Addison's Birthday Bash

Our little Addison is no longer little - she just celebrated her 5th birthday! Addison requested a party with her cousins to celebrate her birthday, so all headed to Iowa Falls for a fun-filled day. Everyone had a great time munching on walking tacos, playing with toys in the yard, and jumping on the trampoline. Addison had asked for a pinata and she and Sydney had a great time taking turns hitting it. When they finally broke it open, a mountain of candy (and not vegetables like their Uncle Ross said) poured onto the ground. 

In addition to Addison's birthday party, we also attended her dance recital that evening. This was Addison's first year in dance and she did a wonderful job - she's a natural and didn't even look nervous on stage! Harper was enthralled by the show and stayed up WAY past her bedtime to watch all of the dances. Much to our surprise, her eyes were glued to the stage for the majority of the night. Judging by her reaction, we might have a future dancer in our house!

Mothers Day 2012

This Mothers Day was a bit different than previous years - we celebrated all the work that I do for our family! Ross was a super husband and father (like always) and let me sleep in all weekend. In addition, he gave me up a super sweet card. We had previously gotten a beautiful Schwinn jogging stroller and agree that it was to be our combination Mothers & Fathers Day gifts. On the special day, we ran a few errands and were productive in the morning. But, by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, we grabbed some lawn chairs, a sheet and Harper's toys and plopped down in the yard. Harper happily played and we enjoyed a cocktail - it was a relaxing and perfect way to spend the day with the people I love most. 

The Return of the Garden

We are hoping the garden is going to be better than ever this year. Ross got it cleaned up this week and soon it will be filled with plants. A big thank you to Grandpa Dick for lending us the tiller! The cilantro is a voluntary plant from last year - we've already harvested some and it's delicious. Check back for more pictures later this summer.

Rodeo

Big dog, little baby - it only makes sense that we try to let Harper ride Riley.

Harper & Sophie the Giraffe

Harper was lucky enough to receive one of the "Must Have" infant toys of the year from our friend Sam - Sophie the Giraffe. Sophie is a rubber teether and makes a squeaky noise. Originally I didn't think it was going to be possible for her to use it - one squeak and Riley would be snatching it out of her hands. Riley has been amazingly respectful of her giraffe and Harper can happily play with it on the floor without being bother by her puppy. Harper is starting to working on her next set of teeth so Sophie is her favorite toy right now.

Standing

Although she doesn't like to roll, Harper is already working on the next accomplishment - standing! She can't stand on her own for very long, but she can do it! I'm thinking she might just skip crawling and go straight to running....

Great Grandma & Grandpa Whittlesey

Last week, Great Grandma & Grandpa Whittlesey were in Des Moines. We went over to Em's house to see one another and had a delicious meal. Ross's grandparents had met Harper at Thanksgiving last year and they were excited to see how much she had grown since then. Harper gobbled up the attention and happily chattered and flashed them her gorgeous smile. They even brought Harper a present - an adorable jumper to wear outside this summer! The best part of the present (for all of us, I think) was watching Harper tear the paper off it. It was the first time she's shown interest in opening a present - and she LOVED ripping the paper. We will need to be sure to watch her around presents going forward - she is very proficient at unwrapping. The evening ended too quickly but we look forward to seeing them again sometime in the future.