Did Harliegh devour a Smurf?

Harliegh and her Grandma Caryl in matching jogging suits!

Hey Everyone!
Looks like it's about time for a new blog! How are things going? We have had a very busy past couple of weeks and are looking forward to just relaxing at home the next few weeks before the rush of Holidays start!
Fall is here! Harliegh loves the sound the leaves make when they blow across the ground in the wind. She will stop and listen and then say, "Oh, cool!" Isn't it funny how you don't realize you say something so much until your baby starts saying it? Harliegh is also saying "Holy cool!" a lot (a combination of Holy Cow and Really Cool) She really is starting to show more and more of her personality and anybody who has seen her lately has had a chance to witness her new dirty looks (there's no way she learned this from her mommy...hahaha) We are really looking forward to going trick-or-treating this year. Harliegh is going to be a pink butterfly. The costume is super-cute and extra padded for thoses super cold fall Minnesota evenings. I will be sure to post some pictures!
Not much else has happened since my last post. I am already looking forward to my month long break from school in December. I like school, but I am finding it so much more challenging now that I have a baby! But I am hanging in there and keep telling myself that I could be done in a little over a year! YAY! Tyler is winding down at work and getting near the end of his busy time of year. So if anyone out there has a Wii...buy Buck Fever. Or for DS buy 50 Classic Games or Dinopets for Christmas this year and look for Tyler in the credits as Producer!
On another note, I am thinking of introducing potty training after the Holidays so send along any advice you might have. I am going to start slow and read cues from Harliegh, but I hope it goes smoothly! Also...I am trying to decide when to switch Harliegh to a toddler bed. I will try to post a poll to the side here so make sure you vote!

Have a Happy Halloween everyone! Stay warm!

Apple Orchard

Hello Family and Friends!

How is everyone doing? We have been doing pretty good! I have started school and so far, I like it! Tyler is still busy playing games and work and Harliegh seems to change everyday! She started Baby Story Time at the library last week and she had a ton of fun! She sat nicely during all the stories and songs and afterward they put toys out for the babies to play with, Harliegh saw a dinosaur and ROARED! She then went around to all the kids roaring at them. It was hilarious and adorable! She has also really gotten into dancing to music and even has different moves for different songs. I am posting a video of her dancing...but you have to turn your head to look at it....hahaha.

Today we went to the Apple Orchard and we all had fun on the hay rides, walking through the corn maze, and looking at the pigs, turkeys, goats and a miniature horse.

Hope you guys are all doing fantastic!

I changed some settings on my blog so you should be able to leave comments now!


Love you all,
Quinn

Fall is almost here...

Happy Fall Everyone!

Kisses for daddy!

Coloring a picture!

Lounging and reading a book!

Well, hello everyone!
It looks like Fall is well on its way, where did the summer go? Even though I am sad summer is over, I am excited for Fall! There is something about having a kid that can make you excited for things you never cared for before (at least, you haven't cared about since you were a kid anyway). Usually I dread the coming of Fall because it meant that inevitably, Winter was just around the corner, adn I hate winter. I know, I live in a bad state for someone who hates winter! But this year. I am excited for Harliegh to play in the leaves...I even have some fun art experiments planned. I am excited for Harliegh to dress up and go trick-or-treating, and to go to the apple orchard and carve pumpkins, yes, I am even excited for Harliegh to play in the snow...though hopefully thats still a few months off.
I hope everyone had great summer and will have an even better Fall! I am starting school next week (YAY!) and I have already gotten a headstart on some of my homework. I only have 13 classes to go to get my Bachelor's so I am hoping to be done by next winter. Harliegh is also starting storytime at the library next week. She is just like her mommy, she LOVES books. She will sit and look through books all day and even make noises as if she were reading them out loud. She will even bring me or Tyler books for us to read to her. We have successfully taken the bottle away, and like everything else, it wasn't as terrible as we imagined. We just changed her routine and instead of giving her a bottle, we just read her 4-5 books and put her to bed. The first few days were rough and a few tears were shed, but already she has adjusted and will go to bed without a problem.
Harliegh just had her 12m appointment and everything is going great. She had a hard time with the shots and even yelled "Let GO!" at the doctor, which shocked us and the doctor. She has been saying more and more. Her favorite words this past week are cutie (she points to pictures we have on the fridge of her cousins and calls them all Cutie) cookie (translation: Mommy, can we please listen to the C is for Cookie song for the hundredth time today?) and Cool....everything is cool right now. She started saying "Wow!" too. She loves animals and can now say kitty, doggy, and cow...she can also BAAAA like a sheep and ROAR like a tiger (which is my favorite). Of course se now can say "Yeah" "No" and "stop" (mostly she yells stop when Oscar barks)
We recently went to the zoo and had lots of fun looking at all the animals, I think Harliegh's favorite animal is the zebra! We hope to make it to the sculpture garden and the apple orchard, soon, too!
Well, that's about all for now. Hope you all are doing great!

Happy Birthday Harliegh!

Sniff, sniff...well, it's official, Harliegh is a year old! I wonder if it's normal for a mom to wake up and realize suddenly that her baby is not so much a baby any more. It happened for me this morning. I heard Harliegh talking to herself in her crib and went in to get her. When she saw me she smiled and then scrambled to get her teddy bear(which I let her keep in her crib) so that she could take her bear out of the crib with her, for some reason, this did it for me. I suddenly realized, my baby is a toddler now. She can entertain herself, she shows preference and chooses certain toys to play with, she knows how to answer yes or no. It really is amazing, I put her to bed last night thinking "she is still my little baby" and woke up knowing that she is headed into toddler-hood and this will bring a whole new year of changes! She will start talking more and more (right now she only says a few words randomly) Her personality will show more and more everyday. She will test her limits ( and mine, hahaha). She will stop using her bottle (hopefully sooner rather than later, she only uses it to fall asleep so any suggestions on taking that away will be greatly appreciated) she might even start potty training!
Her birthday party went great for the most part! She got lots of fun presents and really enjoyed opening them for the most part. She had help fom her friend, Finn, who is 8 months older than she is, and she didn't really welcome the help at all. A few times I was scared whe was going to start fighting him! She has always been Little Miss Independent, and Finn really didn't mean any harm! She did get very fussy about cake time. I think it was because she was overwhelmed, and everyone was staring at her, Tyler thinks it may have been teething (maybe a little of both?) After everyone started eating their cake she seemed to calm a little and started eating. Though she didn't shove it in like is typical for first birthdays! After everyone had left Harliegh was in a fantastic mood and enjoyed playing with all her new things. So far her favorite toy is a piggy bank, given to her by Tyler's cousin, CJ. We have it on the coffee table and everytime she passes it she stops to give it a kiss. Her least favorite toy had to be the big one from Tyler and me. She LOVES Elmo, so we bought her a Tickle me Elmo....and she HATES it....we turn it on and for some rreason it scared her and she starts crying! Oh well....maybe in a few months she will like him better....or not...to tell the truth it is kinda frightening to see a furry red monster fall to the fall in hysterics!
Yesterday was also Tyler's birthday, which unfortunately was a bit overshadowed by Harliegh's birthday. I made him cupcakes and we ordered pizza (his choice) and today he is going fishing with my brother, so hopefully that will make up for it.
On other news, I am OFICIALLY enrolled in college for the fall! I have completed all the paperwork and my schedule and start on September 11th. I will be taking Religion and P.E. (yikes!) every other weekend, and a Realism to Romanticism Literature class every Friday night, which I am really excited for. Tyler is also considering starting school in the spring.


So here are a few pictures from Harliegh's Birthday. We got her a beautiful cake for free! Lund's (the grocery store near us) gives away free cakes for first Birthdays, I love a great deal!

A year of changes!

It's hard to believe that it is almost that time! Yep, my little one will be a year old and will soon be more of a toddler than a baby. I look at this with pride and a little sadness. When I was pregnant and had envisioned being a mommy to a baby girl, I did not realize how fast it would go! This year has been full of surprises and ups and downs! In this incredible year not only has Harliegh changed from a tiny baby who only slept and ate to a energetic little girl who is very independent and full of attitude and personality, but I have grown and learned so much, too. Here is what I have learned so far in Mommy 101:

I learned early on that even if it doesn't seem like it, Harliegh HAS to sleep eventually! It was better to think about that than to dwell on the fact that she wasn't sleeping.

