Happy 8 Months!

This post is a week and a half late, but for good reason. We left for Tucson the day after Harper's 8 month birthday so I haven't had a moment to sit down and reflect on the last 30 days with our little cutie.

Here are the latest 8 month pics...

Our sweet girl was so tired after a long day but we still took the pics. It's so amazing to see how big she's gotten so quickly!

Also on her 8 month birthday was the Thanksgiving Potluck at Miss Shannon's. The babies and their families had a blast! Here are a few pics...

All ready for the party - she was wearing the pearls that my her great great grandmother passed 

down to my Mom, and then to me.

 Harper and Mimi! Our little Indian girl!

Harper and her best bud Lyla

She was getting a little worn out towards the end of the party. I love when she snuggles like this!

The last month in pictures...

We celebrated your first Halloween! You were a cute little bunny! 

We went to see Meems, Mimi and Uncle Kris before we went trick-or-treating! 

You loved celebrating Halloween with your big sister Kylie and we even got to see 

Aunt Mikael, Coco and Popo!

The weather finally got cold so we could start to break-out your winter wardrobe!

You are so ready to crawl and you practice all the time at school! 

You still LOVE bath time and even though it's gotten tougher because you're all over the place!

You watched lots of football games with Dada. Although you usually couldn't make it until the end of the game! :)

You and sister had another round of shots! This time it was only one for you and one for her!

Now for my letter...

Dear Harper,

It's hard to believe that you've almost been alive as long as I was pregnant! This time last year, I felt like it would be an eternity before I could meet you and snuggle with you and kiss you all over! But, as they say, time flies when you're having fun and I am having a BLAST. I thank God every day for YOU.  

This past month has been a fun one! You had your first Halloween! You were a cuddly little bunny! You didn't mind your costume one bit and wore it like a champ, even though it was a little warmer than normal.  Miss Shannon had a Halloween party at school and we had fun taking pictures of you with your school buddies.

You're about to crawl any day and the last few weeks you've been getting up on your hands and knees, rocking back and forth, scooting backwards and figuring out how to get where you want to go, whether you're crawling or not! 

You've also had a bottom front tooth that looks like it's about to come through any day - for about 2 weeks! We thought it would be here by now but so far, it's just hanging out right under your gums.  

It's been fun introducing you to new flavors and foods.  You've had some protein in the last month including turkey and chicken! The thought of pureed meat doesn't sit too well with me so we may hold off on more meats until you can chew up tiny pieces.  You're also getting so good at holding your sippy cup with both hands like a big girl! 

You've continued doing "No, no, no" and shaking your head side to side but have also started "Yes, yes, yes!" and shake your head up and down. It's so funny to us when you do it at the correct time. Like when I'm singing to you and can't carry a tune and you shake your head "no!" or when I ask if you like your food and you shake your head "yes!"...so very precious.

We all hit a big milestone this past month - our first night apart! It was time for Momma and Daddy to get some alone time to celebrate our anniversary so we packed up everything and you stayed with Mimi for the night! She had so much fun taking care of you and it put our minds at ease to know you were in such good hands! You got a little off schedule, but Daddy and I agreed - that's what grandparents are for! Fun, not routines! :-)

Harper, thank you for choosing me to be your Momma and for choosing Daddy to be your Daddy. We feel like you were the missing piece in our family and are so in love with our two daughters - - you and your big sister Kylie!  

I love you more than words and can't wait to celebrate the next month with you which is my favorite time of year - Christmas! I can only imagine how amazing all the lights and presents will be from your perspective!  

Love always, 

Momma

Happy 4 & 44!

This past week was one of my favorites of the entire year!  This year we had 3 fun events in one week - Harper turned 7 months, we celebrated our 4 year anniversary and Jeff turned 44! It was a blast!

First, I'd like to reflect on 4 years of marriage to my hubby...

October 18, 2008

October 21, 2012  (Kylie was in pics but we haven't gotten them back yet!)

Four years later and we may look a little older and I still have on a little extra baby weight, but I feel happier and more complete than ever before.  Sure, we've had our ups and downs, but what couple doesn't? I feel like each time we have something to go through it makes us stronger and more committed to each other. Marriage is hard. But it's also one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in life.  

Having a baby is the most wonderful gift but it's also been tough at times with a new schedule, less time for each other and more things to think about.  But, what I love about us is we are so committed to each other and to being great parents to Harper and Kylie, that we just make it work.  We both laugh about our lack of alone time but then remember that these moments are so fleeting and pretty soon we'll be in another stage with more time and we'll be wishing we had more time with our girls.  

So, Happy Anniversary ( a few days late in Blog World) to my partner, my friend, my biggest fan, the father of our girls and most important - My Husband - today, and always, you are the keeper of my heart.  

Now on to more fun....

HAPPY 44TH BIRTHDAY JEFF!!

It's so fun that Jeff's birthday is the day after our anniversary! Some people have said "Jeff is so smart, he chose to have your anniversary the day before his birthday so he'll never forget it!" But, the real reason we did it that was is  so we can just keep the celebration going! 

We had a lot to celebrate this year, especially since Jeff had just been gone for almost 2 weeks!  We started out the birthday weekend with some sushi with Daddy and his girls...

Kylie and I didn't get a picture for some reason, but we were there!  :-) 

Daddy had fun opening cards, talking us into trying new sushi rolls and getting loved on by both of his beautiful daughters.

Saturday we had breakfast with our good friends the Auderers and then watched the LSU vs A&M game and lounged around the house with them. It's so nice to have friends you can just relax and hang with and not have to entertain or be "on" all the time!

