On the Road with Brent & Erika: Dec 26, 2009

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Four Months and the Holidays

We had Harper's four month doctor's appt. last week. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs., 2 oz. (75%)

Length: 26 in. (95%)

Head: 16 3/4 in. (85%)

Harper is doing great, and she just started rolling over. We knew she was getting close because she would hang out on her side, but finally she went all the way onto her tummy. Way to go, girl! Her hair has also grown and might be a whopping 1/8 of an inch now! I rub it so much in sheer delight that I am probably going to make it fall out.

"I see my mom and dad using this thing, but I'm not sure yet how it goes."

In other news, we have been hit from all sides by repairs. I guess when it rains, it pours! In less than a month's time we have had: three car repairs all of which involved tow trucks, our sink broke, our toilet broke, our computer hard drive crashed and we got a parking ticket. I am beginning to wonder who I need to "make right" with in this world, because I think I have offended somebody! :) But we have fixed everything for the moment (knock on wood), and I'm pretty excited about our new sink!

It has been great having Brent home for two weeks! At the beginning of the week, we went on this hike we like to take because the weather was so nice. We hiked about four miles and Harper did not stay awake for long.

At the beginning...

...about five minutes into the hike

Warning...if there are any children reading this post, the following discussion may not be appropriate.

I think I am one of very few children maybe that grew up never believing in Santa. When my mom found out as a child after recognizing the mall Santa as being a family friend, she felt a little betrayed and decided that she always wanted to be absolutely truthful with us. So we played along with the traditions and had presents signed from Santa, etc., but I always knew it was a game. I knew not to tell other children, and I felt pretty honored that the truth would be entrusted to my brother and me even at a young age. Brent did believe in Santa, though, and so we will have to decide how we want to proceed with Harper next year or the next!

Since I don't have that experience to draw from, it might be weird for me to fully commit to the Santa charade. But then again, since almost all kids find out about Santa at some point and then choose to continue the tradition with their own children, it must be an overall positive experience, right? Like the fun of the magic outweighed the disappointment of the reveal. So anyway, it probably doesn't have to be a big deal either way, but it's an interesting thing for Brent and me to work through as new parents.

Harper with "business casual" Santa. As soon as we left, he began texting someone so don't think this Santa is not "with it" simply because his outfit is a bit misguided. As soon as she sat down, Harper immediately latched onto Santa's beard, and he had a difficult time prying it out of her little hand.