Friday

If you haven't already heard, I live for Friday's. I live to get home and spend 48 straight hours with Harper. It takes all I have to spend ALL day at work on Friday's. I personally feel it should be illegal to work a full day on Friday...but that is probably why I'm not the boss at my company. Either way, Friday can never come soon enough.

This week has been jam packed with fundraisers. All these politicians are acting like they have elections coming up or something...

It's been a week of way too early mornings and no lunch breaks. Wears me plum out. I was able to get out of the office early yesterday to head to the eye doctor for the first time in 3 YEARS!  Yeah, your read that right. I wear contacts and I have been on my last pair for months now and I knew I better get my booty to the doctor's office.

Will and Harper joined me. If Mommy isn't at work, I want Harper with me. I just can't help it. She is too fun not be around. She is our sidekick that is for sure.

Anyway, while I got checked out...Harper played!

She looks like such a big girl now! Harper had to excuse herself shortly after this picture because she wouldn't stop talking. And by talking I mean yelling. And yelling/talking isn't very polite in a very small doctor's office. I'm telling you...the girl never shuts up.

And when I left for work this morning I snapped this picture....

Trooper is constantly getting under the blankets and then getting out because he is too hot, then back under, then back out. At least 3 times a night. He finally learned my trick just stick one foot out from the blankets and it will cool you right off. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks! (FYI-Trooper played with two 2 year old bassett hounds...guess who acted like a 6 month old puppy the whole time! Yeah, my 7.5 year old Bassett Hound! He out ran and out played those dogs...they couldn't keep up with him. I was in heaven and Harper just giggled. They even gave Harper a bath with their tongues!)

Ugh, so when I get off work at 5:00pm today, I'm heading home to pack up for mine and Harper's girl weekend with Maggie and K.Hart. We are picking Maggie up bright and early on Saturday morning and heading up to New Joisy to celebrate K.Hart's 29 + 1 birthday. I'm excited to be surrounded by good friends...and for Harper to spend time with her Aunties.

Have a great weekend! 



Gooo Peyton!

I have been waiting on my sister-in-law to post pictures of my nephew's first birthday party before I mentioned anything on here. I wanted her to be able to share the wonderful party first.

Oh my goodness, this party was AWESOME. It was a blue sports themed party. Harper and Emma wore matching t-shirts with megaphones that said Go Peyton!

She served food that you would find at a concession stand: pizza, nachos, popcorn, hot dogs, chips, etc. It was the cutest thing ever.

She had a desert table with all kinds of yummy deserts. That may have been my favorite part! :)

The cake was simple and "handsome". Just perfect for the birthday boy. We sipped on "varsity blues" cocktails too. Yummmmmmy!

I was surprised Peyton didn't dive into his cake. He wasn't much interested in his cake, he was too worried about getting down and playing. He didn't get shy about everyone singing happy birthday to him, he enjoyed being center of attention...as he should...it's his party after all!

The rest of the evening,my redneck baby stripped down to her diaper and played in the backyard.

We had a great time and can't believe it's already been a year. Happy Birthday Peyton!

The very first time I met Peyton, my only nephew.

Harper and Peyton signing on his karaoke machine.

(it's hard to believe they are only 6 weeks apart. Harper seems so little compared to Peyton. This picture is evidence.)

 He was partied out...but it didn't last long. He was up and at em' shortly after this picture was taken

Everything happens for a reason

I'm a HUGE believer in that saying. I remind myself of that at least daily. Last night was no exception.

I had a couple of things to pick up from a drug store yesterday, so I decided I would run out after Harper fell asleep.

I headed to CVS ran in and hurried out. I got in my car and decided to take the back way home. I was driving with country music blaring and windows down. Enjoying my night. As I'm heading down the road I see a lady walking TWO BASSETT HOUNDS. I laugh to myself and keep driving.

But for some reason, I all the sudden make a U-turn in the middle of the road and stop to tell the lady I love her bassett hounds. I have no clue why I did this?! I know the lady was thinking I was crazy, but for some reason, I just couldn't help it.

The lady is SUPER nice and invites me to pet the dogs. I throw my car in park and get out to love on these hounds. They smelled, walked, barked and looked exactly like Trooper. I couldn't help but laugh the entire time. We started comparing dogs and laughed at just how similar they were.

She ended up telling me that she had a 12 year old chocolate lab that passed away and she found herself very lonely and sad. She made an impulse buy with these two hounds thinking they were exactly what she wanted. Lazy and cute. She laughed and said they were more hyper than her lab ever was...I believe it..so is Trooper!

