Keeping up with the Kants

Random

2012-02-09T09:55:00.000-06:00

When Harper was a newborn, we found our pretty early on she had a senstive tummy. How, you may ask? Well, she had a tendency to nurse, then puke down my shirt. Good times, let me tell ya. So, fast forward 20 months. Tuesday night she had an odd mixture of dinner: chicken fried rice, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and a clementine. We also had a bath, where she drank a ton of bathwater, as well as some lotion. She went to bed fine, and Erich and I settled in to watch New Girl. About 10 minutes later she was crying, so Erich went to check on her...and I hear through the monitor:
Erich--Harper, go to sle...what is that? Did you puke? OMG you puked. OMG Susie, she puked. A lot. You should probably come up here.

So, poor girl had puked what we thought to be all her dinner, all over her bed. Out into the tub, wiped down, changed, and laying with me. She had kind of fell asleep and I was carrying her back to her room when Wave 2 hit. Erich had just gone downstairs with the laundry, and she lost it all over my chest, down my shirt, bra, you name it, she hit it. But amazingly enough, missed herself. I put her down in the bathroom where she proceeded to nail both rugs, but not the toiliet. So then Erich got her cleaned up, I rinsed my clothes and self, and then set up a bed on the floor, and also added a towel to her bed. She fell asleep pretty easy, so back to bed she went. And about an hour later, 3rd time is charm...smart girl though, she must have learned over either side of herself, because she didn't get any on her.

She must have been in shellshock or something, because she didn't say a word the entire time, nor did she want a pacifier. She would kind of nod if you asked her a question, but otherwise she was mute, which is strange for her. We put her down the last time around midnight, and I knew she was feeling better when she woke at 4--puke free--asking for her pacifier. Ugh.

So Harper and I had a sick day yesterday. We watched Sesame Street, and some other interesting PBS shows, who knew Martin Short voiced the Cat in the Hat? Kind of annoying, not going to lie. Then after her 3 hour nap, we ran to the library, where we ran into some friends, so that was fun for her...and me. Got some new books to try out...and I can already say this. The book, Score one for the Sloths, not a great read. The illustrations are funny, because they're sloths, and I like sloths. But the storyline was not so great. Trust me here. Curious George Visits the Chocolate Factory, on the other hand, is a go. But can you really go wrong with Curious George? That monkey is just crazy.

February What?

2012-02-07T12:21:00.000-06:00

Apparently 2012 is going to by just as quickly as 2011. Le sigh. I have quite a bit of items to discuss on this post, mainly because I was bored at work this morning and kept emailing myself things I wanted to talk about. First, a cute picture of Harper in pig tails and chucks. She looks so big. Ignore the pacifier.

So, this is probably going to be a hodge podge of thoughts, so here goes. I finished my first book of 2012, and it was very good. I remembered as I began reading it why I had stopped in the first place; my cousin Jay and I were reading it at the same time, and he passed away before I had a chance to finish it. I think I subconsciously put it away, and it wasn't until I was almost done with the book that I made that realization. Very deep. Anyway, it made finishing it a little bittersweet. (Silent cry). Anyway, on to the next book, which is also the last one of the Wicked series: Out of Oz, byt Gregory Maguire. Very excited for this one, and hopefully that extra day this month will help me out.

Jay and I. Nerds.

Have you read The Hunger Games yet? If not, you should. And not because the movie is coming out next month, but because it's a wonderful series. So, go read it. Now. Drop what you're doing, and go read it.

The Bloggess. This gal is so so funny, she literally makes my day. I love to go through her past posts, and just laugh. Partly because she's pretty funny, and partly because I can see myself hanging out with her and having similar conversations with my husband and friends. I mean, if you enjoy a story about a bear sleeping bag saving your life or wearing a wolf coat to Twilight, or an awesome haunted dollhouse with a stucffed duck vampire killer, then she's for you. I could spend hours on her website. During our snowstorm this past weekend, I did.

So, the snowstorm. I really didn't think winter was ever going to arrive in Nebraska, what with our 60 and 70 degree days, but lo and behold, our blizzard arrived late Friday night...and didn't stop until sometime Saturday evening. I think we got close to 14 inches (TWSS) and it was very pretty, albeit heavy, snow. Branches were down over most of town, and as a result, power was as well. We lost power for about an hour, despite our underground wires, go figure. However, last weekend we were without a furnace due to a circuit board issue, so an hour without heat, during the day, was nothing. We had a nice lazy weekend, full of naps, Cookie Monster dvds, a few toddler meltdowns, and a game of Scrabble (not words with friends, but the actual game). (Sidenote, I am obsessed with Words with Friends, and love to play against Erich so we can sit the same room and not have to communicate.) It's not that weird. Here are some pictures of Harper playing in the snow. She discovered it was delicious.

Abbey is a rebel, and refused to stay confined to Erich's paths.

Speaking of Harper, she will be 20 months old on the 9th. How crazy is that? In just four short months, she'll be 2! I had a conversation with a friend about how fast time goes, except for that first 6 week period. That was the longest (and most painful) 6 weeks of my life. But I loved it. And will do it again, in the next 12-24 months lol. We have too many weddings this year and next to be prego yet! Priorities people. And, I'd love for Harper to be potty trained before Baby #2.

Harper loves cupcakes.

I love Pinterest.com. If you haven't taken the time to check it out, you should. It will totally kill all productivity you may have once had, but it's a good way to spend it. I get lots of cute ideas, yummy recipes, and funny quotes. Like these little gems:

OK, this should be sufficient, as I have to go finish my lunch, aka, pin more stuff. Have a good week!

Watch Harper eat a cupcake. It's cute.

101 Posts

2012-01-24T21:07:00.000-06:00

Aw man! Did you know that my last post was my 100th post?! I was going to do something special, but alas...I guess posting about Xmas with the fam is special, right? OK, now let's aim for the 201st post I guess.

Book update while I'm thinking of it; am 2/3 of the way done with A Lion Among Men. Kind of slow going, but my plans of completing the book this weekend were thwarted with Erich's, "I don't have the flu" flu. Whatever, if you're in the bathroom more than not, it's not normal.

Harper has discovered so many new words and phrases lately, you can really tell she's picking things up from the new room she's in at daycare. Here are some of her favorites: No, Mama, Daddy, Abbey, Go Away, Please, Bubbles, milk, Elmo, Olivia, BYE!, Hi!, Grandma, Pa-pa and numerous other jibber jabber things we've yet to identify. She loves Elmo right now, and not just Sesame Street, but Elmo. I did get her to settle for Cookie Monster, and she does the most adorable impersonation of him, it's fabulous.

