joy of love::day 2 {how they look}

joy of love::day 1 {what they do}

day 1 of my online photo class willette's {joy of love}. our assignment for the day was {what they do}, and our goal for this month's class is to focus on the daily topic for someone that we love.

michael and harper do a lot. it took a lot of thinking throughout the day about all the times i could pull out my camera to capture what they do. and it took even more effort to sort through the photos i did manage to capture to choose only one for the day's topic. here it is. hand washing. playing in the water. harper loves it all. and she does it a lot. keeps her entertained, and allows me a chance to get one small chore done. unless i'm sitting with her snapping away...

two-and-a-half

my little bean is two-and-a-half. so cliche, but where did the time go? i blink and she's a toddler, developing her own independent personality. and so it had to be celebrated. knowing that this would be her last chance to have a "birthday" celebration all on her own before baby arrives, and loving that my girlfriend, christina, goes over the top for her daughter's half-birthday's too, here and here, i stole the idea. turned out to be quite a fun day. we had off of school for mlk jr. day, so we took the opportunity to visit a local gymnastics gymnasium for open preschool playtime in the morning. harper is energetic to say the least, so she was in her element. bouncing, jumping, trampolining, skipping, running. she had a blast. then it was off to pick up nana and head down to papa's work for a lunch and cake to celebrate his birthday a few days early. and finally back to our city for our weekly afternoon music class and after-music play date with bryce and graham. we were exhausted by the time we finally arrived home that evening, but we still had homemade macaroni and cheese (a harper favorite) and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting waiting for us.

pardon the rest of this post, as i tribute to my little one who made me a mama.

my dearest harper,

you were made to be loved, and i am so lucky that i get to do just that as your mama. your sunshine-y personality lights up the room and everyone around you. you capture the hearts of everyone you encounter, and you have definitely captured mine. you had it from the first moment i heard your tiny heartbeat, long before i knew how beautiful you would be, both inside and out. there may be days that you push your independence and desire to do it your way to my limits, but i know that strong personality will only take you very far in life.

you are my little sprite, full of energy and bursting at the seams. you are the light to my darkest days. you are my sweet. you are the apple of my eye. and you are going to be one heck of a big sister.

i love you oodles, to the moon and back. and i won't ever stop telling you that.

love, mommy

harper at two-and-a-half:

• loves her sweets- chocolate, candies, ice cream- a girl after her mama's heart
• screams when she's frustrated, but won't hurt a fly
• is almost completely potty trained during the day
• has moved into a big girl bed, and sings herself to sleep every night
• loves to care for all of her baby dolls- feeding, putting to sleep, talking to, snuggling with
• has a passion for all things musical- singing real songs and making most up along the way, playing instruments, imitating her music teacher leading class
• has language that expands by the minute, having full conversations with anyone who will listen
• loves talking on the phone to all her family
• is quite the comedian and keeps everyone laughing
• has an imagination fitted perfectly for pretend play
• has a kind and gentle soul and captures everyone she meets with her smile and sweet talk

i heart faces {innocent wonder}

no words...just the wonder in her eyes.

i heart faces {winter wonderland}

my little snow bunny. and the best part of freshly fallen snow? eating it, of course!

bonus

i am always looking for ways to find more time in my day. and when i do find it, i don't always use it wisely. some days, i use those extra found minutes to re-write my scratched off to-do list to reorganize my brain and see what i am then able to accomplish, only to look at the clock and realize that my additional time is up.

yesterday, our principal let us go early from school. the snow was really coming down in huge flakes and the roads were getting slicker by the minute, so she set us free. we only managed to get home 30 minutes earlier than usual, but i used that extra time to make a time-consuming soup (only because of all the chopping). yummy, yummy, yummy. healthy chicken zoopa from a girlfriend in my mom's recipe club (thank you, nicole). recipe listed at the bottom.

...and to utilize the outside lighting (no sun, but bright from the mass of snow) to practice some photography skills about winter window lighting that i read about the night before. i also wanted to just be an observant and capture harper in some of her new big-girl moments. i realize these moments are fleeting and these new accomplishments will be old hat in only a few months (or weeks even?) so i took the bonus time to live the life of my little. babies, getting herself dressed after using the big potty (in her undies and jammies for the third time that afternoon), and posing for candy heart bribes.

Healthy Chicken Zoopa

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup julienned carrots
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 6 ounces spinach, rinsed
• 1/2 cup whole wheat egg noodles
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, celery, and carrot. Saute until onions are translucent. Add broth, hot sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil then simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.
2. Add spinach and cover pot. Stir soup; add noodles. Stir again and add chicken. Let simmer for 5 minutes and enjoy!

i heart faces {smile}

another week, another attempt. this week's theme is {smile}. i had a hard time picking out a smile photo, but i like this one best. i think.