PJ Day

This week Handley's class has been talking about night and day so today they got to wear their pajama's to school.  Her teacher was bringing donuts and they got to watch a movie too.  Handley was so excited about getting to wear her princess nightgown to school and it sure was easy to get out the door this morning since I didn't even have to get her dressed! 

"I wanna walk Harper"

Harper has started to take 3-4 steps at a time on her own this week and she couldn't be prouder.  She loves walking with us holding her hands and Handley thinks this is just as much fun as Harper.  All day she'll say, "I wanna walk Harper" (as if she were wanting to walk a dog). 

She's still getting the hang of walking backwards, not running into anything, and keeping Harper balanced, so they usually both end up on the floor.  Thankfully they think that is just as much fun as the walking part. 

 

A surprise visit from Dadaw

My dad and brothers are HUGE Jimmy Buffett fans.  I can't even begin to tell you all of the crazy places they have driven (for a day trip) to see one of his concerts.   JB is in Atlanta today so my dad drove down to go to the concert with Cameron, Trey and Stefanie.  Lucky for us he got in town a little early and was able to stop by for a quick visit.  He even showed the girls some of the party attire (leis) and as you can tell from the picture, Harper was in no mood to wear them or take a picture.  She just cared about getting her hands on that lollipop Handley was eating. 

She was much happier after a lick or two. 

Robby got Handley a new life jacket for this summer and as soon as she saw it she wanted to try it on.  Then she needed her goggles on so she could go "swimming."  Harper didn't want to miss out on the fun so she tried hers on too.  They are as ready for the lake this weekend as we are!  

Girls Night

I have a group of girlfriends that get together once a month for a girls night out.  Sometimes its a simple as dinner or a movie and other times we do something really different and fun like painting!  Last night we went to a place called Just for Giggles.  A teacher leads the class and gives step by step directions to create a painting.  The instructors make sure that everyone goes home with a painting that looks good.  If anyone is looking for a fun night out I would definitely recommend this!  We all had a blast chatting, sipping wine, and creating our masterpieces.  It was neat to see how all of our paintings looked the same, but different. 

Lollipop

Today after we dropped Handley off at school Harper and I headed to the Dr.  She had been vomiting just once every 48 hours or so for the past week.  Nothing seemed to provoke it and since it was still happening I decided to take her in before the weekend.  Well turns out that the runny nose and congestion caused by her teething was getting to her stomach and upsetting it.  Thankfully it's nothing to worry about and the Dr. felt confident that molar would be in by the weekend!  Hallelujah!  

On top of all though though, we discovered she has another ear infection.  We're trying a different antibiotic this time in hopes to clear it up for good.  

I brought Handley a lollipop from the pediatrician's office and gave it to hear after we got her at school this afternoon.  Handley usually shares hers but was wanting to have it all to herself today so I figured since Harper had been a trooper this week, she deserved her very own.  Just look how happy it made her! 

And yes, I was VERY brave letting her eat it in the car seat, but she actually did a great job of just keeping all the sticky mess on her hands and face.  And boy did she get mad at me when I took it away to try to clean her up when we got home. 

Art Show

Last night Handley's pre-school had their annual Art Show.  There was a large room with all sorts of displays of artwork the children had been making throughout the year.  Handley was proud to find and show off all of her masterpieces.  

Through the crowd of people she looked over and saw this display.  She quickly pointed and said, "I made a Panda!" so we headed over to look for hers. 

We saw lots of her classmates there last night, but the only ones willing to pose for a picture were Reese and Lily. 

This was my favorite display.  Behind Handley and Robby you can see the giant bee-hive that was hanging from the ceiling along with all the little bees buzzing around it. 

When we were ready to leave Handley couldn't quite understand why we couldn't go to hear classroom.  She could have cared less that it was almost bedtime; she was ready to go to school! 

A new park, ice-cream, and ballet shoes

We had a wonderful fun-filled day.  We started out the day by meeting some friends at Taylor- Brawner park  for a little playtime and a picnic lunch.  This was a new park for us, but I'd heard wonderful things about so we were excited to go.  

