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!

Defeating January

The only defense I have against January?  Escape.  Get out of dodge.  For as long as possible.  In this case, thanks to scamming in on the California beach house my sister rented, it was 10 days of blissful escape.

Escaping the cold:

and the snow:

and the inversion:

Escaping the tendency I have to avoid contact with all other humans and hole up in my house:

and the same old indoor activities:

and the same old food:

and oh yeah, did I mention the cold?

and I want to feel bad that I'm making you jealous right now, I really do.  But I can't.

Because it was amazing.  And I'm pretty sure California was just as big a fan of us, because they did everything in their power not to let us leave, including turning our plane around halfway back to Salt Lake City for another quick stay.  It took it's toll on us, that's for sure.

But by the time we got back, January was practically over!  I'm already saving my pennies to escape again next year (mostly because getting your flight turned around halfway to your destination comes with an apology in the form of a flight credit! Yay!)

Now.  If only I could apply the same game plan to February...Luckily I have Harper's birthday and jelly hearts to help me through.

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.

So This Is (Was) Christmas

The Christmas Season this year was kind of a weak effort on my part.   My inability to tolerate frigid cold temperatures, a funeral, a wicked flu virus systematically taking down each member of our family and the fact that I could not get over the fact that Thanksgiving was just so late this year are only some of the reasons I was acting a little Scroogish.  But we did manage to slide in some of our favorite activities of years past...and even attempted a new family activity. Some of my neighbor gifts actually even got delivered.  And true to form, after Christmas morning was over I pretty much forgot I have access to a camera, so if it happened after about noon on Christmas it lives on only in my memories...

I spy with my little eye:
Letters to Santa (along with a joyfully received response!)//Decorating for Christmas//A visit from our Christmas Elf//Festival of Trees//Cookie Making Day//Christmas Crafts//Ogden Christmas Village//Neighbor Gifts//Christmas Eve games and crackers//Tracking Santa//Leaving Santa his cookie fix//Presents, presents and more presents.

Till next year, Christmas!

Thanksgiving Thankfuls

So, sometimes a lot of times I complain, but it's no secret that I have a pretty sweet life.  One that I am so very thankful for.  And since there are about a million things I could list right now, I've decided to keep my thankfuls Thanksgiving related for this post.  Because there's plenty of those to keep me busy, plus it's an easy way to document Thanksgiving.  Well, parts of it.  I've discovered that the more food there is involved with a holiday, the less pictures I take since I am so busy stuffing my face, so Thanksgiving is lucky to get any photos at all.  

1.  Thankful for a husband who encourages me to decorate early so I can enjoy my tree on Thanksgiving.  I know.  Thanksgiving blasphemy.  Look away if you're offended.

2.  Thankful that we are all healthy enough to enjoy a Thanksgiving morning walk...Also thankful the weather cooperated.

3. Thankful that my mom is such a good cook, so that my job on Thanksgiving involves very little cooking, and a very lot of eating.

4.Thankful for Wii tournaments with the family.  And thankful that I was usually playing against Holden so I always got second to last place instead of last place.  

5.  Thankful for Black Friday deals that required no early mornings, Thanksgiving night shopping, or long lines.  Guess other people were not as excited about the tupperware sales as I was.

6.  Thankful that my family always comes to my random parties, and in this case, thankful they all took home extra eggnog after our taste testing session.

7. Thankful for this mama's girl, who is always ALWAYS up for a good selfies session.

8. Thankful for this little boy who drew me a ghost when I asked him to draw a Christmas picture.  He beats to his own drum, that one, which is equal parts infuriating and adorable, depending on the circumstances.

9.  And, as always, I am thankful for Diet Coke.

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?

Halloween Things

Halloween was AGES ago, and I don't know about you, but I am already firmly entrenched in the Christmas Spirit, but my kids are cute, and I hate for that adorableness to go to waste unblogged, so here is Halloween in six, self explanatory (pretty much) pictures.

Pumpkin Patch:

Pumpkin Carving:

Festive Food:

Costumes:

Hard Core Trick Or Treating with a Plan:

Girls bailing on the plan early to get a head start on the candy binge: