Big girls do cry

Harper has really been attached to us lately. The best story is from our neighborhood association meeting a couple of weeks ago. I was sitting at the front of the room, while Gina & Harper were at the back. I stood up to introduce myself, and Harper stands up and screams, "That's MY DADDY!!". It was hilarious. It isn't so cute though when you are trying to drop her off at daycare, and she bawls. The worst was last night though. Normally, she goes to sleep pretty easily and with a routine. Yesterday, she was a mommy's girl though, and turned me down for the book reading and to give her a bottle. Well, then she didn't want to go to bed and stayed up an hour and a half past her bedtime. Gina finally got her to sleep, but she woke up at 1am, and didn't fall back asleep until well after 4am. The absolute worst part of it all though, putting her down the first time, I made it down the stairs to get the monitor and Harper starting crying. I turn on the monitor, and Harper has one leg halfway over the crib railing. I made it up the stairs in less than half a second to keep her from falling. We really hope it was a one night anomaly, we can't handle that little sleep on a regular basis.

Acting goofy


On her new backyard slide, she was just a little excited about it


You can't drive by without Harper saying "My Park" and begging to go swing


She hated having the hood up, but we managed to get one good picture of our little butterfly

Memorial Day recap

As a result of the Gulf oil spill, we cancelled our trip to the beach this year. Instead, Gina took Harper up to Milwaukee for a family reunion of sorts, and for the first time since Labor Day last year. The Memphis Katerski's were all going on vacation across Wisconsin, and managed to meet up for Memorial Day, along with most of the their extended family in Milwaukee. I stayed home and watched the animals, and lots and lots of sports. I am really sorry I missed all the family, and will definitely have to make the next trip.

Uncles Brad & Drew


showing Auntie Sue her toothy grin


Gramma K.


Harper just loves water, so the fountain was a big hit

Baby steps

I remember when Harper was first born, that I kept waiting for the next milestone to occur. Now, it seems like they are coming fast and furious. A couple of days after posting about the words she is saying, Harper added her first 3 syllable word, gorilla. Of course, it is more like, go-wi-wa. And now she is trying to speak in sentences, although we can't understand most of what she is intending, except for "more please". But the big one from the last week, Harper had her first haircut. Amazingly, she sat rather well during, and didn't cry. It was just a bang cut, much needed, since she refuses to keep a bow or barrette in her hair for more than 2 minutes.

The before with hair in her eyes


And the during, forgot to take an after picture though.

Words with friends

So Harper has really started to say words now. Before, she could baby talk some things, but now you can tell what she is saying. The amusing thing is, when we see people we know and try and get her to show off, she refuses to speak at all. Instead we just sound goofy going thru the list in the hopes she will repeat something. As for at home, it is kind of crazy how quickly she picks things up now. Doll was repeated pretty much the same day I tried teaching it to her. Other words she has trouble with, but gets it close enough you know what she means, as in "bob" for SpongeBob, and she attempts to say Gonzo, our next door neighbors bird. As for what she actually speaks clearly:
Mama Dada Bubble Bottle Baby Book Car Doll
Dog Cat Ball
and more that I just can't remember right now, probably about 20 words in all.

Car, maybe her favorite word right now.



Book


And Harper looking cute as can be at the Memphis Farmers Market

Energy

So I received an e-mail the other day, something along the lines of, I haven't seen a picture of your daughter since my daughter was born, and Maisy was 6 weeks old at the time. Yes, the last time I posted was Maisy's birthday. The only slight excuse I have is that now that Harper is mobile, not just walking but full on running, she wears us out once she gets home from daycare. So by the time she goes to bed, I am ready to veg out on the couch. I do need to be better about posting though. Gina keeps a journal, and this is my account of our family, she does much better than I.

Super sweet girl was ready for a nap.


June might have been the hottest month ever in Memphis, so we had to buy a small pool for Harper to play in.


See, she has a bathing suit, just prefers not to wear it in the pool.


I can't get over how excited she gets about the littlest things.

Happy Mother's Day

So I bought Gina a card and flowers, and the promise of a night out without baby for Mother's Day, but her best gift came today. Harper took off walking like she had been doing it for months.



I know, amazing, right?



Yep, that was our reaction too.

Our little rock star

So Harper had PE Tubes put in on Wednesday. I was amazed at how well she handled it all. Most days she wakes up really wanting a bottle, and since she couldn't have anything after midnight, I was concerned. However she woke up extremely happy, maybe she realized the surgery would provide some needed relief from all the ear infections. We arrived at the surgery center at 615 and had to wait until about 730, all the while she was at ease and playing with the nurses. The procedure only took about 15 minutes, and afterward she was fussy, but that is too be expected after being under anesthesia for the first time. Once she calmed down she was great and waved to all the staff as we left the building. We found out a couple of days later from someone we know, that went into the same surgery center later in the day, the nurses were calling Harper a rock star for how well she handled it all. Since the procedure her nose drip has decreased noticeably, so that is a good sign.

Her rash from the virus 2 weeks ago


The 10 seconds the Easter ears managed to stay on her head


Big girl in her new chair on the patio


Recovery after surgery

Spring fever

So it has been a crazy last few months. Harper got sick around her birthday, and just never shook the runny nose. After awhile, we took her in and she started on antibiotics for an ear infection, got better, then got sick again, and went on a different antibiotic. It didn't do much good, so she get a high dose shot with not much of a result. Finally, last week, she woke up middle of the night on Monday with a fever. I took her in on Tuesday, the ear infection was still there, so they decided to go with 3 straight days of 2 shots each day. But the fever wouldn't break, even with tylenol or ibuprofin. Well, day 3 of the shots, and Harper breaks out with red sploches, so we of course think allergic reaction. After a day of Benadryl, and the spots only getting worse, it was time to hit the doctor again. Turns out, her ear infection cleared with the shots, but a virus had taken hold over-lapping the initial diagnosis. The 3 days of shots just happened to coincide with the viral symptoms of 3 days of fever, followed by the rash. Luckily, she is ear infection free (although still headed for tubes it seems) and virus free now.

Which is great, because she is really developing an amazing personality. I showed her one day to pull her arm for the train, and she does the choo-choo all the time now, sometimes even in her sleep. She has taken a couple of steps, but still tends to want to walk only with her push toys. The number of facial expressions are mounting, and she knows how to work her dad already. But the best has to be that she will blow kisses now, which I just love. We had daddy-daughter nights this week and last night she gave a great display for the video camera, blowing kisses and climbing the stairs for the first time. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.

Big girl

When we bought our house, one thing we were really excited about was the park that is so close. Until this weekend, we had yet to take Harper. To say she loved the swings would be an understatement.



Now we just have to be careful that we don't take her so much that she gets bored with our local park, and we have to drive to another one.

Harper's party pictures

I took some video of Harper's party, but very few photos. Luckily we had dueling photographers in Uncle Jay and Uncle Chip to cover me on that end.
You can go to the Chockley blog for more, as Chip took and posted some photos of the party. I am hoping to get the CD from Jay for more of his photos to post, as the black and white in the "1 year old" post was not credited to him.