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.