Fisher, January Recap

Well, this has been a big month for Fisher. He turned one. He started walking...though I must say he still prefers to crawl when trying to get somewhere fast...so he hasn't officially "taken off" as moms like to call it. It is funny that every now and then we'll look up and Fisher will just be walking around the corner. Or we will hear Harrison declare from the other room, "Mom...look...Fisher just walked across the room." So that is pretty big in toddler world.
Other than that...he becomes more and more attached to his blanket and call me a bad mom, but it is so darn cute that I can't seem to discourage it. In fact, I may encourage it. It is sort of like the finger sucking. I think it is cute. Homeboy is going to need some major orthodontics, but good lord...the sound that he makes on the monitor when he is sleeping is so sweet. Back to the blanket...in the rare case that it isn't in his crib (we leave it in there so he doesn't walk around with it), he carries it in his mouth like a mother cat carriers it's young ( I guess this is his attempt to not let us take it from him). All in all...he's a cute kid...just a big time firecracker.

Harrison, January Recap

First of all, Happy Birthday Papa! We are so thankful for you and the way that you love the boys. They are so blessed to have you in their lives!
So, this month has come and gone. I'm already writing 2013 on everything, but that is largely due to the nature of my job and I've been planning 2012 for a while now. Harrison has had a bout with hands, foot, mouth this month. Which, contrary to my belief, is not one of those diseases that you are immune to once you've had it once. A few people told me that and that is a bold-faced lie. This is the second year in a row that Harrison has contracted it. This is also the second year in a row that it has been misdiagnosed as step throat. And lastly, this is the second year in a row that I've told the pediatrician's office that he is a carrier for strep and will always test positive. I'm crossing my fingers that we don't continue this trend in 2013.
Here's an update:
Harrison is hilarious...I don't think he is particularly funnier than other kids his age, but the content and imagination of what he says is just so darn funny.
Harrison is the best big brother. I think multiple times a day how thankful I am that Harrison is the older brother. Sometimes, I'm annoyed by the tattle-tailing, but on the flip side, I'm so thankful that he keeps Fish in line. He does love him well (except for the time last Sunday that Fisher took a sword to the center of his head and I almost rushed him to the ER. Good news: we are all still alive and the brain damage doesn't seem to be overt at this time).
Harrison has also started playing with a sweet boy down the street. His name is Cooper and he has two younger sisters. He loves being able to play and teach Harrison soccer, which is so much fun to watch.
And lastly, Harrison is pumped about our upcoming Disney trip. Every night before he goes to bed, he reminds me that he is nervous that we are going to forget to take his Mickey (stuffed animal from Billy and Amanda) to Disney. He is right. I probably will forget.

Opinionated, but look at him...really

I told Harrison this morning that he needed to wear a sweater to church because it was cold. For some reason, he thought that meant he had to wear a tie too. Or, he just really wanted to. Even though he wanted to wear the tie on the outside of his sweater, I was still impressed with his fashion sense. And just like most guys, he was messing with it before the end of the first song. And it was completely off before we returned to the car. Favorite part of church today: the pastor read the gospel which was the passage from Mark that included, "come, follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men." After Harrison heard it, he leaned over and whispered to me, "Mom, we named Fisher because of what he just said." He was exactly right...I was shocked that he remembered that, or even ever absorbed that. Unbelievable. And before you freak out in the picture...Harrison is sitting on a booster seat that is built into our fancy-schmancy Volvo. He's safe...relatively.

Why Haven't I Been Taking Pictures?

It occurred to me when I snapped the above pictures that I haven't been taking pictures of Fisher since he started crawling. This kid moves around like crazy and getting him to sit still is just impossible...unless he is in his high chair...hence the above pictures. I'm going to try a little harder. I have a good break in work after next week, so all my blog followers, if you are out there, prepare to get overloaded. Oh and speaking of overload...I just booked our family's first Disney trip. I actually loathed the idea of going to Disney, but now that I've booked it and told Harrison we are going for his birthday, I'm beyond excited.

