Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning

After the Christmas Eve Service (to which I didn't take on picture, mom fail!) we came home got our jams on and begin to prepare for Santa.  Harper had a hunch that Santa would want Oreo's, boy was she right he ate them all!!!

We have been working on counting to at least 10 with Harper and she can get 1, 2, 3 down and the says 8, 9.  So we decided to count out 10 cookies.  Yes, that a lot but I'm sure Santa shared ;-)

Harper took a few bites out of a few cookies, she was just making sure they tasted great for Santa!

 As you can see Harper was a good girl and Santa brought her just what she wanted!

She was SO excited!!  

Christmas Afternoon

Harper was a little overwhelmed when opening her presents.  She opened the first present and that's all she wanted to play with!  She didn't want to open everything else, hopefully she'll understand it more at her 2nd birthday.

We would have to take the present you just opened and hide it so you'd open the next one.

Harper and Ninna playing in her treehouse

We need to work on getting Uncle Nick to smile :/

Papa and GiGi

GiGi, Noni and Harper

Grandma and Grandpa

It was a great Christmas for us, everyone came over to our house and it was a house full of love!  I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas!

Lights on Rhema

In our town there is a Bible School that puts on a Christmas light display all over their entire campus!  They typically start lighting up the trees (and there are a LOT) around Halloween and are busy little bees to be ready for Thanksgiving night!

Here is a blurb from their website:

It's the 30th year for the Rhema Christmas lights display! Rhema introduced its Christmas display in 1982 with approximately 60,000 lights. This year two million lights will decorate the campus from Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday, November 21) through New Year's Day. The dazzling lights will shine from 5:30 to 11:30 each night. The display is expected to draw more than 200,000 visitors from Oklahoma and surrounding states. Admission is free.

You can walk through the campus and see all the lights, buy hot coco, get your picture with Santa, take a carriage ride or if it's too cold and you'd rather drive they have a driving path so you can still see everything!

Needless to say the night we choose it was SO cold but it was Christmas Eve Eve and we hadn't gone yet so we stuck it out and went!  We bundled up and powered through!  Harper just stared at the lights, occasionally she would say "oooo" "yites"

If you are ever in the area during Christmas time you for sure have to check it out!  You can go to their website and check out this years pictures!

Christmas Program

Harper's class had a little Christmas program the last day of school before break.  I asked her teachers after Thanksgiving what songs you were singing so we could practice at home.  We practiced in the car, bathtub, dinner table, everywhere!  You would ring your pretend jingle bells and point to your nose when we sang Rudolph. 

On game day you did this...

You sat in Miss Nancy (music teachers) lap, the entire time!  Your bell didn't make ONE noise!  I was so sad, but hey it's a memory for you book!  :)  Just incase you don't believe me, I have posted the video evidence. 

19 Months

19 months old, whew has this been a month, I wouldn't say it's been my favorite month :/  

You have for sure hit the terrible twos.  You constantly tell us 'No', you are throwing temper tantrums, if you don't get your way you stick out your lip, put your head in your hands and cry (well no tears are actually shed) but it sure is dramatic!

You weigh roughly around 23.5-24 pounds.  I don't think you've actually hit 24 pounds yet :)  You are still in size 3 diapers, wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 3/4 shoe.  You are still taking 2 naps a day a short one in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon.  You are in bed between 7-8 each night and are sleeping until 8:30ish.  The time change only effected you in waking up, you'd be up at 7/7:30 but that finally wore off 6 weeks after the time change! Whew!

You are still loving preschool.  You just walk right in and head straight to the slide, hopefully Santa will bring you one!  I have to ask you for a kiss and you are off and running, you don't look back :/
Your teachers still have wonderful things to say about you and they say you are wonderful at school with no attitude!  Good to know you save it all for mom and dad.

You are still loving swim lessons, you are such a daredevil.  You are starting to understand more of what you are supposed to do, but you don't row your arms and kick your feet at the same time, it's either one or the other :) but hey we have been doing this since you were 9 months and you have come a long way!  I think swim has been very good for you.

You are learning more and more words every day.  Luckily for mom and dad you are a parrot, yet!  Even though you have your sassy moments you are still a sweet girl and we are so in love with you every day!

A year and a half

I can't even believe we are half way to 2!  That seems totally crazy to me!  You have really turned into a toddler here this last month.  

You are talking non-stop (no clue where you got that from) we don't always understand what you are saying but we can understand these words Momma, Dada, Uh-Oh, peas (please), Tat you (thank you), No, go, let's go, dog, cow, monkey, grandpa, Michael, Jason, Kiki, OH MY GAH, purple, yellow, drink, all done, more, Noni, outkide (outside), baby, teeth, bath, brush, banana, up, bookie (book), paci, night-night, bubble, eat, Elmo.  I'm sure I'm missing some but at your 18 mo appointment Dr. Mayberry asked how many words you were saying and we said "A lot" then she asked about how many 10-20 or 20-50 and we said 20-50 and then we got in the car and started listing them!  

You will point to the monkey's in a book or on the wall at church and "oo-oo-ah" it's so amazing to see you associate things and the talk about them without being prompted.  When you pick up something heavy you will grunt like it's the heavest thing you've ever picked up!  It started when you picked up a heavy pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.

I have bluetooth in my car so when we call your daddy on the way to work or school everyday you say "Hi dada, Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi" over and over again.  Then when we are done you say "Buh-bye dada, bye, bye, bye" It's the sweetest thing that you realize we are talking to dada.

You for SURE have your own personality, you chose to listen when you want, you will look at us and run the other way if we ask her to come to here (ie, getting dressed, bath, putting shoes on) you are sure your own little person, I don't always love how strong willed you are :)

You are still the happiest kid and everyone always comments how good you are when we are out in public.  They always ask how old you are and the it's followed by "Wow, she is little."  I want to say "Yeah you should've seen her 21lbs ago!"  But I don't, I just say "Yep and we love it!"

Here are your stats from your 18 mo check up

Weight: 23 pounds (31%)

Height: 31.5 inches (45%)

Head: 47 cm (63%)

You are perfect and we love it!

If You're Thankful and You Know It..

Harper's school collected canned goods for the local food bank for the month of November and then before Thanksgiving each class sings a few songs for the parents.

Now when I say 'sing' I use that term loosely.  Harper's teachers did all of the singing, as you can see in the video posted below!

Here's Harper's class video

Thanksgiving this year was at our house.  My mom, sister, Michael's parents, his sister and her boyfriend and Michael's Aunt and Uncle came and shared the holiday with us!  

The only thing we were in charge of was the turkey...well if you've never cooked one before the that is a big responsibility!  Luckily the turkey was delicious and it was so tender it just fell off the bone when Michael was carving it.

Thankful for our little family!

Thankful for the Aunties that love Harper to pieces!!!!

Hope you and your family had a blessed Thanksgiving full of family, food and naps! :)

Roommates

About 9 years ago Amanda and I were looking for houses to rent in Stillwater when we came across the cutest little 3 bedroom 1 bath house that Amanda's dad decided to buy since Amanda's sister would be heading to Stillwater in a few years.  The only problem was we needed another person to occupy the 3rd bedroom.  

Hershey Park, Hershey, PA Fall Break 2005

Serendipity, New York City, NY Fall Break 2005

Amanda was on the Equestrian team (that means she rides horses, someone who shall remain nameless thought she was on the swim team) and there was a girl who was from Lancaster, PA and was looking for a place to live for the next fall.  We all went to dinner and it just clicked!

Karrie's engaged!!  May 2006

Grand Canyon Summer 2007

From that point on Karrie was stuck with us!  But I think we would all three agree that through all the ups and downs we wouldn't do any other way!  Their parents are like second parents to me and grandparents to Harper.  They are just as supportive and warming as my own parents!

Amanda's Wedding, December 2007

Heading to Montana to see Karrie, July 2009

 We have been through break-ups, finals, disappointments, birthdays, engagements, deployments, cross country moves, graduations, promotions, new jobs, marriages, vacations and most recently our sweet babies!

Yellowstone National Park July 2009

Washington, D.C. Fall Break 2005

I'm not sure where I would be today without these 2 girls!  They have been there for me in ways I can never repay them.  I hope that I have been a blessing to them like they have been to me!  Because of them I have 2 sweet 'nephews'!

Drove Karrie to California!  July 2007

Celebrating Baby Colton July 2012

Even though Karrie and Jeremy live in Montana I am hoping they get to move closer to OK so I can love on Colton all the time! :)

Ready for Colton to join us!  Montana July 2012

Meeting Colton, we are all back together again!  November 2012

Long story short these girls are like Sisters to me!  God definately puts people in your life for a reason and I am so grateful that I have shared so much with these two!