My Baby is Becoming a Boy!

Harrison is officially transitioning over to the boy side of life. He has always been a boy, obvi. But now he is becoming a big boy, not a baby boy! He eats solid solids, basically what we eat (minus honey) he eats! And sweets, we haven't given him any sweets yet. He could have them, the only off limit item is honey. We have conquered the big allergies of eggs, peanut butter, & cows milk. Neither Chris nor I have an allergy so we did not anticipate H having one. Phew!! Anywho along with the eating thing, he is a quite a mobile merlin! I can't believe it. He is a master of the inch worm, he can't do hands and knees. He tries, he tries very hard, and then he face plants.... He doesn't seem to care. He actually doesn't seem to have a pain tolerance. He can often be found banging his head into things. The other day he did face plant on my friends coffee table and gave himself a nice Hitler mustache bruise. He did cry, but then moved on pretty quickly.

7 Month Stats

- Weighing in at 19lb 10oz

- He is a food lover! Rocking feeding himself!

- Inch worm master, he is just starting to figure out that he needs to use his arms

- He has discovered that he can grab one hand with the other. It is quite entertaining.

- He has learned cause and effect... if I rub the cup on the wall then it makes noise - if I drop my cup on the ground I can lean over and look at it - and many more. It is super interesting!

- He is currently napping for the first time with a blanket.... I am watching him like a hawk on the monitor bc he is mister roll polly and I do not want a strangled baby! 

- 2.2 seconds away from crawling. He gets up on hand and knees and rocks, then tries and arm, then face plants. The end.

- He can pull up, but hasn't learned that he can on things. He only pulls up on our hands. He will take steps when we are holding his hands. That is really crazy!

- He could sit without falling over for hours. If he starts to lean it rights himself, his core strength is wild! 

- He is holding strong with those 2 bottom teethers

- June 8 H starts Water Babies and will get to go under water and actually begin to swim! So excited!

Food Adventures

As I said basically anything is up for a trial. But he most definitely has some favorites!

- Applesauce on ezikial toast

- Avocado

- Watermelon

- Blackberries

- Grapes

- Strawberries

- Japanese Sweet Potato

- Eggs with broccoli and cheese

- Colby jack cheese sticks

- Kale, Spinach, & Apple Puffs

- banans

- Whole fat greek yogurt (mixed with pumpkin is a super fav)

- Roasted cherry tomatoes

- Shredded Chicken

- Oatmeal (whatever combo I made for myself minus honey)

Janes Family Updates

- Uncle PJ and Tia Alany are coming this weekend for a visit! Alany is due July 8th with Lilian Louise and we cannot wait to meet and love on her!
- We will probably be going to the lake for Memorial Day and Harrison will get to swim for the first time in the lake!
- We had a marvelous mothers day! My people got me an edible arrangement and a new laptop. Mine was the same one from 2006 when I started college. Here is hoping I will know be prompt in my blog postings!
- Sofia got baptized
- I hosted a calligraphy party and it was a blast! I need to continue to practice my skills!
- Harrison had his first babysitter that was non family... I paid for a babysitter, so weird to be on the parent end of babysitting.
- Christopher turned 27
- We went to NYC for my hip check up and all is well and fab!

Harrison and Sofia like to kiss each other....

Is there something on my face!?

Cheech gets the best giggles!!

First big boy bath. It just so happened to be at the Waldorf in NYC

I've only got eyes for you my sweet boy! 

First carousel ride! The only place to do it is in Central Park with his daddy, mommy, and aunts KK & McGreggor!

A snippet of NYC

What a lucky little ham to be loved by these two!

Grandpa came to visit! Thank you for taking the long trek Gramps!

This is how you work the airport.... right?

Sneaky sneaky doggie girl 

You lay on me sis, I chew on your ear. Tell me this isn't love!?!

This little monster rocks my world

What is better than sister making H giggle?!? And notice she sneakily tries to the lick the tray

Is there something on my head?! We have since moved out of the baby tub into just the big boy tub bc someone kept trying to climb out!

flippy hair dont care

One of the first successful inch worm movements

Just because

1st human mothers day! 

