Little Ballerina

I love all things ballerina. In fact, I am wearing Mommy's first ballet costume, though still a little big. Give me a couple of years and I'll be sure to fill it out. When we drive in the car I tell Mommy, "I want a ballerina song." And she searches the radio until I say, "yes, that's it." It takes awhile. Only a certain tune can qualify as a ballerina song. . .Mommy doesn't quite understand this. Her picks for ballerina songs aren't up to par with my standards. Give her time.

On a different note, yesterday was my three year old checkup. I weighed in at 26 pounds even. That shot me up into the 6th percentile. This is big news in the Harman household. Dr. Pulliam says I'm growing faster than normal kids my age but that that's okay. He said the same thing about Grant when he went for his checkup (by the way, we're only two pounds apart). Mommy wonders if it's unusual we're BOTH growing at a faster rate. Hmmm...maybe too many snacks for us! All in all, my doctor's visit was great! I love to go now...which is something new. I smiled the whole time Dr. Pulliam checke me out. I even showed him how high I can jump. I think he was impressed.

.

Oh the Craziness

Things can get a little crazy at our house. Mommy wonders why the house just can't stay clean. Here's why: she has two crazy kids named Hannah and Grant. Our painting passion is guaranteed to take a good hour or two out of Mommy's day. So, the time she could spend getting ahead on the laundry, cleaning a bathroom, or vaccuming she actually spends cleaning up a painted table and painted kids. Obviously Grant is the worse of the two of us...figures. Grant and I have also taken a liking to wrestling. Yes, I have pinned my "brudder" down on the couch. And, wrestling can cause some messes around the house...such as pillows on the floor, tipped over lamps, broken windows, and the such (just kidding...sort of). And finally, if stickers are anywhere and I mean ANYWHERE in the house, Grant and I are sure to find them...and stick them. Yes, stick them on the walls, on our bodies, on the floor. Thanks to Mommy's scrapbooking fetish stickers are close at hand. So, we're really good at making messes...so good that Mommy has no time to clean up anything else during the day. Oh the Craziness! Oh the Craziness!

Mommy's Moment: The Birthday Girl

Here she is, the birthday girl. It's hard to believe she is already three. And what was supposed to be an AWESOME day has turned out to be a bit disappointing....more for me than for her! This morning, instead of waking up to her brand new, red tricycle that I so diligently saved my Amazon gift cards for, she woke up to a book and dvd (from Grant). I had visions of squeals and excitement followed by hours of fun outside riding her tricycle on the sidewalk. However, because the wonderful tricycle company failed to include all the parts required to assemble her birthday treasure we did nothing of that sort. I'm thankful her expectations are simple. . .really non existant at this stage in life. My expectations were high. Thankfully I can return the tricycle. I called the manufacturer who said the parts are on back order until November. There's no way I'm waiting until November. So I was on a mission today to find her a birthday trike. Unfortunately, no retailer sells a nice metal bike. They are all plastic, what I didn't want. But, I wanted Hannah to have a special birthday gift and she's talked about a tricycle for months now. So we headed to Walmart and after MUCH deliberation, got her a Barbie Princess Tough Trike. It was the only trike that was age appropriate. And so, the last hour and a half I've put together this trike (based on the reviews it was a cinch to put together...hmmm....where did I go wrong?). So now, take two. Hannah is napping and I promised her when she woke up she'd have a tricycle. ..granted it has wobbly wheels (Daddy's job tonight to fix) but seems safe to take a spin on around the cul-de-sac. And, good news, her basket fits nicely on the front and actually matches much better with this trike than the red trike. But, all that to say, it's just a toy. It's not a big deal. I just love making birthdays a big deal. I like their days to be special. I know growing up my parents always made our birthdays feel special and so we felt special. I want to pass that same feeling on to my children. What a celebration of life. I am so thankful for Hannah and the blessing she is to our family. She has changed our lives dramatically since she came into this world 3 years ago. She is sweet, compassionate, goofy, hard headed at times, somewhat of a cry baby, and quite the talker. I find myself so grateful the Lord allowed John and me to take part in raising her and teaching her about Him and His glorious gospel. What an awesome responsibility. So even if her day didn't go as I had planned...it's still a great day for celebration. I pray the Lord would draw her to Himself early and that He would bless her with many more years and birthdays. I pray He would draw others to Himself through her and that she would love Him with all of her heart. Thank you Lord for this child. She is a blessing. Happy Birthday Sweet Hannah!

So Long Summer, Hello Fall!

Here's Grant doing a water relaxation technique. It's working.

Here's our official send off to summer...what more fitting than our second to last visit to the pool. It was a lovely day. The sun was shining. The water was...frigid...and the scenery was lovely. However, our last visit to the pool, well, it wasn't so lovely. You see, Mommy had promised me and Grant one last trip to the pool one Tuesday. It was the only day we could do it before they officially closed the pool. We woke up to an overcast day, not raining mind you for had that been the case this post would be non existant. Mommy stepped outside to experience a rather unusual frigidness in the air for an early September day. She tried to talk us out of it, but her guilty conscience wouldn't let her. So, we suited up. If anyone was out in their yard that brisk, cloudy, September morning, they would have thought us out of our minds. It was in the high 60's and we were in our suits headed to the pool. And, as Mommy suspected, a deserted pool greeted us. We were the only crazy people that day ANYWHERE who chose to go swimming. And I use swimming loosely. I did the closest thing to swimming. With my floaties on my arms I splashed around and worked on my new swim moves...yes I can paddle through the water without help now. Mommy did the next closest thing to swimming. She very slowly inched her way into what felt like 40 degree water. And Grant, well he did no swimming at all as he clutched tightly to Mommy. Any attempts to lower him into the arctic water proved to be detrimental. After a few minutes of near hypothermia, Mommy suggested we eat our nice lunch. Grant and I happily complied. So there we sat. Grant and I bundled up in our towels, teeth chattering, lips a pale blue, eating our PB and Js. We were going to have a good time. It was our last trip to the pool. We had to make it a good one. Mommy asked us several times (good thing Grant can't talk or the outcome may have been different) if we wanted to head back. I adamantly said no. I wanted to get back in the water. So, after our lunches were devoured and after recovering from a mild fall racing back to the icey waters, we eased back into the hypothermia tank. The wind blew. Our teeth chattered. And, after a few minutes passed, we all agreed it was time to head home. I said good bye to my much loved pool. Mommy said we'd be back next summer and that the playground would be a much more appropriate place to play with the changing weather. Good bye pool, good bye summer. We had a great time!

Can You Dig It?

I know most of you will be surprised by the following statement. I dressed myself. I know, I know, how can such a young girl possess so much fashion prowess, you surely are asking yourself. I guess it's a gift. From the cow head band (why didn't we think of this when we went to Chicken Lay?), to the pink rabbit dress, to the red sequenced skirt, to my pink rubber boots...I make one bold fashion statement. Can you dig it?

Getting My Paint On

I've figured something out. It's much better to be the second child, than the first. Hannah tells me Mommy would have never let her do many of the things Mommy lets me do. Take painting, for example. Would Mommy have popped out the paints and paint brushes with Hannah at the ripe old age of 15 months? No way. But you see, now, when Hannah paints, it's either listen to me scream and wail or hand me a brush and let me get my paint on. And that's what I did...literally. I got my paint on...on my tummy, on my hands, in my hair, on my mouth, and yes, even in my mouth. Not to mention, on the chair, on the table, on the floor and some did actually make it on the paper. And consequently, after the masterpiece mayhem, it also got on the tub, since that was the only suitable place to rinse me off. Was it fun? Totally. Was it worth it? You bet. Am I envious of the next Harman child...you better believe it.

Mommy's Little Helper

I think Mommy could use some help in the kitchen. And who better to take on that role than me? I'm especially helpful when it comes to makin' cookies. My job is to help stir. However, my spaghetti noodle arms make it a difficult job. . .especially when the batter is extra thick. But the best part of helping Mommy in the kitchen is actually the eating part. The next best thing next to eating them is sniffing them. That's what I do while I wait for them to cool. I'll say, "Mommy, I'm sniffin' them," while blowing air out of my nose and consequently, onto the cookies (sorry to those who may have eaten these particular cookies...I promise, I wasn't sick).

Dancing at the Ball

Shortly after we had our dresses on, we all danced at the ball. Though it doesn't look like I'm having fun, I was! When the clock struck 12:00..we all ran out of the room, leaving one of our slippers. When we returned to "find" them, we found fruit snacks (my favorite) left inside them! Then we chowed down on some delicious food! What a great party Ellie! And as I like to say often, "What a GWATE day!"

Ellie's Birthday Party

A few weeks ago was my friend, Ellie's, birthday party! It was so fun! She had a Cinderella party. In fact, we were ALL Cinderella. It started with us cleaning the house (by the way, I don't know what all the commotion is about when it comes to cleaning. I love to clean, so I have a hard time relating to Cinderella's woes.). Then, there was a knock at the door! A nobleman had left an invitation to a ball! But, just like Cinderella, we had no dresses! Lo and behold, our own fairy godmothers left us with dresses to decorate for the ball! We got to put jewels on them and color them with markers. It was hard work but before long...we were ready to go to the royal bedroom to put our gowns on....

I Know What We Did This Summer

Some may ask, what did you do this summer? We did many a things. It just so happens, Hannah and I love to play outside. And, we're quite the harvesters. I enjoy tending to the flowers...making sure they're in tip top shape for the bees' pollination journey. Hannah enjoys harvesting the berries that pop out on the bush alongside the house. She has big plans for those berries. . .I assume by the number she's picked thus far. I just don't know what those plans are yet. But big, they must be. We find the outdoors to be refreshing and Mommy seems to enjoy the break too. And now that it's cooler, we can enjoy it even more.

$10 Headed Our Way

Well, in the past week Mommy accumulated $10 more...actually $15 if you count the $5 earned by Grandma (and Grandma, you can just email Mommy your verification email). That's right folks, $15 bucks! We're actually STILL waiting to get this basket. It seems Swagbucks has still not added a $5 giftcard. We emailed them today to see what's up with that. They aren't usually this slow. So, we still are waiting to get this baby for free. And we're also going to get a set of nail polish for Hannah's birthday party. You see, she's having a "Princess Party." The gals will be getting their hair done, their nails done, and making a crown to top off their beauty. So, Mommy needs some nail polish for the girls. I don't know what all the hype is about...nails and hair and crowns but Hannah sure is excited.

