Two Months!

It is hard to believe, but Harper turned 2 months old on Friday, August 19th! It is amazing how much she has changed over the last two months (and really the last few weeks). Her "watch me grow" photo will have to wait until we arrive in Minneapolis because Classic Pooh is packed in the moving truck (we are hopeful our belongings will be delivered August 31st).

She visited my old doctor for her 2 month check up this week. She is doing great and was very well behaved for her appointment (and even did pretty well with her shots). Her stats: 11lbs,2 oz (62nd percentile), 23.5 inches (86th percentile), 67th percentile for head circumference.

 A few highlights of her recent behavior:

• She has officially made the transition from "newborn" to "baby"... she has filled out and no longer looks brand new!
• She is holding her head up really well
• She has started smiling a lot and is interacting a lot more with coos and other noises
• She loves when we (especially her Gramps) makes noises at her while she is laying on her back
• She loves to be outside
• Her favorite spot is probably her pack n play changing table - she loves to lay on it and kick and play
• Loves watching any lights/fans/tv, etc. (She is a particular fan of sportscenter with dad).
• She still loves car rides and walks in her stroller and the baby bjorn
• She seems to carry on long conversations with herself through groans and other noises- especially in her bassinet at night!
• She is almost out of her bassinet (probably would be if we were already moved in in Minneapolis). She is almost too long for it!
• She is doing really well with sleeping at night- she regularly hits the 6 hour mark of straight sleep! (Her less positive nights still tend to include a 4 hour stretch and her longest, last night, was 7 straight hours!)
• She likes to be facing out most of the time- loves to see the world!
• She still doesn't have daytime naps down- she catnaps for a max of 10 minutes at a time (unless she is in the car).
• Nursing has gotten better as well - there are still times when she wants to eat constantly, but breaks in between do seem to be increasing in length (most of the time)

The months ahead are sure to be full of a lot of fun and many challenges! We have already scheduled her first ND football weekend experience and her Baptism in Oil City - we shall see what else the fall holds for us!

Family

Harper has had the opportunity to meet a lot of family members and friends during our month long journey toward Minneapolis (where we will hopefully move in within a week). Here are a few pictures to comemorate her visits.

Meeting her cousin Jackson in Knightstown

Meeting her cousin Will

Four generations of Drelicks

Hanging out with  her (Great) Aunt Kath during lunch at Babcia's

Meeting her Aunt Emily

Sitting with her daddy and cousin Gregory

Babcia with her great grandchildren

Four generations of Boyers

Catching up with the Biedrzycki's after too long - at Ashleigh's housewarming party

Traveling Girl!

The Reeves family has been on the move the last few weeks! We left Vermont/New Hampshire on July 22nd and drove to my parents' house in Oil City. After a week in the booming metropolis that is Venango County, we headed to Knightstown to show off the first Reeves girl. Then it was off to Minneapolis (with Adam's mom along for the trip) to find a place to live (we finally found a rental house - it wasn't easy), back to Knightstown and now back to Pennsylvania to relieve my parents of Hesburgh duty. We are staying in Oil City for about 10 days and then making our final long drive to Minnesota (with a night in South Bend and a night in Chicago along the way).

Talk about a whirlwind! Thankfully, Harper has been a traveling pro (as was Hesburgh during his legs of the trip). Here are a few pictures of the adventure.

Sandwiched between Harper and Hesburgh during the first leg of our trip

Meeting Gramps (Drelick) for the first time

In the car on the way to the airport

Playing with dad on her first flight

Napping with dad at the hotel - house hunting is hard work

Yay! Mom and Dad found us a house (and a yard for Hesburgh).

Showing off her new onesie - purchased because our luggage didn't show up until half way through our trip (Thank goodness for Target!)

Excited to be back with her buddy Hesburgh!

Photo catch up!

It has been a while since I have posted anything so I just wanted to post some pictures you have missed. A longer post to come soon.

Saying Goodbye to Tuck:

Enjoying bathtime

Taking a walk with mommy before we left Vermont

Watch Me Grow: 1 Month Old!

