four.

it happened.  crosby turned 4.  and i say it every time on each of their birthdays, but i just can't fathom that they're growing up, and so fast.  i tell myself each and every day to slow down and enjoy the moments, because they will be gone in a blink, but with the busyness of our days, it's hard to do that sometimes.  so for today, i hold her and snuggle her and love her up really well, because tomorrow, she'll be 4-years-and-1-day and that's 1 day closer to five.  here's a little post about our sweet and salty little.

crosby at 4-years-old...

*still wants to be held all the time
*is smiling and happy 98% of the time

*hates her hair behind her ears or put in a ponytail, but will allow harper to do it every once in a while

*asks for kisses and then rubs them off to be silly

*goes nowhere without poppy
*argues with her sister about sharing, especially when harper wants one of her toys, but will cry if harper won't share
*wants mom or dad to lay with her in bed for a little bit, and when that parent leaves, she wants the other one, and so on and so on and so on
*says blueblerry for blueberry, holder cup for cup holder, and babing suit for bathing suit
*always asks to leave her door all the way open and the bathroom light on for bedtime
*is completely potty trained (since last july), sleeps in a big girl bed and is learning to ride a toddler bike
*says "look out fa low!" (look out below) and plays "I spy little my eye"
*when i start to say my prayer to her at night, she immediately holds up 1 finger, indicating she still wants me to lay with her for 1 more minute after prayer is done
*uses big words, like realize, disgusting, bandages, and traffic jam
*could sit and watch movies and tv shows all day long if you let her
*loves to sit and snuggle
*adores animals, especially little ones and baby ones
*is strong-willed, determined, feisty and oh-so-loving

harper really is a good big sister, and despite the almost constant bickering, deep down they really do love each other.

crosby's edition of the annual birthday questionnaire

how old are you?   4

what makes you happy?  when i have a birthday 

what is your favorite animal?  baby pandas

what is your favorite thing to eat?  gummies 

what is your least favorite thing to eat?  not meat

what is your favorite thing to do?  color, play outside with you mama, watch tv and movies

what is your favorite tv show?  peppa pig & paw patrol

what are you really good at?  running faster

what is your favorite movie?  frozen

what is your favorite color?  silver sparkly

what is your favorite song?  all frozen songs

who is your best friend?  hazel

what do you and your mom do together?  play outside

what do you and your dad do together?  play outside

what is your favorite sport?  football

where is your favorite place to go?  chelsea treehouse & jungle java

what is your favorite book?  peppa's sleepover 

what do you want to be when you grow up?  a teacher

one day

my friend, maria, told me about this really cool app.  the app gives you themes and question prompts and all you do is ask the question and record the person.  it compiles it together with some tear-jerking music, and voila!  you have a video of your sweet little someone.

i've made it another goal (i know, i know, so many goals) of mine this year to organize our videos and keep more memories of the girls voices and personalities.  so, here, we begin.  i uploaded these to our private youtube page so we can watch them anywhere, even on the television in our family room.

enjoy.

jump and roll

still clickin' along in my photography class, and this week we're focusing on shutter speed.  slowing it to create purposeful movement in the frame, or speeding it up to freeze motion.  i asked the girls to help me out.  they delivered.  they're so good to their mama.

and my absolute favorites ♥

back-to-school

september means summer's end and back-to-school.  and me crying and whining inevitably.  i really didn't want summer to end this year.  maybe it was because this was the first full summer in our house  without any boxes to unpack.  maybe it was the mild temperatures that didn't really signal a true, hot summer.  maybe it was the fun that the girls and i had, and i wanted to keep it going.  whatever it was, back-to-school snuck up on me and i just wanted to run away.  i wasn't ready for these first day of school pictures again.  

these two are just gaining height so quickly.  6 and 3-and-a-half years and that time has passed so quickly.  they are learning and growing and changing and displaying some beautifully awesome personalities.  

and sometimes, they love each other.  although crosby is all about hugs and kisses, and harper is all "ick" about them.

the bus riding this year was much easier.  harper was more confident, knowing what to expect, knowing she had friends with her.  no tears, no hesitation.

