If Harper wasn't ready before, she's definitely ready now. I remembered doing a big sister class before Leah was born, so I looked it up and Baylor had one. We went this morning, and it was so fun. The nurse let them each pick out a baby, and Harper picked the only African American baby. Clearly with the love I still have for Taylor, it about sent me over the edge. It might have not been intentional on her part. But she still loves looking at pictures of T, so I think it was on purpose.

They did several activities, like testing different toys based on their size for safety, changing a diaper, and swaddling their baby. They watched a video and then went on a tour of labor and delivery, the outside of the nicu, and the postpartum floor. Harper had a great time on the tour, carrying her baby everywhere with her! I can't wait to see her as a big sister....she's going to be fabulous!




Picking her baby



Learning about the soft spot by feeling gummy worms...and then getting to eat them!



Talking about what toys are safe for a baby



Practicing swaddling and changing a diaper



Checking out where the baby will be in the labor room


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For my memory's sake... Here are some things Harper is into at 3 1/2...

-When she wants to do a project, she calls it a "problerjet".

-She gags on just about any meal except taco salad and obviously sweets...it's quite the test of my patience! Yes, I'm being dramatic, but it is pretty terrible when it comes to trying new things! She gags at the sight of it if she has never had it.

-She had an eye appointment last week, and her farsightedness has gotten a little worse, but not enough to change her glasses prescription. He said it can still correct itself, but we won't see that change for several more years.

-She talks A LOT! I've taken her to the doctor with my the last few visits, with the understanding that she needs to sit and listen, especially while I'm talking with my doctor. Last week, as we left, she said, "I sure talked a lot in there, didn't I?" Yes... she did. Thankfully Dr Hays loves her!

-She loves to build forts, houses, and any sort of gymnastics "equipment" with the couch cushions. This used to drive me crazy, but now it keeps her so entertained, I don't mind the cushions being on the floor.

-I'm starting to think she has allergies, since she has a cough almost every day of her life! She also gets croup quite often... it is miserable for her! The attacks seem to only happen in the middle of the night, which is awesome.

-She's loving preschool! I get the full report each day of all the classroom happenings. It makes me nervous what she tells her teacher about me!

-I know I'm missing so much... but this is all I can think of right now. I blame my terrible sleeping habits, as in, I am just not sleeping at night!





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After the candle incident, I emailed the company just to let them know what happened. I didn't expect them to become as interested as they did! I answered all of their questions, sent in pictures of the candle and burn mark, and was so surprised when they said they'd like to pay to fix the damage. Now, I don't think they realized that you can't just cut a square of laminate and stick it over the burn mark. I had our contractor write up a bid and then we decided that we'd pay the difference to get granite instead of laminate.

Today was the big day, and it was done so quickly! I expected it to take several days and be out of a sink and stove for a while...but not with our fabulous contractor. Everything but adjusting the dishwasher was done today! I'm amazed at what a difference it has made. Sure, there are plenty more updates that need to happen in the kitchen...but this was a great start!

Before:





After:









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Living in an old house means updates are necessary. We decided to start with the guest bathroom first. It only had a shower, and since it's the bathroom the girls will share, we wanted them to have a bathtub.










It's a very small space, so I wasn't sure what the final product would look like. Thanks to a fabulous contractor and only 2 1/2 weeks, the bathroom is complete! Harper is so proud and wants to show everyone who comes over. I don't blame her for loving it so much!!!






We also changed the direction on the door from Henley's room, which really opened up the bathroom. I'm so excited that we now have a bathroom that we'll use!

Now to start saving to redo our bathroom!


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Ever since Harper learned to write the letter h, it is her go-to when it comes to coloring. If there is a piece of paper in front of her, she's drawing an h. Her teachers at church even noticed and comment every time they hand us her craft.

Well, today she wanted to draw a picture for her friend, Moses. She had his birthday party this afternoon, and she wanted to add a picture to his present. I was absolutely shocked when I saw her drawing. There wasn't an h anywhere on the page! When I asked her what it was, she said, "it's a picture of Moses, his brother, his sister, and momma." This is definite progress when it comes to coloring and drawing!



4 different faces...eyes, nose, and mouth



Then she wanted to write him a story...I thought this was clever too!


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Ballet at Dancing Angels started up this week, and Harper was thrilled! There are a few girls from her class last year in there, so it helped to have those familiar faces. She's doing a tap and ballet class this year...so that will be hysterical! She's obsessed with her tap shoes, so I know she's going to love it!


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Corby borrowed some coolers from the Smiths for my party, and I clearly am not on top of things...so we still have them. Earlier last week Harper claimed that ZZ (my sister Lindsey) and Eliana were here for a visit. I asked what she meant, and she was talking about the coolers. While pointing to the cup holders on top, she said, "see? Here are their eyes." Throughout her day, she occasionally heads to the living room to play with them. Tonight at dinner, she kept looking at them, saying "hang on...I'll play with you after dinner." She was having a hard time finishing her chicken, but when I mentioned that if she didn't eat, she wouldn't get to play with them, she gobbled her dinner immediately! I think it's hysterical and obviously a little weird too. The coolers will be returned soon, so hopefully she won't be too upset!



Meet ZZ and Eliana...notice their eyes and mouth



The handles are their hands and she told Corby to come hold ZZ's hand while she holds Eliana's hand



Taking her friends into the den


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After a fun and busy weekend with Gama and Pop-pop, Harper woke up extremely excited about school starting today! It is going to be a great year for her... Mrs. Barb and Mrs. Christy are such wonderful teachers! Most of her friends from last year have returned, so that will make for a great year as well. I can't wait to watch her grow and learn even more as the year goes by. She was extra sassy when we took pictures this morning. No, I don't pose with my hand on my hip, so I have no idea where she learned that. But along with a super cheesy smile, she threw in a sassy pose to go with it!