The ZOO!!

Last weekend all 4 of us spent a wonderful family day together at the Birmingham Zoo.  It was our first time to this zoo and Harper's first time ever to a zoo.  Not sure she really embraced the whole experience from her vantage point in the stroller (or sling), but Eli was overjoyed by the whole day!  We were invited by a friend, for her daughter's second birthday party, which made for the perfect excuse to get out of T-town and take a little road trip.  As part of the party, we had cake (of course!) petted a couple animals, rode the carrousel and saw the whole zoo from the train.  E was in heaven!  He thought the whole thing was SO exciting.  Despite the lack of naps and schedule, both kids did surprisingly well (with minimal meltdowns).  The Birmingham Zoo pails in comparison to the St. Louis Zoo, but was a great little trip and one I'm sure we will be taking again.

H's first time on a carrousel - mesmerized!

E and his friend Mae - these two are peas in a pod!

Mae, E and Harper on the train!

FLAMINGOS!

Fountain - good thing we brought extra clothes.

Baby girl - 10 months old!

 Face painting - an elephant!

The drums - he would have stayed here ALL day!

MONKEYS!

What a fun day!!!  Can't wait to do it again!

TEN months!

It's official, Harper isn't listening to us.  We have been telling her for months now to stop getting older and stay this age forever....but, she's not listening!  She's growing up before our very eyes.  She's getting teeth (two now) and her beautiful strawberry-blonde hair is getting longer every day.  Her legs are getting longer (and chubbier), her hands are bigger and becoming more and more coordinated and she's even outgrowing clothes.  She's not going to be a baby much longer.  Though she's still army-crawling, dragging her belly along the floor, she's starting to push up on her hands and knees and even pull herself up onto furniture.  She has also been working on getting from sitting to belly and back up again, over and over.  She's become more independent and trusting of strangers which has been great for me.  I'm able to leave her in the church nursery or with Grandma or Dad for a couple hours now.  Though she's still nursing often, she eats two "meals" a day of oatmeal, puffs, cheerios and some sort of fruit.  We finally met with a pediatric allergist last week (per my request) who tested her for 14 different food allergies (scratch test on her little back) and only showed a significant reaction to pecan.  I'm worried, however, about how accurate this test was and worried that they didn't test for any environmental allergies.  My "mommy gut" still tells me that she suffering from allergies of some form, but not quite sure what yet.  The allergist basically said that she was too young to know for sure and suggested keeping a food journal to document reactions.  Guess we'll just wait and see, but needless to say, will be avoiding ALL nuts.  Overall, Harper seems happy and healthy!  She still thinks her brother is the most amusing "toy" and laughs at him daily.  She's still the happiest, sweetest, most laid-back baby in the world and brings so much joy to everyone who meets her.  We love you, Harper Deane!

How sweet is that little face!!

Little Miss tutu - dressed for a friends bday party!

    A french fry and beautiful picnic for her 10 month bday (Friday the 13th!).

Easter 2012!

Not only was this Harper's first Easter, but it was also our first living in the South.  We heard that they "do it big" down here, but don't think we really had a clue what we were in for.  City-wide there were egg hunts for weeks leading up to Easter, helicopter egg drops, Easter Bunny appearances, church events and the store shelves were stocked with Easter decor immediately after Valentines Day.  We tried our hardest not to give into the commercialism of Easter, but it was inevitable.  Grandma K arrived the Thursday before Easter to spend time with all of us.  The kids were SO excited to have her here and demand all of her attention.  Friday we all went over to see the new house (pics to come later) and I got to have lunch with the girls.  Saturday morning we went to the largest Easter celebration I have ever seen (and it was free)!  EasterFest 2012!  Hosted by a local church, there were over 3,000 adults and kids, a petting zoo, the Easter Bunny (for photos), huge bounce houses, carnival games, balloons, free drinks, a sack lunch and over 14,000 candy-filled Easter eggs!  It was crazy, but E enjoyed it.  In fact, we all did.  That night Dr. M and I took advantage of having Grandma K here and went out for a long over-due date to enjoy a drink, time together and the beautiful evening weather.  Sunday morning  the whole fam dressed in our "Easter best" for a church service and even an Easter brunch (where they Easter bunny even stopped by).  That night we had Easter dinner with some friends, their kids and more egg hunting, of course!

E's class egg hunt (they made bags for their eggs).

EasterFest craziness!

"EGGS, Mama!"

14,000 of them....(wasn't much of a "hunt").

Ducklings

"I know there's candy in here."

 Easter Sunday with Grandma K - beautiful girls!

 Cupcakes we made for Easter dinner

HAPPY EASTER!!!