Little Man

So with Harper in the spotlight lately I did not want to leave out our main man Briggs.  The pictures below are of a rare photo shoot that he actually suggested we do.  He would say hey lets do a picture over here, and being that this never happens I took full advantage of my time.  Such a handsome little devil!  He is now 3 1/2 years old and here is a snapshot of what Mr. Man is up to now:

Favorite book:  Anything with a train in it.

Favorite food: Mac & Cheese

Favorite tv show: Tom & Jerry

Best Friend: Duke at school & Mia

Funny sayings: That's awesome, That scared me all to heck, It is a wonderful/beautiful day today, Pretty good (that is the standard response to any question).

Favorite Toys: Planes, Trains, and automobiles

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite pastime: Giving Harper rides in his truck & building train tracks

Favorite song: "Gone" by. Sheryl Crow (Lighting McQueens song)

Favorite Animal: cats or owls

Nicknames: Briggsy, Goose, Tex, Bobby

Personality: Very sweet, smart, loves learning (but also already knows a lot about a lot), helpful, creative, kind of shy around new people, loves being at home and with family, & can talk your ear off.

Great Traits: world best plane/train/jet spotter (yes there is a difference between a plane and a jet, they sound and look different, and no I did not know the difference pre- Briggs), awesome snuggler, impeccable memory (I am telling you it is a steel trap watch what you say), and good driver.

Weight: 35 pds.

Shoe size: 11

clothes size: 4T

Briggs is really growing up so fast and turning into such a great little man.  He amazes us daily with his quick wit and humor.  He is such a good big brother and son.  We are really looking forward to having the summer to spend with him and really watch him grow.  He told me last night that I was his favorite mommy and I would have to say that he is by far my favorite son.  Love you little buddy!

Turning 1

Thought I should post about all of our birthday week (at our house b-days last for a week) celebrations.  We kicked off birthday week with a family birthday party on Sunday.  I think someone knew they were the center of attention, what a ham.  Thank you to everyone that came and made Harper;s day so special.  We know how important each of you are in making our kids lives so awesome.  We often wonder if we could do it without you all.  We love you all.  Here are birthday memories....

Imagine you get a pile of gifts and your favorite thing is a card that has a frog singing happy birthday.  You never know what they will love.  That card has now got us through many diaper changes, had I only known all along that is all it took to keep her still! 

The Tomlinson gang.  Mia is a favorite at our house.

She finally got the concept of unwrapping she just had to get to them before Briggs did.

Doe Doe and PaPa delivered one of our presents a week early.  What kid doesn't love a cozy coupe.  She loves crawling in and out of it but has yet to master the driving.

 All ready for birthday dinner.  Mexican food. Yum.

  This is where it all went south.  As I sat the cake down in front of Harper she reached out and grabbed the flame.  I yelled, she cried, I cried, she cried.  Luckily she was not hurt I think more scared that I had yelled.  Most of her cake pictures have big tears included.  Not a stellar parent moment for me!

We recovered from the trauma pretty quickly after our first bite of frosting.  She really dug in and made the perfect mess for her 1st birthday. 

 For our actual birth day the four of us headed to pizza shop for a very successful outing in terms of eating out with children goes.  She ate two whole pieces of pizza and loved drinking out of  a straw.  

 After dinner we met Gram and Grandad at Sheridan's for some ice cream.  She loved eating Gram's chocolate ice cream and running around chasing Briggs. 

 When does it become not cute to have chocolate ice cream on your face!

We have yet to get a family photo with everyone looking but here is our attempt.  Love how she is looking at Briggs, such admiration.

Come on over anytime and our live in chef will be happy to cook you up something on the spot.  She is in love with her new kitchen set. 

I have to say it was a great birthday all around.  I really can't believe that our little girl is already 1.  So excited to see how she blossoms and changes over the next year.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little lady in our lives.  Here's to another fabulous year!

