Final Week

It's hard to believe that 8 weeks have come and gone. It seems like just yesterday I was bouncing on an exercise ball in our living room telling Mitch it was time to head to the hospital. I know I've said this before, but it's hard to remember life before Harper. In eight short weeks we have learned to function with less sleep, perfected our "baby voice", dressed Harper up in some ridiculous outfits, and spent countless hours just staring at our daughter. She has truly been a blessing to our family, and we love her more each and every day.

This past week marked my final days of maternity leave. I'm already preparing for the waterworks Monday morning. We're very fortunate to have both of our Mom's as daycare. Even though she'll being spending her days with Grandma Trish or Granny Deb it doesn't make it any easier on me. Part of me is anxious to get back to work and establish our regular routine. I do miss my REACH family, and work itself. But don't get me wrong, I am going to miss my days with Harper more than I can express. Waking up to that smiling face, or even her dramatic tears will be missed. I know she'll treat me to a couple "hang out sessions" in the middle of the night. 

We took our first road trip with Harper in tow. Mitch's brother Nick plays volleyball for NDSU (defending National Champs... what what!) and they had a tournament at Mankato State. The drive is a little under 2 hours, which was certainly the farthest we've traveled with her. I'm glad to report we had zero meltdowns. She actually slept most of the time on our drive down and the return trip. It was great to see Nick, it had been since Christmas break since we last got to visit with him. His girlfriend Tori attends Mankato State, so she graced us with her presence as well. It was double whammy for us! The Bison did great, and I only got hit by flying volleyballs 4 times. Not too shabby considering the size of the gym and the number of games going on at a time. 

Saturday night was my first "girls night" post pregnancy. We were celebrating Jenna's 27th birthday at HauteDish in Minneapolis. Six of us girls gathered around the candle lit table sipping drinks, chatting and enjoying some delicious food. Their menu was a little more avant-garde than your typical restaurant. I ordered the goat stew, and it was truly incredible. Mitch was on babysitting duty. I must admit, I did text once to check in and see how things were going. After our celebratory dinner Jenna, Paige and myself headed to Tutti Frutti for some much needed dessert. Yes, even though it's winter in Minnesota we still enjoy frozen yogurt. It was such a fun night out with the girls! 

Goat Stew

Much needed dessert!

I must say. I'm not sad football season is finally over. It's one of those sports that seems to go on forever. I can honestly say I enjoyed football this year more than ever. I'm finally understanding the ins and outs of the game, which makes it a little easier to watch. We also did a Fantasy Pick Em' league within our family this year. I didn't do too shabby, 4th overall. Clearly I'm not a great football mind. With the ultimate game this past Sunday, we headed to my parents house for their annual Superbowl bash. Mitch and I spent most of Sunday morning in the kitchen preparing our game goodies. Mitch worked on his bacon carmel corn and I prepared smores pops (thank you Pinterest!). We headed over a little early to help my parents prepare for the guests. I had Harper in a cute Superbowl outfit for the shindig, but within 30 minutes of being at my parents house she had a major blowout and had to be cleaned from head to toe. We're beginning to realize this is a ongoing occurrence. The party turned out great, and most of the attendees were happy to see Brady lose. We ended the night watching The Voice, which in my opinion was way better than the actual game. Also, was it just me or did this years commercials lack creativity? There wasn't one good ad, I was a little disappointed.

Harper's pre-blowout outfit.

Tuesday was a big day for me. Finally after years of waiting, Lady & The Tramp finally came out of the Disney vault. That darn vault, I hate when I can't find a movie and have to wait years for it to release. Every since I was a little girl, Lady & The Tramp has been my FAVORITE Disney movie. Harper and I made sure we went to Target on Tuesday (release day) to get the movie to add to our growing Disney collection. Last Friday, during our Mall of America trip my Mom bought Harper a Minnie Mouse outfit at the Disney store. It only seemed appropriate that I snap a quick picture of my Minnie Mouse and the best Disney movie. She will probably ask me when she's older why I dressed her up this way and took so many pictures. I'll just use the excuse my Mom always used... "Because I'm the Mom, and I can!"

With our week coming to and end, and work in my future... we're soaking up as much family time as possible. Mitch took tomorrow off so we can have "family day!" I'm not sure exactly what we're doing yet, but it should be a fun day out and about. Today marks Harper's 8 week birthday. It's insane to think we almost have a 2-month old. She is truly getting so big. She's seems close to rolling over, is babbling more and more and has been giving us big smiles lately. I'm sure she has plenty of tricks to come!

Until next time...
The Helleen's