Black Friday

I LOVE Black Friday shopping.

For the past could of years Joe and I have made it a tradition to get up and  take part in the madness.

Whether is it is the great people watching or the awesome deals it is worth every minute!

This year Joe was to tired to go shopping

BOO!

So we didn't go the morning of but rather the night of Black Friday and guess what?? We scored some very good deals!!!

Here we are out shopping!! DO you notice the top part of Joe's right shoulder spit-up!!
And moments later this is what happened. . . . . .

Let's just say this girl does WORK when she spits-up!!! I honestly wonder what perctange she keeps down in a day!

My motto for all the shoppers on Black Friday!!  Also you can see that I dressed accordingly for BLACK Friday with all black attire and hints of pink!!

                                                               My girl and I shopping!!! Our biggest score of the night:

Our new Nikon camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Squeal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been researching cameras for some time now and since having Harper I realize how often the camera is a necessity so we decided to give our family an early Christmas gift with this. I want to learn to take good pictures and this is the perfect camera!!!!

Did you score any finds or deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

Thanksgiving 2011

Greetings,

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!! This year was a bit different for Joey and I were actually in our own home for this holiday. It was a nice change of pace for this Holiday and we have realized that as our family grows it will be important to create our family traditions on holidays as well.

Here is our little Turkey on the day:

Her shirt says "Mommy's Little Turkey" we couldn't get one where she was smiling and the outfit didn't last that long since she had a big episode of spitting up shortly after we took the picture!

 Thanksgiving morning Joe did a 5 mile race in Davenport, while Harper and I watched the Macy's Day parade. When Joey got home we relaxed for a bit before heading to my grandparents for dinner.

After dinner we started watching the Godfather series, have you seen all 3? I was hooked immediately.

I have lots to share with you this week so stay tuned for more posts this week!

Giving Thanks

Good Morning Blogland,

Well Thanksgiving day is right around the corner, we are having an unusual Holiday but will catch you up on that next week! Promise!

With that being said I think it is time to GIVE THANKS!!
Briefly I want to give thanks for my two loves Joe and Harper. Joe you are my bestest friend and I have fallen in love with you so much more watching you be a father. To my little cuddler Harper you arrived and turned my world upside down in the best way possible, I love you more than words can say.

A few other things that I am grateful for:
To all my fellow momma's out there for their support, advice, encouragement, and support.

Caffeine- who thought I could love you more but I do.

My shoes: for the last month of my pregnancy none of my shoes fit and it is so good to be able to wear my shoes again.

No snow, I am just plain not ready for it but I am going to work on preparing myself.

Wine: it is so nice to enjoy an occasional glass of wine

We wish all of our friends and families a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Stuff your faces, enjoy each other, and make memories!

1 Month Old

Guess who turned 1 Month Old???

Harper Regina Haluska DID!

It came and oh my it was here before we knew it! I guess it is true when they say the time flies when you are a parent!!!!

After I posted this picture, I realized that my sweet girl is so BIG!! I mean she is still a baby a newborn at that, but she has changed so much in this past month. Her eyelashes have grown, her legs seem to be stretching through her sleepers, and she is starting to cooh more and more everyday!!!

A Pre Thanksgiving Get Together!

This past weekend was jam packed with a Haluska family!! On Friday Joey's Mom and Nana arrived in town and we were very happy to see them. We had hoped that his brother Mikey would be able to make it as well but he had told us he had pervious plans. When they first got there we sat down to talk about that night and Joey let Wrigley out, as he went to the deck I heard Joey freak out!! There he wa hugging his brother Mikey- what a wonderful surprise!! This was the first time Mikey had seen Harper as well!!!!

Saturday Night we had Joey's cousin Adam his wife Kendra and their two loves Jerzey and Jace come for mass and dinner as well!!

Here is picture overload from the weekend!

Way to be funny margaret and mikey

Harper and I surprised Joey on Friday when he got home from work and were all dolled up in new Iowa State gear!

By the way did you see the Iowa State game on Friday night? Well Joe got so excited that he jumped up hit his head on a beam in out house and split open his head!! That's a true fan for you!

Our table setting for the evening!!!

I did placecards for the evening and on the back of every one said why we were thankful for that person. If you are having loved ones over for thanksgiving this is a neat idea!

Jerzey wanting to know what the bubbly was at each seat!

My very first turkey, that turned out pretty darn good!

We got out the karoke machine and Jerzey was a natural we didnt do much singing but would interview each other!!

Joey, Adam and Kendra

Nana with her two newest great grandbabies!

It was a great weekend with family and we are blessed to have you all in our lives!

A Stork's Bite

Good Morning,

Have you heard of a Stork's Bite??

Any idea of what it is??

Well it is a term for a birthmark.

Guess who has one???

Harper Regina Haluska.

The other day as I was sitting at the doctor office for her 2 week appointment I was looking at the back of her head and noticed this:

NO this isn't Harper's head I couldn't get her to sit still. Her mark is covered by alot of hair but I wanted to post an idea of what it looks like.

Typically these birthmarks go away after 18 months and Harper is lucky because hers is small and covered by alot of hair.

Road Trip. . . Here We Go

Brr it sure is cold out this morning!!!

A couple of weeks ago we were blessed with a visit from Joey' sister Kelsey who now lives in Washington. It was great because her and Tammy got to come to Davenport for a day and then a few days after that we headed out to Indianola for the weekend to do an early Christmas with Kelsey and family since she wont be able to come home for the holiday with her work schedule.

So how did a 3 hour car ride go with a 3 week old baby, well overall we thought it went really well both ways. On the way there about 2 hours into the trip Harper was hungry so I fed her. If we are traveling more than 30 minutes I typically sit in the back with her. The rest of the time she slept during the trip.

 Tammy's sister daughter Dylin, she couldn't get enough of Baby Harper and asked to hold her lots!

                                                           More snuggle time with Aunt Kelsey

                                                            Opening gifts!!!

It was a great weekend and on our way home we were able to stop off in Des Moines and see MiMaw, we couldnt be that close and not see her!!!!

Catching Up with Harper

Good Morning,

Hope you all had a great weekend!!! We got to spend some time with family, watch a good movie, do housework and cuddle our girl!!!!

I thought I would do an update on Harper since this week she turns a month old, can you believe it??? I sure cant!! It has gone by so fast!

Sleeping: For the first two weeks our girl did nothing but sleep during the day and the night. We started with 3-4 hour increments of her sleeping. This has changed though she went through a growth spurt last week and her sleeping changed and she is now on a every two hour eating schedule through the night. Mom and dad haven't adjusted to this schedule yet but hopefully we will soon!!! She is currently sleeping in our room in a sleep sack but we will be transitioning her to the crib soon! Wish us luck!

Eating: This girl is a eater NOW!!! When we first came home Harper had lost some weight so we had to do supplements and breastfeeding. She has since gained back some weight and cant get enough of anything!! Breastfeeding isn't the easiest way to feed a baby that is for sure but I know it is the best gift I can give Harper, so I plan to stick with it till we start cereal and pureed foods.

Baths: We have a baby bath that transitions from a newborn bath that has a sling, she doesn't seem to like that the best but I think that is due to the fact that she is cold, so right now I get into the bath with her and it is a fun little time we have together!

Some of her favorites: Harper loves to be held and cuddled!!!! When we put her down she typically starts to cry which has made housework and daily life a little challenging for mom and dad. Her favorite place to sleep is on our chest. She loves music playing when mom is able to set her down, on comes the music and our little girl is amused.

Some of her dislikes: Being COLD, she screams every time we take her clothes off or change her!! Brr Keep this girl warm!! She also doesn't like to be set down! This means in her bumpo or her bouncy chair. She even fakes us out sometimes and is sleeping in our arms and when we put her in her sleep sack those blue eyes come wide open!!!!

