Not shy about it

We went to the library today to kill time between gymnastics and Harper's doctor's appointment (no, she is fine, both are healthy as can be. we are just tired of waking at all hours of the night for the past week and wanted to rule out ear infections. Harper does not have any reason to complain and so she will have to cry it out. I digress...)
And while we were at said library a dad came in with three little boys, one of whom was about 5 years old and apparently terribly shy and not wanting contact with any other kids he did not know. Harper did not get the memo. It was as though this kid had a target on him. Lucy and I were sitting on the couch reading books and Harper was playing on the floor when they came in. The little boy expressed his not wanting to have to even walk past us and his dad sort of coaxed him to another corner of the room. But there was a problem. Harper hadn't said hello yet. She promptly crawled at warp speed over to him. He whined and cowered and tried to escape. It was now a game. She scrunched her nose, giggled, squealed and crawled like lightning over to where he hid. This went on a few more times (even after I replaced her right back in front of Lucy and myself) and yet, she could not get enough of this kid. She thought it was great that he would run and hide from her.
It only ended after he relaxed and realized that she was a baby and just interested in what he was doing and showing off her baby tricks. As soon as he stopped running, she lost all interest. Boys as playthings, I'm sure it won't be the last of that game.

Matching fish

I am sorry to say that we went swimming yesterday with the girls in their new matching swim suits and I did not take a single photo. It is a bit challenging taking photos and making sure that neither daredevil drown, so I opted for no photos. Next time, maybe.
It was a sight, though, and all loved the new suits. Especially the girls. Lucy loved that they matched, Harper loved the skirt on the suit and the feel of the fabric.
As usual, Lucy turned purple and was ready to get out of the water after about an hour. Harper on the other hand, was taken out of the water protesting the entire time. I stripped her down on the side of the pool to take off her nasty wet diaper and she kicked and mouthed to me the entire time, trying to get back to the water.
It could be a long, wet, tiring summer with these two. Lucy likes to be independent in the water and Harper wants to do whatever Lucy is doing. Plus, Harper is a little daredevil. She'll be the one that is dangling one toe over the deep end while laughing at me as I scramble to catch her before she drowns. Of course, Lucy is a tattle tale so that will help. Can you hire personal lifeguards? I may need one in about 2 months.

Shopping with mom

Lucy and I had our first shopping trip today. Not our actual first trip to a store, of course, but our first "I'm paying, now pick out what you like" outting. You see, Lucy is very choosy with her outfits. I had bought a couple things for her a week or so ago and she recieved some things in the mail a few days ago. Much of it she loved, the other stuff elicited comments like, "I will never wear that" or "I don't think I really like that" or "I don't like that color. Or that shirt or those pants. You need to find me something I will like." So, we did just that. There really isn't any rhyme of reason to her selections. They don't involve characters or a particular color or style. I made the returns and handed her her very own gift card and let her choose what she wanted. She was already concerned about sizes, opting always for the hangers that had "green numbers" (2T) instead of the ones we needed, the ones with pink 3Ts. I guess she wasn't ready to move up a size- just like a girl.

We were needing a snack but also needed to hit another store to pick up a bday gift for Aunt Taylor, which Lucy was super-excited about choosing. We took the selected items to the cashier, Lucy paid and we took them to the car, in the rain. We had bought a bag of chips in the store, Lucy sat in the passenger seat of the car and we ate a little snack. She thought she was so big sitting in the front. Then she said, "I wish I could be a raindrop. They look like they are having so much fun sliding down the windows." I agreed. Then she added, "Thank you for bringing me shopping. I'm having a really fun day." Me, too.

Little Elephant

Harper has discovered the joys of spitting. Well, she has known this particular joy for months now, but now she understands the ability to get a reaction out of any one of us. If she hears anything that sounds like spitting, razzing, elephant noises, etc, she promptly responds with her own version. It will leave you soaking wet, in Harper slobber, and is not always such a great trick (when her mouth is full of cheese, for instance). The reactions go something like this: Lucy responds with her own elephant and razzing noises; Ian usually encourages it by making noises of his own and laughing; and I usually remind everybody that spitting is not a very nice trait, all the while trying not to smile at the fun she is having. I wake to elephant noises, I clean up after them at mealtimes and I am covered in their aftermath several times a day. An elephant is a tough pet to keep.
On the other hand, Harper has not let go of her inner-monkey either. This usually comes in the form of very loud screaming and jumping around. She loves to join in on loud noises. When we are at the gym for Lucy, she loves to squawk when the kids get loud. When we are at the indoor pool, she outdoes the children splashing around, even if they are years older than she is. At home, Lucy is no contest for how loud a Jefferies girl can be. Being loud is pure fun for her. I'm sure our neighbors do not feel the same way.

