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!