6 months!

I can't believe it.

I'm still in denial that my baby is .5 years of age. AH!

So many updates to fill you in on!

1. She is ALMOST crawling! She tries so so hard, but just can't seem to get the idea. She doesn't know how to use her arms and legs at the same time, so her only way of moving around is pushing herself backwards with her arms. OR she rolls every where. I really have to keep an eye on her now, because she will get herself wedged under things (her swing, the downstairs coffee tables, things of that nature). Plus she grabs for everything now. I have to keep Kemper's toys away from her because she thinks they are hers, and she wants to put them in her mouth. Sick!

2. She officially has TWO teeth! Her first one came in the day before Mother's Day, and the other came a week later. It's so cute! We never had a problem with letting her bite our fingers, but now it really hurts!

3. She now eats baby cereal and 1st foods (organic). Her favorites are peas, bananas, and pears. She also likes applesauce, but is not a fan of her sweet potatoes. I have yet to give her carrots and green beans- they are next. I'll let you know how she does.

4. She is obsessed with kids! Especially our new youth pastor's little girl, Kaitlyn. We were all at a wedding this past weekend, and Harmony would not leave her alone! Here are some shots of her and Kaitlyn together. She was screaming (in every sense of the word) with delight at the sight of her- she had us all in stitches. Hilarious!



What a beautiful face...


Wanting to be big too!


Kaitlyn was dancing, and Harmony was moving her feet up and down, trying to dance with her.


This was the look she gave when Kaitlyn came in sight. Crazy face!

5. Since she is such a mover, she gets herself in "predicaments" at night in her crib, and she screams out for me to help her. So at one time she was a 10-11 hour sleeper at night now gets me up at least twice to put her back in a comfortable position. Sometimes she just doesn't want to go back to sleep, so she can be up for almost an hour wanting to play (and obviously I won't let her). Gets frustrating sometimes. But for the most part, all i have to do it put her back in the middle of the crib, and she is fast asleep again.

6. She isn't as good of a traveller as she used to be. She is her father's daughter, and gets bored easily, and when I ride alone with her, I can't do much about the whole entertaining her thing, so she screams. Makes for very long trips...

7. She "talks" a ton now. I love listening to her babble on and on. It's so cute. One day she's just going to bust out a word, I just know it!

New blog

Since I have so many weddings this summer, and this blog has become mostly about Harmony, I made a new blog just for my photography.

Click here to see it. My first wedding was Kurt and Lindsay. What a beautiful couple! WOW!



See more of there pictures in the new blog!

Ok, so I'm out to prove that harmony in fact does have a little of me in her. I asked my mom to scan and send me a baby pic so you can all see. I know she is about 90% her dad, and I won't argue about that, but doesn't she look a little like me?

Denis would be proud

In the last month or so, Harmony has increasingly shown interest in the piano. We've gone over to our Pastor's house (where they have a beautiful grand piano), and Harmony won't keep her eyes off of it. She's actually fallen asleep a couple times while Steve (our pastor) played for her. So Mike and I decided we needed one in our house. We looked for used ones, but found nothing we liked. We were at a friend's place one evening, and we mentioned we wanted one, and he let us borrow his for a bit to see if we would actually use it.




Harmony LOVES it! Mike plays for her, and she reaches out to play too. Sometimes she content enough with putting her hands on his, and just watches. It's so cute!

Oh, That Face!

Harmony is going to be 5 months old in a little over a week, and she is turing into quite the character. I was looking through some recent photos, and some of them just made me laugh so hard, so I thought that I would make you guys smile.


Harmony is unhealthily obsessed with her feet. She will grab them, stare at them, suck on them, and giggle at them all day if she could. She was sucking on them one day, so i thought I would take the sock off- but then her ADD (passed down from her father) kicked in, and she no longer wanted the foot, only the sock. Yuck.



As some of you know, Harmony has a bit of a mullet, and it embarrasses Mike so bad that he usually puts hats on her when we go places. I was getting my hair done earlier this week, and we decided to be rid of the mullet (which was growing into a bit of a rat tail). So here is a pic of her very first hair cut.



