2 Month Countdown (i.e. 10 months)

I feel like this month has kind of flown by in a whirlwind. I hate to admit that I have not been writing this post as I go and as a result have forgotten much of the small details that have happened. I apologize in advance for a pretty uneventful blog post.... Lets get to it shall we!

10 Month Funness:

- We have had lots of play dates with our friends (mostly Sofia, Gemma, David, Everett, and Sammie). It is actually pretty cool because E and Sammie are born a few weeks apart and are 3 months older than H. And Sofia and H are 3 weeks apart. I always find that fun fact well fun!

- We have been practicing our throwing and dunking

- We pretty much 85% of the time walk while holding on to two hands. He has gotten really good and stable at walking. He will occasionally let you hold just one hand and walk. He then realizes that he is  not 100% secure and stops. It is pretty funny because he defiantly has the physical readiness for walking but mentally he is super nervous.

- Working on teeth 7 & 8

- We took a trip to NOLA for Chad's golf tourney. We had our first full Janes Gang photo. The original 6, plus their spouse, plus their kids - It was pretty cool!

- We had a few cuzzy photo shoots which was also super fun!!!

- H is clap obsessed, we may have to take him to clappers anonymous! 

We eat apple slices while we shop!

shorts on my head! hahaha

About to swim!

Hey new swing!

Daddy did swim class bc mommy was poison ivy covered 

Building block (read: stealing blocks) from daddy

Puppy kisses before bed

What the what!? they make an LSU carseat!

(this is a bad mommy moment but....) Hitler mustache and salute.... :( 

Chris finished his first Sprint Tri!

A happy boy post food!

The result of beets!

Best games are those that you play with the puppy and that make me laugh like this!

Breakfast with Papa King, Raine, and Silly C!

The whole Janes Gang!! (ignore my crazy red faced poison ivy covered body)

Kisses for my baby cuzzy Lily

Snuggles and climbs with Cheech and Baby Lily 

And we have a baby gate now, thank you for discovering the stairs Sir. 

Processing my walking with Raine while we shop 

Playing in the baby pool with Raine and Puppy

Kisses and hugs from Aunt Lauren!

Happy birthday Aunt Christina! 

who dat!? who dat!? 

smiles

what a ham

clap clap clap

I am standing machine... now if I was confident enough to walk 

9 Months

A few fun things in the 9th Month:

- Harrison has learned how to create a creepy baby gremlin sound.... I am sad to say I cannot find the video

- He has begun to learn how to self feed with a fork

- H clapped for the first time on 6/20 when we were helping Christina and Ryan unpack at their new house! He also attempted to eat a june bug, but whats more exciting? let's be real!

- He is walking with a walker and is an expert at pulling himself up and walking along furniture. He is not brave enough yet to walk sans help. 

-He will balance for a few seconds without holding on, then squats down like...whah what happened! 

- We have discovered the stairs, but aren't confident enough to climb them... yet (see video below)

Friday June 26th

Harrison Drinks From The Weighted Straw Cup

What?!?! I have only been trying for months for him to drink from the straw cup and he only bites it. I step out for an hour to get a much needed pedicure and he does it for his daddy! It is very exciting all around! I am quite impressed by this little booger. Now we just need to see if that translates across all the other straws. (side note: he did drink kefir from a straw cup for me the other day, but Christopher got water, so that is a real win!)

Our Journey of Breast Feeding 

This month has been pretty focused on my milk supply. It is not a very exciting story and really isn't about Harrison so much as it is about me. But I will share for those interested. I have experienced the biggest dip in my supply to date. It does not affect Harrison's actual nursing, he seems perfectly satisfied the 2-3x he nurses. It does however affect my ability to make enough for his one expressed bottle before bed. I am having a hard time deciding which route to go here because the bottle has become a huge part of his bedtime routine and I am not willing sacrifice it. I have frozen milk to use and will use it, but when that is gone is where my problem begins. We meet with the pediatrician tomorrow for his 9m check up and I am going to explore options with him and see. I can get a a few ounces a day (including 2am pumps), but it is not the complete 5oz he needs for his bottle. And this 5oz has dropped down from the 9oz he was taking. Phew! I am pretty sure if I let him H would stop nursing all together and just eat solids. However we are going to make it to a year then reevaluate if we continue on. It amazes me how far we have come in such a frustrating, exhausting, incredible, and rewarding experience. I often find myself thinking, "why do I chose to put myself and my body through this (I haven't dieted and have had to be careful with my exercise intensity because I very quickly have dips in my supply when I do). So that has really stunk too. But I tell myself, this is not for ever, I am feeding my baby right now and taking it a day at a time. I am so proud of the journey we have taken and am grateful we have made it this far. My new motto is to just take it one day at a time, and if we are faced with the "drought of breast milk" we will face that when/if it happens. 

Liuzza's Trip to the Emergency Vet 

July 4th, 2015
Liuzza chose to enjoy the 4th of July at the emergency vet in Vicksburg! The silly little pup found some sharp rusty thing to cut her chest open. Muscle exposed. quite gross. she survived. We were so lucky! It could have been so much worse. She is a trooper and awesome and has no idea she got hurt. The knuckle head was trying to play with the vet when she got to the vet!

9 Month CheckUp Stats:
- 21lbs 1oz (60%)
- 29.5 inches long (90%)
- Head circumference is 18cm
- Harrison has official learned "mama" and "dada" however the manor in which he uses them changes with his mood.
- He was off the charts on his gross motor test and passed with flying colors

Somehow this month has gotten away from me and the details are not as detailed..... I hope you find this post satisfying with its lack of information and excitingness!

I am just gonna kiss dis baby 

artsy fartsy

I learned to clap! (right after I ate a June Bug!)

swoon! My world in one photo!

I got dis mommy, I am a big boy

First successful straw cup usage!

night night baby, happy puppy

butt.head

1st time in the actual lake!

1st shoulder ride from Chong

The excellent patient leaving her overnight stay

Cuzzy matchey photoshoot. holy cuteness! Missing Lily!

Man car rides are ruff

Some silliness post a 5.5hr car ride

sleepy dude, I could watch you forever. And you look like your daddy bunches here!

Early morning swings

puppy McConeHead

Besties being matchy and cute

H is Obsessed with this tunnel at Lifetime!

I found the stairs. oh wait I don't know how this works. on to the next thing. 

He LOVES to eat a whole peach or nectarine!

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!)