Just because!

I had to post up this photo - I don't know about anyone else, but we think Kate is just the "Bees Knees"!



Oh, and, here's a photo of our good friend, Mr. Gavin Goin! He REALLY enjoyed the chocolate fountain at Jesse and Amy's baby shower!

Pampering, Eating & Rolling

Tomorrow we are going to attend our very first "Pampered Chef" party. Not only is it our first "Pampered Chef" party, but it might be the very first party of this ilk to be hosted by a straight guy! A friend of ours decided to host one, and I believe that he largely decided to do so on my recommendation. I spent a large portion of a recent evening trying to convince him to host this party, after all we do need a gravy boat for next Thanksgiving!

Kate's doing great. In the last couple of days she has almost doubled the amount of milk she drinks before bed. We had to graduate from the small bottles to a big bottle and tonight after 7 ounces she's still hungry!

BIG NEWS: Kate rolled over all on her own for the first time today!! Go figure, we were videotaping for a couple minutes while she was working on it, but then after we turned off the camera there she went - rolled right over!! She didn't replicate it after the first time, but something tells me she'll be doing it more and more as time goes on.

Oh - I can't believe I haven't written about this yet - I made what I consider to quite possibly be the best purchase of my adult life! I bought our very own Roomba, the vacuuming Robot! We've been calling her Rosie, and she is just amazing. Turn her on, go run an errand and by the time you get home your room is vacuumed and she's parked herself back in her "dock" charging up for the next room! Not to mention that she picks up dog hair like a charm! The funny thing is that I think I might have to sue for "idea infringement". I'm only half kidding - I was recently going through a container of stuff my mom had saved from my elementary school days and one of my school projects was a story about an invention idea. My story was about a robot that would clean for you!! Voila - here we have it! LOVE IT.

No more feeling guilty that Jeff vacuums more than I do (o.k., I'll be honest - he's the only one who used to vacuum). Thank god for Rosie!

Something "Solid"

It's been a landmark day for us, here in the Harper household - Kate got the opportunity to try out some "solid" food! First of all there really is nothing "solid" about it, but at least it was something other than milk! We are so excited to be doing something other than milk in this house. Despite the fact that baby food comes with its own complexities and messiness, at least is also comes with some variety! So we mashed up a banana and gave it a whirl, and boy did Kate love it. Although it probably was more entertaining for Jeff and I than it was for Kate.

So, here is a video with the highlights of the event. We started out using a sort of "baby feeder" tool that is basically a cloth mesh container where you insert some mushed up food and then the baby sucks out the food. You'll see how successful that was! Then we just did the traditional spoon-in mouth technique which worked well.

Enjoy the clip!

Packer Prayer

Compliments of a good friend of mine, Kelly Schneider:

Our Favre,

who are in Lambeau,

Hallowed be thy arm.

The bowl will come,

it will be won,

in Phoenix as it is in Lambeau.

Give us this Sunday,

our weekly win,

and give us many touchdown passes,

but do not let others pass against us.

Lead us not into frustration,

but deliver us to the valley of the sun.

For thine is the MVP, the best of the NFC,

and glory of the Cheeseheads,

now and forever.

Amen.

To be Green or not to be Green...

We are getting ready to do some remodeling in our home and we are weighing the positives and negatives of "going green" on some of the choices we need to make. Since we don't have too much experience in this area, I'm asking for your comments/opinions/suggestions.

Today we came upon an option for hardwood floors that is a "green" option. It is stranded woven bamboo from North China, which is supposed to be a renewable resource and more eco-friendly than other hardwood floor options. Bamboo does have a reputation of being very "soft", but apparently this stranded & woven version is "harder than oak". We did get a sample, and yes it is VERY hard and durable wood, which does bode well for us seeing as we have two 50lb dogs and a child .

Here are the downsides/questions we have:
Is this sort of bamboo actually durable?
We are unsure if it can be sanded & refinished...
Are there any other "green" options out there that are mainstream enough to increase the value of our home? We really would like to do hardwoods, though.

Any advice or ideas you have are welcome! Thanks!

This bear's pretty lucky!

We had to do it, there was no alternative. The same bear rug that I was exposed to as a naked infant has now been the welcome recipient of a naked Kate Harper!

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A

There's nowhere quite like the Y, right? We LOVE the Y. The best benefit of the Y is that the folks who work out there aren't wearing those "cute" and skimpy workout clothes that make you feel sloppy in your sweats and tee-shirt... As long as we can steer clear of the occasional hairy, sweaty, creepy guy lurking in the sauna we'll have a great time at the Y. Nothing says it better than the tried and true lyrics:

You can get yourself cleaned, you can have a good meal, You can do whatever you feel...

I went today to join up and one of the biggest benefits is that they offer a childcare area and adult caretakers included in the membership costs. So we're planning to take one of the first plunges of parenthood, we are going to start having Kate hang out in the YMCA daycare while we get to work out!! It'll be the first time we are leaving her with someone other than immediate family members.

I gotta tell you, I can't wait! It will feel so good to work out again and the ladies who work at the day care seem very nice and capable. On the plus side, there are always two adults in the day care area and they can always come and find us in case she is really unhappy or something. As far as I can tell the benefits are great - Jeff can get some "sanity" time during the day and I can go work out at night after work. Maybe we'll get into shape in the mean time (that would be a shocker, wouldn't it!?!)! Kate will also get used to strangers and some socialization with other children will probably be healthy too. I'm sure she'll be exposed to some new germs and with that will come some challenges, but her immune system will probably be stronger in the end, right? I'm sure we'll have to remind ourselves of that when she has her first cold.

So, wish us luck - I'm planning to hit the gym either tomorrow or Saturday!!
After all, It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.