Ward Family Happenings

Blog Binge

2012-02-12T09:05:00.001-08:00

It seems like I have a few days where life slows down and then weeks where it seems to never stop. Finally, I have some time to break from life to talk about life. So, sorry there are a bunch of posts all in a row!

The last few weeks have been pretty low key though. We have enjoyed some down time while settling into our new normal. We are back in the swing of things and even get out of the house every now and then. Last Friday I packed up both kids, made a trip to the post office and then to the park (an indoor one) for a while. I was pretty proud of myself! We all left the house happy and came home happy!

Here are just some random pictures from the last couple of weeks.
A slow, quiet start to the morning. I don't always love having both of my kids in my bed, but this morning they were both happy and snuggly! I loved it!
Tummy Time.

It doesn't last long, but then we spend some time on our back too.
And Harrison loves to join Raegan for a while. She loves having her big brother around.

Making faces.

Sleepy baby.

So, recently nap time with Harrison has become a sort of nightmare. Jeff suggested turning it into rest time where he picks a toy (or 2) and then plays quietly in his room until we come get him. Usually it lasts about 2 hours and it is still a nice break for us and Harrison sleeps better at night too. On a rare day he will still fall asleep. On this day it was in his beanbag. Another day he was on the floor.
My little handy man.
Harrison built his own fort with his blankets between our couch and chair. Then he invited Raegan in. I was a little scared for her life, but someday she probably won't be allowed in his forts anymore, so I hope she enjoyed it.
Raegan is developing more of a personality every day. She seems to have more nap times and awake times now. She is such a joy and although we don't always know what to do when she crys (she isn't a pacifier kid or a thumb sucker), we love her to pieces and love the smiles we get most of the time!

This weekend we made milk shakes too. I don't know if we have ever done this with Harrison, but he loved it and managed to eat more then he wore!

Presents from Auntie

2012-02-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

So, just a quick background, I have several Aunts. My dad has several sisters, but my mom only has one. This one happened to be around a lot when I was little and has always been Auntie. She had no children of her own and has gone from spoiling me to now spoiling me and my children. Over the last 2 weeks, we have received 7 packages. It has been a lot of fun and we are grateful for all of them. One was even some comfy lounging clothes for me! It was awesome.
Harrison was the lucky recipient of most of the packages (4 of them).
He got some awesome dress up.
And some tools (sorry not the greatest picture). He loves playing with his tools and is helping me learn all the names of tools.
Then just when we thought Harrison couldn't get anymore, he got a Curious George package yesterday. He loves the blanket, books, movie and little George car.

He even got to sleep with his new blanket!
Then Raegan got some beautiful new dresses and outfits. Most of the stuff is still big, but should fit her soon. I can't wait. They are some beautiful dresses. She also got the cutest little boots and I can't wait for them to fit her.
Then the creme de la creme...a beautiful Moses basket. It is almost too pretty to put a little spit up and pooping girl in, but we do anyway!
Sleepy baby.
And her brother wanted to get a closer look too.
When I told him he was too big to get in, he got his own blanket and pillow and wanted to lay down with her.

I love these too so much. Thank you Auntie for spoiling us these last few weeks with all your amazing presents. Hopefully we will get to see you soon!

Zoo Trip

2012-02-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

When Raegan was just over a month old (1/26) we decided to have our first longer family outing. Of course, Harrison picked the zoo. We only stayed about 2 hours but we all had a good time.

She pretty much slept the whole time and Harrison ran around the zoo the whole time.

We all went home tired, but had a fun time out together as a family!

Galleria Mall

2012-02-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures on my other camera. Back in December, when my induction got delayed 2 days, we decided to take advantage. We headed downtown and went to the mall to check out the Christmas tree.

Harrison loved it!
Dylan's Candy Bar was a favorite stop too. Yes, the table top is made out of gumballs. It was a fun time.

And Sometimes...

2012-01-30T14:38:00.001-08:00

So, yesterday on our way home from church, I asked Harrison how primary was and his first response "I cried for you guys". He was all serious but I couldn't help laugh a little.

Then I asked about his class. I asked what his class was (he is a Sunbeam) and he was a little confused after his answer of primary wasn't right. So I told him he was a Sunbeam and his response "Oh, right, I'm a Sunbeam and sometimes I am a child of God." Those songs are really sinking in.

Harrison is loving primary though! He sits as well as any other 3 year old and is always coming home telling us about his lesson or singing a song that he learned. It helps that Jeff is in there too (he teaches one of the other classes, but they have Sharing Time together).

Raegan Lin Ward- 6 days old

2012-01-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

I had these done at 6 days (except the one in the maroon head band). I'm so glad I got them because at a month old she already looks so different! Enjoy! And if you have any favorites, let me know...I need to pick a few to frame!

Our family of 4

2012-01-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Now I just have to decide which one/ones to frame!

My Blue-Eyed Babies!

2012-01-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

My favorites from their first photo shoot together! Enjoy!

And she was done!

One Month Old

2012-01-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe it has been a month already. Raegan is such a good baby. She is a good eater, a good sleeper (we are only getting up once a night most nights!), she loves to smile and loves to snuggle. Besides a crazy gag reflex, she is awesome! We love having her and none of us can get enough of her smiles and snuggling.
We even made it to church today. Harrison was so excited to show off "his" baby!

Happy 1 Month baby Raegan. We love you so much!

P.S. To the Grandma's especially...I'm almost done with her newborn pictures and hope to have them up this week!

Getting Caught up

2012-01-22T15:36:00.001-08:00

I am finally getting caught up on all my blogging. I have taken so many pictures and have had little time to post them, but I am getting there! Here are just some from the last few weeks that didn't really fit under any of the other posts. (From New Years until now).

Love that little wink. We call her "one-eyed Raegan" a lot of times because she loves to just open the one eye!

A Little Sibling Love

2012-01-22T15:18:00.000-08:00

These two love each other! Harrison can not get enough of his baby sister and loves to hug her, kiss her and show her off to others. And as crazy as it sounds, Raegan loves her big brother just as much. She is calm through all his noise and whenever he is close, she is watching and looking at him. I love to see the two of them together!

Lounging

A Kiss
and a hug

The (not quite) Man of the House

2012-01-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

These past weeks (and months with me on bed rest) have really been a time for Harrison to step it up and show us how grown up he has become. We have had some hard times, but he is doing so well being a big boy and a big brother. He even loves to dress himself now...
So I took back over that job!
Being a fire fighter with Red from Cars.
Jeff had the TV on the Phantom of the Opera movie the other day and Harrison walked over and was mesmerized by Christine. He stood there for her whole song.
Harrison and I took lunch outside the other day and had some good one on one time. We did some eating and some cloud watching.
One of the not so goods has been Harrison's recent need to wake up 1-2 times a night, come into our room and ask to be tucked in. This started when I was put on bed rest. I tried to stop it, but it was hard. I didn't really mind tucking him in and he always went right back to his bed and fell asleep. While his 1-2 wake ups a night mixed with Raegan's have really made me one tired momma, so I turned to bribery. The first time he stayed in his bed all night I promised him Chocolate Chip pancakes. He earned that last week (seen below). Now we are doing a sticker chart that should equal about 15 days of staying in bed. Hopefully that is long enough to become a habit. And it should only cost us a movie! We are 2 nights in and it has worked so far. I hope it continues. I really want to sleep longer then 2 hours at a time again!

First Real Bath and Sharing

2012-01-19T13:56:00.000-08:00

Her first real bath...she still loved it. She was over 3 weeks old because it took that long for her belly button to fall off. She was 3 weeks, 1 day old when it fell off and 3 weeks, 2 days when we gave her a real bath.
She loved her reflection in the mirror.
On her way out of the bath.
She has a lot more hair and much darker then her brother did.

AND...Check out our thin blooded Texan boy...
showing his sister how to stay warm too!

2 weeks

2012-01-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

My mom came and helped us for 2 weeks (Jan. 1-14th). She took some great pictures while she was here and captured some moments that I never would have. I felt like I was in a daze for some of the time she was here and loved that I got so much extra sleep with her here. Thanks for coming mom and helping us so much!

Here are some random pictures from while she was here.
Harrison was so excited to see Grandma!
And Raegan was excited to meet her Grandma!

Trying on his clown nose.
Showing her how it is done.

3 generations of women.Not the greatest picture of us, but check out Harrison in the background. How he manages to play with grandma's hair and pick his nose...my boy is talented!
We will miss you Grandma Willerth!

First Bath

2012-01-18T14:15:00.001-08:00

Her first bath at home was of course just a sponge bath. She loved it though. I was sure she would cry because she cried getting her diaper changed most times, but she was so mellow and just stayed still the whole time. The lotion when she got out was another story, but she loved (and still loves) the bath!

And what do you do with a curious older brother during the first bath when you aren't sure how baby will react.
You put him in the bath as well and there he stays until the process is over!

In No Particular Order

2012-01-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

Just some pictures of the time between Christmas and New Years.

I had a birthday and turned 28!
I think that is a smile...

Using his new train extensions to take over even more space with his train tracks.
She really does like her brother!

Enjoying a movie together.
Being a big brother is exhausting.
Celebrating New Years Eve with glow sticks and poppers.

Backtracking

2012-01-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

I found some more pictures from the hospital and coming home our first day. Our first day home was also Christmas Eve so it seems to all blend together. And hopefully I will soon get up to date on my blogging. For now, enjoy some oldies!

Harrison enjoyed the hospital menu!
Some more of our new little girl.

Getting ready to go home.
Finally home and showing Raegan her new home.
Really wanting to hold his baby sister...

At least for a minute!Checking out the new baby.

Full and Sleepy baby!

This Christmas

2011-12-27T14:59:00.001-08:00

We got home from the hospital Christmas Eve so we laid low for the day. We read the Nativity and had a quiet night making some treats for Santa and Jeff made us a huge dinner (turkey and all the fixings). Then we went to bed late and got up early, but it was a wonderful day with all of us together. And we even fit in some naps!
Santa filled our stockings and left us presents.
Well, after seeing what Santa brought, someone got really excited.
You would think we got a puppy for Christmas, but nope...Harrison was too excited to stop playing and had his first accident in months and his first ever on the carpet. Oh-well, it's Christmas!
We kept the lights low and had a fire with the tree lights. It was an awesome morning.
Covered in her presents.
Trying out Daddy's (and Mommy's) new XBox with Kinect.
Harrison picked out a present for Raegan...a car of course, but it is just for her. He loves to make sure she has it with her all the time.
Loving this present thing!
Baby's first Christmas.
Making sure we got everything.
Bright eyed girl.
Jeff thinks I was trying to torture her, but I had a picture of Harrison in his stocking for his first Christmas and I wanted one for her. Her stocking is a lot smaller then his was that year!Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Sun Bathing!

2011-12-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been home for a few days and our little girl is now 5 days. Already I feel like it is going too fast. She is already figuring out her days and nights and I get about 4 hours of sleep for 2 stretches of the night. She goes about another 2 hours but by then Harrison is up. She is a good eater, a good sleeper and has times where she is very alert. She is happy in her chair, her bed and loves being held and we love snuggling her. She is a bit on the jaundice side so we took advantage of the sun today and got her some rays! She seemed to enjoy it!

(that is a yawn!)

Happy Birthday!

2011-12-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

Raegan Lin Ward has arrived. Born Dec. 22, 2011. 12:45 pm. 7lb. 12 oz. 19 3/4 in. long. We are all doing great! Here are some pictures of her first 24 hours.

T'was the Day Before Labor

2011-12-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

What do you do the day before you go into labor? Well, knowing you are going into labor helps a lot so I made the most of the day. I was all over trying to get things squared away so I can relax (yea I know, not going to happen) after the baby comes.
But the fun part of my day was letting Harrison pick one more Mommy/Harrison activity before the little sister gets in the way. And what did he pick...the zoo. We only stayed for 2 hours, but had a great time!

And like I said, tomorrow is the big day, so look for some pictures of a new baby in a few days! I'll probably get pictures on Facebook sooner, but I'll do the best I can!
39 weeks and the night before induction.
Our family of 3 and almost 4!
I can't wait to get this little girl here!

Just hanging around

2011-12-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

Well, nothing too exciting going on. We are staying close to home in case baby girl shows up. We are ready and waiting so we are finding ways to keep busy.

Puzzles-Jeff and I did most obviously, but Harrison did help and loved putting in the last piece.
Whipped Cream
Shows with our new bean bag chair. Quick story...Harrison has had the glider in his room since we moved here (or since he was born I guess) and he loves it. We don't use it in there and I need it for the baby. Well, there was no moving it out without a replacement so we got him a new chair to replace that spot in his room. Even that took some convincing too, but after about a month, he loved this chair. Now, baby girl can have the glider (or I can have it for me to use for her!).
And a trip to the mail box. Apparently, this little guy has too much TX in his blood. He has been cold with highs in the 50s. What a wimp, but he looks good in a little beanie!
And a 38 week belly shot. Enjoy! I feel like I really exploded in the last 4 weeks, but lets hope it is baby girl that exploded. I know I am close too. Dr. said she will help me get baby here before Christmas so we will see if she comes on her own or with some help!

Christmas is Coming

2011-12-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas prep seemed to start a little early at our house. Not really though...we did wait until after Thanksgiving, but now we are ready. Not only does Christmas mean celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, but this year it brings another birth. Our second child should be coming within days of or after Christmas. So, we have been trying to get all the prep out of the way so we can focus on baby when she comes.
First our annual trip to see Santa. And for the first time, there were no tears. See last year! Instead, he hopped up on Santa's lap and started spouting off all the things he wants for Christmas. A big McQueen, a Mator, Trains and the list goes on. It was a lot of fun to sit back and listen. Too bad they wouldn't let me take a good picture and I wasn't paying for theirs!

Then, in our 6 years of marriage (this is our 7th Christmas together), we have never done Christmas by ourselves. We have always spent it at one of our parent's homes. This year, due to baby girl, we are not traveling and going to enjoy our own little family Christmas. So, to celebrate, we bought a real Christmas tree.
Getting it home actually went really well, no accidents or even near accidents.
We got it all set up and decorated. I prefer white lights, but we left it up to Harrison and he wanted color lights, so we got some color LED lights and they leave circles all over the walls. Good thing they are LED too because they stay on 24/7. Harrison gets up in the middle of the night to turn on the lights if we turn them off before bed. It is nice to have them though. And I love a real tree. It smells amazing!
And I made stockings too, because we don't have our own here. Luckily it didn't take too long to make 4, but I am glad I will only have to make them 1 at a time after this!
We also did some outside lights this year and Harrison has loved the advent calendar and getting to eat a candy every morning as we get closer and closer to Christmas.

Baby Shower/Party Time

2011-12-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

Almost a month ago (wow I am getting behind!) some wonderful friends (Thanks Kristen and Gretchen!) threw me a baby shower. It was also a party...my first real trip out since bed rest! I was taken off the next day!

It was a really fun night. A lot of friends came out and we had a great night.
It was a cookie theme party.
And of course, there were games. Trying to carry a baby, hang clothes and talk on the phone. I did pretty awful, so hopefully it works better when baby girl actually arrives!
We also had a lot of time to visit.
And the gifts were awesome. This little girl is loved and will definitely have plenty of things and people who love her.
By the time I got home that night, I was exhausted. Going from bed rest to being the center of a party was a big change. It was an amazing night and I am so grateful to everyone who came and to Kristen and Gretchen for hosting the shower. It really means a lot to have such wonderful friends!

The Rest of Grandma's Visit

2011-12-08T18:56:00.001-08:00

Grandma's visit lasted through the middle of November and we had a lot of fun while she was here. Nothing like an exploration in the backyard (I love the boots!)
More trips to the park.

Relaxing with the cars.
And while Daddy was home, they needed a little boy time, so they built a great fort to play in.
We loved having Grandma here and can't wait for her to come back after baby girl gets here!

Going on an Adventure

2011-11-29T18:46:00.001-08:00

Harrison has been talking about adventures and going into the woods for quite a while now. First it was too hot, then I was down and out, so Daddy was finally able to take Harrison on his great adventure. Even almost 2 weeks later, he still talks about how fun it was and wants to go back into the woods to find more bugs and collect more things. I'm sad I missed it, but I know he and Daddy had some good boy time!
Checking out the life on the dead trees.
And catching some.
My adventurers.
Collecting nature.

Thanksgiving and Jeff's Birthday

2011-11-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

We played Thanksgiving pretty low key this year. We were just happy to all be together. Harrison set up all the cars and trucks he owns into his "Car Family". Too bad we couldn't have them for dinner.

For dinner Jeff made all sorts of great food. I helped a little but was pretty limited in what I could do. We had a great turkey, homemade rolls and all the fixings. I love having a husband who enjoys cooking! And even on his birthday! Jeff hit the 28 years mark on Thanksgiving so we had presents...
and pie!
Happy birthday to the most wonderful husband I could have ever dreamed of! Harrison and I both love him so much and appreciate all he does for us. I know our little girl will love her daddy too!

34 weeks!

