Christmas!

So I'm a little late...make blogging on time my New Year's resolution! 

We had a great Christmas! I had to spend the Holdiay with my work family but got to celebrate both evenings and extend our celebrations into the weekend! 

Harper was spoiled of course! Her excitement of presents was so neat and loved passing them out to everyone! 

She loved getting everything ready for Santa and her and daddy put reindeer food out outside! 

Christmas is certainly more fun when little ones are involved! 

Baby #2!!!

We are having a baby!!! Our new little one will be arriving in June and we couldn't be more excited! I can't wait to see how Harper reacts to a new baby! She will be lots of help-probably too much if I had to guess! Everything has been going great-I can't really complain! I've gotten a bit more energy the past week which is nice! And I can finally make it past 9pm before falling asleep again.  We just ask everyone to pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby!! 

This was our facebook "official" announcement. 

Christmas lights!!

We made a quick trip to Omaha this weekend. While Tyler and I looked at vehicles, Harper spent the day with Kels and Kearney. 

She loves her uncle Kearney!  Last night, we spent the evening driving around and looking at Christmas lights! Harper is loving the lights this year! 

Harper has recently learned what Mommy and Daddy's real names are. She doesn't use mine much but boy does she know Tyler's :). It instantly comes out if he is picking on her and she is getting irritated or mad- like she doesn't even have to think about what his other name is! It is pretty cute! 

November fun!

I've been slacking a bit when it comes to blogging. Last Tuesday's Harper got to go see Elsa and Olaf during Norfolk's Downtown Christmas! At first she wasn't so sure what to think but after getting her picture taken and leaving she couldn't wait to go back! 

In October she started an 8 week- half hour class for gymnastics. I thought it would be fun for her and it was only $30.  Monday was the first day that I was able to go to class because I'd been working every week. I now know why they only charge $30. What chaos!! I'm not sure exactly how much she learns :) Harper enjoys the first 15 minutes but after that she's had enough. Oh well, it could be worse :) 

She did do a pretty good job on the balance beam! 

Oh, and we officially have a potty trained little girl!!  She has been doing great for quite so time now, minus the occasional #2 accident :) she made it soo easy on us! We are so proud of her! 

Happy Halloween!!!

Harper dressed as Minnie Mouse last night! She looked so cute! Kelsey did a great job on her tutu! 

She only did a block or two trick or treating but she is loving the candy she got!  She certainly has a sweet tooth! She was very interested in the yard decorations this year, people decorate quite a bit more in Omaha then Osmond. 

She was asleep by 7:30 last night, she was wore out! Don't worry- she's already digging into her candy and it's only 7:15 am. 

Pumpkin fun!

Tonight we painted pumpkins! I thought Harper would do better with painting than carving. She did pretty good but sure wasn't a fan when paint got on her hands :). 

She was very serious about her painting! 

As you can tell, tyler and I are lacking a bit on the creativity side! 

Overall she did pretty good! 

We also celebrated Ty's birthday today with lunch at Big Red and a relaxing evening at home! Harper was up at 5 am to wish him a happy birthday :) She sure is an early bird lately. Tyler gets a weekend away with Jared, they are heading to Montana- maybe he will get to sleep in then! Harper and I are heading to  Omaha for a weekend with Kels and Kearney!

Beautiful day!

We enjoyed what was probably one of the last super nice days in October today! We spent the afternoon at the lake and outside!  We haven't had the boat out for awhile so wasn't sure how Harper would do, but she did great!

We didn't catch any "goldfish" though. Goldfish is a go to snack in our house, it has now become every fish's name! 

We spent the evening having a going away supper for Michael. He is leaving for basic training tomorrow. Harper loved jumping on the trampoline at Amie and Motis'. 

She has gone all week without an accident and even wakes up dry after nap and all night- she is a champ!!! She even went on a port-a-potty today! We just haven't quite mastered pooping on the potty but none the less she is doing great! 

A less favorite phrase

Harper has another phrase she recently learned. I'm thinking this one has come from daycare unfortunately. I'm afraid she knows exactly what it means, saying it at all the right times. 

Examples:

1. Me vacuuming too close to her- she has developed a hatred to the darn thing.

2. Harper standing quite a few feet in front of the vehicle and Tyler acting like he was going to hit us before slamming on the brakes. 

3. Tyler starting the mower, she hates that too. 

If you haven't figured it out, her phrase is "I hate you". It's like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. Luckily for her she doesn't say it very often at all.  I suppose that if this is the worst thing she learns from daycare, we will be alright! 

