Father's Day

One key lesson I learned while in sorority (Go Gams!) is that big events require their own special t-shirt. So clearly Daniel's first Father's Day had its own apparel:

Harper and I had a great time planning Father's Day for the man we consider to be one of the greatest dads of all time. In addition to his t-shirt, he got two photo mugs emblazoned with pictures of his darling daughter (apparently next year I need to coordinate with daycare craft time). And of course he got all sorts of quality time with his little girl. Happy first Father's Day, Daniel!

As always, more photos can be found in our Kodak gallery.

Incident Report

So today we hit another kiddo milestone: first time I got a phone call from school letting me know that Harper had taken a fall bad enough to require an "incident report." Our little adventurer was trying out her new standing skills, when she stepped into a toybox and proceeded to lose her balance and face-dive onto the tile floor, cutting her lip on her teeth. Since It was near the end of the day, I headed down to pick her up a little bit early for some quality snuggle time. By the time I arrived, she was feeling better and smiling, though she had a nice fat lip and a bag full of bloody clothes. My tough little bruiser.

Here's an iPhone pic of her lip, though it doesn't do it justice. Luckily by the time we were home to a real camera, the swelling had gone down. She's gradually toughening up her mommy and daddy.

Well Baby 9 Months

How can Harper possibly be 9 months old?! Today was her 9-month visit, and once again she spent the visit flirting with everyone she saw and showing off her repertoire of tricks: crawling, waving, babbling. And she cut her very first tooth today, too, so milestones all around. The nurse practitioner we saw was great. She is in a unique position: she went to this pediatric practice as a kid, then she brought her kids there as a mom, and now she is a NP at the office. I was a big fan. She had great suggestions for trying to get Harper more interested in solids - wish us luck!

Vital stats at 40 weeks: 18 lbs 28 inches tall.
(Vital stats at birth: 7 lbs 7 oz. 20 inches tall.)

Crawling!

Big, big week. Our girl crawled for the first time! She cleared the last hurdle on April 12 at daycare (tear). Kinda pierces a working mom's heart to hear the big news via a note at the bottom of the daily report. Luckily she wasn't a one-hit wonder: she crawled right to me when I picked her up after work, then she repeated the feat for dad when we got home. Eventually we got the camera out to catch her on film the first day; she was pretty tired by the time we got the camera out, but we got a snippet of mobility. Here are videos from days 1, 2, and 3 of being a crawler.

Crawling Day 1


Crawling Day 2


Crawling Day 3
Warning: crying babies in the background.

Cocoa Beach

We needed a break. Bad. So we took a page from the academic calendar and went on spring break to Cocoa Beach: our first family vacation. The three of us had a few days of fun in sunny Florida. Harper LOVED vacation. It was as if she could sense our change in mood when we shut out work and home ... and she loved it. We swam in the pool, dipped our toes in the ocean, walked on the beach, caught a Cards-Nats spring training game, met up with a good friend from college and her new baby girl, went to Kennedy Space Center, saw alligators in the wild, and logged Harper's 4th roundtrip flight on Southwest. It was way too short, but we had a blast.

If you're interested in the photojournalist's version of the vacation, you can view the full vacation photo album (fair warning: we're talking 250 photos). Or here are just a handful.

Brunch and Blue Jeans

Today Harper got to meet one of our favorite DC-departees. Our good buddy Brian, whom we met through softball and now lives in Denver, was in town, and we were able to meet up with him and his girlfriend, Angie, at Old Ebbitt Grille for brunch. The last time we saw them, we met up for lunch when I was waaaaaay pregnant. So it's been too long. It was a great time catching up with them! And Harper had a big day, too. It was the first time she's sat in a big kid highchair at a restaurant. Up until now she's been in her carrier or simply held by someone in our party. I think the big girl loved having the big girl chair. Plus, our server gave her a toy car. Doesn't get much better than that. Oh, and it was the first time she's worn jeans. And she looked gooooood; daddy's wallet had better get used to getting lighter by way of jeans.

First food: Cereal take 2

Another day, another shot at cereal. Harper decides she'd rather eat the cereal box.

First food: Cereal take 1

Harper's adventure into "real" food has begun! Today - three days after her half birthday - Harper had her first spoonfuls of real food. Well, if you can call bland rice cereal "real food." We made it with breastmilk to add some sweetness, but still, she wasn't so sure about it - we saw a lot of fantastic "yuck" and "bleck" and "huh" faces. Here are Harper's first four minutes of food, as well as some snapshots of the milestone.

Very Merry Christmas

At Christmas it is celebrated how one little baby forever changed everything. In our family, we've spent the past two days celebrating how our little baby forever changed everything for us.

Though too young to be aware of things like holidays, Harper's presence just gave Daniel and I our best Christmas yet. Seeing her eyes light up at her new toys (and the wrapping paper that encased them), and listening to her giggle and chatter at us all day long like she does whenever we're all together, and feeling how loved she is not just by us but by family and friends near and far, all have given Christmas a renewed sense of magic and wonder for us. We're so incredibly blessed.

We got everything we always wanted for Christmas this year. We hope you and your family did, as well. From our family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases.

Love,
Rebecca, Daniel and Harper

Blizzard

There have been three major weather events I can recall in Washington in the 7 1/2 years we've lived here. The first was the Presidents' Day Weekend snowstorm of 2003. We lived in a 7th floor studio apartment along Connecticut Avenue, with one wall entirely made of windows, and thus had a great view of the 17 or so inches of snow that shut down the city for days and had people cross country skiing down major roads. The second was in September the same year, when Hurricane Isabel swept through the city; it was the weekend we were supposed to move out of that very same studio apartment. The third was this weekend. The blizzard of 2009, which quickly dumped about two feet of snow on the city, shutting down the airports and in general derailing all the hustle and bustle of the final weekend before Christmas.

The first two events were the year we were married. This final one, the year our first baby was born. If we plan any major life events in the future, we'll be sure to let the local meteorologists know that another major event is on the horizon. In the meantime, here are a few shots of the 2009 blizzard.

White House Holiday

Some of my favorite D.C. experiences involve the White House. Our first year here, we were lucky enough to get a West Wing tour with a Secret Service agent. We were his first tour group after having been trained, so all the stories and history he learned were fresh in his mind. Add to that the first-hand stories he had of guarding two presidents, and it was certainly a night to remember.

Since then, we've also been lucky enough to have been invited guests of friends who work in the Executive Office of the President to go see holiday decorations in the East Wing of the White House. This year was extra special, since we got to take our little girl with us. (She actually went in 2008 as well, but only Daniel and I knew she existed at the time.)

Christmas Tree Evolution

Harper's first Christmas tree is up! Our family's biggest one yet - for the first time we've gotten a full-size tree. It was a weeklong process involving rearranging furniture to make room for it, trips to two Hill tree lots since the first was sold out of trees, having to buy more lights since our stash was meant for shorter trees, and having to squeeze in decorating when Harper would allow it. But it was all worth it. Harper loves her tree.

Meeting the tree.

Hmm, this feels awesome.

Now my hand feels sticky.

Tonight it has lights.

Now we're talking!

Lights and shiny objects and bells?! Where has this been all my life!?

Presenting Harper's first Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving

Harper's first Thanksgiving weekend was a fabulous and relaxing one here in D.C. The holiday weekend photo journal begins on Thanksgiving Day, where we stayed at home, and I made a scaled down Thanksgiving dinner for Daniel and me.




In the evening, our friends Matt and Lindsay came over for dessert, and brought a fabulous champagne cocktail with them. As you can see, Harper was clearly a big fan of Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Matt!



Thanksgiving Friday, Harper got to meet Uncle Lee, in from Boston where he's in medical school. Harper tried to talk him into specializing in pediatrics and coming here to be her doctor. Mommy and daddy LOVE that idea.


On Saturday morning, my "Aunt 'Nette" and her husband Jim stopped by to meet Harper as they were passing through on the way to the airport.



On Sunday we got outside for some fresh air along the Potomac near Mount Vernon. As an ode to some of the hilarious outfits Daniel dressed Harper in while they were home together, I bundled Harper up for the outdoors using the most ridiculous combination of patterns and colors I had at my disposal. A fun photo to end the weekend.

Francis Thanksgiving

Getting together for holidays takes a bit of choreography now that the kids and our significant others' families are scattered throughout the country. So this year the Francis family gathered a week and a half before Thanksgiving, at Doug and Kim's house in Columbus, to celebrate Turkey day. We got all the fun of the holiday gathering, without the crowded and expensive travel arrangements. This trip marked Harper's second round trip flight in as many months. It also marked her first stay at a hotel (patting myself on the back for the brilliant room redecoration I did to turn the well-lit, cheery-wood business desk into a well-lit, cherry-wood changing station). Since the weather was so great, we even got to spend a day outside at the Columbus Zoo. And cousin Logan had a big audience - and a pool to himself - to display his jumping abilities. Here is an album from the weekend's adventures.

