Things About Three

Although she promised me otherwise, Harper went ahead and turned three.  A Minnie Mouse party was in the works, until Doc McStuffins suddenly and swiftly took over our lives and we all knew that we had to make it happen.

After binge watching a few episodes, I think we came up with a pretty solid Doc Mcstuffins plan.

On the menu:

Chilly's Chili

Doc McStuffins Cornbread Muffins

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doc Away Salad

Lambie-nade

Kisses For Your Boo Boos

Bandaids For Your Ouchies

"Vitamins"

....and of course my new go to, a Costco cake.

Pregnancy > Motivation to make a cute party, so it was in no way the most extravagant party ever thrown, or even my favorite, but Harper was a happy camper, which is all that matters in the end.

My goal for my next party is to actually remember to take pictures of the people who came.  I failed big this year.  Rest assured, there were in fact people at Harper's party.

Harper's birthday was similarly low key.  Early morning presents, meeting up with dad for lunch at Chick Fil A, and melting my heart by turning down an offer to go to the children's museum so that she could go to to Boondocks when Holden was done with school instead.  And ice cream.  It was a good day for everyone.

And despite all my complaining about three year olds, it's going to be a great year.  I can feel it.  And I'm practicing my deep breathing skills.

The Second First Day

Due to a series of unfortunate (for me, not so much Holden) events, here we are again with this first day of school craziness.

After I dropped Holden off for the first day of Kindergarten I thought "that wasn't so bad, first grade will be what really kills me."  Little did I know that first grade was just a few short weeks away.

Maybe it's a ripping off the Band-Aid kind of thing?   Because it hurts.  Big time.  

He loves it, of course.  Once he found out they have computer lab twice a week in first grade he was sold.  My kids live for screen time however they can get it.  

The upside is that Harper has still volunteered to stay two forever.

Second Child Syndrome

Harper gets a lot of attention.  She gets plenty of one on one time.  She gets tons of hugs and kisses and snuggles.  She does not get a lot of documentation.  I take pictures, sure.  But with two kids it seems like I can either enjoy the cute the things they say and do, or document the cute things they say and do, but rarely can I do both.  Probably because both my kids do and say so many cute things I just can't keep up anymore.

But, Harper is two and a half, which is pretty much the peak of cute.  And my general rule is that cute always deserves to be documented, no matter how infrequent.

So here's a snapshot of Harper at 2.5

Her Favorites:
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood TV show
Fruit Snacks
Pinkalicious Books
Playing in Holden's room while he is at school
Singing

She'll Pass On;
Sleeping In
Eating Vegetables
Riding in a shopping cart without snacks
Keeping her shoes on in the car

She's Funny:

My sister Hannah said-- "Harper, you're awesome!"  To which Harper replied "No, I'm Harper!"

She feels like her body is just a second set of clothes and will say things like
"Can I swim in my bum?"  or "I just want to wear my tummy"

When she wants something she'll say "You wanted to...?" and when she wants to be carried she asks "You carry you me?"

Whenever she sees the McDonalds logo she says "Hey!  There's Diet Coke!"

She still sleeps in a crib, potty training is not even on our radar and she loves to be swaddled up like a burrito, so she's still very much the baby of our family.

And she's a pretty cute one, too.

The First First Day

We did it!  Holden is an official part of the public school system. 

Some of us had more reservations than others about this whole school nonsense (hint: it was me) and I literally have to talk myself down from driving by the school at recess just to get a peek at what he's doing.

  

But Holden hasn't shown one bit of hesitation and talks more about going mini golfing after school the first day than he does about school.

Harper was the only crier at first day drop off and as terrified as I am to have Holden out in the world without me, it is a big, exhausting job keeping that little brain occupied all day every day and I am ready for some help with it all.  

Plus, Harper has promised to stay two forever, so I'm set.  

The Kids Are Alright--Part 3

My poor, neglected blog. It needs a kick start in the worst possible way.  I don't know if an overshare about my kids will do the trick, but it's worth a shot, right?

Youngest goes first!

Two year old Harper has heard rumors of this thing called the terrible twos and is trying her hardest to execute it.  It's too bad for her that at two I can still kind of laugh at her "tantrums."  Talk to me when she's three and I'll be singing a different tune, I'm sure. 

 She's starting to talk for reals now, and although most words are still only understood by her parents...Oftentimes not even then.  She never complains though, and frequently gives us a pass when she's accepted that we are just not understanding what she's saying. 

