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!

Confession

It's crazy to think that just over a year ago I was nervous to become a mommy for all of the wrong reasons. I wasn't sure I could handle the blood draws involved, labor and delivery and the sleepless nights (among alot of other things).

I remember so many people acting like all of that was not a big deal, but to me it was all so intimidating! I couldn't understand how people would quickly forgot labor and delivery? I mean how do you forget that?! Didn't it hurt like HELL? And oh my goodness, THE EPIDURAL?! Doesn't it hurt...and the catheter that came with it was super scary to me.

And the thought of needle pricks several times throughout the pregnancy was almost as scary to me. I would ask the doctor before I scheduled my next appointment if I needed my blood drawn. I would have to psych myself up for it.

And after all that was said done, I had to deal with those sleepless nights my friends refer to on Facebook. I was scared to death. I'm a sleeper...I don't hide that fact. So the thought of waking up several times in the middle of the night seemed impossible. I just knew I couldn't do it.

Here I sit almost 4 months later cracking up at myself. I'm no longer scared of needles, I quickly forgot about labor and delivery-I'm even excited my next child will be delivered via C-section. I got over my needle and surgery fears quickly after having Harper since I had two surgeries within a month and a half.

And those sleepless nights-I wouldn't trade them for the world. I love nothing more than waking up with Harper in the middle of the night and soaking up every ounce of her. The house is so quiet, she is usually so happy and wants nothing more than to cuddle and coo. Nothing is better than cuddling with her as I rock her to sleep. She lets out her last few smiles and coo's before drifting off to dreamland.

I have learned I wasn't scared of the needles, sleepless nights, etc...I just feared the unknown. So far, motherhood has taught me so much about myself. I'm so much stronger than I ever thought I could be.

And I love more than I ever thought I could love.

Life doesn't get much better.

(P.S. I actually look forward to the 4am wake-up calls from Harper. It's our special time together!...so yeah, I'm THAT mom!)

#32

Wow! What an amazing weekend. The Cutlip's had a fabulous time, it was a trip of a lifetime for Will.

(Just a warning this is going to be long and picture heavy!)

Let me start from the beginning....

Friday:
We arrived in Philadelphia and picked up Grammy from the airport. We were all starving so we decided to eat Philadelphia Cheesesteaks for dinner. I'm not a cheesesteak fan, but Will said it was wonderful. Tony Luke's is the best cheesesteak place in Philly apparently.

Saturday:
I bought Will a VIP tour of the Eagles stadium. We woke up excited and with high hopes! We just kept dreaming of all the possibilities. Who would we see? Any autographs? Will we get to see the locker room? etc, etc, etc...
We dressed Harper in her Eagles best and headed on our way!

Our tour was amazing! We saw a luxury suite, the press box, the field and last but certaintly not least the locker room. They kept the locker room really cold. When we were in there they were setting up some catering. We also noticed that they had more gum than you could possibly imagine out for the players. We thought that was funny! Here are a few pictures:

Cutlip's in the press box

Will doing pre game interviews...This is where Andy Reid (aka Randy Tidd's twin) sits for press conferences

In front of Owen's locker! You can see a pair of gloves behind me! More on that later...

Eagles Locker room. Behind us is Vick's locker and to the left is Schmitt's locker!

Gum, gum and more gum!

Jon Dorenbus took time out of his day to take pictures with us. He took me on the 50 yard line to take pictures with Flat Stanley! He was an awesome guy to say the least!

After our tour we went downtown and took in the sights, got lost a couple of times and grabbed a bit to eat. When we got back to the hotel room we snuggled and played with Harper. Grammy got some good snuggle time with her. After she fell asleep the real work began. It was time to make signs for the game!

Harper's wonderful Grammy...We love her!!!

Sunday:

We woke up bright and early to get ready and make sure we got there in plenty of time. Will was so embarrassed that I made signs that he refused to carry them. I was determined to use signs during the game. So, we get to the stadium SUPER early. Once the gates opened we decided we should find our seats to see what we are working with. He find our seats and we were shocked to see Owen Schmitt on the field warming up! I grab my sign and head towards the field. The event staff told me to hold up the sign and yell his name. They were sure he would come over to me. Will was all embarrassed and told me not too. So of course I did! He saw the sign and smiled the biggest smile and started heading in our direction. I thought he was just heading back to the locker room. But he ended up coming over to me and giving me the gloves he was wearing!!!!! He loved the sign and he was so nice and grateful. We shot the bull for a minute or two and he went back to the locker room. When he came back out with the rest of the team, he pointed his sign out to every one. I would like to think I made his week...wishful thinking I know.

The sign of a lifetime :)

Ever since Will and I started dating (13 years ago) I have ALWAYS wanted to do this. We finally did it! Mark that off my bucket list!

Here we are...nicest guy ever...WV's sweetheart!

We wished Will a Happy Birthday on the scoreboard...he loved it.

View from our seats!

View of the stadium

Here is one of the gloves in all it's glory!!!

Monday:

All good things must come to an end. We packed up and headed home. We made it home in 2.5 hours. Not bad, we joked and said it was almost faster to go to game in Philly than in Washington DC because traffic is always so bad in DC.

All in all, we had an amazing weekend. Will said this weekend was a close 2nd to his wedding weekend. Happy 30.5 Birthday Will!

