Dear Harper — Month 12

Well, here we are at month 12. And while you're not walking on your feet, you have started walking on your knees. It looks a lot like Dorf on Golf, but I'm assuming you haven't had the pleasure of seeing anything of Tim Conway's. We didn't want to blow through our entire reptoire in the first year, you know.

So, this month you got to experience your first Thanksgiving, very American-style, complete with turkey, ham AND Stove Top. Since you are the world's biggest fan of pork and pork products, it goes without saying that you had a good time.

You have also been working on perfecting the fine art of peek-a-boo, something you could play for hours, that is if your stupid parents had the stamina for it. You've also been fine-tuning your comedic timing, answering us when we ask you questions and pointing to things when we ask you where they are.



(And you must think we're complete morons, because we're always asking you where someone or something is when said person/dog/object is in plain sight. But thanks for humoring us, kid. It shows that you've got a heart.)

You've been continuing on your path of destruction, clearing out shelves and anything else that might stand in your way. We think we've got all our bases covered as far as child-proofing is concerned, and we hope this will be the one field in which you don't outsmart us.



And if you have one true love at the tender age of 12 months, then it is certainly Lilly. We are sure that you have said "Lilly" more than once, although it came out something like, "Iiiy." Hey, we'll take it! Lilly has motivated you to do all sorts of things that have played their role in giving mommy more wrinkles, such as climbing up onto the couch and putting dog food in your mouth. Luckily, you know that you have to get off the couch legs first, so we have had any falls. Yet. When I look at your friend Anton's forehead after a mere three days of walking, then I see what the future holds for us.

At your check up a few weeks ago, the doctor said you weighed 23 pounds and were 30 inches long. And now, let's look back to one year ago, when you weighed 8.5 pounds and were 21 inches long. That's 14.5 pounds and 9 inches in one year. No wonder my back is killing me.



















You also got the dreaded MMR shot, and we're not sure if that's what caused your 104 degree fever five days later, but it did reenforce the fact for us that it sucks great big ass when you are sick. And it reminded you that fever=things up the butt. We were all very unhappy that week. But now you're back to being up to no good, you and that meddling dog of yours.

So and now, off we go, off to year two. Happy birthday, my sweet little Gum Gum.

Love,
Mama

This month's song: In My Life by The Beatles
This month's nicknames: Gum Gum, Baby Boom Boom, Baby Bear