A Rocky Start to a Lovely Christmas

A few days before we planned to leave for Christmas in Chicago, Murphy started acting a little weird. I took him to the vet, and they did some blood work, but none of us were too concerned...he just seemed a little off. I had an appointment to get x-rays done on the morning of the 18th, but on the evening of the 17th he unexpectedly took a turn for the worst and died on the way to the vet :( They think he potentially suffered a severe trauma and died of internal bleeding. We buried him that night, talked about memories and tried to process the whole sequence of events. Murphy was a great kitty, and he lived a very full, adventurous life. We loved him so much and memories of Murphy will be in our hearts forever. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up in heaven pouncing on Jesus' robe and causing trouble right this second.

Murphy being a trouble maker


The morning after we lost Murph, we jumped on a plane and headed to Chicago. Although I was very disappointed with the timing, it ended up being a blessing to be out of the house for a while. This might have been the most fun Bret and I have ever had in Chicago. Bret, Harper, Mitch, Addie and I loved playing in the snow and enjoying the real winter weather! We went ice skating, sledding, shopping, exploring, took pictures with Santa, ate tons of Chicago style food and celebrated Christmas Eve together! It was a trip jam packed with fun. On Christmas day, we made it home just in time to celebrate with Bret's family. It was all such a blast, I still feel in shock at the lack of action at home! I'll post pictures of our trip soon!

scowl

Harper's happy Halloween and our new ride!

This year, Halloween was much more eventful than last year. Last October Harper was just three months old and certainly couldn't appreciate what was going on around her! This year she dressed up like a little lady bug, and as she would say she looked "sooo toot"! We made our rounds and visited some Edmonds neighbors and friends, then we headed to downtown Edmonds for the big event down there. It was rainy and cold by the time we got there, and there were long lines just to get candy. Good thing Harper didn't really care if she got candy or not. Her two favorite parts of the event were the balloons and the doggies. She really couldn't have cared less about the candy or the fact that she was dressed up. After getting cold and wet in downtown Edmonds, we headed up to Lake Stevens to hang out with Kyle, Rachael and little Chase. Harper and Chase are finally getting old enough to play together a little bit. I think they will be great friends someday :)

Ladybug

First trick or treating experience

This is just after she knocked

Then she looks at Bret like "Okay Dad, nobody's coming!"

So she tried the door herself!

Making herself at home.

Harper and Peter Pan


Goodbye truck, hello Passat. In other Niebs family news, we finally sold the truck and got a family car! So far we are loving our Passat wagon!

August and September

Well, the summer is gone and fall is in the air in Edmonds. We are having beautiful fall weather so far, which makes the transition much easier. Our family had a great summer full of traveling, visitors and boating, however, we are all happy to be settling back into every day life. Now it's time to settle down, get some house projects finished and get ready for a new year of Edmonds Young Life!

When I look back over the past few months, I can't believe how much harper has changed. Soon after she took off walking towards the end of July, the words started coming! She can now repeat almost anything. Some of her favorite words and phrases are: apple, oh my, oh boy, oh no, up, hot, ouch, cool dude, so cute, egg, ball and shoe. She loves music and dancing, and she has even started to make some of her own jokes. Of course her silly faces are still coming, her newest addition is the grandpa face. We also taught Harper how to jump. It is hilarious to watch her doing what she thinks is jumping.

Earlier this month we had the opportunity to take a family vacation to the farm in Pennsylvania to visit my Mom's family. I had been dreading the plane ride for weeks, but to my surprise it was completely painless! In Pennsylvania we got to do so many fun things. We went to Hershey Theme Park on our first day with my cousins Amelia and Ethan. We had a great time and rode a total of 12 roller coasters! When we got home from the park the family celebrated Gramps' 98th Birthday! Whoa! In the next few days we saw cows, piglets, goats, chickens, horses and many other animals. Bret also got to ride in the combine while they harvested corn! A dream come true for him!!

We got to see piglets!

After five days in Pennsylvania we headed to my parents' house in Lagrange. Our time there was much more relaxing. We caught up with Katie and Carly, spending some time in the suburbs and some time in the city. One day we went to Lincoln Park Zoo with Katie, which was especially fun because it was free! Harper enjoyed all the little monkeys, probably because she is a little monkey herself. On our last day there, Bret and I went to New Buffalo Michigan where my family used to vacation. It was great to show him the place where I had so many memories!

We are now home and gearing up for our Young Life fall banquet on October 5th. This year we are going to have a silent auction for the first time. I am so excited about the items, I can't wait to see how it goes! Last Friday night, we had the first Kings Young Life club. I was thinking maybe we would have 25-30 kids...well, we ended up having 65!! Holy Cow! Praise God! I can't wait for more exciting things to happen this year!

Sleep Training Tid Bit

After months of trying to get Harper to "go down" and nap soundly, I finally decided that it was time for some sleep training. As much as I did not want to do this, it finally reached the point where it was absolutely necessary. Harper would only fall asleep in our arms, or in our bed and the process involved much crying, tossing and turning, protesting and a few bottles. When she would finally fall asleep we would move her to her crib where a few hours later she usually woke up shocked because she was no longer in the same place she had fallen asleep. I tried to start sleep training a few weeks ago while we were still at home with absolutely no luck. I now know that I was not paying attention at all to the signals Harper was giving.

I have found that the trick to successful sleep training is simply staying in tune to the sleepy signals that Harper is giving. When she is getting fussy and acting tired then it is time for a nap. She doesn't need to nap at the same time every day, which makes sense because every day holds different activities. The past few weeks when Harper started acting tired, I began our long intimate bed time routine. It consists of two or more stories, singing and snuggling. The precious snuggling time is the thing I will miss most about this little one falling asleep in her crib, so I need to make sure we still get that in. After the routine I lay Harper down in her crib and leave the room.

On the first few tries Harper would cry, protest and stand up. I simply went back in the room every few minutes, put her back down, gave her kisses and left again. Usually Harps would be asleep in the first fifteen minutes with a few exceptions when she cried for longer. My biggest fear was that she would feel abandonment, which is why I felt strongly that I should go reassure her every few minutes that I was still there and I still loved her. During this time I believe she was simply learning that it was night night time and her crib was the place she needed to sleep. After the first few days the transition has been virtually painless! The only time we regressed was when I failed to wait for the tired signals and tried to put her down too early. Harper now consistently goes down on her own with very little or no crying.

Although it was painful for a few days, sleep training has worked great for us. I think it is important for Harper to know that we will always be here when she needs us, but also that sometimes the steps to becoming a big girl will be tough (although worth it in the end). During the day Harper's attachment has stayed very healthy. She is continuing to be a loving yet independent child. We have made it past (hopefully) our toughest hurdle so far! Hooray!

The Chase!

Harper took her first alone steps at ten months, but for the past few weeks has needed a grown-up hand for comfort. Last week, though, all of a sudden she took off! We were in the dining hall and Harps and I left while Bret was still eating. I took her out to Main Street (if you know the 'bu) set her down and she just bolted back into the dining hall to see her daddy! We came back to our lodge and she bolted from the living room into the office to see Jessica! She has not stopped since then! She is a completely confident walker now and gosh it's hard to keep up with her! She loves stairs and she loves every dirty, dangerous place that I don't want her to go. So no more dirty crawling knees for Harper she is now a smooth walker! I also took a video of her adorable walking skills that I cannot post from Malibu but I will post when we get home!

Hans and Frans are doing great making kids laugh. It's fun to see them improving as time goes on. They are really in a groove now, and things seem to be getting easier for them. The campers have been very excited about getting "pumped up"! Everything at Malibu is top notch this session. Jeff has been blowing it out of the park with his speaking, Mark Wagner has been playing amazing music, and the workstaff has been working as hard as they can!

