A Long Overdue Holiday Update

We sincerely apologize for the delay in getting our pictures posted from Christmas this year! Our family is just starting to feel like we've gotten back into a normal routine this week after several short workweeks and a day care hiatus! Fortunately, this year we were all healthy and able to fully enjoy and appreicate Christmas with our families. Suffice it to say that Harrison was a professional gift opener by the end of Christmas day. He is having so much fun with all of his new toys and there were so many! We have to admit that this was the most fun we have had at Christmas since we were little kids ourselves. It was amazing to see Harrison's face light up, whether it was from the Christmas lights or the songs at church, or the gift wrap and toys he received. We had a blast.

In other news, Harrison is starting to jabber away and, as if he wasn't busy enough, he is finding new chores around the house to keep himself occupied. He can say "help" now, so that is coming in very handy. And he now has a step stool, which he carries around with him to reach light switches and the sink (he loves to wash his hands). It is so funny to watch because he even takes the stool back to the bathroom when he is done to put it away.

Harrison has also discovered the fine art of wrestling. He absolutely loves to wrestle with his Dad. He squeals with delight as he tackles Tom and rams him with his head! They are having a ton of fun together. While Harrison likes to wrestle occassionally with Mom, you are much more likely to find them enjoying a book together, or working on a puzzle. And he is a very cuddly little boy with Mom, giving her the best squeezes and making her heart melt on a daily basis.

We are attaching a great little video that highlights another recent Harrison achievement: opening doors. We are working hard to keep up with him and enjoying every day!

Holidays

We can hardly believe that the holiday season has arrived! Harrison thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving this year at Grams and Grandpa's house (especially dessert!) and then, about one week later he had his first Christmas celebration. Gigi will be traveling this year for Christmas, so we all got together to celebrate with her this past weekend instead. Harrison received some great new gifts that he loves, especially his new food basket (he loves to "cut" the toast) and music player. He is also enjoying cuddling with his new Jayhawk pet pillow.

We are looking forward to having lots of family at our house in a few short weeks for Christmas Eve and Christmas, and watching Harrison experience this Christmas season. We are so blessed.

Halloween Rescheduled

Well, unfortunately, Halloween did not turn out quite as planned. Obi-Wan was not in any condition to show off his Jedi skills due to a nasty virus that had set in the day before. Instead, Gigi was nice enough to let us reschedule Halloween and trick or treat at her house a few nights ago. We updated flickr with some pictures of Harrison in his costume, along with some other pics from the last month.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch this morning and Harrison had a fabulous time. There was a tractor ride, a hay maze, and thousands of pumpkins! Harrison particularly liked running through the hay maze and trying to push the wagon around after we picked out our pumpkins. We all loved every minute of this experience. jack o'lanterns coming up!

Scaakes Pumpkin Patch:

http://www.schaakespumpkinpatch.com/

Words!

Harrison's language skills have skyrocketed over the last several weeks! Only a few words spoken so far, but he understands several words and phrases now and it seems like every day he learns something new. He understands a few words in sign language (the all-important "eat" and "more" and, thankfully, "gentle") and he can correctly point to many different things that we name. Right now he is cracking us up when we ask him to point to his eyes. He points to his cheek and then starts blinking really slowly. Hilarious.

As far as speaking goes, he has now officially told some perfect strangers "hi," and the other day he said "shoe." We are excited to start communicating with him and, as a result, we have the pleasure of seeing his wonderful personality shine through a little more every day.

We posted some new pictures today from the last few weeks including a trip to the petting zoo with John and our first KU football game of the season. Also, note the pics of him brushing his teeth. :) We've been enjoying this cooler weather and getting outside more!

Fun New Tricks

Harrison has learned some new "big boy" skills over the last few weeks. Here are our favorites:

1. Walking backwards ("moonwalking," as we like to call it)

2. Running in place

3. Throwing a tantrum while running in place

4. Running in place while hurling himself around Mom's legs to be picked up

5. Scooting down the stairs on his bottom (still a work in progress)

6. Brushing his teeth

7. Using a spoon and actually getting the food in his mouth sometimes

8. Saying "yum yum" while eating something he likes

9. Unlocking the iphone

10. Solving his first puzzle

So much fun right now!

So Much To Do

Harrison is keeping himself very busy these days. To give you an idea, here is list of activities he regularly completes in a 15 minute burst of activity: climb the stairs, ride toy milk truck, empty one drawer, fill one drawer, press 10 buttons, open and close closet doors, throw things, point, chase the dog, pet the dog, more pointing, bang piano keys, and help with laundry.

We're having so much fun watching Harrison explore the world, and helping him make the most of each day! We've posted several new pictures on Flickr so that everyone can see Harrison taking care of business.