Harper is moving to Texas!

Harper and her family are moving to Texas! Next week!
Nate got a job working with a great group of guys, some of whom he worked with straight out of college. He's looking forward to being a part of growing this small company of energy advisors.

So we're moving to Houston. Via California. The movers come Monday to pack us up. The truck comes Tuesday to collect our stuff. We fly out Wednesday to SF to visit Grammie & Grandpa Wax. Harper will get some much needed TLC and QT with her grandparents. Nate and I hope to sneak away to the city for a night and to Napa for two. Our first nights away from miss H!
We're moving into a rental first: a great 4 bedroom house with a jacuzzi!
Plenty of room for visitors!
We had a babysitter twice last week so we could celebrate our 6 year anniversary and have some last meals here in NYC. Saturday we went to Apiary. Chef Scott Brian (from Veritas & Indigo) gave us an incredible tasting menu. And Harper slept the entire time we were gone! Whoo hoo!
Monday we went to Le Bernardin for an incredible meal. I'm so glad we were able to get in and experience Chef Eric Ripert's amazing seafood...Heaven.
Afterwards we went to Rudy's Bar where Nate and I shared our very first kiss. It's still a dive. It still gives away free hot dogs with purchase. It still has a giant pig guarding the entrance.
Harper did well with our babysitter, Susan. She woke up for a bit, so at least Susan got a chance to say Hi and Good-bye. We'll be sad to leave Susan behind. She's really connected with Harper.

We'll be sad to leave NYC and all our friends here. But we're looking forward to spending lots of time with Carrie and Tim (college friends of Nate) and their boys, Will & Nick. They're almost like family. Will & Nick really seem to like Harper. They play well with her and Harper loves to see older kids who have mastered the skills she's just now trying out (walking, talking, etc.)

Nick, Harper, & Will

Where's the baby?

Harper is babbling away. I'm sure it's actual conversation to her... She's mastered dada, mama, and nana. It all started with blah, buah and bah, but we don't hear that as often anymore.
She's still a fan of the raspberry and what we have dubbed 'the elephant'. She very specifically does a version of a 'motor boat' when she doesn't like something. She'll say nana often when she's lost something (namely her pacifier) or is otherwise dissatisfied. She speaks dada when she's just hanging out and happy. And, of course, mama is uttered when she needs comforting or is looking for her favorite person. ;) I'm not saying she's using language deliberately yet, but it is pretty amazing to see that natural language instincts follow what the latin based world has adopted.

Harper loves to stand and walk. If you try to sit her up, she inevitably goes all the way up. I call it 'the waterskiier'. She pulls herself up to stand now using the arches of playgym. She pulls herself up to stand using pretty much anything. Her crib went down to the lowest level just in time.
She is crawling commando style, but bets are still being taken as to whether she'll crawl or walk first.
She is a happy kid. She can wave hello (by either sticking her hand out in the general direction and/or slapping her thigh) to new friends. She give big droolly, open mouth kisses. She loves her mommy. She loves her daddy. She loves peek-a-boo.
And she loves to have a laugh-off. She laughs, you laugh. You laugh, she laughs. It's a fun time.


Harper is eating solid food now. She's a great eater. Just like her mommy. No doggy bag for her! She's friends with pears, apples, bananas, carrots, prunes, peaches, raspberries, oatmeal, rice, toast, guacamole. She's had very limited experience with adult food, mostly just sucking on apple, melon & celery. Nate and I are little paranoid to start finger foods, but we keep trying new pureed items. Harper is decidedly NOT a fan of peas. As a matter of fact, I tried to give her chicken and veggies tonight. I didn't realize til it was too late that there were peas in there. She did the motorboat, gagged repeatedly and then vomited all over the place.
Don't know if it was the peas or the chicken fat, but I think we'll cool it on both for a while.

There's is so much more to be said about the move and life with Harper, but as we're trying to get our apt packed up, say good-bye to NYC and as many people as we possibly can. I have such small sips of time to sit at the computer, upload photos/videos. Hopefully the photos/videos will speak the volumes I cannot.

American Baby Models have a playdate: Meridian, Eva & Harper

Harper & Dori (they're getting so big!)

Harper & her Italian boyfriends: Elio & Leo

Family picnic at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Harper is starting to crawl

Harper is starting to crawl...

Breakfast with Harper

Have breakfast with Harper!

this week...i've lost count...

Apologies to anyone who checks this blog regularly. Since we've returned from Cali, I just can't seem to stay on top of all the cute things Harper has started to do...
So I'm going to deviate from my regular format and hope that some day I'll return to cataloging week by week, but that's just not now.
California was awesome. Seeing all the kids was great. Having Harper spend a long weekend at the cabin with her two cousins, Drew (3) and Matthew (1)and their cousins (which might as well be her cousins too, since we've known their dad, Brent all our lives), Blake (6), Casey (4) & Scooter (2) was the best ever. the only thing better would have been if Brady, Brent's sister and my dear friend since I was 4 had been there with her son, Zachary. Then the whole gang would have truly been together. As it was, you'd think it'd have been mayhem having 6 kids 6 and under under the same roof, but it was sublime. Brent's kids are the sweetest and all the kids did great.
We went to the beach, BBQ'd hotdogs for lunch, went crock-a-dad (aka crawdad) fishing in the afternoon. Life was great. We all missed our spouses, but it was a sweet week regardless.
I hope we can make it annual thing.
This is the short version. I'm leaving out tons of dear friends and stories. I'll incorporate photos later, though they're already up at Picasa.
This video could not be left out though...

Big shout out to my friend Chrissy who flew in from LA and extended her stay. She's my best friend from college, yet I had no idea she was the kid-whisperer. She gave nature talks, help build forts, took dogs for runs...My god! She was truly amazing. I feel in love with her all over again.

Back in NYC, yes, we made it one piece. Nate was over-whelmed with how much Harper seemed to grow in two weeks. She's even more aware, she's quick on the draw, she's starting to get into crawl position, and she's starting to babble in syllables..."baba", "dada" we're still working on "mama". And she laughs if you laugh. Which is pretty awesome.

This week she had her first piece of toast. We sat on the living room floor and she had toast while I had toast with eggs. It was the first 'tea party' of many and it was one of the most incredible moments of motherhood thus far. Second only to lounging in bed and whispering back and forth to each other. Harper is going to be a great friend and it those moments when you are so sure of what the future has in store that you realize you are just where you are supposed to be and you are grateful for all you've been blessed with.

Harper has also started to bounce this week, spring with her legs from standing to sitting and back. She is pretty sturdy on her legs too. She may walk before she crawls! Well, she's doing her own version of crawling now...she uses her head instead of her arms to pull her body along. It's pretty funny. We've had to double her 'play area' to an area rug so she has something soft to crawl on.

This is the reason I decided to get up to date on this blog...

Harper can also do the stately Queen Elizabeth wave now. Not on cue, we're working on waving and kisses (right now she just presses her mouth to your face, like she wants to eat you). She spends a lot of time relishing all the skills she's acquired. We look forward to what's ahead of us while cherishing each and every moment of the here and now.
Speaking of...I have a baby who's sick of seeing her mommy at the computer...

Harper's 6 month check-up

Harper is growing well. She's 16 lbs, 12 oz (64th percentile) and 27" tall (92nd percentile). She's almost too big for her infant car seat!

26 & 27 Weeks: Going Back to Cali

Harper is becoming quite the Trans -Continental traveler. We made our second journey across this great country of ours sans Nate. Well...due to some crazy circumstances (an expired ID), he did end up coming to the airport with us and helped get us through security with the massive (and heavy) carry-on, the stroller, the boppy (a must when traveling with an infant), diaper bag, and of course, Harper. Harper hadn't sleep AT ALL the night before. I had been up since 2am. It was a rough start. And we were seated in the middle seat next to two very unlucky gentleman. I chatted up the flight attendants while trying to rock Harper to sleep in the back of the plane and as luck would have it, just before take off, one of them came over and said there were two empty seats at the back of the plane that we were free to move to after take off. This saved us.
My cousin, Patrick, works for Delta and used to work at SFO, so my mom dropped his name at the ticket counter and God Bless Richard, who let both my parents have gate passes and they greated us as soon as we came out of the jetway. Huge sigh of relief! We made the long flight to CA.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Each and every day. I forget how lovely it is to live in a place that is temperate pretty much year-round. Yes, you may need to layer, but there is not a whole lot of extreme hot or cold; certainly no mugginess. It was AWESOME. I realized how much of a genius I was to leave muggy NYC for two weeks. Leaving Nate behind was brutal, but at least he was now able to go on his annual golf trip with his college friends, so I hoped that would break up the time.
My parents were so excited to have some quality time with Harper. My sister and her family were up in Donner so it was just the four of us for the weekend. Saturday we caught up. Lazed in their beautiful backyard. Gave Harper a bath outside. Put her to bed a little early, given the time change. I went to be early too. My dad had installed black-out shades in my bedroom which was amazing. Harper slept from 6p til 2a!
When I switched on my phone to see what time it was, I got a text message from my best friend, Hannah...who was pregnant with her 2nd child and due to have a scheduled c-section on the 7th of August..."I think my water just broke"!, it said. How exciting! I get to be here when her second baby is born for two whole weeks, instead of two days! I went back to sleep, and when we woke up at 6a (yay, Harper! Good Sleep!) I discovered that baby H's arrival was moved up to 8:30 that morning. Texts flew back furiously between Wade (her husband) and me. Hannah even got snuck in a phone call before her epidural! It was so amazing to be in the same time zone as it was happening and know that I'd see them all before the end of the day. For someone who lives across the country for nearly everyone nearest and dearest to her, this meant the world.
Sunday Mom, Dad, Harper and I strolled down B'game Ave and went to see a Beatles Tribute Band and have a picnic in the park. It was a lovely way to spend the day. When the music was done, Harper went back to the house with my parents and I jetted off to meet Grady Patrick, 6lbs, 13 oz (a bit smaller than his older brother who was 9lbs, 2 oz when he was born two weeks early). When I arrived, it was just Hannah and Grady in the hospital room. He was such a little peanut! You forget how little they are when they're brand new! Wade and Ethan (the big brother) arrived just after me. Ethan was very sweet with his little brother. Kept wanting to see "my baby." I was so thankful for that afternoon.

The next two days my Mom worked, I shuttled back and forth to the hospital while Dad babysat H and we prepped to drive to the mountains. Tuesday night we drove over to Kristie's and had a great dinner with Harper's cousins. The night took a scary turn when Matthew bonked his head on a chair and promptly got a big goose-egg on his temple. But within the hour and a unrealized trip to the ER, all was fine and Mom, Dad, Harper and I were on our way to Donner...in two cars, because of all the stuff we had... exersaucers and strollers take up a lot of space!
Donner was amazing! I was so excited for Harper to be there for the first time. For those of you who don't know, my family has had a cabin there since 1979 and my entire childhood is filled with summers (and some winters) up there. The lake is fairly small. Only 3 miles long, 1 mile wide.
..to be continued...

25 Weeks: Some Like It Hot

Harper does. Her tea, her baths, her bottles. It's pretty amazing. She'll shoo it away until its as warm as she likes.
The girl can stand the heat. Which bodes well for the hours she'll (hopefully) spend as sous chef in the kitchen.

Harper is officially sitting up! She also, as her Grandparents Miles pointed out on Skype, starting to grow hair finally.

Watch her show off her new skills!

Not much other to tell about this week. Most of it was spent prepping for our big trip to California. Monday night I did get to spend out: Nate watched Harper and I headed to Midtown for a fundraiser for the show I've helped developed that is debuting at Cherry Lane Theatre for the NYC Fringe Festival. For The Love of Christ is not for the prim nor the proper, but it is a smart comedy which centers around the question, when Christ said, "Love your Brother as yourself," did he mean literally?

It was a fun night out with my dear friends, Ben & Heather. It was a success. I even won tickets to see Next to Normal on B'way from the raffle!

24 Weeks: Adventures in Babysitting

This was the week of Baby-Sitting! I covered two yoga classes and we had our dear friend, Will, come to town Saturday night. So...Harper, meet Susan. Susan, meet Harper. Susan is a college friend of Julee's from KU. She works at Bloomies and therefore has some odd week-days and evenings free. Susan is great for Harper. She's very involved at playtime. ... And she's very calm and assured, which is great for me. It was important for me to have the same person do all three days so we didn't repeat the Houston debacle...lesson learned...have H at least be familiar with the babysitter before leaving her for three hours.
Monday Susan was here from 8am til 11am. Tuesday Harper accompanied me to a casting for Lunesta. Wednesday Harper accompanied me to get my hair done and was the rage of the salon. "So big!" "So alert!" "So pretty!" The compliments came all day long. Harper was a trouper as she sat patiently during the two shampoos and was passed around the staff during the cut. Thursday Harper spent the whole day with Susan from 8:30am til 2pm... I got to grab lunch and a mani/pedi! How indulged am I?! Friday we rented a zipcar and drove to Union City for a Hasbro casting for me, which we snuck H into as well. They were looking for new moms and 6month+ babies who could sit up unassisted...and well, H looks 6 months and she can sit for 1-2 seconds without falling over, so good enough...now she's in the file for Hasbro and BabiesRUs!
Saturday was the big day. Or night, we should say. Susan came straight after work, got there by 7:30. We fed H, thought about putting her down for the night hopeful that she would sleep until we got home at midnight, then thought better. We hoped H would be in bed by 8. 8:30 I made the mistake of texting to see how it was going. NEVER DO THIS! Let the sitter call you!
"She's a little bit fussy, but she doesn't seem interested in sleep" was the text back. It made me laugh out loud. This is my daughter...she doesn't seem interested in sleep...she really doesn't. She plays happily as long as she's engaged. It could be worse. Way worse.
Still, I was alarmed, because though she doesn't act like she's interested, she does need her sleep. Nate went out and called Susan, told her to bounce on the side of the bed with H cradled in her arms, holding on to her outer hand (which we've dubbed the stone crab claw) and gaze into her eyes. (Don't know why, but if you look into her eyes, she shuts them...look away and they spring open...she's extra-sensory.)
She was out within 10 minutes. "Worked like a charm." I was so relieved to read that.
Of course, she woke up when we got home. But that was fine. Overall it was a success. And though we didn't quite have the sparkling adult conversation we wanted to (because we were both a little preoccupied and obsessed with how things were going at home), we did have a successful night away and hopefully it's one of many more to come.
Right about now, I'm longing to have family close, so we could practice this more often.

Harper continues to work on her vocal repetoire. This week: Squealing. She can now sit up by herself (for up to 5 seconds) and she continues to work on her 'standing'.

And now...we boogie...

23 Weeks: Ladies who Lunch

I forgot to mention 4th of July weekend! Wow, last week was busy. We went a barbeque in Park Slope with some friends from my old band. It was a pretty mellow affair. We were home and in bed by the time the fireworks started, which was fine because they switched them over to the Hudson River this year, so we couldn't see them anyway. Sunday we headed over to NJ to hang out with Pete and Tara by their pool. We never got H in the pool, but she did sit up unassisted for one or two seconds.

Bedtime Story: Think Like a Chef

Look! No Hands!

Harper seems to have turned into an Elephant this week. Here she is showing off her new skills and soaking the front of her dress.