Breaking through

Harper has another tooth coming in. Well, we think it has actually broken through and is now not so painful. A few days ago, a totally different story. Harper, usually a pretty smiley, sweet, happy kid, turned into a biting, crying, mean little tot. She would be sitting in my lap happy as can be and then arch her back, throw her head into my chest and bite me. Then she would raise her head, look me straight in the eye and smile. Then cry. It was a long few days when you factor in the not-able-to-sleep through the painful nights factor. There is nothing like having to get out of bed, only to be bitten on the shoulder by your teething 10 month old, at 3:30am.
Speaking of being 10 months old, Harper is really becoming a little toddler. She is constantly on the move, she repeats sounds, words and phrases all the time, even if it is mostly mimicking. She is also learning all of the requisite "tricks" that babies learn- reaching up to show us "high" and reaching to the sky to show us "so big" and waving bye, bye or wiping her mouth (or your mouth) with a napkin. She is beginning to show preferences to her baby dolls and stuffed animals and even colors when given the choice in balls or cups, etc. She loves fabrics and will drape Lucy's clothes or dress up clothes over her face to feel the different fabrics. She eats all her snacks at the "little table" with Lucy and now attends storytimes with her big sis as well. She loves to get people to laugh, she loves rough-housing and loves cuddling. She screams and heads for the little table when she sees a bag of goldfish crackers come out and she screams and yells "mo mi" (more milk) when she sees her bottle being prepared. She holds her hands up when she wants to be held and she is stubborn as can be when she wants to do something and is told no (such as playing with the stereo, removing the door stops from the wall, attempting to tear up library books). She loves to swing, get tossed into the air and be tickled. I suppose these are typical for a 10 month old and I suppose that Lucy went through all of these same things at about the same stage, but they are new to Harper and we love experiencing them with her.

Poser

So I stopped photographing Lucy, per her request, but much to her chagrin I kept photographing Harper. So, the tide has turned. She now wants to jump into most photos and even requests me to take her photo at times. Case in point, I was taking video of her at gymnastics and she began cheesing for the camera, as though I was taking photos. Not to be outdone, Harper began grabbing the camera and showing me her teeth, and snorting. I guess they are both ready for their close-ups.

Who needs hot cocoa?

We had 6 inches of snow fall upon us Sunday night and were therefore "snowed in" all of Monday. To pass the time Lucy and I went outside and were joined by Ronin. They had had enough after only a shortwhile and decided that they needed to take the fun inside. To warm up? We made snow cones. You see, whenever I make Lucy hot cocoa she gets super excited and then lets it sit and get cold and refuses to drink it. It's just not her thing just yet. So I went with scooping up snow and adding flavoring. It made her infinitely happy and she is ready for one at all times now (and reminds me so about every hour).

Caught with her pants down

It has been noted that Harper can be a bit of a rascal when it is her naptime. She is just too busy to settle down but too tired to stay up so she ends up just getting in trouble. This includes pulling anything she can into her bed, bouncing up and down, talking, trying to bend the mini-blinds back that are on the window next to her bed and whatever other mischief she can manage to get into. See for yourself. This is the first time this happened, but not the last. Harper is small anyways and with all the crawling, climbing and cruising she does she is not getting any thicker, just widdling away so she has a hard time keeping her pants on. Unfortunately, she thinks that this just adds to the fun. She wears them on her head, she plays peek-a-boo with them (by herself) and she tosses them around like a ragdoll. Eventually she decides to go to sleep, with or without pants. It's tough being 9 months old. You have to be really inventive with the ways you get into trouble.

Ice Skating-?

When you live in a small space, it is cold outside and you have run out of activities, anything sounds like fun to a 3 year old. Here is Lucy "ice skating" in our living room in her skates made out of waxed paper and rubber bands. We actually got nearly 30 minutes of peace out of the acitivity which was complete with twirls and jumps and pummeling of little sister.

He's Baaaack!

Ian was in London, England last week. After a week of managing the girls on my own, he was certainly a site for sore eyes. Very tired eyes, actually. He got home and within a couple hours he was passed out on the floor and I was asleep on the chair. No big deal? Well, I awoke to the sound of the girls fighting. Yep, we fell asleep on the job- both of us. And of course, Lucy didn't want Harper messing with some toy and Harper was determined to get said toy. Just a small milestone that Ian missed while he was gone- sisterly fighting. Lucy better watch out, Harper is a little monster, she is stubborn, determined and a bit wiley.
But back to the reason I was writing this entry. The girls missed Ian terribly. In fact, he had only been gone for about 3 hours last Sunday when Lucy was told to "knock it off". Really, he hadn't even been gone as long as a day at work and she was pouting and really laying it on thick: "I miss Daddy. Harper misses Daddy. We are so sad. I feel like I want to cry. Harper wants to cry, too. Aren't you so sad, Momma?" The right intentions, just maybe a little premature 3 hours after his departure.
But when he returned there was nothing artificial about the reaction. She had made him a sign, she was watching out the window for his taxi, she was jumping up and down and she was so excited to see him. She just wanted to sit on his lap and take him in.
Harper was a little more subtle. She was having a snack in her high chair and she sort of just smiled and stared for a few minutes. Then she little out the little piggy face we know and love- snorts and crinkled nose and giggles and a big show for her daddy.
And then, we passed out and they got in a fight. Just your average evening around here. Welcome Home, Ian!

My Pops

Lucy is in love with a man. Her Pops. It is amazing how much she talks about somebody she doesn't get to see very often. She tells me, "Pops is the greatest. He is a great man. He can fix anything. Do you know that he fixes things? Yep, he can. He can do anything."
The other day she was telling me how great he was and Harper started to say "Pops" in response to Lucy. Lucy looked at her very sternly and said, "Harper, he is MY Pops. He fixes things for me. You just can't say "pops" like that." Of course, Harper continued her babble. Good thing they have three grandpas- if Harper was smart she won't choose a hero, three grandpas is never a bad thing when it comes to attention, gifts, love and, of course, getting things fixed around the house.

Big Girls!

Lucy and Harper enjoying swinging together- this was followed by sliding and Harper eating mulch and Lucy "serving" her more mulch. What a fun game!

You can also see that the girls are starting to have snack together at the little table. Harper loves it and thinks she is so big. I love that her feet still stick straight out, little shorty. Snacktimes usually consist of Harper acting like she is much bigger than she is, Lucy having to defend her turf since Harper is trying to eat both of their snacks, Lucy finishing, getting down and playing elsewhere in the house and Harper going nuts because she can't get down fast enough to follow Lucy. It doesn't matter how much food she has left, how hungry she is or if I sit with her, I am no substitute for seeing what cool things Lucy is up to next.

Also Heard on Tenth

Lucy is not the only talker in our home these days, Harper is quickly catching up. While she has dropped some of the words she was saying before she has added more, and some more complicated words to her daily speak. She learned the "n" sound so now she is saying "no, no, no"- usually after she gets in trouble and she says "night night". She reserves the latter for bedtime and cuddling, but also says it to Lucy when Lucy is in her face too long, it's as though she is saying, that's enough Lucy, go to bed now.

She is also showing us her strong will. She "argues"when told no. She will mouth all sorts of things back to you and raise her voice to prove her point. These rants usually consist of "no, no, no", "Mamama" and grunting. She hits, she throws tantrums and she will beat on the girls' bedroom door if Lucy is in there and she is not allowed. Strong willed indeed.

She is saying something that sounds like "mine" although we aren't convinced that is actually what she is saying, it may just be part of that "mama" tantrum sound. She does say it at the right time though, when she is told to take her hands off of something she really wants, like computer wires, like right now.

I have been trying to teach her how to put things into a bucket, not just to empty such things. She loves it as a game, I love the idea of her being able to clean up her own blocks! I hold a block up in the air and wiggle it in my hand to get her attention and I say "Up high" then drop it into the bucket and say "down low". She has not gotten the idea of putting it into the bucket, but she does hold blocks up in the air, waving her little fist and says "high!" then she throws the block or holds it down and says my next favorite thing "Harper!"

That's right, she has started to say her own name. It comes out like a sweet little whisper "Hoppa". It's the best and she says it all the time. She has started to pat me on the chest and say "momma" and I pat her on the chest and say "Harper". Then she repeats her name. Pretty smart!

