2 Years Old!!

*I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted anything on my blog. We've had a lot going on around here so I'm going to try and back track.*

Way back at the beginning of August, we celebrated Mr. H turning 2 whole years old. We kept his birthday really easy this year, since we did the big party for his 1st, and we were in the throws of getting our house on the market {more on that later}. No matter how low-key, birthdays aren't complete without a little cake :) I also threw in a great b-day hat to make it extra special.

*The birthday boy in all his frosting glory*

Later in the week we celebrated again with our community group from church. I picked up this adorable cake from Costco and we grilled some burgers & dogs. It was a wonderful night of fellowship and remembering what a gift Harrison is to Jody & I.

Since Bubba got so many toys from family, we decided that our gifts would lean more on the practical side. Practicality is in the eye of beholder and to Jody & I this meant some new Oregon gear. Harrison sported his new attire to the party, much to the annoyance of our friends who are Husky fans.

Much like his father, he is a huge fan of anything and everything chocolate. This came in handy since the cake was stuffed with "2lbs of mousse filling" {This is not an exaggeration but a direct quote from the cake box}.

*H is smitten with this little girl. He calls her "my Maddie"*

I'll end with this adorable 3 min video of my child eating a cupcake....his grandparents will love it!

Oh....and excuse all my chatter in the back and the 100x I say "like".....it's a problem

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.

On Being Sleepy & Neurotic

I feel like I was really on a role there for a few weeks with my blog posts but then 2 things happened -

1. Harrison decided to stop sleeping through the night.......AND
2. I decided it was imperative to redecorate our living/dining room

In regards to numero uno, I have no clue what switched got flipped, but the last 2 weeks have been full of H waking up screaming in the middle of the night. It usually only takes a few minutes to get him settled down, but then it takes me forever to fall back asleep......sister seems to always get the hiccups, that last FOREVER, and all I can think about is how sore my hips are. I completely understand that my sleep is about to be non-existent, but I was selfishly hoping to peacefully slumber until Grace's arrival. Am I complaining? Yes. Do I realize there are worse things? Yes!.....but at 2 am I tend to not be a completely rational adult. 

On to #2......we spend 90% of our time playing and hanging out in our den, which also happens to be the darkest room in our house. I decided that I wanted to lighten things up, and since thoughts turn into obsessions these days, this involved refinishing almost every piece of furniture in the room. In the past 2 weeks I've painted and stained our coffee table, side table, entry table and dining table. I've also added a few new accessories and will post more about my neurosis over on our house blog next week.

In other Duvall news...

• I'm planning on winning the 2013 HGTV Dream Home in Jacksonville
• Harrison has requested to pee in his potty for the past 2 days. 

Have a great weekend!!

Uggs!

Howdy! 

Thought I would share this picture from last week.

When I left him in the den, watching Mickey,  he had on pants and a shirt.

5 mins later......no clothes and wearing my Uggs.

Haircut Take #3

Jody and Harrison had a little "Daddy & Dude" day on Saturday while I was getting my hair did {& crying over Georgia's loss to Alabama}. The guys headed to Toys R Us, for a new toy box, had lunch at Burger King and made a quick stop at the Wal-Marts. Unbeknownst to Harrison, that last stop was to pick up some hair clippers {& shot gun shells.....when in Rome people}. Jody convinced me to let him have a shot at cutting H's hair, since the last 2 cuts didn't remedy his mullet situation. Lucky you, I photo documented the process.......

"Grandma....come quick! They are trying to cut my hair. You can find me hiding out in my toy box."

We coaxed him out of the toy box with the "C" word.....cartoon {works every time}

The hair cutting torture began and the cartoons were no use. I had to hold H's arms down because he kept trying to rip the clippers out of Jody's hand. It only took about 20 mins, and a few years off my life, but we were happy with the end result. So long mullet. Hello little boy!

Not sure if he was smiling about the completion of the haircut, the haircut itself or running around in his skivvies. I would like to think he felt a little lighter on his feet with the his new do, but I'm 99% sure he was just happy to let his skin breath. 

We rewarded him, for being such a good sport, with a little bike helmet before bed. What? This isn't your kids happy place? Weird.

What can happen in 1 min

Harrison woke up from his nap in a less than pleasant mood.
Someone had a few too many liquids and was completely soaked from neck to ankles.

Let the one minute timer begin......
take crying baby out of crib soaking wet
sit on floor and strip off clothes and diaper
baby crawls at lighting speed to kitchen
hand baby sippy to stop crying
walk 3 steps to grab fresh diaper
find baby sitting in a puddle of tinkle

I cleaned it up and let him continue to enjoy his milk in the nude.
How precious is that hiney and bed head?