Aidan - 6 Months

I cannot believe my baby is already 6 months old! It has been so fun to watch him grow and develop his little personality. At the docs this month he weighed 18 lbs 3 oz (65%), was 27 inches long (75%), and his head was in the 85th percentile - brainy Caffrey head :-) He also got his first tooth on Sunday morning and he woke up at 5:00am to let us know!

I did this for Eóin at 6 months so I wanted to do it for Aidan too - it's fun to see how their personalities are so different!

Name: Aidan James Harrison
Favorite Food: Formula, Rice cereal, Oatmeal, Bananas (he tolerates peas and sweet potatoes)
Favorite Song: Any song really - He LOVES when I sing to him. When he is having a hard time sometimes it is the only way I can get him to sleep!
Favorite Game: Chasing Eóin and daddy
Favorite Toy: Anything he can chew on!
Favorite Book: "That's not my Kitten" (the compelling sequel to "That's not my bunny") - This was the answer from Eóin's but Aidan loves them too now. He gets so excited when we read!
Other Interests: Rolling, rolling, rolling!!!! He is a mover - he can pretty much go anywhere he wants to go now (just not forward :-), Giggling with big brother

Here is how much he has grown in the past 6 months!

Aidan Harrison

6/2/09 3:07ish

12/2/09 3:27 (I forgot to take the pic - we were having a cuddle)

200th Post! Book Review :-)

Wow - 200 posts! So much has happened since I started this blog. I am excited that with this post I am adding something new: book reviewing. I have signed up to review books for two different publishing companies. I just happened to be down with the flu when one of my new books arrived in the mail this weekend - perfect timing! I finished it this morning - so on with the review!!

The Rose Legacy by Kristen Heitzmann
Diamond of the Rockies #1

"My heart is a blind guide. Why did I follow ~ Rose"

Carina Maria DiGratia leaves the comforts of everyone and everything she has ever known for the dreams of Crystal, Colorado. Filled with bitterness and hatred for those who betrayed her at home, she vows to never be trusting again. She soon learns, however, that in a mining town, a lone woman needs help - she will have to trust someone - but whom? Not everyone in Crystal is as they first appear. When violence escalates, Carina must discover who is really trustworthy in order to help save the city from complete corruption.

I really enjoyed reading this book - I could easily imagine the surroundings and wonderful characters who fill the pages. The book is nice and long so there is time to develop the characters and story line well. One thing I was not so fond of was the blurring a little of the gospel. Although it is said that one must be washed in the blood of the lamb, it seems also present that whatever road you take - as long as you are sincere -will get you to heaven too. I probably would not recommend it to a friend who was searching for the gospel themselves. I loved the story itself however and can't wait to read the next one in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for the purpose of reviewing

5 Months!

This week Aidan turned 5 months old! I can't believe how fast he is growing. It's fun seeing his little personality emerge more and more. He is definitely an outspoken child! When he wants something, he has no problem letting me know as loudly as possible - our doctor said he was "opinionated." I forgot to put his stats from his four month checkup. He was 15lbs 14oz. The exact same as Eóin was at his checkup. No idea what he is now - but he is chubby :-)

He loves to move an is hardly ever still. I usually lay him down to play on a blanket in the living room and within 5 minutes he will be 4 feet away facing a completely different direction. This is very new realm to me since Eóin would stay put where-ever I put him when he was that age. Babyproofing will take on a whole new meaning in this house!

He is also very much a people person - if I take Eóin out of the room to change him or get his lunch or something, Aidan will let us know in a hurry that he does not appreciate us leaving him alone! He wants to be part of every game. He loves if I hold him on eóin's level - they just giggle at each other :-) It's so precious.

He has been eating rice cereal for a while now and is doing great - time to add some more flavor to his diet soon. I need to get a video of him at the dinner table with us because he will follow our hand from our plate to our mouth over and over smacking his lips. He really wants to taste whatever we have.

Here are some pics I took yesterday while he was just playing on the floor looking out into the backyard. I love his dark blue eyes - i hope they stay like that :-)

Granny and the boys

Grannys visit

Here is a link to pics of granny visiting us. I'll put up more on here properly another day :-)

grannys visit

UPdate

Quick update on life :-)

Aidan is 4 months old today. It seems to go much faster this time round! He is generally a pretty happy baby. He is ALWAYS sucking on his hand or thumb or whatever he can fit in his mouth. So different from Eóin. I never had to worry about Eóin putting things in his mouth. If it wasn't food, Eóin wasn't interested, but Aidan is a totally different story! He loves to watch Eóin play and really can't wait to be down playing with him. He will try to wiggle off my lap when Eóin and Jonathan are playing wrestling. i usually end up following them with Aidan so he can "play" too. He is so heavy but he loves it - squealing and kicking and laughing the whole time :-) He has some tummy issues. He throws up constantly. I change his clothes at least three times a day and usually mine too! We are going to a new doctor this week so maybe he has more ideas. I think once he starts solids it will settle down some. It's funny because for throwing up so much of his food he is a chubby kid! He has a doc app. this week so I will post his stats then.

Eóin is growing so fast too. Sometimes I think he has grown during nap time! His big thing at the moment is thomas the tank engine. He plays trains ALL DAY. I am becoming quite an awesome train track maker at this stage :-) He always has something funny to say these days too. They have been learning about creation at church and so during the day we will ask him things like "who made the sun" and he tells us "God made the sun". Well one day I walked into his bedroom and asked "Who made this mess" - he didn't even blink - he straightaway said "God made the mess" - oh dear :-)

We have been in our new house now for a month! Hard to believe! We have everywhere painted except two little spots - the entry way and a small entryway between the hall and kitchen. I try to handle one unpacking or cleaning task a day - the rest is already taken up with the kiddos and piles of pukey laundry! It's coming along slowly but surely.

That's us for now :-)

Brothers

Just a few pics of the boys from the last week or so

There are also some photo albums on facebook that I haven't put on here yet. Here are some links:

Irish Fest Pics

Playing out in the back garden

New Kitchen Pics

Bath Time Pics

Brothers

Here is a pic of Eóin and Aidan wearing the same outfit. They look so alike yet so different at the same time :-)

Sailing

I got Jonathan a sailing lesson for his birthday in April and we finally we able to go two weeks ago. Unfortunately I forgot the camera so these pics are just off our phone which also ran out of memory! Oh well :-) Jonathan loved it and I loved the peace and quiet except for the teacher who pretty much taught the whole time. But no screaming babies and right now that's all I require for me to relax :-)

Rigging up the sail (ha ha I have no idea if that is how you say it - I am a bad student)

Jonathan loving it

Wo-hoo we got it up (ok they did - I just sat there)

Steering (which I was doing while they were hoisting the sail - harder than you might think!)

I took a pic of me holding some rigging as proof I did a little bit of work :-)

Interview with Aidan

So I asked Aidan what it was like to be 2 months old. Here's his reply :-)

2 Months Old!

Yesterday, Aidan turned two months old. Time is just flying by with this little kiddo! He is such a happy baby and we are enjoying watching his personality start to develop. He is a social little creature. He loves to be with people and is not happy if Eóin and I leave him by himself in a room. He loves to stretch out on the floor and kick and wiggle. He already pushes off his legs and inches around in a circle. He LOVES to be talked to and is gets really excited about finding his voice and talking back. (I'll put a video up of it) He also loves to watch Eóin play - although it's hard to watch someone who is there one second and gone just a quickly!

He is really growing - lovely chubby cheeks to kiss :-) We have a doc app. on Thursday so I will post his stats then. He is losing his baby hair now but his eyes have stayed a really dark blue so far - I hope they stay that way - they are so gorgeous!

Here are some pics to compare the day we brought him home with today :-)

2 days old

2 months old

2 babies?

Eóin has been such a great kid these last few weeks as he gets used to not being the only kid on the block. It has been funny to see how he copes when we are busy with the baby. Curious George has become a very important member of the family. Whenever we are doing something with Aidan, Eóin gets George and takes care of him too. It's so cute! In fact now even when we are not doing something with Aidan, Eóin is putting George down for a nap, or giving him tummy time or burping him :-) Here are some pics of our other "baby"

feeding george (with his sippy cup)

taking a nap in Aidan's bed

I got out of the shower to find George in the swing with Aidan

Our Little Fish

We took Eóin to the pool last night for the first time this summer. He loves to "swim" in the bath so we knew we had to take him soon. It was like his dream come true. We started off at the kids play area where he mainly just played at the edge with the fountains. Then he saw some kids kinda swimming and got down on his belly where he said "look mommy, I'm nemo" :-) All our pics are of this area - we need to get pics of the other ones next time.

Kids Area - we did go as far as the steps, but that bucket on top fills up with water and then when it's full dumps it out over everyone and wouldn't you know as soon as we got to the steps it dumped on us and Eóin wouldn't go near it again.

The much safer fountains

Splashing

I love that it is so shallow around the edge.

Next we got on the lazy river. I put the inner tube around my waist and then sat Eóin on the edge and we floated along. He made up a song along the way about going on a boat.

Last, we went to the big grown ups pool and I think this was his favorite place. It is 2 feet at the edge so it was half way up his belly. He loved going up and down the steps and then jumping in the water. He would even go under and didn't seem to mind! Pretty sure next year he will be able to swim. I can't wait to go back with him. He was just soooo excited and happy. One time he just looked at me with a huge grin and said "Mommy - I'm having fun!!!"

Down on the Farm

Yesterday, we took a family trip to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. It was the perfect day to be outside - not to hot, not too cold. We packed up a picnic lunch and headed out. When we got there we realized that I forgot to put the baby carrier in the car and we didn't have the stroller either which is usually in the trunk, so we had to carry Aidan around all day but that was our only mishap...better than forgetting the baby - lol :-)
It was pretty packed but Eóin enjoyed himself. He was not that into touching the animals or getting too close but he did have fun watching them from a distance. I'd like to go back on a week day when there won't be so many people there but besides that it was a very fun family outing.
Here is a video/slideshow of our day out.

Aidan's 1 month checkup

Yesterday we went for Aidan's one month check-up (a few days late). He did so well and didn't make a peep the whole time until his shot at the end. The doc gave us some medicine to hopefully help with the spit-up and crying. He thinks it's acid reflux. Hopefully we'll see some improvement soon.
Other than that he is a very healthy guy. He is already 10lbs 7oz and 21 inches long. Short and chubby :-) He must have inherited the Harrison head (not like Eóin who definitely has a Caffrey head) because it was only in the 40th percentile - guess me and Eóin will have to suffer with being the brainy ones in the family :-p

Fireworks (well sort of)

We bought a kids set of fireworks to set off at home before we went to see the big ones. I love how Eóin tells me to stay back when he throws his poppers - he is such a little old man :-)



Here is a link to the rest of our pics from the 4th and a few more random ones.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129184&id=772854464&l=2113a3d6ba

Date with Mommy

Last Saturday I felt like Eóin needed a little alone time with me since I have been so busy with Aidan. It was super hot so I took to Paradise Park - an indoor play place with enough to keep a little tyke busy all day :-) He had a great time and I think it really helped him to see that he was still my guy even if I am a little busier than I used to be. Here are some pics

Growing Boy

I've really been enjoying this past month with my two boys (well three if you include daddy :-).

Jonathan's mam and dad came to visit us the Monday after Aidan was born and then his mam stayed on for an extra week after his dad left. It was nice to have help keeping Eóin entertained while I got used to a new schedule. He enjoyed having everyone around :-)

Aidan grew really well the first week and then lost a little weight the second week, and since then has been growing like a weed! He has gained almost two pounds since he was born. The newborn onesie I put on him today barely fits - I think this will be the last time he wears it! He weighs 9lbs 13oz already!

Eóin has blossomed into a great big brother. It seems like he grew into loving his brother :) First he didn't want to be close, then he helped me burp him, next came rubbing his head, then giving him a little kiss. It took a few weeks before he wanted to hold him though (which is not really a bad thing!) Now he is such a big helper! His main job is giving Aidan his nookie when he is crying. Aidan LOVES Eóin. As soon as Eóin goes over to him he will stop crying and just listen to him - it's so cute! I'm pretty sure Aidan will be spoiled rotten - every time he even wimpers, Eóin runs over to me and says "Mommy - Aidan's crying - let's go check him - come on!" Then he goes over and gives him hugs and kisses and a nookie :-) He is pretty gentle and I keep a good eye on him but so far he has been a big help to me!

Here are more links to pics (I can upload my pics straight from iphoto to facebook which makes it so much easier than to put them on here - Hence all the links)

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120892&id=772854464&l=f554dc25b8

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124817&id=772854464&l=44570641e6

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127055&id=772854464&l=8dbc0162b8

Home

It was so nice to be able to come home after sitting on that hospital bed for so long! Jonathan's sisters, Cara and Christina, had cleaned the house so it was lovely to come home to and Jonathan and Cara made a great sign with balloons to welcome us home :-)

Here is a link to pics again:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119876&id=772854464&l=b3bfb6fd9a

Aidan James Harrison

Wow - talk about way behind! Aidan is already one month and I haven't even announced his birth on here :-( Aidan was born on June 2nd at 3:07 p.m. He weighed 7lbs 14oz (just one oz smaller than Eóin) and was 20 inches long (one inch smaller than Eóin).

They induced me at about 5 a.m., although by the time they tried to find my veins for the IV 3 times it was probably about 6:30 when things really got going. This was definitely a different labor than when I had Eóin. I was really drugged up with Eóin so I really didn't feel a thing - not even them putting in my epidural. With this one I was pretty nauseous the whole time and was way more awake. They started letting my epidural wear off towards the ends and those contractions hurt so bad, it really made me thankful I hadn't been feeling them up to that point. Jonathan was fast asleep in the recliner next to me when I felt like I was going to snap in two. I tried calling him a lot and still couldn't wake him up so I had to call the nurse who checked me and said I was almost ready to push and she would call the doctor to see if we could go ahead a try.

Two minutes later when the doctor came in she checked and was like "actually he is coming right now" - so mad rush of everyone getting ready. Two pushes and out came Aidan. It was so nice to get to hold him right away. With Eóin I had to wait about an hour because they had to suction him out so he wouldn't get meconium in his lungs.