So, as always, if you want to get in on the action (Swagbucks action, not the party action..sorry...it's by invitation only) then click on the button below and start using Swagbucks as your search engine. I would say Mommy has earned $150ish dollars to Amazon with all her searching. It costs nothing. We're big fans. Really. So join! And thanks to all our friends who've already joined. We couldn't do it without you!

Dear Aunt Ashley,

Dear Aunt Ashley,

I love my hat. In fact, on this wonderful day, it was the first thing I asked for. I could care less if I had no clothes. This hat is all I wanted. So, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for this hat. And I wish you and your team all the best this season. Gooooooo Eagles!

Your rather chubby nephew,

Grant (A.K.A. G-Money, G-Man, Little G, Granty, Grant Man)

Growing Up

Mommy says I'm growing up more and more everyday. Mommy and Daddy both notice my ever expanding vocabulary, but haven't I always had a wide vocabulary? I mean, what 3 year old has had her own blog since she was born? I do like to repeat things I hear. My favorite things I like to add when I'm talking is, "what in the world," "what a sweetie," "oh my gosh," and "member, last night..I did dat?" I use this last phrase any time I'm referring to something that happened in the past. The other things I say are most often phrases that Mommy says. Mommy says she has to be careful with what she says. She tells me "oh my gosh," isn't the best thing to say but she says it all the time. Sometimes old habits are hard to break I suppose.

Mommy's Moment: Couponing's Effect

Most of you know my new couponing passion. I am so thankful for this new tool to use. It has helped us save bundles of money. I am thankful to the Lord for this. Obviously, it has impacted our finances. However, it has also had another effect on our lives...particularly Hannah's.

We were driving back from Birmingham yesterday and I chose to go back a slightly different way thanks to a bathroom break at the Wendy's off Camp Creek Parkway. Sidenote: bathroom breaks are NEVER fun when you're by yourself with two kids. I'll just say, I've become quite adept at holding an infant while squatting at a 90 degree angle with a curious toddler commentating about my every move. And, if any other poor soul happens to be in the next stall, she also enjoys commentating on their business...in a quite loud voice. But, that's a post for another time. Back to the point. As we drove down Camp Creek Parkway Hannah said, "Mommy, there's a CVS. But we won't go "dare" today." I looked around and sure enough, to my right was a CVS. We continue down the road a bit and I hear, " 'dare's Publix." And I look and to my left sits a Publix. Hmm. We continue on and seconds later she says, "And dare's Chilis!" That one got me because we've eaten at Chili's maybe two times since we've had her.

Two things I gathered from this: 1) She is recognizing environmental print. As a teacher, this was something I always told parents to do...have their kids find signs they recognize. It's a beginning step in reading. I was impressed Hannah recognized these signs out of context. However, am I that surprised...especially regarding CVS and Publix? 2) CVS and Publix have become a major part in our lives thanks to couponing. I can't help but laugh at this. These two stores are a part of our weekly routine. And they come up in regular conversation. Sad, I know. One night I was putting Hannah to bed and I said, "Guess where we are going tomorrow (fully expecting an answer like the pool or Grandma's house)?" But instead I got, "CVS!" WOW. Really? Yes, my daughter becomes quite excited at the site of our CVS. Most of the time she says, "There's CVS!" in her breathy excited voice.

So yes, couponing has left a great impact on our finances...but it has also left quite an impact on my almost three year old daughter!

What My Future Holds

Will I be a chef? I like to stir. Give me a spoon and a pot and I am one happy fella. Or, if a pot isn't handy, I'm fine with all of Hannah's cooking pieces. I also find great satisfaction in handing Mommy every piece of silverware from the clean dishwasher. I make sure to use my manners and say, "ga-ga (thank you)" every time we make an exchange. Perhaps only a true lover of the kitchen would find pleasure in emptying the dishwasher.

Or perhaps I'll be a real handyman. Daddy has a lot of cool tools around. Take this flashlight, for example. Okay, at first I thought it was a camera...it's obvious by my "I'm ready for you to take my picture" face. How embarrassing. I realized shortly after the silence that this, indeed, was a flashlight and not a camera. But, I do find enjoyment in seeing what all of these great tools do. So, maybe I'll put that curiosity to work one day and be a tool conossieur.

But, until then, I think I'll enjoy exploring all the great things around me. And, have fun just being me!

Helping My Daddy

With Daddy's job, I get to see lots of cool animals. Remember the squirrel and raccoons? Well, a couple of weeks ago I got to meet an armadillo. And I even went with Daddy to release him back into the woods. I was eager to have my picture taken with him before he was freed, but I got a little scared when he awoke from his slumber, thus the frantic, shocked, terrified, traumatized look on my face. But, after we freed him, I was all smiles. I'm just glad I don't have to do what Daddy does all day!