Merry Christmas!

Last year was technically Harrison's first Christmas, but he was only 10/11 days old. He slept through both family parties and didn't get to actually open any presents. This Christmas was much more exciting. Harrison enjoyed ripping through wrapping paper, waking up to Santa presents and playing with boxes. Also, eating lots of cookies.

Caught in the act!

Artsy (or he tried to grab the camera).

 Opening presents!

Now he can start a band!

Santa came!

What'd I get?

Unwrapping!

Ooh! Yogurt candy!

Playing with the puppy!

He likes his new toys!

Tuckered out after Christmas day celebrations, snuggling Dots, his new friend.

Matt and I crashed after putting Harrison to bed and watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special, which I quite enjoyed. It was one of 11's best episodes, but I am excited for the new Doctor.

A Year in the Life

I have learned a lot in my first year as a mom. It's one of those things where you need to live it to learn it. The books can help and make suggestions, but there is no one right way to do anything. 

First lesson, take every piece of advice with a grain of salt. There is no one right way. If there were, there would be no debates, no multiple books contradicting each other. The Always's and the Never's get tiring. If you treat advice as suggestions and act based on trial and error, finding a system that works for you and your family will be much easier. 

Second, I yell more often than I'd like to. Not at Harrison, but at the dog. Cinder gets a bit over zealous sometimes and now that Harrison is walking, she can't seem to stay out if the way. 

Third, pick your battles. If it's easier to let him play with the used gum container to avoid a tantrum and doesn't cause any harm, then by all means. But when you say No, it stays No. I nannied in college and the moms mantra was "Say Yes as much as possible, but No when you have to" which I quite enjoy. 

Fourth, if your child is healthy, well fed, and generally happy, you're a good parent. Breast vs formula, cloth vs disposable, stay-at-home vs working, etc, it's all a matter of personal preference and one way of living doesn't work for all families. 

That being said- Fifth, I love breast feeding and I urge every mother to give it a try (though I know it doesn't work for everyone). It's snugly and sweet and not to mention all the health benefits for both mother and baby. Harrison will be weaning shortly, he's ready and I'm ready, but we're going to take it slow. Pumping sucks, though, no illusions there. 

Sixth, try and try again. Some things may never work, but others might if you give it a try. Like starting solid foods. Harrison will eat just about anything, he loves food. But some foods we took a break from, like carrots, and came back to later. Now he likes them. Or bath time. He used to hate it, now he gets all excited and loves to play in the water (he is also now using the big bath instead of his baby tub). 

Seven, breathe. Sometimes you just have to remember to breathe. 

Eight, you will be tired. A lot. I now sleep through the night, around 8 hours with one early morning nursing, and I am still so tired. I think the weather has a lot to do with it, too. 

Nine, sometimes you need to have a dance party in your kitchen. 

Ten, being a mom is awesome! It's exciting and fun. Sure, it has its challenges, but we all blunder through. Watching Harrison learn and grow into a person is incredible. He picks things up so quickly and learns before I even realize it. 

Soon he'll be talking along with walking. Today is his one year doctor appointment so we'll see how much he's grown. 

I love babies! I had a dream the other night where Matt and I had twin girls next and we couldn't figure out what to name them. Twins would definitely be exciting, but I think Matt looked a bit terrified when I told him about the dream. 

Now back to momming. 

Yep. That's the pizza box. 

Happy Birthday, Harrison!

One year ago today, I went into labor while at a doctor's appointment, labored through The Fellowship of the Ring and delivered a healthy, wonderful baby boy. I wouldn't change being a mom for anything. Harrison is an amazing, clever boy who surprises me every day. He's been walking for a couple weeks, he showed off today at his party. He just started clapping and he likes to walk circles around the kitchen clapping his hands.  Harrison had a very good time at his party, and he thanks everyone who came out for it.

Harrison is becoming a very interesting person. He is very serious, but silly at the same time. He makes the greatest facial expressions and likes to point at everything. I thought Harry Potter would make a fun theme for his birthday, and thanks to a rude woman at Target bakery, my subsequent trip to cub instead and the amazing cake decorator with hidden Harry Potter decals, the cake turned out amazing!

* Harrison loves to walk. He walks almost all day.

* Harrison loves dogs, puppies, kitties and other soft, furry creatures. But mostly puppies.

