- Princess Party -

Calling allllllll princesses! 

Harper's super great [Great] Aunt Stephanie registered her for a Princess Party this weekend and -- *bibbidi-bobbidi-boo* -- whaddya know -- we turned our little ragamuffin into a sparkling Bella Belle and whisked her off for a magical night at the YMCA!

There were crafts and inflatables and photo opportunities with princesses of all shapes and sizes...

...and EVEN horse-drawn carriage rides outside the building!!! Harper wasn't too fond of getting on the carriage but turned her frown upside down super soon as the horses began trotting off.  #princessstatus

I wasn't sure if she'd warm up to this whole "princess" idea; she's still a Minnie Mouse lova' for lifeee and we haven't really graduated to the classic Disney movies, but she came right out of her shy shell and marched right up to each princess to get her book signed and a photo taken!  Luckily we had this hand-me-down dress [or is it PJs/nightgown? I'll never know...] from her big cousin Fiona and she fit riiiiight in with the glitter and glamour!

What's a party without a snack and a story?! This place had it all figured out! ;)  

After lots of, "Momma, got wait our turn!" while standing in lines with her hallmark sassy-pantsed raised eyebrow,  we finally saw alllll the princesses and maneuvered through the entire YMCA. [Confession:  We did stray far far away from one booth called "BEAUTY STATION" ...mostly because I'm a fun-sucker of a mother and didn't feel like scrubbing spray glitter out of our couch, sheets, and carseats for the next three months!]

We were just about to exit the mini-Disney World when Daddy saw a sign that said "OPEN GYM!" And holy molyyyyy, this little princess/monkey loved it!!!

We ended up closing the place down and walking back to the car with a bag full of goodies and a ton of great memories!  

Thank you sooo much for this, Aunt Stephanie!!! It truly was magical experiencing it all through the eyes of a two-year-old! :-* 

- Harper rides a bikeee! -

Brian has been salivating over this pretty pink Strider since Harper was a wee little one...

...and finally [1.5 years later!] she LOVES IT!!!  Watch out, everybodyyyy: Daddy's [bi]cycle-lovin' BIG GIRL is on the loose!!! :D

- Merry Christmas! -

In the spirit of 2017.........(!!!)...

...let's revisit 2016.

Ok, maybe not all of it.

Just Christmas at least? 

I got all wrapped up in keeping my RSV-ridden child alive that I skipped right on over posting the Christmas photos!  We did our traditional "four party" Christmas again this year [we've gotta stop! With a midget in the family, it's too much packing up and driving here just to pack up and sleep there and wake up here to drive there and ...well first of all it's totally exhausting, but second, I really want my kid[s] to sleep in their own beds on Christmas Eve and wake up in their own house on Christmas morning and find the presents from Santa under THEIR Christmas tree............  We have our own mini-family now and I would love to start our own new traditions. Buuuut for this year at least, we grudgingly rode the crazy train again because we love our families and truly do want to see everyone on the holidays!] ...Anywayyyy...

Christmas Eve Mass with my Grandma!  Harper has become a nose-picking fiend when she knows she's supposed to pose for photos [how did she learn that?]...

...then Christmas morning breakfast and presents at Grammy and Grampy's!

How 'bout 'dem matching family PJs, though?!??  Our childhood babysitter sent me a link to them and I couldn't refuse! Brian is a good sport for going along with it... ;) :) ...turns out he'll do just about anything for his Lil' Bear!

Hit another family Christmas...

...and another!  Boo isn't spoiled or anything... ;) :)

All day on Christmas Monday, she ran around the house yelling, "TOYZZZZ!" and truly just couldn't get enough of all these fun new things to play with! Immediate favorites [pictured below] were the baby stroller and the vet kit [though the baby stroller quickly found its way to the basement after Brian witnessed her ramming it full speed into the bottom panel of our stainless steel stove!].

Last Christmas was pretty great, but this year was AMAZING!  It's beyond magical to witness the awe and wonder of the season through a child's eyes! 

...And now...to fast-forward back up to 2017...

[...and to find a place for all these toys...!]

Merry Merry Christmas!!!

- Fall Firsts -

Going through some old-ish photos on my computer this morning [to make room for new-ish ones, of course!] and I fell love all over again with a few fun "firsts" from this fall!  This little beauty is the apple of our eyes and y'all should know by now that not many things go undocumented around here... ;) :)

Keep trialing and erroring and exploring and learning, little munchkin; you are gonna move mountains!!! :-* :-*

- Beauty and the Beast -

Is anyone else as shocked as I am that this trick-or-treating extravaganza went off without a hitch?!? I mean, we'd been plotting and sewing and practicing trying on the yellow dress [which was NOT a hit at first...] for months ...and holy schmolyyyy, I'm just so happy it all fell into place like it did! 

I went out on a very [emphasis on very] thin limb in creating this Beast cape "from scratch" [my sewing capabilities mainly equal fleece burp cloths and ...more burp cloths]; so good thing this project was 1) just for a dog with low-to-no expectations and 2) entertaining for my assistant! 

[Yes, I realize that sequin border should've been hand sewn, buuuuut ain't nobody got time for 'dat.]

Finally Halloween-time came, and it turns out this Beauty is pretty dang fond of her [uncle's] Beast!

There wasn't much time [or energy or daylight] to snap any photos of the duo on the arrival night since Blake and Sarge rolled into town after 11pm, so we recreated the scene and re-donned the costumes a few days later. :) 

Harper, a golf ball for you. Sarge, some bacon for you. Now both of you behave, face the front, and smile for the camera! 

Happy Halloween from Beauty and the Beast!

- {Bucket List} - Dress up for Halloween -

In light of Harper's obsession with "gogs" [AKA dogs], the Halloween costume choice was pretty easy this year:

^^ The ears/headband lasted a whole three seconds ...eeeven though I wore them around our house like an idiot for a full two weeks before Halloween hoping she'd therefore start liking them also... WRONG [in a Donald Trump voice]. So sadly wrong. 

But ears or not, she's still the cutest little puppy I've ever seen! 

Big props to Daddy for being the tutu-fluffing photo assistant again this year! :)

Happy Halloween!!!

#happyfallyall #bucketlist2016 #:)