She's Growing Up!

Today has been a fun week! The weather has been CRAZY hot, so we have started new INDOOR activities, enjoying the pretty sunshine in an air conditioned environment ;).

This was at 8:15 PM.... 102 degrees- crazy!!!

Harper's teachers tried out the Jump-a-roo with her. Hehehe... I think she stayed awake for a few minutes before taking a little snooze ;)

I thought it was too cute, so I decided to get one for home- ha! Her feet are literally 3-4 inches from the carpet.... I have a feeling it'll be a little while before she is tall enough!

TOYS!!!! This week, Harper has found an interest in toys! You can see her brain working as she takes a full 5 minutes just to grab the toy- so cute! She seems to like most of them and I am excited for her to find other things to put in her hands aside from her burp rag- ha!

The chatter is increasing... and so is the drool and spit up that comes from all that noise and air going through her mouth!

Pete and I have taped many of her "conversations"... REALLY wish I could figure out how to upload them to this blog?!?!

She has started turning her head and focusing on the television, so I thought it was about time for her to watch something other than reality TV ;).... she watched Baby Einstein TWICE, laughing and kicking her legs at what I'm sure are her favorite parts ;)

We brought out the high chair this week as well.... it was a pretty big deal, so of course Dottie had to be there to make the new seat more comfortable ;)!! She did pretty well in it- little small, but still cute to see her in a "big girl seat".

We can't believe our little peanut is almost 4 months old!!! She is growing up so fast!!!

We hope you all are staying COOL through the hotness of summer!!! And for those of you heading back to school, we wish you the best in the next coming weeks :).

School Days!!!!!

Two weeks ago, Mommy and Harper went back to school!!!!! It was bittersweet for me to return to work; I missed my kids so so much and was thrilled to be back with them, but was SOOOO nervous about leaving Harper with anyone- even though she would be right down the hall from me....

So, the semi-dreaded week began....

Thankfully, Pete accompanied me to Harper's classroom that first day (pretty sure he is the ONLY thing that stood between me and the waterworks of emotion I could have had ;)).

So, I to my class and Harper to hers... and it actually went well! I DO spend every lunch hour in there picking the brains of her teachers and cuddling with my scrunchy muffin, but it truly has been refreshing to get back to work! The kids keep me so busy and the job keeps me busy as we prepare for the start of the school year in just a couple short weeks!!

Here are a couple pics from Harper's first week at school:

she is LOVING the bumbo!!! Although she was a little shy for this picture, when I came into the room she was 'chattin up a storm' to the mirror toy sitting in front of her- so cute!!!!

She is our smiley little peanut!!! Her teachers swear she stays happy throughout her whole day.... I'm hoping so!!!!

And this is how baby girl is most evenings after school.... I think it wears her out just a tad ;)

She has been sucking on her burp rag for weeks now! I have to admit as much as she loves it, it kind of grosses me out!!! A friend suggested substituting a blankie instead- I think that is MUCH more appealing!!!

So..... Dottie has become a staple of Harper's day now ;). As you can see from the picture, she's not quite ready to give up her burp rag ;), but she clutches them both TIGHTLY until she falls asleep!!!

Our little girl has had a busy couple weeks, but is adjusting so well!!! Mommy is too ;)... most days!

We hope you all are staying cool through these CRAZY HOT weeks!!!!!! Have a great week and we'll send more Lee moments your way soon :)

13 Weeks and Growing TOO Fast!!!

Holey Moley she's 13 Weeks Old!!!! Pete and I just cannot believe it has already been 3 months since our Baby Girl came into our lives!!! She is CONSTANTLY teaching and sharing all kinds of wonderful moments with us.

Here are a few we were able to capture:

Fists and Burp Rags are where the party is.... Harper loves clutching her burp rag which we now refer to as a blankie ;) and is constantly licking and playing with it... so strange, but Grandma Wilson gave us OODLES so I switch them out all the time just to prevent her from being the stinky kid in class ;)... hehe, spit up doesn't mesh nicely with making friends!

Harper has also found her voice. It's so funny to watch her work so hard to make one sound... pretty sure we have a social butterfly on our hands- she just can't WAIT to speak her mind- or finally tell Mommy and Daddy just how crazy she thinks we are ;).

She is also a bit of a bobblehead but holding her head up more and more each day!

Happy 17th Birthday, Anna!!!!

The THIRD part of our Indy trip was to celebrate my youngest sister's birthday. I just HAD to give Anna her own blog post because....

#1: I just love you SO much;)

#2: she pointed out in an earlier post that I referred to her as a 15-year-old... eek, sorry about that, Anna. I now have it DRILLED into my head that you are 17 but seriously- stop growing up so fast!!!!!!

We went down to Broad Ripple as a family for a fantastic seafood dinner- loved it! We went in couples: Anna & Geno, Abby & Adam, my Mom & Dad, and Pete & I (with our sidekick Harper of course ;)). So, we get to the restaurant when Abby realizes what we have each done.....

Anna & Geno

(the navy couple :))

Amy & Pete

(the grey couple)

Mom & Dad

(the aqua couple)

Abby & Adam

(the orange couple)

Oh ya.... we all color coordinated our dates without even knowing! We felt so awesome when we found that out- just kidding!!!

Needless to say the restaurant was not air conditioned. So, my ALWAYS overheated, sweaty baby enjoyed a tierra of damp paper towels and occasional walks outside to suit her fancy ;)

Love you Baby Girl!!!

and a VERY Happy Birthday, Anna- love you lots!!!!!!!

Red, White, and Cute ;)

The 2nd part of the Indy Extravanganza was an Open House for Harper! It was so great to spend the 4th enjoying the day with friends! We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone it looks like I barely got any pictures....

I can assure you it was wonderful and Harper had a blast meeting her "Midwest Family"!!

The look may be deceiving, she doesn't want anyone to know just how much she enjoys being in her swing with her pacifier and 'blankie' in sight.....

My oh-so-creative sister made this fabulous cake- yes, you DO cut into it and it looks like an American flag- I LOVED IT.....best birthday cake EVER!!!

....and the day wouldn't be complete without a picture of family burping the baby... takes a village, right?!?! ;)

Thank you, Anna for all your help!

THANK YOU Lowell and Abigail for coming over to see us!!!! It ALWAYS seems that it has been TOO long and it was wonderful to catch up with you for a few!!!!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for visiting with us this 4th!!!!

And a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to my Mom for totally out doing herself with 2 parties back to back.... they were both beautiful and amazing.... thank you for all you did to make our little family feel so special- we love you!!!!!

...so, can you tell I have discovered the collage feature for pictures?! HA- sorry about all the groupings, but it was so fun... now if I can just figure out how to make them bigger.... hmmmm, never can seem to get a perfect handle on this whole technology thing ;)

A Trip to Remember....

WOW.... what a week in Indy!! It was my last "hurrah" before heading back to work and what better way to spend it then soaking up the sun and fun in the Midwest!

Grandpa + rocker + cool breeze and chirping birds = 1 VERY HAPPY Harper ;)

Looks like Nana has the magic touch too. On our last visit it was my mom's mission to get Baby Girl to sleep in her bed and she was 100% successful. This trip to Indy was filled with it's own mission: get Harper to sleep through the night and OH YA.... she succeeded!!!!! THANK YOU, NANA.... that will make it SO much easier to go back to work tomorrow!!!!

Our main reason for being back in Indy was to baptize our daughter in the church where I completed most of my sacraments and where Pete and I were married! It was so special to us and was a beautiful ceremony!!

Harper's baptismal gown was the O'Connell gown worn not only by my dad and his siblings, but by me and my siblings.... Harper was the 1st great grandchild to wear it- it looked brand new- thank you SOOO much Grandma for letting us carry on the tradition!!!

....and thank you Kessha and Lonnie for being amazing Godparents; you mean so much to Pete and I and we love you so much!!!!

Grandma Wilson with her 32nd great grandbaby ;)

....this was Harper's "afterparty attire" she was DONE with dresses, bloomers, socks, and most of all being hot so off with it all (I did manage to keep her bow and bracelet own- I mean she's still a lady, right?!! :))

Quiet time with Nana...

Later in the week we got to enjoy some pool time, Cambridge City style!!!!! Harper debuted her bikini and we hit the water..... it was WONDERFUL!!!!

So, lately THIS is how Harper is waking up from her naps- LOVE IT!!!!! I think sleeping thru the night and a couple snoozes during the day makes for a happy girl!!!!!

Thank you EVERYONE who we saw and visited with during our time "back home". We had such a blast and Pete and I felt so blessed to see you and introduce you to our baby girl!!!! Thank you so much for everything!!!!

Until next time.....