Her stranger anxiety is still at an epic high, and she still prefers her mom to pretty much anyone else, and you only sometimes hear me complaining about this fact.  

  

She's always very concerned about where Holden is.  Whether that's because she wants to be around him or she's worried about her safety is unclear, but we hear a lot of "Hodie, where ahh you?" which is just as cute as you think it is.
She's growing!  The doctor tried to call her chubby at her check up but ate his words when her stats showed up perfectly in proportion.  (34 inches and 27 lbs 13 oz = 65% for  both height and weight).  Poor girl can't help it that she carries most of her weight in her thighs.

               

Firstborn!
Holden continues to think that he is in charge at our house.  He knows best, and if someone disagrees, it must just be that they don't understand.  Because if they did, surely they would agree with him.  Needless to say, it leads to some headbutting at our house.  But it also means he is bright and energetic and wants so badly to be a grownup that I could sit and listen to him talk for hours.  And I do.  Because that kid can talk.

He is enjoying preschool and is already planning a graduation party for himself.  He asked his preschool teacher to call me to bring him a dollar so he could get an ice cream cone on the way home, so clearly his priorities are right where they need to be.

 

He cannot wait until the day he can use the Lagoon season pass he got for Christmas, and he will tell you the height requirements for every ride in the park.  Being 44 inches (and 46 lbs) (55% and 75%, respectively), he doesn't quite make the cut for all of them, but is diligently eating his vegetables to get a little taller by summer.
Holden does not have stranger anxiety, and wants to be around people all the time.  He makes friends with anyone he can and loves attention from anyone who will give it.  I'm crossing my fingers that no strangers with candy come calling when I'm not around, because I'm quite confident he'd be in the back of that creeper van in two seconds, despite our stranger danger talks.

Basically, I obviously have the best kids in the world.  And though I can't honestly say I'm enjoying every minute of these ages, I CAN say that I'm enjoying them a lot, and that you better believe I will be soaking up my last few months of having both my kids around full time.

Harper Turns TuTu

Although Harper will probably hate having a winter birthday most of her life (as those of us with winter birthdays tend to do)  I, for one am thankful that her birthday provides a break in the monotony that is a Utah winter.  

We celebrated Harper turning two with a low key tutu bash that was easy to execute and still involved a bazillion yards of tulle, so I count Harper's birthday as a success! Except for yet another cake fail.  Thankfully Kneaders came through with yummy tarts, because as my good friend Christian Bale would say, cake baking and I are officially done professionally.  

I drank about 10,000 Italian sodas (and am still benefiting from the yummy Sonic ice leftover in my freezer) so it's safe to say those were my favorite part.

It was a small crowd this year, so we Facetimed in our newly residing in Chicago peeps to make things a little more festive.

Harper loved being the star of the show and continues to sing Happy Birthday to herself every day, so I think she had fun, too.

And since I'm fully aware that when it comes to a birthday party for a two year old, it's all more for me than them, I made sure Harper's actual big day was all about her.  We celebrated with cupcake pajamas, whipped cream on our breakfast oatmeal, the birthday girl's request for "chiiiicken!!!" for lunch, trips to the children's museum and the park (since the weather could not have been more perfect), and presents and sugar cookies bars (I was serious about the no more cake thing) when Reo got home.  Even the toughest members of our family to please (I'm looking at you, Holden) considered the day a win!

I'm Feeling 22

22 months that is. Harper is right smack dab in the middle of one of my favorite ages...so far.  And since I haven't been too diligent at updating her little life on the blog, I thought now would be as good a time as any for a Harper update.  Adorable pictures included, of course.  These pictures will lead you to believe that I never do Harper's hair.  This is only partly true.  The real problem is I never do it well enough for it to last all day.  Judge if you must.  

Some things Harper loves: 

Her binkie-- (hands down she loves that binkie more than anything else, most likely including her family members).

Singing--She can pick up a tune like nothing I've ever seen and sings more frequently than she speaks.  Reo is about ready to give up his retirement plans and bank on her making it big.  

Soda ( "oda") and snacks

Elmo

Wearing her tutu

Brushing her teeth

Books 

Some things Harper doesn't love:
Food that's not "oda" or snacks....We're working on it.
Being left in a room alone
Bedtime
Sleeping in
Shopping

Basically she's adorable and she has this whole family wrapped around her little finger.  Every day when she gets dressed she immediately asks to go show Holden how cute she looks.  He lovingly obliges.  Because of this, she forgives him when he shoves her off the couch for messing with his game of Minecraft.  True sibling love between those two.

