April's Baby Shower, otherwise known as H crushes on Mary-Miller.

This past weekend we celebrated Mrs. Dean and the upcoming arrival of Baby Boy Graham.

Have I mentioned that Baby H is turning into quite the flirt?

Look at this charm with Aunt MK...

  

And when Aunt MK's precious angel, Mary-Miller, arrived H only had eyes for her.

Seriously.

But who can blame him?

Look at that face!

Congrats Mamacita Dean!

You look amazing, and we can't wait to meet Baby Graham!

(And balance out the boy-to-girl ratio of the group.)

14 Months

Dear Harrison,

You are 14 Months Old!  

You weigh about 23-24 pounds and are still in Size 4 diapers.  You are in Size 12 Months clothes, for the most part, but some of those are getting a little snug on you.  We may have to start bringing out the 18 months pajamas pretty soon... 

You are up to 8 teeth now!  That has been rough on you, as well as a couple of ear infections lately.  

Your favorite activities include climbing in and out, hundreds of times, in your Cozy Coupe.   And you also love pushing around your Thomas the Train Walker back and forth across your bedroom.  

You LOVE books, and love to sit there turning page-by-page, pointing to all of your favorite characters.  

You're also still fascinated with ceiling fans.  Except now, you've made the connection between the light switch and the fan, and you are adamant that you flip it on and off to turn the lights and fans on and off.  

You are turning into a very picky eater, and you like to choose your foods by texture,   I'm guessing.  

Foods you're lovin' include whole milk, Pediasure, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Yogurts, Frozen Yogurt (had a taste last weekend and loved it!), Townhouse crackers, Graham Crackers, Goldfish crackers, Puffs, Plain Pancakes, Plain Waffles, and Scrambled Eggs.  You are also loving muffins and breads.  Dare I say you've got an affection for carbs? You are your mother's child.

Your school says you are slowly but surely embracing your Sippy Cup during the day, and you are at home as well.  We've sort of hit an impasse at home with the sippy cup.  Since you're such a picky eater, I'm really surrendering you to a bottle to get something in your belly.  But, you only want to hold the bottle yourself, unless it's your bedtime bottle.  Beggars can't be choosers, I guess.  The most important thing is to get your vitamins, right?  

Your favorite time of day is after your bath and teeth brushing, when we have "Baby Buff Time" and you play in the buff for a good half hour.  You still love being naked.  LOVE IT.  

You are walking everywhere and we couldn't be prouder!  You're best at hanging on to something - couch, wall, ottoman, someone's hand, but you grin so big when you let go and come tearing across the floor to someone.  You've also discovered the stairs and love crawling up them.  And you are the biggest flirt ever.  You love to charm the ladies and give a sweet little smile with head tuck, batting your eyelashes at them.  Lord help us.

As of right now, I'm still enjoying as much of your sweet "baby-ness" as possible.  You still love to snuggle, and often end up in our bed at some point during the night, snuggling in close to Mommy.  You still love to crawl over and cozy up in Mommy's lap, or fall asleep on Daddy's chest, and we'll take it.

Okay, so this tree was planted at my parents' farm about 4 days after H was born.  Three days later, the storm came through and wrecked the farm, but not the "Harrison Tree."  

Here it is - a little over a year later!

H's Breakfast of Choice

Lately, I've been dealing with a very picky eater. 

So smoothies in the morning have become the name of the game.  

Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, vanilla yogurt with a splash of whole milk?

Yes, please.

It seems to be hitting the spot with H in the mornings!

And you know I don't mess with strawberries.

Must really like that H a lot...

Zoo Day

Last weekend, we ventured over to the Birmingham Zoo to check out their new African Exhibit.  

Eh?  You mean their are lions, tigers, and bears thisclose to where we live?

He was speculative, at best, upon our entry.

Coincidentally, our Zoo visit was the first time H had chocolate pudding.

I'm not real sure what was the bigger hit...

But with this pout for more... My vote is going to the chocolate pudding.

Shiner

No, we're not trying out the "Smoky Eye Look" on H.

Someone got their first shiner at school.

Being gutsy + learning to walk + perfectly placed table will do that to ya.

In other, TOTALLY UNRELATED news...

The going bulk rate for bubble wrap is about $75.  

We're at home today with a double ear infection.

The hits just keep on coming, folks...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

H made Daddy a delicious Breakfast-in-Bed this morning of bacon, scrambled eggs, waffles, strawberries, and blueberries.  Hmmm...

He's turning into quite the Chef, my little guy!

He also picked out Daddy's card... shocking theme, right?

And didn't throw a temper tantrum at all when I had to wrestle it out of his hand for the Walgreens man to scan at Check-Out.

Not.  At.  All.

The Funny Bits

I think we can agree that it's the funny bits in life that make the world go round.

Since H was born, some people have remarked with a "Oh, she's so pretty." To which I usually just smile and say thanks. 

And he is.  Pretty that is.  I think it's the blue eyes?

Maybe because I dress him in pink dresses?

I kid, I kid.

Not in public, of course.

However, lately, I've started to get myself a laugh out of the situation by making the other person feel awkward. 

Case in point:

Out to lunch with H and Aunt Suz, a waitress bends over and says, "Oh!  She is so pretty.  Look at those eyes!  What's her name?"

I mean, I could have corrected her.  Or done something nice.  But I was feeling particularly mischevious that day and calmly replied with a "Her name is Harrison Edward." 

To which she stuttered and mumbled, "Oh... that's so pretty." 

And quickly hightailed it out of there.

And Aunt Suz almost fell out of her chair.

Is that mean? 

You've gotta get your kicks somewhere, right? 

Let me introduce you to... Suri's Burn Book.

I found it and read the entire thing this weekend.

If there's one thing I can't pass up, it's a commentary "written" by a 5-year-old dripping with disdain.

Enjoy.

Summer Reading

Summer's officially here, which means I'm in the mood for some serious reading. 

I don't know about you, but there's nowhere else I'd rather be than sitting in a comfy chair, with my toes in the sand, listening to the waves, with a good book in hand.

Perhaps with a muscular man named Alejandro delivering me frosty beverages or fanning me with a palm leaf.

For hydration purposes, of course.

I digress.

Right now, I'm reading "The Whole-Brain Child" by Daniel Siegel.

Don't jump out of your seat just yet.  I like to make sure I'm keeping the ole' brain stimulated with educational pieces, as well as entertaining.

Up to bat after that is Diplomacy and Diamonds, Bringing Up Bebe, The President's Club, and maybe even Prague Winter. 

These are more on the "educational" side, I know.

But I just finished the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.

I'm not going to comment on them.

Suffice it to say I blushed crimson... more than once... whilst reading.

And before that I read The Hunger Games trilogy, so I'm behind in the educational reading department.

What about y'all?

Anything to add to the reading list?