august / 23 months!

We can't believe that August has come and gone already! It seems like whenever we are counting down for an August wedding, the summer just flies by; the same happened last year when Uncle Ben and Aunt Vivi got married. All the festivities this summer, all the preparations, led to Aunt Annie and Uncle Gil's beautiful wedding on August 1--and now it's history! Here's a flash back of our August adventures…

Harper was a flower girl again! She was so excited to wear her "white dress with a pink bow," not to mention to have her hair done for the first time and to wear a flower crown. She was totally in her element, getting ready with the bride, the bridesmaids, and Mimi. She ran from suite to suite, holding court; that little social butterfly has never been happier!

Meanwhile, we had a babysitter helping with Hunter during the wedding, which was so nice. It was really helpful to have an extra set of hands, particularly during the service when Dallin and I were both in the wedding as well. Of course, Hunter somehow managed to scrape his face with a stick while playing with the babysitter, and he had a bright red scratch on his cheek--which looked worse than it was and healed super fast…but of course it was documented in all the wedding photos so thank goodness for photo shop.

Dallin and Hunter turned in early, and Harper and I hit the dance floor for a while. She has the taste of a teenager and was thrilled to hear some of her favorite songs like "Shut Up and Dance" while she was on the dance floor. She danced with practically every member of the wedding party. Gosh I love that girl! Best flower girl ever. And I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom.

We were also excited to celebrate the first birthday of our little twin besties, Madeleine and Maxwell, this month.  Their party was a county fair theme, and the little Hs had a blast with all the fair games and treats.  It was so fun to celebrate such a milestone birthday with so many of our friends, and it also showed me that my cute kiddos really need the fair experience in their lives!

Harper continues to love gymnastics, and we are totally going to have to keep her enrolled this fall.  I really love watching her during class--that is, when I'm not busy keeping Hunter from trying to get downstairs to join class himself.  That boy just can't wait until he is old enough to be in class by himself; he is SO ready.  In the meantime, we have fun together watching Harper on the balance beam, swinging on the rings, and jumping on the trampoline; not too bad for a Monday morning! 

We have had a lot of fun hanging out with friends this month too--especially now that wedding festivities are over, and we have more free time on our hands for park play dates, splashing in the pool, and trips to Walden.  Our little Hs love sharing adventures with their friends.

This month, Hunter turned 23 months old!  This was officially his last month as a 1 year old; soon this little man is going to be 2 years old!  Lately, he is loving playing dress up, and his fire fighter hat is by far his favorite.  He wears it everywhere, from the super market to the pool.  The other day, we ran into a real fire fighter while we were shopping, Hunter in his hat, of course; he was so excited to point out, "Fireman! Fireman!"  

With this 23 month milestone came another more unfortunate milestone: Hunter's first trip to the emergency room. It was a Friday morning, and Harper and Hunter were playing in the kitchen. It was a bit of a mess, per usual, and Hunter slipped on a piece of play food; as he fell, his cheek hit one of the little chairs at their play table, splitting his cheek right open. Having already experienced the ER with Harper's accident, this incident was far less concerning; the cut wasn't nearly as deep, but I could tell immediately that it was going to need stitches. Meanwhile, poor Hunter did not want me touching it. So we quickly got dressed and headed for Children's Hospital, which was mercifully quiet on a Friday morning.

Before: Spider Man comes to tea.

After: little wounded man at Children's Hospital

This hospital trip was far less traumatizing, mostly because I knew Hunter was going to be fine; he just needed stitches. He was far more tolerant of the doctors and nurses touching his poor wounded cheek than he was when I tried to help him. While we waited, Harper was such a sweet little helper, showing Hunter movies and TV shows on the iPad, reassuring and loving him. She is such a sweet sister, and their loving friendship is so special.

Nurse Harper to the rescue!

When it came time to stitch him up, they gave Hunter medication that made him seem drunk and then bundled him up in a blanket like a little burrito so that he didn't resist. He was super brave, and when the procedure was over, they even brought him a little lion to take home for being such a brave little trooper. Of course, getting a basically drunken toddler and his 4 year-old sister back to the car during the lunch rush downtown was no small feat--especially when said drunken toddler couldn't support his own weight. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home, and I drove around town so as not to wake them up and to give Hunter's medicine the chance to wear off.  Truth be told, I drove clear into the next town so that I could hit the Starbucks drive thru for some much-needed sustenance. 

Our little man earned a lion for being such a brave patient!

He has to wear a bandaid on his cheek to protect the cut and to give the stitches time to dissolve. Then, as with Harper's wound, sun protection becomes especially important during the first year. We loaded Hunter up with every possible kind of band-aid to choose from, but he doesn't seems to love having a band-aid on his face (not that I can really blame him). Hopefully he will get used to the band-aid soon because it's so important right now! Oh this little man. I'm just so thankful he's okay. For that, we are so grateful.

Other unexpected events this month? We had hail! Truly, there was snow, sleet, and hail one afternoon. The weather was so confusing that Harper came from school and changed into this outfit: pajama shorts, a tank top, snow boots, and mittens. What can I say? She has her bases covered.

This month was also bittersweet for us, as it would have been our sweet little friend, Marjorie's third birthday on the 30th. In celebration of her life and memory, her parents arranged for family and friends to meet at the temple--which Marjorie called "the happy"--and be together. Not just those in the Boston area, but loved ones across the country spent time at their closest temple and shared their photos, which was so beautiful to see. We were grateful to be there with our friends, missing our little angel friend so very dearly. Happy birthday, sweet Marjorie! We love and miss you, and you continue to shine in our hearts and memories.

We were grateful to be at our local "happy"
to celebrate the life and memory of our sweet friend, Marjorie.

As we move into September, we are getting ready to say goodbye to summer.  Next week, Harper is starting preschool!  This feels like a remarkable milestone and a big reminder of how our little girl is growing up.  I feel confident that she will thrive there, and she certainly seems ready; every time we pass what will be her school, she exclaims, "Mom! My school!  My school!  I'm SO excited."  It's definitely going to be a big change for us though; Hunter will have to get used to being at school by himself, and Harper without him.  I think it will be a nice opportunity for Hunter to shine on his own though, once he adjusts.  And the good news is that Harper gets to continue to see our beloved Becca and Nicole and all her school friends since Hunter will still be there!  It certainly makes that aspect of the transition easier; I can't imagine how heartbroken we would be otherwise.

Another reminder that she's growing up? Moments like this one: when she is working on her letters, she turns to me and asks, "Mom, how do I write 'Dear Future Husband'?" How do you not fall to pieces laughing? Clearly we have been listening to the radio hits this summer.

"Mom, how do you write, 'Dear Future Husband'?"

And then there is this little man, who will be two in just another few weeks!  He is a chip off the old block, loving sports as much as his beloved Daddy.  No matter what Dallin might be watching--basketball, football, golf--if it involves a ball, Hunter is sold.  Like this moment, when we were out to dinner, and the guy's side of the table was mesmerized by the game on TV.  I think it was baseball.  That's a sport, right?

Labor Day is coming up this weekend.  For me, that weekend always symbolizes the end of summer, the beginning of fall.  After that, we will be off and running, and I can't wait to see what the new season will bring for our little family.