Grace is 2!!

I know ... I'm a month late, but it has been a busy month ...

My little girl turned 2 years old!  I know it sounds cliche, but I can't really believe how fast it has gone.  It seems like yesterday that she was a tiny baby in my arms and now she is running everywhere with quite the immagination and the stubborness of both of her parents combined.  

Grace and Eric have birthdays only a few days apart so we decided to have friends over for a BBQ on their birthday weekend.  It was a crazy rainy day, but the rain stopped just in time and we were able to hang out outside while the kids played in the water.  Turned out to be a lot of fun!

We did presents and cake on Grace's actual birthday ... she and Eric shared an ice cream cake ... I even let Eric pick it out.  Grace did much better eating this cake than she did last year.

Then it was time for presents ... she likes to open them, but she tends to take her time so we had to prod to be done for bedtime.  She tends to tear the paper off in tiny pieces very slowly so it took forever ...

and then by the time we got to the last present she had to take breaks to play with toys before she would actually finish it.

We love this little girl and could not be more grateful to have her in our family!

Summer Vacation

First off ... I will mention that as it typical, whenever we go to see my family I never get around to taking any pictures.  I wish I had, we did lots, but alas ...

This summer we did our summer vacation with my family.  Actually we saw lots of family, but the bulk of the trip was to see my family.

After some trouble getting our trip started ... I won't get into it, I will just say that I am done with Frontier Airlines ... we set off for Salt Lake.  We got there on Saturday morning and picked up our car and met Eric's sisters for brunch.  It was fun to see them and Grace enjoyed having them walk/chase her around the retaurant and its parking lot.  Then we were off to Idaho.

We stayed at my parent's house in Meridian.  We all went to church together on Sunday morning which has to be the first time that has happened in years!  We added 6 kids to their nursery ... probably would have been good to warn the primary of that ahead of time.  I think the most entertaining moment was when in the hallway moving between sharing time and class my nephew Junior was telling the teacher that he was my little brother Jackman's nephew.  Junior has 5 inches or more on Jackman and is 3 months younger than him.  I saw the teacher kind of shrug it off like "yeah right", but the funny part is that is true and I don't think most people are likely to believe him.  Maybe not so funny to you, but I just about died!

We headed up to a cabin in Garden Valley that afternoon where we stayed until Wednesday.  We had lots of pregnant woman and my sister Jenn who had her baby six weeks ago.  So we were really limited as to what we could do so we crafted.  We all use the same Christmas stockings and all needed to make some more so we got that done and made all the kids their 4th of July shirts.  It was fun to sit and craft with my mom and sisters and Eric was great about taking care of the kids.  And as is required for any Harper women get together there was a visit to a quilting store in town.  I now have a new long term project to work on.  I am very excited!  It was a fun few days to just relax and spend some time together talking and letting our kids play together.

We headed back down to Meridian on Wednesday where we took kids to play at the splash pad and the park ... and of course sno cones from Ali's Sno Shack!  That night my sisters and I and our husbands got to go out for dinner sans kids.  It was so nice to get to sit and talk and not have to chase kids.  Pretty sure there were a couple moments where laughter brought me to tears so it was a good time.

Thursday (aka the 4th of July) Eric, Grace and I packed up and said goodbye and headed to Blackfoot (where both of my parents grew up).  In the 4 years we have been married we have meant to go there a lot, but have never made it.  We (now that I think about it this was a really bad idea, glad it worked out ok) decided to take the highway route accross the state instead of the interstate.  The highway takes a little longer, but it is prettier and you go through Crater of the Moon.  So we took that route which took longer than we thought it would and there was no where to stop for lunch, but we did get to see Craters of the Moon which Eric had never been to and I hadn't been too since I was a kid.  It was amazing as always.  If you look close you can see Grace is wearing her 4th of July shirt we made her :).

After a lot of driving we made it to Blackfoot.  We stopped first at my Grandma and Grandpa Harper's house.  We stayed there and visited for a few hours.  Grace kept Grandma busy playing with her.  She also made sure to stop what she was doing and ask Grandma if she was ok every time she coughed, which only lead to laughing and more coughing, but it was cute.  Of course I had to show Grandma my new quilt project.  She was upset we went to a quilt store without her ;).  Grandma and Grandpa both celebrate their 80th birthday's this year as well and their 60th anniversay.  We will unfortunatly miss out on those festivities due to baby boy's due date so it was fun to get to see them.  

We then made it over to Kesler's house where a small 4th of July gathering was taking place.  Grace enjoyed jumping on the trampoline while I got a chance to catch up a little bit with some family I haven't seen in a long time.  I also got a few minutes to talk to my Grandpa Kesler ... not sure he ever realized who I was, but it was good to see him and talk to him for a little while.  And as if we could make this day any longer we decided to leave from there and head straight back down to Salt Lake.  We did get a nice fireworks show at every town we passed along the way.  Grace was a real trooper when it came to all the travel on this trip.

We spent the next couple days in Salt Lake with Eric's sisters.  They experienced taking an over tired 2 year old out to breakfast ... once again a lot of time was spent outsite until the food arrived.  We all took naps and went to the park.  It was fun to just hang out and play with Grace.  Saturday we went to Hogle Zoo.  As usual Grace loved the animals. 

She watched 2 bears wrestling in the water for a long time.

She liked the giraffes, but their long black tongues kind of creep me out.

The zoo has lego exhibits right now so here is Eric as a lego Gorilla.

And Grace.

It was fun to get to take her somewhere fun.  I have been lousy at that this summer being super prenant and all.  That night her aunts were nice enough to watch her and let Eric and I go out to dinner which is always nice.

It was a great trip!  I am glad we went.  Looking back I would never reccommend someone travel like that 35 weeks pregnant cause it was rough, but I am very glad we did.  But it felt wonderful to get back to our house and sleep in my own bed.

Starved Rock

Eric had Good Friday off of work so we got all of our work done on Friday and on Saturday headed down to Utica, IL to go to Starved Rock State Park.  When we got there we had a picnic and then headed out for a short hike.  Here is Gracie getting a ride from Dad.  (Eric was a good sport and let me put the moby on him to carry the baby).  P.S I love it!

Gracie sported her cute hat to keep the sun off.  She liked it I think, plus I think it makes her look extra super cute!

Here we are on the high point of Starved Rock (to all my family and friends out west, yes this is a high spot for Illinois, I know, it's sad).  We are on the banks of the Illinois River for anyone who is getting their bearings.  

It really is a pretty area.  We hiked some more trails back in the woods.

Me and my honey :).

Dad and baby taking a look at the gorge next to us.

Not sure why, I thought it was awesome!

Baby is in this picture, she is just behind Eric's head.

We had a good time and it was nice to just get out for the day and enjoy time together as a family and time outdoors.

Easter

I am a little late with this I know, but we had a quite Easter Sunday.  Eric didn't have meetings in the morning so he got to be home with us.  We had a nice breakfast and then we all got ready for church.    This is Gracie before church in her Easter dress.  I was a slacker so it isn't anything fancy, but it is springy so fun.  If you are interested here is the tutorial I used to make it.

Here Gracie is after church on the lawn.  She has never experienced grass before so she is still deciding how she feels about it.

Daddy is showing her the tulip that is starting to open.

Gracie is a pro at presents ... here she is checking out her Easter basket.

She got some new hair bows and baby jewelry ... she tried them all on!

It was a nice quiet Sunday.  We had friends over for dinner which was fun.  It gave us an excuse to cook a big Easter dinner.  

Valentines Day Project

I have decided that now that I have the benefit of being a SAHM that I would start doing a lot of the things that I always wanted to do when I was working, but never had the time.  Which really translates into finding my inner crafty self that has been suppressed for the last ten years or so.

In my crafting efforts I have been making more decorations for holidays.  With Valentines Day coming up I decided I needed a few decorations for it in my house.  (It is a special day for us since it is the day that we met, gag a little I know, but still).  So, I went where it only made sense to go ... Pinterest.  There I found this wreath idea and decided I needed one.  Warning, it took me about six hours, but I did get it done in one day.

So I bought my felt (1yd), wreath form, and straight pins and set to work.  For starters I cut a whole bunch of 3" circles.  I used a cup to mark the first one and the used that one for the rest.  I cut these two big stacks and decided to see how far they would get me.

Then to get started, I had my cheerleader, supplies, and a snack.

Super easy!  Just fold the circles into quarters, stick a pin in the base, and stick it into the wreath form.

This is how far those two stacks got me.  I ended up cutting us almost all of the rest of the felt.

A piece of ribbon looped and pinned to the back (I used lots of pins) and done!!

I like it, then again I like most fun fluffy things that are bright pink!

Christmas - Finally!

Sorry, I meant to post this earlier, but didn't since I have some videos that I wanted to post.  But, I still can't seem to make my computer like our  new camcorder so alas, you just get some pictures off our regular camera.  

