We're back!!!!

Well, it's been.... awhile since we last updated our blog. Sorry about that. Things have been pretty busy around here. I'll just summarize and get to the good part - the pictures! Harper had surgery in the summer to repair her umbilical hernia. She recovered quickly, and her new belly button looks great. We moved, again, but this time off of our mountain. For those of you who didn't know, we have moved up and down the same mountain since we moved to Hawaii. In August, we decided to venture East. We are now in the closest thing to suburbia on Oahu, a.k.a. Hawaii Kai. After we moved, we took a quick trip to Texas to celebrate in the wedding festivities of Meredith Harrington and her British chap, Reuben. Mike's parents and his older sister and her family came to Hawaii for the week of Thanksgiving. Advent began, and we haven't stopped yet! Harper will be 8 months old on Christmas day, and she has changed so much. She is waving, clapping, BABBLING, crawling, sitting up like a champ, eating baby foods, and so much more. It's so much fun to see her changing so quickly. She has a very cheerful and content disposition... for now. :) If you would like to hold her, she will let you. So, come to see us! On a side note, we must thank Jennie Whitaker for being such a faithful fan of our blog. Without her continued.... encouragement, we might have gone even longer without updating it. Jennie, this one's for you!
Harper supporting UH and looking quite chubby.

A few months ago.

First bites of real food!

Harper loves bath time.

While in Texas, Memaw (Harper's great-grandmother) gave her a special gift. Memaw's mother made an Easter jacket and bonnet for Tami's mom's first Easter. Here are the four generations with Harper in the Easter clothes

Tami and "the cutest pumpkin in the patch."

Some of our old crew met up for dinner in Boerne. (The Allports, Boddies, Harts, and Houcks)

Harper with her future boyfriend, Collin Hart (~9 months at that time, ~4 months older than H)

Harper with her Poppie (great-grandfather) and Mike.

Although she had been to the beach, this was Harper's first swimming pool experience. We enjoyed our first swim at the Wang's new condo.


Harper was a pumpkin for Halloween. Here she is with the treat bag that the Houcks and Harts gave to her.


Mike's dad asked us if Mike was a Republican for Halloween!

Pausing for a picture during a game of Superman.

Teething has definitely begun.

When Mike's family was here, we went to the Sea Life Park. We loved it!


Harper looked goooood for Thanksgiving. She got to wear the home team's colors.


Harper got to (had to) wear the winning team's colors to church on Sunday.

We went to see St. Nicholas.

We went to a local Christmas fair with our friends, the Ingalls. Tami and Harper with Teresa, Clayton, and their daughter, Autumn (Harper's first friend).

When we met Santa Claus, Harper liked his beard.

Harper posing for our Christmas cards.

That's it for now, but we hope to stay more current with our posting. We miss you all and are wishing you all a blessed Christmastide and a wonderful New Year!!!

Almost 12 weeks!

Well, saying that it's been awhile would be a bit of an understatement. Harper will turn 12 weeks old this Sunday! Things are looking very different since our last post. Tami went back to work 4 weeks ago, working 3 ten hour days per week. Her workdays are very long and exhausting but so worth it to have 4 days off in a row. Harper has been going to work with Mike on those days. They seem to have figured out a pretty good routine so far. We think she enjoys the air conditioning at the church. As you will see in the pictures, Harper has been growing like a weed. She's finally chunked up some and is sporting some nice rolls. She has begun to smile and is on the verge of laughing. It's so much fun! For those of you who don't know, we will be in Texas at the end of September. Our tour will include Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. Let us know if you will be around.

After Tami got home from her first day back at work, Tami and Harper spent the rest of the evening in their favorite spot... the rocking chair.

Harper's first Fourth of July started with a day at church with a potluck picnic after the morning service. This is the "I've had enough" face.

"Baby's 1st Fourth"

"American Sweetie"

After the evening service, we went to the Pasalos' for a BBQ with the "college kids". We walked across the street to a foot bridge that crosses over the highway to get a better view of one of the city's firework shows. The bridge was a little scary!

Here is the finale...

Here are a few more pictures - just for fun.

We still love bath time, and we've got a mohawk to prove it.

Half smile....

Big smile with a squeak...

That's all for now. We will be back soon!

6 Weeks Old

Yesterday, Harper turned 6 weeks old. We still can't believe how fast the time is going. Looking back, we also can't believe how much she continues to change - in personality and physique. Life with Harper is exciting everyday! As a warning, you may find some of the following images disturbing. Our friend, Jennie, has requested pictures of Harper when she's not so.... "relaxed" and "perfect" looking. In honor of Jennie, we have included new pictures.... and the one that came before.

Our friends, Cory, Christina, and Brian Hafele, came by to visit us. Brian turned 2 years old this spring. It's crazy how much difference 2 years makes.

Mike and I went to the Ingalls' house for a Memorial Day cookout. Their little girl, Autumn, became very concerned when Mike was burping Harper.

Mike's parents sent Harper some Aggie gear. (boo) Mike was excited. Harper.... was okay with it too.

Yesterday, Mike and I took Harper to church for the very first time. She got to wear her very first dress and looked soooo cute. Everyone at church was so excited to meet her, and all seemed to go pretty smoothly! Yea Jesus!

Back at home... getting tired.

Even more tired....

AND.... we're done. (that's her ring finger)

Happy 1 Month Birthday!

On May 25th, Harper was officially 1 month old! We celebrated by going to the doctor for a check-up. Harper is doing well and growing like a weed. She weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long. This is a HUGE improvement over our weight gain worries from before. As Harper has continued to grow into her own, she has learned to enjoy her bouncy chair.... well she enjoys it if Mommy or Daddy is constantly bouncing it for her. So, if constant movement is what she wants, then constant movement is what she shall have. For her 1 month birthday, we bought ourselves... I mean Harper... a swing! It took a few minutes for her to decide if she liked it, but it has become one of the best purchases we have made so far. Tomorrow, Harper will be 5 weeks old and is doing great. Other than a bad case of heat rash and grody spitting up on her parents, there is nothing to complain about here!

Harper - 1 month old.

Wee! Harper's birthday swing.

Taking a break from all of the excitement.

What she looks like after passing gas.

We took our first walk around the block.

Yesterday, we went on our first big outing. We went to the outlet mall to get some things we needed and then to Chili's. Harper was very good.

Harper shared a burger with Daddy. She ate like a champ!

Chilling with Daddy. Check out my punk rocker hair!

Just resting my eyes (and hands) for a minute.

Ole!

Too much dancing! Must rest again. This is what I do best!

After breakfast this morning, Daddy decided to try out some of my new hair bows from Aunt Laura. I looked too cute to pass up the photo opp!

Hi Daddy. What do you think?

Harper - 4 weeks, 6 days old