Happy Halloween

Harper and I are heading to Northwood for the weekend. My niece and cousin both get confirmed. Adam has to work. :( Harper will be going Trick or Treating for the first time on Sunday! So since we won't be around - here's an early Halloween message:

Daddy's Girl

Photo Shoot

Adam, Harper and I headed back home this past weekend so we could take family pictures of my side of the family. The rain held off and I think my aunt was able to get some great shots. Harper smiled for each different pose/location. While waiting for some other people to finish taking pictures in a location that we were waiting for, Jodie took a few quick pictures of Adam and I, and then a family one of the 3 of us. Here is the result - looks like a great Christmas card photo!


Check out my aunt's blog on the right side of my page - Jodie Bachtle Photography

My youngest brother, Brett, loves taking pictures too! So we had our own mini photo-shoot. They actually turned out pretty good with the help of picnick!

Here is just a picture of Harper playing on the slide. Her outfit was adorable!

Thanks for taking pictures, Brett!

Also, thanks to the Nerlien's for the hospitality! Harper really enjoyed playing with all of her cousins and getting spoiled by her Grandma and Grandpa!

Baby Fever

I HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But don't get your hopes up....we're not planning on having another for a few more years. As much as I would love Harper to have a sibling a few years younger than her, it's not a wise financial decision. Yes, we could afford it. But it makes more sense to wait until I'm finished with nursing school. I don't even want to think about paying for a daycare bill for TWO children while going to school, all on basically one salary. I want the absolute best for my children, so I'm choosing not to be selfish.

We have the CUTEST names picked out already :) The plan is to start trying January 2012. I will finish nursing school in June 2012. This will give me time to study for the nursing boards and hopefully land a full time RN job.

Or is it being pregnant that I want???? Wanting a baby and wanting to be pregnant are two totally different things! I have a few friends that I stay in touch with via blogs and facebook that are pregnant. They have children that have turned one in the past few months and are pregnant again. It seems like everyone tries for another once their babies turn one! Wish I could do the same.......O'well - our lives are very busy with Harper! She keeps us on our toes - I don't know if I'd have the energy for another child right now anyways.....

Weekend 1 of Basement Remodel

Justin and Adam worked hard on our basement last weekend. Unfortunately, they weren't able to finish. It took a lot longer for them to hang the drywall than they thought. For starters, neither of them are true handymen, although they gave it their best shot. The biggest issue that they ran into was that the ceiling in the basement is a 'dropped' ceiling. So for EVERY piece of drywall, they had to unscrew the perimeter of the ceiling, take the support off, hang the piece of drywall, and then screw the ceiling support back on. Talk about a pain in the butt! And of course they only had one drill b/w the two of them. Adam's drill was another problem - it was running out of power and they had to keep recharging it. Can you guess what is on Adam's shopping list now??? A heavy-duty drill!

The first piece of drywall! (it's green b/c it's mold resistant)

They boys got the entire upper perimeter of the basement finished. Adam will be able to finish the bottom half on his own. It should be much easier doing the bottom since they won't have to mess with the ceiling this time. Just cutting around the outlets :)

They did manage to get an entire wall complete in the laundry room!

We would like to give a big THANK YOU to Justin!!!! You were a great help!!! We truly appreciate it! It was great spending time with you.

Play with me Uncle Justin!

I love you! It's time for a hug!

you know the smell of.....

Asian Beetles??!!?!?

The smell is kind of hard to describe, but they kind of smell like dirt......ya know what I mean???? Well a dead one smells like that anyways - or should I say when one gets squashed or whatever.

I'm sure you're wondering where I'm going with this post.....ANYWAYS........A few days ago I 'smelled' Asian Beetles. That VERY instant I looked for Harper because I had a feeling why I was smelling this 'smell.' Sure enough, Harper was staring out the window with her little hands in the window sill. Yep, you guessed it - she ATE an Asian Beetle! I went and smelled her breath and it REEKED off this 'smell.' I don't know if the beetle was dead or alive at the time of attack, but Harper left no remains or evidence of her feast!

PS - this is not the first time I've caught her eating an Asian Beetle! Harper also likes to eat rocks, grass, sticks, rubber pieces at the playground, leaves, etc.

In other news, Happy Friday! The weekend is here again! Did you realize that this October has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays AND 5 Sundays! This only happens every 800 years or something like that. (according to an email I got) Google it if you'd like to know more.

Adam's brother Justin is here for the weekend. He will be helping Adam FINALLY start to work on our basement. They are at Menards right now getting drywall! I can't wait for it to be done - then Adam can go back to playing PlayStation downstairs! And that means we'll also be moving our current living room furniture downstairs, which mean NEW FURNITURE for the living room!!!! Pictures to come after the weekend.

75 Free Prints

Here's another Snapfish deal for ya....

Get 75 FREE prints - just pay shipping!

Add 75 prints to your cart (must have at least 75 for code to work) and use ISTOCK75 when it asks you if you have any promotional codes to use.

I only had to pay shipping, which was $4.42 ~ which is less than 6 cents/print!

I took advantage of this great deal and ordered pictures of our trip to the zoo, Harper's 1st Birthday party, and our trip to the pumpkin patch :)

13 Months

Harper got to spend part of her 13 month Birthday at the doctors office for a bad cough/cold. She has had a nasty cough/runny nose since Friday -so we decided to take her in today to get everything checked out. Her cough has producing a lot of phlegm and is waking her up at night. The doctor did hear some crackling/wheezing in her left lung - so she prescribed Harper some Zithromax for 5 days. I'm praying that this works!

Weight: 22 lbs

Diaper Size: 3

Clothing Size: 18 months

Teeth: I haven't checked for a while, but 10 for sure, with one bump on the bottom gums.

Speech: still a bunch of gibberish - no 'real' words yet. No new signs.

Eating Habits: Harper LOVES cheese and grapes! She eats what we eat pretty much. Her newest item is a PB&J sandwich - which she enjoys. What kid doesn't like a PB&J?! She also is drinking 2% milk instead of whole - which the doctor suggested. Harper has a bottle of half formula/half milk before bed. (at least until our stock of formula is gone)

Sleeping Habits: Bedtime is getting later - usually b/w 8-830. We're already preparing for Daylight Savings! Harper usually wakes up b/w 730-830, skipping her morning bottle. She does occasionally wake up in the middle of the night b/c her duck or pacifier has fallen out of her crib. It is SUPER annoying - but it only takes a few seconds to get her laid back down. Harper is still a pretty good napper- USUALLY two naps a day - each lasting at least one hour - but usually right around 2 hours :)

Favorite Toy: Other than our cell phones, camera, and remote controls...it is still probably her teddy bear that plays music.

Favorite Activity: Definitely being outside! She could stay outside all day and play with the leaves, rocks, sticks, etc. She sometimes cries when we go inside now. I don't know how we're going to make it through the winter! Hope she likes the snow :)

New Things:

• blows kisses (well kind of - she doesn't move her hand away from her mouth yet)
• smacks her lips to make a kissing sound
• recognizes new words: pumpkin, clock,
• knows how to get down safely from the couches/chair
• climbs onto the love seat substituting her chair for a step stool (I'll post a video of that soon)
• throws mini-tantrums - meaning she arches her back, throws her self on the floor, and cries and cries and cries. It's annoying, but also kind of cute.
• practicing eating with a spoon

Hope everyone is enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather! Have a great week!

{hug}

A hug can symbolize so many different things. People give hugs to say hello and goodbye. People give celebratory hugs and sympathy hugs. Hugs are given to show love and affection. Hugs are also given to show appreciation and thanks, and that was exactly what I received yesterday during my nursing clinical. So what's the big deal getting a hug from a complete stranger??? To me it means that I made a positive difference in that person's life. How many people do you hug that you've only know for less than 7 hours??? I'm guessing not very many, I know that I don't.
My nursing instructors have been telling us that nursing is a very rewarding career. And no matter how crazy of a day you may have had, you will have that one patient who smiles at you, thanks you, and hugs you....and that ONE patient makes your whole day worth it :) And now I know EXACTLY what my instructors were talking about - because I experienced that on Friday.
I really think that I will enjoy being a nurse - so far it's been great!

Self Feeding

Harper has been practicing her self-feeding skills using a spoon. We've only experimented a few times because it just gets so messy, and a lot of the foods she eats are finger foods. But we realize that practice makes perfect so we have to keep trying. The biggest issue is with Harper picking up the bowl and dumping it out. We bought a bowl that suctions to her tray - but it doesn't hold up the best with a determined and strong little girl!

Look at me trying to be a big girl!

Well, maybe it's easier to use my fingers instead...

or even easier just to drink my yogurt!


I'm trying so hard!

Pumpkin Patch

Today was the start of a new family tradition - going to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins for Halloween! I am all for creating memories that my children will remember and cherish in their hearts forever. As a child, I remember my brother and I begging our parents to carve pumpkins! It felt like we had to wait FOREVER because we weren't allowed to carve them until a few days before Halloween to prevent the pumpkins from rotting. When carving day finally arrived, we took the pumpkins down to our utility room, layed out newspapers on the floor, drew a face on our pumpkins with a permanent marker, and then let our dad do the cutting. My brother and I got to do the fun and messy part - cleaning out the 'guts.' I remember that we used ice cream scoops to dig it all out. Then we picked out all of the seeds and let them dry over night so our mom could bake them the next day. I will never forget how happy I felt while doing this.
That is why I want to create memories and tradition with my own family. I know that Harper probably won't remember going to the pumpkin patch this year, or even next year. But the point is that we are creating a tradition that she will be able to look back on when she gets older. I don't want to buy my child happiness, I want to create it! Spending quality time as a family is way more meaningful to me than anything else in this world.
Anyways....we had a good time at the pumpkin patch. It's also an apple orchard. It was 'Apple Fest' weekend - so it was crazy busy! Some of the activities included: hayrides down Pumpkin Hill to the pumpkin patch, haunted house, live music, inflatables, carnival games, face painting, playground area, food vendors (apple cider, Carmel apples, kettle corn, apple pie), etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting things. We didn't visit the gift shop or cafe because it was so packed. Adam treated himself to a Carmel apple that he got to dip himself. Brett tried the apple cider - which tasted delicious. We will definitely be going back next year, but probably on a different weekend so it's not so busy and we can enjoy ourselves a little more. Here's a few pictures from our day:

Cutest pumpkin in the patch!

Our lil' family :)

Our pumpkins...

In case you're wondering - we went to Community Orchard in Fort Dodge. Check out the website if you're interested in more information.

Also, FYI: When carving your pumpkins, do not cut a circle in the top of the pumpkin. Instead, cut a square or a triangle. This will make it easier to figure out which way the lid fits back on. This is a little trick that my dad taught us :)