July

I haven't done a great job of consistently posting on the blog. Good news: the reason for this is that we stay pretty busy and are having a blast. Harper turned 15 months on July 2. It felt like it rained FOR WEEKS. John and I ran the Peachtree Road Race. John's parents and sister, Meagin, and our nieces, Baylee and Madison, came to visit. Harper cracked a tooth. First trip to the dentist. Harper went on a boat ride on Lake Lanier with the Zavorski family. We co-hosted a wedding shower for Ricky and Keri. JULY HAS BEEN BUSY -- but a blast.

I did leave out some things, but we can start from the top. Harper is 15 months old. That is insane. She has added a few new words: daddy, mommy, and hot. (She also just started signing for "more." I did it one time to her and she picked it up. I am not going to do this anymore because she is pretty vocal/verbal and I don't want her to take a step back -- if that makes sense.) At her 15-month check-up, she got her Chicken Pox vaccine and her MMR. She is 33.5 inches long (off the charts -- we had a tall girl!) and 25 lbs 6 ounces. She has fallen into the 80th percentile for weight, which the doctor attributes to her being so tall. Her head circumference is still in the 75th percentile. She showed off for Dr. Gaines -- waving, talking, laughing -- it was like we had spent days rehearsing. She is doing great and is healthy. Harper did crack a tooth at the beginning of the month -- it is nothing major. Most people probably can't see it. We went to the most amazing pediatric dentist and everything is fine.

The Clarks (John's parents) and his sister, Meagin, and her two daughters, Baylee and Madison, came to stay with us for a night. The girls had fun playing -- making playdough, painting, coloring and watching it rain. a ton.  We had an Independence Day Lunch where John cooked ribs for the first time. They seemed to be a hit. My parents, Aunt Janice, Ricky and Keri also joined us.

The Clarks looked after Harper while John and I ran the Peachtree Road Race. It was a crazy morning and we basically started as soon as we got to the race (our wave had already started so we jumped in another group.) It was a lot of fun. We were so fortunate that it didn't rain on us. The threat of rain kept me from bringing my phone which tracks our time and pace. So, we just ran for fun. We finished just under 1 hour and 12 minutes. Not great, but we had a blast. Piedmont Park was so muddy from all of the rain. We got our shirts, some snacks and then rushed home to be with family. I haven't run with John in a long time and I loved it. I joked and said we were "sole mates." I want to run a big race with him. He is just the most encouraging and patient person.

John had a couple of days off for the holiday, so, despite the weather, we took Harper on a picnic. (LESSON: do not take your child for a picnic in a park that you primarily visit to feed the ducks. S/he will have NO interest in eating.) We had the park to ourselves. After spending a while trying to get Harper to eat (and taking turns chasing her and eating our food), we put the food away and found the ducks and played on the playground.

We also had fireworks going off for several days after the 4th of July. I tried to be patient -- but it's hard when you have dogs that go crazy barking and a child that doesn't respond well to loud blasts outside. We kept her awake a few nights to watch -- our neighbor gave us ear protection for her. Despite her face in the pictures, she really enjoyed the fireworks. 

We went to the lake to visit with a friend of mine from highschool. Rachel, and her husband, Jared, were in town from DC to celebrate Rachel's 28th birthday with her family. The Zavorskis live on Lake Lanier.

Also in July, Chickfila held Cow Appreciation Day. If you dress up like a cow, your meal is free. Our playgroup met up at Miss Mary's Music Time on Friday then caravan-ed to Chickfila. Aunt Janice was so sweet to make Harper's outfit. I bought the tank top and she did the rest. (I sent her an email late one night asking if, by chance, she had any cow fabric. She responded quickly with a YES! CALL ME! I found this hilarious. She has quite an extensive selection of fabric.)

Stephanni with Eva, me and H, Jillian and Caroline, Stacey & Brendon and Lhoris with William (and baby Michael!)

I will do a separate post about the wedding shower. It was great. I hear Harper waking up from her nap so I need to get her. Yup -- she just threw her paci at the monitor. I love that girl.