Harper can READ

At just 4 years old, Harper is learning to read!  For the past few months Harper has been really interested in the beginning sounds/letters of words.  She has been practicing sounding words out by writing them on paper.  (Ex: garlic toast = grlk tost)  I decided that I would buy her some books for beginning readers just to see how she'd do.  She did AWESOME!  She read the first 10 books with hardly any help.  (Side note: teaching your child to read takes A LOT of patience as it may take 30+ seconds just to read one sentence.)   

After doing a little research, I decided to start with  BOB Books for Beginning Readers.  (I actually ordered them from Amazon though)  There are 10 books in each series.  Each book focuses on a different sound, vowel, or sight word.  Every series contains the same familiar characters.  The illustrations are simple, with black, white and red being the only colors.  I definitely recommend BOB books for anyone with kids that are learning how to read.  We will be purchasing more books as Harper's reading skills advance.  And we will be buying the 'pre-reader' series for Elliet. 

Check out the videos of Harper reading!

I hope Harper's love of books and reading continues as she grows up!

Parent Preschool Night

Adam, Harper and I attended the Parent Preschool Night held over at the school tonight.  The first hour or so was spent participating in fun and educational activities with Harper and the last 45 minutes were spent by the parents attending a mini parenting seminar, while all the preschoolers corralled in the gym and had a snack and played games with the teachers and volunteers.  Harper had a blast.  

"Playing soccer"

Searching for foods from around the world

Story time

Sorting fruit and working on hand-eye coordination by using chopsticks

Bouncing

What kid doesn't love the giant parachute?!

Although the parenting seminar was inspiring, Adam and I agree that our favorite moment of the evening occurred during story time, when Harper spoke up in front of the group.  The librarian read aloud a story to a small group of about 6 kids, and then asked them to predict the ending.  Harper was the only one to answer, which is completely not something we expected her to do in our wildest dreams!  We are so proud of her!  Harper is becoming more outgoing each and every month.  I was telling Harper how proud I was of her and she said, "Mom, I talk to people now!"  I think she was proud of herself too!  Another one of my favorite's from the evening was the following poem:

There are little eyes upon you,

And they are watching night and day;

There are little ears that quickly take

In every word you say;

There are little hands all eager to do

Everything you do,

And a little child who's dreaming of

The day she'll be like you.

You're the little child's idol,

You're the wisest of the wise,

In her little mind about you,

No suspicions ever rise;

She believes in you devoutly

Holds all you say and do;

She will say and do in your way when

She's grown up to be like you.

There's a wide eyed little child who

Believes you're always right,

And her ears are always open and she

Watches day and night;

You are setting an example

Everyday in all you do

For the little child who's waiting

To grow up to be like you.

Big Girl Car Seat

We have purchased Harper's 3rd and final car seat.  Yay!  I guess when you become a parent, these milestones are exciting....

Harper still fits in her old car seat, but was fitted to the largest setting, and even that was becoming a bit snug with her winter coat on.  Target was having a sale on the Graco Turbo Highback Booster that we couldn't pass up.  The car seat was only $30, a 40% discount from the original price of $49.99.  

Harper just meets the height requirement of 38", but surpasses the weight of 30 lbs.  When Harper gets older the back comes off and can be used as a booster seat.  

The sale lasts through this weekend - so go grab one before it gets crazy on Black Friday!

no-mess tacos

We love tacos in our house, except they are so messy for little ones.

I read in a parenting magazine a few years back about using a chip clip to secure the end of a taco in order to avoid everything falling out of the bottom.

This little tip honestly works wonders.  Harper did not have a single piece of meat on her plate after eating her taco, seriously not.one!

{She is distracted by the TV - I believe she is watching Mickey Mouse, although we usually have the TV off during meals.}

Another little tip when making tacos is to add in 1/2-1 can of beans to the meat mixture.  (I have used garbanzo beans and black beans.)  I promise you won't be able to taste the difference (and either will your kids) and the beans add volume, adding extra servings to your meal, and the beans pack in some extra protein!

Present Hiding: Fail!

We bought our first Christmas present of the year on September 29th - almost 3 months early.  This NEVER happens.  I usually do Christmas shopping 1-2 weeks before the big day.  However one of the stores in our town has been bought out by Shopko, which means everything is deeply discounted to make room for the new inventory.  

So we bought Harper a new bike, a "big girl" bike with training wheels.  It was supposed to be one of her Christmas presents, however Adam did a terrible job 'hiding' it.  He basically just plopped it down in the garage, expecting her not to find it.  I think he may have forgotten that she is a curious 3-year-old that is always looking for trouble ;)

And so the 'present hiding' already begins.  I just didn't expect it to happen so soon!  Lesson learned.

{safe}

Being a parent is hard work.

It is tiring.

It is expensive.

It is scary.

It is frustrating.

It is never-ending........

BUT,

Parenting is also rewarding

fun!

humorous

fulfilling

and joyous.

Sometimes I forget how important my parenting role is to Harper.  What I mean is that I sometimes forget that she DEPENDS on Adam & I.    We are her EVERYTHING.

For example, the fire sirens went off the other night after I put Harper to bed.  For whatever reason, Harper is not a fan of the fire whistle.  She started crying up in her room.  So I layed in bed with her until the sirens ended.  She immediately stopped crying & snuggled close with me.  I was instantly reminded that my presence comforts her.  I am the one who makes her feel safe.  

I can remember from my childhood laying on the floor in my parents' room a few times during storms because it made me feel 'safe.'  It is hard to believe that now I am responsible for creating these same feelings for my own child.

Being a parent is so awesome!        

Tales from the Potty

Harper has a potty chair similar to this picture. When not using it as a potty chair, the lid flips down and it can be used as a step stool. {Which is awesome by the way, Harper uses it to help reach the water when she brushes her teeth and washes her hands.} Last night while she was sitting on the potty, she flipped the lid up so it was resting on her back, she leaned forward, and said, "Look Mommy, I'm a turtle!" I was instantly amazed at her creativeness. I had never taught her anything about turtles before. I asked Adam about it this morning and he said he has never talked about turtles with her either. I have NO clue where she learns this stuff - I'm guessing at daycare because they do teach the kids an age-appropriate curriculum everyday. I am just amazed at how much Harper knows - I'm sure she knows way more than what we think she knows. She says or does something new every day. Her mind is a like a little sponge and I love it!

Potty Tale #2: Harper has been potty trained for 4 months now. Other than the 1st 2 weeks, Harper has worn underwear to bed. In the 4 months, she has had 5 over night accidents, FOUR of them being in the last 2 weeks. I have no clue what has caused this change. We make her go potty every night before bed. And we try to limit what she drinks before bed. We have decided that she can no longer take a cup up to bed with her anymore. I'm hoping that is all it will take to break this habit. Wish us luck!

Potty Training

I am WAY behind on this post because Harper has been potty trained for a little more than one month now!

I don't really have any stories to tell - good or bad. Harper was so easy to train. We were very fortunate.

Although it took almost a month of us asking her every.single.day if she wanted to pee on the big girl potty - she one day decided that it was finally the day. I strongly think it was because she was flipping through one of my textbooks and saw a toddler sitting on a potty chair, while reading a book. After seeing that picture she decided that she wanted to give it a try. So we sat Harper on the potty with a basket of books and the rest is history!

Harper already had two books about potty training that made noise and did all sorts of fun stuff. I think she needed to see a real person going potty, someone her age, which she saw in my textbook. So my advice is to find a book with real toddlers featured in it, not cartoons.

My other advice is to praise, praise, and praise! We cheered, danced, jumped, and sang for the longest time after Harper went potty. We also gave her a few M&M's. She was so happy and proud of herself after we celebrated her victory; this made her want to please us again. We also used an incentive chart. For every 5 times that she went potty, she earned a trip to the library. Because she caught on so quickly, the chart was filled in two days!

We didn't follow any specific potty training program. We started Harper out in pull-ups during the day and diapers at night. She only had a few accidents during the 1st week. After the 1st week we let her wear underwear during the day and diapers still at night. I think she had two accidents in her underwear. She did amazingly well! We are so proud of her!

We are trying to get rid of the diapers, so she still wears diapers at night, just in case. She wakes up dry 90% of the time. When her diapers are gone, she will wear pull-ups to bed. Harper even wipes herself and flushes the toilet by herself!

Overall, potty training was so easy for Harper (and us). We are very thankful, as we didn't think she would ever decide to give potty training a try. My pediatric textbook says that the average/optimal age for potty training is 27 months, which is how old Harper was...weird!! So don't panic if your child isn't potty trained yet - every child is different. So don't freak out, especially if they're not 27 months yet.

Bye Bye, Paci!

As I stated in our last blog, we took away Harper's pacifier on January 1st. It has been a long and trying 10 days!

Harper generally only had her pacifier when she took naps and went to bed. I knew that I had to do something drastic to stick our plan so I cut off the nipple part. She cried at first and wanted me to fix it. But she quickly realized that her paci was 'broken' and wanted to throw it away. The 1st day was going well until bedtime. She cried for it on and off for about 30 minutes and then woke up once in the middle of the night asking for it again.

Other than the 1st night, she hasn't asked for it again. I think she is still trying to soothe herself to sleep because our bedtime routine is in shambles. Harper comes up with every excuse in the book to avoid going to bed. And once in bed, she usually cries/SCREAMS for 20 minutes. We DREAD bedtime. Naps are no longer something that happens in our house anymore. Harper simply refuses any form of sleep now that she doesn't have her pacifier.

It is s.l.o.w.l.y. getting better each day. And when I say slowly, I heavily emphasize the meaning of the word slow! It truly depends on the day. Tonight she didn't make a peep when I layed her down, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

We are very proud of her efforts though. It brings us relief knowing that each day will get easier for us, and Harper. We knew it was only going to get harder the longer we waited to take it away. For our next child, we will be sure to take it away earlier - like on their 1st birthday!

Check back tomorrow for Harper's potty training update, which was MUCH more pleasant!

Bed Debate

I think it is finally time to move Harper out of her crib and into an actual bed. She has never tried to climb out of her crib but she totally despises sleeping in it. She likes to sleep anywhere but her crib: our bed, the couch, the recliner, the floor. Last night was the final straw - I put Harper to bed in her crib and she cried for a few minutes and fell asleep. She woke up 30 minutes later and wouldn't stop whining. Every time I layed her in her crib she would cry. So I finally took her to our bed and closed the door and she was out like a light - without me laying with her. I don't know if it was the comfort of laying in our bed or the fact that she wasn't in her crib, but it worked!

I think we are going to remove the crib from Harper's room and put her mattress on the floor and we'll see how that works. We will be buying her a new bed in a few weeks, but don't know if we should buy a toddler bed or a twin. Harper has almost outgrown her crib mattress, so she wouldn't be in her toddler bed for much longer. So why waste the money? I think we are going to go with a twin bed instead. Anyone have any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?!

Confession...

I have a confession to make.....I am not ready to potty train Harper. Emotionally or physically. Potty training is not an easy task, especially if your child is not ready. Yesterday I decided that I would give potty training a shot. Harper had 2 accidents in the first two hours and that was enough for me. I know I shouldn't have given up on her so quickly, but she clearly isn't as ready as I thought. After her first accident, it did not bother her one bit to be walking around in wet underwear. And as we were practicing sitting on the potty/trying to pee, she thought it was a game. Harper would sit down for a few seconds and then run off, sometimes taking the chair with her. So after her 2nd accident, I strapped a diaper back on her and she didn't care one bit. Like I said previously, I probably should have given it more (way more) time. However, I don't think I'm emotionally ready for her to 'grow up.' Last month I read a blog about enjoying your baby as is...quit trying to make them grow up faster than they already do, and enjoying each new milestone. I learned that I need to make the most of each and every day with Harper. We will never get these sweet and precious moments back. For example, I need to enjoy the fact that Harper cannot keep applesauce on her spoon to save her life, instead of critiquing her spoon handling skills. Sure, I am Harper's teacher, I am responsible for her learning, but I want HARPER to be the one to do the exploring and learning. I don't' want to force anything upon Harper that she is not ready for. Therefor, I am going to hold off on the potty training. She will let me know when she is ready, not when mommy is ready.
Actually, mommy isn't ready either. Physically, I can see how exhausting it is to potty train a toddler. Honestly, I'm feeling a little lazy and I'm not looking forward to putting in the work that goes along with potty training. Really, what parent looks forward to chasing around their toddler and taking them to the potty every 30 minutes?!?! If you find someone that does enjoy this, please send them to my house in about 6 months! I'm hoping that by 2 1/2 Harper will be ready!

PS - Harper turns 2 in six weeks. How is that possible?!?!

Midnight Snacker

My family is notorious for getting up for a midnight snack. Harper may have inherited that gene. The past 4 out of 7 nights she has been waking up anywhere b/w 4 and 6 whining and we couldn't figure out why. This morning around 5 she finally signed 'eat.' Which totally made sense! So I ran downstairs and got her a cereal bar, fed it to her in the rocking chair, and put her back to bed. Problem solved. I guess I'll make sure that she eats a good supper and bedtime snack from now on.

Organizing

I am not a very organized person - but I do try! Now that Harper knows how to get into EVERYTHING - she was always playing with the same old toys - usually the ones that were the easier for her to reach.

To make sure she was getting to play with all of her toys and books, I divided up her toys into 4 different baskets. We take out one basket at a time and keep the rest LOCKED up in the cabinet. After she wakes up from her nap, she gets a new basket to play with. You get the point.

This was an easy solution to prevent her getting bored with her toys. And cleaning up is a lot easier! 15 toys instead of 30!!!!

To go...or not to go????

I'm having a tough time deciding if I want to take Harper to the doctor or not. I don't want to be that mom that is always bringing her child to the doctor. But I also don't want Harper to suffer if she doesn't have to.

It all started a few weeks ago when Harper got a cough, then it turned to a wet cough. After a week or so of this cough, we decided to take her to the doctor. The doctor said it could be allergies - but treated her when an antibiotic to be safe. I'm sure it didn't hurt her situation any.

Yesterday, Harper was kind of crabby and felt warm - sure enough she had a low grade fever of 100.4. Today her right eye has been watering non-stop - even some yellow/green discharge :( As the day went on - both eyes started getting a little puffy and red.

I'm not sure if this is the beginning of bacterial pink eye - or what is going on. It could be allergies - as we did go golfing for a bit. But the fever and watering eye started before we went outside. And she did go to daycare on Friday - which was the first time in a month. So she could have easily picked something up.

Do I follow my motherly instincts and take her to the doctor??? Or wait it out another day???? I guess we'll see how she looks/feels in the morning.

Homemade Baby Food

Now that Harper is 6 months, she is eating baby food. I decided that I would make an attempt to make my own baby food for a handful of reasons.

1. It is WAY CHEAPER than buying the jarred food. For example, I bought a bag of carrots for $0.88 and I was able to make 12 servings, which is less than 8 cents/serving! At the store, you can buy a 2 pk of baby food for $0.94. Because I do not work full-time, I feel like it is my job to save money where I can. (more about that later, I am starting to become frugal)
2. I have the time! Since I only work part-time, I figured it's the least that I could do!
3. It is FRESH and HEALTHY! Have you ever stopped to think about why the shelf life for baby food is 2 years?!?! The ingredients in most commercial baby foods have been heated to a very high temperature and then cooled, in order to sterilize them. This gives them a very long shelf life but destroys a lot of the flavor and some of the nutrients in the process. By making my own food, I am able to pick the freshest ingredients with full flavor!

I highly recommend the book, Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel. It is very easy to follow and has a wide range of easy 'recipes.' Everything from simple fruit/veggie purees to chicken/fish dishes and even some pasta recipes!

