Winter '11

Hi everyone,

It has been quite awhile since I have been one hear although I have been meaning to write for awhile:) We have been quite busy this past month and half.  In November we traveled to Palm Springs for my dad's world team tennis national finals...and they won the championship-so it was very exciting.  We also were able to celebrate Brendan's bday with a dinner out while my mom and dad watched Harper.  We stayed in a really nice condo and took lots of walks in the beautiful weather.  The drive was quite long, but Harper did great except about 30 minutes from arriving home there was a bit of a meltdown, but a bottle def helped! 

Dad and his team-National Champions!

Over verteran's day weekend we had a Rhames' Family reunion at Brendan's dad's house and it was great to bring everyone together and share some good food and laughs, Brendan and I also hosted a late night cousins' night at our house afterwards and that always leads to good stories and pictures.  Harper was able to meet much of the family for the 1st time and his godmother Katie as well! 

Grampsie Rhames and Grandpa Colby

Thanksgiving was very low key and cozy for us this year, no rushing around to a million houses, we went to my mom and dad's along with Brendan's parents and had a fabulous dinner prepared by mom who always goes all out hosting.  The following Sunday we went over to Brendan's sister's and had another turkey dinner along with some homemade pies made by his grandma. 

Dec 3rd we had Harper baptized at OLPH with Oliver as his godfather and Katie as his godmother.  My mom hosted the breakfast afterwards at our house and food was phenomenal, everyone raved over the strata she served.  Harper did a good job, considering it was his naptime. 

Dad and Harper before the ceremony

Godparents Katie and Oliver

Hanging out after the baptism relaxing

We are gearing up for the holiday season, which seems to be coming full steam ahead.  Unfortunately I usually have a week off before it actually hits, but this year the powers that be in our district postponed out break and we don't get out until the 22nd, so I will def be rushing around like a mad woman come the 23rd!  Looking foward to all of the festivities, family and food:)

Harper updates:
-he has been crawling since Oct
-stands up on anything
-one hand stands on furniture
-walking along the furniture
-2 bottom teeth out and growing for the last 2 weeks and the beginnig of a top one
-recognizing more people and words
-babbling a lot with things that def sound like dada and baba...
-eating a ton of food (we just blend up whatever we are having in the magic bullet), has never turned his nose up at anything
-loves loves loves Nico the kitty (but it is not a 2-sided street, so not looking foward to that bad ending)
-dancing to music

Eating with Auntie Kaila

showing off his new teeth

I LOVE food!

Look what I can do...better lower the crib all the way

being cute

7 months-11/15/11

Fall

So the weather is finally changing and fall is definitely here…it is so nice to actually have the windows open and enjoy walking on the trail at whatever time during the dayJ  Harper is now in his big boy stroller and can enjoy facing outwards and watching everything that goes by.  Time is flying by and soon enough the holidays will be here. 

Nana and Grandpa

Posing

Recently we have had a lot of birthdays to celebrate.  At the beginning of the month Brendan’s grandmother had a birthday and the family celebrated with a surprise party for her at Aunt Laureen’s house and it was definitely a success, she was surprised and we all enjoyed good food and company.  The following weekend was a bbq for friends at our house and Brendan was able to test out his new smoker and the tritip turned out tasty.  We are definitely loving our backyard and now that the weather has turned cooler.  On Oct 16th it was Logan’s 8^th birthday party so we all went to Chris and Stacie’s to celebrate and Logan scored with some really great gifts. We also celebrated Brendan's dad's bday at our house with a nice dinner (courtesy of my mom) and cake and Grampsie was kind enough to take Harper's monthly pictures then and the preview for Halloween! 

Logan opening his battleship

Rolling over so much it is hard for photos

BEEautiful!

On the weekend of the 21^st Erika, my cousin who lives in Colorado now, had some business in SF, so she was able to drive down Fri for a weekend visit.  Aunt Pat and Casey also came down on Fri.  My mom made a yummy dinner and brought it over and Chris and Logan joined us and we all enjoyed a cool fall night on the patio.  On Sat Erika, Pat, Casey and I enjoyed a girls day, walking on the trail and going to a French bakery for breakfast.  Later we enjoyed the warm weather in the pool and backyard and that night another bbq courtesy of Brendan, but this time ribs!  I was sad to see everyone leave Sun morning, I wish we all lived closerL 

Erika feeding Harper

This coming weekend is Halloween, we will be having family over on Mon to celebrate and trick or treat through the neighborhood, pretty excited for Harper’s costume and the rest of the family's as well.   Next weekend we are heading to Palm Springs, my dad has a tennis tournament and so invited the family along.  It will be a long ride for Harper in the car, hopefully he will be as good as he has been in the past on road trips-wish us luck!

Harper and Gracy-puppy love:)

Harper's first real crawling, on his hands and knees and not doing the worm!

Harper’s updates:

Has been on hands and knees rocking since September

Started the worm to move forward late Sep/early Oct

Started to crawl steadily on hands and knees in a forward motion Oct 25^th

Still sleeping through the night (most nights) about 10 hrs

Sitting steadily on his own

Loves to crawl towards the remote, cell phone or cat

At 6 month checkup: 19lb, 26 ½ inches

Getting ready for solids this weekend

Repeating some noises and consants+vowel sounds

Loves the bjorn still

Getting into the groove

I headed back to school in August.  It has been way harder than I ever thought to leave Harper behind, even though I know he is in great hands with his Nana and Auntie Kaila.  When people ask me at work how it is going sometimes I have to tell myself "don't cry Cathleen" and just plaster  smile on my face and think happy thoughs.  Even though I work shorter days than most as a teacher I still catch myself counting the hours down until I get to see him.  My mom was soooo helpful the first few weeks back by coming over everyday and watching Harper, doing laundry, washes dishes and making dinner...wish I could hire her full time! 
Last week Harper started going to Kaila's on Tues/Wed/Thur and that has been great, he always has a good time there and it is relieving to know he is happy and safe.  There have been some hiccups along the way like forgetting the diaper bag, my belt for my dress, etc, but I am getting the hang of the juggling act. 

                                        Auntie Kaila's house

I look foward to my Mondays, since Nana comes over then and I don't have to wake Harper up before he is ready or take him anywhere.  Fridays are my treat days since Brendan is home I can leave a little early and swing by Starbucks for my weekly coffee (still decaf, but I love the flavor).  We had a nice visit from Laura over Labor Day weekend and also a nice bbq with our friends LaShawn and Oliver. 
Last weekend we celebrated Nicole's 30th with a nice dinner and Auntie Erin came over and watched Harper.  It is so wonderful to have such a helpful and supportive family and we really appreciate all the love shared. 

Nicole, Andrea and me

This past Thur I took my club of students to San Francisco for a big 20 year event celebration at City Hall, they had so much fun seeing famous chef demonstrations, dressing up and receiving awards.  The down side was arriving back in Fresno at midnight and getting 4 1/2 hrs of sleep before work on Fri. 
This Sat is my college friend Julia's baby shower, the Boots' are expecting a little girl-can't wait to see all the clothes!  My mom is heading up with me to help with Harper and we are staying over at her best friend Sheila's house in Danville.  Looking foward to some girl time. 

Last but not least-lots of babies on their way, I have 2 friends due in Nov, 1 in Jan, 1 in Feb and 2 in March:)

Harper's progress:
Now 5 months, but at 4 month checkup-17 lb 4 oz and 25 inches
loving his bouncer seat

tracking/following intently people in the room and the dog and cat
turning when he hears his name
sleeping 10 plus hrs straight(830-630/7) in his crib-halleluia
huge push ups and moving around on belly
sleeping tummy down, butt in air

giggling/laughing/squealing (with dad)

watching intently all the food we eat
getting ready for solids at 6 months
pushing up and smiling when you walk into room to pick him up after nap/sleep

End of Summer

Hi Family and Friends,
Just a little update on how the summer is coming to a close.  I have 2 more days at home and start meetings for work on Wed and the 1st day of school is Mon.  I am trying not to stress too much about it and enjoying these last days to the fullest.  Still going on morning walks with Harper and Gracy, making breakfast and lunch at home and cuddling with Harper. 

Reading with Dad

Grandpa

Cruising at Farmer's Market

Harper is becoming a little more regular, he def has his long nap in the morning.  We have established a nightime routine that starts about 8 when we give him a bottle, then it is bathtime and a massage, pjs and then I nurse him before putting him in his crib for the night.  He has been going down relatively easy in his crib, though we did have to work for that, now he doesn't really fuss at bedtime and falls asleep pretty quickly:)  Brendan and I try to watch a little tv but usually go to sleep soon after since we are both tired.  He has pretyy long stretches of sleep, sometimes up to 10+ hrs, but once in awhile still wants a feeding at 4-5 in the morning.  Harper had done a roll-over or two on his 3 month bday, but in the past week has mastered the back to tummy roll over.  We were both very excited, but now the worry has come since last night he slept on his belly pretty much the whole evening and had both mom and dad freaking out, but he was fine.  He has always been super strong, so I guess it is just a matter of time before he starts crawling, he def shows all of the signs of wanting to! 

Loving Sophie the giraffe and his piano

Getting too long for his giraffe mat


As for the family...my mom, dad, nephew Logan, Brendan, Harper and I headed over to Cambria last Thur-Tues and had such a great time.  We enjoyed the great weather and views at the beach.  We were able to visit a few wineries and tasting rooms.  The best was a free concert at Castoro Wineries, where we brought a picnic lunch.  Harper was a great baby and really went with all of the traveling.  Logan is such a great helper with the baby, especially in the car where he is always there to soothe Harper if he gets upset!  He was also great with helping give him a bottle:)  There were some great restaurants we visited with lots of great food including Main Street Grill, Indigo Moon, The Black Cat, The French Corner Bakery, Linns...can't wait to go back for a visit.  This past week Brendan's brother Matt and his family have been visiting so we have had lots of bbqs, swimming, a family reunion with the Tweedy side and a big bday celebration for all of the cousins born in the summer (pretty much all the kids except Lauren and Harper). Also was able to see my cousin Adriane visiting from VA and her brother Brian from FL. 

