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).