Funny Sayings/Big girl bed

Harper in her big girl bed (a bunk bed). She has been in it a week and is loving it. She hasn't fallen out and can't wait for sleepovers with friends =)



Harper has been cracking us up lately with her little sayings. I bought a little book to write things down as she says them and hope to one day give it to her when she is an adult so she can laugh and we can enjoy the memories together. Here are a few of her most recent and my favorite sayings, things that she has said out of the blue without being prompted I promise.

"Excuse me can I get by"
"Perfect" at random times
"I'm styling" when we took her to Old Navy to try on some fall clothes
"Hmm let me see"
"Ohhhhhh'kay"
"I forgot or I not feeling good" when she doesn't want to eat something
"Where my seat belt so we can be safe"
"Get out of my bed" she told me that the other day after sleeping in her big girl bed for 3 whole nights hahah isn't she a little young to be telling me to get out of her room =)
"I'm a boobie" when we were at Gap Body walking past all the bras, she said it very loudly and repeatedly..Adam and I tried so hard not to laugh so that we wouldn't encourage repetition
"My birthday September 11th" She makes sure we are not going to forget
"Jesus loves you mommy"
"Your a good driver daddy"
"Put that down" when I was on my cell phone in the car, if that's not convicting what is =)
"Okie dokie"
"Ready freddy"
"Good singing mommy" I'm not making this one up promise
"yeah, yeah"
"prays out loud on her own for anyone and everyone and anything" She prayed for the bike today =)
"Old Mcdonald had a chicken"

Things I Have Learned

I am studying the Psalms this summer and have really enjoyed reading through the book.

Today my heart was overwhelmed and thankful for the way that God knows us and cares about us so intimately. He knows our insecurities, he knows our hearts, he knows the things that excite us and the things that grieve us. He celebrates over us and accepts us, he is in perfect attendence to our every step, He never takes his eyes off of us, he does not slumber, and he relishes every hint of maturity even if we feel as if were not making any progress. I desire to KNOW GOD the way that he knows me. TOTALLY. COMPLETELY. PERFECTLY.

I loved being reminded of this truth and I could relate in a new way now that I have a child.

It also helped put into words how I feel about Harper. The deep desire I have to love her, know her, and study her little heart and the way that I appreciate every moment of her growth. I know my love is so imperfect in comparison to how God loves us and knows us. I will fall short and am thankful for the model that I have to follow.

As Harper is growing more aware of life, her surroundings, relationships, and God and as she is becoming more and more vocal it has been fun to study her, to get to see the things that make her heart excited.

* I love the way that she is so concerned about others. Always showing interest in others, wanting to pray for others, asks how others are doing or where they are. She loves her family and friends.
* She is cautious in a wise way but willing to try new things
* She LOVES to sing, dance, entertain, and celebrate
* She has a thankful spirit and often says thank you out of the blue without being prompted
* She exudes joy, life, and energy
* She is patient, kind, and sweet with her words. The other day she said mommy and daddy your the best. It made my heart melt.
* She is compassionate and caring, especially to other little babies and to her stuffed animals and she is sad when others are sad. So sweet to see her show mercy.
* She has a teachable heart, and shows such a fun desire to learn and catches on to things quickly
* She is obediant and desires to follow instruction

These are all things we prayed for her before she was born. It is just so fun to see how God is forming her and shaping her heart. My prayer is that we would never get in the way of what God wants for her. That we would rely and partner with God and seek his wisdom in raising and caring for her. We pray that we would engage her heart in things that have eternal value and that she would become a women that loves God and serves others.

I love being a mom to Harper and I thank God for that calling every day. It is a role that I often feel insecure or uncertain about at times but know that God has uniquely gifted me and Adam to care for her in a way that no one else can. For that I am thankful!

Potty Trained!

I can't believe that I am writing this post. It seems like just yesterday I was changing Harper's new born diapers. I get teary eyed just thinking about how fast the last 23 months have gone. We are quickly approaching Harper's 2nd birthday. She is such a beautiful, fun, caring, sweet, little girl and we praise God for the way that she loves people and continues to grow. I am often AMAZED at her vocabulary and the things that she remembers about God. It is so true that children have a unique faith and her budding faith has encouraged mine over the last 2 years. She remembers the names of Adam and Eve, can tell me about Noah and the rainbow as a sign of God's promises, she knows that Abraham's son's name is Issac and she remember's the story of Moses in the basket. So amazing for a child that is not even 2. I am not trying to boast but mearly sharing the way that Christ is working in her sweet little heart. God's word has a way of hidding itself in our hearts even at a young little age. Such an encouragement to me to continue to grow and challenge my own heart.

To switch gears....I wrote this post to share the most recent milestone...IT'S OFFICIAL HARPER IS POTTY TRAINED. She has been going to the big girl potty for the last month and is doing great! Thanks to a dear friend of mine's encouragement we took the potty training in a day route. That's right ONE DAY! I was a little skeptical at first but it really worked. I read the book Potty Training 1,2,3 and set out to try the plan.

Adam and I took Harper to the store to pick out special treats, panties, and prizes. She had so much fun being involved. Then we set everything out on the kitchen counter as a motivator. The next day I stayed home all day and gave her lots and lots of liquids. She walked her baby doll through the process of going potty and she was rewarded for being a good helper. Then it was her turn to try. Each time she went potty in the big girl potty she got a double treat and each time she stayed clean and dry she got a single treat. We did this all day. She ate lots of sugar but by the end of the day she was potty trained! It was a completely positive experience because she was never felt forced and the whole day was a BIG PARTY to her.

Here are a few pictures:

Sitting on her froggy potty. At night she would say "night night froggy potty" and wanted to give him a kiss. She got very attached.






Harper enjoying a treat from the neighborhood ice cream truck. She hung out in her Dora and Elmo panties all day =)















Harper and I singing potty songs.











Overall, the experience was a positive one. It was a very SPECIAL day and one where we got to spend a lot of quality time hanging out by the potty =). We are so proud of her and we heard her the next morning telling her dolly how proud of her she was. So cute!

We still put a pull up on her at naps and night time. She just started waking up dry this week so I think we will transition to panties during those times soon. It has been nice to have a break from diapers before we have this next little girl. Only 7 more weeks to go. I am relishing the time I have with Harper before our family changes again.

Montana Family Vacation

Adam and I have always shared a passion for travel. When we got married we agreed that we would make sacrifices in order to get to travel (like waiting on getting a new car, living in a 1 bedroom apartment or whatever it may be). We made a bucket list of places we wanted to go and have been able to go to many of the places we dreamed of.

Thankfully God has blessed us so many times over with free trips, winnings from work, and generous family members. We have had the priveledge of traveling all over the US and world together and have made some pretty unbelievable memories. These memories are worth more to us than things and we enjoy getting to see more of God's awesome creation on our trips.

We have a travel journal and when we get back from one of our trips we try to write some of our favorite memories so that as time goes on we can look back and enjoy the memories again.

Having children has changed the way we travel (ex: more things to pack, working around nap times, adjusting to time changes) but Harper is a trooper and seems to enjoy traveling as well.

We recently got back from a trip to White Fish Montana. Montana has been a place that we have wanted to go since we visited friends that lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It is a wonderfully beautiful place. The entire time we were there I just kept thinking "What will heaven be like if this is part of earth?" WOW, the grandeur and beauty just can't be described in words.

We went with Adam's entire family, 13 of us, and stayed in a beautiful house overlooking Whitefish Lake. We visited Glacier National Park (This is a must see if you visit) and rode these really cool open air buses, we hiked, went on the alpine slide, Adam went zip lining and fly fishing, ate at some yummy restaurants and took time to just rest and enjoy the time with family. The weather was a perfect 60-70 degrees every day. It was a great escape from the Texas summer heat.

Here are a few pictures of our trip:

Harper playing with rocks (We attempted a family picture but she was more interested in the rocks)














So here is the picture of just Adam and I in Glacier National Park