Our Christmas

Our Christmas started off at MeMaw's house on Christmas Eve. Joe (unbelievably) wore a huge Santa hat nearly all night long. MeMaw helped him open some presents, which included many fleece footed sleepers...or as we call them in our house- fuzzy snugglies.



Joe's biggest gift from Santa at MeMaw's house was a Radio Flyer tricycle. He even had his first wreck on it, right in the living room.



The next morning, we all went to the tree together to see what Santa had left for us. Joe had fun opening his presents with mom and dad.



Joe's favorite gift from Santa at our house? A set of 6 bells, each tuned to a different note. I think we have a future musician on our hands!



Of course, Jasper was not forgotten by Santa! He found a dog treat in his stocking.


Joe must be the luckiest boy in the world, because Auntie Angel and Uncle Chris sent him a Radio Flyer Scoot Along from England. It is perfect for him right now! Plus, now he has a fleet of Radio Flyers to choose from.



We tried it out on our driveway and he even got the hang of ringing the bell on the handlebars. I know he's going to have tons of rides on it in the future!



Dan and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet boy to spend our Christmas with. We hope everyone has a Happy New Year! We will be continuing our blog in 2009, hopefully adding new things for everyone to enjoy!

Here comes Santa Claus!

Here is a photo of Joe and Santa. He did great! I thought for sure there would be some tears, but with some reassurance from me (aka crazy mom yelling "Yay! Santa!" over and over) plus the jingle bells the photographer shook, he managed a sweet smile. I think he looks so big in this picture...especially compared to last year, when he slept through the whole thing!

Please Christmas, don't be late!

Although it has taken a bit longer this year, I do finally have some photos of our Christmas decorations in the house. I've been torn, because this may very well be our last holiday season in this home. So, on one hand, I wanted to go all out on my inside and outside decorations. But in reality, I just haven't had the patience to drag everything out of the attic one last time. So I just did our mantel and, of course, the tree.



I don't think Joe will mind a few less knick-knacks this year. However, when we finally find our dream home, Dan & Joe had better watch out, because I've got enough decorations stashed in the attic for three houses!!! It'll be Christmas in every room, on every shelf, and around every corner. I can't wait...

I've Been Tagged

Well, I guess I'd finally better play along with a "blog-tag!" My friend Jennifer tagged me on her blog. Although I don't have that many other blogger friends, I thought this might be fun for others to read. Enjoy!

SEVEN THINGS I DID BEFORE:
1. Stayed up late
2. Slept late
3. Cooked with Dan 3 or 4 times a week
4. Had friends over for dinner once a week
5. Took Jasper for walks
6. Had my toes done
7. Went to the movies


SEVEN THINGS I DO NOW:
1. Wake up early
2. Fix my hair BEFORE work
3. Leave my school problems at school
4. Cook and feed Joe at the same time
5. Blog
6. Pray more often
7. Let my housework slide to play with Joe (jk- I always did that!)


SEVEN THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO DO:
1. Go to the beach-any one will do
2. Ride the Christmas train with Joe & Dan
3. Pay someone to clean my house
4. Read a new, interesting book by an author I don't know
5. Host a dinner party and use my good china
6. Fill my bird feeders on a regular basis
7. Find the perfect new house


SEVEN THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY HUSBAND
1. He can fix anything
2. He's not afraid of housework
3. He's proactive
4. He helped me find my inner comedian
5. He loves music as much as me
6. He reads something EVERYDAY
7. He loves me through thick and thin


SEVEN THINGS I SAY MOST OFTEN
1. If your eyes are on me, I'll know you're listening.
2. Hi, Sugar Pie! (to Joe, not Dan)
3. Hi, Honeybun! (much to Dan's dismay)
4. Japser, stop licking!
5. Let's go out to eat tonight.
6. That's Giganto! (for anything bigger than a breadbox)
7. Stop, look, and listen.

So Many Outfits, So Little Time

I love finding cute outfits for Joe Harrison. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who goes a little overboard when I find a particulary great one. How is it I have become willing to spend $$$ on something for Joe when I would turn down $5 t-shirts at TJ Maxx because I thought they were asking too much!!! But, I did get this blue & brown corduroy sailor romper on sale at least.



Although I must admit I'm not much of a "sweater vest" kind of person, Joe does look rather dapper in this holiday ensemble. Doesn't he look like a little man?



I know this isn't a spectacular outfit, but I do love the classic white t-shirt and jeans combo. What a sweet boy!

Thanks, Jen!

