Twelve Month Post

Harrison is one year old!

From Week 51: Birthday Party with Family

From Week 51

Favorite Things: Singing/talking, dancing to music, balls, books, blocks, cars, pears, eggs, Backyardigans (especially when they sing), baths are still his favorite time of the day, petting Lilly, electronics (cell phones, blackberries, laptops, dvd players, cable boxes, etc.), the DVD player in Mom’s new car, birthday presents

From Week 49

Least Favorite Things: Being sick, cutting teath, getting in his carseat, being held still, wearing hats, not getting exactly what I want (spoiled a little?)

From Week 51: Birthday Party with Family

Tricks: Walking (!!!), lots of new words (baby, “baba” (bottle), go, no,) plus all the old ones (mama, dada, ball, doggie, kitty, hi, bye), he tries to copy most things he hears and makes lots of funny sounds, he gives kisses and hugs, waves hello and goodbye, feeds himself with a spoon

From Week 51

Foods Facts: Harrison is using a sippy cup more and more and is down to only two bottles everyday, he feeds himself at most meals (he is getting better using a spoon everyday) and his favorite foods are eggs, pears, turkey, cheese, applesauce, bananas, pudding and yogurt. He had his first taste of ice cream this month and loved it! He also had birthday cake (white cake with white icing) this month. We expected him to dig in with both hands but he was surprisingly neat. He just picked a little off at a time put it in his mouth.

From Week 49

Sleeping schedule: His sleeping is about the same. Other than the week of teething and sickness, Harrison has been a pretty good sleeper. I think he sleeps through the night (10 – 12 hours) about 4 nights a week. The other night are usually just brief wake ups and we can usually pat his back and get him back to sleep. He also seems to really enjoy napping these days and has been a really good about taking naps this month.

From Week 51

Big Events:
Harrison took his first steps this month. He walked right across the living room and was such a good walker that we think he was practicing when we weren’t looking.

Harrison started Kindermusik this month. He and I go for one hour every Monday. He loves all the singing and dancing. He especially likes the musical eggs and the teacher’s Cabbage Patch doll. He and his new friend Gracely also like getting in trouble and exploring the classroom when they are suppose to be participating in class.

Harrison also started Mother’s Day Out this month (halleluiah!!!). He goes every Wednesday for 5 ½ hours. After the first day, his teachers said he was a really happy little boy. They said he loved music time and he really loved to talk (sounds like they already know him pretty well).

Harrison cut another tooth this month. He cut his bottom left lateral incisor this month – he now has seven teeth. We know the right tooth with be cutting through in the next few days.

Harrison went to Pensacola and Fairhope for his first birthday*. We celebrated with both sets of Grandparents and his Uncle Matt and Aunt CJ (who is expecting a little boy in the next few weeks!)

*Birthday post coming soon.

Eleven Month Post!

Harrison is 11 months old!

From Week 47

Favorite Things: Balls, Books, taking the mustard out of the refrigerator (I don’t know why), climbing, drinking from glasses, throwing food on the ground (or to Lilly), tackling Lilly, stepping on Lilly, pulling Lilly’s fur (poor Lilly!), pulling hair, playing in the water, driving things (and making vroom noises), talking/screaming/singing, wearing his sunglasses, the Backyardigans theme song, his cousins Mattie and Austin, eating (especially snacks)

From Week 44

Least Favorite Things: Holding still to have his diaper changed or clothes changed, being put in his car seat when he doesn’t want to, having things taken away from him, wearing little hats

From Week 45

Tricks: Climbing up on the furniture, walking along furniture and walls, he has taken a few independent steps but not enough to really call him a walker, putting his face under water, parroting what we say (some of the funnier words have been “captain,” “fishies” ), he is now using some words in context (“dada”, “mama,” “ball,” “bye bye,” “dog,” “illy”), fake laughing to get attention, clapping for himself and others, stacking toys and blocks, sorting toys, hugging, melting his mommy and daddy’s heart over and over again

From Week 43

Foods Facts: Harrison still loves to eat. He is eating a lot more solid food and I haven’t found a food he won’t eat yet. However, if he isn’t in the mood for a particular food he will spit it out at you or throw it on the ground for Lilly. Harrison particularly loves eating off of other people’s plates and has come to realize that mom and dad usually have something worth begging for. Harrison also got a special treat this month and had a very small piece of cake. He loved it! I think his first birthday cake will be a sight to see!

Sleeping schedule: Just when I thought we would never get any sleep ever again, Harrison decided that he was ready to start sleeping through the night. We still have plenty of bad nights mixed in but we all really appreciate the nights that we don’t get a baby wake up call. He has also shifted his nap schedule a bit. Most days Harrison only takes one long nap in the middle of the day. He still likes to take a cat nap in his high chair or in the car seat every now and then.

