Harper Monaé || two and a half

it has been so darn long since I've done any sort of update on Harper. and I've been wanting to for so, so long! like even way before Tanner was born.
when I went and looked back, it's actually been a year! the last time I did one of these for her, she was just 18 months old (HERE). man has SOOO much changed since then! no way I can encompass it all and explain our harper girl's last year of life. but a snapshot of where she's at now will certainly do! these littles grow and change so stinking fast!
time, you're such a thief. but also so amazing, because I just love how our bond has grown over these past two and a half years.
my littlest BFF. and I pray she always will be.

I have a section in my notes in my phone, and when I think about it, I jot down some of the hilarious things this crazy girls says/does.
it's the closest I can get to bottling up her cute little self.
--- as we're about to walk out of the house to go to the store.. (most likely target) ....  Harper: "I have lots of monies, do you?"
--- referring to hiccups as "pick ups"
--- when saying "cake pops" it comes out as "cake ..." well, replace those "p's" in pop with "c's" ;) trying so hard to fix this mixup!!
--- tanner was newborn and had a clogged tear duct. he'd have dry little crusties on his eye and harper says.. "crumb in eye!"
--- driving through construction.. "ooo big mess. gotta clean it up!" ... yes harper.. we alll would agree with you on that one.
--- music comes out "mugis" ... kinda gross cause all I can think of is mucus. but whateve.
--- at dinner one night... Me: "honey please don't touch my food" ... Harper: "I'm sorry sweetie". ok if you're gonna respond like that- touch my food all you want. heart melting.
--- Me: "should we turn the fire place on?" ... Harper: "ooo! that'd be snuggy and warm!"
--- anything that is mini/baby size/or just baby related... "aww so cuuuttee!" ... while holding it up close to your cheek. again. heart meltinggg.

Harper Monaé  --  my favorite things about you:
--- the conversations we have while you sit on the potty. so stinking talkative. just chatting my ear off. about anything and everything. so so cute! I've taken a number of videos of this :)
--- how you are in this stage of loving to help mom with everything. especially cooking.
--- oh how you love to "cheers" everything. if anything matches or is the same, we cheers. cups. shoes. lipgloss. toys. straws. nail polish. tv remote/toy remote.
--- your vocabulary is unreal. for quite some time it has just been exploding with each and every week! I love the conversations we get to have now :)
--- your love for kindermusik. one of the best decisions we made was enrolling you in this class. my mama heart bursts seeing you excel and love every minute of it.
--- you sing all the live long day! allll day long. it is literally music to my ears hearing your sweet little voice fill our house.
--- if it were up to you. your outfit choice would be a princess dress. every.day. I know I'm gonna miss the day you grow out of this!

this girl. she has more sass than I can sometimes handle. she's most certainly a two year old. her sweet heart and spirit melt me all at the same time. she has such a giving heart and is always caring about others. smart as a whip. it blows my mind all that she knows and watching her learn is something that will never get old. a personality that far exceeds anything I ever could've imagined. 

this girl is growing and changing as the weeks fly by. every day she is learning something new while also teaching me all along the way. 

precious girl, you are so near and dear to me. to think we've had you for two and a half years and all the joy that has come with it. I could just burst thinking about all the lessons and memories we'll have in the many years ahead of us.

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

friday favorites

a week's time has been flying right on by for me lately.
how is it already friday, again!?
we're suppose to have sun around our parts the next handful of days with low 50s temps. gonna do what we can to enjoy it before some rain heads our way. today it's our weekly mommy + harper time at harper's kindermusik, then we'll fit in a later afternoon walk with our favorite auntie and baby cousin. good, fresh air does wonders for us! and we're just so hungry for summer that we'll take anything we can get :)

a few things that have been making me happy lately!

--- family pictures. over the holidays my mom wanted to have kristal take some pictures for us while her and my brother were here visiting. despite how freeeezing cold it was, they turned out just how we all had hoped. no such thing as too many pictures, right :)

--- I've shared this on my insta stories a couple of times. and here I am to share it a third. this devotional is so so good. a quick easy, couple of pages a day. Jen Hatmaker, the author, writes in such an easy to read, relatable way. I look forward to reading every day. she speaks such truth to motherhood and the various challenges we mamas may face and encouragement to work through.
BUY IT & READ IT.

--- pier one room spray. with toddler potty time, we spend lots of time in the bathroom with more poop than I'd like to admit. this is the best spray I've had for covering up the stink ;)

--- netflix! we just recently jumped on the nexflix wagon and aren't quite sure what we waited for!

--- here's a personal (and not tangible one), but the Lord answered a huge prayer for us this week. we had an expensive medical bill that we've been expecting (no worries, it's nothing serious and we're all just fine and dandy health-wise) :) but it came in the mail yesterday and I was SO nervous to open it. when I did, it was literally a fraction of what we'd expected. thank you, Jesus!!

Happy Friday and cheers to the weekend!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

family getaway | suncadia 2016

while putting together the post + pictures for tanner turning 6 months, I ran across so many fun and sweet memories from our pre christmas family getaway to suncadia. although it was now over a month ago, I can't not bring all these treasured photos together and make a post out of it. and how much sweeter these will even be when I look back at them next year! I find that I so cherish pictures in the moment, but even so much more so when looking back after some time has passed.

so here ya have it! our family getaway to suncadia right before christmas 2016.
for memory's sake :)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Tanner Ross || 6 months

six.

