Happy Birthday, Anna!

Anna turned 2! We had a fun little family party--Ella was in charge of most of it. It was a pink themed party. Pink balloons, pink streamers, pink cake and pink attire. We had a bean bag toss which was fun for all ages.  Grandpa Paul was having a bit of a tricky time with his curve ball, and Ella kept gently (and not so gently) encouraging him to just get a little closer.  Chris wowed us all with his hidden talent--maybe it's the long arms, but he's got skills! The above video is perhaps the most disharmonious version of Happy Birthday you've ever heard. We Harman's are not known for our singing ability. But Anna's unscripted "I blow out the candles" makes up for it.

Some fun facts about our Anna bug:

• She thinks her name is Anna Bug Elise Packer
• Her vocab is serious. On the day of her party she said, "Grandma this is.......those are the candles." Grammer girl??
• She went from being happy go lucky eat anything 18-month-old to an "I don't like that" type of gal
• The other day Kimmy was watching the girls and told Ella that she should work on her manners...and reminded her that Anna was really good at saying please and thank you (she is!) Ella was floored as it sunk in that Anna was good at something that she wasn't. "Where do you think she learned that??" she asked. When I asked Ella about it she explained to me her amazement--"Anna learns everything from me--how did she learn that?!?"
• Anna loves her binkies. I don't ask her if she wants to take a nap, but if she wants to go get her binkies. And she usually happily says yes. (She only gets them when she is in her crib...or if I am being a softy)
•  She is starting to really pretend and play jokes. "I am Sophia. You are Eliza. Ella is our mommy."
• She is happy most of the time.
• When she is upset she says, "I want my mommy/daddy"--mommy if she's with Ryan and daddy if she's with me.
• She is surprisingly good at understanding connections between people. If we are talking about an adult, she will ask about their children, even if she doesn't know them well. "Who were you talking to on the phone?" "Dana" "With Gabby?"
• She says "really really" and "tiny tiny"
• We really really love her.

Nakalele Blowhole

We took one afternoon away from the beach and the pool to go on a Maui adventure. We wanted to go to the bamboo forest, but a few minutes of Anna's happy but LOUD jabbing in the car convinced us that the 2 hour drive was not worth it. So we decided to try out the blowhole on the west side of the island. It was amazing. We hiked down the cliffs to the ocean to see the hole in the lava where the ocean sprayed out. So cool. 

On the hike back up Ella had to pee. I told her she could go behind some rocks. "No. I would rather go somewhere more....polite." That girl. Cracks me up.

We decided to drive around the north side of the island through the Forest Reserve. It was stunningly beautiful. Red sand cliffs with hints of green going straight down into the crashing blue waves. I'd never seen anything like it. The road, however, was a little sketchy. One lane, curvy, no guard rail. Ella kept telling me that her tummy hurt and she really had to go to the bathroom. But you can imagine her disgust at going by the side of the road. "Mom, it would be too stinky. Someone might find it." After a few miles of twists and turns we realized that she was misinterpreting her stomach pain. She was cursed with her mother's motion sickness and yacked into a bag. Poor girl. 

Sickness aside, it was a gorgeous excursion. If you're only going to leave the hotel once, you've got to make it count!

Aloha!

A few weeks ago the stars aligned for us. Ryan was supposed to go to India for a week, but at the last minute his trip got cancelled, leaving him a light week at work. That same week, Doug was going to Hawaii for a conference and wanted someone to mingle with during his down time. We checked out frequent flier tickets, and to our shock we found reasonable tickets. Less than 48 hours after dreaming up this plan we had booked tickets and were headed to Maui. When Janet heard that two of her grandchildren were going to be frolicking on the beach, she couldn't resist and she joined in on the fun. 

We had a great time. Ryan rode his bike, Ella swam in the pool, Anna played in the sand, and I soaked up my children's happiness as I soaked in the sun.  It was a quick trip (4 days) but oh so wonderful. Mahalo, Maui!

Freezer Meals

My little sister Kimmy is back in the Beehive State, and I couldn't be happier. Someone to hang with, play with, work with...and cook with! Kimmy is 7 months pregnant, which means we have 2 months left to get everything ready. I thought it would be fun to make some freezer meals so she can pop one in after a long day of oohing and aahing over her cute babe :) So...if you have any tried and true, fave of faves freezer meals I would LOVE them. Simple, complicated, whatever. Send them my way. {alissa.packer@gmail.com}

Thanks.

Favorite Things Party

My sister-in-law Lauren threw a Favorite Things Party a few months ago. Apparently, they are all the rage. It looked like so much fun that I jumped on the bandwagon and threw my own. It was a blast. I invited friends from my old ward, so it was doubly fun because I hadn't seen most of these people for a while. 

The list:

Mabu dishcloth (also known as Duzi)

Method lavender all-purpose spray

Meyer's dish soap

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory white caramel apple

Notepad mousepad

Trader Joe's Bean Dip

Almond/coconut milk + hot chocolate + pero (drinking it as I type and loving it)

Toilet paper + 100 hour candle + can opener

Old Fashioned Soft Caramel + popcorn

Village Natural's Therapy Body Wash

Clementines

Sourdough yeast starter + Natural Yeast Cookbook

Burt Bees Lip Balm + BabyGanics hand sanitizer

Silicone Spatula

Ribbon that makes presents instantly cute

EOS lip balm + wrapping paper cutter

Items that did not make the list, but would if they could have been procured:

Sonoma Syrup Vanilla Extract

Pirate O's Roasted Tomato and Hazelnut Pesto Sauce

Windex Outdoor Cleaner Kit

Cousins

New Year's Eve 2012

We rung in the New Year  right this time around. A stark contrast to our usual go to bed at 10 and feel kind of lame, but kind of happy you're not going to be tired the next day. No sirree. Not this year. Good friends, fun family, lots of food, movies, fireworks and a sleepover. Happy New Year!

