My baby finally had her first haircut at just shy of 3 1/2 years old! I took all three of the girls to Bellini Salon and Harper was to go after both Emerson and Avery. She was very excited to be getting a haircut; however, her excitement quickly turned to fear as it was her turn to get her hair washed. 
Instead of a shampoo, we settled on a spray bottle to wet her hair. Once she got in the chair to get her hair cut, she did great.
It is still long…we just trimmed the ends and it looks much healthier. And afterwards…we celebrated with Dairy Queen ice cream cones!
Tag Archives: milestones
Harper – 17 Months
It seriously so hard to believe you are nearing 18 months! I was so good with your baby book the first year as there was a page for each month; however, at the 12 month mark the standard updates by the book are less frequent, and I find that I’m not documenting as much as I should. So at 17 months, here is a snapshot of you!
– Eating Patterns – You love food and eating and most food. You remind me of Emerson’s eating habits. You shovel food in so fast that usually I have to go get you a second round before I even sit down to eat my meal. You pretty much love all fruits. Vegetables aren’t your favorites; however, on occasion you will eat peas or corn. In fact, tonight you ate corn on the cob for the first time and you got a kick out of that. You don’t like tofu or meat, but you are a big fan of pasta, chicken nuggets, fish (frozen), hot dogs, veggie dogs, cereal bars, waffles, and eggs. You also like snacks and now know where the snack drawer is and often will go to it on our own. You just switched to a booster seat this past weekend. Daddy switched you a little earlier than your sisters, but I think Daddy was ready to have one less thing to wash each meal (the tray). You are thrilled to truly be part of the table and you seem to be eating a little slower now that you are eating from a plate and with the rest of the family at the table. You don’t drink milk anymore. I took you off of it late October to for several weeks to see if that was the source of your upset stomachs. When I tried to reintroduce milk and in cups (not bottles), you wanted nothing to do with milk anymore. I’ve tried a few times here and there but you continually want nothing to do with it.
– Sleeping Patterns – You are an incredible sleeper at night. You go to bed at 8:30 and you generally fall asleep within a matter of minutes…your bedtime routine consists of getting your pajamas on, brushing your teeth, and a story. You rarely cry at bedtime. You sleep for a solid 12 hours most nights. You suck your left thumb still…perhaps that is part of the reason you are such an awesome sleeper at night. Most days you take two naps. Your one nap days are usually a result of your schedule being interrupted by your sister’s schedule. Your naps are generally on the shorter side…if you take more than an hour nap, that is usually on the longer side for you. I can’t complain though as your night time sleeping is so sound!
– Physical Development – You began walking at 11 months and it wasn’t long before you were running. You are always on the go – running to and from your sisters and the grown up that is trying to get you. You began going down stairs backwards months ago and just recently started to walk down stairs holding the railing. You are pretty proud of your latest accomplishment.
– Teeth – You were late in getting teeth – it was 11 months before you had teeth and you basically went from no teeth to seven teeth in weeks. I think three of your four molars are in now, but you barely let me take a peek without biting my fingers! You started brushing your teeth shortly after you were one and loved brushing your teeth until recently – I think you really enjoyed the taste of the toothpaste. Just recently you have been putting up the biggest fight when it comes to brushing your teeth. You want nothing to do with it and fight it like crazy. Avery and Emerson went through a similar phase around the same age (give or take a few months) so I am hopeful this is just a phase.
– Language – Your receptive language is phenomenal. Your verbal language in terms of real words is still pretty much non-existent. You are extremely vocal and recently have been saying a lot of mama and dada and byebye but not a whole lot more just yet. You know exactly what you want and do a lot of pointing and grunting to get it is what you want. Recently you just started shaking your head a lot for “yes” and “no”. It is so darn cute.
– Bond – You have a special bond with Karolin and Grandma. You love for them to hold you. As soon as you get picked up by someone who you adore, your left thumb goes in your mouth and you snuggle. As much as you love to snuggle with some of your favorite people, you also have a select group of people who you want nothing to do with. We joined a gym a few months ago with an awesome kids area and as soon as we walk into the kids area, your lip starts to turn upside down and you let out one of those cries that takes a few seconds to come out. For the first month you either cried the entire time you were there or if you weren’t crying, you still weren’t happy and you sat in the same spot sucking your thumb until it was time to leave. More recently you have had a few times where you lay on the floor for a half hour straight refusing to move and a few other times you have actually played after crying for only a few minutes!
– Personality – Your personality is awesome. You laugh A LOT! You are a tease and you find so much of what you do and others do funny. You hold your own with your sisters. They adore you and like to play with you and hug you. You often mistake their wanting to hug and kiss you as them coming after you so you can be a bully at times. You sometimes pull your sister’s hair or pinch and they never try to hurt you back. You’ve gotten a few time outs and you do not like time out. You know you are in time out because you did something wrong and you find it extremely upsetting. You really do have an awesome personality and just thinking about you brings the biggest smile to my face and warms my heart. Harper Paige, you are the one that completes our family! We love you so much baby girl!
“Second” Haircuts
For the girls second haircut (well Emerson’s second….one including myself could argue it was truly Avery’s first true haircut), we took the girls to a full service salon. I couldn’t bring myself to take them back to Cartoon Cuts. While I’m glad we went there the first time, it was so chaotic and not only stressful for me and Justin, but also for the girls. I researched hair salons that cut children’s hair and ended up making Avery and Emerson appointments at Salon Nordine in Reston. While the salon is huge, we went on a Sunday and there were only two hair stylists working….needless to say it was very quiet and calm and the hairstylist and the shampoo lady were very patient with Avery and Emerson. Emerson was supposed to have had her hair cut first; she was excited as she waited with Daddy.
However, when it came time to sit in the chair to have her hair washed, she ran away. She was adamant that she was not going to have her hair washed. Avery hesitantly went first. She started in the chair with a pouty sad face but quickly began to enjoy the head message and the smiles started to emerge. 
She was great in the chair getting her hair cut. 
Emerson finally gave in to getting her hair washed and cut….(a lot of cookies were eaten during the process for both her and Emerson). 
At first she was truly enjoying the experience.
Although half way through, she was getting fidgety and ready to be done. 
Both girls had their hair blown straight! Who are these girls!!
Harper even had a few bangs cut. 
Our salon outing was followed by lunch at Rio Grande and checking out the Christmas Tree at Reston Town Center. 
A Week Of Firsts
Monday the girls had their first day of ballet! They looked so cute in their lavender leotards, white tights, and ballet shoes. We took a few pictures before we set off for the studio.
There were a total of four girls in the class….I think it’s possible one may have been missing, but I’m not sure. Avery was pretty quick to join in and follow the teacher’s instructions and did a pretty good job. Emerson was about 50/50….for about half the class she followed instruction and the other half she either sat down or was running in and out of the studio to find me.
No tears were shed though and Avery thanked me for taking her to dance class as soon as it was over and told Grandma about the purple dots and the beanbags that they used as props. I have no doubt that the girls will become more comfortable as the month goes on.
Thursday was the girls first day of pre-school. We took a few pictures at home before we left for school since I figured my chances of getting a picture of them at the school was probably slim. (BTW, Avery’s right eye was really irritated the night before pre-school so we had to take her contact out, which unfortunately made her extra squinty for her first few days at preschool).
I tried one more though as we walked into the building.
We have been talking about pre-school regularly since May, if not before then. I anticipated Avery would barely look back when I dropped her off. Emerson I knew would be reserved, but I thought she would hold back tears. I WAS WRONG! The good bye did not go over well….in fact, it was quite horrible! We got to the school a few minutes early and as we waited for the doors to open Emerson sat quietly observing all the kids and parents while Avery boisterously jumped on me. Once we were able to go in, the three of us walked to the classroom and the girls placed their bags on their designated hooks. Then they went over to Ms. Denise to get their hands washed and as they stood in line, I could tell they started to get more reserved, but were still okay. I started to say good bye and give them hugs and Emerson simultaneously started to let me know that she was tired. I told her that she could take a nap when she got home which was not a satisfactory response for her. Slowly the words she was tired became louder and louder and slowly we made our way out to the hallway and slowly her position went from standing and a little whine to laying out on the floor kicking and screaming. During all this, Avery followed Emerson out to the hallway and Emerson’s tantrum set her off into full blown tears as well.
Her teacher’s Ms. Kristen and Ms. Denise and even the Director of the Preschool Ms. Marnie were awesome though and told me that I should go if I felt comfortable and they would handle it. Let me add that there were at least two other classrooms too and the three of them were willing to focus on my children alone. I’m pretty sure my children were the only two children that had visible meltdowns….
