8 months old

My sweet girl is 8 months and growing, however as I post this update she is 8.5 months old and will soon be 9. Needless to say, she is keeping us busy around here.

It just so happens we took a family trip to Lowe’s on hj’s 8 month birthday. As we stood in the parking lot packing up the car and I glanced across the street staring at Community North Hospital, it became clear to me why my mom always glared at St.Joe Hospital while passing by. I’ll never forget the day she pulled the car over, jumped out and grabbed a brick. Without a doubt, I too have the same emotional connection to Community North. I stood there day dreaming swelling with emotions. This is where we first saw our child forming, where we heard a heartbeat for the first time and found out we were parents to a baby girl. This is where we got to hold and kiss her for the first time and introduce her to her family.

This month we celebrated hj’s first Easter. We went to Kokomo on Saturday afternoon and had Easter dinner and then we went to church on Sunday morning with Nana B and Papa C. That afternoon we drove back home and spent the afternoon celebrating with the Donaldson side of the family. Towards the end of the month mama threw a bachlorette party for Aunt Meghan, and Daddy got to spend a full 24 hours with you all alone. We also celebrated Nana B turning 60 with a family dinner.

hj is on the move and and she is the fastest crawler east of the mississippi. She loves to crawl across the room and use the furniture nearby to pull her self up and stand. We learned very quickly she is a fan of Vernie girls dog food and daddy brought home gates the next day.

She loves hearing us sing “If your Happy and You Know It”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Patty Cake” and other songs we have made up.

The girl is also in “discovery” mode every where we go. As we shop and run errands she loves watching passers by and always smiles at them. She is starting to figure out the cause and effect of different things. We love to watch her as she is learning everyday.

7 months old

I’m a little behind with this months post, but we have been a busy and sick family.  We continue to be busy, but thankfully we are all healthy.  

It still blows my mind how much my precious baby can change so much in one month.  She is now 7.5 months old and is far different today then she was at 7 months.  (My updates in this post cover 6 to 7 months)

Our new favorite thing is when hj reaches out for us to pick her up from playing, out of her crib or when she wants YOU to hold her.  It melts our hearts every single time and will never get old.  She also loves to hear us say her name, or sing it in a song.  She smiles back, giggles and rocks back and forth with pride. 

We have explored a few new solids including baby yogurt.  As long as it is banana flavored she is a happy girl.  hj is also obsessed with “mum mums” and reaches our for them when she hears the rustling of the package.  Check them out: http://www.mummums.com.  

We are so excited that a tiny little tooth has broke surface.  During the process, hj earned the nickname of “drool queen” and it was very fitting for the last few months. 

hj is very close to crawling, but her current method of rolling from one side of the room to the other keeps her busy for hours.  We also discovered she is a big fan of ‘March Madness’ just like her Mama and Da Da. 

We spent an afternoon at the zoo, thanks to a team event for Da Da.  While this was hj’s second trip the zoo, she seemed to enjoy it much more this time around.  She loved watching the walrus as he swam up to the wall to say hello.  It was fun watching her face light up looking at the animals, but it melted my heart seeing her fall asleep in her stroller toward the end of the day.  These are the sweet moments I have dreamed about. 

We love watching her grow, learn and discover new things everyday. Until next month.

I have a 6 month old daughter. Say what?

This past week our sweet hj turned 6 months old, or as some of the Mommy’s in my group say (gulp) a half a year old. A half a year old? Yikes! I will stick with 6 months for obvious reasons.

Our little lady is growing, thriving and continues to steal each and every tiny piece of our hearts. She has gained 8 pounds and is 6 inches longer since the day we got to meet her.

Our daily routine is starting to fall into place. We wake up together and share ‘Good mornings’ and hj beams with pure happiness. Next, we find Vernie girl (our 50 lb english bulldog) and spend a few minutes playing together. Then, we all head downstairs together and start the day.

On Valentines day, hj put on her adorable dress with red hearts for a lunch date with daddy and I was the chaperone. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We also went on our first mini-vacation to Davis, WV for the annual family ski trip. My heart was filled with joy watching hj spend time with her aunt and uncles that she does not get to see very often. What a treat for us all.

Days before hj turned 6 months, she started sitting up on her own for several minutes at a time. What a thrill to see her so excited to be sitting up and playing with her toys. She has also been rocking and showing interest in early stages of crawling. Slow down sister, I’m just getting comfortable with the idea of you being such a big girl.

Our days are filled with her laughter (most of it is directed at vernie), coos and squeals. I’m loving the little flashes of her developing personality. As she progress and changes each day, I can’t wait to see what we have to share with you next month.

Harper is 5 months old

Last Wednesday our little lady turned five months old. And my oh my what a fun month we have had.

We celebrated the new year as a family and Harper stayed up until midnight (don’t judge me) so she could be Daddy’s kiss. This was by far my most favorite New Year’s Eve to date.

She went to her second high school basketball game where we watched Kokomo High School get beat, but Papa B did a great job commentating for the local radio station.

Harper also had her first “girls day” celebrating my birthday. We went downtown for lunch with Aunt Kimmie, Nana B and Daddy was able to join us as well. After lunch we went to Circle Center mall for a little shopping. Harper was mesmerized by all the jewels in Forever Love, I think we might have a girlie girl! That evening we cooked dinner at home and sat as a family on the floor and ate. Harper watched each bite we took with an inquisitive look on her face.

Harper has filled our days with more smiles and laughter, and it is the most beautiful sound I have heard. She is starting to sit in a “tripod” pose unassisted for a few seconds at a time. She is rolling on to her sides and has rolled from belly to back and back to belly. She is reaching out and grabbing any and everything you place in front of her. When she reaches out for her favorite doll it looks like they are hugging. It could possibly be the cutest thing EVER.

We have started giving Harper solids and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. We started by letting her play with a bowl and spoon as we ate. Next, we give her a few bites of organic brown rice cereal and she hasn’t looked back. She has now tried green beans, peas, carrots, avocados, mangos, bananas and sweet potatoes. She did not enjoy the avocados at all and it was rather humorous. Each morning after she finishes nursing I ask her if she is ready for her “big girl food” and she grins from ear to ear and squeals with excitement. Not much changes on the menu, but I still enjoy asking her what she would like from “ze cafe” all for her sweet reaction.

Now that she has fully embraced eating baby food, I have started making it at home. Thankfully, Harper has not spit it out or at me…yet.

She continues to amaze us more and more each day as her personality begins to shine through. She never misses a beat and is always taking in everything around her. As her Mother, I can hope this never changes.

January 4th, 2011

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since January 4th became one of our families “special days” that we will always remember.

This is the day we found out we were expecting. The day we found out we were parents to a little miracle growing in my womb.

It was a Wednesday and I always worked the late shift, it was my day to sleep in. I woke soon after Kalow left for work and I decided it was time to test. I was a week late on New Years Eve, but that was normal for me.

That morning I sat on the edge of our bed before heading downstairs. I remember putting my hands on my belly thinking – what if? Its like I knew with out actually knowing. Just days before I sat in the exact same spot, with my hands in the same position and my mind filled with the same thoughts.

I made the trip downstairs and took a test just as had for the last few months. Expecting the same outcome I mentally prepared myself for another negative test. As the three minutes ticked by, my heart started to race, just as it had before. Hours, okay moments later, I looked down and saw two lines. Holy s!$@ I’m pregnant. No wait, look at the box Mandi, make sure two lines means your pregnant. Sure enough two lines means your pregnant. Holy s!$@, I’m really pregnant!

I walked back upstairs with a complete feeling of shock, tears in my eyes and a racing mind. What now? How do I tell Kalow – do I wait till tonight or call him? Knowing I wouldn’t see him until after 9pm that evening I couldn’t wait. So, I called him.

K: hey what’s going on?
Me: um…I need you to come home.
K: why? I just got here. I’ve only been at work 30 minutes.
Me: no really, I need you to come home.
K: are you okay?
Me: yes! I just need to tell you something…..in person.
K: is it what I think it is?
M: With a big lump in my throat and tears. YES!
Silence – lots of silence
M: Kalow? Are you okay?
K: yes, I’m great. I knew it! I knew it the other day!

Lots of other really sweet words, and a call to the doctor followed.

I was overwhelmed with joy that day and wanted to shout it from the roof tops, but I kept quiet and went on as normal as I could.

I remember thinking, what’s my Mom phrase going to be? Every good Mom has a phrase that their children quote until their at least 32, right Mom? I can now agree, nothing good happens after midnight – and thank you for my curfew in high school.

I’m still working on what mine will be. And one of these days I may even figure out how to French braid (my freak out when I found out we were having a girl), but until I have “my phrase” I’m going to give her all the love I can. I’m so blessed to be her Momma.

4 months old

Yesterday, our little lady turned four months old. Holy cow, where did the time go? Are you starting to sense a reoccurring theme? I’m pretty sure I will be asking this for the rest of my life.

This past month we have experienced many “firsts” as a family. We heard those sweet squeals of delight and tiny chuckles as we gave Harper raspberries on her belly. Our sweet girl smiles from sun up to sun down, and she has impeccable timing when it comes to flashing her toothless grin.

This Christmas we got to shop for her and pretend that Santa was coming to our house and knew just what she needed. We took our first trip to the zoo with friends and she snoozed in her stroller most of the visit. We introduced her to family traditions and we had four different Christmas celebrations. We had a family snow day as the “Blizzard 2012” hit Indianapolis. We spent the day eating, napping and lots of snuggling.

We went to her Daddy’s alma matter and watched a basketball game. I’m not sure she ever looked at the court but she had a good time watching the middle school students sitting next to us. Hmm, wonder where she gets that from?

She contiunees to despise tummy time, as she now turns her head to the side and sucks on her thumb, however she has great stength and holds her head up very well. Her new favorite toys are the lovie and her Sophie giraffee. She is reaching our for things that we put in front of her and grips on to them for dear life. She has become fond of pulling off my glasses during diaper changes or yanking my hair and I LOVE it.

This week we go to the doctor, and I’m looking forward to finding out how much she has grown.

Happy Birthday Vernie girl!

Happy Birthday to our sweet little Vernie girl who stole our hearts from day one.

She can preform surgery on a stuffed toy like none other and spends her days napping. She follows her Dad from room to room – she is always by his side. Everyday she races to the front door anticipating her Dads arrival. Lately, she thinks she is Harper’s Mom and will do anything to protect her.

Most of all she is a part of our family. Cheers Vernie girl, this bowl of ice cream is for you!

You’ll Never Know Dear

One of the first days after Kalow returned to work, I was sitting on the couch holding Harper and staring into her eyes memorized by the miracle that she is. I started singing several nursery songs to her and she would just stare back with a look of contentment. Thankfully my off pitch voice has no effect on her.

Then I started singing “You are My Sunshine” for the first time. As I get to “you’ll never know dear how much I love you” I had a huge lump in my throat and got teary eyed and didn’t think I could finish the song. Harper then flashed me one of her first smiles! My sweet little miracle smiled back at the exact moment I needed it most. I laughed, smiled back, wiped my eye and continued on singing.

I’m thankful for these sweet moments, and happy to get lumps in my throat and tears in my eyes every time I sing her this song.

Sunday Night Blues

***Please note, I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 30 years. I have also been obsessing over Frye Boots for years.***

Last Sunday, Kalow was sitting on the floor having a super important conversation with Harper, when he looks over and can see tears in my eyes.

K: What’s wrong?
Me: Oh I just have the Sunday night blues. I wish you could stay home with us. I miss you when you’re at work.
K: Well, that’s not gonna happen anytime soon, (looking at Harper) unless we win the lottery. Winning the lottery means mo money and mo problems.

A few minutes pass and the tears have stopped.

Me: If we win the lottery will you buy me a pancreas?

Kalow continues to play with Harper.

Me: Okay, a pancreas and a pair of Frye Boots.
K: Seriously, did you just throw in a pair of Frye boots?
M: With a big smile….maybe.

A girl can dream, right?

My baby is 3 months old

I can not believe my sweet baby girl is three months old today. Everyone tells you to hold them close and to snuggle as much as possible because it goes so quickly.

Right in front of our very own eyes she has made so many developments. She has gained almost 4 pounds and is close to 4 inches longer. Her smiles will steal your heart and she wants so badly to let out a big bout of laughter, you can see it in her eyes.

When given a bottle she reaches out to hold it on her own and makes a fist to ensure her pacifier stays in her mouth.

She has figured out “the big brown thing” is not going anywhere and vise versa. They love to stare each other down and often Harper will flash a sweet little smile to Vernie girl. This makes for one happy Momma.

She holds her little head up and loves to watch the Hoosiers with Daddy in her bumbo.

I’m proud to be her Momma.