Handley was having so much fun that she didn't want to leave.  Harper enjoyed herself too.  She acted as if she was about 5 the way she tried to climb on the steps to the GIANT slide.  

Charlie and Davis had better things to do, but I was able to get a quick picture of Handley and her friend, Grace, before we left.  (It looks like Handley is trying to choke Grace in this picture, but she really was just giving her a hug and being sweet.)

After a quick stop at home for Harper's nap it was off to meet Avery, Dylan and Tiara for an afternoon of fun.  First stop - BRUSTER'S for ice cream.  I was hoping Handley would still meet the height requirements for a free kids cone and she did! 

We all enjoyed our ice cream, but I think Harper loved hers the most!  She got mad when it was all gone and time for us to leave.
Next stop was a shoe store for real ballet shoes!  Handley and Avery will be taking ballet this summer, along with their friend Annabelle, and they are all so excited about it.  You should have seen these two nuts in the store running around, trying on shoes, and just being silly.  
When we got home Handley tried on her ballet shoes again and practiced dancing around in them.  She loves them so much she didn't want to take them off.  Ever since we went into the ballet studio to register for the class earlier this week she's been asking when she gets to go back.  I told her ballet would start in a couple of weeks and she responded dramatically with, "it's just so long to wait" (which, by the way, has become her new response when she is looking forward to doing something fun and wishes it were happening sooner than later.) 

Since I grew up dancing, I just can't wait to see Handley twirling around in her ballet class.  I hope she loves it as much as I did.  

Harper's "Yummy Face"

Last week I found out Harper had cut her top two molars without my even knowing about it. Let's just say that has not been the case with the bottom molar that she is cutting this week.  She's been miserable, is having a hard time sleeping and hardly wanting to eat because it hurts her little mouth when she tries to chew anything.  

That was not the case on Saturday morning though when she got to taste pancakes with syrup for the first time. Yummy!  She's had plain pancakes before, but the syrup on these were a special treat for my girl with a major sweet tooth. 

The video below might only be entertaining to me and her grandparents, but a few things to notice: 

-Harper using her fork very well

-She does what we like to call her "yummy face" (she closes her eyes and purses her lips).  She usually does this face when she tastes something really good (like sweets) and Handley gets excited to point out when Harper does her "yummy face."  I had to prompt her to do it, but she usually does it on her own.  I just wanted to be sure to catch it on video.

-she signs her version of "more."  She doesn't do the sign correctly, but it's what she uses for "more" and I know what it means.  She does it once and then gets mad at me because I ask her to do it again instead of giving her the pancakes. Ha! 

A Wedding Shower and The Little Red Door

It's been a very long, but fun day today.  Today we helped Jen and Justen host a wedding shower for our friends Bryce and Sarah.  

They are getting married in just a few weeks and we are really looking forward to their wedding.  Jen was sweet enough to offer to have the shower at her house since I just had Harper's big birthday party at our house last weekend.  Thank you Jen!!!

We played the toilet paper wedding dress game.  The bride and groom each had to pick several people to be on their team.  Those team members then helped "dress" them as a bride using toilet paper.  It was safe to say that the girls one this one hands-down. 

I brought the pack-n-play hoping that Harper would nap during part of the shower, but she was not about to miss out on the fun.  Because all of our best friends were at the shower (and because when we get together we all just have so much fun we don't want it to end) the party ran right up until dinner time.  Harper was a trooper though and with no afternoon nap she was still going strong.  After a quick clean-up Robby headed to the lake for the night to get our boat ready for the season (we CAN'T wait to head up in a few weeks) and I headed for the Chick-fil-a Dwarf House for dinner with the girls.  We'd been here once before with Jen and Handley remembered the "little red door" that she got to walk in.  She hoped that Harper and I could squeeze through it too and so we all got to experience the thrill of walking in and out of the Dwarf House through the "little red door." That was picture-worthy.   

