Bu vs. Wakeforest

Harper visited Waco for the 2nd time in his life and attended the first 2008 Baylor football game. Harper was such a good little traveler! We left around the time of his afternoon nap and headed to Waco, my favorite way, through College Station! This is a big deal......when Cam and I were dating this is how I would go and visit him, but since we've gotten married and moved to Conroe we have to go "his" way up 45 and through Groesbeck. Well this was our first trip straight to Waco (usually we stop at the ranch in Centerville) since we moved to Montgomery, so we got to go "my" way!! It was so reminiscent of those good ole college days. Cam drove me down Texas Avenue so I could see Texas A&M and I just about didn't recognize a thing! It has changed sooo much! We stopped at my favorite ice cream shop, Shakeys! It was just like I remembered. I tried to get him to take a picture of me with my "concrete," but he told me that only fat girls took pictures of their ice cream:(

We arrived in Waco just in time to do some of our favorite things. First stop was to get some t shirts at the BU bookstore, next check out the bear pit. The last time we were in Waco was for homecoming and Harper was only 3 months old. He loved the bears and kept pointing and saying "Baxter!" Everything is Baxter these days. It was a little toasty outside so we kept our visit to a minimum and headed to my favorite place Spice! This is a really fun store, which by the way has totally expanded and has some really neat things! I'm already looking forward to my next trip back. Well since we did what I wanted to do Cam got to choose his favorite place for dinner which is Vitek's BBQ. He ordered the "gut pack," I guess he lived off of this in college. It's a form of Frito pie, but with about 2 cups of grease floating on top!!
After filling our tummy's we headed to Floyd Casey stadium to watch the Bears battle Wake forest. We met up with BearPa and Uncle Casey to watch the game. Harper sat on BearPa's lap and watched the lights and people. I think it was still a little too warm for him to be outside. I fed him a cup full of ice to cool him off, but he's just a sweaty little guy. Finally we moved to the end zone thinking maybe we could catch a breeze. We decided to leave at the beginning of the 4th quarter and drive to the ranch. Overall it was a quick, but fun roadtrip. Maybe next time the Bears can win!

One Year Check Up

Dr. Herrin said Harper was still doing great! We went ahead and got the dreaded MMR shot, but that was all. I feel like I did the right thing and that God is in control. Here are his stats at 12 months:

weight : 21 lbs 4.5 oz 25%

height: 28 3/4 20%

head: 18 1/4 50%

One is Fun!

Happy Birthday Harper!

Harper had a ONEderful day! Let me tell you all about it! Cam and I heard the little birthday boy on the monitor around 7:30. As soon as we saw him we started in on the birthday song and he had the biggest grin on his face! I honestly thought it might scare him, I've seen lots of babies cry when that song is sung!

Harper started his special day with a scrumptious breakfast. He had his usual bottle (I'm still trying to finish my last can of formula before I start cow's milk and sippy cups) and then a whole grain Eggo waffle with frozen banana chunks! Yummy! He loved it! Notice the picture below:) He liked it so much that he stuffed a huge piece in his mouth and started to choke! Cam of course was the one to notice and hit him on the back to save my poor little guy.

After all that excitement we played and opened a few presents. Harper got lots of "musical" presents from our cousins in Oklahoma. Maybe he'll take after his dad and be a little more musical than his mama!

It wouldn't be a special day without a photo shoot. So went out to the yard and took some twelve month pictures. I tried to snap a picture with his birthday hat on, but I'm not fast enough!

At this point Harper was already exhausted so he took a snooze to gear up for the rest of his afternoon. I took this opportunity to shower and relax for the big day. When Harper woke up, Poppy, Grammy "Addy", and Aunt Heather had arrived. The party had begun! He opened his presents...Fridge DJ, baby gap clothes, a remote control car, a rocking horse, books, and a kids table and chairs.

He was thrilled! He kept going from one toy to the next! He rode "Able," his horse for about 15 minutes. It was SO cute, he put his hands in the air......looked like a real cowboy trying to stay on for 8 seconds!! He was bouncing so fast that he actually bounced across the den! Able is officially "broken" in. Well after 2 hours of excitement and constant singing, Harper was exhausted so he took another nap. Heather and I went shopping and picked up some last minute goodies for the big party on Saturday, while my parents stayed at the house. It is so nice to be able to just run errands!

For Harper's Birthday Dinner we chose Incredible Pizza....any son of Cam's is destined to LOVE pizza! BearPaw and Cha Cha met us there to celebrate with the birthday boy. Harper had a bite of pizza but he started to choke (again!) so we decided to stick to pasta, green bears, and applesauce! For dessert he had some ice cream and a few bites of a cinnamon roll. He was screaming for more! Incredible Pizza has a kids room so we thought it'd be fun to let him play. He rode a carousal, train, horse, and a helicopter. He looked so scared! He didn't know what to do with his hands. He clinched his fists the entire time and had a puzzled look on his face. He actually started crying on the helicopter so we ended the ride early. I think he enjoyed looking at all the lights and people watching most.

