Our Little Valentine

We had a hugs n' kisses filled Valentines Day! This hasn't been one of our favorite holidays in the past. Forced romance was not our big thing. Forget roses (although Scott actually bought some...so romantic!) and chocolate (wait, mom and dad gave us some ). But this year, we really had fun with it! Not only did we get to celebrate the new love of our lives - Tagg! - we also got to have a great date night.

Tagg is a very, very sweet little guy. He’s got the best temperament. He’s so mellow, very rarely fussy and always in a good mood. Well, almost always. He sleeps like crazy...10+ hours every night, and always with his little bum up in the air. Sometimes we’re tempted to keep him up past 8:30 so we can play with him more! He’s very intent on figuring things out. He likes to study his toys, books, anything he can get his hands on. I swear his hair is growing like a weed all of a sudden. It kind of looks like a mohawk and we’ve tried greasing it up, but now it’s long enough that it looks kind of silly. He’s awfully handsome with those dark blue eyes and the dimple, that’s for sure!

He’s taken to eating baby food like a champ although broccoli is not his favorite (personally, I think Scott had something to do with that ;-). We’re working on the sippy cup and he’s getting the hang of eating puffs, although he ends up with more of them stuck on him and his high chair than probably make it into his mouth. I know we’ve said this before but he’s really, really close to crawling. He scooches around and rolls everywhere...if he sees something he wants, he’ll go right over and get it. He’s been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. It’s not too long before he figures out how to move forward without face planting...and then we’re in trouble! He’s really fascinated by the dogs, especially my parents’ Sheltie. We can’t decide if it’s the long hair or the fact that Gamble is more his size but he squeals like crazy and reaches out for him all the time. He's getting pretty good at standing up while holding on to things and, boy, does he think that's the coolest thing ever!

We’ve been really lucky with his health. They’ve had a nasty bout of RSV around here. A couple of our friends’ babies actually ended up in the hospital which is so scary. He had one little stuffy nose that lasted about 2 days and that’s it.

Scott did OK at the boat show. It definitely wasn’t as good as last year but they had more sales than most of the other dealers and we’re hoping they can continue hanging in there till the economy turns around. Tiffany and I just started training for another half-marathon a couple of weeks ago. It’s been tough with the weather. I hate getting up in the dark, cold mornings to go run...the snooze button is always calling! I’ve taken Tagg on a couple of jogs in his new running stroller. He likes being outside but it’s definitely harder to run with no hands! Good training I suppose. Bring on spring!!!

Happy 2009!

Sure, it's cold. There's inversion. Everyone's fat and tired from the holidays. The economy's in the crapper. But we are HAPPY! What's more fun than bubble baths? And 6-month-olds learning to eat and loving their old-fashioned doorway bouncer?! And the inauguration?! Hope. That's what 2009 is all about. Hope.

We hosted a Superbowl party which was really fun. We had kids and dogs everywhere, more Cardinal fans than Steelers fans, one person (Tiffany) who hogged all the winnings in the pool, a little man who decided to have a melt down for the entire 3rd quarter, and ended up with entirely too much food - but what an awesome game!!

Since mommy and daddy got a new dining room set and new bedroom furniture, Tagg graduated from the bumbo to a high chair. It's the only safe place to let him eat biter biscuits (thanks for turning me on to those, Aunt Nicole!). Those are a nasty mess but he sure likes them and they seem to help with the teething.

We got to spend some fun time with Grandma and favorite cousin Ashley on her 2nd birthday in January. If you haven't seen the "sliding" post from the last entry, check it out!

Tagg is definitely getting tall. Mommy is soooo not worried that he's going to be taller than her. ;-) He loves to stand up, with some help, and is sitting up all by him self. He loves almost all of his food, although sometimes he makes some pretty "yuk" faces when he starts eating! Scott keeps trying to convince him that veggies suck, but he's not buying it. Tagg has been very interested in grabbing lately: hair, earrings, noses, noses, dad's face ... anything he can get his hands on and inspect!

Tagg got into his fancy duds so he could hang out with Papa and the fam at the boat show. How cool is that hat (please, do not say anything about Newsies!). Scott had a good show, relatively speaking. The industry isn't what it used to be but he is always a success. His passion and hard work always serve him well. Lisa's job is great. The company is holding their own and actually doing really well in spite of the economy and we are just figuring out the home-control system that we got from Control4. It seems like it will be really cool once we get everything in place!

Tagg is enjoying things like "flying" and the toss game. He is - as his shirt says - 100% Boy! He likes to sleep like a little frog (so cute) and finally, at the ripe old age of 6 months, got his first cold. He is loving his baths and the super cute ducky slippers that Kris and Amy and the family bought him. Can't believe January is over already and it's almost Valentine's Day. -sigh- Must start blogging faster!

It's Official!!

We had our day in court on Thursday, January 29th, to finalize Tagg's adoption. Grama and Bompa Harmer, Nana Compton, Aunt Tiff and Auntie Leese were all able to join us in the judge's chambers for the big day...which was actually pretty uneventful. They asked some basic questions of us and Jodi, our contact from the adoption agency who has been with us since day one. She's darling and we were so happy that she was there to help us finish what we started over a year ago with her. Tagg was a perfect angel the whole time. He was pretty fascinated with his cool new shoes which were not only styling, but made a great toy!

We are so overjoyed to have all the final documentation and legal mumbo-jumbo completed, but at the end of it all we looked at each other and knew...nothing has changed. Tagg has been our son since the day he was born and was placed in our arms.

We love him more than life itself and are so thrilled that he is "officially" part of our family. We pray for his birth family's peace and happiness every day, and hope that they always know what a wonderful and amazing gift they have given to us and our family.

(PS...a little video of Tagg at his cousin Ashley's 2nd birthday party where he decided he liked fish and slides and ball pits. We like to call their basement the Harmer Chuck E Cheeze because they have so much fun stuff!)

A Christmas Story

That smile pretty much sums up Tagg's first Christmas! All laughs and joy and even though you can't see it, his shirt says "Best Gift Ever." Ain't that the truth?! It's so amazing to see the holidays through a child's eyes, in spite of the fact that he's too young to get Santa and presents and thought that a silver bow was about the coolest present of the day.

Tagg really had a haul of gifts and we are so grateful for everyone's generosity. The gifts were awesome but knowing that they represent so much love for our little man is really heart warming. Tagg now has a loot of new clothes, including a very cool WVU outfit from his birth family, and a pair of cute little bath slippers and a Santa hat from Aunt Kris and Uncle Hank. He got a bunch of fun new books that we're starting to read and new toys to play with. Mommy and Daddy got a jogging stroller, bike trailer, a Flip video camera to record all the big moments to come, and a Wii so those gifts will all be fun for him too.

Tagg's birth family sent him a ton of sweet gifts, including a copy of The Night Before Christmas which is one of their family traditions that we'll share with Tagg and a Baby's First Christmas ornament which he promptly stuck in his mouth and started chewing on! We feel so blessed that their family has so much love for him and that we're able to have them as part of our lives. It's very special.

We got to go to Grama's church choir program and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with both families, eating way too much and playing games and oohing and aahing over the baby. Tagg really had fun with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and all of his cousins. He's like a magnet for them! Ashley says "baby, baby, baby" over and over and tries to feed him her dolly's bottle. And Hunter and Bailey literally fought over who got to help change him and feed him and ride in the car with him. Pretty cute! Tagg impressed us with his first tooth (bottom left) and his first roll over from back to front. He's very advanced! So advanced apparently that his father decided they needed matching tattoos. Mom was not thrilled, but you have to admit - that's pretty dang cute! And with a little baby oil, all gone! Bet Scott wishes he could say the same!

Kris, Hank, Amy, Bailey and Hunter arrived from California with about a foot of snow to greet them. The kids loved it and made the grandpas and Scott build snow forts and have a snowball fight which was a blast. We all went sledding, although Tagg had to watch from the sidelines. He probably would have been fine with all the padding in his snowsuit, but he opted for a nap instead. Scott and Lisa took the fam snowboarding on Sunday and those adventurous, quick-study, first-timers bombed some pretty hard blue runs with us...with only minor injuries to show for it! Scott is a great teacher, for the kids and Amy! He has so much patience and a great sense of humor. If he ever decides to quit selling boats...nah!