Sharing is caring... you bite I bite

7 Month Photoshoot Fun!

Ham and poser!

The first official inch worm caught on camera

One Day (Today) I Woke Up and My Baby was Already 6 Months!!!

Wow when they tell you to enjoy every moment because it goes fast, they don't lie! I remember thinking, "uh huh I am really enjoying these late nights of never sleeping more than a few hour stretches" "yeah sure I am gonna miss this feeling of frustration because I just don't know what he wants!" But let me tell you folks, I stand corrected. Those long nights with night feedings full of sweet sleepy baby snuggles and those days of frustration when all he really wanted was to be held and worn by mommy. Those days are what they are talking about, but we get so caught up in the "negative" and exhausting aspects of having a new baby that it is only when we look back that we can really see the sweetness that was overshadowed. I know for my next baby I will need that same reminder, I just hope that I listen this time. Every age has been so fun in a brand new way! Each month has had its challenges, joys, amazement's, love, and sweetness. It is so hard to put into words how much these short months have shaped me and forever changed who I am. I cannot wait to see what the future brings for our family, but I am trying very hard to focus on the presents current gifts. I don't want to look back and wish I appreciated XYZ more. I want to be in the moment enjoying every part of it, the good-bad-and ugly!

Now on to what you really here for..... the 6 month update on sweet Harrison!

- We are 2.2 seconds away from having a crawler on out hands. He gets up on hands and knees and rocks but cannot figure out how to move his arms. The end result a nice little face plant. Good thing he is tough. We seem to be in for a little daredevil on our hands because he appears to feel no pain...
- He is a very mobile little monster. As in he is not to be trusted unsupervised. I made that mistake and he ended up under the couch. He was quite the happy little bear under the couch, but under the couch he was!
- Everything is a teething toy! He new favorite is the edge of the foam mat. See video below. Speaking of the foam mat, lets be real, it's only purpose is to house his toys because he never stays on it for more than two seconds. Well now it appears the foam mats second purpose is teething. Okay so it does have a purpose, I stand corrected.
- Harrison can be found baby planking quite often. I am pretty sure he could out plank me... it is quite sad on my part
- He loves our daily walks and is always amused by Liuzza and her antics.
- Light up toys and musical toys seem to draw him in
- He still hates his car seat. So car rides are always a ton of fun
- He loves swim and is being kicked up to the big kids class in June. Head under water time!!! I am so excited!!!!
- Little Gym is just as fun as always and he is constantly impressing everyone with his strength
- We have been attempting to work on a daily schedule. But it really depends on when he wakes up. I keep aiming for a 9/10am nap then a 2/3pm nap. And a cat nap if it is needed. He will have some 12 hour nights, but mostly he likes that 11.5 hour stretch of sleep.

BIG NEWS:
- We started solids. WE.STARTED.SOLIDS!
Soooooo we decided we were going to go the Baby Led Weaning approach. Where basically you give the babe manageable food chunks and let them figure it out! Welllll to say his first night was interesting was an understatement! haha! I do not know if it was the result of acing his 6m shots and being sleepy because he didn't take an afternoon or just food in general, but he was unimpressed by food. We began with avocado, sweet potato, carrots, and broccoli. He touched everything and put it in his mouth but was pretty much not a fan. Okay message received son we will try again later. Well we did! Basically everyday I (we when Christopher is home) sit down with him and give him some food. Sometimes right off our plate other times it is steamed or roasted veggies I have in the fridge for him.
So far we have tried:
whole fat greek yogurt, oatmeal (with a variety of things in it- peanut butter, almond, raisins, chia seeds, flax seed, milk, water...), shredded cheddar cheese, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, broccoli, cucumber, white beans, hummus, pumpernickel bread, & pita bread. These are all I can think of. I think I have it all!
We LOVES yogurt and green beans and carrots
He hates broccoli
Everything else he likes

I would say that is a huge success since we are only 5 days in!

