Harper is walking!

10 days after her first birthday, Harper just up and decided "I am done crawling, I am going to stand up like my big sister!" And honestly, I have never seen anything cuter! She is such a pro, it is as if she has been doing it for weeks, not hours! She can stop and start again, turn around, bend down to pick something up and keeps on going! Of course she falls every now and again, but then she is right back up on the move.

She holds her arms up a bit for balance and it is so funny (to us). I am even more excited to dress her everyday knowing she isn't going to be dragging her legs all over the ground now. Also, shoes are finally a necessity not just an accessory! And I love my shoes just as much as the next girl ;)

Avery is so proud of Harper too. She always says "Momma, Harper is walking so well!" Or she will run and tell me, "Mom! Harper is walking!!" It is so cute and Avery is certainly one of her little sister's biggest fans.
Just another bittersweet milestone to check off the list for this happy/sad mama.

Harper is ONE!

Wahhh!! I can't believe it!! Good thing I am having another baby because this sure did sneak up on me way faster than I was ready for. A year ago I went into labor early in the morning on May 11 and Harper was born at 9:31 am, and we have not stopped going going going since then! (Here is a link to that post for those that would like a refresher of the birth story).

Harper Joy lives up to her name more and more every day. She is a light when she is happy and a force to be reckoned with when she isn't! She is walking a little bit more every day but still cruises and crawls for the most part. She has 7 teeth and is just outgrowing her 12 month clothes. Harper wears size 4 diapers and still enjoys eating EVERYTHING except avocado. We cut the bottles out cold-turkey around 10.5/11 months and added in milk to her diet...except she hates it! We offer her  cheese and yogurt every day and she drinks plenty of almond milk which she does seem to like.
At 12 months and one week she clocks in at 21 pounds 4 ounces and 29.5 inches long.

She crawls like a silly goose with one leg up and pushes off her toes on that leg rather than both knees being on the ground. And when she walks it seems she turns out her right foot to the side. I showed her pediatrician videos of her walking and crawling and she didn't seem concerned. She said babies her age are still figuring out their gait and if the issue persists into her 18th month, she will look into it more. She heard no hip clicking and found no asymmetry in her legs so it is unlikely it is anything serious (like hip dysplasia). The doctor proclaimed her perfect (which we already knew)!



Harper's favorite things in the world continue to be her sister and books. She can sit for a long time in her room taking all her books off the shelves, looking through each of them as if she is really reading. She loves to climb up on her glider with a book and sit there with it until she is "done" then she climbs down and gets another one!




Avery asks for Harper when she wakes up in the morning and from naps and she often asks her if she wants to play. There are still tears when someone takes something from the other (it goes both ways now!) but they genuinely enjoy being around each other and Harper just lights up when Avery pays her attention. It is the sweetest thing!

     

 

 

Harper's Pinwheel Birthday Party

Harper was born on Friday, May 11 which means her first birthday fell on a Saturday (Avery was also born on a Friday making her first birthday also on a Saturday! Let's hope Grady keeps up with the tradition as it is nice celebrating their birthdays on the actual day).
We celebrated by having a small-ish Pinwheel and Lemonade themed party for her here at our home with family and a few friends and neighbors.

 

It was a beautiful day! Harper was a bit overwhelmed by all the people and the attention at first, but did much better after she was fed by Yaya and Grandpa John.

 

Papa Ken, Grandma Pat and Grandpa John

 

The "kids" all had fun on the trampoline...

 

Harper and Karissa

 

Yaya and Harper getting warm in the sun :)

 

 

I enjoyed doing a few crafty projects for the party (of course). I made a fabric bunting banner and turned it into a birthday sign. I also put together a timeline of her monthly photos so everyone could see how she's grown. As I already posted on my Crafty Crafty post, I tried my hand at applique and made the birthday shirt with a pinwheel and number 1. And of course, there were lots of pinwheels (thanks to my friend Courtney who made most of them when she threw the same theme party for her daughter Reese a year ago!)

 

 

 

 

The best part of a first birthday party is to watch the honoree tear into the cake! I made Harper's from an organic vanilla box mix and added strawberries. I also made it a bit healthier by subbing applesauce in for oil and using greek yogurt in place of milk. I used Cool Whip as frosting (which I don't recommend as it gets pretty soupy when it softens, but Harper loved it!). The rest of the guests snacked off the desert table complete with lemon bars, lemon cakes, cream puffs, Ring Pops and raspberry lemonade.

 

 

She was a bit overwhelmed by everyone singing her happy birthday but she sure did love her cake and had no problem sharing it with anyone who wanted a slobbery chunk, and surprisingly there were a few takers :)

 

 

 

We can't thank everyone enough who came to help us celebrate our sweet baby girl! This year has just raced by (I know, I know) and we are still in disbelief that she's ONE! Can't wait for all the milestones we have yet to reach with our little Harper Joy.
We just love her to bits!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Crafty Corner!

This week I have been crafting up a storm for Harper's birthday party and for baby Grady's nursery. I really like the feeling of "ah, I MADE that! Go me!" When it turns out right, of course. When it doesn't I think, "should have saved a few bucks/hours and just bought the damn thing." Oh well!
I have had a few successes this week and I just feel like sharing! I get so inspired seeing the creations others make so thought I would put mine out there and hope someone gets inspiration from me!

First, I really wanted to make Harper a cute party hat like this for her first birthday this weekend.

It turned out like crap. So on to plan B...make her a shirt! I had ordered an embroidered shirt for Avery's first birthday from Etsy and was happy with it, aside from the $25 price tag.

I had been seeing "easy applique" tutorials on Pinterest when looking for Grady projects and thought I could make her a shirt myself! So I found this great and simple tutorial here, got all the things I would need (a shirt, iron, Heat Bond, fabric, scissors and cardstock). First, I drew templates for the shapes I wanted onto cardstock (a pinwheel and a number 1), then I traced them onto the paper side of the Heat Bond. Then I cut the shapes out and ironed them onto the WRONG side of the fabric (and I had to trace the 1 backwards so it would come out correctly on the other side). Then I cut out my now fabric shapes, and ironed them onto the shirt. Then I stitched around the edges to keep them from falling off in the washing machine and to just finish the look. (I actually couldn't sew around the 1, it is too small and too much pivoting it was looking like crap. So I plan to hand sew it...sometime before Saturday!)
I am so happy with  how it turned out!

 

I also made some pinwheel hair clips for both girls by Heat Bonding the wrong sides of the fabrics together, cutting the edges, gluing them down and to an alligator clip.

 

 

 



For little Grady man's room, I have a bunch of projects floating around in my head! I want to make a fabric pennant bunting for his room like this but in his colors (navy, white, green and orange):



But I am going to wait until the party is over ($$$!) before attempting this...in the meantime I bought a plain white letter G for $1.20 at Michaels and turned it into this!

 



I used painters tape to make stripes that would stay white and painted the open space navy. (Had to do a few coats as the MDF is a bit shiny which caused the paint to streak.) Then I removed the tape and very carefully with a tiny brush, painted the edge of the G a lime green. Again, did several coats but it dried fast as I wasn't using much paint. Then I hot glued a bit of roping I got at Joanns for a great deal to make a loop. And now, Grady has joined his sisters with a letter on his door, each of which matches the rooms inside.

{Avery~Harper~Grady}

We got his bedding in this week, from Pottery Barn kids (the Harper set, ironically enough!)

           

And I had a tote embroidered with his name...no changing it now!

I also appliqued a few fabric ties onto some onesies I had...still have to sew the edges on these but how cute!?! Watch out, friends with baby boys...I will be making a few of these for you too!

Thanks for reading and stay crafty, my friends ;)