my kind of weekend.

thanks to columbus, we enjoyed a long weekend with papa. harper loves time with her daddy, and by the time friday rolls around, she's begging for his attention. and it's only fair to add that i am too! with the impeccable weather we've been enjoying, the majority of our time was spent outside together.

on monday, we headed to central park to lay down a blanket in our favorite spot and just let harper run. this age rocks and is so challenging at the same time. harps is crazy energetic(!) and would run away without looking back if we let her, so it's nice to see her run free and enjoy herself. and in the park, there is always that puppy or child she makes friends with along the way.

***as you may see, we had quite the couple of yogis practicing their moves near us, so harper was eager to show off a few moves of her own!***

 ***like, gorgeous. i can't even...***

running around central park zoo.

last week, we explored a new part of central park...the zoo!! i cannot believe that i had never taken harper to the CP zoo before. i must have walked by there a million times but never noticed it. it's tucked away quietly under the shade of the trees and is so enjoyable to walk around. harper loved roaring at the red pandas and squealed when the penguins swam inches from her face {with a nice, thick sheet of glass between them, of course}. but even more than that she LOVED the petting zoo. this girl was fearless when it came to exposing her teeny little food-bearing fingers to the sheep and goats. 

***i love the sight of the zoo surrounded by high-rises. it's nestled so nicely inside central park, away from the city's commotion, that you forget where you are...until you look up.***

***these two melted my heart as they held hands all day. emma took the lead and harps happily followed. now why can't she follow her mama like that?***

 ***i mean seriously. this girl's bravery blows my mind. i was afraid she might come back without a finger a couple times, but she didn't even flinch***

family photo shoot.

my dear friend kylie takes the most beautiful photos, and she was kind enough to take a quick family shoot before our move. in my mind, there's no backdrop more beautiful & memorable than the great central park. 

i love my family of three, and i love seeing harper's growth each day— it's so tangible. although it pains me to see her become more independent, it's true that children get even more fun as they get older. within the past week she learned to reciprocate peek-a-boo with anything she can grab. she also learned to wave, although it looks more like an arm spasm to those without mama's keen eye. luckily, she still has her daddy's calm temperament and is developing a quick wit and keen sense of emotion of those around her—she will cry when you cry and laugh when you laugh. 

oh, i love our little girl. i especially love seeing todd with our little girl. his face lights up every time he sees her. he such a great dad to harper and partner to me. life is definitely not perfect, but it feels pretty darn close when we're together. 

r&r at central park.

we met todd up at central park after work for dinner. lately, we've spent our evenings curled up on the couch watching the olympics, while spooning chocolate-covered pomegranates into our mouth at a world-record pace. so in short, it was a relief—to our minds & bellies—to spend the evening out. harper enjoyed playing with her friend's ball that she seemed to have swiped {sorry emma, we'll get that back to you} and also discovered grass. what a city girl!

blossoms in central park.

i don't know how it happened,  but last weekend i was able to convince hubs to head up to central park for a little family photoshoot. it was going to be our first official family photoshoot with harper, and i couldn't pass up the opportunity {and i wasn't about to let him pass it up for us!}

the photographer had us meet her at this ah-mazing location in the park just north of the reservoir. here, there were rows and rows and ROWS of cherry blossom trees, all lining a little hidden dirt path. what a gem of a spot that i never knew about!

after the shoot ended, i wasn't ready to leave, so we plopped down a blanket, had my brother and his girlfriend meet us with some levain cookies, and stayed in the park until the chill of the evening breeze picked up. i'm going to be so sad once these blossoms go away— not only do they make the city look so much more beautiful, but where will harper wear her cherry blossom romper??

a bunch of babes out enjoying the blossoms.

birthdays in the park.

 following tradition, we gathered in the park for a

lovely birthday get-together to celebrate mine and klane's birthdays!

it was so great.

angie was thoughtful to put it together,

and todd even surprised me with a delicious amy's bread bday cake. 

{and you know how i feel about those...}

i love all of my friends. 

we are truly lucky to have such a great group of buds.

we love you all!