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! : )