Alabama Christmas

22 December 2012 -- 02 January 2013

Christmas Eve/Christmas Day at Nonna and Pop's

The Christmas Story

The stockings were hung...

Harper doesn't have a stocking yet, so we improvised. :o)

Santa came to see Hallie!

Santa came to visit Harper, too!

Nonna's gifts to the girls...she gave them karaoke machines.  Yet she failed to give the parents ear plugs.  Hmm...I think the "singing machines" [Hallie] should have stayed at Nonna and Pop's house!

Sleepy eyes on Christmas morning!

Hallie is precious...she didn't dig into all her gifts.  Rather, she opened them one by one and played with each of them separately for about 30 minutes or longer before moving on to the next gift.  I love that girl!

Santa brought Harper a Sophie Giraffe!

Harper loves the feel of her crinkle book!

Harper and Granny Dell (Harper's great-great aunt)

Uncle Kelly and Harper waiting to open presents.

Five minutes later...Harper thought she'd take a nap while waiting. :o)

 Pop helped Harper open her presents!

This year, I asked the girls to take turn opening presents rather than digging in and no one knowing what they got.  It took a little longer, but to me it was worth it!  Hope no one else minded...I liked getting to see the joy and excitement on their sweet faces.  Here, Hallie is *thrilled* to get a "wallet you can run over"!  Ha!

And Abby was *thrilled* to get a "reborn" doll...which this one was actually an Ashton Drake doll...or an Android Baby as Uncle Jay lovingly (ha) named him...the doll would squeeze your hand. 

The look on Harper's face says "I'd love to rip into that, but my hands won't quite do what I'm telling them to yet!"  Ha!

Sweet Hattie Grace helping Harper open presents.

Another excited face...her VERY OWN CLIPPERS!  Hahahahaha.  Oh my word, this girl makes me laugh. She *loves* to dig the dirt out from under her nails.  When she saw them, she immediately asked if it had a "digger".  Haha!

Precious!

Granny Dell and her daughter (Barbara) with Harper

Hallie loves her Baby Alive...I believe she and HG went through every diaper within 30 minutes.  There were 6 diapers!  Haha.  They just kept feeding that baby and letting her "poop". :o)  I'm not all that sad that Hallie chose to leave Baby Alive at Nonna's to play with "next time". 

Christmas Afternoon @ Aunt Becky's

Harper meeting Aunt Steph (my cousin) and Uncle Jeff (Harper's great uncle)

Cousins!

Harper with my cousin, Clay and his wife (Nikki) and daughter (Lexi)--doesn't he have a beautiful family?  He has a 2.5 year old, Ethan, who was napping...he's just as adorable as his sister!

Morris Cousins--such beautiful girls!

Hallie & Hattie Grace

Abby, Lexi, & Nora

Aunt Mel and Harper...I love this woman and her love of life!  The only thing I don't love is that she kept trying to get my baby to say "Roll Tide"!  HA!

Aunt Becky was snuggling Harper and she fell fast asleep. :o)  She must have been comfy in Aunt Becky's arms!

The Rest of Christmas Break

With Christmas being so early in the week, we had a chance to rest the remainder of the visit.  Lots of giggles, playing, shopping, and just visiting happened.  It was lovely.  And as always, I wish it could have been longer!  

My dad would come in each morning and get Harper to talk on a little walk around the house. Some mornings she was still sleeping, but this particular morning, he got her and I slept a few extra minutes.  When I went into their room, this is what I found:

Aunt Mandi & Harper

Some of my favorite girls!

Hallie, Harper, Mandi, & Cailin

One handsome guy, my godson, Noah...and his duck earbuds that he just HAD to have!  Ha!

Cute kids--Cailin, Hallie, & Mason

I love this little girl!!

Best friends!

Three Little Spies...they loved playing spies.  It was the cutest things...and funny!  Hallie got Walkie Talkies for Christmas from RahRah and Gramps, so they made perfect spy gear! :o)

  

Spy codes

Bathtime in the kitchen sink!

Sweet moments with Nonna.

Sweet moments with Pop.

Tummy Time!  Good thing Harper had Hallie to help her!

We stopped by school on our way back to Texas to give hugs to Nonna (who is doing a long-term sub job), Abby, and HG!

Whew!  We had a wonderful Christmas in Alabama.  If you're still with me, I appreciate it. :o)  Happy New Year!

Fal la la la la

16 December 2012

Hallie and the Cherub Choir at Highland Baptist Church had their Christmas performance...and it was precious!  Hallie was lovingly supported by her grandparents and cousin and was thrilled to have an audience!  Harper seemed to enjoy the singing even if it was very close to her bedtime!  Hearing sweet little voices singing praises to our God is one of the sweetest sounds in the world.  