Sorry it's sideways, not sure how to fix that.

Things have been pretty low key, but as always we're starting to get busy with plans. The month is full of birthday celebrations, a couples shower in York, a playdate in Omaha, and a girl's night. Very excited! And hopefully February and most of March can go quick to get us to March 23rd for the Hunger Games movie release!!! So stinking excited. If you haven't read them, trust, you need to. If you have a nook, I can loan them to you. It's very easy.

Here are a few pics from my phone. The first few are from this past weekend; Harper was dressed very interestingly. Enjoy and have a good week!

I like to party

Wearing one of my shoes, and one of Erich's

Group teeth brushing

On our way to KC

Ready for church!

I LOVE THIS SHOT!

Last Christmas...

2012-01-19T09:51:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we visited my sister and family in KC and had our final Christmas, or maybe you would call it the first Christmas of 2012. Either way, a good time was had by all. We haven't seen them since before Thanksgiving, and so it was nice to catch up and see the kids. Harper also had fun playing with her cool cousins, their dog, and their two cats. Her biggest phrase of the weekend was to Brady, their golden retriever...Go Away! Poor dog just wanted to lick her face. Abbey stayed at the kennel, which was a good thing because I don't think we'd have had room for one more item in the car. We stopped in St Jo on the way down to get some dinner...and wouldn't you know it, there was a Chicfila, Chipotle, and Panda Express all at the same intersection of the mall. We of course chose Chicfila, but man, if we lived in St Jo...we'd be poor, fat and in heaven lol.

On the book news, I am still working on A Lion Among Men; this last weekend really set me behind, and I am hoping to sit down and finish it today on my afternoon off. I get the feeling I'll be distracted by one thing or another, but right now it seems like a good plan.

Have a tentative girls night plan tomorrow, hope it still happens. We'll be doing dinner, then off to Paint Yourself Silly for some artistic expression, then end the night chatting at Ivanna Cone until they kick us out. And maybe a stop into Indigo Books for some perusing of their awesome inventory. Yay for girls' nights!

Here are some pics from the weekend in KC. Please note, my sister and I exchange Hanukkah gifts, although we are now Jewish. We just enjoy celebrating other holidays, so there's that disclaimer to explain some of the pictures you see. Happy Thursday!

My shirt says, Lets put the Han back in Hanukkah, it's a pic of Han Solo. Love it!

Ethan opening his 12 pack of Mt Dew. Isn't that was aunt's are for?

Brady about to sneak attack Harper

The picture Hailey painted for Erich. It's awesome!

Hailey and Fritz

Playing with Auntie Heather's castle

Erich vs Fritz, staring contest, go!

Grandma Linda and Brady

Oh!

By the way, Harper and Brady were not fans of this!

2012 Goals

2012-01-12T09:38:00.000-06:00

Every year I make a goal to read x amount of books. Last year I went off the deep end with 50; I lost count but I can guarantee I didn't read that many. I love to read by never take the time, outside of the 15-20 minutes before I go to bed, which I don't really count because I fall asleep and have to reread most of what I already read. Vicious cycle really. So, this year, I am setting a more specific goal, a list of 15 titles I want to read in 2012. 15 is pretty realistic, and I am almost done with the first one of the list. And, I already own nearly all of the books, so I don't have to go find them to read them. Here's the list. If you have any suggestions of a good read to add, let me know.

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire (the third in the Wicked series)
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire (the final book in the Wicked series)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame Smith
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Help
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Hey Day by Kurt Anderson
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Laarson
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
WAS by Geoff Ryman
A Widow for One Year by John Irving

So, thoughts? Comments? Jokes? Wish me luck! I'll also try and comment on the books as I finish them, in case you're interested in reading something off the list as well.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-07T13:02:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, we really can't complain. And we have one more Christmas in a couple weeks with my sister and her family, so we are definitely looking forward to that. Harper got to start her Christmas off with a trip to Chuck-E-Cheez with her boyfriend Patrick. She had never been before, and she found out pretty quickly how much fun the place is. And she received a Mr. Potato Head, so now Mrs. Potato Head has the love of her life.

We were really blessed with such beautiful weather around the last few weeks of December. While a white Christmas would have been nice, I am OK with a nice, sunny Christmas as well. Instead of going into detail about our Christmases, I will let the pictures do the talking. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, and are ready for 2012.

Baking cookies at Aunt Sandy's house

mmm, frosting!

Playing with Luke

All the kiddos

Playing with Lynn Lynn and Erika

I wish you could hear Harper's laugh

So much awesome in this picture

Christmas Eve

New monkey pillow from Grandma Linda

Harper was not about any pictures with Gma, so this will have to do

Santa came!

In her new tent!

Abbey got a new bone

Opening her Olivia book from Santa

Candy!

Who needs a tent?

Christmas at the Kants-Christmas Day

Helping hand out gifts

Helping Grandma Cindy open her gift

Guess how much she loved wearing those ears?

Enjoying the beautiful weather

On our way to Hastings-Christmas Day

New wheels from the Hursts!

Showing Great Grandma how to ride

Coloring with Grandpa Duane

Ugly Christmas sweater and a cheesy smile!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In Search of a White Christmas...

2011-12-21T16:44:00.000-06:00

While I always complain about the snow, there's just something to be said about a nice white Christmas. A light dusting Christmas morning would be nice. Then again, I'm not going to complain if it's 50 degrees like it is right now. It's the first day of Winter, right?

Christmas shopping is nearly finished, wrapping is about 85% done and I need to do some baking to get that out of my system: some sugar cookies, gingerbread men, turtle candies, peanut butter balls and peanut butter sammys, just to name a few. I also got a new candy mold in the shape of mustaches that I used to make soap for gifts, but I can't wait to see how it looks with chocolate...don't worry, I've washed it several times! And the soap turned out awesome too!

I also realized I way overspent on Harper. Like, I found a bag of toys I forgot about bad. So now we need to figure out what to give her now, and what to hold on to for her birthday. Or maybe just spoil her, she won't remember much this year, right? Plus, if I hold items, how can I give her a kitchen set in June?? Decisions, decisions.