2011-11-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

Well, 34 weeks was the goal when they put me on bed rest and here we are. Now I should be able to be up doing more, but it is really hard to have much energy when I have been down for the last 6 weeks. So, I started slow with going out and getting my hair cut. It was much needed and the first time in over 6 weeks my hair got done! Too bad it is super humid and hard to keep my hair straight.
And everyone comments on how small I still look, but I don't feel very small! I guess I am all baby though.
Harrison and I have been having a "who's tummy is bigger" competition. I think I am beating him now!
I'm grateful to have made it this far and hope to make it at least 4 more weeks before this little girl makes her grand entrance. I guess we will see what happens.

Grandma Comes to Town

2011-11-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to wonderful Grandmas...bed rest has been doable. Jeff's mom spent a few weeks with us at the beginning of October and my mom came later to help out and stay until I'm off bed rest. (Less then a week!) But my mom got here right in the midst of Harrison's stomach flu. Good thing she came with his birthday present. He was happy to have something fun to do! And his present was as big as him!
He got 2 new trucks, a mixer and a dump truck! He loves them both and they are allowed to be inside toys as long as they stay clean!

Grandma Willerth has been making sure Harrison still gets to play and have fun and go to school since I am kind of down and out for a little longer.

Grandma and Harrison coloring at pre-school.
Harrison has also been getting a lot of play time outside and just been having a lot of fun with Grandma.

She even got him Cars 2 on the day it came out. He loves this movie...can you tell!?
I guess he set up a store selling pine cones at the park. I'm pretty sure I would be the sucker to buy a pine cone from that cute face!

Then last weekend, we got rid of our pumpkins (they rotted) and although Harrison had fun hosing down the step...he did not like that we were just throwing them away. I guess we didn't prep him for that very well.

Enjoying snacks at the park.

I don't think I look quite this pathetic all the time, but this is about my life these days. Usually I am sleeping or reading!
Harrison has been pretty tired after his long fun days too.
A little baseball with Daddy.
Some of Harrison's games fell off the washing machine recently when it was spinning and I don't fit back there these days, so Grandma and I convinced Harrison it would be an adventure to climb behind the washer and pull out the stuff that fell back there. He loved it!
Another visit to the park. It is cooling off here but we are still enjoying getting out and enjoying the parks.

I do a lot of sitting and watching while Grandma gets to do most of the running and chasing!

I'm pretty sure Harrison is having a great time with Grandma here and I know it has made my life easier. Sometimes it is pretty funny though to hear Harrison tell me to go sit down and rest...I guess I need to be a better listener.

Daddy Time

2011-11-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

With Jeff traveling a lot, we take our Daddy time very seriously. Well, maybe not seriously, but we love and enjoy the time we have with him at home!

Halloween Weekend

2011-11-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

Halloween started for us on Friday night with a Trunk or Treat done by our ward. It was a lot of fun and Harrison loved getting on his Lion costume and practicing his roar. He came home with a lot of candy too!

After a combination of candy, staying up late and who knows what else, Harrison woke up with the stomach flu on Saturday. We were going to try and get to a friend's annual Halloween party that night, but figured we would keep to ourselves until the vomiting stopped. We were just glad Harrison handled it well and neither Jeff or I got it! Thank goodness!
By Sunday, Harrison was doing better so we got to decorate our pumpkins. I know it seems last minute, but if you carve pumpkins too early in TX (like 3 days before Halloween) they are rotten before your trick or treaters ever see them. So, Sunday night we painted and carved.

Our finished product. Jeff was told by Harrison to make his scary and mine was supposed to look happy.

Then we decorated sugar cookies. It was a good thing Grandma got there to document all these fun things for us. I haven't been to great about pictures lately.

Then on Monday we got ready for trick or treating in our neighborhood. We tried to switch up the lion costume for a race car. He loved the race car, but couldn't keep it up for long, so we stuck with the lion.
Grandma took him around the street trick or treating while my "bed rest" kept me at home passing out candy. Grandma said he was much more interested in the decorations at everyone's house then the candy. He also did a good job of saying trick or treat at each house, but instead of Thank You, he would roar. Good thing people found it cute and not rude!
Nice attempt at a costume for me too right? I had bigger plans, but managed to let everyone know there is a little girl in there.
I really love Halloween and this year was kind of a bum for me! I couldn't take Harrison trick or treating or do most of my favorite things. But I have an amazing mom who made it happen and an amazing husband. Holiday traditions are not always Jeff's thing, but he made sure we had pumpkins to carve, candy to pass out and cookies to decorate. My husband is amazing!

First Day of School

2011-10-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we have 3 years before kindergarten, and I thought that was a little early for a formal preschool. (Maybe next year!) So instead, I heard about this great little program run by the school district for kids 3-5. So, when Harrison turned 3 we decided to start. I have him in 1-2 sessions a week and so far he has loved his first week. He was a little shy and quiet during all the singing, but loved to color and loved centers!
Mommy even got out of bed the first day to see how it all works. It was up to Grandma Ward on day 2.
Here's to hoping that school is really as exciting as he thinks it is.

A Week of Birthday Celebrations

2011-10-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Harrison turned three this week and I was planning on having a little friend's party for him to celebrate, but alas, my plans changed a few weeks back with bed rest. So we settled for 3 different days to celebrate his birthday at home. First, Grandma Ward was here helping out (thank goodness) and decided to give Harrison his present before his birthday so we could enjoy it one night.
He loved opening his first present and loved watching the new Lion King movie.
Then on his birthday, I made my first venture out of the house and we went to playgroup at a park by our house. Grandma got to chase him around while I got to sit back and watch him play. Then we had a picnic lunch. It was a fun morning.
When we got back from the park, Harrison "helped" Grandma make his cake.
He did better putting the sprinkles on!
Then with Daddy on Skype, we got to open some of his presents. He got new shoes and a dump truck from his Willerth Grandparents and family.

And I managed to finally finish his super hero cape that had been a long time in the making. He also got some Cars stuff and a new water bottle.
After presents, we had a Spaghetti dinner which Harrison picked and sang Happy Birthday to him. He did a great job blowing out his candles.
Then on Saturday, when Daddy was home, he got another present.
He got 2 new trains to play with and he and Daddy spent most of the weekend playing with trains and building new tracks.
Saturday was also Grandma Ward's birthday so we were able to take a little time from Harrison to celebrate her. We had a great cook out and enjoyed some time together. Grandpa sent some awesome flowers. They smell amazing!
Jeff made a great cake and we all enjoyed the rest of our weekend together.
Happy Birthday!

To My Angel Boy!

2011-10-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Harrison,

Three years ago today I looked into the eyes that would change my life forever. Your presence has made my life so much better. You came a little later then we wanted you too, but when you got here you were worth the extra waiting. You were so healthy and calm and just wanted us to hold and cuddle you. You were a great sleeper and never did more then whimper when you needed something. You brought such a calmness and sweetness into our home. Your daddy and I can't imagine life without you.
You have taught me so much and helped me to grow in ways I never thought possible. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but until you were here, I didn't really know what that meant. You helped me to learn patience and unconditional love. You have helped me to learn what true joy is as I have watched you grow from a little 8 lb, 5 oz baby, into a 33 lb toddler! You have grown bigger, not just physically, but mentally as well. You have quite the little personality and although you keep me on my toes all the time, you make life fun and exciting! I love watching you discover what the world has to offer and I love that you help me stop and enjoy the little things. Like the flowers along the sidewalk or the bugs in the grass. I love that you can remember all the lines in the movie Cars and get so excited to watch it again and again with me. I love that you copy what I say when I read books to you now and how you "let" me play with some of your toys! I love our games of hide and seek when you tell me where you are hiding. I love to color, cut, paint and do projects with you. I love that you made potty training so easy and quick. I love that we get to learn together. I love your laugh, your smile, and all your different emotion faces that you have been working on lately.
I love that you have been so patient with all the changes and travels in our lives and that you have been so excited to welcome a baby sister into our family. I am glad you have been able to adjust and give up some of your mommy time so that baby sister can get here safely!

Harrison, you are truly a blessing to me and all those you meet. I hope you enjoy your special day my little angel baby! I can't wait to see all that you teach me as you are learning what it is like to be 3!

Love,
Your Mommy

29, 1, 5

2011-10-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Take your pick of numbers...

29 weeks pregnant today with baby girl! This is a picture of her little face. Chin is on the left side and forehead on the right a little lower. I think she has Harrison's nose.
And here is me and 29 weeks...
1 week on bed rest and I am still trying to make the best of it. I can sit up and do some little things so I have read almost 2 books, read lots of books to Harrison, finished a 400 piece puzzle-with help- (see below) and am working on a few craft projects that are pretty simple but time consuming. So here is my chance I guess.
5 more weeks of bed rest to go. My Dr. said they would take me off at 34 weeks and see what my body does from there. Let's hope we last a little longer then that, but who knows what this little girl wants to do.
In the mean time, Harrison is trying to enjoy himself with some outside play time while I watch from my chair and also a lot of train track building and race car tracks in our house. Luckily Grandma Ward is here to keep track of the little guy and do everything around the house! Thanks so much and we love you Grandma!