We decided to have a little fun and put some hair pieces on her so see what she would look like if she in fact ever decides to grow any. Here is her as a red head!



I'm pretty sure Harmony is in the midst of cutting her first tooth, and she now sucks and bites on her hands constantly (when she isn't occupied with her feet, that is). She loves the two finger look.


She is on her way to sitting on her own! Yay! I love this pic. I'm the one with my hands in the air ready to catch her at any given second. She sat like that for about 5 seconds, and then toppled over (into my arms, of course).

Play date

A couple weeks ago I stopped by a good friend's house to see how she was doing. She has a little girl named Abigail, who is three months older than Harmony, and we decided to stay a while to let the girls play together. At first they sat on our laps and just stared at each other. So we put them on the couch and out came the camera!


So pretty in pink




Abby got tired of sharing her space, and gave Harmony the stiff arm!


We put them on the floor since the couch was no longer a safe place! Once they warmed up to each other, they giggled and played.

Her very first play date!

YAY!!!

Ashley and Ryan found out that they are having a GIRL!!!!! Harmony is going to have a best friend!!!! I'm so excited for them, I just want to BURST!!!

Giggle Giggle

Isn't her giggle the cutest EVER!! I love that she barely stops looking at the camera!

50 Things about me

I'm attempting to do this....

wish me luck.

