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!

Freaking Out!!!

I realize most of you, who read my blog regularly, expect the "freak out" to be because we now have a new President...the one I did not approve of, but it is not what I am writing about, although I am a bit overwhelmed with an unexplainable fear. No worries, I am as happy as a wart at the dermatologist's office.

But this is what I am REALLY freaking about:
So, last night Russ and I were watching our candidate not succeed, and I realized that I only have two months left to be pregnant and we will have another child. Yikes!! and Yay!! all at once. How will we ever find the time to function with two babies??? It is so difficult now to have any time together, or even find time to eat dinner before 9. I am just hoping that she will not have problems we faced with our H. It would be a real blessing to have an easy baby this go around. It seems like now that H is finally on a schedule and is pretty easy to take everywhere, we will be starting this ride over, and with more responsibility. Once again, I realize God thinks of me as a Superwoman that breathes fire, but sometimes I think He gives me too much credit. I am so exhausted and just trying to survive most days.

Everyone older than me (50+), sorry to use that word "older," but you all keep telling me to learn to multi-task. I think that is funny. As if I am not already doing that. Obviously these people are not around me on a regular basis. How many people do you know have their children 11 months apart? Most people I know don't even try to take care of an infant and be huge and pregnant...they wait three years or so. I think there is something to be said about a person who can be that selfless, which is definitely what I am now. And it is not easy. All of my friends think I'm crazy, and they are secretly correct about that. I feel like a mental patient. I just hope that I am not taking away from H or little B. It would kill me to think that I might not be able to give them each what they need. Jan says there will be more love to give out, so I am trusting her on that.

Here's hoping for a safe delivery, with a fabulous support group, an easy baby to feed, and a short recovery! Oh, and sleep, just a few hours would be nice.

The Infamous Catepillar

Our little H was the star of our show this past Friday night, not to my suprise! He was dressed to impress in his couture catepillar suit and, of course, baby legs.
We were lucky to be invited to a neighborhood get-together with some of Russ' co-workers...in Cohasset, Russ' new favorite place here, and of course where he now wants to live (in a small shack, because these houses were like mini White Houses). I told him maybe we could purchase one of the servant quarters out back if he was really set on living in the most elite of neighborhoods in Mass.

Driving down the streets surrounded with the perfect color distribution from the fall foliage, it reminded me of late Fall in Benton, LA...where my grandparents lived. When I was young, and we would travel up there to visit, the town used to be small and quaint. The streets were over looked by tall trees that would shadow the sunlight from the road. It was like traveling a long journey to a far off place. It was very romantic, at least from my childhood memories. Now, it has gotten large and many new neighborhoods have taken over. I still remember the way it felt to drive through those trees, and to think "We are almost there!"

So, here I posted some of the pics of our H in his first costume. I realize everyone thinks their child is the cutest, but I must say he really has the face of a little cherub.




My first leaf!

Trying to give it away...
Still hanging on to the same one!

His FIRST Trick-or-Treat...he scored some Red Hots!

H's little stash (that he shared with Daddy)