I will continue to keep everyone updated! It is so fun to watch him learn these new tastes and textures!! I have a bunch of videos and pictures... duh!

New favorite toy...the foam mat

so.much.love.for.him

1st Rangers game

I am mobile,you can't contain me!

stud

Loving solids

photo shoot

Avocado, Sweet potato, & yogurt

Disclaimer: I actually wrote this before he turned 6m. The night before. But I kept forgetting to upload photos and post it... womp womp

5 Months! Man, I cant even believe it!

As I sit here on the eve of my baby's 5 month birthday, I can't help but think of how much my life has changed. To give you an example: My daddy is in town so naturally we will go out to eat. Well this is my new (and amazing) Friday night. 5pm dinner reservation at this fabulous farm to table restaurant called Harvest in downtown McKinney. (fun tidbit, I was convinced eating here two days after my due date would put me into labor. Clearly it did not). Dinner ended at 630 & we came home right home to try and not miss Harrison bed time by toooo much. We got H ready for & into bed. I washed dishes and made lactation cookies. Now I sit here at 846 on this marvelous rainy evening pumping and eating a freshly baked lactation cookie, while chugging two glasses of water. (Milk machine guys, Milk.Mach.Ineee!) The baby monitor is softly sounding with the ocean to my left while it sits on top of the thank you cards I need to write! My two large glasses of water to my right are begging to be finished. I am considering watching a movie, but lets be real, when I finish here I will brush my teeth and snuggle up in bed to read a few chapters in one of the 3 books I am currently reading, and then decide man it is late, night night world!

What a fun month this has been! Harrison was finally baptized. He chose that 20 minute chunk of time to explore his voice! Poor father Tim kept cringing as his hearing aide amplified Harrison's squeaking and squalling! He even asked us if Harrison was always this vocal and loud. hahahaa! Needless to say, it was an very entertaining time. We are so lucky and blessed to have such an amazing family of support. We had so many people come in town and celebrate with us! And so many friends came to celebrate and party with us afterwards!

5 Month Stats:

 - H got baptized on 2.21.25 & we are so lucky to have had so many family members come in to celebrate. We had a huge party and lots of friends came to play!

 - Got to meet aunt Lauren & Uncle Ryan! 

- Consistently rolls front to back and back to front

- Experienced his first snow. 2.25.15. 

-Sat in his first high chair & ate the table. It happened at Jasper's on Aunt Lauren and Uncle Ryan's going away dinner. 

- Aunt Lauren got him to really giggle!!! On 2.23.15. Video proof below
- Mastered grabbing things with two hands. Never misses and they always go right to his mouth! This is by far my favorite development so far! It was just so cool to watch him go from missing to grasping!
- He is a rolling machine. front to back, back to front, and all over the place!
- He is OBSESSED with Liuzza!!! Like oh my gosh, it is crazy and amazing to watch. He just reached for her and grabs her. The best is when he just giggles his head off at her. She can be doing nothing entertaining, but he just is looking at her laughing. It makes my day!
- He is the master of the fake cough. And often turns it on when he wants to be paid attention to.
- He still pretty must detests his car seat, but is getting better. So that's a plus, right!?! Haha!
- He is fascinated with his mobile sound machine that is hooked to his car seat. He pushes the buttons and changes the sound. He also grabs it and just stares. It is quite funny to watch.
- He reaches for me! When someone else is holding him and I put my hands out he reaches and leans for me. It is such a cool feeling!
- Grandpa came to visit and we had a great time! He got to come see Harrison's Little Gym class.
- On a Little Gym note, they keep telling us how strong he is. Like he will do things that the older kids do even do yet. It is crazy to hear people tell you your baby is so strong. I am excited to see where this leads him!
- His sleeping positions kill me. We always start him in the same spot and he ends up all over the place, eventually to settle in the top left corner . It is hysterical!
- We have two teeth!!! two teeth! Two amazing beautiful bottom teeth. All of a sudden he has this one sharp thing, then it became this bumpy flat things. And BAM there were two!
- He had his first sleepover ever! He spent the night with Raine & Papa King while mommy and daddy went to Aunt Yellie & Uncle Philips wedding. He did great. This was also the night that his teeth broke through, so phew!


