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.