Instead of buying gifts this year, we all decided to donate to our favorite charities and help those less fortunate this year. It was a really good decision, and helped us put the focus back on the important things...family and friends, sharing and joy.

Overall, it was the perfect first Christmas to spend with Tagg and our families. Everything we always dreamed that it would be. We look forward to many more early Christmas mornings with our family and snowy holidays! We'll have more pictures and video for part 2. Happy holidays everyone! We love you all!

Thanks-full!

We kicked off the holiday season (which, judging by the appearance of Christmas music and wrapping paper the day after Halloween has been going on for some time now) with a slight variation on our normal Thanksgiving tradition. Scott's parents went to visit the Seattle family so we had turkey dinner the week before with them and then on Thursday with Lisa's family. It was great to not eat Thanksgiving dinner twice in one day - for the first time in almost 10 years! This year we were especially appreciative of all we have to be thankful for: Tagg, Tagg, Tagg!, our families, Tagg's birth family, our friends, our health, our good fortune in these difficult times. We are very, very blessed in every way.

We headed down to Lake Powell for our final trip of the year on Friday. The weather was beautiful!! Lisa had a nasty cold which Tagg managed to avoid - there's something else to be thankful for!

Tagg is growing like a weed! At his 4 month check up, he was 26.5 inches (96th percentile!) and almost 16 pounds (70th percentile) so tall and thin. He's incredibly healthy and active. One of our big goals in life is to get him to smile so we can see the cute dimple in his cheek! The Christmas tree with all of its lights are a new favorite of his. Tagg is rolling over and loves to stand up (with a little help from whoever is around!). He's started playing in his jumpers, which he loves. Even though he's pretty tall he does need a little help from the yellow pages so he can get a real good push off. He's even learning to drive the boat...he seems to have quite a natural knack for it! ;-)

Lisa and Tiffany and our friend Anneli just completed their first half-marathon (13.1 miles!) in Las Vegas on December 7th. It was a really fun race, if you can believe that!, complete with fireworks, jogging Elvises and a run-through wedding chapel. These are not our running outfits but we look a lot cuter in this picture than we did at the end of the race where we looked sweaty and kind of like we'd been run over by a tractor trailer!

Tagg, Obama and the Utes...We Are On A Roll!

Happy Halloween!

Boo! Our Little Monster-Alligator-Dragon (depending on who you asked) had a great first Halloween. Kind of. It's really not as much fun, apparently, when people keep putting you in a hot dragon outfit that you've almost grown out of (note the highwater sleeves!) and dragging you around town so people can see how cute you are, stopping only for 8 million photo opportunities that you refuse to smile for. Hah! Take that, mom and dad! I'm no show pony - or show dragon. Maybe he'll like it more next year, when he can actually appreciate the fact that everyone we know is giving away FREE CANDY!

We went to Sean and Chery's annual Halloween party as a prince and princess (Tagg was the little dragon who slayed us...get it? he didn't get to go to the party - past his bedtime!), although Scott's outfit was notably missing a big giant sword. And armor. Alright! It was technically a Muskateer outfit but hey! At least he didn't have to cart a stapler around all night like I did, just to keep her top together. Cheap piece of .... Thank goodness for the lifelike wig, which really made the outfit. There were so many great costumes, but my favorites were Marc & Becky's beer maiden and the keg, the Wizard of Oz group, and Tiff's Lara Croft - the cheapest costume ever!

Since my costume failed to survive party #1, I ended up throwing together a Hippie Love Child costume for actual Halloween day - out of stuff in my closet. Sad but true. Now Tagg is "Puff the Magic Dragon." How cute is that?! The best part? I went to vote in that outfit! You should have seen the looks! One woman actually asked if it was my real hair. Uh yeah. And I often put flowers in my hair and wear flip flops when it's 45 degrees out just to cause a stir!