Scary Weekend

2011-10-03T18:27:00.001-07:00

I will start by saying, I am never complaining about pregnancy again! I thought my pregnancy with Harrison was hard. He was big and moved constantly and I was so uncomfortable. But after it taking us so long to get pregnant this time around, I decided that I was going to be positive and look at the blessing that being pregnant is! Well, this little girl is making that very hard. First of all, she is really low so all the pain in my hips and legs and back started very early. Well, working out seemed to help a lot with that and I was able to stay positive. It was getting hard for me to chase around Harrison too, but such is life and he was learning to deal.

Well, then last weekend, we got the scare of this pregnancy. I started having a lot of pain Friday. Trying to just chalk it up to the fact that I did a lot (walking, a yoga workout, laundry, cleaned my bathrooms and swept the floors and then just chased around Harrison) and so I spent the evening resting and decided to go to bed early. Well, after a very un-restful nights sleep, I got up in the morning only to find that my pain was coming not just as cramps but as very regular cramping and pain. To me, that said contractions, so I called the Dr. Saturday morning and they told me to head to the hospital. So, Jeff is out of town working and I think, should I bring Harrison and make him wait while they probably run some tests, give me some meds and wait in the hospital for a few hours or should I find someone to watch him for the rest of the morning for me. I went with finding someone and I was so glad to have such wonderful friends. A dear friend came by, picked him up and then offered to drop her kids and Harrison with her husband and come with me. I figured I would be fine and in and out of there pretty quick, so off she went with Harrison and off I went to the hospital.

I quickly realized at the hospital that this wasn't going to be quick. They hooked me up to some machines and after a few tests and time on the machines decided that I was having a lot of contractions and although they weren't putting me into labor yet, they very likely could start. So, start the drugs. A simple pill right? WRONG! A pill that I take every 6 hours for 48 hours while I stay in the hospital so they can monitor the baby's reaction as well as my contractions. So, now we are talking 2 days in the hospital! Crazy! So, Jeff books a flight home, Harrison spends the rest of the day (and night)-Thank you Allen Family!! with friends and Jeff gets to me late that night. I won't go into all the details, but after pills and shots, the contractions were under control and baby girl was doing great (so happy she didn't decide to come at 28 wks!). Another reason I am never going to complain about pregnancy...keeping her in is so much better for everyone!

I got home this morning and will now spend the next 2-3 months on bed rest. Which is actually a better option I think then delivering a preemie, so I am going to do my best to obey my Dr. and stay on bed rest. Thank goodness for a wonderful mother in law and mother, family and amazing Relief Society Friends in Houston who are all stepping in to help. I don't know how or if I will ever be able to repay everyone, but I hope that I can be of service to others just as I am now the receiver of service! Now, I just need to pray these contractions don't start up again until at least 38 weeks!
Jeff snapped this keeper in the hospital! Harrison brought his race cars to keep me entertained! What a sweet boy and a trooper through all of this (and it is only the beginning).
Now I just need to find all the different things I can do while in bed and sitting down!

Family Pictures

2011-09-25T19:14:00.001-07:00

So, when we were in North Carolina, my amazing sister-in-law took some great family pictures. The whole group picture even turned out well, which is a lot to say when you have so many kids and trying to get everyone to look towards the camera. Thank goodness for Photoshop!
And then our own family pictures (which she did for the other families too) turned out so well! Now, I just need to figure out which one I want to have printed for our wall...

I love that Harrison looks so happy and Jeff and I are looking at each other. I love my husband!

New York City and 9/11-10 years later

2011-09-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

So, Jeff had the opportunity to spend some time working in New York. I have always wanted to go to New York and so we followed him along for part of the time. It was a long 2 weeks, and we did a lot (hence the something like 6 posts) and I took about 200 pictures during that time. It was such a great city and such a change from Houston (and even Chicago) in so many ways. But one of the coolest things was that when we happened to go was during the 9/11 Memorial for the 10 year mark. Although we avoided getting too close to the actual Memorial site and new One World Trade Center, we did get to see it. It is still under construction.
But then for 9/11 we decided to go to a baseball game. It was awesome because the Mets just happened to be playing my Cubbies! Too bad it was a late game and Harrison was done after about 5 innings, but besides the Cubs winning (yeah!) we did get to see and participate in some great things before the game.
A moment of silence with Candles lit
The flag displayed with several NYPD, NYFD and NY Sanitation workers as well as others who helped out on that sad day. And Marc Anthony performed the National Anthem.
Ready for the game!

I will always remember that day and exactly where I was and how it all played out. It was such an experience for me to be in NYC 10 years later and see how everyone found ways to celebrate and honor the lives lost and changed forever. It was amazing to see and I will always remember that...along with the million other things we did while we were there, so feel free to read on!

Staten Island, the Ferry and The World

2011-09-18T14:03:00.001-07:00

I think the thing Harrison was looking forward to most on this trip (or at least the only thing he knew much about in NYC) was the Statue of Liberty. We felt that a day trip out there would get long and probably boring so we opted to ride the Staten Island Ferry. It took us right by Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and gave us some great views of the city.

The Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately, this is as close as we got.

We did stay on the island for a little while and walked around. They have their own 9/11 memorial and although it is hard to see in the picture, looking straight through the statue is right where the new Memorial building is and also where the old twin towers stood. I can't imagine living there before and seeing such a change in the skyline. One the memorial are all the names of people who died on 9/11 who were living on Staten Island.
Then on another day we took a trip in another direction to see the giant globe, that Harrison was also very excited to see. He ended up walking/running across the whole outside. It was a very large and very cool thing. This is where the World Fair happened and it is now where the US Open happens every year. Just across the way, is the Mets Field.
(US Open Building)

Museums

2011-09-18T13:53:00.001-07:00

In an ideal world (or one without having to entertain an almost 3 year old), I would have loved to have spent the day at the Met. But, this was the closest we got to the Met...throwing pennies in the fountains.
Instead, we went with a more kid friendly museum and spent a day at the American Museum of Natural History. This is where Night at the Museum is filmed and it was really great.
Harrison just ran from exhibit to exhibit, so excited about everything there was to see.
His crocodile snap, snapping.

I thought I got more pictures, but I guess we were just trying hard to keep up with him. He loved it so much that we left for lunch and then came back. We really had a lot to see and when I asked what his favorite thing of the day was, it was the giant whale. I didn't get a picture, but they had a whole ocean exhibit and a life-size blue whale. It was amazing and overwhelming, but great to see. Hopefully he learned something that day.

5th Ave. and Grand Central Station

2011-09-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

We took several subways that transferred us through Grand Central Station, but only once did we actually leave the tunnels and come check out the main Station. It was pretty awesome and very big. Harrison recognized it from Madagascar, but kept asking where the Zebra was. Sorry buddy, I guess he wasn't there that day!

Then on 2 different days we spent some time on 5th Avenue. There is some great shopping although we avoided the really high end stores and stuck to a few stores we thought we wouldn't stick out too much in.
FAO Schwartz
These guys were performing on the big piano. It was pretty fun to watch.
Harrison finally got to touch the Statue of Liberty.
Throwing pennies in yet another fountain outside of the toy store.
Trump Tower
There are some pretty great cathedrals on 5th Ave.

I had to go to H&M. and then when we took our picture Harrison pointed to the sign and said H is for Harrison and M is for Mommy. Tender!
We found lots of fountains to throw in more pennies.

Just off 5th is Radio City
And Rockefeller Plaza.
And since I didn't buy anything on 5th Ave., we ended up down on Canal St. another day (no pictures) but that place is crazy! We went to Chinatown, Little Italy and Canal St all in one day and I was so busy trying to barter and not get run over by all the people or lose my child in the crowds that I didn't take any pictures. But I did walk away with this...Jeff helped me pick it out and also helped me barter it down and extra couple of bucks. That was another fun experience.

Central Park

2011-09-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

We spent several different days in Central Park. It is truly an amazing place and there is so much to see. We literally spent a whole day and walked about 8 miles and still only saw about half the park. So we came back several other times to catch a few of the highlights of the park.
Climbing Rocks
Bethesda Fountain (again throwing in more change)

Belvedere Castle
Turtle Pond
Lunch at Shake Shack
The Gardens. They were quiet and beautiful.

Frisbee at one of the many playgrounds.
Feeding the ducks in the model boat lake.

Lunch at the park
His first on stage performance.
The Alice in Wonderland Statue.
This was one of the quotes we saw by the statue and couldn't pass up a chance to take a picture. It made us all laugh

Strawberry Fields

There was so much to see and do, we spent a lot of time there. Besides being totally exhausted when we were done, we had a great time.

