A Weekend With Grandma

Harper having fun with Grandma!

This past weekend, Harper's Grandma Annette came to visit--and to run the Boston Marathon on Monday.  The last time Harper saw her Grandma was in February for her baby blessing, and she has grown a lot in just the past two months.  At this stage, she is able to engage a lot more--smiling, "talking" up a storm, and wriggling around--so it was fun to watch her share these accomplishments with her Grandma.  


Grandma arrived on Thursday so the next day, while Dallin and I went to work, Harper got to spend some quality time with her.  It was a beautiful day so they got to take a long walk outside, and then enjoy some snuggles and nap time too.  Grandma loves to sing and play games so Harper had a great day with her.

Grandma in front of the marathon map

Then, over the weekend, we all went downtown to the John Hancock Convention Center to get Grandma checked in for the marathon at the Boston Sports Expo.  This was definitely the most people Harper had ever seen in one place!  We had her in the stroller, and usually she will--eventually--fall asleep, but not this time!  All the sounds and sights had Harper absolutely mesmerized.  

What an excited girl--
there was so much to see and hear at the expo!

Taking a walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery:
Dad leads the way,
and Grandma pushes Harper in the stroller.

The weather over the weekend was gorgeous so, on Sunday afternoon, we all went for a walk at the Mount Auburn Cemetery.  As a child, I went there a lot with my family so it was a special experience to be there with my own child.  There is a tower there that my father would take my siblings and me to climb so that we could see the view of the Boston skyline from the top; he told us that it was Rapunzel's tower, and you can only imagine the VIP status Rapunzel has for a little girl.  We passed the tower on our walk, but it's not exactly stroller-friendly so we look forward to climbing it when Harper is a little bit bigger.  It will be nice to share that experience with her some day, to help her feel connected to the grandfather that would have just loved her to pieces.  Mount Auburn was gorgeous that day, with the Dogwood, Magnolia, and Cherry trees all in full bloom.


Monday was "Marathon Monday" in Boston, a big day for Harper's Grandma.  The weather couldn't have been hotter, not great news for all the runners.  In fact, the marathon medical team encouraged all the charity runners and anyone who hadn't trained in warm conditions not to run.  Having lived in Arizona for several years and also having run marathons in the heat before, Harper's Grandma was definitely more prepared than many.  Still, the temperature reached nearly 90 degrees during the day, and a lot of runners didn't make it.  Harper--and the rest of us--were super proud of Grandma for crossing the finish line and completing the legendary Boston Marathon, especially under such extreme conditions.  She is definitely a great example to Harper!

Grandma and Harper, playing with Harper's bumble bee toy!

Yesterday was unfortunately our last day with Grandma, and we had a quiet day together while she recuperated from her race.  Though it wasn't quite as hot out as Monday, it was still an unseasonably warm day at nearly 80 degrees, so while Daddy was at work, Harper, Grandma, and I treated ourselves to frappes at the new ice cream place up the street from our house (well, Grandma and I had frappes...and Harper slept).  We also did a little shopping at my favorite kid's consignment store in town, stumbling upon some great summer fashion for our growing girl.  That afternoon, we also set up Harper's new activity gym, and she showed off her skills at grabbing and kicking for Grandma and me.  With the strong little legs that Harper has, I won't be surprised if she's running marathons some day like her Grandma!  In the meantime, we will have to focus on crawling and walking first...

Harper, showing Mom and Grandma her skills in her new activity gym!

It was such an exciting visit with Grandma that Harper totally crashed last night and could barely open her eyes to say goodnight and goodbye to her Grandma, who left on a flight early this morning.  We all miss her already though so hopefully she will come back to visit again soon!