Harper at Two

It occurred to me earlier this morning that I've yet to write a proper "all about Harper" birthday post. She's two now (I still can't believe it myself) and she knows it. It is as if she went from baby to little girl overnight. I was in Smith's last night when I remembered that we were running low on wipes. I stood in the baby aisle looking at bottles, bibs, baby shampoos, and diapers and I must admit that I was a little (ok, a lot) sad when I realized that, wipes aside, we no longer need to purchase baby items.

Instead of teething toys and formula, we buy Ariel underwear and fruit snacks. It's weird. It's really weird.

When I was pregnant, all I could think about was having a baby- a snugly little soul that smelled good and wore teeny tiny clothes. It never occurred to me that I'd turn around or blink and in no time at all, I'd have a kid- one that never stops growing/talking/moving and is oftentimes a little stinky (Harper smells delish right out of the bathtub but then she eats Cheetos or dips her pizza in ranch and she's suddenly a smelly little thing).

I miss baby Harper but I'm definitely crazy for little girl Harper. She is an absolute delight. She keeps us on our toes all day long. She is a handful (just ask Colt about her nightly breakdowns...) but we love her and couldn't ask for a more spunky/fun/entertaining child.

Harper can:
Count to three (and sometimes five!)
Recognize shapes and a few letters
Recognize and name numerous animals and their proper sounds
Jump, gallop, and somersault
Do the actions to several songs
Sing on key (roughly)
Speak in sentences
Ask questions (we hear, "What's that?" about two dozen times a day right now)
Recognize and name everyone in our family (and even a few in our extended family)

Harper likes:
Ariel (of course)
Singing (preferably like Ariel)
Wearing skirts (twirly ones)
Dressing up (preferably like a princess in a twirly skirt)
Cheetos (she probably likes them more than she likes candy... seriously)
Sauce (aka ranch dressing... she loves the stuff and even eats it on her fruit roll ups)
Stories (preferably princess ones)
Coloring
Stickers
Puzzles
Running outside
The Upside Down Show (it makes her laugh out loud)
Princess movies (The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Snow White, and The Princess and the Frog are her favorites)
Gymnastics Class
The zoo (more specifically, the carousel at the zoo)
Seeing her grandparents
Dogs (we recently saw a dog in the back of a jeep and Harper said, "oh... cute" and my heart... it melted)
Going outside at night to see the moon and stars
Edamame, black beans, green beans, fruit snacks, pizza, and Pringles (her favorite foods, for this week at least)
Arm/belly/hand/leg rubs

Harper doesn't like:
Having her hair washed/styled (occasionally she will let me do a little braid but otherwise, we don't even bother to comb it anymore- we just let those little curls do whatever they please)
Leaving the library (it's a tantrum- an embarrassing one- every time)
Spiderman (he's scary)
Masks (also scary)
Alligators (super duper scary)
Jeans (she will not wear them and that's okay... I had a mom who forced me to wear things I hated and so I've promised myself to always give Harper a say when it comes to getting dressed, even if that means taking a mini Ariel to the grocery store... which we did, two days ago)
Wearing socks (pretty sure she got that from me)
Brushing her teeth (it's a fight, every single day)
Being away from Scout when he's having his washing machine bath (she misses him)
Sharing her toys, her mama, her furniture, or her snacks (someday, she will be a nice girl, I promise)
Posing for photos (if she sees my camera, she ignores me)

Harper is everything that is good in life- happy, hopeful, brave, faithful, healthy, and fun. She keeps me grounded and makes me want to be/live/love better. She will never know how much she has inspired me. She will never know that, in many ways, she has changed my life.