9 months

Yes, this post is 2 weeks overdue. I promise it was done the end of  the month. I just could not get motivated to add the pictures.  I don't know if it is just me but this new program makes it very hard to load pictures and it takes forever!!!

What a fun month we have had!  I guess I am starting to understand what everyone means when they say it gets more and more fun everyday.

Harper is such a happy baby.  Yes, it does make me nervous to put that in writing.  While she may be a little busy, she is definitely happy most of the time.  If she isn't in a good mood, you just give her a smile and she will be sure to return to her joyful place.

We got to celebrate Jacob's 3rd birthday at the beginning of March.  I just can't believe he is 3. It seems like yesterday he was Harper's age. 

Noah loves Harper!!!  He is so sweet to her. 

Harper and her granddaddy

I guess the most exciting thing that happened this month was crawling.  Harper crawled backwards for about a month before we finally decided that it was time to show her how easy it is to crawl forwards.  All we had to do was spread some puffs out on the carpet and off she went.  Once she figured it out she has been full speed ahead  ever since.  While she was learning, she got pretty good at the yoga pose.

She would scream when she got stuck under the couch or chair.  It was very frustrating to her, but we thought it was pretty funny.

She has also started to pull up on everything.!!  She can pull up on the hearth and start grabbing things we had put there to keep away from her (so much for that!), but other things like the couch seem to be a little too tall to pull up on, but she sure will try.

We got to spend some with sweet baby Anna Barton.  It won't be long before she is on the floor playing right along with Kate and Harper.  

She started saying consonant sounds like "dada" and "baba" early on  in March.  Ryan was so excited when she started saying "dada". Of course she probably doesn't really associate him as her dada, but she definitely loves saying the word.  The funny thing is, she'll start saying it really loud when she is mad or frustrated.  We joke that she is baby cussing us (or maybe just Ryan).


She has started to become less interested in the bottle.  Most days she only will take three 6oz. bottles, and we are doing good if she'll drink all of it.  She definitely has taken a liking to real food.  We are giving her more and more people food, which she really likes.  I think the hardest thing is that she has not quite gotten the grabbing food with 2 fingers thing (the pinscher grab as the pediatrician called it) down so she grabs it with her whole fist and then gets frustrated when she can't get it in her mouth.  I'm sorry, but we laugh because it is quite comical.


She used to be more picky, but now she honestly eats anything we give her.   Of course fruit is still her favorite and she never turns it down.


We also started exposing her to the sippy cup. I say "exposing" because we haven't really done a good job of introducing it consistently.  I can honestly say we have tried 3 different style sippy cups and we have finally found one that she will drink out of.  Of course she won't drink her milk out of it, only water, but we are working on it.


She is such a good sleeper!!!!  Hallelujah!!!!!!  Really though she has been a good sleeper since she was born. We just go through our nightly routine, put her down and a few minutes later she is out like a light.  The past week she has started sleeping on her stomach almost every night.  I wish she would go to bed a little later, as she is usually struggling to stay awake by 6:30.  This means I only get to see her a few hours a day.  It makes me tear up just talking about it. I am hoping as she gets older she will go to bed a little later.

We got to spend some time in Hartselle celebrating Nanny Moore's birthday.  
We fished and watched Joni and her friends play in the paddle boat.  It was such a beautiful day to spend with family.  We also got to go see Nanny & Pawpaw Bill.

This photographer in Hartselle has been using Nanny's property to take her pictures.  She just happened to be at the top of the hill taking pictures when we were there.  My grandmother really wanted me to ask the girl to take some pics of Harper, but I didn't want to interfere with her shoots.  As I was feeding Harps, we heard a baby lamb, so I wiped Harper down as best I could, and Uncle Donnie and I ran up the hill to see this baby lamb.  The girl was so sweet and very happy to take a few pics of Harper.  She had some baby bunnies and a baby lamb. Harper kept poking the bunnies in the eyes as she was trying to pet them.  It was pretty cute.  The picture cracks me up because apparently her diaper really needed changing and Harper had sweet potatoes all over her shirt, but I guess she photoshopped that out.  

Every night before she goes to bed we go in her room and peek in on her sleeping.  It is probably one of my favorite moments of the day.
We lowered her crib last weekend.  Once she started sitting up and really moving around, we were a little nervous, so we went ahead and took it all the way down.


Harper does not like putting clothes on.  She screams and gets very mad every time we try to dress her.  It is a very challenging task.  One of these days I am going to record a diaper change and clothes change on video.  She is just as wild while we try to change her diaper.  She is such a busy body that I feel like we are wrestling with her as she is constantly trying to grab on to anything she can while on the table.


Not surprisingly, her favorite toys are power cords and magazines,  what joy.  Yesterday I  watched her crawl right past the toy basket to get to a surge protector, nice.  I guess we'll be buying a few more outlet covers this weekend.

Here are the 9 month stats:
weight: 17 pounds 8 ounces
height: 27 inches
Head circumfernce: 17 inches
Harper has already started crying when the doctor or nurse tries to do stuff to her or even look her direction.  I guess the catheter incident has traumatized her.  Dr. Dudgeon made the comment this week  "well she has quite a little temper."  Well yes she does.  Here's hoping that temper disappears for mommy and daddy's sanity!

Nicknames:  Harps, Harpsy, Snooki, Wild woman


** She loves to play patty cake and clapping


** She still loves sticking a leg up in the air when she is laying down.  She also pulls her knees to her chest and will point her toes. Even when she is in her exersaucer, she will pull her legs up and point her toes.

** She has started biting her upper lip a lot.  It must be because she is trying to get used to her bottom teeth or something, but it has become an almost constant habit for her.  One morning it was very chapped and she got to wear chap-stick all day.


** There is no mistake when Harper is excited.  She kicks her legs wildly, throws her arms out and makes quite a commotion 


We love you sweet pea and are so thankful for you!!!

9 months!!!