Enjoying the Weather

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful. My sister and niece visited Harris and I. We went for a nice walk and played on the playground in the neighborhood. Harris really enjoys the swings. I also let him play in the rocks and was quite happy when he didn't try to eat any of them.

Future Profession Already Apparent

I think I can already tell what Harris's future career choice will be. Since he seems to fall asleep on the job, I'm guessing he'll be a security guard.

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/hellokittyjodi/?action=view&current=M2U00082.flv

Cage Match

I broke out the "pack and play" again. I find that I can't cook dinner or go to the bathroom without Harris being at my feet fussing. He doesn't mind being in there if I put his movie on for him to watch.

The cats also love the pack and play. It gives them a place to hangout that's not within Harris's reach. The link below is a short video of Harris and Mia in it together.

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/hellokittyjodi/?action=view&current=M2U00073.flv

9 Months Old

Sorry for not posting any pictures in awhile. My SD card for the camera broke. There's a write protective switch that broke in the locked position. Therefore I could not write any new pictures to the card. I bought a new card this weekend, so I'm good to go now.

On Thursday Harris had his 9 month checkup. All is good and he didn't need any immunizations this time. Yeah! He now weighs 19lbs and 5oz which is on the skinny side. It's sad that our one cat Jack still weighs more than Harris. Below are the latest stats.

Weight: 19lb 5oz (24 percentile)
Height: 28.25in (41 percentile)
Head: 18.3in (78 percentile)

I love those blue eyes.


Jack is pretty tolerant of Harris. Harris thinks its WWF Smack Down time.




Brian took the pictures below and I thought they were excellent. It kills me with jealousy that he can pick up the camera and without trying snap off pictures better than what I can do with every ounce of knowledge I have.

More Pictures

I finally took some time and played around with the lighting in the basement. I think they turned out pretty good. It's hard work getting a baby to cooperate while operating the camera by yourself. Perhaps Brian can help next time :)

I had his name spelled out in the blocks, but it only lasted for about 3 seconds. By the time I had the camera up and ready, the H and A were lost.

Our Friendly Deers

On Saturday afternoon, I was sitting in the family room chair feeding Harris a bottle when something caught my eye out the window. I turned my head and saw a deer right next to the window ledge not more than three feet from where I was sitting. It was so neat. I set Harris down and went to get my camera. In the third picture, the deer was spooked and made a run for the woods.







This afternoon our one cat Mia was sitting by the window chattering at an animal outside. I assumed it was a squirrel or chimpuck but I was curious to see what it was. There were two more deer in the yard! They hung out for about twenty minutes just munching on the grass. I took the screen out of the window and cranked it open to snap a couple of pictures. It's pretty exciting to see things like that in our backyard although I'm sure it's bad for the deers that they are coming so far into town.

I don't think Brian is as thrilled about the deers as I am. He refers to them with very colorful names that I shouldn't repeat here since his last run in with a deer. About four weeks ago, Brian hit a deer with his car on Mayhew Road one very cold evening. The car required being in the shop 5 days with a cost of $3000 in repairs. Perhaps these deers are family members of the deer he took out that evening. Perhaps they're seeking revenge....perhaps they're not so cute after all :(

Crawling & Standing

Harris has mastered crawling and is now able to pull himself up into a standing position. There's not much rest for Brian and I these days. I hope to acquire some baby gates in the near future. I've also had to move the cats' food and water dishes after I caught Harris playing in the water.

Below is Harris showing what a big guy he is.




He still loves crawling after the cats.


The step between the family room and dining room is not a challenge anymore. I think it only took him about 5 days after he started crawling to master that task.




I find it funny how alike Harris is with the cats. They seems to play with the same toys, love boxes, and like staring out the window.


And he's on his way back. He's smacked his face a couple of times, but he has the hang of it now. He's learned to put his hands down and then slide on his belly until he can get his feet under him.







If I'm sitting on the floor, he loves to climb all over me. He wants to bury his face in our clothes, but the added bonus is that he's biting now.

The Knack

Harris likes playing with the phone and the laptop computer. Even though mom and dad are both engineers, we hope he doesn't have "The Knack".



Harris wasn't feeling very well on Wednesday evening. He was running a mild fever and just wanted to be held. Harris is usually not a snuggly baby (he never wants to sit still long enough for that to happen). When he's sick though, we get a great opportunity to bond with him. Don't get me wrong, I still would prefer him to be healthy.