1. Our 4 month old little girl was NOT planned.... but she is the most wonderful surprise we've ever gotten.
2. Mike's first words after I told him that I was pregnant was "your joking!". Indeed I was not.
3.I will NEVER again wait to tell people the name of the baby. A bad decision on my part.
4. John and Amy Keller were the first to know the name. She guessed it about a month before I delivered and she in turn told John. Boy did he hold that over Becca's head.
5. I have 4, soon to be 5 "nieces and nephews". My cousins from my mom's side of the family all of a sudden decided to have babies at the same time! Now combined they have Naomi, Kyler, Micah, and Emma, and the fifth is due in the summer. These are all grand kids of my mom's twin, Elsie, so she is WAY ahead in the grandchild department than my mom, who has only one. My cousin made a very good point that the first one to get married is the only one who doesn't have a kid.... get crackin, Becca and Denis!
5a. What, in fact do I call them? My cousin's kids... are they second cousins?
6. I will be an actual aunt in July because my sister in law is pregnant with a little girl! yay Tristan and Jennifer!
7. Mike talks in his sleep and I find it so funny. Sometimes I ignore him, and other times i talk back, and he says the FUNNIEST things. One time we were going have an all-nighter with our youth, and we were going to play laser tag. So in his sleep he was explaining the rules of the game. I woke up and listened to him for a little bit, and I asked him "what if i break the rules?". He replied, "I'll shoot you." Awesome.
8. I've heard some amazing engagement stories, but I think mine takes the cake! I think most of you know it so i won't write it all down. But I will say that Mike is the most ROMANTIC and creative man ALIVE.
9. I LOVE crab legs. When I eat them, nothing else exists but me and the crab. My family knows not to speak to me when I eat them. It's sad, I know.
10. On the night of my wedding, Mike and I decided to take a bubble bath. The tub was really big, so I put in a huge amount of bubbles, and next thing i know I'm standing next to the tub, and the bubbles are over my head. We spent TWO hours trying to get rid of them all. What a way to start my marriage...
11. When I was 15, I tore my ACL while playing soccer, and had to have surgery. It was awful. I got very sick, and actually lost so much weight that it was in the double digits. I went to therapy for MONTHS. And if I remember correctly, Ryan Kirnan went to the same therapist, and we sometimes were there together. Small world.
12. This is a very embarrassing story, but I'm gonna tell it anyway. I was at soccer camp one summer in Erie, PA, and a couple of my friends and I left a little early because i hurt my ankle (boy i got hurt a lot), and needed to get it checked out. We left Erie to go back to Allegany, and 3 hours later, the girl driving (who CLAIMED she knew how to get home) decided to stop at a rest station to ask for directions. I checked the map to see where we were.... The "you are here" arrow pointed to SYRACUSE!!!!! I was livid! What should have been a hour and a half trip ended up being 6 hours. All i have to say is IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!
13. Harmony is 4 months old this week, and she is STILL in newborn clothes...
14. 14 was my soccer number in high school.
15. I lead worship at my church, and I hardly ever get nervous. But when I have to sing a special, I want to throw up. Weird.
16. I hate to work out. I will find any excuse possible to postpone it.
17. The first time Harmony smiled at me, I thought that life couldn't get any better than that moment.
18. I was run over by a car when i was 3. I have burn marks from the tire on my left leg to prove it.
19. My very first memory was when i was in the hospital after that accident. i remember that my dad would bring me McDonald's fries after the doctor would clean my wounds.
20. I mess up words a lot. I've said "ovulating fan" instead of "oscillating fan". oops. I've called one of my old youth group kids' sternum a scrotum. big oops.
21. I am obsessed with re-runs of Will and Grace. I watch it every day from 11:00-12:00, and tape the ones that are on at night.
21a. Jack McFarland ( creator of the McFarland Method) is the greatest character ever created.
22b. JUST JACK!
22. I hate my hair being wet. That's the number one reason why I hate showering. Especially now that my hair is long, and I have NO time to dry my hair. But alas, it's a necessary evil.
23. Most people who see the movie "P.S. I Love You" find it to be so sad... just ask Amy and Becca, I laughed the entire time. They both claim that the baby not only took my brain, but she also took my soul.
24. I know every song, every line, and almost every dance move to the movie, "Newsies".
25. The greatest summer of my life was in 2001, when I counseled at Circle C Ranch with Jaime. With Wacky Wednesdays, Chicken Patti Eating Contests, and sleep walking campers! Ah, Memories...
26. The biggest thing I miss about breast feeding is caffeine! I miss my coffee, my Mountain Dew... I've had to give it up for a year now!
27. If I could change just one thing about myself, I would want curly hair. Like Taylor Swift curls. What i would give for beautiful hair like that!
28. The greatest feeling in the world is when I pull into my parents driveway. It will always be home to me.
29. I own every Nicholas Sparks book. Can't wait until the next one!
30. I get to sing a Sugarland song at church this weekend! How cool is that!?
31. When i cut with scissors, I clench and unclench my jaw along with the scissors. I've done it since I can remember.
32. I cannot in any way shape or form, stop my dog from pooping on the stairs. It's an obsession for him. It's on the same step, in the same spot, every time. AHHHH!
33. My last name gets made fun of a lot, and it drives me crazy.
34. My biggest regret growing up was not taking piano lessons.
35. My high- school English teacher, Miss. Little was my biggest inspiration for wanting to major in English in college.
36. Before graduation, John told me that all English majors say the same thing after they graduate. I then, regretfully, asked what that was. He said it's, "Would you like fries with that?" HA...HA...HA
37. Mike wanted to propose to me on my birthday, but I made it hard on him because i was dead set on spending the day with Becca. So he instead proposed the day before.
38. The date of our engagement is engraved on my ring, and our wedding date is on Mike's.
39. I hate drinking water. I would rather drink something with flavor. And I can't drink really cold water. I would rather drink it semi-cold, or even have it a little warm.
40. I have had acne since i was 13, and I have tried every kind of cream, cleaner, and astringent known to man, and have spent hundreds of dollars trying to find something that gets rid of it, and the ONLY thing that works is Dove soap. Weird.
41. When i was pregnant, I had major morning sickness, and I had a hard time with certain smells. The worst was the "new car smell" in our Mazda. I would open the door, and I gag. I had to hold my breath and febreeze the entire car before I could drive it.
42. The thing I'm looking forward to most this week is finding out if my friends, ashley and ryan, are having a boy or girl. I'm convinced she is having a girl. But then again, I thought for sure that i was having a boy, so maybe I'm not so good at this guessing game.
43. When Mike is gone on a trip, and I have to stay home, I barricade my door at night. I put me, Harmony, and Kemper all in my room, lock it, and then put a piece of furniture in front of the door. That is the only way I feel safe. True story.
44. My all time favorite American Idol contestant is Elliot Yamin. I cried when he got kicked off, and I've never forgiven America for it.
45. My husband knows every word to ice ice baby.... just ask Christy. Sorry about that hon.
46. I am a Mac lover. I will never go back to a PC ever again.
47. My favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice. The new one. I could watch the movie over and over, and never get sick of it.
48. Mike and I recently purchased Rock Band, and i thought i was amazing at the guitar until i played against Jaime. Holy crap, I really suck.
49. Harmony's laugh is music to my ears.
50. I love my life. Truly. Completely.

Success!

On command and everything!

All About Me

Since Harmony has been born, pretty much all of my posts have been about her- pictures, updates, even videos... but what about the mom behind the baby? I know I'm not as interesting, nor as adorable, but you're going to have to deal with a "Rachel Update". How have I been since I've become a mom? Why I'm so glad you asked...

Top 10 list of All Things Rachel

10. Sleep. I have fond memories of it. I'm beginning to get more and more as the weeks go by, but it's purely for necessity, and not for pleasure. I used to love going to bed on Friday nights, knowing that I could sleep in until the afternoon hours and not care one bit. Gone are those days. I now sleep to store up energy for the day, knowing I'll need every minute I can get. I also find that the sleep I do get isn't as sound. I hear Harmony cry in my head, which wakes me up and puts be in alert mode, and when i finally realize that she in fact is still sound asleep, it takes me a half an hour to fall back asleep. It's so completely annoying. Gr.. I really hope this ends soon.

9. Nothing seems to get done around the house. I do 3 loads laundry, only to put those three loads away, and magically, the baskets are filled up again that same day! I honestly don't know how it happens. And I swear to you, a great majority of them are Mike's. He must change his outfit 3 times a day to purely torture me. How can a man go through so much laundry?

8. I am now constantly aware of what I eat. In the first months of Harmony's life, it seemed like EVERYTHING I ate bothered her. She was (and still is) the never ending gas machine. I could not for the life of me figure out what it was that was making her tummy hurt so bad. I tried taking chocolate out of my diet- that didn't work. I tried taking out diary products, and even put her on soy formula for the times she was bottle fed. I took out peanut products, and still no change. I was literally eating chicken and granola. Just in the past month have I been able to introduce all of those things back into my diet and not have it bother her. Don't get me wrong, she still farts, but now she thinks it's funny.... just like her dad.

7. I have a new- found respect for my mom and my mother-in-law since I too have become a mom. I must have called my mom every day with a different question in those first few weeks. I was also calling my mom in law a ton too because she used to be a lactation consultant, and I had a hard time catching on to the whole breast feeding thing. They were both a huge help. My mom got to stay with me for two weeks after Harmony was born, and I cried every day in anticipation of her leaving me. It was awful. I really didn't know how I was going to do it without her. I was SO lucky that on the day she was leaving, I finally was feeling better, and I felt confident enough to take care of Harmony without her. I STILL think that there should be such a thing as maternity leave for grandmas. I totally would have loved for her to stay with me for 6 weeks. I must have told her every day how much I respected her for taking care of TWINS, plus a 2 year old at the same time. What a job! And I also respect my mommy in law, Susan for taking care of Mike.... I actually think my mom had the easier job..... :-)

6. I take every task one day at a time. My good friend, Ashley, recently wrote a blog that talked about how organized she was, and she as motivated me to try to become just that. Oh, and by the way, Ash, I remember like it was yesterday the day Ryan came up to me in the computer lab, wrote your name on my notebook, and said "what do you think of her?". From the look on his face when he talked about you- just even in the way he said your name, I knew that you guys would be married one day.

I digress...

I now make lists everyday of what i want to get done. I give myself three things every day to do. Whether it be laundry, or changing the sheets on my bed, or cleaning out the fridge, I stick to only those tasks so i don't feel overwhelmed about doing EVERYTHING in one day. So far i find it very manageable, and I'm not constantly stressed about housework.

