Proof from Honey

Another Honey high-jacking. My mom thought there needed to be some back up from my last blog entry:

Just a little follow up on Brooke and her babies...here's a little proof that there was no exaggeration in that last entry...

This was Brooke's #2 Blue Baby the head and arms were loved off the #1 Blue Baby.

But though she had her favorite she didn't want any of her little ones to go unloved or feel neglected. So Brooke tried very hard not to show favoritism...

And yes maybe I was an enabler because these were her only Best Buddies on the Bed (notice who's front & center), they were just a few of many!

Oh how I love that sweet Harper is loving her babies as much as her mommy did. If she's like her mother, I know someday, before we know it, she will be a wonderful mommy too...my oh my how time flies!

Love,

Honey

Harper's Babies

When I was little, I probably had 153 stuffed animals and dolls. I LOVED them and was convinced that they were real and came to life when I went to sleep at night. Each night, I would pick the chosen few (and by few I mean 8 or 9) that would get to sleep in my bed with me that night. I even had a special night time ritual where I would have to say goodnight to them in groups based on their location - "Good night to all of my best buddies on the bed, favorite friends on the floor, delightful dollies on the desk and favorite, delightful buddies in the hammock." I don't know, I guess I ran out of "h" adjectives to describe the hammock dwelling creatures. And yes, I had a HAMMOCK full of stuffed animals in my room. Out. Of. Control.

But there was one that stood out above the rest - Blue Baby. Blue Baby had a place of honor in bed each night. She came with me on trips, to camp each summer and (I'm a little embarrassed to say) even came to Lubbock when I left for collage. I can say that Blue Baby has since been retired but I see a very familiar pattern emerging in my household.

Harper really likes her babies. She talks to them and plays with them. But two in particular seem to really get her excited. There's her Ugly Doll. My friend, Stephen, gave her the Ugly Doll and anytime she has a group of animals and dolls in her bed with her to play with, it's a go-to. It has a face on each side and looks alot like an alien. I don't get it - it doesn't even look like a person or animal since it has three eyes! And then there's the baby doll that was given to her by Susan Carvajal. I think this might be her "Blue Baby". Harper gets so excited when she sees her. The doll squeaks when you squeeze her and Harps starts kicking her legs frantically when she hears the squeak and starts looking for her. It's like she can't wait to get her hands on her. We're trying not to name these babies so that she can name them herself one day. We're working on kisses right now and Harper's kiss is that typical, open-mouth baby kiss. We can tell Harper to give the baby kisses and the baby goes straight to her mouth. Now, yes, I admit that sometimes she tries shoving the entire baby head in her mouth because she's looking for a chew toy but there are kisses in there too!

Let's just hope we can break her of her babies before she gets married. Its a little embarrassing when your husband has to finally look at you and say, "Really? Can't we get rid of that thing?"

Its a Texas Thing

When the pastures are green in the springtime
And the birds are singing their sonnets,
You may look to the hills and the valleys
And they’re covered with lovely Bluebonnets.

Blue is the emblem of loyalty,
They’re as blue as the deep, deep sea,
Their smiling faces bring gladness,
For they bloom for you and for me.

Bluebonnets, so gorgeous and stately,
In your mantle of blue and of green,
In the spring when you’re in your full glory,
You’re the loveliest sight ever seen.

You’re beautiful when you sway in the sunshine,
You look like waves of the sea,
Ah, Texas was wise in her choice of a flow’r,
So we offer our homage to thee.

Bluebonnets, blue lovely Bluebonnets,
More beautiful than all the rest.
Texas chose you for her flower,
And we love you best, Bluebonnets.
- by Julia D. Booth and Lora C. Crockett

Weekend of Projects

Whew! I was a domestic warrior this weekend and we're ready for spring time. First order of business was a Fiesta wreath. If you live in San Antonio, you know Fiesta comes in April. People have all kinds of Fiesta wreathes with bright colors and ribbons so I decided to make one. And no, I'm not turning into crazy wreath lady but yes, this is my second wreath in four months. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out if I do say so myself!


Our yard and beds have been slightly, um, neglected since August. Guess that happens when you become responsible for another human. We've been prepping for the last few weeks and so this weekend was yard work mania.

I've gone a little overboard with the Round-up in the back so its looking a little beaten up right now but I"m happy with how the front has turned out. I thought the frost killed my philodendron but they're coming back. I've rearranged the plumbago in the front beds and I'm hoping they'll flower this year. I planted purple verbena, dusty miller, diamond frost and a Knock-out Rose bush and I potted petunias, bougainvillea, diamond frost and geraniums in the front .




And I got two new pots for the back.

The back also got five rock rose bushes this winter and they're starting to take off so I planted some Knock-out Roses to go along with them. I'll try to get some pictures of these too. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with our back yard. The previous owners of our house were clearly not into yard work so it's a bit of a headache but I'm trying to do a little at a time. But its not picture ready so we'll wait on that.

This and that

I've discovered a new addiction and its called Picnik. Its a photo editing website and I've now spent the last hour and a half playing with it. I've copied a fellow blogger (insert credit to Tiffanie here) and started adding text to my pictures to protect them from being used outside of this blog without permission. Well, that's not the only thing Picnik can do. It can make you BEAUTIFUL! You can add a tan, lipstick, teeth whitening ANNNNDDDDDD you can make yourself skinnier in your pictures! I'm sure Vogue will soon be banging down my door to have that very tan, skinny mom on the cover of their magazine - they just might not recognize that its their cover girl answering the door without all of those magical touch ups! But really, I'll try to leave the airbrushing to a minimum for some authenticity. I cannot, however, promise that I won't airbrush out a stray pimple.

So in honor of my insta-beauty toy, I give you "Harper takes her first wagon ride".





And yes, I am looking a little trashy in these pictures because I was thrown up on, not once, not twice, but three times today. So what you are seeing is shirt #3. I gave up looking cute today and went with Jared's retired v-neck.

Speaking of throwing up, (nice transition huh?) we're having some new food adventures. I have diagnosed our recent bouts of vomit as a reaction to adding yogurt to Harp's diet. I was under the impression that reflux peaked at 4 months but seeing that we're about to hit the 8 month marker and the Squirrel is still spewing, I don't quite think I agree with that peaking theory. I also added some finger foods into her diet...and Harper's father promptly deleted them from her diet. I figured since we now have a tooth - one, uno, singular, A tooth - that the girl would be all ready to dive into the world of puffs, Cherrios, cubed cheese, small bites of veggies and fruit. Nix that idea. Nervous Nelly over here is afraid she'll choke so we had to compromise and wait until she's hit the 8 month mark ("AT LEAST" said Jared). Maybe we'll work on that while Daddy's out of town.



And we've been testing out the sippy cup over the last few weeks. It seems to be more of a chew toy at this point. I don't think Harper's succeeded in purposefully getting any liquids out but she gets so excited when she sees it that I think she's convinced its just a gigantic pacifier.


We went to PT last week and we've taken a little step backwards. I don't know if its the wrap or what but Harper isn't twisting her trunk like she should. The girl does have excellent posture but she just doesn't twist, turn and bend like she should be. She's also not too fond of putting her weight on her arms so we're going back to PT every two weeks again to see if we can figure this thing out.

And that's what's happening in our world.

Harper O'Meabon

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
~Irish Blessing

Harper's Baptism

Every good and perfect gift is from above.
-James 1:17

This weekend was a very special weekend. On Sunday, Harper was baptized. I know Harper has always been one of God's children but, I don't know....now it feels official.

In 17 months (10 of pregnancy and 7 of her life) my child has played such a crucial role in my faith. She has taught me that if we lean on the Lord and He will sculpt our lives beautifully. It might not always look perfect while its happening but the end product is breath-taking.


I think Jared was a little nervous about how she'd react but she couldn't have done better. She was doused, and I mean DOUSED, in water and then walked by Pastor Will down into the congregation and she was so pleasant the whole time. When we were finished, she immediately fell asleep in my arms and slept through the rest of the service.


My mom and Steve hosted a brunch at their house afterwards for family and friends. We were so grateful to surrounded by Harper's biggest supporters.






We asked Bobby Langenbahn to be her Godfather and Lily Langenbahn to be her Godmother. We know they will take their roles seriously and always keep a watch over Harper's spiritual life.




Harper wore Lily's baptism gown and her bonnet and bib were made out of my great-grandmother, Minnie Mama's handkerchiefs. It was such a special day and I absolutely got emotional!


We also celebrated Evelyn's 90th birthday this weekend so we had lots of fun with the family all weekend. Happy birthday Evelyn!