Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Love, ~ Harper

Put A Smile On Your Face

Harper achieved her first milestone - SMILING!!! Ever since she was born she would randomly smile, sometimes laugh, while she was sleeping. But now she is starting to smile when you talk to her. She's the happiest when she wakes up in the morning and after any of her naps. It's almost like a switch flipped because before we left for Tulsa she was fussy, and when we came back she was smiling and happy! Her grandparents must have done a great job spoiling her ;)
Harper turned 7 weeks today! She is getting so big and strong. She's not really 'talking' yet, but we can tell that she wants to. Every once in awhile she lets out a squeal - any day now and she'll be cooing! Can't wait!

Here's a few pictures of Harper smiling in her swing - she really likes to be in her swing now!

Looking cute in her Halloween shirt

Look at how precious she is!!!

Harper likes to sleep on your chest - however it takes her a few minutes to get comfy. She SQUIRMS and SQUIRMS until she's just right! She usually finds her spot, then she makes sure she can see you, and finally props her little hands under her head. SO CUTE! Not the case in this picture but you get the point. Look at how big she is!

If she sleeps on her back, she puts her hands above her head. What a cutie! I love watching her sleep!

Tulsa Getaway

This past weekend Adam and I drove to Tulsa, OK for a friends' wedding. It was a much needed mini-vacation for the both of us! We got to spend an entire 4 days without having to change a diaper, wash a bottle, give a bath, etc. It was great - but we also missed little Harper a lot - we checked facebook daily to see pictures of her and called home a few times just to hear her cute little whimpers!

The first night in Tulsa (Friday) we met up with Adam's army buddies and went out for supper. After the wedding rehearsal Kyle was able to meet up with us as well. We headed to a bar that was just down the road from their apartment.

Tom, Kyle, Ricky, and Adam at 'Another Round'

'Another Round' was your typical small town bar - a hole in the wall- I think our tab was $6.75 for 4 drinks! Awesome! We bar hopped to a few other places before calling it a night!

We all went out for lunch on Saturday at On the Border - Kyle's wife is pregnant and craves salsa - my kind of girl!!!

Heather and Kyle

So I guess when they were in the Army, the guys always played a trick on Tom whenever they went out to eat - they always told the waitress that it was his birthday so they'd sing to him..haha...Well - I guess some people never grow up! Tom says that he's got to be 47 by now!

Happy 'Birthday' Tom!

On Saturday night we all went to 'Octoberfest,' which is basically a big carnival/party! Lots and lots of greasy food, rides, games, live music, and of course, BEER! They had 4 different beer tents and we luckily found the one playing the Hawkeye game! Man - what a game! It was neat because 99% of the people in the tent were cheering for the hawks! Very weird considering that we were in Oklahoma - either way it was awesome! Adam was sporting his Hawkeye football shirt so EVERYONE was talking to him and giving him high-fives all night - pretty cool!

Adam finally found his turkey leg that he had been craving all night - and I found my onion blossom! No German food for us!

Which leads us to the main even - KYLE AND HEATHERS WEDDING!!! They got married Sunday night at 7:00 - it was short, sweet and to the point. It was very simple and pretty! We wish them a lifetime of love and happiness!

Us with the bride and groom

The guys

purposeful decision

"Everything happens for a reason..."

This quote is often used in a variety of situations and I found it so true this afternoon. Here's my story:

When Adam was finished serving his time in the military, he had two choices: 1. join the national guard for 3 years and be guaranteed not to deploy again or 2. go on your merry way, however be aware that you are 'on-call' to be deployed again at anytime for the next 4 years [also called Individual Ready Reserve(IRR)].

Adam chose the first option, to join the national guard. It was a difficult decision for him to make, but after weighing the pros and cons, he decided to join the guard. His three years will be up in March and he will finally be free of the Army!

This was a wonderful decision because they say 1 out of 3 soldiers get called back - a chance that we weren't willing to take. Adam just got a phone call from one of his army buddies today that chose to be 'on-call', and his friend got that unfortunate call saying he has to deploy soon. Even though Adam has to report to guard one weekend a month, which we both hate, it was worth every minute of his time spent in the guard! I can't imagine going through another deployment, especially with little Harper in the picture. So, once again, everything does happen for a reason. All those weekends spent in the guard have secured his safety here in the States.

On a lighter note, Adam and I are going to Tulsa, OK for a few days for a wedding. Adam's roommate and very good friend from the Army is getting married on Sunday. We are leaving tomorrow and coming home on Monday. We're driving a long 8 hours there and back! Harper is staying with her Grandmas for the weekend. We will definitely miss her, but will enjoy the sleep!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Boo(hoo)!

