Mommy & Harper

On Mother's Day, I thought it only appropriate that Harper and I have our photo taken together. Well...we were home alone...so we did some self photography. I was surprised to see how well she looked at the camera!

(And ignore the "thank heaven for little boys" bib...it was a gift from someone who must have thought we were having a boy!)

Smiles

Just some random smiles captured on camera...enjoy!

Some More "Firsts"

Harper's first fever!
She got a 100.9 fever about 24 hours after her 4 month doctor appointment where she got another round of shots. Apparently, this is quite common. It only took one dose of Tylenol and then she was fine. Notice her rosy-fever cheeks in the photo. At her 4 month appointment, she weighed in at 14 lbs, 4.5 oz. and was 24.5 inches long! She's growing great - and all is well!


Harper's first food!
Our pediatrician told us at the appointment it was time to start rice cereal, so we did Sunday night. She did great, too! No crying and no spitting it out. We were quite impressed!

Harper's first flip!

She flipped over from her back to her tummy just tonight! Donna at daycare said she almost did during the day, but she saved it for me when we got home. Noah also got to witness it - and thankfully we caught it on video! The photo is of her on her side before rolling over...

Cows

So the cows love Harper. Or so we like to think! They were checking her out the other day when we went to visit Noah while he was working on some fence. The reason for the fence repair was that the cows got out one morning...oops! And these cows made it all the way to Amy and Russ' yard (about .5-.75 miles away). Their yard is now full of cow tracks and cow pies! Plus, their garden was a little torn up. The cows were even drinking water from their pool. Wasn't so funny at the time...but now we can get a little chuckle out of the story!

In other cow news, one of the mama cows had twin babies the other day! How cute and unique! I'll try and get some cute photos of the twins soon.

Mother's Day

What a great first Mother's Day weekend! I got to spend the entire day with Noah and Harper Saturday at Tulip Time - a true blessing in the spring since Noah is usually busy, busy, busy (thank you rain Friday night). Of course, he's in the field today - but he made my Mother's Day special...starting Friday with giving me a lilac bush (gotta love the lilacs in the spring!), Saturday he gave me a framed photo of Harper and him, and then today he gave me a cute pair of earrings (from my favorite little jewelry shop in Ames). Tonight, we're having dinner at Amy's...a great finish to the weekend.

Harper reading a magazine with me.

Hard to see, but Harper is trying to help me turn the pages.

And I just couldn't forget the other "mommies" on the farm. A Happy Mother's Day to all the Mama Cows from their Baby Cows. Too cute.

Tulip Time

We went to Tulip Time in Pella on Saturday. Noah's sister and her family live there, so it was great to see them. Noah had never been to Tulip Time before (I have been twice)...so he was a little shocked with the number of people there - a little like the state fair! But we had fun, regardless. Sarah came along with 1 of her 3 girls - Shea. The other two were home helping their daddy. So we went to see them afterwards. Thank you Sarah for showing us around Tulip Time!!!

Enjoy the photos below...

Taking a break to feed Harper at Tulip Time.

Shea saying "cheese"!

Harper with Daddy by some tulips. The tulips were almost un-noticable with all the people around them!

More tulips. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

Back at the Gyolai's...Myka holding Harper.

Bryn holding Harper.

And Bryn feeding Harper, with some help from her Uncle.

Farming Update

So far, spring planting is going a thousand times better than last year - thanks to decent weather! Noah and Caleb are about 65% done with all their planting, and hopefully after great weather today they will be closer to 75% done.

I like to call this photo "Staff Meeting." The A and the W of A&W Farms admiring their herd.

The corn is sprouting up from the ground. Amazing how quick it'll pop up after a good rain.

Swim Party

Harper had her first swim party in her room at daycare! She loved it! The teachers brought in a small pool and filled with about an inch of water - then let the babes play! They are so creative in the fun things they do with infants.

4 Months Old

Harper turned 4 months yesterday! Time is flying by! She's almost ready to roll from her back to her tummy. She gets up on her side, but just can't quite figure out how to make that roll to her tummy. And she's been drooling lots - I wonder if teeth are coming soon. Enjoy the photos.

Harper's first ride in her new swing!

Happy Harper!

Harper and her Daddy...he's silly!

Mommy reading books to Harper...

Resting on the couch...

Some serious tummy time.

Harper trying to eat the ball.

Wanted to mention some family members to keep in your thoughts/prayers. My dad's cousin Gary was diagnosed with cancer several weeks ago, our Aunt Cindy's house burned down (which was a complete loss), and our Uncle Steve broke his neck (thankfully he's not paralyzed). Hoping spring will only bring good news from here on out...

Home Office

One day last week I wasn't feeling the greatest, so I left work early to work from home. Of course, Harper had to come with me...so she was my helper! I actually got more accomplished than I thought I could, especially considering she only napped 45 minutes in that 3-4 hour period of time I was trying to work!

Speak Now for Kids

Regardless of your political views, join the Speak Now for Kids campaign. It's a grassroots campaign to tell Congress that children need to be a consideration in their quest to reform our healthcare. Right now, they are hard at work - with a goal of May 22 draft legislation.

Visit www.speaknowforkids.org and tell Congress kids matter. Kids healthcare is very different than adult healthcare...so the changes being made need to work for kids.

Go to the website and sign up. It is super quick and easy! And it's not advocating for any specific legislation or stance...it's just telling Congress kids matter. So Speak Now! :)