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.

*********

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...

thirty-five.

last year on my birthday, i took this selfie and wrote these words...

34.  no regrets.  only happy.  just love.  it's going to be awesome.

as i sit here and think, it amazes me what has happened in this last year.  i wrote that it was going to be awesome.  and there definitely were some awesome moments, but then there definitely were some not-so-awesome ones, too.  quite a few actually.  cancer struck my family twice, which in itself is enough for the not-so-awesome moments.  i won't relive any more. 

i wrote that there would be no regrets, things would only be happy, there would be just love.  i started out my birthday with positive intentions for my next trip around the sun, which was a good way to set the year, i think.  but no one can guarantee that life won't have some regrets, some sadness, some hate.  no one can promise that every day will be happy and good.  but one can make sure that you find the happy and good in some measly part of the sucky days.  i've made that my mission.  to find the good and beautiful and something to be thankful for in each and every day.  to have no regrets for living the life we're given.  to fill all our days with love of some kind.  some days it's a struggle, and there are days that go by and i forget amongst the craziness of life with 2 young kids.  but overall, i think we're doing pretty well.

what i've learned over this past year is that i am so grateful for where i am.  for what i've learned.  for who i've become.  and that i've been gifted another birthday to celebrate and be thankful.

here's to 35.  no regrets.  only happy.  just love.

and it's going to be awesome.

tentin'

here is the final installment of harper's birthday celebration...

harper's birthday gift from mama and daddy this year was a teepee.  i have secretly always wanted one, and harper loves small, cozy corners and snuggling in.  when we moved into our new home, i've found that both kids really enjoy playing on the wooden foyer, the smallest space to play.  i think they're both used to playing on a wood floor in a small locale from our last home.  so i figured what better time to get her a small space to be able to escape, read or play.  i ordered it from etsy, and added on my mini bunting banner from fabric i've had from previously made holiday banners.



in addition to the teepee, we added on a dream light, which is a solar powered light that flickers at night similar to fireflies, a new nightgown, and a merida doll from the movie brave.  one of the biggest smiles came from the singing fairy card.  she pointed it out one day at hallmark, telling me she would really like it for her birthday, and so sneaky mama asked her to look at something around the corner and added it to my purchase at the counter.



i attempted a tripod self-timer photo of our family.  maximus' behind, crosby eating her shirt.  nothing perfect, but it's us.



happy birthday, our sweet little 5-year-old harper.

beach baby birthday

my beautiful baby loves the water.  so what better way to spend her birthday than at the beach?  sun, sand and a clear lake where i spent my childhood.  snack bar for lunch and ice cream.  family to share it with.  it was an awesome day.

five.

she's five.



i just can't believe it, but she has been counting down the days in eager anticipation of this big event.



five means a whole lot.  it means no more preschool.  it means big yellow school busses and kindergarten and reading and homework and independence.  it means that an entire half of a decade ago, i first met the tiny little bundle of joy that made me a mama and brought me so much more than i ever expected.



her birthday was special.  we celebrated with chocolate chip pancakes (her request) and chocolate ice cream with sprinkles (my surprise).  and we headed off to the beach, our 3rd annual tradition.  more pics from the sand to come.

harper at age 5...
-she often asks if anyone is coming over or we're going anywhere, so she can go sans underoos

-she loves to wear dresses, a few of them are her favorites and she rotates between them

-she still stomps her feet and scowls when she's mad

-her favorite foods are edamame, nutella, pb&j, mac and cheese, pizza (no pepperoni anymore) and spaghetti.  she is getting much better about trying new foods

-to get our attention, she says "there are 2 (3, 4) things i have to say"

-she is so easily distracted, always has a million things on her mind, and wants to do something that pops in her head right. this. minute., much like her mama

-she loves stories before bed, and her favorites are junie b. jones and berenstain bears

-she still has her soft taggie.

-she is a fantastic swimmer, and loves to swim, play tennis, and dance.  she wants to only take ballet this fall.

-she loves to choreograph moves to her made up songs

-she still has a killer memory for the little things

and my second annual installment of the birthday questionnaire...

How old are you?  5

What makes you happy?  that mommy and me play together

What is your favorite animal?  a butterfly and a unicorn

What is your favorite thing to eat?  pizza

What is your least favorite thing to eat?  rotten eggs

What is your favorite thing to do?  play with lolly (her american girl doll)

What is your favorite TV show?  doc mcstuffins, peppa pig, charlie & lola, max & ruby

What are you really good at?  being careful with my little sister

What is your favorite movie?  despicable me 2

What is your favorite color?  the rainbow

What is your favorite song?  max & ruby theme song (she sang it for me), justin bieber

Who is your best friend?  lilianne and harrison

What do you and your mom do together?  i help you cook

What do you and your dad do together?  we both watch daddy's shows

What is your favorite sport?  tennis

Where is your favorite place to go?  the mall cause it's so big and i love the mall

What is your favorite book?  junie b jones

What do you want to be when you grow up? a doctor

harper, 

you are love and light and sunshine.  you challenge us and make us think.  we are so thankful and blessed that you are ours, and couldn't imagine life without you in it.  happy 5th birthday our little bean.  

love, mommy

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. ♥