I think one of the things that get me in the holiday mood is getting cards in the mail. I love good old fashioned mail, particularly of the non bill variety. I love all the holiday cards we've gotten; I put them all on our closet door in the kitchen, and Harper and I like to look at them and name everyone off. Still waiting to get my sister's annual Hanukkah card...hint, hint.

We have one Christmas town, and 3 to go. Plus next week we have my aunt's annual cookie decorating party, which I am excited for Harper to get to participate in. They made her an apron last year that was a little big, so this year she should be good to go. We're going to practice tomorrow to see how she acts around the frosting and sprinkles and madness that is sugar cookies. Can't wait. Also trying to figure out what to make for Christmas Eve...any suggestions?

I probably won't post again until after Christmas, so have a Merry One!

My Gramma, always so merry lol!

After we sang our annual, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer!

Mid song, circa 1989?

December

2011-12-12T12:43:00.000-06:00

It's more than a week into December...what? This year has gone by way too fast in my humble opinion. I am grateful that the snow held out as long as it did, and it's already starting to melt as it gets warmer. Will we luck out with one snow? Doubtful, but a girl can dream, can't she?

November was pretty uneventful...I think...I can't really remember anything before the week of Thanksgiving, so I'll start there. The day before Thanksgiving I went and saw Breaking Dawn with a couple coworkers. It wasn't too bad, except for the talking wolf scene...if you've seen the movie you are probably nodding in agreement. It was a nice time, and can't wait to do it again in November 2012! Also, on a sidenote, there was an awesome Hunger Games trailer before the movie, and I am so psyched to see that in March with my fellow HG fanatic Val. Team Peeta baby!

On Thanksgiving Day, we headed to Columbus to celebrate Thanksmas with Erich's mom's side of the family. We usually do this on Christmas day, but with everyone getting married and having kids, it's getting a little more complicated...so this is our compromise. It was a fun day, and it was so stinking nice out! We did some family pictures outside and just enjoyed each other's company...and reviewed the black friday ads of course.

It goes without saying, this didn't make the Christmas card!

Oh yeah, before I go any further, I remembered a couple things we did before Thanksgiving. My friends Lindsay and Tony visited with their new little girl Arianna (Ari for short). We gathered the masses and had a nice football party. The three little girls in the group were fast friends, and I can't wait to see them grow together.

Ari Stern

Harper and Emily Ballou

The three girls

Let's touch her face! Yeah!

Harper loves Emily.

Another fun thing is that we celebrated Christmas a bit early at the cupcake shop. We did some decorating, drank all the wines, and played a fun game where the girls dominated! I even donned a Christmas sweater and sang along to Last Christmas, all before Thanksgiving. It was a first!

Matt and Heather

Some of our handiwork...guess which one is mine?

Rocking our awesome sweaters!

Some of the cookies. Notice the camel to the bottom right? Awesome.

OK, back to Thanksgiving. I went back and forth about black friday shopping, and in the end, it won out. I headed over to Toys R Us Thursday night around 8, and they opened at 9. The line wrapped around the store, and my only hope was that since I wasn't there for an xbox or baby alive, I should be safe. Made it into the store (after sitting through some interesting convos along the way) by 9:30, and was out by 10:30 (with majority of time inside in line to pay...ahh, the things I do for a grocery cart and guitar). I was initially gonna head home, then I remembered some of the deals Kohls had, and I figured I could get a good spot in line since they opened at midnight, and it was plenty early. I was right, and got a great spot in line...so I waited, in the cold, for over an hour...only to be almost trampled by line jumpers as we entered the store. Jerks. But, I got what I went for, and a few other items, and was out of there by 12:30. All in all, a success! I was initially against the midnight openings, but I think I can get behind them.

We then proceeded to celebrate a couple more Thanksgivings; one with my mom and the other with my dad. My pictures didn't turn out that great, but Harper was obsessed with my dad's camera, so I bet he has some great shots that she took :)

Some random items of note. Our tree is up and Harper has left it alone. We made sure to only decorate the top half to hopefully steer her away from the ornaments, but she just likes to look at it and point, and then she has a lot to say about it...wish we knew what it was. She's a talker, and sometimes the words are coherent, like: up, ball, tree, mama, dada, abbey, dog, grr(bear), quack(duck), NO! That last one is most definitely her favorite. For yes, she gives you a very decisive head nod. That kid is pretty hilarious. Coming Soon: Pictures from our visit with Santa, and from Harper's 3 minute Christmas program at daycare. I know, you can hardly contain yourself! I promise to post those yet this week!

Cheese!

She kept trying to put her tongue in my mouth

My grandma made this jumper for my sister, and we've all worn it!

I love leaves!

Guess what happened next?

New boots!

Abbey hated this darth vader toy.

Her dad is a meanie

I'm not a tree Dad!

Untangling the lights...

She took all the brass ends off the ornaments, so now they're decorative

Helping empty the dishwasher.

Happy November

2011-11-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

I'm always happy and sad to see November come. Sad because Halloween, my most favorite holiday, is over. Happy because Black Friday is only 24 days away. Sad because snow is now unevitable. Happy because we Fall back, and I love me some extra sleep. Sad because I have to drive to work in the snow...wait, did I mention that already? I hate the snow, especially after last year's accident.

October went by in a flash, and we had some good times. This last week I volunteered with PJ's Babycakes' booth at Boo at the Zoo. Welcome to Hogwarts! I was Harry Potter, and I gotta say, it was pretty dead on. I just need to work on my more maculine voice for next year.

One of my favorite things about Halloween is handing out candy and seeing all the costumes. Hey, doing this, I pretty much saw every costume in Lincoln, good times. Here were some of my faves: all of the pirates, vampires and Harry Potter's of course, a homemade beatbox, and the best one: a girl was wearing black and white striped tights with ruby red shoes, and on top was a house. Get it? Wicked witch with a house dropped on her. Very creative, however it didn't appear to be very user friendly...but then again, aren't the best costumes?

Harper dressed as a cute little bee. She had some concerns with it at first, but once she realized that she was getting candy out of the deal, she jumped on board. Here are a few pictures from Halloween, and some randoms from the month as well.

My nephew's hands were full of goo from the pumpkins

Enjoying a win on Saturday!

Creepy mustachio--aka Ron Swanson

Front of the house

Getting ready to trick or treat

At Aunt Sandy's house

Going through her loot

Abbey kept stealing candy

Those are mice and cockroaches exiting my pumpkin.

