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!”.

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!

Make a Smilebox greeting

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.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

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.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I’ve had many Thanksgivings come and go and I always have so many things to be thankful for, but this year is different. This year I’m a Daddy and that brings an entirely new meaning to being “thankful” that I’ve never known. From the moment Harper was born, there has literally been something new every day that I thank God for. Each day with Harper seems to be better than the last. He’s just an amazing blessing. On top of that, I have a wonderful wife who is even a more incredible mother. She keeps Harper fed, happy, and clean (and me too). I can’t thank her enough for all that she does without me ever asking. I know she thinks that I believe there is a “magical” laundry, grocery, and house-cleaning fairy that appears while I’m at work and takes care of everything and makes sure there is milk in the fridge, but I’m starting to believe that she’s the one who actually does all of that. So, yes, I’m extremely grateful for all that she does and all that she is to me. God has blessed me with an amazing family.

So Harper…thank you for being the most incredible child a daddy could ask for. Thank you for making sure I wake up in the morning. Thank you for making me more grateful for indoor plumbing…I look forward to the day you learn to use the toilet. Thank you for your adventurous, curious, mischievous and resilient personality…don’t ever lose that. Thank you for laughing at the silly faces and noises I make. Thank you for laughing at the silly faces and noises you make. Thank you for making every single day of my life even more enjoyable. Thank you for being a great baby…you play well, sleep great, and eat like a champ. Thank you for making me smile…even when you do something that shouldn’t make me smile. Thank you for greeting me with a huge smile when I come home from work. Thank you, son, for being more than I ever imagined what having a child would be like. Thank you for making me a “daddy”. I love you.

Crystal, thank you for saying, “yes”. Thank you for saying, “I do”. Thank you for supporting me, encouraging me, and standing beside me through all that we’ve been through. Thank you for your faith, prayers, and your love for God and sharing that with our son. Thank you for keeping me alive with crazy amazing food. Thank you for mastering the washer & dryer. Thank you for keeping the floors clean enough to eat off of (Harper tries to sometimes). Thank you for tolerating college football. Thank you for having better fashion sense than I do. Thank you for remembering birthdays and holidays and when cards need to be sent…and sending them. Thank you for everything you do…I don’t say that enough, but thank you for making me a husband…the most grateful husband in the world. I love you.