More Christmas Pics

Blogger was on vacation the other day when I tried to upload more of the Christmas pictures of H, so here are a few more:
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Overalls from Nona And Grandaddy...that match his shoes!
H's new Xylophone from Kinsey and Aunt Lyssa, and Uncle Andy, and Rock-dog
H's new walker from Tyler, Aunt ZZ and Uncle Chad
End Zone Ball pit from Nona and Gradaddy
Bath tub foam toys from Nona and Grandaddy

Bear's FIrst Haircut

My mother, who is slightly obsessive about hair, has been begging me to get H's hair trimmed for months, and I just did not want him to look like a child instead of a baby. After all, he does resemble a small two year old most days.

Finally, after motivation from Kinsey, we decided to find a kid's place and get the first trim done. We found Snip-Its in our favorite town, Natick (the apple orchard place). It reminded me of Disney World. All of the stools and toys and TVs looked like Mickey and Minnie's houses at the park. How fun for them! There were children running around everywhere enjoying such a dreaded chore...the haircut. Our lady was so sweet with him, blowing bubbles for a distraction and offering him animal cookies. I was really glad she got to know him before just throwing him in her chair and cutting. I think it made it easier for little Bear as well. At this age, they really are aware of so many things, and I think it is important for people to respect them, even if they are so small. They are still people. We got to stand right there with him for comfort (mostly my own, I think), and I was snapping pictures like poparazzi while blowing bubbles that were obviously running out... I know I used to know how to blow bubbles??? It was a fun time for all of us. I can't believe he is almost one, and it will not be long before a haircut will be no big thing, but yesterday, it was the greatest!

Here is a picture of the final do. And his certificate below it. She attached some of his "snip-its" to the certificate for us to keep as a momentum. He had a good time, and was so sweet smiling and, of course, flirting with all the ladies. At the end, when I paid, they gave him a "free toy" card to put into a machine that makes a lot of noise and gives them back a little toy. He loved it, but was looking for the card when it went down the slot. I think he wanted the card more than the actual penguin he got in return. Funny little boy!

Harrison's First Christmas

I videoed everything, which left no one to take many still shots. I am now regretting that because of course, the video will not load onto Blogger correctly. I love it! So, here are a few pictures I managed to capture of our Christmas morning and him playing with all of his new things. He was so funny opening his presents, and if you are ever in Boston, come on over and I can show you the video. Sorry :(

Rudolph

Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw sent H his first Rudolph stuffed animal, with a light-up nose. He absolutely loves it! He has already figured out how to turn in on and off. He is fascinated by the nose that lights up, and he loves to touch his nose to Rudolph...which is the cutest thing ever! He also laughs at the song it plays. I'm afraid we will be listening to Christmas music all year and people everywhere will be wondering why we have that Rudolph out still. Thanks Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw! What a perfect gift for him.


And, here he is sitting in the Harrison Chair he got from Nona and Grandaddy. He loves to push it around the living room. We haven't quite figured out just what to do with it, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time...he is a man, and they love their chairs!

Michelin Baby

Harrison got a snow suit in the mail from Granny and Grandaddy. Here he is getting ready to go outside. I call it the Michelin tire suit. It has feet and hand mits, that are both removable, which is great. It is nice and snuggly, and he loves it!

Big 9 month Belly

Here is one of the maternity shots we got of Bailynn. She is growing, growing!

Our First Blizzard

So, apparently, we had our first blizzard here Friday night...through last night, Sunday. Wow. Let me just say, Wow! I thought Colorado got a bunch of powder, but this place was like living at a ski resort. I need my skis and we can just vaca in our front yard. Russ had to get all kinds of scrapers and brushes and sorts to find the perfect one to knock all of the snow/frozen chunks off of the windshield. Secretly, I know he loves this weather...it is the first time he has used his 4 X 4...which, being a woman, I make fun of. I am actually really glad we have it after this weekend. ....until he said something about "Taking H to do doughnuts." I think he just likes to see my blood pressure spike. Here are some pictures of our place and the neighborhood. It makes everything look so beautiful!Across the street.
Our apartment building.
The massive icsicle outside our living room window!
Russell's 4 X 4 no longer covered in snow...he had to dig it out!