Saturday night, we went to Harper's first Halloween Party at the Loefflers and had a great time!

Kate the Ladybug and Harper the Bunny!

That night we came home and Harper tried on her party favor and cracked us up!!!

Daddy's caption is "Deliver all your stuffed animals to me - - or I will destroy your planet!"

Momma's caption is: "Momma and Daddy squeezed me too hard and look what happened!"

You choose your favorite! :-)

Sunday, we had family pictures and he opened a few more presents and then we went shopping for some new sunglasses for J! He got some cool ones! We finished the night with some family TV time and snuggles. I think the weekend was a success!

Can't believe that good lookin' man is all mine! :-)

On a side note, Harper went to her first RHS pep rally on Daddy's birthday and got to meet my old cheerleading sponsor Annette. We had a blast and Harper was a trooper at the homecoming pep rally and parade!  She's a future cheerleader for sure!

Jeff/Daddy/J - We love you so much and hope we made your birthday a special and memorable one!  Thank you for providing for us, loving on us all the time and for being the best daddy/hubby EVER! 

WE LOVE YOU!!

-Kasey, Kylie & Harper

Harper is 7 Months!

I'm clearly a little late on posting this but I've been so busy!  Last week was full of lots of action, so bear with me because there will be a few posts to take care of!

But first off - HAPPY 7 MONTHS TO OUR HARPER QUINN!

This past month has been so much fun as Harper continues to grow and learn so many fun new things!  

Here are her 7 month pics...

Here are some of the highlights from Harper's 7th month!

 Play date with Kate, her BFF!

 Standing like a big girl at school

and already dressing like a little diva :-)

 Snuggles with Momma while Daddy is out of town...

Wearing her Halloween bow that big sister Kylie made! 

 Morning smiles and snuggles in Momma & Daddy's bed

Happy girl at Miss Shannon's! 

Met Uncle Eddie who came to visit from California with his son Jackson! 

 Fun bib from Uncle Tom and Aunt Stacy!

 Big girl sitting up at school!

Loving some carrots!

Our first temperature drop! It got down into the 50's so we bundled up! 

She is learning how to drink out of a sippy cup and LOVES it!

BEST BUDS!

 Got geared up for the big TX/OU Game. Even though the Longhorns lost, 

we had the cutest cheerleader EVER!

Tried out our Halloween costume at the gym for a fun baby class.   

 All dressed up! 

 Fun at the Arboretum with Momma and Mimi!

 The Kellys were there too so we had to get pics of the girls who just happened to be wearing the SAME outfit! It made us laugh because Ashley and I always showed up to school wearing the same outfit - not on purpose.  I guess great minds think alike :-)

 I am so thankful that Harper and Kate will grow up together - 

what a special thing to have best friends have babies so close together!

Daddy went out of town for 12 whole days during the last month, and that was tough! We had fun but missed him oh so much! Here are a few pics from the airport... "Reunited and it feels so good!"

 Back in her favorite spot - asleep on Daddy's chest :-)

Now for my monthly letter...

Dear Harper,

I didn't think it was possible for a tiny human being to get any cuter, funnier or smarter...but, it happened!  You are such a bright spot in our lives.  From the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep, you are just happy, funny and FUN! Daddy and I comment all the time about how amazingly fun, easy and just all around awesome you are! You are so easy going and content in any situation!  

This past month, you've started practicing like a big girl with a sippy cup and you love it! You're still mastering the skill but you love drinking water and get so excited when Daddy or I gives you the cup.  You've had all of your veggies including green beans, peas, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and avocado.  You've also had bananas and apples and we're on to pears next! So far your favorites are sweet potatoes and squash.  You weren't really a fan of green beans at first although you're starting to like them more but avocado was a no go! We'll try it again soon but you were not a happy camper when we gave it to you! It has been so fun seeing how you react to each new food. Sometimes you'll get what I call a "rigor" like you tasted something bad or surprising. Other times you'll get a big grin on your face and grunt for more! You are such a good eater!

You are growing so fast - we are going to be childproofing the house very soon because you're about ready to crawl! You can stand up holding on to things by your self, and you scoot yourself backwards when you're on the floor on your tummy! Look out world, Harper is almost on the move! 

One of my favorite parts about you is your laugh. You think almost everything is funny.  Especially when I make silly noises like "bomp!" or when I pretend to hit myself with something.  You love peek-a-boo and you love it when we sneak up on you - you think it's just hilarious!  You also love to laugh at Marley. You'll just look down at her and crack up! She loves you so much but she also loves to lick you to death so we have to keep an eye on the pooch these days! Pretty soon y'all will be running buddies and she'll never leave your side.

Harper, at least once a week we read this special book called "On the Night You Were Born".  It's such a sweet book and every time I read it, I thank God for the greatest blessing that he could have ever given me.  Here are a few of my favorite lines...

"On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, "life will never be the same", because there had never been anyone like you, ever in the world."  Harper, You are such a unique and wonderful little girl and you are going to make such a mark on this world, and I can't wait to see all the surprises you have in store for us!

"Not once had there been such eyes, such a nose, such silly, wiggly wonderful toes." I love looking at your sweet face baby girl. You are the most beautiful angel Momma and Daddy could have dreamed of!

"For never before in story or rhyme (not even once upon a time), has the world ever known a you, my friend, and it never will, not ever again.  Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born." 

Harper - the world got a little sweeter the day you were born and it continues to as we see more of your personality, sweet disposition and calming presence.  We love you so much and are so blessed to be your parents.

Love you Schmoo Boo!

Momma