Way behind

It's been a busy, busy summer and the last thing on my to-do lists has been blogging. So on this last day of summer (well, for school kids here), I'm finally getting around to it. Here are pics from the last month or so.

Harper, Adriene, and Peyton at a Gulley Park Concert. Harper hanging on tight to sweet Adriene, trying to convince her not to move to California :(

Harper almost lost an ear during this playtime!

Sharing her chair with John Riley

Harper loves to climb up on the stool and brush her teeth and wash her hands. She's given us a few scares by doing this on her own...she's very confident in her ability to climb the stool, us not so much.

She practically always has bump or bruise on her head (and blood on her shirt in this pic!) from all her spills. Poor girl definitely has a hard head.

Hadleigh has become intrigued with ballerina dancing. She loves playing classical music and dancing around. So, though I said I wouldn't do it again, she is signed up for dance this fall and she can't wait.

Enjoying our pitiful little pool. It does hold all four of us at the same time though!

We loved our first trip to the Grape Festival. I had to tear Hadleigh away from all the rides.

Harper left behind while Hadleigh got to have all the fun :( Next year, Harper, you'll be tall enough to ride too.

Harper and Uncle Pork at the Naturals game.

Christian did an awesome job throwing out the first pitch at the Naturals game.
Doc came to visit for the weekend!

We love the lake!

Another fun weekend at the lake! We spent the 4th on Lake Ouachita with our good friends, the Considine's and the Franks. The weather was perfect, the food was yummy, and the company was so much fun. The guys were way outnumbered in this group--9 girls to 3 guys! All the little girls had a blast tubing, swimming, snacking, and giggling while Harper and Emerie looked on with wishful eyes. It won't be long before we are trying to squeeze all 6 of them in the tube!

Micah and Hadleigh getting ready for the ride

Abby and most of the kiddos

We made s'mores for an afternoon snack. Very yummy and very convenient to wash away the messiness in the lake!

Enjoying her animal crackers a few minutes before she threw them overboard...guess she wanted a s'more.

The big girls, Micah, Madison, Hadleigh, and Maddie.

Hold on tight!

Captain Michael--you've never seen anyone parallel park a boat like this guy can!

Michelle and Harper

All suited up for a lake dive

Maddie and Hadleigh, good buddies!

Dancing Queen

Hadleigh had her first dance recital a couple of weeks ago and she rocked it! She was truly our Dancing Queen. She got out there and danced like she never danced before, literally. At every rehearsal she would freeze up so our expectations were pretty low for the recital. She totally surprised us and we are so proud of our little dancer. All the girls did amazing!

You can watch the 2 routines at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzc8H3ltw9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UVGvtMTGds

It's my Party

Last Saturday we celebrated Harper's 1st birthday with family and friends. She was a happy camper as usual. She watched with envious eyes as all the big kids ran around and jumped in the bouncer though she was perfectly content to sit with a few of her non-mobile friends and snack on anything they could get their hands on. She is all about food (except for cake)!
She didn't care much for her cake (probably because she filled up on too much other stuff prior to the cake cutting) so there wasn't much of a mess to clean up. We were so happy to have so many of our family and friend here to celebrate this special event.
Harper just had her 1 year appointment this week and checked out perfectly. She weighed in at 18lbs 6oz and is 28.5" tall. She was a champ for all her shots. She has 6 teeth and 2 are coming in right now. She eats almost anything you put in front of her. Her favorite food is probably blueberries (I'm surprised she doesn't have a bluish tint to her skin yet) and her favorite thing to do is swing. We have been so fortunate to have 2 great sleepers. Harper will sleep 12+ hours at night and will take one long nap in the afternoon. She's completely on whole milk from sippy cups now and we've moved her up to a big car seat, but she is still facing backwards until she is at least 20lbs. Each day she is a little closer to walking and talking up a storm.
We are so proud of our 1 year old!

Harper is 1!

Who can believe it?
A year ago today, this little ray of sunshine entered our lives and brought so much joy and happiness along with her. She has a smile that will melt your heart and a personality that will win over anyone. Though not quite walking, she can get all over the place on her own (though her preference is to be carried). She's saying a few words including "mama" and "uh oh" and blabbers many more words we just haven't translated yet. Hadleigh and Harper are the best of friends already. They are totally enamored with each other and Hadleigh is an amazing big sister. Hadleigh is so excited to be celebrating Harper's 1st birthday...we are so Blessed!!!
These are pictures from her celebration tonight. I wish I could say this was her first cupcake, but being the second child and all, she's been there, done that!

Gammy and Pops in town for the celebration!

This is why Hadleigh is so excited to be celebrating Harper's birthday...

Not so sure about her new teapot.

Sitting in her new chair

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We love you so much!