3/4 of the way there...9 months!

How has it been 9 months already? Nick and I spent our last date night planning Harrison's first birthday. How is that even possible?! While it makes me sad to see him grow so fast, we are LOVING each new stage. He keeps entertained (and on our toes) each day! 

Height/Weight

Weight: 19.25 pounds (all in his belly!) = 16th percentile

Height: 29.5 inches = 24th percentile 

Hello, new car seats! We were hoping the infant ones would last us until a year but we figured his length would prevent that. We were right!

Head circumference

= 83rd percentile 

Clothing Size:

Woo hoo! We are finally in 9 month clothes. He can fit in some 6 month onsies as long as the neck can widen. Otherwise, his big ol' noggin isn't fitting through!

Favorites: 

*Food: Bananas! Though, I can't say it enough but Harrison LOVES to eat! There's not much food that he doesn't like but the texture can sometimes get to him. This past month, we've been slowly introducing foods with a thicker texture and some table food. It's been slow and steady to get used to that :) Harrison spent a lot of time gagging and spitting out his puffs, baby "cookies", scrambled eggs, and cottage cheese. He loves his puffs and cookies now but we still need to work on the eggs and cottage cheese.

We've been working on using sign language during his meals. We hope that Harrison can communicate with us before he is verbally able to. He is slowly starting to use the sign for more (or well, his version of more) especially after he eats bananas! 

*Book: Woo hoo! We are finally getting somewhere with this whole book thing. We went to visit our good friends and we borrowed their books for our night time read. I picked a touch-and-feel book and Harrison LOVED it! After one time helping him move his fingers on the pages, he wanted to do it all by himself. He was laughing and having a blast reading the stories with me. It was a break through :) Harrison now feels the main objects on every book because he is certain they should all have a fun texture now.

While we have a few different touch-and-feel books, our favorite is the "That's Not My..." series. They are really cute books and have great vocabulary!

*Song: "Teddy Bear Picnic" has been our song of the summer! We like creeping around the living room and pretending we are going to discover the teddy bears. 

*Toy: Harrison loves playing with all his toys. One of our favorite new toys is our Activity Garden. Harrison is able to safely stand and play to his hearts content. 

 Ok, I use "safe" loosely...

*Non-Toy Toy: Anything that he shouldn't be playing with. He lets out his special giggle and gets a big mischievous grin when he knows he's got something that he probably shouldn't. One place that he likes to stand and play? The garbage can....gross!

*Time of Day: We are lucky to continue to have a happy, little guy. He especially loves any time of day where he is out and about. He loves people watching and flirting with the ladies. He will usually stare a person down until they smile at him ;)

Harrison does love when Daddy gets home. His face lights up, he starts giggling, and races towards Dad. Apparently, Mom gets boring after an entire day of hanging out.

*Things to Giggle At: Tickling! Smelling his feet and proclaiming that they are "too stinky" (clearly, I am raising a little boy...)! Anything that Daddy does!

Observations/Firsts/Milestones

We've slowed down a little from major life milestones. While learning new things is wonderful, it's always a tiring time. We are enjoying the 11 hours of sleep per night. I'm sure it will end just as Mom is going back to work!

Harrison can shake his booty! The little guy enjoys dancing to the beat of tunes...especially rap music. Little does he know, the days of hearing that music are limited. Once he can understand the words, we will need to find some other type of tunes ;) Like father, like son.

We are having a blast playing chase with Harrison. He loves crawling after us and trying to get us. He thinks it is HILARIOUS. Also, we've realized how much crawling hurts! We luckily added an alphabet landing pad for Harrison's falls but it also helps cushion the crawling!

Speaking of crawling....Harrison is OBSESSED with crawling up the stairs. Obviously he only gets to test it out with Mom and Dad close by but he can climb them in mere seconds. Baby gates were installed this month!

Harrison also got to meet his bff, Stella. We had a blast driving to Kansas City and spending the weekend with our besties. Harrison was also a trooper and did so well in the car. Even though he was awake for more than half of each trip, he quietly played with his toys. Can't say that's been the case for other car trips...

