Saturday, November 27, 2010

Every Morning Is A Happy New Day.


After lying awake for the majority of the night and anxiously contemplating my pending day of resignation, Harper’s early morning rumblings provided a needed excuse to get out of my own head.  As soon as I turned on the lights she looked over and flashed her standard sparkling morning smile. As I approached her crib she let out a squeal and stretched her arm over her head, the massive grin never left her face. As I picked her out of her crib and held her warm little body against my chest I felt the weight of the previous nights concerns disappear. Every morning without fail Harper wakes up with a tremendous smile and it never ceases to amaze me. What if we all woke up and embraced the day with the enthusiasm of a small child? I know a few true morning people but I still doubt they wake up with the same joy on their face that Harper displays every sunrise. I think I may have found the way to reduce the rate of divorce in America. Instead of angrily jabbing at the snooze and growling at your partner maybe we should all try and wake up with a smile and set the day off on a positive note.

            After a week away in Los Angeles training for my new job I was shocked to see that Harper had changed in the short time that I was away. Her hair had gotten thicker and longer. She was making new sounds, her hand eye coordination had improved, and she was dancing in her bouncer. As we lay on the chaise I told her all about my new opportunity, she listened intently and as she got tired she started grabbing my mouth. Her droopy eyes and the relentless pawing at my lips lead me to obvious conclusion that it was time to stop talking and put her to bed. As I turned out the lights and starting unpacking my suitcase I began to think about the insane amount of work ahead of me. I spent the majority of the night reviewing my training material and feeling generally overwhelmed. As I shut off the computer and walked down the hall I had a moment of relief as I went past her room. No matter how crazy my night had been I knew that morning was right around the corner and she would be right there; bright, shiny and smiling just waiting to make my day that much better.


Harper says mom!

Harper has been babbling a lot lately, just like her dad, and today she definitely said mama.  Well, it was more like "ma-mom-mom" and it was awesome!  Dad got a little jealous that her first words weren't dad and insisted that the only words we could say to her for the rest of the week were da-da-da-da-da.

I was sure that this would confuse her, and as the week progressed she started saying "dada" regularly and
"mama" became a thing of the past.  But "dada" quickly became replaced with "oh -oh -oh and then wo-woah."  Even though she isn't quite aware of what she is saying, she has certainly found her voice and is exercising her right to choose whatever she feels like talking about.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

It felt good to be home for our first Thanksgiving in California in 5 years. Everyone gathered to celebrate under one roof for Harper's first Holiday dinner.  While we debated which of the two types of turkey was best, Harper thoroughly enjoyed her sweet potatoes, cinnamon apple puree and all the attention she received from two very thankful families.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Harper's 8 Month Birthday!

Today Harper is 8 months old!  This morning we took a long walk through the park with Laney where we met a neighbor walking his red tailed hawk.....quite interesting.  In the afternoon Harper danced in her jumperoo, her new favorite activity, and tried on her first pair of blue jeans.  We capped off the day with a play date with her best friend and big 'sis Laney.  I have a feeling birthdays won't be this simple for very long....