Harper's First Trip to the Snow!

This weekend we took Harper to the snow for the first time. While dad was convinced it would only take us 30 minutes to pack, we spent 5 hours getting ready for our big family trip.  Harper did great on the long road trip and slept most of the way there.  We arrived late in the evening at our friend's beautiful Lake Tahoe home.  We hurried to get Harper's sleeping arrangements set up and prayed that she would find her new crib familiar with all of the blankets and stuffed animals we brought from home, and comfortable enough to fall asleep again.  It took a little longer than we thought, but she eventually went down for the evening.  We crept downstairs and had a couple glasses of wine to unwind from our hectic work week and long drive up, and then crawled into bed excited about our first day of skiing of the season.

No more than an hour of shut eye later and Harper started crying.  This was very strange because usually she is a great sleeper.  She has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 months old; what was going on?  We picked her up and soothed her back to sleep but she kept waking up and each time it got worse.  Her nose was getting increasingly stuffy and her breathing became labored until both of us were at the edge of the bed making sure she was o.k.  We hadn't lost this much sleep or been this scared since the very first night we brought her home from the hospital.  At 3:30 in the morning we debated to get back into our car and head out to the drugstore to buy a bulb syringe for her nose, or go to the emergency room....were we just being paranoid?  We weren't even really sure where we were, let alone how to get to the hospital and it hadn't stopped snowing since we arrived.  We decided it would be safest to take shifts watching Harper and holding her upright to help her breathe easier and comfort her so that she could sleep.  It seemed like the longest night of our lives.

Once the sun rose, the plans we had for the day changed.  Dad helped mom get Harper ready and figure out where the nearest after hours clinic was.  After we mapped out where we were headed, dad hit the slopes and the girls headed to see the doctor.  One hour in the waiting room, 3 nurses and 3 pharmacies later it was determined that Harper had croup (a serious and sometimes fatal chest cold that effects babies) and needed steroids in order to take down the inflammation in her airways so that she could breathe.  All the while, she had barely slept, missed her morning nap and couldn't get comfortable.....a mother's worst nightmare.  Once we gave Harper the medicine she needed, she conked out for the afternoon and got some much needed rest.  Perfect timing for mom to sneak in a half day of skiing.

The snow was perfect and the weather couldn't have been better.  We had a great time despite how tired we were and really enjoyed our first tracks of the season.  That night we gave Harper a steam shower and let her breathe in the cold mountain air (doctor's orders).  We had a delicious dinner and cozied up to the fire for our last night in the cabin.  We all slept much better that night and headed home in the morning.

We'll Miss You Papa

Jim "Papa" Doten • July 9, 1930 - January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

Resolutions

The first thing that came to my mind this morning was that I broke my promise to post on the blog every month. In the chaos that is December I forgot my own rule to contribute a little piece of literary context to my daughters first year of life. This morning I sat staring out the window at the endless gray expanse of the Pacific (We’re in Pebble Beach) and realized that I had also neglected to make a New Years Resolution, 0-2 going into 2011 didn’t sit well. The Holidays tend to stir up a variety of emotions within me but guilt usually wasn’t one of them.

            It has been over a year since Ryane, Laney and I sat on the cold floor and opened a little package that would completely change our lives. The present sat under the tree last year for over three weeks, which seemed like an eternity for someone like myself with the patience level of a two year old. Our ultrasound technician had kindly accepted our request to write the gender of Baby Siegel in a sealed envelope and gave no inclinations when I prodded her suggestions that “my little boy” was looking good on the monitor. The contents of the envelop alone didn’t have enough drama for the big reveal so Ry dropped the information off to our good friends, The Clarke’s, along with an outfit for a little boy, a little pink dress and instructions to wrap the appropriate clothing based on the results of the ultrasound. The package was delivered to our house a few days later and placed along side the other gifts as if it were just another sweater or pair of gloves. Every time I walked past it I had the urge to accidentally fall into the tree and in turn possibly catch a glimpse of the color of fabric within. In the end I never did peek mostly because I was convinced we were having a boy. Our “clairvoint” friend told us she had a vision and it was definitely a boy, the hocus pocus ring test my mother had claimed fool proof for years said it was a boy, my neighbor convinced that baby girls drained the beauty out of their mother told us that Ryane was a vision of maternal beauty and that it had to be a boy.

As we pulled the tiny pink dress out of the festive tissue paper all I could think was……oh boy?

One year later I saw the joy that Harper brought to everyone’s faces this Christmas and something changed for me. I’ll be the first to admit I have been more than a little scroogey the last few years. The excitement of he Holidays was replaced with the stress of having to navigate frantic parking lots just to be herded with the rest of the masses into some unruly and disheveled retail barn. People are overworked, underpaid, and generally overwhelmed and this becomes clearly apparent after spending a few hours Christmas shopping. I don’t like the music, I think the whole concept of Santa is a little conflicting and I don’t really care for eggnog. None of that mattered when I saw my Grandpa hold my little girl on Christmas Eve. As she played with her new Christmas Bear with her Mimi and Papa I remembered why the holidays are special. Life as I know it has changed and that seemed to ring very true on Christmas Eve as I carved the family turkey for the first time. I know that the New Year will bring many new surprises but as I think back and remember all the great moments, including Christmas (go figure), I think that an appropriate resolution for me would be to relax and enjoy. Life is short and if you get too caught up in all the distractions you might miss the beauty. To all my friends and family, I love you, Thank you for a very special Christmas and Happy New Year!

            

Merry Christmas!

This year Christmas was more special than ever.  Harper lifted our spirits and reminded all of us what the holidays are about.  We felt truly blessed to be so close to all our families and it was magical to watch Harper's innocence bring out the best in everyone. We were able to catch a small glimpse of how fun Christmas will be in the years to come now that we have a little one in the family.

Happy 9 Month Birthday!

Harper is 9 months old today!  It's crazy to think that she has been with us longer than she was in the womb.  She surprises us everyday with new sounds, new abilities and glimpses of the little person she is becoming.  Soon she will no longer be a baby, a fact she brings to our attention everyday.

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.