The Love of Books

Harris absolutely loves books. We're so glad of this because for awhile we thought he would never want to be read to. Harris first started speech therapy when he was about 16 months old and they stressed how important it was to read to him. In fact there are tons of public announcements telling parents they should read everyday for at least 15 minutes. Well when first tried he was not interested at all. We would barely get two words out of our mouth and he would try to flip through the pages, grab the book, tear pages, or even throw it on the floor. We were so frustrated with trying that we gave up for awhile. The last two months though his love of books and the enjoyment he gets from them is growing daily. His vocabulary has vastly expanded and it seems to correlate with his interest in books.

We now read to him daily for as long as we can take it. He would let us read to him for hours if we had the time, but that's not always practical. Don't forget we have another baby in this house that depends love and time too! Harris love picture books, story books, pop up books (although those don't hold up well when a toddler is involved), and even the ads from the sunday paper. Yes, he points at all the men and calls them dadda and he likes looking at the kids playing with toys in the Toys R Us ad. With the all the garage sales lately, I've been able to pick up lots of books for cheap ( $0.25 is talking my langauage for a Dr. Seuss hardcover book that sells for $7.99 new at Borders).

When it's time for a nap or night-night we read him a story or two while he's in bed. Then he'll flip through and look at the books after we leave for a little while. He goes to sleep shortly after that. It's nice too in the morning when he wakes up that he can entertain himself looking through them until I'm ready to get him out of his room.

Here is Harris flipping through his latest Curious George book.

He keeps calling the coconuts "ball" but that's ok.

I can just see the word George rolling off of his lips.

Cutie Pie

Dana is still a great baby. She sleeps from about 11 - 7:30 so I feel like I'm finally getting caught up on sleep. It felt like it was about 6 months that I didn't sleep well since I had severe insomnia when I was pregnant and then having a newborn keeps you up at night. She's been sleeping through the night for about a month so it's been much better at our house. Everyone seems happier and more patient.

Here's some pictures I took about a week ago. Everyone always comments on how big her eyes are. They are quite big which just makes her seem all the more alert.

"For my first trick, I will blow spit bubble!"

"For my second trick, I will fit my entire fist into my mouth. Drum roll please........"

Of course if I break out the camera, Harris is all over me to get into the picture.

I absolutely adore his chin.

Because Harris loves hats so much, we stopped by the Kids and Lids at the mall. Wow, they are pretty expensive but we found this Purdue hat on sale for $5 which is more in our ballpark. Of course Brian and I are Purdue grads so we liked it. Plus there's a train on the hat which we thought Harris might like.

Science Central

A little over a week ago, we went to Science Central for a playdate. They have an area designed for children under 7 years old to play. They have a large water table where the kids can build dams, float their boats, or simply splash their hands in the water. Harris spent the whole visit playing at this table. He loved it is so much. He even called it a bath and later that visit he climbed up onto the table when I had my head turned. His pants and shoes were soaked. Boy he's quick.

I'm a Winner

Everyday for the past month, I have spent about a minute of my time online at the Enfamil website. They have an instant win game that I play. Of course I've lost many many times, but I finally won on Wednesday! Here's a screen shot.



So I'm excited about getting a free Baby Einstein DVD. I go to check my email later that day and read some of the details of the win.

"Once we have verified your eligibility, you will receive your prize 8-10 weeks after the conclusion of the promotion. It will be sent to the address you provided. The promotion ends on October 15, 2008."

Holy crap! So it's looking like I won't get this thing until mid December 2008. Well, perhaps Dana will like it as a Christmas present if I'm lucky or a 1st birthday gift in February if I'm unlucky.

The Birthday Party

I'm a little behind on my blogging, so I will try to get caught up here in the next few days. Almost two weeks ago we went to a birthday party for Lance which is Brian's godson. The weather had been yucky all week, but that Saturday was beautiful. We had a really good time but unfortunately the birthday boy was a little under the weather.

I put a dress on Dana since we were going to a party. It was the first time I've put a dress on her, and then she spit up all over it. Needless to say, she didn't wear this to the party. Lesson Learned - Don't dress a baby right after they've eaten.

They had a moonwalk and Harris had a good time playing with the other kids. Since Lance was sick, he wasn't up for much jumping. Poor kid.

Harris really knows how to cut a rug.

Harris' Latest Fascination

What's wrong with the picture below?

As I step closer, I discover where the diapers have been stashed.

Yeap, they're in the fireplace.

Harris has a fascination with the fireplace lately. We don't have doors, just a simple mesh screen in front of it. I thought this was kind of funny when I found the diapers in there. However as I was cleaning up the mess, I slowly became annoyed by it.

Harris looks very guilty while in time out.

This event happened last Wednesday. By Mother's Day Sunday, he was caught in there for the fourth time. Both Brian and I were very angry when we found him spreading handfuls of ashes on Dana's clothes. That afternoon, Brian came up with a temporary solution until we can find permanent doors. It's kind of hillbilly-ish but it works.

Mom's Birthday Surprise

Around Christmas time my aunt Missy and her husband moved to Florida. Before she moved she gave me a set of china that she had had for years. She told me that when I was kid, my parents were having a rough time financially and that my mother sold the set to her. Missy felt that she wanted it to stay in the family, so she passed it on to me. However, I wasn't supposed to tell my mom about it. I was instructed to have my mom over for dinner on her birthday this year and serve her dinner on the china.

So on April 30th, my mother and father came over for dinner to celebrate her birthday. Brian unfortunately was called out of town on short notice and I was left with two kids and a dinner to fix. Because I didn't really have the time or energy to cook, I ordered pizza for dinner. I know it seems silly to serve pizza on china, but I wanted to fulfill my obligation to my aunt. So that evening with the pizza order, I set the table with the china that my mother had once owned. When my mom arrived, she noticed the pattern after a few minutes. She had a curious look on her face and asked if I had gotten this from Missy. With a big grin on my face, I tell her the story of how I acquired the set and the task I was given. She was teary eyed and seemed touch by the gesture. Of course, mom made it seem like she sold the set because she didn't have the room while Missy made it seem like it was about finances. I'm guessing it was probably a little of both.

Happy Birthday, Mom and thank you, Missy.


Like the paper towel napkin with the china? Can you say 'Classy!'


The kids enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa that evening. Harris couldn't get enough of Grandpa reading to him. Harris has been crazy about books lately. His favorites right now are Green Eggs and Ham, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Jack-Jack Attack, and Thomas and the Big, Big Bridge.

Hearing Missy's story about my parents back in the day put me in the mood for reminiscing. I was looking through a couple of photo albums that my parents have and wanted to share some pictures.

Here's my parents - I have no idea when this was taken, but must have been when mustaches were cool.

That's me on the left, my dad, and my brother Jason.

This picture really wowed Brian. He could not get over how much Harris looked like me through the eyes as a child. (I'm on the left.)

Me and my daddy.

We started teasing my Dad about all the pictures and how he looked like Earl Hickey back then. I half expected to see something about Karma, but I never did. This picture is when my dad graduated from IPFW with a BA in Sociology. It must have been around the early 80s.
I'm sure Earl never graduated from college, but I had to use this picture.

Choo-Choo and Hats

Last week the kids and I went shopping with Brian's mom Cathy. She wanted to get Harris some summer pajamas. When we saw the Thomas pjs, we knew those were the ones to buy. He loved them and kept repeating "Choo-Choo" over and over. We let him hold them while we continued shopping and that kept him pretty happy. When it came time to give them to the cashier to purchase he started to sob when we took them away. He is just nuts over Thomas and trains.

Also while shopping I found a hat at the Disney store on clearance that had a train on it. He loved that as well and I found one that fit. Harris really likes hats and will wear one for hours. Now Dana already at two months does not like hats at all. She'll keep turning her head side to side until it comes off or is covering her eyes at which point she starts to cry.

Here is Harris in his Thomas pjs and Mickey train hat.


He still puts everything into his mouth. He's almost two. When is this supposed to stop?

See why we need a hat? There's some serious bed-head going on in this house.

Here's a movie of Harris with Dana.

If blogger is having problems, it's also at the following link:

http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/hellokittyjodi/?action=view&current=M2U00258.flv

Growing Bigger

Dana is getting bigger by the day. I don't really notice the chances since I'm with her everyday but whenever people come to visit they always comment on her growth. She is still a very happy baby and offers smiles generously. Brian even got her first laugh out of her yesterday. It cracked us up. The big belly laughs are sure to come soon.

Look at those chunky thighs! I love 'em. It's the only time in your life when it's adorable to have folds of fat :)




Big yawn.

She looks so serious in these pictures, but believe me, she does smile a lot.

She likes to watch her bird & butterfly mobile.

Had to get a picture of those little feet and piggies.

Our one cat Mia is almost always around when Dana and I are playing on the floor. Poor Mia hears me talking to Dana the way I used to talk to her and comes running to get some love.