Harrison- This will be the last post for Harrison as an only child!! It is bittersweet, I cannot lie. I have said for months, if not years, that Harry was not cut out to be an only child. He needed someone who would share things with him- experiences, parents, TOYS... Now that we are approaching the birth of baby #2, I wonder will he like his bother, will they be best buds? Only time will tell.
Apparel:
Harrison has gotten really good at getting his own clothes on. Partly because as I got more pregnant, it was harder for me to help as much. So, he learned quickly and out of necessity...poor kid! He has become more opinionated about what he wants to wear, so we have been trying to teach him how to pick out matching outfits. I now understand how/why you see so many kiddos around the oh-so-independent age of 4 at the zoo dressed in the outfits they are. Parents are picking their battles!!
Speaking of independence, Harrison has been taking on the role of helper more and more. People keep telling him that he is going to need to be a helper when his brother comes. He will often ask me, "Mom, do you need anything?" Of course, this is usually instead of taking his afternoon nap, but I will take it!
Food:
Not much new...
Lodging:
Harrison has returned to reliably napping at least 5 days a week. I am feeling a sense of relief and gratefulness for this, even before baby arrives. This means there is hope for a little mommy nap time with a newborn at home :)
We have also been selling quiet time A LOT! We have talked to Harrison about the days that he doesn't nap, and what he needs to do in his room, quietly, while he waits for us to come and tell him that it is time to come out. I put together daily quiet/busy boxes with different activities for him to do that are quiet and entertaining to him. Hopefully, this will work well when baby brother arrives and we inevitably lose a few days of naps.
Communication:
Harrison has spent so much of the past few months learning new letters, and the sounds they make. He will frequently ask, "what does that word start with?" He is learning to sound out words, and e is always telling me that "A starts with apple," or "H starts with Harrison" (as you can tell, he gets the phrasing turned around, but the concept is there). We are so amazed at how quickly he picked everything up! All those letter games, apps, and activities are paying off.
On that same note, Harrison went in for Pre-K screening!! YIKES!!! Where has the time gone? My usually super outgoing child, the one who is so outgoing I joke that he would go with a stranger who had candy, would not come out from behind me for the screening. So, they were talking to me about making sure he was confident with new people and surroundings...HE HAD THEM FOOLED!!! We are going to work on how he holds a pencil/pen, and his writing, but other than that he passed with flying colors!
Cute conversation:
Harrison: "Mom, I will never let you down"
Mom: "Do you know what that means?"
Harrison: "Yeah, it means that you are always there for someone"
Mom thought- Wow, that is some heavy stuff.
30 minutes later while taking a bath. Harrison is splashing water everywhere, despite me asking him not to more than once.
Mom: "You are letting me down right now."
Harrison: "Oh, man. I'm sorry."
KIDS!!
Transportation:
Entertainment:
We signed Harrison up for Preschool next year at church. I can't believe he is ready for this step, but the truth is that I, mom, am the one who is not yet ready for this step. It just means that he is one year closer to Kindergarten. We have been trying to decide on if we should do full day twice a week, or half day. He is still a kiddo who REALLY needs to nap, and I am not sure he is ready for full day. Time will tell!
This winter has been BRUTAL for getting outside to go anywhere or do anything!! Like 6 days off for weather that is TOO COLD (-30, or -40 degree windchill). So, Harrison has been playing a lot of car games. One of his favorites is playing with his "controllers" with dad. They can spend hours playing with his remote control cars! He can also be found playing with play dough, painting (much to mom's delight) or doing craft projects.
The newest thing this season- SO MANY NOISES!! The boy has truly come out. I didn't know that the noises that machines, cars, trains, planes, etc... made was part of the inherit genetics that every male inherits. I can add that to the long list of things that nobody teaches a boy, but that they are simply born able to do.
The best thing that we have found for baths in a long time- COLOR DROPS!!!
Our family has and Elf on the Shelf named Ferdinand. It was fun, until Harrison got mad that his Elf kept making a mess that he would have to clean up. So, I communicated this with Ferdinand, and he cleaned up his act :)
Making cookies at Grandma and Grandpa's!
I made the baby a quilt. Which gave me mother's guilt (and an upset toddler) about the fact that he did not have one. Hence, Harrison now has a new quilt!
Holy playroom explosion!
We have had plenty of time to practice shoveling snow this winter- YIKES!!!
We went to the Christmas program at Lydia and Isaiah's school in early December. The music was great!
We went downtown to celebrate Grandpa's last day of work. It just happens to be very close to where Santa hangs out this time of year. So, we did the Macy's display, met Santa and brought some doughnuts to celebrate Grandpa Jon's retirement.
Bowling with Gavin!!
We took Harry on an "only hold for a little while" date at the Mall of America. Baby brother will be here very soon!!
Practicing the great Minnesota pastime- Ice Skating! I am not sure I am ready to be a hockey mom, just yet, though!
There is a baby in there...and he is ready to come out!!!
Playing controllers with dad. They could do this for hours!!
Harrison is getting more into "crafts" and "projects". So, in my week off before little brother came, we spent time working on projects together- First was ocean creatures. Then, we worked on a project inspired by the best book ever- Goodnight Goodnight, Construction Site!
Then, we made some Monster cookies to bring to the hospital, which Harry had to taste before we could bring them. They got the seal of approval.
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