Sings Songs
Harper loves singing and knows a million songs... the ones that immediately come to mind include:
Rock a Bye Baby
This is ______'s Harper Girl
The More We Get Together
Ring Around the Rosies
Good Morning to You
Where is Thumbkin?
Shake Your Sillies Out
Going on a Bear Hunt
Itsy Bitsy Spider (with motions)
ABC's
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Baa, Baa Black Sheep *her first solo song
Ma Nishtana (the 4 questions in Hebrew, for Passover the youngest person at the table is supposed to ask the questions-- it's a chant, really, and I taught it to Harper months ago. She picked it up right away, like any other song, and sings it in its entirety)
... and there are many more. She often surprises us with a song that we didn't know she knew.
States
Harper continues to hunger for learning. She recently inherited a LeapPad from Chloe Clark, and in a week's time she's learned half of the 50 states, including their significance (i.e. where Grandma grew up and Mama went to school = New York, where Uncle Steve and Aunt Erica live = Georgia, where Grannie's family is from = Arkansas, where Aunt D and Uncle Marty are moving = Illinois, where Aunt Erica is from = Ohio, etc. etc.) She can find them on a map, and also say the names. She says them all clearly enough, the only one that's a little off is "Bobtana", my personal favorite, Montana. She also knows Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Maine, Idaho, South Dakota...as well as the compass rose and the title, "The United States of America".
Better Sleeper
I have hesitated to say it for fear of jinxing, but Harper has begun sleeping through the night over the course of the last month and a half. She randomly slept in her own crib from about 9 pm to 7:15 am one day and ever since then, she has slept usually until around 6:30am in her bed. It is a very exciting change in our lives! For Harper, it turns out her sleep only got consistent after she was weaned.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Friday, February 9, 2007
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Name is...?
In typical Harper fashion, the girl remains inquisitive and this new phrase is one of her favorites. She typically uses the phrase not to ask the common noun name for something, but the proper. For example, we'll be looking at a picture of a chinchilla and she'll ask, "name is?" to which I'll reply, "Marjorie." Anyone reading to her has to think on their feet and get creative naming the animals, people, and sometimes even things for which Harper wants names. She already knows what everything is... yes, including chinchillas, meerkats, anything you've told her once. She even differentiates between different kinds of fish (blow fish, rock fish, angel fish, clown fish, nurse shark, jelly fish, etc.) and now she's naming different dog breeds when she recognizes them (Komondor, Visla, Toy Poodle, terrier, to name a few). Ever the sponge...
Babies and Books
We go to the library's story time every Wednesday morning at 10 and Harper calls it, "Babies and Books". She enjoys listening to the stories, but prefers the singing with hand movements best of all. She knows the individual names of her fingers (thumb, pointer, middle, ring, pinky) from the "where is thumbkin?" song. Over lunch the other day, I started to sing the "bear hunt" song and only got three lines into it before I couldn't remember any more. I turned to get Harper another bite, and to my surprise, she sang out the next line (which happened to be "What a beautiful day!"). She seriously, seriously has a better memory than me. I tell people it's like she doesn't have that filter that we all use to exclude information as not-important-enough-to-remember. She takes it ALL in, and is constantly surprising me with what she knows. Another lunch time surprise recently was Harper singing the entire "Twinkle, Twinkle little star" song-- every syllable-- by herself, no prompting. It's especially surprising because it's not like we're working on it. We've sung it when we read her nursery rhyme book or sometimes when we see a star, she requests the song. I was shocked that the entire song was up there in her head! A week before, she surprised me and sang "baa, baa black sheep, have you wool? es, sir, es, sir, three bags full. one a master, one a dame, boy lane" which was pretty cute. Harper also really likes the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".
Harper also enjoys being around all the other kids at the library. She calls them "babies" most of the time (while the majority are older than her). The other day, I overheard her walking up to a kid and saying, "Hi, baby. I'm Harper. I'm good." Hilarious. I'm trying to teach her the difference between babies and big kids (so she doesn't wound any egos). I think she's starting to get the idea because she calls herself a "big girl" more and more now. Also, when asked, "where's the baby?" she'll point to my tummy. It's a start! We got her a couple of books to help her understand there's a sibling in the works, and we read them occasionally. At this point it remains abstract.
