Harper is 9 months old today and the sun is SHINING! Even better - it was actually warm too! We spent as much of the day as possible outside. The grass is still soggy so we are thankful for our deck. At the end of the night the kids wanted to go inside and as I was picking up, I realized that I moved half of our house out to the deck to keep them occupied!
My favorite moment was when Baron read to Harper. She tries to pay attention...
but she would rather have the book in her hands. Their hats crack me up. Harper's actually fits, but Baron's is on the small side. I can't believe how much his head has grown since the end of last summer. The best memory from this picture is what Baron was saying to Harper. "No-no baby girl." I often say that to Harper when she is doing something that we don't let Baron do like throw food. Someday she will understand too, but most of the time I am saying this for him to hear. At least I know he is listening.
Once Nathan was home we decided to dye easter eggs. Baron LOVED every minute of it. I was thankful we were able to do it outside (with a blue tarp below us). I really had to let go and watch Baron be creative. Most eggs were multi-color by the time we were finished. A few were cracked, but overall I was so impressed with his attention span and his gentle handling of the eggs.
We finished the evening with dinner on the deck. Such a beautiful day with many memories.
The Holstein property in Leavenworth has been sold, but before it changed hands we had one last family gathering. We had a great time playing lawn games, riding the tule trooper, hiking and eating! 
The weather was cool for memorial day, but we made the most of it and had a great time. I remember saying to my mother-in-law "why haven't we done this before?" The answer is obvious. It is a much shorter drive to see them in Maple Valley and if we drive to eastern Washington we visit my family. So good bye Leavenworth and hopefully we will welcome a Summit Lake house soon!
Shortly after this picture was taken, Harper fell back into the bush. I picked her up and was brushing off the back of her head. When I brushed off what appeared to be a red berry blood started gushing from the back of her head. This was the first head wound on either of my children and the amount of blood made me freak out! I was yelling at Baron to follow me into the house. When the bleeding didn't stop, we walked/ran next door to our neighbor Rob's house. He is a fire fighter and I just needed reassurance that it was not as terrible as it seemed. I believe I was saying "Baron, HURRY - we need to go to Rob's house. Harper is hurt." He followed me in a two-year-old-hurry-speed. Long story short - she was fine and now we are good enough friends with the neighbors that they like to tease me about it. The best part is that the next day Baron hit his sister with a bowling pin and she started crying for obvious reasons. He looked at me and said "Hurry mom, we better go to Rob's house."
Of course if you do something for one child then you must do it for other - right?!! Baron is entertained so easily (and I love that about him because he makes me feel like a rock star as a result).
He didn't want to get down. He wanted to pose. I think this one I will save for his Senior year book.
I love Harper's cheeks in this picture. She is like a Cabbage Patch Kid watching us work in the yard.
Right before nap I realized I didn't have a picture of the two of them together. The Easter baskets were no longer in one place (just picture little toys and easter grass all over). The candy was already put away in hopes that it would be forgotten. So I just set them on the couch and tried to get a good pictures. It didn't really happen...after all it was nap time!
Is an egg hunt a competition? I guess not technically, but it sure got my heart pumping with a little competitive blood. My son does not have this blood. He stopped and opened EVERY SINGLE EGG before he would go and pick up another egg. I spent most of the time saying "put it in your basket, Baron, and go get another egg!" The rest of the time I spent laughing at myself, my inability to calm my competitive nature, and the fact that I was encouraging him to go get more CANDY. Candy - the stuff I go to great lengths to hide from my son. Candy - the stuff that makes my son bounce off the walls with excitement then crash into a super dramatic tantrum. Candy - the stuff that I also used to bribe my son to potty train.
After the egg hung (aka 10 seconds later), Baron had to sit and examine all of the candy one more time. As he drooled over tootsie rolls, Harper sat on her blanket and drooled (literally) on our video camera.
This one fit a little better. I rarely put her in dresses, but decided today that I like those chubby little legs so we are going to start wearing them more often...if it ever warms up!
I was just trying to take a picture of Harper gumming her apple while sitting with her dad. I took about 10 then as I was reviewing them I noticed her handsome dad in the background. Funny Nathan, but it looks like I get the last laugh!
