My little fish

We might only be halfway through March, but I'm already dreaming of vacations filled with warm sun and sand. Since our trips will include a lot of pool time, I thought it would be smart to get Harrison familiar with the water. Our local aquatic center offers a parent & tot class, which I knew would be perfect for a daddy/dude outing, so I signed H up for 5 weeks. I wasn't sure how Harrison would react to the water, since he hates getting his face wet in the bath, but he loved it. Here's some pics from his first class......I can't help but laugh at all that pasty white pacific northwest skin :)

Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy

I love this time of year in the Pacific Northwest because we start to get windows of beautiful weather, and I know that the rainy season will soon be behind us. There's still a chill in the air but not enough to stop us from soaking in some vitamin D. It's amazing what a little sun & fresh air can do to your overall demeanor.

Harrison thrives in the freedom of our backyard and I think it just does him good to not be constricted to the four walls of our house. He loves to take his lunch on the back steps where he can take a bite, run a lap, dig a hole and come back for a handful of goldfish. Yes......his sandbox is actually my planter bed but for now it's his construction site and a place to get his hands dirty. 

Harrison's days revolve around trucks of all kinds and we often sound like Forest Gump & Bubba rambling off all the ones we know......dump truck, backhoe, bulldozer, firetruck, flat bed truck, on and on. By far his favorite is the monster truck and, thankfully, we live close enough to the country that his eyes get their fill. 

Harrison is a good subject for life style photography because he's not big on the whole "look at the camera" but he's happy to cooperate if you want to take pictures of his trucks. Rocks and dirt are totally his jam.

I love life style photography because you catch moments that are spontaneous or little things that your kids do that melt you.....and you know they will soon be a distant memory. When Harrison really wants me to do something he puts his hands together and says "puweeezzzz"......he wanted me to quit taking photos and play soccer {because I'm awesome}.

If you're wondering what sister is up to during all this glorious outside fun.....well she's stuck watching through the sliding glass door. Girl needs to be contained until the grass dries a bit, but by summer she will be up, walking and joining brother in all his glorious dirtiness. 

Here's to sunny days ahead, lunches in the yard and trucks.....lots of trucks!!

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:5

Potty Training

We started potty training.
So far so good.
We'd been prepping him for the big day since he got big boy underwear in his Christmas stocking. Not going to lie.....I pulled out the big guns for this one. I'm talking M&M's, Hersey Kisses, stickers, bouncy balls, Hot Wheel vehicles and monster trucks. I was willing to gift him to death if it meant doing his business on the pot. Thankfully, he was very receptive to all the "treasures" and it hasn't been a huge struggle. We've been going strong for about 6 days and each day there have been fewer accidents. When I woke him up this morning the first thing he told me was "pee pee and poo poo in the potty, not on the floor".....exactly!

A little more snow

{Well I guess this is going to be my new blogging pattern......crickets for weeks and then a cluster of posts. So be it!} 

While the majority of the country was cursing a long string of unseasonably cold weather, Seattle's weather was predictable....you know....rain. It was unexpected, but we were actually pleasantly surprised when we woke up to a couple inches of the white stuff. Harrison couldn't wait to get outside and, thankfully, Jody was home to accommodate his request, since it was the weekend. I'm convinced kids are surrounded by a force field that enables them to tolerate the elements.....H would have stayed out there all day, had we let him, completely oblivious that all his appendages were frozen. 

A visit to ol' Saint Nick

The top 5 reasons to take your kids to Cabela's for Santa pictures......

1. No line
2. Free
3. Fish Aquarium
4. Dead stuffed animals
5. Happy husband

Do you need any more reasons?

Ok one more......Go Carts!!

Seriously though, we had such a good experience with photos last year that it was a no brainer to go back. Both kids were happy to sit in Santa's lap, for the required 1 minute, and then we were off to eat beef jerky and try on camo. After Cabela's we went to our 2nd favorite place, Red Robin, for lunch.

Not sure if you can tell from the photo, but Harrison thinks his dad is the stuff. He tells me all day that he "miss daddy" {especially when he is in trouble} and that Jody is going to take him to get donuts {almost every Saturday}. Two peas in a pod I tell ya.

The Burbs.....where trick or treating still exists

Not sure if ya'll remember my Halloween post from last year, but it didn't involve any traditional trick-or-treating. In the city you don't go house to house, instead you go to the neighborhood centers and get candy from the store owners. I suppose there isn't anything wrong with the city way, but I always pictured my kids going around the neighborhood and having lots of kids ring our doorbell. Luckily we moved into our new place right before Halloween and it did not disappoint. Harrison dressed up as a cowboy and we dusted off the ol' horse costume for Grace. Bubba excelled in the receiving candy portion of the night.....that was, until he had a run in with a mechanical spider. Let's just say that he is still talking about that spider jumping out at him. Scarred for life! Next year we will realize that the houses with spiders, skeletons, etc. are not exactly toddler friendly......lesson learned!

The horse costume lives on!

Dress rehearsal for the big night and he was not thrilled

They don't realize this is going to happen EVERY year 

Day Out With Thomas

Wanna know how to blow the mind of an almost 2 year old that loves trains?

Take him on a real choo-choo ride and let him meet Thomas the train.

There was a firm "Don't touch Thomas" and "stay on the yellow box" policy, that I thought might be an issue for our little guy, but he was very cooperative. That smile there was permanent.

Daddy & the dude.....I dare you to tell me they don't look alike.

We rode in a 1912 train car that was being restored, the event took place at a train museum, and everyone got to sit in wicker chairs close to the windows. I had a hard time looking out the window, because I couldn't take my eyes off Harrison. He has the most expressive face and was just so thrilled with the whole experience.

This is, by far, his best expression these days. He always makes this face when he hears a loud noise and then says "What's dat?".

We choo-chood past Snoqualmie falls and the view was just beautiful.

At the conclusion of the ride, Harrison received his official Jr. engineer certificate and beamed with pride. I think we made some great memories to begin this new year of Harrison's life.

Smiling Again

I'm happy to report that my sweet boy has returned.....minus the typical 2 yr old antics. The transition of becoming big brother was not an easy one for Harrison and all the changes were met with a lot of anger. Luckily, I've seen the smiles return, and the anger subside, as we've gotten back into a normal routine. I'm a huge advocate of a schedule, but I've had to be flexible with Grace to make sure Harrison is still getting out of the house, playing with friends and working out some of that energy. Balancing two babies is still proving to be quite the challenge, but it's nice having my little buddy back. 

Harrison likes to proclaim all the baby gear as "mine". 

We've been spending a lot of time playing with Harrison's best buddy Will. They spend the majority of the time fighting over the same toy, but we mamas know one day they will appreciate the companionship.

On this particular day, Harrison chose to air on the side of caution and wear goggles for several hours. I totally understood because eating raspberries can be dangerous business :)

Harrison in a bouncy house = pure joy

Once arch enemies, these 2 have become quite the pair lately. I think Bean's affection leans more toward tolerance, but Harrison loves that dog with everything he's got. We finally got Bean a summer haircut, which makes him much more lovable in everybody's book.

Watch Me Grow

Owl stocking cap, fleece pajamas, crocs and 70 degree weather........

22 months you have been special ❤

Loving Paternity Leave

I know there hasn't been much activity on the blog lately, but we have been busy busy around here. We just returned from our first road trip to Oregon as a family of four and had a wonderful time. Before we left on vacation, Jody worked on a big front yard fence project. I did a full post on The Craftsman. Here's the Link if you want to check it out. 

Just in case ya'll are wondering how our kiddos are doing, I've added a few pictures from the last few weeks. 

Harrison has been spending a lot of time eating hamburgers, hanging with his dad and hoarding toys at the playground. Overall he's been a pretty adorable/fun kid with moments where the terrible two's take over his sweet spirit. He is also working on being a great big brother and loves giving his sissy lots of kisses, which melts this mama's heart.

Grace is doing what most 4wk old babies do......sleep, eat and poop {oh so much poop}. She has started to stay awake for longer stretches of the day and is working on holding her head up.

The Lady & The Dude

This is the fourth time I've tried to write this post, but babies and mama naps have taken precedence and, I'm guessing, this will be the case for ever and ever amen. Here's some pics from the last week and a little family update.  

In the past week....

• Several nights last week I woke up with the awful chills, which then turned into full on sweats. My doctor confirmed that I had an infection {Mastitis} and prescribed antibiotics. I'm on the mend now but who knew that a clogged milk duct could cause so much pain!
• Harrison is now paci free! Jody took the initiative and I reluctantly followed along with the idea of going cold turkey on the paci. Jody assured me that he was ready and he was so right. I really thought it would be harder to get rid of but he's doing just fine.
• Grace had her 1st doctors appointment and was almost back to her birth weight. As you can see in the photos, she sleeps a lot and prefers to only be awake to eat. She's pretty easy so far but, if she's anything like her big brother, her spicy side will show in no time :)
• Jody has spent the majority of his time loving on H and just being an overall huge help. I'm so thankful to have him home for the next month.