Pooley's Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

Stop the presses! Two posts in a week?! I know, I know. I figure I might as well get these pics out here before it's December and no longer relevent. We visited this nice little patch in Bennington, NE yesterday. A longer drive than Roca, but I think for Harper it was the perfect place. They had a few animals--Harper had a death grip on an unsuspecting chick, some bunnies, pigs, goats, sheep and ponies and a corn silo, which she loved. Daddy vetoed the pony rides, and she was not happy. Luckily we offered her snacks instead and she got over it fairly quickly. Enjoy the pics!

Checking out the chicks

Erich explaining why we don't squeeze their necks

Harper trying to pick a pet

Gentle touches was our phrase of the day

Corn Maze!

She led us through about halfway then wanted to be carried

Bunnies!

She was giving it a "hug"

Asking strangers to pick up bunnies for her

Weird pig thing

Real piggies!

Feeding the sheep

She did smile, I swear.

Fail

Our little pumpkin

She HATED this swing

Pumpkin patches are bor-ring.

Then she was stuck there

Our stylin pink tiger.

Awwww

Driving the safe looking tractor

I got this Dad.

Erich had to try it out

Throwing corn around

Whoa!

Right before I got corn in my face. Her way of saying, Stop taking my picture Mom!

Erich's punishment for trying to throw corn down my shirt, and pelting me in the face in the process.

Action shot, hey look at me I'm standing on this ledge!

Hey, I'm over the ledge, look at me!

Hey, hey guys? Hey? I fell, can someone help me up?

Feeding chickens

This little boy was sharing his corn

Aaaaaaaaaaand, end scene.

I love Fall

2011-10-21T13:02:00.000-05:00

So, I guess I need to get on here more often, as it's been more than a month since my last post. I blame google, it keeps asking for a password and I can never remember this one. And our home computer blows. Enough with the excuses!

My last post was the day before my 31st birthday, and it was a fun day. I had a half day at work, then spent the afternoon with Harper and Erich. We went to Hu Hot for lunch, then to the park for some play time. Then we went out for dinner and drinks with friends, and let's just say that I had a good time...and was very picture happy. It was a good time, and I paid for it dearly the next day...

Bnic, Hlogs and the Creeper

Me and Bnic

Awww

It's our Birthday! Buy us shots!

The following weekend I celebrated birthdays with the girls from college, and it was, again, a good time. Luckily for everyone involved I forgot my camera, but don't worry, my phone takes pictures. Phew. It's always fun to get together with that group, especially since they all live in Omaha and it takes a birthday or football game or holiday to get us together. And now we're starting to have kids, so that throws another wrench into it. Ahh well, we make it work when we need to I guess.

September was a big month for birthdays; aside from mine and numerous friends, my dad celebrated his on the 30th, and my Grandma was turning 90 in October (I'm ashamed to say I don't know the exact date!). My uncle surprised her with a party on Oct. 1. Now, when I told people that we were throwing my Grandma a surprise party for her 90th birthday, I'll admit, I got some odd looks. But trust me, this woman is not your average Grandma, and she certainly doesn't act like she's 90. She got a kick out of seeing everyone, especially the grandkids and great grandkids. We need to do that more often!

We also visited a pumpkin patch (in Erich's parent's back lot) and Harper had fun trying to pick up pumpkins (actually I think she was more pissed off because they were too heavy for her).

Let's see, what else has happened...oh yeah, Harper attended her first tailgate! She got to experience everything around Memorial Stadium, plus she tried Chances R fried chicken for the first time, and she loved it. It was a warm evening, but overall she had fun. And then the game started and she lost any interest she may have once had...I guess she's like me when it comes to football lol!

We also went to KC and saw the Foo Fighters for a combined anniversary/birthday present. It was an amazing concert, I bet they played for at least 3.4-3 hours. If you're the slightest fan, I recommend trying to catch them live. Good stuff. Then we hung out at my sister's the rest of the weekend, which was fun. Harper had a good time playing with her cousins, and my sister finally got the overnight with Harper that she's been jonesing for.

Based on the pictures I've uploaded you should be sufficiently caught up. We have a busy rest of the month; football games, boo at the zoo, halloween and pumpkin patch time, and then we're hitting the holidays. I am trying to make my own gifts this year, we'll see how that turns out. Pinterest.com gives me a lot of great ideas, and I've even purchased some of the supplies, so I guess the rest is in my hands...Here are some randoms that I think are cute. Until next month...year? Maybe.

Thank Goodness for Pedialyte, Picasa and PTO days!

2011-09-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

Note: this was written about August, it's taken me this long to get it posted!!
It has been a long month. Harper has been sick with either teething or some mysterious virus on and off since the first week of August, and it has been trying, to say the least. Lucky for all of us, she remains in good spirits most of the time, so it hasn't been too bad. And we have two molars in, so only two more to go. This virus though, we're stuck on a no dairy/juice diet, and lay off the red meats. Um, that's all she gets at daycare! So, we replace milk/juice with pedialyte, and are inventive with foods at home. At daycare I don't know what to do, so we're letting them feed her the scheduled meal and we'll see where the poop lies. Gross, I know.

We had a busy month as well; my good friend Erin got married, the wedding was beautiful and fun and it was a Harper free weekend, which was good and bad. It was nice to be around adults, but by Saturday night I was missing my baby. We spent Sunday in York (I even bailed on a shower for another good friend, I was that Harper-sick) and picked veggies and brought home literally a box full of taters, tomatoes, cucumbers and beans. Yum! Sadly most are gone now, after I pickled and shared with family. I had my own garden as well, and have pickled most of the cucumbers, and eaten most of the mini tomatoes. I've given up on the larger variety, I only have a couple and they are still green.

We went to the Lancaster County SUPER fair. The only thing super about it was it's lameness. Apparently we lucked out because most of the rides didn't show up until the day we went, which was a week into the fair. Most of the animal exibits were done, but we did see some chickens, chicks, pigs and a couple cows. There was also a petting zoo, and it was just depressing. There was a rabbit and a hare together-how clever; a zebra and camel, who were both so done with people; two varieties of goats, which were probably the best thing there; a huge bull; a porcupine; a monkey who never got close; and a rather emeciated looking kangaroo, who just laid there. So. sad. And there are these kids shoving food in their faces pretty much 24/7. Harper liked the goats, and they liked eating her stroller, so win-win? I guess so. In any event, we decided to stick with the York County Fair in future years. Also, no fried cheese on a stick? How dare you?!

Harper was sick with this viral thing all last week, and was out of daycare Friday. She was feeling pretty good so her and I had a mama/Harper day and went to the zoo. She loves to feed the goats and run around. We also rode the train for the first time, but she was pretty unimpressed, as was I. You see more construction and backs of buildings than anything else. I guess it's the experience of riding of train more than the scenery. I would show you some pictures I took, but somehow when I was editing on Picasa I deleted all of my Harper folders. Every.Last.One. I cried for about an hour before I realized that they were backed up both online and on my laptop. But still, I lost the memories from that afternoon, as well as the rest of August. I did find a few on my work computer, and I guess there will also be more trips to the zoo. Le sigh.

We had one last wedding to attend, Erich's cousin got married. Very beautiful ceremony, and the reception was fun, but Harper decided it would be an early night, so we trekked back to the hotel, and were up early for a swim. Ah, parenthood. I guess this is why babysitters were invented :)

The last weekend of the month we celebrated Erich's Grandpa's birthday in York with a pool party--all the grandkids swim while Charlie and Leona watch, good times. It was a little overcast, but the water was warm, so it turned into a perfect swim day. Harper is becoming more and more comfortable in the water, which is a relief since she'll be spending many summers to come with her Grandparents at the neighborhood pool in the summers.

This past weekend-Labor Day-my sister and the kids were in town, so Harper got some much needed bonding time with her cousins, who love her to pieces, it's so stinking adorable. It was also good to see sister, and play some crazy games of Scattergories. Otherwise it was a pretty low key weekend, very nice and relaxed...we even got to sleep in one day.

Tomorrow is my birthday, so tonight my mom and I did some pre celebrating by seeing The Help. Wow, for not being a traditionally sad movie, it was a tear jerker. I even found myself crying on the way home just thinking about certain parts...go see it. Now I need to read the book, told Erich to get it for my bday :) Not too much planned for the big 3-1, we're doing dinner down in the Haymarket with some friends, then some drinks. Uncle Mike is babysitting so we can't get too crazy, as we will have a kiddo waking up bright and early Saturday.

OK, finally getting this beast of a post out there. Enjoy the photos!

Eating treats off the hotel floor...yuck.

First time with painted toes!

Kissing the girl in the mirror

Fish face! It's the only way to get kisses out of her

Ready to swim Mom!

Touching the bison's nose with Gma and pa

Nose!

Fun times in the Old Market

Botched self family portrait

Candy corn hat my cousin made Harper

Her new "face"

Getting ready to brave the tornado slide with Daddy

With Uncle Zac at the market

Too much coffee!

In her dachund dress from Grandma

After eating her first ice cream cone

Mowing the yard...eating an apple...the usual.

With Hailey and Ethan in her "new" ride

This is so fun!

Asleep with Uncle Yoyo

Cole is so fun!

In her other dachshund dress mom got for a buck!

I love her face!

Pictures from my phone

2011-08-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

Finally getting these cuties published. Just a mishmash of our days. I apologize in advance for the wrong way pictures, I can't figure out how to format them. Just turn your head to the side :) I also apologize for the order.

Hanging out in a tote

Getting ready for our first library visit

Throwing the ball for Abbey

Checking out all these books

Reading

More books

I'll take these good sir

Asleep in her chair at dinner

More books

Hmm, I think I'll sleep

Running around the library

Library trips are serious affairs

A month later...

2011-07-18T23:06:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been exactly a month since I posted last, whoops. Wish I had a better excuse than I've been too lazy to get on our slow computer, but alas... A lot has gone down in the last month, so this will be a hodgepodge of stuff.

Harper is doing so much better! She is sleeping through the night (with the help of a noisy air purifier to drown out the trains that blare their horns throughout the night). She is talking a little more, she says: mama, dada, dog, duck, abba (abbey), ooh, ohh, and mmm. Not a bad little vocabulary. And she is walking everywhere, sometimes running, and can go up stairs (she thinks she can go down, but she is mistaken). She's currently working on a couple molars, so her disposition is less than pleasant at times, but generally speaking she is our wonderful, cute, awesome little dolly.

A friend of mine is getting married in August, and so we had a nice little night on the town with some gals from college--we had celebration part 1 in Vegas, so this wasn't quite a crazy--i.e. no Chippendales, le sigh. We partied in downtown Omaha, she participated in embarassing tasks to earn bingos at each bar, and was a trooper into the night, especially since it was rather hot and crowded everywhere we went. It was fun to see everyone and can't wait for her big day August 13th!

Speaking of friends, we said goodbye to some good ones the other night: Harry, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Hogwarts gang...So good but so sad, so bittersweet! A couple of my friends and I waited at midnight when the final book came out, so it seemed fitting that we do the same for the final movie. We bought our tickets at least a month in advance, and then we waited...and waited...and waited until the day was here. Some of us reread the book, we all made new shirts, and we were off. It wasn't until we were downtown that I realized I stupidly forgot the tickets. Damn! So, we decided to check with the theater before sending Erich back home. As it turned out, forgetting those tickets was fate. The theater was doing a marathon, and we were able to buy a ticket for $10 to get us into the first half of the last movie, and then stay in that private auditorium for part 2, in 3D. Um, yes please. While we didn't want to see it in 3D, we didn't want to stand outside even more. So, we took some pictures with our friends, and then enjoyed the movie. It was really good, followed the book, and I was pleased with the outcome. No spoilers here, and I wish my nephews would stop asking me if Harry dies; read the damn book! Here's a pic of me and muggle baby.

Amanda, Hlogs and Sus at the movie

X amount of years ago at the book release!

Kind of got out of order here, as I missed the 4th of July. I hated it this year, I was Grinchier than I am at Christmas. Between the heat and the noise of the fireworks, then the barking dog and awoken baby, I was done with the holiday before it began. We spent Sunday evening with friends at a bbq, which I left early with Harper. Monday we headed to York for some pool time (which Harper wasn't much of a fan of) and some delicious food. Harper rediscovered her love of knox blox (jello jigglers). She was jello wasted that weekend; she even hit on another baby, she was totally that girl lol. We decided to head home even though we knew our neighborhood would be putting on their huge show. We showed up smack dab in the middle of it, and after waiting about 10 minutes, we decided we needed to get Harper to bed and check on Abbey. It was a long night, with the show going on until at least 11:30, with residual stuff past midnight; when the 4th falls on a weekday, we should automatically get the next day off! It was a very long holiday, to say the least. I guess one could say I'm getting old, if they were so inclined to get punched.

