Independence

Happy (belated) Independence Day

We spent this 4th of July at my parents house in Connecticut. They will be moving in August, so this was likely the last time we would get to enjoy the 4th at Waveny Park. We had an excellent time.

My mom made delicious home made raspberry ice cream (one of our family traditions), which quickly was passed out to friends sitting nearby. We caught up with old friends and made a few new ones. It is so neat to see how my parents have really become part of the community in New Canaan. While I only lived there for three years, it is the place that feels most like home. We will miss coming back so often, although my parents are convinced we'll make fairly frequent visits...

As usual, the fireworks were spectacular. Earlier in the evening my dad had worked his magic and gotten Harper to go to sleep, even with all of the music and children screaming around us. We had put her in her car seat and covered her with blanket to help muffle some of the noise.

Sure enough, though, when the first of the fireworks went off the blanket was no match. For the first ten minutes, or so, she sat happily in Shiloh's lap, occasionally gripping his arm or looking a little worried.

We're not sure what set her off... an especially loud firework, or becoming overwhelmed with so many of them... but eventually she started to cry.

She spent the rest of the show cuddled close to me, occasionally burying her head in my shoulder. I can't say I minded.

Happy Fourth of July!

six months

The rumors are true (it seems like I'm saying that a lot lately) - six months old is a great age. Harper is learning and growing so much! Here are her stats, as of 10 a.m. Friday morning:

Height: 27 1/4 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds, 12 ounces (50th percentile)
Head: 16 1/4 inches (25th percentile)

This month, Shiloh is making his premiere appearance on this blog to provide a little wrap up:

Harper does stuff. It’s pretty cool. She does gymnastics in her crib at night. It’s funny to see the different positions we find her in in the morning. She chomps on her tongue and sometimes makes noises to go with it resulting in a “ba ba ba ba,” sort of thing. She falls asleep without being swaddled now, which is particularly helpful since our AC is out and the house averages about 92 degrees during the day and only cools down to about 85 at night with all the windows open and fans blowing full speed. She can also pull herself up to a standing position if she gets a good grip on something stationary. She responds to her name. We suspect she has recognized her name for a while, but now it is unquestionable that she responds to it. She reaches for anything she wants, including people. And by people I mean Mom whenever Dad is holding her. She pulls herself forward from sitting to a kind of almost hands and knees position. She has also made some cursory attempts at removing her diaper. Fun. My favorite, though, is when she grabs moms face with both hands and pulls it to her mouth so she can chew on moms chin. Funny stuff.

A few other things:
Although Harper has been smiling since just a couple weeks old, she isn't much of a laugh-er. This month we've been helping her find her inner giggler. She makes us really work for them, but we've had a few really good laughing session.

Harper had her first (and hopefully last) ear infection. She had a cold and we thought her throat was sore because her voice was hoarse and every time she burped she would scream like she was in pain. I took her to the doctor first thing in the morning to get the true verdict. The doctor looked at me like I was a terrible mother. Sheesh. After a dose or two of antibiotics Harper was good as new!

As previously noted, she has mastered sitting, eating, dancing, chatting with her dad and growing hair. I really can't believe how much she has changed over the last month. I feel like this month she has changed from a baby to a little girl. Today, I road the bus with a girl who looked like she was 13 or 14. It's no secret that I'm pretty nervous to have a teenage girl, but while I watched the girl on the bus, my fears diminished (if only momentarily) and I got so excited to get to watch Harper grow up - even as a teenager.

We celebrated Harper's half birthday at my parent's house last weekend. Since we were in town, and my brother is awesome, we did a mini photo shoot. Here are some of the shots:



P.S. To see more of my brother's photos - including others from this shoot - check out his blog or flickr page.

bouncer

This little lady has always loved to be vertical. She has become a big fan of her bouncer over the last few days. She dances around, squeals and throws her toys on the floor - usually getting dog hair all over them.

Check out her sweet moves:

conversation

This evening, Shiloh and Harper were spending some quality time together. This quality time quickly turned into their first "conversation."

Harper has recently started blowing raspberries.

The conversation between the two consisted of a long back-and-forth exchange of raspberries. Shiloh would blow one, Harper would wait a few moments and blow one back. Shiloh would laugh then blow her another. The exchange lasted several minutes and made Shi's evening.

For the Love

Harper and I are lucky enough to have our own, live-in, serenader... life is good.

River Water

Today, Harper was introduced to river water. I thought her reaction was great:

The feet go in...

O Cold!

Adi, on the other hand, loved the cold water. Black dogs on hot days have it rough.

While we were at the river, Adi made friends with this guy:

He had just finished eating a fish and wasn't in the mood to play. Sorry Adi, maybe next time.