West Virginia girl

We had a blast in West Virginia this past weekend. We got to visit special friends and family on Saturday. Harper had a BLAST! 

We arrived in WV on Friday around 7:30pm.  We took a VERY scenic route through the heart of WV. Long but fun. Harper was an absolute angel. 99.9% of the time she travels so well. 

Happy Harper heading to WV!

When we arrived, Grammy and Grandy were waiting at the door for us. They were so excited to see Harper. They even made Grandy's famous tacos and had a fire in the fireplace. Two of my favorite things about "home." 

Harper hadn't been back to WV in 4 months, which meant she has changed so much. She LOVED exploring Grammy and Grandy's house. She thought she owned that place. 

Saturday we met Sarah and Ashley and their kids for lunch. Ashley cooked us lunch and it was delicious. The kids ended up playing so well together. Harper loved playing with them. Made me so happy. 

Harper wanted in Max's bed so bad...so of course the other two wanted to join!

They were so cute together! Harper followed Emmalin around and let her teach her a few new things. It was the sweetest thing in the world. Max was all boy! 

We left there and headed to visit "Aunt" Lane, Caleb and Steve. Baby Caleb is going to be a heart throb! He is so cute and GOOD! He had a smile on his face the entire visit. And of course Harper was more interested in the food he was eating. 

I couldn't get a good picture with them together. But you can see Harper stealing his food here! 

We ended the day visiting Poppy Bill and Mimi (Will's dad and step-mom). Harper had a blast. She loved being in the middle of the chaos. She got to see her Uncles (Will's brothers) and a couple of Aunts. She LOVED her Uncle Kris. And played really well with her cousin Brianna. We ended having to leave around 9:30 because Harper was exhausted. 

She would NOT keep her shirt on all weekend. I finally gave in and let her run around topless at Poppy and Mimi's. She was such a ham that evening. 

Sunday we didn't do much of anything but go to Tudor's. I had to introduce my daughter to WV staple. 

Harper and I had such a good weekend together. I don't think I will ever be able to say it enough, but I just absolutely love her and am so blessed to have her. Life is so much sweeter with her in it. 

We were sad to leave WV, not knowing when we will be able to come back, but at least we get to see Grammy and Grandy this weekend for Thanksgiving. Nothing like going "home" and nothing makes me happier than bringing Harper "home" with me. 

Happy Monday! It's a short work week for me.... :)

Catch up

Not much is going on in the Cutlip house this week. We are heading to Hurricane this weekend to visit mine and Will's family since we won't be seeing them over Christmas or Thanksgiving. And Will's Dad and step-mom haven't seen Harper in four months. And a lot has changed in those four months.

I just finalized my Thanksgiving menu since I will be cooking again this year. I don't know who is going to join us, but I'm cooking, so come to the Cutlip house if you are looking for a place to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. <----warn me first so I can make sure I have a clean house!!! 

I spent the day at home on Monday. I was feeling under the weather AGAIN and couldn't make it into work. Because I felt so bad, I have been doing some research and I'm 99.9% sure I'm going to go on a gluten free diet after Thanksgiving. I think it's contributing to my feeling the yuckies more often than not! It's going to be a big change, but I think it will be worth it. And I'm only telling this on my blog so it somehow holds me responsible to this commitment. 

I think Harper has finally adjusted to the new babysitter. She seems to be having fun when I leave her and pick her up. Which is a big relief. For the past few days when I pick her up she starts yelling "dog dog" when she sees me. She knows it's time to go play with Trooper. I guess I'm chopped liver now. Seriously, does it get any cuter? Oh but it does! 

Harper now tells us when it's her bath and bed time. Yep, you read that right. If she is starting to feel sleepy, she will just start heading towards the stairs and pointing up towards her bedroom (last night it was at 7:20!). If it starts getting close to bedtime and we tell her it's time to go "night night" she just walks over to the stairs and heads to the bathroom for a bath. Does it get any better? I need to video tape this. It's unbelievable. We have FaceTime'd with my parents to show them. I have seriously been blessed with a wonderful little girl. And the last two nights she doesn't even want me to rock her. She just wants in her bed with her blanket. But makes me sad...I love rocking her before bed. We have some good conversations that way! :)

This morning she was so proud of her dress. She pranced around the driveway.

Monday I wasn't feeling well so I just let her go at it with her lunch. Clean up wasn't fun! 

Sporting her North Face

Oh my gosh, where has by baby gone? Her hair is long enough for pigtails! Adorable, no?!

No blog post would be complete without a picture of Trooper. Will called me from the couch (I was in the bedroom) to tell me to tip toe downstairs to look at my first born. Who does he think he is?

Do I have something in my teeth? Daddy shared his gummy snakes with Harper and I found the evidence! 

Why didn't anyone warn me?

When I was pregnant with Harper everyone gave me their opinions and had pointers for me. Everyone told me to sleep as much as humanly possible before she arrived because I would never get sleep again. Or that childcare costs were ungodly expensive. Or tips on teething, breastfeeding, cry-it-out method, non cry-it-out method. What stroller or carseat is the best, what must-have's I MUST register for. You get the point...everyone had an opinion and great advice. But not one person stated the obvious. And it obviously wasn't obvious to Will and I! 

No one told us just how messy kids were! Oh my gosh, the amount of mess Harper produces is unbelievable to me. I'm the furthest thing from a neat freak and Harper is too (maybe that is the problem), but the amount of mess she brings to the family is downright astonishing. I can't remember this last time she had a sparkling clean highchair. Judge me if you will, but I don't have the time or patience to scrub that thing every time she eats. Must I remind you that time is a precious thing in our house since I'm a working Mom! I'm not going to spend my valuable time with Harper making sure her highchair is sparkling clean every time she eats. 

You can walk into my house at any given time and find toys strung from the third level to the bottom level. Sippy cups abandoned in random places and food stashed in drawers and toys! Just the other night I went to open our end table in our family room and I found a piece of banana...seriously...and god knows how long it had been in there. I'm predicting 2 days tops. Harper loves to eat from one hand and carry food in the other. Obviously she doesn't always eat the "spare" food, she stashes it, or Trooper gets a treat! 

Now, I'm spending my evenings after she goes to bed checking all toys and drawers to make sure she hasn't stashed a banana or cheese stick somewhere. 

I can't be the only Mom who has to deal with a messy, hoarding daughter right?! Oh god, talk me off the ledge and tell me my daughter is normal! 

And for the love of god, if you or someone you know is pregnant, warn them to brush up on their cleaning skills. And to start taking their vitamins now because they will end missing more work in the first year of their child's life than is the last 10 years combined because of the germs the kids produce and pass on to you! 

Morale of the story...kids are messy and germy...take it from me and Harper! 

Packing up and leaving

Apparently that is how Harper feels this morning after seeing the election results

Hang on, the next 4 years will be a wild ride. Will and I realized this morning that Harper will be 5 1/2 years old next election! That is crazy! 

Vote

Today is a BIG day for America! It's our time to shine and I hope you do your part and VOTE!

When I went in to get Harper from her crib this morning, Trooper and I reminded her that today was election day. She clapped her hands with excitement (a girl after my own heart!) and Trooper barked. Even my one year old daughter and 8 year old basset hound are excited...you should be too!

Look at my big girl...making me so proud! 

She was proud of her shirt! Her Aunt Maggie gave it to her when she was a wee baby! 

Beautiful and cute republican! 

What are you waiting on....go VOTE already! 

Weekend Recap

Before I give you an update on the weekend, I want to give you Harper's 15 month stats!

Weight: 21 lbs 6 oz - 50th percentile
Height: 29 1/2 inches - 25th percentile

She is still our little peanut, but a perfectly healthy peanut.
Doctor said she was developmentally perfect. We are working hard on getting her to feed herself with a spoon and fork. She understands the concept, she just doesn't always get the food to her mouth. But practice makes perfect. She got 3 shots, but she took them like a trooper. I was nervous for her to get shots because she had been feeling yucky all week, but the doctor cleared for her shots. No signs of infection or cold...all signs pointed to teething. The doctor was impressed with the amount of words Harper is using. Here are some I can remember off the top of my head:
Momma
Dadda
eat
dog dog
TT - Trooper
Bye
Hi
Dance- sounds like "Daa"
balloon - sounds like "baa"
shhh
baby - sounds like bebe
mooo - every time she see's any sort of resemblance of a cow
Boo - when she plays peek-a-boo

We had another fun weekend together. It started on Friday evening when we met Maggie and Ryan for dinner. We never have problems with Harper at restaurants. She is always very well mannered and generally a good girl. Friday was an exception. She wasn't so good! Will and I had to take turns walking around with her. I think it was a deadly combination of the "yuckies" and it was extremely hot in the restaurant. She hates being hot. Just like her Mom!

Saturday was a busy day. It started bright and early on Saturday morning. Harper had gymnastics class!

Finishing her breakfast before gym class!

We then went to Babies-R-Us to by Harper a big girl car seat for Will's truck. We just bought a cheaper one for his truck since it's not her primary car seat. We still swear by our Orbit System! 

Test "driving" her new seat

Saturday evening we headed to Ali's house to cheer on the Mountaineers. Harper had a blast. She just made her self right at home. She played and explored everything. She had fun figuring out baby Kennedy. We had a great time. 

Sunday is grocery day. I dread it, Harper LOVES it! Harper now loves going to the grocery store to ride in their grocery carts. She points and squeels the minute she sees the cart. The entire time we are in the store she waves and tells people "hi" from the car. If I stop the cart, she will rock back and forth to get me to start moving again. She will steer the car and beep the horn down every aisle. 

Seriously, does it get any cuter than this? 

The weekend was fun while it lasted. The Cutlip's are excited for Tuesday. We are ready for the campaign commercials to be gone! We live in a battleground state, so the commercials are intense.

Let's address the elephant in the room

Last night we celebrated Harper's 2nd Halloween! She participated in the neighborhood parade, passed out candy and ate goldfish crackers. Unfortunately, Daddy had to work so he didn't get to participate in the fun, but he came home just in time to see her in costume. And of course, in honor of mommy's profession and the upcoming election....I present to you our little Republican Elephant! Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more proud! :)

Okay, seriously...is this not the cutest elephant you have ever seen?! I know, she is the cutest thing! She LOVED her costume. She wore the hood the entire time and even came inside and kept it on while she played. She was so proud of her costume. She pranced around all night. Oh gosh, she is just adorable! 

Harper and Mommy waiting for the neighborhood Halloween parade to start. Reason #1032 why we love our neighborhood and small town! 

The tail on the costume wiggled when she walked. She is so prissy when she walks so it made the costume that much cuter! 

The night didn't end with Trick-or-treat, we had a special birthday to celebrate. I swear to goodness, Trooper KNEW it was his birthday. Sounds crazy, but true! When I got home from picking Harper up, he literally ran laps around the house. At one point, he was so excited to see Harper he ran full speed towards her and tried to jump on her. He had a permanent smile on his face. We sang him happy birthday and just like every year, he barked through the ENTIRE song. We let him pick a doughnut and he scarfed it down. Will was scared to death he was going to choke...haha! Of course, Harper just had to have a doughnut, but she just wanted one bite and then just carried it around. Trooper ended up stealing it from her and eating that one too. He finished off the evening with a glass of eggnog...does this dog get any more awesome?! 

Tomorrow I will update with our weekend plans and Harper's 15 month stats. Harper has been "under the weather" for about a week, I'm so ready for her to start feeling better. The doctor said it's a virus, but we are beginning to think her teeth are hurting her. Poor thing! 

Let me introduce to you

Our toddler....

