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!

Right around the corner

It's almost time for football season! Yippee!

Harper received her first (and hopefully only...I hope she doesn't want to cheer when she gets older) cheerleader uniform in the mail yesterday. I squeeled with delight the minute I opened it. It is adorable.

She is always standing in her rocking chair

I don't know what games we will be going to in Morgantown, but I do know Harper and I are heading to the WVU vs JMU game on Sept. 15th. Grandy is going with us and we can't be more excited. As a matter of fact, Grandy just sent me a couple of picture messages of WVU outfits he found at TJ Maxx and wanted to know if Harper would wear any of them. I think she has her Grandy wrapped around her little finger already. She sure does love her grandparents! 

Let's Go Mountaineers!

Harper + Nilla Wafers + Hound = Pure Bliss

I picked up "Nilla Wafers" from the grocery store and Harper tasted them for the first time last night. She loved them. So did Trooper.

She WALKED around all evening with at least two wafers in her hands at all times. One hand for Trooper and the other for her. She finally got tired of sharing and climbed into her rocking chair and demanded more from there.

Trooper remained very patient while she taunted him...but they both enjoyed their evening snack.

It's moments like this I try to etch in my brain forever. 

Seizure

Poor Trooper has seizures. He has had them since he was about 2 years old. We don't know what causes them, so they seem to be pretty random. The only thing I could say was predictable, up to this point, was he only had them in the middle of the night. But that changed yesterday....

So I picked Harper up from our neighbors house (our amazing neighbor watched Harper yesterday) and loaded Trooper and we headed to the grocery store. Harper LOVES to ride in the car with Trooper and Trooper loves to go on bye-bye's. So it's a win-win...up until yesterday.

On our way to the grocery store, Trooper started crying really loud and all of the sudden he started having a seizure. I start panicking and realized I needed to stay calm and be very careful because I have very precious cargo in my car. I found the first place I could to pull over. It happened to be across the street from the intended grocery store and right in front of a park. A family was walking by as I literally slammed my car in park and carried Trooper to the side of the road in the middle of the seizure (exactly what you imagine seeing in a movie). The dad of the family just shewed his kids along and didn't let them see what was going on.

The next thing I know two cars were pulled over and coming over to help me and a cop just happened to drive by and stop. They all thought I had hit a stray dog. At this point, I was mortified. Here I was in the middle of town with a dog having a seizure on the side of the rode and a kid in the car screaming.

20 minutes later Trooper was back to "normal" enough that I could load him back in the car and pick up the groceries. We made it home safe and sound, but not without a wee bit of embarrassment.

Trooper slept most of the evening and seemed to be just fine this morning. When Harper came downstairs this morning, Trooper saw her and starting wagging/thumping his tail. He jumped down from the couch (don't judge) and gave her a big, wet kiss.

If anything is going to happen...it's going to happen to the Cutlip's!

I live for days like this

Seriously, life was so boring before Harper. Will and I thought we had it all. Huh, yeah right! Yeah, sometimes we miss "sleeping in", but 9 times out of 10 we like getting up early and having a cup o'joe while Harper plays with her toys.

This Saturday was no different. Harper woke up at exactly 7:30am. I got her out of her bed and gave her some "morning lovins'" and we went downstairs while Daddy slept in. I made a cup of coffee and she played and snacked on cheerios. Harper and I decided we should surprise Daddy and Trooper, so we went out and got donuts.

Harper LOVED donuts. A girl after her Mommy and Grandy's heart.

After she played and ate, she went down for a long nap. And Will and I got ready. Since the weather was a bit cooler...upper 80's....we decided to head to DC for the day. I packed Harper's lunch box and sippy cups and off to DC we went.

First stop..."We The Pizza". It's a pizza place on the Hill that is owned by Spike from Top Chef. It's a WONDERFUL pizza place that we always frequent when we go to the Hill together. We sat outside and people watched. Harper was an absolute angel. She LOVED pizza. Something else she had never had before Saturday. After we finished our slices, we went next door (Good Stuff Eatery...also owned by Spike) and picked up milkshakes. They are famous, and understandably so! Harper and I enjoyed our Oreo shake.

