Camera Shy

Hello, hello, hello! Have you missed us? I apologize for no entries lately. It's been hard to find time to write for two reasons. 1) Maternity leave ends next Wednesday and I am trying to soak up as much Harrison time as possible. I'm also stuck checking work email when I get break, lame! 2) We are trying to get Harrison used to sleeping in his crib. He still sleeps in his Rock-N-Play Sleeper but daycare only has cribs. He currently will only sleep in his crib for 20-30 minutes at a time. Our nap time now consists of me constantly putting him back to sleep (He naps for 1.5-2 hours in his Rock-N-Play!) We did reach 40 minutes yesterday. Here's hoping that napping at daycare won't be too much of a shock...

I'm currently working on his 3 month update. Since I've been neglectful, I am adding a video taken a couple weeks ago. This video makes me laugh every time I watch it. Hopefully you will get a chuckle, too! Watch closely at the beginning, you can see Harrison having fun playing a game with me. However, as soon as he sees my phone taking a video, watch his reaction. It's priceless! You would think for a kid who is constantly getting his picture taken via cell phone, he wouldn't be so weird ;)

 I hope it puts a smile on your face! 

Weekend Recap

After a busy weekend the previous week, this weekend was all about relaxing. We especially loved having Dad home on Monday to hang out with us! It's amazing though, I'm not nearly as productive when Nick is home. You'd think I'd get more done with a second set of hands to hang with Harrison. Nope, I lounge and then frantically try to cram in all my chores during nap time when Nick's back at work. Such is life :)

Friday

Impromptu date night! Uncle Danny was coming over to watch Harrison while I had a trip to the doctor. Luckily, we wrangled Uncle Dan into staying later so we could try out the new Irish pub by our house. It worked out since my appointment was canceled and Danny didn't drive all the way out to North Liberty for no reason. (Well, I guess just hanging with Harrison is probably a pretty good reason!) 

Beer Cheese Dip with boxy fritters...yum!

It was nice getting out of the house for a date. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and food. That said, we rushed home to see Harrison! For now, the perfect date night only lasts about an hour. Otherwise, we just miss him too much :) 

Saturday

We had some very special visitors come on Saturday! Aunt Lynn, Uncle Bryce, Baby Hawk, and Ozzie finally made it to Iowa City to meet Harrison! We had entirely way too much fun spending the day with them. Harrison loved meeting them and we can't wait for Baby Hawk to arrive! We had a glimpse of what it will be like trading in nights out drinking for family fun. It was a blast! 

Harrison and his future BFF

Sunday

"In Heaven there is no beer..." was being sung in this household. Aunt Nicole and Tony came over to watch the Hawk's basketball game. Nothing beats cheering for the #10 ranked team in the country. Go Hawks!

We were a little nervous there in the first half....

There was also a heat wave on Sunday! (Well, almost 50 degrees certainly felt like a heat wave to us Iowans.) We decided to bundle up and go for a walk. Harrison was only able to go on 2 outdoor walks before winter hit. Let's just say, newborn Harrison was not impressed. He actually spent his 2nd walk crying the entire time. We were excited to try it again since Harrison is more aware of his surroundings. We busted out our B.O.B. jogging stroller since it's geared towards outdoor more than our Chicco stroller. Good thing we did, it helped us navigate through any snow piles! Our B.O.B. is definitely one present we hadn't planned on getting but grateful that Buschie and Ken surprised us with one! 

Off roading!

Harrison LOVED going for the walk. I think it was a combo of things: he's older now and enjoys looking around at his environment, as well as, the B.O.B. had his car seat raised higher than his other stroller. I think it's easier for him to look around and feel like he's participating in our conversation. (Do not let him feel excluded or you'll hear lots of crying!) 

Monday

After all the fun of the weekend, Monday was spent being lazy. We enjoyed lounging and playing with Harrison all day :) He's also starting to roll onto his sides while he plays. I can't believe that in a couple months, he will be rolling all the way over! 

Not technically from Monday but I had to end with a cute pic!

Hope your weekend was as enjoyable as ours! 

1 Month Update

Already using the pouty lip!

Howdy y'all! I'm going to try my best and go back and complete Harrison's 1 month update! It will probably be short since I'm already forgetting so many little details of Harrison at that time. It's true what they say, time flies when you have children. He's already SO different than what he used to be like. Doing this just reminds me why I created this blog in the first place. I want to be able to go back and be reminded of everything! Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing! 

Height/Weight (per our doctor's visit):

21.5 inches = 75 percentile

8.1 pounds = 10 percentile (who would have guessed we would have such a tiny baby??)

Tummy time is tiring!

Clothing Size:

Harrison was only wearing newborn clothes at this point. Nick and I laughed when he was born and weighed only 6 pounds 12 ounces. We had quite a few ultrasounds (darn you, 2-vessel umbilical cord!) and were told at each one that he was always measuring a week or two larger than what he should have been. At our 38 week ultrasound, they predicted that he weighed over 8 pounds! We had hardly any newborn clothes since we thought he was going to be so big! Boy, were we wrong. Luckily, between the grandmas, Aunt Nicole, and ourselves, we were able to stock up on newborn clothes quite quickly!

Favorites:

*Food: He loved milk and he loved eating ALL.THE.TIME. It was pretty much his favorite thing to do besides sleeping.

Mmmmm, full belly!

*Book: Much to Mom's disappointment, no books captured his interest up to this point. Don't worry, Mom didn't give up!

*Song: "Hush, Little Baby" with Mom singing. Shocking, we know :) He also really loved hearing "Shhhhhh" when he was fussy and/or tired.

*Toy: None at that point of time!

*Non-toy Toy: Mom and Dad, especially when he was fussy. Well, as long as Mom and Dad were making sure they were shushing and bouncing AND rocking all at the same time!

*Time of Day: Early, early, early! As the day progressed, Harrison would get fussier. Our doctor warned us of the "witching hour", the evening hours when babies would just cry. There was nothing wrong and not to worry but just be ready to comfort. We spent quite a lot of time comforting H since the evening was pretty rough. However, it helped us learn real quickly what did and didn't soothe him! We also learned that he LOVED bath time. We still make sure to take baths on nights when he seems extra fussy!

*Things to Giggle At: Nothing yet!

Look at those skinny legs!

Observations/Firsts/Milestones:

Harrison was able to meet SO many family members and friends after he was born. Our little family was so spoiled with all the help given to us. Delicious meals were made, laundry was folded, and cleaning was done around the house. We were very appreciative of all the love and support! 

Harrison's cousins were so excited to visit! 

Harrison had a photo shoot for his newborn pictures. We quickly discovered that Harrison hated being naked! Our photographer was able to snap a picture or two in each pose before Harrison started crying. Nothing beats warm clothes and being held! Luckily, we were able to get some sweet shots of our little peanut. 

So proper while he sleeps!

Harrison had some crazy eyes for awhile! One thing that we didn't know about newborns before Harrison was the fact that their eyes tend to be crossed for awhile. We laughed every time he tried to focus on something...the eyes went wild! Now that he's older, he doesn't it do it anymore. From a developmental standpoint, we are happy that's ended but Mom can't help but be a little sad. It's just another sign that Harrison isn't a newborn anymore!

Taking this trip down memory lane is making me a little misty eyed! It's crazy to see how different he has already become in such a short amount of time. While we do miss the teeny tiny little baby we once had, we LOVE the personality that Harrison is starting to show. The smiles, his "talking", and looks of wonderment show us how much fun we are going to have with Harrison as he grows! Also, some day down the road (and I mean, down the road) we will hopefully have another newborn to cuddle!

That's a Fun Toy!

Harrison is slowly becoming more entertained by toys and less entertained by walls (unless he sees new walls or a new shadow on the wall, all still very exciting). However, nothing can compare to his hands and feet at the moment. They are just SO exciting!

You may be wondering, how can you tell if Harrison is liking a toy? Well, let me tell you...it is all about the legs. The more they kick around usually means the more exciting the toy is. Watch the video below of Harrison "playing" with one of his Christmas toys!

PS. Don't mind my creepy commentary, as Aunt Nicole so sweetly pointed out ;) 

Recovering

The Meyer household is in recovery mode from all the fun we had this weekend! Harrison had so many loved ones come to town for his baptism (pictures and post to come!). We decided to stay in our PJs for awhile and get some rest. Well, except for poor Dad....he had to go to work. (We didn't rub it in too much!). Hope you had a great Monday!

That tush, I die just a little....

2 Month Update

Harrison is 2 months old! Wow! We can't believe how the time has flown by. Each month, my goal is to write a monthly update to help us remember all about Harrison. Hope you enjoy reading about him as much as we enjoy spending our days with him!

PS. This post is quite lengthy (Mom wants to try to remember everything about month 2)....you are warned! 

Height/Weight (per our doctor's visit):

10.9 pounds = 45th percentile (This is a big jump from his last doctor's visit! He was only in the 10th percentile at 2 weeks. Clearly, this boy likes to eat like his mommma!)

23.5 inches = 70th percentile (Harrison is taking after Mom an Dad and is LONG! Our baby car seat lasts until 30 inches and we are a little nervous at how soon we will need to upgrade thanks to those legs!)

2 month shots?! No biggie!

Clothing Size:

Harrison is officially out of his newborn attire and rocking 0-3 months. Thanks to said long legs, all his clothes became floodwater pants and three-quarter length sleeves. 3 months clothes tend to still be big on him, especially in the pants. We only have a few pair of pants that aren't so big that they fall off...we don't need any ladies seeing his diaper ;) I did my best not to shed too many tears as I packed them up. 

Favorites:

*Food- Milk, milk, and some more milk. In all fairness, he doesn't know any better :) He LOVES to eat and if he gets hungry...watch out, he gets hangry (for those who may not know that word...hungry + angry = hangry. Used in a sentence: Aunt Nicole and Mom get really hangry when they go 2 hours without eating.) 

*Book- So far, he hasn't really taken a liking to any one book. He is starting to enjoy looking at the pictures which makes Mom's day. He used to cry when I would take out a book but hopefully he is learning that reading is FUN! He smiled quite a bit when we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Future Bookworm

*Song- "Hot Potato" by The Wiggles has got to be Harrison's favorite song this month. How come you may wonder? Daddy dances him around the room whenever the song comes on. Harrison LOVES dancing to this! We will try to upload a video because it will definitely put a smile on your face. We also discovered the power of the vacuum and blow dryer. They will immediately soothe Harrison and were incredibly helpful during our bumpy weeks. If you've spent any time with us, you have probably heard the blow dryer "song" that we play on my iPhone. 

*Toy- He loves watching the animals move on his activity mat and the dinosaurs spin on his crib mobile. It wasn't until about mid-way through Month 2 that he noticed these things. He has so much fun watching them. He kicks his legs and tries talking to them. (Who knows? Maybe to Harrison, they talk back!) He hasn't been too interested in most of his Christmas toys...yet! He has liked looking at the black and white picture mat that he got from Mom and Dad. 

Dad, don't interrupt my playing time with pictures!

Tummy time isn't as bad if you have something fun to look at!

*Non-toy Toy- Harrison has an obsession with lights and walls. We could have bought a new lamp for the house as his Christmas present and he would have been perfectly happy. He loves going to new places to see what their walls look like...so exciting! He was great during the doctor's visit since the office had such bright lights. It kept him very occupied as we waited for the doctor. He's a pretty cheap baby to please at the moment :) 

*Time of Day- Bright and early! Harrison is all smiles in the morning and ready to play. We are lucky to have passed through the "witching hour" phase. He tends to be more fussy at night but only when he is hungry or ready for some sleep. (Unlike his first month where he was grumpy every night for an hour or two...at least we got a good workout in from all the bouncing and rocking.) 

*Things to Giggle at- He hasn't started giggling yet. We are more than excited for when that day comes! He gets very smiley and chatty when we talk to him in silly voices or make silly sounds. He also gets very smiley after a poopy diaper change. He must think it is funny to see the reaction he gets from those stinky diapers!

Observations/Firsts/Milestones:

We celebrated Harrison's first Christmas! Let me tell you, Harrison is one very loved, very spoiled little guy! We spent the holiday in Dubuque. We are lucky that both grandmas live there so we were able to easily travel back and forth between the two houses. Harrison also got to meet some of his extended family. While we had a blast, Harrison was happy to be home and back to his regular schedule. I'm pretty sure he was also happy not to spend so much time in his car seat. The highlight of Christmas? Showing him his presents and watching him turn his head so he could continue to stare at the wall that we had just blocked. Harrison and walls, apparently he just can't get enough! 

Not quite sure how I feel about this holiday...

Nope, not feeling this thing you call, "Christmas"

Weeks 6-8 were pretty bumpy in the Meyer household. Harrison had his first cold, followed by a growth spurt, followed by a period of lots of crying and fussiness. Our doctor had warned us that week 6 is when crying peaks for babies. Ha! Joke is on us, that didn't happen until week 8. (We were patting ourselves on the back thinking we survived week 6 and it wasn't so bad....). Harrison was fussy throughout the day and had an extremely hard time sleeping. He refused to nap and only the vacuum would do the trick in calming him down (...at least we had clean floors?). He was up quite frequently through the night. Being the mommy researcher that I am, I was trying to figure out what was going on our little grump. After doing some reading, I stumbled upon the book, The Wonder Weeks. It's essentially a book that describes the mental leaps, "brain growth spurts", that babies go through. It described Harrison to a T. One of the ways to know he is making the mental leap: staring at walls and lights! It explained how they are learning new things and it can be very overwhelming for a baby and the fussiness would pass. Sure enough, it did and we are back to having one very happy baby! He is also much more aware of his surroundings and has an abundance of smiles. 

One big thank you to Aunt Nicole. She had a break from school and braved the week with us :) 

Who knew being fussy could look so cute?

Harrison had his first (non-gas/sleep related) smile! He hasn't quit smiling since. He loves smiling at Mom and Dad, apparently we are goofy? Who would have guessed :) He also discovered that he has feet. It is quite exciting in our house! 

Hope you enjoyed reading all about Harrison at 2 months. We can't believe he is halfway to 3 months. The time is already flying way too fast! 

Welcome!

Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to the start of our blog, Memories with the Meyers. We wanted a way to capture Harrison as he grows, as well as, give you a chance to stay connected! (I was inspired by a good friend and decided to jump on board!) We will try to blog as often as possible but that may not be quite as realistic once my maternity leave ends...I'm in denial so please don't mention it :) Hope you enjoy reading!

Love,

The Meyer family