Mother's Day

When you get yourself and your family somewhat dressed up for a special occasion - you have to document it....am I right?!

 

Moms get that.

 

So for Mother's Day, I wanted pictures.

 (as I do for just about any other day....especially if everyone is clean)

 

 

 

First, you have the ONE kid is cooperating picture. Much like many moments in motherhood.

 

 

Then you have the NO kids are cooperating picture. Much like MOST moments in motherhood.

 

 

And finally you have the BOTH kids are cooperating picture. Which is like very few moments in motherhood. But oh those moments are so worth it.

 

Whether I have 1, 2 or none at all cooperating, this whole motherhood business is pretty great. And I am so thankful for my special ones and the way they blessed me yesterday.

 Also, this.

 

This is worth it. All the fits and timeouts and consequences and messes. This sweet face is worth every crazy, hectic, silly, chaotic moment.

Worth it.

Can't mention Mother's Day without mentioning my own mama. She is as good as they come and boy am I glad to be BFF's with this lady.

 

 

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised" Proverbs 31: 30

 

 

Hoppy Birthday Harper Belle

 

It's been a month now since Harper turned 3. Looking back at these pictures, it seems that she's even grown since her party. She just won't stop growing!

 

She requested a pink, purple & blue kangaroo party. Not an easy request..... however she is very easy to please. Seriously, this kiddo gets excited over the most simple things!

 

As hard as it was to find kangaroo party decorations, it was even harder to hear her tell her Daddy {the day before the party} that what she actually wanted was a princess party. What?! You gotta be kiddin' me!

 

Well, thank goodness for Dollar Tree! Stella & I spent about $8 to give Harper a 'Princess Party Breakfast'. Remember that she's easily impressed? Well that came in handy...we could just say 'It's a princess party; here's your crown!" and she totally bought into it =)

 

 

 

See....easy to please.

 

 

 

 

She told me after her birthday that her favorite present was her Rapunzel doll. Her favorite princess, of course.

Dancing with Rapunzel

Kevin & I made her a collapsible tent and when she saw it she said "Oh, thank you for my triangle!"

 

 

A few pics of the party decorations....

Yep, I had to HOLD HER DOWN to take a picture with her.

 

 

 Using her kangaroo shirt for what it was meant for.

 

 

See what I mean? She looks so old now!

 

We sure to love that funny three year old!

 

 

 

~

the trouble with tracksuits....

 

You may or may not have seen the following photo on my Instagram this past weekend....

 

 

Two girls in matching track suits. Adorable right?

 

Well, the trouble with tracksuits is that they just make you want to move. Like REALLY move!

 

And Harper, who already has a natural inclination for movement, just couldn't handle it....As you can see below:

 

 

 

If I am trying to capture a "look at the camera and smile" picture of the girls, I average about 20 shots. And I'm not blaming this on any one particular person, but I think you can see that Stella isn't usually the problem.

 

 

~

Exploring Harper's Farm

Our family has 200 acres that we refer to as "The Farm". Currently it's a pecan farm, hunting & trapping land and a great place for digging around for treasures.

 

Harper thinks it belongs solely to her because she tags along with Kevin when he traps there. If she "takes you to her farm", she will point out everything she thinks you need to see. She can tell you where she saw ....

 

her 'deer friend'

her 'opossum friend'

her 'raccoon friend' 

 

.... Basically, she has a lot of friends that live at the farm. And she is happy to point out where they all live. It's her turf and she thinks she's pretty hot stuff!

 

 

love that little hop in her step

 

 

We visited the farm a few days ago so I could find some treasures {also known as junk or trash} & the weather was too beautiful not to spend some time walking around and enjoying the view.

 

With Harper as our tour guide, we had lots to talk about.

fun fact: Harper LOVES the moon and she can tell you whether it's a crescent moon, a half moon or a 'BIG moon' (aka a full moon)

 

 

Stella is such a trooper: having an older sister means you have to tag along to things that you aren't quite too sure about yet. But she is always so good to just hang out while Harper does her thing.

 

 

 

 This little kiddo loves to be outside with her daddy. Probably her favorite place to be.

 

 

~

Christmas Morning

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care......

 

 

Christmas morning had finally arrived! For a kiddo who doesn't really understand time or days, it seemed like Harper had been hearing about Christmas day for months!

 

We had a great time opening gifts and watching her play with all her new toys. She would forget all about the pile of presents behind her and totally focus on whatever toy she was holding.

 

As soon as she saw her babydoll stroller, she had to spend some time pushing it around, while asking "Who should sit in this wittle chair?"

 

Trying on her new house-shoes...

 

 

Stella spent most of her first Christmas just quietly observing all the excitement.

 

Harper helped Stella open her gifts, of course. {Which consisted mostly of wipes, clothes, soap, etc}

 

Next year will be more exciting for little one.

 

The only picture I got of Harper in front of the tree and she has a mouth FULL of chocolate.

Got a letter writing basket and had to take a minute to write a few letters. Duty calls, even on Christmas morning.

 

We spent most of our morning playing with her new train set.

 

She was excited to give the presents she had picked out for her daddy & Stella. Daddy was lucky enough to get not one, but TWO buckets this Christmas.

 

And of course, Stella is still little so we can make her slow down long enough to take pictures. At this point, Harper was off playing in her......

 

SANDBOX

 

 
 
 
It was the first thing she asked for this Christmas, and anyone who would listen heard about the sandbox she was getting {she was pretty confident}

 

Kevin did a great job making it, by the way. It's very Lincoln Log-esque.

 

Christmas morning was only a snippet of the whole season, but I am a little partial to the low-key, laid-back feel of a peaceful morning with my little family.

 

 

Gingerbread day

During the month of December, we celebrated Advent with an activity each day.

 

One of those activities was making this Gingerbread house.....

 

 

Or course, Harper had to decorate a gingerbread cookie of her own. One that was edible, seeing as how the house was help together with hot glue (therefore, NOT edible).

 

 

 

Pretty proud of her "Ginger House"