Thanksgiving in Minnesota...

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Hinrichs clan in Minnesota.  We left late on Tuesday, November 20th and headed North.  We were so excited for all the fun activities planned for the weekend.    

On Wednesday, November 21st Scott had a teeth cleaning at the University of Minnesota Dental School.  Scott's Dad - Dr. Jim Hinrichs - works at the U of M.  Harper came along for the fun.  She was able to visit Grandpa Jim at work and she got a tour of his building.  Grandpa Jim took her to the Pediatrics floor and she got a brand new Winnie the Pooh tooth brush.  After Scott's dentist appointment we made time to go to Scott's favorite place for lunch - Big Ten.  Harper was able to experience her first Big Ten sandwich.  

A familiar name on the wall...

 Waiting for Daddy and Grandpa Jim in the waiting room...

 Walking along the couch in the waiting room...

 Lunch at Big Ten...yummmm

 After lunch we took a trip to Auntie Amy's office building.  Harper visited Auntie Amy in her previous office when she was only 8 weeks old.  We had fun interrupting work to make some noise in the very quiet office before the long holiday weekend.  

 Brian brought a LARGE bottle of wine to Thanksgiving dinner.  It was the same size as Harper.  

 She's not sure what to think of the large bottle...

 As we were preparing Thanksgiving dinner the boys put up the Christmas lights.  Harper and Kirby supervised from inside...

 Harper hanging out during the Husker game...

 Daddy and Harper resting before the Gopher game on Saturday. 

 Harper met Goldy at the tailgate! 

 Amy and Cara on the Police bike...

 It was cold - Harper and Grandma Linda were warming up in the car.  

 I spy Daddy...

 Auntie Amy and Cara :) 

 Heeeeeeey Scott!

 Sleeping baby during the game...

 Ready to take the car for a spin...

 Daddy and Harper during the game...

 Amy, Brian, Cara, and Chris (Brian's room mate) at the game

 After the game on Saturday we went to the Rosedale Mall to meet Santa.  Harper wasn't afraid at all.  She just kept looking at Santa and his beard.  After the pictures I asked Santa what Harper wants for Christmas. Santa's response "she wants to go to the North Pole".  It was so much fun to visit Santa at the mall.  I think Harper has been a very good girl this year :)

Santa & Harper

 Aunt Amy, Santa, and Harper

 Cara, Santa, Harper, and Scott

 On our drive home...

When we got home on Sunday we stopped at Grandpa O and Nana Rosa's house to visit.  Harper was putting on a show for Grandpa O, Auntie Bridget and Uncle Casey while Nana Rosa decorated the Christmas tree.  After a long week/day of traveling we put Harper down for the night and she quickly decided to show off some of her new talents.  We walked out of the room to see her standing in her crib.  Thankfully we lowered the crib a week ago.  In the past week she has learned how to sit up on her own, crawl on all 4's, pull herself up on everything, and stand in her crib.  (she was doing these things with some assistance before).  She was so proud of herself and stood in her crib laughing at us.  It's hard to get mad when you hear her little giggle.  I can't believe how fast our little baby girl is growing up.  Every week she discovers something new.  

 This is how Harper fell asleep after standing in her crib...she finally gave up.  

On the move...

All of our friends have told us that once your baby starts moving things start to happen SO fast! Harper is living proof.  She is slowly crawling/army crawling.  Within a day she learned how to get up on all fours.  She doesn't crawl on all 4's yet but she is thinking about it.  She has been standing for a long time, but now she pulls herself up onto everything.  She will pull herself up onto the couch, your legs, her crib, etc.  This past weekend she learned how to go from laying on her belly to sitting up all by herself.  Here are some pictures of our weekend and Harper exploring her house...

Ahhhhhh...hello Lola...

 Look - I can stand on my knees and pull on these knobs!

 Crawling in my bedroom...

 SO BIG! 

 Kirby misses her buddy Lola...

 On Saturday, November 17th we woke up and looked at the video monitor to see Harper was awake.  We slowly got out of bed and made our way to Harper's room.  Once we arrived we saw Harper sitting up in her crib like a BIG girl (picture below).  We quickly lowered the crib to the lowest level...

 Scott and Aunt Debbie O'Malley at the last Badger Tailgate...

 Panaramic view of Camp Randall...

 "Football Beth"

 The Football Crew...

 Hey Mom :) 

 Just showing Mom and Dad how I can walk along the furniture...

 Casey was encouraging Harper to walk...

 Tired and ready for bed...

 After this weekend when Harper discovered how to sit up she has started to sleep with her butt in the air.  I  decided to sneak into her room and capture her new sleeping habits...

 Butt in the air...

 In the morning this is what I saw...cuddling her bunny and sleeping in a very uncomfortable looking position...

 Harper's first time eating Spaghetti :) 

Lola Meatball...

My sister gets very busy around the Thanksgiving Holiday.  She works for a PR Agency in Chicago and her biggest account that she works on is Butterball Turkey.  The two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving she is traveling 100% of the time.  She asked us this year to watch her fur baby while she was away.  It has been so much fun to have Lola at our house this week (Scott might disagree).  She is so cute and follows us everywhere.  She adores Kirby and they chase each other all day and all night long.  Harper has fallen in love with Lola and started petting her and watching for her constantly.  We just adore Lola and we've been happy to have her join our family this week! We miss Bridget but we are taking good care of her fur baby while she is gone.  