We had a blast during this month! Sadly, back to reality in Month 10 :( Though, I'm sure Harrison will love meeting some new friends! 

8 Months

This sums up month 8 pretty perfectly!

Height/Weight:

We have our next doctor's appointment in August and will update next month!

Clothing Size:

6 months still continue to fit well. Since it's warm, we don't need to worry about the length of his clothes. We are definitely outgrowing our 6 month pants! 

Favorites:

*Food- Harrison loves, loves, loves his food. He cries when his bowl is empty and it is taken away. He definitely has an appetite that matches his momma's! He is very open to trying all different kinds of food!

Here is the ongoing list of foods he has tried. Bolded words show this month's new foods:

Likes: Bananas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, chicken, apples, pears, mango, cantaloupe, lentils, apricots, and zucchini.

Okay if they are mixed with one of the foods he already likes: Peas, green beans, avocado, yogurt, carrots, broccoli, peaches, and pork.

*Book- It's a good day if I can get Harrison to sit for a book. It's a GREAT day if he will listen to 2-3 books in a day! The teacher in me won't give up though :P I also found out from my aunt that my mom was worried when I wouldn't sit to listen to books as a baby. Phew, there's still hope he'll learn to love them!

He loves when books have things that he can touch. He especially loves book with puppets. He will sit and listen to the story and then try to eat the puppet ;)

Grandma Judy and Aunt Nicole found some really fun puppet books!

*Song- Harrison loves songs! We checked out our library's story time and it had tons of signing and dancing. Harrison was smiling from ear to ear! He likes to jam to any tunes :)

*Toy- Harrison is one spoiled baby so it's hard for him to choose one favorite toy! We rotate toys that are put out in his playroom so he doesn't get too bored with any particular one. He likes knocking over blocks, chasing after balls, playing on his xylophone and so much more!



*Non-Toy Toy- Harrison loves to get his hands on everything and anything. His dream would be to slobber on our iPhones but they're expensive to replace so that isn't happening. He is also really into the bookshelves and couch in his playroom. They are VERY fun to use to stand up and walk.

*Time of Day- Seems like I keep saying the same thing but he is a really happy baby as long as he is fed and not tired. We are having a blast going out and about during the day!

*Things to Giggle At- Peek-a-boo! It's such a funny game :)

Observations/Firsts/Milestones:

*Harrison has gotten this crawling thing down! His style and the typical style of crawling. We love watching him crawl all around the house. He is especially proud of himself when he crawls into a new room. Daddy also thought it'd be fun to put him on the stairs. Harrison crawled all the way to top the top in no time. (Don't worry, Daddy was right there with him!)

*Harrison can now pull himself to a stand and oh boy, it's a game changer! Gone are the days where he'd roll over in his crib and fall asleep. Now he stands up and looks for us. He is also obsessed with pulling himself up onto anything and everything. It doesn't matter how sturdy, he will try! As you can imagine, there have been many tumbles!

You say it's "bedtime". This is how I feel about it...

*Harrison is starting to try to make us laugh. He does this by making silly faces. We aren't sure where his scrunchy face came from but we are loving it! He also loves to squish up his face against his Pack-n-Play to get us to laugh. He's already such a funny kid and makes us laugh non-stop!

*Harrison is starting to make noises other than screeching. He started saying "da da" on Father's Day. True, he isn't associating it with Nick yet but regardless, Nick was one very happy daddy!

*Harrison is giving kisses-big, sloppy, wet, perfect kisses! He seems to only give them when he wakes up at 5:30 and gets to come play in Mom and Dad's bed. It must be our reward for the early wake-up. It's definitely the best way to start a day on limited sleep :)

*We took our first trip to the zoo! Harrison wasn't able to spot the animals that were sleeping but he definitely noticed the giraffes and birds. The zoo had a bird house where birds could fly around us. Harrison was startled more than a few times when birds flew past his face. 

8 months has been quite eventful in this household. It seems as if Harrison is learning something new every single day. It is so fun to watch him grow (even on little sleep thanks to all the fun testing out new skills brings). What will month 9 bring?!

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!

