seven.

here's my girl, in all her seven-year-old beauty.  i know i say it every year, but i can't believe she's seven.  more than that, i can't believe she's going into the second grade.  the time just seems to be ticking by faster and faster, and i'm trying my best to hold onto all that i can, to tell her every day (multiple times) how much i love her and am proud of her, and to remind her that i am always there for her, no matter what.  

this year, she won a birthday contest that i entered her in to, and she received this really awesome poster from sticky bellies, along with a check that went right into her college fund.  seeing her tall, lanky, blond hair and blue-eyed body standing proud next to her poster caught my breath.  seven years ago, she was only 6 pounds and 19 inches and snuggled into my arms.  now, i struggle to carry her for too long, but i do, because i don't ever want to let her go.

she and crosby woke up early july 17th, and we allowed her to open her presents before daddy had to leave for work.  she had asked for a new bathing suit cover up and several legos, so she seemed happy that crosby chose a frozen lego set, and along with her cover up she got a new bathing suit.  we also wrapped up a fish tank, and told her we would take her out to pick out a new fish and all the accessories.  she was most pleasantly surprised.  

by far i think her most favorite gift, however, was the xl hershey's chocolate bar, and the freedom from mom that she could eat as much chocolate as she wanted on her special day.  you should have seen her eyes light up.  another favorite moment was when her best friend, kara, called her on the phone to wish her a happy birthday.  watching her on the phone, walking around and telling her all about her morning made me feel both proud and sad that she has come this far and that there would be plenty more of this in her teenage years.

i asked the night before what she wanted for breakfast and she made sure to write it out in detail so that i would not forget.  

harper had her last day of art camp, and afterwards we had ice cream with her camp-mates to celebrate.  from there, we headed to the pet store for her fish, and picked up daddy for an afternoon of bowling, the minions movie and a pizza dinner.  we all crashed happy and tired in bed that night.

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harper's annual 20 questions:

How old are you?  7

What makes you happy?  my family + chocolate

What is your favorite animal?  peacock + parrot

What is your favorite thing to eat?  chocolate

What is your least favorite thing to eat?  "i have a lot of least favorite things to eat, cause i'm a picky eater." vegetables

What is your favorite thing to do?  swim + color

What is your favorite TV show?  sofia the first

What are you really good at?  exercise (cartwheels) + building legos

What is your favorite movie?  minions + inside out + night at the museum

What is your favorite color?  silver, gold, lime green, hot pink, light blue

What is your favorite song?  a lot of dance songs

Who is your best friend?  karalan

What do you and your mom do together? go out to lunch 

What do you and your dad do together?  play mariokart

What is your favorite sport?  tennis

Where is your favorite place to go? tim hortons 

What is your favorite book?  "what color is your heart"

What do you want to be when you grow up? illustrator

to my beautiful girl,

harper, my love, you bring a smile to my face every time i see you, and you bring a smile to the faces of everyone around you.  you are silly, kind-hearted, imaginative, a great thinker, an extraordinary artist, and an interactive conversationalist.  you have so many ideas in your head and so much you want to do.  don't ever lose sight of that.  keep your dreams afloat and strong.  i know you will do many a great thing.  you are filled with such love, and my heart swells when you tell me you love me, when you want me to lay with you at night, when you tell me your good dreams and share with me your bad, when you want to hold my hand, when you ask to be carried, and when you want to just be home with me, daddy and crosby.  there are times when you are hesitant in new situations, big crowds and doing things you're unsure of, and that's quite alright.  through figuring things out, talking it through, finding the brave and giving it a try, you find out things you didn't know you liked.  i am proud of how well you read, how kind of a friend you are, how artistic and creative you are, but mostly i am proud of your heart.  it's pretty beautiful, kid, and i couldn't be happier that you are mine.

love always, 

mama

a few photos from our family birthday celebration...

make

 harper seemed more interested in camps this year, art camps in particular.  she is drawn to coloring, drawing, creating, and says she wants to be an illustrator when she grows up.  so we tried out this new studio close to us, and had nothing but positive experiences all week.

harper took the camp with her friend, lucy, and there were only 2 other campers.  groups this small are what harper prefers.  she often gets overwhelmed and nervous when groups are too big and she doesn't know many people, until she accesses the situation and eventually gains more confidence and gets more comfortable.

the kids were able to express themselves all week in any manner they wanted.  there were planned activities, but when those lead to other ideas brought up by the kids, the fabulous teacher went with it and allowed them the freedom of expression.  

on the last day, which happened to be harper's birthday, the teachers had hung up a banner they made.  afterwards, we all celebrated with a walk to get some ice cream.    

i couldn't have been more pleased with everything about this camp.  i think it is for certain one camp that harper enjoyed the most.

in summerrrrrr....

it's summer time.  it's time for swimming, splashing, hanging out by the pool.  my girls have grown gills over the years, so we love to swim as often as we can.  but this summer it seems we've found ourselves poolside a whole lot more often.  we are very blessed with an amazing friend (and neighbor) who allows us access to her pool most any time, so i took the risk of photographing in full sun as practice for another online photography class i'm taking.  i was super pleased that i took that chance.  some of my favorite new photos emerged.

here is a saturday poolside with our family...

cheers to more hot, sun shining, summery days in the blues.