My computer just locked up when I was trying to upload photos, so I'm going to take a hint and go to bed!

Hanging with Uncle Mike

Playing with Aunt Lindsay's hair

Her first Old Navy shirt!

With Dad and Gpa at the pool

Mowing the lawn for Dad

Climbing up the slide by herself

Watering the pool

Picking apples

Slumber party!

Mardi Gras! She loves to wear beads.

Husker hat from Gpa Duane

With Great Gma Jerry

With Gpa Duane

Playing Peek

Harper Update

2011-06-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

The procedure went better than I think either of us hoped. We were at the center by 6, and home by 7:45. I think Erich was thinking it would be like my gallbladder procedure, where he waited for about 3 hours, and recovery time was close to another 3. They had her prepped and ready by the time the dr arrive. He likened it to the Runza drive thru, in reference to time spent there. And boy, he wasn't kidding. By the time they were done, all I had time to do was check facebook and leave an update, maybe 7 minutes, tops. She was pretty upset when we got back there, which we expected. I gave her a bottle and she was still pretty ticked off. I finally got her to sleep and the nurse came in and it started all over again. I felt bad for a guy who was also in recovery, as he was surrounded by three crying kids. I'd have asked for a different recovery space. We got home and she took a very short nap. However, she woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to play and talk and laugh. She was in a great mood all day. Erich had to go into work at noon, so Harper, Abbey and I had a nice lazy afternoon in the living room. We played, watched movies, and most importantly, napped. It. was. great. I can't remember the last time I did that, and it was long overdue.

Today I am also off with her, and had plans to either go to garage sales this morning, or visit the zoo. Both were reconsidered when she woke up at 5:45. I finally got her back to sleep after a bottle, but that only lasted until 7:30 or so. She finally went back down around 11:30, so I got a quick shower and some food in before she's back up. Maybe an afternoon trip somewhere is in order. Have a good weekend all! Here are some pictures of her and Abbey helping Erich fix the deck steps.

Birthday Party!

2011-06-15T20:46:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Harper's birthday this past Saturday with a small party, pretty much just immediate family. It was about 15 people, which was a pretty good size for her. She didn't really know what to think at first, but she warmed up to the people pretty quick. We grilled burgers and had lots of yummy sides. Then we moved on to presents. Harper loved them at first, then she made it her mission to collect all the bows. This made opening presents last about twice as long as necessary, but it was fun watching her as she saw each new thing. I think her favorite was a life sized dachshund toy, which was identical to Abbey...it was Abbey's favorite too. She got some fun new toys, a bubble mower, popcorn popper, lounge chair, some music toys, and a swingset from mommy and daddy. We've probably screwed ourselves here, because really, we have nowhere to go but up, and what's up from a swingset? Luckily our yard is probably big enough for a pony or two lol. We finished everything up with Harper eating her cake I made her. She had no qualms about digging right in, she loved it (and we loved watching her). All in all, a great day. She did pretty good considering she only had one nap in the morning, and went to bed a little later than usual. The following morning we had a friend over to take her one year photos. It was a fun time, and Harper did hold up most of the time. We saw the proofs today and they are so awesome! I can't wait to share them.

Tomorrow we have to be at the surgery center by 6am for the tube procedure...not looking forward to that one bit. I know they say it's a minimal procedure and all, but I still am a worry wart. Wish us luck!

I leave you with pictures from the party. Enjoy!

All the yummy snacks!

Her cake I made. I am very proud of this badboy!

The kids checking out the swingset

Walking up the slide with Ethan

Her birthday shirt

Getting ready to open gifts

Hmmm, what's in this one?

Bows!

Lots of bows!

Each of us has a doxey

In her sweet crocodile chair

Pop!

Uncle Mike putting the bubble mower together

Happy Birthday to Harper!

Yum!

I love this one!

Isn't she talented? Can you do this?

Birthday banner-from birthday to one year

more banner

One Year Old!

See? It looks just like Abbey!

Happy First Birthday!

2011-06-09T17:02:00.000-05:00

In about 45 minutes, Harper will be officially 1. It was about this time last year we were being prepped for a c-section, and had no idea of the speedbumps we'd encounter over the next few hours. Of course, as they say, it was worth it! Harper is definitely developing her own personality, walking everywhere and jib jabbing about this or that. My favorite thing (today) is her little chompers. She has these two vampire fangs on top, and nothing else. Love this! I finally captured a picture of it last night, so need to get it uploaded sometime.

We are celebrating tonight with soup and sammys, and then playing on her sweet new swing and slide set. The big party is this weekend, and we're all excited to see family on Saturday. I still can't believe she's One! This past year has truly flown by, and it has been awesome. Looking forward to year two!

Stealing balls!

First trip to the park--she loved it!

Trying out the rocks

Hey!

Wheee!

You can see one fang on the right side (her left).

6/1/11

2011-06-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's June 1st, and my baby will be a year old next week. She is walking, talking (well, she can say some words, and sounds that could be words), has 6 teeth (still only the canines on top, my little vampire girl) prefers to growl over speak and has an attitude that could only belong to my child. She is pretty much the most awesome kid ever.

We decided that since her birthday is on a Thursday, she should just go to daycare and treat the day as usual. Then we both took Friday off and have plans to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo. It's her first visit, and I honestly can't remember the last time Erich and I were there. Then the next day is her party--see invitation in the below post (I was more than happy to advertise that bad boy, and in return got a $10 giftcard to shutterfly). Just family at the party, she gets pretty crazy when a lot of people are around, and then all she does is cling to me, so hopefully she'll be a little more playful. We got her the most awesome present. It's a swing and slide castle--it stands maybe 2 feet tall, but I'm pretty stoked about the deal I got on it. I'll post pictures after we put it together. Then on Sunday a friend is coming over to take her 1 year photos. It'll be a fun and busy weekend.

Harper goes back to the ENT tomorrow for a follow up appointment, so hopefully all is well, fluid is drained, and talk of tubes are a thing of the past. Fingers crossed! She really hasn't fussed much with her ears, so I am thinking positive thoughts.

My nephew is staying in Lincoln the first few weeks of June, and was nice enough to babysit Harper tonight, so we had a nice date night. We had dinner at Panera, then went and saw The Hangover II. Funny stuff; not as funny as the original (really, would I expect that?) and I would say way more man parts than I needed to see in one sitting, but overall, it was good. Now I just have to wait on HP, which comes out next month! Can't hardly wait! But I am sad to bid adieu to Mr. Potter and his friends. sniff.

