Our 2016 Christmas

Christmas with a child did not disappoint. From the moment we got out the decorations to Christmas morning and then again at my in-laws, seeing the joy from Harrison's eyes is so awesome.  Well, these eyes are a little tired here...

I knew once we had kids, Christmas would look a little different than it has in the past.  We continued the tradition of Christmas Eve Mass at Blessed Sacrament followed by dinner at my aunt and uncles house with the entire family plus a few family friends.  

On Christmas morning we woke up at our own house, D.J. and I exchanged gifts and Harrison saw all the presents that Santa brought him.  Santa left all the presents unwrapped and there were no presents from mom and dad.  That's the way we had it growing up, so I continued the tradition.  We will see if that holds true in a few years, because D.J. grew up getting presents from mom and dad!

Around 8 a.m. my family came over to see Harrison's presents and then we went to their house around 9 a.m. to open presents and have breakfast.  We spent the morning there, played with Harrison's new car from my godfather and uncle (huge car fanatics) and then in the afternoon we went out to Virginia Beach for dinner at my cousins house with the entire family.  We don't do much as just an "immediate family" with my parents and sibilings...most of the time it's the whole gang!

And of course, the obligatory Christmas morning photo in our matching jammies!

Nothing better than having these kids around to watch them grow up!

On Dec. 26 we drove up to my in-laws and had Christmas with them! The annual Brown Holiday Party was that day as well, so we got a late start on opening presents, but one thing we know for sure is that we are all loved by so many family members, especially HC!

It seemed like the holidays came and went very fast this year, but as every day passes, we get to see our son learn new things every day.  On Christmas Eve he learned how to clap when we say "yay" and on Christmas morning, he woke up with his 7th tooth. Time is flying fast...I hate it, but I love it.

"I Am A Child of God"

 At last, this little love bug of ours is baptized and we could not be happier! After planning the baptism for September and having to postpone it due to the Rubberducks winning, this day was so special. Although D.J. did not grow up in the Catholic church, having HC baptized in the same church I grew up going to and the same church we were married in.  Harrison was baptized with six other little babies by Deacon Derek, who could not have been more appreciative of us continuing the faith alive in Harrison.

Not to brag or anything, but Harrison has some pretty amazing Godparents.  Two people who serve and love the Lord - people that practice the Catholic faith in their daily lives - people who I know will love and teach Harrison the way of the Lord as he continues to grow in his faith.  Thank you, Wyatt and Maria, for being there already and in the future for us and for Harrison. 

To have Harrison's Godfather be someone I've know since elementary school is so special.  We have grown up in the church together and sat through lots of CCD classes together.  And Maria is nothing short of amazing.  She packed up her family of four (including an 8 week old little nursling and wild-child 2 1/2 year old) and drove from Michigan to be here for Harrison's special day. Maria and I have been best of friends for the past four baseball seasons.  I can not imagine going through this baseball life without your family.  Life is coming full circle as we have seen Sonny be born, talk about more babies, find out Harrison was in my belly, add little Francesca to the mix and now have you in our life forever as Harrison's Godmother. I can't say enough good things about these two special people.

We are so fortunate to have so many family members that live close to us, but to have so many people that love us to drive in town for this was so sweet. We had people come from Washington, D.C., Fredericksburg, VA and as far away as Michigan.  Gosh, we love our friends and family!

We are so honored, blessed and thankful for all the love and support our friends and family have shown us since Harrison has been born and especially on this special day of his life. 

8 Months || Harrison Cole

Ugh, I say this every time its time for the monthly blog post, but how in the world is he already 8 months old???!!!! And my bad - my lack of blogging is partially due to being busy and because I just forgot... oops (insert monkey covering eyes emoji)!

Harrison,

This month has been the absolute best month yet.  You continue to surprise us with how fast you are growing.  One minute we had a little baby burrito all swaddled up, and now you are sitting up in your crib when we come in to get you.  Seeing your milestones are seriously one of the most rewarding things a parent gets to experience.  Your daddy and I look at you all the time and just say how did we get so lucky with you? I am so thankful that God chose me to be your mommy.  You really are the best addition to our family and are loved by so many people. 

Weight and Length: When we took you for the flu shot two weeks ago, you were 20 pounds and 28 inches long. Starting to level out a bit.

Diapers: 3's but I sometimes question if he's ready to move up to 4's

Teeth: YES- we added a new category because you have 5 teeth!!!! And I'm pretty sure you are getting ready to pop the 6th one! Two on the bottom and three on the top! I seriously cannot believe it.  You still nurse just fine with your teeth and we haven't had any crazy biting issues.  You have bit me a few times, but nothing to cause bleeding or anything like that. 

Clothes: Pretty much wearing all 9 and 12 month clothes.  9 mo pants are too short but fit in the waist and 12 mo fit in the length, but fall off - typical - just like your daddy. 

Sleep:  You have been sleeping pretty well lately.  Sometimes when you were teething it was a little rough, but if I nurse you, most of the time you will fall back to sleep. You like to sleep on your back and when you wake up you are still just pushing up to your hand and knees.  I bet sometime this next month we will find you pulling up.  We lowered the crib one notch and the hardest part is transitioning you asleep from my arms to the crib because I'm not tall enough to reach down in there! 

Daddy can put you back to sleep most of the time without me having to nurse you, but sometimes it's just easier for me to nurse you and then you fall back asleep a lot easier. 

Most days, you take two naps anywhere between 9 to 11 a.m. and 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Daddy really has the magic touch with putting you to sleep. 

Food: Since your 7 month blog, your schedule has not changed.  You still wake up right at 7 a.m. - some days a little earlier.  You are getting Gerbers #2 and #3 "Lil' Bites" for food. You have three "meals" a day and nursing twice and having two 5 oz bottles. We try to have you in bed around 7:30 at the latest, but sometime we push it till 8:30! EEK! 

Pacifier: Still loving the pacifier. It's a good distraction.  But now you know how to take it out and throw it!  

Other 8 month memories:

Since you got your teeth, you have been grinding your teeth together and it just kills us! I really hope you grow out of that bad habit because it's like fingernails on a chalkboard! 

 

You are able to scoot all over the room.  I still don't understand how you move all around but can't grasp the concept of going forward.  I think by the end of the year you will be crawling though. 

You can go from the crawling position to the sitting position and then back to crawling. I love seeing these milestones because you seem so proud of yourself. 

We celebrated your first Thanksgiving at the Browns house.  You were not the best sleeper since we didn't have a crib, but daddy slept next to you on the floor mattress that we created a little crib for you. 

On the way up to the Brown's for Thanksgiving, you started to give high 5's and it was so stinken cute.  You now know how to do it on command and its so awesome. You are getting close to clapping on your own, but still haven't mastered that technique yet. 

You love playing with the blocks at Gigi and Grandpa's house. 

We did our first finger painting and you absolutely loved it.  We started off trying to make something cute, but it turned into a Pinterest fail that I just let you go crazy with.  I actually really love the way it turned out! 

You experienced one of the most controversial elections our nation has ever, and probably will ever for that matter, go through.  Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump.  Trump won, but if you were on the ballot, I'm confident you would have done a better job than either of the two candidates could do ;). 

We made our first trip to Georgia and you had your first plane ride! Of course, you did amazing.  We wore you in the Ergo most of the time we were walking, but on the plane you just took a nap. Our weekend in Atlanta/Athens was great.  You don't like sleeping anywhere but your crib, so this caused a bit of a struggle, but it was worth it.  We scalped tickets for the Auburn vs. Georgia game and you were there for the biggest Georgia upset of the season! 

We took family photos on the beach and they just turned out so amazing. 

I know that your 9 month blog is going to be the best one yet. Christmas with a child is magical. Not to mention all the firsts that com along with it, we are in for a real treat! 

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