Playdates

Lately, we have had tons of playdates!  They are so fun.  It's cute to see how big all our friends' kids are getting.  Plus, it's cool to see what's in store for Harper!

One of her first playdates was with some of my girlfriends from high school.  I have known these girls for most of my life.  We all cheered together in school, and Ana and I were roommates at A&M our freshman year.   Kelli has a little boy named Ryder who is SO cute.  He is this adorable, blonde headed little boy with spunk.  I think he'll be trouble one day!

Kelli and Harper (not sure where Ryder was)

Ana is pregnant with a little girl they are going to name Ellie.  She is going to be a very lucky little girl!  This was definitely a good time for Ana to practice holding a little baby.  At one point, Harper squirmed a bit and ended up a little upside down.  Ana just looked at us and said "Is this ok?"  Kelli and I had a good laugh at that one!  But no worries, she's gonna be a GREAT mom!

Ana (and Ellie) and Harper

 We also got to visit with my other roommates from A&M.  Staci, Kara, Stephanie, and I lived together for my junior and senior year.  I am lucky because they all grew up in different areas of Texas but all moved to Dallas to be closer to me!  Their husbands and jobs might have had something to do with it too...  So Stephanie and Jeff had a little boy a few weeks ago and we went to meet him.  His name is Grant Dean Harrison and he is so so so adorable.  He already looks so serious and smart.  He's going to be just like his dad!  Stephanie is doing great and I am so proud of her!  It was so fun holding a newborn again.  I already forgot how small they are!  Crazy how big Harper is already and it's only been 4 months!

Kara and Harper, Stephanie, Me and Grant, Staci

Me and Grant

Kara and Harper

We also had playdates with other friends.  We went to Quinlan Hunt's 2nd birthday party and got to play with Avinley.  Something I learned - open the boring presents first.  If they open a fun one first, they don't care about anything else!

We play with my friend Jill and her little girl Alyssa once a week.  Alyssa is very good about sharing and loves to find all of Harper's stuff and bring it to me.  While we are there, the girls nap and the moms get to craft.  It's a nice outlet!  

This past weekend we got to hang with cousin Grayson.  He absolutely loves Harper and likes to give her kisses (head butts).  He has learned tons of new words which include "AJ" and "Baby".  Such a big boy!  He likes to poke her and smile up at his mom like he just loves her.  I am so excited that they get to grow up together!  I love that Harper has so many friends close to her age.  It's going to make growing up so much fun!!!

Growth Groups and God

I teach a bible study on Wednesday nights with my friend Chelsea for senior girls.  Our girls are amazing, much more amazing than I was at their age.  They make me laugh, smile, and remember why I signed up in the first place.

Tonight, we watched a Nooma video on hiding sin from God.  I sat there and listened to Rob Bell talk about how he had to tell his son that no matter what, he would never love him any less.  No matter what he did.  There was nothing that could separate his love from his son.  And I just felt overwhelmed.  My initial thoughts were of Harper.  My precious baby.  It's funny how she's the first thought that pops into my head nowadays.  I thought, I hope that she grows up always knowing how much I love her.  And that nothing can ever separate her from my love.  My second thought was that I want her to know that God loves her this way too.  And that no matter how bad she might mess up, He will never love her less.  I felt very peaceful to know this about her.  I can rest in the fact that God loves my little girl even more than I do.

Later on in the evening, I asked the girls if they truly believed God loved them and would never leave them.  I am pretty sure all of them said yes.  But I was thinking, I don't know that I truly believe that about me.  It's funny that I can trust that truth for Harper and for my bible study girls, but not myself.  Sometimes I forget to let go of my past and let the Cross by my salvation.  I forget that Jesus is not a temporary fix or a circumstantial helper.  He's a permanent solution to a fallen world.  He's the only way to salvation.  And it's not something that He has to continuously do for you.  He died once.  For all.  And if we could just trust in that truth, we could stop trying to earn it, work for it, or atone for it.  We would have peace.  We would know love.  We would have eternity with Him.  And that would change our world.

It's funny how much life has changed in the last 16 weeks.  It's funny how sleep doesn't matter so much anymore.  Neither does how I look or what I wear.  What matters is my husband and my daughter.  They are my world now.  And without Christ, I would be nothing.  I would be a huge mess.  But because of Him, I have hope, peace, and truth.  I have eternity.  (Oh how stinking sentimental I have gotten in the last 16 weeks too!)