The Ledge on our balcony.
Frozen little Bear....with Rudolph.
Our driveway.
The trees in our parking lot...and some snow!
This is our mailbox.

The view from our balcony.

I also realized that this means snow plow trucks will be keeping our little H from sleeping for the next 5 months, woohoo.

My First Bubble Bath, Yay!

Russell has been begging me for months to let H have his first Bubble Bath, and at almost one year, I gave in. We searched for weeks to find the perfect bubbles. I wanted "No Dyes, No fragrance" yatta yatta, because H has my VERY sensitive skin. We found one yesterday at Target. So, when we got home from facing the elements, he had his first real Bubble bath! He was so cute. We turn him away from the spout, so that he does not get curious to play with it, so when the bubbles started to come up from behind him, he was very confused. He scrunched up his nose and forehead, and was trying to figure this out...then he smiled and touched them gently. So sweet! He is just too adorable! I know I say this often, but I just love to watch him learn something new. It is so inspiring.

How can you not love this kid?

Baby Bailynn K, and IT'S SNOWING!!!

We have all been a bit busy. Harrison experienced his first real snow day. Russ got older (his 29th was Saturday) and I managed to somehow catch a lovely cold. Boo. On the lighter side, we have had many people participate in our virtual shower Alyssa did for Bailynn, and we are much appreciative to you all! Transitioning from everything blue to everything pink is not a cheap task! Thanks for the help!

As for baby Bailynn...today we got to see her sweet face again! I have posted the US pictures below. There is one of her profile, and one of her face, plus the cross section of her fist....our little Boxer! That is what it feels like anyway! She is already 6 pounds, (Whoa Momma!) so they estimated her being born at about 8-8.5 pounds. This is when we all start to pray that she makes her arrival early :) H only weighed in at 7, 13...so naturally 8.5 pounds sounds a bit large for me. Everyone else seems to think that is just fine, of course. She did get the 8 out of 8 score for the ultrasound. It measures the baby's surrounding fluid, size, heart, and so on...this means she is a very healthy little lady. Hoorah! She has pretty pouty lips and a cute nose like H! We can't wait to meet our daughter...only a few more weeks!!




And, I know I have complained and complained about how freaking cold it is here, but there is something to be said about smogless air. I must say, that when you stop freaking out about how cold you are, one can actually appreciate how amazingly perfect it is...forgetting about the natural reaction to survive and all. Look at how crisp it all looks! I LOVE IT! even if it is only while I'm sitting at home wrapped in a blanket in front of our fireplace! haha!


We had a good weekend, as you can see.
I FINALLY got the Christmas cards made, and I will be mailing them out tomorrow... They are so fun this year! H just makes it all worthwhile! He is sharing the REAL snow with you all!

Bostonian Thanksgiving

Yesterday Russ was home for Thanksgiving, Harrison's first, which was really special for us as a growing family. After dropping the turkey on the kitchen floor and practically pulling a muscle in my lower abdomen, we got to sit down and eat our fabulous meal.

Harrison loved all of the Thanksgiving food. I was so excited that he didn't spit it all out! He was also very well behaved all day. Woohoo! Here he is in his bib from Nona and Grandaddy eating Nona's recipe of the infamous Corn Casserole, that my sister just loves (hates). He thouroughly enjoyed his corn and the corn bread dressing I made. He gave most of his turkey to Toby, who was much appreciative. Then, we all loaded up in the truck and went on a fun-filled journey to find Red Hots at the the only place open....Walgreens! I had to have them for my apple cider for the "after Thanksgiving dinner tradition!" And, I must say it was delicious!
Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We sure did, together...all four of us!

Family in Boston!!

It was so nice to have some of my family come to visit us in Boston. We have always lived far away..since we got married, and most people never get to come visit, so when we moved to the East Coast I was glad we would be somewhat close to my cousin Laura and her husband, and now their new baby, Audrey. Audrey was born on the following Friday that Harrison was born on...exactly one week apart! They got a chance to meet each other in Louisiana this spring at our Mother's Day reunion. And, again this past week when they came up for a business trip.

We had a great visit with all three of them. Russ and Evan really get along well, which is always a plus! They even tried some odd seafood called "steamers" together. Blah! (WE all watched instead) And, the babies are the same age, even though you can't tell from how tall and mobile our little H is! So, we can share stories and Mommy advice. They we too cute playing together. H was sure Aud was chasing him and he would run from her and giggle...she would crawl over to him and he would take off again! I'm sure he wore her out! He is such a boy! They were both so good in their strollers all bundled up. We had recently gotten them both new coats just for this winter. It was nice to see him interact with another baby his age. We do not know anyone here that has children, so he is pretty much surrounded by Mommy and Daddy acting like children for entertainment.

It was a fun, and much needed visit for me! I need to get out and do more, but we are just so busy every day when Russ is off from work. Being pregnant limits me from climbing stairs with a baby in tow, and a stroller, plus not having a car puts a real damper on my time when Russ is home. All we ever have time for is errands :( Hopefully, we will soon know where we are moving and can decide on getting my car back and when!

Below are some shots taken from Laura's camera. I copied them from her family website and they are much too small for good viewing, but I wanted you all to see how much fun we had freezing together. I will get the normal size pics posted soon, I hope!




She also posted these on her site, and they are much larger & easier to see. Click on the second blogsite under my "Friendly Friends" section on the right side of my blog.

Playtime with The Harr-Bear

The Delightful Bear with the Cinnamon Roll Hair-doWhy does Mommy have such a big belly??? (click on this one to blow it up...who does he look like now? I might not know where he got the curly hair, or the height of an Athens Warrior, but those blue eyes can only be from one of us...Daddy who?)Obviously by now he knows what to do when he spots the camera! (this is the shy face...H and cousin K share this one)
Caught me in my "Snuggle Fort"
Chillaxin' just like a man...with the remote and all! (Look at how long he is now!)

10 months old!!

I can hardly believe this year has flown by so quickly. H will be 10 months old in two days, be turning one in a few months, and be a big brother in weeks. Wow! He is already such a big boy! Pulling up at 5 months, walking at 8 months, and eating foods like a toddler. He has grown so much faster than I ever imagined. H is now OFFICIALLY off of the soy milk. He has been drinking Lactose-Free milk for a few weeks now, and seems to be loving it! Yay! He also eats yogurt for a snack and breakfast on many days. He loves cheese (just like his Mother) and many other little foods cut into Harrison size portions. He loves to climb all over the couch and laughs when he reaches the top. I am so afraid our child, as strong as he is, will have a broken bone in no time. Gosh, I hope not!!

He is really starting to pick up on everything these days. We agree he is no longer the baby we could trick weeks ago. If you take something from him now, he searches for it until he finds it. There is just no hiding it anymore. He loves to chase Toby, and they play until Toby gets grumpy, which isn't long. Poor guy! He is so abused these days. H is really starting to love everything, and he lets you know with a big belly laugh. Which makes me and Russ laugh so hard. Russ likes to hide behind things and watch H peek around them. It really is the cutest thing yet! He gets tickled and runs away chuckling. I absolutely love to watch those little legs run around the living room! I am so proud of him, this week he figured out how to look down at the floor when he walks so that he doesn't fall over everything! This is much nicer. He continues to crawl up the walls and oven. Something his cousin must have taught him! We are looking forward to the upcoming Holidays, and his first Christmas. All gifts are excepted. The bigger the better. Thanks :)

ALSO: my favorite part, he has begun to say Ma-Ma and Da-Da. Obviously he has no clue who that is just yet, but at least he is making an effort to learn the words. Yay!

We will be visitng with my cousin Laura, her husband Evan, and their daughter Audrey on Monday. I can't wait to see them. They live in Virginia but will be up for a short trip to visit!

(I survived) Destin, Florida

It has been a month since we got home from Florida, and I still have not posted pics...because, are you ready for my excuse, I haven't been multi tasking. Ha! Seriously, the camera lost the pictures and Russell had to get a new computer and a recovery sytem to find them. So, I am currently working on the slideshow. Here is a preview of my wonderful photographic capability :)

OK, here it is....the slideshow, all I had time for today.

Whoever thought I would survive a bikini, a 3 hour plane ride plus layover, 8 days away from all H knows, sand eating, and not having a car??? WE DID IT!!! Woohoo!....BUT, I still don't have a tan!