Here's Maria!

Here is a picture of Maria with her Harrison shirt on. So sweet! She could not get any cuter.

Harrison and Maria

When I picked Harrison up today, I got to see the cutest final product ever. Harrison has always loved playing with Malika's four-year-old daughter Maria. Well, Harrison now has a new shirt that says, "Maria loves me" (or as she corrected, "Maria hearts me"). Maria has one that says "Harrison loves me". They are adorable! I am definitely going to need a picture of the two of them wearing these shirts, but here is one of just Harrison.

Classic baby-in-the-sink bath

Harrison and I went to Virginia a few weeks ago to keep my mom, Aunt Sue, Aunt Jan and Uncle Lulu company while they started to go through Mimi's things at her house. I say that we were there to keep them company because I wasn't too much help with little Harrison there to keep me busy. Anyway, in cleaning out Mimi's things, we found some bright red lipstick. I put it on and laid a big fat kiss on Harrison's cheek. Super cute and funny, but then it wouldn't come off! So we got into a full-fledged bath in our attempt to get him de-lipsticked. I didn't realize that he had never had a bath in a sink before. He really loved the stream of water that was coming down on top of him. The sink was the perfect size and made for some super cute pictures.

Swim Lessons--Catching Up

Here are some photos of our first swim lesson. You can see that Harrison is having a great time and I am listening intently to the teacher. But looking back now, I see how much more comfortable he is in the water after having almost finished our lessons (Thursday is the last day!). Cutie pie!

Eating Puffs

Harrison is such a big boy. He is starting to feed himself! So far, he has only mastered the Gerber puffs. He doesn't always get them all in his mouth, but he is getting better! I took a video, which is really cute, but I can't figure out how to rotate it. I don't think I can because it is a video. So I am going to put it on here, and you can just turn your head if you want to see it. :) I'm taking bets on how many we found shoved up underneath his chin that night!

Here we go again

Harrison has been very fussy lately when he eats. When he would eat solid food, he would open his mouth like he was hungry. But when he swallowed, he would make the most horrible face, groan and grunt. Then open his mouth for more like he was still hungry. At first, I thought he didn't like what we were feeding him. But the more he did it, the more I thought his throat hurt when he swallowed. I felt like I was getting a cold, so I thought he just had what I had. He didn't have a fever, and after the last time he had a cold and the nurse told me, "Gee, you sure have been here a lot lately", I have been hesitant to just run back to the doctor. But Jason took him to the walk-in clinic on Thursday morning, and Harrison has thrush (yeast in his mouth). That is what was making his throat hurt. Well, it also explains why I haven't been feeling well, because that means that I am getting sick too from breastfeeding. You may remember that we went through this back in October-December, so I was pretty upset when I found out. But I hope we have caught it early enough that I won't get too sick. I have been feeling pretty yucky the past few days with flu-like symptoms, which is a sign that I do have mastitis. The doctor called in a prescription for me, Harrison is on an antibiotic, and I am going to the doctor on Tuesday. So we are treating it pretty aggressively and I hope it won't turn into the 3 month ordeal that it was last time. Cross your fingers!

A bit of advice...

Dear Harrison,

We know you love your paci. It makes you feel better when you are sad, and helps you fall to sleep. But here's a little piece of advice. If you want your paci, then don't throw it over the back of your crib so that Daddy and I can't find it. It will make life easier for us all.

Love,
Your Wise Mommy :)

Water fun

Tonight at our swimming lesson, we had a blast. Harrison and I were already in the pool when Grammy showed up. Well, he was trying his hardest to climb over me and out of the water to see her. It was really cute. He wouldn't keep his eyes off his beloved Grammy!! After I distracted him and got back to the real business at hand, he did a great job kicking his legs and moving his hands in the water. Some of the other moms even said things like, "That baby is doing WAY better than you" and "see, if the baby can do it, why can't you?". Harrison apologizes to his classmates if he made them look bad! He also got two new girlfriends. They had been giving him the eye the past few weeks, and tonight they both made their move. They kept wanting to come over and touch him! Literally, they couldn't keep their hands off him! It was hilarious. Finally, we ended the night by chasing a ball around the pool. Harrison would get the ball, give it to me, and I would throw it. Then, he would swim with all his might to get his ball back. Apparently, he had been playing with a ball all day at Malika's so this game was right up his alley. It really got him to move his arms and legs in a swimming motion. Success!

Now let's just hope that all this excitement results in a baby who sleeps ALL night, unlike the past few nights! To add to the sleepless nights, I have been doing end of grade testing this week, which takes a lot out of you. PLUS, I got an email yesterday to come and interview for a new school they are opening. I went, and then they asked me to come back tonight for a second interview. I am sure you know how much I love my job at Union Cross, so this will be interesting to see where it leads. All of this has left Jason being Mr. Mom, a role he excels in. But he did ask tonight, "Are you going to have to go back for a third interview tomorrow?". HAHA! Mommy and Daddy need a break Harrison, so sleep tight!!

He did it!

Finally, after many, many tries, Harrison is finally mobile! That's right! He crawled tonight! After consulting with all my Facebook friends (hehe), the consensus is that moving your arms while dragging your legs behind you is in fact crawling. Let me set the scene. I was cutting lettuce for a salad for dinner, and Jason said, "I think you want to stop what you are doing and look because he is crawling!" Turns out that Harrison loves his maraca that I got for free at a consignment sale SOO much that it motivated him to crawl and get it! Exciting but bitter sweet too!

One more day with Miss Carissa

Malika had a doctor's appointment one day, and she mentioned it to Carissa. Carissa said she would LOVE to watch Harrison for a few hours, and we were so excited to hear that! It was a Wednesday, which is the day we drop Harrison off early, so she said to bring him over bright and early so she could have more time with him. I sent the camera for her to snap a few pictures with her kids. They love Harrison and he loves them! I hope we will continue to stay in touch with them after they move to Atlanta.

Swim Lessons

Harrison has started swim lessons! Here are some photos of him before we left to go that will also double as his 8 month photos. They are every Tuesday and Thursday night for the next 4 weeks. At the first class on Tuesday, he had a blast. My mom and Jason were there, one with the video camera and the other with the digital camera, so it is well documented. He was so cute too. He was clinging to my arm as if to say, whatever you do, do NOT let go of me. By the end of the class, he was doing his baby version of kicking his legs and moving his arms. The other kids in the class are older, so they are learning a little faster, but for 8 months, I think Harrison is doing a splendid job.

Bath time

Harrison has moved up to a bath seat. Maybe it's mean of me to play with his hair but I can"t resist! There is so much of it and it is soo long!

Easter (yes I am behind)

We had a picnic at the park before the egg hunt at church. Harrison didn't look for eggs but did make some bunny ears!

Harrison and his buddies

Where you find Harrison, so shall you find Jeb and Sam waiting to play with him.

Sippy Cup

He may not know what it is supposed to be used for, but Harrison sure has a great time playing with his sippy cup! One time he accidentally got some water out of it, and it really surprised him. I don't think he liked that part of the cup, but he sure loves playing with it and chewing on it.