Swim Lessons

Harrison just spent the first two weeks of going to swim lessons. We had a blast! Each day consisted of different activities: swimming on his belly, jumping into the pool, doing a back float, passing a ball, chasing after toys, and singing different songs. Harrison enjoyed almost all the activities...except that whole back floating thing. He was definitely not a fan! 

The best part of swim lessons was the long nap afterwards. Swim lessons were exhausting!

To officially pass swim lessons, Harrison needed to be dunked. Mom was extremely hesitant but the lifeguard assured her it was ok. After "1, 2, 3" and a quick blow in the face, Harrison went under! It lasted a nano-second but felt like forever to Mom! Harrison was not bothered by it at all! He just looked around and was ready to keep playing. Harrison is bound to be a fish in the pool!

Yay! He passed! :) Now it is time to spend the rest of our summer swimming!

Hi, my name is Trouble.

Oh boy, things have gotten exciting in our household. Not only can Harrison crawl but he can now pull himself up. Let me tell you, pulling himself up has got to be the biggest game changer yet. It has certainly made bedtime and nap time much harder. Who would want to go to sleep when you can stand and look for Mom and Dad?! It's also the most dangerous...we really have to make sure we have one eye on him at all times! This kid is fearless...he will try to pull himself up on anything! It does not matter how sturdy the furniture is. I thought I'd share some photos of our new crazy ;-) It's filled with bumps, tumbles, minor heart attacks and lots of laughs! (Apologies for some of the blurry pictures...a lot were action shots!)

Harrison used to sit next to the bear. Now he attacks it ;)

Mom was out celebrating her last day of school. Dad sent the following pictures:

Mind you...there was no help from Dad!

Mmmmm....my crib is tasty!

Harrison didn't realize that the laundry basket probably isn't the best thing to use to stand up...luckily Mom helped make it sturdy 

You may not be able to tell but he is climbing on the Bumbo to reach his high chair.

Take note of that last face. It's the face we see EVERY time he has tried something new...the riskier the better. We can't get enough of that face! 

7 Months and Counting

Height/Weight:

26 inches per our last doctor's appointment
Approximately 17 pounds per our bathroom scale :) (He has quite the double chin and a leg roll.)
Head...as large as ever!

Clothing Size:

Harrison is still living in 6 month clothing. We are transitioning to 6-9 month clothes. Watch out world! Someone is growing :)

Favorites:

*Food- Milk is always number one! Favorite solid is definitely still bananas. We can mix it with anything and he will eat it since he can taste the bananas. We have been trying new solids. Harrison seems to enjoy almost everything he has tried so far!

Likes: Bananas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, chicken, apples, and pears.

Okay if they are mixed with one of the foods he already likes: Peas, green beans, avacado, and yogurt.

It is so much fun watching him experience new foods! I can't wait to see what else he will like. So far, we haven't found a food that he refuses to eat. Hopefully someone won't be as picky as Dad ;)

*Book- Harrison doesn't seem to have a favorite book. He just likes any book that he can shove in his mouth. So for this month we will list Mom's current favorite book, The Pout Pout Fish. My students listened to this story in class and I loved it! Harrison actually sat through the story which is a huge accomplishment!

*Song- Any song that Mom sings. It is so amazing to see how calming Mom's singing voice is to Harrison. It's funny since most people would find my voice the opposite of calming. However, if Harrison is fussy in the car all I need to do is sing and he calms down and usually falls asleep. We shall see how long this lasts!

Annnnd passed out after hearing "Wheels on the Bus"

*Toy- Toys continue to be a blast! Our playroom is now a disaster area thanks to the fact that he actually plays with his toys. While Harrison is enjoying playing with all his toys, he currently LOVES his Dino-Pop. He shrieks with delight when it turns on and immediately crawls to it.


*Non-Toy Toy- Oh goodness...EVERYTHING! He is keeping us on our toes because he is so curious about everything. He especially loves details on objects and anything that gives Mom a heart attack ;)

Ooh, what are these things? Buttons? They seem fun!

*Time of Day- Any time he has a full belly and doesn't need to rest! Separation anxiety is continuing to grow though. He has just started to cry at daycare drop off. One day he started to crawl towards me as I left. Luckily I know he does enjoy his time there since we have been going so long. If this had happened when we started daycare, I'm not sure I would have made it back to work!

*Things to Giggle At- Daddy. Nick is able to get that kid laughing non-stop! He looks at Nick and already starts laughing! He also loves when we play a chasing game. One of us will hold him while the other runs after him. He has some deep belly laughs during this game.

Observations/Firsts/Milestones:

*Crawling! He has his own unique version of the crawl that makes us laugh. He doesn't realize that you can use your knees to help you crawl so he lifts up his arms and drags his body across the room. That said, he can get on his knees and rock so we are think eventually he will get the hang of a normal crawl? If not, his version seems to work!

Harrison is starting to consistently sleep 8+ hours a night. Traveling and sickness will throw him off but other than that, he is starting to be a heavy sleeper. Mom is enjoying this :) Nap time is a whooooooole different ball game. Some days, naps last 1-2 hours. Other days, naps will only last 20 minutes. You never know what you are getting ;)

Sometimes, you just need mommy snuggles :)

Harrison is starting to spend time playing outside! We are enjoying the warm weather and getting a chance to explore North Liberty and play outside! Harrison isn't quite sure how he feels about the grass though...

Diaper changes have become an Olympic sport! Harrison likes to see how quickly he can flip over while he is being changed. Needless to say, Mom and Dad have become quite good at finding distractions. Mom's phone is especially useful when it is time to put on the sunscreen since that takes hours. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating but it's long ;)

Naked and his shirt around his face. We still aren't quite sure how that happened...

Month 7 has been a game changer thanks to crawling but we are LOVING it. It's so fun to watch the wheels turning in Harrison's head. He is so curious about anything and everything! We can't wait to see what he learns next month!