Oh the things kids say...

Scene: Harper, Buster and I sitting in the bathroom floor while she identifies parts of our faces.
It goes a little something like this...

Harper points to my lips and says, "lips."
Harper points to my cheeks and says, "cheeks."
Harper points to my eye and says, "eye."
Harper points to my eyebrow and says, "eyebrow."
Harper points to my nose and says, "nose."
Harper points right underneath my nose and says, "boogers."

I didn't really realize how often she has had a runny nose until she identified "boogers" as a permanent part of the body.

Odds and Ends

Hey. Hope the Ides of March treated everyone well and that spring wherever you are is lacing up its new sneakers and putting its bulky sweaters away. Things in Harpertown are going swimmingly. And actually, when spring finally does get its act together, Harper herself will be going swimmingly. Stay tuned for what promise to be entertaining tales of the newly amphibian Phillips.

No real theme to this collection of shots, just some assorted pics to flip through while you're waiting on the mercury to rise. Enjoy.

Oh -- and while we hope to blow your mind with a video soon, I would like to let you know that Harper now counts to 12.

What's that they say about the weather?

What's that they say about the weather in Nashville? If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute. It's not only hilarious but true! The following pictures were taken less than a week a part. No fooling.

The Zoo.

Harper and Cate have finally bridged the age gap! AJ and I watching our daughters grasps hands and tour the zoo as official friends is not a moment we will soon forget. As a brief aside, Harper's teacher told me today that she and her friend, Ridge, (who happens to be a boy) spent most of the day holding hands. It seems a little young to us too. Anyway...

The "Winter Event" 2008

So, as most of you know, we don't get a lot of snow in the South. When we do, it's a really big deal. The following pictures - featuring a whooping four inches of snow - were repeatedly referred to by the newscasters as "the biggest winter weather event in more than five years." Regardless, I finally got Harper in her snowsuit (once again, thank you Ava for the many, many wonderful hand-me-downs). She was...ahem...just ok with the whole ordeal. We had a lot of fun watching it fall and talking about it, but once we actually ventured outside she wasn't really that in to it. We persevered. She was most interested in the frozen gutter pipe (is that what it is called?) and this stick. She did get a chance to play with her neighbor friend, Jane, who is a year older and a whole lot more tolerant of sledding and snowman building despite BP's best efforts.


As you can tell, Carmie loved every second of it.

The ABCs

It's the best trick yet. Everyone household-wide has been raving about it. Maybe too much because now when we ask Harper to sing her ABCs, she clams up. Especially when there's a camera around.

So this is a paparazzi-style video, made inconspicuously at arm's length while walking in the park.

Enjoy.

Recap - especially for Dad

We had a very busy weekend. BP is out of town so this recap is especially for him (others are allowed to look too).

First, we celebrated Collin's 5th birthday like cowboy rock stars with a hay ride, face painting and cowboy cake...


Next, we decorated Sophie...

Then, I worked a puzzle with Collin and Uncle Ryan...





Then, I petted some horses and looked at some llamas...
And, finally, Nana and I just chilled for a while.


All the while, we were wishing you were with us.

Sponge Brain Square Pants

Harper's vocabulary is exploding! I swear she is saying 25 new words a day. It's so fun to witness.

Last night we were driving by the grocery store and she said, "KROGER!" She now says things like "Mama, more toast" and "Sit down!" and "Watch TV?" I know, I wish she didn't know what the TV was too, but please save your judgement because sometimes the TV is very helpful. It just is. The "sit down" is especially cute because she pats the ground next to her as she says it.

Another favorite is "monkey" which is what is responsible for the delight above. An real-live monkey from the zoo, not just the word.

Whaaa Daddy?

Good luck in LA, Daddy. We miss you here.

Potty Training

So, our pediatrician recently suggested that we put a "Harper-sized potty" in our bathroom to gauge her interest in potty training. Last week I found her telling Puppy and Michael* to "tee-tee." See below. *(Michael not pictured.)




She seems pretty proud of herself. I think she suspects she's figured it all out...

Ahem...

This morning I walked into the kitchen and witnessed Harper open the kitchen drawer where I keep the napkins, carefully remove one, wipe her nose with it and then gently return it to the package of napkins.

Harper Goes to the Art Museum

What?! The weekend's over? Dang.