5. I am on a mission to lose all of my baby weight and more, so I am now officially back on weight watchers. I've been doing pretty well (and Mike is actually doing it with me), and I only have 4 more pounds to go until I'm back to my pre-baby weight! But my main goal is to be back at my wedding day weight, so I still have a ways to go....

4. I will admit that I am mourning the "old me" a little bit... i miss going on dates with Mike, or staying up late with friends, or being able to walk aimlessly through target without worrying about Harmony pitching a fit in the middle of the store. And I miss being able to read.... I get hardly any time to myself, and it's been hard. Don't get me wrong, I love who I am becoming, and i cherish every second I have with Harmony, but I've had to give up a part of me, and that's not always easy.

3. I never thought that I would get so excited about little things, like being able to actually blow dry my hair instead of pulling it back wet because Harmony is crying, or sitting and writing this blog without getting up 5 times to put her binkie (or what Mike likes to call "the mute button") back in her mouth.

2. It's amazing what I have learned to do with one hand- such as put my make-up on, or type, or make a sandwich. I'm actually quite talented.

and the number one thing that I have learned or am in the process of learning....

1. PATIENCE! I have realized after many hard nights with Harmony, or arguments with Mike, or crying fits that I may have, that if I just take a deep breath, calm myself, and look at the big picture, life seems to be a little smoother, and Harmony is much happier. If there is any advise that I can give to new, or soon to be new moms is that you can't sweat the small stuff. I remember being so upset one day as I was grocery shopping, and Harmony decided that it would be a good time to just wail her lungs out, and I thought that my life has ended. i was soo upset, and vowed to never take her shopping again- that i would put her to bed at night, and shop at midnight if i had to. But once I calmed myself (and her) down, I realized that it wasn't a huge deal, and since then, I take her with me wherever I go, and 90% of the time, she is an angel. Why get so upset when all she was trying to do is communicate with me.... I just take everything day by day, and I remember to take in every moment, because she will never be this small again.

And before I go, I totally forgot to post a picture of her room when it was all furnished. I meant to do it months ago, but it just kept slipping my mind. I love the way it turned out, and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite room in the whole house!

harmony and daddy

a couple more updates

I was talking with my Amy's (Amy Keller and Aimee Dehaven) yesterday, and I realized that I need to keep up with my Harmony posts a little more often. I sometimes forget that not everyone gets to see her grow and learn new things as much as me, and that must be hard for some of you. So I am promising you all that I will write much more often to let you know what is going on with us.

Harmony is officially a rolling-over fanatic! Belly time is impossible now because she will roll back onto her back in about 2 seconds! Yesterday i was giving her some belly time, and she actually pushed up her butt and was on all fours! I'm not ready for her to crawl yet! AH! Thankfully it lasted only a second, and she was back onto her belly, just where I want her!

She is beginning to be able to grab and hold onto things. Especially my hair! Now i know why so many moms chop it all off! But I bought a little floor jungle gym for her to entertain herself in, and she loves grabbing and tugging on the little animals. She giggles and squirms the whole time she is under it. It's nice for me too because I can actually get stuff done while she is awake now, which is very very nice.

Harmony has been a little out of sorts this past week, and i've had a difficult time trying to figure out what it is. So i got online and researched her symptoms, and I am almost positive that she is teething! Already!? Now I'm not positive, and I will be asking the doctor about it on Monday when we go for her weight check. Harmony is a little on the small side (the 10-15th percentile) so I have to go in and make sure she is consistently gaining. I'm going to guess that she is probably 11 pounds, which means she has gained 4 pounds in three months- sounds normal, right? I'll keep you posted.


I don't remember if I've ever mentioned this on my blog, but Harmony's all time favorite thing to do is get naked! When I put her on her changing table, she just giggles and smiles the whole time! So this morning I thought i would let her spend some time in her birthday suit. And of course, I had to document it! What kind of mom would I be if I didn't get some embarrassing naked pics of her to show her future husband!? Enjoy!




holds her head of very high now...


she looks a little cross-eyed, but she's still cute!

