Exactly Six Months Ago

Exactly six months ago today, I was nervous. I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew it was something bigger than anything I had ever experienced before (even bigger than ME, 60+ lbs up in weight, haha). I didn't know how much motherhood would change my life, and didn't know that it would give me my own little meaning to life. Exactly six months ago today, our precious little baby was born. How can I express the love that he has given us? I already did... exactly six months ago... and his name is Harper.

He has grown so much, and boy oh boy is he cute. Every little worry, stressor, pain, and sacrifice is worth it (whew, and man are there lots of those). Every little bit of joy that we share is never taken for granted, and always celebrated. We've learned so much about Harper over these past six months. First off, aside from being the cutest baby ever, he is so goofy. He loves to play, laugh, and smile. Even more so, he loves to make other people play, laugh, and smile. He has little habits, preferences, and expressions that we just adore. Though he is made of little bits of us, he is entirely his own person.

We observe in amazement as he reaches each milestone, and continues to develop from a teeny (well he was never THAT teeny) little baby into a big boy. We think back in wonder on the first time we felt him as a little ball in my belly, the first time I felt him kick, the first time we SAW him kick in my belly, and of course... the first time we laid our eyes on him. I can't believe how much he has grown (physically, mentally, and emotionally). This lifetime with Harper is worth more than anything in existence - and any thing not in existence for that matter.

S

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jeff is so wonderful. Though I am all about practical gifts (and he knows that), there is no girl out there that doesn't enjoy flowers - even if they're modestly picked from a flowerbed or yard. Jeff had these flowers along with a small box of chocolates delivered to me. AND, he got me a big and beautiful jewelery box! I've never had anything like it, and haven't really had a good place to put my jewelry (I know, shame on me for not taking better care of it). What did I get Jeff, you ask? See the previous posts about his birthday gift - a Macbook Pro. I'll be using that as somewhat of a re-gift for quite awhile. :)

We've had a rough last couple of days. I came down with a nasty bug on Wednesday evening. It came on suddenly - a (very) high fever, hot & cold flashes, and even nausea. It persisted until today. It was really difficult to take care of Harper, since I felt so lethargic. Jeff stayed home to help. I'm not sure how I could have done it without him. The biggest deal here is that I called in sick for the first time in like 8 (yes EIGHT) years. I certainly don't feel guilty about it, either. I'm so glad to be on the mend.

Locks of Love

The last time I did this, I was 18. I chopped my hair off today. In fact, I donated twenty (yes, that is 2-0) inches of hair to Locks of Love. I was going to do this the day before, but chickened out. The cut was long overdue, and I am so glad to have done it. No more finding long rogue strands all over the house, getting tangled in Harper (including his kung fu grip hands), getting caught in the car door and windows... I could keep going, but I'm sure you get the point. And the best part is that it will help a child in need. Who could ask for more?

Saturday Morning

Ah, Saturday morning... it holds such nostalgia for things like sleeping in, cartoons, and finding ways to get out of chores. I also love Saturday mornings because it is the one day of the week that the three of us get to wake up together. On this lovely morning, Noodle decided to wake us up. Poor girl just wanted to go outside. It's hard to resist her pathetic, adorable face. The below picture is her peekaboo, resting her head on me. "Mama, puulleeezzzeee..."


Harper has also been in impeccably cute form today. He's been very interested in my phone lately (maybe it's the color), but it has always seemed to be just out of his reach. This morning he finally conquered.

S

Nintendo Sixty-Fouuuuurrrr!...Er, MacBook Prooooo!

So yes, that's me. The goofy dude holding the spanking new Apple MacBook Pro that my wonderfully wonderful wife, Shauna, whom you can't see, gave me for my birthday! It was completely unexpected, but it was exactly what I have been wanting (well, besides an iPhone hehe, but we'll work on that). I guess it doesn't help that I work for the competitor haha. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view), we have expensive tastes when it comes to electronics. With school coming around the corner though, she knew that I'd need a laptop on the go and picked the perfect model.

She played it up pretty well I must say. Going on about how she wasn't able to find the right gift and that she'd try to make it up for me. I honestly thought I was getting some boxers. She even tricked me by giving me the new Lord Of The Rings book first and telling me that's all there was. Of course she wasn't really finished though. She told me she needed my help putting some of Harper's milk in the fridge and sitting at the top of the stairs was this heavily wrapped box. At first I thought it was Logan's so that he wouldn't feel bad about not getting a present hehe. Then I started to get suspicious once Shauna got our nice camera out and told me to sit down. I literally had no idea what was inside the box, and boy was I surprised once I found out!

Thanks for the wonderful birthday hunnee bunnee (and you too Harperpotamus)!

J

They Say It's Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

You were born on a Sunday, under the astrological sign Aquarius.

You are 31 years old. You are 372 months old. You are 1,617 weeks old. You are 11,323 days old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
Jennifer Jason Leigh (1962)
Christopher Guest (1948) (LOL)
Barbara Hershey (1948)
Henry 'Hank' Aaron (1934)

Billboard's #1 song on your birthday
Stayin’ Alive by Bee Gees

Your cake will have 31 candles.Those 31 candles produce 31 BTUs,or 7,812 calories of heat (that's only 7.8120 food Calories!) . You can boil 3.54 US ounces of water with that many candles!

Your birthstone is Amethyst, your birth tree is Poplar The moon's phase on the day you were born was waning crescent.

***

You are the most wonderful best friend, husband, and daddy. Thank you for changing my life in such wonderful ways that I could never imagine. ...And thank you Carol for birthing and raising the most loving, thoughtful, selfless, funny, brilliant (I could keep going) man! We love you so much, my "Geoffrey with a G". Happy Birthday!

-Shauna, Harper, and the three mangies