I gave the girls one final hug and walked off as they were still in full blown meltdown mode…I quietly let Ms. Marnie know I would be waiting outside to make sure they were okay. After about 15 minutes she came out to tell me that they were “OK”….she said she couldn’t say they were loving school; but they were calm at the moment. I rode home in disbelief of the events that had just occurred. I fully expected Emerson to be reserved but really did not anticipate tears from her and I certainly didn’t anticipate tears from Avery. So I was very pleased when I received an email from Ms. Marnie less than two hours after the class started that said the girls “are settling in beautifully” and “are a pleasure to have in class”. It will be interesting to get the girls perspective on their day when they get home and even more interesting to see how the second day goes tomorrow, particularly the drop off (which Justin is doing tomorrow).
Day 2 Update: According to the girls and their teachers, they ended up having a great day, as evidenced by the paint on their clothes and faces! We talked a lot about the day and excitement was coming from everyone, so I thought for sure the Friday drop off would be better. The drive was good, we set expectations, and even took a few more pictures. We were ready….or so I thought. Once we got in the classroom, pretty much the SAME repeat of yesterday (although Emerson was a little calmer in the sense that she was not on the ground this time and was truly trying to take deep breaths in between the sobs)….and again Emerson’s tears set off Avery’s tears. I quickly left again at Ms. Kristen and Ms. Marnie’s suggestion. Apparently they rebounded in 5 seconds and once again had a great day! I imagine we will have a few more repeats of this next week….I will just have to do a better job of getting out of the classroom even quicker next time!
11 Months
Harper is 11 months already. Some days I can’t believe it…my little baby is hardly a baby anymore and in less than a month, she will be 1! That is just insane to me. I think I am going to be one of those moms that always can’t get over how old my children are….or how old I am 🙁….but that is a blog for another day! Anyway, Harper took her first steps at just over 9 months. Although we were proud of those steps and many others, we weren’t overly encouraging her to walk at such a young age. First, she hadn’t been crawling that long…she got around real well but by means other than true crawling (a lot of scooting)….and crawling was an important development that I didn’t want her to take lightly! Second, I wasn’t ready for her to be that mobile yet! So while there were a lot of steps at 9 months and 10 months, it was literally the day that she turned 11 months that those steps turned into walking. On her 11 month birthday, it was probably 50/50 walking and in the 3 days since then, she has pretty much become a full blown walker….to the point where last night I realized she needed real shoes…one’s that were actually supportive for walking and not just decorative! So here she is at Stride Rite buying her 1st pair of shoes!
And here is Harper and proud big sister Emerson who picked out those hot pink shoes!
Eleven months so far has proven to be a big month for Harper. At 11 months (or just shy by about a week), Harper’s two top teeth magically started appearing out of nowhere. They are only just coming in, but they are huge. And one on the bottom is coming in as well. FINALLY! I secretly was beginning to wonder if she had any baby teeth….THANKFULLY she does. But don’t be fooled those teeth (or lack thereof) were not keeping Harper from eating and enjoying her food. Over the last few months we have been introducing more and more table food and sometime last month Harper’s meals turned into all table food. She joins us at the table (in her high chair) and she shovels the food into her mouth (a lot like Emerson did at the same age). I don’t think she like peas or corn that much, but other than that she isn’t too biased when it comes to food.
Happy 11 months Harper….one year is just around the corner!
Each Little Lady
Harper! Harper! Harper! Harper is seriously the sweetest baby ever…one look at her and she has the biggest smile and makes the sweetest sound. She loves to be a part of things. I feel like she is already going to do things sooner than her sisters at the same age, just because she wants to do everything they are doing. Harper is really playing with toys now. She even crawls to get the toys or things she wants now. She is still mostly army crawling as one arm often gets stuck underneath her body as she moves, but she is still getting around! Now that she is sitting up and playing with toys, I feel like she is even playing together with the girls some too. The other day I sat her on the floor in Avery and Emerson’s room while I got them ready for a nap; Harper crawled right over to the book shelf and took out all the books. The other day Harper even pulled herself up using the help of the toy basket. She did it a few times in a row and was SO proud of herself. Mommy and Daddy were pretty proud of her too.
In other news, Emerson does not have to wear her special shoes anymore! She was such an awesome patient! When we took her back to the doctor in mid-February the doctor could not believe the drastic change in such a short amount of time. Although I was expecting the doctor to be impressed with Emerson’s results, I was not expecting her to say that she was done wearing them! I reminded her that Emerson had only been wearing her special shoes since September (when we first started the process I was told to expect a year minimum). So she said 6 more weeks and then she wanted to see her back in 8 weeks.
