Merry Christmas 2011

What an awesome year we have had and the last three days have been icing on the cake for us. We have enjoyed every moment we have had with family since our holiday started Friday evening! To say that we are lucky to have what we have would be an understatement.

As I sat in church last night all I could think about was how blessed we are to have Jesus in our lives and to have the family we have in our lives. As I got the presents ready for the kids last night and ate a cookie for Santa I was giddy with excitement to see Taegan's face in the morning. Walking downstairs with her this morning I could hardly wait to see her smile and watch her mind process it all. Rocking Laekan to sleep for his morning nap today while at my parents with them all opening presents was priceless. Enjoying Taegan as she danced and sang for us today with her new Barbie microphone was fantastic. Coming home and unloading our gifts into our living room was overwhelming. Putting the kids to bed and having them both cry tonight was frustrating, but humbling at the same time. Holding Laekan as he calmed down and just breathing him in was breathtaking. Tucking Taegan in for the fourth time and having her say "Mom I sure do love you a lot" after I had got short with her, stole my heart. Watching the Cats play tonight with Justin as we wind down from a very great Christmas-relaxing!!!

We hope you all had a great Christmas this year and had a chance to take in the day! Love you all.

Surgery Day...

On Thursday of last week we headed to Children's Mercy in Kansas City to have a pre-op appointment for Laekan's minor surgery the next day. We decided since he would be having the surgery early Friday morning we would just stay the night at Sheraton Suites at Crown Center and make a weekend of it!!:) Lucky me! Laekan did great for the ride up there, the appointment, and then napped while we headed to an early dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Once we got done there we headed to the mall to make him a build a bear Dr. for his surgery and then back to the hotel to relax and watch the Cats play basketball.

I was a bit worried about how it would go with him not being able to eat after midnight and having to wait until the surgery. Laekan eats at 8 at night and sleeps all night and eats at 8 the next morning. I was NOT about to wake him up in the middle of the night to feed him and start that awful schedule to try and break that when we got back home. So I took the chance, fed him at 8 Thursday night and knew that the morning before surgery might be awful! Boy was I wrong-he was an angel!!! He flirted with all the nurses, laughed, played, and then fell asleep in my arms until they came to get him at 9:15 for surgery!!!

Got him in his gown and he is waiting with Daddy.

His cute socks...

Sound asleep with Mommy until surgery.

We loved Children's Mercy-everything was organized and run so well. We waited in the waiting room and it had plenty of space, drinks, tvs, and wifi so I could work some! We weren't there long because surgery didn't take long. I had hopes of getting a picture of him when we rejoined him in the hallway-he was a mess. That was the worst part of all of this, watching him wake up from the meds. He was so out of it and crying and coughing and mad. Broke my heart. They put him right in my arms and he seemed to calm down some. It took about 20 minutes or so and then he started eating and we were able to leave. We headed back to the hospital and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon relaxing waiting on my parents and Taegan to get there to have some fun playing and shopping at Crown Center. Laekan only needed 2 rounds of pain meds that day and he hasn't had any since! Such a strong boy.

Playing the next morning on the hotel bed before we headed home!

Although this surgery was minor, it made me realize that I am lucky God has blessed me with two healthy kiddos that don't need surgeries. Handing him off was tough, the worry was tough, the watching him wake up was tough, I'm just not cut out to watch my kids in pain. I will say that there were NO tears from any of us before the surgery and only tears from Laekan after the surgery-although I was close a few times. Thankful to be back home and done with this!!!

7 months old...

Laekan Harper-You are one busy little man lately and we are doing our best to keep up with you! Each month that I sit down to write this I think it is the best month yet and it just keeps getting better. I remember with you sister that we absolutely loved it when she started getting her personality and interacting with us more. Now we are loving that you are interacting with her as well-our hearts are so full watching you both and we are eager to see what you two are like when you are a bit older and can talk back to her!!! Oh what a ride we are in for....but we can't wait. You continue to steal our hearts and your sisters heart-she LOVES you to pieces and more. Your last month was busy and your one up ahead will be so fun with Christmas. We are so blessed God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy. Here is what you are up to as of today:

