Happy birthday Harper!

Our sweet little girl turned 4 today.  We have been celebrating all week because Tom is really busy at work right now, so we have been trying to fit in a little fun here and there.

A few things about Harper . . .

• She always wants to make new friends.  We go to the mall near our house a lot (too often) to play in the treehouse-like thing that they have.  Harper always befriends a kid while we are there and she is so open to meeting new people.  I wish I could be more like her.  Recently she encountered some girls at the mall that weren't very nice to her and Harper was so confused about why they didn't want to be her friend.
• We went to Disneyland for her birthday this week and Harper was finally tall enough to ride on some of the big kid rides so Tom took her on Space Mountain.  We were nervous that she was be terrified but after the ride Harper said that she wants to go on more fast rides so she can be happy.
• Harper calls Jonah her "best boy."  I love that.

• She is getting much better about eating foods, though her favorite things are still chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers.  She is also very aware of her food allergies and tells all kinds of random people about what she is allergic to, even if they don't ask.
• Today she told me that when she is bigger and when she is 4 she is going to have a job and Daddy can go with her.

• She has inherited Tom's volume and she speaks very loud.  She also sings very loudly in primary.
• She has inherited my bossiness (she is the oldest after all).  If I tell Jonah not to do something, Harper will follow him around and make sure he doesn't do it.  This morning I yelled upstairs to Tom to come help me put the kids in the car, and Harper proceeded to stand at the bottom of the stairs and yell at the top of her lungs, "Daddy, come help put the kids in the car," over and over and over.

• She loves primary and is always very anxious to get to Sacrament meeting afterward (we have Sacrament last).  I am teaching primary so it has been fun to watch her :)
• She is a goofball.

• She is very empathetic.  If Harper sees someone else crying, she will start crying too.
• Our main frustration with her right now is that she always justifies a bad decision.  If I say, "Harper, don't grab toys from Jonah," she will say, "It's okay, he is sharing."  She has a reason for everything.
• She can be pretty crazy.  She loves to run around in circles, jump and climb on people, and make crazy noises. 

• Her eczema is finally on the mend after several months of craziness.  Thank goodness!
• She loves apples and generally has one for breakfast and one for a snack in the afternoon.  If I offer her something that she doesn't like, she will ask for an apple instead.
• She really likes to be read to and lately loves Fancy Nancy.  She usually asks to take a nap with her Fancy Nancy books.

She even got one for her birthday

• She loves to make people "birthday cards" which basically means she takes a piece of paper, scribbles all over it, and then folds it in half.  Carly and Kelly, you should be getting one of these in the mail soon.  
• Today in primary they asked Harper if it was her birthday, to which she replied,"Yes, it's right now!"  Last night our ward had a progressive dinner and the gym was decorated with balloons.  Harper totally thought it was a birthday party for her.

 I sure do love this sweet, spunky little girl!  Here she is opening some of her presents.

She got some new dress shoes.  Both of my kids LOVE shoes.

And some new boots.

My Mom got Harper this pretty print for her room.  I like it so much I think I need one for my room now.

big boy bed

A couple of weeks ago we started to have a problem with Harper climbing into Jonah's crib.  This led to Jonah getting squished a pushed around a little bit, but it also inspired Jonah to try to climb out on his own.  We decided to end that before it became a problem and converted Jonah's crib into a toddler bed.

After we put him in his bed the first night, he was pretty upset.  I think he thought his crib was broken.  But ever since then he has loved it.  He has the freedom to get his own books before he goes to bed and when we get him up in the morning he has at least 10 books in his bed with him.

Easter 2012

The day before Easter we went to the primary/nursery Easter egg hunt at the ball field behind our chapel.

Harper did not want her picture taken. 

When Jonah realized that there was candy in the eggs, he pretty much just tried to go around to all of the eggs and take the candy out. 

On Easter morning the kids opened their Easter baskets and were thoroughly spoiled.  

 We were running late for church so I didn't get a photo before we left.  Here are my unsuccessful attempts with my phone before the kids went down for their naps.

I may have to dress the kids up in their Easter clothes again this week and try to get a better photo.

the sisters visit

I have finally recovered enough from Carly and Kelly's visit to have the energy to post about it.  Let's see if I can remember all of the things we did.

We visited Rodeo Drive (Kelly did not want her picture taken) and got Sprinkles cupcakes.

Went to the beach.  It took a while for Jonah to get used to the sand.

 Harper loved it.

 Harper had her first dentist appointment.  I know, I was supposed to take her like a year ago, but I was really nervous that she was going to refuse to open her mouth or start crying.  She ended up doing a great job and not having any cavities, yay!

 We did some shopping.

Ate Indian food.

 Made the kids new Easter baskets.

 Went to the Griddle Cafe for breakfast (yummy Oreo pancakes!)

 Visited the Walk of Fame.  Harper was the only one that would let me take her photo :(

 Took a picture with the Hollywood sign.

We also went to the movies, ate at the Counter, went to the Grove, and I can't remember what else.  It was fun, but I am tired!  These guys are 10 and 11 years younger than I am, so it has been a long time since I have spent this much time with them (they were just 7 and 8 years old when I left for college).  I am so grateful that they were willing to spend their spring break with me :)

Lately . . .

We finally cleaned off our balcony and the kids have been having lots of fun running around.

 We went to our friend Zoey's birthday party.  This little man loves cupcakes.

 Tom and I celebrated our 6th anniversary.  Of course that deserves its own post but if I put it off it may never happen.  We had a really great anniversary, starting with Hunger Games + The Counter on Friday night, Clementines for breakfast + Yogurtland + shopping on Saturday, and church and then watching a Megamind as a family on Sunday.  And also these BEAUTIFUL flowers showed up.

Yesterday we picked up these guys from the airport and they will be spending the next week with us.  Harper is heaven!

 Jonah really likes to put on Tom's shoes and walk around the house.  He is so sweet, I love that little smile!