5 Years

On August 18th, Ross and I celebrated five years of marriage. I have to admit it feels like just yesterday that we got married...but it also feels like we've been together forever (and I mean that in a good way). We are very lucky to have found one another and are just as "in love" as we were the day we got married.

If you are wondering what romantic gift we got one another, you should know that the traditional 5 year gift is wooden. So, we just looked out at the deck and at our beautiful hardwood floors and called it good.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

                                                                                    (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Feeding the Animals

Harper learned a long time ago that Riley likes her food - she will sometimes pass down her teething biscuit to the dog or let her lick a puff out of her hand. Harper loves that Riley is paying attention to her so it's worth sacrificing the snack.

Tonight Ms. Harper took the responsibility of feeding her animals a bit farther when she tried to feed Sophie the Giraffe. She sat for 10 minutes feeding Sophie. One puff would go into Harper's mouth and the next puff would go up to Sophie's face. We were pretty impressed with her willingness to share and took it as a sign that Harper really is a genius with a giant heart.

10 Months Old

Another month has passed - Ms. Harper is 10 months old. Our little girls seems more grown up every day. She loves to chatter - she doesn't have real words yet, but she is very good at conveying her mood and will sometimes giggle at the end of her thought. She is becoming more interested in feeding herself. She loves cheerios, string cheese and has devoured shredded chicken. She has also tasted green and black olives - and like her mom, she thinks they are delicious. Harper recently moved into the next room at daycare. The transition was difficult for her - and she let everyone know how unhappy she was about the situation. Her mood was likely also made worse by another double ear infection. However, now that the infection is clearing up, she is much more cheerful and accepting of the new room and teachers.

Iowa State Fair

Our friend Krista, and her boyfriend Danny, made the trip from Omaha to spend the weekend and attend the fair. Krista hadn't attended the fair in years and Danny had never been - so they were in a bit of shock at all the delicious (and artery clogging) food and drinks. We spent a few hours walking around the fairgrounds. We stopped to see Captain Hook whose owner claimed him to be the World's Smallest Horse. He also had a giant billboard that said ALIVE. I don't think people were questioning that fact, but the sign piqued our interested so we had to go in and check it out. He was small  - but we were more entertained by the Harper size saddle! The highlight of the trip for Ross was the Craft Beer tent - a new addition in 2012. Harper and Ross enjoyed a beverage together outside the tent. As always, the fair was good people watching. Harper took it all in - she thought the crowds were awesome. We also thought the crowds were awesome and spotted nearly 200 jazzies....and likely only 15 people of them actually needed to ride them through the fairgrounds. This year's tagline for the Iowa State Fair was "Nothing Compares" and the fair lived up to its promise. 

Bath Update

Harper still loves bath time! Recently we've moved her back to the sink. It's easy for us and Harper really enjoys playing with the faucet. Sometimes we will turn it on low and watch her try to "grab" the water. She seems perplexed that she can't hold it in her hand but enjoys continuously trying!

Bookworm

When I was pregnant I swore that I would read to Harper every night starting from the day she came home from the hospital. And, while she was little, we would take turns trying to read to her in the evenings. However, like most itty bitty babes, she had no interest in sitting and looking at a book. More often than not, she would become bored (and fussy) by the second or third page. So, my plan of reading to Harper on a nightly basis quickly crashed and burned.

However, now that Harper is getting older, she is finally starting to appreciate the pictures in books. She likes turning the pages and is especially fond of pop-up and feeling (soft, furry, etc) books. Although she still has a short attention span, we now can sometimes get all the way to the end. Perhaps it's time to reinstate the nighttime book!

Why did we wait?!

As with most home improvement projects, as soon as the project is complete you say, "I wish we had done this sooner!" That is most definitely the case with our hardwood floors.

When we moved into our home (nearly 6 years ago) we immediately tore up the rose colored carpet on the main level. We had pulled a corner up while we looking at the house and the hardwood appeared to be in OK condition. We weren't expecting perfection when we pulled up the carpet, but we also weren't expecting to see hundred of nails/screws in the hardwood either! The floors were livable until recently when the wood by the front door began to wear down. We either needed to refinish or carpet the main level - so we made the decision to keep the hardwood. We found a wonderful contractor who agreed to do the project while we were on vacation in Wisconsin. Since we needed to be out of the house for a week because of the fumes, it was perfect timing. On the downside....moving furniture out and back into the house before and after vacation! I'm not going to lie - that was a lot of work.

Upon our return home, we discovered that he did a WONDERFUL job. The floors were actually better than we expected. That darling man went through and filled every single nail and screw hole so they are hardly noticeable now. We love the floors so much that both Ross and I are nervous to wear shoes on the hardwood now - we don't want to be the first one to scratch it! It was well worth the money and effort - I wish we had done it sooner!

                                                       Before - scratched and dirty!

                                                       After - absolutely gorgeous!