Harrison- 18 months

This is the "Mom, I have NO patience for these photos...you better give me something good to look at" look. You get the idea!

Life, over the Christmas season, got a little hectic, and I got behind on posting. This post will cover 11/14/11 - 12/13/11, including Thanksgiving. I could not post about thanksgiving without thanking God for the blessing that Harrison is to us everyday. We are so lucky to be his parents.

This month, Harrison has really started to pick up on things that we say and do at an amazing pace! He turns lights on and off when we enter/leave a room or just for fun! He will pull out the stool to wash his hands before we eat. He reaches out one arm (removing the car from that hand) to put on his jacket when we ask him to, and knows that he shouldn't go out without a hat (and will tell you). He has the strange ability to predict bath night, and will scratch at the bathroom door yelling "bass" (his word for bath), should you change it up. It is so fun to watch it all start to click...even though he most certainly has an opinion when things aren't working exactly how they should.

Food: Harry could live on oranges, raisins, blueberries dipped in yogurt and cheese (especially cottage cheese). He is still a big fan of hummus on anything and a continues to be a really good fruit and veggie eater (the kid even likes broccoli). He definitely has his phases, where he will love something for a week, then he shuns it. He has, and I fear always will be, 100% certain of what he wants and what he doesn't...gee, I wonder where he gets that from!!

Lodging: Sleeping all night. I NEVER get to post that, so I am sure I jinxed it for next month, but we will celebrate when we can!!

Communication: Harry is really good at naming facial features, body parts and animals. He is starting to transfer what he knows to new things (aka- pointing to the bunnies eyes, or the monkeys fingers). Things are starting to click. One day at the MOA, I taught him about elevator buttons. The next day, he was turning the thermostat down to 54...there were so many buttons to push. Just think of how many places a 3-foot tall toddler can find buttons.

I am used to his repeated language, that is saying car 75 times until he either gets what he wants or gives up. I liken this to the scene from Family Guy where Stewie says, "Mom, mama, mommy, mommy, mom, mama, mommy, mommy, mom, mama, LOIS...." This is our normal, but I can definitely see where it can drive someone who is not used to it crazy. I had not doubt that my offspring would be a chatterbox, so I am not surprised.

Transportation: He is now a CONFIDENT climber, which means that he has learned to stack up obstacle courses in the living room with the goal of climbing over the back of the couch, or up onto the dining room table. I am riding somewhere between Darwin- survival of the fittest, and put him in a padded room, but I know that he is just trying to explore and with the will come bumps and bruises.

Entertainment: WARM WEATHER!!! We have not had any snow at all this month...in Minnesota! It has been such a blessing to have outdoor time with a rambunctious toddler, especially since we finished his swing set in late in the summer.

Other than that, Harry is still a big fan of cars. Anything cars. Um...yeah.





Quality time with Mama, Toby (cousin-cat) and Lightning McQueen. Lightning McQueen (photographed) is currently in a secret hiding place that even Harry can't remember, but any other Lightning will come in as a close second! We came home one afternoon when grandma Suzanne had watched him, and he was snuggling with it in his crib. When I took it out, he woke up and reached out for his car!! YIKES!!! At least these cars are fairly cheap.


The collection is growing!

Cat-sitting for Toby cat.



Harry has started to LOVE brushing his teeth. He does such a good job!







Thanksgiving with grandma, grandpa and uncle Eric.


Folding stool...very awesome invention for small bathrooms/houses, and getting little independent hands washed for dinner. Not to mention, all-important tool in the climbing career of one Harrison Vail.

Toy shrapnel.

Crayon shrapnel.






While waiting for Santa photos with Jeremiah and Erika, the boys played with a Thomas the Train set. They were entertained for over a half an hour.







After taking pictures with Santa, we went to visit a few of the reindeer in training.