Wow, the last two weeks have been busy! Harrison is STILL growing and is getting really heavy! Major developments include: rolling over, grabbing, and making even more noises. He is starting to really enjoy hearing his own voice and spends a lot of time "singing."

Harrison's social calendar has been booked too. He had his first KU football tailgate over Labor Day weekend. He seemed to really enjoy hanging out with his fellow Jayhawks, including his cousin, John! Harrison also enjoyed a nice visit that weekend with his great-grandparents in Wichita.

Last weekend, our old friends Max and Julie were visiting from Chicago with their daughter Betsey. We got together with them and with Amy and Damien and their kids and a good time was had by all. Lots of action with 5 kids! Emerson was especially helpful with Harrison, always on hand to "re-bink" when necessary!

Next on the agenda: figuring out what to be for Halloween! While I think we all know the answer to that question, if Tom has any say, we are open to suggestions!

Lake Trip

We spent last weekend at our friends' house at the Lake of the Ozarks. It was Harrison's first trip to the lake and a welcome getaway for the whole family. Big thanks to Todd, Ali, Ryan, Jane, and Steve for your hospitality. We loved spending time with you all!

Pictures from the weekend are now on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51095697@N05/

Sleeping Through the Night

The month of August has been a very busy month for our family and we can hardly believe that it is almost September already! Amy went back to work and had to leave Harrison for the first time in order to go to Washington D.C. for meetings for a few days. Fortunately, Tom had things well under control on the home front and he and Harrison were able to do some serious male-bonding while Amy was away! Amy apparently had to leave in order for Harrison to decide it was time to sleep through the night!!!

We are so thrilled and amazed at how well he is adjusting to our new schedule and what a great sleeper he is. The little man really thrives on his routine, which we have worked on for weeks, so that he goes to bed at about the same time every night with the same bedtime routine. He has grown to love bath time, which we do before bed, and then we cuddle up for a nighttime story and lullaby before "lights out." He is now to the point where he begins to fade about halfway through Peter Rabbit and is regularly sleeping for 11 to 12 hours at night! He still has some nights when he wakes up for a bottle, but those are becoming fewer and farther between.

We still have not completely phased Harrison out of the swaddle, but most nights he wiggles his arms free at some point in the middle of the night. One of the cutest things he now does when this happens is to lock his hands underneath his head while he sleeps. It has become his "thing" and we just melt every time we see him in this position!

Sunday Dinner

Tonight, we had dinner in Kansas City with family. Harrison was a superstar as usual, and really enjoyed seeing his cousin, aunts and uncles, grandmother, and great-grandfather Bobby! Harrison and Johnny especially enjoyed catching up and got to be doted on by everyone. Harrison was thrilled to be loved on by Aunt Katie and Uncle Brian because it had been awhile! We made it back to Lawrence for Peter Rabbit and 8:30 bedtime, and can't wait to do it again soon!

We Want to Walk Now!

Harrison has recently taken to pushing forcefully on our legs and trying to scale up and over our shoulders when we are holding him. He gets really into it and actually seems extremely frustrated that this is not yet working out for him! He gets similarly frustrated these days during tummy time---mad that his body is not allowing him to do yet what he wants to do! We're starting to wonder if he will skip over crawling and go straight to running here in a few months!

Pictures from this week

Here is a link to some great new pictures of Harrison. His neck is getting really strong!http://www.flickr.com/photos/51095697@N05/sets/72157624490097606

ANOTHER Cousin!

On July 7, 2010, Harrison's cousin Owen Matthew was born! Harrison got to meet Owen for the first time last night and they are becoming fast friends. Amy's family is thrilled to welcome Owen into the world and that Kelly and Owen are home safe and sound!