Funny little...

Valentine!

We had one of the nicest Valentine's Days that we've ever had!  Dan got me this absolutely delicious dark chocolate covered carmel candy --- it was sooooo good!

We even got a babysitter and went out to a movie!  That hasn't happened in a while!

Little Harper started giving kisses just in time for Valentines Day.
Of course, I can't end a blog post without some recent photos...

 

Twelve

In honor of 12/12/12, I thought I'd share 12 things that make me happy.

1.  My guy.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.  I took it while we were on our anniversary vacation to Pennsylvania this summer.  We are actually riding a little tram backward into a coal mine.  Oh what fun things you find to do when you have no itinerary! 

2. This guy.

Especially when he lets us put different hats on him while we are wasting time in Old Navy.

3.  The fact that it is 61 degrees outside right now.  On December 12th.  It's days like this that I love Texas.  Crisp winter air makes me in the mood for Christmas!

4. Speaking of Christmas, I am particularly excited for Christmas this year.  Might have something to do with the Little one. :)

5.  Temples make me happy all year long.

6.  Homemade bread hot out of the oven.  It's been far too long since I've baked bread...

7.  Good friends.  This past Saturday we went with our very good friends and neighbors to their church's Christmas program.  It makes me happy that even though we don't share the exact same faith, we can share our beliefs with each other and not be uncomfortable. :)

8.  Funny videos that my friends send me. Thanks, Jay!

 9.  Family.  Having a little family of my own makes me even more grateful for extended family that we have - most of them so far away.  

10.  Yankee Candle No. 2   My new favorite scent!

11. Audiobooks. They make my 40 minute-each-way commute a little easier.  Right now I'm listening to this:

12. Sleep.  I hope that 2013 brings more of that. :)

What things are you happy for these days?

One Year Old

The Littles turned ONE this past week!  Grandma (my mom) came to visit and help us celebrate.  It was very nice to see her, and the 5 days went by too quickly.  Houston cooperated with beautiful weather, and we spent a lot of time outside.  

Of course, we took lots of photos of the birthday boy!  Here are a few of my favorites. 

 First, there was birthday cake.  Well, cupcake. :)  Harper was not impressed.  

Then, we opened the card from Idaho.  That was much more fun!

Look at this farm set from Grandma & Grandpa Borchert!  Harper LOVED it!

 And a giraffe to ride on from Mom & Dad.  Despite the intense look on his face, this took some convincing. :)

Grandma of course had to bring some Packer gear. So we went outside and made him pose.

One word: adorable.

Can't wait to see what next year brings.

11.1.12

November.

Wow, is this year flying by.

I don't have much to say today. It was a normal day for us.  Oh wait!  Something exciting DID happen.  Harper drank cow's milk for the first time!  And he did fine.  *sigh*

The end of an era, I guess. :)

I won't mind not washing bottles every night in preparation for daycare the next day.  That is for sure.  And I certainly won't miss pumping.  THAT is for the birds.

We're going to ease off this gradually, though.  Replacing one "bottle" at a time.  (He's actually drinking out of a cup with a straw during the day, not a bottle.)  My baby is growing up.  He will be 1 year old in just 8 more days.

Here's a little shot from yesterday.  Cute little Mickey, isn't he?

Monday, Monday...

The big news story today is Hurricane Sandy, set to hit the East Coast today. To all my friends who in the storm path, please be safe!  We're all watching and praying for you!

Closer to home, we made it to the polls this morning to cast our ballots.  Civic duty:  Check. 

Where to start (again)?

I've been encouraged to start blogging again, but I have to tell you - I'm not too excited about it.  I feel like it's just another thing on my to-do list.  But here's a (re-)start anyway.

I can't believe that it's been almost a YEAR since I've blogged.  Whoa.  That means it's been almost a YEAR since Harper was born, and let me say - what a year it has been! 

I'm not going to go back and recap our entire year.  That is just too daunting of a task.  

So here we are, a few days before Halloween.  Last night Harper and I went to our church's Fall Festival.  It was an overall good time.  

I baked these beauties to share.  I have to admit, they were tasty!

We dressed Harper as Mickey Mouse.  I didn't get a great picture of him, so you'll have to tun in next time to see the ridiculous cuteness. :)  We're tagging along with our neighbors to their Fall Festival next week.  

I'll leave you with a couple of recent photos of the little one.  

Plans and Babies Don't Mix

WELL, a lot has happened since my last post.  Let's back up a few weeks.

We hired a photographer and met with her on Oct. 22nd to take some maternity photos.  She was great!  Here are a few of our favorites.  (Please note that all these photos are copyright Stephanie Shirley Photography - please do not copy.)

Many thanks to Stephanie!

After the pictures, we continued to get things ready for the baby's arrival.  My due date was Nov. 23rd, but I was convinced that we wouldn't have a baby until after Thanksgiving.  Lesson #1 of Parenthood: things don't always work out the way you plan. :)

We had a regularly scheduled weekly doctor's appointment on Tuesday, Nov. 8th (37 weeks, 5 days), and during the ultrasound the doctor discovered that the amniotic fluid was low.  She recommended that we induce that very day.  Needless to say, we were a little unprepared for that news!  She told us to go home and get our hospital bag (not yet packed!), eat lunch, and check into the hospital.

Dan and I were both a little shocked.  We each called work to let them know that we would not be back for a while! :)

We were all checked in and settled in our room by 1:30 pm that afternoon.  Things progressed very slowly until about 5 am the next morning when the baby decided he was ready to be born!  The doctor just barely made it in time to deliver at 7:03 AM on Wednesday, November 9th (exactly 2 weeks early).

We are happy introduce Harper Tritz Hollingsworth!  He weighed 6 lbs 2oz and was 18 3/4" long.

The following 3 photos are again copyright Stephanie Shirley Photography.

The next couple of days were a whirlwind.  We checked out of the hospital on Friday afternoon.  Harper and I were both healthy and happy to go home!  We've spent the last week enjoying our new little family member.  Here are some highlights from Harper's first week of life.

Sleeping at the hospital.

getting ready to go home...

all set in the car seat.  I think he looks like he's ready for a roller coaster ride.

Hanging out with Dad at home.

After his first sponge bath.  He didn't really love it. :)

Monday (5 days old) - first doctor's appointment.  He was a champ and already regained his birth weight!

These last two are my favorites.  He loves to make little faces!  I could watch him all day long.

We'd like to thank all of our friends and family who have sent us messages of congratulations, flowers, gifts and meals this past week.  We absolutely love our little Harper!