Another Ten Miles

Happy 6th Birthday, Avery! {& 20 questions}

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 22:33:00 +0000

Where do I even start with this one? Avery turned SIX yesterday, and we still can't believe how quickly she's growing up! We sure do like her though!

Avery finished kindergarten this year, and she's a little smarty-pants. She loves to read, and she was so sad that school ended for the summer. She made lots of friends, learned a ton, loved her teacher, and had a wonderful first school experience. She can't wait to go back for first grade!

Despite my requests, Avery will not stop growing. She's already in size 7/8 clothes and bigger-than-12 shoes. I don't even know what size comes after 12; is it 13 or 1? She weighs 47 lbs and is 47.5 inches tall, putting her in 90% for both.

She is a wonderful big sister. Avery is so protective of her little brother and sister, and she (usually) plays with both of them really well. She plays Little People with Harper and Legos with Landon, but if she gets to choose, she picks board games, her Leap Pad, or playing house. I love her little imagination!

Avery loves soccer! Yay! She's a good little defender, but she doesn't like the pressure. It's so fun to watch her play, and she's improved so much every season. She's made some sweet little friends, and it's been a great outlet for her.

We were super excited this week because Avery chose Jesus and asked him to be her savior! She's known the story of the Gospel since she was little bitty, but recently she's been asking lots of questions about spiritual things. We always encourage her to ask questions because we've never wanted to pressure her to make such an important decision before she was ready. She's such a little pleaser that we wanted to make sure she wasn't going to accept Christ because she thought we wanted her to (which obviously we did), but we've been praying that God would just grab her heart. So this week after lots of conversations leading up to it, Avery prayed to receive Christ at VBS! We're so happy for her and can't wait to see how God uses her as she grows in her faith.

We love you to the moon and back, Avery Grace!

In Her Own Words {answered on 7/4/2015}

{What makes you happy?} Birthdays
{What are you really good at?} Playing soccer
{What is your favorite color?} Teal
{What is your favorite toy?} My American Girl doll
{What is your favorite TV show?} Odd Squad
{What is your favorite thing to eat?} Macaroni and cheese
{What is your least favorite thing to eat?} Brussel sprouts
{What is your favorite drink?} Kool-Aid (for the record, I'm not even sure when she's had it!)
{What is your favorite movie?} Saige Paints the Sky
{What is your favorite game?} Monopoly
{What is your favorite animal?} Cheetah
{What is your favorite song?} Downtown
{What is your favorite book?} Nancy Clancy chapter books
{Who is your best friend?} Grace
{What is your favorite thing to do outside?} Water stuff
{What is your favorite holiday?} Christmas
{What do you like to take to bed with you at night?} My puppy dog
{What do you and Mommy do together?} Play games
{What do you and Daddy do together?} Read books
{Where is your favorite place to go?} Schlitterbahn
{What do you want to be when you grow up?} Teacher

Happy 4th Birthday, Landon! {& 20 Questions}

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 31 May 2015 22:33:00 +0000

This kid! He is hilarious and sweet and sensitive and feisty and smart and so, so many things. And he just turned FOUR!

He's a big kid! He'll make sure you know he is four now and not a baby. He weighs 41 lbs and is 42.25 inches tall, which makes him 90% in both measurements. He wears size 5 clothes and size 12 shoes (he skipped 11!).

Landon has always been an easy-going kid, and he is just generally happy! He loves life and is so silly.

He loves to play with his sisters, but he will play with Legos by himself all. day. long. if we let him.

Landon is all boy and loves superheroes, ninjas, and fighting bad guys. But he also has a sweet, tender heart, which is a good thing since it balances out his penchant for toughness!

He loves to try new things and is so brave. He's super excited to start playing soccer this fall, and he's going to try out jiu-jitsu this summer.

This boy is a great big and little brother. He takes such great care of Harper and can hold his own with Avery. He loves his mommy but wants to be just like his daddy.

I can't believe this is our last year with Landon home before he starts school, but we can't wait to see how much he grows in preschool and at home with Harper and me!

In His Own Words {answered on 7/4/2015}

{What makes you happy?} Superheroes

{What are you really good at?} Building Legos

{What is your favorite color?} Black and blue
{What is your favorite toy?} Superheroes
{What is your favorite TV show?} Ninjago
{What is your favorite thing to eat?} Bean and cheese burrito

{What is your least favorite thing to eat?} Brussel sprouts
{What is your favorite drink?} Sprite

{What is your favorite movie?} Shrek (the musical)

{What is your favorite game?} Candy Land
{What is your favorite animal?} Lion

{What is your favorite song?} Everything is Awesome
{What is your favorite book?} Superhero collection
{Who is your best friend?} Green

{What is your favorite thing to do outside?} Play with water balloons

{What is your favorite holiday?} Christmas

{What do you like to take to bed with you at night?} Water
{What do you and Mommy do together?} Play

{What do you and Daddy do together?} Play with Legos

{Where is your favorite place to go?} Trampoline park

{What do you want to be when you grow up?} A superhero

Harper: 18 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 18:47:00 +0000

My last Harper update was TEN MONTHS AGO. Now if someone can come mop up this puddle of mom guilt, I'd really appreciate it. Because honestly I can't keep up with the housework as it is, and my baby is 18 months old today and I need to document it lest I fulfill the neglected third child stereotype any longer.

So. Where does one start when it's been almost a year since she posted?

Well, first of all, Harper is a JOY. She totally wasn't during her first year, let's be honest. She was the cutest and for good reason. She was high maintenance to the core, and we're not just talking about typical baby maintenance. She was a tricky one, that girl. But time has done wonders, and she brings so much fun and laughter to our family!

At 18 months, Harper's vocabulary has just exploded! She puts words together and just sounds so big when she talks. The girl has opinions, too. She loves to read books, especially Sesame Street ones (for "ELMO!"), and she loves to tell us what sounds each animal makes.

She loves her brother and sister ("Avey" and "Lannon"), but I think she loves her doggie most of all (she called Meggie "Memmie" for the longest time, and I'm kinda sad that she says it correctly now!).

Harper can EAT. As long as it's what she wants to eat anyway. She used to eat basically everything we put in front of her, but now she's getting a little pickier. She'd eat blueberries and bananas all day if you let her! (We ended up doing Baby Led Weaning with her, kinda by accident, so she never ate baby food. The only thing she's eaten pureed on a regular basis is applesauce! It sure made things easier for us anyway.) And she LOVES the smell of coffee! The second she hears the Keurig brewing she yells, "Coffee! Coffee!" until she lets her smell ours. The she says, "Mmmmm!" and goes on with her life.

Our baby girl still wears 18 month clothes, although we'll move her into 2T soon, size 4 shoes, and a size 4 diaper. She's so much smaller than Avery and Landon were at this age! I feel like I have a tiny baby, but she always measures in right at 50% on the doctor's growth charts.

This photo is brought to you by a diaper blowout and an unprepared mom.

Harper's favorite place to be is "ouside!!" and she's crazy about the neighborhood playground where we pick Avery up from school every day. She's so adventurous now that I get super nervous when she climbs up, but she seems to have a really good awareness of her limitations. I may just have a heart attack before she turns 2.

After spending almost a year of keeping us up all night, Harper's finally a wonderful sleeper! (So there's hope for you yet, new parents!) She goes down for the night around 7PM and wakes up when Avery does at 7AM. She takes a 2 hour nap around noon every day. It's glorious.

She has the best giggle and knows how to melt our hearts. Harper is mischievous and sweet and we love her like crazy!