As we were loading up to head home, way past bath and bed time at our house, I turned around to see Handley wearing her Daddy's hat.  That crazy girl just loves her some hats these days.  This morning when she went to Wal-mart with her Daddy she insisted on wearing a toboggan again.  :-)

P.S.- I decided it wasn't worth going to the lake with Robby since it was going to be a quick trip for him up and back and since he was going to be busy working on the boat most of the time.  Plus, it was going to give me a night at home alone after the girls were asleep to try to catch up on some some things - like 3+ hours of sewing for a big project I'm doing for a neighbor!)

Harper - 12 months

As Harper's first birthday kept approaching I was really having a hard time with the idea that my baby was going to be 1!  However, the week before her birthday she really started doing all sorts of fun things and I think that got me excited for the next phase.  She's learning so many new things each day and I know that it will just continue over these next months.  In practically a day she learned how to say 4 animal sounds and has proven to me that she understands what I tell her more and more.  She's also getting good at "talking" and communicating with me.  It's so much fun to see how she and Handley interact and the way they play.  I know Harper can't wait to start walking so she can really keep up with her.  

Today was her 12 month check-up.  As the doctor was checking out her mouth she commented that Harper is getting/had gotten 2 of her upper molars and that the bottom ones were about to come in.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked, but she was right!  I never even knew she was getting those teeth. 

weight - 21 lbs. 7 oz. (55th percentile)

length - 28 1/2 inches (45th percentile) 

head circumference - 18 in (75th percentile)

At 12 months she:

• thinks it is lots of fun to wash her hands and brush her teeth
• likes to pretend to "wash" me using a tissue, a wipe, or even her sock
• knows a few animal sounds (dog, cow, duck, owl, lion)
• can sign more, all done, and cookie
• says a handful of words (Dada, Mama, snack, night-night, more, no-no, that)
• has started standing for a few seconds on her own and continues to take one step unassisted. (I give her a few weeks before she'll be walking everywhere!) 
• loves to eat sweets
• likes to brush my hair
• still takes 2 naps a day
• is very attached to Mommy
• loves playing ball
• has reached the "I love to put things in" phase (she enjoys seeing what things she can fit in cups, buckets, or baskets)
• has 10 teeth!

And just because this little girl was such a sweet big sister today, I had to share a pic of her too! 

I want to wear a hat

Robby took the girls on his run this afternoon so I could have a few minutes to clean the floors without anyone running around on them.  I was upstairs with Harper and heard Handley saying to Robby, "I want to wear a hat."  I assumed she meant a baseball cap, but when I came downstairs to see them off, this was what she had on...a toboggan, mittens and earrings.  I can just imagine the looks she got in the stroller if anyone saw what she was wearing. :-)

 

Happy Birthday Harper

Today we celebrated Harper's 1st birthday!  Handley was so excited that she came and woke me up this morning (something she never does...she always waits in bed for me).  When I opened my eyes and saw her standing there beside my bed I asked her what she was doing.  She told me she was ready for Harper's birthday party! 

It took some work this morning, but thanks to my great team of helpers we were ready come party time.  My best friend, Jen (At First Sight Photography), took lots of pictures today, so when she is done with those I'll be sure to post them.  For now though I'll share some of the ones I took.  

I had to wake Harper up from her nap so we could have time to get her dressed and snap a few family shots before the guests started to arrive.  

Outside for the kids we had a bouncy house, blow-up ball pit, baby pool full of balls, sand table, and of course our playhouse.  I didn't get any shots of the play set-up, but I know Jen did so I'll have more of those to come soon. 

I thought these pictures were so cute.  Handley was sharing a taste of her lollipop with Harper. 

And here Harper was trying to get another lick. :-)

I was so excited for Harper to get her cupcake and just knew that she'd dig right in.  She was excited about the cake and happy to have it, but didn't eat nearly as much as I thought she would.  

It was a great day for a party and Harper had a blast.  She loved playing in the balls and visiting with all her friends.  

Happy Birthday Harper!!!