3 month update

Time for an update!

Harmony is officially 3 months (14 weeks) old! Holy Cow! In the past month she has had some milestones.

1. She rolled over! she was having some belly time with mike, and she rolled from her belly to her back! I missed it tho!!! I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed when Mike yelled from the bedroom that she rolled over. I came running in just in time to see her go from her back to her belly! I couldn't believe it. She hasn't done it since, but she did do it!!!

2. My mother taught her how to blow bubbles! Thanks ma! Now she is the drool queen because all she does is spit bubbles out! She thinks she is soo funny when she does it too.

3. She is kinda sorta starting to mimic. As I said, my mom taught her how to blow bubbles because harmony would stare intently at her and then a couple seconds later Harmony would do it. And if you make certain noises, she seems to imitate them. Not sure if she is really mimicking or if I'm just making it up....

4. She is very active. She loves to stand on my lap and exercise her legs. She giggles all the time now, and is very alert. We are watching her personality grow in front of our very eyes, and it's just crazy. I feel like I say it all the time, but I can't believe how fast she is growing....

The little munch-kin is getting restless, so i must sign off. But I leave you with a very special picture. Her aunt Becca has not seen Harmony in many many weeks, and I can tell that it's very hard on her. So for a special treat, I decided to post this pic just for her. I hope you like it Bec.

Harmony's First Valentine...

This picture is what Mike was greeted with when he got home from work yesterday. I printed it off, and taped it to our front door so it would be the first thing he saw when he got out of his car. He had called me earlier and asked Harmony and I to be his valentine (how sweet is that!), so I dressed Harmony up in her little outfit covered in hearts, and took some cute pictures of her for her very first Valentine.

I wanted to do something nice for Mike because the poor guy is so sick (has a sinus infection, bronchitis, and asthma) and so stressed at work, so I decided NOT to go out since A) we have harmony, and B) I did not want to deal with the crowds, so i prepared his favorite meal (beef and broccoli stir-fry), his favorite dessert (chocolate covered strawberries), and his got favorite wine. How good of a wife am I? Thank you, thank you.

The only thing that spoiled the evening was having worship rehearsal, which meant that we had to take Harmony her babysitter, Amara... but she said she was very well behaved (which that isn't always the case in the evenings), and that made me feel much better. We got home at around 10:00, and we snuggled in bed as a family (along with Kemper) and it was very special.

She is just turning into this beautiful, sweet spirited, happy little girl whom we fall in love with more and more every day. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Family Fun Time

Mike's day off is on Friday's, so we wanted to spend some time outside of the house with Harmony. We decided to go to Phipp's Conservatory in the city, which is this beautiful greenhouse that has gorgeous blown glass all throughout the building. Mike and I went a lot while I was pregnant, and we loved being able to share it with Harmony.

I brought my camera along so you all could get a glimpse of the wonderful day we had.

2 Months!

I know I'm a couple days late with this blog, since her 2 month birthday was actually on Sunday, but Harmony has kept her mommy very busy these last few days! But my little monkey is fast asleep, so I'm taking advantage of my quiet time, and updating you all on how the Shipman family is doing.

Harmony is growing up in so many ways. She is becoming this incredible personality, and that doesn't shock me at all since she has such a crazy daddy. She will be sitting with you acting so content, and next thing you know she just lets out this high pitch scream, and then goes back to smiling. It's like she just wants to remind you that she is there. It's hilarious!

Mike just can't get enough of her, so there are times in the week where he will work from home so he can sneak in some daddy/daughter time. Here is a picture that i grabbed earlier this week during one of those times.



He is just so in love.... can you blame him!

Harmony is becoming more and more aware of her surroundings, and she doesn't want to miss a thing. when she is up (which is quite a bit since she decided that she doesn't like to take very long naps anymore) she is looking everywhere. She loves light, windows, and TV's. She will watch Mike or I walk around the room, or study Kemper as he runs all around the place. It's amazing to watch. She has always been a very observant child, but I amazed at how much more she takes in each day.

She has so many expressions now! I was able to capture a few of them for you to see.


