Fiona: Now & Then

Fiona and I were looking at baby pictures of her tonight. She came across this one and decided she needed to re-enact it:

Fiona: September 2010

Fiona: February 2014

The time has flown and she has gotten big! 

Look who knows her animals!

Hanging with our friends

We got to hang out with my college friend Melissa yesterday and her 2 boys. Jameson is 3 months older than Fiona. Brecken is 12 days older than Harper. They had a blast together!

The Princess Castle Cake

As I've mentioned before, our nanny Kali is like the Midwestern female version of the Cake Boss. So of course she made Harper's birthday cake for us. Fiona and Kali discussed it at great length and Fiona decided Harper would like a Princess Castle Cake. Here are the pictures:

The main cake (first layer was chocolate with oreo frosting, second layer was vanilla with almond frosting)

Fiona looking longingly at the cake

Harper's separate smash cake

Harper with smash cake before she started

Harper with smash cake after she finished (she barely touched it)

Happy Birthday, Harper Grace!

Our little Harper Grace is 1 year old today. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. As we celebrate our youngest's first birthday, here are a few observations of this little cutie:

1) Harper is incredibly curious. Anything she picks up goes straight to the mouth. She is also incredibly brave. She has no problem diving off the couch or our bed or any place high up. While those two traits will serve her well in life, I don't always like how they work in conjunction with one another.

2) Harper has a pretty chill disposition. She hasn't been a big crier throughout her first year. There were the tears when she got hurt and the tears when she was hungry but that pretty much covers it.

3) Harper is very resilient. She took 2 nasty falls this year, one off our bed and, even worse, one off the kitchen counter onto the wood floor. In both situations, she cried for about 5 minutes and then was fine. No injuries, thank God.

4) She has learned to fight back with Fiona. A few times when they have been struggling over a toy, Harper has reached up and pulled Fiona's hair. As I've explained to friends, I don't have a huge problem with this. Fiona tends to get rough with her and if Harper can give it back, I'm kind of proud of her for putting up a fight.

5) She is my pro-veggie, anti-chocolate girl. She loves peas, green beans, and carrots. She is not a fan of chocolate donuts. She does however appreciate ice cream.

6) Whenever we go out in public, strangers always comment on 2 things. First, her huge eyes. "She has such big, beautiful eyes". Second, her facial expressions. She just looks at most strangers like they are crazy. After a few seconds of staring at them, she'll smile for about 5 seconds, and then go back to glaring at them. It's pretty comical.

Happy Birthday, Harper! We love you so much.

How she loves her cousins....

Look how happy Fiona is everytime she is next to her cousin Isaac. She LOVES her cousin Isaac!

Isaac, Fiona, Drew, & Ava

I LOVE this picture!!!

Isaac, Fiona, & Ella

The 8 great-grandkids: Maddie, Drew, Ava, Tessa, Isaac, Fiona, Ella, & Harper

An Easter Dress Vision Realized

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful Easter. We went to the 7:00 a.m. service this morning and it was wonderful. We are so thankful for our church. 

Two years ago, for Fiona's first Easter, I purchased what I believe to be one of the cutest Easter dresses ever made. 

 Fiona's first Easter

A little over one year ago, right after I had found out we were having another girl, I was at TJ Maxx and found the exact same Easter dress in a size 4T. And thus the Easter Dress Vision of 2013 was born. 

I bought the dress and looked forward to the day when my two little girls would wear matching Easter dresses for the first time. 

Today was that day. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to top this in terms of cuteness. 

And finally, the side by side comparison...

Fiona Ruth, 9 months

Harper Grace, 10 months