As usual we had two Christmases.  We had our family Christmas on Wednesday night at home since we were leaving to Nebraska on Thursday morning.  Santa was helpful and came early.  

Here is Gracie inspecting her stocking and the presents brought by Santa.

Grace really enjoyed opening presents.  We were amazed how quickly she figured out the wrapping paper.  She opened all of her presents with only a little bit of help.

Grace modeling the hat mom made for her.  (It was my first attempt at a brimmed hat)

She helped daddy open the picture that she got him.

The ribbon was yummy.

Grace was wiped out after opening presents.

On Christmas Eve we decided to go to the Strategic Air and Space Museum outside Omaha.  Little did I know that Strategic Air Command during the cold war was based in Omaha.  Anyway, after a couple hours of going through hangers looking at planes and shuttles, Grace was pretty wiped out.

Of course Christmas Eve means Christmas pajamas, so ...

Here is Grace modeling her Christmas pajamas from Grandma Roundy.  She has reindeer feet :)

Here is Grace playing with her aunts before bed on Christmas Eve.

Grace in her Christmas dress.  (she has started smiling for the camera :))

After church it was time to open more presents.  So we had to get changed.

Grace in her Christmas outfit :)

Sorry, all of these photos and videos are on the camcorder.  Maybe someday I will get it to work for me and I can post some videos.  We had some really great ones.

Grace was pretty spoiled.  She got lots of fun new toys and her aunts got her a baby bullet which mom is really enjoying.

Gracie is playing with all of the toys that Grandma Roundy gave her.

And to show off her reindeer bum :)

Christmas was wonderful!  It was a whole new experience with a child, it was even more special.  I am grateful for the time that we were able to spend with Eric's family and for all of their help with Gracie.  Eric and I got a nice long date.  Can't tell you the last time that happened.  We wish we could have seen my family too.  We missed them a lot.  Overall, it was a great Christmas!

Thanksgiving

We had originally planned to stay home for Thanksgiving this year since we are going to Nebraska for Christmas and just have dinner on our own or with some friends, then Eric's parents and sisters decided that they would all come to our house for the holiday (Eric and I know it was really to just see Gracie).

Kirstin and Nanette came from Utah and Eric's parents drove over from Nebraska so everyone was here by Monday night.  Kirstin got here on Sunday night and she and I just hung out on Monday, very exciting I know.  We did some planning and grocery shopping on Tuesday and some more shopping on Wednesday and mostly just spent time together and played with the baby.

Last year when we were in Nebraska for Thanksgiving we had planned a Thanksgiving morning 5k (I think it ended up being closer to 2 miles since it was freezing) so this year Eric's sisters thought we should do another one and we even made race t-shirts.  Kirstin has the group photo of everyone in their shirts, sorry I don't have one to share.  Anyway, we decided to do our "5k" at Riverside Park in Beloit, WI.  After we mostly walked it was time for the "kids" to go play in the playground, it was awesome!

Here we all are on the turtle.

And on the play yard.

I got a lot done since Grace was being held most of the time.  Here she is napping with Grandma.

I tried several new recipes this year and for the most part loved them.  But to be honest I had no idea how much work it was to put together a Thanksgiving dinner.  Gracie and her bumbo were our centerpiece, I mean what could be cuter :)

And here she is in her Thanksgiving outfit, cute as always!

It was a fun holiday!  Everyone left on Friday so Eric and I were able to get our decorations up and get some chores done and even managed to do some Christmas shopping.

Happy Halloween

I had a hard time finding a baby Halloween costume that I liked this year and I spent a lot of time looking.  Then I ran into a cute onesie at Walmart and decided I could make something cute out of it.    So, for Halloween this year Gracie is a little witch.  (Don't mind the hat, it got pressed flat and I could not manage to get it to fluff up again).  At our ward trunk or treat on Saturday night she really enjoyed trying to eat her tutu but she was not a huge fan of the hat on her head.  Still, I think she is super cute!

Cletus is a turtle this year.  I have a hard time finding costumes for him since he has a little bit different build than most dogs, but I saw this one and had to get it.  Really it is just good for a laugh if you need one.

I pulled out Cletus' Halloween scarf from last year since it is simpler to wear than the turtle costume.  He hates this scarf since there are bells on it and they make him crazy.  He let me put it on no problem, but he sat there just like this until I finally took it off.  He was not willing to move at all, apparently he remembered it better than I thought he would.