Back at the house, we let Harper stay up late so he could celebrate with his buddies Gentry and Cooper. They came over for sugar-free popsicles. We put the boys in the baby pool and they devoured their popsicles. Then we hosed them off and tucked out little one year old into bed. What a ONEderful day!

Party Animals!

Waiting for his Barnyard Buddies to arrive!

For Harper's 1st Birthday Bash we had a Barnyard themed birthday party. The house was decorated with hay bails, cow printed balloons, an animal photo booth, and a ton of barnyard toys. I also monogrammed bandannas for all the little kiddos to wear either as a bib or decoration.

At about 5pm all of his little friends started arriving. As soon as they arrived we took their picture in our "photo booth." I plan to mail them their pic along with Harper's thank you note. The kids loved the photo booth more than I even imagined. It was like they thought they were playing peek-a-boo! In fact most of them played with it during the majority of the party.

The Birthday Boy

We had intended the party to be an indoor/outdoor party but it rained pretty much all day and was extremely humid outside. I had an obstacle course ready for the back yard, but it was still damp! So instead we stayed inside and ate! I had McKenzies BBQ prepare the food. We had chicken, sliced beef, beans, rolls, watermelon, animal crackers, and shelled peanuts. Every time I saw Harper he was eating!

Then it was time for the birthday cake. Everyone gathered in the kitchen to sing to Harper. I placed the smash cake on this high chair and he went to town. Most babies don't know what to do with it, well not this baby! He went straight for the icing. He started clicking his tongue, in approval. He stuck his face down in the cake and gave it a lick!! Everyone started laughing and it scared him. I let him eat the cake for about 5 solid minutes. I wasn't sure when to take it away, but I didn't want him to have a tummy ache. He was covered with cake, so I put him in the sink and gave him a bath. His Grandpa gave him some ice cream when his mama wasn't looking! So much for that tummy ache!

Harper enjoyed playing with his buddies and of course he loved the attention from all of his Aunt, Uncles, and Grandparents! He was well loved (and photographed) today! Next, we decided to open presents. He wasn't the least bit interested in opening presents, so I did the honors. He received so many fun toys, cute outfits, and precious books! This baby is set!

The night ended and we were exhausted! Here is a Heathcott Family picture with our ONEderful one year old!

In Loving Memory of Nellean Boerstler

My sweet, sweet Grammy joined my Grandfather in Heaven on August 7, 2008. I already miss her. My Grandmother, wasn't just any grandmother, she was real. But the interesting thing is, that is wasn't really my real or "biological" grandmother. My mom's mom and dad passed away when my mom was in elementary school, so she went to live with her Aunt Nellean and Uncle Frank. They loved her unconditionally and accepted her as one of their own. That is exactly what they did to me. I never knew they weren't my "real" grandparents, until a distant second cousin told me in 2nd grade. I just couldn't understand!

Grammy was the type of person who welcomed everyone into her home. The more the merrier. I was the oldest grandchild, so for a while it was just me and Grammy; making cookies in the kitchen, playing hide and seek on the way home from the Pattie Ann, shopping at the Jo-Ann shop, and playing on the porch. Then my cousins were born and from then on there was always a full house. Grammy let us make a mess and never got on to us. She let us try on her clothes and make-up. When I was in town, we always had a slumber party. She'd let us build forts and tents and we'd stay up late laughing trying to fit 5 kids into a bed! She wasn't concerned if we were going to break things or ruin her "breakables." She had life figured out! She didn't sweat the small stuff, I have a lot I need to learn from her. Grammy always said, "This too shall pass." I need to remember that as I often fret about things of this world. Nothing here is eternal and Grammy new that.

I have the fondest memories at a little old house in Henryetta, Oklahoma. Thank you Grammy for your unconditional love. I love you!

Hurricane Tuesday

Well I thought that Hurricane Edouard was going to be heading our way. So I thought it would be much more fun to be "hunkered" down with another mom and baby. Aunt Angela and Gentry came and picked us up at 8:30 am so we could keep our car in the garage. Well, it is now 3pm and nothing has happened! I'm definitely not complaining, but I thought we might have a little thunder or wind. So far it has just sprinkled the equivalent of one inch in Conroe. Our boys have had a lot of fun playing inside together. They both took great naps, so we watched Kite Runner and read magazines in our pjs. I felt like I was back in college!