Driving home with Lola...

Day 1

 The puppies are tired after playing with the toys (background) and running around.  

"Puppy road kill"

 Lola hiding under our bed so Kirby can't find her.  She needed a nap...

 Both dogs cuddling on my lap before bed...

 Lola helping Harper walk along the furniture...

Max Goldman (3 years old) deserves a shout out for naming Lola "meatball".  She really is a little meatball...and we love her!

9 Months Already?

Harper turned 9 months old this past week.  I can't believe it's been 9 months since she was born.  So much has changed and it continues to get better everyday.  We are so blessed! She makes us laugh every day with her new discoveries.  There is never a dull moment.  Our love for her grows more each day. We are so incredibly thankful.  It's absolutely amazing to look back on the past 9 months and think of how far she's come.  We love her to pieces and we forget what life was like before she came into our lives...

Here are her stats from her 9 month check up...

Height: 26.77 inches, 18th percentile
Weight: 17 pounds 13 ounces, 44th percentile
Head Circumference: 45.2 cm, 83rd percentile

Her rapid growth has slowed down when it comes to her height and weight.  There is no concern at this time.  Based on Cara's height (5'1") and Scott's height (6'0") and her growth right now they estimate that Harper will be 5'4" when she finishes growing.  Obviously this estimate can be wrong - because Cara was supposed to be 5'8" when she finished growing.  Maybe Cara can still have a growth spurt ;) HA! 

Some things to report in the last month - 

1. She gets fussy if she isn't standing.  She stands the majority of her day while at daycare.  She uses a "ballerina" bar with a mirror in front of it and walks up and down the bar.  

2. She started crawling the week of Halloween.  She only crawls when something is out of her reach.  She doesn't really like to crawl - she'd rather stand along the furniture or walk with our assistance. 

3. She is starting to say Mama more, but Dada is her favorite thing to say.  

4. She officially grew out of her clogged tear duct in early November.  No more eye boogers and no more battles to clean her eyes.  We are incredibly excited about this because she will no longer need surgery.  Woohoo! 

5. Her favorite toy - her banana toothbrush. 

6. She sleeps 11+ hours straight every night without waking up. (8:30 pm - 7:30 am) 

7. She takes 2 naps each day - 2 hour nap and a 1 hour nap. 

8. She continues to try new foods.  She will start exploring menu options at daycare this month. 

9. She gets very snuggly when she's tired. She snuggles every night when we say our prayers. 

10. She loves our attention and gets fussy when we turn around or leave the room.  At daycare they've noticed that her mood changes when we pick her up at the end of the day.  She loves her Mama & Daddy! While dropping off at daycare she has only been upset one time when she saw us walking away.  It broke my heart. 

She loves her "walker" and has started to use only one hand...

 Poking Daddy's eye out...and wearing his hat :) 

 Her favorite thing to do during dinner - feed the dog! She watches Kirby from her high chair and then feeds her pieces of food from her plate. We hope to stop this naughty behavior from our fur baby and our baby. 

 Hanging out before daycare...

 Check out my track suit and my kicks! 

Thanks Vanessa! :) 

Overdue Post - Completed Back Splash Pictures

Sorry for the delay.  Here are the final back splash pictures for your viewing.  The tile we choose was Daltile - Mushroom/Morning Sun Blend Random Mosaic.  We absolutely LOVE the way it turned out.  Another big thanks to Ryan for a job well done.  

Up Close...

I never posted a final granite counter top picture.  We had granite counter tops installed in October 2011 (wow, over a year ago).  We picked "Santa Celicia".  There are so many beautiful colors that you can't capture with a photograph in our granite.  We love the way our back splash works with our counter tops.  Overall we are very happy with our kitchen and it's "finished" look.  

Our Little Pumpkin...

Harper's first Halloween was a success.  It was a little chilly but her pumpkin costume kept her warm.  We went down to Uncle Adam and Auntie Carissa's house for trick or treating.  The boys stayed back to bonfire and hand out candy.  The Daisy (Carissa), the Bumblebee (Sydney the pup), the Bunny (Cara), and the little Pumpkin (Harper), stopped at a few houses to show off our costumes.  On the way home Harper stopped to say hi to Eric the Mailman, Santa (Eric's son Alex), a puppy (Krew), a bumblebee, and an owl (Haddie).  It was so much fun! 

Harper with her pumpkin

 The bunny, the pumpkin, and the "Sugar Daddy" (the sugar bag is hiding in the baby bjorn). 

Halloween is awesome as a parent - beer drinking, walking around the neighborhood, and getting spooked at Haunted Houses.  We loved it! 

Happy Halloween from Harper Hinrichs...

Harper is "sweeter than candy"! :)

How big is Harper...

SOOOOOO BIG! 

 Using her walker.  She is obsessed with standing and trying to walk. 

 Waiting for the Homecoming Parade 

 Homecoming Tailgate

 Go Badgers! 

 Good morning friends!

 Making dinner with Mom.  Her banana toothbrush is her favorite toy!

 Pulling Dad's shirt over his head - the "Hockey Fight" move

 Do I want to crawl?...hmm...not really!

 I'd rather stand...

 Come on Mom...standing is for big girls!