Harper

This one is all about my Harps! In case you missed the post on her ornery brother, Max, here it is.

Harper is the sweet and sassy girl to a T. She is a girly girl who loves to sing and dance. She is often found sashaying around the house. (No, really. She doesn't walk...she struts. It's hilarious!) She smiles to get out of nearly everything. And because she is so stinkin' cute...it almost always works! Stinker! 

She is the free spirit. She will often sing and talk to herself. (I posted a video below.) Harper marches to the beat of her own drum. She flirts and talks to everyone she meets. She is not shy and doesn't know a stranger. If you feel slighted by her brother's standoffish personality, she makes up for it with hugs, snuggles and kisses. 

She is not a dare devil. But she is a talker. She talks up a storm. Harper can repeat anything we ask her to say. She may not know what she is saying yet but she can say it. However, we have been super impressed with her verbal communication. She knows most animals and animal sounds. She can name and point to main body parts (eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, tongue, toes, feet, arm, hand, fingers, hair, belly button). She is getting pretty good at her colors too. I am amazed on how much she is learning. 

We were out Black Friday shopping (but much later in the day) and I told Harper that she was "so pretty". She said "Harper's pretty" as clear as anything. It cracked me up. 

We were waiting to see Max's doctor for his ears a couple weeks ago. There was a picture of a fish and she started making fish sounds. Then reading a book about an elephant, she acted out the elephant's trunk while trumpeting like one. I am in awe of our smart girl!


Some of Harper's favorite things:

• Sitting on anyone's lap...she will just back herself up into your lap and plop down
• Dancing to Disney Jr songs when they come on
• Nonnie--her grandma
• Saying animal sounds---her favorite is "Meow"
• Coloring
• Destroying paper
• Pizza
• Hot dogs
• Bath time
• Putting her coat/jacket on---but don't try to take it off. Geez!
• Uh-oh
• Throwing food down for Bella
• Throwing toys over the baby gates and into the kitchen
• Running---all while twisting her hips as she does
• Being chased--"Harper I am going to get you" sends her into a giggling fit
• Painting
• Brushing her teeth
• Playing bubble pop on the tablet
• Her Minnie Mouse doll--she says "Meeennnneeeee"
• Waking up in the morning---she is always her happiest
• Putting shoes on
• Reading books---to herself or getting read to
• Wheels on the Bus
• Looking at picture albums
• Cheez Its
• Cookies---anything sweet. She has a sweet tooth and loves it all!
• Taking her socks off and losing them around the house
• Pigtails (She looks adorable!)
• Being wrapped up in her bath towel
• Wearing scarfs or even blankets around her head
• Carrying her purse around
• Hugging her brother

This girl loves everything so it was hard to think of things she DOES NOT like. 

Harper is a good little eater. The only thing she now won't touch is bananas and she used to love them. She can put away meatballs and spaghetti like it is her job. She is smaller than Max by height and weight. 

She is also teething again and those top molars are no fun. She handles it better than her brother but she is definitely uncomfortable. 

Harper's hair is growing like crazy. She won't leave barrettes in so we usually have wild and crazy hair or in ponytails. 

Girl loves her accessories!

Loving on her brother

-Lisa-

Max

There is just too much to possibly update. I felt like if I was forced to give each baby kid their own post, I would focus on showcasing who they really are and what they have been up to.

So...up first by birth order (11 minutes that I am sure he will hold over his sister's head at some point)...Max!

Maxwell is a rough and tumble boy for sure! He climbs. Stairs, couch, coffee table, TV stand, crib, toys, baby gate, people...anything is fair game. He will literally stack things upon things just to climb them. This has presented quite a challenge to our baby proofing. We contemplated getting rid of all furniture in our living room at one point. He was standing on top of the end table hanging from our living room curtains. I was literally looking away for 60 seconds. That's all it took for him. He thought it was the best time of his life.

That's another thing...his giggle is the cutest. More than his giggle, though, are his facial expressions. His face tells it all. When he is doing something he shouldn't, his face is mischevious. My favorite Max face is when he is confused or asking if something is hot. Gosh it melts me everytime!

Max also is the best at giving kisses. His sweet pucker makes every friend or family member giddy. This is because Max is a picky guy. He takes awhile to warm up to people. He may hide his head in our legs for the first few minutes. Then, he will sternly tell people "no" if they even remotely look like they are interested in talking to him. (This is usually accompanied with him swatting hands or even air away.)

He is emotional. He is sensitive. He loves his mommy. (And I love that!)

Some of Max's favorite things:

• Books--the boy will sit in your lap and read for hours
• Itsy Bitsy Spider--he loves the hand motions
• Saying "Don't touch" to anything and everything he knows he should not touch. But he says this while touching the said item
• Climbing--see above
• Grampa--he is obsessed with my dad
• Bella--or any dog but especially HIS "Dog-dog"
• Coloring
• Playing outside
• Saying his name "Maxxxxxxx"
• Destroying paper
• His belly button
• His sister's belly button
• His mom's belly button
• Ok...belly buttons
• Pizza
• Hot dogs
• Bath time
• Putting his coat/jacket on
• Uh-oh
• Throwing anything and everything
• Naming his body parts
• Meow
• Biting his sister whenever she ticks him off (getting better but still does it!)
• Running
• Being chased
• Lights
• Painting
• Giving night-night kisses
• Playing bubble pop on the tablet
• Building blocks
• His paci---yep he is still hooked on this thing but only at nap times, bed time, or in the car. Will he ever give it up??
• Putting shoes on
• Cleaning up--he loves to put toys and books back where they go
• Following commands--he loves when we give him a job "Take this to Dad" or "Throw this away" "Put your clothes in the hamper"
• Wheels on the Bus
• Cars
• Maw maw and Paw paw's cat

I am sure there are many other things in Max's list of favorites. 

Max and Harper both had their tubes placed in July. Harper has had no issues. But poor Maxy has struggled with ear infections still. We finally just had to take him into see the ENT again. They sucked out his ears with a vacuum thing. They also placed a small ear wick. He is nearing the end of his 14 days of ear drops. Then, we take him back in on Wednesday to get the wick removed. I am hoping this makes it all better for the little man. 

Max is still taller and bigger than his sister. However, I don't know exact information and probably won't until our next appointment in January. 

He is teething again. His top molars are coming in. Poor little man has been miserable the last couple days. I think we are on the tail end of this round...hopefully!

Max is up to three haircuts now. He even had his "Uncle" Toby cut his hair at a real barber shop. Max broke his Aunt Carrie's heart but Dad wanted to take his boy to the barber. Toby is married to one of my long time best friends. He did great!

Not a fan of timeout??

Head first down the slide!

I just love my boy! He brings so many laughs to our family. 

Now...for me to get Harper's post ready! (She is pretty special too!)

-Lisa-

Weights, Royals, and Scratches

Max and Harper are 15 months old! We are close to saying they are 1 and a half. A HALF! They turned 15 months on the 11th but for some reason their age sinks in when we make a visit to the doctor. We had their 15 month appointment today. They only got one shot this time. Woo-hoo!


Dr. C was impressed by them. They are meeting their milestones way ahead of schedule and are growing right on pace with what they expect. They are just normal toddlers. We are even experiencing temper tantrums. Bad! Max throws himself on the ground and kicks, thrashes, and rolls around on the ground all while screaming in this ear-shattering high pitch squeal. It. Is. Awful. Sometimes it is hard not to laugh. He just looks so pathetic. It is mostly caused by not getting what he wants when he wants it. (He has a really tough life.) For now, we are just ignoring the tantrums in hopes they go away. After a few minutes, he will pick himself up and then act like nothing has happened. He will go back to playing, talking, and smiling. Such a little weirdo.


Max weighed 22.25 pounds and was 30.5 inches long. It put him in the 30% range. His head circumference was, of course, in the 78%! Harper weighed 21.81 pounds and was 29.25 inches. It puts her in the 24% range. Her head was in the 50%.


They really are changing so much. They are losing baby weight and looking like kids.


We live in Kansas City and it is such an exciting time for our city. My husband and I have been huge Royals fans for our entire lives. When we met, we instantly bonded over our love for our Kansas City sports teams. We have been to many games and are so excited to FINALLY see our team in the World Series. I was 2 the last time they won the World Series! Max and Harper are destined to be Royals fans (and Chiefs fans). They don't have a choice.

Also, remember me telling about Harper's scratch she got at daycare? (HERE) Well, the doctor thinks that this is going to be a permanent scar for Harps. I am so sad for her. It is on her face. I understand that a scar on her knee from falling or a scar on her finger. But her face! He said it will lighten and fade some but it looks like she will always have it. We are using Mederma for kids. Any other ideas of what we can use? She is still as cute as can be. I know it could have been worse, but it just makes me so angry that she will always have this. I hate to blame our daycare or the daycare worker. But I find myself doing just that. I think it makes me feel guilty that it could have been prevented if I didn't work...they wouldn't be at daycare. I know I need to let it go but it makes me feel so bad.

You can see the scratch of her right cheek in the above Royals photos and here is a closer one from last weekend.

More "non-update-like" posts are floating in my mind. Still just clearing it out so I can really focus on writing again.

-Lisa-

Where Has the Time Gone? And other updates

Max and Harper have been growing, changing, and learning so quickly! They are over 14 months old. Seriously. It seems like they should still be like this...

But, really they are toddlers like this...

So, our house is a lot louder. It is filled with giggles. Blocks banging. Screaming from fighting over toys. Furniture being moved. Doors of our TV stand being ripped by the hinges. But gosh, it is so great!

Our house is also a disaster area. We now need new floors and refuse to have people over until it is done. (We needed new floors B.B.-before babies-but now we really need them!)

When can they start helping clean up??

They are learning machines, I tell ya! They literally can repeat anything we say. I told them "dangerous" when trying to rip the safety outlets out for the 100th time. Pretty soon, anytime they go near the outlets and we say "no", they say "dangerous". It's adorable. They talk all the time. We don't always understand their babbles but for the most part we can communicate pretty well. They sign "more" but also say "more" now when they sign. They say and sign "all done" and "milk". They say "uh-oh" for everything. Here is another list of their words: night-night, bye-bye, hello, hey, ball, dog, momma, dada, no, thank you, diaper, toothbrush, Bella, Grampa.

Many other words they can repeat but they don't really use when they are talking to us regularly.

They are not only walking, but running. So that's fun!

They climb like champs. On furniture. On us. On each other. In fact, Max has now started this aggressive hugging. I know that seems like an oxymoron but seriously, he starts hugging Harper sweetly and then winds up tackling her to the ground where he holds her down. All while appearing to be a loving brother. Poor Harps! She also gets the brunt of his biting. Although, I think he is getting better with this the more he learns to communicate.

We started a Timeout Corner. At first, I thought they were too young for this. However, daycare is teaching us a lot about what they can do! They sit at a big kid table, sleep on cots (not cribs!), and play on playground equipment.

The daycare teacher sent us proof that they sleep on cots when I didn't believe her.

Grandparent's Day at their school (All four of their grandparents were there!)

Big kid activities mean they get in big kid trouble too. Harper nearly fell off the slide on the playground and a teacher had to try and catch her and wound up scratching her cheek. Poor girl got a nasty scratch but I will take that over a head injury any day!

Harper's scratch

Max impresses us with his engineer mind. He inspects everything to figure out how it works. Then, this happened!

How the heck does a 14 month old make block towers?! That just seems crazy to me. Such a smarty pants! He thinks everything through...you can see the wheels turning. Usually, he is plotting his next move to get around the barriers we have in place or to do something he is not supposed to do. But he is such a lover. He gives the best smooches and hugs. But he also has a cry that breaks your heart. (Along with an ugly cry face to boot!)

Harper is the sweet, cuddly girl. She melts your heart with one glance. Her eyes smile from deep inside her soul. She is such a Momma's girl too! I love that. When she is sick or tired, only Momma can make it better.

Loves Momma and Me Selfies

They love this tub! No idea!

Both have been cutting multiple molar teeth. How awful for them?! They are handling it like pros. Harper still only has two top front teeth, three bottom front teeth, and now FOUR molars! Max has four top front teeth, four bottom front teeth, and now TWO molars! They are both working on more too. Thank goodness for teething tablets. They have made all of our lives better.


I have no idea how much they weigh or their height. We go to the doctor in October for their 15 month checkup. I would guess around 21-22 pounds. They wear size 4 diapers now and 12-18 month clothing. They are short so we usually have to roll their pants so they fit them. My shorties!


The twins have had their ear tubes in their ears for a couple months nearly...but we see their doctor that did the surgery this week. Max has an ear infection now but the tubes just let the infection drain out. It is gross! We put in ear drops a few times a day and wait to see the doctor. Hopefully, that will make it all better.

They eat everything in sight. Heck, they ate chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant last week! They are going to eat us out of house and home. And our dog is loving cleaning up the food they purposely throw on the floor.

No more ravioli in the middle of the day!

They sleep really well. There was one night last week that Max woke up at 2am. He didn't ever go back to sleep. He didn't cry, just thought it was play time. He didn't nap until 12:30!!! It was insane. And Jeremy and I were exhausted too! But normally, sleep is great. Although, I miss the rocking and soothing a bit...we just lay them in their cribs. They go to sleep on their own and self-soothe for the most part. Max still MUST have a pacifier to sleep. But he is pretty good about finding it in his crib in the middle of the night in case it falls out of his mouth.


Our lives are so busy. Between my two jobs, Jeremy's job, my parents' anniversary party, Halloween costumes, organizing closets, Zumba classes and trying to keep an organized chaos with the rest of the house...I am exhausted! But it is so much fun!

New Classroom before school started

Now some other random pics of the last two months. I have not been great with taking too many pictures so I am sorry!

They love bath time and splashing us. 

Max is now obsessed with his Tickle Monster hands

Pigtails!!!!!!!!!

Watching Dada mow

Dinos

See you soon!
-Lisa-

Very Hungry Caterpillar Party (Late Post)

Better late than never. Their party was over two weeks ago now. I worked on crafts and such for the week before the party so I will highlight my handy-work...but fair warning...I am not a crafty person. Thank goodness for Pinterest! Ha!

I ironed on their customized transfers from Etsy. Adorable and affordable!
I made this banner out of cardstock, printed caterpillar and month labels, ribbon, hot glue, and clothespins. I saw the idea on Etsy and shamelessly made my own.
I printed out the many labels of what the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate in the book and glued them to colored cardstock. I put this around the food table. 

The clothespin banner turned out really cute. I printed their monthly picture collage that I have done all year. 

My attempt at this great Pinterest idea that I saw. 

They didn't quite hang the way I wanted but worked. 

We had their party at a great park in our city. It has a huge shelter house. We reserved the shelter house back in April. My worst nightmare occurred as I pulled up an hour before the party to decorate. There were a TON of people in the shelter. It was posted that we reserved the shelter but people apparently joined in anyway. I am not a confrontational person so going up to MULTIPLE (yes, about 5!) birthday parties and telling them we reserved this and they needed to leave. It was awful. A few people were angry. I explained and showed my proof of payment. I started off nice and cordial but the people that wanted to challenge me, I was probably less than nice to them. They eventually left and we had a lovely time.

Our favors! I just printed a thank you message (with caterpillar, of course!) and glued them to lollipops and favor bags.
We also had a bin of candy and bubbles.
The way I displayed the lollipops required some engineering. I had the plastic pails so filled with rocks from our flower beds. I then hot glued a half sphere of styrofoam. Then could just slide them in. 

I didn't get a close up picture of the cupcakes or cakes! Ugh! I made the cupcake toppers. I again, printed messages with caterpillars, 1, and their names. I then cut them out and glued them to colored popsicle sticks. Their smash cakes and cupcakes were done by our local grocery store and turned out great.

Some hotdog and watermelon before the festivities. 

We brought their wagon to the park to do their presents. Otherwise, they would have ran off a few minutes into it. 

Max loved the tissue paper. 

Great friends got them these Cozy Coupe cars. I love the personalized plates!

Definitely a favorite gift!

Harper refused to wear the hat.

 It was such a fabulous day with family and friends. We loved it. So did they!

-Lisa-