Heard on Tenth St. Feb. 2009

It has been noted that Lucy talks... a WHOLE LOT. While not every bit of info is worth an entire blog entry of its own, some definitely deserve mentioning. Really folks, we have no idea where she comes up with most of this stuff. She's smart, she absorbs everything, she has a very active imagination and she thinks she is funny. With that being said, here are a few things heard on Tenth St recently:

• "I have a new song to sing to you guys. It's called 'Bag of Germs'". This is where Lucy began singing a song about catching coughs and Harper being stinky.
• "I hope Daddy comes back home." This is said often and pretty much daily. Lucy is obsessed with us all being under the same roof at all times. She pretty much acts as though Ian leaves for months at a time, without warning, and we aren't sure when he will return, never mind the fact that he arrives in our home by 6:15pm each and every night. (Imagine what sort of nonsense his upcoming travel will elicit from that mouth!)
• "Daddy, this is where I lived when I was pregnant." This was said while Ian took Lucy to the bathroom in a restaurant one night. Yes, she claims that she lived in a men's bathroom, in a restaurant, when she was pregnant.
• "This is what construction workers wear." While wearing a construction hat, fairy wings and a princess wand, on her scooter.
• "We can get a new house, but then we have to move back to Belle View when Harper moves out." Uhhh, maybe she knows something we don't?
• "I want to play soccer on a team. And Daddy can play, too." When I interject that it is only for kids she adds, "well, they don't know my Daddy can play soccer."
• "Those boys were really bad." This is said all the time, and usually she is right. It does seem that we often run into naughty little boys that Lucy finds amusing and shocking all at once.
• Her mealtime prayers have taken on a new vibe. She used to just say "Dear God, thank you for this food, Amen." It was said under the breathe, in 1 second flat. Now her prayers are at least a minute or two long, are free form and you never know what she is going to say. Our favorite prayers are when she starts to say one, stops and then starts all over, as though the first prayer was not living up to her expectations. She always says "Dear God, thank you for the animals, baby Jesus, the angels and God." Sometimes she adds other people, and she almost always repeats God. In other words, she is thankful to God, for God, many times over. We are just thankful that she is, indeed, thankful.

No photos, please

You may have noticed that there are not many photos these days of Lucy. That is because she will not have her photo taken. In fact, when I try to, I usually just end up with the back of her head or some sour puss face- neither of which are very nice for posting.
The one thing she doesn't mind- talking. We are exhausted by the chatter. I explained to Ian a couple weeks ago how tired I am at the end of the day because there is so much talking (mostly nonsense) all day long. It isn't that he didn't believe me, it is just that he needed a weekend to see it in full effect. Our usually chatty little 3 year old has morphed into a person who never shuts up. He now knows. I tune her out much of the time ( I just can't imagine why I care that "baby turtle is sad because he just doesn't know and that he will feel better when baby dolphin comes over to sleep in his house, where he lives with "Gnarly, the giraffe" while the groom makes everybody breakfast since they are going to school and zoo for days and days and all kinds of stuff and in time and then they will have a tea party and Harper can have a tea party and all the animals can come, except baby polar bear who has to take a nap. Hey Alex, come her bud..."- this was the conversation that Lucy just had while I nodded my head and typed her monologue word for word.- See what I mean?)
So no photos, please, but she is always available for comment.

Roosterzilla

Harper is 9 months old this week. She went to her check up yesterday, got a couple of shots (hardly even cried) and charmed the pants off of everyone there. They actually called her the flamingo since she was showing off, standing on one leg and waving one arm. The are predicting an early walker.

She now weighs 15 pounds- a lightweight with no sign of putting on weight now that she is on the move constantly. She is cruising the furniture and trying to climb anything and everything.

She also talks. And talks and talks. She is a little mimic. She will "woof" when the dog barks, she will say "dog", "duck", "quack", "hi", "bye bye" and momma, dada, and whatever else she thinks she can manage at that moment. In fact, she is starting to sing along with songs in the car- especially ones about ducks. She will even wake in the middle of the night just to talk for 20 minutes before going back to sleep. We all hear it, we just don't respond.

We call her roosterzilla because she continues to be Lucy's personal godzilla- taking down block towers, zoo set ups, train tracks, and towns in a single movement. The rooster comes from the fact that she continues to have some of the most ridiculous hair and squawks when being her most destructive.

