Miss Harps is 9 MONTHS!

Well my baby is growing up right before my eyes and there is nothing I can do to slow it down!  I often get the question from others if we are going to have any more kids and I just cant imagine even thinking about anymore because it seems like yesterday I was pregnant with Harper!  So as of now.. my response to the question is "maybe.. but not for a few years!" haha I would like to finish school and have a part time job for a little bit before I even consider it. :)

Harper is such a perfect baby. I have no idea how I got so lucky to have such a relaxed and chill little girl.  She is so easy going and hardly ever makes a fuss!  I never have to worry about her getting cranky or crying or any of that while we are out and about, because it NEVER happens.  Harper is quite opposite of her big sis.. Kinsey was much more high maintenance ;).

Miss Harp's 9 month checkup went perfect as usual.  She is growing and developing right on tract! Here are her stats:
Weight: 16.8 lbs 21%
Height: 27 in 25%
Head circumference: 41.2 cm 2%

She is just our little petite girl with a very small head haha!

*Harper now as 4 teefers.  2 on the bottom and 2 on the top!
*She is crawling.. kinda lol she will get up on all fours and crawl with her hands then scoot her knees! She also likes to sit on her bum and use her legs to scoot around.  It is funny to watch but she loves it and gets going pretty fast haha
*We are on pretty much the same schedule.  Her morning nap is only about 30 min long.  This girl can sleep though.. holy cow! ha She goes to bed around 8-830 and will sleep until 9 if I let her!  I have to get her up no later than 730 though so I can feed her before I go to school, and some mornings she falls asleep while eating so I put her back in bed! Once she is done nursing, it will be interesting to see what time she wakes up :)
*Harper is eating table food now except for breakfast.  I feed her cereal with baby food fruit, then lunch, snack, and dinner are whatever we are eating.  She LOVES this and usually out eats everyone at the table.. I am convinced she has a hollow leg...
*She is quite the chatter box!  We can usually have a great convo that lasts for a few min.  She will just look at me and jabber away and I will respond with "are you serious?!" or "I dont believe it!" and then she will giggle and continue jabbering haha!
*I never thought my heart could melt as much as it does with my two girls! They play so well together and laugh and giggle all day! Kinsey doesnt even have to do much for Harper to crack up laughing.  My favorite is when Kinsey goes to Harper, gives her a big hug and kiss and tells her "I love you sooooo much Harper!"
*We had to lower her crib mattrice because she is now starting to pull herself up.  I had the first scare when I went in to get her and she was standing up with a huge smile on her face like "look what I can do mom!" haha so right then and there I got the tool and down when her mattrice!

We are so lucky to have Harper as a part of our family and I have no idea what I would do without her! She brightens my day, every.single.day!! There is a constant smile on her face and she is the snuggliest little thing. I believe she came to me at the right time and was exactly what I needed! I love you MISS HARPS!!!!

