a letter to harrison

sweet boy, 

i've been meaning to sit down and write you a letter for a while now.  time flies too quickly and life gets in the way too easily.  sigh.  but i suppose it is better to be spending time with you instead of writing about you?  well, in any case, here it goes.

you are just shy of 22 months old and i absolutely cannot believe that your two-year birthday is approaching.  you are growing up so fast!  the best thing about this stage is that every day i am surprised by you...a new word, some kind of new activity, a realization that you know WAY more than i think you do.

first off, we don't have one single ounce of concern about your speech.  son, you have so many words in your vocabulary - it's incredible!  right now my favorite word that you say is "garage". i have got to get some video of you talking about the garage.  you could not be cuter.

you like to tell me when you have a "poo poo" or "wet" diaper.  and you want a "clean" diaper right away.  we got you a potty chair, which you like to sit on, but you still haven't really put the two together.  mama is going to start researching the details of potty training.

you've had a big boy bed in your room for about six weeks now.  you love to sit in it and read books with mama.  you love to sit in it and look out the window (especially when you can watch the "mailman" deliver the mail).  you love to pretend to sleep in it.  but if mama tries to leave you in it for a nap, you start to cry.  you still love your crib!  lots of boys at your age are climbing out of their cribs.  you like to climb in.  : ) 

the other day you wanted me to lift you up onto the kitchen counter so you could watch/help me cook dinner.  i obliged, but told you not to touch anything.  you were quick to pick up the coffee pot and pretend to pour coffee.  being that the coffee pot is made of glass, i was even quicker to take it out of your little hands and place you back on the floor.  you looked up at me and said, "obey" (a word you had never spoken before...but one you had heard quite often).  at that moment i could not have been more proud of you.  and you were rewarded by getting to sit on the counter again.  and you did, indeed, obey.  

another day last week we were playing on daddy's computer - on crayola's website.  you got bored and started playing in daddy's desk drawers.  the next thing i knew you were climbing up the stairs and saying what i thought was "play".  i wasn't sure what you were referring to, but you reappeared with a "pen" (which was behind a safety-latched cupboard, by the way).  you had found daddy's check book in the drawer and wanted a pen to write a check.  such a smart boy.

during the day when daddy is gone you always ask where he is.  when i tell you he is at work you always say "home".  : )  it melts your daddy's heart to know that you miss him when he's gone.  

you are a very neat and tidy boy...always putting things where they belong.  you love to pretend to "vacuum" (which sounds like ma-moom) and "mop".  during one of the really warm days a couple weeks ago we had just come inside and were sitting on the floor, taking off your shoes.  you pointed to the bottom of your shoe and said "dirt".  i agreed, "yes, that is dirt".  to which you replied, "towel".  you crack me up!

you are becoming much more accustomed to your brother...and you are the best helper in the whole wide world!  during all his bad bouts of crying, you did such a good job.  i could tell it bothered you, but, for the most part, you played quietly while i tended to "baby".  when graham would start to make noises you were quick to tell me "crying".  and, then, you were quick to say "stop".  ha!  thank God, our sweet little graham has not been crying as much and we are having a lot more fun playing with him now!

you have renamed your grammy.  she is now lovingly called "meme"...a word that is much easier for you to say.  and i know she loves to hear you say it.  you love to go up to meme and papa's house because she makes really good cookies!

you are thriving at school...you love to go to the park...if you see a dog, you are on cloud nine...you love to take showers with daddy...you know that they have free cookies at the store (thanks to your daddy) and you must ride in those germ-infested grocery carts that have a car for you to sit in...you think it's so funny when graham has a "poo poo" diaper...you are sitting in a booster seat now, instead of your high chair...you love to dip things in ketchup and bbq sauce (thank God for organic ketchup)...you would rather be outside...you love to color with markers and you do a very good job of only coloring on paper (so far)...you can turn the most mundane things into an adventure!

your daddy and i think you are the sweetest, smartest, funniest, cutest, most precious human being on this earth!  (and, sometimes, the orneriest).  your smile brings joy to our hearts.  

i know i couldn't

harrison recently received his first kiss from a little girl on the playground.  she was a complete stranger.  we found out later that her name was aiya and she was just two months older than harrison. 

my goodness what a difference two months makes on the "worldliness" scale!

she ran up to harrison, said, "hi, little boy", and gave him a good peck on the lips.  she, then, proceeded to gently touch his eyelashes.  

harrison just stood there and took it.  i wondered what in the world was going through his sweet head.  probably something like, "oh man, this is what i have to look forward to". 

or maybe that's what i was thinking. 

in any case, tell me, could you resist that precious face?

only in denver

last week's grey's anatomy coined a new phrase..."i'm going to denver".  

if you saw the show, you know what i'm talking about.  i thought it was a clever and cute line.  i could just picture viewers all across the country turning to their spouse and saying, "hey, baby, let's go to denver".  

