Now May 2011 according to my camera:
Harper was still sleeping with us. We had made progress but this is how we managed to get sleep somedays.
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And for my first Mother's Day as a mom of two, Harper gave me our FIRST hairdryer FREE day!!!! NO hair dryer for nap or bedtime or soothing in between. It was amazing. We listened to a hair dryer for 5 months.
Me and my babies on Mother's Day morning.
Someone left the container of animal crackers out and Ethan helped himself :)
Thanks, Daddy.
Harper started to become more cuddly. A daddy and his girl.
Teething.
Lollipop and first temporary tattoo after a haircut.
Quite possibly my favorite photo of Ethan from this year. I had it printed on a 16x20 canvas. It had rained for days and when there was finally a sunny break we ran outside (still in pjs) to play.
5 Months!
Harper slept in the cosleeper for the first stretch of sleep every night and sometimes even the second stretch of sleep. After that if we tried to put her back into the cosleeper she screeched and screamed until she was next to us again.
Again, huge accomplishment with not using the hairdryer. We still used the sound machine, on highest volume of the ocean sound. It is LOUD and she prefers it that way. This baby girl has a lot of preferences. Someone laughed and said we created those preferences. While, yes, we created this little being, we discovered her preferences by trial and error. If you had a screaming baby and you were reaching your breaking point, you would try anything and everything until you found what worked to stop the crying too. Honestly, you can't say that you wouldn't do that unless you've been there through this special kind of hell.
At 5.5 months Harper rolled from back to belly during the night and woke up unhappy. She continued to roll this way in her crib but we didn't witness it until June. We found her, unhappily, on her belly every day. We let her tough it out and encouraged her during the day and she finally learned to roll from belly to back.
She started entertaining herself more and tolerated floor time for longer stretches of time.
She reached out to hold just about anything. Ethan loved it because she reached for his face and held his cheeks between both of her hands.
FINALLY napping in her crib. Some naps still took place in the swing at this point but we were making huge progress. Her first night in her crib was mid month too! Those sheets... They are Pottery Barn Kids Chamois sheets that I found new, in packaging at a consignment sale. I picked them up to have a spare sheet and now they are the only sheets she will sleep on (WITH a cozy lambskin underneath - this girl likes her bed comfy). I wish they weren't hot pink but I can't bring myself to buy another color for the full price.
Again, with the rain... another break in rain and we went hunting for puddles to jump in...
Ethan was not crazy about the mud. He preferred water puddles.
Haper was along for the ride.
I bought this onesie for Harper when I was pregnant with her.
Very overexposed but I love his facial expression here.
Harper's love for Ethan grew.
The feeling is mutual.
We spent a lot of time on blankets outside.
And playing with water.
We discovered Harper's color is yellow. She looks great in it & I loved this outfit on her.
Showing off her teeth.
We introduced a sippy cup to Harper. She picked it up and drank from it like she had been doing it her entire life. Of course the child that doesn't NEED to drink from one at this point loved it. I remember the worry over trying to get Ethan to drink breast milk from a sippy cup at daycare when he refused bottles and all food.
I went to take a shower and put Harper in her crib. Ethan opened the door and thought she needed some toys. Thank goodness none of the harder ones hit her.
