So long, 2013. We're ready for a prosperous 2014!

Here it is, the end of 2013. (I won't make this a long blog post, I promise.)
2013 was a bittersweet year. It was incredible in that my sweet Harper Adelle was born. It was heart wrenching in that there was so much loss. Jobs, loved ones, beloved pets. . .the list goes on.

I was just looking through the photos I've posted throughout 2013, mostly on Facebook. All wonderful moments captured, of course. We took a few trips, fixed up our backyard (which is lush and green; a sight I never thought we'd see!), and had a busy, yet perfect holiday season. I had (have?) the great fortune of not only being raised by two awesome parents but I married into a really cool, fun family. This makes all the difference in holiday and family gatherings. I'm so thankful that Harper will be growing up with a strong sense of family and love.

Tonight we are leaving her at home with my mother-in-law. Taylor and I will be in a private box in Atlanta at the Widespread Panic concert at Philips Arena with some good friends. (That was a lot of prepositions for one sentence.) I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year. We get to dress up, eat delicious food, and party all night long. Okay, that's a bit of a lie. Hanging out with our almost one-year old would be pretty freaking fantastic too. But mama and daddy need alone time sometimes. Its been almost six months since we've spent a night apart from the baby. I know she's in great hands - her own grandmother, who also happens to be a nurse! So we can rest easy (in our swanky hotel room) and relax and enjoy each other and good music. That's not to say I won't miss her. Its only natural.

By the way, Harper turns one in exactly two weeks. Its so odd to think at this time last year she was still in my tummy and we hadn't even met her yet. We really lucked out in the baby department. Yes, the first few months were really hard. REALLY hard. Having a baby is a huge adjustment. After all, this is our first time being parents and her first time being a baby. But she is beautiful. She is healthy. She makes me laugh every day. She is SO HAPPY all of the time. She completes me.

Happy NYE, everyone. Stay safe and I hope you all have a happy, joyous new year!

8, 9, 10 months + holidays

Hi, world. Or, well, all three of you (possibly fewer) who really read my updates.

Harper and I have embarked on a new adventure. I am now the lead teacher for ages 12-18 months at Stepping Stones Academy. Harper is in the baby class right around the corner. She has been doing incredibly well in her new environment which makes me so happy! She has a fantastic group of teachers who love her almost as much as I do. She's so CUTE when interacting with other babies. She's sleeping much longer at night since there's so much stimulation during the day. Plus, with daylight saving time having happened in November, she's going to bed around 7:30 every night now. What a difference for mom and dad! Sometimes she still wakes up just once, but luckily that's few and far between.

Baby girl has been learning to feed herself over the past few months. She's done a superb job with picking up food and aiming it straight in her mouth, and she eats pretty much anything given to her. For about two months now she's been able to hold her own bottle and drink all of it without mama's help. It's really helpful adorable.

And she has EIGHT teeth! Two came in the last week of September, and then two weeks later three came in almost within the same week. It was rough, but we made it. As of last weekend her eighth tooth started coming in. (I'm pretty sure I should own stock in infant Tylenol and ibuprofen, baby Orajel, and teething tablets.)

My mom came back in town for a quick visit. We miss her!

Harper has also experienced her first major holiday: Halloween! First, we went to Kinsey Family Farms up in Dawsonville. It is SUCH a pretty piece of property. They've got farm animals to feed and a hayride in addition to the mass quantities of pumpkins, gourds, and canned goods. 

 I had decided that I wanted to buy her a little pink monster suit weeks in advance. But real life happened and I totally forgot. Then we found out Taylor was going to be in Dallas that entire week and we were both pretty bummed. I know she's not going to remember, but still. It was a big "first" for her. Anyway, I went to Party City only to find that it was a MADHOUSE and they didn't even have half of the baby costumes that were advertised online. We headed over to Babies-R-Us and I bought shoes, tights, and a tutu all for about $20. I spent another $15 at Hobby Lobby on a headband, a onesie, googly eyes, fabric glue, and pipe cleaners. I glued the googly eyes to the shoes and all over her onesie. I looped the pipe cleaners into the headband and turned them into monster horns. She was SO STINKIN' ADORABLE!! Best costume ever. We went to my dad's house and had pizza before I took her trick-or-treating. Aaaaaaand then we made it to about five houses before she threw up all over her costume. Ha. Such is life.

I went as a redneck mom, or as my dad likes to say, "one of the neighbors." Ha.

We went to cousin Nolan's 5th birthday party at Catch Air last weekend. Its basically a big room with blow up bouncy castles, slides, and toys. Harper LOVED it. So many bright colors and things to do!

Thanksgiving happened! Second major holiday, and yes, Taylor was here.
Because I love food so much, I'm going to post our menu.

Jealous? You should be. It was excellent. I cooked for TWO DAYS.

Look.

And look at all the fun we had.

And lastly, Harper met Santa Claus! She loved him, but that's no surprise since she loves meeting new people anyway. :)

Congrats to all of the new mamas, by the way!! I feel as thought my Facebook newsfeed is full of photos of newborns and it makes me so happy!

. . . Mama's moment . . . 

New moms: I have discovered something that I thought would be really hard to, well, do. Only because of the guilt I thought I'd experience. Its called "alone time." Or "me time." Or "time for margaritas." You understand what I mean. Time away from the baby to do what you want. It doesn't have to be a trip. It doesn't even have to be a whole day. (Oh, and the guilt? It never happened. When I get time alone I cherish it and I'm not sorry about that!)

It can be as simple as a trip to the store alone.

Or it can be a fun run, like this:

It can be getting dressed up and fancy with one of your BFFs to see one of your other best friends say "I do" to the man of her dreams.

