10 Months

Wow, I can't believe how close Harp is getting to being one year old.  She really grew up this month in so many ways too!

For instance, this month we officially stopped swaddling her (we'd been doing it at night still) and putting her in the bassinet.  For most of the month she was sleeping in the crib for naps (which she'd been doing for a while) and the pack n play in the living room at night (with Tom on the couch...).  Just now we've moved her into her crib for nighttimes too.  Maybe eventually we'll be brave enough to have her sleep alone in the living room.  The problem with that is that we can't really hear her out there and we can't really moving the monitor from place to place (bedroom to living room and back).  What would be great is it we just finally found a 2 bedroom apartment that fit our needs!

The pictures below show what prompted us to finally stop swaddling her at night.  This is how her wrap ended up one morning.

Here's Harp talking, rolling around and loving on her bink as she does before and after each nap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsJ5qD9auQ

She has really gotten awesome at sleeping anywhere.  Such a change from before when she'd only sleep swaddled & "in" something.

On our front lawn.

At the Energy Solutions Arena

At 7 Peaks (she's in the stroller, under the army blanket).

Here she is in her pack n play, with the Duke ball and hoop her Papa (grandpa) gave her.  Tom is a HUGE Duke fan.

This is what it used to be used for.

The biggest change this month is that one day she just decided to become mobile!  She was sitting just to the left of that colorful square toy below and started going after my computer.  When she got to it I'd grab her, tickle her, say, "no no no!" and move the computer further on.  Then she'd chase it again.  She ended up getting this far...

Then this far...

Then conking out :) .

Here's a video of the game in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Jbgbe_2cY

She still loooooves the "chase the computer" game, BTW.

The way she scoots is really funny looking too.  She has one leg in walking position (foot on ground, knee up) and one leg in sitting position (calf against the ground) and she'll alternate between moving the two of them.  She steps with her left leg and drags her right with her arms in front of her.  I call it her Quasimodo scoot.  

Here she is scooting after her binkie with a wet bum, after sucking on a bowl of ice:

Being really cute while making her way over to me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y07C61EGFg

Right toward the very end of the month she also figured out how to get from laying down to sitting without help.

Another thing she has been loving lately is standing against things.  She's always trying to pull up on things, and occasionally she can do it but usually she needs help.  Once she's up, though, she stands there for a long time.  Except when she forgets that she needs to hold on :) .  Or, when her binkie falls because she HAS to get it.

One day we went to Tracy Aviary and there were some chairs just perfect for it.  They were just the right height and had little slits for her hands to grasp.  She looooved them.

Here's a super cute one of her using the chair to stand up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt3YrJrFAkg

She has always loved books, but lately she has figured out how to turn the pages.  She also tries to do it while you're reading to her and she likes to feel everything in the touch and feel books...especially the orangutan.  If you read with a lot of inflection she can get suuuper into it.  She gets really excited and bounces and laughs.

On a sadder note, she also got sick for the first time ever!  Up until then she hadn't gotten more than the mildest of runny noses (and only a couple times).  But, right around the 4th of July she got Roseola.  It was SO sad and a little scary, but she ended up fine.  She has a super high fever (104.5) that came and went (with Tylenol) and was uncharacteristically cuddly and lethargic.  Poor thing.

Usually, when she sleeps she doesn't like to be held, but when she was sick she often wouldn't sleep any other way.  Mostly Tom had the honor, but I did too.  It was very sweet.  She kept just trying to get closer and closer to my face.

In between bouts of high fever she would sometimes be more lively and happy.  On one of the days this happened, plus she was wearing this super cute new outfit (that's still too big) and I just couldn't help but take some pics.

On that same day I made a little flower board for her from flowers I got at the Dollar Store.  Here's what happened when she tried to play with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fJAtr3f2I8 .

And another one of Harp just being cute on that same day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLGmAlsnucU

One funny thing that happened when she was sick was that Tom bore his testimony and talked about Harp being sick.  He didn't tell me and I switched with him and went to church half way through while he stayed home with Harp.  I was so surprised to have everyone asking me how Harp was when I came to church!

Another big thing this month has been trying to grab my glasses and my hair (and just my face sometimes).  She did this before now too, but just was obsessed with it this month.  Ever since that first game of trying to grab the computer she has pretty much thought that "no" means we're playing a fun game and she should just try harder.  As a result, her trying to grab my glasses just ends up looking like this:

Video of the above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_1wi2SZksM

As a random note, have I ever mentioned that sometimes when she's sitting she likes to keep one leg in the air?  She'll just sit there and play, leg up.

Harper is just as social as ever and usually when we are in public there will be at least one little girl (and occasionally a little boy) who'll come up to her and try to interact.  It's funny to me because their parents usually start apologizing to me, but Harper LOVES it and it's one of the reasons we get out a lot.  She's much happier with other people around.  On Sunday, Tom had her in Sunday School with him (I was helping with the ESL class, so I wasn't with them).  Across the room was another little baby boy who she really likes.  Tom (and some of my other friends) said she kept wanting him to put her on the floor and as soon as he did she'd squeal and make all kinds of noises and book it over to him.  Then, she'd promptly try to grab his face and Tom would have to take her away.  Eventually he just had to take her out into the hallway because her cuteness was just toooo distracting.

Here she is at a ward activity with another little girl.

Well, this month, just like past months, we've had a lot of fun.  We've played in our kiddie pool:

Sometimes she spends a while leaning over the edge, pulling at the grass.

Note the popsicle stick.

We went to the US vs. Germany game at the Energy Solutions Arena:

We "helped" Auntie Rachel and Uncle Matt move:

We hiked to Lake Mary:

A video of Harp thoroughly enjoying playing in the dirt on our hike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnSRLTLFLV0

We went to 7 Peaks a whole bunch more:

There is NEVER enough ice cream, as Tom would say.

Harper chillin' in her favorite spot - the kiddie pool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq2KkMOUtY0

We ate lots and lots of food.  Man, Harper has been eating a TON lately!  Unfortunately, if she's in the kitchen and I'm cooking, she knows I'm doing something with food and complains and complains for me to feed her.  As a result, it has been SO hard to cook anything lately.  Sometimes, though, she gets distracted.  

Like she did this day with these pots and pans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OorreCFzW0g . 

Or this day with this ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFLvVBrFC0I .

It's been so hot that we've been eating a lot of frozen things lately, like ice cream:

Popsicles:

Here's the popsicle video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXsD7Bon-64

And ESPECIALLY ice.  Harp loves to play with / suck on ice:

Harp with her ice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOuEZXxpW9A 

And: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKcHZ1C1is8

And sometimes she has fun with the bowl too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Egv-F8UGEY

We went to the park and had a picnic on our anniversary.  We gave her an orange slice to munch on and it ended up being SUCH a mess.

Devouring an orange: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLEZ1IRU69c

Reeeeally enjoying some yogurt (very cute!) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7T-tUMuIN0

Hung out with the Armstrongs:

I think sometimes she mistakes Tom's dad for Tom because she often goes to him immediately.  It's very cute.

Went to a family camp for Tom's family and forgot to bring warm clothes so she ended up practically swimming in a bigger kid's clothes.

Tom's sister, Jen & her family, came to visit before heading off to Japan for the military.  It was great to be able to visit with them for several days.  Harp looooved having so many little kids around.  Here are a few videos of her cracking up at her cousin, Brooke.  Oh, and by the way, Brooke is saying, "I am a bad guy!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns9uQb1J62Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DZ_4nBQ0Ok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUDaCU_oTg

Tried on cute new clothes that are still too big:

She wasn't a fan of this one.

Tried on Auntie Stacey's Uruguay beanie.

Went to Liberty Park a lot.  For Tom & I's 4 year anniversary we had a picnic and passed the frisbee back and forth and just generally had an idyllic family evening, complete with rainbow:

Proof that Harper isn't always smiling.

Here's Harp playing in the sandbox at Liberty Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcedYuYYJcc

Played with balls:

In the trunk.

My eye is super creepy here, but Harp looks hardcore.

And that's what we did while Harper was 9 months old!