thanks be to grey's for giving us all kinds of new terminology.  any show that can get oprah to say "vi-jay-jay" in reference to her vi-jay-jay is alright with me.  well, with the exception of this new denny was dead, but now he's back from the dead, but he's still really dead story line. clearly, they are reaching.  but it digress.

so, all this denver talk has got me thinking about how interesting it is to live here.  

and i can prove the interestingness with this brief little story:

i had to make a quick run to whole foods market (one very nice perk of living here) this afternoon.  upon my drive back home i turned onto my street and found four cowboys on horseback, lined up side-by-side, trotting down the middle of the road.  

seriously, you can't tell me that NYC or LA offer such sights.  of course, NYC does have the naked cowboy.  but, again, i digress.

although these four gentlemen were wearing cowboy hats...and were kind enough to let me pass... i'm not sure that "cowboy" is the proper title for them.  first of all, i've never seen a cowboy talk on a cell phone with one hand, while holding the reigns with the other.  and, further, not one of them, upon reaching my garage, stopped and offered to help me with my groceries.  

but still, cowboys or not, denver sure never fails to intrigue me.  don't even get me started on the homeless man who has trained a mouse to sit on top of a cat, who rides on the back of a dog, while they walk around downtown.  for real.  

all that to say, if you ever want to go to denver (i'm talking literally, people), you're always welcome for dinner at my house!

to my eight-week-old boy

well, baby graham, your official two-month birthday isn't until the 14th, but we've reached the eight-week mark.  mama simply cannot believe how grown-up you are!  you are BIG, my son...already fitting into 3-6 month size clothes.  i can't wait to find out how tall you are, and how much you weigh.

you haven't made life too easy around here the last 4-6 weeks.  you like to cry.  a lot.  but, slowly, we have figured out what makes you happy.  still, you exercise your lungs quite a bit. the vacuum seems to soothe you, as do the bathroom exhaust fans, and the dryer.  you get relegated to the laundry room a lot.  poor thing.

when you are happy, we LOVE to see your beautiful smile, listen to you "talk" to us, and watch you kick and bat at things.  you love it when we sing to you.  your very favorite song is "ho-ho-ho-hosanna" and when you hear it your face instantly lights up!  when i click my tongue you stop to listen so intently.  i can see the wheels turning in that head of yours...you're trying to figure out how in the world mama is making that noise!

you like it when harrison goes to stay with grammy & papa for the weekend because you get to be held, rocked, and talked to all day long.  you need that individual attention.  and mama & daddy love to give it to you.

we love you more than life itself, sweet boy!  you are a blessing from the Lord.  and we pray that you continue to grow stronger (and happier) each day!  

***just for fun:  graham's two-month check up is this coming friday, the 16th.  leave a comment and guess how much he's going to weigh.  

(this might help:  he was born 8 pounds, 7.5 ounces.  he dropped down to 8 pounds, 1 ounce.  but at his two-week appointment he was already back up to a whopping 8 pounds, 15 ounces!)  

a visit from grandma & grandpa

my parents came home (to iowa) from china for a two-month break this Christmas season. they came out to stay with us for a week, arriving the sunday after Christmas.  while they were here the weather was absolutely gorgeous, reaching 63 degrees one day - a welcome break from the blizzards they had been experiencing in iowa.  we got to play outside every day!

harrison really loved having two more people around the house to play with him all day long! jeremy and i were concerned that he might not speak to them - or speak at all - because he is normally not as verbal with anyone other than mom & dad.  but he surprised us by being instantly accepting of grandma & grandpa...and VERY chatty! 

on new year's day we made a big meal and invited jer's side of the family to join us. 

we always play games after holiday meals.  "clue" is one of the favorites.  i'm always "miss scarlet" (not only because of my black hair, but because she gets to go first every time.  it's true...read the rules).  and jer's mom is always "mrs. white".

harrison helped my dad make his famous apple muffins.

grandma loved getting to hold graham.  and, boy, did he love being held!

thanks for visiting.  can't wait to see you again this summer!

 

i wish i was sleeping beauty

i am one extremely tired girl.  tiiiiirrred.  painfully tired.  literally.  

the unfortunate thing is that this kind of tiredness leads to crabbiness and short-temperedness.

and, maybe worse, just a generally BLAH attitude about life.  a lack-luster sort of state-of-being. 

definitely not a good thing.  

definitely not my normal self.

i'm longing for a respite.  a massage.  a really long hot shower.  a dark room and a heavy down comforter that envelopes me.  eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. 

and the ability to get through just one cup of coffee without having to reheat it.  

until then, i just keep telling myself that my prince charming will be home soon to help share the load.  in my dreams, though, prince charming's kiss would put me to sleep...instead of waking me up.

it's a happy new year!

and we're already making a little bit of progress! 

we were finally able to get a family photo...

hopefully someday soon we can get harrison and graham to smile, too!