Stephanie Howell

wordless (ish?!?!?!) wednesday

Oh, sweet Lucy.

I know. It's so so so hard being three.

No one understands what you are trying to say, and that makes you mad. It causes you to talk louder (and really close to Mommy's face) and gesture wildly.

And then Mama STILL doesn't get what you are saying. And that? Makes you fusstawated, as you say.

It's hard having to choose a different princess dress to wear every day. And then choosing the accessories too? Exhausting.

It's horrible when you try to kiss your sisters but decide to lick their faces instead. And then they scream!

The humanity.

Mommy won't let you brush your teeth 7 times a day for an hour each time, even though you ask repeatedly. And she says "No Ma'am!!!" when you suck the toothpaste right out of the tube.

She doesn't let you have cake for breakfast or yayyipops in bed.

Sigh.

It's horrible.

Your sisters are always up in your business, your mommy won't let you use the grown up scissors. You're not allowed to pull Cate's hair. Your daddy says "No No! Softer!" when you chunk things at him as hard as you can.

Your favorite song is "I yike fooooood" "I yike chicken " "I yike pizza" "I yike freeeee fries" and your mean mommy won't give you those things for every meal.

Double sigh.

Is it any wonder you are perturbed?

I think not.

Harper Loses Her First Tooth- A Video I Will Treasure Forever.

We've waited and waited and WAITED.

And the little girl who is not very good at waiting...well she has been very patient.

Although she wonders (repeatedly, and audibly) why (at nearly seven) hasn't she lost a tooth?

A bit ago her first tooth started to wiggle.

And I snapped this photo of her smile. Made up of tiny teeth and so much joy.

That sweet smile she's had for so long.

2 nights ago she galloped down the stairs, her voice shaking.

MOMMY! DADDY!!! MY TOOTH IS ABOUT TO FALL OUT!

She was so scared. And SO excited. Jimmy took her in the bathroom and helped her wiggle it.

But there was blood. And she didn't like that. Not one little bit.

She panicked. Big time. And asked me to come take over.

Disclaimer: I am NOT good with wiggly teeth. They gross me out. I'm not proud of it but it's true. :) Major skeeve. I had goosebumps the entire time and NOT because I was overcome with emotion. Shudder.

I said a little prayer and started to wiggle that sucker.

After a little hyperventilating (on her end, not mine) and a LOT of reassurance and reminders to BREATHE...this happened.

Harper Loses Her First Tooth from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

That is just a tiny clip of a video that is a couple of minutes long.

I feel like being a mama is full of exhausting moments. Scary moments.

"What the hell am I doing?" moments.

It's a neverending cycle of feeling invisible. Cleaning up,

fixing messes, quelling fears, losing yourself.

But embedded in all of those moments there are these rare,glistening,magical moments that make all of the other stuff worthwile.

Like a precious jewel that you find unexpectedly. Those are the things that make the rest of the junk bearable.

That response was one of those moments. Her face and her voice when she saw that tooth in my hand? Pure.

That video will make me sob until the day I die. So innocent and joyful.

I can't stand it.

Also making my heart hurt? This note she left for the tooth fairy:

In case you can't see the note, it says:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I hope you know that it was very hard to loose my first tooth. I love you and I believe in you.

Love, Harper Howell

And here is what she found from the Tooth Fairy this morning.

Here is where I found the idea.

I made my own using PSE 9 and the "Fake Receipt" Font.

And just like that? She had a new smile.

It's amazing how different she looks. And sounds.

I am so proud of her. Of her fears, her bravery...her big heart and her tears that she so easily sheds.

She's amazing.

oxxo

S

i mean...seriously.

how can i possibly stay mad at this?

"i sy"

sigh.

if you get a chance PLEASE look at lucy's face (she's on the left) when i ask her if she was naughty. right before she pokes cate in the eye bahahaha!

it's a quick look but it's SO sadie. scary. heeeee!

 

i sy from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

i am a princess

i know i said i'd share the winners from the past 2 giveaways, yesterday and i didn't. but i promise it WILL get done this weekend. it's written in my agenda, so now it is set in stone. hahaha!

i just wanted to quickly share this amazing video with y'all. i think disney got in my brain and did a commercial on why we think it is okay to do the princess thing.

we do the "princess thing" THIS way. we always have and always will. and i love that disney agrees.

hope y'all enjoy as much as i did.

happy saturday!

 

H+S sing some Carly Rae

That's right. The internet is ablaze w/ Call Me Maybe lip dubs. You know the Howell girls always have to be on trend. :)

They sing this song day and night and they crack me up because they get so into it. Especially Sadie...who is NEVER in to ANYTHING. :)

Note:Yes, the car is parked. In the driveway. Please don't ask if I was driving, hahaha.

 

Sadie and Harper Sing Call Me Maybe from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

now THAT is a gift

**ETA- I changed the link from a Hulu video to a YouTube video so that all of my awesome international readers can watch too :)**

This gave me goosebumps everywhere on my body and brought me to tears (verge of weeping!) last night.

I wanted to share the beauty with you. Have a beautiful and blessed weekend.

Love you all!

xoxo

somewhere over the rainbow

is a little girl who is VERY serious about singing this song.

she sings it all day and all night and even though sometimes it drives me a tad NUTS it also makes me laugh. she's SO stinkin' earnest about it.

here's a post-dinner performance from last week.

note: if kids who sing the same thing over and over are annoying to you, then don't watch the video. don't say i didn't warn you. :)

 

happy friday!

xxo

somewhere over the rainbow from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

she's got the moves like dragon

do you think adam levine would be impressed?

how could he not?

teeheeee!

happy monday y'all!!!

xoxo

s

 

video thursday- harper's fashion advice part 3

thanks so much for your input re: whether you would want me to teach a class, what you would like to see, etc. i really appreciate it! if you want to contribute, but haven't...please leave a comment on yesterday's post!

today's 'ashion video=a hot mess.

h decided that she didn't want to talk about shoes b/c it was "lame-o". so she just asked me to tape her doing totally RANDOM stuff instead.

we taped it this morning, hence her puffy eyes and my more-mannish-than-usual voice.

sadie runs in at the end, but i had to cut it off b/c she had no pants on. HA!

you are going to have to turn up the volume b/c she's a bit mumble-y, especially when she talks about audrey hepburn and black. :)

miss harper has SO much fun making these videos and wants to do one next week, but she's run out of ideas. i thought maybe y'all could leave her "fashion questions" and she could do a Q&A...i want her to be able to keep making these b/c i swear they are the highlight of her week. HA! i'd love to surprise her with questions! :)

 

okay, here you go...enjoy the randomness.

xo

s

 

 

video thursday- harper's fashion advice part 2

where do i begin.

a. she thought i said "panties" instead of peonies? um, awwwkward. please note what J says after she says panties.

b. TENDER?????

c. what in the Jose was Sadie doing with a binkie?

d. yes, she thinks that headbands are called "hus-bands". i never correct her when she says words wrong, one day she will say everything right and i will miss these days!

e.i think she is the coolest kid in the universe for saying that "sugarettes" are not a cool cessory.

f. sorry this is so loooong. girl is a bit of a scatterbrain. HEE!

 

 

and also- here's a little video bonus.

the vocal stylings of the howell sisters, who are LOVING bruno mars these days.

please note that i have convinced them it's "fun" instead of "dumb" and "dancing SHOES" instead of "dancing juice".

 

 

have a beautiful st.patrick's day!!

xoxo

s