Happy 5th Birthday, Avery! (& 20 Questions)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:56:00 +0000

Avery turned FIVE on July 3 (yes, I'm behind on this post...oops)! We just adore this sweet girl, and she brings so much life to this family!

Avery graduated from Pre-K this year, and she'll start kindergarten in just a few short weeks! She's so excited about school and LOVES learning. She loves to write and draw and color and read, and she's an extremely hard worker. She can read quite a few words, and one of her favorite things to do is to write huge lists of all the words she knows.

She started playing soccer last fall and will play again this year. She's improved so much and is really enjoying it and coming into her own! She was really hesitant about going after the ball when she first started (she wants to be certain of success and doesn't love taking risks), but once she gained a little confidence, she was a completely different player.

She wears a size 11 shoe (almost 12), size 6 in shirts, and size 5 in bottoms (unless the 6 has adjustable waist for our little Skinny Minnie).

Avery is a talker (and is becoming a little bit of a sassy pants at home, but we're working on that!), but she's very quiet around other people until she gets comfortable. She takes in everything and really assesses questions before she answers. I love how much she thinks things through; she asks lots of questions!

She LOVES her brother and sister! She's an amazing big sister and is so patient with Landon and Harper (usually, haha). She and Landon pretend and play house all the time, and she's great at helping Harper play with her toys. Avery's a great dancer at our family dance parties! She's so much fun.

Avery loves to help others. I hope she always keeps her sweet, sensitive spirit and her stubborn persistence! Our prayer for all of our kids is that God uses their personalities to glorify himself and molds their hearts to truly love him and serve others.

We love you to the moon and back, Avery Grace!

In Her Own Words (answered on 7/3/14)

{What makes you happy?} When we get to play cards
{What are you really good at?} Playing soccer
{What is your favorite color?} Teal
{What is your favorite toy?} Everything
{What is your favorite TV show?} Curious George
{What is your favorite thing to eat?} Macaroni and cheese
{What is your least favorite thing to eat?} Brussel sprouts
{What is your favorite drink?} Orange juice
{What is your favorite movie?} Frozen
{What is your favorite game?} War (the card game)
{What is your favorite animal?} Cheetah
{What is your favorite song?} Let it Go
{What is your favorite book?} Pinkalicious
{Who is your best friend?} Lily
{What is your favorite thing to do outside?} Skate
{What is your favorite holiday?} Christmas and Halloween
{What do you like to take to bed with you at night?} Pink Texas Rangers baby blanket
{What do you and Mommy do together?} Color
{What do you and Daddy do together?} Jump on the trampoline
{Where is your favorite place to go?} Ikea (which she visited for the first time yesterday, haha), Sea World, Schlitterbahn, and Hawaiian Falls
{What do you want to be when you grow up?} A donut maker, chef, doctor, and author ("book writer")

Happy 3rd Birthday, Landon! (& 20 questions)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:07:00 +0000

Landon turned three on May 31! And as hard as this age is (I thought three was way harder than two with Avery), it has been so much fun watching his personality just explode. He is full of energy and loves life!

Landon is our early riser. He wakes up around 6:45 every morning and usually sneaks into our bed to steal some snuggles before he has to share our attention with his sisters.

He's definitely got some expression! It's hard for him to hide his feelings. When he gets mad, his favorite angry outburst is "poopy stupid!!"

Landon wears size 4T in shirts (although our skinny boy still needs 3T shorts) and a size 9 shoe. He's been potty trained for a year now, and I'm convinced that there's nothing cuter than a little boy running around in his undies.

Landon loves to read, and he knows quite a few letters (and is trying to figure out the rest of them!). He can count to ten (higher if he's not distracted), and he asks questions about EVERYTHING. He's just a little sponge these days!

He keeps us cracking up all the time. Some of his favorite phrases are "actually," "sure," and "not again!"

And he loves his sisters!

Happy birthday, Landon! We love you to infinity and beyond!

In Your Own Words...

{What makes you happy?} When Jacob (M.) came to my birthday

{What are you really good at?} Riding my big bicycle

{What is your favorite color?} Black
{What is your favorite toy?} Baseball glove
{What is your favorite TV show?} Wild Kratts
{What is your favorite thing to eat?} Macaroni

{What is your least favorite thing to eat?} Pepperoni
{What is your favorite drink?} Lemonade

{What is your favorite movie?} Shrek (the musical)

{What is your favorite game?} Pop the Pig
{What is your favorite animal?} Lion and cheetah
{What is your favorite song?} The Lion Sleeps Tonight
{What is your favorite book?} Pete the Cat
{Who is your best friend?} Jacob (Ricky's Jacob)

{What is your favorite thing to do outside?} Jump on the trampoline

{What is your favorite holiday?} Halloween

{What do you like to take to bed with you at night?} "lot of things"
{What do you and Mommy do together?} Play on the trampoline

{What do you and Daddy do together?} Mow

{Where is your favorite place to go?} Hawaiian Falls

{What do you want to be when you grow up?} Fireman and baseball player

Harper: 8 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 22:48:00 +0000

The Worst Blogger Ever award clearly belongs to me. At least I'm the best (worst?) at something, right? Bah, I promise my next post will be some sort of catch up post and not a baby book update, but until then, Harper is 8 (and a half) months old!

We love, love, love this sweet girl, and she is getting to be lots of fun.

Harper wears size 12 month clothes and a size 3 diaper when she's not in cloth ones.

She says Mama, Dada, and more ("moh") when she wants more food.

She usually wants more food because this girl can EAT. So far she eats: sweet potatoes, guacamole, peas, chicken, olives, cantaloupe, strawberries, watermelon, macaroni, cheese, broccoli, green beans, Cheerios, Pirate's Booty, and applesauce. We don't puree her food because she loves to eat it cut up into small pieces and, let's face it, that's much easier for us. She still nurses really well, although the amount has been scaled back since she's eating so many solids.

Harper was toothless at 8 months, but in the past few days her first tooth has poked through the bottom gums!

With this newfound tooth, her sleeping habits have totally regressed. She was doing SO much better and napping well (2 hours twice a day) and only waking once at night if at all. But now she's back to short naps (an hour or less) and waking once or twice a night. Hopefully she'll get back on track once the tooth comes all the way in.

She's a mover but doesn't quite crawl yet. She can sit up from lying down, and she gets on her hands and knees and rocks, but when she goes to move she still face plants and then rolls. She's really close though!

Harper loves to laugh, especially at Avery and Landon. She loves rides in the stroller and playing on the floor. Her favorite song is Katy Perry's "Roar" because she likes to sing all the "oh oh oh ohs" :)

She has grown so much this past month, and we are having so much fun watching her grow! Love you forever, Harper Girl!

Harper: 6 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 05:00:00 +0000

Harper is six months old already! I can't even keep up anymore; time is flying way too quickly with this one.

She had a great report at her checkup last week, and she weighs 16 lbs 4 oz (70%) and is 26" tall (75%). I've still been squeezing her into some 3-6 month clothes just because they're cute and I can't bear to get rid of them! But really she's in 6-9 month sizes. She wears a size 3 diaper in disposable diapers (but wears cloth the majority of the time).

Harper is a roller and a scooter and can sit up very well on her own (although we usually stay nearby or put the Boppy around her for the times she decides to just flop backward). I probably don't give her enough floor time, but when she does play on the floor, she loves to scoot around and roll like crazy!

It's been a very hard month in the sleep department. She moved into her bedroom with Avery, and she goes to sleep initially and does well in there...until about 1:00 or 2:00 AM. I'm usually in such a zombie-like state that I just bring her into our bed and she nurses and sleeps the rest of the night with us (which means that we don't sleep well). We're working on getting her to sleep all night in her room, but it's going to take a lot more discipline on my part, and some nights I'm just so desperate that I do whatever it takes to just keep my eyes closed.

Naps are hit or miss. We're not always home in the mornings for her to get a good nap in, so she catnaps in the car most days. Basically, I consider it a good day if she gets a two-hour nap and shorter one at some point. Third child problems.

Harper babbles a lot! We have no idea what she's trying to tell us, but I'm sure she'll fit right in with her talkative big siblings.

She's a pro at nursing. I'm super thankful for that because starting solids has been very low on the priority list. We tried bananas and avocado a few weeks ago, but she wasn't super interested, and the bananas were upsetting her stomach, so we stopped. I did cave and get some brown rice cereal to maybe start soon. She still has no teeth, despite the months of apparent teething pain and frustration. Oh, and I've had to give up caffeine because she was having major reflux, and this change seems to help a lot.

Harper loves to play with her toys, and she rolls all over the place. She loves to interact with people, and making silly faces and noises is a sure way to make her smile.

When she's rested, Harper is a very happy baby! And okay, she's mostly happy when she's in her mommy's arms. I'll take it though because once she starts crawling and moving, I'll have to chase her down to get these snuggles!

We love our sweet Harper girl and are having so much fun watching her grow!

Harper: 5 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 05:19:00 +0000

It's been two months since I last posted. TWO MONTHS. Poor baby Harper is definitely getting third child treatment when it comes to her blog updates! She's definitely not loved any less, but finding time to sit and write all this stuff down is proving to be quite a challenge.

Let's see if I even remember how to do this. I'm picking it up again though, I ~~promise~~ hope!

If you've lost track, our baby girl is now five months old! I'll throw in her four month picture for good measure, haha.

Harper Kate is SO much fun these days! And she is just the cutest. Eek, I can't get over how gorgeous she is (although I've said that about all of my precious babies)!

Loving the doorway jumper!

She weighed 14 lbs 8 oz (70%) and was 25" tall (80%) at her four month check up. She's in size 3-6 month clothes but sometimes wears 6-9 month, especially in sleepers. She wears size 2 diapers when she's not in cloth (i.e. when I'm backed up on laundry!).

She smiles and laughs a LOT. Avery makes her the happiest, but I think Landon will catch up once he figures out how to stop scaring her. We'll just say that he loves her a little too much!

Harper is a little wiggler. She kicks her legs all the time and rolls over the second we put her down. Out little ambi-roller can go from back to tummy and back again. She can scoot her little self around quite a bit, too!

She's a thumb sucker like her big brother. You know? I'm all for whatever works. Also, her tag blanket is magical. I'm not even kidding, it's what gets and keeps her asleep most days.

She sleeps okay. Harper JUST NOW moved into her room with Avery, so we're still figuring out the logistics of a baby and a preschooler sleeping next to each other without waking each other up. Harper's sleep is backtracking a little at night because she was sleeping all night until these pesky little teeth started giving her problems. Naps are iffy too, mostly because our schedule is so erratic that we just try to let her nap when and wherever possible. She IS a happy baby though, so I'm not too worried about it.

We just figured out that, in addition to her teething pain (with still no teeth to show for it), Harper is not a fan of dairy products. She's okay if I have it in small amounts, but bowls of ice cream and cereal are out of the question for awhile. Sad day!

We're starting to think about adding in some solids in the next month or so. She's been grabbing at our plates every time we're eating (although she grabs at everything these days), plus it may help her sleep better since she's waking up hungry. I'm fascinated by the Baby Led Weaning movement and am seriously considering skipping purees altogether!

The third baby seems to grow up WAY faster, and we really can't believe that she's already five months old. She brings so much joy and laughter to our family, and we can't imagine our lives without her!

We love you, Harper Kate!

Harper: 3 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 21:02:00 +0000

This girl turned three months old on Thursday! Have I mentioned yet how much time flies? Because it totally does. We love our sweet Harper SO MUCH!

Harper is wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers (when she's not in cloth). I have no idea how much she weighs!

She sleeps through the night, and we love her even more for that. She usually goes to bed around 8 (earlier if she didn't nap well that day) and wakes up around 7. She goes down for her first nap around 9 (for about an hour) but naps for 3-5 hours in the early afternoon. We haven't moved her to Avery's room yet because I just can't bring myself to kick her out of ours!

Harper is usually a very happy baby. Sometimes she gets fussy in her car seat, but if we keep her moving she's usually okay.

Her big brother and sister really love her, and she loves them! They can make her smile just by talking to her.

She eats about every 2-3 hours when she's awake.

Harper is especially smiley in the mornings! She's even started "talking" in really high pitched coos.

She's just SO. PRETTY. I can't even get over it. I think she looks almost identical to Avery when she was a baby, but lots of people tell me that they only see Landon in her. Either way, she's a cutie!

Harper: 2 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 02:10:00 +0000

Harper Kate is two months old today! She's our super smiley sweetheart, and we think she's pretty great.

(Well she usually smiles. She had her 2 month shots today and took a 5.5 hour nap. She hasn't been happy since.)

She weighs 12 lbs 5 oz (90%), is 23.5" long (90%), and has a head circumference of 15.75" (75%).

Harper wears size 0-3 month clothes, but I'm about to put away her sleepers and get out the 3-6s. She's getting too long for those! She's in cloth diapers most of the time, but she sometimes wears size 1 disposables.

I know we're totally spoiled, but she sleeps through the night already and has for a couple weeks. She usually goes down for the night around 8 or 9 and wakes up at 7 when her siblings come in the room a little too loudly. She's still sleeping in our room at night (in the pack 'n play bassinet), but I've been putting her in her crib for naps on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Avery and Landon are at Mother's Day Out. She naps really well when it's quiet! Otherwise, we try to let her nap whenever she can; it's hard being the third baby and not getting much of a schedule!

Harper gives us lots of smiles and coos when she's awake. She really loves her big brother and sister. She's usually being held when she's awake, so she doesn't get much floor time yet (oops).

She's still exclusively breastfed (she eats every 2-3 hours) but takes a bottle like a champ when she needs to. She's only had about five bottles in her life, but it's nice that she'll take one if I need to go out.

Harper hates her car seat most of the time. She screams if she's awake in it. That makes car rides lots of fun, but it doesn't seem to bother her siblings.

Baby girl found her thumb! Sometimes I hear her wake up and start moving around, and when I check on her, she's just sucking away. I've given up on trying to get her to like the pacifier, so whatever works.

We're so in love with this precious girl, especially now that everyone seems to have adjusted and come through the tumultuous new-baby phase. We can't wait to watch her grow up, but I hope she stays little for as long as possible. At least long enough for me to soak up every ounce of her baby-ness.

We love you, Harper!

Harper's First Ranger Game + Our Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 03:12:00 +0000

Since Avery and Landon's first Ranger games were when they were 6 weeks and 4 weeks old respectively, we decided that Harper needed to get to a game as a newborn, and we were running out of time!

On Wednesday we packed up the kids (and lots of snacks) and headed to our first game as a family of five.

We saw Jon Daniels as we were walking through the parking lot!

The boy was already tired, as evidenced by the thumb in his mouth.

It was an exciting week to be at the Ballpark since we were in a tight wild card race, and aside from the terrible hot dogs, we had a great time!

We only made it to the 8th inning, but Harper was hungry and the big kids were exhausted. Landon actually asked to go home, so we knew he was serious if he wanted to leave the Rangers!

Friday was Homecoming in our little town, so I took the kids to the afternoon parade. Matt was on the choir float, so we made sure to wave wildly at him! Avery and Landon really weren't into it at first, but once the candy start coming their way, they were sold. Harper slept the whole time because she's still a little boring.

I took off after bed time and went to craft night at church. I somehow managed to be productive and not spend the whole time talking, so I consider that a success. I'm trying to work on inventory for my Etsy shop so I can do some craft fairs this season, so I'm on a deadline! Also, I'm completely caught up on orders for the first time in months. That is a very big deal. YAY!

Matt spent all day on Saturday at district choir auditions. And by all day I mean that he left at 6:50 AM and didn't get home until 9:30 PM. It sucked to be him.

Because of some game time changes, I was going to be on my own for Avery's soccer game, so my parents took Landon to the Ranger game with them. They had really great seats, and he had a blast! Avery's game did not go so well, so I guess in this case I'm glad they don't keep score, haha.

Since Landon got to do something special, I let Avery choose where she wanted to eat lunch. I was sure she'd pick Branded Burger, but she picked Chick-fil-a. Sigh. So the girls and I stopped and ate there on the way to my aunt and uncle's house about 45 minutes away.

Harper was a pretty quiet date!

Since she didn't want a picture at the table, I caught one while she was hiding under it.

Why were we going there? Because by some miracle, a large amount of my extended family were able to get together just because. It wasn't a holiday or anything! My cousin Zach even made it up from Houston; we haven't seen him in almost four years (he's been off at the Citadel and deployed and minor things like that, gosh).

My dad found the blocks!

Amy and baby Margaret sandwiched between Nana and Pop

Brittany, Chelsea, Zach, and Aunt Cristi

Aunt Kay with an extra chunky looking Harper

Um, it was WAY too cold to be swimming.

Staring at Aunt Teresa

The boys! Nick, Aaron, Landon, and Zach

Well, we started a game of Ticket to Ride anyway. We'll have to actually finish one next time. (Also, I'm pretty sure I make the same face as Avery all the time.)

The kids' favorite game: Throw the balls in the pool and scoop them out with a net. They were heavily supervised, haha.

Cousins! And only a week apart!

My kids didn't nap at all on Saturday, so I was sure they'd sleep the whole way home that night. Of course they were awake the entire time. And Harper was screaming. During the whole drive. Fun times.

Sunday brought the promise of a completely unrelaxing day. Matt had to be at church early, so I flew solo again and got the kids dressed and ready and out the door on time. It's the little things.

After church we had a celebratory birthday lunch at Macaroni Grill with my family. My dad and Aaron both have birthdays next week, so we combined them.

Matt and my dad took the kids to my parents' so they could "rest" (ha!) while my mom went grocery shopping with me and Harper. Except that at Sprouts it turned into my mom doing the shopping for me while I took Harper to the car to nurse her. I don't know why she always wants to eat at the most inconvenient times, haha. We made it through Aldi in just enough time to race back to my house to drop off the cold stuff and pick up Avery's AWANA bag while Matt and the kids met us at church, where I got to work with my little Sparkies for the first time this year. I missed them!

After two days in a row of no naps, we shoved some food into the kids and got them in bed tonight early enough for us to catch the season premiere of Revenge. This season looks as intense as the first two! And now I just need to catch the Nashville episode I missed on Wednesday.

Also, I need to find my camera so I can get some decent pictures, and the Rangers need to win tomorrow.

The end.

Life Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 04:33:00 +0000

It's been so long since I've written a real blog post that I don't even know where to start. I decided to bite the bullet and get it over with so I can hopefully write in more manageable increments in the future, but you should probably go grab a snack because this could take awhile.

Things were nuts around our house after we brought Harper home from the hospital. Seriously. I don't know what got into Avery and Landon, but they had a hard time adjusting. Shoot, Landon is still having a hard time, poor guy. We were so blessed by our friends and neighbors who provided meals for our family for two whole weeks. It was a lifesaver not to have to worry about fixing dinner when I couldn't even so much as fix my hair.

If I'm being honest here, I need to mention that our first few weeks home were just really bad. There were more tears, raised voices, and temper tantrums than I'm comfortable admitting. Fortunately, there was also a lot of grace.

We had lots of visitors our first week home! (I'm missing a few pictures, oops.)

Nick and Brittany took Avery and Landon to see Planes and feed the ducks while we took Harper to her first check up. What a great aunt and uncle. :)

My parents took the kids to see the circus when it came to Ft. Worth. They had so much fun that they still talk about it a month later.

Matt's family all came to meet Harper! We're glad Justin and Miriam left Connecticut to move back to Texas because now we can see them more than once a year! The cousins got to play, the grandparents got baby snuggles, and we all got to eat at Fuzzy's to end the relaxing weekend.

The boys spent a day at the lake with my dad and Ral, and the girls hung out with my mom at their house. By "hung out" I mean that I cut and ironed lots and lots of fabric, how fun.

Avery started playing soccer! She's on a U-5 team with six other little girls, and she's loving it. She smiles the whole time she's on the field, and I'm pretty sure she never stops moving. She's a little timid about going after the ball (I don't really blame her since there are no less than five girls bunched up around it at all times), but I can see her actually thinking about what's going on, and she's always engaged in the games and at practice. She's improved a lot since the season started! She even scored her first goal in their second game.

Matt went back to school, and we started getting out of the house right away because I go stir crazy when we're there all day! We went to places like the chiropractor office, the library, the pediatrician's office, Chick-fil-a with friends, UTD for Harper's newborn hearing screen, Nana's house, and Meet the Teacher for Mother's Day Out.

We celebrated Brittany and my mom's birthdays in the same week. We had our usual family dinner at my parents' to celebrate Brittany, and we surprised my mom by planning a dinner at Nick and Brittany's house with ALL of us. I love my family.

Then MDO started! Avery and Landon go two days a week, and I go home and sew like a madwoman so I can actually spend time with Matt in the evenings. Harper sleeps almost the whole time they're gone, but when she's awake I get some special snuggle time. I can't believe this is Avery's preschool year; I'm really trying to make the most of her last year home with us.

We went to the fountains at Uptown Village and played with friends on a Friday morning. Kari, Chelsea, and Kendra met us there with their kids, so that was a fun time. Harper and Ella especially enjoyed themselves.

MOPS started back up also, and I'm really excited about my table this semester! My friend Michelle is the table leader, and my sister-in-law Chelsea is at our table also. And since MOPS is only the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, I'm starting the Ladies Bible Study at church on the other Wednesdays. I'm really excited to get both the fellowship of MOPS and the accountability of Bible study.

We started cloth diapering! I really, really love it so far. I was so intimidated at first, but it is way, way easier than I thought it would be. Maybe ask me that again after she starts solid foods, but right now we're liking the fluffy booty and diaper savings. I plan on writing a whole post about this later because lots of you have asked me about it.

Matt and I went on a date (we let Harper crash it). We had dinner at Razzoo's (and made it in time for happy hour -- half price appetizers for dinner, score!), went to Target, and got coffee at White Rhino because we know how to live it up.

I took the kids to the Perot Museum with my friend Kendra and her little girl, Cami. Every time we go there it rains! We want to check out Klyde Warren Park soon, but the weather just didn't cooperate that day.

Now that Harper is starting to get in more of a sleeping routine, I've been catching up on Etsy orders and watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix. It is a fantastic girly show, by the way! It's a perfect mix of Sweet Home Alabama and Gilmore Girls, and since it stars Rachel Bilson and a couple of Friday Night Lights alums, I call it a win. Now I just need them to release season two so I can find out what happens with George and Zoe and Wade!

Currently Matt's car is in the shop, our lawn mower died again, and apparently hospitals expect you to pay them, so that's fun. But God has provided for us in the past, and He's already showing us how He's providing for us now, and I'm surprisingly at peace about how "poor" we are right now.

