Making friends at the park

We were at a new park last week and Harrison met some new friends! He kept watching this group of older kids and decided to invite himself over there to play. Pretty soon he was holding hands with his new nine-year old friend Omar. 

Then they started making a sand birthday cake for Harrison, complete with the singing of "Happy Birthday." They were loving this little toddler who had the gumption to play with the big kids.

My days with Harrison

My days with Harrison are filled with laughing, cleaning, tickling, working, cooking, snuggling, and napping. We are the best of pals. 

    

Baby on wheels

This kid loves anything that has wheels and moves!

(There is a skateboard under Jonny)

 A video of Harrison's first skateboard ride

Asleep on the job

Bubba has early morning wake up calls most days. Sometimes he needs to catch a cat nap, even if he and momma are at the store. 

(No joke. He slept like this for 30 minutes on the shopping cart)

Snuggle Buddy

One of the very best feelings in the whole wide world is having a snuggly baby burrowing into your neck. I'm telling you, it's one of my favorite blessings of motherhood. Harrison has become a snuggle bug in the last few weeks and we absolutely love it. 

Love bug at 17-18 Months

This little guy just gets more and more fun! Here is what he has been doing as of late:

1. He likes to babble a lot. I'll ask him how his day is going and he'll go off into fabulous baby babble, describing his day. It usually sounds like "Da ba, du ba, da ba, da." As he talks, I continue to ask questions and he loves it! I love our conversations together.

2. He loves to dance, and continues to put his elbow in the air for extra expression. This kid's got swagger.

3. He enjoys playing his harmonica and here is proof:

4. This kid loves to draw with crayons, pens, sticks, anything he can get his hands on that looks like it could draw. However, if mom isn't watching he swiftly moves over to our kitchen wall and begins coloring with glee. We haven't colored very much lately.

5. Prefers eating peanut butter sandwiches for most meals. If I'm lucky, I can squeeze in some apple sauce and raisins.

6. When this kid is excited to see someone, he often grabs at their face with excitement. So, we are teaching him how to be "soft and gentle." That phrase gets said many many times throughout each day.

7. He loves to play with his cousins.

8. This little guy goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00PM and wakes up anywhere between 5:00 and 6:00AM. That wake up call is brutal! So, Jonny and I have adapted our bedtime to accommodate the brutality. We try to be in bed by 10:00PM!

9. Juts his jaw out to show his bottom teeth

10. He really loves himself.

11. He now prefers to eat his food at the table with the adults where we have deep discussions about colors and dogs.

12. We went to his 18 month appointment yesterday. He are his stats:

• Weight: 23.3 lbs (50%)
• Height: 32.75 inches (50%)

Day Trip: Santa Barbara

Jonny's class was canceled on Friday and so we decided to make a day trip to Santa Barbara. That place is dreamy. We walked State Street, ate at a gluten free restaurant, picked out our future house in Montecito, toured the pier, and walked around the beach (while getting our picture in the newspaper!). 

We went to a restaurant where EVERYTHING they serve is gluten free. This blueberry cobbler was such a treat. We loved it.

Potted succulents and plants on the wall? So beautiful. 

While walking on the beach, we were scouted by a local news journalist for her article. 

So random. So fun.