how I met Trish. Where shall I begin....

My freshman year of college I joined Chi Omega. My dues where due and my Mom happened to be in town, so I took Mom over to the sorority house to pay my dues. Guess who was the treasurer at the time...yep, Miss Turner. So we knocked on her bedroom door to give her the check (at this time I was still pretty new and didn't know a whole lot of people, so I don't really remember meeting Trish before this) and she says "WHAT?!!!" and I very sofly and politely say "I need to pay my dues, can I give you a check?" and she says, "yeah, whatever". So I open her door and she is laying in bed watching TV. So my Mom asks how much she owes and Trish huffs and puffs the whole time as she looks it up. One thing leads to another and we get to talking and then say our goodbyes. As soon as we walked out my Mom and I looked at each other and said "Oh my goodness, she HAS to be Mary Ann Allen's daughter!" Mary Ann was my cheerleading coach for 3 years in high school and Trish was her clone. Ironic huh?! Over the first few weeks of school, somehow Trish and I became friends.

Trish and I ended up becoming very close friends. Trish was also the hook up in the sorority house. She was one of the only girls that had a car at the house, so her car quickly became the community car we all used. Most of the time she would take on the motherly role (even more ironic now looking back). I honestly don't think my college experience would have been the same without meeting Trish. She introduced me to some great friends and took me to Spencer, WV several times. We roomed together our last semester of college, I held her hand with her big break up with "he who shall remain nameless", we had sleep over countless times, we hitchhiked together...basically, you name it we did it.

So last night, as we were thinking back to our glory days, we realized we would argue but we never got in yelling matches with each other. Then Trish did point out that one time!

It was a football Saturday and Trish hosted a tailgate at her townhouse. She bought the keg and I provided an appetizer. We tailgated and headed to the game. Once at the game Maggie and I got seperated from the group (per usual) and ended up partying by ourselves in the Blue lot. We ended up running into an old friend from high school and invited him to Trish's house to finish off the keg. We walked back to Trish's and started drinking from the keg. Trish came flying down the stairs and asked "What are you doing?!" We again, softly and politely responded "drinking, what are you doing?" That is when Trish flew off the handle and said we need to pay for the keg (a big $5!) and we actually got into a full blown argument over $5. So me, Maggie and our friend stormed out and headed back to the Blue Lot. After the game Maggie's Dad was taking us home and we commented on how hungry we still were. We realized we still had our favorite Mexican dip at Trish's house. We were still so made at Trish that we didn't want her to have an ounce of that dip, so we were going to stop and get the dip. But we were scared...lol. So Maggie's sister's friend was in the car with us and told us to man up and just take it. So we had Maggie's dad stop at Trish's house so we could pick it up. We ran in the house, stole the dip and ran back into the car. Maggie's sister's friend then coined the phrase "repo dip".

Ironically, Trish is now BFF with Maggie's sister's friend and we still call this Mexican dip "repo dip". And after the alcohol wore off the next day, we made up and realized how funny the story actually is. And now, we think it's even funnier.

So now are you wondering about the title of this entry? Trish has so many nicknames as you can see and those are just a few.

Very long story short, I'm so thankful Trish and I found each other. We have had alot of ups and downs, I know we are in each other's lives for a reason, even if it's to tell each other how miserable we are when we both get kidney stones?! (:

Being the bad friend that I am, I didn't get a picture with her and Haper, but next time I will! So expect one in February when we head down to Charlotte for Trish's 30th BIRTHDAY! Oh my gosh, I just can't believe it!

Trish-thanks for visiting us last night. I've missed you! I sure hope Harper has "a Trish" in her life someday. That way I can teach her the saying, "It's Trish's world, we all just live in it!"

4 months

My sweet baby girl is 4 months old!

I just can't believe it. I've been thinking about how she is growing up so fast and it honestly makes me a little sad. I DREAD the day she doesn't want to cuddle with me. I know it's selfish! I even had a dream last night that she was a toddler and I was super sad she grew up so quickly. But in my dream she had blonde hair, so that makes me excited...haha!

I won't have her 4 months stats until her doctors appointment next week. But I'm guessing she is in the 13lb range and extra short. She is such a little peanut.

Harper is still finding her voice and talking quite a bit. Different sounds are always coming out of her mouth. Just last night we heard her girly gigle for the first time. It was the cutest thing I have ever head. She is starting to grab for toys and hold them really well. She even knows what she needs to do with her paci. If it falls out of her mouth, she grabs it and puts it back in her mouth. We have a baby genius on our hands! (just kidding!) Tummy time is still a sore subject with her. She HATES being on her tummy. Fusses the whole time. I KNOW she needs her tummy time, but it just pains me to do it. But we suffer through it ever night together. She is starting to show more interest in rolling over, but still hasn't done it. She can get to her side and then stops. We work on rolling over every night.

Harper also got a new toy. Will and I bought her an exersaucer. She likes it in small doses. She is just so tiny that I don't think she is really that comfortable in it. But we still put her in it. She also lights up when her daddy comes home from work. She is a daddy's girl.

We have her bedtime routine down to a science now. She gets a bath at 8 and tucked in bed by 8:30. It works really well for her. Unfortunately, I can't break her of the habit of sleeping her nap nanny in her crib. Yeah, I know I shouldn't do it, but she loves it. Although, she takes naps flat on her belly. She is still very unpredictable when it comes to sleeping thru the night. I know she can do it, but she just doesn't do it consistently. Most of the time she wakes up between 3 and 4am has 4 oz of milk and falls right back to sleep.

She takes about 4-5 oz of milk every four hours. Sometimes she will want even more, but not often. She is still wearing 3 month sleepers because she is so dang short. But in her clothes she wears 3-6 months.

She is still a good baby. Within the last month she has started to fight sleep. That is about the only time she cries.

She brings us so much joy. I know I have said it a thousand times, but we are beyond blessed. I honestly couldn't have imagined motherhood being this great. Let's hope the next 4 months are as great as the first 4 months.

We love you Harper Alizabeth!

Strolling Around

We have a wonderful stroller for Harper. We are boderline obsessed with her stroller. It was an expensive stroller, but we don't at all regret the purchase...we love it so much.

But because it was an expensive stroller, I wanted to save a little wear and tear on it and get a jogging stroller. The only problem is I don't jog! Hahaha!

So I bought a cheap (and I mean very cheap) jogging stroller off Craigslist. I got it at exactly the wrong time of year though. When I purchased it, the time just changed. By the time I get home from work it's too dark to take her out. So I haven't had time to use it. But we finally used it yesterday.

I took off work early since I had been putting in so many long hours at work this week. My work/life balance was really OFF balance. And I needed some quality Harper time. She hadn't seen me in 36 hours. It was tough. So when I got off work we decided to take Harper on a stroll in her new stroller.

She seemed to like it. It's so different than her Orbit Stroller. She looked like such a big girl. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend! The Cutlip's are going grocery shopping since we are hosting Thanksgiving this year!