Fisher's Birthday Part 2 & 1 Year Stats

We got to celebrate Fisher's birthday with the Brantley side of the family. Nothing new...Fisher loved the cake and the attention. Harrison did tell me a few times that it is taking too long to get to his (Harrison's) birthday now. Thankfully we only have to wait until March...so only two months of wondering when his birthday is. Can you spot my favorite picture? It may involve Fisher looking suspiciously at the camera and Harrison trying to blow his candle out. I love it.

Here are Adam's stats...I only put Adam down because they call Fisher that at the office and I always get so confused...one day I'll remember that my son's first name is that same as my husband's:
Weight: 20 lbs, 13 ozs...50th percentile (much to our surprise...he feels like a load of bricks)
Height: 30 1/2 inches...greater than 95th percentile (not surprised at all)

Happy Birthday Fisher Part 1

I can't believe that my baby tuned one today. It is so hard for me to wrap my head around it. I don't think that I can even form complete thoughts about it. One thing I have learned this week about birthdays...though your child won't remember it...you will. I had convinced myself that I was okay being out of town on his birthday. I was supposed to be gone Tuesday through Friday morning. As soon as I arrived on Tuesday, I realized that I had made a huge mistake. I kept on saying to myself..."It's okay...Fisher hardly knows that he has hands...he won't miss me on his birthday." And that is exactly right. He won't miss me. But what I found out was, I will miss him. So, thankfully, I came to my senses and took an early flight home and got to eat dinner and do cake with Fisher and the rest of the clan. Lesson learned...
Fisher...
I love you more than I could have ever imagined. I still remember everyday how badly I wanted you. I remember everyday how you defied the odds and made it into this world. And you have already made your mark. Your sweet, but fiery. Snuggly, but on the move. Content, but let us know when you aren't so much. You just started walking and I'm nervous about the running that is around the corner. You make me laugh more than anyone else in the house...especially when you crinkle your nose when you smile...or you carry stuff in your mouth around the house so you can have free reign with your hands (I'm impressed by your efficiency at an early age). I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for you. You have completed our family. We are so thankful for this year that we have had with you and pray for many more!

Grandma Shealy's Christmas

We got to spend the day after Christmas at my Grandma's Shealy's house. We love going to spend time with her as it is always a riot. She makes us laugh when she has no clue that she does. And thankfully, my mom and sister were there, so we got to spend good time with them and my extended family. I must say that we spent a good majority of the day getting serenaded by Harrison's rendition of Joy To the World. After one particular performance he looked at Puff and said "Puff...we totally rocked that." Which was then followed by a high-five. Puff was a performer in his show with a baton. Unfortunately, all my pictures and videos are on my phone. I need to send them over, but while I'm playing catch-up...I just need to post.

Christmas at Nana and Papa's House

So, in true fashion of my recent past, I took very few pictures. Adam is actually the photographer in the family. And any pictures that get taken these days are a result of him. Harrison and Fisher had a blast at the Brantley's house. I feel confident that Harrison's favorite part was the nerf gun war. Well, that and the polar express train that he received.

2011 Christmas Morning

Christmas gets more and more fun each year. The boys each get three presents (we say Jesus got three gifts from the wisemen, so that should be enough for them too) from Santa (for now). And then we give them a mutual gift from us. It really is a great system for us as it keeps Santa on a good budget. But it is so fun to carry on and start our own traditions. Thankfully, we've impressed the "no getting out of bed before 7 am" rule at our house, so no one awoke in earlier than normal. I know that this may be the last year that actually works. Harrison's favorite gifts this year were the plasma car and knights he got in his stocking. Fisher's favorite was the empty paper towel roll Santa put in his stocking (Harrison said that was silly of Santa to leave his trash in Fisher's stocking).

Catching Up...Christmas with Gus and Linda

Well, it has been a while. There is a lot to catch up on. Since we can't spend Christmas day with everyone in the family, we decided to have Grandpa Gus and Grandma Linda over before Christmas for a real lowcountry Christmas...frogmore stew! It was so fun to have them over and celebrate Jesus' birth with them. In real Gus fashion, he tried to see how close he could get Fisher to actually tasting beer. It didn't take long. And while we all exchanged gifts, the big hit was the harmonica gifted to H by Gus and Linda. He loved it. Thanks for celebrating with us!