Happy Birthday Daddy Brandon!

My sweetie-pie turned the big 33 this month! Since he doesn't like to make a big hoop-lah (like my word?) about his birthday, I decided to just have a few people meet us at a local restaurant where we usually go every weekend anyway. It worked out p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y and he was definitely surprised. We didn't make a big deal about it and I thought it turned out so nice.

Since he is a volunteer firefighter, I decided to let that be the theme of his cake. It was between that or a tractor, but I figured he'd had a lot of tractor cakes in his lifetime. The cake was AWESOME!! I told her I needed one to feed 15....and I think it would've fed 40! ha:) It was so perfect and tasty, and it was cheap too....that's always a plus! Everyone kept saying how they thought it was a toy firetruck and they had no idea it was a cake! Of course the girls kept wanting to get as close as possible to the cake so they could keep their eyes on it...

And, we decided to pose for a family picture only to realize we had our niece! ha:) And, then looked what else was going on in the picture......I about laughed myself to death when I saw this picture....I was afraid her mom might kill me for posting it, but it was too difficult to resist! Priceless, right?

As Madelyn was leaving, she was loving on me, so we decided to pose for another family picture...brother and sister....

And then we tried to get one of Harper with her best little friendie, Annabella, but Harper was totally over it! She wanted down! And NOW! ha:)

It ended up being a really fun night and we were so thankful everyone came out to celebrate his birthday. We truly have the best friends and family anyone could ask for! Happy birthday, honey! Hope you had a great one!

Harper is 8 months old!

My sweet little girl is getting sooo big! I still can't believe that eight months have passed since she arrived. She is our world! Brandon and I don't know what we did before she came around...we must've been really boring! ha:)

I was packing up some of her clothes that don't fit anymore and I could've cried when I had to pack up the bow she wore home from the hospital....

so I decided, just for kicks, to put it in one last time...OOOOOOOOhhhhh, how my heart broke! :( It makes me so sad that she's growing so quickly. I want her to develop, of course, but I just wish these baby days didn't go by so quickly!

However, I love how Harper is growing, changing, and doing new things everyday! She is at the age where she is so much fun! It's hilarious when we leave her playing in the living room to run in the other room for 2 seconds, and when we return, she's no where to be found! I just have to laugh when this happens because as soon as I yell her name, here she'll come crawling around the corner! She is the joy of our lives!

At 8 months, Harper is:

-wearing size 2 diapers

-wearing anywhere from 6-9 months clothes

-crawling and pulling up everywhere and on everything!!!

-babbling all the time (da-da is her favorite) :(

-has her 2 bottom teeth completely in

-eats 3-4 six ounce bottles each day plus cereal w/ fruit for breakfast, veggies at lunch, and veggies and a fruit/dessert at supper

-LOVES her yogart melt snacks

-takes 2 naps everyday and sleeps around 10 hours each night

-is really beginning to "play" with her toys

-is the absolute highlight of our lives!

Harper Claire, you'll never know how much you truly mean to your daddy and me. I'm so thankful that God chose us to be your parents because you are such a special baby to us! You're a social butterfly and loved by so many people...I hope one day you'll know how blessed you are! Love you baby girl!*By the way, Harper had to be a little model for the shop where we get many of her clothes and all of our things monogrammed, so that's where the pics came from. You can see their full post here.

Happy Valentine's Day

I'll have to say that this was the absolute BEST Valentine's Day ever!! Not only did my husband get me tulips and an hour massage (LOVE IT), but we sooooo enjoyed spending the day w/ Harper! She is getting to be more fun with each and every day that passes. Of course, she didn't know it was any special day, all she knew was that she got to play with something VERY fun....

TISSUE PAPER!! I'm pretty sure that is one of her favorite things right now! ha:) She could not have cared less about her presents, she just liked the wrapping. So, after I assisted her with getting all of her goodies out, I let her have a ball.And my beautiful flowers from Daddy...I wanted to have a family picture on Harper's first Valentine's Day and well...it just did not work out as I wanted...We did the timer thing and that didn't work, so I opted for a good picture to at least have....well...a picture! ha:) Harper looks tired, Brandon looks scared, and I look pasty! Lovely! lol

After church, I decided I needed to get a picture of Harper with all of her goodies since I've done that every holiday! I am quickly seeing how having a busy 8 month old is not quite as easy to get her to be photogenic as it was when she was itty bitty! BUT, while I was getting everything ready and before I got Harper ready, I caught her doing this....She had pulled her new capris off the couch and was chewing on the tags. It was so cute so I just had to take a picture! So I finally got her all ready and just knew I'd get a cutesy picture....and here's what I got...Gees! Can't a girl get a break? All I needed was a little smile....but I.WAS.NOT.GETTING.IT.FROM.HER!! No ma'am! Oh well...these will have to work! Since you can't really tell anything in this picture, I wanted some closer up of her goodies.After all was said and done, I think she was happy....cause THEN she decided to flash me one of these....Oh, how I love my little Valentine! Hope you had a happy day with your loves!

xoxo, Kara C:

Harper is 7 months old!!