Eóin came a little while later and didn't really know what to think. He was more interested in climbing on the chairs and wouldn't come close to the baby. He just wanted to look from a distance. He wouldn't even sit beside me if I was holding him. We didn't push him and just let him warm up at his own pace.

The hospital stay went well and we left healthy and happy :-)

Here are some links to pics of us at the hospital:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119165&id=772854464&l=5bb112845c

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119326&id=772854464&l=c5922de89e

Funny

Last night I was singing with Eóin before he went to bed and we decided to sing "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty"

We were doing the actions to the part that says "the mountains are his, the valleys are his" and Eóin was singing along but instead of singing "the valleys are his", he sang "the BELLIES" are his. I was cracking up because when I do the actions and make a valley with my hands, the only place they have to go now is under my big belly so he thought I was holding my belly - thus "the bellies are his". I could not stop laughing through the end of the song :-) 

Never a dull moment!

Zoo Adventures

We took a little trip to the zoo today. Just put a few clips together for the grannies :-) At the end when we are on the train Eóin says we are "finding the night" because on his little people video they take the zoo train to find the night so the animals will go to sleep (in case you are wondering).

Shower gifts

Here are some of the gifts from our baby shower. We also got a new diaper genie to replace our old one but I forgot to take a pic of it :) I can't believe we only have 37 days left!!! crazy!

Baby Pics

We went for another ultrasound today because the last time the doc measured my belly he said I was a little small. The baby is fine though. He weighs a little over 3lbs already and is in perfect health so far! It was so cool to see him grown so much since the last ultrasound - I even got to see him smile :-) I think he looks like his big brother. Jonathan says he looks like a baby :-) Here are some pics.

Eóin says he is crying because his hand is up by his eyes.

Kinda smiling - this is the one I think looks like Eóin

Eóin is 2!!!

Today my little baby turned two! I just looked back at last year's update and it's amazing to see all that can change in just one year. Eóin is now a full blown chatter box. I understand most things he says now and he comes out with some pretty funny stuff!

He can count to 11 although sometimes he gets lazy and counts "1,2,3,10,11,two-teen (close to twelve :)".
He knows a lot of colors - his favorite is definitely green though.
He can recognize and pick out quite a few letters - his favorite is J right now :)
He loves to watch elmo, barney, and his little people videos.
Favorite toys are cars, little people and anything crafty.
He LOVES to sing! He knows the words to tons of songs now and when he doesn't know the words he sings "ha ha ha" until he gets to the words he knows :) Tonight's new song was Old Mac Donald. (He got some new farm toys for his birthday.)
Favorite foods: Pizza, fries, jam sambos, grapes, apples, broccoli, meatballs - He pretty much just loves food :)
He loves to read - Dr. Suess is a big hit and it's funny to hear him read it to himself. His favorite book right now is probably "Go Dog Go" - I read that quite a few times a day!

We took the annual picture at his birth time again this year. We were at Denny's having dinner and ran out to the camera just in time :) It was way sunny so we couldn't really look at the camera and we were such a mess - oh well :) It's still fun to see how much he's grown.

At the bottom there is a link to pictures of his birthday party and his two year old pics we had taken last week. Enjoy :)

Eóin William Harrison

February 15, 2007, 1:40 p.m.

Eóin William Harrison

February 15, 2008, 1:50 p.m.


February 15, 2009, 1:40 p.m.

Click to see birthday pics

Big Boy Bed

Yesterday, we put Eóin's toddler bed together. He is soooo excited about it :) He did great last night - he only woke up once when his head hung out over the edge and he was too out of it to realize he just had to move over :) We need to work on his staying in bed in the mornings until I say he can get up but otherwise he did so well!
Here are some pics of the big event. You can see the crib in the background - we left it up in case we couldn't get the bed together :) Hopefully we can take it down now and start organizing his big boy room a bit more :)

So excited - I couldn't even get the blankets on.

Climbing in all by himself

The pillow might just be the best part

So excited to sleep in his new bed!

Taking a nap :)

5 1/2 Months

Here is a recent belly pic. Ignore the stupid face - it was late and Jonathan was trying to make me laugh :)

Baby Pics (em...PG-13?)

We went for an ultrasound today and were happy to see our newest little guy :-) These are the two pics the lady gave us. I crack up every time I see the 3-D one - it's kind of like those freaky pictures when the eyes follow you wherever you go - lol. Good thing he has 4 months months to fill those cheeks out :-) The other one obviously shows that he is a boy! No mistaking this one (hence the pg-13 warning - didn't want any little girls freaked out).

We'll take a belly pic soon so you can see the view from the outside :-)

um yeah - a boy...

I'm watching you...mwah ha ha ha

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