Harper's First Christmas

Harper's first Christmas was great! My mom came up to visit and stay for a few days over the weekend. It was nice to be at home and just relax. Clark's parents stayed in Midland to be with Dustin since he only had Christmas Day off of work but, we were able to video chat with them a couple of times which was nice!

Here are some pictures of the morning.

Christmas cards!

Clark putting together the red wagon!

Her first ornament.

Christmas Morning with Granny

Can you spot Harper?

Loving all the presents!

Her first cell phone!

Why play with toys when you can chew on instruction manuals?

Her first walker...it won't be long!

It was a wonderful weekend full of good food and family. Hope you all had a great Christmas too and have a safe and Happy New Years!!

Santa Baby!

Well, we finally did it! I couldn't bear to take Harper to the mall to meet Santa. Something about waiting in line with a bunch of germy kids really freaked me out and I wasn't about to spend my Saturday attempting it. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with it, but that would just stress me out. So, low and behold, last week while making my weekly Central Market run, I saw a sign at the check-out saying that Santa would be there this Saturday from 8:30-10.

So, Clark and I woke up this morning and headed that way. There was no line and you could use your own camera! It was perfect. Here are the pictures, enjoy!

Success!

Slight Oversight...

So my good friend Cassie, from Virginia, used to always ask me when she could be featured on my blog. I would always reply to her with, "when you come to Texas and visit me." Finally, after about a year and a half, the Yankee finally made her way to the "Great State of Texas" for her official tour. We really only had a couple of things on the agenda. Dinner at Lonesome Dove and Lunch at Love Shack. What do these two restaurants have in common you ask? Chef Tim Love (CTL) of course!

Cassie has an obsession, no, an infatuation rather, with CTL and I really think her visit was just a last ditch effort for him to meet her and fall madly in love...or something along those lines. So, Friday night, we fulfilled her wishes, and our reservation and headed to Lonesome Dove for dinner. Of course, because I am VIP and this is how we roll :) CTL was there smiling to greet us as we entered the restaurant. At this point, I had to remind her of her name and also to quit shaking the hand of CTL so enthusiastically.

The rest of the weekend was so much fun, I took Cassie to her first college tailgate at the TCU game versus Air Force, and we had a wonderful time catching up and hanging out with Harper. I am so thankful for our friendship and so glad that she was able to leave her own family to come and play for the weekend.

Long story short, I forgot to keep my end of the deal and post about her trip. Considering we didn't take any pictures, she will have to come back down here for another shot soon!

Back in the Saddle Again...

After a long break from blogging, I am pleased to come back and provide you with some tidbits of Rucker Life! I told Clark back in October that I was pretty much done with blogging until we got a new computer. It would take nearly an hour to post and upload pictures because our computer was so slow. SO, this past Thanksgiving weekend, we headed to the apple store and finally got a new one! Merry Christmas to us!!

It's been a little bit overwhelming to figure out where to start and how to pick up writing again. There have been so many fun and exciting (I think) events in our lives and I'm sad that we don't have all of them documented here. Let me attempt to recap the last few months for you! Hope you like pictures :)

We are going to work our way backwards (because it's easier) starting with Thanksgiving!

Harper eating her Thanksgiving Dinner

Raise the Roof!

Clark and Dean

Fried Turkey Goodness.

Next Up, Baby McMillan's Shower! Friday, November 19th, we hosted a baby "party" for Larkin and Richard. This is the first baby shower that I have been to complete with a DJ. It was so much fun and it's a good thing we planned it when we did considering Larkin had sweet baby Sarah Mitchell one week later, a few weeks early!! Congratulations to the beautiful new family!!

The parents to be reenacting a classic. Haha

Laura, Sarah, Haddy & Courtney

Beth, Lisa and Lindsay

A couple weeks before then, this is what I walked into when I went to get Harper for her first bottle of the day! Her first time standing up all by herself! Very exciting and you could tell that she was so proud of herself!

On the weekend of Clark's birthday, I surprised him with a weekend trip to NYC! Our good friends Ryan & Lisa and Austin & Stacey were there too and we had so much fun celebrating all weekend long! Coincidentally, my group of friends from the school I went to in Switzerland one summer, Leysin American School, were gathering for a 12 year reunion. It was so great to see some of my friends, many of whom, I still keep in touch with. We had a great time going out!

Clark's parents were kind enough to come in and watch Harper and Richard helped me figure out a way to clear Clark's schedule for the afternoon at work. When Clark got home around noon (Richard was to pick him up to go to a meeting off site) I had Frank Sinatra "New York, New York" blaring and his bags were packed and ready. It was so much fun to plan and I am so proud of myself for keeping a secret from him for so long.

His surprised face!

Lisa, Caroline (visiting John in NJ), Stacey & I

Lisa, Stacey and I

Tourists.

Amazing brunch at Bar Americain

This beer didn't stand a chance from our group.

Austin, Clark and Ryan

Times Square!

The pictures below are from Harper's Dedication at Church in October. After the service, we had people over for a reception outside! It was a wonderful day!