Miss Mimi Harper,

You are NINE MONTHS! Right now you are:

-spotting a dog miles away and squealing with delight

- eating "real" food like mac 'n cheese, grilled cheese (do you sense a theme?), chicken and ice cream (among other things)

-waving at the kitties and anyone else that you love at the moment

-are forcing me to turn to all of my parenting books to look up "Discipline For a Nine Month Old" so I can learn how to deal with your angry high chair shrieks when you don't get your way

-you love for us to sing through the ABCs that hang on the wall in your bathroom

-you have a new nickname given by B.T...."Aqua Baby!" (the name of your swimming classes that you start on Tuesday)

-you are making a fabulous new clicking sound with your tongue (that is constantly twisting around in your mouth...you love that new thing!)

-are finding your way around the floor to get whatever you have in your sights (even if Mama's still not sure if it's technically hands and knees "crawling") *ammendment as of 5/26/09...It is (just with a little "peg leg" -one leg straight, action)*

-are causing Daddy to rush in the door at an increasingly fast rate because you're so fun to be with

Here are your "Nine Month Stats"
from the doctor's appointment today:

You weigh: 18.2 lbs
and are: 28 inches long

50% percentile in both :)


We love you little Mimi! xoxoxo

My Ten Seconds of Radio Fame

Yep, that was THE Ginger from KBCO saying my name! (She even called my phone and left me a message too that will not be erased EVER! I'm such a sucker for celebrity encounters-even if they're local celebrities :)

Lately I've been entering any contest that has crossed my path. I've texted to win Nuggets tickets, logged onto Parenting Magazines' website every day in May to win random Mother's Day loot and have tried to be the tenth caller more times than I can count.

Over Mother's Day weekend KBCO was choosing listeners' "Select-A-Sets" to play on the radio. If they played your set you would win tickets to see Brett Dennen in Denver. ( His song "She's Mine" plays on my blog). Call me the ultimate optimist but I just thought that I would win...(I even submitted a "Select-A-Set" in Ben's name just to help our chances. When I told Ben about it, he began to list his favorite songs that he thought I included in his "Select-A-Set."
Silly guy.
Why would I choose songs he'd like for his set?! The set in his name was made up of sentimental songs that remind me of Mimi. I guess we're glad that they didn't pick his. I would have heard the end of it!)

Recently I began to think that all of this excessive contest entering was about more than winning a contest. I think I just desperately needed excitement (and a reason to shower). A concert, a basketball game, a trip...they all were such an inticing way to break up the mundane day to day I spend at home with Mimi. (That was probably the same reason that I literally cried over not getting Nuggets tickets when they came to Denver for Game 5...poor Ben. He didn't take his wife for such a basketball fan).

So you can understand my excitement when on a ho-hum weekday I heard a message from Ginger from KBCO. I was thrilled. It doesn't matter that I won tickets to hear a guy that I've never heard of before (Leonard who?) or that I won tickets to a Lacrosse game of a team that I just found out existed. The important thing is after all of those attempts...I finally WON!

(Just call me the persistent widow ;) with a very sweet and understanding husband.

In Pursuit

Mimi's new favorite past time is chasing the cats-seriously, you've never seen a girl move faster then when she gets them in her sights. I have to say that I think they're all learning how to live together. Henry even may sort of like her (a little bit).

This was too cute not to share:

*(It was all I could do to not title this "In PURRsuit" but I could just hear Ben's voice in my head calling me a nerd! Which I totally am...but more to come on that later....)*

Buff Class 101

Last Friday Mimi and I accompanied Ash and the kiddos to C.U. for a picnic in the sun! We're trying to teach them how to be Buffs early... (step one, appreciate the beauty of the campus and try to eat your lunch on the grass without getting clobbered by skateboarders or shirtless boys playing golf with tennis balls...They succeeded in both of those I think)

While the other kids ate their lunches, Mimi ate a napkin-this kid has a thing for paper. Actually as I was writing this I looked over to see her chomping on a scrap piece of yellow paper...lovely!

"Tink" and Olyvia...the girls!

Click her to see the sweetest video EVER! Gent making Mimi laugh in the backseat. She couldn't get enough of him and being with the "big kids." You can also see more cute pics from our outing on Ash' blog.

Mimi and Gent Video

I also had to add these pictures of my proud gardening moment. On Saturday Tami Kramer (the mom of one of our closest neighborhood friends growing up) took pity on my poor rock garden and delivered some plants she had dug up from her amazing yard. It may not look like much yet, but hopefully they will be big and beautiful soon!