Kid Vs Kid--21 Months

It's been a while since I've done a Kid Vs Kid, and what better time than 21 months old?  Because darn it if I don't love this age so much.  And it's a good thing, too, because if you know Harper, you know she loves me back just as much.  Lots of chores go undone at our house so that Harper can get her desired amount of cuddle time. 

And while age five is mostly a hit around here (except for the constant backtalking, which can just go away as of, like, yesterday) it's always fun to reminisce on this magical time of Holden's life as well...Although, to be honest, I feel like I could have taken this picture during his bath tonight.  Is it just me or does Holden look just.the.same?

Portrait of Five

Holden's biggest birthday wish was to be "The Boss" on his birthday.  Possibly because we have frequent and lengthy conversations about who is in charge at our house, and he always seems genuinely surprised that it isn't him. But I'm nothing if not a sucker for the birthday boy so we did our best to accommodate.  

After setting a few ground rules (no illegal activity, we can't go to Lagoon when it's not open, etc.) here is how my 5 year old chose to spend his big day.

He wanted to make sure we spent the whole day celebrating, so we decorated his door for a little first thing in the morning surprise.

Of course, presents were next on the agenda.

Then he chose "one of those sandwiches made out of pancakes" (gag) at McDonald's for breakfast, along with a lengthy stay at the PlayPlace.

Our attempt at a homemade pinata was a big fat fail, so we improvised with a last minute birthday treasure hunt for the intended pinata candy.

After that, he spent some time playing with his new birthday loot.

Then it was off to preschool, complete with the world's most ghetto birthday treat to share with his class.

He seemed to celebrate hard at preschool also, judging by his hat, sticker and treat bag.

That's the best photo I could get.  His mind was clearly on other things.  Because after preschool we headed to Boondocks Fun Center.

He threw around all sorts of activity ideas, but when it came down to it, all he really wanted was to spend all his time and money at the arcade, which surprised no one.  That kid loves arcades.

And the prizes that come with it.

All that arcad-ing made the birthday boy hungry, so we headed off to Noodles and Company for some spaghetti and meatballs...What's that you say?  That's not meatballs?  That's because when his food came he didn't know they were going to use "that kind of spaghetti" (you know, the spaghetti noodle kind) and asked for Mac and Cheese instead.  I had been trying to tell him he wanted Mac and Cheese the whole time, so I was about to tell him tough luck, but lucky for him, Dad had pity on the birthday boy and traded him meals.

Finally, it was back home for cake.

And a Holden's choice Redbox. (Monster House if you were wondering).

His last decision of the day was to stay up late, so he got an 8:30 bedtime.  We live dangerously around here.
We'd go broke quickly if Holden was the boss every day, but it was nice to have this day to document what goes on in his little 5 year old brain.

I Guess This Is Growing Up

If Holden had been born six weeks earlier, I'd be sacrificing him to Kindergarten this year.  Luckily for me, he wasn't, so I get another year of Preschool.  I took full advantage and put him in the two day a week class instead of the three.  The way I see it, this is the only time in my life when I get full say of how our day goes, and if I want the freedom to have us hang out in our pajamas all day, I better do it now before I have kids in public school for years and years (and years) to come.   Because when it comes down to it, this kid can push my buttons faster and with more accuracy than probably anyone else in my life, but I pretty much mope around missing him when he's not here.

Obligatory first day of school pic.

Showing off his backpack.

"MOM!  Now take one of me pretending to vomit!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"  Oh to be a four year old boy...

To add insult to injury, Harper's pretty much a grown up now, too.  To prove it, she turned 18 months old and gets to go to nursery at church, leaving me without my sidekick.  There's been remnants of tears at pick up time, but the leaders claim she's doing okay, so I don't think I'll be getting her back as my sidekick anytime soon.

Obligatory first day of nursery pic

The upside is that she went to the doctor and her stats have left me convinced that she's small enough I can still PRETEND she's a baby at least (as long as I ignore her head size.  It's a good thing she has so much hair is all I can say).
Height: 30.75 inches  (23%)
Weight: 23.6 pounds  (39%)
Head: 19.3 inches  (97%)