ouch

well here is to another post about me spilling my feelings.. for some reason, my mind is much clearer and the weight on my shoulders is lifted after i write or blog my thoughts.  this may not make since, but this is all for MY benefit. today was a rough day for me and i know i should just be thankful for everything i have because i really am so lucky! maybe it was all my fault because i woke up dreading the day.. my alarm went off way to early and i was negative from the get go!  i went to school and had a few good laughs thanks to my professor dr hutchins.  he is freaking hilarious! in the middle of his lecture he took off his button up shirt to show us his chuck norris shirt he had on underneath! what a goof.. then i came home and immediately started my daily routine of cleaning and taking care of my beautiful girls.  i started to feel quite shaky and sick to my stomach and soon realized i had not eaten anything yet and it was already noon! i am not in the best of mood when i am hungry lol! so off to cb madox to get the girls and i a yummy chicken sandwich and what seems like a lb of french fries.  on my way home my grandma (dad's mom) called me.  we were just talking about how much fun everyone had at our last get together..  we got family pictures done, my grandma also organized a big pot luck and a bunch of games with prizes for everyone.  she even invited family that we hardly ever get to see! it was GREAT!!! then the topic of my dad came up.. he did not show to the family pic for some reason i do not know... i told her that mine and his relationship is not so good anymore because he seems to be too busy for my family and i.  the last time i talked to my dad was on fathers day and a brief moment at my cousins wedding reception.  she then began to tell me that he felt the exact same way.  this makes me feel bad because i know lots of people that dont have both parents, and here i am being stubborn and waiting for HIM to call me.  life it too short and unexpected, you never know what is going to happen.. so why hold grudges and be stubborn right?!  well i finally set my stubborness aside and texted him.  he drives trucks for a company and they are not allowed to talk on the phone, so i figured a text would be best, that way he could read and respond when he had a chance.  it took awhile for him to text back, i expected that. but what he said was one of the most heart breaking things i have ever read.  my text basically said i know he is busy, but i would like to steal him for a couple hours one night and take him to dinner, just let me know what day and time!  his response was, that would be nice, dont know when i will have time... OUCH! i am his only biological daughter and Kinsey and Harper are his only grand-daughters and he is telling me he doesnt know if he will have time?! he is married and his wife has 3 kids from previous relationships, so i know he is a busy man taking care of his family.. but i am willing to miss school, gym, and my time with brandon (which is not very much time) just so i can have time to spend with my dad.  is it too much that i want him to rearrange his schedule and make just a little bit of time for me? correct me if i am wrong.. you should always have time for your children.. no matter what! so i have been an emotional mess since.. went to the gym and totally over did it. increased my weights way too much and didnt listen to my body.  so here i am bawling my eyes out because my heart hurts and i cant even walk because my legs are so sore already!  i am a hot mess i guess you could say haha  i love my dad very much and i know he means well.. and he prob doenst know that his simple response hurt me as bad as it did. so now i am stuck trying to figure out if i should pursue my attempts to get closer to my dad, or prevent more hurt and just accept the fact and wait for him to call and make the attempts.  that would put me right back in square one.. right where i dont want to be!

on a more happy note, brandon and i finally got a new bed, and it came TODAY! we invested in a sleep number :)  so i am going to give up for the evening, make me some yummy green tea, take some tylenol for my screaming muscles, and watch me a good movie in my new bed!!

4 years and many, many more!

Brandon and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on August 28.  I cannot believe how fast time has gone and that we have actually been together for 6 years! He is my best friend and my soul mate.  Brandon and I are two totally opposite people, but I think that's why we get along so well.  When Brandon proposed, I was 18 and a sr in high school.. I always tease him that he just could stand the chance of loosing me ;) haha! We were so young, and really didnt know too much about adult life.  That being said, we have gone through all the tough "growing up" things together, and practically matured together.  Brandon knows just the right buttons to push of mine, and same with me, but he also knows how to spoil the crap out of me and make me feel like a queen!  He is the perfect father, and perfect husband and I KNOW I am one of the luckiest girls in the world to have a husband who loves and treats me so well ;)

Since we went to Park City right around our anniversary, I told Brandon not to get me anything because that was enough.  Well.. He doesnt listen very well!  He surprised me and had chocolate covered fruit delivered to the house and  took me out to The Melting Pot, and even had a rose and a card waiting on the table for me when we got there!  See what I mean.. he spoils me.  Then since Brandon lost his wedding ring over a year ago, I decided I would get him a new one.  This time we went a little cheaper and just ordered it off of overstock.com lol but he got to pick it out and everything :)

I LOVE YOU BABE!!

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youngins.. ;)

Park City 2012

 After summer semester I was in major need of a break from life! Summer semester was my first time back as a full time student since before I had Kinsey.. so it was a huge adjustment.  Part time with one child was tough, but full time with 2 kids is even harder.  I made it though, barely, and even got amazing grades. I came down with the flu really bad the last day to take finals, and being the great procrastinator I am, I had to take 2 finals, and turn in 3 assignments by mid-night.  Let me just say it was pure HELL!  I ended up turning in the assignments while laying in bed with the lap top.  I ended up calculating my grades and realized I could still get an A without turning in 2 of the assignments.. so I didnt haha.  Anyways, on to the fun stuff!  We went to my cousin's wedding reception on Friday night with our car packed and ready to head to Park City immediately after.

Our condo was really nice and had a fridge, microwave, sink, dishes, and even a coffee maker!  Then downstairs they had the pool, 2 warm kiddie pools, 3 hot tubs, fire pits, quite a few BBQers, pool tables, lounge area for big kids with video games, a play room for little kids, and a gym.  So we were NEVER bored and always had something to do because they did activities for kids all day long.  Kinsey had so much fun!  She attended finger painting, preschool activities, and loved every minute of it.

Unpacking the night we got there :)

Harper reading about all the fun things to do while in Park City

Finger paining!!

Havin some fun!

We went to the Olympic Park and I thought that was amazing! We got there just in time for their show which included all the trainees for the Olympics practicing.  Then we also got to see where the bob sledding took place, and walk around to read and learn about the history of skiing.

This is what they ski down, then they land in a big pool of water.. idk why I didnt get any pic of them jumping or landing.  Prob because I was too busy watching haha

I didnt get the squint eye memo ;)

Every Sunday in Park City they have a street festival called "Park Silly" and so of course we had to go! I am a huge fun of street festivals ;).  Kinsey got her face painted, Harper had her first taste of real fresh lemonade, and we all got to enjoy the most delish grilled cheese sandwiches.  There was music and booths, and just a ton of fun!

She was tired.. :(

She loves getting her face painted

We roasted marshmallows just about every.single.night! Talk about HEAVEN ;)

yum!

Harper and I enjoying the heat from the fire 

Dad being a good sport and roasted mallows for us girls ;)

We had to do the Heber Creeeper one day, it was a MUST!  Kinsey was so excited because she loves trains.  The tickets said you needed to be there 45 min early (I have no idea why because it was a ghost town until about 10 min before they loaded the train lol), so we sat in the car, and played outside trying to entertain the girls for what seemed like forever.  Finally after Kinsey asked about a zillion and one times to get on the train, they let us on.  The weather was perfect and it was so relaxing!  There was a young girl playing the violin and they did a little skit with the “Black Raven” that comes onto the train to steal the treasure, and the scenery was AMAZING!  I had the best time ever, and the girls were so well behaved so life was great!  I def recommend it to anyone who is up that way because it was awesome!!!

Waiting to get on the train

LOVE IT!

We got in the water almost every day because who doesn’t love swimming!? The place we stayed at has 2 kiddie pools that are just like hot tubs but not quite as hot.  That is where the girls liked to hang out.  We did go into the big pool with our floaties a couple times but we chose to go to the warmer pools usually ;)

Miss Harps!

There was no way Kinsey was going to drown ;)

Going up to Park City, Brandon had the expectation to go down the Alpine slide, and do the roller coaster.  I on the other hand am a huge chicken and didn’t know if I could do it.  It didn’t help that our window in our room faced the slide and we could see people going down it all day.  Brandon would comment “the line is so short!! We should go!” and my response would always be, we didn’t have anyone to watch the girls and I didn’t think Kinsey would go on the lift to the top of the slide.  Well one day we were just walking around and Kinsey said she wanted to go down the big slide.  GREAT! Haha.. Of course, Brandon made me take her… I was so nervous to take her on the lift, and then going down the slide I was afraid to fall off.  I was a nervous mommy.. We made it to the top (that lift ride seemed like forever and a day..geez!) and then Kins and I walked along the trail to go down the slide.  I felt so much better after we were going down because then I realized it wasn’t so bad.  I must have been going extremely slow, though, because Kinsey was yelling to go “Faster, MOM!!” LOL  Well after we got to the bottom, Kinsey was screaming to go again.. she is my lil dare devil!  So the next time dad took her and they had a blast (Im sure he went a little faster for her ha).  Then Brandon went down the roller coaster while the girls and I had an Icee!

Happy girl

Big sis feeding her lil sis :)

Coming down the big slide!

I had so much fun on this family trip, and I know the rest of the family did as well.  We ALL needed it!  Brandon and I were finally able to get away from our grown up lives and have fun, and the girls got spoiled to no end J  We went shopping, ate lots of yummy food, saw neat things, had tons and tons of fun, and just spent the most amazing 7 days as a family!  It made me really realize that I have an amazing life with an amazing husband, and 2 perfect girls.  I am so thankful for them!! I stress out way too much, and I need to just make the best of every situation and ENJOY LIFE!

