True or False?

The best way to get baby poop out of berber is a mixture of Dawn, Woolite and good old fashioned elbow grease? ...... TRUE!

And how did I come to possess this important knowledge, you may be wondering? Well, this afternoon, our sweet Harper became a projectile poop machine. It was just too absurd not to share.

Let me preface this by sharing that Harper's Baptism is this weekend and I have spent the better part of a week making to do lists, getting the house ready and making sure every last detail was covered. So, after we ran errands this morning, I fed and changed Harper and got her settled into our (borrowed) swing so I could make pumpkin bread and do some cleaning. Just as I started on the bread, Harper let out a blood curdling scream that had me running to her at top speed. As I reached to unfasten the safety belt, I noticed a peculiar stain seeping out from under her tush...and down her legs, and under the seat, and across the floor....fortunately stopping just inches from the air register.

Needless to say, the next hour was spent bathing a poop-covered Harper, washing her clothes and scrubbing everything in a four foot radius of the swing. Meanwhile, Harper took a nice long nap, clearly exhausted from the ordeal. Oh, and did I mention that Harper seems to only have these episodes when she's wearing her designer duds? Put a Target outfit on and she's clean and dry all day. But just show her a Strasburg or Janie and Jack tag and it's spit up/throw up/poop central.

And another parenting highlight from the Wentz house - apparently our daughter likes to hang out in the garage. Yep, the garage. I put her in the bouncy seat while I did laundry yesterday, and since our laundry area is in the garage, the only place to put her was on the floor next to me. Now, it's not as bad as it seems, I do have a rug out there. Anyhow, Harper LOVED this vantage point and proceeded to sit there for 30 minutes, laughing, smiling and looking around the entire time. I'm not sure what this says about her future....jiffy lube employee perhaps?

Regardless, the Parents of the Year trophy is most definitely not showing up on our doorstep anytime soon. But maybe I'll at least have somebody to pass the laundry off to in the future. Robbie turns the towels blue.........

Picking a Pumpkin

We took Harper to the pumpkin patch last weekend for a little pumpkin picking photo-op. Happy fall!!

VW Baby

Harper's in a phase where, if she's in Elizabeth's car, she's got to be moving. She is, however, not the type of baby that needs to go for a car ride to settle down. At any rate, her attitude when she's in the car is rather standard modus operandi for babies around her age I'd imagine. Maybe, maybe not, I really have no idea. Anyway, Elizabeth drives a Jetta, and as if on cue, when the car stops, Harper throws a mini fit. When you hit the gas, she immediately falls asleep. My car isn't as sugar sweet as the Jetta so Harper just sleeps in my car. It made us think of this Jetta commercial from a couple years back.

Harper takes a Holiday

Anybody who knows me well knows that I spend as much time as humanly possible at my parents' beach house. I've told Robbie on more than one occassion that I'll live there in the summer and he can come on weekends (not sure who dropped the hammer on this plan faster....Robbie or my dad) Anyhow, my mom and I did end up spending a disproportionate amount of time there last summer, but I'm pretty sure Robbie and my parents only tolerated that due to my hugely pregnant (and not entirely unemotional) state. The worst part of pregnancy to me was not the swollen feet, achy extremeties or unrelenting heartburn; it was the last month when I was grounded in Atlanta while my mom and sister lazed away on the sand without me. I think I had four farewell trips before August, convinced that I would be old and gray before I would again sit in a beachchair with a book and a boatdrink, questioning the bathing suit choices of my fellow sunbathers.

So, after a two month hiatus, my mom and I stole a few days, packed up Harper and ALL her gear and headed south on 85 with the promise of sun and sand, and the possibility of a screaming four week old locked in the car in the middle of nowhere for six hours. Though we were a little tentative at first, I am happy to report that Harper traveled like an absolute champion and seemed to love every minute of her mini vacation. When we took her out to the beach for the first time, she was so energized and alert that she absolutely could not close her eyes - my usually sleepy baby spent literally two hours just looking around, feeling the wind and listening to the waves and the birds. And after the first night, she slept like never before - in bed by midnight every night, rather than her usual 2am last call. Say what you will about good salt air, she was one relaxed baby down there. Guess I'll have a roommate for the summer....sorry Dave-o!

Seriously though, this week has been a turning point for Harper. Though she's always been a sleeper, she's actually going down at a semi-normal hour and sleeping most of the night (even now that we're at home). She's up for several hours at a time and we've more than once found ourselves trying to soothe her to sleep, rather than tickle her toes to keep her awake. And when she is awake she's so much more alert and loves looking around at the scenery. She'll even lay in her crib awake for awhile mesmerized by the polka dots on the letters on the wall. The toy of the moment in Harper's world appears to be the "curious counting crab," a friendly little fellow who counts in English and Spanish. Never too early to teach the language that's slowly eclipsing English in our native land. Once she masters that, it's on to the crab's octupus friend....he teaches colors in Spanish. And then perhaps she'll learn to hold her head up (getting steadier everyday).

Beach Bum

Harper and Elizabeth have been at the beach with Giagia this week. Lucky them. Biscuit and I have been hanging out back here in Atlanta all week and we're ready for Elizabeth and Harper to COME HOME. I've had so much sleep it should be considered illegal, so that's good, but I'm ready to be with my girls.

We'll upload the pictures when they get back. For now, here's a pic of Harper taken from a phone earlier today.

1 Month Old

Harper is one month old today...and what a ride it's been so far. We couldn't tell you how much she weighs, but we know she's growing quickly. Her good natured and laid back ways have continued and we have our fingers crossed it stays this way. Elizabeth and I are taking it one day at a time, rolling with the punches and it appears Harper is following our lead and doing the same (we just don't have the heart to tell her we have no idea what we're doing).

Not much happens in the first 4 weeks in terms of "milestones," but Harper "knows" Elizabeth and I, is starting to smile at us, picks her head up more on her own (especially during tummy time) and she sleeps pretty much through the night. She's actually slept in her crib from day one. We tried the bassinet on the first night, but she HATED it after 15 minutes. Instead of trying to make it work or putting her in bed with us - a habit we're absolutely not starting, even if she is an infant - she went straight to her crib and has been there since.

All in all...I'd say the first month has been as good as could be expected. No idea what the little one has up her sleeve, but we're looking forward to continuing the ride.

Bath Time