Harper's 4 month stats

Harper was not pleased that I took her to the doctor today. She probably would have rather been outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather instead of sitting in a warm, stuffy exam room. Today she hated the crinkly paper on the table, the scale, and of course her shots. Poor thing was just downright angry; she was still sniffling for a good ten minutes on the drive home. My little drama queen. I was able to talk to the doctor about possibly starting Harper on some food since she just can't seem to get enough lately. She wants to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours now instead of going longer stretches, and she guzzled 8 ounces just for dinner last night. She also watches us like a hawk when we're eating, as if she's hoping we're going to share with her. The doctor said to go ahead and try a couple of teaspoons of cereal (or any other stage 1 food) each day to see how she does. Stay tuned!

height: 26 inches (94th percentile)
weight: 15 lbs. 5 oz. (80th percentile)

Next scheduled well-visit: June 11th

The end of a wonderful week

Our trip back home was smooth and uneventful. We left Friday night around 8 and were home by 10:30 am on Saturday, and both kids slept through the night and then off and on once the sun came up. Once we got home Ryder said, "I go to my room and nap in my bed." Andrew and I looked at each other and then said, "Absolutely!" This meant we would have an even better chance of napping if we only had Harper to entertain. Ryder slept for 4 hours, Andrew got a 2 hour nap, and I dozed a little bit while Harper cat-napped. We all went to bed early Saturday night, so today we are pretty much back to normal. Here are the final pictures from our wonderful trip!

Grann bought Ryder a big wand of bubbles. He had the best time chasing and popping the bubbles he could reach. He would even say, "Come here, bubble, come here," as he ran after them.

anxiously waiting 

It had rained all morning, so it was the perfect time to go barefoot!

looking for a bubble that landed on the ground

dirty feet

at the jetty for a cloudy sunset

Ryder had the best time in the kitchen with Grann. She recently got a new sewing machine and made Ryder and Harper matching aprons. Harper will have to grow into hers of course, but Ryder wore his many times.

eating oranges with Grann

Grann had the orange peel in her mouth, and Ryder got the biggest kick out of this!

kisses for Grann...

and Pops!

Hiking and Splashing

On Tuesday morning we went to a state park for some fresh air, exercise, and photo ops. Ryder was excited about seeing alligators, and although we didn't see any on land, Ryder saw plenty of them floating in the water. He even got to see a cormorant bird dive down and catch a fish right in front of him!

watching some minnows in the shallow water

a cormorant and his lunch

a tower of stairs leading to a lookout point

That's me (and Harper) walking across the suspension bridge that leads to the tower. Ryder loved the bridge and did it twice!

resting on a palm tree trunk

After nap time Andrew and Ryder went with Grann to her dental office. Andrew got his teeth cleaned, and then Grann introduced Ryder to all of the equipment to start preparing him for his first dental visit. He loved the chair the most and had fun making it go up and down. He wasn't ready or willing to open his mouth yet for a checkup, but at least it was a happy visit!

napping on Pops' lap

On Wednesday evening we went downtown so Ryder could play in the fountains before dinner. He was a little skeptical at first, but there were lots of other kids running around, so he eventually walked right up to the streams of water.

He kept saying, "Look at that water!"

running between the streams of water

checking out the dolphin statue