I have fallen way behind on my blogging. Vacation was nice, but things at work amp'd up the minute I got home. Then when life slowed down I felt I was way behind and overwhelmed so I gave up. And it's super hard to blog from an iPhone. I hope Santa (Will!) is reading this...I need a new computer for Christmas, preferably a Mac desktop please. Even Will thinks we need a new computer! Hahaha!! 

So I will start fresh from here. A lot has happened since vacation. I will try to post a couple pictures to highlight our life since then. 

The week I got back from vacation our babysitter told us she couldn't watch Harper any longer. We were so sad, but completely understood. Harper and I made her this little thank you gift. "Thank you for helping me grow". After the initial shock, we were able to find another amazing babysitter. We are all VERY happy with the new sitter. Everything happens for a reason! 

I took Harper to her very first football game. She has been to several, just never into the game. She was an ANGEL and she had an absolute blast. Grammy and Grandy joined us for the game.

My favorite picture ever of Harper and her Grammy and Grandy!

The first few weeks of cheering on the Mountaineers were fun! Harper cheered them on from her high chair one day! 

We went to Cox Farms. We had a blast. Harper LOVED seeing all of the farm animals. She got to pet a cow and horses and feed goats. We watched piglets play and a cow get milked (no, I'm not talking about me using my breast pump!). She even ran around with little baby goats in the goat village. She even danced on a stage with other kids. She just "threw her hands in the air and danced like she just didn't care"...

And most importantly, I have enjoyed being a mom to this little girl. She has grown so much in the past 2 months. She has become such a big girl. And a big girly girl - loves makeup (mommy's), her dog and baby doll. She is talking up a storm, understands some directions and is just entirely too lovable! 

Those are just a few highlights to hold you over. Will and I also celebrated 14 years of coupledom. And today just happens to be our engagement anniversary. I can't believe I've been sportin' this bling for the past 4 years! Man I'm lucky! 

Happy Birthday Trooper!

Today we are celebrating Trooper's 8th birthday! Time has flown by!

Trooper has come a LOOOONG way this past year. It's safe to say he wasn't quite ready to become a big brother at first, but he has adjusted just perfectly. He is so patient with Harper. They are truly very best friends. They play together, sleep together and eat together.

Here is a little photo tribute in honor of the hound's birthday....Enjoy!

The most handsome basset hound I know

Party in Harper's crib

Nap time on the couch

Harper feeding Trooper

*Notice one piece of food in the bowl compliments of Trooper's little sister

Harper playing dress up with Trooper. She kept throwing the blanket over him. 

Trooper's favorite time of the day-all three of them!

Doing what he does best after Harper goes night night

If Harper is around, Trooper isn't far (especially if food is involved)

The Cutlip's will be enjoying doughnuts and eggnog tonight, as requested by the birthday boy. But we will trick-or-treating first! 

It's Friday!

It's finally Friday. That means WVU football officially kicks-off this weekend and I'm leaving for the beach! I have literally waited for this weekend for close to a year.

I'm feeling sad looking at Facebook and EVERYONE's statuses mentioning them going to Morgantown this weekend. This is the first season opener I've missed in 10 years! I even made it back last year with a 6 week old baby! At least I get to watch it on TV. Harper's clothes are already laid out. She will be sporting her cheerleader outfit for the game.

Sunday I'm hoping to leave bright and early for the beach. It's supposed to be around a five hour drive. I'm hoping Harper will be a good girl on the trip so we get there in a timely fashion.

Will loaded up on sunscreen yesterday and I've been doing laundry in the evenings. We (Harper and I) are almost ready to go. Will on the other hand isn't even close, but I'll leave that headache up to him.

I just looked at the weather for Duck, NC and it shows thunderstorms the entire time we are there. AWESOME! Why can't anything ever go smoothly or as planned? Is a week of fun and sun too much to ask? Leaving work for 4 days has already caused me (or my boss?) enough stress, entertaining a toddler at the beach with thunderstorms sounds even more challenging. I'm sure everything will be fine and relaxing. Beggers can't be choosers I guess.

In a dream world I was hoping I would have posts scheduled while I was gone, but I didn't feel like being ambitious this week. So I will try to pop in during my vacation, shouldn't be a problem if it's raining the entire time! I hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day. I will be back with a tan and well rested (kinda?!).

Adios...OBX or bust!

AND..................

Let's Go Mountaineers!

Convention

I'm getting all political on you...so beware...you have been warned!

I stayed up a little later than normal last night watching the Republican convention. Which kind of surprises me for a couple of reasons. First, even though I work in politics, I'm so over politics. I just pay attention to what I need to know for work purposes. Secondly, I'm not a huge fan of Mitt Romney. So, when I found myself glued to the convention I was shocked. But in my eyes, I will be happy with anyone but Obama winning this election. It's my opinion and you can't change that! :)

I'm not sure if it's because I'm not the biggest fan of Romney or if I really didn't like her speech, but I don't think Ann Romney did a GREAT job, I think she did an okay job. I was bored. It reminded me of a speech she would give in her church or something. It was awkward at times. And, I will just point out the obvious...the song they chose to play when Mitt walked out to congratulate Ann wasn't the best choice. Yes, I know I'm picking on the Romney's but when all is said and done, he will get my vote. But this brings me to another point...

Chris Christie was awesome last night. (Even if he is from New Jersey...poor guy!) I'm obviously very unenthusiastic about the Republican party right now, but Christie was fun to listen to and watch. Just what I needed. Yes, people are complaining about him not mentioning Romney for the first 17 minutes of his speech, maybe that is why I like it so much! :) Romney is so boring and unrelatable to me, but Christie just has "it". He is fun, relatable and energizing. So, "they" got it right last night, I'm glad Christie was the keynote speaker. It made me excited about November and to kick ass and take names later. Ultimately, America needs a change and I do like Romney's track record on several issues. I hope he has a chance to prove it!

Okay I will get off my soapbox now.

On to Cutlip Chaos news...I've got nothing. It's been pretty boring this week. Same ol', same ol'. Tonight I'm watching our neighbors little boy for an hour or so. Harper loves to play with him, so it will be fun. I need to start cleaning my house...it's never ending. I refuse to come home from vacation to a disaster of a house. I also need to start packing things. I have a mental list of everything that needs to be packed. And I have Harper's ELEVEN bathing suits laid out. But honestly, that is as far as I've gotten. I picked up a bathing suit yesterday on my lunch break. That wasn't depressing or anything. I contemplated shelling out $146 for a Miracle suit that makes you look 10 pounds thinner instantly. But let's be honest, I have more than 10 pounds to loose. Unless that thing makes you look 50 pounds lighter, it's not worth it.

I can't keep Harper still for more than a minute these days. I caught her relaxing and eating Cheerios yesterday. She was watching FoxNews.

 Harper was being a wee bit needy last night and only wanted me to hold her. It was because she was hungry. So instead of trying not to step on her while she stood at my feet whining or sat her on the counter and stay scared she will fall off or even grab a knife or something, I put her in the sink while I prepared dinner. She loved it! She stayed in there while I cooked the entire dinner. She just sat in there and chit chatted. Seriously, she is that awesome!

Monday again?

Usually I'm complaining it's Monday again, but today doesn't seem too bad. That's because next week at this time I will be sitting on the beaches of North Carolina!

This weekend I spent some time hunting and gathering of items we plan to take. Packing for a week trip to the beach for a one year old is no joke. At least I don't have to pack my breast pump and bottles! :) All summer I would buy things and say, "oh this is perfect for the beach" but now I have to actually find those things. I just can't wait for Sunday. It's mine and Will's first vacation since our honeymoon (2 years ago!) and Harper's first trip to the beach.

We didn't much this weekend. Harper somewhat "slept in" on Saturday and didn't wake up until 8:30ish. That was a nice treat. Of course my internal alarm clock was up by 7:10. Once she woke up we loaded up and headed to the bagel shop and had breakfast. We sat outside and people watched. Harper's favorite thing to do. Saturday evening, we went to a friend's house for a cookout and had a great time. He hadn't seen them since March. Harper was shy at first, but after she ate she was very social.

Eating her breakfast at the local bagel shop

Sunday, Harper and I were lazy most of the morning since we didn't get home until late and Harper was up and at em' at an ungodly time. But that evening we went to one of my sorority sister's babies baptism. We didn't make it to the church, just the after party. I helped prepare the food while they went to church. Baby Kennedy was beautiful and perfect. But again, Harper was a little bratty at the the party. Yet again, I fed her dinner there and when she finished dinner, she got down and was a social butterfly. Note to self-make sure the baby girl eats a hearty meal before a party! :) She "played" with an 8 1/2 little girl. Harper was rough and rowdy, but adorable. On our way home, Harper passed out. She was exhausted from being a social butterfly. But not too exhausted to wake up and spend time with Daddy. She LOVES seeing Daddy when he gets off work. They read her favorite book (and Owl peek-a-boo book) that gets read at least 15 times a day!

This morning school started in our county. That means a TON of traffic and kids outside in the morning waiting on the school bus. Our neighborhood kids were out this morning getting their first day of school pictures made and Harper spotted them right off the bat. She yelled for them and started waving. It was adorable. She waved all the way to the babysitter's house. I dropped her off (which went much better than last week) and she stood at the window waving "bye-bye" to me. I blew her a kiss and of course she got confused and thought I was playing peek-a-boo. It was priceless.

Long story short, this Monday hasn't been too shabby so far. I just know this week is going to go so slow between vacation looming AND Mountaineer football on Saturday. I can BARELY contain myself!

Weekend recap

Another short, busy weekend in the Cutlip house.

Will had drill this weekend, but Harper and I stayed in DC because a special niece celebrated her 3rd birthday. Which also meant that Grammy, Grandy and Ryder came to visit also.

Friday, I worked some of the day from home so Will could get on the road early. Nothing like spending the day with Harper. I love her being my little sidekick. Before Will left town, we took Harper to Chick-fil-A for lunch. Nothing beats that place. The food is awesome and the customer service is outstanding.

Friday night I stayed up to bake cake pops for Emma's party. She requested my cake pops apparently. Saturday, Harper woke up to company and loved it. She stayed behind with Grammy while my Dad, Ryder and I went to Dunkin Donuts to pick up breakfast. Then Harper went down for a nap and we all got ready for the party.

My work of art

Harper and I drove to MD to party rainbow style! What an adorable party! It was in a park and the weather was just perfect. I only have one complaint-the food was too good!!! Harper and I literally ate until we got sick. I literally felt like you know what all day yesterday from eating all the sweets.

Harper, Grandy and Peyton

Harper, Peyton and Emma (the birthday girl!) Look at the dress..adorable huh?!

TMI WARNING.......I am always very aware of what I'm feeding Harper and try to make sure she eats pretty healthy. I feel as if I owe that to her. But at the party, I thought, "what the heck, it's a birthday party". Oh my gosh, we both paid for it on Sunday. She literally poo'd seven times in 24 hours. Poor thing had an upset belly from all the sweets. She ended the eveing in the bath tub. Oh my, she is just adorable.

Rub-a-dub-dub...Harper's in the tub!

I vow never again to eat like I did at that party. Actually, I told Will this morning that I'm going to start working out in the mornings so I know I will never feel like that again.

So that meant, Sunday Harper and I lazed around recovering from eating too many sweets. I did try to pick up the house a bit, but I didn't get as much accomplished as I would like.

 Obviously not the best picture of me, but Harper is a kissing fool and I caught it on camera.

Today, I'm still fighting a headache. I swear I'm still coming off a sugar high. But that hasn't stopped me from dreaming of our vacation in 2 weeks!