Cherry Blossoms in Sepember

Spring is finally upon us! It has been a loooong winter. Temperatures have been colder than normal and we have been dealing with the Nugent Family Sickness since the beginning of June. Harper got so used to hearing us cough that she figured that was how we communicate and she started doing a little fake cough every time that she wanted our attention. Alas, winter gives way to spring, sickness turns to health, and those little fake coughs have been replaced with squeals. 

I went back to work at the beginning of June so Harper has been spending her days with Dee, a very nice woman in the neighborhood. Dee has another little girl she watches who is Harper's age, so she has a little buddy to play with. I am enjoying being back at work and having grown up things to do but I do miss hanging out with her during the day. This would also explain why I have not updated this thing since May.

My mother came to visit in mid-June. We had a few days of rough weather and everyone was struck with The Sickness so we were not able to show Mom around as much as we would have liked, but we did get in a few nice trips. We drove up to Kaikoura for an overnight stay so that she could see the adorable baby seals:

We also took a day trip up to the mountains and went on a seal-watching cruise in Akaroa:

Mostly we just hung out around Christchurch and Harper got to enjoy Grandma's attention:

We have started having some beautiful days and have been trying to get out to enjoy the weather when we can:

Harper just gets bigger and better every day! She now has a whopping six teeth and is starting to warm to the idea of solids. Her favorite food is probably peanut butter on toast, just like her daddy. She has started to commando crawl around the house and is loving her new freedom to explore. Yesterday she surprised Mike by getting herself up in a seated position while his back was turned. She is such a joy. My favorite time of day is first thing in the morning when she wakes up and wants to look out her window. She loves watching the cars drive by and gets this beautiful smile as she stares at the trees. She loves it when Mike flips her around or when she gets to go for walks in the backpack. 

I have posted some new pictures in the album (under the Harper and NZ photos tab), including some older ones that Mike had on his phone. 

We hope that everyone is doing well and miss you all! Would write more but we are very busy and have important places to go...