Daddy & Daughter

It's moments like these that I really wish I had a clue what I was doing with my camera! We met Chris at park for lunch and Harper was needing some Dad-time. It was really sweet seeing them together. You can tell she's pretty nuts about him!

 

A new pet, a hurt nose, and homeschooling

 None of these pictures really go together, but they kind of do in a way. Harper is turning into my daredevil child. She's climbing on everything and getting into everything. She was out back playing with her brothers and tried to climb a mini-rock wall on our jungle gym. She slipped and her nose took the brunt of the fall. Luckily she's a tough cookie.

 The climbing has coincided with the start of our homeschooling year, and it's making things interesting. She really, really wants to be a part of her big brother's work, and will do about anything to be really close. I turn my back for a minute and she's on the table with a sharp pencil ready to draw. If she's not on the kitchen table, she's on his desk...or on the counter top.  I am starting to wonder if a play pen is a good idea.

And this leads us to our new pet, Hazel the Kitty. What better way to entertain my almost-18 month old than to give her a new kitten to play with, right?! That wasn't the initial intent, but it has been working out well. Harper loves Hazel, and thankfully Hazel is very patient as Harper carries her in a headlock everywhere she goes. I'm praying the "new" doesn't wear off anytime soon...otherwise, we will be looking into a play pen...

Baby Henry

 This is over-due, but a month ago my 4th nephew was born! Henry (or Hank...depending on whether you're talking to my brother or SIL) joined the Dodson family and became Mimi and Papi's 8th grandchild. We spent a day with the family getting to know sweet Henry and entertaining his big brother and sisters. Between Claire, Lily, Harper and Mica, the poor little guy will more than likely end up in baby doll dresses and be very "pampered"!

St Louis 2012

 My niece was baptized this past weekend, so we decided to go to St Louis and make a mini vacation out of the event. We hadn't been to see Josh and Caylee since Caylee and I were all just pregnant with Harper and Mica, so it was about high time!

 Caylee and Mica met us at the zoo on Friday morning, and it was about the highlight of my trip seeing those adorable pig-tailed girls check each other out. Their personalities were fun to watch...Mica a little more serious seemed to have a mission in mind, and Harper was happy to follow and jabber along the way.

 

The St Louis zoo is amazing, and the kids had a blast checking out all the animals. The monkeys were a huge hit, but I think the highlight was the sea lion show.

That night we ate dinner with Josh, Caylee and Mica. The boys ADORED their dog, Oliver. Ethan has been asking when Oliver can come visit. Mica and Harper played well together passing Harper's "baby" back and forth and running all over the house. 

  

Saturday morning we walked from our hotel to The City Museum. There are no words to describe this place. People tried to explain it to us, but it wasn't until we walked inside that we fully understood how amazing it was. The kids were heaven. It's a 10 story building that has the entire inside turned into a giant maze/jungle gym. We could have spent an entire day there, but we decided we'd have to get a group of the kid's friends and come back for a weekend.

Sunday morning we had a amazing opportunity to go to City Church and watch Mica be welcomed into the covenant community. Their church was such a beautiful mixture of people from all over the world and walks of life. It was a true blessing...

Thanks to the St Louis Dodsons for a wonderful weekend. We love you!