OK, I'll get to it. This is from last week. Just a little something to keep the wolves at bay. And by wolves we mean you guys and your voracious appetite for the latest from the littlest Phillips.

Last week we went to an art museum and spent some time in the interactive kids portion where Harper did some drawing and some building and some abstracting and some light redefining of the very nature of art itself.

Here are some not especially good pics of her doing that.

Joy to the world. All the boys and girls.
--Us

A Little Something Cute for a Friday

Harper Hates Empty Calories/Capitol H.

We tried last May with cupcakes and this past weekend Amanda tried again when she enlisted Harper's help in making cookies. But there's something about sweets that sends Harper into hysterics.



In other news, we took Harper down to the park in front of the Capitol to play. She was enthralled with stories of the Tennessee Militia of 1908. Or maybe just her reflection.

Do not freak out

I know we haven't seen many of you in a while, but don't be alarmed: This is not a new sibling that we have failed to tell you about. Regular shoppers here at the Harper Hut will recognize this lovely little stunt double as Aneliese from our sister store "Bug and Bit."

Though their ages differ, they have roughly as much hair and probably the same number of teeth and, when you dress them up in matching pink pajamas, hilarity and similarity ensue.

We hope wherever you are you are also dressed in matching pajamas and hugging someone cute.

Urban Babies Wear Black

For Those About to Resolve, We Salute You

Alright, people. We've got one more weekend to really get our batteries charged and then it's off to the 08 races. Amanda covered her new year's resolutions, so here are mine:

--To have more pictures taken of myself in wooden cutouts like the one above and to use the postal service more.

Harper's resolutions as transcribed from a recent conversation are as follows:
Cheese! Carmie! Cracker? Cracker?? CRACKER?!
...All done!

Those are pretty good. I might actually change mine.

And if your resolution is any way related to being pushed around in a box, then this next video is going out to YOU!


Be careful out there.
-Harper's Folks

Happy 2008!

Well, on this first day of 2008 (gulp) I reckon I am not the only one lamenting the fact that years seem to go by like weeks these days--a reality that's more glaringly obvious than ever since Harper joined us. She adds a new feature to her repertoire almost daily now. Some things are less noticeable to the layman, like how her hair seems to grow a remarkable amount overnight. Others are much bigger, like how she now adds "mommy" or "daddy" to her sentences. As in, "thank you, Mommy." She actually thanked me for putting diaper cream on her bottom last week, which was such an unexpectedly sweet moment that I had to fight back tears as I said, "you're welcome, Harper."

So, in an effort to keep all of our Harpertown followers a little more up-to-date on her warp- speed blossoming, we've updated Harpertown a bit for 2008. Please note the newly added "Loves" and "Snubs" feature on the right side of the page and the addition of Evelyn Nugent and Gus O'Brien's blog links. Welcome Evelyn and Gus! We're so glad you're here. We look forward to watching you two grow up with Harper Mae the same way we grew up with your folks. Wow.

Here's to an incredibly happy and peaceful 2008 everyone!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays too!

It's been an eventful and lovely holiday season so far...

First, Harper picked out a Christmas Tree.


Then, she "helped" decorate the tree by removing nearly every ornament in her reach and then, more often than not, breaking them. She also discovered the joy of relaxing around a musical snow globe with her Dad.


Then she partied down with some Christmas tree cupcakes with her friends, Ava, Cate, Gavin, Ben and Alexander at a lovely brunch hosted by our friends Tiffany and Kevin.



Then we traveled to East Tennessee to celebrate Christmas with Mac Daddy (aka Mackie), Grammy and Harper's cousins. This is where Harper discovered that Christmas time truly is the most wonderful time of the year. After she opened a ridiculously wonderful amount of gifts, she walked around and around the tree saying and signing "More, More, More...peeaas?"


Merry Christmas to all Harpertown followers! We wish you all the warmest of holiday times.

Well the weather outside is frightful

but the fire is so delightful. I love that song. It's not snowing here today, but it's raining and feeling very holiday/winter-cozy.

A little something from Harper's winter collection for y'all to enjoy. Thank you, Flavia!

Guess Who Looks Just Like Her Mom as a Baby?

A Saturday Threefer

Happy Autumn, everyone.