Staying nice and hydrated

Will wanted to stop by the WWII Memorial, so we headed that way. We let Harper dip her toes in the water for a few minutes...she loved it.

We ended up walking over to the Washington Monument and relaxing on the Mall. We spread out a blanket and let Harper walk around while we watched. She had a BLAST.

Harper and Daddy 

Harper walking around the Mall

When we got home Harper was exhausted. We gave her a quick bath and put her to bed. She was OUT in no time. It's a blurry picture of a monitor, but you can see just how tired she was by the way she was laying. 

It was an unforgettable Saturday with lots of wonderful memories made. We are lucky to live where we live and have this in our backyard.

PS-Harper is walking about 50% of the time. If she needs to get somewhere fast (ie. the kitchen) she will crawl. She is getting so big and fun! 

Seriously, Harper!

What you see here is not just an organized and messy refrigerator.

This is my child deciding she wants to become a climber...overnight.

Harper never showed interest in climbing things (other than all of our stairs)....until a few nights ago. She is now trying to climb anything and everything. When I snapped this picture she was trying to get to her lunch box to see if anything good is packed in there.

FYI-Harper doesn't understand the concept of "no". It's beginning to make me worry...she is only one, can you imagine what what she is going to be like at 14?!

Monday morning brain dump

I've had a bunch of random thoughts going in my head today.

1. How in the world am I already thinking about Harper's Halloween costume? I need to learn how to sew ASAP...better yet, I need a sewing machine ASAP.

2. If you think me thinking of Halloween is crazy...I'm already thinking about preschool for Harper! I'm already a nervous wreck about how I'm going to be a working mom and a mom to a preschooler. How am I going to make the schedule work? I have another 18 months to worry about that, but I just can't help it. And I know exactly where I want her to go, and I'm already nervous about her getting in. Does the anxiety ever stop?! Times like this I wish I had family close by! Anyone who does....count your blessings!

3. Maggie is already asking me what football games we are going to...I can't plan that far in advance (as I sit here trying to plan something that is 18 months away)!!!

4. Harper had shots on Friday and Saturday ended up being PURE hell. I won't lie, I HATE knowing she is going in for shots. The first 12 hours are "okay", then all hell breaks loose from hours 13-40. She wouldn't let me put her down. She had to sleep on my chest. This coming from a girl who hates sleeping with Mommy and Daddy. She whined and cried all day on Saturday. I was emotionally exhausted.

5. The Olympics is ruling my life. I'm addicted to all reality TV, but this past week our TV hasn't seen any other channel besides 804. I will get much needed sleep after the games end. Although, thank god for them when Harper was sick!

6. I can't stop thinking about vacation (Labor Day week)! It's been a long 2 years (since our honeymoon) since we have been on a week long vacation. We are headed to Duck, NC. And my parents are going too...built in babysitters! It's going to be amazing.

7. Would the real Trooper please stand up? Seriously, Trooper has been the best dog lately...it's scary. He has decided this whole big brother thing is for him. Just this morning he flew up the stairs (from outside) and ran to find Harper. As soon as he found her he gave her a big, wet kiss and walked away. He is starting to really love that girl. I NEVER thought that would be possible...but Harper is just that lovable.

8. Harper is walking more and more everyday. But still primarily crawls. Harper is always busy. Will and I spend our days saying "no", "get away from there", "put that down", etc. She is so ornery. But oh, so sweet and perfect!

So other than those random thoughts keeping my brain occupied, I cleaned out Harper's room yesterday. I'm embarrassed by all of the clothes my child has/had. They are now neatly tucked away waiting to be used again someday. As I was cleaning out her room, Harper decided she wanted to help.

Yes, she is in the bottom drawer. I was scared to death she was going to bust the bottom out! And that bandaid is just awesome. Makes her look tough!

Her mouth probably looks red in these pictures because she was chewing on her hair brush. I couldn't figure out why she was so quiet and I turned around and her hair brush was in her mouth. I suspect she is teething!

 I hope Harper's pediatrician doesn't see this, but we turned her to forward facing. Makes for much more pleasant car rides. She was nervous at first. She wouldn't move for the longest time. She is such a creature of habit like her Daddy.

In other news, not much going on this week...which is super exciting for me. My clients all went home to their respective states to campaign and I'm here with a much needed break! :) Hopefully I can blog every day this week! Fingers crossed.

And I will walk 500 miles....

Because this blog serves as a way to keep in touch and as a baby book for Harper...I feel the need to document things on here.

Without further adieu....

Harper has decided to walk! She has been taking small steps here and there. But today, she walked across our dining room twice! And I just happened to be home to see it!

I ran home quickly for lunch just to check on her since she had shots today and she shocked me by walking!

I'm beaming with pride and happiness...I think I have the next Gabby Douglas on my hands!!!!!

Let the fun begin!

12 month check up

And Harper is still a little peanut! A precious peanut!

Harper weighed in at 19lbs 2oz and 28.5 inches short :)

That puts her in the 50th percentile in weight, 25th percentile in height and 60th percentile in head size. Which is just perfect for her. She has stayed in the same percentiles for the entire year-which is what they like to see. And like I ALWAYS mention, I'm always a nervous wreck about her growth, but this doctor said I have nothing to worry about.

I went ahead and okay'd 3 vaccines at this appointment-chicken pox, first half of the flu vaccine, and another one I can't remember (all I know is she has had it before). She has to go back in a month to receive the second half of the flu vaccine and I will go ahead and get the MMR vaccine while I'm there. That is the biggie, but it has to be done. I'm not worried about the link with autism (I don't believe there is a link), just hate having to watch her get shots!

Also, I have been having a terrible time with her pediatrician's office. If you would have asked me 2 weeks ago if I liked that office I would have told you I HATED that office. Looking back, I wasn't happy after my very first visit there. So I have been teetering on switching offices. I pay them too much not to be 100% satisfied and happy. I went as far as shopping around other offices. After talking to the ER doctor last week, I decided to give this office one more chance, and I'm so glad I did. I found a doctor that I LOVE. She took all the time in the world to answer questions and was very okay with me delaying the MMR vaccine. She was so polite, easy to talk to and just made me feel so comfortable. Now, that could be because I'm now known at that office since I've spoken to the office manager several times...oops! Either way, I have made my next appointment with this same doctor and I actually don't dread going back to see her. I'm happy, finally!

The doctor told us Harper needs to be the next Gerber baby (this is, I mean isn't why I liked this doctor so much :)). As we were going through the list of the Harper's developmental milestones the doctor noticed Harper was "advanced" in her speech. Harper is on track for the amount of understandable words she is saying, but she is advanced in mimicking the sounds of words or phrases. She tries to mimic everything that comes out of our mouths, especially "I love you" and "all done". Now, just so we are on the same page, I'm not saying this to try to be a "one upper", I'm saying this out of pride. My daughter has never been advanced in anything! :) She is always "right on track" or "normal"! So imagine my excitement when she said she was advanced...which I will need to remind myself to read this blog post in about ten years when I get a note sent home from Harper's teacher saying she is talking too much in class...I guess I will just tell the teacher she is advanced! :)

I will leave you with two adorable pictures I snapped while at the doctor this morning.

Beating on the window in the office trying to get out before her 3 shots

 The love of my life

I'm guessing we are just going to hunker down this weekend and let Harper recuperate from the shots. It takes her a few days to recuperate. I have thank you notes to write, a house to clean and a baby to snuggle!

PS-My daughter does wear clothes (occasionally)! I know a lot of pictures I post on here involve only a diaper, but I promise she does where clothes and cute ones at that! She just had to strip down for the appointment this morning. She actually wore an adorable little seersucker number to the doctor today...you can see it in the top picture. Most of the time in the evenings, she gets undressed before she eats dinner because it ends up a being such a mess!