Month 13

Weight: 21 lbs 15 oz. (31st percentile) Harrison actually dropped a little weight since his last official "weigh-in."  Nothing to be concerned about, his Dr simply said that since he's been walking/running and so physically active he burns a lot of calories a day.

Height:  30.25 inches (57th percentile)

New words: "Good", "Thank you", Nana, "Moo" (for cow), "woof woof" (for dog)

Favorites: Reading books--both with others as well on his own, stacking things and then knocking them over, putting his toys into his toy box (really?? awesome!), sitting in his chair.

Other news:  Harrison is done with bottles!  I was very relaxed when it came to weaning him off the bottles and essentially he got bored with them before I decided he was done.  He has 7 (yes, 7) different kinds of sippy cups now.  All of which he will use...now.  He began the transition not liking much of anything in the way of sippy cups, but now thankfully will drink out of anything.  We have begun to work with him on drinking from regular cups as well.  

Harrison went to see Santa this month!  We weren't sure just what to expect from him since last year he was only a month old and had no idea what was going on.  Harrison took it in stride even cracking a smile while Santa talked to him about joining his Elf Training program.  We weren't able to get a smile for his picture, but I have to say he was quite the dapper little man!

Harrison has definitely entered his Toddler mode with tantrums becoming a regular occurrence   It is not uncommon for Harrison to throw his whole body to the ground and cry.  There is no rhyme or reason as to why he does it as of now.  While he continues to establish his independence, Daniel and I are trying to take everything in stride.  I have found myself on more than one occasion reciting "he is just a baby, this is how he communicates" 

Harrison continues to be such a loving child who now will back up to you in order to sit in your lap.  He will bring you books to read to him, and lay his head on your shoulder.  I pray he will always be such a cuddly boy!

Happy 1st Birthday Party!

On November 10th we celebrated Harrison's first birthday with a party at the New Brighton Community Center.  We decided to go with a baseball themed party, thinking that it would be easier to do than something character-based (i.e. Bob the Builder) That turned out not to be the case thanks to Pinterest!  A huge, huge thank you goes out to my sister Emily who used her artistic talent to help me with the amazing invitations, decorations and most importantly, the set-up!  I realized once again that I am not a party planner, nor do I really enjoy the stress that accompanies it.  Thank you to everyone who helped get everything set up in time (and taken down at the end!)  

Harrison's party invitation

We decided to have a hot dog bar to go with our baseball theme.  We included ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, pickles, pineapple, chili and cheese.  YUM!

There is no such thing as a baseball game without cracker jacks! We weren't allowed to provide peanuts due to allergy risk, so we opted for cotton candy instead.

We chose to have our guests sign a baseball bat to be hung in Harrison's room.

The birthday boy all dressed up and ready for his guests to arrive!

Enjoying his birthday grub!

Present time!

Typical reaction to something fuzzy!

It was about this time that Harrison was getting tuckered out.  He got a little fussy during presents so it was time to reboot with a little sugar!

Not sure about the cake at first

"Mmmmm this is pretty good!"

"Okay, yes.  I like this stuff"

Carb coma.

Thankfully our room had a big kitchen sink for Harrison's impromptu Birthday Bath! I did not realize until after that t his was actually Harrison's first ever bath in a sink.  How did we go a whole year without needing to use a sink?!

Happy Birthday Harrison!

We had so much fun celebrating his birthday with you all!

Bye-Bye Baby, Hello Toddler

1 year old.  Wow.  It is very common to hear parents talk about how fast the time goes by, but it really is amazing.  It seems like just last week we were bringing him home.  Yet when I take the time to think about all of the changes and "new" things we've accomplished over the last year it is easy to see how long he's been with us now.  From adjusting to his routine to sleep training, starting solids, teething, rolling, crawling, walking, talking.  It has been a very busy, but exciting year. I am very happy that I decided to document Harrison's accomplishments and stages in this blog.  While it is fun to give others a peek into our lives and keep up to date with how Harrison is doing, I find it so enjoyable to sit down every once in a while and read his story from the beginning--starting with my first post after finding out I was pregnant.  I will so greatly enjoy sharing this with him when he's older. Here is to the end of year one and the beginning of our adventures in Toddlerhood!

Weight:   22 lbs

Height:  28.25 inches

Shoe size: 5 (holy buckets!)

Diaper size: 4

Clothes size: 18 month shirts, 12 month pants -- Harrison has developed his "toddler tummy" !

Teeth: 11.  4 on top, 4 on bottom, and 3 molars.

Sleep: 11-12 hours/night.  1 nap of 1.5 hours. 2nd nap only once in a while. We like to call it "Harrison's quiet time in his crib"
Physical:  Harrison is a very strong little boy.  He is often seen carrying things around the room (a Swiffer and his bouncy chair are two of his biggest accomplishments!)

Personality:  Love bug!  Harrison loves to cuddle and sit on laps.  He is also very social with other babies and has made quite a few buddies at daycare.  Daniel and I were not surprised to hear he befriended the baby who knew how to open the doors.  Harrison is also learning more on how to make his needs (or more specifically, wants) known.  There have been a few tantrums so far and Daniel and I are getting a possible glimpse of the next few years!

