Big Day for Harrison

Today was a big day for Harrison.

His day started with a walk before school...with early risers like we have you can squeeze in lots of stuff by the time many kids are just rolling out of bed :-). They are resurfacing the roads in our neighborhood so we got to see the various vehicles it takes to make that happen. I think he most enjoyed watching the front loader use its bucket to pop the reflective dots off of the middle of the road. He was cracking up at that for some reason.

After quite a viewing of vehicles we headed home and off to our first day of preschool.

On Tuesday we had our "preview" day where we spent an hour seeing the new classroom, meeting the new teachers, new kids, etc. He did pretty well there, although he was always very aware of where I was in the room and frequently took my hand to bring me back to play with him. Of the 13 kids in the class, about half of them were together last year, so he has some familiar faces which is good. He was happy to see Shane and they sat down together to try the applesauce snack, which was not a hit as far as they were concerned. Harrison filled his applesauce cup with yogurt raisins and Shane filled his with a chicken from the farm set. Let's hope they have better snacks in the future!

Today we headed off to school with three dinosaurs in tow as Harrison kept telling me he was taking them to school with him. I managed to persuade him to leave them with me, and he asked that I take them home to play while he was at school. Done!

We have the option to walk the kids to the classroom or use the car line to drop them off, where their teachers take them out of their car seats and bring them to the room (classroom doors open up to the curb so it's very convenient).

When we started school last February there were tears for quite a few weeks (OK...months) at drop off, and I always walked him into the classroom. But, right before Barrett was born I started using the car line in anticipation of having Barrett with me, and Harrison finally was OK with me leaving him.

I was sure that today he was going to have a melt down with tears and ask for me to stay, walk him him, etc. He has been saying "mommy stay school" for the past few days as we have talked about school starting again. But today, he was GREAT! We went through the car line, and his teacher that he had only just met on Tuesday took him from the car. He didn't cry, fuss or anything. Shane's mom walked Shane into the room and said she saw Harrison happily playing with animals on the floor after I'd dropped him off. Yes! This is a big step and I'm so proud of him.

When I went to pick him up, he was waiting at the classroom door (picture an open door from the room to the outside with a baby gate to prevent the kids from running away), and saw me in the car and broke out into the biggest grin. He started dancing around in circles and laughing. He was so happy to see me, it just made my heart melt. His teacher put him in the car, said he had a great day, and he just smiled and was so happy. Let's hope all of his future school days are this good.

We had to hurry home and take a nap, because after that it was time for Harrison's first dentist appointment.

He has been to the dentist with me three times now, so he's familiar with the office and the people there, but he's never been a patient. When we arrived I stopped at the desk to fill out a form for him, but he walked right back with Tiffany, the hygienist, and climbed into the chair. By the time I got back there she was telling him what she was going to do and he had his little TV (all the chairs have one) turned onto PBS.

She offered him some sunglasses to help with the light they shine on you while you are in the chair, but I had his with me so he wore them. He was so incredibly good I couldn't believe it!!!

He let her count his teeth, do a little plaque scraping, do a regular cleaning with the same tool they use to clean adult teeth, and floss!!! When she offered him toothpaste flavors, he chose bubblegum, even though he's never even had gum ever.

I was so proud of how good he was, and honestly was kind of shocked. He acted like he was closer to five years old, as far as how calm and well-behaved he was. She said she would clean kids teeth all day if they were that good, so he must have been better than most. Here are a couple of pictures of him:

What a grown up day for my little man!

Harrison is a great big brother 99% of the time. We've had a couple of incidents where he was a bit aggressive with Barrett (how else do you categorize a smack on the head? there's really no nice way to say it...) but other than that he's been nothing short of sweet.


When we come in from our morning walk and trip to the park, I lay both boys down on the floor next to each other to change diapers. Barrett LOVES to look at Harrison, and Harrison has realized this so he will play along. I had to stop Barrett from eating Harrison's hands today because they were pretty filthy.


Last week Harrison started tickling Barrett and it was just so cute!

Then two hours later as we were changing diapers before nap Harrison decided to smack Barrett in the stomach. Not so cute. But, that was last Tuesday and he hasn't done anything nasty since, so hopefully it was just an issue with impulse control (AKA being two-and-a-half!).


