Monday, August 31, 2009

Margaret's Pictures






I have been itching to get some new pictures of Harrison taken so I asked one of my dearest friends, Margaret, to take some pics for us. I mean, she couldn't really say no...Harrison is too cute. We braved the heat this past Saturday at Alhambra Hall and had the time of our lives. One really funny story did surface from the photo shoot. As we were just walking out onto the open lawn, there was a guy doing push-ups that donned a hat and headphones playing music (super loudly, I hope). Harrison saw him and ran up to him saying, "Dada, Dada." Harrison got right up next to him and gave him a good stare-down waiting for him to respond. The guy did, with an embarrassed laugh (which I was doing on the side too). Harrison legitimately thought this guy was Adam. I'm sure he thought that I trained my child to go up to strangers so I could find him a daddy. I was so mortified. Anyway, here are just a few of the amazing pictures that she took. I am not even sure how I am going to decide which ones to show, because they are all so good. Obviously, the ones that are in the blog title are my favorites too! Thanks Marge! They are fabulous!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Video of Harrison Eating

As mentioned in the post from last week, I have a really cute video of Harrison eating. For some reason, YouTube, just miraculously decided that it was ready to upload my video. So, here it is. As you can see, Harrison is getting a kick out of it. Also, to those who haven't seen our beach house rental, you can get a good glimpse of the decor that we are living in everyday. I can't complain, though. I do live at the beach (which is temporary, I'm sure).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnTJq216CJM

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Milestones

Harrison thinks he is hilarious.

The first year of being a mom (and actually about the 5 months before I became one), I stayed brushed-up on milestones for Harrison. Lacking much, if any, experience with kids, I wanted to know what to expect. He was pretty late on things physically which got me all wrapped up and worried about him. In the end (through a lot of self-coaching), I realized, well, every child does everything differently and on their own schedules. But as a first time mom, and potentially a very competitive mom, I want my child to achieve these milestones early. Harrison didn't really do anything early (except sleep through the night, which I am uber-thankful for), and I was always searching for excuses. It's funny how motherhood will bring you face-to-face with your sin. I have often reflected how this competitive trait of mine would manifest itself in me as a mother. I don't think it’s pretty. However, I do think that coming to the realization that every child is different and no matter what Harrison does, I am going to love him unconditionally, will help me to avoid the pitfalls of the competitive mom. I do know that is something that I will have to be aware of the rest of my life, as I am sure it could show its ugly head at any given moment (on the soccer field, in high school, etc). As our lives have been in transition the past couple of months, I don't think that I have even picked up a book about toddlers since he turned one. I do enjoy the books, but not reading them has been freeing. I think I've hit a milestone as a mom, and hopefully not just temporarily.
Harrison, on the other hand, has shown a lot of interest in wanting to feed himself. And this is a milestone that, frankly, I don't have the patience to work for with him. We already have all of our meals down to a science. Harrison learning to feed himself triples the time and the mess. When we were with Nana, she had the patience to work with him on it. And now, he really wants to try to feed himself even if crumbs only make it into his mouth. The other night, Harrison fed himself spaghetti and ruined his clothes, but got about 70% of the food in his mouth. I thought that was great. I have no idea when the self-feeding milestone is supposed to be met, but I would say that Harrison is almost there. For the record, I find it very frustrating that he insists on feeding himself. I guess it is good for me. Add patience to the laundry list of milestones that I am learning (and re-learning). As an aside: I had a really cute video of Harrison feeding himself, but it won't upload.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

How Will He Choose?

Harrison signing "please" for Tatum. Big shocker.
I'm not sure why he has a bib on in this picture. He hasn't worn one like that for months.
Oh well...I can't explain these things.

So, I thought we had locked up a suitor for Harrison, but it turns out, he has his own interests. A couple of weeks ago, Harrison hung out with little Tatum DeMooney, whose mom won't start a blog for reasons I don't understand, and he certainly was not shy around her. Per usual, as soon as he could get close to her, he started to sign please. My guess is, I won't be picking a lady out for him because I don't think that he could narrow it down to just one. For now, it seems as though he is playing the field and keeping his options open. What a player...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Super Dad

Adam & Harrison with a couple of our younger cousins.
Adam, Spencer, Harrison, Christopher, & Kendall
*and there are more!!
Adam and Harrison playing in the lake together.

Have I mentioned recently how great of a dad my husband is to Harrison? Just when I thought I couldn't fall more in love with him, I see him romp around with my sweet son and my heart just melts.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Poor Blogger


I never really thought that I would enter into the realm of "poor blogging," but alas, I have. On my personal computer at home, I have a slew of super-cute pictures and videos that are just waiting to be posted. Unfortunately, I haven't been home or around my personal computer for about 10 days. At some point, I will catch up with the goings-on of our life. Right now, I feel like our little family is a band of gypsies...only in a Volvo or on a plane. Not so much gypsies, but certainly a form of wanderers. Thus, personal time on my computer just hasn't existed. Anyway, I stole this picture my mom took off of her blog. I thought it was super-cute.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Childlike Faith


Before we left the dock, we let Harrison have at it on the boat. He was thoroughly entertained. It was way better than a baby-sitter.

Riding on Poppy's lap in the boat. Harrison loved it even though he tried to steer us into the marsh a couple of times.


I knew there were a million reasons why I wanted to move back to the coast. High up there, possibly even #2, was to be around the water. Adam and I both grew up around the water and really love it. I grew up going to be the beach and playing in the creeks and marsh. Adam grew up going to the lake. I think both of us are most comfortable in the one that we grew up around. The idea of snakes and alligators in the rivers and lakes around me pretty much frighten me from getting in them. I'm not really afraid of that in the ocean. Whenever I tell people that, I usually here, "Well, you're not afraid of sharks," or "Don't you know there are snakes everywhere?" To all of the naysayers, just let me live in my oblivion as long as I can. Adam isn't scared of any water, but I think he is most comfortable in a lake. I think we both long for the days of a child when you really aren't afraid of anything. I love that wild sense of adventure that I had as a kid. I miss that, really. The childlike faith that you have to believe and trust anything. I realize there are some pitfalls in this, but you have to admit, there is much more freedom to live in when you have that childlike faith. Anyway, I can already see that Harrison has little fear (except of me leaving him with someone he doesn't know). I love that he is pretty much game for anything at this age. While he doesn't have the words to express disinterest in an activity, I'm not sure that he would. As soon as he sees water, he starts pointing to it and signing, "Please." I love it. This past weekend was no exception. We spent the day at the Brantley house hanging out on the dock and going out in the boat. Harrison went tubing for his first time and didn't cry. He seemed a little unsure at first, with good reason. By the end, he was waving at everyone. We didn't capture any pictures, but we have video. I'll post it soon. He also got to drive his Poppy's boat. This was, by far, the highlight of the day for Harrison. I guess boys are just born with the desire to be behind the wheel.