This past weekend, our baby boy took his very first steps! He’s taken one (sometimes two) every once in awhile, but on Saturday- he tooks six in a row! Shane and I were both SO excited that he did that for the first time and we both got to see it. Since we work, we were hoping he would do it when we were home with him. It was so exciting…I’m so proud of him! He’s so funny when he does it. He doesn’t bend his knees, so he looks like a little robot. He doesn’t do it on his own yet, just when we stand him up and try to get him to walk to us. I think he will walk on his own soon, though! His first birthday is right around the corner…

I have to say it was a little sad seeing 2008 go…since that was the year Harper Cole was born. We are however, looking forward to his first birthday coming up VERY soon! Harper really seemed to enjoy the holidays…he received so many wonderful new toys for Christmas that we had to make him a playroom! Mommy’s office no longer exists, but Harper Cole has a fantastic new place to play! It’s all green, blue, and polka dot…we call it the no “no-nos” room. He plays with lots of blocks, toys, he slides down his slide, and so much more. We enjoy hanging out it there with him, too! He LOVES to play, and he does it so well- even when he’s by himself. I love to peek in on him and watch him exploring around…independent play is so very sweet!

He’s a funny little guy! Daddy tells him to “show your mean face”, and he does! He scrunches up his little nose and huffs and puffs at you. It’s the cutest little thing! He is babbling like crazy, saying “yeah”, “mama”, “dada”, “mmm”, “bobobo”, “bye-bye”, and he also just says a bunch of mumbo-jumbo when he really gets into a good conversation with you! He sings a little, too. It’s absolutely precious. Each and every day brings something new…we are looking forward to another fantastic, blessed year with Harper Cole!

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Harper Cole is feeling much better now! Praise the Lord! We had our first Christmas with Papaw and Gina Eubanks…that was fun! We have now traveled to Tennessee to celebrate Christmastime with Mamaw and Papaw Reagan, Granna Tana, Mamaw Cole, Aunt Lori, and lots of other family members on Daddy’s side of the family. Harper is really enjoying all the lights, trees, bows, and decorations he sees! Many memories are being made with each new day. It’s amazing to me how big he’s getting. He’s growing so fast…his new “tricks” are “Shake your bootie” (and he will) and “Show me your mad face” (and he does!). He’s such an amazing little guy and he is and will forever be my most favorite Christmas present!

We will travel back to GA on Christmas Eve night, and wake to see what Santa has brought on Christmas morning. I plan on starting a tradition of Christmas morning pancakes, then we will have Christmas with Grammy, Granddaddy, and Uncle Patrick…followed by Granddaddy’s side of the family on Christmas day and Grammy’s side of the family on Dec. 28th! Whew, it’s a busy time of the year, but we are constantly making sure we stop- focus on our Savior- share the birth of Christ with HC as much as we can….it’s easy to let the hustle and bustle get in the way of the true meaning of this blessed season.

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Harper Cole is officially sick for the first time. He has an upper respiratory infection, an ear infection, a little vomiting, and a fever. He is very clingy and quite pitiful. He’s on antibiotics along with Tylenol and Motrin. There’s a lot of TLC going on around here as he’s just not feeling good and wants to be held. Parents really do hurt when their children hurt- it’s very difficult to see him like this. Keep our little guy in your prayers!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Harper Cole is enjoying his very first Christmas! He loves all the lights, decorations, Christmas music, and so on. He’s such a joy and I think God for him every single day. He is and always will be the most perfect Christmas gift for me. Please enjoy the Smilebox below of some memories we’ve already made with our sweet lovebug.

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Harper Cole won in the “Sweetest Cheeks” category!!!! I’m such a proud mommy right now my own cheeks hurt from smiling so much. We have a photo shoot next week. He’ll be on the cover with the other babies who won in different categories and he’ll have his own little spot on the inside. Yippppeee!

