Swiped pictures from Bonnee's blog...Dallas visit July 2010

Summer Vacation-Chapter 3-Flower Mound, TX

After 3 short days in Kingwood with Nanna and Nonnu, Patrick flew back to Seattle to work and I flew to Dallas. My stepbrother, Marcus took a day off work to spend with Harper and me. We met Andrea for lunch at Pappasito's (my favorite) and laughed as we took lots of pictures and videos (videos to come).

I also took an afternoon to see my dear friends Bonnee and Charlotte (more pictures of that visit to follow as I'm swiping them from Bonnee's blog. :) )

My oldest friend, Tricia (I've known her since I was 3) came by for a visit with her mom Carm. It was such a pleasure to watch both of them play with Harper.

Patrick returned for the weekend and there was a little bit of time left to pop over to our friends, Amanda and Cody's before we went to Harper's baptism. They cooked us a great fajita lunch and Harper loved playing with their son Luke and his toys. :)

Since we were going to be in Texas and all of our immediate family lives there, we decided to have Harper baptized in the church where Patrick and I were confirmed. Harper joined the long list of babies that have worn a baptism gown made by my mother 41 years ago for her god-son, my cousin Michael. Aunt Heather and Aunt Andrea committed to being her godmothers. Nene and Papa (Patrick's parents) threw a fabulous reception in her honor with delicious bar-b-q and lots of laughs. Harper was a perfect angel the entire day. Of course during the most silent part of mass, Harper blew the loudest raspberry, eliciting laughter from all.

Daddy and Harper saying hello to home...Seattle.

Summer Vacation-Chapter 2-Kingwood, TX

After a week of lake relaxation, we were airborne again, headed to Kingwood, TX to visit my dad and stepmom. And, again, I have no idea who took pictures because I sure didn't. We ate well, went for walks on the beautiful greenbelts of Kingwood, and went swimming. Harper loved every minute with her Nanna and Nonnu.

My dad found a raft with a cover and "working aquarium" for Harper to float in while in the pool. By "working aquarium" they meant a part of the raft that you fill with water instead of air which makes the plastic sea creatures float. The entire contraption looked like a fish and we couldn't wait to get Harper in it. She grew to love her time in the water and we all loved cooling off in the water and watching her. Darn I wish I had a picture of it.

We also went on a driving tour of all the old houses I lived in. This is the very first house I ever lived in. My mom had painted Winnie the Pooh on the wall of my room. I don't remember much but have seen lots of pictures.

Summer Vacation-Chapter 1-Hot Springs Village, AR

Some of my best memories as a child were of family parties or trips with my cousins and aunts and uncles. Family has always been a tremendous part of our lives so we were thrilled to take Harper down south first to Arkansas and then to Texas to meet and play with her cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, and grandparents. As I'm uploading images for this entry, I'm realizing that I took far less pictures of our entire trip than I realized, so I'm sure I'll be adding and swiping pictures as I go.

Every year for the fourth of July, Patrick's mother, father, sister and her family rent a house on one of the lakes in Hot Springs Village, AR. We missed out the past 2 years with our travels, but were so excited to spend some quality time with everyone and have Harper get to know her aunt, uncle and cousins. She loved showing off all her new trick...eating solids, rolling over, biting with her very strong bottom teeth, sitting up, scooting, and "talking".

(Cousin Hunter, Daddy, Aunt Heather, and Harper-eating)

Aunt Heather encouraged Harper to stand and got her to do it on her own while resting on a box. Thanks Aunt Heather now she only wants to stand. :) Heather also spoiled her rotten with lots of noisy toys, fulfilling her role as the super fun aunt.

(Nene and Harper cuddling on the dock)

Nene brought a small blow-up pool for Harper. She loved splashing around with me and Lindsay (Connor and Hunter's close family friend). Lindsay and her sister Melody have joined in the festivities for the past two years. All the kids loved playing with Harper in between their adventures out on the lake.

(One of maybe 2 times Harper left the sunglasses on for more than 2.2 seconds. Thank goodness she tolerated hats or I would have never let her out in the sun.)

The 2 H's-Hunter loved posing with his cousin, Harper.

We got a chair that screws on to most table tops in leu of a high chair. Harper loved sitting at the table with everyone and we thoroughly enjoyed her every squeal and bang.

We are "those" bad parents.

The cousins, Connor, Harper, and Hunter. (I heart this one!)

The raft was so much fun. The kids, Curtis, and Patrick also knee-boarded and wake-boarded.

Harper's first time in the lake lasted just long enough for a few fish to nibble at me and Nene.

Chillin' with Papa.

6 months old-holy canolli, time flies

We celebrated Harper's 6 month birthday this week. The sun came out just so we could take pictures. Wasn't that nice of the sun?! We went to the Seattle center to take pictures with the Space Needle and cool fountain (although in retrospect, the fountain isn't very visible behind our sweet Harper). We are happy to report that Harper survived her 6 month vaccines although these were clearly more painful than the others. She is still in the 95th percentile for height and weight, but her growth seems to be slowing (which we're told is normal).

As you might be able to see, Harper has her daddy's blue eyes and god help her, my ears. She is sitting, and rolling, and reaching, and almost crawling...but not quite (thank goodness). She is fascinated with anything we do, especially when we eat. You can tell she just wants to grab whatever we have and gobble it up. She is very skilled at eating her own food and has even used the spoon on her own a few times. She still loves the outdoors but is becoming more sensitive to loud noises (another trait from her daddy). She has taken a liking to dancing with mommy, especially when I bounce up and down, consistently. :) She is communicating (babbling and giggling) more and more...stealing our hearts with each utterance. She has 2 teeth (yay for breast feeding) and has been sleeping through the night (7:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m.) for 2 months, now. Back to eating, Harper really likes bananas and mangos. Avocado, not so much and the jury is still out on sweet potatoes (she's only had them once). Her favorite toys are paper, a wooden spoon, a metal bowl, plastic rings, a wooden triangle, these plastic texture balls, and of course, mommy or daddy's keys. She is not the best napper, but I hope to work on that this summer. She is perfectly content playing by herself for 30 minutes at a time while we buzz around cooking or cleaning talking to her.

We are preparing to take Harper to Arkansas for a week with Patrick's parents and his sister's family. Then we will head to Houston to see my dad and stepmom (Nanno and Nanna). Then to Dallas to see all our friends and family there. We are so excited for Harper to meet and play with her cousins in Arkansas and then meet everyone in Texas. We'll see how much this Pacific Northwestern likes the southern heat.? I'm sure we will have a barrage of pictures and funny stories to share upon our return. Stay tuned.