Oh, I ate too much

Thanksgiving has come and gone...I have no pictures to share of Harrison eating his first turkey dinner because I forgot my camera. Shoot. Plus, he didn't really eat a lot of turkey, but he did enjoy the cranberry sauce and candied sweet potatoes. After five days of living with no schedule whatsoever, Harry is beyond tired and quite cranky. We're having a pajama day...watching tv, reading books, and playing with the "new to us" toys that cousin Molly brought him. And he's napping on a schedule today, no matter what! I insist!

In fact, he's napping now, so I'm going to make a pot of coffee, take a bath, and read a book that has no pictures of farm animals. And later on I'm going to get on the treadmill and work off some of that pumpkin pie!

Glimpses of Harry

Today Harrison and I went for a walk in lovely Crandall Park. He liked watching the ducks, and listened closely for the chickadees in the nearby trees. What a gorgeous day! It is somewhat warm here, which seems unusual for the Monday before Thanksgiving. If only the weather could stay this mild until Spring!

After our walk I gave Harrison a bottle while he was lounging in his carseat. The sun was shining in the window behind him, highlighting his hair, his cheeks, and his baby eyelashes. He looked so beautiful and perfect that I had to take a picture to capture him in this moment. I never want to forget a single detail of his babyhood (impossible, I know)...years from now I want to be able to recall the way his skin glowed in the sunlight, and the way laughed at me as I tried to snap pictures from every angle.

October photos

I haven't taken any great pictures this week, so I'm pulling some old ones (pre-blog) to share. These were taken October 2nd, 2005 during a week of the loveliest weather we had this year. Harrison was on the cusp of walking, but was so fascinated by the grass, leaves and flowers that he forgot to even try to take a step! Now, a month and a half later, it amazes me that he just stands and walks away. He does still sit down after a few steps...his record is six in a row, but I know any day now he'll just take off across the room, and I'll be left in his dust. He is no longer my infant, rather quite decidedly a toddler.

Thinking back to this time last year, Brendan and I had just decided to move forward with adoption, but we decided to wait until after the holidays to choose an agency, country, or program. I was so sad last year, watching all of my nieces and nephews and wondering when we'd have our child home with us. Little did I know that seven months from Thanksgiving 2004 our son would be in our arms! It has been a year of "firsts" for us, and this will be Harry's first Thanksgiving. Can you all guess what we're thankful for this year?

Drip, drip, drop.

One of Harrison's most favorite things is water...running water, dripping water, puddles of water, the bathtub, a swimming pool, etc. He'll take it in any form he can get, even ice, because hey, it's fun! Today as we were walking through downtown Saratoga it starting pouring rain on us, and when I looked at Harrison's face for his reaction I saw bliss...a huge smile, giggles, and arms waving with excitement! He even loves the rain! I see a very cute yellow rain slicker and umbrella in his not-too-distant future.

Below are pictures of 'tubby time', which is Harrison's happiest of his daily routines (closely followed by brushing his teeth, and no, I'm not kidding). When he's out and about crawling through the house we try to keep all the doors in our hallway closed, but every once in awhile the bathroom door is left ajar and he wiggles his way in, stands up and pounds on the edge of the tub. I just know he's thinking "somebody hoist me into this thing so I can play!" and he squeals with delight if we appease him. What a kid! I hope he always looks forward to bathing this much.

































Getting his ducks in a row (and fishies, hippos, etc.).

Sunday, lovely Sunday

What a gorgeous day! We had to get some outdoor chores done, so we bundled up our little bundle of joy and let him play in the sunshine. He loved the sound of the leaves as we ran through them to entertain him, and today was his first official ride in the Little Red Wagon Town and Country. Oh yes, our boy travels in style! He also stood solo for more than a minute, and tried to take steps in his sneakers (he didn't succeed). It was great to mix the chore of raking leaves with playtime with Harrison. He made the day so much fun!

It all happened at breakfast.

So this morning Harrison decided he likes his feet out of the high chair and worked for about ten minutes to get into this pose. Funny baby!

He was also seen giving Riley a "treat", which he is technically not allowed to do. This small boy has undone four years worth of Riley's good manners (a.k.a. NOT begging for food) in less than four months. Riley is now a prime beggar, and her begging is not reserved just for the child who feeds her Cheerios...she begs from us, from our friends, from strangers, etc. It's embarrassing, especially since she used to be our "good" dog. Charlotte, not pictured, does not bother to beg. Instead, she stands on her hind legs and sneaks food directly from Harrison's tray when we're not looking. For a short statured dog she has quite an impressive reach! No photos of these antics yet, as Charlotte is usually smart enought to get down when we catch her in the act.

Harrison has taken up gagging as a way to let us know that he is stressed, unhappy in his current setting, hungry, or just plain grumpy. It's gross, and sometimes makes Mom feel a little queasy herself. We're going to ask the Dr. about this at our well baby nine month checkup on Tuesday. Has anyone heard of this? Why would he choose to gag if screaming or crying would get the same effect? We've checked his mouth - there are no obstructions, and his tongue reamins its normal size. Huh.

Steps, smiles, and sleep.

One step here, two steps there, four steps in a row = walking! I know the first steps are supposed to be a momentous occasion, but Harrison's have been so gradual that we celebrate every time he manages to balance for a few in a row. His first "official" steps were taken a few weeks ago, when he was 8 mos. and 3 days old. We still haven't managed to catch any on film, but I am sure we'll have plenty of opportunity in the upcoming weeks once he gets the hang of it a little better.

One thing Harrison does with ease now is smile...he is such a good little smiler! We may be a little opinionated, but for us seeing him smile is like having sunshine turned on with a switch. It makes us feel good to know that he has adjusted to the point of an easy smile and a quick giggle. I wonder if parents with biological children think of smiling as such a big event at almost nine months of age...so many things that others take for granted are huge stepping stones for us.

And finally, I don't want to jinx anything, but he did sleep through the night for the last two nights!!!!!!!!! Oh, to get eight hours of sleep in a row was pure bliss for his exhausted parents! Funny, though, how finally getting good sleep just makes you realize how tired you really are. We are becoming accustomed to the bags beneath our eyes, and coffee and strong tea are our constant companions of late. Watching Harrison learn and grow is worth every sleepless night, though. We are so truly blessed!