*You are wearing 6-9 and 9 month clothes. You are SO long!
*You just had a minor surgery at Children's Mercy...you weighed 20lbs and were 29 inches!!!
*You are still in size 2 diapers and size 3 at night.
*Same schedule for eating and sleeping.
*You are eating oatmeal mixed with fruit for breakfast and a veggie at dinner. We will start this week eating food at lunch too.
*You are napping great in the morning and in the afternoon-we love it!
*You are sleeping better in the morning, waking around 7:30-7:45 and I just let you talk and jabber in bed until Taegan and I come get you.
*You do have a bit of a cold right now, although it hasn't stopped you from anything!
*I would like to say you are still eating 28 ounces a day, but that wouldn't be accurate. You are starting to drink less with the onset of more baby food. You are around 26-28.
*You tried puffs a week or so ago and made a funny face, but then wanted more. We are putting them on your tray and letting work on getting them to your mouth. You do okay with this!
*You are a rolling machine-all over the place when you are playing!
*You are sitting up all alone and will do so for very long periods of time. We just put you on a blanket with lots of toys and you will play and laugh.
*You are loving your exersaucer as well. You will bounce and bounce in there.
*We put you in the jumperoo between Taegan's door frame and you had a great time with that. You bounced and were entertained with her.
*You aren't really into your thumb much anymore, sometimes but not nearly as much as you were.
*You are however, very into your little blankie. It goes everywhere with us and you need it to drink your bottle. You will rub it and rub it on your face. So sweet.
*Sophie is still your main toy-although just about anything you can chew on will work.
*You have two teeth, your bottom middle two and you show them off everytime with your smile.
*Your smile and laugh are fantastic and they can change our mood very fast!
*You are up and rocking on all fours...Mommy isn't quite ready for that yet.
*We have tried giving you a sippy cup with water in it and you know how to hold it, but only chew on the spout part.
*You tried some mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and liked them.
*Pictures this month were nearly impossible...
What a neat sign-this was right before he headed to his mouth with it.
Showing off his friend Sophie...and his First Christmas shirt!
I could never get him to look at me with the sign there!

We love you Laekan and are so excited to share the holidays with you!!!

Trying something new...

Tonight while we ate dinner we decided to let Laekan try some puffs while we were all at the table. I wasn't sure if he was ready for this, but thought it was worth a try. He actually did great with his fingers and grabbing the puffs. He would use his whole hand to pick them up and then get them to his mouth. The puffs, however, are made to dissolve when wet so his slobber would cause them to stick to his hands and he couldn't get it into his mouth because it would stick! Once I could get it to his mouth he chewed and loved them...I think they were a hit!
Concentrating very hard on picking them up.
Getting them to his mouth...kind of!!!
Loving them:)

He is doing what????

On Monday Laekan decided that he was a "big boy" now and was going to try out rocking on all fours-Mommy on the other hand wasn't quite ready for that!!! Where is time going and why is it going so fast. I do not remember this happening with Taegan so quickly and I am trying to enjoy every second of all of this. He is SO much fun right now and we are all having a great time watching him explore and learn new things. Even though we aren't quite ready for it...
Check it out-I am big time!
This smile melts my heart and my soul-ugh he is so sweet!
and the eyes! If you look real close you can see his 2 bottom teeth!!!

Cousin play...

For Thanksgiving Kyle and Melissa came to town and we spent the whole day on Saturday out at Becky and Greg's so that we could all hang out and let the girls play! Taegan was super excited to see Kinsley and play with her. It is a bit hard for her to not be bossy-we are working on that. This seems to be our main issue right now. And it isn't a mean bossy, it is just Taegan is such a rules follower(not that the other kids aren't) and she is so particular on where things go and how they should be that it bothers her if things aren't that way! We are not sure what to do about this...but either way she had a ball with Kinsley and can't wait to play with her at Christmas.
Building blocks together...and laughing!
A quick smile for Mom!

A Hodge Podge

I am playing catch up with some pictures and things that have happened in November...enjoy!
Being silly with Daddy's hat. We actually have some pictures of Taegan around this age with his hat on as well!!!
We drug out the jumperoo and he LOVES it. This boy will jump and bounce on anything and anywhere! He just laughs and laughs.
Miss Thing-she is hard to get pictures of lately because she wants to be taking the pictures!
My precious family-I can't believe how lucky and blessed I am.
Trying to get a picture-but we both ended up laughing at Justin.
My heart belongs to this man-I love you Justin!

Laekan can do what?!