My pal Val and I are freaks for the Hunger Games movie casting, and I have, as a co worker phrased it, brought others over to the dark side. I can't help it, these are such good books! I know, the plot sounds depressing (and it is) but it's an addictive depressing. And unlike another popular teen saga, it's no drama, no whining, no teen angst. I'm pretty excited for that movie as well, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland in the same movie? Like!

What else? I planted my garden this past weekend. I've been putting it off, so a couple weeks ago I weeded the heck out of the area, and then this Sunday when Harper went down for a nap, I went to work. I have 8 tomato plants (4 big, and 4 mini varieties) four cucumber plants (minis for pickling) and then a smattering of bean and carrot seeds, so we'll see what comes of those. It's my second attempt after the great potato fiasco of 2010, which was thwarted by an unfortunate series of events (c-section, broken air conditioner, gall bladder attacks, etc). So, potatoes we're goners. I think I harvested a couple, and the rest rotted or went to the animals. So, here's to better luck this year.

Here are a few outdoor shots I took of Harper this past weekend. She loves to go outside, whether on walks or playing in the backyard. I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up and deal with my hatred of being outside in the summer heat.

Photo Card

2011-05-24T14:53:00.001-05:00

Bubble Gum Birthday

Shutterfly has unique and fun birthday party cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Mishmash Post

2011-05-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

So much for posting more than once a month. I'd like to say we're too busy, but it's more that I usually post at work because our computer at home is slow, and I've been busy at work. What a concept, huh?

A lot has happened since my last post, as I indicated in my teaser. I'll try to keep this in chronological order, but if I don't, it's not like you can really challenge me. You don't know!

Harper had her first double ear infection in April (it began when we were in Kearney for Mike's wedding). Well, she went back to the dr twice for follow ups, and after a month of antibiotics, the fluid was still there, and her ears were still red...so we were referred to an ENT (ear, nose & throat dr). He said she had fluid, but it wasn't infected, so we had two options. 1. If we were at our wits end, he could do tubes "today", meaning in a week or so, or 2. A month of antibiotics to try and keep the fluid sterile while it drains (to prevent another infection). We opted for the latter, since this was only her first infection. So far, so good. She's had a couple cranky nights, but I think those are due to overstimulation from visitors and travelling and teething. She goes back June 2nd for another test on the fluid. Hopefully it's drained!

The week before Mother's Day, we could tell she was on the cusp of walking. She was already pulling herself to standing on her own, and walking along the edge of furniture. So, as an early Mother's Day present, she took her first steps the day before! She still relies on crawling for the majority of her movements, but she will walk between Erich and I, and this weekend she was a major show off with the family. On Mother's Day Erich got me a nice card, and we tried to go to Hu Hot for lunch. As it turns out, they really aren't equipt for highchairs, so we opted for DaVincis. It wasn't Hu Hot, but it was still good. Then we went to my mom's to visit with her and my sister and fam. It was a nice little day, which we ended with a shopping trip to Kohls, where I picked out two new purses. I don't have pictures, but they are cute.

This past weekend my nephew, Cole, graduated from high school. We made the trip to KC, and have found that Harper is no better a traveler than I am, so Erich will definitely have his work cut out for him with all his dream vacations involving car rides. He couldn't make the trip, so he has fun in store for him the next trip. We went to the ceremony, which was small and nice--only about 30 kids in his class. My sister had a nice party for him, then they came down this weekend for his Lincoln party. It was nice to see her and the kids two weekends in a row. I miss my seester. She should move back to Lincoln and be my daycare provider.

While we were in KC we stumbled upon a new nailpolish from OPI called crackle or shatter or something. Anyhoo, it's a matte polish you put over a base color, and there's something in it that makes it crackle. I had a hard time with it when we were in KC, but after some blog research, I finally perfected it and love it. I never paint my nails because I always think it looks like crap and end up taking it off. The genius of this is that you can't tell if there are flaws or chips because of the way it sets. Win win! I recommend picking up a bottle. It's a little pricey, but worth it.

So, as I mentioned before, I am reading a series called The Hunger Games (which is currently being casted for a movie, and I am unhealtily obsessed with those updates. I was over the moon when I saw that it was on the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly). It's a three book series, and I finished the last one last weekend. SPOILER ALERT:
So, I was underwhelmed. The whole series is jame packed with fighting and action and omg what's going to happen next. And then the last third of the final book was, well, lame. Seriously? There's an explosion and her sister dies and that ends the war? WTF? Then everyone is just OK with it. Dumb. So, hopefully hye movie does at least the first two books justice.

So, my baby is probably considered a toddler now, and will be one in a couple weeks. Sigh! Where did this last year go? I like going back and rereading the posts from the pregancy and through the first few months. She is growing and changing every day, it's crazy. She's definitely got her own personality. She loves to jabber now, and feed herself--although she doesn't get what a spoon or fork is for. She's drinking from a cup and she's kind of weaning herself off bottles. Despite all this, I'm not ready for another one, so don't ask. She's becoming a handful as it is, I don't need two just yet!

Here are some pictures from the last month, hopefully I'll post before her birthday.

I love putting bows in, she loves removing them

Hanging out with Uncle YoYo

Playing with Aunt Heather's creepy clown toy

Look, I can turn the tv on

Nappy with Grandma Linda

This is a rocker my sister and I both played in as kids

With cousin Hailey

I love her chubby cheeks!

Asleep at the Build-A-Bear shop

Testing the bear for fluffiness

"Washing" it off

J.J. The Bear

Riding a boat. See the video below, she was less than entertained.

Ethan, Cole & Hailey. Cheese Turds!

Coley & Harpy

The Nilsens

Twins!

Look, Brady graduated!

Cole's t-shirt quilt the Grandma's made

Harper eating a devilled egg. It went about as well as you would imagine.

Sneak Peek

2011-05-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

So, I don't really have time for a full post, and don't have new pictures downloaded, so here is a rundown of what's to come when I do get around to posting.

My First Mother's Day
Cole Graduated!
Crackle Nail Polish
Pre Teen Angst, or, Why Harper will be a tomboy, so help me God.
First Steps!
Harper & long car rides
To tube or not to tube, that is the question
The Hunger Games

OK, that is all I plan on writing about, maybe tonight!