Homeward Bound

In early October, the three DC Ballards trekked back to the Midwest/South on our first big family trip. For a full week we visited relatives and introduced Harper to Daniel's and my hometowns. And it was a fun and busy week! Below is a slideshow/album photo-documenting the entire trip (about 100 shots per city; be forewarned); and below that is a recap of the week's events.



First order of business was Harper's first plane ride. And she was a trooper. Ate on the way up, slept most of the flight, was an angel when she was awake, ate on the way down, then fell asleep as we taxied to the gate. Couldn't ask for anything more. We flew my fave airline, Southwest, and Harper of course made friends with the flight attendants. She even got little Southwest wings.

We flew into St. Louis, picked up baby gear from my mom and sister (thanks, guys!) and headed to Owensboro. Harper was excited to finally meet her Granddad. (NOTE: all four grandparents now have unique names and spellings! Granddad is Dave Ballard. MaMaw (first syllable A sounds like MAP) is Kay Ballard. PawPaw is Terry Francis. MawMaw (first syllable A sounds like LAW) is Karen Francis. Got it?) Harper also met Aunt Rachel and Uncle Evan, though they weren't too thrilled to meet her, the little attention-grabber that she is! Harper got to meet her only living Great-Grandparents, her Great Aunt Elaine, tour the Ballard Estate and Gardens (as I like to call it), and in general get some fresh country air. It was a fun few days!

Next we packed up the car and headed back to St. Louis. Harper met all sorts of relatives, including Uncle Luke, Great Aunt Denise and GUS (Great Uncle Steve), Great Aunt Kathy and Great Uncle Kenny, my cousin Dani and little girl Lily, Great Aunt Vicky and great-Great Aunt Nellie. She also made her first trip to the Hill in St. Louis (the Italian neighborhood) to eat at Favazza's. It was more great family time!

After a full week, we headed back home to Washington with a few new fall outfits, a few hundred (seriously) photos and a whole bunch of memories of our first family trip.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

There's no better way to spend a sunny Sunday September afternoon than at the ballpark. Today Harper attended her first Major League baseball game in person (as opposed to in utero, where she attended and enjoyed several games!), seeing the Washington Nationals take on the Atlanta Braves.

Though the Nationals wound up losing, we had a great time. First, today's giveaway was a Build-a-Bear Screech for kids. It's no secret that I heart Screech (at least I did before this season when they changed from my cuddly fat Screech mascot to a skinny one - boo), so I was so thrilled for Harper to add a stuffed Screech to her collection! Second, during her first inning she saw back-to-back homers by Zimmerman and Willingham - wewhoo! And finally, Harper's adorableness scored us some special treatment from fans and ushers, with folks offering us better seats (easier to get to and in a less crowded section) and offering to take family photos for us.

A smashing success for what is sure to be the first of many family baseball days.

Mawmaw Francis (aka Mama Fran) visit

Harper had a blast spending the week after Labor Day with Mawmaw Francis! And we certainly packed in the activities.
Harper was a hit picking mawmaw up at BWI on arrival day! She loved all the lights and sounds and excitement at the airport. Mawmaw got Harper; Rebecca got the bags. That evening, we picked Daniel up from work and headed down to the Mall to see the World War II memorial and a gorgeous Washington sunset.











The next day's adventures took us to Logan Circle and Falls Church. We went to get my haircut -- my man Mark swooned over Harper -- and then off to Babies R Us to return/buy some baby gear. Mom and Harper waited patiently while I compared baby seats. Here's the one I picked for Harper, and even though she's not quite ready for it yet, she already likes it.


On day three our big adventure was an afternoon in Old Town Alexandria, where we went out for Harper's first girls' lunch -- at the Fish Market on King Street. Our next stop was a children's bookstore, since grandma Francis is a big-time supporter of independently owned bookstores. "Hooray for Books!" was the name of the store -- too cute. Mawmaw bought Harper and Logan some DC-themed board books, and a fun wind-up toy treat for big cousin Logan.

The last day of her trip, we just kicked it around the house (a few of my fave house pics are below). Harper is madly in love with her mawmaw. We had such a great time and can't wait for her next visit!