Big Events:

From Week 44

This was Harrison’s first 4th of July. Unfortunately a few unplanned circumstances prevented us from seeing as many fireworks as we were hoping to. Despite a few setbacks we were able to see the Germantown fireworks. We spent the day with our friends Don and Heather. Harrison had a lot of fun crawling in the back of the truck while we all waited for the fireworks. Once the fireworks started he was spellbound. He loved all the lights and loud noises. He wasn’t even the slightest bit scared!

Harrison started going to the nursery at the YMCA this month. So far he has loved the playtime and mom has really loved the opportunity to visit the gym and have a little independence. He is really excited to get dropped off with the other children and most days he seems a little sad when it is time to go home.

His Coverdale Grandparents came up to Memphis this month to take care of Harrison while Sam and I went to Veronica Ayala’s wedding in New Orleans. I think Harrison kept his Grandparents on their toes. Thank you two so much for keeping him and giving us a weekend away!

From Week 46

We had another very special visitor this month. My cousin’s daughter Mattie came to Memphis to play with Harrison for a week. While Mattie was here we visited the zoo, went to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks march, went to the pool, played in the park, and did all sorts of other fun activities. I know Harrison misses his playmate.

From Week 47

Harrison, Mattie and I travelled to Birmingham towards the end of the month for a vacation at the lake. We joined my Mom, Aunt Mary, Melanie, Austin, and Suzanne at the lake. It was a fun week of shopping, swimming, eating, talking and lots and lots of laughing.

From Week 43

The good times keep flying by! I haven’t gotten to post to the blog as often as I would like – we are just having way too much fun to stop and look at the computer. I can’t promise I will be any better as the months roll by but I will try to hit the highlights as I have time.

I love my new shoes!

Harrison doesn't spend much time in shoes yet but who can resist these adorable red shoes? These were a gift from his Uncle Chris and Karen. His feet still have a little growing to do (they will be perfect by the time he is walking on his own). Even without a perfect fit, Harrison enjoyed taking them out for a trial run in the backyard.

If you would like a pair of your own, you can get them from Rileyroos.

Ten Month Post!

From Week 39

Harrison is 10 months old!

From Week 41

Favorite Things: Books (he loves to read and to be read to), balls of any kind, music, Lilly’s food and water bowl, being tickled under his neck, the refrigerator, the dishwasher, toilet paper, playing in the water, anything electronic that lights up (laptops, cellphones, printer, tv, etc)

From Blogger Pictures

Least Favorite Things: Having his diaper changed (it sounds like he is being tortured!), being told “no,” not being held when he wants to be, being held when he doesn’t want to be, going to sleep – we have had a really tough time with bedtime this month

From Week 42

Tricks: Crawling with his belly off the ground, cruising across the furniture (he gets braver and braver every day), making “vroom” sounds when he pushes a toy car, locating a few toys by name (i.e. – “Harrison, where is your ball?”), talking a lot (“dada”, “mama”, “illy”, “ook” (book), “itty” (kitty)), climbing, waving bye, gesturing to be picked up, getting into trouble in a split second!

From Week 43

Foods Facts: By the end of this month Harrison is having three meals a day, three bottles a day and one afternoon snack. His favorite food is banana but he will eat just about anything you give him. He loved spaghetti noodles – we skipped the sauce this time. On a side note, keeping Harrison from eating Lilly’s dog food is a constant struggle!

From Week 43

Sleeping schedule: Harrison is finally sleeping through the night consistently. Unfortunately, he has decided that it is much more fun to be awake and his been fighting going to sleep this month. We are working hard to get his sleep schedule back on track. Most nights he will go to sleep with a little rocking (and the occasional “cry it out” approach) but it doesn’t take very much to throw his schedule completely off track.

From Week 40

Big Events:

Harrison attended Vacation Bible School at Germantown United Methodist Church – Harrison was in the Little Bird Group but was often moved up to the 1 year old room since he liked watching the older children play. Harrison was very well behaved all week and even brought home some artwork (a footprint) on the last day of VBS.

Harrison helped his Daddy and Uncle Matt with some home repairs this month. He also enjoyed loving on his Aunt CJ while they visited us in Memphis. I know Harrison can’t wait for his cousin to make his debut in September!

Harrison celebrated Father’s Day by giving his Daddy some grilling tools as well as a card with his own personal message (“dadadadada”). He even signed the card himself!

From Week 42

This month really flew by! I feel like we just celebrated his 9 month birthday. I guess it is his new mobility but it seems like the weeks go by much faster than they ever have before!

What Being a Daddy Means...

He loves me unconditionally...

From Daddy Pics

He takes care of the dirty stuff...

From Daddy Pics

He teaches me about football...

From Daddy Pics

He is willing to look a little foolish...

From Daddy Pics

He tells me stories...

From Daddy Pics

He keeps me snuggly and warm...

From Daddy Pics

He takes me to church...

From Daddy Pics

He reads to me...

From Daddy Pics

He helps me to soar to new heights...

From Daddy Pics

He plays a little rough...

From Daddy Pics

He plays sweetly..

From Daddy Pics

He shows me new things...

From Daddy Pics

He teaches me to drive...

From Daddy Pics

He helps me see things from a new perspective...

From Daddy Pics

He is strong...

From Daddy Pics

He is never very far...

From Daddy Pics

He is MY Dad!!!

From Daddy Pics

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Vacation Bible School

Harrison attended VBS last week.

From Week 41

I was volunteering as a craft station leader for the 1st graders. Since Harrison hasn't had a lot of time apart from me, I was a little nervous about leaving him for a little over 4 hours each day. We had 85 first graders coming to the craft station each day and I knew the other volunteers would really miss me if I had to step away to comfort a fussy baby.

Harrison really exceeded my expectations. He was a little angel! He loved the nursery and especially loved watching the older (1 year olds) playing.

He seemed excited to go to Bible School each day and seemed a little sad to go home each day. Luckily for me, he was really tired after the long morning and took lots of great naps each afternoon. VBS was such a success, I have started looking for Mother's Day Out programs to enroll him in one day a week.

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Weekend Activities

We had some very special visitors last weekend. Sam's brother Matt and his wife CJ (who is expecting a little boy in September)came up to visit us. What a fun weekend!

The guys worked on some home repairs.

From Week 40

CJ and I did lots of visiting and talking about pregnancy and labor. She is such a cute mom to be! I can't wait to meet Harrison's future playmate. I am so excited that he is going to have a little cousin to play with.

Harrison loved all the attention from his aunt and uncle. He also loved watching all the activity around the house. He was NOT a fan of his daddy being so far away but luckily he is also very easily distracted. I don't think it will be long before he will be helping out with home repairs.

From Week 40

Nine Month Post

Harrison is 9 months old!

From Week 36

From Week 36

Favorite Things: Animal Train Toy, bouncy balls, bubbles, playing in the pool, playing “Where’s Harrison?” (aka Peek-a-boo), reading (eating) books, watching and petting animals, music (when Harrison hears music he immediately stops what he is doing to listen and often sings and dances along), climbing mommy, daddy, and furniture

From Week 37

Least Favorite Things: holding still to have his diaper changed (we have to sing “ABC’s” to distract him – he usually joins in with his own version), changing clothes (it’s kind of like trying to bathe a cat!), having his face wiped/cleaned, having things taken away from him, the baby gate, the vacuum cleaner

From Week 37

Tricks: Sings and dances when he hears music, sits up by himself, pulls up on anything that holds still (furniture, the dog, mom and dad), cruises across the furniture (every now and then he takes a couple very daring steps by himself), crawling (which is still more like a slither than a crawl), falling on his fanny

From Week 38

Foods Tried: Harrison has three meals a day and one afternoon snack. I try to feed him a small version of what we eat most nights. He still loves applesauce but he is especially fond of food he can eat all by himself. He loves banana pieces, mashed potatoes, banana puffs, and cheese curls (the baby food version). He is definitely a southern boy and loved trying his first taste of cheese grits.

From Week 37

Sleeping schedule: Harrison is a decent sleeper. He takes two naps during the day (and usually one very short nap). He falls asleep around 8 or 9 and wakes up around 6 or 7. He was waking up every night but there have been a few nights mixed in where he has slept completely through the night. He does great when he isn’t teething or when he doesn’t have a cold – unfortunately there have been a lot of both this month.

From Week 37

Big Events:
• Weekend with the Coverdale grandparents while Sam and I dad visited Nashville for a wedding

• Week in Fairhope with the Heacock grandparents while Sam studied for an exam (he passed) – Harrison loved my parents pets, especially the “itties”

• Harrison switches from nursing to formula – this switch was surprisingly easy for all involved

• Harrison becomes incredibly mobile and quickly goes from crawling to sitting up on his own to climbing up on EVERYTHING. This is nothing stopping him now!

• We take a family trip to the Memphis Zoo over Memorial Day weekend – Harrison loved the monkeys and the polar bears.

• Closes out the month with a cold (boo!) and two new teeth (top incisors) – neither slows the little guy down.

From Week 36

Mom is having to come up with clever ways to keep me out of trouble!