Just a quick thanks to my good friend, Jennifer, who is a crafty gal in all areas! She made the cute new header for my blog. Her blog is awesome, and you can link to it from this one under the "Other Bloggers We Like" sidebar. Thanks again, Jen! You are awesome!

Joe's Birthday Bash

Joe Harrison is finally one year old. His birthday was a very happy day. I may have gone a little overboard, but you only turn one once, right???

Here is his cake. We didn't have a "theme," so I just went with his nursery colors for the party.

Here's the birthday boy himself. I love his little shirt I had made at Keep it Gypsy. Too perfect!


Everyone sang Happy Birthday to his delight. Joe loved eating his strawberry cake, too!



We played outside (even though it was a little cool) and grilled hot dogs for everyone. I think Joe was a gracious host for his first big party! I can't wait until next year, and hopefully, neither can he.

Halloween Post Finally!

Joe had a great, and super busy, 1st Halloween. He was a blue crab and surprised us by wearing his costume (even the hat) happily nearly all night long! First we stopped at our elderly next door neighbor, Opal's, home. He made her night! :)


Then we took our little "crabby pattie" to Dan's grandma's. She loved him, too, and gave him some cookies to put in his treat sack.


After that it was on to MeMaw's house (my mom's). She gave Joe some m&m's to put in his treat sack (not mom approved, but we can let things slide on Halloween I guess!).


Finally, we ended up at Dan's brother Neil's house. There Joe played with his cousins, Nash (the Fireman) and Trent (the Dragon), and had a great time. However, next year, I believe we'll start a couple of days early to get everything done! Whew!!

Joe's 1 Year Photos

LeighAnn Hasley took our photos for Joe's first birthday and did a fantastic job!



Joe looks so sweet and happy!

The Great Outdoors

After we have all gotten over sicknesses (hooray for antibiotics!) we decided to celebrate by going to Mount Magazine to goof around. It was a beautiful day with lots of great scenery. Here is a shot of the valley below.



Joe loves being outside, and he had lots of fun crawling around on the rocks (with proper adult supervision, of course!).




Joe is really doing great with his standing up and practicing walking around. Still no steps on his own yet, but he's getting there! I can't believe he'll be one year old in two weeks. I even think his face is looking older...but thankfully still babyish, too! (please excuse the river of drool- still more teeth are on their way...)

Silly Faces

I just had to share these photos of Joe. We were outside on our front porch yesterday playing around, enjoying the beautiful fall weather. He is such a cheeseball sometimes! What in the world did I do for entertainment before I had Joe???



God Bless those ears! Sent straight to him from his momma!

Starting Out Early

Dan cannot wait for Joe to be old enough to work on cars with him. Here are Joe, Dan, and our friend from St. Louis, Ivo, in the garage with the Z car talking shop. I think Joe looks pretty comfortable there among all the grease and gaskets.

Sleepy Socks

Here is a picture of Joe after we got home one evening. The sleep machine (as we call our car) did its job well, but Joe must have been chewing on a sock when the sandman finally overtook him.


I guess we'll just add these to our "Prom Night" album we are planning to show his date someday!

Funnel Cake Rocks!

I have been waiting to take Joe to the fair since he was born. (Technically this is his second time to the fair, if you count last year when he was still in the oven.) He had a great time watching all the kids run around and listening to the new sounds.


Here we are on the carousel. I could barely hold on to him because he was kicking and laughing the whole time! I could see people watching him and smiling as we went around and around.



Dan even got in on the action by riding the "Wiggle Wurm" (yes,that's the correct spelling for all you fellow teachers out there). Joe loved that, too.
All in all, it was a great time. Joe was worn out by the end (us, too!) but still managed have his first taste of funnel cake. Needless to say, it was met with approval. I'm starting to wonder now if I can get a funnel cake birthday cake for him...hmmm...

Bargains in the Rain

Just a quick plug for all you bargain hunting moms out there...be sure to check out the Growing Kids Sale this weekend at Kay Rodgers Park. I waited in the rain for 2+ hours with two friends who were also workers at the sale just to be the first few in the door. It was crazy and fun! It was like being on "supermarket sweep" to quote my friend, Nikki. Anyway, there will still be plenty of good deals left this weekend, and there is even a 1/2 price day this weekend. So head on out (even in the rain!) to pick up clothes, toys, furniture, and much, much more!!!

