Wow, we have a 4 YEAR OLD now?!?! How?!?! Cannot believe we are only a year away from Kindergarten with her. She is growing up before our very eyes, and although the baby phase was oh-so-tiring, I miss her little self... but the happy, energetic, independent, and fun Harper we have now is truly so much fun!
Her birthday fell just after Easter this year, so we kind of combined the two {along with Daddy's birthday celebration of course} and she LOVED it. I will say I DID ask her what she would like to do to celebrate her birthday to which she replied: "I want my friends to come play on my swing set, have an Easter Egg Hunt, and have cake with chocolate frosting and bunnies on it". Well ok then... I think a combo celebration will do just fine! I had fun gathering decorations and doing fun Easter activities with her to prepare for the celebration!
Aunt Abby had sent a fun Easter Egg decorating kit! It was fun for all: Daddy and Harper enjoyed dunking and decorating the hard-boiled eggs, and I was able to eat one of my fav sandwiches: egg salad {multicolored of course-ha} for almost a week- scrumptious!
My mom gave Harper her very first Easter basket as her first birthday just happened to be ON Easter that year. She personalized it just for her and Harper LOVES it. Well, last year Harper helped me decorate a basket for Maggie and this year my mom helped me make one for Evelyn. I love that they each have their individual baskets and Harper was just GIDDY to find that the Easter Bunny came to her house. Although pretty curious about how he got IN our house in the middle of the night, she enjoyed showing us all the special things he gave her;).
Back story: growing up, my parents moved us to an incredible neighborhood, West Park, where we made lifelong friends. Most of the families on our cul-de-sac all had kids the same age and had all moved away from their families and were beginning new traditions. In doing so, we all became so close that each family took a specific holiday and hosted an event where we could all get together. My family had Easter and had hosted an Easter brunch following church for as long as I can remember. My mom has just recently retired her roll as the 'Brunch Master' to such a large group since all the families have since grown up {bittersweet}, but she has been able to pass along all of her fun ideas as I have begun hosting an Easter brunch here in Arkansas for our friends since most of them are also displaced from their extended family. This is the third year we have hosted and we LOVE it!
This year we combined Harper's birthday party with the brunch and it was so fun- especially since we have been able to add quite a few families to the invite list- oh how we love our 'Arkansas Fmaily':)! We spread out all the food (7lbs of bacon, 4 casseroles, 4 pans of cheesy potatoes, and oodles of pastries on the island;))...
...added some birthday treat bags {shaped like bunnies of course}, and had a fun Easter egg hunt {spread out on our living room rug as it POURED down rain on Easter morning}
...and finished up with Easter-themed cake and cupcakes- DELICIOUS!
A snapshot of the birthday girl as she waited patiently to blow out her candles at her party!
thank you for the sweet shot of Harper, Kassi!
The fun continued on her actual birthday, later that week...
Harper {and her Daddy;)} made the birthday sign at school! Harper was so excited and thrilled to pose with her besties and the amazing assistant directors at the school, Ms. Alex and Mr. Dixon ! She brought in Krispy Kreme doughnuts to share with her friends at breakfast and only went to school a half day.
I picked her up at lunchtime and she did a quick change into a new outfit, fit for a date with Daddy. Another tradition, the birthday boy and birthday girl have a lunch date at Chik-fil-a, to celebrate together. The little sisters and I kinda crashed their date- ha- but the two of them seemed to have fun together!
Then that evening it was time for a special birthday dinner, birthday dessert, and present-opening time!
Dinner choice: honey chicken, rice, and broccoli
Dessert choice: Pete chose peach cobbler, and Harper chose strawberry shortcake
side note: Harper was so sweet when looking at the numer candles. She immediately noticed the 4 for her cake, but was confused by Daddy's 3 and 1. "Wait Mommy, which one is he- 3 or 1?" Hehe
Harper could hardly wait for present opening time. She was equally as excited to help Daddy open his presents as she was for hers. She made out quit well this year with a plasma car, horse toys, umbrella, tent, outside toys, and a new big-girl bike! She also became a fishy mommy as well! Daddy is creating our first family garden and got all sorts of fun tools and seeds to begin the 'Lee Family Garden'!
We first started with two minnow babies from her school which she named very matter-of factly: Square and Dog- ha! Sadly, I think the baby fishies were too stressed and they went to fishy Heaven that night- oops! RIP Square and Dog!
Side note of sweetness: Her take on death is so beautiful- she was completely content knowing that her angel siblings now had two fishies to take care of ;)- love her.
Anyway, Daddy saved the day and gave the brand new, empty fish tank purpose by bringing a beta fish home, which Harper named Blue. Aunt Anna sent a sparkly castle and fun-colored plants to add to Blue's home and I am proud to say, Blue has now lasted 3 weeks with us- Harper is an excellent fishy mommy;).
Happy Birthday, Harper!
What fun we had this year celebrating in Easter fashion, surrounded by your Arkansas friends! Love you so much and looking forward to this 4th year of life with you... I have a feeling the majority of it will be spent doing any sort of outdoor activity possible- ha! Thank you for keeping the energy following in this family- we love all the adventures you help us create!
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