On the move!

An Amazing Fall

Hello! We have been busy this fall with many exciting events. We kicked things off with the Cookie Monster and a cute little Strawberry on Halloween. Soon after that Ms. Natalie was baptized, which on top of being a very special event, provided a wonderful excuse to gather with friends and family. We were blessed with opportunity to spend time with the kids’ great grandparents. It was a real joy for them to take a picture with their 5 great grandchildren!

We had a very nice and low-key Thanksgiving break, which included Tom and Amy both taking time off to stay home and spend time with the kids while school was closed. It was the first time in a long time that all of us were able to be together for so many days in a row and really relax together (not counting when we were all sick). We flew kites, went to the park, watched movies, baked cookies, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together as a family.

Natalie is growing so fast! She has started clapping and even trying to wave. Some of her favorite things are watching Harrison run around acting silly. He can make her laugh unlike anything else. She’s not crawling just yet, but she is sitting up and has started to reach out and grab his toys. This does NOT make Harrison laugh. But he’s a good sport.

We’re soaking-up as much Lawrence as possible this year, venturing downtown to enjoy the annual Christmas celebration done in a way that only Lawrence can do – with a staged “rescue” of Santa Clause from atop the tallest building in town (5 stories) by the Fire Department. Given that some of Harrison’s favorite things are fire trucks, ladders, and Santa, you can imagine that he was in heaven, and talked about this for days. He was convinced that Santa, for whatever reason, went back up on top of the building after being rescued. He kept saying, “Silly Santa, he went back up there!”

 Tom and Harrison have braved the cold several times to go watch KU football and visit various friends at tailgates. He has not figured out yet that we really should not take food from other people’s tailgates. But Tom thinks this is a good social experience, and that he should take advantage of his youth to meet new people. Who can deny that little guy a cookie if he is brave enough to walk through a crowd of people to pick out a special treat? He’s not shy. That’s for sure. As long as he gets to see his friends, and there is a steady flow of food and fun, he could care less if KU looses by 40. Amy and Natalie are much too smart to venture into the cold for too long, but have enjoyed the many opportunities to enjoy some nice and quiet girl time together.

Last weekend, was the Holiday concert at Harrison’s school, where we were treated to wonderful renditions of Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, and “The Jumping Song.” It was amazing to watch this year’s concert and think back to the same time last year. It really made us appreciate how much he has grown and matured over the last 12 months. Bring on Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Dynamic Duo

Natalie is growing so quickly, we can hardly keep up with her! One of the greatest things about her growing up though is the connection she increasingly shares with Harrison. They are a dynamic duo! He makes her laugh so hard and she always wants to know exactly where he is. For his part, he is very protective and loves to make her feel better or show her how to play with his old toys. Sometimes this makes him kinda bossy. The other day, Amy was holding Natalie and said "ouch" when she pulled a little hard on her necklace. Harrison turned around and scolded: "Mommy, she is fine. She is a baby. Babies grab things!" He is very quick to order us to go comfort Natalie whenever she so much as squeaks. We love how much they love each other and can already tell that they will have a very special relationship. Harrison is thriving in his new primary classroom. He picks up on things so quickly and loves his new teachers and friends. He is starting to recognize and pronounce letters now, which has been really cool to see. Still loves reading and trains and is just starting to enjoy playing with legos. Basically, anything he can organize and line up is very popular right now. He is extremely particular about everything! We have no idea where he picked that up. Natalie is eating lots of solid food now--she particularly enjoys mango! And she is officially sitting up. She would still prefer to roll around, but she is increasingly sitting without support and bracing herself when she tips over. We are still waiting on a tooth for Natalie; we keep saying any day now. We are enjoying the fall and so far, everyone has been healthy (fingers crossed). Enjoy the new flickr pictures!

Fall has arrived!

This last month has marked several milestones for the kids. Harrison moved on up to a preschool classroom. He is officially a “Blue Jay,” which he proudly announces to us everyday—“I’m a big boy. I’m a Blue Jay!” Along with this step up, he has gotten pretty close to being fully potty trained. Yay! Mom and Dad are overjoyed. It’s amazing how much more time we all have together when 2 of us are not in the bathroom every 30 to 45 minutes! Harrison also started a fall soccer league with some of his friends from school. It gives him and Tom something special to do together each Saturday morning while Natalie naps. So cute to watch the kids run around together on the soccer field!