Whew, I'm sure I missed a few things, but that's the gist. Now my goal is to update this thing on a regular basis like a normal person and not the crazy one that I actually am.

I'm not even making sense anymore, so I'm off to bed before Harper wakes me up for our daily pre-dawn party. Later!

Harper: 1 Month

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 22:23:00 +0000

Why yes, it has been a month since I last blogged Harper's birth story. I kept meaning to write updates and how-we're-doing posts, but blogging has fallen way low on my priority scale lately. They say I'll eventually get back in my groove, but they also said that the transition from two kids to three was a piece of cake. They lied to me.

Anyway. Harper is one month old already! We like her a lot.

(from Harper's newborn shoot with Aunt Allison)

She's a big girl! At her two week checkup she weighed 9 lb 8 oz, was 20.5" long, and her head measures14.5".

We're super thankful that she's a good eater. She nurses about every two hours (unless she's sleeping) and takes about 30 minutes to nurse each time. Matt's been able to give her a bottle a couple of times, so I'm trying to pump and build up a small freezer stash for times when I'm out and can't get back within two hours.

Harper likes sleeping, too. Especially if someone's holding her. She prefers sleeping flat on her back in her bassinet and doesn't seem to love the Rock 'n Play. If she's fighting sleep, all we have to do is bounce her on the physio ball and she's out. She's pretty good at sleeping with lots of noise, which is a plus since her siblings have two volumes: silent or loud.

She wore newborn sizes for about two weeks, and then I just couldn't squeeze her into them anymore! She's in 0-3 month sizes now and has some room to grow (although she'll probably move up a size in sleepers soon, yikes!). She wears a size 1 diaper, but we started cloth diapering this week! Since this is her one month post though, I'll save that for her two month update (or maybe even a separate post).

We've had an interesting time adjusting to baby #3, but thankfully we're getting into the swing of things again. I need to write a separate post about this, too.

But Harper has been a very sweet addition to our family, and we love her sweet smiles and coos. And those chunky thighs and squeezy cheeks are to die for. We're so excited to watch her grow up! As long as she doesn't do it too quickly. :)

Harper's Birth Story

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 02:31:00 +0000

I was convinced that Harper would be my early baby. And after being induced with my first two, I was determined to go into labor on my own this time. (Pitocin is a nightmare that I seriously wanted to avoid.)

So naturally, on the night before Harper's due date I had an epic meltdown, complete with tears, food medicating, and Matt taking the kids to his choir booster club/parent meeting so I could wallow in solitude.

I went to bed with crazy contractions for the third night in a row but went ahead and reserved tickets for us to go to the Perot Museum the next day to get my mind off things (plus Avery had been begging to go for weeks).

And then at 7:45 on Wednesday morning my water broke. Y'all, that is weird stuff. I totally thought I peed on myself. (Lovely, right?) My doctor's office doesn't open until 9, so while I waited to call them, I started packing up our hospital bags and let my mom know that she needed to make her way over to watch Avery and Landon. After talking to the nurse at my OB's office, I confirmed that my water really had broken, and we headed out the door.

But we didn't go straight to the hospital. Priorities, people. We made pit stops at my chiropractor's office (thanks for the last minute adjustment, Dr. T!), the library to return books, the kids' MDO to pay their tuition, and Chick-fil-a for lunch because I knew that once we got to the hospital they'd go all ice-chips-only on me and who wants to go that long without eating actual food??

We made it to Labor and Delivery around 11:45, and they were all wondering what in the world took us so long to get there. Chick-fil-a, that's what. Also, my contractions weren't super strong or close together, so we just weren't in a rush.

The triage nurse who admitted me was super nice, but then she informed me that my doctor wasn't going to be there and I had a doctor I'd never even heard of, much less met. Dr. D had told me at my appointment on Monday that he was on call for the next 12 days, so that was a huge letdown. They told me I was dilated to almost 5, so I was hopeful that it would be a pretty quick labor.

We met our L&D nurse, and she was new to the hospital, so she was working with another nurse (who I'd had before and loved), but she seemed nice enough. I talked with her about how I wanted things to go (namely, avoid pitocin if at all possible), and she said they'd give me a couple of hours to walk around, use the birthing ball thing, etc. But first I had to get a dumb penicillin IV since I'd tested positive for group B strep. By the time she'd practically burned my arm off with her incorrect ratio of antibiotic to fluid (after she'd missed my veins and had to get a backup IV-stabber) and entered all my info into the computer, she announced that my two hours were up and we needed to start pitocin.

Um, no ma'am. After my protest they let me have my actual two hours, and the other nurse was all you're doing the right thing, while my nurse was all just get the dang pitocin and get this show on the road. While I was frustrated that I felt like I was fighting my nurse for the majority of the day, I was thankful that one nurse was supportive and my substitute doctor wasn't rushing me.

Unfortunately, we could not get my contractions to strengthen or get closer together (probably because I was so frustrated with my nurse and the fact that my doctor wasn't there), so around 5:00 we started a super low dose of pitocin while I continued walking to see if that would help. I was trying to hold off on an epidural until the contractions got unbearable, but Matt talked me into getting it after they started the pitocin (he apparently had a better memory of my first two deliveries, haha).

I was SO glad I listened to him because once the anesthesiologist got there I thought I was dying. And keeping with the theme of the day, I got the worst anesthesiologist ever. It took him three tries to get the needle in, and then the anesthesia only worked in my legs. I still felt every single ridiculous pitocin-amplified contraction.

After nurse shift change they checked to see if I'd made any progress, and my new nurse informed me that I was only dilated to a 5. What the heck?!?! All day long and I hadn't progressed at all?? My nurse left for a few minutes and returned to inform me that Dr. W said I could have some statol for pain relief, but I was like I don't want to be drugged up, I just want this dang epidural to work. Also, I think you need to check me again because this is ridiculous and there is no way I am at a FIVE.

She obliged and immediately went to the phone to stop Dr. W from going to the c-section that she'd already scrubbed up for because thirty minutes after the last time she checked me, I was ready to push. (I knew I wasn't crazy!)

And about ten minutes later at 7:54pm, Harper Kate joined us and was absolutely perfect. She weighed 8 lb 9 oz (my smallest baby!) and was 21.25" long. And after holding our healthy baby girl in my arms, I quickly got over all the stuff that hadn't gone the way I had expected.

Avery and Landon got to come in first to meet their baby sister, and they were SO excited!

AND my whole family (minus Chelsea and Evelyn) made it back in town from campmeeting (which I had to miss this year for only the third time in my whole life) just in time to meet sweet Harper!

(And thank you to Allison for capturing so many great pictures for us! It was almost impossible to narrow them down for this post. Even more can be found at this post on her blog.)

We had lots of visitors on Thursday, but the first one was Dr. D. He came in and gave me a huge hug and apologized profusely for missing my delivery. He had been waiting for the hospital to call him to tell him I was there, but when they didn't, he assumed I'd been sent home because my water hadn't broken after all. Apparently Wednesday was his day off, but even though he was planning on delivering Harper, the doctor that he was covering for later in the week had arranged for Dr. W to cover him so he could have the day off. The only problem was, nobody told him that. I was so upset about him not being there, but there wasn't anything I could do about it at that point. He was really complimentary about Dr. W though and said she practiced really similarly to him, which I could totally see. I was thankful that he took the time to stop by.