Anyway, we ended up talking for awhile and one thing leads to another and she tells me her son is away at college. I ask where he goes and of course she says....WVU! So I'm all like, "oh my gosh, that is where I went!" and she is all "oh my gosh, me too! Where you in a sorority?!" So I tell her I'm a Chi O. She about passed out...she is too! We started talking about the Chi O house and low and behold, we lived in the same room in the house! Weird!?

So I ask about her son that goes to WVU and he ends up being in the same fraternity as my brother...talk about weird! She told me that her son's had no choice but to go to WVU. They used to have to sing for their supper and the song was always "Country Roads".

The night ended with us exchanging numbers and making plans to meet up again. I can't believe I found a fellow WVU Chi O that owns two bassett hounds and lives around the corner from me. And I stopped to talk to a perfect stranger. I know I was meant to meet her.

Go Chi O!

Weekend Rewind

We had a nice low key weekend. We had beautiful weather here, but we decided to spend Saturday going to the mall.

Harper desperately needed a new pair of shoes and we just wanted to get out of the house.

First on the agenda....measuring Harper's feet at the shoe store. She is a whopping size 2.5! For those of you not familiar with kid's sizes..that is equivalent to 0-6 months. She has tiny little feet.

Waiting to be measured...PS, we went to Stride Rite at one of our local malls and had terrible service...I will NEVER AGAIN go there.

We ended up buying her PediPeds from Nordstrom (they were over 50% off!) and we put them on her immediately...she loved them of course!

She played with her shoes all weekend...she thought we bought her a new toy.

Sunday, Will had to work. I felt so bad he had to work on his first Father's Day. But that's okay, he didn't miss out on much. Harper slept in big time though! I can't remember the last time I woke up before Harper on a weekend. I was able to shower and pump before she woke up. It was a weird feeling. I was afraid something was wrong with her. But when she did wake up, she helped me with laundry. She loves being Mommy's little helper.

Working on her chores

Harper has a new trick. One of many actually. She has learned she can feed Trooper from her high chair. On Saturday morning as Will and I sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast with Harper, she said the word "DOG" plain as day and gave Trooper food. She laughed and kept doing it. Trooper LOVES this trick. He thinks it's brilliant. As soon as Harper is in the high chair, Trooper isn't far away. He "mans his position". Sunday morning she wanted to share her pancakes with Trooper again. She thought it was hilarious. And Trooper was surprisingly gentle...really gentle.

Look at that smile!

And he was patient

I feel like I need to mention that Harper doesn't shut up. She literally talks from sunrise to sunset. The only time she isn't chatting is when she is asleep. Of course, it's all in her own Harper language. But it's so funny because it sounds like she is having a conversation with you. She will respond to anything you ask her. And we have started noticing her getting bossy. She mostly bosses Trooper around. She let's him have it at least three times a day. And because of that, Trooper has quite a bit more grey. I'm super sad about that!

Will requested his favorite dinner for Father's Day...Stouffer's lasagna. Ewww....but anything for my baby's daddy. And it's easy for me to make and easy clean up...it's a win/win.  

 Never mind the easy clean up...Harper made a holy mess. She had her first taste of lasagna and loved it. But when she was done, she thought it would be a good idea to finger paint with the red sauce. IT.WAS.EVERYWHERE. We call her Balliver Shag Nasty because she is always so messy. The girl is always a hot mess. But it was so much fun watching her. Even though I was panicking over the mess. Will had to pick her straight up from the high chair and put her in the bath.

Before the finger painting with red sauce.

I hope everyone had a good Father's Day weekend. This weekend Harper and I are heading North for a girl's weekend and a 30th birthday! I won't name names, but I can tell you...it's not mine! :)

Thursday

It's Thursday...one day away from the weekend! Yippeee!

I know I post ALOT of high chair pictures on here, but I can't help it. She does the cutest things during meal times. Last night...she had her foot all propped up. It's something she does ALL.THE.TIME, but it never gets old. She seriously did this in my belly too.

While I made dinner last night and she played the drums...with Trooper's food bowl and her spoon.

I just got this picture via text from Will. She went on a wagon ride today. But lately, she has to always have something in her hand...today, she was carrying a plastic baseball bat. And look how tiny she looks in that big ol' wagon. My little peanut!

Faster Daddy! :)



Harper is in the middle of teething...AGAIN! It never ends. That explains why she has been getting up in the middle of the night the past couple of nights. After these next two teeth come in, that puts her at having a grand total of 6 teeth! She slept better last nigth after I decided Motrin was needed before bedtime. 

But for some reason, she keeps getting up between 5 and 5:30am and wanting a bottle and then immediately falling back to sleep. I need to nip that in the bud ASAP.

Have a happy Thursday everyone...I will share our weekend plans tomorrow!

Here I go bragging again

Our wonderful babysitter apparently has a life and goes on vacation without us! She is out of town this week and our awesome neighbor is watching Harper for us.

Harper is one lucky girl, she is having an awesome time playing with her 2.5 year old son. She has been to the library for story hour, went to the park and nature center. She loved watching the fish and other kids.

The best part, Harper has been an angel. Our neighbor told me she didn't fuss one time all day yesterday. The only time she got a little fussy was when she was trying to fall asleep in the crib. It lasted all of 30 seconds. The sitter was amazed. She couldn't believe how easy going and laid back she is.

She isn't easy every.single.day, but man am I blessed. Harper will just go with flow. She hasn't slowed us down one bit. If anything, we go and do more now than before.

Oh my goodness, my heart is exploding with love for her. We have been blessed beyond words.

Back on the wagon

I've hopped back on the blog wagon. I fell off when my camera cord went missing. I can't use that as an excuse any longer. I will just post my iPhone pictures.

We have had a lot of changes over the past few weeks.

Let me start by saying...Harper is growing and developing by leeps and bounds. It's amazing to me. I have said it before, but I will say it again, I'm constantly worrying about Harper's development. I worry because she was born early. But I have zero reason to worry. I have been told by doctors, therapists, friends and family. She is absolutely perfect. She is VERY laid back, but that makes her even more perfect in my eyes.

She has said good bye to pureed foods (finally!) and hello big people foods. She eats better than ever. The only thing she will not eat is still bananas. She gets it honestly, her daddy hates them too. Her very favorite things right now are avocado chunks, grilled chicken, CHEESE, mac and cheese and beans. But all in all, she eats like a champ, but very messy!!!

She has also finally switched over to whole milk. What a relief! I'm only pumping two times a day and she gets whole milk in her sippy cup throughout the day. So, that means she gets two bottles a day...morning and night! Not too shabby! Still doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to stopping pumping, but it's very managable at this point. And I still have a deep freezer of frozen breastmilk! I hate to toot my own horn, but I'm so dang proud of myself for sticking with pumping!

Harper is crawling around like it's her J-O-B! She is fast and into everything. She is walking along our furniture and pulling up on anything and everything. And I mean everything. She still hasn't figured out how to climb the stairs, but I'm sure it will be soon enough. She has started standing unassisted and walking with our help. But I will honestly tell you, it will be a slight miracle if she is walking by her 1st birthday. She has no interest at all.

Dinner last night. She ate all of that plus seconds and thirds...

Ate everything but her oranges...but she later finished those off too

 Dinner time over the weekend. It gets very messy!

She had her first Kid's Meal. Brought a tear to my eye. Grilled chicken nuggets and fruit.

But I have to admit, if you take the toy back you get ice cream. Harper enjoyed a little ice cream too!

Naked baby! Her favorite way to cruise around the house. Diaper changing is getting to be a big hassle. We literally have to wrestle her.

Lastly, her first birthday invitation went out this week :) and I already got my first RSVP! I can't believe it's already been a year. Time really has moved entirely too fast! 

Military

It seems like a recurring theme around here...I'm not around as much anymore. I'm around, just overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I should be blogging about.

But I'm going to talk about the military today.

Will has been in the U.S. Navy for nine years and three more years left on his contract. I should be used to it by now, but I'm not.

Alot of people have told me that since Will is in the reserves it's not the "real military". That annoys me. He may not report to the Navy every single day, but that doesn't mean much. Every evening he is doing something Navy related. Making phone calls, writing emails, working on evals, etc. Sometimes for him, it's like a third full time job (his real full time job, Daddy duty and Navy).

But even more so, he has to drive to WV (six hours away) once a month for his drill weekends. Sure, he chose to stay in his unit after he moved to VA with me, so it was his choice, but it doesn't make it any easier to make the drive.

Of course, those drill weekends, 2 week AT's and deployments never come at a good time. Will has missed birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries, holiday's because of his military service.

This weekend, Will has to miss our nephew's first birthday party because he has military duty. Or next month, Will has to juggle military and Harper's birthday party.

And yea, "at least he has only gone on one deployment", that one deployment wasn't fun. I planned a wedding without my fiance's help because he was hundreds of thousands away. I met our niece at the hospital and Will had to meet her from behind a web cam in Fallujah.

With all that said, I'm extremely grateful I have my husband here with me today. Those complaints are nothing compared to other military spouses. And I'm even more thankful he has chosen to serve our country for the last nine years.

But that doesn't mean I'm not annoyed that Will has military duty this weekend and he can't celebrate our nephew's first birthday with the family.

It's my nephew's party...I can cry if I want too....