Natalie continues to grow so fast and we can hardly believe she is almost 6 months old. She is so adorably chubby, as you can see from the pictures. Aside from a couple of ear infections last month, she continues to be healthy and very smiley! It’s pretty hard not to smile when we are around her. Harrison especially seems to have a knack for making her giggle. She is now rolling everywhere—she literally rolled across the living room the other day. And she started eating solids recently, which have been a big hit. She especially seems to enjoy squash and pears. Natalie continues to do the cat-nap thing during the day, but she is a good little sleeper at night, usually sleeping for 11-12 hour stints with a sleepy feeding in the middle. Very hard to complain about that, right?

Enjoy the new pictures and we will be sure to post more next month as we embrace the beautiful Kansas fall season!

August Fun

We're having quite a summer---going to the park, meeting new cousins, riding tricycles, and literally watching Natalie grow!

It's hard to believe it has been over a month since our last post.  Everyone is pretty healthy and very happy, and our main news is that Amy has successfully transitioned back into the working world.  We're getting totally spoiled by our amazing nanny, and leaving Natalie in such good hands sure makes it a little easier to leave each day.  She may be literally the happiest baby any of us have ever met with the most beautiful smile.  She is very observant and loves watching Harrison run around.  Even with a little ear infection she seems tickled just sit in her new chair and take in the world.

Harrison has fully adjusted to his new sister, and is acting as funny as ever.  He loves school, and is preparing to move up to the primary class room later in August.  We're hoping this tips him over the finish line in terms of potty training, and we know that it will feed his appetite for learning.  He's visited the "Bluejay Room" several times and the teachers report it is very hard to get him away from all the new puzzles and books.

We are also very happy to announce that Harrison and Natalie have ANOTHER little cousin.  Tom's brother Brian and his wife Katie are doing well with their son, Ben.  It will be so fun to watch all the cousins grow together.

We've posted several new pictures and hope everyone has a great end to the summer.  Hard to believe September is right around the corner.  Much to Harrison's pleasure, that means football and friends!

Summer fun

We are having a great summer so far.  Still getting used to being a family of four but enjoying every minute of it!  Harrison and Tom took a guys trip at the beginning of June to the Lake of the Ozarks with friends.  Harrison LOVED the pool, the boat, and his first jet ski ride (very slowly).  It was a great opportunity for him to have some one-on-one time with his dad and spend some time with our friends' kids.  Back at home, he has enjoyed his new bike, having a little extra time at home with mom before she went back to work, and celebrating Johnny's birthday at the park.  He continues to love his soccer lessons at school, trains, and story time.  Everyday after school, he asks me to "drive around a little bit," to look at the new houses being constructed.  He wants to count all the bulldozers and skid steers.  He is such a funny and smart little boy.

Natalie is really coming into her own.  She is such a happy and interactive baby.  She spends the bulk of her awake time laughing, smiling, and cooing and her favorite thing seems to be cooing back and forth with us.  It is very cute!  She absolutely recognizes our voices and is tracking us wherever we go.  She is also starting to fall into a schedule at the most opportune time!  We are all enjoying getting a little more sleep around here and she wakes up with such a big smile after a long night of rest.  Natalie is also starting to enjoy toys--she is grabbing and kicking and can hold her head up pretty well now.  She has a few toys that hang from her activity mat that she loves swatting and grabbing.  She is very strong!

Amy headed back to work this week, so there are some definite adjustments with our schedule, but so far so good!  Enjoy the pictures....

Busy May

It is very hard to believe that May is almost over.  It has been a busy month that has just flown by for our family.  We celebrated Mother's Day, Harrison's birthday, Memorial Day, and lots of little Natalie milestones.  It is also the month that Natalie's adoption became final!  Yay!  On top of all that, we are at ground zero of potty training Harrison.  He is doing really well, but as you can imagine, potty training a 3 year old and caring for a newborn makes our house feel a little chaotic at times.  We are pooped! Sorry, couldn't resist that one...

In other news, Harrison continues to relish his role as big brother and is so sweet to his little sister.  He loves to give her kisses and make her smile.  He had a fabulous third birthday that actually lasted the entire week.  He received lots of new outside toys that he is very excited about, most notably, a new bike.  It's a little big for him yet, but he enjoys riding it and letting Tom push him for now.  He also adores his new grill--he loves preparing us burgers and dogs for our "picnics" on the back porch now that the weather is nice.  Today, he enjoyed his first Royals game with Dad, Uncle Ryan, and Johnny.  

Natalie is growing so fast!  She is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight and she is smiling and cooing a lot now.  Her biggest smile by far is reserved for Daddy when he gets home at the end of the day.  Nothing else quite like it!  She also really loves kisses and belly tickles.  And...drum roll...she slept through the night for the first time last night!  Not sure yet if it was an anomaly, or if we are on to something, but she is definitely sleeping for longer stretches, so we are hopeful that we are about there.

Looking forward to a nice and relaxing (hopefully) June with the kids before Amy goes back to work.  Be sure to check out the Flickr feed and happy summer everyone!  

Pictures!

Sorry for the delay, but we just posted several pictures from the last few weeks to Flikr.

New Happenings: Natalie Elizabeth

Harrison has been busy lately in a new role - BIG BROTHER!  We are very happy to welcome Natalie Elizabeth into our loving family.  She was born on April 4 at a very healthy 8 lbs. 3oz/21.25" in McPherson, Kansas.  We are all thrilled, and feel extraordinarily blessed for the love and support of our family and friends through this journey, and for Natalie's birth mother, who is so special to us.  This video was taken minutes after our arrival home, and as you can see, Harrison is stepping right into his new role as big brother.  Many more pictures and stories to come!

Springtime Fun

What a crazy Kansas March.  Lots of snow, but a beautiful Easter weekend.  Harrison built a snowman last Sunday ("little Frosty") and this weekend, he was hunting for Easter eggs in 60 degree weather.  This little dude loves the Easter Bunny.  We were holding him back from knocking over other kids to hug him.  Very adorable.

Yesterday, we took a train ride with our friend Sam and his folks, got out to do an Easter egg hunt, and then rode back to town.  This morning, Harrison was delighted to wake up to an Easter basket full of Chuggington trains (the newest train obsession).  He proceeded to lay out and categorize each item in the basket.  Then off to brunch with Gigi and his aunts and uncles, new cousin Avery, and of course, Johnny.  The boys got hopped up on sugar and then darted off for more egg hunting followed by running around and tackling each other.  Needless to say, Harrison is exhausted.  Happy Easter!

Harrison made a new friend!

Snowmageddon 2013

After what appeared to be another very wimpy winter, we got about a foot of snow last week!  School was closed on Thursday and Friday and the entire family took shelter from the storm at home.  Between epic snow storms, new words every day, and potty training, we have been having a blast so far in 2013.  

But, most importantly, we welcome a new cousin into the family: Avery Eileen was born in the middle of a blizzard last week.  She and Aunt Brooke are doing great and Harrison was very excited to meet "Johnny's baby"!  

You will see in the new installment of pictures Harrison's continuing independent streak (favorite phrase lately: "Don't help me mommy, I want to do that by myself!"), and his wicked sense of humor.  As his language expands, so does his ability to crack us up.  One example: we have used a baby gate in his bedroom doorway for several months now or he would be running all over the house instead of sleeping.  Today, when he was supposed to be napping, Tom heard him call out, so Tom said, "I'm going to come get you in a second."  Harrison responded, "No, Daddy, I'm going to come get you."  Much to Tom's surprise, here comes Harrison tiptoeing into our room.  He said with delight, "I opened the gate all by myself!"  

Happy New Year

The three of us are trying to settle back into normal routines after an amazing few weeks of family and holidays.  Thanks to the first snow of the year, Harrison’s winter holiday started a bit early – keeping him out of school for almost two weeks!  A healthy mix of holiday time-off and planned vacation time for Tom and Amy provided a rare opportunity for us all to relax together.  We had fun at the park in the snow (impossible to keep Harrison off the slide), attended various Christmas gatherings family, and had an unforgettable Christmas breakfast, which was “prepared” by Harrison in his new play kitchen.  Harrison is especially fond of his new trucks and trains, always lining them up.

We had to get pretty creative after the first several days home with Harrison, and Tom and he had a few fun adventures.  One day they went to the aquarium so that Harrison could see the fish, stingrays, and lobsters (he really liked the lobsters but called them “grasshoppers”).  Another day, they went to an indoor gym center for kids.  This was two hours of climbing apparatuses, hula-hoops, trampoline floors, and watching other little kids going berserk!

As sad as we are that this amazing winter holiday season is coming to an end, we are all very excited for what 2013 will bring for our family!