We have been working with Harper to learn her letters, and so far she knows H, M, D, and E. Whenever we pass a Home Depot, she gets really excited and says “Harper!”, which actually sounds more like “uhh uhhrr!” Harper and Portman usually spend their mornings drawing letters on paper and discussing them, so this morning I drew A, B, and C and explained that “A is for Apple, B is for Baby, and C is for Cupcake,” which are all words that she knows. We didn’t spend too much time on it and I was pretty sure she didn’t retain any of the letters, but this afternoon I was getting dinner started and she ran up to me saying “Bapple! Bapple!” (apple) and handed me the “A” magnet from the refrigerator! I was such a proud mommy!

Yesterday I took Harper to Clemyjontri Park for the afternoon and we discovered that the carousel is free on weekdays all summer long! We followed the line of kids on and off the carousel no fewer than 6 times in a row before I had quite enough of it. I think Harper would have ridden her “horsie” all day long if I let her. She had a great time telling Daddy about how the horse went “up and down,” and when I pulled up the photos on the computer, she yelled to Portman “watch!” By the 3rd trip on the carousel she was very good at holding on by herself, so I was able to take a few photos. They didn’t turn out great, but at least we have them.

Yesterday Harper was finally feeling better (it turns out she had Roseola), so we ventured into DC to visit the Air & Space Museum. We parked at Portman’s office and took the metro (the “choo-choo”) to the Smithsonian, then battled the field trip crowds through the museum. It turns out that Sunday is not a good day to do Air & Space – there were thousands of people in the museum! Harper was still a little tired from being sick, but really liked the airplanes. She kept saying “more, more” and wanted to zip through the museum as fast as possible!

Once we had enough of the crowds, we headed over to the Sculpture Garden to have a snack with Uncle Gordon and Aunt Charlotte, and to (big surprise) feed the ducks. Harper just can’t get enough of the ducks, so I now pack “duck snacks” whenever we go somewhere with water.

We capped off the afternoon with a stop in Daddy’s office to change diapers and watch a little “Melmo” on YouTube before heading home. Now that Harper knows Elmo can be broadcast across a computer, she insists on watching it every time she visits Daddy at work. We’ve created a monster!

In other news, today we finally got to meet Rachael’s baby sister, Nicole. She is absolutely darling and Harper kept hugging and kissing her! It was so cute to see the toddlers with a baby – I think they are going to be wonderful big sisters. 

Harper has spent this week fighting a yucky virus of some sort. She has had a 103 degree fever since Tuesday morning and literally has not eaten a thing in 3 days. Apparently it is possible for a toddler to survive on milk and juice for 3 days because she just refuses to eat! Needless to say, it’s been a tough week for all of us. She was up every hour on the hour the first night and hasn’t really napped at all. Hopefully it will clear up in a few days and we will get our little turkey back. In her illness she has developed a new obsession with “Melmo” (Elmo), since we’ve spent more time than usual snuggling on the couch. The only issue is that Elmo is, unfortunately, not featured in every single scene on Sesame Street, so she spends a lot of time whining for him to come back on!

Here are a few shots of her looking miserable:

In other news, Rachael’s mom had a baby girl yesterday and we are so excited to meet her! I’m so glad that one of Harper’s best friends will also have a baby in her house – I think it will seem more normal for Harper when it’s her turn to be a big sister.

We celebrated Father’s Day this weekend with Harper’s very first ride on “Grandpa Wiggle’s” (Portman’s Dad’s) boat. We headed out to Annapolis first thing Saturday morning to feed the ducks and enjoy a little pre-boating breakfast at the marina. Harper spent most of breakfast attempting to jump into the Chesapeake!

After breakfast and a stop to purchase an infant-sized life vest, we met everyone at the boat and headed out for the day. Harper spent the first hour of the ride clutching onto me for dear life. When Portman jumped in to water ski, she was absolutely terrified and started screaming! She finally realized that he would be getting back on the boat and was not lost forever at sea, and after a snack she really seemed to enjoy it. She just sat at the front and watched everyone ski, yelling “byeee!” every time they jumped in! She even went for a little swim with her daddy (and her pretzel).

Finally, a shot of Portman demonstrating his awesome sumo skills.

I had the most ridiculous pregnancy dream last night and couldn’t resist sharing it. I dreamed that I gave birth to jelly beans and then proceeded to eat them. About halfway through eating them I got worried because “I knew I was having triplets” (I’m not) and I was concerned that I may have eaten one of them. I spent the rest of the dream asking the doctor how to tell what gender they were, and at one point I said “I know the blue ones are boys, but what about the green ones?” Then I woke up this morning and really wanted some gummy bears. Hmm…

Today Harper’s friend Rachael came over to play for a few hours while her mom had a doctor’s appointment. The girls played so well together that I found myself wishing we could do this every day! They spent a lot of time hugging each other, and it turns out that cans of tennis balls make a great toy (but make sure you have one for each kid!)

Harper has been very into “dress-ups” lately. Even though we don’t have any real costumes her size, she can usually find something creative to wear around the house. This morning she picked out a bikini top and bottom (both strung around her neck), a purple fuzzy scarf, and an Australian outback hat:

Portman and I never dreamed that having kids would be this much fun, and lately Harper has been just hysterical. I thought I would share a few of her latest antics.

I bought her a little beach chair last week since she enjoys the adult-sized chairs so much, and she spent most of Saturday morning testing out the best spots on the patio. Portman and I were both out there enjoying our morning tea, and at one point she marched over to him, took a section of the Washington Post, and marched right back to her seat to “read” it! After a minute or so she declared “hat” and immediately placed it on her head.

One evening last week Portman actually made it home for dinner and we enjoyed a nice family meal. We left Harper in her high chair to finish up while we started doing the dishes, and I looked over at one point to find her squatting in the middle of the table eating cantaloupe! I guess we need to remember to buckle her in.

Finally, a month or so ago Harper was playing in Portman’s office, which also houses the washer and dryer. He turned around to find her wearing a pair of my underwear (clean, luckily) around her neck! I guess she realized she was funny because now she sprints for the laundry basket to find anything she can to wear as a “necklace.” My bikini tops (and bottoms) are a recent favorite since we got out all of the swimwear: