Vacation Station

Harper must have been really exhausted from the long road trip, because she slept almost all day the 2nd day (she's much more lively this morning).  After being in the pool around 30 minutes, she was done with swimming and went down for a three hour nap (it may have been longer, but it was at least 3 hours).  The family went out for crab legs last night; a must have when you are at the beach, of course.  I haven't tried shellfish with Harper yet, so I didn't want to risk it on vacation, but she did highly enjoy her grilled cheese and sweet potato fries. ; )

Auntie Ta and Duncle Tony! : ) 

Mornings are very cuddly around here.

Cousins Ethan and Kendrick chillin' waitin' on breakfast. 

Banana face! ; ) Pretty blue eyes.

New flower float! It even squeaks! 

Boat floatin' in her fishy!

Don't be fooled, he got in the boat float by himself, no one put him in there! haha. Silly Kendrick!

She must have been really excited about the spoon...

Some of our favorite Smith's. : )

Too cuteeeee. 

Getting two toddlers to smile at the same time -- NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!

My sweet pea! Man, she's cute! : ) 

Beach Lovin'

After a 12+ hour drive, the family finally landed in Mexico Beach, Florida.  The girls, Lilli and Harper, rode in the car with my Mom and me.  To be such a long drive to ride, with limited entertainment, the girls were so well-behaved.  Mostly they just slept, as we left at night, for the purpose of the girls sleeping.  When they did wake up, we enjoyed ourselves.  The trip consisted of lots of sweet little baby girl giggles; they each think the other one is so funny, and they get really silly, and start belly laughing--they love each other so much.

When we got settled into our beautiful beach house (well, before we really got settled because they couldn't contain themselves), we were off to the pool and the beach.  Harper has never seen the beach, for felt sand between her little toes.  I was a little nervous at first.  As much as she loves the pool, I didn't know how she would like all the sand and salt water.  SHE LOVED IT! : )  In fact, if I wasn't holding her hand, she was darting for the water, and was sad when we had to head back to the beach house.  She is her mother's child.

Brother with his pool banana!

Sister being a pool bum!

Kisses for Auntie! : )

Chase and Lilli boat floatin'. . .

The girls on their wagon ride to the beach! The treatment...

Her accuracy ; )

That's not pee on my cover-up...I promise ; )

"Look at my tuh-dull" (turtle!)...

Beach baby! : )

Aunt Edy, beach bummin'. . .

Sweet baby beach curls : ) LOVE THEM!

Brother skimmin'. . .

What a good Uncy! : )

Momma's happy girl! 

Well, it's official, I always wondered where she got that face from...I guess it's me. LOL.

Handsome brudda! : )

The best for last...THIS IS MY FAVORITE shot of the day! : )

It's back to the water today!  So much family, fun, sun, and sand...EVERYWHERE!  No complaints at our beach house!

Sweet Granny Jo!

In memory of my great-grandmother, Josephine Doss (or as we called her Granny Jo, or Grandma Doss), I would like to share a story.  That way, many years from now I can recall the story and share the story with Harper.

Harper and Granny Jo!

Look at that joy in Grandma's eyes! : )

The story started at Harper's first birthday (which Granny was not able to attend).  Every mother has experienced a birthday party, it is chaos.  You're trying to make sure you talk to everyone, make sure everyone has food/drinks, and the best part (especially with a toddler) are presents!  As we are sifting through all of the presents, we get to a bag--at this point, I'm not sure whose presents are whose--inside the bag was a coloring book.  Sure, all toddlers love coloring books and so I think it's great.  I open it up to do a quick browse of the pictures and I realize that all of the pages are colored.  Of course I'm thinking, "this is misplaced, someone put this in here by accident."  So I check the bag, and it's from my Dad (Harper's Poppy!).  I quietly ask him..."Did you mean to put this in here?" as I didn't want to embarrass him in front of everyone, because people are human and they make mistakes.  He was not shy in telling me, and the whole room, that this coloring book was colored by my sweet Grandma Jo.  All of Granny's grandchildren are special to her, but Dad has always told me so many stories about helping in her barn, and helping in the garden.  He really, really loves his Grandma Jo!  This particular present meant so, so much to him.

You know after a party, everyone leaves and you're sorting through the toys you're going to put on the shelf and save for later because who can really play with all those toys at one time.  (What mother wants to pick up all those toys at one time?! Haha.)  We get to the coloring book again, except this time it had fallen on the floor and it was opened to a particular page.  I got that weird feeling I get when I feel like God is trying to tell me something.  So, I snap a picture of the page for safe keeping.  I then decided to store the coloring book in the box that I have started for all of Harper's meaningful things--her first outfit, sonograms, cards, etc. 

