Bedtime

I took some pictures late last week of our bedtime routine with Madeleine. I thought they were really sweet & wanted to share them. Matt (or I) read her a book of her choice. She's started to crawl over and put her arm around us while we read. Of course, she's got her fuzz and paci -- for now. She only gets them at bedtime, and she knows that when she turns 3 and is a "big girl" the paci is going away to live with a baby that needs it. I'm NOT looking forward to that time AT ALL!

Harrison has started sitting with only a little support. He can sit in his boppy and lean over and then come back up. And, he's gone on a bottle strike. He refuses to take a bottle except at naptime and bedtime. Otherwise he only wants babyfood. He'll just spit out the bottle until I give him babyfood. :) He's started on the meats, which he loves! Such a boy. If you look closely in the pics you can see his two teeth.

5 Months Old!

Yesterday Harrison was 5 months old. Where has the time gone? Those first couple of weeks were such a haze of sleepless nights and feedings -- I thought I'd never survive them. But, then we settled into our routine and the days are just flying by! I want to stop time and hold onto them, store these precious moments and be able to relive them years from now. As tough as it can seem at times, I've decided that these really are the best years of my life. How could it get any better than this?
Harrison is still the happiest not-so-little baby. He probably weighs about 18lbs by now. He can roll onto his tummy & when he feels like it, roll back. He's started this new move on his tummy where he kicks his legs (like a crawling motion) then stops and pushes up straight on his arms, then starts over again. He can do this FOREVER. I think he might be slimming down some from all the exercise. He loves to play in his exersaucer and bounce up and down. He loves to play patty-cake. He smiles at me first thing in the morning and wakes up so happy. He's discovered his feet, but can't get them past his big tummy into his mouth. He like sweet potatoes and squash, but isn't so fond of peas. He puts everything in his mouth -- hands, toys, burpers, clothes, my hand, etc. He's growing so fast & changing so much. He does something new practically every day!
Today on the way home from the gym, Harrison was squealing in the car and making all kinds of cute sounds. Well, Madeleine started mimicking him and making little cute sounds for him. He thought it was sooooo funny. He started laughing and then she started laughing. It was music to my ears to hear them laughing together in the back of the car. That's the first time they've really shared their own little joke and laughed at each other. I wish I'd had my camera.

Matt's Big Day

Matt's school had their annual awards day today & he won the Making the Difference Award for Cabot Junior High South! Hurray for Matt! It's an award that's voted on by other teachers so it's a really big honor. He completely deserves it. He's worked so hard to make his class a discovery environment -- his students are constantly doing something hands-on and different. I'm not surprised at all that he won, but I think he was, which makes it even better. I'm just so proud of him!

News

We've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to post. Harrison has gotten another tooth! He looks like such a big boy with his two teeth. And, Madeleine has suddenly become such a protective big sister. She wants to calm him when he's crying, feed him his bottle/baby food, hug him, etc. It's really sweet. She wants him to play with her, which he can't really do yet. So, I've taken to sitting him in his Bumbo on the floor next to her. The other day she was coloring and he was next to her. I left the room and came back to find that she'd stuck crayons between his toes! It was so cute & I forgot to take a photo. He looked like "no big deal" and she just kept on coloring (her new favorite thing to do --- for HOURS each day!). Tonight I put him in the tub with her just long enough to wash him off. It was a really big deal to her. She talked to him and wanted to help wash his hair. So sweet. :)

I was looking back through some pictures of when Harrison was first born & thought I'd post some since I didn't have the blog then. It's amazing to me to see how small he was then & how big he is now. Wow. Enjoy!

Update

I realize that it's been awhile since I've posted, so there's lots to tell. First, we took Madeleine to the park last week as her reward for filling up her sticker sheet. She had a blast! She loves the park -- in fact, it's the reward for our new sticker sheet. She's gotten the hang of how it's going to work, so she's working harder to get those stickers faster this time. I realize some of the pictures are a bit blurry, but have you ever tried to get a kid to be still at the park? Won't happen! :) The slide is her favorite & she pretty much does it over and over. She's gotten brave enough to go up to the big slide, a big step for her.

We got out the exersaucer for Harrison last week. He broke the bouncy seat! Ha! He broke the straps that buckle him in it, so we thought it might be time to move him up. He's found his feet with the exersaucer & can spin all around and see what's happening. I took a couple of pictures of him in it. I tried to get a picture of.......his tooth!!!!!!! I can't believe it! He got his first tooth on Saturday. He's only 4 months old, Madeleine didn't get teeth until 7 months. So, he's been a little on the cranky side, especially since he's about to get another one too (both are on the bottom). Also, he's got thrush, and the meds are making him feel crummy -- spitting up all the time, everywhere, huge amounts. Yuck. Yuck. Last night we just held him over the sink and let him go. It was gross to say the least and I'm the mom. Usually these things don't gross me out. But, since he's been taking his refux meds he had basically stopped spitting up at all. And now it's back. :(

I guess that's about all that's been happening for now. I'll post a pic of his tooth as soon as there's something good to see.