Uncle Vernon

Pastor Fred

Kari and two-week-old Ella

Amy

Proud big brother

I loved my night nurses in postpartum, and the hospital food is ridiculously good, but we were so ready to go home. My recovery has been SO much easier this time around, and I didn't even need a hydrocodone prescription to take home. :)

We got to leave on Friday (Harper looked so tiny in her car seat!), and now the fun part of adjusting to being a family of five begins. It's already been an adventure (and not always a fun one), but we're so thrilled that this little girl has joined our family!

Harper is Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 21:38:00 +0000

If we're friends on Facebook, this is totally old news because Harper Kate made a very timely arrival on her due date last week! Yes, the same day I was lamenting the fact that I was still pregnant in this post.

Harper Kate - August 7, 2013 - 8 lbs 9 oz - 21 1/4" long

I've been meaning to post her birth story on here all week, but we're all still in major adjustment mode over here, so it just hasn't made its way to the top of the To Do list yet. I did finally get pictures uploaded on my computer, so that's a start!

To hold you over in the meantime, here's a link to my fantastic photographer sister's blog post about our sweet girl!

I'll be back soon(ish) with the birth story and a complete picture overload!

40 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 13:37:00 +0000

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 40 weeks (hello, due date)
Size of baby: According Monday's sonogram, she's already around 8 lb 10 oz (give or take a pound). Apparently I grow big babies (if that number is accurate).

Total Weight Gain: 34 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Obviously. I've already put up most of them though, so I'm limited to just a few outfits.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And now she's big, so it's actually painful. She also gets the most active at night, so falling asleep is pretty difficult.

Sleep: I'm not sleeping well anymore. Crazy contractions are keeping me up late and waking me up early.

What I miss: Not needing to pee every thirty minutes. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: Eh, nothing. I'm not even hungry anymore.

Symptoms: Just all the pre-labor stuff. I've been having LOTS of contractions, which would be great if it wasn't such a tease. Monday night I timed them for 3 hours because they were regular and getting closer together. They got down to 7-8 minutes apart for over an hour, and then they just stopped. Same exact thing happened last night, only they were 5-6 minutes apart. So every night I go to bed thinking I'll wake up to stronger contractions, and then I wake up super cranky because I'm obviously not in labor.

Best Moment this week: It's been a rough week. I'm really thankful for Matt, who is the most selfless, thoughtful person I know. He's doing everything he can to make life easy for me these days. I'm just frustrated with my body and its seeming inability to go into labor. I know, I know. Lots of people go past their due dates; it's totally normal. I guess I just got it in my head that since this is my third baby and my body is in much better condition as far as alignment goes (thanks, Dr. T!), I'd have Harper in my arms before today.

So I'm still praying to go into labor without being induced for a third time, but this waiting is really cramping my control freak tendencies.

One of these days I'll write a post that's not a pregnancy update. I just realized it's been a very long time since I've written anything of substance. Oops!

Thanks for hanging with me, and hopefully next time I'll have a birth story and some sweet pictures to share!

39 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 02:52:00 +0000

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 39 weeks (the countdown is on!)
Size of baby: According to last week's sonogram, she's already around 7 lb 12 oz. Apparently I grow big babies (if that number is accurate). As long as she can fit into her newborn clothes for at least a few weeks, I'm okay with it. :)

Total Weight Gain: 33 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And some of them are getting a little snug, so I'm down to wearing basically the same few things over and over.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And now she's getting big, so it's actually painful. She also gets the most active at night, so falling asleep is pretty difficult.

Sleep: I'm not sleeping well anymore. Crazy contractions are keeping me up late and waking me up early.

What I miss: Not needing to pee every thirty minutes. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: I don't have a huge appetite these days, but I've been craving Brander Burger and watermelon. I craved burgers with my first two pregnancies, too.

Symptoms: Lots of back pain the last few weeks. And now I can add some pretty intense contractions to the list. That actually makes me hopeful because I never had them with my first two, but I'd like for them to actually get regular and do something. I'm finally at the point of being over being pregnant. Hey, it's been way better this time around, but I'm just excited to meet our baby girl!

Best Moment this week: It's been a good one! Some friends from church threw a little pool party/baby shower for me and Harper this weekend, so I super enjoyed hanging out in the water with excellent company!

Also, at my appointment on Tuesday they rechecked my fluid levels and are no longer concerned. My doc is a tiny bit worried that she'll end up being as big as Landon (10 lb 6 oz), but he's not pushing me to induce early or anything (which is one of the many reasons I love him).

And now we're on baby countdown. TMI alert: I go in tomorrow to get my membranes stripped (don't Google it), so hopefully that'll get something started. If not, I totally realize that I'm not even to my due date, so I could still be waiting for a little while longer. Happy August, everybody!

38 Weeks and a General Update

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 04:15:00 +0000

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 38 weeks (only 2-ish to go!)
Size of baby: According to today's sonogram, she's already around 7 lb 12 oz. Apparently I grow big babies. As long as she can fit into her newborn clothes for at least a few weeks, I'm okay with it. :)

Total Weight Gain: 32 lbs. (but I actually lost .2 lb since my appointment two weeks ago!)

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And some of them are getting a little snug, so I'm down to wearing basically the same few things over and over.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And now she's getting big, so it's actually painful. She also gets the most active at night, so falling asleep is pretty difficult.

Sleep: I sleep okay (as in I can go all night without getting up to go to the bathroom), but finally falling asleep is half the battle.

What I miss: Not needing to pee every thirty minutes. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: I don't have a huge appetite these days (hence the lack of weight gain), but I was SERIOUSLY craving Branded Burger last night. So we went there for lunch today. Mmmm, it's my favorite.

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Lots of Braxton Hicks. Lower back pain. Other fun stuff that I probably shouldn't mention on the blog.

Best Moment this week: It's been a really great week since I last posted. Let's play catch up.

Wednesday - My good friend Kendra asked if Landon and Avery could go play at her house so Matt and I could have a day to ourselves. It was much needed and a huge blessing. We went to pick up some cloth diapers that I had bought in Ft. Worth, so we hung out in that area for the day. We got to go shopping at multiple stores without getting kids in and out of hot car seats, and we ate lunch at a restaurant and everything (yay for gift cards). :) And if that didn't make Kendra awesome enough, she also gave us an early gift for Harper's room, and I love how it turned out (even if the picture doesn't do it justice)!

The kids took late naps, so that night we took them to the drive-in to see Turbo and Despicable Me 2. We were pretty sure they wouldn't make it through both movies, so we set up a little bed in the back of the van so they could sleep while we watched the second movie. I was SO thankful we set up that bed because I was the one who couldn't make it through both movies. Avery and Landon stayed awake through the end (which was well past midnight)!

Friday - We drove out to Burleson to spend the evening with some of our very favorite people, Candie, Ricky, and Jacob! They only live 45 minutes away from us now, but we hadn't seen them in months. That's just ridiculous. Also ridiculous: I took no pictures.

Sunday - I got a huge surprise at church when I found out there was a thank you reception thing for me after the service. It was really informal but so sweet. People wrote the sweetest notes thanking me for serving as the children's ministry director, and there was a money/gift card tree that many had contributed to. I was completely overwhelmed by the gesture; I may have cried when I finally got to sit down and read everything.

Between kids napping at my parents' house because we had a Sunday School teacher training, Matt going to worship team rehearsal, and eating dinner at my parents' since we were already there, we didn't get home until 7 that night. My friend Whitney came over after we got home so we could work on our nap mat project together. We worked until 2am, but they're finished! We had to deconstruct an example, figure out measurements and the process, and then put ours all together, so it was quite a task! I'm glad I didn't have to figure it out by myself! My kids love theirs; in fact, they begged to sleep on them tonight, so I compromised and said they could sleep on them as long as they were on their beds. :)

Monday - I didn't end up going to bed Sunday night until 3am, and Matt was up reading until 2:30, so we were basically zombies. Avery was begging us to go to the park, so when my brother Aaron texted us to tell us that's where they were going, it only made sense that we join them. And Nick got to stop by since he's working days now! We even got to eat lunch at Aaron and Chelsea's. I left for my chiropractor appointment while the kids were napping, and afterward I drove up to see my good friend Kari at the hospital because she had her sweet baby GIRL on Sunday! I didn't get to meet baby Ella because she's having a little bit of a rough start, but it was fun to catch up with Kari.

Tuesday - And that brings us to today. We still haven't gone to the grocery store, so our pantry and fridge are bare. Don't feel too sorry for us though because we used it as an excuse to load up on sugar at the donut store on our way to my doctor appointment. :)

We took the whole gang to the appointment since I was getting a sonogram, but I found out while I was there that my OB is in the hospital for exhaustion and hypertension, so I saw his nurse instead. She ended up being awesome (she's new, so I hadn't really met her before), and I found out that I'm dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced. While that means virtually nothing, it's still interesting to know I guess. Also, the sonographer was kinda concerned about my fluid levels, so I have to be checked again next week to make sure everything's still okay. And I'm holding out hope that Harper will stay put until next week so my doctor can deliver her!

Matt fixed our mower this afternoon!!! This is a huge deal. We've been borrowing our neighbors' mowers for at least a month because ours is apparently a piece of crap and the engine isn't even manufactured anymore, making it almost impossible to find parts for it. But Matt found the part he needed on Amazon and got it running today! And since it was a million degrees outside and the kids insisted on playing out there anyway, we got out the kiddie pools, invited the neighbors over, ordered some pizza, and enjoyed the shade. I love summer!

I still think I'll go at least to my due date, but everybody around me is convinced that Harper will be joining us soon. I took the evening off from my sewing machine, but I'll be hitting it hard tomorrow to catch up on orders. Oh, and I really need to clean my house. Maybe things will be finished before I go into labor? A girl can dream.

37 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:50:00 +0000

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 37 weeks (only 3-ish to go, and I'm now considered full term!)
Size of baby: Over 6 lbs and 19 inches long (the size of a stalk of Swiss chard, whatever that is)

Total Weight Gain: 32 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And some of them are getting a little snug, oh my goodness. I really don't remember feeling this big with the first two.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And now she's getting big, so it's actually painful. She also gets the most active at night, so falling asleep is pretty difficult.

Sleep: I sleep okay (as in I can go all night without getting up to go to the bathroom), but finally falling asleep is half the battle. Landon has also decided that he doesn't like to sleep through the night anymore because he wants to sleep in "Daddy's bed." And since that's not really possible because my stomach takes up half the bed, he throws fits. Every night. In the middle of the night.

What I miss: Not needing to pee every thirty minutes. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: I don't have a huge appetite these days, but last night I ate a bunch of pickle popsicles. Could I be any more cliche?

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Lots of Braxton Hicks. Occasional shooting pains in my legs. Lower back pain. Other fun stuff that I probably shouldn't mention on the blog.

Best Moment this week: Getting lots done around the house. I've gotten caught up on some projects and even had some energy to organize our out of control linen closet yesterday. I still have lots to do, but I'm starting to feel like it's a manageable amount (as long as Harper stays put for at least another week!).

Photo Catch Up: Summer Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 05:03:00 +0000

My blogging has been so sporadic that it's time for a huge catch up post! We've been having a blast this summer. Here's proof!

June 26: Mom and Dad finally got back from their extra long European vacation, so they joined us for a trip to see Despicable Me (the first one) at the local theater for their super cheap summer movie series. We grabbed breakfast at Chick-fil-a first though to make sure they were acclimated to Texas life again. We met up with some friends at the movie, and then we went to Chick-fil-a again for lunch. Don't judge.

June 28: The boys went to the Ranger game with the men's ministry at church, so the girls took a break from cleaning to go get snow cones!

June 30: Fun outside! Landon's hair cut, unpoppable bubbles, a blow up pool, and Avery's new roller skates make for a perfect summer evening.

(This is the big, unruly dog that our crazy backyard neighbors complain about.)

July 1: Avery and I had so much fun decorating her new wooden dolls. Coloring is extremely therapeutic; I don't know why I don't do it more often!

July 2: We took advantage of the awesome weather and spent the morning at the Dallas Zoo (membership passes have been an awesome investment for us).

July 2: After our fun zoo trip, my whole family found a day that worked for all of us to go to the Ranger game! We lost terribly in an ugly game, but the weather was perfect and the company was the best. (And if my mom ever posted pictures, I'd have the group shot to include here, haha.)

July 4: We hung out at the house during the morning and then stopped by my friend Kari's surprise birthday party before the annual Fourth of July party at the Talley house!

Avery was super excited that her friend Hailey was in town! She's missed her since she moved away!

Landon hates fireworks right now. He was traumatized by them at the Ranger game and hasn't gotten over it!

Hahaha, this picture makes me laugh so much! I feel like this is a preview of what we'll see in ten years.

Sisters!

This week we're staying home because this cute kid is potty training! He is doing SO awesome, and there is absolutely nothing cuter than a little boy in Mickey Mouse briefs, hehe. (And maybe now that it's worked twice people will stop giving me a hard time about potty training our kids so "early." Hey, at least we won't be buying diapers anymore.)

36 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 17:15:00 +0000

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 36 weeks (only 4-ish to go!)
Size of baby: About 6 lbs and 18.5 inches long (the size of a head of romaine lettuce)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 32 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And some of them are getting a little snug, oh my goodness. I really don't remember feeling this big with the first two.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And now she's getting big, so it's actually painful. She also gets the most active at night, so falling asleep is interesting to say the least.

Sleep: I sleep okay (as in I can go all night without getting up to go to the bathroom), but finally falling asleep is half the battle.

What I miss: Not needing to pee every thirty minutes. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: Other than discovering the perfect combination of potato chips and frozen grapes, I'm not really craving much these days, and my appetite is starting to go away completely.

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Lots of Braxton Hicks. Occasional shooting pains in my legs. Lower back pain. Other fun stuff that I probably shouldn't mention on the blog.

Best Moment this week: It's a tie this week!

1) Finishing Harper's car seat!

2) An amazing visit to my fantastic chiropractor. My adjustment made an immediate difference in my cramping, AND the massage therapist was there and worked on my legs and hip flexors during my heat therapy. I seriously felt like a new person when I left the office.

Avery's 4th Birthday: Hello Kitty

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 05:32:00 +0000

Avery turned four last week and we had a blast celebrating our precious girl!

Per her request, we threw her a Hello Kitty party and invited her little girl friends from church. (Side note: Avery decides months in advance what her next party theme will be and never wavers. She’s already planning a Minnie Mouse party for next year.)

When the girls arrived they played in Avery’s room until everyone got there. Then they each got to paint their own Hello Kitty magnet. I had no idea we could fit so many little girls at our kitchen table!

Then they played Pin the Bow on the Kitty, which I was totally going to make but ran out of time and cheated by getting it at the store. Sometimes the time/money tradeoff is totally worth it. Avery won, but I’m pretty sure she could see under the mask because she was the first one and I don’t think I checked it that well, haha. It was her birthday party, so I guess it’s okay that I essentially helped her cheat.

After the game the girls devoured some cupcakes, frozen grapes, sausage balls. and pink popcorn. Matt is the cake guru around here, and he used the same recipe that he used for Landon's party last month because they are the absolute best cupcakes in the world.

