house update + my little helper

I cannot believe that it has already been 6 months since we moved!  I had every intention on showing before and after pictures of the new house, but life keeps getting busier and the blog has become less and less important.

I'll start by showing the changes made to the front of the house since that requires only a couple pictures and not a whole lot of time.  After buying the house, we have had the front door replaced, the exterior shutters painted, interior shutters installed, and the landscaping has been professionally redone...

After:

Before:

{with lovely sheets hanging on the windows and broken glass in the front door.  nice.}

And because every blog post is better with pictures of Harper...

:)

Meeting Bryce + Pumpkin Farm Fun

We took a short trip to the Dallas area this past weekend to meet our newest little nephew/cousin, and what a great weekend we had!  Bryce is the sweetest little baby ever.  He actually lets you SIT and hold him--while he's awake!  Harper never let us do that!  I can't believe we drove all that way, took the nice camera, and yet the only picture I have to show of Bryce it this one that I didn't even take:

It is a cute, cute picture though!

We took the kiddos to a pumpkin farm on Saturday and I got a few cute pictures of Harper.  I had the hardest time trying to get her to smile at first, but then I bribed her with M&Ms and she was instantly the happiest little girl ever.  

love those curls :)

We also had a really great time catching up with our old friends Matt and Cathy that evening, and Harper loved playing with their little girls!  I hate that we live 4.5 hours away.

Well, time to get busy with my to-do list for the day.  Especially since it's such a gorgeous day and I plan on taking Harper to the park after her nap.  I sure am ready to have this kind of weather every day!

2nd birthday, party #2

Harper had her second 2nd birthday party on Saturday.  I combined two of her all-time favorite things for the party--a park and watermelon--and it was absolutely perfect!  I think all of the kids had a good time, but I know Harper did and that's the most important thing.  I did my best taking pictures, but there are about 5 kids that I didn't get a picture of {well, actually 7, but I stole a couple pictures from facebook}.  We sure do have a lot of friends with kids these days!

Also worth noting, the cupcakes were made by my sweet and talented friend, Leslie.  I showed her a picture I found online and she made them look even better!

Harper enjoyed a lot of watermelon!

amazing mini m&m cookies

I made mini M&M cookies yesterday for Harper to take to school today in celebration of her birthday {that is tomorrow!}.  These cookies are AWESOME!  Jason even asked me when I learned how to make cookies.  Uh, thanks Jason.

Recipe: Two Peas and Their Pod

{my modifications: I used regular salt, chilled the dough before baking, and baked them ~10-11 minutes}

I let Harper try one after her nap and she loved them, too!

 Mmmmmmm!!!!!

 Doing a little happy dance :)

Also, no tears from Harper when I dropped her off at MDO on Tuesday!!!  And I love reading the reports that the teacher leaves in her bag.  It makes my day!

Update: the cookies started tasting a little stale after 3 days, but after zapping them for a few seconds in the microwave makes they tasted fresh again.

2nd birthday, party #1

Yes, Harper is having two birthday parties this year.  And yes, I may be a little crazy.  Live and learn :)

Anyway, her first party was with our families in Longview a couple weekends ago, and Harper had a blast!