* He loves cheese puffs.

* He likes nap time. Though, I call is taking a rest and ask him if he'd like to lie down, he responds with a finger point to his room.

* He loves sharing, with both us and the dog. The dog loves it.

* He loves apples.

* He loves peek-a-boo.

* He loves bath time and trying to throw his toys over the side.

* He loves climbing up and down the stairs.

* He was very intrigued by Santa.

 Harrison was so pooped after his party, he plopped himself down in the living room, chugged from his sippy cup and played with his feet.

He barely ever slows down enough to do this. I can rarely get Harrison to sit still. He sits well in his high chair, especially with food, but when it's playtime, he has to keep moving. He's got things to do. I love this little boy more than anything. He's a rock star and tomorrow is a new day and a new year!

We're All Sick

Harrison is 11 months old today and has his first cold.  His nose has been running profusely for the past three days. He's all goobie.  Now, today, it hits me.

I went in to get Harrison out of his crib this morning and he was already sitting up waiting to greet me.  He was very sleepy eyed, but seemed to be in a good mood.  The good mood didn't last long.  Even though he is sick, he is all over the place with energy.  I had hoped that maybe feeling under the weather would make him a little more snuggly and wanting to sit around watching cartoons, but it just makes him crabby.  He still wants to move/walk all the time.

We do have a mover.  He crawled to the ottoman today.  It wasn't very far, but he crawled without falling to his belly.  He can pull himself up on all the furniture.  He can pull himself up the stairs (with adult supervision/sitting right behind him).  He is being less brave today, I could not get him to walk to me from the furniture, he can do 2-4 steps on his own, but he prefers to hold my hand.

Harrison is night weaned! He sleeps through the night (or if he wakes up, he soothes himself back to sleep) and gets up around 6 to eat. He'll usually go back to bed for about an hour after he eats, he's still pretty out of it at 6, but wakes up when Matt gets ready for work.  Even with the extra sleep, I am so tired.  I think it's the sick.

One more month and Harrison will be a whole year old! Time to plan a party!

That Scary Time of Year - Halloween and Night Weaning

Halloween is my favorite holiday, always has been. There's candy everywhere, free if you're a child or can pass for Trick or Treating age (which I did until I was a sophomore in college...), horror movies abound, black cats, witches, pumpkin carving, and COSTUMES.

The weekend before Halloween was filled with spooky things to do. The Como Park Zoo Boo was so fun to volunteer for. Dressed as Princess Belle, myself and the other Princesses, a villain and Tink greeted children as they finished the Zoo Boo trail. It was cold once the sun set, but my wool cloak kept me warm. We posed for many pictures with enthusiastic, yet shy little girls. Only a hand full of boys came over to greet us, which was a little disappointing, especially since some didn't even know who our characters were. I always just assumed Disney was universal for both genders, regardless of Princessy-ness or not. The kids were all excited when you recognized their costume, especially the obscure ones- anyone can recognize batman, but I was able to pick out a little Ewok who had been mistaken for a bear all night. This is a must do for volunteering again next year, and I will probably bring Harrison on a night I don't volunteer.

The Anoka Halloween Parade is a family tradition that goes back a long way. We've gone almost every year since I was a wee child. For the last few years, my friends and I have also been walking in the parade, or doing the One Mile Ghost Walk in front of it. This year was a Ghost Walk year to keep Harrison happy. My family and I were decked out in Wizard of Oz garb and walked with a few Princesses on our tail. The Princesses were a hit as always, but I was surprised how many calls I got for "Dorothy! Look! Dorothy!". Matt got a few calling for the "Tin Man!", but was ever so cool about it. Harrison strolled and realized by the end of the parade that he could wave at all the people on the sidelines. We didn't win any awards, but we had a darn good time and hit Main Street for lunch afterward. Next year, we'll have to hunker down at the end of the walk and watch the rest of the parade with Harrison.

Lauren had a Halloween party after the parade and Matt stayed home with Harrison so I could don my Hocus Pocus witchiness and meet my fellow Sanderson Sisters there. It was fun and laid back, with lot of good food.

A completely unflattering picture, I know, but kind of perfect! I. Smell. Children!

Halloween day was a bust, though. Harrison was the Green Lantern for the day (he was just wearing his Green lantern onsie) and we ran errands, stopping at the high school to finish up Shrek. That evening, we put on our Oz costumes and made/ate a Halloween dinner of Pumkin Pancakes in the shape of Jack O Lanterns. I'm so happy they turned out, I was so giddy while making them. Pancakes are possibly Harrison's favorite food, he doesn't get syrup yet, but he loves them!

Matt and Harrison went over to his parents' house to Trick or Treat, I stayed back to hand out candy. My job was pointless. We got zero Trick or Treaters. I was all costumed and everything. Part of the reason is because we had to turn our light off at 7:30 for Harrison's bedtime, but we usually get some kids before then.

Anyway, Harrison tried to climb through the window at Grandma and Grandpa's, he was just so excited for Halloween candy.

All in all, it was a great Halloween year. We do plan on moving in the future, so hopefully someday we will live in a neighborhood where we get a ton of kids coming by.

Halloween was not the only scary goings on in this house. Harrison is growing and learning and NIGHT WEANING. A lot of the information I've read about it has babies start weaning around 6-7 months. Harrison was definitely not ready then. I have put it off long enough though and have been pushing back how late I feed him in the hopes of his little body adjusting slowly to a new eating schedule. It worked for awhile, but once we hit feeding at 4 in the morning, it stagnated. He started waking early again and would tantrum and wake multiple times before it would finally be 4 and I would feed him. I couldn't even just rock him back to sleep. If I even went into the room, he would look at me like "why you not feeding me, lady?" Matt's been getting up in the night to coax him back to sleep and I thank him for it tremendously.

 I decided that this week was the week. Most nights, he'll wake around 5 to eat. It's close enough to morning, so now's the time to do it. I still "dream feed" him at 10, not ready to wean that quite yet, but after that, I won't feed him until morning. Last night, he was up at 4. At 4:30, Matt went in and got him back to sleep. Two minutes later and Harrison sneezes, waking himself back up. After another Matt visit and another wake up, I tried my hand. Usually he cries harder when I go in and don't feed him, but last night he did really well. He wouldn't close his eyes for me, but I rocked him and told him it was not time to eat, but time to sleep. When I put him back down, he didn't cry and I gently rubbed his chest and he closed his eyes. He made a few cooing noises, but then feel back asleep. He slept until 7:15 after that, and I am one proud Mama! Let's see how tonight goes!

Part of the reason for waking up so often could be that he's getting another tooth (#7!), but I think it's just his regular growth and development. He's so close to crawling. He does a little army crawl on his belly, but he has yet to move on his hands and knees. However, he'll get on his hands and knees and rock, and if he's near furniture, he'll maneuver himself and pull to standing. I set him down the other day in his crib so I could use the bathroom, and I came back to a standing baby at the edge of the crib. Every time he climbs up on all fours, I cheer and clap to let him know this is good and then I hold my breath waiting for him to take a step.. or to topple over. Harrison always looks so proud when he climbs on his hands and knees or pulls himself up on the ottoman. He still wants to walk all the time, so as soon as he gets up to standing, he holds out his right hand waiting for me or his daddy to take it so he can be off and explore. He's got things to do.

It's already Friday?

Harrison turned 10 months old on Monday. Gee golly whiz, he's getting big. Literally. He wears mostly 18mo clothing. 

Harrison has started mimicking the word "Hi". It's really cute, but I'm not counting it as a first word. It's more of just a sound. 

It has been so busy around this house. Designing a show while caring for a baby is very difficult. I've only been getting an hour of leisure time a night, which I leave so I can wind down after being busy during the day. I usually spend it reading. 

Harrison did come with me to the school yesterday, and was very good while I fit the students. 

 

Harrison has a hard time staying still. He's always on the go. He can move on his belly now, and does his army crawl through the house, getting covered in dog hair along the way. But we finally have a stair gate up, so I am a little less paranoid about his explorations. The cat's not happy about it, she can't get past it, so we'll have to leave it open when we can (her box and food are downstairs). 

Even being so busy, and watching Harrison every day, all day, I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel like sometimes I get pity stares when I describe my life as a stay at home mom (who occasionally works from home), and while it's no cake walk, it's something I love to do, so save the pity for someone else. I feel as though this is exactly where I should be. 

Being a mommy is the bestest thing ever. I love staying home and taking care of Harrison, and our house, every day (though, house chores have bee taking a backseat to sewing..).  Harrison is my little monkey, and being with him is the greatest!

Now for some shmoopy-ness. Matt and I celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary next week. Yay! It's been a wonderful 3 years, full of houses and puppies and kitties and babies! I feel very fortunate to have such a husband in my life. Someone who is not only excellent with our son, but who is supportive of when I stay home or when I work. He is also very tolerant of my moods while working such a busy show, that leaves me sleep deprived with very little down time. I can be a crabby pants... He even ate my cheese enchiladas this week, even though they were a little spicy (I couldn't taste the spice). Here is a hip-hip hooray for Matt! 

Look! A wild Harrison appeared!

Quite Quick

A quite quick post. 

- Harrison has three teeth coming in at the same time. Makes for sleepless nights. 

- He is almost to the last setting of his bouncy chair. 

- Harrison visibly recognizes certain words, mostly Puppy (he'll look at Cinder) and now Cheerios (his snack food). He got very excited and reached his hand toward the box in the counter when I asked if he wanted Cheerios this morning. 

- He is also now wearing some 18mo clothing. He barely fits in his new 12mo pjs I got him. 

- Harrison's overdue 9mo appt is in one week. 

- Still no crawling, but he did manage to pull himself from sitting to kneeling against the cat tree yesterday. I think it was a fluke though. 

- He practiced walking while holding only one hand yesterday. His balance is getting better. 

- Harrison loves baths now. He gets upset when it's over and likes to bask in the water playing with rubber duckies. 

- Bath time!

9 Months

Harrison turned 9 months old on Saturday. He is a big boy. His 9 month appt isn't for another couple of weeks, we had to schedule out to get both the day and doctor we wanted. However, we do know that he is about 20lbs now and is almost 30" tall. We'll be buying a new carseat soon, he'll soon be out of his height wise. 

I also got Harrison a new pair of shoes along with many new outfits. He had no 12 mo pajamas and that's the size he's in now. His feet are also large, he's in a size 4 baby shoe. The cashier at Target commented that he must have big feet and joked that he'll someday be wearing size 15. Maybe not that extreme, but he is a big boy :)

Harrison may not be crawling yet, but he sure loves to walk. He refuses to sit and play on the floor for very long and his bouncy seat has become quite mundane compared to the exploration that is walking. My back hurts from assisting him, since he is not yet capable of achieving this amazing feat on his own. He no longer grasps my whole hands but now only balances by holding my fingers. He knows how to go down stairs (he sits at the top and scoots one step at a time), with my assistance only. 

All he wants to do is walk, walk, walk. 

And look out windows. Harrison loves windows. 

He also waves. He waves at puppies, people, mannequins. He is best at waving goodbye. 

It is the coolest thing ever to teach him something new and have him learn and repeat it. 

 

We finally have his top two front teeth coming in. It makes for some extra fussy time, but we've been waiting months. 

And now a funny face. 

We're getting ready for Halloween around here. Very busy with sewing and I'm about to jump into costume design for high school theater again. Wish me luck!

Delayed

It's taken me the last five days to get back to this post. The last couple weeks have been crazy and busy.

Harrison turned 8 months old and gained a +8 to cuteness.

Our air conditioning broke.

Our dishwasher broke.

And since things come in threes (Or fours... I was really hoping for the washer or dryer..), our lawn mower broke.

The air conditioning and dishwasher are now fixed (yay!)

Now, apparently, our TV is broken. We have the smaller one from the bedroom set up in the tv room at the moment, which is fine, but Matt's sad.

Why couldn't it have been the washer or dryer?? - For those who don't know, I do tons of laundry between myself, Matt, Harrison and running a garment business out of home. Our washer has started making thunking sounds whenever the load is small or I use cold water, the spin cycle doesn't always work, the dryer doesn't stop running when you open the door, nor does it dry things sufficiently, and I get cut on the decrepit lint catcher almost every time I empty it. /rant

We were planning on going to the MN Zoo and the State Fair this week, but due to the overwhelming heat and having an 8 month old who calls the shots, we are scratching our plans. I am sad, I haven't been to the state fair since before I can remember and I was really looking forward to going, but it's best for Harrison. He wouldn't be a happy camper.

I turn 27 this week. Weird. Next spring will be my 10 year high school reunion. Double weird.

Harrison is getting so big! We bought him a new stroller because his carseat-stroller is a little snug (still appropriate for the car, but he's much more active now for strolling). He can roll wherever is wants, but prefers to stand (he's not very good at it). He can almost sidle along the furniture on his own. Almost. Harrison can sit up now, with great confidence. Mostly. 

We also learned today that he can wave. This is new and I had no idea, because we had barely practiced waving. He can high five occasionally, but I am waiting for clapping. That'll be really cute.

Harrison now refuses to take a bottle, which complicates me leaving him for more than a few hours. Matt and my mom both watched him and tried recently, he only ate about a half ounce before just putzing around with the bottle. He hasn't needed to take a bottle often, so he's not used to it anymore. Good thing I don't leave him often.

Harrison has decided to change up his nursing schedule. He is going a little longer between eating and gets really fussy if I suggest he nurses before he decides on his own. My current plan is to nurse him until about 18 months, I'll probably start weaning a little at a year. Since he started teething, he wakes up a few times a night again, I feel like I haven't had a full night sleep in ages. It's alright, and once I am up and out of bed, I feel fine.

This is currently my favorite picture of Harrison ever.

We've decided what we're doing for Halloween. My whole family are dressing up as characters from the Wizard of Oz for the Anoka Halloween parade, I am going to be Dorothy, Harrison is going to be the Scarecrow and Matt's going to be the Tinman. I am very excited. I only have a week or two to put these together before I get fully involved in Shrek at Champlin Park, my next big costume project.

I love watching Harrison learn new things. He's a clever boy and he's been talking a lot more lately. He always has a very clear idea of what he wants to do, figuring it out is the tricky part.

I really hope that at our next doctors appointment, we get the okay to let Harrison start sleeping with a blanket and stuffed animal. He tries to snuggle his sleepsack (which he is currently doing), and I know it's only a handful of babies who have trouble with the soft bedding, but I really don't want to be one of those handful. I know Harrison would love the snuggly comfort, but it's best to wait until he is completely ready to handle it. I think he's very close.

I feel like I don't write enough about Matt. He's an amazing father and husband. I sometimes take for granted how hard he works and then feel he should really know how much I appreciate him and what he does. Matt works so hard to be able to let me stay home with Harrison. Even though I am doing some freelance work from home, it still isn't the same as working a full time job, and so we are trying to be smart financially (so, stop breaking, all you household items! *exceptthewasher&dryer*) He is fantastic with Harrison and I have a feeling our son will soon idolize his dad and want to be just like him. Harrison gets so excited whenever Matt gets home from work, we all go for a walk together and then Matt and Harrison usually get some playtime. I still don't like cooking, but I enjoy having dinner started/ready for Matt when he gets home.

 There's so much going on and so much I want to write.. too many thoughts! But now.. Sleep. Maybe. If Harrison will let me.

Mr. Rollie

Mr. Rollie. He is getting very good at maneuvering himself about. Not only have I had to block the stairs, but he rolled himself into the kitchen the other day. Still hasn't figured out crawling. Every time he tries to lift his knees under him, he flips himself over onto his back. He's just too good at rolling. 

We went to the cabin the other weekend, and Harrison not only used a restaurant high chair for the first time, but he also got to ride in the front of a shopping cart without his carseat. Big boy! He can sit up mostly on his own, but he doesn't like sitting. Every time we try to sit him up he stiffens his legs to stand. He desperately wants to walk. 

Harrison's first time in a baby swing was met with bees everywhere. I grabbed him and ran for the hills.

"Dad, you're in my way..." (And my phone case was in the way too, apparently)

He spent the morning removing all the rings from his command center and started tossing them on the floor far away from me so I couldn't put them back. Clever boy. 

He will be 8 months old in two days. I wouldn't be surprised if he is walking by 9. He sure has the ambition (but no balance). 

I threw my back out over the weekend. Luckily, I had plenty of help and feel almost as good as new. Also got to see The Conjuring yesterday. Very good! Lots of jump scares. I was a little freaked out getting up in the middle of the night to feed Harrison. 

We have a busy week ahead! Meeting tomorrow, vet on Wednesday and Thursday (both pets are overdue..), Saturday we're going to a park to take cosplay pictures, Sunday my sister and I are going to the renaissance festival (not with Harrison, I don't think he's ready for that yet). Should be good!