Christmas Recap

My dad wanted a picture of his grandson with 2 of his 3 granddogs (our dog didn't make it in the picture as she stayed home on Christmas:)

In the last month or so, John Harrison has started doing this scrunched-face "smile" when you ask him to smile
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Sitting on the bench Granddad made for John Harrison (my dad made John Harrison this bench based on how much John Harrison has enjoyed sitting on a similar bench at their house...John Harrison will often take your hand and lead you over to sit with him on the bench at Grandmama and Granddad's house)

John Harrison stepping into his Little People school bus from his Granddad and Grandmama (this toy seems to be one of his favorite Christmas gifts)

taking a ride in the Tonka truck from Granddad and Grandmama

Hugging Aunt Margaret and Uncle Matt's dog, Myles (very good-natured dog, I might add!)

Adorable tunic dress for Elise from Caroline and James....I can just imagine our sweet baby girl in 2 years from now wearing this dress with brown leggings and brown mary janes:)

David quickly learned that John Harrison didn't care too much about gifts when they were called "presents"....but when we called presents "toys," John Harrison suddenly was interested in opening them.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. John Harrison seemed to have a much better grasp about what was going on this year than he did last year. We talked to John Harrison a lot about Jesus' birth so hopefully some of what we said will stick and his understanding of God will increase in the coming year! John Harrison has started saying "amen" when we pray to Jesus. It is SO, SO evident that John Harrison is soaking up everything around him and we often see him imitate us ...we want him to grow up seeing Christ in us and through us, desire to know his Savior! We pray that learning to obey and submit to his parents will help John Harrison one day be able to submit himself to and obey Christ.

Here is a recap of our recent weeks---

December 17--David's parents watched John Harrison overnight while David and I had a night out. We ate dinner at Texas de Brazil (probably our favorite restaurant) and went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (80s rock band and string orchestra meets Christmas concert with pyrotechnics, laser lights, and dramatic monologue).
December 19--Sunday before Christmas--our local church had a Christmas service at night and during the service, all the children went to the front while our worship leader read the Christmas story from The Jesus Storybook Bible. David sat with John Harrison at the front during the reading...trying to keep our very busy 21 month old still and quiet proved to be quite the challenging task.
December 21--We had our master bedroom and bathroom painted (completed Christmas Eve evening...goodbye brown walls and ceiling from the former homeowners!).....we also moved up to king-sized bed!! Bedroom makeover pictures coming soon!!!
December 22--This day marked the one year anniversary of David's paternal grandmother's death. We miss Grandmother and spent some time with David's Grandpa.
December 23--We spent the evening at my parents' house for our family's traditional Christmas dinner (beef tenderloin, yummy veggie sides and desserts).
December 24--My siblings and their spouses and my brother-in-law came over for a "siblings get-together" at night. We also set up the Little Tikes playhouse that we got John Harrison for Christmas. Excited about being 27 weeks pregnant....one more week marks the beginning of the third trimester!!
December 25--We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at home with our little boy and let him see his new playhouse after breakfast. John Harrison LOVES his playhouse....(David and I set up the playhouse in the bonus room and John Harrison asks to go "stairs" (upstairs) several times a day to play in his playhouse)!! David's parents and brother came over for lunch and John Harrison opened several gifts from his grandparents and uncle. We quickly decided to save many of John Harrison's gifts for later days so he wouldn't be so overwhelmed by so many new things to play with (he still has 6 gifts to open!). Before taking his nap, John Harrison, David, and I went and saw Aunt Lisa for a little bit to wish her Merry Christmas. After John Harrison's nap, we went to my parents' house and exchanged gifts with my parents, grandmother, and siblings. Elise even received several gifts!!! David's brother joined us at my parents' house and then also joined us at a family get-together. We only stayed for a few minutes at the family gathering as John Harrison was getting worn out from a busy day and was ready for bed. After we put John Harrison down to bed, David's brother stayed at our house for a little while so we could spend more time with David's sister, Lisa Marie. We so missed having you with us during the day, Lisa Marie!!
Christmas Day marked three calender months till Elise's due date!
December 26--At night, we had our siblings (and their spouses) and first cousins (and their spouses/fiances) over for an informal get-together.
December 28--We (along with my cousins, dad, and siblings/spouses) spent the evening enjoying a delicious dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. My mom and sister were sick and had to miss:(

We have taken John Harrison to look at Christmas lights MANY times (including tonight).....he LOVES Christmas lights and I'm sure will be quite sad once this weekend is over and Christmas lights are taken down (yes, David did put up lights at our house...John Harrison gets so excited about our lights every time we drive home). These past few weeks have been busy, but so meaningful and memorable.

Merry Christmas!

I'll wear that!

John Harrison has changed so much over the past month. He is definitely growing up!! One thing he has started doing in the last few weeks is pick out his own shirt to wear......it happens like this---I am holding John Harrison and standing in his closet trying to decide what he will wear for the day....John Harrison starts pointing at certain shirts (most often dress shirts), getting really excited, and doing sign language for "please." John Harrison has picked out the same dress shirt about 4 times in the past 2 weeks; how could I say no:)???
In the pictures above with the suitcases, John Harrison had been playing with his suitcases and wanted the suitcases positioned just right so he could stand behind them and have me take his picture.

Baby it's cold outside!

The cold weather doesn't stop John Harrison from wanting to play outside. Last week, we played outside almost everyday...including several days with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. I took the pictures in this post on a day that had highs in the low 50s:) (as evidenced by the light jacket John Harrison is wearing). One of the things John Harrison wants to do each time we go outside is go down to one of our trees and fill a hole at the base of the tree with pieces of tree bark and then take the tree bark out (and again and again...). Another thing John Harrison enjoys doing while we are outside is playing in the dirt in our raised garden bed....of course, he wants me in there playing in the dirt with him. I enjoy the fun times with our little boy....even when I am shivering.

Vegas Vacation

David attended a business conference in Vegas two weeks ago and I flew up on Thursday after the conference was over so David and I could spend the weekend together....child-free! My parents graciously kept John Harrison Thursday morning-Sunday evening....we were so thankful for the time together and had so much fun. My flight out to Vegas seemed so strange since it had been SO long since I flew by myself. It was crazy being able to get work done during the flight as opposed to the normal chore of keeping a toddler occupied in a very confined space. David and I ate at the Bellagio and Wynn buffets so many times that by Saturday night, we both agreed that we had no desire to go out to eat on Sunday morning. We stayed at the Venetian...it takes a lot for a hotel room to impress us and that one impressed us. On Friday night, we went to see Cirque du Soliel Ka at the MGM Grand---the show was incredible! My brother and sister-in-law drove into town and so my cousin Matthew (who had attended the same business conference as David), brother, sister-in-law, and David and I all went out to dinner together on Friday night. We hung out all day with James and Caroline on Saturday and went shopping, ate good food, walked around, visited the pawn shop from the TV show Pawn Stars, went to see Cirque du Soliel Mystere at Treasure Island, and ate even more good food. The picture above was taken at the Bellagio in their beautiful fall display area. Vegas is fun to visit, but is such a worldly, empty place....David was definitely ready to come home after 7 nights in Vegas and I was ready after only 3 nights...plus we missed our little boy:). John Harrison had a great time with my parents and even got to go to the zoo for the first time.

Playing in the leaves

For some unknown reason (not an ear infection!), John Harrison enjoys covering his ears or pulling his ears...he has done this for a long time now. I guess if he had an ear infection, he would be pulling on his ears AND acting fussy at the same time.

We have enjoyed the warm weather the past few days! John Harrison had fun playing in the leaves outside this afternoon and I managed to get a few cute (although somewhat blurry) pictures.

John Harrison's new words include: "that," "there," "this," "stairs," (indicates that he wants to go "upstairs"), "bark" (as in tree bark), "buckle," and "get"....we also think we hear him say something that sounds like "mine" or "my." He refers to grapes, strawberries, and cranberries as "berries." He makes a "moo" sound when he spots his cow puzzle piece. John Harrison has gotten pretty good at placing the correct shape in the shapes sorter and we have also noticed a lot of progress in his overall fine motor coordination. As I think is very common at his age, John Harrison loves trying to get buckles together (such as on his changing pad, high chair, etc.). This past week, I let him play with a suitcase I was about to give away and it became one of his new favorite toys......he LOVED pulling the handle up and down and wheeling the suitcase around the kitchen and living room. David even gave John Harrison "suitcase rides" where John Harrison would grab onto the outside of the suitcase and David would pull him around the room. David and I may have get John Harrison a toddler-sized suitcase for his birthday. Our little guy never seems to stop moving....except when asleep and he definitely keeps us busy. I am so thankful that since about 14 weeks, my energy level has gotten much better.....that definitely helps when trying to take care of an energetic toddler. Also, John Harrison has finally transitioned to one nap a day and takes an afternoon nap now instead of a morning nap....for a while when he was in between 1 and 2 naps, if he took 1 nap, it would be in the morning. Most naps last 1.5-2.5 hours so it is wonderful having the time to clean up around the house, take a shower, or occassionally, take a nap myself. We love our little guy so much and can't wait to welcome Elise into the family in 4 months!!

Elise

Last Friday, I had my 20 week ultrasound and our baby appears to be developing normally. David and I both teared up when the tech told us that we were having a baby girl! We can't wait to welcome Elise Marie to the family (in person) in just a little over 19 weeks (if she comes right around her due date). I have been feeling Elise move since about 15 1/2 weeks and her movements are becoming even more pronounced each week. I've been telling John Harrison for a while that there is a baby in my belly and although I know he doesn't at all understand what I'm truly saying, he will often touch my belly if David asks him where the baby is. He pats my belly and kind of laughs like he knows it looks different....who knows if he really notices a difference or not. I guess nesting is setting in early because I've been on a huge organization and give away kick recently. Over the past week, I've sorted through and organized the guest bedroom closet, John Harrison's future "big boy" (upstairs) bedroom closet, John Harrison's closet and dresser, and part of the pantry. I still have to conquor several more closets, add some more decorative touches to our house, and work to better organize some of the kitchen cabinets. In order to make room for little girl clothes, I moved all of John Harrison's outgrown clothes into plastic boxes and placed them in an upstairs closet. I even made a drawer in John Harrison's dresser for Elise's clothes and baby items. Since our bedroom and the nursery are both on the first floor, our plan for now is for Elise to sleep in our room for the first 4 months or so and then move into the nursery with John Harrison. It will probably still be awhile before John Harrison is ready to be upstairs by himself, so hopefully he will become a deeper sleeper before Elise moves into his room:)...if not, our plan for them to share a room may have to change. Anyways....I guess we will deal with that in due time.

Big Smiles at 20 months

John Harrison recently turned 20 months old.....only 4 months till 2! Tonight before bedtime, I handed John Harrison his cup of milk (like always) and he wasn't too interested in it....but, he carried his cup over to his high chair and asked to get up in it. John Harrison normally eats meals in his plastic high chair that is attached to a kitchen chair, but last night, we had some friends over and their little boy sat in John Harrison's wooden high chair....so I think that John Harrison got the idea in his head that he might want to sit in it, as well. So, I put John Harrison in the chair and he immediately started pointing at the place mats on the table and doing sign language for "please." I handed him a place mat and then he pointed and asked please for a coaster.....and so on until he had 4 place mats stacked on his tray and 3 coasters. Our little boy is very much into a gathering/sorting/stacking phase:).

Goodbye Mullet

Where is all my hair going??

We attempted to distract John Harrison with dinner during his haircut

wearing the smock didn't last long:)

For about a month now, John Harrison's hair has been getting really long in the back....almost to the mullet stage (aka "the 10/90," aka "business in the front, party in the back"). Although some parents seem to love growing their little boys' hair into mullets, duck tails, or rat tails, I'd rather steer clear of those head-turning styles. David and I both came to the conclusion that the time was overdue for John Harrison's first haircut; instead of facing the challenges of taking a 19 month old to a hair stylist, we asked my moma, who is great at cutting hair, to do the honors. She did a great job and John Harrison's shorter cut turned out really well. His hair is no longer in his eyes and thankfully, his baby mull is gone.

Dressing Up

Saying "please" for some help to open the (empty!) medicine bottle


Every child has to be a pumpkin for Halloween at some point....John Harrison had so much fun playing with his toddler-sized pumpkins and wearing his pumpkin hat this fall that we decided that he would be a pumpkin. I think he made an adorable pumpkin:). As opposed to last year, this year, he actually seemed to like wearing his costume. He even kept the hood on most of the time! David and I carved pumpkins after church while John Harrison took his nap, then we went over to both of our parents' houses. We had fun spending the evening with our families! You might notice in the last picture that John Harrison's hair is much shorter....my moma gave John Harrison his first haircut last week (I'll post pictures soon).

Meeting Mickey

Last week, we visited my sister and brother-in-law who live in Orlando. While we were there, we spent one day at Epcot. Most all of the rides at Epcot are very tame and toddler-appropriate. We took John Harrison to meet several Disney characters....Mickey, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. John Harrison has never really watched any TV and so we knew that he wouldn't recognize the characters, but thought he might get a kick out of "animals" in big costumes. Plus, you have to get your kid's picture taken with Mickey Mouse when you go to Disney!! He got really excited about Mickey, then his enthusiasm waned when Donald tried to tickle him. He was intrigued by Pluto's whiskers and liked playing with Goofy's ears. I got a few cute pictures amongst Disney's paid photographers trying to take their own pictures (we took the photo pass card that supposedly had the code to access the pictures-for-purchase online, but the system will not bring up our pictures). Our sweet boy took a much needed 1.5 hour nap in his stroller while we were at the park, so David and I had fun pushing the stroller around and seeing the sights at Epcot and switched off watching John Harrison while the other person rode one of the adult rides. On our trip, we also hung out at my sister and brother-in-law's house, played with their dog (who was excellent with John Harrison.....even letting him touch his paws), visited some outlet malls, went to the playground, and hung out with some cousins who drove in from Tampa for one of the days. We flew out EARLY Sunday morning so we could be back home in time to go to church. We had to get up before 4 am so John Harrison was utterly exhausted by the time his bedtime rolled around. Ten people from church came over to our house for dinner Sunday evening, so we had a busy afternoon getting the house and food ready. We had a great time with our friends and their kids, but were also exhausted by the end of the day. I was still tired yesterday and fell asleep beside John Harrison's crib after putting him down for a nap!

Fall mornings

John Harrison loves playing with zippers on jackets.

sweet smile

John Harrison and I usually go outside to play every morning...and every afternoon...and sometimes every evening:). He doesn't have any particular thing that he likes to do outside, but just likes being outdoors. He mainly runs around, picks up rocks, sometimes sticks the rocks in his mouth, sits on the back porch, plays with leaves, gets up and down off the patio furniture, and plays in the garden. I hope his love of the outdoors continues!

Cotton

Last year, I had great intentions of taking pictures of John Harrison in a cotton field that is adjacent to our neighborhood. Unfortunately, I waited too long and the cotton was harvested. So, this year, I was determined to take pictures before the harvest. The weather was beautiful this evening, so John Harrison and I went for a walk through our neighborhood and down to the cotton field. Next year, I'll be able to take a picture of both of our little boy and new baby together with the cotton in the background.

Pumpkin Patch

finding the perfect pumpkin


hayride to the pumpkin patch


having fun "flying"

Yesterday afternoon, we took John Harrison to a local pumpkin patch. I called before we went to make sure that the advertised "pumpkin patch" was indeed pumpkins in a field, not just pumpkins arranged side by side on pallets or hay bales. The pumpkins had been cut from their vines and the patch was very sparse (all of the large pumpkins had been harvested and arranged on pallets so they wouldn't rot in the field or risk being dropped repeatedly by eager children running through the pumpkin patch, I assume). John Harrison had fun running around the patch and found the perfect child-sized pumpkin. Once he had secured his prize, John Harrison DID NOT want to let go of it. David and I had a lot of fun watching John Harrison have fun....our little boy's favorite parts of our trip to the pumpkin patch were swinging on the airplane swing and carrying around his pumpkin. We look forward to making new traditions with our family this year and in the years to come!
(Even though the high yesterday was over 90 degrees, I couldn't resist taking some pictures of John Harrison with his adorable pumpkin hat on:)