4th of July!

This was a total whirlwind of a holiday.  Dr. M returned from his trip on July 1st (his flight the day before was cancelled, so he was a day late).  A little over 24 hours later, Grandma and Grandpa D arrived at the airport.  The following day Dr. M drove back to the airport to pick up a Spanish exchange student who's spending the month of July here to work on math with Dr. M.  The next day was the 4th of July!  As if that weren't enough, we decided to pack the 4th with as many activities as possible...that morning we had a big pancake breakfast at the house and invited Wendy (the Spanish student), we all went to see the matinée of Monster's University (E's fave), to a play-place for lunch, back to the house to prepare the fixings for the BBQ cookout we were hosting just hours later.  We had sparklers, smoke bombs and poppers for the kids to throw while we ate, drank and enjoyed company.  It was a rainy couple days, so the option of camping out on the hill to see the firework display was out of the question.  We did, however, decide (at the last minute) to drive downtown, park the car and wait for the show to begin (we did have to show Wendy the 'true American' 4th experience, after all).  The drizzle cleared momentarily so we could watch the fireworks from the back of the minivan.  It was almost 10pm by the time they were over, the kids were exhausted (so were we) but it was worth it.

Father's Day

Dr. M left for his trips the day before Father's Day, so we didn't really get to celebrate.  I did, however, sneak a few cards into his luggage for him to find the next day and E made a super cute "My Dad" project at school that I emailed to Dr. M. It was sad not having him here to spend the day with, but while he was gone we Skyped frequently and when he returned we greeted him with lots of love and hugs!  HAPPY (late) FATHER'S DAY to the best Dada we could ask for!

Three looong weeks in June....

I'm so happy the month of June is OVER!  We had some exciting things like our anniversary and H's birthday, but Dr. M was out of the country for work 3 of the 4 weeks (Nova Scotia, Spain, Romania)!  We all missed him.  I totally admire and respect single parents...the hardest job I've ever had is keeping up with two kids under 4.  Good news is that I had some help...Grandma W came to my rescue the last week!  After dealing with H's pinkeye, E throwing up in my bed at 3am, losing my debit card (which I recently found!), locking the kids in the running car (and having to call 911 to get them out), getting them to and from school on time, keeping them fed, dressed and entertained daily and bathed....while trying to keep myself from looking completely homeless and exhausted...Grandma's visit was very welcomed! While keeping up with the kids I also managed to convert H's crib to a toddler bed because she was climbing out and I was concerned for her safety (did I mention that she also cut her two eye teeth during these two weeks too? She was a mess).  I bought a new refrigerator and I sold the old on on craigslist all by myself!!  The old one worked just fine and it's actually a complicated story as to why we 'needed' a new one, but the new one is awesome!  I also managed to strip all the wallpaper off of the guest bathroom AND paint it before Dr. M got home!  Yay ME!  I really can't believe all that I got done in just two weeks...no wonder I'm exhausted!

To stay busy we:

Played in the fountain!

 Grabbed some tasty snacks at Krispy Kreme...

...and FroYo (after the Farmer's Market)

Saw our very FIRST movie at the theater (yay for free summer kids movies)!

Did Friday morning gymnastics (the trampoline!)

 Bought new kid-sized camping chairs!

Grandma W came to visit!!

 Manis and pedis for E and H :)

This is what H was doing instead of napping!  Climbing OUT of her crib, emptying her dresser, taking her diaper off and thinking the whole thing was hilarious...

Harper turns TWO!!

That sweet little lady of ours is TWO years old!  Oh, how she has changed our lives...  That sweet little smile, those curls, her blue, blue eyes her tight hugs, her little giggle and that sassy personality!  She's a character, that's for sure.  Harper brings joy to everyone who meets her.  They can't help but smile when they see her sweet face and curls.  She's reserved at times, but also very social.  She's still a mama's girl, nursing multiple times a day, but overall has become a good eater.  She loves broccoli and anything dairy (we call her the 'dairy queen'), cheese, yogurt, ice cream...  She's looks sweet, but boy is she 'spirited' and looooves expressing her little opinion!  She refuses to wear clothes most of the time, will only wear shoes if they are the same as Buba's (ie. Crocs or flipflops) and has been throwing a huge fit over going to bed lately.  Her favorite words are 'mine' and 'no'.  When relaxing, she must always have the two middle fingers of one hand in her mouth and the other hand in her bellybutton.  She throws a fit if her outfit doesn't allow for bellybutton access (which may be why she refuses to wear clothes at all).  She knows all her body parts, some letters and a few colors.  She's sharp and knows exactly what to do if you ask her to do something.  Just a couple days after her birthday we finally turned her car seat around to forward facing and I think she's liking the view (esp of the DVD player!)...

To celebrate this little lady's birthday, we all sang Happy Birthday to her in bed that morning!  Got her dressed up in a sweet pink outfit (tutu included) and headed to see some friends a the LLL meting.  On the way, however, we stopped by Krispy Kreme to pick up some donut holes to share with all of our friends!  After nap that afternoon we surprised her with a pile of presents, a new doll house and even a little "2" crown to wear.  We Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa W while she opened her gifts and blew out her candles.  She loved every minute of it!  All the toys, ripping the paper, Skype and blowing out the candles (E loved it too!).  A couple days after her actual birthday we celebrated again at a friends house with some of her friends (any excuse for more cake and a fun get-together with friends, right?).  We grilled and had some drinks while the kids played in the baby pool followed by cake and presents.  So glad our friends could celebrate with us (I know H loved it too)!  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the morning of her birthday, H woke up with swollen, puffy eyes...so we squeezed into the pediatrician the following day and turns out that she had pinkeye in both eyes and an bacterial sinus infection.  Ugh.  Good news is, it didn't even seem to phase her!  She's a trooper!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!

7 years!

What?  How is it possible that we've been married for SEVEN years already?!  That means that we've been together for over 11 years.  ELEVEN. Crazy.  In just the past seven years we have lived in 3 states and 4 houses, adopted two dogs, had two children, owned 4 cars, finished 1 PhD and still say "I love you" every day!  What a wild ride it's been, but there's no one I would rather have by my side!  To celebrate this "lucky" anniversary, we got a babysitter (whoot!) and drove to 4 restaurants before actually finding one that was open on a Monday night, in a college town, in the summer.  Sheesh!  It was after 9:00, but we ended up at a local staple, DePalma's Italian Resturant....after a little pasta, wine and dessert, we were home and in bed by 11.  Yep, things sure have changed in 7 years!  My sweet Dr. M did, however, surprise me with a beautiful necklace (going against our "cards only" rule) that I wore out that night.  What a great night!  Here's to many, many more dinners out, babysitters, smiles, hugs (necklaces!) and "I love you"s together!   

"Selfie" by the car :)