A Day at the Duck Pond - With Doughnuts

On a recent trip to the Duck Pond, Finnegan shows his best Big Brother by sharing his Saturday doughnut (with sprinkles!) to a curious Estelle. Until this moment, she had never experienced doughnuts, or frosting, or sprinkles for that matter. After a hesitant start, Estelle got into the groove and, with Finn's permission, managed to revisit the Frosting Trough three more times without incident. In fact, Finn laughed himself silly over the whole affair shouting, "Estelle likes my sprinkles!" I wish I'd had the video camera with me.


Once fueled by said doughnut, Super Finnegan kicks it into high gear for a little Duck Chasing.



The world once again safe from a Duck Invasion, Super Finnegan cools his feet while enjoying a milk cup. Then, on to another great adventure.

Easter Treat

I ran across this picture today and realized I'd never put it on the blog. The Easter Bunny was kind enough to leave a chocolate bunny for Finnegan this year, which we kept for a special occasion. Here, Finnegan (looking a bit like Friar Tuck with that haircut) sings the bunny his Before I Eat You song. Maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen was watching Finnegan inspect the bunny for the perfect first bite. For the record, he avoided the obvious choice (ears) and zeroed in on the tail instead.

Finnegan on ... Chocolate Overload

While in Marco this year, Finnegan sampled a double-chocolate milk shake courtesy of Grandma Harper. Here he is discussing the finer points of "Chocolate Love" before warping to light speed for about 3 hours. The transition was nearly instantaneous - both on the way up and down - and resulted in a longer than usual nap and an agreement between the adults not to do that again any time real soon.

Marco Island Sunset

One of Marco's best features are the sunsets. We have the luxury of seeing one of these each night for a week off our balcony there. It's an amazing way to end the day.

Playing nice

While in Florida, Baby Estelle and Finnegan had one of their first true Brother/Sister moments. One afternoon they began playing together - after trying to wake Daddy from his afternoon nap. It was really cool to see them like this. Lots of hugs from Finn and lots of laughter from Estelle. Rachelle got some pictures of them - this one is my favorite. It looks like they're Kickin it Old School... well, except for the binky and all. If they ever start a band together, I think this should be their first album cover.

Finnegan on ... Travel Aids

Sound canceling headphones, PS3 with movies on demand and a bag full of snacks... with this, all travel is possible.

Estelle trades fingers for smiles

Marco Island Visit

Baby Girl and I spent some quality time ocean side during our recent trip to Marco Island. Here, Estelle checks out daddy's stubble which seems to tickle both her fingers and funny bone. This, in turn, tickles mine. It's a great cycle.

Finnegan on ... eating Ice Cream

First, you need a hat - very important. If dad's hat is available, even better. Next, you need ice cream. Finnegan prefers mint chocolate chip. Now comes the hard part, holding on to the hat while manipulating the spoon in the not-yet-melted ice cream. Here we see Mr. Harper demonstrating how it's done - with grace and style.

A Day in the Everglades

This week is our annual Harper Family visit to Florida. Today, we drove up to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary - c'mon, admit it. You always wish you'd gone. While we were there, we saw an amazing cast of characters. It's amazing that this all exists just a half an hour from the coast of Florida. It's even more amazing that anyone ever pitches a tent in Florida knowing these are out and about. I count myself lucky to be in the condo.

B



While Finn talked non-stop about seeing an Alligator, his real interest seemed to be in watching the lizards. Here is one that stopped by for a longer than usual visit.




It's hard to tell by the picture, but this grasshopper was almost 4 inches in length.







The man photographing this gator estimated his length to be between 10 - 11 feet. I've never been so glad to be on a walkway.




This is the baby gator. Caught sunning himself on a log, he was about 6 feet long and about 20 feet away.




Rachelle found this little guy right under the walking path. Just a small fry, he was only about 2 feet long and completely uninterested in us watching him.

A lap full of kids

We visited the Pittsburgh Van Soests a few weekends ago and spent some time at the park. Here's Uncle/Papa Bill with a lap full of kids. Emerson is the clear winner of the Best-Face award.

W is for Wharton

Estelle showed her growing intellect with a brief presentation on letter manipulation before breakfast the other day. When presented with an "M" to keep her occupied, she immediately turned it around to make a "W" and pointed - a clear indicator that she's chosen the Wharton School for Business over the University of Michigan Law Program. Whichever you want, Baby Girl. Your daddy is behind you.

Here, she gets into the finer points of magnetism. The professor's verbal skills are challenging, but I'm certain she has a clear grasp of the concept. You'll notice the box of Aunt Jemima's Pancake Mix in the back, which fueled the discussion (Only for those of us watching. Estelle is on a strict diet of flavored puffs and formula.)

Estelle is cruising - and tanking. (But mostly cruising)

Move everything up another shelf, Little Girl is on the move. In an effort to show her brother that she's no slouch, Estelle kicked it into high gear on the crawling/standing/cruising front. At a tender 8 months, she's walking herself around the play table and pulling un-tended binkis from Finnegan's hand (or mouth). Cause & Effect are still a bit of a mystery when she gets excited and reaches from a standing position, but bravery and a little practice are giving her a swift education.

Movement isn't the only change on the horizon. Estelle wants the world to know she's got something to say. Beginning with da-da (although I can't confirm intent just yet), she's got about 5 different vocalizations at her command and adding daily. Finnegan seems to be on the inside track on meaning, though we've seen him scratch his head a time or two on dialect. Mostly, the two of them talk in giggles and laughter which makes Mom and Dad proud.

Here she is giving me the Big Grin upon completion of another successful climb. I'm tempted to put a lacrosse stick in her hand to test my tom-boy theory, but I can't find anything that matches her ruffles and honestly, I'm afraid of what she might do to Finnegan when he's not looking. Not long, Baby Girl, not long.

Papa Bill

Finn meets Dinosaurs

I stumbled onto these tonight while doing some email spring cleaning and wanted to post them. This was, I think, our first real event out together without Rachelle. Seems to me that she had to work, and I found a link to the exhibit and thought Finn might be old enough to enjoy it - Estelle was either not in the picture yet or just a plus sign on a stick at the time. In any event, it was just us boys.

I had forgotten about this particular trip until I found the pictures - further proof that it is necessary to take at least one picture of your kids each day. Finn was very quiet as we entered the museum and seemed to be listening as I told him about the dinosaurs - what their names were, that they lived a long, long time ago, etc. At some point during this lesson in history it occurred to me to ask Finn what he thought dinosaurs might have said. "Roar!" he says, and starts laughing. I asked him to smile with the dinosaurs for a picture. This is what we captured that day - via iPhone. Seriously, he's the cutest kid ever. I worry for the girls later in life!

Update

We have been horrible bloggers - that is a term, right? At any rate, for those who have visited without new news to read, we apologize. Here's a quick glimpse on what's been going on.

Finnegan amazed me a few weekends ago while I was washing my motorcycle. Suddenly, the Muffin Man walks out from the house, reaches into the bucket and says, "Daddy, I want to wash your motorcycle too." At which point he picks a spot on the gas tank and, to my complete surprise, does exactly that. Even better, the kid's got talent for the task. I popped off his shoes to keep him out of Mommy Trouble and we were ready to roll. Finnegan stayed with me until the job was done and, fortunately, Rachelle was quick to get the camera so now we have official documentation. This was a real moment for me as a dad. Even looking at the pictures, I can't believe he did it. Amazing.




Baby Girl has been full of surprises herself. While she hasn't decided to sit up on her own yet, she can crawl with the best of them, and paratrooper style, no less, forearms flat on the ground. She's definitely starting to develop some new opinions, including a GREAT face she makes when tasting any food for the first time. (I'm still trying to get that one on camera. Believe me, it's worth the wait.) Here she is modeling her beautiful smile, which she is happy to share most of the time provided she's not wet, hungry or tired. Enjoy.

More soon, we promise.

The Harpers

Recipe for Melted Daddy Heart

Last night we watched Julie and Julia - a movie about a writer who spent a year cooking every recipe in Julia's book on Mastering French Cooking. Clearly the movie had an impact. So here is my recipe for Melted Daddy Heart. The best part is the lack of clean up required - well, most days. "Bon Appetit."

Cook time: 9 months, give or take. Prep time: about 5 months.




Step One: Have beautiful baby girl.
Step Two: Come across her while sleeping.
Step Three: Wait patiently.
Step Four: Enjoy

Best served with Hot Chocolate.

Mending

I was officially tasked with my first mommy mending project this week. Finn's lovey, Quinn, had a terrible case of a missing nose. Every day this week, Finn would ask, "Mommy, where is Quinn's nose?" So I finally sat down and sewed it back on (much better than it was sewn on in the first place I might add!)



As soon as the task was lovingly completed, I handed Finn his lovey. I waited for the smile to come across his face, for him to shout, "Thank you, Mommy!" or even just to give the once-again-whole Quinn a big hug...



Instead, he looked at Quinn, a little puzzled, and immediately tried to tear off his nose. Thankfully, he was not a threat to my master-sewing skills.

Spring is coming!!!

I LOVE snow. But I also love when the snow melts and find this underneath.

Dress Up

So I have this pretty hat box that lives under the chaise in our bedroom. The inside is filled with, let's call them, sleepwear novelties :) Now the top of this box is very dusty...in fact, I had completely forgotten that it was even under there, until today. Finn discovered the box and was wearing this when I found him -- a feathered nightie over his clothes (I think a bachelorette gift from Kris?!), a thigh-high stocking on his head and another over his hands.

"Mommy! I'm a bat!"

Literary Genius

As many of you know, Bill is an AVID reader. At any one time, he can have 5 books going and be able to recite specifics from any of them. I have always admired him for this. I like to read, but can't remember the last time I actually had the patience to let myself get into a book. And usually, when I do, I forget what I've read before my eyes leave the page (which is why it takes me so freakin' long to get through a book!)

But what's even more amazing about Bill is the breadth of this literary interests...he'll be reading a John Adams biography one minute, a John Grisham novel the next and open a GQ magazine with Borat on the cover in between. So knowing this about him, I just had to laugh (and take a picture) when I walked into his bathroom the other night...Facing "his throne" was a very well-organized "library" which included: Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, Homer's Odessey, HOG magazine, Plato, and a Clio Awards book.

Bill, my dearest love -- you are never dull.

Happy Baby

Estelle is such a happy baby! She smiles all the time (unless she's hungry) and has the BEST laugh. I'll try to get it on video soon. While she's been rolling for a while - now she's a bulldozer. Yesterday she rolled herself into the little pedestal table in our living room and knocked it over! I came in and found her pinned under the pedestal, unscathed and...smiling. She's scooting herself forward (not just backwards) AND can confidently lay on one side with only one arm supporting her...it won't be too long and she'll be crawling all over the place...I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

Gifted from the start

She's not even 6 months yet and already doing puzzles - She's BRILLIANT!

My First...

Finn: "Mommy, I'm going poo poo..."
Me: "You are? RIGHT NOW?"
Finn: "Yes."
Me: Scoop him up, run as fast as I can up the stairs..."Wait Finn, don't go poo poo yet!" Unbutton the pants, rip off the diaper, put him on the potty...
Finn: "Me did it! Me did it!"
Me: "HIGH FIVE, FINN!"

The Blackmail Picture

Most of the time we parents play it pretty straight. But every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that just can't be passed up. Case in point, Finn riding the big blue ball. Now, I'm not typically evil, but as my son sat naked upon the toy du-jour, I just knew a picture like this shouldn't be absent from his wedding rehearsal dinner. As I walked (okay, sprinted) to get the camera, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of his face that day, years from now. There he sits, dressed and pressed, his bride-to-be at his side, with pictures of their lives passing by: first tooth, Disney, graduation, prom, when suddenly - BAM - "Finn riding the big blue ball".

To the future Mrs. Harper, I welcome you to the family and joy that is being a true Harper. - Bill

Date Night - Revised

Since we didn't get our original date night, due to the snow, we decided we should go out Saturday night for a do-over...sort of. At 5 p.m. we packed up the kids and headed to our favorite sushi place. All-in-all, everything went quite well. Finn loved the chopsticks and Estelle continued to be entertained by Finn. We had decided not to do gifts, but Bill got me a little something I'd been wanting - brow tamer. Super-sexy, I know. And the way he describes it, it is: "Is there a little woman dressed in all leather with a whip inside that bottle?" As a matter of fact, there is...at least that's what I tell my unruly brows :)

Finn trying to figure out how to use chop sticks (and doing a pretty good job!)

Making Love Day Cookies for Daddy

Finn woke up Friday morning announcing that he wanted to bake cookies -- RANDOM! The good news was that I had planned to bake cookies for Bill for Valentines Day, so it worked out perfectly.

First we mixed all the ingredients...



Then we make the dough..."One bowl for Daddy and one bowl for me, right, Mommy?"



Finnegan LOVES dough (who doesn't?) He was quite upset when the dough had to go into the refrigerator to firm up...



I distracted him by letting him peel bananas. He filled his belly with two bananas instead.



Mommy and the other little chef.



20 minutes is a long time to wait when you're 2, but it was finally time to roll out the dough (and eat more).

Next we floured the surface, "Ohhh Mommy, it's so soft!"



Then we roll out the dough...



Then we cut, cut, cut, roll some more, cut, cut, cut...Mommy actually did this part while babes napped...Finn couldn't keep the dough out of him mouth.



They're FINALLY all done...that was a lot of work!



On Valentine's Day we made them pretty for Daddy...one from each of us: Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies -- YUM!



Giving Daddy his Valentine's Day present - a little plate of home-made love:



We love you, Daddy!



Estelle wishes she could have some too!