The Summer We Potty'd Hard

Yes, I'm unbelievably waayyyyy behind in keeping this blog up-to-date.

But, there a few moments from this summer I need to note on here in case I before I forget.

I am POTTY-TRAINED, hear me RROOAAARRRRRRRR!!!!

Doesn't this picture show it all? That's right! Except for nighttime, we are a diaper-free household! To be completely honest, when I was pregnant with Harper, I was already stressing about how daunting the task of potty-training sounded. It sounded impossibly exhausting, and Harper would have to be a willing participant if it was really going to work. He got a Toy Story potty for his 2nd birthday from Grampa Jim and Nona, and we used a sticker sheet at the beginning. He would get a sticker for each thing he did like sitting on the potty, and washing his hands. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and Harper has been doing SO well with it. Whenever we go somewhere new, I make sure to take him "to see what the potty here looks like," so he thinks it's exciting, rather than scary to go somewhere other than home. He's a smart little guy, and I'm glad he made this potty-training summer a success!

New Oregon Jersey (thanks to Grampa Jim), and big-boy underwear (courtesy of Mommy)

The other stories I want to note on here are about Harper educating others about bad words. One day, he and I were at the bank, and as we were waiting in line, Harper turned around to tell the man behind us that, "Bitch is a bad word." Thank goodness this guy was nice (he told me afterwards that he has a 4 year old), and he just replied, "You're right, it is! What a smart guy you are!"

Two days later, I'm in the kitchen, and I hear Harper playing with Buzz and Woody in the living room (yiving room as Harper says it). He was making the two Toy Story characters have a very animated conversation, when I heard, "Woody - F*ck is a bad word. We don't say f*ck because it's bad."

Out of all the "bad" things my child could be doing, I'll take educating others on bad words over playing with fire anyday!

4th of July 2011

Grammie and Quampa rented a beach house in Seal Rock, OR for the 4th of July this year. The house was only a couple of blocks from the beach, and it was nice and cozy.

Harper had a great time covering every inch of himself with sand, on more than one occasion.

Playing in the sand with Grammie.


Every inch includes inside of his mouth.



Mostly, Harper wanted to RUN. This is his favorite activity, and he loved the limitless space to run, jump, roll and be a silly boy!

The funniest moment of the trip for me was on the first day, right after we got there. After unloading the car, Grammie, Daddy and I took Harper down to the beach. We started getting our feet wet, and running away from the waves that were "chasing" us. As soon as Harper realized that this activity was water-related, he said, "Momma, wanna take pants off, wanna take shirt off." So, I granted his request. Watching my skinny, happy, pants-less child run from the waves was about the funniest and cutest thing I've seen in awhile. Oh, and he wouldn't just run until the waves couldn't get him - he would BOOK it until he was completely out of the wet sand part of the beach. Hilarious stuff I tell you. It's clear that he's part Alaskan because although it was sunny, it definitely wasn't super warm down on the beach, and the water was 'make-your-feet-and-ankle-bones-ache-and-throb' COLD.

My two beach buddies - We were also celebrating Daddy's 27th birthday this weekend!


Post smore-induced-sugar-high campfire

Watching the sunset with Quampa

Drinking like a big boy from Daddy's waterbottle.


We had great weather, yummy food, and lots of time to relax.
Thanks Grammie and Quampa for the great trip!

Harper and the Balloon

Here is a video of Harpzilla playing with a balloon. I love how he can have so much fun with the simple toys sometimes =)

Rowdy Little Boy

Despite the fact that Harper will occasionally play with a baby doll or two, this little guy is clearly a BOY through and through. He LOVES rough-housing, being rowdy, crashing his toy cars, playing basketball, throwing things and "roaring like a dinosaur."

Here is a video of him and Uncle Lance (Yance in Harper-speak) "just being boys."



And, here is a video of Grammie and Quampa playing "earthquake" with Harper.



This rowdy little boy always has bruises on his legs, and at least one "owie" to show off. He is a tough little boy, and he's not scared of much!


Harper roaring like a dinosaur!
(Taken with my phone, sorry for the poor quality!)

Playing at the Park

We walk to the park in our neighborhood almost everyday - here are a couple of videos.

Harper loves the slide....and talking about himself in the third person,
as you can see in the first video...



....and, about 1:30 into this video, is my winning moment for
Mother of the Year 2011!



The park is one of Harper's favorite things currently - mostly I think because it means we "go on a waaaaaaalk??!!," AND with the weather getting nicer, there are more and more kids to play with there. The nice weather also means that they turn the water on at the park. There are a couple of park toys that let you add water, play in the water and make a mess in the water. The park is one giant sand pit, so it can get really messy, really fast. I tell Harper all the time, that little boys are supposed to be dirty and gross, and he's doing a great job at that. If you're Harper, you also like to take a few minutes to roll around in the sand after getting completely soaked, so that you look like a Sand Creature for the entire walk home!
(I need to get a picture of that, but I've been hesitant to bring the camera with us due to the many things mentioned before that would break said camera.)

Dancing and a Big Owie for Harpzilla

The first video is one of Harper showing off his dance moves for Boppa Dave. This child loves an audience. So much so, that if you take your eyes off of him for a second, he will YELL your name until you resume your admiring.
It's, ahem, precious?




Yesterday, Daddy and Boppa Dave took Harper to the park, and Mr. Busy took a tumble on the stairs up to the slide (as he will tell you), resulting in a scratched/colored/swollen eye ("BIG owie!"). I bought him the bubble machine a few days ago, and it's definitely been one of the favorite toys this week - especially because the sun has made an appearance or two!

Smile!!!!

Harper is now old enough to "SMILE!" when I ask him to.

It's really pretty hilarious how proud of himself he is these days.
He runs with his chest puffed out, watching his shadow the whole way.
He watches himself in the mirror no matter what he's doing.
He asks me to "LOOK MOMMY!" when he is proud of something
he's colored, stacked, put away, etc.
He dances with confidence and pride, and he's actually
a pretty good dancer
(he must get it from Aunt Missy because Mommy and Daddy are "challenged" when
it comes to rhythm).
He can put puzzles together, he knows all of his letters, he can draw a circle, he knows all of his numbers and colors, and he knows all of his body parts....yes, ALL of them!

Someone asked me the other day, "How many words can Harper say?" I honestly can't think of ANY word he CAN'T say.

We have one smart cookie on our hands!!!!

And we love him so much!!!




This is a common sight at our house. Harper is OBSESSED with "washing." He would play in the sink all day if we let him!!!!



Harper makes it easy to cook for him - we have yet to find a food he WON'T eat!




He's a typical boy who loves parks. He spent the majority of this park trip mastering going up and down the stairs. Such a happy guy!!!