Cardio by Harper

Back in my early "adulthood," I told my G-ma and G-pa that whenever they decided to get new furniture, I wanted their awesome, retro, bright blue couch. This couch is the heaviest couch on the planet, but I've been taking naps on it since I was born. It holds sentimental value to me for a lot of reasons. My favorite Big Blue Couch Memory is that I was laying on that couch when we first heard Harper's heartbeat during a visit from our midwife, Colleen. I'm pretty sure that all but one check-up with Colleen started with me laying on Big Blue, and getting goosebumps of happiness as soon as she found his heartbeat. One time, my Mom (Grammie) was there for the appointment, so the very first time she heard his heartbeat, I was laying on Big Blue too.

I love this couch. If I ever have to part with it, I will probably need additional therapy.

I'm not sure if my G-ma and G-pa would be thrilled, or horrified, to see how much 2 1/2 year old Harper enjoys Big Blue also!

How you see Harper in this video is how he is with everything - nonstop, loud, intense, entertaining, active and exhausting! 

We love our gregarious boy <3

Aunt Nicolle and Aunt Shortney

One of the highlights of my summer was finally introducing Nicolle to Harper. Nicolle is one of my dearest friends. Missy and I visited her in Denmark, and even though we haven't lived in the same city for a looooong time, we've always kept in touch. We've seen each other a few times since Harper's birth, but the stars never aligned for the two of them to meet. They hit it off instantly, and it made me so happy to watch them play =)

Another highlight was when Courtney came to visit us! Harper loves playing with her, and Courtney was very impressed with how well he spoke, and how big he was =)

Neither of these "Aunts" live very close to us, so we don't see them as much as we would like. I love that Harper always warms right up to them - it makes me feel like he understands and trusts how much I love these ladies <3

End of Summer - Harper-Style

The past couple of months we...

...enjoyed eating in the backyard during Boppa Dave's September visit,

(pretty handsome 3 generations, wouldn't you agree???)

 ...enjoyed Harper's first Lane County Fair,

(and by enjoyed, I mean eating greasy food, and looking at the "aminals")

...which we also got to enjoy with Alice,

...mastered Harper's "fake, school picture smile,"

...saw what fair onion rings looked like after being chewed up by a 2 year old,

...watched a momma pig nurse 10-12 baby piglets,

(and that made pumping for 9 months seem like a walk in the park!)

...got ready for another AWESOME Oregon football season,

(Sweet jersey courtesy of Grampa Jim and Nona)

...got Harper using the potty, and washing his hands using the sweet stool his daddy made him,

(he also uses it to brush his teeth, "wash" his toys, and get into stuff that used to be out of his reach)

...enjoyed a few outside activities before the rain starts,

...made sure Quampa had a good reason for his sore back,

(not like Harper ever has to convince Quampa to pick him up!)

...charmed Aunt Missy,

...got Grammie her Vitamin H,

...swam in Grampa Jim's and Nona's pool,

(and by swimming, I mean being held by either myself or Grampa Jim)

...was scared of the big pool, and played in the kiddie pool instead,

...was comforted by Nona and treats next to the pool,

...played in many parks,

...posed for many pictures,

...smelled the flowers,

...and had lots of fun swimming, picking blueberries, eating blackberries, snacking on cheetos, having a love/hate relationship with the dogs, and getting lots of love and attention at Grampa Jim's!

The Summer We Potty'd Hard

Yes, I'm unbelievably waayyyyy behind in keeping this blog up-to-date.

But, there a few moments from this summer I need to note on here in case I before I forget.

I am POTTY-TRAINED, hear me RROOAAARRRRRRRR!!!!

Doesn't this picture show it all? That's right! Except for nighttime, we are a diaper-free household! To be completely honest, when I was pregnant with Harper, I was already stressing about how daunting the task of potty-training sounded. It sounded impossibly exhausting, and Harper would have to be a willing participant if it was really going to work. He got a Toy Story potty for his 2nd birthday from Grampa Jim and Nona, and we used a sticker sheet at the beginning. He would get a sticker for each thing he did like sitting on the potty, and washing his hands. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and Harper has been doing SO well with it. Whenever we go somewhere new, I make sure to take him "to see what the potty here looks like," so he thinks it's exciting, rather than scary to go somewhere other than home. He's a smart little guy, and I'm glad he made this potty-training summer a success!

New Oregon Jersey (thanks to Grampa Jim), and big-boy underwear (courtesy of Mommy)

The other stories I want to note on here are about Harper educating others about bad words. One day, he and I were at the bank, and as we were waiting in line, Harper turned around to tell the man behind us that, "Bitch is a bad word." Thank goodness this guy was nice (he told me afterwards that he has a 4 year old), and he just replied, "You're right, it is! What a smart guy you are!"

Two days later, I'm in the kitchen, and I hear Harper playing with Buzz and Woody in the living room (yiving room as Harper says it). He was making the two Toy Story characters have a very animated conversation, when I heard, "Woody - F*ck is a bad word. We don't say f*ck because it's bad."

Out of all the "bad" things my child could be doing, I'll take educating others on bad words over playing with fire anyday!