Christmas Fun!

We had a great Christmas this year. Harper was really into it, and somewhat understood what was happening.  She loved opening presents and helping others open presents. She didn't understand that she should really only open her presents, so she'd go around opening random presents - which was quite funny.

We spent x-mas eve and x-mas day with the Sandquists/Van Maanens...and the day after with the Wendts/Gyolais. Now it's back to getting Harper on her routine. I think she was excited to get back to daycare to see her friends!

Enjoy the photos.

Helping decorate cookies for Santa.

Enjoying a cookie!

Admiring the x-mas tree at the Van Maanens.

A little upset about putting milk and a cookie out for Santa. I thinks she was just wanting to go to bed.

Getting into a present!

Being silly and sliding across the floor on a stool while we were eating breakfast.

An attempt at a family photo. This is typical right now as she is not interested in getting her photo taken.

However, this one came out great as she was being silly looking thru daddy's legs.

This is how she napped on x-mas day, with Mollie and Noah. Mollie loved having Harper sprawled out across her!

With M&M.

Checking out what was in the bag!

Getting the hang of this present opening!

Calling her BFF Evie. She said on the toy phone: "Hi Evie, merry Christmas!". It was so cute!

And her big present, from the Van Maanens. She loves it! Wish it was nice outside so she could ride it around!

With her cousin Shea - they really liked playing with each other!

And the rest of her cousins - Bryn, Myka and Shea. Myka was being funny and doing her best not to smile!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Harper loves the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town - especially the version sung by the Jackson 5. We often listen to it 2-3 times in a row while driving to or from work. And beyond that, she loves anything Santa - except Santa himself. I took her to see Santa at a party at work for employees' kids. She wanted nothing to do with Santa. She did give Mrs. Claus a small hug and a five...but she cried when it came to getting closer to Santa. So Santa had me sit on his lap (kind of weird) and then Harper on my lap. Still, she wanted to get far away. A friend documented this exchange, see below.

The visit turned out to be very traumatic!

Mommy, get me away from this guy!

So pitiful. I feel like a mean mommy when I see this photo.

All recovered...doing crafts with her buddy Evan.

Harper LOVES to color. And we are so impressed with how well she can hold a crayon and color relatively well. And she loves to have us color with her, which is fun.

 Enjoying a chocolate cupcake! I guess we know this year she will eat cake on her b-day!

Messy face!

Snuggling with momma on the couch. She also loves to play "pretend sleep". She will get pillows and blankets out and tell you to lay down.  Then she'll lay down too and fake snore. It's hilarious.

Fasionable in her new winter coat!

This is Mollie pulling Noah. They had a blast one afternoon "sledding" out in the field. Mollie had a great time, but I think Noah had just as much fun!

Now Noah and Harper pulling Mollie.

Notice this is not your typical sled or intertube. It's an A&W Farms creation....some sort of metal lid that Noah jimmy-rigged to the 4-wheeler.

For my b-day, we took Harper to paint pottery. She enjoyed this for about 10 minutes, then she wanted down so she could explore the store.

Snoozing on the drive home. So cute how she was holding her book...

In her snowman dress that G'ma got for her. She loved it.

 We've "graduated" her out of her highchair and into a booster seat. We thought this might help with the eating situation as well if she felt like a "big girl".  We'll see....

Helping Momma open b-day presents.

Enjoying the light snow outside with momma. The snowflakes were so tiny and perfect....

 Being a "big girl" and eating at the table!



December Update

Seems like winter is here...or at least the cold weather. I'm already anxious for spring and snow has not even covered the ground yet. And now that it's December, we have a busy few weeks ahead of us with not only the holidays, but 3 birthdays in our family - with the most special being Harper's on Jan. 4. Hard to believe she is almost 2.  With 2, comes a new daycare room/teacher, so I'm not looking forward to that.  Harper does well with new things like this, so I shouldn't be worried. I'm more sad our little girl is growing up so fast!

Harper is loving the holiday season, singing Jingle Bells, reading Santa books, watching Santa cartoons, finding 'elf on the shelf', looking at Christmas lights, etc. It will be fun to watch her open presents this year and see how excited she will be!

As with all posts, enjoy some recent photos below:

Harper preparing for bedtime with some quiet time and a cartoon on the couch - in her holiday jammies.

Thanksgiving at the Gyolais. Harper loved playing and jumping around on their couch, and hiding under the pillow.

Festival of Trees and Lights! Harper enjoyed this twice - there was even a Sesame Street tree and a Dora tree...so she loved those!

In the children's train at Festival. I wasn't sure if she would like it or not, but she got right in there and loved the ride! Thankfully, she did not throw a fit when it was over!

We've figured out a solution (possibly short-term) to get Harper to eat at home. She loves Dora yogurt - and Noah noticed she especially loves the cup the yogurt comes in. So we've started putting all her food in a clean yogurt cup...and call all her food Dora food. So it's Dora chicken, Dora meatballs, Dora carrots. It's working well for now! 

She somehow squeezed herself into this small box - and then struggled to get out!

Another way we get her to like brushing her teeth is the Thomas the Train toothpaste we bought. It's all about marketing - how terrible is that!?!?! 

She loves her lion right now and it's so cute to see her cuddle with it.  

Living in a 110+ year old farm house poses its challenges in the winter, especially when it's cold and windy. Last year we did straw bales around the foundation, but that invited the mice in (which totally sucked). So this was Noah's solution this year. He created a new wind break with round bales. I must say, it's not the most attractive of additions to our yard - but if it keeps our living room warm this year then I will be happy! And to add a little joke to the horrible eye sore, Noah put boots in the end to make it look like he was baled up in it. My sister thinks this should be our x-mas card!  

Yesterday morning, Noah and Harper shared a bowl of lucky charms - it was very cute!