Well, technically, she's 7 and 1/2 months old now...but better late that never, right? ha! :)  Harper is growing waaaaaaaaaaaay too fast, as I say every month, but we are enjoying her so much!  She's gotten to be quite a little handful but it's so cute.  She is into E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!!  It's so funny...if you leave the room for 2 seconds, you better run back and check on her just to make sure she's not under the couch or playing w/ the computer! lol

So, what all is Harper up to at 7 months:

-She still sleeps wonderfully at night and usually takes a few naps through the day!

- She eats cereal and fruit for breakfast, 2 veggies at lunch, and usually 2 at night.  She usually only takes around 4 six ounce bottles each day.

-She is a crawling machine and (at 7 months) she was trying to figure out how to pull up!  She definitley has the hang of it now.  She finally realized how to do it Sunday 1/24 and hasn't stopped since.  She stands up everywhere now!

-She smiles all the time and is such a happy baby!

-She is definitely beginning to get her own little personality.  We now KNOW if she doesn't like something or isn't happy!  It's funny to a point...but she's gotten to where she'll throw little fits...that's where it stops being funny! lol

-She lights up when either of us come in the room...and it really is the sweetest thing I've ever seen!  :)

Well, it looks like I'll be doing her 8 month post soon! ha! It's sooooooooo hard to believe that it's been almost 8 months since we had the sweetest blessing on Earth!

xoxo, Kara C:

Harper's hobbies...

Watching Mickey Mouse...

Crawling everywhere and getting into everything...

Pulling up like a big girl...

Watching momma and daddy through the slats in her bed and smiling ear to ear...Making us the happiest most blessed Momma and Daddy in the world...

You gotta crawl before you walk...and Harper Claire's a crawlin....

Yep...you heard me right! I had really thought that Harper would crawl before Christmas, but she just couldn't figure out how to get going! She could get practically anywhere she wanted, but she would scoot and roll and go backwards! ha:)

So, we really have been trying to convince her to come forwards! lol We've put stuff down in front of her and she's inched that way a time or two...BUT tonight she just took off. She's still a little wobbly, as you'll see, but all in all, she's got it! I text some of my friends and told them and almost all of them said, "Well now you won't be able to keep up with her!" ha:) Everytime she's in the floor playing and I go into our bedroom for something I always look behind me like I expect her to be following me....and now she actually might! :)

Just wanted to share another milestone with you! Hope you're having a wonderful week! We teachers, I know, are trying to get back in the swing of things, but it's hard after being off for almost 3 weeks! It's been soooooooo nice, but it's rough trying to get back into the groove! I'll be glad to see Friday! ha:) Then, we're off on Monday, so we get another 4 day week! You sure can't beat that! Enjoy your long weekend!

xoxo, Kara C:

WHO?

Who could have any worries in the world when you have this sweet face to look at and love on all the time??  I sure can't.....I'm so lucky!She just loves her little baby doll that Kaye got her.  It's the cutest thing with little rolls on it's legs and arms!  It's so sweet and I've never seen one like it before.  Harper and I named her Mia! ha:)  Harper's main goal is to pull off her hat and jacket!  She loves to be naked, so she must think her baby dolls do too!  Don't you just love it?  I could eat her up!  And, since I've been off through Christmas, and then for snow, it was t.e.r.r.i.b.l.e. leaving her this morning! TERRIBLE!  I know she's taken good care of while I'm working, so that makes it easier....BUT, BUT there's nothing better in the world than being home with her.  (And her daddy spending the day with us isn't too bad either! ha:)

Not a lot has happened lately, so I just wanted to share two of my fave faces with you tonight...Aren't they sweet in their Pioneer gear?  I know I'm not biased at all! ha:)

xoxo, Kara C:

Christmas with the Fustons

Well, I guess it's better late than never, but I finally copied over the pics from Aunt Randi's camera!  It's so hard to believe that Christmas has already came and gone again!  Time really does fly once you have children....and I'M NOT LIKING IT!!!  I remember those terrible high school years when it felts like those four drama filled years took F.O.R.E.V.E.R!!!  Now, it seems like a year goes by with the blink of an eye.

But, without further ado, here's the rest of our Christmas celebration pictures...

