Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday.

It's a big one and Harper has a special message for her favorite Pap!



Happy birthday, dad! We love you!

2.20.2012

Dear Harper,
Happy Birthday!

One thousand four hundred and sixty two days ago, you were born. And every day since then, you have been a source of absolute joy for your dad and me.

You have had a pretty exciting year. You went to disney world twice, started playing golf, and performed in two dance recitals!

While I'm pretty sure that I can still beat you at a round of putt-putt, your dancing skills have far surpassed my own. I am amazed at how naturally rhythmic and graceful you are. Sitting in the audience watching you dance at your Christmas recital, I was taken aback with the amount of  pride I felt for you. I have accomplished some big things in my life, but I think I was more proud of you on that day than I was for any of my past accomplishments. And it was just a blip on your little radar. Not really a big deal for you - certainly nothing earth shattering. You weren't even nervous about it.

I can't wait to see what you accomplish that will be earth shattering. I know it's coming. No pressure or anything.

I just can't believe that four years could go by so quickly. I feel like my little girl is slipping through my fingers. While I thoroughly enjoy watching you turn into a beautiful, smart, and kind young lady, I do admit that sometimes I miss my sweet little baby Harper.

Mostly it's when you are crying in order to convince me to let you wear a puffy princess dress to school instead of the jeans and t-shirt I picked out for you. Those are the times when I miss my easy going adaptable, fashion unconscious, little baby girl.

But honestly, I wouldn't trade you or any of the glitter and accessories that come with you for anything. I love you more than I ever thought possible.

Happy birthday.
Love,
Mom

Goldilocks

Harper went to a birthday party for one of her buddies on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day for a party and all of the kids had a ton of fun. The party was at the birthday boy's house (brave mom) and for the entertainment, the music teacher from his daycare came and sang songs. This was right up Harper's alley! 

Harper and Robert were captivated by the singing! Robert's mom has a great blog. You should check it out!

Robert's mom sent me an email yesterday and told me that Robert is in love! He can't remember Harper's name, but he keeps asking to play with "Goldilocks"! How sweet!

The kids were singing a song about firefighters and pretending to drive a fire truck!

All good parties end with a good piece of cake and this one was no exception!

Now Send It To Him

Today is my dad's birthday and Harper has a special message for him!

Birthday Recap

The night before the party, Harper and Grandma assembled the goodie bags. They had quite a system. 

No birthday outfit would be complete without a tiara.

Party time!

Harper and all of her friends from school had a blast playing at The Monkey's Treehouse!

Then it was time for cake. Harper requested a ballet/princess cake. I think this fit the bill pretty well.

The kid who loves to be the center of attention was a little overwhelmed by everyone singing Happy Birthday to her.

Blowing out the candles

She informed me that this was a 3 year old bite. 

I think she liked it. 

The Day After

My least favorite day of the year used to be the day after my birthday. Now my least favorite day is definitely the day after Harper's birthday.

Not only are all of the birthday festivities over, but Grandma and Pap also went back to Florida this morning.

The only one more upset about this than I am is Harper. She thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them. I think the feeling was mutual. 

2.20.2011

Dear Harper,

3? Really? It just can't be. Yesterday, you looked like this.

Today, this.

Slow down. I can't keep this pace up.

You've had a big year filled with lots of firsts - first trip to Disney World, first swimming lesson, first pony ride, first dance lesson.  You pack a lot into a year.

I think we can call this past year your pink period because of your love of all things pink and girly. From the tutus that you insist on wearing to school (and to bed), to the sparkley princess lip gloss that often shellacks your lips (and/or face, hands, etc), it's official. You're a girly girl.

And like any good girly girl, you have a strong connection with baby dolls. It's fun to watch you play "big sister" as you like to call it, although when you announce to people that you are the big sister, I often have some explaining to do as you are still an only child as of now. In any case, I love watching you read your babies stories and change their diapers. You are so nurturing and sweet with them. It makes me proud.

I am also proud of how quick witted you are. You have some of the best one-liners. Your expression of choice at the moment is "Actually..." as in "Actually, 3 year olds get to eat candy before they go to bed." and "Actually, the cat likes it when I pull her ears." You say it with such authority, that I'm half tempted to go along with you.

I guess I'm in shock that you're already 3 because I really can't remember life before you came along. I know I must have been doing something for those first 28 years, but it pales in comparison to the last 3. Every day is an adventure with you. You're continually pulling and stretching my heart to make it big enough to hold all of the love that I have for you. I am so proud of the young lady that you are and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you.
Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mom

Smarter Phone

So I got a new phone for my birthday. I'm pretty sure it's smarter than I am. But, I won't hold that against it.  I like it - especially the 8 megapixel camera part.

This is the first picture I took with it. Hopefully, this marks the end of the poor quality cell phone pictures that have frequented this blog in the past.

Super Kid

Harper went to a friend's birthday party over the weekend. The birthday boy was a friend from school. Several of the other kids from the class were there too. It was so much fun watching them all play together. They really are all good buddies. Here are a couple pictures from the party.

As soon as we got there, Harper headed for the dress up clothes. I think she made an appropriate choice. Next, she hit up the grocery store and kitchen area.

Making her dad proud

 Snacks and cake

Apparently, very good cake

She was a little apprehensive of the ball pit at first, but it wore off quickly.

Super Kid!

90

Today is my grandma's 90th birthday. 90. I can't even imagine it.

This was taken on the 4th of July this year. When's the last time you were on the back of a 4-wheeler?

My grandma is an awesome lady. You can read more about her here. I'm so glad I got some of her genes.

Cell Phone Picture Friday

Harper got a belated birthday present last night (although it really wasn't belated to her because she sings Happy Birthday to herself every day even though her birthday was about 7 weeks ago...). It's an art station. She LOVES it! Here are a couple (kind of bad) cell phone pictures that I took this morning.

Birthday Party

Most of you know that Harper turned 2 on Saturday. We went all out for her first birthday party (as most parents do). But this year, we wanted to do something more low key. So we invited over a few close friends for dinner, presents, and cake. Here's how it went.

2.20.10

Dear Harper,

Tomorrow is your second birthday! How time has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that I was holding you in the hospital.

You've had a big year. You’re little (or should I say big) personality is really starting to shine through. I think you’ve inherited some of my OCD and perfectionist tendencies. You enjoy putting your toys in their proper places and you make sure all cabinet doors are closed at all times. You also get frustrated when you can't get your baby dolls to sit up quite right or when your blanket isn’t properly folded. Don’t worry, as I’m beginning to learn, the world won’t end if blankets are out of place or cabinet doors aren’t closed.

Other sides of your personality are also becoming more apparent. You're definitely turning into a bit of a girly girl – that you did not inherit from me. You love to carry around purses and wear big girl jewelry. And, all of a sudden, you have all kinds of opinions about the clothes you wear. I have to pick out a couple outfits in the morning and let you pick which one you want to put on, or else you aren’t happy.

I think the biggest event for you this past year was starting baby school. You love to go to baby school. You have made so many new friends and have learned about all kinds of cool things like penguins and pomegranates. Your teachers tell me that you are the best talker in the class but the messiest eater. They call you the Little Teacher because you try to keep all of your other classmates in line – that you probably got from your dad. Your best buddy at school is a cute little boy named Luke. When we walk into class in the morning, he runs over to give you a hug and help take off your coat. You guys aren’t allowed to sit next to each other at lunch anymore because you paint each other with applesauce. Oh well. It happens.

I am so proud of the little girl you are turning into. You have such a sweet spirit. My heart is unbelievably happy when I watch you sing your little songs or do your happy dances or rock your baby dolls. You are smart as a whip and you are openly kind and loving. I’ve said it a million times over the past two years, and it’s still true. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. My heart is bigger and softer because of you. Thank you for the joy that you bring to my life. I can’t wait to see what you get into over the next year. Happy birthday!
Love,
Mom

Happy Birthday, Rob!

A couple things for today:

• I think the french onion dip that I ate last night (the same french onion dip that has been in my fridge for maybe 2 weeks) has taken on some hallucinogenic properties. After eating it, I had the weirdest, most vivid dreams last night.
• I am going to my first spinning class tonight. I'm oddly looking forward to it despite the fact that I may die.
• Today is my husband's birthday! He's a pretty ok guy. He does all kinds of things like...

changing every single one of Harper's diapers in the hospital

and changing the timing belt on my car in our little one car garage during a snow storm

and making cute babies that have his eyes

and this kind of stuff too.

Happy birthday, babe. I love you!

Completed My 30th Trip Around The Sun

Yep. Today's my 30th birthday. I'm ok with it. Harper woke up crying this morning (very unusual) and was kind of cranky until I dropped her off at baby school which reminded me that today is just another day.

But, I will say that I have given more retrospective thought to this birthday than others in the past. For the most part, I'm ok with where I am in life. I don't feel old. I still feel about 25 despite the fact that I go to bed much earlier and have gained about 10 pounds since then. I like my life. I like my husband and I like my daughter. I like my family and my friends. I like my job. I like that I haven't given up on trying to better myself. But, I will say that there is a part of me that looks back over the years and wishes I could have gotten more out of them. I wish I could go back and re-do college. I wasted a lot of time and missed a lot of opportunities. I wish I could go back and spend more time with grandmas and grandpas that aren't around anymore. I wish I never would have owned a hair crimper. But, nobody gets a do-over. So I guess I need to make the next 30 years count for more so I don't look back when I'm 60 and think that I wasted my time. Ok, enough introspection.

At the risk of my mom killing me, I thought I'd share this picture from 30 years ago. I was not an easy delivery. 30+ house of labor that culminated in an emergency C-section. Not fun. But, it looks like she forgave me.

Here's one from a couple months later. It reminds me of this picture.

And finally, here's one from my 10th birthday sleepover. Yeah, I rocked the side pony tail and had a NKOTB poster over my bed. What's it to ya? The girl on the far right just had her first baby about a month ago. How time flies...

Anyway, to close out this post I thought I'd leave you with something fun. This story ran on NPR yesterday. It's about a book that compiled 6 word memoirs (a 6 word phrase that describes your life) from famous people. You can read/listen to the NPR story here. Today I think my 6 word memoir would be Still trying to figure it out. What would yours be?

They Say It's Your Birthday

Happy birthday to my mom! She's pretty fantastic and I'm excited to see her this weekend. 

Don't Forget About The Contest

Don't forget to enter my contest. If you read this blog, you're eligible to win - even if I don't know you. So leave your comment by 8pm tonight.

In the meantime, here's a couple pictures I took of the kid on her birthday morning. They make me laugh.