Back to Work

Last Monday, I started back to work. G'ma Sandquist stayed home with Harper so I could just get thru the first day on my own. On Tuesday, Harper started daycare....so Harper made the trek to work with me for her first day. I'm happy to report she did great, and all week she did great. That has continued so far this week. She's not napping the greatest, but that's to be expected. She took a super 3 hour nap today, though!

Some highlights from daycare:

• She had her first fire drill where she was put in a crib with another baby and wheeled outside.
• She had her first tornado drill. Her teacher told me she was the only baby that didn't cry through that whole ordeal.
• She's been enjoying playing in front of a mirror watching herself.
• She's been enjoying all the books being read to her by her teacher Donna.
• She's been enjoying watching the bigger ones in her room move around and play (her room is for ages 6 weeks to 13 months).
• She gets daily visits from her mommy and some of mommy's co-workers who want to come see her.

Fun story, most of you know that Amy and I also went to the same daycare as Harper when we were little since Mom worked at Iowa Methodist. Well, one of the teachers in the room next to Harper's has been there since 1975. So she pulled out an old photo album and we started going thru photos and found old photos of Amy and I. It was neat to see, and also neat to know that Joy has been working there for so long - she must love her job!

As for me, I've adjusted well back to work. Almost feels like I was never gone. It helps tremendously having her on campus with me and knowing I can go see her at any given time - which I do! And then I provide updates back to her daddy.

Enjoy the multitude of photos from the past couple weeks!

Harper holding her bunny...
Big blue eyes...

Getting ready for Harper's first day at daycare...
Tummy time...she looks so serious!
LOVING her Bumbo for the first time. She thought she was a big girl sitting in that chair! She's not quite strong enough to sit in it long...she get her head bobbling around! More Bumbo on the kitchen table...
Wearing some new (bigger) jammies!
More tummy time...

Professional Photos

When Harper was 3 weeks old, we had some professional photos taken of her. I just received the CD with all the photos last week - so I wanted to share some of our favorites! The photographer is Carolyn Vaughn, http://www.carolynvaughn.com/. She's from NYC and hasn't been out in the country much. So she was dying to take some photos of the farm. We told her to feel free - and the photos turned out awesome! See below for a few...

My Last Week

Well, the maternity leave is quickly coming to an end. This is my last week home with Harper. I start back to work on Monday. And Harper will start daycare on Tuesday (G'ma Sandquist is staying home with her on Monday so I can have a less emotional first day back).

Harper is 10 weeks old - and lots of fun. She "talks" to us more and more each day...she smiles a lot...and has less fussy times. She's still sleeping thru the night (although we had 2 nights last week where she decided she didn't want to). Overall, she's becoming a very happy baby!

Notice her shirt above - A&W Farms - just like her Daddy's shirts!

Just One of Those Days

All good things come to an end....including the beautiful weather I mentioned in the previous post. Today, it was rainy and cold. So Harper and I stayed inside all day. For whatever reason, she was having 'one of those days'. She ended up in 4 different outfits...the first got a little pee on it, the second got a little poop on it, and the third got a LOT of poop on it - which led to a bath and her fourth outfit!
Noah also was having one of those days. When you have cattle, and muddy cattle lots, things just don't usually go very smoothly when it's rainy. And to top it off, he had a baby calf that just wasn't enduring the crummy weather very well today. So he decided it needed some warmth and shelter....in our basement! Yes, as I type this, we have a baby calf in our basement...covered in towels and rugs. Hopefully the baby will bounce back and start feeling better tomorrow.

Something fun we discovered over the weekend is that Harper seems to enjoy watching tv. Not sure that we should be happy about this. But Saturday night was girls state basketball on tv, and Harper was really paying attention to it. Not sure if it was the light off the tv, or all the movement on the screen, but she watched the basketball on tv for quite a while...especially while sitting on her daddy's lap.

Beautiful Weather

Last week, we were blessed with some beautiful weather in Iowa. In fact, one day even reached 75 degrees! My mom actually had planned to take the week off - which worked out perfectly as we (mom, Harper and I) enjoyed several outings. On this day, it was so nice we decided to meet Max & Mollie off the school bus so we could all play outside! Harper enjoyed it from her baby carrier...

The weather had us all, including the cats, wishing it was pool season! Can't wait for that to come this summer!

Growing Girl

At her 2 month appointment, Harper weighed in at 10 pounds and 7 ounces, and 22 inches in length. She's growing very well! Everything else checked out great. And she did receive 3 shots - which caused her to scream...but she recovered very quick. I was quite impressed. Tough little girl.

As Harper continues to grow, we are beginning to see glimpses of her personality...which is fun. She's becoming more mellow with less crying spells....and is still sleeping thru the night!

We're getting to that point where I have to go back to work soon. Only 2 weeks left. This week, we meet with the daycare to do our "intake" and meet Harper's caretaker. She will be going to daycare where I work (which is so great). I've heard VERY positive comments about the caretaker we have been assigned. I have several co-workers who's kids had this woman, and they all loved her. That is a huge relief to me!

2 Months Old

Harper is 2 months old today. She's our "little princess" or rather our sleeping beauty. Today she's been more interested in sleeping than she has been in a long time. I wonder if she's not feeling well or going thru a growth spurt. Either way, we go to the doctor tomorrow for her well child check-up and immunizations.

Family Weekend

On Saturday, we took Harper to meet her great aunts and uncles in Des Moines. It's my G'ma Sandquists' sister and brother, and their spouses. Additionally, Aunt Bonnie's daughter Susie was there. It was a great visit. Aunt Bonnie recovering from heart surger - but is doing great!

Then on Sunday, we went home to Manchester so Harper could meet her great-grandpa Wendt, who is 88 years old! She also got to meet her Uncle Seth, and have some quality time with Noah's parents.

In other Harper news, she's still sleeping thru the night! Yeah! She'll go from 9/10 p.m. to 6/7 a.m. We love it! On Saturday, she coo'd at me for the first time. It was so neat. And on Sunday, she laughed for the first time. She's really hitting some of those milestones and growing fast! She turned 8 weeks on Sunday! Mommy goes back to work in a short 3 weeks...it's gone fast.

Groovy Girl

A patient and her mom made Harper some tye-dye baby t-shirts. They are so cute. And then my co-worker Julie got Harper some sunglasses. She's just one groovy baby girl!