H's Three Newest Loves

We made a trek down to Houston this weekend and Harper spent time with three of her newest loves - her great friends the Farvers, her cousins, and her sling.

Harper and Will Farver actually first met a few months ago, when she was a bulge in my belly and he liked to park his little 12-week old butt on the shelf she created for him...but it was nice for them to spend time together now that she's joined him in the outside world. Melissa and I did some shopping with the kiddos while Saber and Adam played golf, and Adam gave Harper an awesome tour of their house, complete with detailed explanations of what each appliance is for (apparently the oven is specifically for cakes, pies, and casseroles...who knew?).

We then headed out to Katy (Houston suburb) for H to meet her cousins for the first time, and she was graced with tons of love and lots of compliments about how beautiful she is. I think her head may be getting little big based on how often she's told how lovely she is - at her 2-month appointment she weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs, 1 oz, which is less than the 5th %ile, but her head size is in the 25th %ile!

H has also been loving sling time lately - she gets to be all snuggled up and look around, and I get to feel like I'm pregnant again, just this time carrying an infant ON my belly instead of IN it. That's okay - she's worth it.

Pics from the weekend:

Hangin' with more fam

Harper's had a lot of family visit in the past couple of weeks, and she definitely hasn't been complaining about all of the cuddling and love that's been directed her way. She got to spend more time with Nana and Grandpa Gale, as well as meet Great-Grandma Margaret and cousin Jessica.

Harper's also been spending more time riding around in her sling lately - and as you can tell by the smile on her face in the photo, she's been loving that too.

Harper's Portraiture Debut

We had portraits done with Angie Weedon, who is an amazing portrait photographer here in Dallas. She posted some "sneak peeks" on her blog - have a look!

http://www.weedonphoto.com/blog/

Last weekly posts - 8 and 9

We were only posting by week to get caught up with where we are now - we'll try to be more creative with our posts from here on out.

A couple of big events this week - Harper's two-month birthday and her first round of immunization shots. Watching your two-month old baby get shots and scream like she never has before - NOT FUN. Saber bravely helped to hold her steady and comforted her, but I couldn't handle it and had to walk away - I'm a big baby.

Not a ton of pictures this week, but here are a few of our continually growing little one.

This pic proves that Harper is more than Saber can handle -

she successfully knocked him out.

The Sherrard girls (Thanks Melissa Burns for Harper's lovely outfit!)

One of Harper's signature moves - sleeping with one eye open.

When Harper saw this picture she demanded we comb her hair immediately.

Week 7 - On the go and meeting more people

Just straight to the pics!

Harper making faces with Nana

Spending some time with her friends the Paulsons...

Don't they look great with a baby?!

Harper's typical response to being put in her car seat

Helping Dad with some work (note the ever-growing belly...on Harper)

Bath Time!

Unlike what we've heard about some other babies, Harper does not love her bath. Our first attempt began with a nice present in the water that would have been better-suited in a diaper, thus requiring us to drain the bath and start over. Our next few ended with a screaming, slippery, wiggly baby that was not enjoying herself AT ALL.

We are now to the point where she tolerates it and makes hilarious faces while she wonders what all this wet stuff around her is...and it's all worth it to Saber because he loves to style her wet hair into this ridiculous mohawk.

Week 6 - Nana's in the house!

Harper's Nana (Saber's mom) came and stayed with us for a week and was beyond helpful. Again, I cried like a baby when she left. It truly is amazing to watch grandparents with their grandchildren. Harper is so lucky to have so many people in her life that love her so much.

Harper with her Nana - boy, do these two adore each other.

With her mom - am I boring her?

Headed out to a BBQ -

she let us put that hat on her for about 10 seconds

Harper and Dad - on her way into her crib

Harper's not the only one that looks tired here

Watching her new mobile - she LOVES it!

Week 5 - 1-month Birthday!

How quickly time flies. Our Little H flew past her 1-month mark in what seemed like the blink of an eye. She really does grow and change every day - everyone told us that would happen, but I don't think you really understand it until it's happening to your own child (which, by the way, still sounds very strange to say - our child). Crazy.

Harper's "I just created something in my pants" face

Baby yawns are adorable

Many of you know Freddie (he's been with us for years) -

Harper is really working hard at growing to be bigger than him.

