I look at my precious little boy with each and every day and I just thank the almighty God above for his health, his safety, his darling personality, his little mind, his curiousity, and his sweet spirit. It seems at this stage, each day brings a new word, a new expression, a new “funny”, a new “no-no” and so on! I am so humbled to be his Mommy and I will always and forever do anything I can for that little guy to lead, guide, direct, and protect him. This is just what is “built-in” the second you become a parent. He is such a blessing from above and words cannot express my love for him and my devotion to Jesus Christ for allowing little ol’ me to have such an awesome role…Thank you Lord! Again…God is SO good, ALL the time!!

Harper Cole had his very first surgery this morning at Children’s Healthcare- Scottish Rite. (He was re-circumcised, if you didn’t already know). Along with Shane and myself, Granna Tana, Mamaw and Papaw, and Grammy and Granddaddy were there with the little guy. That hospital is so neat- with everything revolving around children. There were toys everywhere, the nursing staff was amazing, and they really took care of my little sweetie. We arrived at 6:00 am (we’ve been up since 3:45am), did all the pre-op stuff, and then went to a pre-op room where there were toys and a television. A nurse brought a tiny little hospital gown for Harper Cole and an adult sized one for Mommy. She then let Harper go into a large, lit up cabinet to pick out a brand new toy. We waited there until 8:30 (Harper hadn’t eaten since last night, but he was such a trooper!).

At 8:30, Dr. Scherz (pediatric urologist) arrived and Mommy and Harper Cole went back to the operating room. I stayed while they put the mask on his face and he drifted off (that was a little difficult for me and I was emotional, but I knew God had the whole thing under control). I then joined Daddy in a post op room where we waited for about an hour for Harper Cole. He was rolled in a big hospital bed (he looked so tiny!), with his right hand draped across his face with a “Woe is me” look! He snoozed in my arms for about another hour while our fantastic nurse, Mrs. Nancy, took care of him- keeping his iv going.

We left the hospital and he had a rough ride home, getting sick a couple of times from the anesthesia- poor little guy! We got home, ate a little bite, then he laid down for close to 4 hours. He was given a “caudal” and is still numb “down there”. 🙂 He has some good medicine to help him rest, also. He’s playing now and is in good spirits…

Thanks for all of your prayers and we all look forward to watching him re-coop!

From Harper Cole 15 months

From Harper Cole 15 months

We made a trip to the Georgia Aquarium this past Saturday with Papaw and Gina. Harper Cole had never been before so we were all very excited to see his first impressions. When we arrived and went into the first big tank of mixed tropical fish, he was immediately interested, saying “fiss, fiss!”. When we moved onto larger sea creatures like sharks and beluga whales, he said “ooh!” in his little deep voice. We had a wonderful time and hope to take him back again!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Easter was a time of lots of great memories for us. We started our day by getting up to see what the Easter Bunny brought Harper Cole. He had a basket filled with a bubble maker, a book, Little People Eggs, a frog lunchbag, and an Elmo movie. EB also went to Grammy and Granddaddy’s house and left a new outfit, an Elmo book and Elmo plush, and other sweet things.

We got everyone dressed in our Easter clothes and went to celebrate Christ’s resurrection with our church at Cartersville High School stadium! Harper Cole looooved the music! He sang and danced and had a great time! Daddy took him to the nursery during the sermon.

We went home and had a little egg hunt for HC at Grammy and Granddaddy’s house. Uncle Patrick (a.k.a. “Dude” as HC calls him) helped Granddaddy “hide” (a.k.a. put in the grass) a few eggs. HC was interested briefly, but was mostly only interested in eggs that had something inside. Mommy didn’t think he would care, but he did! He put an egg in the basket, shook them, and then tried to take eggs out.

We went to Uncle Steve’s house for lunch and had another egg hunt with cousins Gabe and Audrey Kate.

It was a a wonderful day!

From Harper 13 & 14 Months

From Harper 13 & 14 Months

From Harper 13 & 14 Months

Since last Saturday was such a nice, warm, DRY spring day (we haven’t had very many of those lately!), we decided to load up the bikes and the baby and go for a ride at Berry College. The Viking Trail is our favorite place to ride. It’s so beautiful out there and there’s a great place to stop half-way into it for a nice break to play. We rode 7 miles and we all had a great time!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Harper Cole is such an inquisitive little fellow! He loves to take things apart, *attempt* to put them back, crawl through, into, or under things,push anything that will push (especially his strollers) and just try to figure out this great big world surrounding him.

