Overdue Update-- aren't they all?

Some fun news for our Harper girl, she got her first haircut. After 2+ years we finally decided we were in a place where we could handle cutting our girl’s super cute curls. Of course the cut, which was significant, has only helped to accentuate the bouncy curls on Harper’s head. Now instead of just being a big mass of cute curls, it is actually styled. Harper likes her new haircut and liked having her mom cut it in the "DadaMama salon" – which happens to be our back patio. Ru cut several inches off her hair while I took photos to document the process.


New haircut aside, Harper has the same voracious appetite for books these days. Ru takes the kids to the library for storytime every week and they pick up new books. Harper ends up having each of the books read to her dozens and dozens of times before the next round of books the following week. The other night, Ru and Jack were at a function in the evening and Harper and I were reading books together. She brought over one of her favorites for the week, “The Magic Hat” which has a sing-songy sound to it. Harper would sing parts of the book as she brought it over, so I just started to turn the pages without saying anything and Harper “read” the entire book by herself. She didn’t actually read it word for word, but she did have the entire book memorized to the point of being able to recite the entire thing by the cue of particular words and picture. I was amazed that after only about four days of having the book in our house, Harper had memorized the whole thing.



Harper is still however, definitely a two year old – both in her constant quest for more information and her continued testing of limits. Harper’s new question is “What would happen if I _______?” If we tell her not to stand up on the edge of the couch the response is “What would happen if I stand on the edge of the couch?”

“You might fall down.”

“What would happen if I fall down?”

“You would get hurt.”

“What would happen if I get hurt?”…..and on and on.



Harper also likes to test limits with her mom and dad. We have a rule that she is not allowed to say “No” to us. So if we ask her to do something and she says “no” we give her a chance to make the right decision, but if she doesn’t she has to sit on the naughty-chair until she is ready to apologize for saying “no”. Some days, Harper just tends to be disagreeable. It tends to be if she is hungry or tired and we have to remind ourselves that even though she is very smart and communicative and sensitive, she is still a two year old.


Although Harper is a pistol at home, full of life, questions, laughter, singing, dancing, telling jokes….when she gets into a large group she clams up and gets very shy. Even if the group at storytime is singing a song she knows very well, Harper tends to just observe. If you ask her if she wants to sing she will sometimes tell you “I’m just going to watch” or “I’m having a hard time singing because it’s too loud”. As soon as the room begins to empty, playful Harper is back and she’ll dance around and sing all the songs she wouldn’t sing before. She is definitely cautious in large groups.


Of course, Harper still loves her baby brother Jack very much. Asked who her favorite person or best buddy is and she always says Jack. She wants to hug and hold and kiss him all the time and gets disappointed when one of them has a cold and we don’t let her be as close to him. As a first born two year old who is still getting used to sharing her mom and dad time with her brother, Harper has moments where she gets frustrated. We have been very proud of her for clearly expressing her needs and feeling and never taking it out on Jack. She will sometimes tell Ru that she wants her to "give Jack to Dada so mama can hold me".

(written by Dad, posted by Mom)