I have learned that sometimes, it's ok to skip my shower. Before I had Harliegh I took a shower as soon as I woke up, now....I am getting used to only getting a shower in every other day. Usually when I have free-time I will decide its more advantageous to take a nap or get some cleaning done rather than shower...you get used to the smell after awhile..hahaha.

I have learned that time is precious. I only have a few hours to myself everyday and sometimes I am in near panic trying to decide how best to spend them. Before I took for granted how precious alone time can be! Oh what I would do to be able to sit on the beach or by a pool for hours and not have to chase around a busy baby! Oh what I would give to curl up and read a book for hours and not think of anything else! But at the same time...I wouldn't trade this for a thing!

I have learned that more often than not, my motherly-instinct is correct. It doesn't matter how much I read or ask advice, my instinct usually was right to begin with.

I have learned that there are so many opinions on everything baby-related. The best thing to do is decide what is best for YOU and your baby.

I have learned not to be so caught up in body image. Things change when you have a baby, that's just the way it goes, and you just don't have time to fix your hair, do your make-up or pick a perfect outfit like you used to. I see my beauty in the eyes of my baby, and that is the most amazing feeling ever. (though this doens't mean I couldn't use some pampering every once in awhile)

I have learned that having a good, helpful husband can make all the difference. If I ever needed a break, Tyler was right there ready and willing to take over all baby duties.

I have learned that every little milestone should be celebrated. I never knew I would get so excited over a baby rolling over or growing a new tooth.

Speaking of teeth....I have learned that almost all baby problems can somehow stem back to teething. Drooling, biting, crying, yelling, screaming, earaches, diarrhea,headaches (for the parents) somehow are all because of one little tooth.

I have learned that patience is the key to everything! It is very hard to remember this sometimes.

I have learned that it is not possible to keep the house clean at all times. It just can't happen.

Most of all I have learned that being a mom is the most wonderful and difficult thing I have ever done, but I wouldn't change a thing. Life changes when you become a parent. Not just your schedule, or the amount of sleep you get, or how many showers you get, but everything. I have different viewpoints on everything now. All because of one little girl.

Hello Everyone!
I hope you all are having a great summer! It is hard to believe that Harliegh will be a YEAR old in less than a month! Amazing! It's hard to believe that less than a year ago she was a tiny, helpless baby who slept all the time and now she is this walking, babbling, toothy-grinned little angel! She is a pro at walking now and I have a feeling she will be running very soon! YIKES! She now has 3 teeth and is working on the 4th...which has been rough for her....not to mention mommy and daddy! We have had a very busy summer so far. We go to the lake and the park almost everyday that it's not raining. At the beginning of July we spent a week at Grandma Caryl's house. It was a busy and fun week and nice because I had a car to use whenever I wanted. So we got to visit Grandma JaNae and Papa Mark, Grandpa Jimmy and Grandma Lorrie, Great Grandpa Jimmy and Great Grandma Joyce, and of course Grandme Caryl and Grandpa Dean. We also got to see a few or Harliegh's Aunts and some of my friends....a busy, busy week. We were sad for it to end, but glad to be home and with Daddy again! Harliegh is doing great and making huge messes in our house. She is also a little social butterrfly (she doesn't get that from me!) When we take her to the toddler play area at the mall she loves to watch all the kids running around and even tries to play with the little ones.
I am happy to say that I have officially applied for school and should start in the fall. It will be fun going back to school and be able to be around adults! The classes will be a few nights a week and every other weekend...which is perfect to work around Tyler's schedule.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their summers!!

...and she's off!!

Harliegh is now ten months old and guess what? She is now walking! She is still a little shaky but she can walk 4-5 steps at a time and she is so proud of herself! She will stop and clap for herself and has a huge smile on her face! She is loving playing in her baby pool...but doesn't like to actually sit in it...she will sit outside of it and play with the water. That's about all that has been going on...Harliegh is getting so big and starting to become so playful. She loves her Elmo and Pooh Bear Toys. She is starting to roll the ball back and forth and learning so many new sounds, her latest word being "Look!" That is all for now! Stay in touch!