Harper is Two!

Ms. Harper turned two. I can't believe my baby is so grown up. The last year has gone by so quickly and she is maturing everyday. Below are a recap of some of her current developments and interests.

• Harper weighs 25 lbs 10 oz (37%) and is 34.3" (61%). 
• She is a chatterbox. When Harper is comfortable with her surroundings, she will talk nonstop. She understands practically everything that is said to her and has a large vocabulary and will frequently talk in sentences. She can count up to 10 with an adult (although I don't think she really understands the meaning of what we are saying past 4). Harper doesn't know her colors well. If you ask her what color anything is, she will answer "Lellow." (yellow). Her next response will be green if yellow is wrong. Harper also refuses to say the word bus - instead they are "bussies". And oatmeal is always "e-mow". She can say oat, she can say meal - but together they are always e-mow.
• Harper loves daycare. Ms. Ruth (from the infant room) is still her favorite. When Harper arrives in the morning, she has to pet the deer statue outside, then goes into greet Ms. Ruth and Ms. Cheryl before going into her own classroom with Ms. Cathy. She also has a lot of friends in school. She enjoys reading books, playing in the gym and playing outside. Harper's favorite friends are her cousins. 
• "She's not a biter. She's a pusher." We recently learned that when Harper get's wild at school, she will push her friends down. She seems to be pushing less the more we talk about it at home.
• Harper loves to eat oatmeal, nutrigrain bars, canned peaches and pears, ravioli and suckers. At daycare she cleans her plate at every meal, but at home she will pick at foods unless it's one of the previously mentioned items. 
• Potty Training. Harper went poop in her potty the week before turning two. We haven't been pushing the potty training and she hasn't shown too much interest, but we were so proud of her doing her business in the potty. We offered her fruit snacks as a reward...she requested peaches instead. 
• Harper is a lover. Our house is full of smooches, hugs and cuddles. 
• She is an animal lover. Although she is concerned that animals will bite (thanks to the donkey bit this summer), she always wants to love up animals. Riley and Grady are her prime targets typically. 

Great-Grandma Glennis

Ruthanne's mother, Glennis, came to visit us last week. This was the first time Harper got to meet her - and they hit it right off!

Homemade Applesauce

Harper's Instructions for Homemade Applesauce

1. Cut and small apples. (This is a mamma do.) 
2. Mush into desired consistency.
3. Add a little sugar and cinnamon.
4. Taste test for quality control.
5. Devour!

Harper's Party!

Everyone came over to celebrate Harper turning two on Sunday. Harper was super excited for all of the decorations and spent a lot of time ohhh and ahhh at the balloons, banners and signs. (It made a mom feel good to see her appreciate it - I will cherish it while I still can get a reaction out of her!) She was very excited when her guests (extended family) began to arrive. In fact, when her cousins drove up she began to SQUEAL....and held it until they walked in the door! After we chatted and snacked for a while, it was time to open presents. Harper took her sweet time with the first couple of presents. However, when she got to a tractor, Reid (who had been previously sitting very patiently on the other side of the room) jumped into action and began helping her. The two of them were like a mini tornado unwrapping and screaming in excitement about the wrapping paper and presents. After all of the unwrapping was done, Harper laid in her pile of presents - I think she was in Heaven. Finally, after all the company was gone, Harper grabbed a sippy cup, stripped down to her diaper (all her) and plopped herself in a chair to relax. Ahhh parties take a lot out of a girl...

My "Uggy" Girls

We took Riley in to have a lump removed from her leg today. Before leaving for the vet, Harper gave Riley a hug and then I asked them to pose for a picture. These two are equally uncooperative - it's like they are determined to not let me get a good shot!

At first, neither one of them would look at me.

The, I finally got the "Uggy" face. (Also know as Harper's CHEEESEEE face.) And Riley decided to give me the Uggy face, too. 

Our Little Artist

Harper was inspired to fingerprint last week so we hauled out the colors and she went to work. She's doing a much better job keeping the paint on the paper (and away from her face and hair) and created numerous masterpieces.

An Unlikely Pair ...

Harper has always been fond of animals - cats and dogs are her favorites. Although Grady is very good with Harper, his way of dealing with her is to avoid her as much as possible. He is very good at darting out of the room when she comes running towards him. Grady has the right to be nervous around Harper - she will occasionally pull his tail and, if she is able to catch him, she will lay on top of him to pin him down so she can love on him. We've been working with Harper on how to pet animals nicely - and it is helping. We even borrowed the book, Tails Are NOT for Pulling, from the library to reinforce what we were saying. She is improving but Grady still doesn't trust her.

Much to our surprise, Willie, the neighbor cat has become friends with Harper. Willie is an old tomcat. When we first moved to the neighborhood we were told he was old by the neighbors (his owners). Willie is outdoors probably 90% of the time. Grady and Willie had a brief bromance - they became fast friends and with Willie's street smarts and Grady's size, they quickly ruled the neighborhood. However, their friendship ended abruptly when Grady decided that he need to be in charge.... and consequently, Grady resumed to being an indoor only cat. Anyways, Harper and Willie became friends when Harper began watering Willie. She likes to fill up one of her outside cups and carry it over to the fence to leave for Willie. He appreciated her efforts and began to moew whenever he saw her and let her pet him through the fence. The friendship went to another level when Willie jumped (or shimmied through a hole) to play in the yard with Harper. He happily followed her around to the swing and watched her as she showed him the Barbie Car. After spending time together, Harper likes to walk Willie home.

Willie isn't my ideal friend for Harper (you know, with the lack of updated shots and the layer of dirt on his coat), but they do a wonderful job of hanging out in the yard together! Harper will even say that Willie is her cat sometimes. (Poor Grady!)

Mowing

Harper has been slightly obsessed with mowers all summer long. She would happily scream "MOWING" whenever she heard or saw someone working in their yard. Since the summer was so dry, we didn't have to mow our yard very often. However, now that it has finally begun raining again, Ross got out the mower. And, Harper got hers out, too. She happily followed Ross around the yard so they were mowing together.

Harvest

We went up to Thompson Farms to "help" with harvest last weekend. Unfortunately, it was a little wet to get into the fields, but that didn't stop us from getting into the equipment. Harper experienced a lot of firsts - she picked an ear of corn, rode in a semi tractor, rode in and DROVE a tractor with an 80' cultivator. Not all toddlers get to play with such grownup equipment! Harper is a farm girl at heart and loves watching and talking about tractors. Grandma Ruth surprised her with a small tractor of her own to bring home.

We also visited the pumpkin patch in Fort Dodge. It was changed a lot since Emilie and Ross used to go there as kids - in addition to the pumpkin patch and orchard, there were tons of rides and animals. Harper had a blast trying out all of the attractions and even managed to sweet talk Grandma into buying her a stuffed dog which she named "Teddy". This was the first time Harper ever asked for a toy at the store. She simply held it up and said, "Mine. Please." Who could say no to that?! It was an awesome weekend and hopefully next year we can "help" with harvest again!