BIRTHDAYPALOOZA!!

I won't take any credit (with the exception of the design) for the big cake. However, the coordinating little smash cake was created by yours truly.

Yesterday I was pregnant...now I have a 1 year old!

One whole year!!!! Can you believe it??!! This month last year I was... getting the house ready...in labor...and surviving the most exhausting couple weeks of my life. Now, I have a happy, healthy, and extremely sassy 1 year old. The sassiness has really shown up more in the last 3 months or so. Ever since reaching her full range of mobility, she is entirely "her own woman". I'm sure this phase will blow over soon, ha ha.
This post is primarily to show off her 1 year photos in her fun from head to toe "birthday suit". I also snagged a few pictures of her on her maiden voyage as a front facing passenger in the car. We are no longer the parents of an infant, but instead, a budding toddler.

I will post pictures from the party in the next few days.





Sunday was also our friend Murray's birthday. We went over to his family's house for a Bar-B-Q to celebrate. Here are the 2 birthday kids.




Harper was wearing her birthday bloomers she got as a present from her friend Kate.







Here are her 12 month/ 1 year pictures. That Emilee, never fail...extraordinary.

Blog Blah

I have to apologize to my loyal readers, and even to those that just check in once in a while. We are, in fact, still here. Harper is growing and learning things like crazy, but I have been so caught up in birthday party planning, I have not really been all about the blog lately.
To catch you all up, Harper is still really sweet and super cute. She comes with a little bit more attitude these days. The more independent and mobile she gets, the less "help" or "holding" she wants. Kind of a frustrating stage for everyone involved, but all part of the job. Harper currently looks like she was on the loosing end of a fight. Of course a week before her birthday, she has a bruise on each cheek and a cut under one eye. Learning to walk, and insisting on doing it yourself, is dangerous work.
I have started working a couple days a week at my old job. It's just temporary, but now that I have gotten a taste, I'm hungry for more. Time, and childcare will tell, but I think I will need to find something more permanent in the future, at least until we are ready for number 2.

I promise to keep you updated on her birthday-paloosa.


This picture is not the clearest, I uploaded it from my phone. Harper obviously didn't feel the same about the picture as I did.




Another phone photo. This was what I walked into the other day. She was, in reality, stuck. I had to turn her sideways to get her out. I would have loved to had been there for the entry.



Gotta love those cell phone cameras. This was the scene when I came out of the shower the other day. She had planted herself right in front of the door, unrolled the ENTIRE roll of toilet paper, and was eating it. Such a little princess.

Just to humor you mom

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.