Harris still loves to watch his Baby Einstein videos.

Chasing Jack

Harris is doing very well these days. On Monday we returned to the doctor for a follow up on his ears. There are no more infections in either ear and his lungs sounded great. He weighed 18lb 13oz as well.

We were able to stay warm and cozy inside the house during the snow storm. Brian was off from work a half day on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday. It was nice having time together.

The time off also gave us a chance to baby proof the family room somewhat since Harris is now beginning to crawl/drag himself around the room. Below is a link to a video of Harris stalking Jack. He's not quite developed the stealth technique yet. Getting to the cats is the biggest motivator for him to crawl.

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/hellokittyjodi/?action=view&current=M2U00050.flv

Squealing

Well the screaming/squealing has begun again. I'm not sure if it's a happy playful squeal or if it's a frustrated squeal. It's starting to drive me nuts though. While shopping at Target yesterday, Harris thought it was a good time to practice screaming in public. So if you're ever shopping and hear a screaming kid, it's probably mine.

Below is a video with a minimal amount of squealing.

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/hellokittyjodi/?action=view&current=M2U00043.flv?t=1170943090

Top Two Teeth

Here's a picture to show those pretty white teeth coming in on the top.


Below are a few pictures I took using nature light.

Miss You Daddy

Since Daddy is out of town, we made a movie for him to watch. See you soon :)

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/hellokittyjodi/?action=view&current=M2U00034.flv?t=1170716154

On All Fours

Harris is doing well these days. He seems to be feeling much better and his appetite is starting to pick back up. He's now starting to push up on all fours. I can't imagine that it will be too much longer before he is crawling (and then no rest for mommy).

1st Day as Full Time Mom

After a very difficult weekend, my first day as a full time mom consisted of taking Harris to the doctor's office and then to the pharmacy for his prescriptions. This weekend Harris was very fussy; sometimes sobbing so hard it was as if someone had killed his puppy. The weekend was so exhausting and frustrating that I think Brian was ready to schedule an appointment for sterilization.

This morning I called his pediatrician and was able to get him in for a visit. It turns out that Harris has ear infections in both ears and he tested positive for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). He was prescribed amoxicillin for the ear infections and we are starting breathing treatments of albuterol every 4 hours for the next 5 days to help him breathe. They had me give him a breathing treatment at the office so that I could learn how to do it. What a nightmare. He screamed, cried, and wrestled through the whole thing. I'm not looking forward to doing that every 4 hours.

Needless to stay, this was a rough start for me. However, I'm very thankful that I can be home with him and help him get over this in the comfort of our own home. I'm also glad I don't have to stress about missing work anymore when he is ill.

As I was sitting in the doctor's office listening to them tell me that he has RSV, I was overwhelmed with guilt. Guilt for having him in daycare (which is most likely where he got it) for so long while Brian and I went round and round about me staying home. Sometimes being a critically thinking person is not advantageous. We constantly talk and debate major issues until we're blue in the face and no action or decision is every made. I think it's called "Paralysis by Analysis."

They weighed him and he is now 18lbs 1oz. That means he's only gained 3 ounces since his last checkup 6 weeks ago. He's such a skinny boy. I don't know where he gets that from :)

On top of all the sickness, Harris also has 3 more teeth coming in. The second bottom one is starting to push through and the top two are coming in as well. Despite all the above, he still smiles for the camera.





Zooming in on the picture above shows the second tooth:


The top two are difficult to photograph but I'll see if I can't get them one day soon.

Latest News

On Monday I gave my two week notice at work. Brian and I have been talking for a long time and we finally decided that it would be good time for me to stay home with Harris. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Excited that I finally have a chance to take care of Harris, Brian, the house, and myself. I'm nervous about falling behind with the trends in engineering and having a difficult time returning to work (whenever that may be). It's a big sacrifice, but we feel like it's the biggest investment we can give Harris.

Below are just some pictures I did of Harris yesterday. I was playing around with the studio lights trying to get the exposure right. I hope to have some more time with them and learn more.

1st Tooth

Harris has been teething lately. It seems like it has been for about two weeks. I don't know how long it takes for these things to come through, but it feels like forever. If you put your finger in his mouth now, he bites very hard. He's like a piranha.