She loves her belly button and actually had one of her cutest moments ever when she was at the doctor, in her diaper, sitting on the exam table, checking out her belly button. When the nurse came in, she just flashed her a grin and went back to her excavation. She eats, and eats, and eats. Today she discovered french toast- inhaled it, she also loves blueberries, cheddar cheese, apricots, and sandwiches. Spaghetti and meatballs became a favorite this week as well.

9 months has gone by awfully fast. I'm sure as soon as the weather turns warm for good her birthday will seem right around the corner. In the meantime, we will continue scurrying her away from Lucy's tiny toys, taking dog food out of her mouth, and letting her explore things like mulch, grass, ears, and bathrooms.

Bed Bug

Harper is trouble. She is also in trouble quite a bit these days. She likes to crank up the stereo, steal Lucy's things, play in the dog's food, stand in the bathtub and most of all, stand during her naptimes.

The latter two are the two things she knows she will be disciplined for, and she still does them with a wicked little smile on her face. Numerous times she has been brought out to me at bathtime because she wouldn't listen to Ian and sit down. That slippery little fish insists on standing in the tub. After many warnings to sit down and many attempts to keep her sitting, she is whisked out, kicking and screaming and unhappy that Lucy gets to stay in the tub. She is deposited on my lap, wet and angry and determined to get back to the bathroom.

And naptimes are not any better. In fact, they are worse. She and I battle it out each and everyday. It starts with a sweet sleepy little baby, sucking her thumb, reaching for her bed. Then it ends with me repeatedly going into her room and laying her back down. She now sees me coming and instantly starts screaming and throwing herself backwards. This would be fine, except that she forgets to look behind her and routinely throws herself into the side of her bed, bumping her head and making the entire situation much worse. She will finally give up and whine herself to sleep, knowing that the quicker she falls asleep, the faster she can resume her naughtiness.

The Baptism

Lucy is obsessed with planning a baptism for La La. This primarily includes filling many bags with random things- "things to do in church, things to eat in church, a change of clothes and some toys for the party". For days our family room had a designated spot where all these bags had to remain. Finally, I had had enough. Not only was the house being overtaken by bags, but we were quickly tiring of the baptism discussion. She used the word "baptism" no less than 5o times an hour. So we set a time, and the holy waters began to flow.
The baptism included the lighting of a candle, a prayer, pretending to hold La La over a fountain and pouring water on her head and (as Max did in church at his baptism) taking a bottle to "keep her calm". La La also had the neccessary oils rubbed into her head and a final prayer.
La La is now annointed and there is no more talk of a baptism, and that my friends, is a truly blessed event.

Polar Bear Hunt

Now that Harper is crawling, Lucy has a victim to play any and every crazy pretend game that she dreams up.
Right now Lucy is exhausting herself by trying to get Harper to follow her so they can go on a "Polar Bear Hunt". Lucy is saying things like, "Come on, Harper. Why are you moving so slow? Don't you know that Polar Bears will eat you? You must not care that Polar Bears will eat you. Come this way and you won't be scared. Come on Harper. Come this way, Harper. And I won't be angry with you. Santa will be there and Mrs. Clause will be there. Do I need to leave you here at the North Pole? If you don't come with me you will miss the fun. Come on!" Harper stops every time she hears her name, sees something she wants to play with or to rest. Or to dance. She has moved maybe 5 feet in 15 minutes and Lucy is perturbed. Oh, and Lucy is wearing binoculars around her neck, a fireman's hat and is trying to get Harper to wear another fireman's hat, which, of course, obstructs her entire vision while wearing. But Harper is playing. Smiling and saying "daddadadada" over and over and following the leader.

On the Move

Harper is a full-fledged crawler now. It is still somewhat slow going and most of her crawling is just to get to something so that she can pull up on it, but she is a girl on the move. Lucy has met the challenge of having to keep all little, teeny (I mean, teeny, teeny, tiny) little toys off of the floor and has mixed emotions about having a little sister that can chase her. Chasing Lucy is, afterall, the next best thing to pulling up on something to stand. Lu thinks it is hilarious that Harper can play little games with her and can follow her to do something. She does not find it amusing that Harper can (and will) now wreck all games, scene set-ups, and perfect little worlds that Lucy sets up all over the house. Harper is Lucy's personal Godzilla.