Harrison- 2.8 Years (32 Months)

January 14th- February 13th: As I write this post, I become acutely aware of the fact that I have not taken a photo of Harry in his chair in months, and that I never posted the 2 1/2 year letter that I wrote to him (and I am not even sure if I ever finished that note, either). I know that he will not care about these things, but I know that I will. So, my goal is to try and get all those posted soon!

We had to use three words to describe Harry this past week in our ECFE class. Bryan and I had some differences on our lists, but the two that made it on both of our lists were stubborn (imagine that) and kind (or a word close to that). I think that we are happy with both of those traits, and that they seem to fit an almost 3 year old perfectly!

Food: Harry knows what food he likes, and what food he does not! He is very vocal when he sits down to dinner, and it is not something he has tried, or something he has tried and not liked. We are trying to make sure that he is eating new things, and trying new foods. We have been able to talk him into trying one bite, then if he doesn't like it, then he doesn't have to eat anymore. This USUALLY works, but it can also backfire when he takes the bite, doesn't even bother to taste it, and tells you that he does not like it, when in fact, he does. Sometimes only giving him a plate full of less-than-good options requires him to try new things, or go hungry. Only backfire to that plan....hungry kids do not sleep (see the Lodging section).

Lodging: Harrison learned to climb to the top bunk. One night I came home from church and Bryan said something to the effect of "go show mommy your new trick". This usually means that Harry has learned to do something that we had hoped would not happen until he was 27, and this time was no different. Bryan and I had agreed to not attach the ladder to the bunk bed, or his bed would become a jungle gym. Well, he learned to scale the side of the bed, thus making the ladder a safety necessity. He is not free to roam about his bed, though we have not found him on the top bunk in the morning....yet.

He continues to love sleep, which means that we, too, are able to love sleep!

Apparel: I hadn't noticed that this section got left off a few months in a row!! OOPS! He is wearing 3T clothes now.

Communication: Harrison has been such a sweet boy lately. He is consistently using 'please' and 'thank you'. He has been very considerate of others, and showing his understanding of when people are sad, happy or anything in between. He will tell you when the people he is watching are sad or happy. Not only has he become more sensitive to others emotions, but he has also become more sensitive to his own. He laughs at things that we laugh at, or that he just thinks are funny....like a little boy laugh, no longer his baby cackle :( He is starting to become such a little boy in this area, especially when laughing at something that is inappropriate. I had no clue they came wired with this skill.

Transportation: Harrison continues to be a champion in the car. We have taken on a couple long (3-4 hour) car rides over the last month, and both have been very successful with a short nap and no complaints.  He can keep busy with almost anything. We haven't even brought out the DVD player for the last two or three trips.

Entertainment: Crafts, paint, glue, glitter, stickers...anytime any of those things are involved, Harry is all in! He could still take or leave coloring or drawing, but any other form of especially messy "craft" or art, he is willing to try.

We took a cabin trip with Bryan's family- 8 adults and 6 children ages 7 and under. Sadly, my camera battery died halfway through, but we still got a bunch of photos to share from the trip. It was so nice to be at a kid-freindly cabin with enough space for everyone to sleep and everyone roam. We enjoyed big family dinners, lots of card games, ice fishing and singing. We are all excited for the second annual Gregory family retreat (since Harry has not stopped talking about it).

 

A RARE photo with mom. It was from last month, but there are so few that I had to post it even late!

I took Harry to his first play The Diary of a Worm, Spider and Fly at the Stages Theater. It was a HUGE hit, and something we need to do again...SOON!

The REAL reason Harry loves Costco...the tire section.

Saturday morning breakfast with Daddy!

Panera is one of Harrison's favorite places to eat. We had a mom and Harry dinner date while dad did homework.

Chipotle is his other favorite!

We did some belated Christmas celebrating, and some birthday celebrating, too. With a family this big, there is always something fun to celebrate!

Sadly, my camera died halfway through our weekend getaway with all of Bryan's family. So, I will post the photos I do have from a combination of my camera, others and my iPhone (which has pretty awesome photo capabilities, too). As you can tell, the kiddos has just as much fun as the adults!

Harrison- 2.7 Years Old (31 Months)

There will be a separate Christmas post with photos...there are just TOO MANY TO POST!!!

December 14th- January 13th: 'TIS THE SEASON!!! I spent the better half of this winter trying desperately to convince Harrison that there was more to Christmas than santa, and elves, and trees. FINALLY, a breakthrough!!! When I ask him whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas, he answers Jesus. He can tell me a little about the story of his birth, so I consider this a small win. Of course, he is also focused on the Monster Truck Lightning McQueen that he really hopes Santa is going to bring him, too. Like I said....small win.

Food: I cannot remember anything big that is happening in this area. I guess no news is good news.

Transportation: Not a whole lot new. He is happy to run, jump, and hop- same as always.

Lodging: Harrison is back to LOVING sleep. He used to always get so excited to go to sleep. It did not matter if he was napping, or sleeping for the night. He would roll over with a grin on his face, put his lambie to his ear, find a mimi and snuggle in to SLEEP!!! He has been taking 2-3 hour naps, consistently, and quickly got over coming out to check on us after we put him to bed. We appreciate that we have time to get things done at almost the same time every night, even if it is just to catch up on the most recent list on our DVR.

Communication: Harrison has developed a little bit of a stutter. I think he is thinking so fast that his mouth can't catch up to him. That, or he can't think of, or does not know, the words that he wants to use to explain something. This started the same time that he started to talk a lot LOUDER than usual. So, on any given day, you will hear Harrison loudly repeating "I, I, I, I, I, I...." over and over again. As much as I can understand that he is probably frustrated, too, I am hoping that one of these new communication skills has changed by the next time I post...

Entertainment: Well, Christmas was SO good to all of us! Harrison ended up with an embarrassment of riches so vast that we took some gifts and put them away for a rainy day when all of the "newness" has worn off a few of his other gifts (which might even be the case by the time I post this). I am so glad that Bryan and I decided to start a gift-giving tradition with our family of 1 thing you want, 1 thing you need, 1 thing you wear and 1 thing you read. We hope that this will help Harrison ask for more than the latest toy, or electronic gadget (or at least prioritize what is MOST important) and focus on things that he might need (which I think we often forget can be gifts, too).

In keeping with the Christmas bounty theme, Harrison has been playing with his Monster Trucks and trampoline (from Santa), his kitchen (from grandma and grandpa B) and listening to his new music and riding his pony-on-a-stick (from grandma and grandpa G). Of course, he received other gifts, too, but these tend to be his favorites as of today.

 Reading letters from the cousins.

 Harry and Bryan went to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train one evening.

We baked Sugar Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies, Kringla and Peanut Blossoms this year. Then, I had the boys help frost some of the cookies, too.

Harrison had a habit of frosting a cookies, then eating it. So, he did not put frosting on very many cookies :)

Tall towers!

A sneak peek Christmas as Grandma and Grandpa B's house!

I had to post Harry's first Santa experience! Here are the presents that he was left from the big man ;)

All he wanted from Santa was a monster truck Lightning McQueen...just look at his eyes!!

All the monster trucks lined up out of the package.

 Once again, we had the cousins on Bryan's side (minus Jeremiah) meet at his aunts house to have a play date! It is so much fun to see the differences in the boys from last year to this year. Next year there will be a shift, as at least one girl will be joining the festivities.

The boys played so hard that the treats that aunt Kathy gave them just the little bit of energy needed to make it through the night!

 

We visited with the great-grandparents over Christmas, too (see more photos in the Christmas section). This was my favorite book at my grandparents house growing up. Harrison loved it, too. So much so that I ordered it on Amazon while we were sitting there.

Sledding at Grandma and Grandpa G's house.