The first night we put on Emerson’s special shoes, our hearts broke. We talked them up and she was actually pretty excited about them. But once that bar went on that connected the shoes, she realized just how restricted she was and her cry and pouty lip was almost enough to make me cry. But after only a few days she really began to believe that her shoes were indeed special and she welcomed them as part of not only her bedtime routine but also her naptime routine. In fact, there were a few times where Justin and I tried to get her to nap without them in order to expedite the naptime process and Emerson refused to go down without her special shoes. They became a part of her and in time they weren’t so restricting. She learned to crawl on her knees with them. She could stand in them and Avery often would taunt Emerson and tell her to walk in her special shoes; a challenge in which Emerson would always try and then all four of us would laugh. Some nights Avery would even take Emerson’s special shoes and try to put them on as she wanted special shoes too. So this past Saturday night when Emerson no longer had to wear her special shoes, we knew that we needed to let her know this in a way that she wouldn’t become upset. We let her know how awesome she did wearing her special shoes; we were high fiving, clapping, and even Avery was offering congratulatory words. Low and behold…Emerson thought she was something special and while she did ask a few times why she didn’t have to wear her special shoes anymore, once we provided her an explanation (again with many high fives) her face lit up and exuberated pride knowing she did worked really hard to achieve a goal and had reached the desired outcome.
As for Avery, Avery continues to be our little fashionista and comedian all rolled into one. She likes to pick out her own clothes…a task that sometimes leads to her matching, sometimes to an outfit that I likely wouldn’t want to take her out in public in (but mightJ), and sometimes an outfit that doesn’t quite go together but is super adorable none the less. She also continues to tell jokes and loves to make people laugh. She has a habit of telling some of the same jokes repeatedly (like the fact that Emerson told Dr. Harrison that she doesn’t like Chinese food anymore…Chinese food is bad)…an ongoing joke for 6 weeks now that is still pretty funny most the time although it is starting to lose some of it’s luster and when the laughs aren’t as hearty as they were in the past, Avery demands laughter.
In other news with Avery, she is currently going through the evaluation process as she ages out of Early Intervention at age 3 and FCPS takes over and creates an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). At first I was a little nervous about the process since Avery is doing so well and I felt that although she absolutely should qualify to make sure she has the tools necessary to do well in a classroom setting. However, more recently I have started to feel a little better about the process as her main evaluation will be with the vision teacher Jenn, who used to be a part of Avery’s early intervention, and Lorna her weekly therapist will be in attendance.
And finally in household news…we closed on March 17. We are doing some work on the house before we move in…nothing major….but enough that we are still about 3 weeks away from moving in. We are anxious but know that we will be in our new place soon enough!!
Six Months Already
Our precious little baby girl turned 6 months last week. Honestly, she isn’t so little anymore. I haven’t weighed her in some time, but if I had to guess I would say she is already pushing 16 or 17 pounds. We go for her 6 month check-up this week so we’ll find out for certain soon enough.
This 6 month point has definitely marked some change. Not only is Harper eating solids, but she is also learning that solids can be constipating! She is also learning that while her sisters are eating dinner, she may be missing out on some quality family time. Our once so easy baby, while still easy, just wants to be a part of things…Justin and I find ourselves holding Harper now at the dinner table…she isn’t shy about reaching for our plates or food.
Now when Harper is placed on the ground, WE have learned to expect that we must keep a close eye on her or she will roll from one side of the room to the other. She is still always happy, smiling, and her happy grin has started to let out even more giggles. Her core is becoming stronger and she has recently started sitting up…and she sure is proud of herself.
We had a 6 month photo session yesterday and our precious little baby had a great time being Daddy’s subject.
Seriously….6 months…where has the time gone baby girl! Looks like WE ARE ALL loving every minute of it!
A & E’s First Haircut
We went to Cartoon Cuts in Fairoaks Mall. Grandma, Grandpa, and Harper even came along for the experience. Emerson was scared and cried some but was finally okay once she sat in Daddy’s lap. The woman cut off more than I was expecting, but at least it is all even now (or mostly…I seriously think I could do a better job in the future just as long as Emerson cooperates). Avery watched while Emerson had a haircut and kept asking when it was going to be her turn. She sat quietly in Daddy’s lap while the woman cut off the tiniest bit. Both girls recieved a lollipop and their First Haircut Certificate when they were done.
BEFORE….
DURING…
AFTER…
On the way home, we made a special detour to our NEW HOUSE! Yes, Justin and I bought a new house in Vienna over the weekend and we hadn’t yet told the girls. So we surprised everyone and drove by our new house and then went to lunch to celebrate the purchase of our new home and the girls first haircut! More to come on our new home in later blogs!
Harper Starts Solids!
Towards the end of December, Harper began waking at night all of a sudden. At first it was about once a night and then it turned into two and sometimes even three times a night. For the first week, I kept thinking maybe this was a short phase she was going through. But this pattern continued and each time Harper woke, I would nurse her and she would go right back down so I figured it was Harper’s way of saying, she was hungry and breast milk alone was no longer keeping her little tummy full. At the same time our new nanny had just started and we were getting ready to potty train the girls, so I was really trying to hold Harper out just a little longer so we weren’t introducing too much change at once into our household. After several weeks of waking up to feed Harper two or three times, I was becoming very tired and decided it was time to start solids. We started with rice cereal.
I think her first feeding went relatively well. I remember the girls first time eating and Justin being so distraught because they cried and pushed their food away and I remember him thinking they would never learn to eat. Harper was quite the opposite…she enjoyed her rice cereal and took every opportunity to suck her thumb between bites because her hands were so messy with rice cereal that even her fingers tasted good.
We then tried banana, which is so far one of her favorites.
We have also tried peas….
…probably not one of her favorites to date (but we have only tried it once or twice)…
We have tried Sweet potato, which she enjoys.
And we have also tried green beans and prunes.
In the last week and a half Harper had a little cold and became constipated, so we scaled back her food some and have been holding out on introducing more foods. We’re just now getting back on track with a goal of eating twice a day for now. As we have introduced foods, there has definitely been a noticeable change in the amount of milk she has been drinking…at least with her bottles she often leaves a lot leftover. Let’s hope Harper’s tummy feels good this week so we can introduce one or two more foods…maybe even some pear!
What a Difference a Year Makes
WE HAVE KIDS! I guess one would say, “No shit Sherlock”. But really I seriously find myself saying this to Justin all the time now. I am just amazed at these little humans they are becoming. Not even a year ago, we found ourselves at Avery’s annual Early Intervention Assessment and I remember language being one of the areas that had me feeling slightly concerned as both girls were slightly behind the developmental language milestones. I have conversations with them now! They are able to express their wants and needs, their feelings and thoughts, and the past two days Emerson started asking questions (what you doing, where you going).
Emerson is sweet and caring, she wears her feelings on her sleeve and gets easily upset if she hurts your feelings or easily embarrassed if she gets in trouble for doing something she shouldn’t. She loves to cuddle especially on the couch while watching cartoons. Emerson does not like to listen…when it comes to getting dressed, changing her diaper, giving back the remote, getting off the table or chair in which she has climbed…she runs away as she thinks it is funny. The mention of a timeout does not phase her. She loves to laugh especially when mommy or daddy do something silly as put something in it’s wrong place. She loves to make up stories, and she is quite the expressive talker, constantly talking with her hands.
Avery is carefree, my little daredevil (although she is afraid to stand in an escalator). She laughs from deep within her soul and constantly expresses her feelings especially when it comes to having fun. She is an instigator and often wants Emerson to do things first especially when it comes to things that she knows she shouldn’t be doing, such as climbing up a lamp. She also likes to push the boundaries, but gets a little more scared on the count of two knowing the count of three could lead to a time out. She loves to tell stories of the past especially the ones that involve doctor’s visits or special one-on-one outings.
We have finally started to venture out again the past few weekends. Two weekends ago we took the girls to Kid Junction for day of indoor fun. Harper mostly watched but she still had a great time.
Emerson was actually in the mood to take pictures!
My sister who was visiting from London came along for the ride.
The following weekend we went to visit Granddaddy and Grandma in Virginia Beach. It was Harper’s first time in a hotel and she was awesome. It was our first experience in a hotel…just the five of us in one room and all the girls did great for the record. Avery and Emerson each slept in their pack-n-play which they love and Harper slept in a crib borrowed from the hotel. We had plenty of snuggles in bed.
The temperature reached record highs and we couldn’t resist a quick ride to the beach. Not much tops little toes in the sand.
We made it back from Va Beach in time to celebrate Christmas at home. As we approach Christmas Eve, I can’t help but to think what a difference a year makes. This time last year Justin was grocery shopping with mad crowds as I was too nauseous and tired to even get dressed. While I made Christmas breakfast and Christmas dinner and we celebrated with presents and I put on my best front (as my parents didn’t yet know I was pregnant), deep down I was feeling pretty crappy. Here we are just one year later…Harper is now almost 4 1/2 months old and Avery and Emerson have become kids before my eyes. WOW, what a difference a year makes!