We always take home a bunch of books from each visit to the library, and by the time I return them, she's got them all memorized. You can pause when reading any of her books, and most of the time, she'll say the next word or few words. She loves to read books. She's also started to be okay looking at them "by yourself". She'll pull books off her shelf, turn the pages, sometimes narrate with her memory of what the pages say, sometimes just look at pictures.
ABC's and Counting
Harper can sing the entire ABC song, and loves doing it. She's been able to sing it for the past month and a half. She recognizes all the letters (upper and lower case). Her counting took off a few weeks ago and she clearly understands that after you get to twenty, there's a pattern to follow. It's 21, 22, 23... and so on... then 30, 31, 32, 33... then 40, 41, 42, 43 and Ethan counted to 100 with her the other day, helping her out with the multiples of ten to keep her going. Basically, she can count. She also counted crayons at her "artist table" today, putting another in her hand until she got up to ten. That was exciting for me because it means she actually gets the concept that these numbers are quantitative... not just words in a sequence.
Dada and Ducks
Today, for the second time, Harper and I met Dada for a picnic lunch at Plaza park. Harper loves eating outside, watching the ducks, and getting a little mid-day Dada love. We don't get to see Ethan for lunch since he changed jobs and works across town, so these picnics are extra special. I plan to try to make them happen more and more often as the weather gets nicer.
Bedtime
Things have officially changed during the bedtime hour. After reading books with Dad, instead of the nursing, Harper now sings a couple songs with both of us, then Dada cuddles her and sings, "This is Dada's Harper girl..." until she conks out and is laid down in her crib. Most nights since the change (about a week and a half ago) it's been Dad to put her to sleep. Of course, she usually wakes when set down and Dad or I will have to rest a hand on her back until she's back asleep and we can sneak out of the room. It's exciting that the girl is officially weaned and is also enjoying Dad's cuddles more. She's growing up!
In typical Harper fashion, the girl remains inquisitive and this new phrase is one of her favorites. She typically uses the phrase not to ask the common noun name for something, but the proper. For example, we'll be looking at a picture of a chinchilla and she'll ask, "name is?" to which I'll reply, "Marjorie." Anyone reading to her has to think on their feet and get creative naming the animals, people, and sometimes even things for which Harper wants names. She already knows what everything is... yes, including chinchillas, meerkats, anything you've told her once. She even differentiates between different kinds of fish (blow fish, rock fish, angel fish, clown fish, nurse shark, jelly fish, etc.) and now she's naming different dog breeds when she recognizes them (Komondor, Visla, Toy Poodle, terrier, to name a few). Ever the sponge...
Babies and Books
We go to the library's story time every Wednesday morning at 10 and Harper calls it, "Babies and Books". She enjoys listening to the stories, but prefers the singing with hand movements best of all. She knows the individual names of her fingers (thumb, pointer, middle, ring, pinky) from the "where is thumbkin?" song. Over lunch the other day, I started to sing the "bear hunt" song and only got three lines into it before I couldn't remember any more. I turned to get Harper another bite, and to my surprise, she sang out the next line (which happened to be "What a beautiful day!"). She seriously, seriously has a better memory than me. I tell people it's like she doesn't have that filter that we all use to exclude information as not-important-enough-to-remember. She takes it ALL in, and is constantly surprising me with what she knows. Another lunch time surprise recently was Harper singing the entire "Twinkle, Twinkle little star" song-- every syllable-- by herself, no prompting. It's especially surprising because it's not like we're working on it. We've sung it when we read her nursery rhyme book or sometimes when we see a star, she requests the song. I was shocked that the entire song was up there in her head! A week before, she surprised me and sang "baa, baa black sheep, have you wool? es, sir, es, sir, three bags full. one a master, one a dame, boy lane" which was pretty cute. Harper also really likes the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".
Harper also enjoys being around all the other kids at the library. She calls them "babies" most of the time (while the majority are older than her). The other day, I overheard her walking up to a kid and saying, "Hi, baby. I'm Harper. I'm good." Hilarious. I'm trying to teach her the difference between babies and big kids (so she doesn't wound any egos). I think she's starting to get the idea because she calls herself a "big girl" more and more now. Also, when asked, "where's the baby?" she'll point to my tummy. It's a start! We got her a couple of books to help her understand there's a sibling in the works, and we read them occasionally. At this point it remains abstract.
We always take home a bunch of books from each visit to the library, and by the time I return them, she's got them all memorized. You can pause when reading any of her books, and most of the time, she'll say the next word or few words. She loves to read books. She's also started to be okay looking at them "by yourself". She'll pull books off her shelf, turn the pages, sometimes narrate with her memory of what the pages say, sometimes just look at pictures.
ABC's and Counting
Harper can sing the entire ABC song, and loves doing it. She's been able to sing it for the past month and a half. She recognizes all the letters (upper and lower case). Her counting took off a few weeks ago and she clearly understands that after you get to twenty, there's a pattern to follow. It's 21, 22, 23... and so on... then 30, 31, 32, 33... then 40, 41, 42, 43 and Ethan counted to 100 with her the other day, helping her out with the multiples of ten to keep her going. Basically, she can count. She also counted crayons at her "artist table" today, putting another in her hand until she got up to ten. That was exciting for me because it means she actually gets the concept that these numbers are quantitative... not just words in a sequence.
Dada and Ducks
Today, for the second time, Harper and I met Dada for a picnic lunch at Plaza park. Harper loves eating outside, watching the ducks, and getting a little mid-day Dada love. We don't get to see Ethan for lunch since he changed jobs and works across town, so these picnics are extra special. I plan to try to make them happen more and more often as the weather gets nicer.
Bedtime
Things have officially changed during the bedtime hour. After reading books with Dad, instead of the nursing, Harper now sings a couple songs with both of us, then Dada cuddles her and sings, "This is Dada's Harper girl..." until she conks out and is laid down in her crib. Most nights since the change (about a week and a half ago) it's been Dad to put her to sleep. Of course, she usually wakes when set down and Dad or I will have to rest a hand on her back until she's back asleep and we can sneak out of the room. It's exciting that the girl is officially weaned and is also enjoying Dad's cuddles more. She's growing up!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
A Much Overdue Attempt to Catch Up
It's been a while, so there's a lot to write. December was a busy month for our family. Ethan got a new job, and is in the middle of his second week at Self-Help. It was a good move for him and we expect he'll be a lot happier there. We also decided to buy a house, and we're both excited and anxious about the entire deal. It's a good choice: a good price, a modest and comfortable home, large cul de sac lot near a neighborhood park. We feel good about what we're doing, but it is scary to make the largest financial decision of our lives and commit to a mortgage payment that we're not used to.
And the most exciting of the life-changing news: Ethan and I are expecting our second baby! We had an appointment with our midwife yesterday and we were told the baby should arrive somewhere between Aug. 25th and Aug. 28th (thought of you, Katie). Although we'd already done five positive home tests, going to the doctor really sealed the deal in terms of this "feeling real". We had an ultrasound and everything looks good and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. That one always elicits tears. We're all excited and Harper can say, "Harper big sister", but she clearly has no concept of what that is going to mean. I am constantly asking mothers of more-than-one how to help the big kid adjust but I haven't yet heard the magic fix to make it easy. I suspect, given how attached Harper is to me, that it will be a tough adjustment for her, but in the end she'll thank us for it. Having a sibling is such a wonderful joy in life; Ethan and I enjoy ours so very much.
And now on to Harper. It really is amazing how much she changes in a month! Since we suspected I might be pregnant, I've cut back on nursing Harper this month. We were nursing only morning (around 5 AM) and at night before bed. Both of those were a full-on feedings, multiple let downs, switching sides, etc. We worked on eliminating the morning nursing by gradually lessening the amount she was eating while also moving it to later and later in the morning until she'd have only one side, one let down at like 6:30 AM. Finally, we stopped nursing in the mornings at all. That's been for about the last two weeks or so. The first few days were tough-- nothing gets past this girl. She definitely felt the change and would say "Mama hold you" and reach for me all day. She needed reassurance that we were still lovey and on good terms, I guess. We have also reduced the night feeding to just one let down per side. At first, after we'd finish, in order to sort-of keep her distracted and get her to sleep, I'd stand up, take her to her room and sway and sing (like we do for her naps) until she fell asleep. After a few nights of this, Harper did something very sweet. Immediately after I took her off the breast, she'd crouch and lie her head on my tummy, both hands touching it too, and stare off silently. She didn't want to be stroked or sung to, or anything at all, just lie there close and quiet. Now that is the routine-- a quick nursing, which is just for comfort and getting smaller/quicker all the time, and then quiet, skin to skin holding in the dark. After she falls asleep I move her to her crib.