Harrison's Lady Friend

Oy vey! We are in trouble! Harrison is already a ladies' man. A few weeks ago, I was putting away Harrison's bottles at drop off when I turned and saw him holding hands with a little girl from daycare. Fast forward to Friday-Harrison's teacher had a picture she had to share. Look for yourself...

Gazing into the eyes of the same little girl!  Apparently they are drawn to each other! She also showed me a picture where the little girl is planting a kiss on his cheek! Here I thought I had a few more years to be his favorite lady.... ;)

Happy Monday!

Half Way to One!

How has it already been 6 months? I can remember October 29 so vividly that it feels like it was yesterday! These months have flown by and we couldn't be more in love with Harrison! Hopefully the blog will start blowing up with posts once school is out :)

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

26 inches = 24th percentile
15 lbs 8 oz = 16th percentile (Woo hoo! The double chin and leg rolls are growing each day!)
Head circumference = 83rd percentile
 

Clothing Size:

Harrison is rocking 6 month clothes. He can also fit into 3-6 month shirts as well as 3-6 month sleepers from the Gap. Gap has lots of leg room!

Favorites:

*Food- We had a big month! Harrison finally got to try some food! I was trying to wait until 6 months but Harrison showed every sign of being ready on every checklist that I read so I figured we could give it a try. It took a few times before Harrison got the hang of this thing called "eating". Nick took a bite of food right at the same time that Harrison went to eat and it was like a light bulb went off! After that, Harrison seemed to down his oatmeal. This month we tried: oatmeal cereal (liked), avocado (disliked but tried multiple times and he will eat it), sweet potato (really liked) and banana (LOVED)! It has been so fun trying new foods! We are also making our own baby food and so far it has been really easy! I'm sure we will get to the harder foods soon (ahem...meat....). We will make sure to update the list as we keep adding foods.

*Book- Jungly Tails. Harrison LOVES that he can chew on each different type of tail. Harrison also enjoy patting each book page and trying to turn the pages backwards.

*Song- Anything with hand actions! His top songs are "Monkeys and Alligators" and "Little Bunny Foo Foo". He especially loves when Mommy uses silly voices during the songs. 

*Toy- Toys are SO exciting to Harrison. If it seems really interesting then he will start to shake and squeal. However, toys only hold his interest for a few minutes so it's a good thing that he is a spoiled boy :) The Easter Bunny brought lots of fun toys that Harrison is having a fun time playing with.

*Non-Toy Toy- Everything and anything. Harrison also goes by the name Curious George now. If it is within reach, Harrison wants to explore it. He will look at the new object, listen to the new object and then can you guess what he does? If you said shove it into his mouth then you are right!

*Time of Day- He is still so happy as long as he is fed and well-rested! He is starting to have some separation anxiety. It tends to only come out when he is tired (luckily!). So far, daycare drops have been fine. 

Nick and I have a hands down favorite time of day. That is the moment when you walk into Harrison's bedroom in the morning. His face erupts into the biggest smile because Mom and Dad are there to get him up. It's worth the early wake-up time! 

*Things to Giggle At- He is starting to realize when Mom and Dad are acting silly and in turn finds us hiiiiiiilarious :) He cracks up when we talk in silly voices. He also finds it funny to be surprised/scared (...weirdo). He thinks Peek-A-Boo is the funniest game around, especially when Daddy plays it with him!

Observations/Firsts/Milestones:

*Harrison continues to master how to sit up. He is starting to be able to sit for minutes without support. It's taken playing to a new level. We were able to introduce our first sensory tub. The tub included: water, spoons, Easter eggs, and stacking cups. Harrison enjoyed splashing around!

*Harrison visited the greatest place on Earth....Kinnick! Unfortunately, the weather was quite windy and Harrison was having separation anxiety so he didn't quite appreciate it all its glory. Good thing he'll have lots of opportunities to visit it. 

*Harrison celebrated his first Easter! It was so fun watching his eyes light up when he saw his Easter basket. He enjoyed checking out each item, completely opposite of Christmas! At Christmas, he just looked around his toys so he could stare at the wall.

Lastly, I'll leave you with some photos that Nick took throughout the month. We are lucky to have our own photographer in our house :)