It's hard to believe that Halloween is NEXT FRIDAY already! Time is just flying by! Harper has received many Halloween outfits that are obviously only appropriate for the month of October. So I've started dressing her in a few each week - so cute!


This onesie should say "boo hoo" because she has been rather fussy the past few nights. On Monday she only took a few cat naps and then was up from 4 pm to 10 pm - WOW was she crabby! And last night she was fussy from about 5 - 6 pm - then crashed for 3 hrs! She knows when shes tired and tries fighting it I think. I was worried that she may be developing colic or getting sick. But after checking her temperature, ears/throat, etc I ruled out her being sick. Colic is still up in the air - I don't think she has it because shes only fussy for awhile - not 1-3 hours of straight crying like the textbook says. And I don't think she has an allergy to her formula because she's not spitting up or having problems 'taking care of business.' Let's hope this passes QUICKLY!

Baby Shower #2

My aunt Michele hosted a family baby shower for Harper and I on Saturday back home in Northwood. We had a good turn out and received lots of great gifts! Michele was a wonderful hostess and everything was so cute!

Welcome Harper!

In her pretty dress and headband (that slowly balds her)

Mommy's girl

Visiting with everyone


Harper and cousin Gavin - they're only 13 days apart but Harper looks HUGE!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME TO WELCOME HARPER INTO THE WORLD!!!

Splish Splash

Harper has really started to enjoy bath time in the past few weeks - I can't wait until she can sit up and actually play in the bath tub.

Sneak Peak!

WOW! That's all I can say about these pictures! My daughter is so precious and beautiful...I LOVE her!!! More pics to come soon - these are just a few that my aunt sent me - she's still working on the rest of them. Enjoy - check back soon for the rest!!!

New Job

Today I started orientation for my new part-time job at the hospital here in Clarion, where I will be working in the ER admissions. I am very excited to have FINALLY landed a job at the hospital, as it is a great place to work! I now have my foot in the door which will hopefully help me out when I start my nursing career. (once again, I'll blog about that later) In addition to working at the hospital, I will still sub in Clarion and Belmond. I'm hoping to keep busy, as if I were working a full-time job. But of course it won't bother me if I have a few days off here and there to spend with Harper ;)

Speaking of the little angel, she left me last night to go to Northwood. Why, you ask? Well orientation for my new job was all day today and again tomorrow from 8-4:30, and Adam left today for the National Guard and will be there until Sunday. So I had two options: 1. Have Adam drop Harper off in Northwood with the Grandmas on his way to guard or 2. Have Harper stay here with me and drop her off at daycare while I'm at orientation. I'm not ready to take her to daycare just yet, and the grandmas were MORE THAN HAPPY to take a day off from work to watch her. Tomorrow afternoon can't get here fast enough - I can't wait to get to Northwood to see my baby! I've only cried once so far - but called home a handful of times! My aunt is taking her pictures right now...I CANNOT wait to see them! Can you believe that Harper is going to be 4 weeks old tomorrow???? Instead of taking her to Sears to get her 1 month pictures, I asked my aunt to take them instead. As we speak, poor little Harper is getting jostled around! I'm sure she's mad - as I know there was talks of several outfit changes and prop/position changes. I'll post the new pictures of her as soon as Jodie is done working on them! If you remember the ones she took of her when she was only a few days old in the hospital, they will be just as AWESOME!

It could be worse...

I saw this story on yahoo today and I am so thankful that our little Harper doesn't have to go through this.....The entire time Adam was deployed I always told myself that it could be worse...and here is proof......Can you believe that it's been 8 years since the war in Afghanistan started?! I hope it ends soon.....

After seeing this picture, your 'bad' day really isn't so 'bad', is it?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Happy Saturday

Happy Saturday everyone! I can't believe it's already the first weekend of October! Time is flying by - our little Harper turned 3 weeks yesterday! To us, she seems big, but everyone else thinks she's so tiny!

Go Hawks! Thanks for the sweatshirt Abby!

I like watching football with daddy - look at my cute little jeans and sweatshirt :)

Nap time (notice the change in outfit -she had her first 'blowout' today)

Adam taking a nap too - maybe I should join in on this trend

Does this come in my size?!

At least she has an excuse.........unlike her momma!

Does this diaper make my butt look big?

Rainy days make for good sleeping weather!