The Fix.

Weekly Harper fix, all dressed up for her first day at church. The bonnet nicely hides her newly-developed male pattern baldness.

Field Trip!

The day before Harper was born, Frankie's preschool class went on a field trip to a farm. I went along and got chastised by all of the other parents because I was extremely pregnant and they didn't want me to go into labor that day. I had false labor the entire day before, but that morning, Frankie told us - completely unprovoked - that the baby wouldn't come until the next day, so I felt confident I'd be fine. And Frankie was right!

I'm so glad I got to go along with Frankie and his classmates. I rearranged a doctor's appointment that morning to go as a chaperone, and it was great to spend a special day with Frankie before Harper was born. He sometimes asks if we are going back to the farm; he loved it so much.

The hayride around the premises. 



Picking cotton!

The kids got to grind their own corn to feed to the chickens, bunnies, and goats.



The children all made crafts and participated in a storytelling moment. Frankie's group did a little headdress with a feather; much to my surprise he actually wore the thing for more than thirty seconds.


After lunch, the kids all took turns helping to make a rope to take back to their classroom.


On the way back to the car, Frankie got to pick out his very own pumpkin.


It was a really great day and it was nice to have time to spend with Frankie where he had some structured activities but was still allowed to be little and play and have fun. After the farm, we went to early vote and to get Frankie's flu shot. Strangely, he's not afraid of shots and was pretty excited about his blue band-aid. Although he drives me crazy, I love this kid and I hope that we're doing right by him.

Twinsies

I have no idea if you can see the resemblance from these pictures, but we think that Harper is starting to look exactly like Frankie did when he was about her age. 

Frankie:

Harper:

Thanksgiving

It was uneventful. We started off the day with the early show at the movies; we saw "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." Then we came home and ate. And then we did nothing! Here are the pictures!

Feast. There were two adults and two children, one of which has no teeth and the other that spit the turkey out of his mouth. I'd say that we had too much food, but it's not Thanksgiving without too much food. (P.S. I don't normally take pictures of food, but since it's a day to celebrate food, I figured, why not?) 

Frankie didn't want to get his picture taken with the food but Juston still managed to catch a slight smile. 

When you get bored, strange things begin to happen.....

Goings-on

We're getting by. :) Thanks to everyone that has kept us fed, it's been a huge lifesaver. Harper is continuing to be a good sleeper while Frankie is continuing his pattern as a poor sleeper. Harper is also developing 'chubba cheeks' from all of the eating she does...basically nonstop. We had a productive week, considering everything. We went to the zoo, Juston's work for baby show-offs, and the house only moderately looks like a bomb went off and Frankie only partially has every On Demand episode of "Wonder Pets" memorized from being plunked in front of the TV while I try to reinstate my sanity.  Harper is also starting to look more like Frankie did when he was a baby; if my monster headache subsides tomorrow, I might try and make a comparison for your viewing pleasure. As it is, I've spent the last few hours working and Harper slept through that while Dad held her; now that I'm about done for the night and ready to get some sleep, she's up and somehow managed to make her way in to keep me company. 

Napping with Dad- that paternity leave sure came in handy, didn't it? 

Hanging out during one of our many afternoons in Frankie's room, trying to keep him occupied and praying that both children don't start screaming at the same time!

One of several meltdowns!

Countless minutes each day are spent spinning the chair around and around and around...

I promise...better pictures and more candor and wit next time. 

So it's not exactly accurate....

So we unearthed the house's original color. It was a dark forest green with a tan trim color. We didn't go with that. The interior is more 'Home Depot' than 'historically correct,' anyway. And I've always wanted a blue house! Supposedly the paint job will be finished tomorrow, then we'll come back through with a third accent color (dark brown) and paint the porch/foundation brick red. The house is lookin' good!

Kid Room - Part I

So we are trying to 'gender neutralize' Frankie's room since he'll soon have a roommate. We put Grandma Chrys to work when she was visiting because otherwise the painting would never get done.

We painted an accent wall 'herbal garden', a green I pulled from the curtains. Chrys then decided that the crown moulding would look good with a color added to it, so we went for a pumpkin orange. The ceilings in the room are just over 11 feet tall, so it adds some interest up high.


This view is standing in the doorway. Harper's crib will go in that empty corner. We need to pull it out of storage. We also have several things to hang on the walls still. All of that will come in part II.


Frankie in action! We moved his bed and dresser to try a new layout. I think we're all going to be happy with the room when it's finished! Thanks for your help, Grandma Chrys!

Week 2

So I won't be titling the posts based on the weeks of Harper's life soon, but bear with me. We're still adjusting! Frankie is actually giving us more trouble than the baby; the exhaustion in the mornings is due to him as Harper wakes up to eat and crashes again at night. I hope that things settle down soon. Grandma and Grandpa Rindlesbach are in town until tomorrow and it's been nice to have the help. Next week it's week 1 of just me and the kiddos - yikes! Can we say, "Thanksgiving break" in two weeks? We don't leave the house much due to flu season and I'm scared that Frankie is going to go even more stir crazy than he already is. We'll be hitting folks up for playdates. :) 

On to the pictures (because I know that's why you are here, mom!)

Snoozin' in mom and dad's bed!

These two are buddies. Or Frankie seems to think so!

Making me wear a stupid bonnet. But it looks so incredibly cute. 

Smooches from big bro. 

Frankie introduces Harper to the concept of the cell phone. She made her first call to Kenzie. 

Thanks for the sweet outfit with the ruffle bum, Aunt Becky! I look good in purple!

As an aside, I do have pictures from Frankie's dance recital, but since all he did was sit on my lap and cry the entire time, I don't think there's any real reason to post them online. He did absolutely love his dance class, though, and is going to do one more session starting in January. He's already excited and maybe next time he'll actually participate in the grand finale.

Week 1

We're adjusting to our new life. We've all been together for a week now and so far things are going pretty well. 

Random baby shots: 



Frankie loves Harper!

Baby wearing.  And dog lap sitting.  I think that Bridget is feeling a little displaced by the whole thing. 

Harper has slight jaundice, so she takes her afternoon nap in the sun. She loves it. 

Frankie and Grandma have done a lot of cooking and baking. I've enjoyed eating all of the goodies.  This is a shot of the world's best pumpkin bread (I'm not lying). 

First bath. Not happy at all. She smells so good now, though!

More!

More visuals for you. However, I will spare you the picture of the placenta.

Epidural in place - feeling really good! Looks...not so good, but all of the sweating and physical exhaustion during the previous contractions left a girl lookin' kinda rough.


New!


So that's what you look like...


Getting weighed and FREEZING cold.


Measurements.


The next day....meet your big brother!


This whole 'big brother' thing is kind of overrated...


Finally at home, hanging out with Daddy, getting introduced to football.


Cheesetastic.



And there we are, all tired yet happy.