The Virginia State Fair

The last two years, we have taken Harper to the State Fair and had a blast. Last year she liked the animals and even stuck her hand ALL the way inside of a cow's nostril...Yummy. This year was even better than last year. For 2 1/2 hours we didn't hear one whine, which was a record. Harper ran from one animal to the next in the Big Red Barn and had to say "Hey" to all the animals. She enjoyed her first corn dog and rode some rides. We were worried the rides would start and she would want to get off, but she LOVED them.

Aruba

Aruba? You might be thinking, "But y'all were going to Turks and Caicos?!?" Well, thanks to Hurricanes Hanna and Ike, we had to change our plans 2 days before we were supposed to leave. There weren't a lot of tropical options out of the range of the hurricanes, so we went as far south as we could go and decided on Aruba. It ended up being a great trip. I was a little concerned about the 6 total hours of flight time (5 hours from New York), but Harper did great. She had a fever on the way down which made her lethargic and worked out GREAT! We were sad she felt bad, but it sure was nice that she slept most of it. The resort was great and we didn't see one drop of rain. Neither of us finished a book but we loved the time that we got to spend as a family.

Meet the Teacher Day

Today was Harper's first day of school. It wasn't a full day, just long
enough for the moms to have orientation and the kids to meet their teachers.
After today I'll send her in play clothes, but just for today she had to wear
her school bus dress. She insisted in carrying her own bag.

Labor Day

We spent Labor Day at Maymont Park with our friends. Harper, Eve, and Mae had a blast. Here are a few pics:

Riding in Harper's wagon.
The girls sharing a picnic.
I love this picture of Mae with one hand in the chips and one hand eating watermelon.

Silly Billy

Harper is really silly these days. She always seems to get wound up right before bed. The other night we lost her for a minute and she was in Oliver's crate, quiet as could me. Then she opened a package from BeeBee and climbed in the box before ever looking at the present. Silly girl.

Pool Day

We've been livin' it up at the pool this summer. Harper is a water baby. Actually, she's not much of a baby anymore. She wanted to be so independent in the pool, but she kept falling so we had to get her this vest. She looks funny in it, but it keeps her from face planting in the baby pool so we'll wear it. I don't know what Harper would do without her friends, Eve and Mae. Life wouldn't be nearly as fun.

Harper's Baptism

Father's Day was extra special this year because Harper was baptized. One of the new pastors at West End Presbyterian, Matt Purdy, did the baptism. Here are a few pictures: