Elie Maitland Harpster is ONE!!!

Well, once again I don't even know where to start!! Too much emotion for me in such a short time with my "baby" turning three and then my real "baby" turning one. I have written this over and over in my head, mainly while running up in Forest Park where I have LOTS of time to reflect and think. I absolutely never could have imagined that the experience of having a daughter and second child could be so wonderful. Honestly, I did not think I even wanted a daughter. I was (and still am of course:)) scared of her being a brat, a teenager, a drama queen, and so on. But this little girl who was brought into our lives has truly brought nothing but pure joy.

Everyone told me that two children can be soooo different. What they don't talk about is how you as parents are different. We were so uptight and scared with Jack during his first year, it's no wonder that he screamed, did not sleep and needed CONSTANT attention. Well, with Elie being the second, it has been no such thing. She was mellow from the hour she came into this world. She slept 23 of 24 hours a day for the first three weeks of her life! She was a sweet, quiet observer from the get go, but has evolved into so much more.

Currently, Miss Elie is much less quiet, but continues to be a happy little soul. She wakes up happy, babbling in her crib for up to 45 minutes until we finally get her. She goes to bed at 630 pm and gets up at about 6 am. If she does wake up in the middle of the night, its just to talk to herself for a couple of minutes and then she drifts back to sleep on her own. Now, if we are away from home and her bed, she is pretty much a nightmare and will only sleep with us. She naps twice a day, but if we have something else going on she can definitely stay in a good mood with a missed nap. Tyee and I often fight over who will put her to bed because it is such a pleasant and satisfying experience.

In terms of eating, this girl is quite amazing!!!! She nursed really well for 10 months, but then was DONE and never looked back. She still drinks formula bottles about every 4 hours, but this girl could not get rid of baby food fast enough. She only has 2 tiny bottom teeth, but Elie eats whatever the rest of us are eating, and she out eats her brother most of the time!! She loves chicken, beef, turkey, all fruit, all veggies, all carbs, EVERYTHING!!! She eats Thai, Japanese, Italian, and just like her mama, Mexican is one of her faves. We are in constant awe of how much food this little lady ingests. A couple of weeks ago she weighed 19 pounds, which is really not much.

Motor wise, this girl has always been on the go. Currently, she is cruising everywhere, and her latest trick is that she stands up in the middle of the floor without grabbing onto or using anything. I mean, she has to hold onto a toy in each hand!! She has had one goose-egg from a header into the table (I was not there :)) and no other major injuries yet. She uses her hands to sign "more" on a very consistent basis and occasionally does "all done". She prefers to only finger feed and use a sippy cup. She can pick up the tiniest little piece of lint on the carpet to inspect it and then put it in her mouth. She seems right on track to me :)

I must admit my feelings were hurt when she was saying "dada" all the time and "JAA" for Jack and "DAAA" for dog, but nothing close to mama... until a couple of weeks ago!! Now she very purposefully says "mama" or "ama" when I come into the room or leave it. The first time she did it, I cried! She "talks" constantly all day long especially when she is off playing by herself. I just can not imagine what she will start to say in these next couple of years!

There are so many wonderful things when I think about having Elie as a daughter....there are the superficial things like buying girls clothes, thinking about doing her hair (which is in need of some serious front growth right now :)), and how much fun we will have shopping. But the bond that we have already built with this little girl is so amazing. I know she will give me a run for my money throughout the years, but I am ready to accept the challenge! I have already been given the reward in her short year of life so far. Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who have helped and listened as I have tried to adjust to having two young children. I could not have done it with any other baby than the Miss Els I was given. I believe that she is an angel from heaven with the best parts of both of my grandmothers. She is confident and sassy like my Blue Grandma was, and sweet and friendly like my Brown Grandma was. They would be so proud of their great-granddaughter!

Jack's Birthday Bonanza

Three Years of Jack Weston Harpster

Wow.....as i sit here and try to think of what to write on my first born's 3rd birthday I don't quite know where to begin. I had no idea three years ago to the hour (he was born at 7:37 pm!!!!) that I would embark on the most amazing and difficult journey of my life!! Jack is so many things to me in just three short years.......I used to blog about his developments every month, and like everyone said it would, those posts have already turned into years. Jack's third year of life was the best and hardest at the same time. I guess i will begin with his language.....

WHOA..this dude can talk! I mean it should be no surprise considering he has a mother who loves to chat, but Jack is extremely verbal and has been this entire past year. I can not believe I was honestly worried about his speech development at 18 months. He is very articulate and a total sponge. Luckily, he has only "sworn" once saying "dammit" :) He speaks in 10+ word sentences and tells stories like no other. He asks questions constantly, and has the most accurate memory of any child I have ever seen. He remembers everyone he has ever met, places we have been, and even when and where he saw his first rainbow! The funny things he always says are "How's your weekend doing mama?" " Why are you being mad at me mama?" "You are being kind of a wreck this morning mama" and on and on. I can not even count all this funny things this guy says. Unfortunately he echoes me and it is scary sometimes. He used to be very soothing to his sister verbally, now he just tells her how much she is bugging him and bosses her around.

He is a semi-picky eater. He loves mostly carbs (surprise surprise), chicken nuggets, Tyee's beef tacos, avocado, most fruits, corn, green veggies only straight from the garden, cous cous, yellow curry, rice, and any SWEETS the boy can get his hands on. He only drinks milk and water, and occasionally some "daddy juice" (gatorade). When we go out to eat with auntie Moo, he tells the waiter, "I will have a milk and Moo will have a beer". Very perceptive this one. Jack is 99% potty trained, something that he acquired at 2.9 years old. He has never looked back. There have been about 3 accidents and not one dirty mess since around March! What a blessing. He has now started to ask me where girls pee from...hmmm :) He feeds himself, can fully undress, get his undies and pants on, and needs help with his socks, shoes and shirt. He loves brushing his teeth two times a day and still hates getting his hair washed.

From a motor development perspective, Jack stays pretty age appropriate. He loves then hates then loves riding his bike, he runs, jumps off small heights, likes to spin in circles, swings a mean baseball bat, has a great right handed arm, kicks a soccer ball, "swims" without putting his head underwater, and likes doing downward dog, pushups with dad and "stretches". He is, and always has been, a pretty cautious guy. He never just barrels over or under anything and never runs off in public. He is more of an observer at first, then will try whatever it is.

Jack is extremely social and loves meeting up with people for play dates or outings. He sometimes has a difficult time giving others their personal space (in a sweet way..he hugs a lot!) and idolizes older kids, like his cousin Maggie. He still has a hard time sharing his toys, but it's getting better! The person he has the hardest time getting along with these days is Elie :( He does NOT like her getting up in his space and playing with his toys. He does not like splitting attention with her, and gets in trouble most for being mean to his sister.
Jack is truly one of the most empathetic little guys I have ever met. He is very aware of people's moods and situations and does not like to hurt people's feelings. He gives hugs and kisses whenever he feels like someone is hurt (except Elie) and says a lot, "It's okay mom" "It's no big deal mom" "It was just an accident mom". I had told him once in passing that I did not want him to grow up and leave our house for college. A few weeks later he said in the bath, "Mom, I promise you I will be growing smaller for you so you don't get sad". Whenever he senses that he is hurting my feelings by asking for Daddy all the time he says, "I want my Daddy AND my mommy". So so sweet. Those wonderful things aside, he can be a big poop too!! The boy pushes my buttons constantly! I still have to take one day at a time with him. Sometimes we only have 2 timeouts a day, sometimes 10! It is most often for being aggressive with Elie, but also for hitting me at times, doing an "air punch" at me, not sharing his toys, saying naughty things, and just generally for not listening. I swear we have anywhere from 3 different reward programs going at one time for this guy (probably half the problem :))...for everything from staying in bed until 6 am to sharing with his sister, to getting dressed without fighting us. The hardest time of all was the seven week period in which we decided to have the Easter Bunny take away his binkis. We were in absolute sleep deprivation hell, and it was not good for any of us, so TYee and I decided to get him some new ones just for sleeping times. It was extremely emotional and hard for me to hand Jack a fresh binky after he had been without one for 2 months......but it has been completely worth it. He actually naps again, goes down at night without 2 hours of screaming, and can go back to sleep at night after getting up to use the toilet. As I told Tyee, I don't care if the guy has his binkis at 21 years old.....its a small trade off for sleep.
Jack's current obsession is trains...all trains, real and toy. He can play by himself for up to 30-40 minutes with his trains. It is amazing. We look for trains wherever we are, ride the MAX train frequently for fun, read and talk about trains ALL the time. He used to be obsessed with cars, but we are on a break from that right now. That being said, Jack also loves being outside in the yard/garden doing work with his dad, going for hikes, cutting and coloring, baking and cooking, and Skyping with gaga and occasionally auntie Stace. He is quite the well rounded man.
If you are still reading, wow, thank you. Again, this is more for me and hopefully for Jack to read some day. He is truly the offspring of two stubborn first borns and always has been. He is a beautiful, growing young boy who I love to the moon and back X infinity :)