"I Go Pot"

That is Harper's new favorite phrase, who am I kidding- it's Ty and I's too!! Harper had decided last weekend that she was finally going to go potty on the potty chair!  We can't really take much credit for this, she's done it all on her own! She is so independent and this process proved that even more! We still need a little practice on a regular toilet but we are so excited and proud of her!!!

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch! It was hit and miss as far as Harper enjoying it.

She loved feeding the "goats" which were really llamas. She wasn't a fan of the actual goats, but oddly enough liked the big and rougher looking llamas. She kept trying to feed them one kernel of corn at a time :). She was also a fan of the slide! As soon as she got off she was headed right back up the hill to go again. Thankfully daddy was a good sport! 

I definitely enjoyed a weekend not working! I'm anxious to start my new job in CDU and have the chance to be home the vast majority of weekends! 

2 Year Stats

Tyler got the pleasure of taking Harper to her 2 year old appointment last week. She was 26.2 pounds (41%) and was 35.5 inches tall (87%). If the saying holds true that at 2 years you double their height and that is how tall a person is supposed to be- we will have a tall girl!! 

Her appointment went great and she is right on track! She had to have a shot at her appointment, Tyler said they laid her down and when the nurse inserted the needle into her leg, she raised her head and let out a "HEY", it apparently was pretty funny.  The doctor said at 2 years she should be saying 20 words- she is way beyond that! She recently told me "I hate you". I couldn't believe it came out of her mouth but I did make her mad when I was vacuuming close to her :) I think it's a phrase she's learned at daycare. Our new daycare is going really well! Harper isn't near as cranky at night after a full day of daycare as previously and she loves the dogs at Carol's house! 

Kelsey and Kearnery recently moved to Omaha! Tyler had meetings in Omaha last week so we have got to spend lots of time with them. Harper has also gotten a few sleepovers! She really likes the park close by! 

She did manage to get into my makeup while we were there. We may have a future makeup artist on our hands :) Kels and I were pretty impressed with her mascara skills! 

Birthday Party!!

On Sunday we celebrated Harper's 2nd birthday!! We kept telling her we were going to have a 'Minnie Party', I don't think it set in until she saw the cake that grandma Ingrid made! 

How adorable is that!!! She was completely spoiled by everyone! And if course she got plenty of Minnie toys! She is certainly a lucky little girl to have so many grandparents that are able to celebrate with us, along and aunts and uncles! 

Happy Birthday Harper!!!

I'm a couple days late, but Wednesday our little girl turned 2! I don't know where the time has gone, it's as though I can remember the day she came into this world just like it was yesterday.  

To celebrate her big day, and our wedding anniversary (yay for 3 years!!) we decided to make a trip to the zoo!

Harper loved the lions and tigers, along with the fish and monkeys. Her favorite was walking over this censored mat in the aquarium. 

She definitely was not a fan of the snakes or frogs! It was a great day and so fun to see her reaction to the different animals. Unfortunately it did rain the majority of the time we were there but we made the best of it! 

Harper has brought so much joy to our lives, I can't imagine any day without her. She is quite the talker these days and earning the "terrible two" title slowly but surely :)  I certainly wouldn't have it any other way though!! 

This weekend we will celebrate with a Minnie party!! 

Camping fun!

We got to spend this past weekend at the lake! We had lots of fun camping! Harper loved being outside, going for walks and to the park!  

On Saturday, we went to Riverboat Days, Yankton's celebration. Harper got to have her face painted like Minnie! She is a huge fan of Minnie!!!

Shay even got a matching face! 

That afternoon we went to the beach. Harper was crazy in the water!! I heard countless times, "let me go". She was quite the dare devil. I had hoped for a girl that loved water and she certainly does! Too bad our days of swimming for the summer are counting down fast :( 

We are enjoying a relaxing day at home before I work tomorrow night. Harper starts a new daycare so I have a little bit of anxiety over this week's work :/ 

We made cupcakes today and someone had quite a ball with the frosting. 

Vacation!

I'm a little late posting the rest of our vacation, since coming back we have stayed very busy. We had a great time in South Dakota! 

On the way out, we stopped at the badlands. Harper loved trying to climb the rocks.

We got to drive on some neat roads and see lots of animals! 

Harper loved the buffalo or "cows" as she called them, even trying to touch them! There were a ton passing on the road we were driving on, so we got to see plenty! 

Harper loved getting dipped into one of the lakes we stopped at! 

Of course, we had to go Mt. Rushmore! 

A few of us got to enjoy a helicopter ride as well, grandma and Harper had to miss out on that one. 

Harper wanted to ride on the horse, but once it started she couldn't get off fast enough, daddy was a good sport and rode with her!!

Thankfully, we hit nap times with our longer road trips perfectly! Harper did so much better with the car ride then I ever expected! It was a great vacation! 

Family Vaca!!!

We started our journey on our first big family vacation! We are on our way to the Black Hills! Tyler and I opted to drive ourselves and break up the drive for Harper. We made our way to Valentine and had a nice evening to ourselves. 

We decided to head to a lake that had super white beaches and was so soft , especially for Nebraska! Harper loved the sand, literally rolling in it! The entire lake was pretty much surrounded by beach! 

Unfortunately a storm came through and cut our fun a bit short. 

Today we are making the rest of the trip. So far we are thankful for a portable DVD player and an iPad :) yay for technology! 

Another fun weekend!

We had quite a busy weekend this past weekend! Friday night we got to try out Ty's new boat. We were a little worried how Harper would react, but she did great! 

The only thing she wasn't a huge fan of was the life jacket. She kept saying "I'm done" and trying to take it off :) 

Saturday she got to hang out at nana and papa's and go to a wedding, while Ty and I went to 2 other weddings. 

Sunday was the annual Hoffman Christmas in July at the park. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and playing at the park. 

(Adalyn, Harper, Alyvia and Toby) 

 That afternoon we went swimming at the pool, which felt as warm as bath water! Harper loved the water and going down the slide. She definitely is starting to become a little fishy, leaning back to get her hair wet :) 

Heartbreak...

I've debated about writing on this topic but have decided this blog post would be beneficial in the healing process. 

On June 19th, we experienced my worst fear. After 10 weeks of a pregnancy we found out we were miscarrying. This was confirmed by an ultrasound, an ultrasound that revealed we were having twins! 

We had suspected going to the doctor that day that we were going to get some heartbreaking news. Hearing the word "twins" made my heartbreak twice as much. We never expected twins but the opportunity to raise twins had just been ripped away from us. What would the sex  of our identical twins be? What would they grow up to be? How would have Harper reacted? 

While it's been a challenging week and a half filled with tears, heartbreak, anger and countless other emotions. We've always believed that when God takes babies into his arms this early it is for a reason. Something wasn't right with our babies and rather then make them suffer on this earth, God chose to make them his which I am thankful for. 

I know that time will heal but this is certainly something we will never forget.  It's amazing how much you can love someone just a short time after finding out you are pregnant. We are going to be an even stronger couple and better parents for going through this. 

I'm ever so thankful that God has blessed with Harper. She's been the sunshine through all this. She seems to know when we need a good laugh and knows just how to put a smile on our faces. The day before this happened she finally said "I love you", I think she was saving it for when we really needed to hear it :)

Pinterest project!!

I did my first real Pinterest project a few weeks ago! I loved growing up that we would make a mark on the door frame every so often to see how much taller we had gotten. Since our current house is definitely not our "forever home" I wanted something that could go along with us from move to move. 

Here is the finished product! I was pretty pleased! 

Someone wouldn't quite cooperate with the camera that night :)

It's hard to believe our little girl is going to be 2 in just 2 months and a day. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home. The past week has been tough in our househd, each time I look at her or hear her in the distance I can't help but be so thankful that God entrusted us to be her parents. She is truly our pride and joy and brightens each and every day! 

Father's Day Weekend!

We had a busy weekend camping in Yankton! Harper loved camping, I wasn't too worried she wouldn't like it because she loves to be outside. Hopefully next time it will be warm enough to hit the lake!

After spending much of the weekend with Papa Paul, we got to see Grandpa Clark on Sunday! 

Harper definitely has the best daddy! I am so thankful for all he does and how he takes care of us! We love him so much! 

Jammies!!

For Easter, Harper got a couple pairs of Minnie jammies. I had shoved them to the back of her drawer because our house is chillier at night and Harper is not a fan on blankets. Recently they got in a place where she could find them- let's just say if she could, she would wear them all day!! She loves Minnie, especially her Minnie pajamas! 

First Husker Game!

Tyler and I had a wedding in Iowa this past weekend so Harper got to hang out with aunt Kelsey, uncle Kearney and aunt Kendyl all weekend!

We are so thankful Harper has great aunts and uncles that love to chip in and help! 

Kearney sent us this picture, saying she was doing some light reading :) 

On Sunday we all met grandpa Clark and uncle Alex and went to the Husker Baseball game in Omaha. We had great seats for Harper's first Husker game!

The beginning of the game started out a little toasty, half way through the game a front came through which cooled things down until it started pouring on us! Thankfully on the way up to get shelter a nice lady gave me her jacket to cover Harper with! Unfortunately the Huskers ended up losing but overall it was a fun time!