With the change in the night routine (shorter nurse time), Harper wasn't as deeply asleep when we'd set her in her crib this month. She'd cry when we set her down. For about a week and a half, Ethan and I had to work on helping her understand that she needed to sleep. Ethan was really great with her. When she'd start to cry, he'd say "No! Time to sleep." and she'd stop crying and eventually, she learned that she could go to sleep on her own. In the past we'd heard about different cry-it-out approaches to "sleep train" your baby and none of that felt right to us. Now, however, Harper is older and can understand what we're saying. Although she did do some crying over the week or so that she struggled, she was never alone to cry, and either Ethan or I would always say the same, consistent thing which helped her learn that much faster. Now, if she wakes when I set her down and cries out, I tell her, "Time to sleep" and she does!
She still wakes in the night, although I think the lack of AM nursing is helping to push that later and later. Her first waking is lately around 2 or 3 AM. She likes to come into our bed and lie on my arm while rubbing my belly. She falls right back asleep. Speaking of my tummy, Harper has become obsessed/in love with my tummy over the past few months. She squeals with delight when she catches a peek of it and she loves to bury her head on it and pick at my belly button.
Also connected to the weaning-- Harper has begun to drink milk! I had tried various cow's milk (whole, 2%, nonfat) in the past and Harper never took to it. Since we've cut back on nursing, Harper now has an 8 oz. sippy cup of half organic whole cow's milk, half organic soy milk every morning (first thing) and another one after her nap! This is great because babies need that fat for brain development and I don't have to worry as much about making sure she gets fat elsewhere all day! She guzzles these cups of milk, too-- like nonstop sucking. Super cute.
This month, some new play has emerged. Harper adores coloring! She has a table where she does her artwork and she's always saying "Mama color too!" She's also obsessed with pens, always asking for one to doodle wherever we are. She seems to favor the color blue and she definitely favors her left hand. She makes a lot of "lines and dots". Harper speaks in sentences most of the time. (ie. "Elmo thinking hmmm interesting" or "Dada here?" <- asked any time we go somewhere while Dad's at work, or "Mama nice too", or "Sat Taz go?" or "Where's Mama?") Where's Mama is now a hide and seek game that she really loves. During the Christmas season, we had a tree this year and Harper loved the glass balls. She'd say "Harper and Mama!" and stand by the tree, wanting me to come over, crouch down, and admire our reflection in one of the balls. She'd ask for others this way too-- "Harper and Dada!" or "Harper and Nana!" (that's Harperese for Grannie).
Harper received many thoughtful gifts for the holidays and among them was a new tricycle from Grandma. She loves being pushed around the neighborhood on it (it has a parent control handle/ override). She keeps her feet on the pedals, but can't reach far enough to actually rotate them yet. You can tell she feels like a big girl on it though. Every few minutes she pushes the bell button and you hear a sweet little "ding!".
Harper remains a joyful fun girl. She'll no doubt make a fabulous sister!
It's been a while, so there's a lot to write. December was a busy month for our family. Ethan got a new job, and is in the middle of his second week at Self-Help. It was a good move for him and we expect he'll be a lot happier there. We also decided to buy a house, and we're both excited and anxious about the entire deal. It's a good choice: a good price, a modest and comfortable home, large cul de sac lot near a neighborhood park. We feel good about what we're doing, but it is scary to make the largest financial decision of our lives and commit to a mortgage payment that we're not used to.
And the most exciting of the life-changing news: Ethan and I are expecting our second baby! We had an appointment with our midwife yesterday and we were told the baby should arrive somewhere between Aug. 25th and Aug. 28th (thought of you, Katie). Although we'd already done five positive home tests, going to the doctor really sealed the deal in terms of this "feeling real". We had an ultrasound and everything looks good and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. That one always elicits tears. We're all excited and Harper can say, "Harper big sister", but she clearly has no concept of what that is going to mean. I am constantly asking mothers of more-than-one how to help the big kid adjust but I haven't yet heard the magic fix to make it easy. I suspect, given how attached Harper is to me, that it will be a tough adjustment for her, but in the end she'll thank us for it. Having a sibling is such a wonderful joy in life; Ethan and I enjoy ours so very much.
And now on to Harper. It really is amazing how much she changes in a month! Since we suspected I might be pregnant, I've cut back on nursing Harper this month. We were nursing only morning (around 5 AM) and at night before bed. Both of those were a full-on feedings, multiple let downs, switching sides, etc. We worked on eliminating the morning nursing by gradually lessening the amount she was eating while also moving it to later and later in the morning until she'd have only one side, one let down at like 6:30 AM. Finally, we stopped nursing in the mornings at all. That's been for about the last two weeks or so. The first few days were tough-- nothing gets past this girl. She definitely felt the change and would say "Mama hold you" and reach for me all day. She needed reassurance that we were still lovey and on good terms, I guess. We have also reduced the night feeding to just one let down per side. At first, after we'd finish, in order to sort-of keep her distracted and get her to sleep, I'd stand up, take her to her room and sway and sing (like we do for her naps) until she fell asleep. After a few nights of this, Harper did something very sweet. Immediately after I took her off the breast, she'd crouch and lie her head on my tummy, both hands touching it too, and stare off silently. She didn't want to be stroked or sung to, or anything at all, just lie there close and quiet. Now that is the routine-- a quick nursing, which is just for comfort and getting smaller/quicker all the time, and then quiet, skin to skin holding in the dark. After she falls asleep I move her to her crib.
With the change in the night routine (shorter nurse time), Harper wasn't as deeply asleep when we'd set her in her crib this month. She'd cry when we set her down. For about a week and a half, Ethan and I had to work on helping her understand that she needed to sleep. Ethan was really great with her. When she'd start to cry, he'd say "No! Time to sleep." and she'd stop crying and eventually, she learned that she could go to sleep on her own. In the past we'd heard about different cry-it-out approaches to "sleep train" your baby and none of that felt right to us. Now, however, Harper is older and can understand what we're saying. Although she did do some crying over the week or so that she struggled, she was never alone to cry, and either Ethan or I would always say the same, consistent thing which helped her learn that much faster. Now, if she wakes when I set her down and cries out, I tell her, "Time to sleep" and she does!
She still wakes in the night, although I think the lack of AM nursing is helping to push that later and later. Her first waking is lately around 2 or 3 AM. She likes to come into our bed and lie on my arm while rubbing my belly. She falls right back asleep. Speaking of my tummy, Harper has become obsessed/in love with my tummy over the past few months. She squeals with delight when she catches a peek of it and she loves to bury her head on it and pick at my belly button.
Also connected to the weaning-- Harper has begun to drink milk! I had tried various cow's milk (whole, 2%, nonfat) in the past and Harper never took to it. Since we've cut back on nursing, Harper now has an 8 oz. sippy cup of half organic whole cow's milk, half organic soy milk every morning (first thing) and another one after her nap! This is great because babies need that fat for brain development and I don't have to worry as much about making sure she gets fat elsewhere all day! She guzzles these cups of milk, too-- like nonstop sucking. Super cute.
This month, some new play has emerged. Harper adores coloring! She has a table where she does her artwork and she's always saying "Mama color too!" She's also obsessed with pens, always asking for one to doodle wherever we are. She seems to favor the color blue and she definitely favors her left hand. She makes a lot of "lines and dots". Harper speaks in sentences most of the time. (ie. "Elmo thinking hmmm interesting" or "Dada here?" <- asked any time we go somewhere while Dad's at work, or "Mama nice too", or "Sat Taz go?" or "Where's Mama?") Where's Mama is now a hide and seek game that she really loves. During the Christmas season, we had a tree this year and Harper loved the glass balls. She'd say "Harper and Mama!" and stand by the tree, wanting me to come over, crouch down, and admire our reflection in one of the balls. She'd ask for others this way too-- "Harper and Dada!" or "Harper and Nana!" (that's Harperese for Grannie).
Harper received many thoughtful gifts for the holidays and among them was a new tricycle from Grandma. She loves being pushed around the neighborhood on it (it has a parent control handle/ override). She keeps her feet on the pedals, but can't reach far enough to actually rotate them yet. You can tell she feels like a big girl on it though. Every few minutes she pushes the bell button and you hear a sweet little "ding!".