“He’s into everything” was an expression that I never completely understood until now. We literally can’t turn our head for a second because if we do…Harper Cole will be in a cabinet, under a table, pulling drawers out, hiding our little things, unrolling the toilet paper, pulling on the blinds, trying to get in the toilet, unorganizing anything Mommy has organized, putting anything and everything that is small enough into his mouth, and so on and so on!

He’s finally learned how to actually ride his ride-on toys. For the longest time, he’s just pushed them, put things in them, or sat on them. He’s realized he can push himself forward with his feet, so now he’s scooting around. It really is so cute! He also had a big time last night in the the big boxes that Guitar Hero was shipping in. He thought he was big stuff in that big ol’ box.

I love watching my little guy learn and grow with each and every day. What an amazing little gift from God he is!

It’s hard to believe Harper Cole is 14 months old already! He’s really just turning into a little man right before our eyes. His personality is hilarious…witty, smart, and sweet…but he definitely has a tiny bit of a temper from time to time. He just can’t stand for anyone to take anything away from him- it just breaks his little heart. He’s walking around like a champ, even picking up some speed from time to time! He’s added a few words: “hi” (and still “hey”), “Momo” (for Elmo), doggie (says dogga in a whisper), “shhh” (and points), “bite-bite”, and this morning I think he said “car”. He says his blessing by putting his little hands together and shaking. When we say “amen”, he tucks his little head down. Absolutely darling! He loves trucks and things that roll around. Outside is his absolute favorite place to be, so I’m looking forward to more nice spring days to play outside with him.

We went to TN this past weekend and he had a good time seeing all of our family and friends from up there. We don’t get to see them enough, so everyone (including us) really enjoys the visits!

Today was such a nice, warm day- I just couldn’t stay inside when Harper Cole and I came home after I got off work. We took our shoes off (well, I took our shoes off!), grabbed the big red ball and the squishy Tonka truck with the big wheels and headed outside. Harper Cole was too tiny to “play” outside much last year, but this year is a whole different story. He went straight for the grass, starting walking and crawling around in it, and even attempted to eat some sticks, blades of grass, flowers, and maybe a bug or two…he’s all boy! I put him in his swing and he just laughed and had the best time. Daddy is going to get the backyard a little more “Harper Cole friendly” here soon, because THAT is where our little guy wants to be and is sooooo happy about it!

I check little Harper Cole’s mouth for teeth just about every day. Night before last, there was no sign of a tooth. But yesterday when Carrie, his babysitter, brought him to me afterschool….we saw a tiny slit in his gum! Sure enough, when I felt around, I could feel the very tip of a tiny little tooth trying to surface. He was 13 months old yesterday, so that was a good little 13-month birthday surprise! We’ve been wondering when in the world he would start teething, especially with him being the age he is. It’s a little bittersweet, though…that sweet gummy grin is so precious, and it just keeps him a baby for that much longer. Yesterday evening, at his Great- MaMa’s birthday party, it was evident that he was “feeling” it! He was very irritable and putting his hands in his little mouth. I gave him some teething tablets when we got home (we’ve had them for 6 months!) and that seemed to make him feel better!

Harper Cole had his one-year-well-baby visit today with Dr. Tammy. Mommy was a little “over” prepared with three pages of typed notes and questions about the little guy, but we left very informed…so that’s what counts! He was a trooper when Nurse Angela gave him his shots…he cried, but not for long. Daddy was there holding him, so that helped. He’s sleeping “like a baby” now with a good ol’ dose of Tylenol to make those little legs feel better. He was a little over 32 inches tall (97th percentile!), he weighed 22 lbs. 8oz. (50th percentile), and his head was 18 3/4 inches (90th percentile). So, to Mommy, that says..”I have a tall, skinny, smart baby!” Haha! After we left, we stopped by Chick-Fil-A and Harper Cole enjoyed a couple of chicken nuggets along with his banana and milk. Praise God for a healthy baby boy who the doctor says is doing great and right on track. Thank you Lord for giving us, the parents, the guidance and direction we’ve prayed for to raise this sweet little miracle you’ve given us- Harper Cole.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Harper Cole is developing such a little personality. He’s so funny. I wish everyone could see our little guy dance. He dances ALL THE TIME! He’s really got a lot of rhythm, too! He’s also learned how to brush his hair. Anytime he can get his little hands on a brush, he starts brushing his hair and attempting to brush everyone else’s hair around him! His facial expressions are never ending. You can always read his mind by just looking at his face. He is so inquisitive and independent, too. He just looks, plays, and figures out whatever he can! We are going to Kindermusik today and I’m really looking forward to it. He was sick last week (6 consecutive days of fever), so we missed out. He’s doing better now, but still doesn’t have much of an appetite.