Then Avery opened her gifts and was clearly overwhelmed by the process. Coupled with the fact that I planned a party during the time she normally naps, I don't really blame her for zoning out at this point. Shoot, gift time at kid parties stresses ME out, too (even when it's not our party)!

And even though it was a zillion degrees outside, the girls all wanted to play in the backyard for the rest of the party. Avery got out of her funk and declared the party lots of fun (despite appearances for some of it!), which allows me to declare it a success.

(Although next year I've already decided the kids are doing a combined party at Pump it Up.)

DETAILS

Invitations: Me (using good ol' Microsoft Word and printing on pink card stock)

Ceramic magnet paint sets: Party City

Pin the Bow on the Kitty game: Party City

Cupcake toppers: Joann

Cupcakes: Matt, my rock star of a husband

Hello Kitty shirt: Target

Tutu: Me (using my go-to tutorial)

Paper goods: Target

Custom plate: Rosie Posie Designs

********

And then on her ACTUAL birthday, we celebrated some more! What birthday is complete without a sugar high for breakfast?

Then we finally got to see Monsters University, which both kids loved (as did Grandma, Aunt Allison, Matt, and I).

Avery got to choose our lunch location, and she surprisingly passed up Chick-fil-a for Chipotle!

We went home for naps, and Matt fixed Avery's birthday dinner request (biscuits, bacon, eggs, and fruit) before we went to my parents' to watch the Ranger game and eat ice cream.

We love our sweet four year old and had so much fun celebrating her special day!

Car Seat Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:34:00 +0000

Sometimes I get awesome ideas of projects I want to take on. Case in point:

This ugly car seat.

In its defense, it's been through three kids (my two plus my niece), and its ugly poop color was a direct result of my persistence that we get something gender neutral when Avery was born because we didn't know if we'd have a boy in the future (okay fine, that turned out to be a good call).

But Harper will probably be our last (biological) baby, so bring on the pink!

And bring on the impossible project!

Seriously, this project was super hard for me. Usually when I sew I'm making stuff I've made a million times because it’s for my Etsy shop. And while I'm good at what I make because I'm a perfectionist, I’m not super well-rounded in my sewing abilities.

A couple years ago I completed a project that has since been dubbed “The Nap Mat Fiasco.” It was a nightmare. My friend Rachel was making one from the same tutorial at the same time, and I’m pretty sure our texts back and forth were the only reason I kept any semblance of sanity while trying to feed inches of thick batting through my basic, non-industrial machine.

This was much of the same.

I bought this PDF tutorial because I wasn’t loving the free ones I kept finding online. It was a great tutorial, although it is most definitely not a project for beginners.

Lessons learned: 1) How time-consuming it is to rip every seam out of a car seat; 2) How to attach elastic without a casing (thanks, Mom!); and 3) How to use the appropriate presser foot for a project.

I will admit that I am SO proud of myself for how this turned out. There’s just something about taking on a challenge and successfully accomplishing it. I love how the fabrics coordinate and how tailored it looks (compared to just making/buying a universal slipcover). I love that it only cost me $30 for materials (which could’ve been even less if I hadn’t used designer fabrics) as opposed to paying someone else $100.

And if anyone asked me to make one for them, I would laugh. Really hard. In their face.

Unless maybe it’s been over a year and I’ve forgotten how much I hated myself the past three days. And it’s a sister or BFF doing the asking. Or someone offers me a lot of money.

So now Harper has something pretty to come home from the hospital in. And I can cross one more thing off the pre-baby To Sew list.

Next up on said list: wet bags (both diaper bag and diaper pail sizes) and two nap mats (I learned my lesson from the first one, so these will be covers for KinderMats). Wish me luck!

35 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 05:15:00 +0000

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 35 weeks (only 5-ish to go!)
Size of baby: Over 18 inches long and five pounds (the size of a honeydew melon)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 30 lbs. People either think I look tiny or huge, and everyone feels the need to make some sort of comment about my size. I will never understand why people think someone's pregnancy is a pass to make weight comments when they would never make them otherwise. So unless you're in the you-look-tiny-for-being-due-in-a-month camp, just don't say anything. It's for your own good at this point.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And some of them are getting a little snug, oh my goodness. I really don't remember feeling this big with the first two.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And now she's getting big, so it's actually painful.

Sleep: I sleep okay (as in I can go all night without getting up to go to the bathroom), but every morning I wake up with a very sore back.
What I miss: Not needing to pee every thirty minutes. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: I'm actually not really craving anything these days (unless you count the corn casserole that I couldn't stop eating at the 4th of July party tonight!), and my appetite is starting to go away completely.

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Occasional shooting pains in my legs (I'm working on improving circulation). Lower back pain (although I'll take some back pain over the horrible pelvic pain I experienced with my first two pregnancies).

Best Moment this week: It's been a super fun week celebrating Avery's birthday and just enjoying summer as a family. I am starting to freak out over all the stuff I need to sew/do before Harper gets here. Her due date is coming up so quickly!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Avery! (& 20 Questions)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 14:49:00 +0000

Avery, you are FOUR today, and we are so thankful that God gave us YOU! You've grown up so much this past year, and we love all the thoughtful conversations we're able to have with you. It's been so much fun to watch you grow into such a sweet little lady. We love you like crazy!!

(Photos courtesy of Allison Jean Photo)

You love to play! You play with dolls, puzzles, Landon, and whatever else you can use to stretch your imagination. You and Landon chase each other in circles through the house, and you love when Daddy chases and tickles and plays along. You also love to play outside on your bike and skates, jump on the trampoline, blow bubbles, and play in the water.

You wear 4T shorts and skirts and size 5 tops, while your shoes are 10/11. Your stats from your 4 year checkup are: 39 lb (75%) and 42.5" tall (90%).

You are SUCH a great big sister. You're the first person Landon asks for when he wakes up, and you make him laugh all the time. You're super excited for Harper to get here so you can share a room with her!

You love the Texas Rangers. You're one of the only kids I know who can carry on a conversation about her favorite player (David Murphy!) and watch an entire game without getting restless. You frequently pretend you're going to the games, and you love to listen to the games on the radio in the car.

You love to sing! You make up songs all the time, but you also love to listen to the Newsies and Shrek Broadway soundtracks, VBS CDs, and Hide 'Em in Your Heart.

You're spunky and stubborn, but you have a really sensitive heart. I love seeing God working in you, and as you get older and more thoughtful, we're quickly realizing just how tricky this parenting thing is going to be! We want more than anything for you to love Jesus with all of your heart and to love other people and care about those who are hurting. We know God will do awesome things with your life!

In Her Own Words

{What makes you happy?} Playing with friends
{What are you really good at?} Cartwheels
{What is your favorite color?} Pink and blue, but all the colors are my favorite
{What is your favorite toy?} Skates
{What is your favorite TV show?} Curious George
{What is your favorite thing to eat?} Soup
{What is your least favorite thing to eat?} Squash and zucchini
{What is your favorite drink?} Milkshake
{What is your favorite movie?} Toy Story
{What is your favorite game?} Don't Wake Daddy
{What is your favorite animal?} Butterflies
{What is your favorite song?} Pray About Everything (VBS)
{What is your favorite book?} Wacky Wednesday
{Who is your best friend?} Jenna (although this answer changes daily, haha)
{What is your favorite thing to do outside?} Skate
{What is your favorite holiday?} Christmas
{What do you like to take to bed with you at night?} Ladybug and Hello Kitty
{What do you and Mommy do together?} Grocery shop
{What do you and Dad do together?} Swim
{Where is your favorite place to go?} To the fair
{What do you want to be when you grow up?} A teacher

To see how her answers have changed since her 3rd birthday, check out this post.