Our Lugano copy. So so good.

The kids feasted on pasta while we ate steak. Totally fair.

A healthy selection of drinks. Thank you Brett.

"Cupcake! Cupcake!" -Ava

These may not look like much, but they were to die for. Literally. They might take a year or two off your life. Totally worth it.

Check out the sparkly shirt. "Happy" is stitched next to the heart. We do it right, I tell you.

 You Tube'd the ball drop at 9:00. Happy New Year! No one's the wiser. I don't think Ella will fall for this one again.

Thanks Stevens, Wrides and Crosbys. Here's to a fantastic 2013!

Christmas 2012

It was a really great year. On Christmas Eve it was a blustery blizzardy mess, but the fact that we were going to have a White Christmas made up for all the inconvenience. Christmas day was perfection--sunny with a fresh blanket of snow.

Ella and Anna are old enough to get excited about Christmas. Anna is obsessed with Nativities. I'm not sure if it was the live Nativity we went to, or seeing the life-sized one on temple square, but she loves playing with each piece, complete with narration "Where Baby Jesus go? Were Baby Jesus Mommy go?" From Santa Ella wanted a Dream Light and Anna simply wanted a treat, although a few days before Christmas she threw a Pillow Pet in there, too. Thank heavens Santa has access to Amazon! 

Brad and Alisha, Doug and Janet and Grandma Packer joined us for Christmas Eve dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pie...you'd think we had room service on Thanksgiving and were making up for it :) It was delicious and so fun to see everyone. We missed Aaron, Greg and Lauren---maybe next year we'll figure out a way to all be together!

Nutcracker

Ella and Janet went to the Nutcracker on Christmas Eve. Janet said that Ella was either totally enthralled or flopped on the seat next to her, bored to tears. Candy and drinks at intermission helped.

                               

Thanksgiving, 2012

yes, I know it is Christmas Day and I am blogging about Thanksgiving. better late than never?

We had a once in a lifetime Thanksgiving this year.  The stars aligned, and somehow Duke was playing in a tournament in the Bahamas, Janet was turning 60, and every single member of the Doug Packer family made it down to Atlantis to celebrate, eat turkey and, most importantly, watch Duke win the Battle for Atlantis.

Watching a Duke game with her grandchildren. I don't know if Janet has ever had more fun.

The kids did surprisingly well during the games. Anna didn't make it all the way through, but close. Those are tired eyes.

We were close to the action. The games were in the converted hotel ballroom. Not a bad seat in the house.

Duke  (then #5) beat #2 Louisville. Of course they did. This was Janet's birthday.

Room service Thanksgiving dinner

We tried to get a family picture. Dress code: Khaki and white. I forgot Ella's dress, my shirt and Anna's dress. Sweet.

I remembered my white pants, but at the last minute wore my khakis. Way to ruin the pic, Alissa. At least Momo, the photographer, had us place our hands naturally, so that pretty much saved the picture.

It was a totally calm, overcast day. Perfect for pictures.

Thanks, Packers, for a great great trip. 

Lauren and Alisha did their blog posts in a more timely manner. And with better pictures. Check 'em out. 

How we roll

There are a million blogging things to catch up on, and things of much more weight and importance in the world right now. But, for a bit of levity, here is a video of what Ella, Anna and I stumbled upon on our drive through Alpine tonight. A light with crazy lights and a sign that said, "Tune into 95.3 FM." So we did. We were treated to drive by Christmas Carols/Light show. And then this one. Enjoy.


 

30 Days of Thanks #19

I am thankful that 2 days before we leave on our Thanksgiving Packer Family vacation, Ella does NOT have strep. 

I am also thankful for my cousin Kristen, who is doing an amazing job pitch-hitting for me while I search for a nanny. Ella and Anna love her--and why wouldn't they? She makes cookies, brings sprinkles, and decorates Thanksgiving Turkeys with them. Thanks!!!

30 Days of Thanks #18

After 8 years of having Sacrament meeting during the final hour of church, we finally have it first. The sacrament last schedule never bothered me until I had kids. But helping Anna stay relatively quiet during the first hour of church is a whole lot easier than helping her stay quiet during the third hour of church. Hallelujah...Sacrament first!

30 Days of Thanks #17

And....we're back. After over a week without internet and TV, Ryan is home from Australia and we are online once again. I've been neglecting blogging, and honestly, I'm to tired to try and back-blog.  And since we are going out of town for Thanksgiving, my 30 Days of Thanks is going to be a little lean this year  (which is ironic because I have loads of good things to be thankful for).

Onto #17...

Ella Jane. Smart as a whip, kind and thoughtful, and such a good little friend. She is in the stage where she always wants to be helping me, and while it can sometimes drive me bonkers I really love it. She has done great with the move. A few unexpected meltdowns over silly things, but mostly just excited to be in the new house. She is such a good little girl. Thankful to be her mom.

30 Days of Thanks #12

I was feeling a little tiny bit sorry for myself because I don't have Internet or TV and still have piles of boxes to unpack. And then Thayer was inspired to send me this link.

http://vimeo.com/53357089

And I watched it. And I was proud to belong to this church. And proud of my family in NYC for wearing their yellow vests on Saturday. And I was grateful to have a new beautiful home with boxes to unpack. Thanks Thayer.

(Since this post was written on my phone it isn't an actual link. You'll have to cut and paste it into your browser. But it's worth it. Promise.)