…is fantastic! Harper Cole is such a joy and I’m so proud to be his mommy. He’s such a good little baby boy. He’s just all over the place now! He’s walking in chunks of about 10 steps or more. He still crawls a good bit (it’s just faster for him right now), but walks on his own a lot too! He also squats down to pick things up, keeps his balance, and returns to standing again. He dances ALL THE TIME. Anytime he hears music, whether it be on tv, on a toy, on the radio….he either starts bobbing his head or shaking his booty. It’s quite the site! I think he’s going to be musically inclined, so I look forward to letting him learn to play some sort of instrument at a young age.

He is slowly adding a word here and there to his vocabulary, but he’s in no hurry to say very much. He says “hey” (especially when the phone rings), “bye”, “Mama”, “Dada”, and “done”…on a regular basis. Right now, I’m working on “please”, “ball”, and “amen”. We’ll see! He also nods his head yes and no, and he signs “all done”. Another milestone that he’s starting to accomplish to putting things IN, rather than always just taking them OUT! He loves to empty baskets, containers, etc…Up until now, all he wanted to to was undo and destroy, so it’s nice to see the next step starting to occur!

Right now, his favorite things are: his playroom (tons of stuff), picture books to point at, Little People, Backyardigans, Elmo, swinging, riding in his blue car inside the house, laying in his bed (yep! You read that right! He loves his bed!), goofing off with Daddy, tickling, peek-a-boo, “driving” in the car with Mommy (with a new toy he got for his birthday), dancing, Kindermusik (SO much fun), Sunday School, pushing cars and making the noise they make, and so much more!

After several days of pushing the cup away, he’s finally doing well with drinking his milk. Transitioning from warm formula in a bottle to cold milk in a cup was a bit of a doozy. The nurse at the doctor’s office just told me to be persistent though, only offering him the cold milk in a cup (and nothing else), and even though it was tough, he’s got the hang of it! I’m so proud of my little guy! He’s also eating EVERYTHING! You ‘d be so shocked at what my child can gum! (Oh yeah, he hasn’t gotten the first tooth yet…haha!) He’s eaten roast, hamburger steak, chicken, ham, turkey, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, carrots, peas,watermelon, bananas, cantaloupe, strawberries, apples, crackers, and much more! It’s amazing!

It’s so hard to believe that he’s already a year old. He’s an awesome gift that I thank God for every single day. I still look into his crib while he sleeps and I’m just in awe of him. It’s still so exciting that I get to be his mommy. God is so good….all the time!

I’ve read to Harper Cole since I brought him home from the hospital. He wasn’t too thrilled with it at first, but he likes it a lot better now! He likes to point at the pictures while being read to. I try to read to him every single day, but there are days here and there that we don’t get around to it.

Last night, Shane put Harper Cole to bed. He did the normal nightly routine (bath, lotion, pajamas, prayers, etc…) and then laid HC down in his crib. Then, he took out our 5 minute Bible stories book and read to the baby while he was in his crib. It was so endearing to see my two men in the word of God together. I’m so blessed to have a wonderful, Godly husband. Sharing God’s love with our child, Harper Cole, is our number one priority and we pray daily that we do a good job telling HC all about Jesus Christ.

Go, Daddy, go…way to read and share Christ with our sweet baby boy!!

Harper Cole “dined” with Mommy and Daddy last night! He still has no teeth, but he can gum like nobody’s business! I cooked roast, potatoes, and carrots for dinner and decided to try it out with our little man. I put the roast in my little chopper and shred it into tiny pieces, cut up the potatoes, and just gave him the little cooked baby carrots. He ate it all up! He had the funniest expression on his face…kind of like, “Hey guys! You’ve been holding out on me!”.