Uncle Cake

At my mom's birthday party, Joe Harrison got his first taste of cake courtesy of Uncle Jimmy aka Uncle Cake. As you can see from the pics, Joe started by staring intently at his uncle until he offered him a bite of cake. It was all over after the first taste. Joe lovingly placed his hand on Uncle Jimmy's shoulder as if to say, "I love you, Uncle Cake! Can I have another bite?" Needless to say, we now know that Joe's 1st birthday cake will have to be a strawberry one from Confectionately Yours. At least he has sophisticated tastes for a 9 1/2 month old!

Tooth Fairy Beware!

Joe is getting top teeth!!! His top right incisor is beginning to poke through and the left one is not far behind it. He has been a little out of sorts the past couple of weeks, and now we know why! Of course, we are lucky because even his "bad" days are pretty good by most standards. Joe just isn't much of a complainer. All this teething has been going on while Dan and I have started back to work, so that has been an adjustment for our little guy as well. But, our sitter says he's pretty much back in the routine (which is more than I can say for his parents!) so I think things should be okay. I will be taking Joe on Thursday for his 9 month checkup. No shots this time (thank goodness!!) but we'll talk about a lot of developmental milestones and get him weighed and measured. I'm anxious to see what his stats are, because he's so dang tall! You can forget it with those 6-9 month clothes. I'm already putting him in 12-18 month onesies and t-shirts. Joe has one long torso. Now where did that come from?...thanks a bunch, Dan! :)

Pull Up, Pull Up, Whereever You Are

Joe has become quite accomplished at pulling up and standing. He loves to stand at his shelf in the sunroom. He has two shelves all his own for toys. We also got him a Leap Frog table that plays music, etc. and he loves to stand up and play with that, too. I can tell that he really wants to walk on his own, but he just doesn't have the balance for it yet. Personally, he already crawls fast enough...I can wait a little while for the walking! That reminds me- I have to mention that he has developed his own style when crawling that we've dubbed the "crab crawl." It's just like regular crawling, but when he uses his right leg, he puts the sole of his foot on the ground and pushes off. Joe saves the "crab crawl" for when he's really hustling. I'm going to try to get some video of it and put it on my My Space page.

Winding down...

This first sweet summer with Joe seems to be drawing to its inevitable close. I'll be going to 2 days of professional development this week on writing and three days next week on literacy for upper grades. Then, it'll be back to work on the 8th. I never guessed it would be harder to leave Joe this August than it was to leave him that first time in January when my maternity leave ended. I'm not ready for it to be over.

It's One Small Crawl for Babykind...

Well, I guess it's all over but the shouting now. Joe has begun to crawl. He started this past weekend and has really taken off by now. Every time we put him down he is on his way somewhere...to get a toy, find a place to pull up, or to look for minuscule bits of dirt and trash even WE can't see on the floor . Most of you know I'm not the best housekeeper in the world, but it is simply a necessity to keep the floors swept/vacuumed now that Joe is on the prowl. No more "Jasper-bunnies" lying around in the corners, which is a good thing. I guess the next big milestone for Joe will be walking...God help us!

The Fourth Time's the Charm

Joe has mastered the art of pulling up to stand now. Although he still can't walk (or really crawl for that matter), he loves standing up while holding on to something. The couch, coffee table, and his favorite-the crib- are all good handholds for him. Today, he even used Dan's back to help himself up. It is so much fun to go get him in the mornings now because there he is, standing up and smiling. It is precious! The only downside to all this progress? I've had to go into his room multiple times now to help him back down when he's supposed to be taking a nap or going to bed for the night. You see, getting down is the hard part...and it's pretty pitiful when you hear him crying his eyes out and then when you open the door to his room he's just standing there waiting for help. The most we've had to rescue him is 4 times. But, we simply lay him back down and tell him "It's time to go to sleep." and then leave quickly. I can see how that cute little behavior could quickly turn bad if he began to think of it as an attention-getting maneuver.

Teachers love summer more than the kids...

So we've been basking in our summer off work as much as possible, mainly showering Joe with attention. I took him for his first swim at the Alma water park this Tuesday with our friends Nikki & Ellen and their kiddos. The water was pretty cool, so I wasn't sure if he would like it, but boy did he. He splashed so much and laughed the entire time. I was feeling like the overprotective first time mom after putting sunscreen on him and making him wear his sunhat even though the kiddie area was totally covered. But then Ellen had Miles in a life jacket and Nikki had Noah in one as well (complete with "goggle glasses" as he calls them), so I felt better about myself. We are planning on taking him swimming again tomorrow at Dan's parent's next door neighbor Jan's pool. By the time the summer is over, Joe may be quite the brown baby!