Harper was sleepy..but at least Daddy cooperated...She was finally beginning to figure out how to open the presents...although she just wanted to play with the tissue paper and box! ha!Irene is all the time taking food somewhere, for something/someone, so we decided to get her a market tote to help get around w/ all of her goodies...Randall is always trying to trick everyone when it comes to their gifts.  He hides money in candy boxes or in the bottom of a perfume box, anywhere.... So, this year, Brandon wanted to trick him a little bit.  We put a pair of houseshoes in this huge box and then put random things in the box to help weigh it down to throw him off...and he was surprised!Harper had begun to start getting around a little around Christmas, so of course she wanted her hands on the action...the video camera!  And, Uncle A tried his best to stay out of the way of the camera...but we caught him! ha:)This boy cracks me up...he's so particular about what he wears, drives, everything!  So, he definitely had to make a big deal out of some sweet baby drool....Sorry Uncle A! lol  He really didn't care, but we had to pick on him a little bit about it!

Harper's a busy girl!

WHEW! I remember when she was all tiny and just slept and ate what felt like all the time. Brandon and I talked everyday about how much easier it was than we ever thought and that we'd like to have another one....SOON! W-E-L-L....let me just tell you...Harper has gotten busier and so have we! ha:) It's definitely not a bad thing, but it's definitely made me re-think the whole wanting to have another one soon idea! lol I enjoy being a momma sooooooooo much...much more than I even thought I would. I always say that God meant for me to be a momma and I truly believe that! But, since Harper has gotten around more, I've realized that having a kid is work! I know those of you with toddlers running around everywhere like crazy are laughing your head off saying, "She thinks she's busy now...just wait!" ha:) I know! I wouldn't trade my active 6 month old for anything in the world! It just makes me realize that two small kiddos may be out of the question!

So, what is Harper doing? Well she can get a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e. she wants just by scooting and crawling backwards. She did take a few forward crawls tonight and we were so excited! Then, on Sun, Jan 3, she sat alone for the first time! I was so excited! I just kept saying Yay! and clapping my hands and she would just grin so big like she knew she had done something special! ha:) Excuse my beautiful self in the photo, I had to stay close to make sure she didn't topple over...which she's done several times! So now her new thing is crawling backwards, then she'll put out one foot and turn herself around a few times, then go from the crawling stance to sitting...and she's so proud of herself when she does this!This Sunday, we were at B's parents' house and she was sitting in the floor playing with her daddy's Mickey Mouse...She LOVES it! She would just squeal at him, then knock him over...it was so cute!

So, what else is she doing...Well we have "introduced" her to a sippy cup, but she's not real crazy about it just yet! She'd rather just chew on the tip and throw it on the ground than actually drink anything out of it! My mom thinks it's too early, and the dr. said anytime between 6-9 months, but I hated for her to be 9 months old before she ever held/saw/experienced one. So, typically, I give it to her once a day with juice and let her play with it. She's getting better and has actually learned how to get a little bit out! But here's what I think she really thinks about her new cup....

Also, Aunt Randi helped Harper contribute to a great missionary work. The son of a teacher that I work with goes to Honduras every summer to do mission work. He is graduating in May with a social work degree and going back over there for the summer. After his last trip, he and his friend began talking about how there were no libraries over there. They then came up with this idea of making a mobile library to take to these 10 (I think) close villages and letting the children check out books. WHAT A FABULOUS IDEA!!! So, she has bought several herself, but also asked if any teacher would like to pick a title to buy to send, or to donate money to go toward books they don't have yet. She's then going to put a name plate inside each book with the person's name who bought/donated it. So, Aunt Randi let Harper send two books...I thought that was a wonderful idea! Harper is so blessed to be surrounded by teachers and has a plethora of books, so I was glad she was able to do this. I plan on just giving her some money and letting her buy books that have not yet been purchased! However, she did have the Twilight series in Spanish that I was really tempted to buy! Honduras MUST be introduced to the world of Edward! ha:)

And, last but not least, the thing that has caused us the most problems...or laundry should I say! We have been going through bibs and burp cloths like C-R-A-Z-Y!!! Harper has been a drooling monster since she was almost 3 months old, but it's gotten considerably worse over the last few months. WELL, my mom found that Harper cut her first tooth on Christmas day! What a great present. As I started looking, I noticed the next day that the one right beside it was about to cut through too...and sure enough it did 2 days later. We were super duper excited to see some toothies! And she's so cute showing them off too. BUT, of course when I tried to get a picture of her toothies, she did everything but want to show them to me...

Shoot...still can't see them...So I decided to just dig for them....lol

And then the little turkey decided to flash a big smile to mommy and I got em! Yay...sweet success! lolShe is such a mess and we wouldn't have it any other way. It seems like she's growing, changing, and doing something new every single day! We have such a wonderful life and I'm so thankful for my sweet baby girl! She started doing one more thing right before we left for a birthday party tonight...I'll just have to show you later! (It's good...check back!)

I'm going to have to go to bed! I've been out of school for almost a week and it looks like it's about to come to an end...I wish we could get just one more day...but I've said that everyday! ha:) So, I better try to get some rest so I can educate some young minds tomorrow! :)

xoxo, Kara C: