Thanksgiving 2018

 Dearest Harper,

We spent all day driving home from our cruise that started and ended in Long Beach. It wasn't the best Thanksgiving ever - on the road, in the car, no home cooked food - but the vacation with Gaga, Agi, Auntie Cassie, Uncle Mike and Michael sure was! At least we remembered to do our double smooch!

I love you,

Mommy

Halloween 2018

 Dearest Harper,

Happy Halloween! You asked to be Vampirina this year. It's a cartoon on TV (and books too, I think) about a vampire family that moves from Transylvania to Pennsylvania. It's actually pretty cute. You're much cuter though!

Look at the awesome Dia de los Muertos sugar skull pumpkins we decorated this year! My secret pal at work gave me a kit and each of us did our own pumpkins! I love the way they turned out!

 

As always, another massive haul of candy! Maybe Daddy and I will sneak a few of our favorites. You will probably never know...

I love you,

Mommy

Your Fourth Birthday

 Dearest Harper,

What a fun day you had! It started with bringing cupcakes to school, then Mommy and Daddy took you to Chuck E Cheese's for the very first time, where we ate crappy pizza and played all the games. We ended the day by getting frozen yogurt. I'm pretty sure you smiled all day long!

For your birthday party you requested a Daniel Tiger theme. This was the hardest one so far to work with; I couldn't find fun games (we made Prince Wednesday crowns) or foods and drinks (hot dogs and chips) to go with the theme. But at least we got an awesome cake made! You had so much fun, and so many people showed up, and you are so loved, little 4 year old!

I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you, my beautiful, kind, thoughtful, funny little girl.

Love,

Mommy

First Day of PreSchool!

Dearest Harper,

Today was your first day of PreSchool. All summer you asked when you were going back to school, and you were excited that it was a new school. I love your excitement about school and hope it never, ever ends.

We picked you up at the end of the day (noon!) and you were proudly sporting this hat you made. It reads, "I rocked the first day of Pre-K!"

I hope you do nothing but continue to rock it, baby girl!

I love you,

Mommy

Fourth of July 2018

Dearest Harper,

 It's proving difficult to find girl Marvel superhero shirts, so imagine our joy when we found this gem!

And of course we had to do the double smooch before we left the house. You actually enjoy them now.

We spent 4th of July at our friends Danyel and Jason's house. They have a beautiful pool, and that's always a treat in July in Sacramento - although this year it was only in the mid 80s, and you thought the pool was a little chilly and didn't swim nearly as much as I thought you would. Instead, you spent most of your time on the trampoline! Your smiles throughout the day were priceless, as they always are. I just love watching you have fun.

You plugged your ears the entire time we did fireworks, silly girl!

I love you,

Mommy

Pre-Preschool

Dearest Harper,

Yeah, pre-preschool isn't really a thing, but there was a program offered through our local park and rec district - 2 hours 2 days a week for kids 2.5 to 3.5 years old - and we thought it would be good for you. Since you don't go to day care, we thought it was important to find a way for you to socialize with other kids before you REALLY start preschool. You started January 16th of 2018 and your last day was May 24th. You absolutely LOVED it! We're not surprised...

Here you are, walking with Daddy on your very first day.

Here you are on the first and last day of school. You look taller. Also, our mat looks dirtier...

 These are the thank you/end of the year gifts you made for your teachers. You wrote your own name on both!

Here you are posing with your teachers, Miss Rashauna and Miss Allie, on the last day of school.

And here you are with your preschool certificate! You look so happy and proud!

 I sincerely hope you enjoy and do as well with the rest of your schooling as you did pre-preschool.

I love you,

Mommy

Easter 2018

Dearest Harper,

This was the first year we colored Easter eggs. You LOVED it!

Here's your basket!

Your smile says it all!

I love you,

Mommy

Valentine's Day 2018

Dearest Harper,

This is, hands down, one of my favorite pictures of you EVER. You are absolutely beautiful. How did Daddy and I get so lucky to have YOU as our girl?!

Valentine's Day double smooch!

I love you,

Mommy

New Year 2018

Dearest Harper,

Daddy and I had plans to go to a friend's house for a New Year's party, but you got sick and we had to cancel at the last minute. This is the only picture I have of us on New Year's Day - cuddling, relaxing, and being lazy on the sofa.

I love you,

Mommy