Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny brought us a wonderful Easter basket this year!





We had Easter dinner with GrandMelissa and Pawpaw.


We took the opportunity to take a few family photographs. Someone had given us a beautiful smocked outfit, and we didn't want to miss the chance for Harrison to wear it. A bath, pictures, and company wore him out!












One funny thing that we have found is that if you make the "motorboat" sound with your lips, Harrison will look around with wide eyes trying to figure out what on earth is making the sound. Sometimes if he is crying, I will do it and it will distract him a little - but yesterday I think I did the sound a little too loud and it scared the you-know-what out of him! oops!

Mission:

the bottle

Preparing for the big event! We figured that at almost seven weeks, it was about time to try out this bottle thing before he won't take one!


At first he was looking at us like he was thinking "what is this that you are putting in my mouth???" It leaked a few drops of milk into his mouth, and then he got the picture! He figured out what he was supposed to do and went to town! He'll just need to do a little work on mastering the milk flow. I think it comes out faster from a bottle than he is used to because the whole front of his shirt was wet when he was finished!

Mission: accomplished!

Friend or foe?

Harrison still doesn't seem to know that Leonard exists, and Leonard tolerates Harrison's presence. If it is not evident through this blog, Leonard was more or less our 'first child,' and we had dreams of these two being buddies. We are just watching to see where the relationship will go. Maybe we should wait until after Harrison learns not to pull Leonard's tail (when he reaches that stage, we're not there yet!).

A few of our favorite things

This cradle was given to us by the mother of one of my students and it has been so wonderful! It stays by our bed at night - to make the last night feedings a little easier - and during the day it can be wheeled into the living room or wherever we need it to be. Along with providing a place to lay Harrison down, it also holds some necessities - the Boppy, pacifier, burp cloth, blanket, etc... (This picture was taken within hours of him coming home from the hospital. Six weeks has flown!)


The Boppy! Not only does it help with feeding/nursing, it helps give Daddy's and grandpa's a little arm support when holding babies. (We have found that women are built to hold babies for long periods of time without tiring, but men are not! Father and grandfather both use the Boppy to assist with this problem.) It is also wonderful as a baby lounge. You can prop him in it like a chair and then see him easily to talk or smile to, or he loves to sit in it and watch me fold laundry.


The bumGenius diaper sprayer. I would have put a picture of it up, but a picture of Harrison in bG diapers is much, much cuter! We are going the cloth diaper route which has so far been wonderful, and the diaper sprayer is one of the most wonderful inventions! It hooks up to the toilet and you can use it to spray any mess off of the diapers and into the toilet. Wonderful for a newborn who is breastfed - I had no idea..... (This also happens to be my favorite outfit of his. I loove naked babies!)



The mei tai baby carrier. I made this one with easy directions from the internet, and it has been a lifesaver while doing laundry, shopping at Walmart and during food preparations. A lifesaver! This way, he gets to be close to Mama, I have my hands free, and we are both happy! Once in it, he almost immediately gets a drugged look on his face and then promptly falls asleep.

This smiling face. Need I say more?

Tummy Time

Tummy time on Harrison's new play mat. We were somewhat successful - he kicked his feet, turned his head, and fell asleep after all of that hard work! All while looking unbelievably cute!

Leonard had a somewhat different approach to tummy time... I am having a hard time convincing him that the play mat is not for him...

Don't cry over spilt milk....

Words of Wisdom from Leonard

Growing Up

All of the sudden it seems to me like Harrison has grown! Other people were saying that he looks bigger, but I didn't see it. I just assumed it was because I see him all the time that I did not notice a big change. Last night I put his pajamas on him. The same pajamas that are loose and too long on him - or that have been too long and loose - and all of the sudden they seem to be the perfect size!

Another development is that he is becoming an expert at finding his fist. He has gotten the skill of putting his hand in the mouth and sucking on it. One morning I woke up and heard a strange sucking sound coming from the cradle next to the bed and discovered that somehow he had gotten his hand free from his swaddler and to his mouth! He is not successful with this all of the time, but is definitely becoming more proficient. I would much rather him suck on a pacifier though....



And - he smiled at me! Twice! He has been smiling since the day after he was born, but only in his sleep. Today, I came up to him and started talking and smiling to him, and he smiled back! This morning and tonight, so I know that it wasn't just an accident! If that doesn't make all of the sleep deprivation worth it, I don't know what does!