Tonight Harrison got his first taste of "real" food. He's been eating the stage 3 food so well and chewing on Puffs, that I decided he was ready. And was he ever! He ate Spagetti-Os and meatballs and some carrots. He couldn't seem to get enough of them -- finally we just had to declare that he was done and take the food away! Ha! He's just such a big boy and certainly eats like one. He made a big mess, too. Although, I think the major mess goes to Madeleine. She had the same thing to eat and, of course, had food all over her face (is it possible for spagetti-os not to be messy?). I wanted to take her picture with Harrison and both of their messy mouths. On the way to his seat, she paused by the wall and then put BOTH of her dirty hands on the wall. Matt and I both yelled "NOOOOOOO" but it was too late. Our wall now has two lovely handprints. Here are some pictures of dinner.....

Can't get it in there fast enough.

Yummy.

My two messy mouths.
Check out the handprints. :)
After dinner, when I went to get Harrison out of his chair, I noticed a LARGE amount of his dinner in the chair, on him, and IN his diaper! He looked down, saw the food and began to finish it off. Hehehehe.

Gorgeous!

Yesterday I was working in the kitchen, when Miss Madeleine came in asking how she looked. I turned around to see her all dressed up! I told her she looked "beautiful", to which she replied "No mommy, I look GORGEOUS!" Then she wanted me to take her picture and she really posed for the camera. Check out these glamour shots -- you'd think she's been reading some fashion magazines. :)

Fun With Our Friends

Yesterday we had a playdate with Hannah and Lincoln. It was *such* fun! Madeleine was so excited and talked about Hannah all the way down to LR, but when we got there, she was pretty shy at first. She played with Hannah's doll house and Hannah played with Harrison for awhile. Then, Madeleine warmed up and she and Hannah had a blast! And what a mess they made! :) They must have played with every toy Hannah owns. They played dolls, dollhouse, kitchen, and in the pool and sandbox. They were adorable in the pool. It's so sweet to hear them calling to each other in their little voices. At one point they came in and told us that they were tired and were going to take a nap. HA! Like that was actually gonna happen, athough they did lay down in the bed.
Harrison and Lincoln were just a cute together. They really sized each other up. I think Harrison crawled all over Lincoln. :) They will definitely be a mess together in a few more months.
Thanks Jamie for all the fun-- and letting us stay practically ALL DAY! Can't wait to see your pictures.

Lincoln showing Harrison his toys.

I love Madeleine's face -- she had just poured water on Hannah.
Look out Lincoln, Harrison's about to sit on you. Playing quietly -- for awhile.

"Mommy You Stink"

This morning on the way home from the gym, Madeleine tells me from the backseat, "Mommy you stink, you need a shower!" She just said it so matter of fact. It made me laugh!

Also, today was the first time she's been able to wear a ponytail. :) It's a big thing for us -- she's been wanting one, since I wear one everyday at the gym (although she's already taken it out). But, her hair just WILL NOT grow. So, here's a couple of pics of it.

We've also entered into the "why" phases. Yesterday when watching TV she asked me "mommy, why is that lady wearing a shirt?" I gave some answer like...."it's the rules." Of course Madeleine doesn't understand that because she HATES clothes! I make her wear them out, but as soon as we walk in the door, she sits down and takes off her pants and shoes/socks. There's always a pair of pants and shoes sitting at my backdoor. Seriously. Hehehe.

Harrison is 8 Months Old!

Today Harrison is 8 months old. I know I write this every month, but really, where does the time go? This has been a pretty big month for my baby boy. He's learned to crawl in the tradition way, started standing, started to "cruise" a little bit around his room. He's into everything -- nothing is safe. He's gotten two new teeth so he now has 3 on the bottom and one up top. He's discovered peek-a-boo and laughs so hard when you play it with him. He can eat some real food -- mostly puffs and cheerios and sip from his cup some. He LOVES the puffs. Yesterday, Madeleine and I were sitting at the kitchen table while she had her afternoon snack, with Harrison in his seat. I gave him some puffs and his cup and he just squealed and laughed -- he was finally able to participate in our little afternoon ritual. He was beaming! It was so sweet to see them there, having a snack together -- Harrison probably ate about 50 puffs (although I gave him many more, but lots end up on his clothes, hair, floor, etc.). He's not long from being able to just eat real food, something I'm looking forward to. :)

One of his favorite things to do.....stand up and pat on the chairs.

He LOVES the garden!

Caught in Madeleine's closet. (I guess the snooping starts early)

New Pictures and Thoughts

I left them alone the other day for a minute to check the mail and when I came back I found.....

Harrison in Madeleine's room and.....

Madeleine in Harrison's exersaucer!
Madeleine coloring in her garden yesterday.
Harrison getting a chance to play in there, too. :)

This morning when I woke up I felt suspended between past and future. My first thought was that one year ago today when Matt started back to work we didn't have Harrison yet. How can that be? It seems like he's been a part of us forever and it's becoming hard to remember what it was like before him. I also, had the thought that two years from today, my little girl will start kindergarden. WOW. I can't even write that sentence with out getting tears in my eyes. It just came crashing down on me, out of nowhere, that I have two, just two, years with my baby left at home. Then she'll be out there, spending so much of her day away from me. I feel like I have so much to accomplish before then. So much I want to do with her -- more time reading, snuggling, just talking and playing. So, I guess this morning I feel resolved to make the next to years incredible, unforgettable for me and her!

Thoughts on Parenting

I found this today and really liked what it said. It seemed to pretty much sum up what I try to do every day (and pretty much fail miserably) in our home. I don't know anything about the author, but I'll post the link, for anyone that wants to check it out.


Suppose for a moment that you were asked to pass on some of the most important truths or lessons about life to four people whom you deeply cared about.
To one person you will pass on some of the most important things you have learned about being a husband or wife. (See yesterday’s post and the comments that follow.) To a second person, you will pass on some of the most important truths you have learned about being a mom or dad. (Tomorrow, I will mention a third person.)
What have you learned about being about being a parent that you would want to pass on to someone else? I will begin the list. Please comment and leave some truth or important principle that you would want to pass on.
The following are a few of mine:
Teach your child to love God and love people. A child learns this by seeing and hearing it in the life of her from mom and dad. A child quickly picks up whether or not this is really important in the life of his parents.
You are rearing the parents of your grandchildren. What you do will be passed on to another generation.
Laugh often in your home. Build a place of good memories.
Pray for the wisdom to know what to "let go" and to know what you need to deal with in the lives of your children.
Give your child lots of grace and truth. Good homes have an abundance of love along with God-honoring expectations and standards.
Be a regular, on-going learner. Most of us who are parents have much to learn. Watch parents who seem to be doing something right. Have conversations with these people. Read. Most of all–pray for wisdom.
Nurture your own life with God. Being a parent is to be vulnerable. Most of the time, our child see us for who we really are. Yes, that could make us nervous. (This might cause us to examine our lives.) On the other hand, this can be comforting. A child can see through our mistakes and blunders and know that we really do intend to do right before God and toward him or her as our child. Nevertheless, she does need to hear us apologize and admit our mistakes and wrongdoing.
Spend time talking and being with your child when he is very, very young. He might be more willing to continue to share his heart with you as he moves into adolescent years. Regardless, you have given your child very, very good memories of mom or dad being a safe, nurturing person.
Pay now or pay later. Being a parent is often hard work. Some parents close their eyes to behavior or attitudes that should be dealt with. Yes, this takes time and energy. For instance, a six year old might be very disrespectful toward his mother. Yes, she can close her eyes to this. The problem, however, only gets worse as this child soon becomes sixteen and is disrespectful toward his mother.
Never think that you have this parenting thing figured out. Being a parent can be very, very humbling.
This list is only a start. What will you add?

http://godhungry.org/?p=753

Harrison Stands Up!

I thought Harrison was being kinda quiet this afternoon, went into his room and this is what I found......



He had pulled himself up and was looking quite proud! The garden toy was Madeleine's and we got it down from the attic this weekend for him. He LOVES it! And, so does little miss Madeleine. In fact, she seems to think that since it was hers first, she still gets first dibs on it. And so, the task of explaining how to share continues......

Harrison Update

I caught Harrison this week "exploring" our home. He is into everything. YIKES! He's also sick right now for the first time. :( We went to the doctor today and he's got croup. He feels so bad and cries everytime I put him down. It's been rough.

Quick Trip

Yesterday, Matt and I decided to take a quick little trip over to Tunica for the night. Madeleine absolutely LOVES to stay in hotels and it was a good chance to get away for a couple of days. We've been wanting to take her and do some relaxing/ playing in the pool. We stayed at a great hotel that had this huge pool and almost of half of it was only 1ft deep! Perfect for our little water babies. Madeleine was able to go all over this area by herself and was she proud of that! :) She kept saying "this is just my size!" This was Harrison's first experience being in the pool and he took to it well. He is Mr. Independent these days and wanted out of our arms (not gonna happen), but he kicked and splashed and then laid back and took in the scene. He floated (with help) in Madeleine's floaty and seemed to really enjoy that. But, being in the water really did him in and Madeleine too! They both slept the entire way home today -- almost 3 hours. It was one of the most peaceful car rides in a long time. :)

Also, Harrison has finally started to do a more "normal" crawl. All of a sudden he got up and started doing it. No more pulling himself around the house. Hurray! He looks like *such* a big boy, though.

Summer Updates

I took both kids to the doctor this week, Madeleine for her 3 year checkup and Harrison for his 6 month (yes, I know I'm a a month late). Madeleine was 32 lbs, 3ft & 2 in (50% and 90%, respectively). Harrison was 20lbs 6oz & 27 1/2 in (90% and 90%). They both are tall. Where does that come from -- definitely not from dad & mom! Hahaha! The doctor just kept telling me that Harrison was BIG. She said it at least three times -- "he's just really big, you know that." And he eats like a horse. :) She also said that he should be getting some teeth in the next couple of weeks. His top gums have thinned out and the teeth are just below the gums. He's been chewing on everything and waking up at night crying, so she's probably right. Harrison also has starting hugging and giving kisses. He'll grab our faces and put a hand on each cheek and put his mouth (open) on ours for several seconds then move away. It's soooo cute, especially when he does it to Madeleine. He also, just this morning, started pulling up on things. He can't get all the way up yet, but he'll raise himself a couple of inches. He's definitely into everything. And, of course, Madeleine The Informer tells what he's done.

I think the "Troublesome Threes" are here. She won't go to bed, gets up in the middle of the night, tells up "no," and just defies us. The only person she is always good around is Harrison. Where has my sweet little girl gone? :( I'm hoping it's just a phase and she'll grow out of it soon! She's also decided that there are puppy dogs in the potty and won't go without someone holding her. Again, I realize this is just a phase, one I hope passes quickly!

We've been trying to do some fun stuff with her and emphasize the positives of good behavior. She "helped" Matt clean out his car this week and had a blast pretending to drive and playing with the button in the car!