Making the baby food is simple~ you steam the veggies/fruit, then puree them, and finally freeze the food in ice cube trays. So far I've only made carrots and pears. I will still use jarred baby food when traveling for the sake of convenience. I'm not anti-jarred baby food by any means, but since I have the time to provide Harper with freshest and healthiest baby food, I will try my hardest to do so!

So far, Harper loves baby food! She has tried sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, peas, green beans and pears - and has loved them all!

Blue Hands = Fever = Ear Infection

My motherly instincts kicked in once again. Harper has been taking 2-3 hr naps all weekend and a little crabby, which is not like her. After she woke up for a 3 hour nap this morning, I fed her and she was very fussy. Then I changed her diaper and her clothes and she cried - which NEVER happens - she loves being changed - seriously! So I knew something was wrong. I noticed that her hands were bluish and it freaked me out because I had never seen them like that before. So I got on the internet and searched for causes and I found that it may be the start of a fever. So.....I took her temp and it was 100.4! Then I took it again a little later and it was 100.7! Harper was just at the doctor last week so I didn't want to bring her in again if it wasn't necessary. After talking to the nurse, they wanted Harper to come in to make sure she wasn't getting an ear infection or RSV. Poor thing has a mild ear infection in her right ear:( Luckily we caught it in time and quickly got her on some medicine so it doesn't get any worse or spread to the other ear. She has slept pretty much ALL day - I'm hoping she sleeps tonite! She has been a great snuggler today - reminds us of when she was a newborn :)

Baby Whisperer

I went up to the library yesterday to look for some books on getting babies to nap better. I had a few titles in my mind that I was looking for but then ran across The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg. So far it's an excellent book and wish I would've read it BEFORE Harper was born, or at least in the early weeks. Harper is a pretty happy baby until it's time to take a nap - she does not know how to put herself to sleep so she fights her fatigue. Adam and I are 100% to blame for this because we allowed her to become dependent upon a prop to fall asleep - her swing or one of us. The book calls this accidental parenting - when you start a bad habit in order to make things easier at the time. Adam and I both agree that it is our fault for Harper only being able to fall asleep in her swing or by being rocked by one of us. Luckily we acknowledge that it is a problem and it will only get worse as she gets older. It'll be kind of hard to fit a 2 year old in a swing! So we're nipping it in the bud now!

Tracy Hogg, the author, is like Super Nanny, but for babies! She travels around the world helping parents teach their babies how to eat, sleep and behave. Babies thrive on routine, which is her solution to solving all problems. She calls her solution E.A.S.Y. - eat, activity, sleep, you time. Her routine is 4 hours in duration and is to be repeated 3 times throughout the day. But before I can start her plan, I have to get Harper on a 4 hour eating schedule, right now she is eating every 3 hrs and 15 minutes. The book explains a plan on how to do this - so hopefully by next week she'll be eating every four hours. I will actually probably wait another week to start because Adam will be in Des Moines the first week of February for a law enforcement class. The book strongly suggests that you have you partner be involved in this process because it can/will be tiring during the first two days. If all goes as planned, she should be adjusted to the routine and putting herself to sleep within 5-7 days. If a baby is younger than 4 months it may take less time, but if a baby is older than 4 months it will take more time.

SO - I know that there are a lot of new mommies and expecting mommies that follow my blog. Although I haven't implemented this routine yet with Harper, I highly recommend reading this book. When I do start the plan, I will be sure to blog about the progress and let you know if it works. Some of you may be thinking that it is ridiculous to try to parent from a book - and I do agree - I almost always follow my motherly instincts. However, I really need help breaking a bad habit that I started. Right now Harper takes 3 or 4 catnaps during the day - and shes tired relatively soon after waking. Which tells me that something isn't right. But she does sleep great at night! After she adjusts to the E.A.S.Y. routine she will take a 2 hr nap in the morning, a 2 hr nap in the afternoon, a catnap around supper, and sleep uninterrupted from 7 pm to 7 am! Sounds too good to be true, right?!?! Wish US luck!

