Harper's Two Year Photos

We went back to Missie at ML Photography for Harper's two year photos. Harper was less than willing to smile at Missie until Ross and I left the area. Missie kept telling Harper that Ross had to potty. :) hehe he hehe. Eventually Harper warmed up to her as you can see in the gorgeous photos below!

Thanksgiving 2013

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust

Our family has so much to be thankful for this year (and every year). We celebrated with Ruthanne, Dennis and Emilie on Thursday and the Harper/Connell families on Friday. Since Dennis isn't a fan of turkey, Grandma Ruthie prepared roast (one of Harper's favorites!) Harper helped wash potatoes with Grandma - it turns out that she is a pretty great assistant! When it came time for the meal, Harper devoured the dish (as did the rest of it). She loves roast and gravy - in fact, for a while I think she was eating just spoonfuls of the gravy. (it's a good thing she is a peanut!) The meal proved too much for Harper and she fell asleep at the table. After lunch, we all helped getting the tree ready for Christmas.

The next day was Thanksgiving at Grandma Judy and Buppa's house. And, let me tell you, it was a full house. This year, in addition to the normal crew, we were joined by Matt and Lily, Jon and Aidea (Renee's friend's sons). That is a grand total of 9 kids. I know understand what it was like at my Grandma's house when I was young. The kids had a blast and the parents managed to hold on to our sanity. We had an awesome meal and a relaxing afternoon.

The Littlest Angel

She is part angel, part fairy and part super-hero. No matter what, she was really cute to watch flying around the house.

D

Crafts

We bust out some crafts from Hobby Lobby last week.  Harper had her first experience with markers and loved coloring her owl. She's my talented little artist!

Bed Time Snack

Harper always has a bedtime snack with her "poop juice" (juice with miralax). Her favorite is canned peaches or pears. She happily gobbles up piece after piece! YUM

PS - please notice Harper's Flintstone feet. I think they are adorable - and she has always crossed her ankles. She's such a little lady.

Halloween, Part II

Due to Bondurant High School having a play-off football game, Beggars Night in Bondurant was moved to Oct 31st....which meant that we could go trick-or-treating with the Harper family!! After handing out candy the night before, Harper was super excited to get on her costume again. Harper was a happy witch, Reid was a minion and Sydney was Madonna (ie dressed in a 80s party outfit). Harper was totally into the yard decorations until she discovered that people gave her candy when she went to their door. She immediately began running from house to house and yelling "More candy up there!!!!" We were out with the little kids for about an hour - which seems like a long time until you remember we have two 2-year-olds walking up sidewalks and climbing steps. Once we were back at the house, the kids happily inspected their candy and tasted a few pieces. A perfect night!

Halloween

Harper helped us pass out candy this year. She was super excited to have people come to our door and she would patiently (or sometimes not so patiently) wait for the next group of kids to arrive. She would sit on the steps and sometimes walk down the driveway to look for the next group. When we were inside she would peer out the door in search of more kids and would say "more people" while she looked. Harper dressed up as friendly witch and did a great job keeping on her costume. She was shy around some of the trick-or-treaters who dressed up in scary outfits, but for the most part, really enjoyed seeing everyone. We even stopped at the neighbors house so she could get some candy. I think Halloween was a big success in her book!

I had to include a photo of our Floating Dog Head with the scary eye. 

We have the spookiest house on the block!

Pumpkins

My pumpkin helped carve pumpkins for Halloween this year! Ok, she helped scoop out some of the guts - but it was still exciting for all of us. Much to my surprise, Harper also really enjoyed the roasted pumpkin seeds.

Fall Fun

The Harpers and Harpers (and Em) came over to work on a project and hang out one weekend. The kids enjoyed playing in the yard - so many leaves! (in fact, a week later it took Ross 5 hours to pick up all the leaves.) All of the kids enjoyed throwing and rolling around in them.

As a side note, Reid, who is terrified of Riley, eventually calmed down enough to pet her on the couch. And, after he dozed off, Riley snuck even closer for some cuddles. It could be love. :)

Grady

No-one who visits our house ever sees the elusive Gman....so here is evidence that he is still around! Grady was napping on our bed (like normal) and Harper thought he seemed lonely so she brought him a blanket and Minnie Mouse. 

Making Oatmeal Scotchies

Dad and Harper teamed up to make oatmeal scotchies last weekend. These are Ross's favorite type of cookie, and it turns out that Harper (who likes very few baked goods) also loves them! Harper was an excellent helper and was interested in learning how everything went together. I'm happy to let them take over the household baking!