Indigo Moon, Cambria


Family Dinner, The Black Cat



Cousin Love!



Most of the Tweedy cousins

Girl cousins can't get enough of Harper!

Updates/Milestones for Harper:

-smiles all of the time (love those toothless grins)

-laughs out loud

-squeals and babbling

-grabs items above and in front of him

-tracks people and voices in the room

-recognizes all the important people in his life

-rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy (back to tummy is his fav)

-pushes all the way up on arms

-sleeps an average of 10 hours a night, many times without having to feed or be soothed

-newest thing is rolling over onto tummy to sleep at night in his crib (which makes for a very nervous Mom and Dad)

-makes all the motions to get ready to crawl

-4 month check-up-17.4 lb (big boy) and 25 inches long


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Summertime

Hi all,
Just thought I would give this blogging thing a chance since it allows me to give updates so quickly and I love all my friends and families' blogs, so I thought what the heck!  So I have been off of work since April 5th and the countdown has begun on when I go back (Aug 17th)-boo!  It is really hitting me how quickly this has flown by and how much I am going to miss being with Harper 24/7.  He is my little man and I have been there every step of the way and now I will miss out on some of his next milestones.  However being a teacher still allows me a great advantage in not having super long hours and having breaks in the winter, spring and summer:)  This past week it was super nice weather here in Fresno/Clovis-in the upper 80s, which is unheard of, but I was not complaining since I was able to take advantage and walk every morning on the trail by our house.  I love that trail and taking Harper and Gracy out for a walk each morning is so relaxing.  It is also fun to be joined by some of my friends and family (Andrea, Aimee and Marlee, Julie and Baron, and of course my mom now that she is back from her month long hiatus out of town) once in awhile.  I was telling Brendan how much I wish the weather was always like this and he said then the pool wouldn't be warm enough, so I said I would take one day a week with weather in the 80s!  Speaking of the pool, it has been sooo nice to finally have a backyard this summer and a pool as well.  We love spending time out there and it is always fun to have our friends and family over.  We had a 4th of July party and it was a hit.  We are so close to the local high school that we could see their huge fireworks from our backyard.  We love having our nieces and nephews over for swim time and my nephew Logan comes over from time to time for the day and is such a great help with Harper and nice company for me:)  He loves to go swimming and also play fetch with Gracy by throwing the tennis balls in the pool for her.  Harper will def be a fish someday, he loves to go in the pool now, so swim lessons will be in store for him next summer!  I am finally somewhat getting into a routine with Harper, though we would like for him to go to bed earlier, I think that entails me waking him up earlier in the morning, but I like the extra sleep in the morning:)  He has been sleeping in his crib and pack and play at night, though some of his naps are still in his swing, which according to the dr is just fine:)  He wakes in the morning, eats, then he has some play time or a walk, then it is naptime for about 2 hrs or so, then feed again and some playtime and then another nap (1-2-sometimes 3 hrs).  After that he is usually up for quite awhile with feedings throughout (he is def hungrier in the early/late eve).  Brendan usually comes home after 4 so then I can go to a class at the gym or my swim class at the local middle school.  We have been trying to give him his last feeding about 8ish and a bath and then rock him to sleep (he is pretty cranky at the end of the day) and lay him down, but he usually gets up within an hour and we feed him again and so he doesn't actually go to bed until after 10.  He was sleeping through the night until about 6, but since he is not sleeping in his swing anymore, but his crib, he wakes up between 3-4 for a feeding then I put him back down in the pack and play in our bedroom and he sleeps until 8-9 am.  We were able to get him sleeping in the crib by swaddling him, but he seems to always get out of it, so now we just put him in slippered pjs.  It seems like his most peaceful sleep is between 4-9am, go figure since I want it to be between 8pm-1am, but that is he life of a baby, some are meant for schedules, others aren't.  I just want to get him used to be up around 6 am since that will be workdays for me. 
Harper's accomplishments:
-sleeping more than 5 hours at a time at night in his crib or pack and play
-sitting up with some help, he is great in his bumbo and piano chair
-standing on his legs on your lap
-holding his head straight as you pull him from laying down by his arms
-tracking voices and faces
-picking up toys and holding them up to his face/mouth (he especially loves his blanket with a monkey head)
-hearing his name and paying attention
-smiling at everyone, the early morning ones are the best
-letting out some squeals and giggles (not full on laughs yet)
-rolling over from back to stomach (found him in his crib on his tummy on the night of his 3 month bday, though he was not happy about it)
-turning himself around on his play mats
-kicking around his arms and legs like crazy when he is in his vibration seat or in your

Coming events:
-family trip to Cambria in Aug
-Regan's (our niece) pool party here
-Matt (Brendan's oldest brother from Virginia) and his family's visit in Aug
-family reunion for the Tweedys on Aug 13
-Brendan's anniversary gift-Tosh.o concert on Aug 19th