This is me wondering if it's too early to take a victory lap...I mean, we haven't even kept them alive yet! I had enough trouble with my virtual farm on facebook... :)

Preserving the Blog Adventure...

Basically we're all agreed that blogging is the next baby book, right? (Accept way more fun because of the way it captures the silly and "everyday-ness" of life that if not documented will be forgotten.) I truly hope that Mimi is able to read these posts and get a pretty good feel for really what our ordinary and special moments were like during her first year.

Which brings me to my quest. As great as the internet is, how can I know that Mimi will have access to all of this when she is old enough to care? Call me old-fashioned, but I still love the idea of a concrete something that can be held in her hands and kept somewhere special where program updates and new technologies can't steal it away. So with that mission in mind I'm off to try and find a simple, timeless way to get these pictures and posts onto paper.

Currently I'm working on printing out the pictures through snapfish (the cheapest prints I could find) and then the text onto some great quality cardstock. I already have purchased the three-ring, 12x12 scrapbook/binder and inserts. However, I really do have a knack for over complicating projects. My friend Ashley Carlucci has found a website to make shutterfly/snapfish published books, but I haven't explored it yet and want to find out if my book can stay just my book and not be offered to buy on their site. If anyone has suggestions for me, I'd love to hear! Even if my way ends up being more complicated, at least I'll know that it was a labor of love for Mimi's first year and it can be done just how I'd envision it.

We'll keep you posted!

Say Hello To My Little Friend

(How much do you love the close up shots of her crusty beard of baby food...? Wiping faces is overrated!) That makes toothy number three for Mimi-the better to eat Sonic grilled cheeses with :)

Because Ben is at the Rockies Game...

...I have unsupervised computer time! What else am I supposed to do with myself? ;)

My Definition of A Perfect Day...

A giant soda.....

Panda Express

A trip to Target...

A York Peppermint Patty

And sharing lunch with this girl :)

Mimi and Gentry

The other night Ash, Jeff and Gentry came over for dinner. Mimi loved watching anything that Gentry was doing (and she loved his curly blonde hair!) It was such a fun hang out.
Gent is such a great combination between being "all boy" (hello Spiderman and Cap'n Hook obsession, not to mention that he could throw a ball further than me at nine months!) and a sweet, tender heart (when we were all in the kitchen he left to "go see what Tink was doing"). What a good friend he is to little Tink. Thanks for coming over guys!


p.s. I'm sure that Ash would want me to tell you that she picked Gentry up from school with that bandaid on his forehead (apparently there was really no "boo boo"...it was just for decoration! ;)

Splish Splash!

(our little thrill-seeker)

We had dinner the other night at Brent, Kelly and Sam's and I witnessed the CUTEST thing that I have ever seen in my whole entire life!!! Mimi and Sam in the bath together! I knew that our little Miss loved bathtime, but Sam made it so much more fun. There was water flying everywhere and Kelly got some great shots.
(Apparently Mimi picked up some new bath tricks from Sam too because Ben said that bathtime has been extra splashy lately...:)

Thanks for a fun night guys!

BoCo Baseball

Hi guys! Here's how we've been spending our Sundays! Check out the blog/website if you have time (it's Ben's baseball team). We're always there so you're welcome to join us whenever!

BoCo Baseball

Girl on the Move Part II

I didn't want this comment to be missed...Here's how our friend Angela described Mimi's new found movement:

"..that was a mix between crawling, bambi trying to stand up on ice, and this weird exercise we used to have to do in P.E. that was so embarassing because it always gave you a wedgie!!!"

I couldn't have said it better myself (sadly, I think I know just the P.E. exercise that she is talking about!!!)

Me and B.T.

Ben, Mimi and I are blessed beyond belief to a) have such an amazing and supportive family who b) live so close to us.
Mimi and Grandpa B.T. (Ben's dad) have been spending Wednesday mornings together for the past few months while I've been going to a Beth Moore Bible Study in Loveland. It is so precious that Mimi and Bob have been able to have this time on their own. I'm so thankful to him for being so willing. He is such a great babysitter and is so keyed into all of her routines and rhythms. It's so sweet.

Last week after my study, B.T. invited us to go to a "restaurant show" with him at the Budweiser Event Center. It was being held by a good friend of his from all of his time with Goodtimes, Ed Yancey (a major food distributor from our area). Of course, we went! (a chance for free food and an "outing!" Who could resisit!?)

The table of food:

Mimi's first experience with a chocolate ice cream Dove Bar:

She'll never look at her strained squash and turkey meals the same.

Mimi with Ed Yancey

We had such a good time. Thanks B.T.