- Ear Jewelz -

Ok, so BLAST FROM THE PAST, and #tbt [which instead of throwback Thursday, I actually mean throw back the TABLES because holy hot minute!] to Harper's ear piercing in December 2020!  Before allowing her to go through with this, I had done some research on ear piercing with sterilized hollow needles at a tattoo parlor vs. with a piercing gun at the mall and 1000% wanted to go the hollow needle route for the boasted benefits of "less tissue trauma, shorter healing time, and overall more hygienic piercing procedure"... 

...so off to the local tattoo parlor we went!  Harper wanted all of us to watch her, but upon arrival we found out Brian and Scarlett had to wait in the car because of COVID restrictions.  But! After signing her life away and being a super brave 5-year-old...

...we were back out to the car boasting a brand new set of ear jewels in no time!  

Then! Weeks went by, and 24/7 masking mandates at school and grocery stores and anywhere we went in public continued, and unfortunately, both of Harper's ears got infected. From the beginning, we had been cleaning the piercings frequently [before and after school and also before bedtime for months!] and kept the mask strings off whenever possible; but, eventually the infection won over and large abcesses formed behind both ears.  Around Easter time, our pediatrician took one look at them and said the earrings had to come out and the holes had to close [and we later found out from the culture she collected that it was staph!].  Harper was not only in a spiraling state of panic and pain anytime anyone came near her ears, but now devastated that she lost her beautiful earrings.  

[Needless to say, through months of this traumatic experience, Scarlett watched wide-eyed from afar and very frequently said she was "NEVA' EVA'" getting her ears pierced!]

More months passed, and Harper began making paper earrings and taping them to her [now healed] ears. She begged and begged to get them pierced again; and finally, Brian and I gave in mid-summer. So! In late July 2021, we gave it a go again...this time at the pediatrician's office [because at least if it wasn't a hollow needle, it was still maybe a better shot at a "more hygienic piercing procedure?"].  The piercing was successful, and a-now-6-year-old Harper was thrilled!  We went to Annie's Frozen Custard to celebrate!

After Scarlett spent 2 years recovering from the PTSD of observing Harper's infected ear ordeal, she had a change of heart and started begging for some ear jewelry of her own!  So mid-April 2023, we went back to the pediatrician's office and did it again!  She invited Grammy Ann to come for the festivities...

...and then out for a treat at Annie's to celebrate!

Loving all the ear jewels in the house! Let the fun of shopping for Scarlett's earrings begin! :D

- Fabulous and FIVE! -

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[BIRTHDAY VIDEO HERE!]

Thiiiiiis was a birthday for the books!  By your fifth [or is it sixth?] trip around the sun, you've figured out that birthdays are not celebrated lightly in this house! ;) :) Your big day fell on a Sunday this year, so it was the perfect excuse to party all weekend long!  You kicked off the festivities by taking treats [cosmic brownies!] to school on Friday to share with your teachers and friends.  After school, we went shopping for party supplies and balloons for Saturday...

 

 ...and you got to FaceTime with Grammy Penny and Papa Jim and open your first birthday gift!  They got you Model Magic clay, which was your #1 request on your Christmas list and the one thing Santa somehow forgot to nab!  You got right to work making all sorts of clay creations and were so generous to share your new gift with Harper so she could make some things, too.

 

Saturday was PARTY DAY!  Grammy Resa and Papa Mark came by early to give you a few gifts...

 

...and then we were OFF to your party at The Sports Academy!  After planning for a ballerina party then changing your mind to a Barbie party then hoping for an L.O.L. theme, you eventually settled on a unicorn party after you saw this cake in the decorating book at the bakery.  Final answer!

Every once in a while, we'd get a glimpse of you and some of your cousins up high in the playplace tunnels and slides! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So much fun was had by all!

 After getting home that night, you were sure to try out your new milk straws from Aunt Laura, taste test the chocolate donuts we bought for your birthday morning, and whip out your first hot pad with the new weaving loom from Aunt Sarah!

Harper, Juli, and I got up early Sunday morning to make you a special breakfast...

 

...but you never woke up! Finally around 9am, you traipsed out cocooned inside a blanket with a scowl on your face.  We quickly realized you had a low-grade fever!  :( You managed to let us sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY rulllll loud and proud and blew out the candles on your "5" pancake before retreating to the couch.

 

Oh, and did I mention there were the most beautiful little snow flurries on the morning of your birthday?!? It always snows on your birthday!  

The fever lasted a couple of days [no other symptoms, thankfully!], but you had to miss school the following day and were a little slow to get back on your feet and up to speed!  A couple days later, you were back to your normal ole' self and enjoyed opening a gift from your godparents...

 

 ...trying out the new stick-on nails you got at your birthday party...

...and dance/hugging your 5 balloon!

 

All was swell in the world again by Friday night, so we continued the party [you know, the one that got cancelled on your REAL birthday!] at LaCasa!  ...See the birthday video above for your reaction to the waiters' singing birthday wish! :-*

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, SCARLETT CLARE!!! I'm really not sure how 5 years have ticked by, but we love you more and more with each passing moment! Here's to #5 and all the exciting adventures that await this year! :-* :-*

- NOVEMBA -

Hey, hi, ho.....

...a cruisin' through November we go! 

November 1 was Daylight Savings Time, and I was actually really excited about getting an extra hour of sleep until I realized at the crack of dawn that my rooster-child would rise and chirp at 5:30am sharp instead of her normal 6:30am...

Oh Scarlett, it's a dang good thing you're SO CUTE!  We all love sleep around here, and it took us a few weeks to adjust to early bedtimes followed by even earlier mornings thanks to 'da DST.  But! In the mean time, we kept unnecessarily busy watching the TV marathon that was days weeks of Election Day news and updates [was it just me, or did it seem to trail on forever and ever and EVER this year?!]. 

^^ Mehhhhhh.  It's no secret that this year's campaigning game got ugly, and I've never been happier to have an election [and all the yard signs, commercials, and social media posts] behind us!  It's so sad how politics have divided us and so disgusting how hateful some people can be!  Leaving it at one final thought:  red or blue, I still love you! I hope you love me too.  Despite our differences, we are all Americans and I truly believe we are BETTER TOGETHER!  Now get ova' yourself and move on.

Next!  We celebrated Henry and Caroline's birthdays...

...and also our 8th anniversary!  Fr. Meconi joined us for dinner on our anniversary weekend and performed a house blessing while he was here!  I loved how he made it so personal and lighthearted yet still so beautiful and intimate.  He got the kids involved holding the pail of holy water and his book of blessings and ringing the bells as we all walked to each room together to sprinkle water and listen to scriptures.  I am grateful that he has been right by our sides for all of life's greatest moments [wedding, baptisms x 2, house blessings x 2, etc.!].  It was so nice having our good family friends here that evening, also!  Thank you guys for joining; we treasure your friendship on many levels! May the Holy Spirit flow through and continue to fill our home with peace and love!

In other good news [!], Harper made the principal's newsletter this month for living out the school year theme of "Putting on the Armor of God."  We are so proud of her and the ways she is blossoming in kindergarten this year!  Go, Harper!!!

Just as we were getting a little bit more confident in venturing out of the house for this and that and hanging out in a little bit larger groups of people we hadn't seen in a long time, the COVID cases spiked and recommendations tightened up again.  And so!  Laying low at home again it was.  We spent lots of time making projects on the Cricut [Harper is so proud of her new ability to count AND type to 100 and beyond!]...

...and painting all kinds of very colorful creations...

 ...and making a nativity scene from scratch!  Harper thought of this all on her own and just kept cutting and hot gluing things together, and I literally sat there with my jaw dropped just watching this all come together.  This girl's imagination and creativity and execution of the two together -- ESPECIALLY AT AGE 5 -- is absolutely amazing! :O

 

When we get a little stir crazy, we love to bust out of the house to visit our Grammys and Papas.  We took Sarge for a walk through my parents' subdivision one day, and Scarlett was not too thrilled that she got stuck carrying the bag of dog-doo all the way home! ;)

A week before Thanksgiving, Harper got sent home from school for complaining of a sore throat.  We saw the pediatrician and got the A-OK to return to school, but a few days later she developed a runny nose that worked in her favor to be out of school again -- and this time until after Thanksgiving break.  Crazy times, I tell ya!  Of course, Scarlett caught the sniffles too, but a few days of being lazy and watching movies all evening seemed to fix everyone up just fine!

Since Harper was home with her sniffly nose and "remote learning" for the short week of Thanksgiving, we enjoyed sleeping in both days and also having some of Grammy's homemade hot chocolate bombs after breakfast!  Even though she wasn't really "sick," she is a homebody through and through and has been growing jealous that Scarlett, Daddy, and [sometimes] Mommy are home all day every day.  The days off were a nice "reset" for all of us -- and also a little glimpse for Harper into my weekday routine of cleaning, laundry, naps, and repeat!

Next stop?! Thanksgiving!