It has been really cool to watch him this last month. He is really developing into a person with a personality. He is totally cool going to other people, even though he is very much still a mamas boy. If I am in sight or he hears me then he is like "o times up person, I need her."

The bear shopping with aunt Christina 

5 month photo shoot. the lighting was no bueno

watch out ladies

baptism, so excited to wear a 150 year old dress

loves

god parents 

little fishy

HarBear is officaily 1/3 of a year old!!! (i.e. 4 months)

So far 4 months takes the cake for my favorite age!!

All of a sudden as the days counted down to 4 months Harrison became this little person. I don't even know if I can explain it. It was like he had all the beginnings to things (like grabbing, rolling, etc..) and then BAM he can do them!! He now can accurately grab things with two hands rather than swiping and missing. I mean it was pretty cute to watch, but it is amazing to see him grab things! My favorite developmental step thus far! He always brings everything to his mouth, that is not new! My mom says he constantly has his mouth open.... she is not wrong! A good portion of the time there are squeals, pitch changes, babbling, and of course general loudness coming out of his mouth. He has been playing with the pitch and volume of his voice and screeches then changes the level and smiles, like hey did ya hear that?? I DID that!! Don't be fooled, he.is.loud. Cute, but loud!!

Here are some things that have happened in Harrison's 4th month of life!!

- Successful grabbing. With two hands. Straight.to.the.mouth! DUH!

- Rolling from front to back consistently and has been for a longggg time!

- Began rolling from back to front (this is really for the next post, but I was too excited so I had to share it in his 4 month)

- Screeches and smiles

- fake coughs and smiles

- smiles smiles smiles. Did I mention how smiley he is?!!?  This little gummy mouth melts my heart alllllll the way to goop! It is amazing how a sweet smile from my sweet boy just makes all the bad in the world go away!

- Lots and lots of talking and babbling! No words yet, but lots of fun (sometimes too loud) sounds. I can't say I am surprised though, of course my child would be loud and talking - talking all the time!

- 15lbs 4oz 26 inches long (read more below on his 4 month check up)

- He can't sit by himself when you put him into the sit position. He will topple over after a while, so be prepared!

- He officially held on to Liuzza and it about made her life! She froze and was just like "oh my gosh he is touching me. He is finally touching me!! He DOES have a purpose!!" It was very sweet!

- two words: sleep training... read more below. Basically this is how we spent this wonderful 4th month of life!

- Harrison attended his first Mardi Gras and helped himself to lots of partying!! He was a champ!

- We had a boot camp reunion & he got to meet the ladies he knew when they were in their mommies bellies: Kennedy & Junia

- He began little gym. Every Friday with Sofia & Christina we go to little gym!

- We started belly naps & have learned that he loves to sleep on his side. Can't quite get there, but loves it!