It can be time to yourself to just SHOWER IN PEACE.

It can be time to enjoy a whole bottle of wine to yourself.

It can be time to go shopping on Black Friday ALONE.

Or, it can be time to see your FAVORITE BOY BAND FROM THE 90'S AND THEN GET DRUNK AND MEET THEM AFTER THE SHOW.

I must say, alone time is pretty great. I love my sweet girl so much I can't even express it in words, but sometimes mama needs a short break. To do something other than listen to Disney Jr., shower in 5 minutes, or eatasfastaspossible.

So, new moms, DO IT. Don't feel guilty. There's no need. Your baby will be waiting for you when you get back. After all, babies need "daddy time" too!

Just have fun. Relax. Sip that giant margarita and order another.

Many, many updates

Oh my goodness gracious. I have really REALLY neglected this blog. Unfortunately, we've had a somewhat rough summer and a lot of changes have occurred in our family.

There have been a few deaths on both sides of the family recently, and as heartbreaking as they were (and still are) it offered an opportunity for Harper, Taylor, and myself to see and meet family members for the first time. We got to travel to Ohio in July for my grandfather's memorial service. He passed away in mid-June and it's been hard. I'm so glad we got to celebrate his life though. He was an extraordinary man and I miss him every day. Hearing stories about his kindness and warmth made me both happy and sad. Happy that so many people loved him yet sad that Harper will never know him. He instilled a love for books, music, art, travel, animals, and culture in my sister and me. That is something I can be forever grateful for. I hope to pass the same thing on to my sweet little girl. My sister and I sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at the end of the service. It was, oddly enough, the first time we've sung together. Publicly, anyway. 

The day I got back from the memorial service I found out that I no longer had a job. Luckily, I've been able to receive unemployment benefits, which has been a great help. And I've gotten to try out the stay-at-home-mom gig. It's pretty great, actually! A blessing in disguise, of sorts. I've gotten to try things that I never imagined doing. Things like, making our own baby food. Honestly, I had decided against it while I was working. I thought it'd be too much work while trying to work full time. I'm so glad I've been doing it, though! It's fun coming up with food ideas. And easier than I thought. Just peel, steam, and blend. 

I interviewed for an assistant teaching position at a day care very close to home. They've offered me a position as a baby teacher/floater, so at times I'd kind of go into whatever class they need an extra hand in. The day care is still under construction, but it will (hopefully) open on 10/01. If you have a child ages 6 weeks through 10 years in the Roswell area I'd highly recommend checking it out! (www.kidslovessa.com) It's affordable, fun, innovative, and the owners are the sweetest, most caring ladies! 

I'm trying really hard to be a good mom and document each milestone as it happens. But I usually forget. I like to think of it as just "living in the moment" and enjoying the milestones as they come. If I remember I'll write it in her baby book. Oh, who am I kidding. What really happens is I just update FB. Yeah, I'm one of those obnoxious people who documents my whole life online. Pretty sure I've had a number of people defriend me because of the baby updates, but too bad. Their loss, considering I have the cutest baby ever.
Harper can sit up on her own and is so close to crawling. She can get her knees under her and she can support her torso and head with her arms but hasn't put both motions together just yet. I have a feeling it will definitely happen in the next two weeks. She shows a HUGE interest in standing. She loves so hold into the ottoman and stand and yell and babble. She's just started pulling herself up on her own, too. 

I bought a (totally adorable) Jenny Jump Up at a consignment sale, but she hasn't quite warmed up to it. It's a little big, still, so I imagine it's just uncomfortable for her right now.

I can finally put her in the Baby Bjorn facing outward. She just can't get enough of that, and I feel like a super cute mom carrying my little bear around in a pouch. And by super cute mom I mean super cute dad because my husband is the one who wears her around. :)

Have I mentioned that she has teeth? Lower central incisors, to be exact! They came in shortly before she reached five months of age. And now we're waiting for more. I've seen white bumps on her gums up top, so hopefully they will come in very very soon.

Sippy cup!! We've started her on a sippy cup! It's by Nuby and it has removable handles. The top starts with a normal nipple and then you swap it out with a soft sippy-cup style mouthpiece when she's used to the nipple. So far, so good.

Harper's baptism was Sunday June 30th. We had a whoooole lot of family come to church to support her. The service was patriotic themed since it was the week before July 4. We were blessed that such beautiful music was played! 
Her little outfit was so adorable. I got the dress at Baby Gap. It was marked down from $50 to $11 and I called four stores before I could finally track her size down! I ordered her headband from Etsy. Taylor asked for no bling, but this headband was too adorable to pass up. And it wasn't over-the-top! No giant flowers or bows for us. I like to keep it simple. 
(Fair warning - if you do get us a giant flower or bow headband we won't use it. Not my style at all.)

Harper spent July 3-5 with her nama. Taylor and I took a mini "staycation" in Atlanta. We stayed at the Ritz, drank alcohol, smoked a hookah, ate at fancy restaurants, slept in, and caught a rainy Braves game. Oh, and I met Timothy Miller. Total fangirl moment. It was really nice to get away and do adult things, but I was also very happy to have my girl back. :)

First play date!!! This sweet baby pictured with Harper is also named Harper...her mama and I both had the same due date and neither of us knew that we were each considering the name Harper. As you can see, they have a great time together.

Taylor bought me a gym membership! Not a "here's an obvious hint because you're getting fat" gift though. I've been asking for one for the past couple of months. I need to get in shape and train. My goal is to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February 2015. I do well with personal goals and this is a really good, fun one. Wish me good luck!

I guess those are all the updates I have for now. If you want more photos I'll do a special pictures-only post in the next few weeks. Or you can check out my Instagram! 

And in honor of the 2013 school year beginning: