11 Weeks & What a Good Traveler!

Harper has now been to three new states!

We headed home to Kansas this past weekend. We flew into Kansas City, MO. We were very nervous about our first flight with H, but she did really well. She fussed a bit when we got on the plane, I could feel the eye-balls searing toward our seats, but she quickly fell asleep for two hours (of course one of those hours was sitting in line to take off...ah, JFK). She ate a bottle in the air. Wish I had a picture of me sitting down to change her on the 1st class toilet (lid down), Harper on my lap, Nate handing me the wipe, then fresh diaper, making sure H didn't wriggle herself onto the bathroom floor. She fell back asleep for the landing. Big sigh of relief...the first flight was a success!

The 3hr car ride home to southeast KS was another matter. Enough was enough. In her defense, she was tired, dehydrated, over-heated (we went from 50 degree highs to 80) and completely unaccustomed to her car seat. We had to stop and feed her 15 miles from home (Thank you, Morris Furniture!), but as we learned, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Harper's grandparents were thrilled to see her. She was still awake when we got home and she promptly charmed them with her cooing abilities as we changed her for bed (I think by now she knows it's a cool thing to do...she was showing off all weekend long) . She slept very well that night in a new crib with real wind and nature noises instead of recorded ones from her ipod and in real heat with just a onesie and a blanket! It's so fun to see her chunky little arms and legs.
On Friday we took H to meet her great-grandmas. Again she showed off her 'talking' skills. It was such a delight to watch Alvaretta and Ethel Faye fall in love with our little angel.

Friday night, Nate's brother, Scott and his family came over to meet the little lady... she was asleep. Huge bummer. Sarah, our niece, came a bit early, so she did get some time before we put her to bed. Sarah's really excited because there is finally another girl in the family.

Saturday the whole clan came over! Harper's Grandma Nancy has four sisters, so Nate has lots of cousins. There were two other babies in attendance, 4 week old Josie (also named for Ethel Faye whose nickname is Grandma Joe) and 4 month old Kamryn (who looked a lot older, but I think that's because all the babies in my family are bald til at least their 1st birthday).

Grandma Joe, Harper, Nate, Kylie and Josie

It was so much fun to see all the family. It'll be amazing in a year from now when all the babes are on the move. Though Harper did take a nap part-way through the party, I believe everyone got a chance to see her. Holding her is a different story, she's a lot more inclined to want to lay down and 'talk', but she'll let you hold her if you're giving her a bottle.

It was a whirlwind weekend, and not just because of the tornado warnings. It was great to see Harper with her family again. I know they miss having her around. There was lots of talk about just leaving her in Kansas... I know she's be in good hands, but I just had to take her back home to Brooklyn.

By Sunday night I wished I had spared her. Our plane was delayed an hour in KC, then we were rushed to get on the plane and get out before a storm front hit. Two hours into the flight the pilot announced we had to divert the plane to Cincinnati, OH because a flight attendant was ill. She seemed fine. Could be a precaution with the swine flu on everyone's minds. They made us de-plane, gave us a replacement aircraft that was smaller - so we had to wait for 20 people to make other arrangements, we took off two hours later than we were supposed to land in NYC and when we did land, we had to walk down the flimsy stairs to a bus with no lights and no place for luggage to the bowels of the terminal where two flights of stairs lay ahead. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but when you've got a car seat, the base, the stroller, the pump, the diaper bag and an exhausted baby who has not slept but has yet to meltdown you start measuring every obstacle. Thank god there was another couple with a baby who knew to ask to take the freight elevator.

Once again the car ride home was not Harper's favorite thing we did all day. But look at how sweet she was while we waited in Cincinnati...

She showed her parents that she can take the travel lumps as they are dished out...which us grateful as we look to the flight home to CA in a few weeks ... 7hr flight, here we come!

10 Weeks Old

Harper is definitely getting older. She's starting to deviate from her usual 3hr cycle. She's awake a lot more during the day. She goes to bed around 7:30, wakes to eat at midnight & 5, then sleeps til 8:30!

She loves to watch toys or my hair spin, dangle, sway or shake over her face. It really makes her smile. She's fascinated with her hands this week as well. Next step...reaching!

She's getting stronger. She can sit like a bobble-head doll if you hold up her back. I can tell she thinks it's a strange way to view the world, but she always likes new things to look at.And no luck hoisting her way over the shoulder anymore whilst trying to eek out a burp. She now pushes up and screams directly into my ear or if she's really hungry, my face, while simultaneously trying to eat my nose.

We're slowly (and I mean slowly) transitioning her to sleep in her crib. She hasn't really been a fan previously, even though its directly across from her Happy Place, the changing table. I have to admit it's pretty nice to be able to roll over in the dead of night and slip her pacifier back in and buy myself some extra moments of sleep. We'll see...

Today she got more vaccinations...she was not happy about getting a shot in the leg again and has been spitting up ever since. She's pretty mellow and sleepy for now. And doesn't mind being held...which makes her mommy happy.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Today was the first official really nice day. It was sunny. It was hot! So we decided to head to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens to see the Cherry Blossoms. I don't know if we missed the explosion or it was just too soon since we've had a very cool spring, but there were only a handful of cherry trees blossoming. They were indeed beautiful, but they were also mobbed. Apparently we weren't the only people with the bright idea to take advantage of this beautiful Saturday.

We did, however take some fun pictures. See the slideshow of April for more...

Happy Birthday, Grammie!

Happy Birthday to Grammie Weatherwax!

And happy Tax Day to everyone else out there.

In her own words, Harper tells the story of how she was so tired from feeling bad all weekend that she slept for 7 hours straight.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter and Happy Spring. For Easter we went to our friends, Kurt & Sally's apt for an Easter egg hunt. It was very sweet, there were lots of big kids (toddlers) and it was very nice to have something to do! Sally even Harper her very own Easter egg & basket!

This past weekend was a tough one. H was not feeling great after her immunizations...lots of tummy aches and spitting up. It was touch and go for a while.

I'm happy to report she's feeling a lot better. This morning she was all smiles and lots of talking. She's a huge fan of gurgling her spit, rolling her R's and making little bubbles.

Love from our family to yours!

Two months old and two feet tall!

We just got home from the Pediatrician's office. Harper is now 11 lbs. 14 oz (80 percentile) and 24" tall (96 percentile). She's growing real good. She took her two shots like a champ too.

Can't believe she's already two months old. She's starting to sleep 4 and 5 hours during the night (for now). She only fusses when she needs something (for now). We're settling into a great groove (for now).

Last night we even left Harper with her first baby-sitter so we could attend a farewell dinner for our friends, Marc & Charlotte, who are leaving NYC for Houston. (Are sensing a pattern with all our friends...we sure are.) It helped that we left H with our very trust-worthy, very loving and very competent friend Joanna. I was a wreck the first 30 mins, but once I heard Harper was sound asleep, I gave a sigh of relief and knew she was on her best behavior.

Yesterday was a long day. Harper and I went apt. shopping in Prospect Heights, Vinegar Hill and Brooklyn Heights. We covered quite a lot of ground in the Bjorn. And in the snow! Yes, that's right, it snowed here yesterday. Crazy.

Hope everyone has a lovely Passover and a Happy Easter.
xo The Miles Fam

Harper has something to say...

Enough of mom talking for her, Harper wants to give all of you a piece of her mind...