First Halloween!

Favorite toys:  Crawl tubes, ball pits, push toys.  His favorite activity in particular right now is to take his toys and throw them over the top of one of his gates and yell "Uh oh!"

Other Activities:  Harrison enjoys soft cover books, swim lessons, dancing (to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, and the Little Einsteins theme song), playing with the cats, being chased, and peek-a-boo. Harrison will now say "Boo" back!  Harrison also enjoys walking around with his eyes closed or walking backwards.  I guess he felt the need to mix things up a bit :)  One of my favorite Harrison activities is tickling.  This little boy is INCREDIBLY ticklish!  On a few occasions he has come and sit down in my lap and stuck his feet out at me, wanting to play "This little piggy..."

Swimming!

"I think I'll just take a nap while we're here..."

Blowing bubbles--well, Mommy is.

Speech:  Mama, Dada, Kitty, Bye-Bye, Uh-oh, Boo, Baby, and  "Mmmmmm" for foods he likes.  Harrison has also learned how to sign "more."  I stopped with the sign language a month or so ago, but apparently he is still picking it up from daycare! 

Sometimes one lovey isn't enough...

Foods:  Harrison would live off fruit if you let him.  His current favorites are mandarin oranges and pears.  He also loves cottage cheese, grilled cheese, turkey, and fish.  He is still avoiding all veggies unless given to him from a jar of baby food. -- Diced cooked carrots= No.  Carrots from a jar= Eats the whole thing.

Best Buds

Here is to your first year Harrison!  We love you more and more each day and are so blessed to have you in our lives. It has been a gift watching you grow over the past 12 months and we anxiously await for what you will do next!

Love,

Mama and Dada xoxo

Harrison Months 1-12

11 Months Old!

11 months.  Holy guacamole.  For the last few days or so I have found myself watching Harrison go about his normal activities and simply taking it in. How far we have come! With the big first birthday just around the corner its hard not to be really excited, yet kind of sad.  My baby will no longer be a "baby" and we will be entering the toddler years.  I have made it a goal for this next month that I will not be sad, I will not wish for the days past, but will  live in the moment of each day.

Harrison has been growing in leaps and bounds (quite literally) as of late.  He is now running.  Of course this isn't quite the same as an adult running, but his little legs do try to move his body as fast as they can.  He has also learned how fun it is to be chased.  With his dad or I in the other room, Harrison will come peak around the corner to get our attention-- a "come and get me" look-- then turn around and book it as fast as he can down the hallway.  The cutest part is his little peak over his shoulder to see how close you are. This is followed by a big belly laugh when you've caught him.  I love that each month a new activity and a new understanding of his world appears.

I think we may have had another growth spurt! Tight jammies!

Harrison has also learned how to clap and smiles with glee by our enthusiastic praise.  We have been struggling lately with his eating. Harrison seems to have regressed some and has been putting up a fight when it comes to eating table foods.  His favorite time to applaud himself is when he manages to eat something like a noodle.  "Yay me!" he seems to say.  Another new activity is dancing.  Harrison has started "dancing" to his favorite songs (The Little Einstein's theme song, or The Wiggles).

Harrison and his lunch buddy Winston

Harrison continues to be quite the snuggler.  He is very into sitting on laps now and will curl right up.  He also loves giving kisses.  We have progressed from "Harrison, can you give Mama a kiss?" to Harrison initiating the kisses on his own (melt my heart!!)

First time in leaf pile!

The past month has also been a blur of booger and sneezes.  Harrison developed a cold starting the first day he went to daycare and while it has come and gone in severity I don't think it ever quite went away.  I've settled with the idea that the boogies may just be part of normalcy for awhile.  He handles is pretty well and so far has managed to continue sleeping through the night, but man do his sheets look gross when he wakes up.  Laundry has definitely ramped up significantly around here.

In other news, we have a third and fourth word!  Harrison's third word was "bye-bye" along with his little wave.  It sounds a little bit more like "die-die" but I choose to ignore that.  The fourth word was "kitty"  which sounds a little more like "giddy" but he definitely gets his point across as he runs across the living room chasing the cat!

Hangers are a new fave

We also have another tooth!  Yesterday at the doctor's office while Harrison was getting his flu shot I was finally able to get a good look in his mouth and the tooth that broke through was definitely a molar!  Three of its four corners have broken though.

For the last few weeks now Harrison has gotten to hang out with his cousin Noelle on the days I don't have to work.  It has been such a joy to see those two interact together.  It is very apparent how much they learn from each other.  In just the time we've spent over there, Harrison is already more vocal and has improved on his "bye-bye's" and clapping.  I guess it helps when there is another little one to do it back to him!  It has been especially fun for me since I was never really around when they were together the first time and I've been able to see first hand how much they like each other.

Harrison and Noelle--11 months

With the planning of Harrison's birthday party under way, we look forward to what the rest of Month 11 will bring and anticipate what is to come in the next phase!