Cutlip's <3 #32

Happy 30 1/2 Birthday Will!

No it's not Will's birthday...but we are celebrating it this weekend. Why you ask? Let me tell you....

Will has always been a Philadelphia Eagles fan (yeah, I know...) but he has never been to Philly. He has been to an Eagles game in DC when they played the Redskins. But he has always wanted to experience the atmosphere at Eagles stadium.

So last football season I decided I was going to buy him tickets to an Eagles game for his 30th birthday. I had it all planned out in my head. Until December 2010 when I found out I was pregnant. So I had to make arrangements for my mom to come with us to babysit while we go to the game. But I had to do all of it behind Will's back. Thank goodness for Grammy...she is going with us to babysit.

So on Will's actual birthday 6 months ago, I presented him the trip. We laughed thinking it was forever away and we would have a little girl to take with us. Now, it's go time!

We are heading there on Friday and staying until Monday. We have restaurants all picked out to try. It's going to be a nice little getaway for us.

Harper will also be taking a dip in a pool for the first time...I think I'm more excited about that. Trooper is staying in WV for an extended vacation with his Grandy and Ryder.

I'm hoping to make the "D" and "fence" sign to hold up with Will...he is boycotting the idea, but I'm sticking to my guns!

FYI-I'm not wearing Eagles gear...I just can't do it. But I will be the girl screaming for Owen Schmitt since he is a WVU boy!

Refreshed

Harper and I had a great weekend!

Lately, I have been really missing Harper while I'm at work. I feel like I never got good quality Mommy time with her. So I took advantage to having the house to myself. Will and Trooper headed to WV for Will's military duty and I opted to stay home. We ended up having such a wonderful weekend.

Friday evening when I came home from work I was ready to cuddle her. I had mentioned in a post earlier that she had been cranky, so I figured she needed to get caught up on her sleep. And that she did! She fell asleep at 7pm that evening and didn't wake up for the day until 8:45am. She was an exhausted little girl.

And do you remember that post about my wonderful friends? Well, I met up with another sorority sister that lives in this area. She has a 2.5 year old, who is so sassy and adorable! We had a blast together. We just sat around a caught each other up on our lives and headed out for a late lunch. The funniest part of the day is that our daughters were dressed in the same outfit! And even funnier, it was owl stuff! I guess it's our sorority days coming out in us.

Harper had so much fun on Saturday, that she was in tucked in bed by 8:30pm. She slept for a long time Saturday night too. She LOVED the time change. She is a sleeper like her mommy. She woke up in a fabulous mood. I decided I needed to head to the mall and pick up a few things before our trip this weekend. Harper was awake and smiling the whole time. She never made a peep. She is honestly such a good baby.

Since I have been having such good luck with an earlier bedtime, I have been sticking to it, and it has made such a difference in her. She gets a bath at 8 and is tucked in bed by 8:30. It seems so early to me, but now she is waking up (happy!) in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work so we get even more quality time that way. And all around, she is an even happier baby!

On Saturday we made a quick trip to the doctor and she weighed in at 12lbs, 12oz!

Not only is she gaining good weight, but developementally she is growing so much. She now holds toys in her hands and is really interactive with us. She absolutely loves to flirt with her daddy. She talks to him so much when he comes home from work. And her giggle is awesome. When she really starts laughing she gets herself all choked up...it's adorable!

Tomorrow I will tell you about our BIG weekend plans...even though it will only be Wednesday!

4:33 am

This morning at 4:33 am, I could hear Harper partying in her crib through the monitor. I went and got her and fed her a bottle. She was still ready to party after eating, which is rare. I caught her on the down swing, but here are a few pictures I took.

I have 2 adorable video's of her, but I'm not sure how to upload them on here. If I figure it out, I will make sure I put them up. It's of her talking and another one her daddy took of her taking an "oath". It's pretty cute.

FYI-Are those not the cutest jammies ever?! When Will and I bought them they looked huge, we thought she would never fit into them. Now, they fit just perfectly. They are 3-6 months..my girl is growing too fast! :(
I can't stop, won't stop with owls!!

Crankpants

This week has been a weird week with Harper. She has been getting EXTREMELY cranky in the evenings. At first I just thought it was a growth spurt, but now I'm just thinking she is sleepy by the time the evening rolls around and she trys to fight sleep. Either way, she is still the cutest baby in the world.  The evidence is below!

Bath time...her favorite time!

Happy Harper

This is the first picture I can see alot of me in Harper.

99.9% of the time she looks like a clone of her Daddy!

BFF

I've got a new best friend in this town....Flat Stanley!

Will's nephew sent us Flat Stanley in the mail and Mr. Stanley has been attached to my hip this week.

Mr. Stanley went to DC with me last night and I took pictures of him with one of my clients, a Congressman from Utah. He also visited the Washington Monument late last night. Tomorrow he is going to the Capitol, possibly the RNC/NRCC and the Washington Redskins practice facility (in our hometown). Flat Stanley is a busy guy!

Everyone gets a kick out of Flat Stanley. He was a hit last night. The Congressman said he gets requests 3 times a week for a photo opt with Flat Stanley. Wow!

Any suggestions on what Flat Stanley should see while he is visiting us?

High above me...she's so lovely...

Harper wanted to watch the Eagles game from the noseblood section in the living room. Anything to make her happy...