Cheers to 8 Months & Many Firsts!

I am pre-apologizing for the length of this blog post. Having this new beautiful computer at my fingertips allows me to quickly add a little story whenever I can. So now my posts are not scrambling to remember, I can just type as they happen. I hope I don't bore you to tears with the lengthy post!

Nap Training Round One

Monday May 18th 9:28am... 

Sooooo Harrison and I have gotten into a routine where we read a book, sing twinkle twinkle little start, then hum TTLS and amazing grace, and then I rock him until he is asleep and then into his crib he goes. Well we decided he is 7m now and he should put himself down for a nap, I do not want to start a bad routine. He puts himself to sleep every night just fine, he is wide awake when we leave his room and then he goes to sleep, why not naps!! Game Plan made, so now the day has come and we are gonna do this thing! We read a book, then I put him in his crib, pat his back and sing. Then I tell him I love him, have a great nap and I will see you when you wake up. Easy Peasy! bam! We have got this! He doesn't cry, just watches me leave, then plays around for 7 mins and starts to get a little fussy. He sits up quite gracefully and is looking around his crib. Okay, okay son I am watching you. Well that little stinker decided he was going to learn to pull himself up to standing. So today of all days he learns to stand in his crib!! He is tall enough that the rail hits at his belly and he is in prime toppling over position. Needless to say we will be lowering the crib tonight. So nap #1 ended with me rocking him to sleep....    Mommy: 0       Harrison: 1

Nose/Shin Collision

Wednesday May 20th (early evening)

First (and certainly not last) bloody nose! Harrison has become quite fluent in going from hands and knees to seated and vice verse. Well I squatted down and undressed him on his foam tiles so we could get ready for bath. As I stood up he decided he wanted to be picked up. In order to inform me of said "want" he went from sitting to hands and knees to attempted crawl in all of 2.2 seconds. The end result: his face + my shin = Harrison's first bloody nose. He was more upset by the nose cleaning process then he was the actually bloody nose. HashtagBoyMom. If we had any doubt he was all boy, well here it is folks, here.it.is.

Crawling Clifford

Monday May 25th at 5:15pm (Memorial Day)

Harrison decided he wanted to celebrate those that serve and have served our country by crawling for the first time. After an entire weekend of everyone coaxing him to crawl at the lake, he decided he would come home and show everyone he was just pulling their leg. He straight up crawled like he's been doing it forever! It was wild! What a big proud boy! Then just when you get used to the idea that your baby is mobile, he goes over to our coffee table (which is an ottoman) and pulls himself to standing. What!?!? One happily and excitedly overwhelmed mommy right here! Video evidence below!

Nap Training Round Two

Tuesday May 26th 9am

Well I decided today would be the second go. We are home for two weeks without a trip, so I have the time for consistency. Game On sir, game on! So I set my mind to it, then changed it, then set it, then changed it, basically up until 5 minutes before I put him down I wasn't sure what to do. Then I made a decision (trying very hard to make decisions these days and not worry so much about the other choice or what will happen, just make the choice and be okay with it. Thank you favorite father in law for the push). Well anyways I decided we would read a book, then I would sing one round of twinkle twinkle little star then off the crib Harrison goes. So I put him down I sing another round of TTLS and the only verse of Amazing Grace I know (note to self, learn more lyrics). I covered him with his blanket and attempted back patting while he was like uhhhh mom I am sitting up. Then I told him, "I love you, have a good nap, I will see you when you wake up." Then I left. I left. I closed the door and left my wide awake little daredevil to put himself to sleep. He did great for 7 minutes, he stood and hung his head over the crib, threw his binky over then watched it. Then he got bored and started to cry. I gave him the predetermined 5 mins and then went in. I gave him his binky, gave him his lovies, covered him up and pat his back for 50 counts. He didn't fight or move, I left. He sat right back up and fussed. He cried for 5 more minutes then laid down and went to sleep! Just like that my sweet little rocking boy showed mommy whats up. It took all of 10 minutes on and off of crying, 7 minutes of playing, and the boy was out. Nap time start 9:17am, I am writing this at 10:38am and he is still a sleepy bear! I am gonna give this point to Team Janes! Again and again my sweet boy amazes me. Give him a task and he finds a way to figure it out. And I know that every nap, every day, every event won't always be like this, but I am taking it a day at a time and loving every second of being Harrison's mommy!

Wednesday June 10th at 3:45pm
Harrison went under water and swam for the first time!!! "1000 one" is the count and each week we will add to it. He did great, didn't freak at all! It was awesome, he smiled and had huge eyes and just love it. Kept hopping in and going for it. Now we need to work on his kicking! (side note: we went to the gym pool and he was not a fan of the idea of plopping in like at Emler. I sat him on the side and he whined. I am interested to see what happens at swim on Wednesday).

Stats & Fun Facts:
- Harrison cut the top two teeth, they are this big ole goofy things
- The two vampire teeth are coming through too, all of a sudden!
- Graduated to the big boy carseat
- Gained a new baby cousin! Lilian Louise Janes was born on Wednesday June 3rd at 10:34pm. She was 35 weeks and weighed in at 7lb 1oz. She is perfection!
- He has 5 teeth, working on his 6th
- He is a crawling maniac
- Pulling up on everything. everything.
- 2nd bloody nose in the books

All in all I'd say this month was another for the record books. Y'all I am already thinking about his first birthday. His.First.Birthday!?!?!?! WHAT!?

First successful back put on and carry! Didn't drop the babe!

What the heck are these snakes!?

Lilian Louise you sweet little lovey! I am so glad you are here!!

Godfather Uncle Stinky double time duty 

Lovin' life with my Cheech

Lily's bday weekend!

Check out ma new bag y'all! Ready for gym care!

Genius or lucky?

First time under water!

First cheeto!

Big boy carseat

doin' how I do at the poo. Eating sunscreen and being' coo!

Nectarine eating like a big boy! I cut a piece to give him a start and he rocked it! Next time I won't be cutting a piece!

Begin the 8 Month photo shoot 

Crawling babe!! First official crawl (well second, the first happened two seconds before this and only Christopher got to see it!)

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