The sun'll come out tomorrow...

Today was the worst day of Harper's life. She may not have realized it herself, but Jeff and I sure did. You see, Harper is usually the most well-behaved, easy-going, and pleasantly sweet cherub there ever could be. That run ended today. Harper was a pill. She was cranky, cantankerous, sleep-deprived, and generally unpleasant. I may or may not have referred to her as a terrorist. Today was the first day of her life that left me feeling unimpressed. There were two brief moments that made my heart happy...once when HP shot me the day's only grin complete with dimples, and again when she let out the most gentle yawn before refusing to nap.

I tried every trick in the book to entertain her, but none lasted more than ten minutes. Of course, she was perfectly well-behaved during the two hours she spent at Nana's house this afternoon. However, the terrorist antics were back in play as soon as we returned home.

Silly sounds usually distract Harper from crying or fussing. I have been known to caw like a bird, moo, bark, neigh, and meow at home and in public. It is pure magic. Harper cries, I moo, and Harper laughs, or at the very least, smiles instead of crying. The only problem is my own abbreviated attention span. I can only bark for so long before I get bored or Wrigley goes nuts in an attempt to decipher my message.

Jeff watched Harper tonight while I went to see "Cabaret" with Lara. I felt bad leaving him at home with a cranky baby, but I figured he would come out on top if it came down to a fight with her. When I left the house at 6:30, Jeff was trying to convince Harper to take a nap with him. Normally, I would not be thrilled with her napping so late in the day (bedtime at 8), but those baby blues looked super sleepy! Anyhoo, I returned home around four hours later, and Harper was exactly where I left her. She fell asleep precisely on the middle of our bed at 6:30pm, and that is precisely where she is sleeping at this very moment. Neither of us is brave enough to move her! Looks like Jeff and I will be sleeping on the trundle daybed in the office. My fingers are crossed that Harper sleeps through the night and is back to her old self again tomorrow.

In Harper's defense, her worst day wouldn't be regarded all that badly by any other. She wasn't awful, she wasn't terrible, and she wasn't a terrorist. She was definitely fussy, and we are spoiled enough by her regular sweetness to balk if we receive anything else from her. Perhaps she is/was teething, or maybe she was worn out from our walk along the river yesterday afternoon.

Tomorrow is another day, and may it be a good one for ol' Punkie Peel.

Five months and counting!

Amazingly, Harper is five-months-old today. I say amazingly for two reasons. First, I am amazed that five months have already gone by! Second, if you saw the way Harper drives, you too would be amazed! (Jenny Breyer may or may not have given Harper a series of driving lessons in her convertible. She is still working on getting an actual license, but that may take her another fifteen years.) We still have work to do on her horn etiquette. She tends to be a tad aggressive when it comes to honking!

Harper has changed so much over the last month. Part of my perception may be attributable to the fact that I'm with her 24 hours a day again. Between 3-4 months, I only saw her for three hours before bedtime and on weekends. However, since I've been home with her for the last month, we've returned to BFF status. Most of the time, I can read her like a book. I can decipher the cues that signal basic problems like hunger, sleepiness or the need for a diaper change. I can even decipher signals for more complicated feelings of boredom or "I'm just not that into you." Don't get me wrong, we still have our share of "WTF was that?" moments, but they are the exception and not the rule.

I think she is getting close to sitting up unassisted. She touches and grabs everything. Her hands have become very useful tools for exploring! She grabbed Jeff's keys as we coasted by the bookshelf earlier today, and she tried to steal his boxers off the dresser, too. Baby proofing is definitely is our near future!

She eats food now, too. Well, she eats food of the mashed variety, but you get the idea! Her palate has expanded beyond prunes and bananas to include pears, applesauce, peas, butternut squash and avocados. She would eat anything and everything if she could...you should see the way she stares at me with her mouth open while I eat my scrambled eggs in the mornings! Sorry, Harper, but I think you've got a long way to go before eggs are approved in your diet!

Anyhoo, I know this entry is lame, but I wanted to throw something out here. The blog looked all sad and lonely, which is no way for a blog to be on Valentine's weekend! (Harper says "thanks" to all of you who sent her cards--she'll be mailing hers out belatedly tomorrow!)

Hope everyone has a great week! Jeff will be in Houston from Weds-Sat, so Harper, Wrigs, and I plan to enjoy some girl time! Wine and formula for all! ;)

Take your pic(k).

I feel an urge to blog, but I can't think of anything worth your time or mine. Today is a "blah" day, and I'm in the same kind of mood. How 'bout I treat y'all to some HP pics instead?

Jeff decided to finish off the prunes in her car...

...no eating and driving! You'll end up with prunes on your rear view!

Aunt Jemima?

You've got a baby...in a bucket! This was just about the only thing to cheer me up today!

Mmmmm, thumb.

The foot is indeed a delicacy!

Harper's blog debut

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Get out your decoder rings!

And we'll all stroll on...

The Peel fam trekked down to Austin yesterday for a day trip. Jeff had plans to golf with some buddies at the UT golf club, while Harper and I had nothing in particular on our agenda. We dropped Jeff off at the clubhouse and set off on our merry way. The course is way the heck out on 620, so we had a long, scenic trip into town. I am amazed at the growth in and around Austin each time I visit. The shopping? Don't get me started!

This time around there would be no shopping. There would be no walks around town to see the sights. Unfortunately, we were without a stroller. Ugh! This happens whenever we take Jeff's car out of town. Harper rides in my car 99% of the time, and fittingly, one stroller permanently resides in the Expedition. I am so used to having a stroller in my car at all times that I don't think to pack one when we take Jeff's car. No matter how strong you are, there is only so long you can carry a baby around in a car seat. It is cumbersome, and there is no easy way to carry it off.

Harper and I ended up spending our day in Austin searching for a lightweight stroller. I wasn't particularly in love with anything we saw at Babies R Us. I thought about Target, but really, I'm over that place. Then, I remembered the stroller Jeff and I saw at the Co-op last summer. We wanted it then, but we knew it would be awhile before she would be able to ride around in it. This would be our opportunity! I knew Jeff would love it because it screams "UT," and I would be happy to have a small stroller to keep in his trunk. I didn't end up using it yesterday after all, but we gave it a whirl around the neighborhood this morning to try it out. It is going to come in handy!