357 days old...

I can't believe it is almost here...Harper's first birthday. Has it really been a year? The year flew by and we hardly noticed it. Now Harper is about to celebrate her 2nd Easter in under a year (which I find pretty awesome) and shortly thereafter...her birthday. I have slowly been planning her party and I love that it is during spring. Her party will be at the end of April -- here's hoping for lovely weather.

As I reflect on the past year I can say without a doubt that being a mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world. There are moments when I want to cry (or I do cry), where I want to get away for a while -- where I call John and tell him to pick up dinner on his way home. Yes it is hard to be at home all day. (as I imagine it is hard to be at work and away from your baby all day, too.) It is particularly hard to be at home all day when it is cold and rainy. But I love morning cuddles. I love watching Harper play by herself (if you can call her being amongst all of her toys "by herself") for at least an hour after morning cuddles and her bottle. It is hilarious to watch her imitate me -- which makes me realize I tell her "NO" and shake my head at her quite a bit. I love sending her daddy texts and photos of her during the day. I love Facetime with her grandparents and uncles. I love taking her to story time and playgroups. I love chatting with other stay at home moms who know exactly how I feel without me having to go into much detail. I also love the advice they give. I love the sound of the garage around 6:00. I love that my body (although definitely not where I want it to be) protected and nurtured our little girl for 39 weeks and 6 days, and that I would it do it all again if it meant she would be just as happy and healthy as she is now. I have a deeper love and understanding for my husband now than I did before we had Harper. She has made us stronger.

We have been extremely busy every weekend -- traveling to Charlotte for Mason's birthday, going to Blue Ridge for the weekend, traveling to Macon for Madison's birthday...and soon, we leave for our cruise.

In other news...

-Harper is walking -- a little. She still prefers crawling, but she can go 6-7 steps before holding on to something. ahh!
- Harper no longer wants baby food. She now has four teeth and she wants to use them.
- Harper has cousin #8 and #9 arriving in September. We are so excited (and this might mean I go back to work to pay for birthday and Christmas gifts -- ha, kidding)
- My long-term leave is up in April. Yup, not going back. We all knew that.
- John and I will be running the Peachtree Road Race on July 4. whoop whoop. (we might also do a half marathon in January.) I still don't think I will ever be a runner. Between keeping Harper all day, John getting home at 5:30-6, making dinner, cleaning up, bathing Harper, putting her to bed and cleaning up...ugh...if only you could burn calories that way. We shall see. :)
- October is National Get Married Month. At least for our friends (and family) it is. :)


OK ok -- here are some pictures. ENJOY!