Laekan decided a week after turning 6 months old he would try to sit on his own...and he hasn't looked back!!! I intentionally waited to schedule his 6 month pictures a little later in the month in hopes that he would be sitting and now I am so glad I did!!!
His first try at it completely alone...you can see he is a bit off balance.

Trying to gain his balance...with the help of Sophie nearby:)

This was taken two days ago-he is a pro now!!! Just put him down with toys all around and he is fine.

He will even talk to you while sitting up!!!

As excited as we were about him being able to sit-we are realizing our house is about to be destroyed because he is getting closer and closer to being mobile!!!! Love the milestones though.

A thing called a bath...

Right about when Laekan turned six months I decided that bath time could be shortened a bit if we put them both in there together! I realize this doesn't seem like a genius idea and that a lot of people do this, but up until this point we had being doing them separate because he was so small. He had really been starting to like the bath and sitting in his chair in it so I thought if Taegan was in there he would have something to pay attention to that would help him last even longer in the bath! So we tried it...

and they LOVED it!!! He just laughs and laughs at her and she thinks she is a big help when she gets to rinse Laekan off. A win win for all of us:)

6 months old:)

Yes-I am VERY behind on the blog and plan to update the important events very soon, but today I had to do little man's month update!!

Laekan Harper-The fun is just beginning with you...and we LOVE it! Daddy and I were talking the other day and we forgot how much fun each month is as you change so much the first year. We could eat you up with a spoon everyday all day. You continue to be a very laid back guy like your Daddy-thank goodness! This month was another full one between Halloween and Mommy having sinus surgery and being down for a few weeks. I can't believe how much my heart grows more and more for you(and your sister) everyday! Here is what you are up to as of today:

*You are wearing 6 month, 6-9 month, and 9 month clothes. 9 month jammies.
*You are still wearing size 2 diapers with a size 3 at night. You continue to stay dry at night so I think we have it all figured out finally.
*Same schedule all day and night long:)
*You are starting to nap better in the morning-because we are home now more in the mornings.
*You have started to wake up around 7 some mornings and I will either go pat your bottom back to sleep or just rock with you in the chair and sleep with you there!!! It is our special time that I will miss so much when you outgrow this.
*Eating 28 ounces a day.
*We have started mixing a fruit with your cereal for breakfast, and you eat a veggie before your 4 o'clock bottle. You really do love to eat!!! We haven't found anything you don't like.
*You just recently(5 days ago) decided you could roll from your back to your tummy. However, you aren't showing this skill off too much right now. We look forward to you getting better at this so you can roll yourself back over at night.
*Since discovering your thumb you continue to suck on it-although not really to put yourself to sleep or even for soothing. Just for something to do-see picture below!
*You scooted off your sister's bed this month and she tried to catch you. You pretty much slid down the bed with her arms below you because she couldn't quite stop you. She was the one that was the most upset-we are talking very upset because she wanted to protect you. Ever since this episode she is very careful of you if you are on furniture and we walk away. She wants you safe!
*You continue to adore Taegan. Just tonight before bed she was singing you songs to keep you happy while I was doing something and you just smiled and laughed at her!
*You have discovered people's faces and this is your new fascination. You want to put your hands all over our face and feel it all. Taegan loves this-and then you pull her hair:)
*You found your toes, and can't get enough of them. They go straight to your mouth.
*You continue to love Sophie-she is your go to toy if you are upset.
*You are playing for quite a while in your exersaucer and figuring out all the noisemakers on it.
*You will now sit up with the boppy behind you and play with toys-although you need to have pretty good support with the boppy.
*Daddy can get great laughs out of you when blowing on your tummy before bath!!
*Speaking of baths-we figured out to give you a chew letter or number(bath toy) and you love the bath now.
*You are taking a bath with your sister most nights and you think that is pretty fun(so does she)!
*You are still spitting up, most times with no warning at all and it doesn't bother you.
*This month pictures were a bit of a challenge, you are almost mobile and wanted the sign!

Trying to show off your sitting skills...and that handsome smile!

Can't decide what you want in your mouth-Sophie or your thumb.

There's that sign, Mom!! I'm not letting go of Sophie though.

Melt my heart..

Happy Six Month Birthday Laekan!!! We love you more then words can say and can't wait for the holidays with you.

