clippard clan

we had the most wonderful trip to greenville, south carolina last weekend to see harper's uncle robert get married. this is lee's (daddy) brother. he was married to the lovely jan, or as h says, aunt janny. downtown greenville was a perfect place to have the family gathered. there were lots of shops and restaurants to keep us busy over the weekend. many of the clippards were able to meet h for the first time. it was nice seeing everyone again and harper was happy to see all of her cousins. she is enjoying weddings these days, this being her second in the past month. the morning after the latest wedding she said, "go another wedding?" she was a trooper staying up late a few days in a row and partying with the family. most of us stayed in the same hotel, so it was nice to see everyone every morning for breakfast before we started the day. super sweet to see her and her seattle cousins playing together. the wedding was beautiful. it was nice to be included in the family pictures too.

h did well on the plane there and back. poor thing didn't get to sleep til 1:30am on monday. our flight was delayed after flying into chicago airport. this was during some horrific tornados and weather that showed up. very surprised that they allowed us to fly into chicago from greenville considering the high winds. i think it would have to be one of the most scary flights/landings i have ever been on. one where the people clap at the end, thankful they didn't die. not sure why i was looking out the window, but all i could see was the ground, then wing. ground, then the wing. h was asleep most of the flight and was woken up with a rough landing. she cried for a few mins but i'm sure no one minded since it was such a dramatic landing. we didn't leave chicago until 10pm that night. i am surprised that we even made it out of the airport with all of the delays and cancelled flights. auntie jean was kind enough to pick us up at the airport too. didn't feel right waking h up 4 hours after she finally went to sleep for daycare, so we stayed home the next day to rest.

very thankful for our extended family. they are amazing.

because

h: want to go outside
me: why?
h: because my mommy

h: want to take my socks off
mommesh: why?
h: because my mama


not sure what that is all about, but it makes us laugh.

wedding weekend fun

we had the most unbelievable wedding weekend every. our good friends amo and mel got hitched over the weekend at juniper hills farm . sibby's place is magical already, but when there is a wedding involved, it is almost a fairy tale. it was a perfect weekend of good food, friends and love. H was in a wonderful mood too. she did so awesome walking the aisle with another little boy. they held hands and had a shaker in the other one. there was not a dry in on sat as we witnessed the ceremony. jean, amy and i even had a little song surprise for the girls. it was fun performing for them and their friends and family.

we even let h stay up til 10:00pm. not a peep out of her. maybe because she was tricking everyone and getting spoonfuls of dessert everywhere she went. despite the sugar high she was probably on, she had fun. it was a western theme, so it was fun dressing up. harper's tiny boots are so so cute. she wore them with the white dress with lavender on it we got in a french market. she didn't want to take the boots off the entire night. who would have thought! everyone looked so awesome. it really was a fun weekend...so happy for our friends too.

words in to sentences

it is fascinating how children develop language skills going from grunting to sign language to words to sentences. everyday harper says or does something new. right now she likes to copy what you say, which is really cute. to hear her say certain words for the first time is amazing. here is a typical conversation with her right now.

h: where going mama?
me: we are going to school
h: oh!

h: what that mama?
me: it is an umbrella
h: oh!

she also learned the word "cause."

h: need dessert
me: why?
h: cause. i'm hungry

her first ACL festival

harper went to her first austin city limits festival. it was going to be a nice day, high temp was 80 degrees, how could we not bring her? we went from 11am to 6pm. started out by going to the austin kiddie limits area that had tons of kids stuff for them. listened to casper babypants (which is the lead singer of The presidents of the united states), colored and even got some free stuff. they even had a baby changing area. thank goodness because i accidentally left the wipes at home. it was a cool set up.
fortunately she likes the headphones. things are just "too loud" sometimes and she asks for them. which is fine by me. we then went to grab some lunch but on the way back, she fell asleep. she actually slept for about 1 hour while we had lunch and watched a band play. amazing how kids sleep through things like that. but if you are tired, you got to do what you got to do. after she woke up, we went back to see daddy and papa play in the drum circle and did more kid stuff. she was pretty happy. it is nice being able to take her with us. i love seeing her enjoy the outdoors and live music.

what did she say?

harper was playing quietly at her activity table the other day and she didn't realize i was watching her. she had a (washable) marker in her hand and began to draw on a block. intrigued, she then started to mark on the stained concrete floor. i immediately said, "harper, do not do that. we do not mark on the floor." she gave me an evil smile, put the marker behind her back. looked at me and said, "mama, walk away."

i tried so so hard not to laugh but wanted to so badly. they say that to the kids at school if they are fighting over a snack or toy. i told her that she needed to clean it up and she was happy to do so.

it's starting!

i'm behind!

can't believe my last post was in june. so much has happened and i promised myself i would keep up with the blog so we could look back and remember some highlights. i have already forgotten when she first took a step or laughed for the first time. time is certainly flying.

- went to france in july with amy's mom and stepdad. had a wonderful and LONG trip. h did so well on the plane. traveling for 24 hours is tough on us, so proud of her for being a trooper. rose wine and chocolate croissants, how can you go wrong?
- h turned the big 2! had a yo gabba gabba party for her and the entire framily showed up. amy made an awesome brobee cake. she still talks about it.
- lolo and lola visted again. they babysat her for a few days and enjoyed every minute of it. it was a nice visit. they get a kick out of her, dancing and singing with her.
- had a fun labor day out at sibby and shelley's. hung out by the pool and relaxed.
- did a day of service and planted wildflowers on the lady bird townlake trail. her daddy joined us too.
- she moved to a new classroom at the start of the new school year. her new teacher is ms. peggy and she could not stop talking after her first day. h told everyone that she was going to the Big Playground. they get to enjoy new activities like the computer room and library.
- we have been going to deep eddy a lot to swim. daddy and papa with often join us.
- her sleep patterns have been thrown off since the france trip. she tells us to "sit there." meaning, she wants us to sit in the chair beside her crib when she lays down after we turn off the lights. for the past week, she has been sleeping til 7, which is very nice.
- h's hair is super long. not sure what to do with it these days. guess i need to learn how to put hair in a ponytail. by the time amy picks her up in the afternoon, her hair is a mess
- it is amazing how much she is talking. or at least trying to talk. she can sing her ABC's and count to 15 right now. harper is very observant. she likes to repeat words and seems like it she is soaking it all in.
- her teacher says that she loves to learn. apparently some of the kids in her class don't really pay attention.
- we have an upcoming trip to south carolina in nov to see lee's brother get married. uncle robert is getting hitched! we get to meet lots of family members on the clippard side and see/meet her cousins.
- the annual framily trip is in concan again in nov
- lolo and lola are coming to visit again in dec
- gran is coming in for an extended stay. dec thru jan? we are looking forward to hanging out with her and for her and h to get some quality time together.
- she started a dance class at school. they pull her out of class at 3pm every thursday. you should see the tiny ballet shoes
- auntie still can't go 24 hours without seeing her
- we really appreciate all of our babysitters. sometimes you just need a date night.
- h is just so aware of what is going on and has an unbelievable memory

we are just enjoying every minute of her.