We interrupt Chicken Week! to report that Ben has officially started school. 

Breath Beth. Just breath.

Harrison is a gentle child. Very patient and kind. A joy to be around, with his perfect comedic timing and smooth talking. In my humble opinion he may just be the George Clooney of his playgroup. But lately around 2 a.m.- not so much. You see Darrel and I have committed an unsavory parental sin. For the past 4 months or so we have been catering (surrendering) to Harrison's regression back to his wee hours of the morning bottle fetish for the sake of sleep. Yes, that's right I said bottle. Yes, Harrison is almost two. Yes, we have judged others in the past for still giving their children bottles past 18 months. We know. But hear me out. This child LOVES (Capital "L" on the OVES) his bottle. He will endure a sippy cup all day long, but for bed time, well that's another story. You see the mere mention of a bottle will send Harrison giddily around the room giving hugs and kisses to everyone while singing "Nigh, Nigh!", which is then followed by a mad dash to his bedroom where he proceeds to beg to get in his crib. What parent doesn't want that? Dream of it? Let me show you a picture of his bliss....

So you can see how it's hard not to cater to him. But like I mentioned earlier, without fail he has been waking up every night to get a second round served up. Let's just say that he is a little tenacious about his demands. To us it feels a whole lot easier spending a minute getting his bottle for him, warming it up and handing it to him instead of listening to him go nonstop and fullforce from George Clooney to something reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" moment from "The Shining". Yikes is right. But, despite the theatrics, Darrel and I have decided to stay strong and united as we debottle our child. So please pray for us. He's very charming.

Don't let that smile fool you. He knows exactly what he's doing. :)

 The Before:

 

The After:

He's light as a feather. Weighing in at 22 lbs, and 29 inches tall, he is very totable.

He is a mama's boy. I always wanted one.

He has very pretty hair. It's true.

When he eats a lot of vegetables or fruits, he gets tan. Lucky.

He is a great alarm clock. If you want to get up at three and six. :)

He's likes to be rocked at night, not to sleep, just enough to say goodnight.

He decided to get his first eight teeth all at once. Isn't that ambitious?

He is one stealth crawler, and one adorable little walker. He has his daddy's walk.

He is a soul man. He's got a bluesy little voice and likes to rock back and forth to any kind of music.

He's scrappy. He can hold his own, no doubt.

He's sensitive. One firm word and he is repentive.

He's quiet. But don't think he doesn't understand, he does.

He likes to scrunch up his nose when he doesn't like something.

He does sign language when he thinks I am not looking. Once I do it back, he smiles and stops.

He's a cuddler. Not as first, but more day by day.

Books offend him. He doesn't have time to read, he must keep moving.

Peek-a-boo is his favorite passtime.

He lets Ben "gently" wrestle with him.

He helps us meet our deductible. :)

He's a looker. I guess I am a little bias.

He's sweet and kind and lovely and fun and so much more....

He's Harrison Gray,

and he's one.