VIDEO-Harper Standing, and other funny stuff

VIDEO-Spitting Inchworm

Harper is getting faster at scooting!
And she thinks it's hilarious to spit every time she eats...

VIDEO-Harper Scooting!

Harper scooted for the first time today!!!
This is a long one... But if you watch it all, there are funny parts! It's cute to watch Brax cheer her on (after I remind him not to take her motivation away...)
And when she shows me that she will scoot when SHE decides it's time. And then when she does scoot, it's to get to Brax's "bazooka." (His duct tape covered tube)
Anyway, here is her big moment.

VIDEO-Harper Sitting Up

Harper is finally getting the hang of sitting up. She does especially well when she's focusing on something (usually Brax or his toys). He was so nice to let her borrow his tape measure this day! You can see he didn't go far though... he had to make sure she didn't eat it.

VIDEO-Brax Feeding Baby Sister

The other day we had gone to the grocery store and when we got home Harper was ready to chow. I wanted to get the cold stuff into the fridge, so I enlisted the help of my very capable 3 year old to do the job! He was GREAT! (As you will see, I spent the whole time video taping instead of unloading the groceries. I couldn't help it, it was so SWEET!)
My favorite part is when he says, "YOO HOO... Harper!!" to get her attention!

Mad Face

This is Harper's new "mad face."
(She doesn't get worked up very often, so it's pretty funny when she does!)

VIDEO-Big Swimmer!

Brax has finally gotten the hang of "swimming!"
He has figured out how to "run" in the water
in order to keep himself afloat with his belt thing on.

We've Got a THUMBSUCKER

Last week, Harper discovered her thumb. She has always loved chewing on her fists, and would occasionally land a finger or two in her mouth to suck on, but now she has realized how nicely her thumb fits in her mouth and how much fun it is to suck on! She pretty much refuses the pacifier now and falls asleep with her thumb in her mouth.

From a dental standpoint, this is extremely undesirable for obvious orthodontic reasons. From an OCD standpoint, the slobber all over her hands and face really grosses me out. But from a mommy standpoint, it sure is cute to see something so simple make her so happy!

"What? WHAT? I'm just tasting them."

"Mmmmm... It fits just right!"

"Mother, get over it.
I will suck my thumb if I want to and YOU CAN'T STOP ME."

"Maybe if I hide it she'll leave me alone..."

"OK OK! You caught me!"

"Whattya' gonna' do about it, woman?"

If that's not enough thumb sucking cuteness for you,
here it is LIVE.

Harper's Bubble Babble

Just a cute clip of Harper's new trick...
She has learned to blow spit bubbles and talk at the same time!

Noisy Girl

There's a good chance most people will find this slightly annoying...
but of course I think it's hilarious and adorable! I love her "talking!"

Harper trying to get a word in...

Funny Silent Film... Starring Brax

I made this using the vintage video maker app on my iPhone.... total time waster, but so fun!
(It actually only took like 3 minutes to do! iPhones are the greatest thing EVER!)
(As always... click on the video window after you hit play to view full screen)

Harper's Debut Video

I keep forgetting how EASY it is to publish video clips on my Mac!
So here is a short one of Harper...
*Again, click on the video while it's playing to open it up in full screen-
the blog layout cuts half of it off.*

Family Date Nite and Chopstick VIDEO

We had "family date nite" last nite! We had a babysitter lined up, but since Harper has been a little "challenging" in the evenings lately, I decided at the last minute just to take the kids with us. (Yes, that seems a little backwards... but I didn't want to leave a wild two year old and a fussy newborn with a babysitter. Mike and I have a hard enough time handling them when it's the TWO of us, so I felt bad pawning them off on a sitter all by herself! Plus, it seems like I'm the only one who can console Harper during this crabby evening time and I didn't want to let my girl cry all nite--I would have been worried the whole time.) Sooooo, family date nite it was.

I have been craving sushi (since I haven't been able to eat it for like a YEAR!) so we went to Kyoto, our favorite Japanese steak/sushi house here in OP. (There was also a little nostalgia involved... this was where we took Brax on our first date nite out when he was 6 weeks old!)

(Here is a pic from that nite!)

Harper slept the whole time, and Brax impressed us with his new-found chopstick skills!

**For some reason, my blog layout chops off half the video screen. Click on the video while it's playing and it should open it up in a new full window in YouTube.**

This is For You, Little Buddy

No one else will appreciate this (unless you have a little boy who is infatuated with Thomas like mine is), but I am posting it for Brax's viewing pleasure. He is constantly asking me to sing this song or to watch the video on the "compooter" and I'm tired of repeatedly looking it up on YouTube.

A VIDEO!

In celebration of a new season of American Idol....

Binky Boot Camp and a VIDEO

After an enlightening conversation with a patient today (who is a retired kindergarten teacher of 33 years), I decided that it's time for me to let Brax move on to big-boydom. I used to say that I would never even offer my baby a pacifier, let alone allow my toddler to use one. In my defense, I do usually limit it to naptime and nite time, but when a kid is old enough to talk, he's old enough to lose the "ni-nite," as Brax calls it.

I so admit that I have been stalling. Mike has been pushing me to toss them for weeks now, but I just wasn't ready. I was a little sad that he's already old enough to not need his ni-nites anymore, and I was feeling a little guilty for taking away what seems to be such a pleasure for him. I was also feeling a little lazy, not wanting to deal with the fit I was just sure would ensue at bedtime. But after talking with Barb (my patient), I was reminded that being a good parent doesn't always feel good. Doing what's best for Brax (teaching him how to self-calm, and saving him from a pacifier-shaped palate) isn't always what's easiest (or most natural) for me (keeping him from feeling discomfort of any kind... holding on to my "baby.")

So when I got home from work, I gathered up his collection of ni-nites and put them away. I will find them a permanent home in the basement along with his other "baby things" soon, but I have to take baby steps (for me, not him!) When it came time for his ni-nite this evening (right after bath, as I put lotion and jammies on him), he began to ask for it.

"Ni nite? Ni nite?"

I told him I didn't know where they were. (Usually when I say this, it means they are all between the wall and his crib from the night before. I then proceed to get a baseball bat and push them all out from under the crib so he can pick them up. He likes one in his mouth and one in each hand...)

"Bat? Bat?" he asked.

We got the bat and together, we searched under the bed for his missing ni-nites (which I had already confiscated.) He didn't seem too upset that they weren't there. He said good nite to Daddy, and we sat down in the glider to read books. He did just fine thru storytime, and when I turned out the lights to rock, he happily sang and chatted away. Since he was so jolly but yawning profusely, I gave him a kiss, put him in his crib, and walked out.

Then he got pissed.

For almost 25 minutes he stood there and screamed. And stomped his feet. And shook the crib rail.

I was just about to go in and console him when he laid down. He screamed some more (but this was progress--at least he was laying down!) He thrashed around, trying to get his blanket just right enough to take away the "pain" of not having a binky to suck on.

Finally, after only 30 minutes (I was expecting much worse), he was out.

Whew.

That wasn't so bad. I'm proud of both of us. As usual, Mike was right...

So as of tomorrow morning, I have an official BIG BOY who doesn't need a ni-nite.
*sniff sniff* YAYYYYY!!!!


Here is a video I shot on 3/26... I was prompting him to say words, and when we said "ni-nite" he scurried over to the drawer in the kitchen where he knows we keep a spare one. (Sometimes I let him have it when I think he's teething... Now I'm realizing that he was probably fussing just so he could get his binky, not because his teeth hurt!) You'll hear some of his new-found vocabulary, too. He decided he could talk within the last few weeks.

17 Month Video

Here are some clips from the past month... Does anyone have any idea why the video is so pixellated? (sp?) I saved it as a flash video file, just like all my others, but for some reason this one is really poor quality... Sorry about that!

16 Month Video

Here are just a couple clips we got a chuckle out of...

Video of Brax at 14 Months

Here are some clips of Brax just being Brax. The dancing is my favorite (but the cleaning is close 2nd...) I know at least B's grandmas and grandpas will eat up all 9 minutes and 48 seconds of it, 9:48 that the rest of you might find excruciatingly boring... It would have been longer but YouTube limits me to 10 minutes!!! Lucky you.

****Be patient... it takes awhile to load and buffer!!****