Time is really flying! I can’t believe my baby boy is already 10 months old. He’ll be turning one before we know it! That little guy is in to absolutely everything! He’s so incredibly curious, usually playing with all the things he CAN’T have in a room, instead of the pile of toys right in front of him. He’s making some really funny deep noises- kind of like an animal. It really cracks us up! He can say “Mama”, “Dada”, “bye” (sometimes), and we thing “yum” (it comes out ummm). His waving is improving to more of a normal wave, instead of the whole arm flap he has been doing. He’s intrigued by his hands, wiggling and rolling them around all over the place. He’s pointing at lots of things not, too. He’s walking only when BOTH hands are held (not just one), when he can hold on to furniture, or when he has something to push in front of him.

We went with our friends, the Godfrey’s, to Stone Mountian Christmas this past Sunday afternoon. Carli and Harper Cole really seemed to have a good time. The lights were amazing, they had a Polar Express 4D theater (where HC kept his glasses on the whole time to get the best view), a Christmas song train, a holiday lazer show, and a snow angel that brought snow into the town area. It was a bunch of fun and really got us all into the spirit!

We put up our Christmas decorations yesterday and today. Harper is doing well with them so far. I still have to get the ornaments on our tree, so we’ll see how that goes. So far, he’s just going around touching everything with that little pointer finger. I didn’t quite put out as much as usual this year because I just wasn’t going to fight that battle with the little guy.

I’m really looking forward to Harper’s First Christmas!!

We’ve officially traveled thousands of miles away from our sweet baby boy. It’s the first time I’ve gone more than a day without seeing him. It’s been a very emotional day for me and I miss him SO much! I’ve looked at his pictures on Shane’s IPhone, looked at pictures online, watched videos on both, and I also brought a picture of HC to put on my bedside table here at the Westin in San Francisco! We did talk to him on the phone today, also. This is such a beautiful city and I’m enjoying my visit, but I do long for my little guy. You’ve heard the old song, “I left my heart in San Francisco”…well, I guess I left mine in Cartersville!

Grammy, Granddaddy, and Uncle Patrick are taking wonderful care of him though…thanks guys!

Harper Cole…Mommy and Daddy already bought you a special Christmas ornament at Bloomie’s….I’m sure this is the first of MANY souvenirs from our trip away from you! I love you to the moon, sweet “bubby”!

Our little guy is growing and learning more and more with each and every day! He’s such a funny little fellow, with so much personality. He’s also going through a bit of separation anxiety, not liking it very much when people leave the room. He will start whining and you’ll hear him just crawling along behind you as fast as possible to catch up just so he can be near you. He’s ALL over the place and into just about anything and everything within his reach that he can get his little hands on. Just tonight, he tried to pull down the curtain, rip the shade off the door, ride the dishwasher door (he almost crawled up in there!), crawl in the bathtub, rearrange the coffee table, and who knows what else?! He and I did have a lot of fun this evening in our first Mommy/Baby bubble bath! We’ve had regular baths, but no sudsy bubbles until today! He really got a kick out of them and I can see lots more bubble baths for Harper Cole in the future! He’s babbling up a storm, saying Mama (lots), Dada (some), and then just jibber-jabber the rest of the time…however, his Uncle Patrick and I could almost have sworn he said “Bible” this afternoon. Ha! Awesome first word, huh? My little preacher.

We took Harper to Burt’s Pumpkin Farm for the first time! Corey, Christy, and Carli Godfrey went with us. Grammy, Granddaddy, Aunt Maureen, and Uncle Tony were also there to share in the fun. Mommy, Daddy, and Grammy went last year just a week before Grammy’s big surgery…I wore a shirt that said “Mommy’s Little Pumpkin” last year while I was pregnant. So this year, Harper wore an outfit that said, “Mommy’s Pumpkin, Harper”. He wore little pumpkin socks and was such a little doll…or I guess I should say, he was such a little pumpkin! We had a lot of fun with the pumpkins in all shapes, colors, and sizes. He and Carli enjoyed playing amongst them also. There was a large John Deer Tractor that Harper also enjoyed. We had a picnic lunch together, Mommy and Grammy picked out Harper’s first pumpkin (and baby corn), and we all just enjoyed seeing Harper’s sweet little expressions. He’s such an angel, and I so enjoy seeing him experience God’s wonderful creations….like PUMPKINS!