Harper remains a joyful fun girl. She'll no doubt make a fabulous sister!
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Another new phrase is "bless you"-- said after someone sneezes. Harper's picking up on the manners thing lately. When she needs help, she asks for it by saying, "Help, please." She's actually quite good about saying please; "thank you" is not as consistent yet but it's really neat to see Harper use these polite words. She is also getting good at saying "hi" to people when greeting them. She is still generally shy, but after 15 minutes or so in a new place, she starts to feel safe enough to venture around and be friendly. However she definitely wants her personal space and always stays within eye-shot of Mama or Dada.
We've already had a social weekend. Today was Avery's 1st birthday party and Harper had fun watching the little video that Tiff and Travis showed of Avery's first year. She danced to the music and shouted, "baby!" at the screen. She and Avery will be cute buddies as they get older. Last night was the Christmas Tree Auction, and Ethan and I had a fabulous time out with friends until the wee hours. Grandma babysat the girl and we had a great, carefree time. Harper is napping right now and so is Ethan. I think I'll go join them for a snooze.
We've already had a social weekend. Today was Avery's 1st birthday party and Harper had fun watching the little video that Tiff and Travis showed of Avery's first year. She danced to the music and shouted, "baby!" at the screen. She and Avery will be cute buddies as they get older. Last night was the Christmas Tree Auction, and Ethan and I had a fabulous time out with friends until the wee hours. Grandma babysat the girl and we had a great, carefree time. Harper is napping right now and so is Ethan. I think I'll go join them for a snooze.
Friday, December 1, 2006
Update, regarding the counting:
Harper now counts to 20 in English and recognizes all of those numbers, too.
Harper also LOVES puzzles these days. She's learned the word "almost" from doing puzzles. When a piece was not quite in, we'd encourage her by saying, "almost!" Now she says it for herself when she's close to fitting a piece in her puzzles or when we enter the neighborhood and she can see that we're "almost home". Pretty cool word. Harper has also learned the word 'patient'. Sometimes, when she was impatiently asking for something, I'd tell her "Just one minute, baby. Be patient." She'd stand there waiting and apparently she began to understand what it meant to be patient because the other day she was asking Ethan to read her a book and she walked over to him and said, "Read it- me, please. Patient." She then stood there and waited for his attention. Harper is also saying the word "pretty". She calls herself pretty when we do her hair or she looks at herself in the mirror. "Perfect" is another of her new words. When she completes a puzzle, I tell her it's perfect and she mimics that. I am not sure she really gets the concept of the word just yet, but give her a couple of days and she will. This kid is quick. Another of her sentences is, curiously, "Ahab says, 'Ahoy, Matey'". I know it's wierd, but she's got a little captain toy that goes with her boat in the bathtub and I've told her his name is Ahab and when I animate him, this is what he says. The girl repeats everything.
Since Aunt Danielle and Uncle Marty returned to Denver after Thanksgiving, Harper's been asking about them both. She plays with a retired cell phone and pretends to talk to them on the phone. "Hi Aunt D. Love you. Soon. (trans: See you soon.) Hi Marty. Marty nice. Soon. Bye bye Aunt D."
The girl is not sleeping well lately. The little fits that she's started throwing also occur during the night when she's not getting ninny milk. This kid would have me be an all night diner if it were up to her! We've been working on pushing the AM nursing from 3 AM to 4 AM and now to 5 AM. This has been tough on all of us. With each adjustment, she cried until she understood that she was still going to get what she wanted; she just had to wait and get it later than she wanted. The hope is that by moving the nursing to later in the morning, Harper's habit of waking at 3 AM and 4 AM and 5 AM... will eventually stop and she'll sleep for longer durations. By the way, Harper's usually going to bed by 8:30 or 9, and waking around midnight first-- don't go thinking that she's waking for the first time at 3. Oh no. This kid has some serious sleep issues.
Ethan and I think it might have gotten bad again because she seems to have more separation anxiety again. And we think that is because her vocabulary is (again) exploding and she's going through a growth spurt. With new skills comes new fear and she is particularly attached to mom lately. Maybe a couple months from now she'll be more comfortable and less clingy. Harper's really smart, but also (because of that) really needy: constantly wanting to talk/converse, read books, hug, love, kiss, be the center of your attention. She's not content to blend into the background, be passed around to strangers, or play quietly on her own when there are so many potential playmates in the room (Mom remains the favorite). Dad is no "chopped-liver" either. When Dada comes home for lunch daily, Harper squeals and runs to him for hugs and wants to play with him. All day she says, "Dada soon" as if comforting herself when she misses him.