On Friday when we had Barrett's four-month check up, I had the nurse weigh and measure Harrison. My little giant is 38.75" tall and 33lbs! Best I can tell, that puts him at about 95% on the growth chart for height. It's also just 1/4" short of the top end of the 3T size range in most clothes. So, by the time he's 2.75 years old this fall and needs jeans for the cooler weather (if it ever gets here) he'll be wearing 4T. Crazy!


He also got the flu mist vaccine while we were at the doctor. All they do is squirt a little shot of something up each nostril, which he didn't mind at all. What he was VERY excited about was the bucket of lollipops the nurse brought in with her. He immediately said "Harrison have that" even though he has never had a lollipop and had no idea what it was. After his vaccine, she gave him a red lollipop (thankfully it was just a very small dum-dum one) and he was thrilled. It was a very nice diversion while Barrett got his shots, so now Harrison has no idea that a shot is actually a needle and a shot is what made Barrett cry, because if he did he'd surely remember it next time he has to get a shot, and by then he'll be too big for me to hold down!


So he licked the lollipop all the way to the car, where I took it from him and promised him I'd save it. He forgot about it until after his nap, when immediately he asked for his "red happy". I pretended I had no idea what he was talking about, but he was grinning and gesturing and looking everywhere in the kitchen for it. He couldn't remember it was called a lollipop, but boy, he didn't forget that what it was. We let him finish it after dinner and he licked until it was gone and then wondered where it went. Now I know what I need to keep around for when I really need a good bribe!


Harrison has started saying "my" and "our" these past couple of weeks. It's funny to hear him say "Ooooh noooo...MY grape!" if he drops one from his high chair. It's as if someone is going to jump out of their chair and eat it off of the floor.


We've also started asking Harrison who is "best friend" is. He always answers, "daddy, mommy too, baby too". Love it!


Here are some pictures of my sweet boys:

We set up the high chair for Barrett to join us at the table even though he's not actually eating yet. He seems pretty happy to be part of the fun.

Barrett likes to try and eat Mark's head just like Harrison used to.

Why are babies in sunglasses so darn cute?

I think he's practicing for tailgating when he's older. He told me he wanted a cold drink and snack and then proceeded to kick off his shoes and pull his chair into the shade underneath the deck.

Hmmm...I didn't have the heart to tell him that his fake plastic pliers were no match for that plant.

After his hot morning outside he needed a shower since I was taking one. He also needed to have three dozen plastic animals join us. He sat in there for at least 15 minutes after the water was off just playing with them.

Harrison's dance party. He has 1lb weights on each ankle and finds it quite amusing to dance around while wearing them.

Four Months Old!!

Yay! Barrett is four months old. It's hard to believe. He is seriously one of the happiest babies ever. As long as someone is paying some attention to him, he'll smile and coo all day long. Yes, I'm biased, but he is also one of the cutest babies around. I mean who couldn't love that sweet little smile?

He loves to watch kids play, and has fun at the park watching Harrison when he's there with other kids. He also likes to sit or lay on the floor when we are playing with cars, trains, etc. and watches closely. Harrison is still great about sharing, and especially likes to run and get some of "baby B's toys" and bring them to him to hold.

He has somewhat lifted his self-imposed mealtime exile, but if he's tired or overstimulated he still wants to eat in his room.

We've started to put him in the exersaucer for about 10 minutes at a time, and he seems to enjoy it, but still physically tires of standing up easily. It's also probably a little bit overwhelming since it's like being surrounded by a circus. We'll try the johnny jumper this weekend too and see how he likes it.

Here's how he measured up at his four-month check-up:

25 inches long (50%)

14lbs 4oz (45%)

He is pretty much identical to how Harrison was at this age--just 2oz heavier but the same length. That's good because so far all the hand-me-down clothes are still working out great!

Here are a few pictures of my sweet boy:

Just chillin' with Mom while Harrison naps.





Happy Boy!

Hanging out with Sophie.

Seventeen Weeks Old

Here's Barrett hanging out with Sophie the Giraffe. He LOVES to chew on her. Harrison likes to make her squeak and Barrett laughes when he does that.

All clean and shiny after his bath. He was hanging out with Daddy...and of course that made him very happy.

Two-and-a-half!!

Wow! I never thought I'd have a two-and-a-half year old. It seems like time has just flown by and somehow my toddler is now a little boy.