Jeff does a cool activity called "post secrets" where kids can write down secrets and insecurities that they've been carrying and hiding. The kids don't write their names, so it is all anonymous. Jeff then shows some of the "secrets" in a slide show and he nails others to a cross. For many kids this will be the beginning of a long process of healing. It is not all sadness though, because later this week he will reveal to them who the true Healer is. Hopefully in their cabin times they will be feeling both sadness and joy this week.

Malibu Times

Harper Loves It Here

Bret and His Cabin

MalibuuuYaaa!

We are now about halfway through our second week at Malibu. Last week, Harper and I stayed as guests while Bret led a cabin, and for the next four weeks Bret is on the Program team. He gets to do funny skits and make kids laugh. It's not all fun and games though, it takes a lot of hard work and preparation! We have hardly spent an hour together the whole time we've been here.

It's amazing to see God work though all the people at camp. These people have stamina that MUST come from God, because they are all working so hard. Young Life likes to do everything with excellence, and they are certainly succeeding here at Malibu! Last week I had the privilege of seeing a huge group of Edmonds kids accept Christ for the first time. Kids that we have been loving and walking with all year. Having the opportunity to be a part of something like that makes all the hard work that goes into camp worth it no doubt! We are praying for the same outcome at the end of this week as well. I feel so blessed to be here with my family to witness such amazing things.

Harper has made sooo many friends already, young and old! There are a few other babies to play with, but even more than the babies she enjoys the summer staff and work crew girls. I think that hardly any of them know my name but ALL of them know Harper! That doesn't bother me one bit though :) I'm so glad she gets to be surrounded by all these people to love her.

We've been working on sleep training since we've been here, because bed/nap time was getting very out of hand. I have been letting Harp cry, but checking on her every five minutes and reminding her that I'm still here. It's gotten better and better every time! It's so hard for me to listen to her cry though, and also hard to let go of our cuddle time together which I have come to treasure. We now have a routine set up so that we can still get some of the cuddling in. I am just beginning to notice some manipulative behavior from Harper and I want to make sure to stop it as much as possible before it really starts. She is just growing up so fast and is such a smart cookie!

A Walkin' Girl at the Beach!

In case you didn't already know...Harper is now a WALKIN' GIRL! She usually needs a hand just for security, but she has taken a good handful of steps on her own. She stood for the first time on May 17 and then took her first steps in the beginning of June at ten months just like her mama.

This past weekend while Bret was on a camping trip with his yl boys I had the opportunity to take my girl to the beach. Every time we get to spend quality time together I fall more in love with her. She loved the beach...and of course wanted to put everything in her mouth. It's very special for the Niebruegge/Wilson side of the family to see the next generation enjoy the beach house :)

Harper's Dedication, First Boating Experience and Other Funny Moments

On May 17th, Harper was dedicated by Pastor Richard at our church. It was a beautiful day both in weather and in happenings. We were so blessed to have most of Bret's family, and a lot of our friends at church. Richard introduced Harper to the church and asked them to support is in raising Harper and then prayed for our family. Harper's favorite part of the day was the amazing chocolate cake that Grandma Debbie made. She ate a ton of cake, and then sat in her high chair looking like she was in a coma. Over Memorial Day weekend, Krista and Adam invited us to go to Krista's family cabin in Vantage Eastern Washington. We were a little nervous to be with a bunch of people we didn't know very well...much of Krista's extended family was there. It ended up being such an amazing group of people, they were so warm and welcoming. Harper even mistook Krista's aunt Billa for my mom! It was so funny, and great. Harper loved her new Grandma Billa :) Harper loved driving the boat, but HATED her life jacket!
Other random funny Harper moments:
The beef pilaf that she hated (I can't figure out how to get these right side up)

pooping and eating:

This is Harper's angry face when she was trying to get the straw out of my cup.

March and April

So much has happened these past few months! I can attribute my neglect for the blog to being incredibly busy and to Harper speed racing around ALL the time! Life is so good though, Harp is happy and healthy and Bret and I are too :)

This is Bret chasing Harper, in the beginning you can see her run head first into the wall :)



Harper had a great first Easter. She had two beautiful Easter dresses, so she wore one to church and then one to dinner. We hid one of her baskets under a blanket on Easter morning, but she couldn't find it so we had to show her where it was. It was really cute...her favorite part was standing up on the handle after she found it. She also got to hang out with her favorite nursery worker at church. There is one lady that especially loves Harper and she always give her lots of one on one attention. It makes me feel great about leaving her there.




On April 19th, Harper was nine months old! It's amazing how time flies. Now, Harp has been alive for longer than I was pregnant with her. That is incredible for me to think about. At her nine month checkup, Harper was exceptional as usual :) She is still 90-95th percentile for height (she was squirming so much that the nurse couldn't get a completely accurate measurement)! Her weight is normal, a little on the slender side. The doctor was very pleased with her development and said that she is almost certain that little Harps will be walking by her next visit at one year. Dr. Hyde also enjoyed Harper's high fives. It was a very pleasant visit because at nine months there are no vaccines! Yippee!

This summer is going to be a great time for our family. Bret and I will both be taking YL kids to camp. Bret's boys to Malibu and my freshmen girls to Rockridge. Then on July 19th we will be off to Malibu for Bret's month long assignment on Program Team! I am sooo excited for our first assignment even though I've heard they can be tiring. How lucky are we that Harper will have been to two Young Life camps by her first birthday?! What an awesome way to raise a child. We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many great people!

It's been too long.

Wow...it has been way too long since I last blogged! In the past few weeks I celebrated my 24th Birthday, we took a trip to Arizona, and Harper has started speed crawling and standing on everything!

For my 24th we went out to a Mexican dinner and then to a place called Valhalla for some 80's style dancing. It was so much fun! I absolutely have the greatest friends ever! This is a picture of me opening a present.



As a Christmas gift, Bret's Mom and Dad took us all on a trip to Arizona for spring training. So last week Tom, Debbie, Zack, Kelsey, Jesse H, Bret, Harper and I headed off to sunny Phoenix. The weather was absolutely beautiful...couldn't have asked for better. We got to go to an M's game, take a desert tour, lay by the pool, and even go out for a fun night of karaoke! Gosh, I never wanted that trip to end. Harper enjoyed herself...crawling all over the carpet and enjoying the many mirrored doors around the condo. We also had a fun visit with Aunt Kay Harris who lives in Arizona!

Sooo hot at the Mariner's game

The Desert Tour

Always loves to see herself!

The carousel

Yesterday we went downtown to a really cool indoor carousel on one of the piers. Harper was totally serious the whole time until I lifted her up to see her reflection in the mirror :)



They also had an arcade...so this one's for daddy

crawling pic

she crawls, stands and waves

Harper officially crawls and stands now! Yesterday Bret left Harper in the living room while he went to grab a pair of socks and when he came back she was standing up next to the coffee table! She is now doing this consistently! She also waves...it is absolutely the cutest thing ever. I will post crawling and standing pictures asap!

Madi, Jake and Alex

Monday night we had Young Life club, and it was a very special night for us. The reason it was special was because some of our most dear YL kids, Madi, Jake and Alex are leaving for Italy until this summer. The three are siblings.

We have been doing a kid testimony every week at club for the past few weeks. This week Jake gave his testimony. It was an amazing step for him to get up in front of everybody and talk, something that this kid never would have done a year or two ago. Hearing what God has done in Jake's life was incredible. He talked about the emptiness in his life before Christ, and how he has dealt with his mom's addiction to alcohol. It is a truly miraculous transformation. We loved Jake before he met Christ, but he has grown into such a great guy and is now so easy to love! Madi and Alex are very special too and we will miss these three incredibly!

Harper's tooth

Harp's first tooth is popping through on the bottom. She doesn't seem to mind very much! She does, however, stick her tongue out all the time now...I think she's trying to feel her new tooth :)

She is also starting to get stranger anxiety. Kurt tried to hold her today and she got the most terrified look on her face. Hopefully she will warm up to our friends more, but I can appreciate a little stranger anxiety :)

Hilarious quiz

So I answered the questions first, then I asked them out loud to Bret...

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
J:Definitely HGTV
B:HGTV

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
J:Definitely ranch
B:80% Ranch 20% balsamic…not mixed, either or

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
J:Cottage Cheese
B:Cottage Cheese

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
J:Water, beer or occasionally red wine
B:Water or Mac n Jack’s

5. Where did he go to high school?
J:Edmonds Woodway
B:Edmonds Woodway

6. What size shoe does he wear?
J:12
B:12

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
J:Uh oh, I think I fail this one…he always gets turkey and cheddar at Quiznos
B:Turkey and Cheddar

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
J:Chocolate
B:Maybe teriyaki

10. What is his favorite cereal?
J:Granola
B:Banana Nut Crunch

11. What would he never wear?
J:He won’t wear anything too trendy
B:Skinny Jeans or a Pea Coat

12. What is his favorite sports team?
J:Hawks
B:Seahawks


14. Who is his best friend?
J:Kurt
B:My Wife/Kurt

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
J:Put the dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher
B:Pick my zits

16. What is his heritage?
J:German, Norwegian
B:Norwegian and German

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
J:I would have Debbie do it and he would love any kind.
B:You ask my mom to bake a cake



18. Did he play sports in High School?
J:baseball and he did swimming…haha
B:Yes, baseball and swimming


19.What could he spend hours doing?
J:WORKING ON THE HOUSE
B:Working on the house

20.What is one unique talent that he has?
J:watching something once and then knowing how to do it
B:I am an excellent dog trainer/ Photographic memory

Young Lives

I realized that I forgot to post after Young Lives on Tuesday. Tuesday was "Spa Club". There were stations set up all around the room where girls could get manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, etc. They were all so into it, it was amazing!

After about an hour of spa treatments, we had club. I thought my talk went pretty well...I wasn't as nervous as I thought I might be! The girls are all really nice and make a pretty easy audience. After my talk we had a few questions to answer in groups. I was really glad that the girls seemed to really track with the talk and understand the questions. I am hoping that I will do even better the next time I get to give a talk!

My favorite part about Young Lives is talking to the girls and getting to hear their stories. Some of the obstacles these girls have to overcome are huge...not to mention having kids! When we went around to share prayer requests I heard some crazy stuff...baby's daddies in jail, moms on drugs, getting evicted and forced to live on the streets, miscarriages...all sorts of crazy stuff. Although they may have a lot going on in their lives, one thing I know for sure is that all these girls love their kids. It will be amazing to see the way God can work in their lives, and exciting to think that Young Lives and knowing the Lord could impact their families for generations to come.

Valentine's Day - getting to know us :)

♥ What are your middle names?
Thomas and Reed

♥ How long have you been together?
Over 4 years

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
about a month before we officially started dating

♥ Who asked who out?
Bret was definitely the initiator

♥ How old are each of you?
23 and 24

♥ Whose siblings do you see the most?
Well I don't have siblings but I have adopted Bret's as my own

♥ Do you have any children together?
Yes! Harper Grace

♥ What about pets?
Kona and Murphy, our dog and cat. We are HUGE animal lovers.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Well...we both went to UW Bothell at some point but never at the same time.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No, Bret-Edmonds Me-Chicago

♥ Who is the smartest?
Bret is definitely smarter in the traditional way, but I am smart in other ways :)

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
We are both sensitive in some ways but not overly sensitive...okay maybe when I was pregnant...