Halloween 2011

This Halloween was a bit different then most because I had sinus surgery on the Wednesday before Halloween. This meant that I couldn't hold, pick up, or move anything. I did manage to make a new Taco Stew for everyone and everyone came over around 5 to eat and then head out trick or treating. Taegan was beyond excited and was even more excited that she got to show cousin Ayla just how to trick or treat. We carved our pumpkins the night before and this year she actually scooped stuff out, while Laekan worked on his rolling skills beside us!
Dressed up and ready to go to the Halloween playgroup-Tinkerbell and Tigger.
Scooping out the pumpkin and not being grossed out this year!
Helping Daddy "cut out" a piece of the carving.
"Hey Mom, I found my feet" he was very busy playing with these and could care less about the pumpkins.
Dressed up on Halloween night-a giraffe.
Miss Tinkerbell and her pumpkins.
A family shot, with me holding Laekan very quickly since I wasn't supposed to be!
Taegan helping Ayla get her shoes back on so we could go trick or treating.
Showing Uncle Garret and Ayla how to do it:)


Taegan had a ton of fun that night and thought the next night she was going to go trick or treating as well! We had to explain it will be another year before you get to do that again. She will be a pro next year to show Laekan.

Preschool Halloween 2011

At the beginning of October Taegan went to the pumpkin patch with her preschool class. It was her first field trip and if I am being honest I was wondering where the time had gone and how we got to her first field trip already:( With all that being said-she had a ball. I love that her class is so small(7 kids) and that she knows and likes them all. She does have two girls in class that she plays with most of the time, but she likes them all!!! Such a blessing. I ended up driving for the trip and we just met the class out at the patch. Brother got to come too, but he was strapped on me and slept the whole time.
Here she is with her Miss Beth(her teacher) picking out her special pumpkin.
Taegan and Josie(they play together most days at school.)
Taegan's class-they have since gained one more friend.
She was a posing fool that day-she wanted her picture taken all over the place!


She also had a Halloween party, parade, and program on the last day of October. It was actually supposed to be my helper day to work in her room with her, but I was still recovering from sinus surgery so Grandma Tina(my mom) went in my place. Poor Mom didn't realize what all she signed up for-but she had fun that day seeing Taegan at school! Taegan loved having her there and showing her around.
Walking at the parade-with help from Grandma Tina.

Once the parade was over everyone went inside and the kids performed some songs they had been learning. Taegan was right in front in the middle-and sung her heart out!!! She had so much fun and was so proud of herself for knowing the songs.

Disney Part 2

Our daily schedule while we were there was to get up early each morning and either do a character breakfast or to get to the park that was open early for us since we stayed on grounds. We would be out of the hotel by 7:15 usually and then most days made it back to hotel by about 12:30 or 1 for nap for both kids. This was a must if we wanted them to be worth anything the rest of the day. And if I am being honest the adults also liked the down time to reenergize ourselves! We woke the kids up and were back out the door by 5. One night we had a dinner and another night we did a Halloween party at Magic Kingdom. The other nights were usually made it back to the room by 8 or so, put the kids down and then a few of us would go back to the park that was open late. As much as we LOVED this trip and have so many fun memories from it-it was alwasy go go go! We wanted to see it all and share it all with Taegan. She was really into all of it this time and was more vocal about what she wanted to ride and do. She was just tall enough to ride Splash Mountain-the ride that has the big fall at the end. This was her favorite ride and she rode it 4 times!!!

Here is another picture overload...
Watching fireworks at Epcot.
Sleeping at fireworks at Epcot:) Yes he can breathe!
Chip and Dale-she was very into seeing the characters and getting their signatures.
Pluto-she had fun with him.
She needed me with her with Donald!
Hanging with Grandma.

This is what Taegan came back to on her bed the second day-she thought it was very cool.

Gameday at Disney World!

Building Legos with Daddy from the Lego store that she picked out.

Belle at the Princess breakfast.

Ariel, we also saw Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White that morning at breakfast.

We will remember this trip forever and can't wait to go back-tomorrow:) Okay seriously though we LOVED living this trip through her eyes. Obviously Laekan won't remember it at all, but we had so much with him there as well. The double stroller(that Dad was VERY against taking) turned out to be great and was really the only way we made it through somedays.

Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us and sharing this trip with us-we had a blast and love you both!!!