A Lot Has Happened

I would have thought that by having a child I would be better at posting on the blog, but it's just not true. Mark's now a little over 8 months old, growing fast, and I haven't posted in almost two months. Shameful.

About a month ago Mark went through a mirror phase. We would take him into the bathroom and he loved to look at his reflection. He preferred to stand in the sink (we lack in counter space) and soon discovered the cool, shiny stopper. Bend at the waist, slide a bit, and wallah! who knew he fit perfectly in said sink. We gave him a few bath toys and he loved it. He's outgrown it now, but it was great while it lasted.


We tried to take Mark out for a few pictures near our house. He thought the cars driving along the road were much more interesting.



Today Bryce and I looked down at Mark and found him talking to himself while holding this book. He loves to read books and HAS to turn each page by himself.



My wonderful friend Cari took some family pictures of us a couple weeks back. She's finished editing them and we're thrilled! She's got tons posted on her photography blog if you want to see the good ones. These two are a couple we just thought were amusing. We're farther away from the water than you think.



And things are good on the home front. Bryce just finished his first class of the year and I got my big work project done (well, at least for the first round). Work definitely keeps life interesting, but I'm still enjoying it.

Mark is considering crawling, but gets easily frustrated. If he's on a bed with one of us, he'll roll and scoot backward to his heart's content, but doesn't seem to like the floor as much. He does love to stand against the coffee table and bounce like a crazy man in his Exersaucer. He's a chatter box---da, da, da, ya, ya ya, and crazy squeals. We love how much his personality is coming out; he's got an opinion about EVERYTHING!

With the holidays, I'll try to be better about posting. No promises.

Caught in the Act

Mark has discovered bath toys. I don't know what this poor pengiun did to him, but he's always trying to bite it's head off and is reluctant to let it go.


You can just see him thinking "Enough with the flash already!".


Things are normal around here. Bryce has his first test coming up so he's busy studying and I'm trying to get a big work project done before October. Mark is doing fine. His little personality is starting to show. He's definitely a Harbertson with how crabby he gets when he's hungry.

We're enjoying the start of football season (go BYU!) and I hope to have a better showing with my Fantasy Football team this year. It's just embarassing when the opposing team has two players on byes and still beats you. That'd better not happen again, Sarah, or count me OUT for next year's McFootball league.

How Quickly Six Months Have Come and Gone

August 27 marks six months since Mark was born. The last month Mark has made some big changes:

1) Has 4 teeth (two on the bottom and two on the top)

2) Eats solid foods (rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, and sweet potatoes so far--he thought peaches were too sour and despite my desire to see that face again, we only tried to feed it to him for two days before moving on to something else)

3) Sits up for a few minutes before falling over as long as he doesn't try to reach for something to the side

4) Loves to stand and only needs light support

5) Smiles and laughs tons

6) Physical Stats:
-17 lbs, 2 oz (50th)
-27 1/2 in tall (75th-90th)

We took Mark out for a short photo shoot on Saturday. He wasn't in a smiley mood so we'll be taking some more, but they still turned out pretty well.

Once Again, Colorado

We took a quick trip to see my family in Colorado at the beginning of August. I was out there for a little over a week and Bryce came for the last four days after a camping trip with the Teacher's Quorum. It was a bit difficult, but we were able to do just about everything we wanted to while we were there.

Mark got his first mohawk. I think he found the camera more interesting than his hairstyle.

My niece, Grace, had her 3rd birthday. My sister (with some last minute help from me) made this amazing teddy bear princess cake. It's completely edible and dairy free! Next time Suze, let's just make a sheet cake, especially when you're eight months pregnant :) We're excited to see her next week!

Mark enjoyed a new toy courtesy of Grace's gifts. It kept him entertained during the entire party.

Grammy and Grandpa Ted came out from Utah to join the party. It was great to see them and we're so glad they were able to meet Mark. Hopefully we'll be able to go and see them and the rest of our family in Utah next summer! Joy also flew in so we had a chance to take a quick picture of all of us.

We always have to stop in and see friends that have somehow ended up back in Colorado. We had a great time full of laughs and a bit of trash talk with Heather and Tyson, got to see Michelle's new digs and three kids, and had a wonderful dinner with Brad, Amanda and Jason (above). We never did send you this picture, did we?

Now we're back in Baltimore and in full swing. We look forward to the upcoming holidays and more chances to see family!

And, does anyone know how to stop some of my text from doing double-spacing? I can't see anything in the code, but I'm not that good with HTML. Thanks!

Speckled Frogs

We were given this bouncer when Mark was born. For the first three or four months it's only purpose was to allow me to take a shower without Bryce at home. Recently Mark has learned how to grasp things so we reattached the toy bar to the bouncer. His favorite game is to pull the frog which plays a spiced-up version of the "Speckled Frogs" children's song. He'll do this at least 5-10 times in a row in less than three minutes.

The toy is more touchy than you'd think. If he continues to hold it, the song won't play again so he either has to let go and then grab it again or let up on it a little and then pull it down. He caught on quickly.

We also started feeding Mark solids this week. He's just doing rice cereal right now, but seems to like it okay. Our pediatrician wants to see us before we give him other foods so he'll start on those at the end of August.

Days of Summer

We've been enjoying a slight blogging hiatus these past six weeks. Really, it's just that we haven't been up to very much. Bryce is just about finished with his two MPH classes for the summer, I've been working 15-20 hours a week from home, and we've both been taking care of our little guy. Here are a few highlights of our summer.

For Father's Day, we went down to North Carolina. We had a lot of fun just hanging out. We appreciated our babysitter (Grandma) that allowed us to go to the temple. I finally got a haircut after eight months, Mark went swimming for the first time, and we played a lot of Rock Band 2 courtesy of Kim and Jason.

Mark didn't really like the pool. Despite it being nearly 100 degrees, the water was cold due to rains earlier in the week. We all got used to the temperature, but Mark wasn't willing to wait and adjust (go figure). Hopefully he does better next time.

The 4th was pretty quiet. Mark was having a rough week so after an early BBQ with the Blooms and Judds, we decided to skip fireworks in favor of Mark going to bed at 7:30 and having some peace and quiet together. That next week he was having a little bit of a fussy streak and not sleeping at night like he usually does. Then, on Thursday, we figured out the problem: he had his two bottom teeth! We weren't really expecting them to come in so early, but he handled it pretty well. It does explain why he has been trying to chew/suck on everything in sight. We expect his top two will appear within the week. Now we've just got to start him on rice cereal so he can get ready to use those bad boys.

This past weekend we headed up to New York to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We headed up on Thursday night with the Judds and Hardings to Elmira, NY. The next morning, we drove to Niagara Falls. While Tara and Andrew went over to Canada to see the falls from that view, the Hardings and we went on the Maid of the Mist. It's a short boat ride that takes you right up to the falls. In addition to the mist that comes off the falls, we got caught in a huge downpour. It was a blast. Mark was a bit confused at why he had a big plastic poncho on, but when we got to the falls, he couldn't take his eyes off them.

On Saturday, we hit the Church history sites. We stopped in at the Peter Whitmer Farm (where the Church was organized), the E.B. Grandin Printing Shop (where the Book of Mormon was first published), and the Palmyra temple. By the time we reached the temple, Mark was exhausted so we let him sleep in the stroller.

After a drive-by of the Martin Harris farm (the original burned down in 1849), we grabbed some snacks and drove to the Hill Cumorah. We got there almost three hours early so we had some time to kill. We played some Yahtzee, ate some dinner, entertained Allie, and tried not to freeze. Apparently summer hasn't made it to upstate New York. It was probably 60s during the pageant. Once we got Mark in his sleeper and wrapped burrito-style in a blanket, he warmed up and fell asleep about 30 minutes before showtime.

After my freshman year of college (six years ago), I was in the cast of the pageant. Saturday night I finally got to see the entire show. It brought back a lot of memories. If you ever have a few weeks during July, apply to be in the cast- it's an amazing experience. I hope we can do it as a family in about 15-18 years - we'll see.

Sunday we went to church in Palmyra, the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith farm, and to the top of the Hill Cumorah before going home. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but we had a good time. Thanks to the Judds for helping entertain Mark in the backseat for much of the trip. He did remarkably well, but still had moments when he just wanted to be out of his car seat.

I've Wanted to Take a Picture of This Sign for 10 Months

This is perhaps one of my favorite signs in Baltimore and I finally got a good picture of it. It's right at the beginning of I-70 out here. For one, my family lives near Denver so sometimes I think 1700 miles doesn't sound that bad and maybe I should keep driving (then I quickly come to my senses and realize I'd much rather fly that distance). Second, outside of the LDS world, who really knows where Cove Fort is? Even on Google Maps all they have is a dot where I-70 intersects with I-15 in Utah. I wish I knew what people were thinking when they see these three major cities and then an ambiguous name at the bottom. It's so random, but it always makes me smile.

Go Terps!

We went for a walk at Harper's Ferry (a national park that has some Civil War history) this past weekend. Of course, we took some more pictures of Mark. He loves to suck on his hands and we've given up on trying to fight with him about it. The second one is my current favorite.

Wagstaffs and Colorado

Bryce finished his first year of medical school on May 14. I am so proud of him for making it through and doing well despite having a tired, pregnant wife for the first six months and then a tired wife and a newborn for the last three.

The night he finished his final our friends Devin and Naomi and their 1-year old son, Spencer, came to visit us (well, actually they came to see D.C., but still claimed us as friends for a free place to stay-jk). We had fun having them around for a few days. We only did a few things togther, but saw them at night and enjoyed a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

I had been debating whether or not to fly across the country to see my family for at least a month and finally decided to just do it. I found a decent direct flight to Denver and the swine flu seems to have calmed down, I went for it.

Our family has a tradition of surprising each other. So, since I had only bought my tickets two weeks before my flight, I figured this would be a great time to surprise my family. I only told my sister, Joy (since I needed someone to get me from the airport); everyone else had no idea. My mom is working on redoing our house and Joy was even able to convince her to do a lot of the furniture rearranging and painting so I would have a room to stay in under the guise of just needing to get moving on everything. The surprises went like this:

1) We got to my house in Colorado Springs from the airport around 10:45pm. My mom was in the kitchen (which has windows that look out to the front yard and driveway) so I had to duck so she wouldn't see anyone else in the car. I stayed in the car with Mark sleeping in the back for about 10 minutes until my mom went to bed. My sister, Susan, her husband, Brian, and their daughter, Grace, were up from Albuquerque. We knew they wouldn't go to bed until late, so Joy told them that I was in the car. Susan came out all excited and with Brian's help, we snuck Mark, me, and my suitcases into the basement.

2) The next morning Mark and I went upstairs to find my mom. She was looking for the cat with Grace so when she came out of her closet (the cat's favorite haunt), we were just standing there. She was super excited and Grace was kind of confused, but also excited. Grace will turn three in August so she's still pretty little. Joy just got back from her mission in April so to Grace, Joy and Cathi are one person. When Joy got back, Grace called her Cathi. Now, she calls me Joy probably 75% of the time. You should have seen the look on her face when both Joy and I were finally there together.

3) My dad was getting home late that day, so we decided that Mark and I would hide out that night and then surprise him the next day (his birthday). Yes, I was there for a day and a half without him knowing. We're good. My mom, Grace, Mark , and I met Joy at my dad's office to say Happy Birthday. Joy took Mark while I was still hiding and asked my dad if he wanted to hold him. He had to think for a second, but quickly decided that this was in fact, Mark. He came around the corner to see me. He was very happy (and slightly teary-eyed) to see us.

Anyway, that was long. We went out to dinner for Dad's birthday, but Grace was having a little bit of a rough day. Here she is watching a Mickey cartoon on YouTube on my sister's Blackberry (has it really come to this?). Mark, the angel child, slept for the entire restaurant outing.


Grace had been so excited for Papa's birthday. She helped him open all of his cards and presents.


In the meantime, Joy fed Mark who had woken up.



The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing. Joy gave her homecoming talk in church from her mission to Jackson, Mississippi. On Memorial Day, Joy and I went to cash in our Christmas 2007 gifts at the Broadmoor Spa- massages. They were wonderful. I wish I could have one every week, but I would never spend that kind of money.

Mark did really well on the trip. He's developing quickly. He cough/laughs and smiles regularly. He's discovered his hands and found that they are of most use to pull out his pacifier and then suck directly on his fists. He also loves this firefly. He'll hold and play with it on and off all day long.

Mark: The First Ten Weeks

Mark is now 10 weeks old. Time has gone by fast and I'm not great at blogging, so here's a picture for each week of his life.

Day 2: The Hospital

Week 1: Still with hats and mittens

Week 2: Ditched sponge baths for the sink

Week 3: Hanging out with his cousin, Lonna

Week 4: Trying to eat his burp towel halfway through feeding

Week 5: Borrowed a swing; it took him a few days to like it.

Week 6: Finally put him in an outfit other than a sleeper (except for his blessing)

Week 7: Recognizes his parents well now (can you see the concern?)

Week 8: Working on his smile

Week 9: Oohs and aahs abound

Week 10: Growing up too fast

Never Underestimate the Power of Oprah

Did you catch the CNN article or the commercial from KFC about the free chicken meals? Apparently 10.5 million coupons were printed and stores were running out of chicken. Yikes. So, since I told you to go print your coupons, I figured I should tell you how to redeem them now. Go to UnthinKFC.com.

Joy and Two Months

My sister Joy just got back from her mission (Jackson, Mississippi) on April 8. Since Mark is still a little too small for me to feel comfortable traveling to Colorado, she came out here to see us this past week. I figured while she was here, we might as well do some sightseeing. She thought she would have a leisurely vacation; instead, we were all exhausted by the time she left. Bryce had a test on Monday so we packed up Mark and ventured around the area by ourselves.

On Thursday we decided to go up to Gettysburg, PA and look around. We brought the jogging stroller since Mark generally likes it, but as it turned out, it was kind of windy and cold so we covered him up to keep him warm while we walked up to the National Cemetery and back. We were going to drive around the auto tour route too, but Mark wasn't too excited about it. We ended up doing a quick drive through the middle of the battlefield on our way back home.

Joy bought Mark some sunglasses and amazingly, he seems to like them. He wouldn't open his eyes outside unless we had them on.

Joy's best friend, Holly, lives in New York right now so she came down on Friday to hang out with us for the weekend. She'd been to DC so we went up to the Hershey Chocolate Factory in Hershey, PA. It was pretty cool, although we weren't impressed with the chocolate tasting. We were hoping for some new flavors, but instead ended up just getting the normal candies they make to sample.



We enjoyed watching movies (Joy had missed a few, of course, although some had come out long before she left) and eating cookies. Holly had to head back on Sunday night, but we had fun while she was here.



On Monday we ventured down to DC. It was probably in the mid 90s so we felt like missionaries walking the Mall in the heat (you know, that survival mode where you just ignore the fact that you're hot and sweaty and actually convince yourself that it's not that bad).

We started out near the Capitol Building and then headed down the Mall on foot towards the Lincoln Memorial.

We hit the Washington Monument next and then the World War II Memorial.

As you can see, from the WWII Memorial it's quite a ways to the Lincoln Memorial, but we had to see it. Luckily there was a bit more shade along that path.

Mark did surprisingly well on this trip too. We kept him hidden in the stroller and kept him cool with some water on his skin every once in a while. He mostly slept.

We made it to the Lincoln Memorial and were pleasantly surprised with how cool it was up near the statute.

Joy actually took this from a few blocks away. We decided that we would rather catch the metro during the reduced rate hours and miss the DC traffic than make the trek up to the White House.

We were sad to have to take Joy to the airport on Tuesday, but I guess she's got to go back and go to work sometime. Thanks for coming to visit! We'll see you this summer sometime.

On another note, Mark had his 2 month check-up Thursday. He's doing great at 12lb 14oz and 24 3/4 inches long. He's growing fast!