Some of Harper's Favorite Things

Last week while Weston was here Harper was very intrigued by his pacifier. We tried to get her to take one when she was a baby, but never showed any interest. After Weston left Harper found a pacifier in a box that I was unpacking and now likes to walk around with it in her mouth. Sometimes it's sideways, upside down, or backwards, but she really likes it. Our new apartment has 2 balconies and each one has a large glass door. Harper really likes to press her face against the glass. She thinks it's hilarious. Harper loves necklaces. I got these for her at the dollar store the other day and she likes to put them on, then take them back off repeatedly. She also loves this pink chair that she's sitting in it. I found it at the store the other day and she loves to sit in it and play with her toys. Harper took her first steps about a month ago and her skills are rapidly improving. She was pretty timid at first and still preferred crawling, but she walks about 75% of the time now.

the near future

I guess I should take a minute to catch up on the blog. We have been very busy with moving, cleaning out our old place, unpacking, and working. We FINALLY finished cleaning out our old place today and we still have several boxes sitting around the apartment. Photos will be posted of the new place once we are fully unpacked.

The day after we moved in, some friends of ours came to stay with us for a few days. This was planned long before we knew when we would be moving, but it worked out okay even though we were constantly trying searching through boxes trying to find things that we needed.

Our friends (Scott and Amber with their little boy Weston) came to LA so that Tom and Scott could go to a nerd convention (Tom has asked me not to divulge more details), but we had some extra time to enjoy some of what LA has to offer.

We started out with a trip to the Griddle Cafe for some gigantic pancakes, french toast, and eggs. We had never been, but several people have recommended it and we were not disappointed. We then headed over to Griffith park to ride the trains and play at the playground. We spent some time at the beach:And made Harper's first trip to Disneyland (actually, this was also my first trip).Harper LOVED having Weston around to play with. They enjoyed "playing" the piano together:
And eating graham crackers and playing with toys:And hanging out with Tom and Scott while they played video games:
We had a great time and would LOVE to have more visitors in the future, especially now that we have a larger apartment.

We're Alive

At some point in the near future we're going to have some exciting posts. We moved. I have a new job. My friend and his family stayed with us for a few days. All this and more. Well, at least all this.

The Commute

So I hate commuting. Some people find peace and comfort in their 4 mph drive up the 405 (or wherever their drive takes them), but the thought of commuting after a long day at the office makes me want to stab a hot poker in my eye. Our new apartment is approximately 0.7 miles away from my office. So I'll drive occasionally, walk occasionally, and Erica will drop me off occasionally. We were willing to spend a bit more on a close apartment so we wouldn't feel pressured to get a second car, which would really wreck havoc on our budget. Plus, Erica can meet me at work or the nearby mall (located across the street from my office) for lunch now and again. I know some other people at the firm who do that.

Time > Just about everything

I'm just glad we found a place that was within our budget that will enable us to do this.

As for my Mom's question, yes Harper is still addicted to raisins and goldfish. She will eat bread and a few spreads that we put on it (taziki, cream cheese), but that's about it (and of course fruit based baby food).

New Apartment

Last week we set up some appointments to see some apartments in the area. After we looked at one of them, we drove over to Tom's firm to see how long it would take and decided to look at apartments in the area. We were pulled over to the side of the road writing down the phone number for an apartment when a woman pulled up next to us. We rolled down the window and she asked us if we wanted to see the apartment. It turns out that she is the leasing agent.

We didn't know anything about the apartment, but we went in to look at it. After walking in I thought it was way out of our price range, but when I asked the leasing agent what the price was it turns out it was only slightly out of our price range. But we were able to negotiate the price down a little bit and we move in next week. We are sad to be leaving our current apartment and ward, but we are excited about having a larger apartment. Plus we are close to Tom's firm (click on the photo and it will get bigger).

We will post pictures once we get moved in.

In other news, Harper has started walking. She took her first steps a few weeks ago (I'm a bad mother, I don't have a video of her walking yet). She still prefers to crawl, but the other day I looked up and she was walking across the room. That was a rare occasion; she normally just takes a few steps between pieces of furniture.

We are continually amazed how much Harper learns by watching us. The other day she found Tom's headphones and put them up to ears like she was listening to something. Where did she learn that?
We took Harper in for her 15 month appointment earlier this week. We have been waiting for Tom's work insurance to begin so we were a couple weeks late. Her current stats:

Height: 31.25 inches
Weight: 20 pounds 4 ounces

She is in about the 60th percentile for height and the 10th for weight. We really like her new pediatrician (thanks to the Cralls and Hawkins for recommending him) and we actually discovered during our appointment that we went to the same high school. Crazy.

Huntington Library

This morning we drove up to San Marino to go to the Huntington Library. Our friend Jean planned some great field trips for the summer, and this one was the free day at the Huntington which we were lucky enough to get tickets to (apparently they sold out in less than 5 minutes).

I wasn't sure what to expect but it was AMAZING. My favorite part was the desert garden. I'm not a big fan of desert things in general, but it was amazing to see all of the different types of desert plants from all of the world.I particularly loved these. Aren't they gorgeous?
Then we went to the Japanese garden. They had these great bonsai trees. We loved the Juniper forest. I overheard a little boy tell his mom that he wanted one of these for his action figures to play in. They also have a little children's garden area where Harper enjoyed splashing around in the water.And afterward we went to this great little cafe in San Marino called Sweet & Savory where I had the most delicious curry chicken salad and Tom had a great pulled pork sandwich. Plus the fantastic chocolate cupcake we shared. It was a great day and it is so fun to have Tom home.

Arizona Trip

After the bar, we decided to take a trip to Tucson to visit some of Tom's family. His brother and sister both live there with their families and it had been a little too long since we had seen them. I was looking forward to the visit, but I was not looking forward to the heat. It was 110+ every day that we were there.

Tom and I feel so lucky to come from such great families. Everyone went so out of their way to spend time with us and plan fun events, thank you so much!

We played Wii. We stopped on the way their and picked up Wii Sports Resort which is definitely a winner.We went swimming. We went to a park opening where we tried to stay cool. Harper and I both turn bright pink after being in the heat for about 30 seconds.And some of the kids got their faces painted: We went to the zoo.It was a great trip. And we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy some Cuca's mexican food with Tom's Aunt Judy on the way home. Yum.

Utah Trip

I know, I've been a bad blogger, but we have been very busy lately. I'll try to catch up.

Harper and I went to Utah for the 24th of July. Well, we really went so that we could give Tom some quiet time before the bar, but we got to celebrate the 24th, celebrate my Grandma's 75th birthday, and spend some time with family.

We had a nice dinner with all of the adults (and Harper). It has been a long time since I've seen my mom with all of her siblings and their spouses. Harper got to hang out with my gorgeous sisters. Kelly is going to be so glad that I posted this picture of her. We watched fireworks (twice). And Harper fell asleep during the fireworks (twice).
Harper went swimming in my parent's backyard which, apparently, was very scary.Then we hung out with Harper's cousins Hailey and Gavin.And got to go to hang out with my Dad.We had a great trip and have had fun spending so much time in Utah lately. We miss you guys!