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Harper Cole turned 8 months old last week. He’s such a delightful little guy! He has so much personality and boy is he busy! He’s crawling really well now (as of about 2 1/2 weeks ago) and just a couple of days ago, he started pulling up! He pulls up on furniture, toys, Mommy’s legs, and so on. It seems like every day, he does something new! He can also pick up little snacks with his thumb and forefinger and feed it to himself. He’s really babbling away and he says “Mama”! He’s still extremely difficult to diaper and change clothes. He absolutely hates it and will fight you to the death. He does not comprehend the meaning of “no” at all…we might be in for trouble! Haha! He stands up in his bed now and peeks over the rail at you–it’s just so sweet. He’s into everything…he wants whatever anyone else has in their hands. Harper is incredibly curious with all the wonderful things God has filled this great big world with! Doorstops fascinate the little fellow…they are kinda cool, I agree. He also has figured out how to make noises with his finger and his little bottom lip…so funny to watch!

Harper Cole went on his first little overnight trip away from home…he traveled to Ellijay, GA with Grammy and Granddaddy. They said he had a good time and Granddaddy says he’s an official “Mountain Man”. Haha! It was really hard for Mommy and Daddy to let him go away overnight like that, but we all made it through. Harper is blessed to have such wonderful grandparents on both Mommy and Daddy’s side. We went to Pigeon Forge last weekend and he was just loved to pieces by all of the sweet family members up there! Everyone that meets little HC just falls in love with him….especially his Mommy who just adores him so!

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Harper is such a busy little guy. He’s a “squirmin’ wormin'” as we called it (I believe that came from Backyardigans- his favorite tv show). He loves to play with his toys, he’s very inquisitive, he’s babbling, and he’s really developing a little personality. He’s a good little baby…he plays well independently, is in a good mood most of the time, and eats and sleeps great! He loves to eat, he’s practically a bottomless pit. He’s long and skinny, though- wish I could eat like he does and stay that skinny! Ha! Anyway, below is a little Smilebox slideshow of some of the moments we’ve managed to capture on film since he’s turned 7 months old. Enjoy!

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It’s so amazing watching our little guy grow and learn things with each and every new day. He’s just babbling up a storm…and quite loud sometimes, especially in restaurants! It’s no secret that we are there! He’s such an active little fellow, rolling and sort of trying to crawl. He stretches his arms out, puts his hiney up the air, rolls to the side, and then repeats. Sometimes, he just rolls to his destination. He’s so funny! He’s also very wiggly, flailing his arms around all over the place, grabbing anything and everything he can get his little hands on. He bangs with his arms…I sometimes call him “Judge Harper…order in the court”! He’s such an amazing person, with a precious personality. We love to see those big gummy grins and hearing his darling little giggles. He loves to play and does so very well, independently if need be. He also loves to watch his Backyardigans on tv…getting so excited just seeing it come on. He’s still a wonderful eater, thoroughly enjoying just about everything that’s given to him. He also enjoys his walker, scooting around all over the place. The outdoors is still his favorite place to be…he’s just fascinated by all of the sights and sounds. My little “bubby” is just a light in my life and I’m so proud and blessed to be his mommy!

We had a “great-great” time in Pigeon Forge last month! We got to visit with the family, see some friends, and just enjoy ourselves. Mamaw, Papaw, Granna Tana, Aunt Lori, Cousin Jordan, Toby, Tiffany, Lindsay, and Lanie all enjoyed spending time with little Harper Cole. We also got to see some extended family and Harper’s Great-Great Mamaw Cole. She just ate him up….what a blessing to have a Great- Great grandmother! Enjoy the little show below!

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We took Daddy’s new bike trailer that Harper gave him for Father’s Day to Berry College! It was so much fun. Harper seemed to enjoy the view, and was very content in his little trailer. Berry is such a great place to go ride bikes and we are looking forward to going back with our baby boy more in the future! Enjoy a few pictures from our day….

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