Handley loves birthdays and every time someone she knows has a birthday she loves helping me make cupcakes, wrap gifts, and sing "happy birthday." Gigi's birthday was on Wednesday, but we were celebrating with her today. Handley had been patiently waiting all week and tonight she finally got her chance to sing happy birthday and helping blow out the candles.
Harper has decided that she is done being fed with a spoon and would rather feed herself. I wasn't quite ready for this and still have a pantry full of baby food, but I quickly moved into finger food mode and she is loving it. Today for lunch she had peas, watermelon, and cheese. The transition into finger foods means more messes and towels covering my cloth kitchen chairs, but I love watching how excited she gets about trying new foods and how Handley is so happy that Harper can eat the same foods she can.
Sydney caught on quickly and has already moved her meal time position from beside Handley's chair to right below Harper's. She's smart and knows where the food will drop.
Tonight we got to visit with Robby's childhood friend, Justin, who was visiting from Florida, Justin's girlfriend, and another friend from UGA that we hadn't seen in years. They came over for dinner and Handley made fast friend with, "those boys."
I am loving my new camera that Robby surprised me with for my birthday and I'm having fun pretending to be a professional photographer. :-) I'm still trying to figure out all the settings and have a tutorial coming my way, but for now my pictures are still way better than they were before. Today I took the girls outside to do a mini photo-shoot, just because the sun was shining and the rain was gone!
I've been working on manners with Handley and trying to get her to say "yes" or "yes ma'am" instead of "yeah." Today we were driving and she said, "look at those pretty trees, Mommy." I said, "Yeah, I know." Well wouldn't know my 2 year old has been soaking up more than I thought. She told me in a matter-of-fact way, "Don't say yeah, Mommy. Say yes or yes ma'am." :-)
Handley has become quite the song singer. She walks around all day singing and loves to sing for Harper too. If Harper is fussing or upset, Handley breaks out into song and makes her smile every time. I've tried to get her on video singing , but she normally stops and doesn't want to cooperate. Today I finally got Twinkle Twinkle in video. I just love how she pronounces all of the words.
And this cute little one has also become Miss Independent with a capital I! Everything is, "I want to do it" or " I'll do it all by mineself!" She can't stand for me to help her with anything and if, heaven forbid, if I do something for her we usually end up re-doing it (and taking 3 times as long). Yesterday I was trying to get us out the door to get her to school on time. I tried helping her put her boots on and she just about lost it. She had to take her boots off and start from the beginning, all by herself. Same thing with putting on her PJ's last night. I forgot about her new found independence and zipped them up for her. Big Mistake! She threw a fit, reminded me that SHE wanted to do it, had to up-zip, take them off, and zip them all by herself. Don't get me wrong, I like that she is able to do these things...dress herself, put her shoes on, open doors, get her own snack, etc., but it has also been a test of my patients.
I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again - I can't believe Harper is 7 months old already!!! Time flies when you are having fun and boy are we ever. Harper is such a sweetie and has developed such a great personality. She and her big sister are bonding so sweetly and both light up when they see each other. When Handley was this age I remember thinking she was so big, but now Harper still seems like such a baby when I have her to to compare to Handley.
At 7 months old she:
has started getting onto her hands and knees and is rocking back and forth. (She wants to crawl - I give her 2 weeks!)
takes two naps a day (a long morning nap and a shorter afternoon nap)
loves going to bed early
is dealing with separation anxiety and is happiest when I'm very close by
eats 3 meals a day and is already starting to prefer feeding herself to being spoon fed
is a pro at eating puffs and cheerios and had her first "real" finger food yesterday - watermelon - and loved it!
can drink water from her sippy cup
still only has 2 teeth although I think she is getting more very soon
definitely shows her likes and dislikes
loves being held
has pretty much weened herself of the paci and sucks her thumb when she is sleepy or upset
has fun playing with and chewing on plastic hangers
moves her arms up and down when she is happy or excited
Concentrating to get the watermelon
All smiles after she tasted the watermelon
Looking at this picture you would think she was crawling...won't be long!
...in Orlando was spent visiting with some great friends of ours and with Robby's grandmother.
As soon as we arrived in Orlando, Robby went off to work while the girls and I went to lunch and then off to see Grandma. It has been a year since she'd seen Handley and she had never met Harper. Both girls had fun at their house and at the nearby playground we went to. Robby and Aunt Sharon joined us at dinner time and we had a great mini birthday celebration
complete with cake and candles (which Handley helped me to blow out).
Thursday while Robby was working we met up with my great friend Kathy and her daughter Marlee. We also saw some of the girls I used to teach with and their kids at an indoor play place which was fun. We went back to Kathy's house after lunch and the girls spent the rest of the day playing together. Again, Robby joined us for dinner before we head back to the hotel to pack up and get ready for an early flight the next morning.
Even though our trip was quick, it was so much fun and we packed a lot into 3 days!
On Wednesday, I celebrated my 29th birthday. I wanted to take advantage of Disney's "get in free on your birthday" special and go with both the girls. Robby was going to be in Orlando on business, so we tagged along with him and made a quick family vacation of it. What made the trip even better was that Robby surprised me with a brand new fancy camera for my birthday and I got to take great pictures of our time there.
We were only at Disney World for 1 day, but it was such a special day. I loved seeing the magical experience through Handley's eyes. She'd been talking about our trip for weeks and was so excited to be there.
In front of Cinderella's castle
Inside the castle
She was quite the dare-devil and loved all the rides. This didn't surprise me one bit. As soon as we'd get off one ride, she'd be asking to ride it again or move on to the next one. We got lucky with the time of year we were there because it wasn't a busy time and the lines were not bad at all. The longest we waited was about 30 mins. for the dumbo ride, but everything else was between 5-10 mins., if that.
Loving the carousel
Harper thinking it is really fun too!
Daddy and Handley on the Dumbo ride
This picture is a little blurry (still figuring out my camera) but I just love it because it shows how excited she was. Harper was asleep so I stayed with her while Robby and Handley rode the spinning tea-cup ride. They were the first in line and as soon as the gate opened she went running to pick out her tea-cup.
Waiting for the ride to start
Driving the racecars
Her first roller coaster ride! I wasn't sure she would be tall enough for this ride. Although it was a kid roller coaster, it seemed kind of scary. However, she was tall enough and loved it!