Harper, the Pachyderm

H has really been into grabbing her feet this week. Whether lying down or sitting in her stroller she seems to go into Happy Baby Pose. Monday afternoon we were hanging out in the backyard and she looked up to the sky when she heard a helicopter. I was impressed... Don't know that she knew it was a helicopter, but she's keenly aware of where sounds come from. Tuesday we were strolling down the street and I peeked to see if the sun was in her eyes, it wasn't...she was holding up her crinkle book to block the sun. She's a genius. :)

Wednesday we borrowed a car (Thank you, Elizabeth & Andy) and headed up to CT for the afternoon. This was Harper's first visit to Auntie Sari's house since she was born. She was an instant hit with Sari's cats, it was very sweet to see them all checking her out. H ate, we changed diapers and cars and drove with Sari, Joan and Debbie to Madison to Ann's for lunch. (Wwax family trivia: Ann went to SMU with Kristie's Mother-in-law! They were in the same sorority.)
It was a lovely lunch. Sari has the best girlfriends in the world. They are all so much fun. Always game for a good time and always doing for each other. It was fun to induct Harper into this circle. Everyone was impressed with her smiles ,her table manners and her love of 'walking' at just five months old.

Thursday H was in great humor. We had lots of fun with laundry and ribbons (who needs toys?!?). Later that night I got a well needed night out with my friends, Ben & Heather. (Thank you, Nate!)

Ribbons in the Sky Keep Me Laughing

This whole week Harper has been sleeping like a champ. Sunday night she managed to talk herself to sleep. Monday was tough. We let her cry for a long while, but eventually she dropped off and slept soundly through the night. Tuesday was better. Wednesday not a peep. I could get used to this...

Saturday we met up with our friends, Julee (Carrie's sister) and Brad and went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and then had a picnic in the park. It was a beautiful day. We always have a great time with Julee & Brad. I wished the day would never end.

Sunday we had brunch in our backyard with some of my friends from my old band. We got to introduce the newest member, Dori to the crew. It was so good to see everyone...bittersweet too, Elizabeth & Andy are leaving NYC next month to move to Denver.
It's finally getting to be summer here in NYC. Such a dilemma...get out and enjoy the day or let H get her nap in... I have a feeling all these days about town are about to kick us in the teeth.

Genius

Harper just looked up in the sky when she heard a helicopter.  

22 weeks: On the Town

General recipe for getting Harper to sleep: cool, dark room, swaddle, bouncing or walking in Bjorn facing in (course good luck getting her to stay asleep when you're transferring her out), humming or singing softly, ocean waves to drown out the A/C, the construction, ambient noise. Creaky floors optional.

We've found the 'sleep begets sleep' adage is pretty true with Harper. If you get her to nap around an hour & a half to two hours after she gets up, right when she starts rubbing her eyes and yawning, she's pretty easy to get to sleep. She'll even stay asleep after you put her in her crib if you wait till she's dropped off a bit. She might even ignore startling noises early on...after an hour though anything will wake her, even though she needs to nap at least a half hour more.

It's definitely true that no-sleep begets no-sleep. If she doesn't get at least two hours of solid napping in a day, it can take up to three hours to get her to sleep. The bedtime routine is good, but it's not THAT good.

So now that we have the ground rules laid out...let's break 'em! (We all need to get out!)

Harper has been to her first rock concert!
She got the whole director's row to herself. She went back stage. She even passed out. So...technically she didn't meet the band, but they met her.

The Laurie Berkner Band played Town Hall here in NYC. It's an amazing venue. The band has expanded to 4 with Laurie singing and playing guitar, Susie on keys, Adam on bass and Bobby on Drums. It's such a great show. They have a sweet set that has a scrim which incorporates art-work from all of LB's repertoire. After working with Laurie and the gang for 8 years now it was pretty trippy being there with my own daughter. The woman in front of us joked that we were there more for me than for her. I suppose that was true.
Shannon, Corinne and Katie really took care of us; made us feel like VIPs. It's something that I will treasure for a long time.
Hopefully we'll go to another once Harper can sing for herself.

That day Harper also experienced her first picnic in Prospect Park to celebrate Andy's 30-something birthday. Happy Birthday, Andy! Andy and Elizabeth have just decided to move to Denver. Yet another amazing couple leaving us for more affordable housing and an easier life-style. It was a spectacular day in the Park. But we had to get home to get H to sleep by her bedtime. No fair keeping her up while we're trying to work her sleep schedule out.

Since one must take advantage of every sunny day (there have been so few!), we've been getting out a lot more. Harper and I met two new baby friends this week: Dori, 3 weeks old, belongs to Mary & Gene (who used to be a band with me) and Lincoln, 10 weeks old (& survivor of congenital diaphragmatic hernia), belongs to Ashlee (friend from High School) & Jeremy. We also got to meet my mom's tap teacher and good friend, Deb & her husband, Lee.

Dori & Mary

Left: Lee & Deb, Me & Harper (hitting), Lincoln & Ashlee
Right: Lee, Ashlee, Jeremy, Lincoln & Deb

That was an interesting afternoon. Harper sat up by herself for quite a bit. She started to fall forward and held herself up with her hand. She did well being passed around, but started fussing and reaching when I was holding Lincoln. She followed that up with a swat at poor Lincoln when we took the picture. I couldn't believe she could be that possessive!

Aside from that, Harper did very well on her outtings. We always let her get in a good morning nap before we leave for the day. She's not so good at napping on the go, but we try to bump up her bedtime if she's had a particularly busy day. It is still time-intensive to get her to sleep (and recently to stay asleep). I'd say we're about 1/2 way there. But she's definitely getting more sleep and it shows. She's so much happier and can focus on playing and learning.

Now that she's mastered the sitting thing, she's loving to stand and walk the length of the couch (of course, holding on to our hands). She's reaching for toys, hair, anything really (child-proofing starts now!). Her feet actually touch the ground of her exersaucer. She's really wheeling around in the thing; turning herself to whatever toy she wants to play with. She does love to purposely rock the exersaucer back and forth though she doesn't have ultimate control over that big dome of hers. 'Weebles wobble but they don't fall down' springs to mind.

21 weeks: No. Sleep. Til Brooklyn!

My dear, sweet baby and I have gotten off track somehow. We used to start each day at 7am (and this was when she was two weeks old and getting up every three hours to eat). We'd turn on all the lights, say hello to various rooms and objects around the apartment.

Once Harper started distinguishing day from night and once she started sleeping longer in between night feedings, I think I started to realize just how sleep deprived I was. In the past month, the only thing that has been regular about Harper's day/night routine was that she would wake up at 4 or 5am, eat and want to play which promptly earned her a spot between her dad and me in the big bed and we'd all sleep some more. Dad got up for work at 7:30. Mom got up when Harper got up. (and I think Harper got up when Mom got up)...usually around 9.

I knew this was not the best thing; that she was supposed to be going down for a morning nap around 9 instead of just waking up. Yet at that point, sleep, no matter when it was garnered, was a very welcome thing. Even the Dr. said it was fine. It was like she was taking the morning nap first thing, right?! Well...wrong... She would only nap for an hour (at the longest) twice a day. Which left me with so little time not in mommy-mode (hence the delay in updating this blog). And the effort to try to get her down at night proved that she needed a better schedule. We all did.

So all this week we've been trying to get up by 7am. No matter how the night went before us. Harper would go down around 8a the beginning of the week...by the end it was 9a. Her naps have been longer (well those not disturbed by construction or heat). If she woke up, I'd get her back down is she could. Girl needs her sleep! And I realized it's not HOW she gets the sleep (ie. in her own crib, falling asleep on her own)...it's that she gets it. Period. Be it Bjorn, Stroller, Sling, Bouncing for half an hour, Music, Ocean waves, Air-conditioning (sorry planet, I'm usually nicer to you, but I've got a baby with heat rash who needs to sleep), Fan, Pacifier, Bumper, Lavendar scented pillow...under her legs, Swaddle, No-swaddle, or Cuddling in the big bed...
We'll worry about bad sleeping habits once she's getting good sleep. (New moms: learn from my mistake!) I mean it's great if you can get your kid to sleep on her own, by my kid...she needs help. At least right now. And she's getting it. Even if it kills me.

One of the highlights of this week though: trying solid foods again. After all, who can sleep on an empty stomach.

20 Weeks: Don't Mess with (Harper in) Texas

We just got back from Houston. Harper did incredibly well and is quite the seasoned traveler. She even had her own seat! She ate and slept most the flight there and slept the entire ride back. 2.5hrs is the perfect flight time with a babe her size.

Houston was great. It was so much fun to see Carrie & Tim and their boys, Will (3.5) & Nick (1.5). They've grown so much since we saw them a year ago. Will was very sweet to want to share his queso dip with Harper. And Nick was very good about only touching Harper's feet. He's been nick-named 'The Destroyer' by his big brother, so we're pretty happy that he was so gentle with his new friend. It was so wonderful to see the three all hanging out together for the first time. The first of many!

Harper got her 1st experience in a swimming pool on Friday. There was a perfect little shelf for us to sit on...it was almost like taking a bath.

Friday night we arranged for Carrie's babysitter, Marta, and her daughter to come watch the kids so we could have dinner with Marc and Charlotte (who just moved to Houston from NYC). This is how came upon the subject of this week's post. Of course, it wasn't the best idea to let Harper fall asleep just before Marta arrived, but we were hoping she would just sleep through the whole experience. We should have known better. 15 minutes after we walked out the door she woke up. Probably just as I was turning to Carrie and saying, "I should be more nervous about leaving H with a total stranger, but I'm sure Marta is great, so I feel good."
Dinner was great: the menu and the food was truly impressive. We were just about to order another bottle of wine, when I suddenly felt the need to call and check in. Carrie and Tim insisted that if there was any problem Marta would call us. I hemmed and hawed. And was just about to...the phone rang. I could hear Harper crying in the background. Marta's daughter said they gave her bottle. They gave her some more. They poured over our 2pgs of instructions and can't find anyway to soothe our little girl. Then she said, 'Wait. She's settling down. We'll call you back." 30 mins later, we got the call: Please come home! There's nothing we can do here.
When we walking in Harper was still crying. All poor Marta (mother of 3 who has watched Carrie's kids for 2 years) could say was, "Maybe she has colic!"
Harper is still hoarse from the whole experience...
But she quieted down the minute I picked her up. Needless to say we're trying to earn back her trust. She been waking herself ever since just to make sure we're still around.

Saturday we went to Marc and Charlotte's for lunch. They are currently renting a 5 bedroom house with a pool for the same price they were renting a lofted 2 bedroom in TriBeCa. My god! They have a beautiful back yard, a wine cellar and rooms to spare. Charlotte has the biggest closet I've ever seen. We could've sat and had tea in there.

Saturday afternoon we hit the pool again. Harper was starting to really enjoy the pool. And she looked so cute in her DG anchor swimsuit (courtesy of my big sis, Rachel). It was so nice to lounge around in a backyard that wasn't infested with dust from construction or mosquitoes. I thought...and it's this nice in December?!? I could get used to this.

At 20 weeks, Harper is really starting to come into her own. It's obvious that she's ready to mobile. She will now grab for things when she's sitting up, almost as if she imagines she can crawl over to get them. If you lay her on her belly, she'll push with her feet against you and belly-crawl along the floor. I help move her hands forward and she'll push forward some more.
She's mastered sitting with assistance. Now she's onto standing.

She still loves to stretch, babble and when she whines, it really sounds like she's saying, "Mah-mi!" She still fights sleep...she's an very alert and curious baby. But she's always quick to smile and coo. Even when she's about the hit the great wall of fatigue. Once she's hit it though, there's no turning back. She loves to be bounced, she even needs it sometimes to calm down. And she needs the dark to sleep, otherwise she'll just pick out new things to stare at and contemplate. We would think she did have colic if she wasn't in such a good mood 80% of the time.
She loves to sleep in though! She wakes up at 4 or 5 in the morning just to come in bed with us and sleep in til 9! She loves to hold hands. She's keenly aware of who her mom and dad are: our voices & our touch. She loves to lay in bed between her dad and me, holding both our hands. It's very sweet. She'll pull our hands into her temple and nuzzle against them.

We're returning from Houston with renewed drive to get this sleeping thing under control. Stay Tuned!

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

I was extra good today because I knew it was Mommy's birthday. I took a nap in the morning. Played and laughed all the way through Yoga so Mommy could find her smile. And then I slept two hours in the afternoon! Though I did give Dad a bit of a hard time getting me to sleep, once I ate an extra 4oz. I was out like a light.

Happy Birthday, Mommy! I love you. xo Harper

19 Weeks: Rolling Over!

Harper loves her play gym. It's basically a mat on the floor with various toys dangling from arches overhead. It's a wonderful way to start the day. She plays as I get ready. Its wonderful to see her play independent of me. 'Course she doesn't mind if I join in the fun, but she's generally good for at least 15 mins alone. Except for the other day. I was on the computer and she started to fuss. I came around the corner and voila! She was on her tummy with her hands stuck underneath her. Holy Moly! She did the more difficult one first!
Today we were at yoga and she rolled over to her belly, so I moved her hands out in front of her...to give her some tummy time. And pow! She rolled over the other way!

She also can sit up now with minimal help: just holding her hands. And she LOVES to sit up. She is trying to do it on her own constantly...jutting her little chin forward and forcing her upper back up. Between that and how much she kicks her legs, she's got abs of steel under that buddha belly.

She's a happy baby. Save for night-time. She's been into being carried around the past week. She loves to look over the shoulder, so she can chew on your yours as she takes the view in. She fights sleep. She always has and now she's older and more of a fighter. She also wakes up every time you try to leave her in the crib... We'll figure it out sooner or later. It's kinda hard when the routine never gets established. And we're always on the move. Next weekend we're heading to Houston! We need to get Harper her own frequent flyer number!

4 Months Old and Trying Solid Food

Happy 4 Months to Harper!

She is growing up so fast! She's starting to hold her own bottle, eager to control her eating. We tried to give her some pears...she made some funny faces and didn't really seem that taken with them, but we'll try again today. She's starting to roll around (not all the way around, but close!) to her tummy. She's beginning to show signs that she wants to sit-up on her own; though she's still doing the adorable bobble-head whilst sitting. She loves to look around as ever. She's fascinated with faces. She's a joy to interact with. She's quick to laugh at whatever strange audible you can come up with, which is humbling...hey, I'll do whatever it takes to get a giggle or even a smile.
And of course, she babbles and coos all the time.

This week we had such a lovely time with Grammie Wax. We do miss Daddy...He's fishing up a storm in Minnesota with his Dad, his brother and his dad's fishing partner. He caught a monster Wallie his first day. I think they're all having a great time.

Daddy's Big Fish

Speaking of great times. Saturday Grammie, Harper and I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. It was so beautiful. All the roses were in bloom. It is such a lovely place to go. I don't know why we've only discovered it this year.


Sunday we went to Grace Church and Harper was blessed by the minister there. We had coffee and pastries afterward, took an afternoon nap and then strolled the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. It was a gloriously sunny day. We decided to head over to Pacifico for fish tacos...Harper slept through dinner...she's such a good baby.

Monday we were thinking of our Grandpas all day. It was Grandpa Wax's actual birthday & Grandpa Miles was enjoying his birthday gift of last year: the fishing trip. Harper wanted to share her sweet wishes with them.


Course we couldn't leave out the Grandmas.


It stormed a lot in NY that day, but we managed to get out for a stroll in the late afternoon and I made Grammie Wax's favorite: linguini and clams for dinner. Harper slept in her swing all through dinner. :) Tuesday was Grammie's last day. She spent the night in with Harper while I went out to meet some friends. We were so sad to see her go! I've got four days flying solo.

Wish me luck!