I cannot, cannot, cannot believe that my very first baby is FIVE! Harper’s 5th birthday was two weeks ago. Since we had her birthday party in December, on her actual birthday we just had a low-key celebration at home. In previous years we haven’t done anything on her real birthday, since she was fully convinced that her birthday was the day of her party. That didn’t fly this year. She was well aware that her birthday is January 2nd and would not let us forget it! We explained that she already had her party, but we could do a little celebration at home. In the morning she opened her gifts from Grandpa and Grammy, then Harper invited her friends (and neighbors) Laura and Grayson over for some quick after-dinner ice cream sundaes, which she picked instead of cake.
Opening presents and playing with her new chalkboard/dry erase board:
Ice cream sundaes with Laura:
Post ice-cream bath:
The days following Harper’s birthday were absolutely crazy for us, which is why I am just getting to this post! The next day was supposed to be the big kids’ first day back to school, but at 8AM we got an email saying that due to a water main break, school would be cancelled for the week. I quickly bundled all three of them up and loaded my bag with activities so that I could take them to my dentist appointment (pretty much the worst-case scenario in my book). While we were at the dentist (they were perfect angels, by the way!), Daddy was supposed to be leaving for work, but his car wouldn’t start so he ended up working from home – thank god, it turns out. The kids and I stopped for bagels on the way home, and just as we sat down to eat, Harper grabbed her stomach and doubled over screaming. She was screaming like someone was stabbing her and wouldn’t stop, so I had to pack everyone up, get back in the car and rush home. Once home, Harper curled up on the couch in the fetal position, and drifted in and out of sleep, waking up every 10 minutes screaming in pain. On top of that, she started to run a very high fever, which quickly climbed to almost 103.
I wasn’t able to get a doctor’s appointment until almost 4pm, so by the time we go there, she was very, very sick. The doctor sent us immediately to the ER. He later told me that she was the sickest kid he saw that week. By the time we got to the ER, the Motrin had kicked in and she was starting to feel a lot better. She actually asked me to get her Chick Fil-A at one point. Ha! They did an ultrasound of her tummy and some other tests, and it turns out she had a bad bladder infection. We got home around 8:30 pm, and she was up most of the night with a high fever, but once the antibiotics kicked in the next day, she was back to her old self. Like I said, thank god Daddy’s car wouldn’t start, otherwise that would have been an interesting situation for me!
Last week I took Harper in for her 5-year check-up. She weighed 37 pounds (30th percentile) and was 42 inches tall (40th percentile). She has gained 2 pounds and grew 3 inches since last year. Out of curiosity, I had Roman step on the scale, and he weighed a whopping 40 pounds! Harper had to get 4 booster shots, which luckily I knew about ahead of time and was able to warn her. We talked about being brave before we even got there, and boy was she brave! She barely whimpered, even though I know how much it hurt her. I was so proud of her. On top of that, because I had all three kids with me, Harper had to do all of her vision and hearing tests by herself with the nurse. She was such a big girl about it and the nurse said she followed instructions perfectly. They also had her draw several shapes and a person, and both the nurse and the doctor commented that she must like to draw. Yes, she does!
Harper has grown up so much in the past few months. Just a few months ago, I could barely make it through the day with her. She was whiny and demanding and her favorite word was “NO!” Now, I can honestly say that 90% of the time she is such a joy to have around. She is cooperative, helpful, and extremely affectionate. She is very loving and attached to me right now, and does not hesitate to give me a big hug and an “I love you!” She is still my independent girl, likes to take the lead on things, and is constantly cooking up plans for her and Roman to do. But, she genuinely loves to just hang out with me, and not in an annoying way. I’ve really enjoyed the past few months with her.
Harper has also just recently taken a huge interest in Ada. I think it started around the time we moved Ada into her room. Harper loves to play with her, read to her, cuddle her and help her. Ada loves the attention, and showers Harper with love in return. It’s not unusual for me to find the two of them trading kisses with each other, or just playing together in their room. Harper is always the first one to volunteer to help Ada with things like putting on her shoes or unbuckling her car seat. Also, I think Roman is glad that some of her sisterly attention has turned elsewhere!
Harper lifting Ada up so that she can taste the muffin batter. I’ve taught them well!
Some more sisterly moments. Eating breakfast in front of the fire, watching a show together, and some kisses:
Other things that Harper enjoys right now include art (in a major way), ballet (I’m convinced she likes it only because she gets to be on stage), acting (she is in a theater program, again in it for the stage) and biking. We cannot keep this girl off her bike! She still has training wheels, but she can cruise on that thing. She goes on rides around the neighborhood with Daddy and has been constantly asking me when she will be allowed to ride by herself. It has been interesting vetting out Harper’s likes and dislikes in terms of activities. It is very clear to us that she loves performing, and we encourage it. She recently told me (I kid you not) “Mommy, I want to be an actor when I grow up because being in the audience is no fun at all!” Apparently two days ago at preschool, she put on her entire ballet routine for her class while the other 21 kids sat quietly and watched. The girl loves a good audience. She just started a theater program at the Adventure Theater at Glen Echo, and I hope to find more things like this for her to try.
Our next big adventure with Harper will be getting ready for Kindergarten – I might just have a nervous breakdown!