Not the first...but by far the best!

Although this was in fact Harper's 3rd experience with snow, it was the only one we were all able to enjoy. Her first snow was back in September, yes September, when we were in Crested Butte, CO. It was actually the last day of summer, and the last day of our trip, so we were only able to sneak in a few pictures on the way to the airport. Our second experience with snow was back in December driving down from my cousins wedding in DC. See earlier blog for details. It's too painful to resurrect.

Anyway...

It started snowing early last night and was fairly continuous throughout the night and day today. Adam didn't go into work, so we all just hung out in front of the fire and enjoyed being lazy together. We did drag ourselves outside for a little while and took a walk around the neighborhood, then played with Ella in the backyard. We have been so jealous of the kids sledding down our hill. They've been out there since the first break of sunlight and haven't let up all day. I'm sure next year Harper will be ready and willing to join them. We were told when we moved in that it was the neighborhood sledding hill...they weren't kidding.


Notice the road sign in the background. I was in this picture after all. Ha Ha

It's like a bad 80's exercise video

She's not a puppy anymore.

So why in Gods name does she continue to act like one? Ella is 4 years old today. Yes 4 years old. When she was 6 months old we said..."oh she'll calm down in a year or so", WRONG. When she was 2, everyone else told us..."she's still a puppy, give her another year", WRONG. She is every bit as much, and some days even more, of the pain in the butt she was then. Lucky for her, Harper is completely enamored with her, and vise versa. I guess we'll have to keep her at this point.

And here they are...

Here are some of the pictures I've gotten from her 9 month session. We braved the cold and a bad mood that day but the pictures came out great nontheless.

Breaker Breaker

You have to be THIS big to ride this ride

Harper finally hit the mark. She is 20lbs and almost 29" tall, which means... BIG GIRL CAR SEAT TIME!!! Harper has been very unhappy in her infant seat for a long time but didn't quite qualify for the larger seat. This new seat is not only a lot more comfortable for her, but brings with it much more pleasant car rides for Adam and myself. We are a little over a week in and so far so good. It's so sad seeing her in it. She looks like such a big girl.

Why do people insist on bringing their babies??!!

This was the question Adam and I always asked ourselves whenever we saw a baby at one of the hockey games. It's just not the place for them, they can't possibly get anything out of it, and why can't the parents just spend ONE night away from their kid?

Well, I concede. We took Harper to her first game last Sunday. The game was an early one, 5 o'clock instead of 7. We made sure she was warm and toasty with lots of layers and a thick hat to drown out the noise. She wore her 'canes jersey given to her by our friends Jim and MJ, so it only seemed right that they were there for her maiden game. We held off as long as we could, but felt that with her being 10 months old and it being an early game, the time was just right. As for the question...why can't we just spend one night away from her? Well, we can, and we have, but honestly, she is so good, we love being with her and taking her places. She gets so much attention, she makes us look good.

Harper did great the whole time. She definitely couldn't have cared less about being there, but did show some interest in watching the players and the lights. She even ate her dinner there with everyone. We had our/her picture taken about 20 times from the Hurricane's website photographers. They found us everywhere, and couldn't get enough of Miss Harper. She didn't give them a smile once, that's our girl. Overall, it was a good experience and she might even make it to another game this season if they have another early one.

Showing Support

Our little girl knows how to show her support for her dads Alma mater. The ECU Pirates made it to the Liberty Bowl this season and played against the Arkansas Razorbacks. It was a good game with the exception of the 3 missed opportunities for the Pirates to win. I guess that kicker will be kicking himself for a good long time.

Times Have Definitely Changed...For the Better

Ringing in the New Year (decade) was a little different this year but, I was with 4 of my favorite people in the world...Adam, Harper, Emilee, and Mike. Undoubtedly, this was my best one yet. Hope everyone had a happy and safe celebration.