After naps, Harper loves to dance with Mama. We put songs on the computer and dance around the loft. She hugs me tight, straddling my belly and slips her hands under my shirt to rub my back. She likes to feel my skin and lean her head against me. We're so tight and fit so well together this way that all the swaying and bouncing feels like one person, not two. Harper even sings along sometimes, catching the last word in the phrase of lyrics and repeating it. I think the dancing gives her a few minutes of quiet closeness that she really enjoys in her day.
Gotta run. The girl wants to play.
Harper now counts to 20 in English and recognizes all of those numbers, too.
Harper also LOVES puzzles these days. She's learned the word "almost" from doing puzzles. When a piece was not quite in, we'd encourage her by saying, "almost!" Now she says it for herself when she's close to fitting a piece in her puzzles or when we enter the neighborhood and she can see that we're "almost home". Pretty cool word. Harper has also learned the word 'patient'. Sometimes, when she was impatiently asking for something, I'd tell her "Just one minute, baby. Be patient." She'd stand there waiting and apparently she began to understand what it meant to be patient because the other day she was asking Ethan to read her a book and she walked over to him and said, "Read it- me, please. Patient." She then stood there and waited for his attention. Harper is also saying the word "pretty". She calls herself pretty when we do her hair or she looks at herself in the mirror. "Perfect" is another of her new words. When she completes a puzzle, I tell her it's perfect and she mimics that. I am not sure she really gets the concept of the word just yet, but give her a couple of days and she will. This kid is quick. Another of her sentences is, curiously, "Ahab says, 'Ahoy, Matey'". I know it's wierd, but she's got a little captain toy that goes with her boat in the bathtub and I've told her his name is Ahab and when I animate him, this is what he says. The girl repeats everything.
Since Aunt Danielle and Uncle Marty returned to Denver after Thanksgiving, Harper's been asking about them both. She plays with a retired cell phone and pretends to talk to them on the phone. "Hi Aunt D. Love you. Soon. (trans: See you soon.) Hi Marty. Marty nice. Soon. Bye bye Aunt D."
The girl is not sleeping well lately. The little fits that she's started throwing also occur during the night when she's not getting ninny milk. This kid would have me be an all night diner if it were up to her! We've been working on pushing the AM nursing from 3 AM to 4 AM and now to 5 AM. This has been tough on all of us. With each adjustment, she cried until she understood that she was still going to get what she wanted; she just had to wait and get it later than she wanted. The hope is that by moving the nursing to later in the morning, Harper's habit of waking at 3 AM and 4 AM and 5 AM... will eventually stop and she'll sleep for longer durations. By the way, Harper's usually going to bed by 8:30 or 9, and waking around midnight first-- don't go thinking that she's waking for the first time at 3. Oh no. This kid has some serious sleep issues.
Ethan and I think it might have gotten bad again because she seems to have more separation anxiety again. And we think that is because her vocabulary is (again) exploding and she's going through a growth spurt. With new skills comes new fear and she is particularly attached to mom lately. Maybe a couple months from now she'll be more comfortable and less clingy. Harper's really smart, but also (because of that) really needy: constantly wanting to talk/converse, read books, hug, love, kiss, be the center of your attention. She's not content to blend into the background, be passed around to strangers, or play quietly on her own when there are so many potential playmates in the room (Mom remains the favorite). Dad is no "chopped-liver" either. When Dada comes home for lunch daily, Harper squeals and runs to him for hugs and wants to play with him. All day she says, "Dada soon" as if comforting herself when she misses him.
After naps, Harper loves to dance with Mama. We put songs on the computer and dance around the loft. She hugs me tight, straddling my belly and slips her hands under my shirt to rub my back. She likes to feel my skin and lean her head against me. We're so tight and fit so well together this way that all the swaying and bouncing feels like one person, not two. Harper even sings along sometimes, catching the last word in the phrase of lyrics and repeating it. I think the dancing gives her a few minutes of quiet closeness that she really enjoys in her day.
Gotta run. The girl wants to play.
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