SIX.

S I X...

how!!?

when I woke on friday to my baby boy being six whole months old, I felt some sentimental emotions. gave me a little taste as to what I'll be feeling six months from now when he turns one. but that seems like a lifetime away. until it gets here and then it'll seem as though it came so fast. 

it really does amaze me how time just flies. but at the same time, it is all so great. so much joy is brought into our home with our sweet baby tanner.  his precious little spirit is almost too much for a mama's heart to handle. we're seeing his little personality shine more and more these days.

I feel like I keep saying it, and I know I'm gonna keep at it too- but this age is SO fun! his level of interaction with harper is just the best. he loves to play with her and she loves to play with him. most of the time ;)

oh our sweet tanner boy! we love you to the moon and back! and back again!

age: 6 months

stats:

                   birth: 8lbs 2 oz  --  21 inches

 2 days: 7lbs 11oz

 12 days: 9lbs 1oz

                                1 month: 12lbs 4oz  --  23 1/2 inches

                     2 months: 15lbs  --  24 inches

                                                 3 months: 17.4 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)

                             4 months: 18lbs 13oz  --  27 inches

                                                  5 months:  20.4 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)
**6 months: 21lbs 2oz  --  28 inches

clothes: 9-12 month

diapers: 3

Tanner name sign // Quincyjeanart

banner // hooray everyday

F I R S T S

some big ones this month!!

--- first family trip to Suncadia + Leavenworth before Christmas (dec. 13-15) --- first solids- rice cereal! (dec. 19) --- first christmas! ---  first tooth!! (jan 6) --- sitting up! (jan 12) ---  

E A T

this boy is going through yet another growth spurt. but then again that seems to be the case since the day he was born. growth spurt after growth spurt after growth spurt. just look at him though- what else should I expect!?
still breastfeeding and going strong! my goal is to reach at least one year. harper was breastfed for 13 months, so I certainly believe it to be possible!
we usually have to go up to his nursery to get away somewhere quite for nursing because he's become much more easily distracted with all that's going on around him.
right now we are doing solids only once a day. we started with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. after about a week of that, we've been playing with some veggies too. we have a baby breeze from when harper was a baby and I love it! after pureeing the vegetable, I then spoon it into ice cube trays, put them in the freezer, then once they're frozen I move them into ziploc bags. makes it so easy to grab and heat when it's time for tanner to eat.
right now, it's been one cube of veggie, followed by rice cereal. until he shows signs that he's over it. which with this guy, become very clear! he's quite vocal at meal time and gets very into it. I'm guessing this is just the beginning with having a son ;)
Tanner has had yellow squash + sweet potato + butternut squash. the butternut squash seems to be his favorite as of now. his reactions when we introduce a new food are quite funny but as he learns the new taste and texture, he has been accepting it all very well! praying he'll be a good eater like his sister! but who am I kidding? there's probably no question in that. I mean, just look at the kid ;)

S L E E P

being off our norm with the holiday + teething + having a cold, it's hard to say what's been going on. we're definitely much improved from where things were at four months though. it's much more rare for him to end up in our bed. he's getting back to being better at putting himself to sleep after a little rocking when first going down. 2-3 night wake ups are our norm. then it's nursing, a little settling down, and he's back to sleep. not bad in my book!
naps are about 2-3 a day. usually shorter, 45min ish in the morning and evening, with a bigger couple hour nap in the afternoon. usually ;)
sometimes we'll find that he's rolled himself over to his side while sleeping. and now he's actually wanting to tummy sleep at times! though he's not quite sure what exactly is going on when he wakes to find himself there. we'll see where this goes though! we could have a tummy sleeper on our hands.

P L A Y

loves playing peek a boo :) there's just something about how he likes to be startled. and he always has since the beginning of his little life. the biggest, happiest smile!
BOOKS!! books have hit a whole new level with tanner this month. he has loved them before, but now even more so. we make even more of a point to make sure he's included in harper's bedtime stories. the way his arms fly and his little facial expressions when he sees each new page as we read through the book.  it is so so fun! and I'm so happy he's as into books as his sister was as a baby.
tanner LOVES his big sister! harper literally doesn't have to do a darn thing, but just look at tanner and often she'll get smiles and giggles out of him. many times it turns into big belly laughs too. things like... while she was sitting on the potty and while using the feather duster around the house. so funny! and she of course LOVES it too! I truly get a tad bit jealous. but it warms my heart to see them playing and interacting with each other. the two of them will often sit and play together just engrossed with each other.
he's become so good with reaching + grabbing + holding. though he isn't crawling, he still manages to get himself scooted around the living room on his tummy.

--things I want to remember--
--- he has really learned his name. we just love when we can call over to him and he looks our way.
--- I don't really want to remember, but little guy came down with his second virus of his life. another stinking cold! so much sickness was going around over the holiday and he came down with it too. SO thankful it didn't turn into anything as bad as his bronchiolitis a couple months ago.

--- I keep trying to get clothes for him in the next size up to grown into and by the time they're washed + put in his room, he fits into them. I just can't keep up with his growing!

--- hates the car. though I do have to say the last handful of times have been sooo much better. there is hope that we're moving in the right direction here!

P H O T O  D U M P

happy half birthday our sweet boy!!

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

birth

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth