What this 18 month old is up to...

As we near Harper's 18-month birthday, I thought I would record some of the things Harper has learned and a few funny things he is doing as an 18-month-old.

Shoo= shoe

A*#= ice

Wawa= water
Back=back
dee= deer
Gigi= Gentry

ot=hot
up= up

Cash= crash

bebe=baby

Trash = trash

D-iper= diaper

Go= go

Ba= paci

Juuice= juice

Cup= up

Am-nah= amen

Eye= eye

Buh bye= bye bye

Papa= Poppy

Pease= please

Mo=more

Boon= baloon

inky=stinky

Barper= Harper

Tee= TV

Tent=tent

That is all I can think of right now. He says those words on a regular basis. He has started to copy what we say....that is how we got him to say Amen! He will usually try to say anything you ask him. I love hearing him talk!

He understands way more than I ever thought he could. I like to quiz him and ask him to point to all of the facial features (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, belly button) and body parts (hand, foot, tummy) He is able to look at different family members in pictures and correctly identify them. He also likes to kiss the picture as I say each one....too cute!

He is way less interest in TV lately. I think he got an overdose when he was sick last month. He still asks to watch a movie, but he will not watch it. It just intrigues him to watch the TV turn on. I bought a Leapster Letter Factory video thinking that maybe if it is on while he plays he might pick up on a few letters and their sounds.

Harper has started to be a little stinker! We've had to implement time out. When he does something he knows he is not supposed to do (bang on the computer, take out the wall plugs (yes the safety ones!), throw his food, color on the floor) we give him a warning and if he keeps on doing it I put him in his crib for a minute and a half. A friend suggested to put him in his crib, one minute for each year. I'm not sure how I feel about using his crib for discipline but it's working for now. I think he has done really well with it though. Many of the no-nos he used to do, he has learned not to do. Occasionally he will look me right in the eye and do a no-no. If I ignore the behavior he quits. Already a little red-headed attitude!

Other things Harper loves: praying, climbing, music, dancing, coloring, riding in his car, getting golf lessons from Dada, joyriding in the golf cart, playing chase, running away from mama, baloons, playing in the tent, Ketchup, blueberries, Addy, Cha Cha

Things Harper does not love: diaper changes, being confined in his car seat, sitting in grocery carts, going to time out, vegetables, morning naps, having his hands and face cleaned

Other cute things Harper does: gives hugs and kisses, bows his head and holds his hands to pray, says amen after the Lords Prayer each night, comes and sits in your lap for no reason at all, grape face (when you say the word grape, he makes a hilarious face),

Favorite Toys- ball popper, plastic food, shape sorter, golf club, balls, Fridge DJ

Valentine's Cookie Swap

We had a fun Mommy and Me Monday at The Holcomb's house! Lisa invited us over to her house for a yummy lunch and a cookie swap! Everyone brought cookies and then exchanged the recipe. Lisa made cute little recipe books for everyone to copy their recipe. It was so cute! The kids played with all of Addy's toys while the mom's gabbed. We all go to church together so the kids know each other from the nursery. The nursery workers have their hands full to say the least!! Addy was the only girl in the group.....her mom is pregnant so maybe there will be another girl to help her fight off all these boys!

Addyson-the only girl!

Thanks Lisa for taking off work to host a fun playdate at your house!

The Almost Perfect Play Date

Harper loving his freedom!

I was so excited when my friend Jenni invited Harper and I to join her friends for a play date. Most of my close friends in Conroe work and send their kids to school a couple of days a week. It's rare that we have "play dates." So now you know why I was so excited to have a day planned especially for the little guy. We decided that morning that we were going to meet up at the Museum inside The Woodlands Mall..... or so I thought! My blonder than I pay to be self went to the wrong museum! I went to "The Woodlands Children Museum" rather than the "HMNS museum!" They are right next to each other so it wasn't hard to catch up with our friends, but seriously can I be even more crazy! We met up with Jenni, Grayson, Angela, Parker, and Austin after an hour of being "lost." Harper had no idea what was going on because he LOVED both museums. We will definitely be going back. We missed story and craft time so maybe we'll make it to the next one. Grayson and Parker exploring the sea turtle

After a quick lunch at the mall we headed over to Northshore Park. The Woodlands has fabulous NEW parks unlike Conroe. Harper enjoyed trying to be a big boy with Grayson and Parker. Jenni just happened to have a loaf of bread in her car so we fed the ducks! I think this was Harper's favorite part of the day! He was going crazy! His dad would have been proud! Actually his dad would probably have tried to capture a few to mount in his office!

So thanks so much Jenni for planning our fun day out in The Woods!

"Try" athlon

It's official, I am training for a triathlon! It has been a life goal of mine for awhile and I figure it's either now or never! I have joined a triathlon club in The Woodlands called "I tri" so I'm going to give it a "TRY!" So far I have completed a week of training and I'm still excited. I joined the group a little late so I'm on week one while the team is on week 3. Hopefully I can catch up. I have started riding my bike and it makes me remember how much I love to ride! I grew up in Kingwood where there were over 80 miles of greenbelts. In the summers I would ride my bike all day every day. My friend Lindsay and I would meet almost every Sunday afternoon and ride the trails. It's been a little harder to ride in Montgomery since I live in a subdivision with no greenbelts. I'm going to have to get creative because I'm already getting bored with the scenery! Any ideas?

The swimming is going to be the hardest part of the triathlon. I attempted swim team in 5th grade and didn't excel! We are going to be swimming in a pond so this will be way different! I wonder if they'll let me wear floaties? I started swimming this week at the rec center and I've already gotten some lessons....sort of. I met a 75 year old man who was doing water aerobics while I swam laps. He would cheer me on, critique my technique, and attempted to model the correct way to breathe while doing the free style. He was a hoot!

The triathlon is May 2nd in The Woodlands. So 3 more months of training before I give this a "try!"

Harper the photographer

While we were in Colorado Harper stayed with Cam's parents. Cha Cha had lots of fun things planned for Harper to do while he was on "holiday" with her. So one day she took Harper into Houston to see her mother. Her mother does not like to get her picture taken. Well while they were eating lunch my technologically advanced child figures out how to turn on the camera and proceeds to take pictures of his great grandmother! ha ha! She would never have known what was going on except that the camera flashed everytime he took one! She was covering her face, but Charlotte told her there was no film in the camera....true.....because it was digital! Check out these pics!!

Breck 09

Break 09 might be more appropriate! It was so nice to get a break for a couple of days and travel to Breckenridge, Colorado with friends. A huge thanks to Cam's parents for watching Harper all week long. If you know me you know how much I love change, especially a change of pace! Here is the view from our condo. The slopes

I am officially "old" I'm not sure when it happened but after a week in Colorado I came to that conclusion. I have been skiing a handful of times, the latest time being 2 years ago when I was pregnant. I was super careful and very paranoid as I skied with Harper in my belly. I really don't count that as skiing.... So we arive in Colorado and I am immediately out of breath! I was gasping for air going up and down the stairs. Can we say out of shape?? It gets worse, after catching the city bus (ski's in tow), riding the gondola to the slopes (ski's in tow), walking in ski boots to the lift, putting on my ski's , and at last skiing down the mountain....I was exhausted. I did this for 3 days and I was aching! The temperature was 1 with the windchill being -9! Brrrr!
Each day after skiing I would get my out of shape self into the hot tub and soak! I think that is what saved me each day. I only fell twice so I can't imagine what it could have been like. After a hour in the hot tub it was time for the games! Here is a picture of the group playing Uno....who knew it could be so much fun! Our friends added a new spin to it and it was soooooo much fun! (I bought it today at Wal-mart:))

Not your grandmas' Uno game

Most nights we loaded up the cars and mini van to go eat in town. Yes, we rented a mini van (but we added lots of "flair" to it...dream catchers....etc!!) It was Ullr feast while we were in Breck, mmm, very intersting!
Ashley and Alli with nordic guy??

Alli and JM

Brother in laws

Each night we had this visitor on our porch.....a fox! He was very friendly and must be fed by all the guests because he was not scared of us. We fed him goldfish and nachos...and he liked it. One night the guys trid to get him into the house! Thank goodness they couldn't lure him in!

Foxy Cleopatra

KO's favorites from the week

"Ashley won't even drop a v-neck on us" - Scott's taunting of AshleyDupuis' provocative wardrobe choices.

"Jesus was all up on this" - Alli's Catch Phrase effort for her clue,The Red Sea or was it The Dead Sea, either way no pernts.

"Jesus is in my top five" - Alli's listing of her hottest dudes.

"Fluffernutter" - Allyson Heathcott's first stab at defining a personwho munches on their own fart bubbles in the tub.

"Not realistic, never happen in my lifetime" - Travis' response tothe horror movie 'Vacancy' as The Dupuis' walked up to their bedroomin the dark hand in deathgripped hand.

"Deadly as a fox" - Mike's cautionary advice to the group attemptingto lure the fox into the Snowed In crib.

"No-Quail" - Ashley Dupuis' rebranding of the generic NyQuil purchasedby Juan Marquez. "Yellow People" - Ashley Rhodes' racist effort to get her Catch Phraseteam to guess Japan.

I've got a fever...

and the only cure is more cowbell!! ha ha I wish that was the case. After a relaxing Christmas vacation in Kingwood I come home with a sick baby. Harper started Christmas Eve off with a cough. He had just gotten over a cough and had a hiatus for 4 or 5 days so I just started up the cough medicine again and didn't think much about it. He was so happy all weekend and gave no signs of not feeling well....except for a little cough every now and then.

Well today he woke up with his eyes matted shut and had a 102 degree fever. Poor baby. I immediately called the pediatrician and they squeezed me in at 2:30. In the mean time I tried to get his fever to break, but no success. He was getting hotter and hotter, and fussier! I decided to arrive early early in hopes of being seen a little sooner, ya right! I arrived at 2:00 and left at 4:45. Harper cried most of that time and would not take a paci. He was so miserable and I was so helpless. I didn't know what to do except cry, and that didn't help. It is so hard to watch your baby suffer and there is nothing you can do.
Look at those sick eyes!
I won't be winning Mother of The Year anytime soon because Harper has the flu, a double ear infection, and pink eye! Poor baby. We have been so low key over the holidays that it seems crazy for him to be so sick. I guess I should have taken him to Walmart and let him run around barefoot to make him immune......kidding!

So this week is on hold as we get this little guy well.