A special THANK YOU to my husband who is a big help when I am tired with Harper girl!! You are the best husband/dad Joe Haluska!!!!

Inspiration for a Cold and Windy Day

Good Morning,

Harper and I tried to get out of the house yesterday for a bit. It was so cold, rainy and windy YUCK!!!! I am not ready for this cold weather!!!!! Today we have been greeted with the same kind of weather so I decided to post some inspiration!!! Hope it helps you get through your day and survive this weather!!!!

The statement from the movie The Help- which I LOVE and hope my dear Harper girl always feels this way!


This is what I need to remember as I'm not able to get ot all the dishes, cleaning, and laundry right now like I used to be!

Loving my family of 3

As I get ready to get my post preggo body back this my I think I can statement!!!!!!

Mr. Mailman

Good Morning,

Hope you all had a great weekend!!! We took our first road trip but more to come on that later this week!

I love getting the mail everyday. I think I got this trait from my grammie who always made getting the mail an exciting thing!!! Lately Harper has been the main event at our house and even in our mailbox has been dominated for this little girl!!!!

Thanks MiMaw for my special gift!!!!

Joey and CoCo

Well the first two weeks home with Harper went by so FAST!!!! Parenthood must speed up life greatly!!!

Joey is given an additional 2 weeks of vacation when we had Harper which is awesome. He decided to split up his leave and take one week now and the other week at the end of November around his birthday!

W loved having a week with the three of us. Daddy/Joey treated us like queens with lunches out and shopping trips to the mall, and renting lots of good movies.  This guy had two sad girls as he went back to work.

Our second week home my mom CoCo came and spent the week with us and we were so grateful for all her hugs/kisses, cooking, cleaning, and fun times. Come back soon CoCo

Here are a few pictures from those weeks:

Hanging with CoCo in bed

Cooking with Dad in the kitchen

With CoCo and Dad

Dad always keeping his eye on me

Harper's 2 Week Check-Up

Good Morning to all,

Can you believe this swift change in the weather one day we are outside walking around in the sunshine the next it is sleeting-YUCK!

Harper had her 2 week check up this week and here is some of the news:

( Hi from our little pumpkin this is a picture taken on Halloween and this is what she wore to her appointment all the nurses loved her costume)

Length at Birth: 19 1/2 inches
Length at Check-up: 21 1/2 inches
This puts her in the 85% Last week I had said to Joey that I thought she felt longer but he said it was probably my imagination.

Weight at Birth: 9 lbs
Weight at Check-up: 8 lbs and 6oz
Harper had lost some weight when we left the hospital and out pediatrician assured us that is very normal especially in bigger babies. She has gained some weight since then and is roaring along! I think she has her dad's awesome metabolism LUCKY GIRL!

All of our her blood work came back and was negative for any genetic issues as well.

All in all we received a good report and will head back for her 2 month check up in December!

An Update through Pictures

Good Morning,

Here is an update through pictures. We have been blessed with many family and friends visitng us lately and WE LOVE IT!

CoCo holding baby Harper a few hours after she was born!!! We loved when you were here for a week CoCo and cant wait for your next visit!

Grandma and Grandpa Zanoni!!!! Dad loves me in all my Iowa State gear and I am looking forward to my first long distance road trip to see you!

MiMam and Nana, I am counting down the days till your next visit and love all the pretty clothes you spoiled me with!

Mommies friends: My mom loves you girls and so do I!!!!!! Thanks for all my fashionista clothing you ladies have great taste!

The Hahn's dad says you have lots of good stories about them but I cant hear about them till I'm 21?

The She She's I have been waiting to meet you girls for along time especially after all the talking my mom does about you and she was right you girls are great! Loved our picnic on the floor and cant wait for more!

Harper's thank you for all who visited her! A H cookie!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have visited, called, sent packages, and wished us well with our new arrival We love you all dearly!

Tomorrow's Post: Harper's 2 week check up!!!!! Can you believe it already?