Harrison is definitely still crazy, but he seems to have moments of calm and clarity lately. We go for a walk just about every morning, and he enjoys eating breakfast in the stroller as we watch the world go by. Wednesday is still his favorite day...garbage day! He also likes to ask the name of every animal and person we pass, so I have gotten good at coming up with random names for everything. Should be pretty interesting when school starts again in a couple of weeks, since we'll see all the neighborhood kids and that will really keep me on my toes coming up with names!


We apparently also use our walks as an educational experience, as he is now quite knowledgeable about armadillos. He has noted the location of a certain dead armadillo that has been there by the side of the road for a couple of weeks, and reminds me of it before we get to that spot every time. This week he declared it "broken" because the tail had fallen off of the carcass. He knows that vultures eat armadillos (he got to witness this first-hand), and armadillos eat roly polys. In the past couple of weeks we have caught two armadillos in the trap in our yard (humane...catch and release) and he has gone with Mark to take them to the "armadillo park" as he calls it, where they are set free. All very interesting to a two-year-old, and it makes for quite an entertaining conversation!


We told Harrison he was having a half-birthday, and he immediately said "cake!!". This from a guy who wouldn't eat the cake at his first birthday party. He sure has come a long way :-). So, we had every kid's dream dinner--pizza (with ranch, his new favorite) and cupcakes. Since our kitchen was in the middle of a remodel and we didn't have a sink that day, it worked out well.






Hanging out upstairs. Barrett was checking out the Bumbo seat for the first time.

Playing with his new racetrack. He loves that it has a remote control.

Pizza with ranch. Yum!!



CUPCAKES!!



Sixteen Weeks Old

Here is sweet Barrett on Monday at 16 weeks old. It's hard to believe he's been around that long. He is usually a pretty happy little guy, as long as someone is paying some attention to him. Here he is hanging out with Harrison and me as we played upstairs.

On Saturday Barrett rolled over from his stomach to his back. It's the first time he did that, and it was fun because Mark, Harrison and I were all there watching him play upstairs. He had a kind of startled look on his face when he did it, and hasn't done it again since then.

His three-to-six months clothes are fitting just right, and he's outgrown all of the smaller things. His three-month pajamas are too short, so we've had to retire those. He weighs about 13.5lbs. We will have a four-month check up so I'll let you know his official stats then.

Although he's a sweet boy, he is starting to exert some independence and showing a stubborn streak when it comes to eating. For some reason he is currently only happy when eating in exile. I can tell he's hungry and will try to feed him anywhere...living room, playroom, Harrison's room...you name it. But, he only wants to eat in his room in the dark without Harrison around. This is causing a little bit of a challenge during the day as we try to work around this! While I like that he is forming a strong personality, this needs to change soon because it is driving me nuts!

I tried putting Barrett into Harrison's chair to watch us play and he loved it. He was able to sit up and just chill while watching Harrison play with his cars, blocks, etc. I think he knew he looked cute because he sure looks like he is posing in that second picture, doesn't he?

Happy Baby B

Such a happy boy this afternoon!



I figured it was time for Barrett to officially join the blog instead of just being Harrison's sidekick...so I updated the header today. There isn't too much that is cuter than two clean boys post-bath in their diapers!



Barrett was especially smiley today. I know I'm biased...but darn he is cute!



Harrison is currently in love with the Toy Story movies. It has been too darn hot here to do anything outside in the afternoons aside from his swimming lessons. So, he has enjoyed watching a few minutes of Toy Story here and there. While he watches, he must have his "Toy Story Friends" as he calls them. It is SO cute because he lines them all up and plays with them as they are featured during the movie. If you haven't seen the third one, then you don't know that it has a storyline around a garbage truck. What a match made in heaven for Harrison...so he gets out his truck and loads up his friends and together they all watch the movie. It's very entertaining to watch him play.



Harrison Taking Swim Lessons

I have to start by saying that this post is 100% shameless parental bragging! We couldn't be more proud of Harrison and how he is doing in swimming.

As many of you know, we started Harrison in the ISR swim program last spring. He did two series of lessons --last May and then again last August. We are now finishing up week five of lessons this year. He is doing awesome!!!

He seems to have finally mastered the swim-float-swim sequence and that is what this video (taken yesterday) shows. He can make it across the width of the pool all by himself, swimming to make the distance and floating to catch his breath and rest. It is so amazing for us to see him do this, and he loves it. He is so happy in the water, and just loves to swim.

The Boys

Hard to believe Barrett is fifteen weeks old. Wow...almost four months! And, Harrison is a week short of being two-and-a-half. Yikes! They really are growing up so fast.

Barrett has been VERY focused on eating his hands lately. That kid is going to gnaw off all of his skin if he's not careful. And if he can reach mine while I'm holding him, he'll eat it too. Hard to believe he could be teething already, because he just can't get teeth yet. I am not ready to give up that sweet gummy smile!

He's still a very happy baby almost all of the time, but it starting to demand a little more attention. I think he's figured out that if he doesn't do it now, he'll be playing second fiddle to Harrison for a long time to come.

Harrison has not yet figured out that it is hot outside. Seriously. It has been over 100 degrees for too many days to count, but he could care less. All that kid wants to do is play outside. Thankfully we can walk in the morning before it's too hot and then go to the park for a bit. Barrett is usually fairly tolerant of that, as long as we aren't at the park for more than about 45 minutes.

We also have a great shady space under the deck. It currently looks like an ad for a toy store, and we just added a swing, bubble mower and wheelbarrow...for some reason the stores think summer is over and are getting rid of all of this stuff. Not here! He was so excited to have a mower and wheelbarrow like Daddy!

Harrison used want nothing to do with a swing, but he's really warmed up to it lately. Mark installed it under the deck so it's in the shade. Barrett's a little small for it still but didn't seem to mind, and Harrison is pretty happy in there.

Indoor playtime has been good, Harrison still really loves to play with all of his toy cars. He has a big garbage truck and crane, and will use those to do all sorts of things. He also has a "Mack" from the Cars movies that will hold other cars and he's always loading it up and carrying it around full of cars.

We like to count the cars and trains, and he can usually get to about fourteen on his own before he backtracks and goes crazy. He gets so excited towards the end that he just shouts out numbers, ends with twenty and screams YAY! We'll have to keep working on that part.

Three Months Old!

Wow. Barrett is already three months old! While it seems like he's been around forever, it's still crazy that he's already smiling, laughing and cooing all the time just like an "older" baby. Time sure does fly!

He is a very social baby. He loves to smile at you, and can almost laugh. He sort of giggles but doesn't have that good baby chuckle down just yet. He is trying to talk like crazy and when he's in a good mood he really just chatters non-stop.

Barrett is constantly trying to suck his thumb still, and wants absolutely nothing to do with a pacifier. If you even try to give it to him he acts like it's the worst thing you could possibly stick in his mouth. He also really likes to play with his rings, soft toy duck rattle, and little bunny blanket. He grabs them tightly and attempts to eat them while staring them down.

He likes to do something different about every 15 minutes. He'll sit in your lap, his papisan, on his playmat, on our bed, etc. He just really likes a change of scenery. He also likes to watch Harrison play and they smile at each other a lot. Harrison still wants Barrett to play with his baby toys, and also shares cars, trains, etc. with him. Harrison is very sweet to Barrett, thankfully.

My mom has been here all week helping out since Mark had to go out of town twice this week. I'm not ready to handle these two on my own just yet...no way! Nonny and Barrett spent a lot of time "chatting", and I know he'll miss her!

Here are pictures of Baby B (as Harrison and I sometimes call him) at three months:

Playing pat-a-cake with Nonny:





Relaxing after his bath in the softest (and cutest!) towel ever from Aunt Allison and Uncle Richard:


All clean and ready for bed:



My sweet boys!

My Boys

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Nothing fancy, just a few pics to see my sweet boys!

Barrett is constantly working on sucking his fingers. We think he's trying to be a thumb sucker, but hasn't quite managed to make it all come together yet. At night we hear him wake up and make the loudest sucking noises! Today he just sat there and sucked on his fingers, quite happily, while I did laundry around him.

This afternoon Harrison went swimming at our friends' pool. He had a great time jumping in off of the side and swimming to Mark. He finally got out and didn't jump in again...told us he was tired and ready to go home. He must have really worn himself out to say that!

Here he is at breakfast yesterday:

And after breakfast he joined Barrett on his playmat:

Here they are before swimming:

Heading home from the pool: