A Beautiful October Fall Day

On Saturday we took Harris to a small pumpkin patch at a neighborhood church. I brought my camera hoping to get some cute pictures. I thought with the day being so beautiful perhaps I could get a great shot to make a current wallet for everyone. We also went to Shoaff Park to try to get some shots. It figures that I would have the kid that is very difficult to photograph. He is constantly on the move and it's very difficult for the shots to be in focus because he's never still long enough. Brian is a big help and tries to focus Harris's attention towards the camera. It's best to let Harris do his thing and see what kind of pictures come out of it.

I have a few good shots that could probably be wallets. There's also a few cute pictures I wanted to share "just because."





"Look how strong I am!"


"Giddy up Daddy"

"Mommy was able to Photoshop out most of the dirt on my face that I tried shoving into my mouth. Good job - you salvaged a great shot."

"My cuspids are starting to come in and the drooling is non-stop."

"Daddy cracks me up."

A Constant Mess

I would say one of the most exhausting aspects of having a toddler is dealing with the constant mess of the home. It only takes about one day for Harris to completely destroy it. I've learned to not bother picking it up while he's awake. He will just be right behind me recreating chaos. I don't think it's even about playing with the toys. He just loves to dump boxes, put boxes on his head, sits in them, and he never wants to put things back into them.

The most frustrating room is the den. He loves to pull the books off of the bookcase and to play with the computer and its wires. There has been a few occasions where I'm searching online and realize that I've lost the internet connection because he pulled the power cord out of the modem. We finally decided to buy two more gates and have sealed off the den. There's just too many things for him to get into and we're tired of losing this battle.

With another baby on the way soon, I'm learning how to live with a certain amount of chaos. I'm sure the further I get with the pregnancy and when the baby actually arrives, straightening up the house with be a lower priority.

Below are some pictures of Harris's abilities:

Recall that this is only after one afternoons time! Yes, those are saucepans in the bottom left corner.


The books in the den.



The first evening with the new gate up. He seems to be dealing with it well.


The next morning when I want to check my email after breakfast.

Zoo Day

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo. Brian was able to leave work earlier, so we were very glad to have him join us. This is the last week for the zoo to be open. They close on the 14th and open again for the Halloween Zoo on the 19th. They had already started setting out the pumpkins for decoration.

Below are lots of pictures.

Harris and the tortoise.


Harris and the tortoise May 2007 - He's grown so much in 5 months time!


What starts with the letter A, floats like a log, yet isn't a log? An alligator.


Harris is a little Joey.

Harris and Brian went on the Raft ride in the Australian Adventure.

A classic photo with the orangutan. He didn't seem to like it this time.

Harris and the orangutan May 2007.


At the end of the trip, we let Harris play in a small pond towards the front of the zoo. He loved splashing in the water.

A Boy's Favorite Toy

Harris has discovered that he can get more play action with his favorite toy by pulling off the diaper himself. So far there haven't been any messes that have occurred because of this, but I've always discovered the missing diaper right away. I guess the point has come where I can't let him run around in just a diaper anymore.

A boy's favorite toy :)


These are just some cute pictures I wanted to share. Harris and his daddy snuggling while watching TV on Sunday morning.

1st Haircut

Harris had his first haircut this evening. We went to have it done. I don't think I would ever feel comfortable doing it for fear of botching the job. I'll leave the trained professionals to do their job. Our lady this evening definitely earned her money as Harris didn't really want to cooperate. He squirmed and didn't want to sit still at all. I was close to calling the whole thing off, but she managed to give him a brush and comb to keep him occupied for a few minutes. She worked quickly and seemed to do a good job.

Below are some before and after pictures:

I had to get at least one picture with his little curls before they were gone.


Before - Still our little baby


After - Now our little boy.


I couldn't help but tear up when I saw him with his little boy haircut. Everday with his personality and now his looks he seems to not be a baby anymore but a little boy striving for independence.