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Claimjumper or Romeo's...we love to eat

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Um, Jamaica...Mexico...I'm not good with geography

♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Neither of us have crazy exes...We both have some funny stories of people we've dated but not really crazy exes

♥ Who has the worst temper?
I'd say we're about equal in this category

♥ Who does the cooking?
Bret cooks most of the time, but I am perfectly capable contrary to popular belief :)

♥ Who is more social?
Both of us are social

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us...but sometimes Bret pretends he is.

♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Both of us

♥ Who hogs the bed?
usually Harper and Murphy

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Bret

♥ Where was your first date?
Super romantic...we went to Palisades with Bret's parents (okay not romantic) But then we went to the top of the space needle...and then a walk on the waterfront in Edmonds and we slow danced in the parking lot :)

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Bret has a bigger immediate, I have a bigger extended

♥ Do you get flowers often?
No...last time I got flowers Bret got them for free from Trader Joe's and they were already dead. He does always buy me turkey dogs though when we go camping because he knows I don't like regular hot dogs...that's better than flowers to me.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
We spend them with Bret's family, but my parents are always there too!

♥ Who is more jealous?
Jealous? Neither of us

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
We knew we were going to be serious from the beginning

♥ Who eats more?
Definitely Bret

♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
I hate doing laundry...Bret usually puts it in but I fold...eventually

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Bret

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Bret

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Wedding, 7/9/06

Harper Scoots

Today I left Harper alone in the living room for a few minutes. When I left the room she was sitting up in the middle of the rug and when I came back this is what I found...

Harper also does not appreciate the new head bands I got for her...

February Fun

Just being her happy self...

Kona is a guard dog...she is so protective of her baby!

Takin a bath while daddy cooks dinner...Right after we took this picture she completely stood herself up on the side of the sink!

February

This is Harper's new favorite face...biting her lower lip

So far it's been a great month...all four days of it. It's been sunny, so we've taken Harper on a few walks. She LOVES going on walks, but always falls asleep in the stroller. Bret has also been taking her to Home Depot a lot, which she also loves. Today I came home from a meeting and he had her stuck in between two couch cushions looking out the back window at the dogs. He finds all sorts of weird ways to make her happy :)On Monday Harper went with Bret to Campaigners and his Young Life guys made a video of her best tricks...they even pulled off a "double kick flip".




This past Monday we had our first Young Life club of the year. I was feeling very unorganized going into it...but everything worked out and it was an amazing club. There were about 80 kids who came, the games were awesome and we had a great student testimony. It made me really excited for this semester and for summer camp. I don't usually speak at club, but I'm speaking at Young Lives (YL for teen moms) next Tuesday and I'm really nervous. I spent almost all of my day today planning my talk so I feel well prepared, but still nervous. Young Lives is a really cool program...I'll post on Wednesday about how it goes!

6 month checkup...rough day for Harper

Yesterday was Harper's 6 month checkup. I always feel so bad taking her, because I feel like I'm tricking her. She is so happy and thinks everything is fine and then bam 3 needles in her legs! It is just so sad to see her cry like that, especially since it's so rare for her! She is growing beautifully, still in the 90th percentile for her height, and just below 50th for weight (for a baby her height). The pediatrician said that by the next appointment (9 month) she'll be crawling and standing up!

Not only was Harper traumatized by the doctor yesterday, but when we got home she took a pretty bad fall! She was on her knees with her hands supporting her on the chest we use as a coffee table and her hands slipped out. She hit her lip and it bled and swelled a little bit. Again, I felt awful because I saw what she was doing and thought she was ok. She cried for a few minutes and then was fine. I guess moms have to learn as they go. After such a big day she slept from about 9pm to 7am...I guess all that crying wore her out!

Every day she's getting closer to crawling...the pediatrician said "you have your house baby-proofed right?" Yeah right! I'd better get on that!

Colorado

Harper in the hot tub at Frontier!

View from the pool deck

finally here in CO!

Yesterday Harper and I flew here to Colorado to be with Bret. She was great on the plane, of course she pooped and screamed (excited screams) a little bit, but overall it was a great flight. The toilets and water on the plane were actually frozen when we left Chicago because it was so cold! We had a little bit of a fiasco when we got to Denver, because some of our bags didn’t make it. I was a little freaked out because it was not only the bag with all of Harp’s diapers, but also the car seat! The guy from Southwest told us that they usually have loaner car seats, but he couldn’t find any! He said he’d go check one last time and he came back with one…the same one my parents have so I knew how to work it! Awesome! Bret’s trainer for Young Life named Katie happened to be flying into Denver yesterday too so she drove us here with her daughter Anna.

We arrived at camp yesterday at about dinner time. It was so great to see Bret after being away for over a week! I’m so happy to be here instead of at home by myself with the baby. All the people here are awesome, and they have welcomed me with open arms! Of course the girls all love Harper and most of the guys do too! I am rooming with Natalie who is ten weeks pregnant. She had her own room because she’s sick frequently and also has to eat every few hours even at night time. I joked with Bret that they stuck all the lepers in the room together! Last night was a little rough with Harper, but I’m hoping it gets better tonight. Yesterday before bed we played the most hysterical game. It has to do with being blindfolded, a pillow and making animal noises…let’s just say it was hard to stop playing and go to bed!

I am so happy to be here. The camp is beautiful…similar to the way I remember it from when I was here about eight years ago. We went on a walk today and the sun was shining and it felt so warm…it was great.I’m glad Harper is getting some vitamin D too. I can’t wait to see what this week holds.

photos from Chicago

All bundled up ...the temp is now -7!

Harper snoozin on Grandma and Grandpa's couch.

Up to her knees in snow on the deck! Temp was -8 so we only kept her out there for a sec!

Standing on the edge of her pack and play!

The start of my blogging experience...

Harper is now six months old. She is reaching all sorts of milestones and changing a ton every day! I thought it'd be a good time to start documenting her progress and our experiences as parents... not to mention Bret's brand new job as the Area Director for Young Life as well!

Harper is coming up on her next doctor's appointment, but at her last (4month) she was 60th percentile for weight and 90th for height. Her hair is reddish blond, just starting to grow in. Although she doesn't have much hair, she already has much more than I did at six months! I always tell Bret that she'll have red hair because it drives him nuts when I say it :) I really think it'll end up being sandy blond. I think her eyes will end up being sort of a hazel color. Everybody says she looks like Bret, but I'm hoping that as she grows she'll start to show some resemblance to me also.

Harper is the happiest baby in the world, always smiling and laughing. Her latest fun activity is screaming at the top of her lungs. I probably encourage it because I always scream back at her. She loves rough housing with Daddy...and he always shows off her "kick flips" when his friends are over. At first his "tricks" really freaked me out, but I have become immune. Thankfully he has never dropped her. Bret and I love singing to Harp and making her do hilarious dance moves. She seems to enjoy it as well. Harp also loves Kona and Murphy and lets Kona give her kisses all over. If we ever want her to be entertained we can set her on the floor next to Kona and Kona lets Harper play with her tail and paws...what a good dog! I have a feeling that crawling is not too far into our future...Harper likes to get up on her knees and rock. I just found today that she can support herself standing up by holding onto the edge of her pack and play too! One of my favorite cutisms about Harper is that she coos with her eyes closed in the mornings until we look at her and start talking back...then her eyes come wide open and she always has a huge grin!

Right now, Harper and I are visiting my parents in Chicago. We've had a great time hanging out with Katie and Carly and watching the snow outside! My Mom and Dad love having Harp here, they are such proud grandparents! Bret is in Colorado for Young Life NST, and we were missing him like crazy...so I was absolutely beside myself when he called and said that he wants us to come out there next week! We got our tickets and on Saturday off we go to Colorado! Yay!! Life's such an adventure!

So as I'm sure it is obvious...Bret and I love being parents. We feel so blessed and confident that God gave Harper to us at the perfect time in our lives. I'm excited to write about all the new things Harp does and the crazy stuff that we go through as parents!