Grandma Doss passed away yesterday.  She was 102, and beautiful as ever.  Truth be told, I didn't see her as much as I should have.  I think we all are guilty of that to some degree.  After her passing, I decided to open the box and share the colored pictures with Harper.  The pictures do it no justice, because she used glittered crayons!  She was very good at coloring.  When I opened the box, for whatever reason, the coloring book was opened to the exact same picture as before.  It gave me a peaceful feeling.  I may not have been the closest to her, but she did mean a lot to my Dad and maybe she's trying to tell me something...I just haven't figured it out yet.

Now I'll share the picture with you.

I can't explain it...but, that has to be God talking.

I experienced chills back in May, and I experienced chills yesterday.  I hope one day Harper understands the significance of this coloring book.  I feel grateful that Dad wanted to share this with Harper; he was eager for me to open is bag, and I guess this is why.  I haven't shared this story with him, but I'm sharing it now...

God is good!

Admitting Defeat

There are moments, as a parent, where we have these really great ideas.  "I'm going to put this cute bow in her hair," "Aww, I'll put this cute outfit on her," or my latest, "I think I will paint her toenails for the beach."

Harper doesn't mind pig tails, she doesn't mind a twist or a braid (when I can keep her still for a braid).  She really is girly in that she doesn't mind a cute do.  Every time I try a super cute bow, she pretends she likes it for a little while, and then right before we get where we are going, she pulls it out and her hair is a mess.

I don't always dress Harper up when we go out, and I sometimes even leave her in her pajamas.  In those moments that I just want her to look cute, she pees through her diaper.  It never fails!  Her cute outfits last, tops, 30 minutes...maybe. Well, sometimes it lasts but most of the time it doesn't.

Last night I got the bright idea to try and paint her toenails.  (What girl doesn't like a good pedicure before the beach?) Though there have been failed attempts in the past, I felt like this time would be different because I came prepared with methods of distraction and I even practiced my speed painting beforehand.  I pictured cute little hot pink piggies.  Instead, I got hot pink feet, arms, hair, and basically, everything that wasn't her toenails.

There are moments in time where I get upset when she takes her bow out, or pees through her clothes.  I don't really know why...I guess just that expectation that she understands she looks stinking adorable.  However, I guess the one thing all parents learn is that there are sometimes you really just have to admit defeat.

Last night I was defeated by my toddler and hot pink nail polish.  Luckily for me, it came out in the bath.  I didn't get a picture, sadly.  I was too busy trying to not end up with pink nail polish on my couch, carpet and anything else she thought it would be funny to try and spread the pink nail polish to.

14 month old girls just aren't concerned with having a cute pedi. ; ) Mommy just has to accept it... The good news is, we laughed and laughed.  I'm pretty sure she was laughing because she's really ticklish, and then she laughed because she managed to get away and thought it was funny when I tried to chase her.  Although I'm sad I couldn't even get ONE toe painted--we had such a good time!

Summer Lovin'

As we can all see, I am really terrible at keeping up with blogs.  Luckily, I didn't wait several months--just a couple of weeks.  I call that progress. : )

The past several weeks Harper and I have been playing catch up on our summer.  Due to my foot surgery, we have spent most of the summer (though most of it was rainy, anyway) cooped up inside.  We have been doing all sorts of things in the past couple of weeks to really "get our summer on!"

Park & Picnic

We went to the park several times.  One day we went with our sweet friend, Megan.  What a great day!  There were lots of chats about being a Mommy, being a teacher, being a teacher/Mommy, and/or being a stay-at-home Mom! Harper decided to swing the entire time, and she was literally so smiley the entirety of the whole chatty conversation.  She's the simplest little girl. A few days later we went to the park for a picnic lunch, which was such a wonderful and refreshing change in our routine, but I mistakenly took no pictures of the picnic.  The picnic was not alone, as Aunt Missy, Megan and Garrett joined us for peanut butter and jellies on a blanket under a huge tree (at the same park, though).

Park day with one of our favorite people, Megan! : )

Shopping

Harper and I spent a Saturday with Nina (my Mom) hobbling through the mall to shop for our upcoming beach trip.  The shots I got of Harper this day were the cutest.  She has no problems "chilling."  We had a great day.  It just took us forever because I could hardly walk, and I had to rest a few times.  

She relaxed on the way, and after lunch; until, of course, she crashed for her 2 hour afternoon nap. ;)

Swimming

What a fun day!  Harper and I went to RJ Ranch (for the first time) with Aunt Missy and cousins Megan and Garrett.  She rode in her boat float around the pool and tried to drink the pool water (ew!), but she really liked the pool.  Keeping her swimming hat on was a lot less painful than I thought it would be until she was ready to take a nap.  She only peed on Megan a few times throughout the day.  ; ) Megan was a trooper though.  I sadly only got one shot this day because I had turned my phone off.  If any of you have been to RJ Ranch, you know it's out in the country and there wasn't great reception. 

I LOVE this shot! She's pondering something...probably how to drink more pool water. ; )

Strawberries & Lightening Bugs

My little girl LOVES strawberries.  She really can't eat enough of them, and I'm not mad because I equally love them (if not a little more) than she does.  After dinner one night, we shared a ton of strawberries outside.  We then caught (or squashed) a few lightening bugs.  This was her first experience with a lightening bug, so it was interesting to say the least.  She had a blast.  Please note that I do have a harness on her.  I prefer not to call it a "leash," because she's not a puppy; therefore, we just call her "Mrs. Monkey." She is the sister to Mr. Monkey whom she sleeps with every night. You must remember, I am still recovering from foot surgery, and I have a toddler (aka: a track star!). 

Eating our delicious strawberries!

The poor bug when it still had it's light!

Hobbies

My little girl is always being silly.  Recently, she has developed a new hobby (if that's what you want to call it!).  We all know when it gets quiet, and your child is out of sight, you are probably going to be cleaning up a mess. . .unless, it's Harper.  Then, you will find her like this.

Those are her shorts, and they have been a new "hat" for the past week!

Sleeping

We always sleep, obviously.  She is a great sleeper, and she has always slept on her own (even when I wanted her to sleep with me, she didn't want to).  She picked an animal up the other night before coming over to the crib for me to put her to bed, and I've always called him Mr. Monkey.  So, he is now her permanent sleeping buddy, and he stays in her crib to keep it warm for bed time. : ) It's the sweetest thing.  I will walk in her room to check on her a while after she falls asleep, and she will be snuggling with Mr. Monkey. 

Also a great time to show off the quilt I  made Harper for her first birthday!
(With a little help from my grandma!) 

Mr. Monkey is the luckiest stuffed animal in the whole house.  He's the only one that has made a permanent home somewhere other than the bathroom floor, the living room floor, the couch, Mommy's bed...or the closet, in a box, because Mommy is tired of picking them up!

Needless to say, we've really been summerin' 'round here! : )

Thrifty Moms

To be a mom, means to be a planner.  We are master planners, and as a Mom, I plan for everything.  I plan for two reasons: money and perfection.  I like to know what I have to look forward to, that way I can manage to collect whatever is necessary in small amounts.  Summer is a precious season because that's the only time people have yard sales.  For those thrifty Moms, yard sales are heaven.  Saturday was like Christmas in July at my house.  I had planned a few months ago to get Harper a play kitchen for Christmas.  Call me crazy, but I had already been doing some online shopping and trying to find hot deals at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Toys R Us, and all the "cool" places to get a brand new kitchen set she will probably rarely play with.  Instead, I came across the coolest kitchen set ever at a multiple-family yard sale on Saturday.

HOLY SAVINGS! It's cooler than my real kitchen.

Truth be told, I saw the picture on a friend's Facebook.  I then made my Mom fetch it for me, as I am still out with my foot surgery.  So...it's not perfect, it's missing a few pieces, and it needs a good washing, but REALLY!? It's probably half the price I could have ever gotten this even on sale brand new! Harper will have so much fun "cooking" with me now. 

Now to find play food and a fun shopping cart for her to push around with me at the store.  Yes, I will take a play shopping cart to the store for her to play shop -- how else do you expect me to teach her how to coupon? ; ) That's next on my summer to-do list...learn how to coupon! 

4th of July

Happy birthday, America! : ) Harper and I had a relaxed holiday.  We did the All-American dress in red, white and blue, followed by a fireworks show.  I was worried the fireworks would scare Harper, but she sat still and in awe of all the sparkly colors.  The whole time she kept clapping her hands and saying, "OHHH!" It made me so happy to see her so excited.

My favorite shot of the day. : ) 

Despite the rainy weather, we had a great day!  The rain held off just long enough for us to celebrate our freedom.  Even though she doesn't really understand right now, I tried to explain to her what freedom and independence really mean.  I tried to explain to her how our lives would be different had brave men and women not stood up for us many centuries ago; also, we talked about the men and women who continue to be brave soldiers and fight for our country daily.  For each Independence Day to come, I hope to always be able to count our blessings and be thankful for this wonderful celebration of our country.

We are proud to be Americans! : ) Not just on this holiday, but all days!