This is her "coy" look. This is the face we get when she is about to do something- like fart, or mess her pants. No one ever told me that babies pass gas as much as Harmony does (and it really stinks!! I've actually gagged a few times), so when i see this face I prepare myself for the worst!



This is the look we get the most. A friend of ours calls it her "questioning eyes". She looks exactly like Mike when she makes this face, doesn't she?? We get this look when we are doing something she doesn't like, such as giving her a bath, or playing with her when she is tired, putting her in her car seat, or taking her picture when she doesn't want it to be taken. She does it so often that she already has wrinkles on her forehead!



This is my favorite face of all! Who wouldn't fall in love with her when she looks at you and smiles like that. Mike and i race for her in the morning because we want to be the one she smiles at when we look over the crib. It's the most incredible feeling to see your daughter smile at you- makes my day every single time.

Daddy's Little Girl

Harmony is smiling and giggling so much now, and most of them are aimed at her daddy. It's very heartwarming to watch her face light up when Mike comes home at night, or when I bring her into bed in the morning. It is soo adorable!!! I never thought I would see so much emotion come from Harmony this early, but right around Christmastime she began to smile on purpose, and not just from gas.

We've been here, there and everywhere lately, plus having company at our home, and today was the first day where life became normal again. I actually got chores done, and Harmony is slowly getting back into her routine. The madness of the holiday was both wonderful and exhausting. So crazy that the three of us actually took an "emergency vacation" (as mike and I called it), for a week to just relax. We told hardly anyone when and where we were going because we didn't want it to be a hectic trip. We went up to Rochester to stay with Becca and Denis, and it was so nice to sleep in, to veg out in front of the TV, to have some other hands take care of Harmony for a while, to play games, and to worship at The Father's House. So thank you Becca and Denis for taking us in on such short notice! And I apologize to everyone we didn't see or tell we were going up, but I promise that next time we will see all of you!

One Month Old!

My baby girl is growing up, and I don't know how I feel about it! I want her to stay my tiny peanut forever! I look back at the pictures of the day we brought her home, and she looks so different now. She is getting bigger, chubbier, and looking more and more like her father every minute.

We are loving this holiday season with her. It's been a little hectic trying to get ready for Christmas with her here, but in the same sense, I love watching her stare at the lights on the christmas tree, and to watch christmas movies as she falls asleep in my arms. There is nothing better.

She and I are starting to get on a routine together. It's nice to know how my day is going to go with her- although she does like to throw me some curve balls every once and a while. The girl is a monster when it comes to eating! I'm surprised that she isn't chubbier than she is!

Can't wait to spend the holidays with my family! Miss everyone so much!

Three Weeks!

I can't believe that my little girl is 3 weeks old!!! She gets bigger and bigger everyday!

I was laying in my bed this morning with Harmony, and I realized that I never officially told the story as to why we chose the name Harmony. So here's the scoop:

Back when Mike and I were dating, Mike wrote me a poem for Valentine's Day called "The Sound I Have Waited For", and the poem said that I was "The harmony to his melody" and how together we made a beautiful song. Later he took that poem and wrote me a song for the night he proposed. The bridge to that song says this:

And as we get older
And our steps are slower
Harmony will grow stronger
We will sing the same tune


Harmony is another part in our love song- and she makes it so much richer and beautiful than I ever imagined. We love her more and more every day, and are truly is awe of the life we made!

So there you have it- the reason she is named Harmony. Her middle name is Joy, after Mike's sister, Alyson Joy.

So-
This week Harmony had her first official bath! Her belly button is finally healed, and we no longer had to give her sponge baths. I was a little nervous about doing it on my own, and since I didn't have my mom in close proximity, I called on her pseudo grandma, Linda Cordle, who is my pastor's wife. She came over, showed me the ropes, and Harmony did awesome. She really didn't know what to think of it, but she didn't cry at all. She scowled, as you can see in the pictures, but no tears were shed.

Doesn't she look so big!




Not really sure what she thinks about this whole bath thing...



She looks like mike when she scowls like that!



All clean and warm again. Big girl!