We'll keep you posted.

Another power nap with her dad

Grandpa Mike came for a visit

Harper says hello to her fans on her 1-month birthday. She wore a dress and everything.

Week 4 - Grandparents in the house!

My mother (known to Harper as Grandma - creative, I know) came to stay for a week and help out with all of the new baby tasks. It was great to have her, and I of course cried like the baby that I am when she left (that's Nita talking, not Harper).

Here are a few shots of Harper getting loved on. I've realized as I am creating this blog that even though I am the one that is with Harper far more than anyone else, I have amazingly few pictures of the two of us together - definitely something that I need to change.

Harper getting loved on by her dad...

...and Grandma...

...and Grumpy (her maternal grandpa -

our 5-year-old niece Cameron assigned him that very fitting name)

Week 3 - Getting in the groove of things

Saber headed back to work this week, and while he was quite disappointed to have to leave his girls on our own, I know he was excited to go an entire 10 hours without having to change a diaper. He truly has been a superdad, putting in long hours at his day job and jumping right into daddy duty the minute he walks in the door.

Did I mention that he got up with us for EVERY feeding the 2 weeks that he was on paternity leave? We gave him a pass to stop doing that once he went back to work, but he would still sometimes come into the nursery and lay on the floor to hang out with us while Harper had a late-night snack. He's a keeper.

Now on to some pics...

Harper's wakeup routine the first couple of weeks -

she would start with the one-eyed pirate...

....and move on to the Superbaby stretch

Taking a power nap with her dad

Do you think this pacifier is too big for her?

Lounging in her swing

Apparently this position was comfortable

Week 2 - Lots of family bonding going on

We were all beyond excited that Saber had 2 weeks of paternity leave, and we made the most of that time as a threesome.

Harper loved playing Guitar Hero with her dad - here's a shot of their standard setup. She's asleep in the carrier on his front (that's her little arm sticking out).
Here we are on our first walk around the neighborhood in the stroller - I think we may have gone overboard bundling her up in the June Texas heat (at least it was at night), but she didn't complain.

Harper's favorite sleeping spot the first few weeks was her swing (so big thanks to the Crambs and Farvers for the awesome gift!!). We can really gauge her growth over the weeks by how much space she takes up in her swing.

Harper's World - Week 1

Here are a few pics from Harper's first week at home. Following the advice of The Baby Whisperer, her dad was sure to give her a tour of the house when we first got home. She didn't seem very interested - she slept through the whole thing.

Getting her home tour

Do you think these newborn diapers are too big for her?

Do you think this newborn hat is too big for her?

Harper's "I'm full and sleepy" face

Not loving her first bath experience

And here's a quick video of Harper's first outing at 4 days old - as you'll see, Saber got to choose the destination.

Welcome Harper Lyndley Sherrard!

Little Sherrard arrived at 2:51am on June 12, 2008 weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs 1 oz and measuring 18 inches long. Though we had 9 months to prepare, we were somehow shell-shocked when she made her debut a week and a half early.

A few details about her arrival:
- We arrived at the hospital at around 8:30pm, both convinced it was a false alarm and there was no way we were having a baby that night.
- We were told at around 10:30pm that we were being admitted, and Little rushed out by 2:51am.
- Saber got to make the announcement, since we didn't know the gender, and I can still hear his voice saying, "It's a little girl!"
- I then proceeded to repeat over and over for the next 20-ish minutes, "I can't believe we just had a baby," and "I can't believe it's a girl."

Kudos to Saber - throughout the pregnancy, he was absolutely positive the baby was a girl, even though everyone (including myself) was certain Little would be a boy.

A few hospital pics:

Welcome Harper!

Team SherrardHarper and her dad Harper's first friend visitors - Jeff and Angela In her going-home outfit that's WAY too big (5-pounder in a 7-pounder's clothing)

In her car seat - heading home!

Baby Shower!

We had a great baby shower dinner in late May with friends in Dallas - thanks to our great hosts Angela and Danae, as well as Kelsey and Emily, who hosted in absentia.

And here's a shot of Team Texas - our wonderful Kellogg friends who are here in the Lone Star State with us. Gretchen is carrying baby Indigo in her belly there, and little Will Farver is 6 months old now!