Birthday Girl

At this time exactly one year ago I was laying in the hospital bed in severe labor but so excited to meet our sweet Harper Jean.  I remember wondering how one more person would fit into our sweet little family, wondering if I could love anyone else as much as I already loved Briggs, wondering if I could even handle the responsibility that comes with another child. As Harper came in to this world letting us know she had arrived with her feisty but sweet little attitude I knew that she would fit perfectly in our family and that I already loved her more than I ever imagined.  Since that day our lives have forever changed in so many ways.  Harper, I love that you are you own little person and make no excuses for it.  I never thought one little being could have such an opinion or such a feisty little demeanor, must be the red head in you.  You are hilarious, sweet, smart, funny, adorable, and perfect all in one little package.  Before you were here I could not imagine our lives with you and now I can't imagine our lives without you.  I can not wait to watch you grow into the wonderful young lady you are going to be.  I love you more than I ever knew possible.  Happy Birthday baby girl. 

Happy Birthday Harper

Who is happy to be turning 1 tommorow...... This girl is.  More birthday and party pics comming soon.

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Doe Doe!   My mom is celebrating her 60th birthday this week so we took the weekend to help her ease the pain of slipping into her 60's.  We had a total child free Saturday, which is rare when the Herrons get together.  We headed downtown about 11:00 to visit a few bars and have a few beverages before heading out to the game.  It may be a little overdoing it when you pre-party before tailgating. We had a great time being out and about and so nice to have a little off time from the kids, although we were missing them by the end of the day.  That's the way it always works, you can't wait to get rid of them and then you rush back for them.  We ended up at power and light district with Mom riding a mechanical bull about mid afternoon so I would say all had fun.  We headed out to the game and tailgated, played yard games, and enjoyed some great weather.  The game was not too exciting, but that is pretty par for course with the Royals this season.  By the end of the game we were all ready to head home for some much needed rest and to start prepping for Harper's big birthday on Sunday.  Doe Doe we love you very much and love that you and Harper will forever share a birthday.  You make 60 look great!

 

Brotherly Love

Briggs and Harper seem to be developing more of a friendship each and everyday.  Here is a short clip of a typical Briggs and Harper play session.  She adores absolutely everything he does and would really do just about anything he asked her to.  She loves playing rough and is such a go getter, think that she will have no problem keeping up with Briggs and his friends.  Briggs is awesome with her and such a great big brother.  Can't wait to see how their friendship blossoms over the years.  Love that little giggle and check out our new walking skills. 

http://youtu.be/7ZOY_VS79eY

Easter, Easter, Easter

You know that you have a spoiled little one when they get to celebrate Easter 3 times within a week.  Not sure when he will start asking questions about why the Easter bunny visits so many different spots on different days but until then I think he was pretty satisfied with the candy filled eggs.  I was able to sneak away from school to attend his Easter party at school.  It was so fun to see him interact with his friends and made me appreciate what a great little school we are able to send him to.  He was very proud to show me around and tell me all about school life, as if I had never been there before.  We headed to Chanute for the weekend where the Easter bunny made his second appearance.  We had a great weekend just relaxing and playing.  It was great to see family and watch Briggs get so excited for the holiday, Harper was just happy to eat though the candy wrappers.  Briggs ended his Easter festivities spending the day Monday with Gram and Mia.  He had a blast  hunting eggs, playing at the park, and being with two of his favorite people. Thanks to all the Easter bunnies that help make Easter so special for our kids.      

 Smores at Doe Doe and Papa's, Harper ate her weight in marshmallows. 

New Kicks

Last Wednesday I received a call at school from Briggs school that he was not feeling well.  After scrambling to get coverage for my afternoon classes I took off to pick up my little man.  He was sitting in the office and when I walked in he lit up and said momma (yes he calls me momma now not sure what that is about) I missed you today.  We headed home and I asked him how he was feeling he said "I did feel bad but now that you are here I feel very good."  Not sure to if that was the sweetest thing I have ever heard or if my son is now a scam artist.  We came home and actually had a great afternoon just the two of us.  I think we might make that a more regular occurrence.  He actually did end up feeling pretty under the weather the next couple of days so maybe he is not such a scammer after all.  during our afternoon we ventured out on the hunt for a new pair of super fast shoes.  After lying to him that the light up shoes did not come in his size, we found a great super fast pair he loved.   He is such a big boy these days that he no longer need velcro shoe, we have upgraded to ties.  Don't ask Greg how he feels about the ties when we are getting everyone dressed in the morning.  Anyways he is super proud of his new shoes and proceeds to tell most people we come across about them.  If he keeps getting faster as he believes with each new pair of shoes we should have quite a track star on our hand!