Highland's Cherub Choir--look at those SWEET faces!!

Hallie and her sweet friend, Memory

My attempt to get a picture of the cousins was futile. They're still super cute! :o)

Family

15 December 2012

Our 2012 Christmas Card

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Other pictures from our self-taken photo shoot...pre-edited (don't judge my laziness, ha!)

Mommy-Hallie Time

02 December 2012

Hallie and I were gifted with tickets to The Nutcracker performed by Ballet Austin--thank you, RahRah!  This was the first live performance of The Nutcracker Hallie has seen and she loved it!  She was thrilled to be able to buy her own nutcracker.  We can't wait to see The Nutcracker again!

Hallie with Whitney the Elf and her nutcracker on the swings at Baylor.

Some sweet pictures of my girl on Baylor's campus.

Four Months

02 December 2012

Our sweet little blessing is FOUR months young!  I cannot believe how quickly the time is passing.  Baby #2 is so much easier (in many ways, not all ways)...I think because we are simply more at ease.  We are absolutely in love and cannot imagine life without or two little girls!

Harper at 4 months

Weight: 15 lbs 14 oz

Height: 24 3/4 inches

Eating Habits:

When Harper is home with me, she nurses every 2-3 hours, depending on her mood.  I am very much for on demand nursing.  If I know when I am hungry, surely Harper does, too. :o)

When Harper is with Miss Amy, she eats every 2.5-3 hours anywhere from 5 to 8 ounces (again, depending on her sweet mood! Ha!).  

What does Harper do during the week?

Harper stays with a precious friend during her days while Hallie and Mommy are at school.  She could not be more loved.  I get little updates here and there including pictures, and that just warms my heart.  Harper has tummy time, Bumbo time, walks outside, and is talked to and read to often...not to mention she gets to go out to lunch with Amy and Joe where she makes instant friends! :o)  I am so blessed to have somewhere to take Harper for her very important first months months where she gets one-on-one attention!  Amy will be welcoming her own little bundle toward the end of March!  

Time spent with Mommy and Daddy:

During the weekends and holidays, I try to soak in every moment of Harper's baby-ness!  We love to help her with tummy time (though she hates it), read to her, talk with her (she's such a sweet conversationalist), and snuggle up to her.  Those times are just precious.  And Harper loves her big sister!  Hallie can get Harper to laugh like no one else.  Hallie is such a great big sister, helping to calm Harper when she's upset and being a big helper for Mommy and Daddy!  On the weekends, Harper also lets us know when she has had enough and when she's ready for some alone time in her swing so she can talk to the baby in the mirror. :o)

Discoveries and Milestones:

*Eye contact and recognition of familiar faces...when she looks at me, I know she is looking AT me.  It is the most heartwarming feeling!

*Laughter...FULL ON GIGGLES!  We caught her first giggle on 18 November.  It was precious.  Now we get giggles out of her all the time!

*Harper reaches for objects with purpose and bats at her toys.  She can pick up objects but hasn't quite figured out how to loose them from her grip. :o)

*Last week (28 Nov), I was looking at a board book with her and it seemed that she purposely grabbed the page to turn it.  She loves the feel of different textures and really seems to enjoy looking at books (just like her big sister!).

*Harper has been sleeping through the night for some time now.  She gets ready for bed at 6:30 with a pajama change, diaper change, and nursing...she is usually asleep by 7:15.  Very soon I will add a storybook into her bedtime routine. :o)  She wakes up (happy and talking) around 6:30 to nurse and sometimes goes back to sleep, but not very often.  

*Naps...Harper usually takes three naps during the day.  Her morning nap is always her longest. 

We are so proud of our happy girl.  I say all the time that I am so thrilled she has turned into a happy baby because those first few weeks were absolutely questionable!  I thought I was never going to get the easy going, peaceful baby I had prayed for.  Ha!  She has quickly changed...she really is an easy going baby.  Harper cries when she needs something or when she's unhappy, but it is the sweetest little cry I've ever heard! :o)

I cannot wait to see how our little sweetie continues to grow and learn!

Happy Four Months!

Just a Swingin'

05 November 2012

Hallie LOVES to swing and has wanted a swing for a while now, but we just don't have anywhere to put one.  Plus, in the event that we move in the [hopefully] near future, we don't want to disassemble a swing set.  Jonathan surprised Hallie with a disc swing, and Hallie could not have been more thrilled!  The weather has been quite spring-like, so we try to enjoy being outside as much as possible!  Harper can't wait until she can swing, too! :o)