4 Month Checkup.... (read: Mommy low moment)

Okay, so I am writing this now with a week of clear headedness so bear with me. I have moved on and realized that I definitely got way more upset than needed. I cannot explain to you how it feels to be the one person who feeds your child. It is the most magical, empowering, frustrating, amazing, confusing, and down right phenomenal thing I have ever done. To know that my body makes the goodness that keeps my baby growing is unthinkable. I am so grateful everyday for this ability because breastfeeding is damn hard! When it is going well you are on top of the world, when your baby fusses at the boob you immediately start sweating, getting nervous, and second guessing everything. Is he getting enough nourishment? why isn't he eating? what is wrong with my milk? is he going to grow? and so on and so forth. There are so many emotions mixed up in breastfeeding, I cant even begin to bring you down that road. Anywhooo at his 4 month check up Harrison weighed 15lb 4oz. He has consistently been in the 90th percentile since his first weigh in. Well surprise mommy, he has dropped to the 60th!!! He did not lose weight, he just did not gain as rapidly as he has. I cannot tell you why that is. Now my mind thinks that he may be evening out and not gaining as rapidly as he has or maybe he is moving more. I am not sure. But when I heard Dr. O say those words my heart dropped and I only heard half of what he said. Good thing Christopher was there because I most definitely convinced myself that his brain wasn't going to develop. When in actuality that was a whole 'nother conversion about poly-vi-sol and brain development. Long story short, Dr. O wanted me to shake up my schedule and have him nurse every 2.5 hours now instead of 3. And we needed to wake him up for a dream feed in the middle of the night. Well there is nothing dreamy about a dream feed for H. He wakes up the second you pick him up and was wide awake for a good hour after you put him down. He ate most nights when Christopher gave him his bottle, and I pumped while I tried not to fall asleep. Man it was like having a newborn again. And frankly I found it stupid. I am just being honest. I do not see the point in waking a perfectly happy sleeping baby. Who as a result was not sleeping as well anymore! We dream fed for a week, then decided that it wasn't for us. As far as the daily nursing schedule I have made a point to be more flexible. A combo of a 3 hr schedule and nursing on demand. He is not always hungry to eat at 2.5 hours. But when he is, I let him! We go to see the lactation consultant (who did not seem worried when I called her) tomorrow. Then we go back to Dr. O in 3 weeks (4 weeks from the weigh in) to get his weight again. So there you have it, my mommy roller coaster of emotions!!!

There were many a lesson learned from this experience, but the biggest one I took away was to "roll with it." I have this crazy urge to read and read and read and find a solution to every "problem." Well ladies and gents life doesn't fit into a little solvable box, and parenting sure as hell can't even begin to think about fitting in that box. I am learning that every day my baby is a different baby, every day he needs something in a different way and I can't expect to find the answers anywhere but within myself and by staying in tune with Harrison. I know I wont get it right every time and who knows if I am doing right by him with my choices. But I have to know that I am doing the best I can, and that is all I can do. I can't make Harrison fit the mold of a friends baby or that of a story I read. I need to know that Harrison fits Harrison's mold and that is just perfect!

Sleep Training!!

Oh good lawd this is how we spent a bulk of this month! Harrison had been going down at 7, waking up at 3-4 am nursing and going back down until 7. So we decided that we would give it a go! It took a few nights, for him to really get the concept, and then magically he got it! It has basically taken us the whole of the month and even still now we have nights where he wakes up and goes right back down, Then we have nights where we have to go in and resettle him. But for the most part he has got it down and we feel like normal humans again!! I will definitely say that this has been the most rewarding and most awful experience. It is incredible that to see that every challenge we throw at Harrison he succeeds at. But it is a form of torture to hear your child cry. Just minutes, that is all we give him to cry and those minutes really feel like hours! Enter teething and everything gets jumbled up and we have to come up with another plan and strategy! This I am learning is parenting, just when you have it "figured out" it changes. End of story. Take it a day at a time folks, everyday is different!

Side Note... I logged every night of training in my notes on my phone. See Below for said notes. Yeah I am TYPE A WHAT OF IT!! :)

Enjoying the beautiful weather for lots O walks

More outside time

Sleep training logs

logs

logs

logs

Beginning of being able to be warn on da hip!

Hey there cute bear

Riding the doggie & kissing the baby

Birth bootcamp reunion outside da bellies

First day of Little Gym

Liuzza graduated!!

Hello teething

Mommy has been playing with her camera

ughhhh stay eyes stay!

Baby porn!

Posing with the pup... self mutilation via long fingernails 

Love'n this winter hat

Belly naps

sooo hipster

Holding Liuzza's ear

First bday party 

Cuzzy photoshoot

Mardi Gras 2015

Protecting and eating Adele

4 month photo shoot

My fav picture everrrr

LOve him

Heyyyyy Guys!