Attempting a sitting up picture

Back to the original position

Sorry this post is a little late - things have been a little hectic for us lately (but more about that in a later post). Harper was one month old on July 19th! I can't believe how fast that time went (and the week and a half since didn't slow down at all).

I am going to use this post to document both her development this month and the things I have learned during my first month as a mommy (to a human, at least). I hope it doesn't bore you, but it is really for our memories - so read on if you are interested.

Harper's new tricks:

• Since her first day home Harper has shown surprising desire and ability to support her head (particularly when we are holding her and she pulls back).
• She has always made the newborn noises in her bassinet at night, but recently has started a louder "soundtrack" of  making noises to her self (a development that we have declared, half jokingly, will win her a place in her own room sooner rather than later).
• In the last week she has started to smile in response to things we do (as opposed to the presumed gas smiles we had been getting).
• She does NOT like being very hot - a problem when you live in un-air conditioned places during a record heat wave!
• She is starting to give us longer sleep stretches to start the night (with one 6.5 hour stretch... although that only happens for grandma).
• She loves to be moving - walks in her stroller and rides in the car are particularly popular and usually bring on sleep
• She has yet to fall in love with hr pacifier (she didn't get one for the first 2.5-3 weeks because of breastfeeding)... there are times when she takes it easily and is soothed, but also times when putting it in her mouth evokes a horrible reaction.
• Her father thinks it is noteworthy that she has powerful and frequent poops and toots, so I thought I would include it.

Lessons I have learned during month one:

• I have learned is not smart to try and share a computer with my husband... no, this is not directly related to Harper, but it definitely effects the timeliness of my blogs, so I thought I would include it.
• I apparently need much less sleep than I used to believe. It is amazing how excited a 4 or 5 hour stretch can make me.
• Newborns (particularly a breastfed baby, in our case) often seem to eat constantly - this makes accomplishing other things (and keeping mom's sanity) a little difficult at times.
• It is really hard to find time to pump and create a stock of milk for later use (or feeding help) when you are constantly feeding the baby. (The articles I read recommended pumping an hour after the baby's first morning feeding... a good idea, except she is usually eating again within that hour!)
• Even a calm baby (Harper) sometimes cries HARD and there isn't always an obvious answer (another thing that can be difficult on the new parents)
• It is endlessly entertaining and heartwarming to watch Harper and her father spend special time, even if he is making up and singing ridiculous songs for her
• Having both parents home (or in our temporary locations during our move) has been a Godsend. I fear and dread the day Adam goes back to work and leaves me with both Harper and Hesburgh all day, everyday.
• There is nothing like the feeling of comforting Harper when she is upset or getting her to doze off in your arms (those rare times when she lets me hold her without wanting to eat, that is).

As you can tell the first month has been an adventure and we are looking forward to everything to come.

Minneapolis Bound!

Our time in New England is officially coming to a close. Earlier this week Adam accepted a job at a private equity firm in Minneapolis. We are excited to move our little family and set down some roots in our new area. We will leave Vermont next Friday, July 22nd and make stops in Pennsylvania and Indiana before eventually arriving in Minnesota. More to come on this front....


Things have been a little crazy around here as we try to juggle our new "schedule" with Harper, wrapping things up around here, house/rental hunting, etc. Sorry for the delay in pictures. Here are a few recent shots.

Not enjoying the super hot weather!

4 week doctor's appointment! 9lbs 2oz! (54th percentile)

Out for an evening walk

We Survived!

Sorry for the delay in updates! It seems as though we are living in a time warp over here - not going to work and living off of Harper's schedule makes it hard to even know what day it is sometimes!

As for the title of this post - We did it! Harper, Hesburgh and I survived our first day and night alone. Adam went to Chicago last week for an interview and the rest of us were on our own for about 24 hours. (No one went to the hospital this time, thankfully!) Harper and I took Hesburgh to doggy day care, ran errands and took a walk to pass the time during the day.

Unfortunately, it was one of the hottest days of the year in the Upper Valley and our condo isn't air conditioned (apparently AC isn't deemed necessary when 10 months of the year seem to be winter).  We struggled a little with the heat (Harper seemed to be too hot no matter where she was laying and being held only made it worse!), but we lived to tell the tale  - and even think we will probably be able to survive once Adam head's back to work.