 

so here's to a new school year.  as much as i don't want it to start, inevitably, we have to keep moving forward.  looking forward to june already. 

the harper & crosby project - december 2013

and we're done.  the year ended, and the 2013 instagram project finished right with it.  for the large majority, i absolutely enjoyed this daily project of the girls.  there were days when i was too tired to post a picture, or i just plumb forgot and had to cheat with another day's picture.  but i love love love having these memories of our year to reflect back on.  there were so many memories that had slipped my mind, words and funny sayings they said i would have never recalled, milestones i am still so proud of.  i am in the process of putting these into a shutterfly book to print out for the girls' valentines day gift, so i will share it on here when it's finished.  for now, enjoy the last installment of the harper & crosby project 365.

and fear not, i got into such a habit that i couldn't just stop when the clock struck midnight on 2014.  so i started the 2014 petrous project- just one photo a day of some aspect of our family, all together or individual, big accomplishments or little memories.  i'll post it month by month here on the blog, too.

happy fall y'all

i guess we're closer to winter than the first day of fall; honestly my mind is still stuck in october.  when did it get to be november?  and almost mid-november at that?  either way, in editing some pictures, i found some fun fall ones.  these were taken just about a month ago, but it truly feels like yesterday.  i'm blaming my fogginess on my thyroid surgery last week.  more on that later.

either way, happy fall!

(p.s. it snowed here last night.)

preschool is here!

gosh, it seems like just yesterday i was in labor, not knowing whether i'd be meeting my little boy or girl.  and here she is, 2 1/2 years later, starting preschool.



this one is an absolute firecracker.  she challenges our patience and our ability to multi-task.  but she is absolute love, too.  she is always ready with a hug and a kiss, always asking to be held, always the snuggler, loves to read, will go nowhere without her poppy lovey, has the most radiant smile.  you honestly cannot help but to smother her with kisses even in the midst of her most trying moments.  i don't know how she does it.



she's also a big plate of ham and eggs.



she adores her sister, and wants to do whatever she is doing.  and when she's told no, she snatches something that harper is playing with and runs off in the opposite direction with the biggest grin on her face.  it drives harper batty.  but they really do love each other.



i'm looking forward to this first year of preschool learning and watching my little one grow.

swim!

a couple videos i took of the girls' swim class.  they make me so proud.  goldfish is one amazing place, not to mention our stellar swim coach, maggie.

a delayed 2.

crosby is 2.  and she has been for almost 4 months.  and i've been so delayed in posting her birthday pictures and updates, it's just sad.  is this typical for the second child?  i hope not.  but before i can post about harper turning 5 tomorrow, i have to post about crosby turning 2.

so here is our sweet 2-year-old golo (that's how she says girl, like rolo, but with a g.)



we started off her actual day with pancakes, candles and singing, followed by her presents, including a ride on  ladybug.



the week prior, we had a little birthday party for her with some friends and family.  an ice cream party, with neapolitan decorations, cupcakes in cones, and an ice cream sundae bar.



she loved the singing.  the smile on her face brightened the entire room.  once the happy birthday started, she was so absolutely elated.



and again, at home later on for the family party.



at 2 years old...
*this girl is most of the time pure happiness and love, with some tantrums thrown in for good measure
*she does not often play by herself for long, as she prefers to be around people
*when she's with people, she wants to be held
*she craves attention and wants you to watch her all the time
*she is addicted to her poppy, her owl blanket that rarely, and i mean rarely, leaves her hands. she sucks her thumb while holding poppy, and carries her around as if she was an extension of her body.  *she loves to do whatever harper is doing or playing with, which often annoys big sister
*she prefers building and taking things apart to any other activity
*she loves to be read to, and her favorite stories are goodnight moon, go dog go and good dog, marley *she is a fairly good sleeper, and still naps once a day and sleeps in her crib
*she has not yet shown any interest in the potty
*she is a good eater, but her favorite foods are ham and crunchy, salty things like her daddy (she used to call veggie sticks "beeahs")
*her favorite show is the backyardigans which she calls "your backyard friends"
*she loves school, and plays well with lots of her friends
*she can have a full conversation and puts 6 to 7 word sentences together, often times self-correcting her words if she knows it doesn't sound correct (my dream child as an slp)
*she loves to play with her baby dolls, putting them to sleep, feeding them and carrying them around in her carrier or stroller
*she has a strong opinion about everything, and will often answer "sure" to things she agrees with  *she's a guaranteed car buddy, as she loves to be away from the house, running errands with anyone whose going out
*she brushes her teeth with her "boofrush" and "poopase"
*her hair is super fine and so blonde, it's almost white, and she does not like it in her face
*her favorite color is orange, just like daddy



i am certain that i am missing so many more things about this little love.  but most importantly, she brings absolute joy and sunshine into our lives every day.  we are so blessed and thankful for her.



happiest of birthdays, our little crosberry crunch. ♥