The More Simple Moments

2011-09-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

We went none stop for nearly a week before we took much of a break. This pretty much sums up how we all felt.

We made some time for some of the more low key things. I think one of the biggest highlights for me on the trip was the Manhattan Temple. Jeff watched Harrison one morning so that I could go and attend a temple session. I should have looked more closely online to the sessions, because I picked one that was in Spanish. I did have headphones so it was great and I felt like it really helped me focus more. It was an amazing experience and a beautiful temple. It is amazing how such a peaceful place can exist in such a busy place.

We also ate a lot of good food while we were gone. We ate Thai food and a couple of places, Chinese food from a couple of places, some good pizza places, pasta in Little Italy and some burger places. All the food was amazing, but eating out is not something we do a lot, so it was all good, but I don't know how people do it a lot. My pregnant body just started to crave salad and home cooked meals.
We also got to visit Jeff and his "work office" as Harrison calls it. We met him for lunch or after work a few times.
The view from the front of his office.
It rained for 2 days (which was nice because it limited what we could do) and we all needed a break from all the walking and sight seeing. So, when Jeff got home from work, he and Harrison got out and did some puddle jumping. They had a great time. I opted to stay inside, dry and take some pictures.
There was also a great park near our Hotel that we could go to and have some low key mornings. Harrison enjoyed it a lot and I have never really been to an urban park. It was fun. And I think we were some of the only people who spoke English as a first language. I heard Spanish, all sorts of Asian languages, Eastern European, Russian and some Italian. It was interesting to feel like I was the one who didn't know what was going on. But also fun to be emerged in such cultural diversity.

Madison Square Park, Food and Times Square x2

2011-09-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

One of the first things we did when we got to New York was check out a downtown walking park. This was also the home of the original Shake Shack, which came highly recommended. It did not disappoint either. The only thing I didn't like was waiting in line for an hour for a hamburger, fries and a shake.

But Jeff and I took turns with Harrison walking around the park to kill time and it was really a nice night out.
We found this great little Italian Market near the park. It was fun to walk through. Most of the people who shopped there were interesting. I have never been to a grocery store before where you can get a glass of wine and walk around with a basket to shop. It was pretty funny to me.
Harrison liked the crab tank that they had.From there we again took the subway and made our way to Times Square. I ended up going back again with Harrison again during the day, but wanted to see it at night and during the day. Waiting for the subway...Times Square at night

Making friends with New York's finest.

Toys R Us in Times Square

The Red Stairs

We went back a few days later during the day and had a good time.
We went back to Toys R Us and saw the Dinosaur
Harrison wouldn't get too close.
We also went to the Disney Store and had a good time there. We even found Woody and Buzz outside.
Back at the Red Tables (just below the red stairs), playing with our new Cars from Disney.

M&M world
The view at Sunset from just outside our hotel off the Long Island Expressway.

Another First-Bowling

2011-09-06T07:02:00.001-07:00

They have free bowling for kids all summer long down here. We haven't taken advantage of it until some friends invited us. So, on a Saturday (8/27) we decided to get out of the house and go bowling with some friends. It was a lot of fun, after Harrison got over crying most of the way there because it was so hot outside. We broke records of heat with 109 that day!

But once we were bowling, Harrison had a good time. He did a good job, but the hardest part was waiting his turn. There were 5-6 people on both lanes that we had so waiting for 4 other kids to bowl was a long time. But he did well and had a good time. Maybe we will trying bowling again soon. Next time, I am bringing Daddy though!
Nothing cuter then a boy in his bowling shoes!
We switched back and forth between using the ramp and just throwing the ball down the lane. Both seemed to work, but the ramp made the ball go faster.
Despite the meltdowns over having to wait his turn each frame, I really think he had a good time. And I think everyone else did too. It was nice to get out of the house and out of the heat and do something a little different.

We're having a...

2011-08-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well, for some of you, you might not have heard we are having a baby! We are very excited and cautiously waited to share the news until just the last few weeks. Things have gone really well this pregnancy. It has been different in a lot of ways from Harrison, but I think a lot of that has to do with the circumstances. I am no longer working full time, it is hot down here and I pick up a very heavy almost 3 year old several times a day. But we are all very excited to have this little one join our family around Christmas time. (December 26, 2011) But I'm not holding my breath that this one will come on time!

So on to the big news, which might not even be big news to most, but now it is officially on the blog too.

We are having a little girl! Harrison has been saying little sister this whole time and he was right. We were so excited to see her in the ultrasound and see that all seems healthy and she is growing very well. So, we look forward to meeting our little girl soon and can't wait to see Harrison interact with her. He already loves her so much and we just hope he doesn't smother her in that love!
Her little feet...
Her face...
She doesn't look like any of us, she is kind of weird looking I think. But she looks good none the less and was very low to get good pictures of so we will just have to wait until she comes to see if she looks more like me or like Jeff.

Quick Weekend In DC/Virginia

2011-08-20T08:14:00.001-07:00

We left the beach and again hit the road. This time we made the drive from North Carolina to the Virginia/DC area to visit my sister for a quick trip. Jeff had to head to New York on work, so we thought we would take him to there and then let him go the last few hours on his own.
Apparently, at Deana's house, we eat...

Thanks for letting us crash at your place Deana and eat all your food!
While we were there we got to see Jeff's sister and her family one more time. Kind of a last fix after spending the week at the beach with them. They live not far from my sister so we spent the morning at the pool with them.
Fearless on the diving board...

And the splash...
Making their own kiddy pool, next to the kiddy pool.
Harrison and his cousin Katie, who he just adores.
Then after a quick trip, we made the 7 hour car drive back to North Carolina and then took a flight from there home to Houston. It was by far the longest traveling day I can ever remember and Harrison was a trooper. He passed out on the airplane!
Now we are back home and I am so glad to be sleeping in my own bed again! We had such a great time on our many vacations all packed together and were so glad to see so many of our friends and family.

NC Beach Trip/Ward Family Reunion

2011-08-20T08:13:00.001-07:00

We left Chicago and headed straight to North Carolina for a much anticipated family reunion at the beach. This was our big trip of the summer and we were all excited. We spent 6 days on the beach just playing around and nights enjoying each others company with visiting and games.
We rented a kayak for a couple of days and we did get some good rides in, but Jeff and Tyson spent a lot of time towing kids through the waves too.

One of the 2 houses we stayed in.
All the siblings and spouses went out to eat one night. Thanks to grandma and grandpa for watching 14 kids! (Some were in bed!)
We are just missing Jeff's oldest brother, who is taking the picture.

Then one night Grandpa rented a boat and we got to go for a long boat ride on an inter coastal water way. We had a really nice ride...thanks Grandpa!

Harrison kept stealing Grandma's sun hat and wore it around like a cowboy hat! He would say "giddy up, ride um cowboy" and then run around the house with the hat. He got some good laughs!
We did a little program on the last night and all the grandkids (but 1) were there to sing to Grandma and Grandpa.

One night we got everyone together (30+ people) and took some family pictures on the beach. I brought my nice camera out, hoping to get some good pictures of our little family and then my camera looked like this...
The humidity fogged up my lense and we got no pictures on my camera. Luckily my amazing sister in law (who is a professional) took some for us. She also took the ones of the whole family so I am looking forward to see how those turned out. They might need a lot of photo shop. We had some crying babies and kids and I'm pretty sure Harrison didn't smile in a single one. Oh-well, I guess it still captures the moment. We had a great time and can't wait to see everyone again!

Quick Trip to Chicago

2011-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

My very first, freshman roommate from college got married at the beginning of August. We only had a little time to go to the wedding before our next vacation started, but we made the most of it. My family was out of town (of course), so we had 2 days there. One for the wedding and one open day. We spent the open day going downtown. We haven't taken Harrison downtown and the day worked out beautifully!
We took the train down...
And of course Harrison loved it. And the colors that we took (blue, read and brown lines) all corresponded with his Thomas trains.
Listening for the train noises.
We stopped for lunch at this little hot dog place. So good! We got our Chicago dogs and Italian Beef. Both were amazing! And I ate about 7 pickles, guess those pregnancy cravings kick in every once and a while.

Not sure what the face is, but they both look exactly the same!

Then we headed up to Wrigley Field to show my little Cubs fan where the magic (or someday the magic) happens!

Harry Caray statue in the background.
Go Cubbies!
A tour of the field was $25 per person. We were not ready to spend $75! So instead we walked around and Harrison liked the view of the field. He did try to crawl through the bars. No luck though!
Enjoying a slurpy at 7-11. We don't see these much in Houston!

Next was Millennium Park.
The bean...and don't let the name fool you! Harrison tried licking it and decided it wasn't a good bean to eat! Gross!
Still trying to master a good picture of ourselves in the reflection.
The fountains...
And whoever designed this was crazy. The ground is all slate and it says not to run, but Harrison could hardly even walk without falling. He did enjoy the water though.

Then we met up with my friend Melissa (also in for the wedding) and she headed to Navy Pier with us.

We have a picture very similar to this one with the lighthouse in the background, taken 9 years ago when Jeff and I were dating. Boy has our life changed!
Shaking hands/hooks with a pirate on the pier.
Navy Pier also has a nice botanical garden. Harrison of course loved the water features and the lights in the water that he thought were fire.
We ended the day at Gino's East, my favorite Chicago pizza place. It was a long and exhausting day walking around the city pregnant with a 2 year old, but we had a great time!

Then the next day was the wedding. Everything was awesome. And it was extra special for Jeff and I because this was at the same temple we were married in. We haven't been back since and we made it back exactly 1 week before our 6 year anniversary.

It was a magical day for us then and on that day as well as I got to watch a good friend be married there as well. I am so thankful for where our lives have taken us these last 6 years together and am excited for the eternity to come!

Just playing around

2011-07-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

This week we went back to our favorite indoor park and played with some friends. I didn't take many pictures, but our friends did so I will have to get some from them. Harrison really wanted to go down the slide backwards like his friend Chloe...
It wasn't working so well for him so he tried this instead...
Then this week we got some great news about Jeff's job. It looks like Law School is a no go this year and instead Jeff will keep working for this company. We have been spoiled having him work from home for the last year and now we are in for it. His new project will send him to New York City for 2 months. He leaves soon too, so he and Harrison got in some fun Daddy/Son time this week.
Jammin' on the guitar

Climbing over, under and around daddy. I love how Harrison looks up to his Daddy!
Mean faces
Then just today, he got up from his Sunday nap very grumpy. I came in and found Jeff on the floor reading and Harrison passed out on the couch. He woke up much happier after nap #2, even though I am sure that had to be more uncomfortable then his bed.
We feel truly blessed this week to have gotten good news about Jeff's job. Next week we go to the Dr. and find out whether Harrison is going to have a little brother or sister and then we get to visit with friends and family! It is going to be some exciting times coming up!

All We Want for Christmas

2011-07-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

So, it was a slow week. Nothing really exciting going on. Our normal trips to the pool, the library, errands and the like. But a funny story, recently Harrison thinks he is entitled to presents and toys constantly. Part of this is the fact that as he grows up, we buy things we don't have because we never needed them. I.E. pool toys, floaty arms, new (and hand me down new to us) cloths, sand toys, books, coloring books, crayons, paint, play-doh and some toys. Well, now he sees something and says "I want that. I need a present." When we tell him no, he responds with "It's very special." I think that comes with me telling him each time that he gets something new that we need to treat it well because it is special.
Well, finally the constant asking and avoiding any toys or foods with common characters on them at the store started driving me crazy! So, we explained to Harrison that we only get presents at certain times of the year. To which he quickly replied "Santa brings me presents!" Yes, he does. So now everything that he wants he thinks Santa is going to bring him. Santa's list is pretty long for this year and it is only July! He does have a birthday in October, so we told him he will get some presents then as well. October and Christmas cannot come soon enough for him this year...

Or for our whole family for that matter because this year for Christmas, we are getting a new baby! We are all pretty excited. My official due date is December 26th, but if this one is anything likes its older brother, we will be lucky to see it before the new year.
I am just shy of 18 weeks today (picture is from today). We waited a long time to really announce this one. As many know, we have had a lot of heartbreak and I am very grateful for my wonderful Dr. and modern medicine. We find out the gender in just over a week.
Harrison has done great so far and really loves this baby already. He is convinced baby sister, but we will see! Either way, he already brings toys for the baby and hugs my stomach and says "I love you baby". Lately he asks me if things that I am doing the baby likes. "The baby likes fruit?" "The baby likes swimming?" It's pretty fun.
He is going to be a great big brother and teach this baby lots of things.
ike how to get dressed to play in the rain...
And how to create some great art...
Now if we just knew where we will be living when this baby comes... Hopefully some news on that front to come soon too!

I love to see the Temple

2011-07-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we decided to get out of the house together and go take Harrison to the Houston Temple grounds. We had a great time. It was overcast and not too hot so we were able to enjoy the walk.
We smelled the flowers.
Stopped at the fountains.

And even got a few teaching moments in about the temple itself.

Harrison really enjoyed the walk/run around the grounds and hopefully he is this excited when he gets to go inside.

More (Indoor) Summer Fun

2011-07-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

This last week we made it out to our favorite (and free) indoor park. It is awesome and Harrison kept asking me to take pictures of him way up high. Then I couldn't get him to stop moving and look at me when he was up high. But we had a great time!

Harrison loves baseball now too. We watched the Sandlot a little while ago and ever since he loves to hit the ball. So we looked into a tee and they can be pricey for a nice one, so Jeff just put his creative juices to work and made one out of PVC pipe. Harrison woke up and saw it the morning after Jeff made it and wouldn't stop playing with it. We have to improvise on the balls inside the house though.

His other favorite game to play is to put on his running shoes (also from the Sandlot) and run super fast. Sometimes he even gets one of us to be the dog chasing him.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Food
Flags
Festivals

Fireworks

Famished!
And most importantly Freedom. I love the 4th and am so grateful to live in this wonderful country and celebrate its independence. I feel so blessed and indebted to all those who have protected those freedoms for me and my family.

"Oh what do you do in the Summertime"

2011-07-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

When it is too hot to go outside? (except to swim)
We have recently taken up painting

Cookie decorating
And of course, we love puzzles. Harrison has started organizing his letters into color piles and then putting them by color back into the puzzle.
I see all these other people enjoying some great times outside in places farther north. Unfortunately, unless we want to melt or die of heat exhaustion, we have to find things to do inside when we are not at the pool. WE have found a few fun indoor play places and have seen 2 movies this summer. Our next adventure is going to be bowling I think. What does everyone else in Houston (or other hot places) do?

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

I love celebrating holidays and this one is a lot of fun! It was really great this year because Harrison was able to start helping with the process. We had a great day that involved presents, relaxing (for Jeff), a lot of food and music.
Harrison picked out this tie for Jeff.
And he decorated the wrapping paper for Jeff's other present.
I think he was surprised the we got him an IPod dock. We have been talking about it since before Christmas, so I bit the bullet and got it. We use it just about every day now.
We really love Bose!
We had waffles for breakfast and I made some sort of stuffed chicken that Jeff really wanted. But what I think we all enjoyed the most was this...
my first attempt at a German Chocolate cake. It was a lot of work but so good! We had a great Father's Day and loved spending the day together and going to church. Next year Harrison will get up and sing with the primary! Crazy! We really love Jeff and are grateful for all he does for our family. We are glad to have this day each year to remember and celebrate him! He is a great husband and great dad and I love having him!

We love our dad's too and were so happy to have them to talk to on Father's day and Harrison made them some cute cards. I have some wonderful men in my life!

Della Comes to Houston

2011-06-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister made the trip from Chicago back to Houston with us. She stayed for 2 weeks, since my mom and other sister were headed to France for 2 weeks...Rough life!
Anyway, we had a good time while she was here. Of course it is hots so we spent time inside or at the pool. One morning Harrison really wanted to ride his bike and no one wanted to be outside, so we brought it in and he rode and got rides along our front entry. Della fit on it much better then Jeff or I!
We managed to get out to the beach for a day and it was a lot of fun. I thought it would be way to hot (it was still hot and Harrison wouldn't walk on the sand) but we had a great time in the water and the wet sand!

Harrison even had his first surfing experience.

When it came time for Della to leave (that alone took 3 tries with 2 cancelled flights), we were sad to see her go. Harrison tried to be as cute and nice as possible, but Della was ready to go home I think!

We spent a lot of time at the pool with Della too, but I am never good about bringing my camera and taking pictures at the pool. I guess that is what happens when you have a 2 year old who is learning to swim. But we had a great time with Della and love having family come visit us!

Chicago Trip

2011-06-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

Although our Memorial Day weekend was the main highlight of our trip to Chicago, we managed to see and do a lot of other stuff too. I had 2 friends who had babies since Christmas when I was last home so I got to go see and hold some cute little babies.
The twins were almost 4 months old and the little guy just hit 2 weeks. Oh I miss these small little ones.
Mine looks HUGE next to them!
But then he likes to do the holding just like his mommy! Maybe the practice will come in handy someday.
Harrison was also in love with the special suitcase he got for the trip. He carried it around the airport and my parents house and any other place I would let him take it.
I was also able to have lunch with my awesome cousin who got married last December. And Harrison and I went over to another one of my friends house's for Chinese one night. Her 2 nieces were there. They are 4 and 6 and could not get enough of Harrison! I think he would have moved in if I let him. And I wanted to with all the help those 2 girls are!

Harrison also got to "ride" (aka move around the driveway) on Grandpa's motorcycle.
Safety first.
Practicing for the first time we let him ride or drive!
The neighbor across the street came to help with a dead tree stump and Harrison could not take his eyes of the "big tractor" so the lucky boy got a ride.
But still loves riding grandpa's tractor whenever he can.
We took Darci on a few walks.
And of course got picked on by family.
We were pretty exhausted every night!
But I think that is because someone...Harrison...loved to crawl in mommy's bed way to early. Is my kid the only one who gets all messed up when we travel and have to sleep in the same room! Oh well, we spent some early mornings laying here watching a show while I got the rest of my night's sleep.

We had a great trip and as usual can't wait to go back and visit family. Our next family trip is with Jeff's family to the beach...that one should be great!

Our Newest Addition

2011-06-24T14:34:00.001-07:00

Welcome, Bubbles to the family! Harrison earned his very first pet (and our first family pet) after successfully potty training. We promised him the fish in January, when we first tried to potty train (unsuccessfully) and he never forgot.
So, last Monday we went to the pet store and picked out a nice blue Betta fish.
He loves his fishy, which now lives in his room. He loves feeding him and talks to him any time we are in his room. We always follow through on our promises so I'm glad in our haste to potty train, no other animals were mentioned!

Wisconsin Weekend

2011-06-11T10:33:00.001-07:00

So I spent about 2 weeks up north visiting my family (more pictures and info on the rest of the trip later). The main reason for going right now is that my parent's were planning a trip to my Grandparent's cabin for Memorial Weekend and I really wanted to take Harrison up. I spent so much of my childhood summers up at the cabin and have so many good memories. It is an endless play place for kids (and sometimes a little stressful for parents!) but it was fun and I know Harrison had a great time. I just hope we get to go back again soon! We were there Friday evening and left Monday afternoon but in that time, we fit a lot in. My sister Destiny was also going up with her 4 boys (Harrison's only cousins on my side) so I knew we would be in for a fun weekend.

There was lots of sand...
Chance quickly decided that getting buried really deep was not all it was cracked up to be.
Harrison decided to play it safe and keep the arms out.
And how do you rinse off all the sand? You go to the water and quickly back out. The water was pretty cold still!
And fishing...or watching fish with Aunt Della.

And fishing later.
Grandma had much more luck catching fish with Harrison. They worked out quite the system and he caught 6 fish in a matter of minutes.

Talon and Harrison loved holding the fish and playing with the ones we caught in the bucket. Don't worry we let them all go!

And boating...
This was Harrison's face pretty much the whole time the boat was moving "super fast!"
The bigger kids liked tubing.
And my dad even found someone to drive the boat so he could get a little skiing in.
Picnics...
Campfires and of course, s'mores...
Grandpa showing them the right way.
But they just wanted to eat.

I think Gage won for messiest eater.
He gets it from his mom...
We even squeezed in a trip to my mom's favorite liquidation store up there, that after 30+ years is going out of business. Sad day but we found some good deals.
And these two had a blast together as long as no toys or sharing was involved. They loved running around together, climbing everything and just being rowdy boys.

And after a long weekend, as we were getting ready to go, Harrison was a mess and we already cleaned the bathroom, so enter bathing in the sink. He has certainly gotten a lot bigger since the last time I tried it! But he loved it and it was quick.
We had such a great weekend with family around. We were sad Jeff missed it, but we waited too long to try and get him a flight. I know he was sad to miss it too, but we brought back a lot of pictures and video to share with him. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Willerth too. We had a great time with everyone!

Heating Up in Houston

2011-05-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

It is really warming up here lately and by warming up I mean the humidity is back! We are trying to make the best of it by spending more time at the pool and finding fun things to do inside as well. We have been to our splashpad just about every day. Last Tuesday our playgroup took a field trip downtown to Discovery Green. Harrison loves all the water fountains to play in. Unfortunately there was a school field trip too so there were tons of kids. Of course, that wasn't going to stop Harrison from getting right in the middle of it all.
Love the little swagger in the walk!We also went to a friend's birthday party at another splash park and had a good time. I think this was Harrison's first real birthday party for a friend and he loved it (too bad I didn't get any pictures).

We also rediscovered a favorite past time. Harrison loves stickers and while I was trying to find things to keep him busy on the airplane next week, he found his Thomas stickers. We spent a few hours with these (before I took them away so we would have some for the airplane still!)

And this was his "Mommy, take my picture" face.
This week Harrison and I also got much needed haircuts. I got almost 5 inches cut off (my hair was getting too long!) and it is still below my shoulders. Harrison just needed a trim and the way his hair grows in the back, makes it look like a rat tail, so we needed to take care of that. Next time I will take a picture before I cut it off! It is pretty bad, but easy to fix. He spent the rest of the week telling people he got a haircut and a Popsicle. If he sits still for his haircut, he gets a treat, it is a win win!

This week Harrison and I also are going on an adventure. We will be flying the Chicago, spending some time in Wisconsin and visiting some old friends and new babies. I am excited to see family and my little sister who just graduated from High School. It should be a fun two weeks. Until then...

The last 2 random weeks

2011-05-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Well, after declaring Mother's Day a holiday, I didn't blog. Then our internet was out this week and then blogger went down this week, so now I have 2 weeks of blogging. Luckily, we haven't been too busy. Last week, we laid pretty low and did our normal stuff. It was pretty nice out all week so we planned a trip to the zoo on Friday and had a good time.
We watched the elephants take their baths (always a favorite). Side note...Harrison is potty trained now but still is not a fan of pooping on the potty. He says it makes him bum hurt (poor boy) and yes we have done everything to help that. I think it is mostly an excuse. But the elephants have poop in their cages and his comment is "the elephants bum hurt and they poop. All better mommy?" So sweet! He loves those elephants.

The African Forest is fun too. We caught it on a not so busy day so Harrison enjoyed the huts (aka caves), the drums and the animals. The chimps put on a nice show for us and taught Harrison how to clap with his feet.
This is my attempt at being in a picture, while holding him up on the giraffe fence and hoping he doesn't slip and fall 10 feet down the other side! But proof that we are there together!
Checking out the lions.
Then mother's day came and went without a single picture (I guess we know who takes all the pictures). I even had Jeff take pictures of me and Harrison and when I went back today to find them, the SD card was not in my camera, so no pictures! Oh-well, it was an awesome day of breakfast in bed, a surprise present (they got me a Kindle!), church, a nap and plenty of time to relax and spend time as a family and even some time to talk to each of our moms. Jeff did all the cooking, cleaning of dishes and even folded all the laundry on Saturday as a Happy Mother's Day Eve. My Mother's day was awesome.
Then this week we decided to take advantage of $1 Tuesdays at the Baseball park. The Reds were in town and it was a slow starting game (The Reds made it 6-0 by the second inning) but then it picked up.
A sucker to get us through the first few innings.
Popcorn to get us through the rest.
This week I also got to see a dear friend of mine achieve her goal of going to the temple. It was a beautiful day and I loved the opportunity to be in the temple last Tuesday with her. We also got to spend some time visiting, since she lives internationally right now.

Then Friday we made another trip to the zoo because Jeff had the morning off work. It was a great time and Harrison got to show Daddy some of his favorite things. It has been a fun couple of weeks and I look forward to the next few as summer comes closer...look out pool, here we come! And no swim diapers. As mentioned potty training has been really good and we even have him in underwear at night. No major accidents in weeks! Yea for big boy underwear!

New Discoveries

2011-05-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Harrison found Jeff's hammer this week and after a serious talk about hammers, I found him his own little mallet to use. He loves it and we try to only hammer things outside.
He even found a nice way to hold it since he doesn't have a cool tool belt yet. (but the boots are very handy)
We were supposed to camp again this weekend, but because of illness and other factors, we decided to make it a Saturday trip. So, with Friday night open, we packed a little dinner and played at the park. Harrison loves this park and it has been a while since Daddy was able to come with us.

Then we headed out Saturday morning for Lake Livingston State Park. The plan was to spend some time fishing (a first for Harrison) and then walk some trails and take Harrison's 2 1/2 year pictures. Someone was up too early! Notice Woody and Buzz in one hand and a handful of bait fish in the other.
He was ready to go when we got there. He was quite a natural with the pole and slowly reeling it in. When that didn't work he would call "here fishy, fishy, fishy". I'm surprised it didn't work. We spent a few hours fishing...
and fishing...
and we caught nothing. No one fishing seemed to have much luck. It was an expensive trip too because Harrison dumped most of Jeff's tackle box in the water and most of it sunk and then we lost a lot of hooks and bobbers fishing in the coves. Oh well, Harrison had a good time.
He enjoyed sitting in the grass and watching Ducks, birds, turtles and water snakes. We even had a run in with a few ant hills and Jeff and Harrison have the bites to prove it!
Then after a nice lunch, we headed out to a trail with a butterfly garden, duck pond and bird feeders. We found lizards and all sorts of things along the way. The trail was great and we later found out it was like this to keep people out of the insane amount of poison ivy in the woods. Good thing we listened and stayed on the trail!
We did get some great pictures of Harrison. I'll post those later after I have a chance to mess around with them a little. All in all, our camping trip turned day trip was a success and I got to sleep comfortably in my own bed. How wonderful!

Boxers or Briefs?

2011-05-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

With this little one I guess the answer is briefs. At least that is what he picked out for potty training! And the last 2 weeks have gone very well. With the occasional accident (usually involving #2) we have done really well. He is in underwear all day (even naps) and then wears a diaper at night. But most mornings has woken up dry. Usually about 6:30 he starts yelling "I gotta go Potty!" We have been able to make several outings and have always found a bathroom to use. It has been fairly easy and a good experience for all of us! We are almost out of diapers and just in time for swimming all summer!
Sporting the Buzz underwear...he picked out a package of Disney underwear. Surprise, surprise!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

With life being so busy lately, it seems like Easter kind of crept up on us. But Easter was an amazing day. We did so many things and loved every minute of it. It is one of those days when relaxation met fun met family time. I can't complain!
Saturday night, Harrison laid out his basket and eggs for the Easter bunny to fill. And then Sunday morning he woke up to quite a treat!

We prepped him about the candy but he was still more excited about his new Woody and Buzz toys.
Then he remembered the candy and it was hard to get him to stop eating.

Then it was time for church. We had a great time with some wonderful lessons and talks. It really puts this whole season back into perspective. What a blessing Christ's Resurrection is in each one of our lives!

After church (and naps) we colored our Easter Eggs. This is Harrison's first year really participating and he loved every minute of it. I think he dyed all his eggs orange. Unless the orange was full and we could talk him into a different color.

Notice the shirt change...he had a little run in with the coloring while standing on the chair. Oops!
My strong boys with their egg muscles.
Then came dinner and the traditional eating of the Jello Eggs. I HATE Jello...too many hospital stays where Jello was one of the only things I could eat. Anyway, once a year I make an exception and make Jello Eggs. We have special molds from my mom and it is fun to do. So, then every year we eat Jello Eggs.

Then we found some time in the evening to take our Harrison's new game and have our first really board game experience with him. He loved it and did really well. It probably helped that he won (luck of the cards) and it didn't take very long. He wanted to just play with the pieces for a while, but we did make it through a whole game. He also figured out pretty fast that he wanted the cards with 2 colors and not just 1.
All in all we had a great Easter. We relaxed, talked with family, spent the day together, continued some Easter traditions and most importantly we were able to remember just what Easter is all about. I am so thankful for Christ and his Atonement and Resurrection. It gives me such peace and hope in my life! Hope everyone else also had a great Easter!

Quarantine and Camping

2011-04-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Since about mid-February Harrison has not been in great health. I took him to the Dr. because he was congested, had a runny nose, a horrible cough and at times was pulling on his ears. Well, chalk it all up to allergies. I never had allergies until I was pregnant with Harrison, so I had little sympathy for Jeff's seasonal allergies. Now I have to deal with Harrison's as well! It has not been fun, but we are getting past them.
I don't want to be the mom who overreacts so we have had a few nights with little sleep and a cranky baby when the symptoms are at their worst. Then last week, we woke up with a slightly swollen and goopy (sp?) eye. That was it, I was taking him back to the Dr. Sure enough, all the other symptoms are still allergies, but now he had pink eye. So, we got his medication and went on house arrest. We canceled and turned down plans and stayed home for the next 2 days.
Still smiley even with pink eye.
We built a big train track and raced all our trains and cars.
We watched a lot of TV and stayed in PJs for most of the day.
Then we were done! We didn't want to be trapped and Harrison was sleeping and acting like himself again, so we decided to take our first family camping trip. Pre-Harrison, we camped a lot and enjoyed it. We even did a week long backpacking/canoe trip across the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and Canada. Well, since Harrison was born, I have had a fear of crying all night in a tent (among other fears) so we haven't gone. Well, our ward had a camp out so we thought it would be the perfect time to try. It was close to home and we would have friends (with kids as well) to share the experience with.
Harrison loved everything about camping.
Collecting nature...
Blowing bubbles. Jeff drew quite a crowd of little boys. All the little girls went somewhere else, but the boys played full contact bubble popping.

Exploring new things.
Hiking on trails. He had his arm out in front of him for the first part of our walk and kept saying something that I did not understand.

Then I saw this lovely sign that said "venomous snakes in park" and we stayed close to the trail.
Exploring a huge bridge.
Throwing rocks in the water. We were supposed to go fishing, but TX has not gotten much rain so the creek was really low. Guess we will save fishing for next time and stick to throwing rocks and sticks in the water.
Climbing "mountains".
Enjoying the campfire. Again, not a lot of rain so there was a burn ban while we were there. Our brickettes would have to substitute, but a fire is a fire I guess.
And it was still fun to roast S'mores.
Although, I didn't get any pictures of us that night, Harrison did really well. We finally brought him to bed about 10:30 and he passed out pretty quick. After only a few times of calming him down and then he would sit straight up and say "What's that. I hear something!" It would be kids or crickets. We would tell him and he would lay down. Then repeat a few more times. It went really well though.
The next morning, it was cooler. Harrison helped take down the tent and we enjoyed a nice breakfast and some more rock throwing.
It was a lot of fun and we are already trying to plan another camping trip in the next month. Hopefully we have good weather again and that we will have just as much fun as this trip!

2 1/2! ALREADY!!??

2011-04-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

My baby is 2 1/2 today! Where does the time go?! I know I am always saying that, but I still don’t have the answer. We spent some time last night looking at his baby book and he called himself “little Harrison”. Then he pointed to himself and said, this is me. Still trying to figure this one out I guess. Anyway, I don’t even think I can describe all the ways this wonderful angel has been a blessing to me personally, to our family and to Jeff and my’s relationship. I look at our life before and see that place where Harrison just fits right in.

Some of my favorite saying of his are:

“Oh Nut!” for “Oh Nuts” –and I’m not sure where it came from. Jeff and I don’t even say that. “Oh Balonge”-another funny one.

“Love you too Mommy (or Daddy)”-even when he is the first one saying it.

“Hold you Mommy”-when he wants to be held.

The way he talks really high when talking about things that are little.

Hearing him sing his ABCs.

“No Mommy workout”-as if I need to be any less motivated.

“Daddy all wet”- after Jeff comes back from a workout.

He is always getting his p’s and t’s mixed up so for mat he says “map” and a favorite show called Super Why is “Suter Why”

“Hey Mommy!” really loudly and once he has my attention, he finishes whatever he wanted to say normally.

“Daddy food beepin’”

“Library”- he rolls his R’s so it sounds funny when he says it. “Umbrellia”-again rolling his R’s. And "Slippery" -another rolling R word.

His whole prayer at night. He is so cute and most of the time I understand it all.

“Was that?”-Yes, we have started the what’s that phase.

My list goes on and I’m sure I am forgetting a ton because I always find myself saying “That is the funniest thing ever!” about everything he does.

Harrison is growing normal and right on track. A little short, but we can’t be too surprised. He still has his blond hair and blue eyes. He knows his ABC’s (all but 3 letters he recognizes) his numbers from 1 to about 15 (although he sometimes counts them out of order) and he is finally catching on to colors. I was worried, but now he is getting them! He also knows quite a few shapes and even identifies a pentagon and trapizoid.

He loves to be outside playing, blowing bubbles, running, going on walks, collecting things, swinging, sliding, playing in sand, swimming or playing in the water, reading, watching movies or shows, playing Mario or Wii bowling and of course being Mommy’s shadow.

He has some good friends and loves to play trains, cars, any kind of ball, puzzles, tag or hide-and-go-seek. He is really full of energy and wears me out every day. Thank goodness for nap time! We have also started exploring with potty training and every once and a while we will spend a day in "unnawears". He does well when he wants and when he insists on wearing a diaper, I learned my lesson!

I really cannot say enough about my little boy! I'm not even sure I should call him my baby anymore. Most of the time I call him my Bubba! Out of love of course. He makes me laugh and is truly the sunshine of his mom and dad's lives!

Here he is sporting his new "Super Shapes". It is a shape belt from Team Umizoomi, a show he really likes. I think that and his puzzle is how he has learned so many shapes.

Love you Bubba and can't wait for the next 2 1/2 years to be as much (or more) fun!