Update on our lil dancer!

Well Kinsey is offically 2 1/2.  When you ask her how old she is, she will reply "two half!".  She is just like her momma was and is full of personality... and DRAMA!  She knows how to work it with her big blue eyes so that your heart melts and you finally just give in to her, and she also knows how to scream at a pitch I think only dogs and I can hear lol.  I can tell she is getting into the "horrible threes" stage because she seems to be talking back more, and getting into more trouble ;)  I never used to judge those moms with screaming kids because I knew I would eventually experience it on my own.. and now when I see a mom with a screaming kid I want to go give her a big hug HAHA! Because I know exactly what she is going through and I feel her pain.  Dont get me wrong, having a 2 1/2 year old is SO much fun!  She is able to communicate so much better and I no longer have to play the guessing game of what Kinsey wants, or needs.  Kinsey can also do more things with the "big kids" like playing on the playground at the park, and playing games at the fair, etc.  The good def out weighs the tough times.  Another great thing is she is HILARIOUS!! She will say something and it will make me laugh for hours! Or she will imitate an action of mine or Brandon's and will have us on the floor rolling around laughing.  Kinsey is def full of spunk and there is never a dull moment when she is around.  I would make a list of all the things she says, but this would be the longest blog post in history, Kinsey says just about every single word or phase, and if she isnt sure of what something is or how to say it she will say, "whats this", "c'mere Ill show you!".  

Kinsey still (thankfully) loves her baby sister!  She will constantly ask "Harper is??" if we go anywhere without her and will usually cry.. Kinsey loves to wake up in the mornings or after her nap before Harper so she can go into her room and tell her "waken bacon sweetie!" (I say that to Kinsey all the time lol) She has started to do some not so nice things to Harper but it is a learning process and we are getting much better.  Kinsey likes to take toys from her, and sometimes push her back when she is sitting on the floor, but after explaining to her that it gives Harper "owies" she goes over and apologizes.

Kinsey is the biggest snuggler EVER!  She is the happiest girl if she can sit in your lap wrapped up in a blanket.  Then once she gets comfortable she starts throwing her limbs at you to "ickle me mommy!". HA  (another wonderful trait from her mom)

She is shy as can be around strangers.  The other day we were in Target and my hands were full so I couldnt hold her hand, and she was freaking out because the lady walking behind us kept saying "hi" to her.  I was practically tripping all the way to the check out because she was holding on to my legs and walking so close to me.

Kinsey is my big helper and will help me with anything I ask her to.  Some days I feel bad because I ask for her help a lot but I can tell she enjoys helping me by the look on her face when I tell her "thank you so much".  She will even ask me "mommy I help you, please?"

I cant believe my girl is growing up so fast.. it seems like just yesterday I was snuggling her as a baby, and now she is her own person with a great personality.  

Her favorite things to do are: go to papas house (my mom and robs house), make popcorn, watch mooies (movies), walk to the park, play dress up, cook pretend food for Harper and then try to feed her, go shopping (which usually ends in her hiding in the clothes racks from me lol), and anything to do with water!

This is her at dance.. She has to always get a drink from the fountain and is so proud she can finally reach :)

dress up time!

She is a pro at the balance beam!

my lil monky!

 I LOVE YOU KINSEY BEANS!

Splash Pad!

I try to plan fun things for the family to do when Brandon has the day off since he hardly is ever home!  He works 50+ hours a week so when he has a day off, we go crazy and want him all to ourselves ;) We decided to pack up a lunch (aka, stop by subway for a sandwich to go haha) and go to the Riverdale splash pad.  If you have little ones and havent been there yet, I HIGHLY suggest it! This is Kinsey's second year playing there and she loves it.  Harper was not to sure about the cold water, she prefers prefers the warm water activities lol but she still had fun watching big sis playing.  

24th of July.. just a month late!

WHEW! I have NO clue where the past month has gone.. So yes I am just now posting about our 24th of July!

Brandon had to work, so the girls and I had a normal day at home then went to Brandon's grandmas house for a BBQ later that day.  Kinsey got to play with her cousins and had a blast! Later that night we ate otter pops and lit fireworks and just had some good ole quality family time ;)