I need to remember...my love for Him may fail, but His love for me never will.
Romans 8:38-39

Our Little Pumpkin

This past weekend, we went the the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch.  It was so fun to celebrate a holiday with a new baby.  Of course, she couldn't do much, but it was still fun.  And a definite photo opportunity!

Almost sitting up!

Daddy and Harper

Mommy and Harper

Our first GOOD family photo.  Finally!

My sister, Kristen, and her husband were out of town for a wedding.  So my parents and sisters were babysitting my nephew Grayson.  He had a ball of course because he is at an age to appreciate the fun! He even went in the bounce house.  I was a little nervous at first but he really liked it.  We kept telling him to dance, which means stand still and bounce up and down.  He was so cute!

He was a little big for it, but still funny!

Hanging on a fence looking at some horses.  And all he kept saying was that a lion goes ROAR!

Such a big boy.  He rode the kiddy train and the wagon, and then wanted to push the wagon himself!

It was Harper's naptime so we thought she would sleep in her jogging stroller.  She didn't sleep but didn't fuss either!  She absolutely loves being outside in her jogging stroller.  Such a blessing!

Harper and her cute leg warmers :)

Harper getting some Grayson love

Harper getting some more Grayson love.  

It's so cute how he loves her!

Aunt Taylor and her amazing ability to lift two pumpkins at once

Aunt Carleigh trying to find the most perfectly round pumpkin

We almost bought a pumpkin and then realized it would be $40.  Definitely not worth it!  We will just get the best one we can find at WalMart for $5.

It was so fun to hang out with Harper and Grayson too.  I miss my little buddy!  He's at an age where he likes me some days and then it's Stranger Danger some days.  But he will always be my first buddy.  It's crazy how much I love him!  And now I have Harper, whom I would do anything for.  It's so much more than I ever expected.  And for that, I am greatly blessed!

3 Months and life is good!

Harper is 3 months old now and she is getting huge!  I'm sure everyone else thinks she is tiny, but she is growing everyday. 

Her 3 month picture with her favorite owl

Sitting up on her own

Falling...

And we're down.  It will take more practice.

Harper is finally out of her newborn stage.  We are sleeping through the night (yay!!!) and drinking 6 ounces 4 times a day (she might end up a fattie soon!).  She sucks her bottle down in like 3 minutes flat.  And then belches real big.  Such a cutie!  

Doing tummy time

She just recently mastered the art of rolling from back to front.  For awhile she could get halfway there and then her arm would get stuck.  She's a pro now though.  She also got big enough to sit in her highchair.  This definitely helps Cody and I to eat dinner at the same time again.  Funny how it's the little things that you miss, huh?

What a big girl

She is also learning a lot in terms of her hands and feet.  She loves to grab her toys hanging from her play mat.  And she has discovered that when she kicks, it plays a song, and when she hits her hand down, there is a rattling sound.  She is so smart!  And she is in love with the mobile in her crib.  She will stare at it and not move a muscle.  

We have finally started putting her to sleep without the swaddle.  For a few days in a row, she would wake up in weird places and positions with the swaddle busted open and around her neck.  So enough with the swaddle, she's a big girl now.  

This is definitely not how we put her to bed the night before.

Sleeping on her own for the first night.  And she gets to do it in cute, feety pajamas!

She still loves bathtime every night.  Her toys are an octopus and a rubber ducky.  When I hold them up in front of her, she starts kicking and splashing and smiling real big.  But her favorite toy is her washcloth.  She can't wait for me to give it to her so she can grab it and start sucking on it.  It's like she thinks water is a special treat.  

Harper in her ducky towel

The first two months were pretty difficult.  But we finally have her on a dairy free, soy free formula and she is a HAPPY baby!  She hardly cries anymore, unless it's bed time.  She smiles all the time and loves to talk.  She is just so cute all the time!  She loves her dad and me.  And we absolutely love her.  It's crazy how happy our little trio family is.  

Hanging with dad after work

Loves kisses - she is so ticklish all over!

It's a very fun time of year for us now that college football has started.  Sadly, we won't get to take a trip this year, but hopefully soon Harper will get to visit College Station.  No worries - she watches them on tv with us.  

Whoop!

 We are truly blessed and thankful for Harper.  She is such a sweet blessing in our lives.  We absolutely love every minute with her.  And it doesn't hurt that she is stinking adorable!

2 Months and Counting

Harper is now almost 2 1/2 months old...boy time has flown by fast!  This past month, Cody went back to work.  Harper and I were so sad!  We asked him to quit, but I wonder if he enjoys getting out of the house for a little while each day.  The first few weeks were hard learning to be a stay at home mom.  But we are definitely into a pretty good routine.  We wake up in the morning around 7am.  We eat, play, and nap.  Then when she wakes up, we go for a walk around the neighborhood with Mags.  Around 11, we eat, and nap again, but for a LONG time now.  It's crazy that I sometimes have 4 hours to myself each day.  I definitely clean and do chores, but I also take time for myself.  I definitely did not expect this to be happening already.  Then, around 4, we eat, play, nap again.  We take another evening walk, then it's time for bath and bed.  Kinda repetative but it's been fun so far.  

Harper in her jogging stroller after a walk

The other good news it that she is sleeping SO much better.  We spent a whole weekend about 3 weeks ago learning to self soothe.  Before that, I was rocking her to sleep for 45 minutes every single time she went to sleep (yes, even at 2am!).  Her crying was definitely harder than I thought, though.  The first three days, she cried at every nap time for almost 2 hours.  Then, thankfully, she was so tired at night, she just crashed.  But magically, on day 4, she seemed to understand what was going on.  So now we can rock for a few minutes while she gets sleepy and then she can go to sleep on her own.  What a difference it has made!  And...she has also started sleeping through the night!  The first night it happened, Cody woke me up at 2am, completely confused.  He asked, Where is the baby?  I looked at my arms, confused, because I didn't know where she was.  Then he asked, Did you feed her?  I looked around thinking, I have no idea.  Finally we figured out that she was still asleep.  What a blessing!

Harper after her bath with Grandpa Mark and KK

She is also getting so much bigger!  She is 23 1/2 inches long now and about 11 1/2 pounds.  I feel like she is going to be super tall one day.  She just seems so long and lean.  She smiles nonstop and is trying so hard to talk and laugh.  She will open her mouth real big and act like she's trying to say something, and then a random noise will come out.  It's so funny.  

Harper at 2 months

She has started to sit in her bouncy chair and in her boppy so that she can try to hold her head up.  We noticed at 6 weeks that her head was always turning left.  I guess her neck muscles are uneven, so we are doing some stretches to fix that at home.  Plus, we had a rash that was all over her head, including her face.  After awhile, we figured out that it is just eczema and will go away on it's own.  We also got off breastmilk because she was having issues with dairy.  We tried soy formula and that seemed to still give her problems.  So now we are on Nutramigen, which is non dairy and non soy.  It works and she is happy, but man, that stuff is the WORST smelling formula ever.  

Harper after her 2 month shots.  She was very unhappy and 

didn't even want to wake up to eat that night.  Poor buddy.

Harper is a lover.  She already wants to give kisses with an open mouth.  She likes to watch everything you do.  And she only likes to be held where she can see everyone.  She is in love with her bath toys, especially an octopus we named Ollie.  She starts splashing and kicking whenever she sees Ollie.  She also still loves her playmat.  She will stare at her animals and the mirror for sooo long.   

  

Harper didn't take her daytime nap the other day.  When we tried to bath 

her for bed, she fell asleep in minutes.  Guess she was tired...

Over Labor Day, the family came over.  My dad and Cody went bike riding while Harper slept and Kristi, Taylor, Carleigh, and Kristen came over.  And my sweet boy Grayson came and was so fun.  He loves to bang on doors, throw toys around, and just have a ball.  When Harper woke up, he had to sit with Krissy and see the baby.  They just love each other already!    

Cody's parents came to visit on their bikes on Labor Day too

She is getting so big, it's sad to see her grow so fast.  But she is going to be such a fun little girl.  She is already so happy and smiley all the time.  And I am so thankful to be home.  I absolutely love my little girl.  The other night, Cody and I were thinking of calling one of our parents to get a babysitter, and then we realized that we didn't even really want a night away from her.  Funny, huh?  I guess I am getting used to less sleep, less alone time, and being a mom.  Funny how everyone said it'd get better and it did.  :)

A little bit of crying...

My dearest Harper,

I know that you don't understand what today is about.  I know that you think I am not here and that I don't love you.  But I am here.  And I love you more than ever.  But child, we have both got to get more sleep!

Today, you woke up happy as usually.  Smiling, laughing, and so excited to see me.  What a beautiful face to wake up to!  We played and sang songs.  Then, when it was time for your nap, I let you cry.  Don't worry - I was crying with you.  It took 1 1/2 hours but you eventually fell asleep.  We did this three times today and each time I thought it would get easier.  I thought you might cry less.  But it did not.  And seeing you cry without the ability to make you feel better will never get easier.

So tonight, I am not going to rock you to sleep.  I'm not going to be able to stare at your beautiful blue eyes while I see you drift off to sleep.  I am not going to be sleeping with you on my chest in the rocker at 4am.  But I promise this is for your best interest.  I want you to be able to sleep, and sleep well.  My love for you and for your well being, as well as mommy's sanity, has gotten us to this point.

Tonight, we'll feed you your bottle and give you your bath.  Then we'll sit together and read a book with cute pictures and tons of colors for you to look at.  And then I'll sing you a song.  Most likely it will be just half of a song a few times over because I can't remember all the words.  And then I will kiss you all over your precious face and place in you in your crib.  I know you will cry.  You won't understand why I am leaving you.  And it will break my heart all over again.

But when I step outside your door, I will be praying for you.  I will pray that in times when I am not there for you, you'll feel comforted by The Comforter.  That Jesus will speak to your heart and let you know that He is your friend, your Peace, your Love.  And that you will be ok.  You will always be ok when you have Jesus.  Even when I'm not around.

Sweet girl, this is my lifetime prayer for you.  It starts tonight as a prayer for you to get good sleep and grow healthy and big.  It will continue as you go to kindergarten on the first day, turn 16 and drive off for the first time, go away to college, or get married and change your name.  In all of these circumstances, I will be crying and smiling at the same time.  Because even when it breaks my heart, it makes me smile.  And I will know deep down, that when I'm not around you will know that God is.  And you will trust in Him with all your heart because He has never and will never fail you.

I will love you forever and always.
Love, Mommy

Klusman Family Reunion

We went to visit Carl and Gladys Klusman, my grandparents, last weekend.  I absolutely adore my grandparents.  They are still in love after 65 years, still have a sense of humor, and they love their family with everything they have.  They are getting older and my fear was that my little girl would never get to know the love of these two people like I had.  But when we walked in the door, it was all Grandma could do not to grab her out of my arms.  She was just as ready to meet Harper!  My Grandma is one of those wonderful, All-American Grandmas.  She always has homemade cookies made, pictures to show, and a game to play.  I remember so many things about growing up with them that I can't wait to pass on to Harper.

We left at 5am on Friday morning, somewhat dreading the 8 hour drive.  But God is good, and Harper slept the whole way there!  We got to Kansas in the afternoon and spent the evening hanging out with my grandparents and Aunt Pat and Uncle Don.

Us with Grandma and Grandpa

Aunt Pat and Uncle Don

My sister Kristen, her husband Brian, and their little boy Grayson also met us there.  They are smarter and flew to Kansas.  Sadly, Grayson got sick on the way from the airport to our grandparents house.  However, we had their suitcase in our car driving up.  So Gray had to run naked for awhile.

My parents were not able to go with us because they had some visitors coming to town.  So they sent my sisters, Taylor and Carleigh, with us.  What help!  It was nice to have people to keep Harper happy in the car and help with the babies while we were there.

Saturday morning was fun.  We all hung around the house and watched the babies.  Grayson is so fun in the mornings.  He eats a big breakfast, watches cartoons, and plays for hours with toys.  He is constantly making some kind of noise too.  And he's such a boy compared to little Harper.  It's fun to see all the little things that go on in people's lives when you see them from sun up to sun down.

Grayson and his toys - some of which have been around for over 30 years!

Grayson and Grandpa

Saturday afternoon we went to my Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim's house and a ton of family came to visit.  At any point of the night there were at least 15 or more kids in the pool, ranging in ages from 1 year old to 16 years old.  So crazy!  We had a great time hanging out and visiting with all the cousins and aunts and uncles.

Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jamie

Their 1st son, Cole, was also colicky so they did a great job with Harper!

Grayson and Camden Bausher

Sunday morning was sad because we packed up and headed home.  It was a short visit but so worth getting to see the family.  Next year Harper will be able to do more and it will be so much fun!