May Day

2011-05-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

As I predicted, April went by in a flash. It felt like we were busy going here or there, on top of being sick. Here's a quick rundown of what you've missed with us since we last chatted...

Kant Wedding: Erich's brother tied the knot! It was a fun weekend full of old and new friends, lots of family, delicious wedding cake, a trolley ride and a very happy bride & groom. We didn't have a sitter for the wedding, so I was bummed I missed out on the reception. As luck? would have it, Harper ended up with a high fever that night, which lasted the next couple days. Turned out to be a double ear infection, and teething. She was not a happy kiddo. But at least she seemed to have fun being the cutest baby of the weekend.

Speaking of being sick, it seems like all of us, sometimes even at the same time, have been sick. I followed Harper with an ear infection and sinus infection, Erich opted for flu symptoms, and I think on top of all that we're experiencing fun allergies. Good times all around.

After the wedding was Erich's birthday, which got lost in the sickness. He treated himself to some new video games, and my present was a couple afternoons to himself. Ah, the things we consider a present after having a kid. My birthday list? A nap!

Easter weekend was pretty low-key. On Saturday I made what I didn't realize was a 9 pound ham...for three people. Yikes, that's a lot of ham! My mom came over for lunch, and we watched Harper munch on a cupcake. Very cute, but also very messy. Everyone is determined to give that kid desserts! On Easter we attempted church service, but were thwarted by the mile walk that was awaiting us. We opted for church radio, and headed to Crete for Easter with Erich's fam. We had a nice lunch there, then the kids had an Easter egg hunt. Harper was pretty confused. She'd find an egg, and then try to dump all the others out of the basket. She also got to play with her cousin Max, which is the closest in age to her, and I daresay she will outgrow him in a matter of months.

This weekend we didn't have to do anything. No travelling, no working, it.was.awesome. Saturday I spent the day reading my book--I am into The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. It's a Young Adult series, with three books. My description doesn't do it justice, so go to bn.com and read their synopsis. It's a good, quick read. And I am obsessed with it. Saturday night we met up with some work friends at the roller derby. It was actually kind of fun. Those girls can beat some bitches down! It was really the people watching that I was looking forward to, and it didn't disappoint. If you ever get the opportunity, go check it out. The Lincoln teams play at Pershing Auditorium.

May is going to be full of travel and graduation parties, and June we a first birthday party to plan. I can't believe my little baby nephew is 18 and graduating...amd I also can't believe it's almost been a year since my little baby Harper was born. It seriously has gone by way too fast.

Spring is here, sorta.

2011-04-05T12:55:00.000-05:00

As with all seasons in Nebraska, you never know what to expect. It could look bright and sunny out, but be 30 degrees and coooold. This weekend was a nice mix of warm and cold I guess. We spent much of Saturday outside watching Erich do yard work. Harper wasn't too sure about that whole grass thing, but it wasn't long before she was crawling along, eating grass as she went.

We did her 9 month pictures on Saturday am, and they turned out really nice. I'm excited to share those in a couple weeks. We also went and visited the Ballous, and met their new baby Emily. Harper wasn't too sure about her at first, but by the time we left she was more than comfortable getting in her face, stealing her socks, giving hi fives! Ah, future BFFS, I can see it now. We already decided they're going to run away from home to be hippy groupies of jam bands, but to their fathers' dismay...

This weekend we head to Hildreth for the big wedding! While I'm not looking forward to the drive, I love a good wedding, and it will be fun to catch up with everyone over drinks and cake :) I'm also looking forward to all the pictures I'm sure I'll take.

Speaking of, here are some from this weekend. Enjoy!

Look closely and you can see teeth!

Emily Dawn is sooo big!

Obama four more years!

April Fools!

2011-04-01T12:39:00.000-05:00

April is going to be one busy month, so this may very well be my only post for the month. Let's hope it's not as busy as I'm expecting. This weekend we're doing Harper's 9 month/Easter photos on Saturday, then on to Omaha on Sunday to meet Miss Emily Ballou, who was born on March 3rd. So excited to meet her! And I'm excited to see her parents as well I guess :) The following weekend is Erich's brother's wedding in Hildreth (near Kearney). We leave Friday for the rehearsal dinner, so we're making a pitstop in Hastings to visit my Dad and Grandma. The following Monday is Erich's birthday, and I think we plan on a nice lunch, then he's going to golf, and I'll likely nap...Harper? Probably at daycare. Don't judge. The rest of the weekends involve a golf tournament in Kearney (just Erich and some Pikes), Easter, family visits, and getting our house ready for my nephew's graduation party. Ugh, I'm tired just reading this.

Harper has been having some sleep issues recently, she just can't seem to get into a routine and is up at random times. Some days it's 5-6, some nights it's 1230/1. Then sometimes she goes back to sleep immediately, others she's up for good. It's starting to take a toll on all of us I think. It could be due to teething, or an upset stomach, or too small pjs, who knows!? I may regret saying this later on, but I'm ready for her to talk! I should just quit complaining, everyone else's kids are sick and getting tubes and constant infections; I can deal with a little sleep issue I guess.

I ordered some pictures of Harper the other day; I hadn't done so since November, so I wasn't surprised to find a huge box when I picked them up...I guess 200+ photos don't fit in the regular envelopes. I just have such a hard time choosing pictures, so I order them all! I got a steal from Walgreens on them, so no worries. However, my failure to choose pictures is the reason Erich will be accompanying us to JC Penneys tomorrow for Harper's pictures. I may be a little more decisive with someone other than the sales clerk giving me their opinions. Now will I take it? Who knows...

I haven't uploaded any March photos yet, so I'll have to leave another post with just photos. I forgot I had uploaded some videos from when she was teeny tiny, so here's a link to one (and will lead you to my account, and other videos). More to come there :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-KKcd9SlXs

3/21/11

2011-03-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

That was the shortest weekend ever. I tried blogging last night and had a huge post, then I accidentally deleted it, and in restrospect decided it was for the better. Did you need to hear all the details about me being sick, and in turn getting my sister and her family sick, probably not? Look, just did it in one sentence, yay me. Had a nice visit with them prior to the sickness at least :) Other than that, pretty laid back weekend. Saturday we watched basketball and napped, can't complain about that. Sunday I rocked the cupcake shop and then tackled Walmart on a Sunday...my least favorite day to go. Le sigh.

I got a new phone a couple weeks ago, so this week's pictures are courtesy of that. I think it takes better pictures than our regular camera; if only I could figure out how to zoom :)