Dry Skin

Tis the season for dry skin! After the two weeks of bitter cold and dry air, Harper's poor skin is not so baby soft anymore. Although baby lotion smells amazing - I don't think it does the greatest job of keeping skin moist. I started rubbing baby oil on Harper after her bath's but that does not seem to help. Anyone have any suggestions for dry baby skin? Keep in mind that the lotion needs to be safe for their delicate and sensitive skin. I thought about trying the Aveeno baby lotion, Cural, or Lubriderm. Please post any suggestions you may have!

PS - Harper is taking a nap right now in her crib! Only her second time napping in her crib. I laid her down when she was tired and she put herself to sleep without any fussing! Yay! I decided that I need to put my foot down and break the habit of her napping in her swing or in our arms. She needs to learn how to soothe herself and put herself to sleep. I read in Parents Magazine that you can start 'sleep training' your baby at 4 months. I've always been too afraid of dealing with her whining if I laid her down in her crib - but in the long run it'll be worth it. Wish us luck tonite at bedtime because I am not planning on rocking her to sleep!

New Adventures

Harper had two new 'firsts' today - sitting in her high chair and eating rice cereal from a spoon. She had her 4 month wellness check today and we got the "OK" to start her on rice cereal. Of course she wanted nothing to do with it - but we'll keep trying. I put a little cereal in her bedtime bottle because she's been waking up around 3 or 4 in the middle of the night -she hasn't done that for about a month now. We're not sure what her deal is - but think she may be in the early stages of teething. If it is her teeth - we'll have to buy some baby orajel. But we're hoping the cereal will do the trick for now! Harper has been showing some common signs of teething in the past month or so - A LOT of drooling, chewing on her hands, rosy cheeks and waking up at night. She even had a low-grade fever of 99.5 today at daycare. Despite of her teething signs, she has been a very happy baby!
Harper did great at her wellness check today! She was smiling at talking to the nurses and Dr. Nagel. Of course I had to take her around to my co-workers and show her off -everyone loved her up! Harper lucked out today because the clinic ran out of the shots she was supposed to get - so we'll go back on Monday for those! She weighed in at 15 lbs 12 oz and was 25 1/4 inches long. She was at the 90th % for both height and weight ~ Dr. Nagel said she is growing well and in proportion!

I think I like this thing~ Thanks Grandma Dawn and Grandma June!

My first time eating cereal - I look like such a big girl!

Alright Mom - I don't like it!

The aftermath

I also had a 'first' today ~ it was my first day back to school in 3 years! I'm only taking one class right now - Human Anatomy and Physiology - a pre-requisite to start nursing school. I will start nursing classes this fall at Iowa Central. I'm very excited to start this new journey! It's not that I don't enjoy teaching - it's just that after 3 years I am unable to find a full-time job in the teaching field. I told myself that if I didn't get a teaching job for the 2009-2010 school year I would go back to school. I can't sit around and wait for something to fall in my lap - I need to be proactive about my career. I should graduate with my Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) in May 2012 - at that point I would be a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Iowa Central offers a BSN program via The University of Iowa - which is a one year program and would certify me as Registered Nurse (RN). I would finish the RN program in May 2013. Wish me luck on this adventure! I am a little sad to be leaving education - but I know that I can always come back to it. I'm more sad that I have $20,000 in student loans and have no job to show for it! Having my education degree may give me more opportunities as a nurse - I can be a school nurse and also teach health class, teach nursing classes at a college, be a health education coordinator at a medical facility, etc. I guess everything happens for a reason - someday I'll know why I went to school to be a teacher.

Who needs a pillow

when you have a car seat?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!


We both agreed today that although our QUANTITY of sleep has decreased, the QUALITY has increased!!!! Having a newborn gives you the amazing ability to fall asleep at anytime or anyplace! I guess Adam asked me a question in the middle of the night last night and I started snoring 2 seconds after answering him! I haven't slept this sound since before being pregnant!