Valentine's Weekend Fun

We started off the weekend playing at my friend Tracy's house on Friday. Tate is Tracy's 2-1/2 year old, and he's SUCH a sweet boy. He's so loving and kind with Lainey - and that's hard to do with a little friend who grabs at any toy you have. Tate showed Lainey his wipe-out moves on his scooter and motorcycle, shared his baseball hat with her, and even engaged her in a very loud conversation over lunch about "dadadadada" and "aaaahhhh". Thanks Tracy and Tate for having us over to play!

Tate's pants disappeared sometime during the playdate. He is saying "Cheeeeeeese" while posing with his scooter. Classic picture.

Lainey lost her bow at some point during the playdate.

Loving on McCarney... the Sievers' sweet, lovable and loving chocolate lab.

___________________________

On Saturday, we went to to a Valentine's playdate at April and Tate's house. April went all out for this party - she was so sweet to open her home to about 10 families and their kids. She had cookies, cupcakes, candies, and Valentine bags for all the kids. Thank you Gorman family for hosting such a fun and lively party! I managed to get pictures of their daughter RoryCate, but none of their son John. He was a busy host! Lots of people to see and things to do. It was great to see you guys! :)

sweet RoryCate Gorman eating her shoe...

my best picture of Lainey and RoryCate...

Beads!!

Lainey and Miss Elizabeth (big sister Ava was also there)

back at home, wishing I could go outside...


Please?

We miss you, Nan!

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of Ben's grandmother Nana's passing. Nana had a way of making everyone laugh...she would say and do the funniest things. Everyone has a "Nana" story, and each one has made (and still makes) me giggle. She was a great friend to many and a wonderful grandmother/great-grandmother to us and the kids, and we are constantly reminded of her presence in our lives. I am grateful for the time I got to spend with her and feel blessed that I got to know this incredible woman, even if for a short time. We miss you, Nana!!

Happenings around the Harris house

a cute, curious baby...and a very disinterested dog

a slightly blurry picture of good friends and babies (and thanks to Casey, Reagan didn't feel left out)

a much calmer picture without the kids

the current state of our garage

Go Ben! :)

So proud ;)

Lainey and Eleni

My good friend Cyndi and her precious little baby named Eleni (7 mos.) were in town this past week from Baltimore. We got to introduce Lainey and Eleni, and despite Lainey trying to "push around" little Eleni, they seemed happy to be in each other's company! Eleni is absolutely beautiful - and so, so sweet. Just a cutie pie!! Can't wait to see you guys again - come back soon! 

Daughter like Dog

What is it with toilet paper? Dogs and babies (and kids, too, I'm sure) love unrolling it! Lainey was quite pleased with herself and her accomplishment. Not sure what's going on with the first picture - I think we caught some light from the window!

Lainey, January 31, 2009

And, sorry, this next picture is gross. Reagan really decorated her bathroom. I truly remember coming home to this after work one day four years ago. Reagan was just a puppy and had totally destroyed the bathroom. I'm sure she had fun, too.

Reagan, January 18, 2005

Pals

Here are a series of pictures of Lainey with her friends, Avery, Nolan, and Dylan. Our friends, the Baughmans, got new flooring in their kitchen (hence the giant plastic backdrop!).

take 1: pretty content

take 2: still okay

take 3: gettin' a little antsy... (and the photographer was obviously focusing on trying to get her little one to report back to her position on the couch and not too concerned with the actual position of the camera...)

take 4: Uh, we're done.

Check-up highlights

I'm a couple days late in posting this!

• Our baby girl is 22 lbs. 14 oz. and 29 inches tall. And, her head circ. is 46 cm. She is in the 95th percentile for height and weight - and I forgot to ask about her noggin.
  
• She is also getting two new teeth...the upper outside ones. Not the two in the middle. The outer ones! One is through, the other is trying to get through. :)

Abby vs. Lainey and the fake moss

I am LOSING this battle! It doesn't help that she loves the dust buster/broom/vacuum that I use to clean up the moss mess... She has inherited the love for things that clean from her mom. :)

Pat Them Gently

Pat Them Gently by Melanie O'brien is one of Lainey's favorite books. I don't think the concept is sinking in, however.

tugging at Sofi's ears and snout...

grabbing her head...

literally pounding her head... (like she would a table, high chair tray, etc.)

"Look Mom - I found a new best friend! Sofi!"

"She loves to give me kisses!" (And she does - it's really amazing. Sofi just licks and licks and Lainey thinks it's hilarious.)

"I wonder if Sofi would mind me waking her up..."

Lainey is trying to play with Lucy's tail. You can tell that Lucy is so not interested in making a new friend.

Emmy with her doggies and granddaughter

9 months old!!

We have a 9-month-old! And yes, she is playing in Reagan's dog bed. She thinks it is hilarious. :) I cannot believe Lainey is 9 months old. I know I say this each month, but I really can't this time. She's so big! We go to the doctor on Tuesday, so I'll be sure to post her weight, height, head circ. when we return.

In Lainey's 9 months, she has discovered:

• how to crawl everywhere, on hands and knees or hands and feet
  
• how to pull up on anything and everything (toilets seem to be a favorite - gross!)
• that Reagan is really funny and really likes to lick her hands and face
  
• what it feels like to have had FOUR ear infections
  
• how to put her own pacifier in her mouth, although she can't figure out how to do it at night
  
• how to cruise a little bit along the side of the couch
• how to scoot her little feet forward with her walker (again, a very tiny few steps)
• how to sleep about 10-11 hours
• that two good naps make her much happier, as much as she'd like to refuse taking them
  
• that table food is fabulous - peas, beans, chicken, beef, pasta, carrots, veggies, crackers, goldfish, edamame...really anything she can pick up and feed herself
  
• not to trust her mama when she tries to feed her with a spoon (brings back bad baby-food memories, I guess?)
• how to clap her hands
• sippy cups with straws are great...and so is the juice/water combo that is often in them
  
• that getting her face/nose wiped is pretty much the worst thing she can think of
• she is starting to miss her mom when she (1) goes down the stairs or (2) leaves the room
• that she likes to be social and get out of the house
• how to say lots of sounds in a variety of pitches and tones - she is a babbling baby (lots of dadadadad and nananana and yayaya and tatatata, and sometimes mamama)
• how to throw pacifiers out of her crib and make them land in places that are hard for her mom and dad to reach
  

We love you, little Punkin! So very, very much!

________

In other news, Gage and Ainsley's mom Kelley and I went to visit Keegan today at Children's. He was a happy, giggly, chatty boy around us. He was trying to push all the buttons he could reach, grab his IV pole, climb the couch, climb out of his crib, eat the cleaned-and-made-into-toy syringes, play with his trucks and books and stacking cups, chunk things out of his crib, and all the things that boys his age do. You can imagine his frustration when he realizes he can't move everywhere or play with everything in his reach...he is really interested in his IV pole and the plastic IV bags filled with medicine. Yesterday, in the OR, Keegan swallowed a capsule with a tiny camera in it (making him the smallest and youngest child in the United States to have ever undergone this procedure). He will eventually pass this capsule and hopefully it will give the doctors some much-needed answers. He also had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday. Hopefully, Monday will be a big day for his doctors as they examine results of the procedures. Next week he's scheduled to go into the OR again to have a liver biopsy and receive a g-button (feeding tube into his stomach). This little boy has been through so much, yet he continues to take each day as it comes, approaching it with a smile and with as much strength as he can muster. :) Keegan, we miss you and hope you come home soon. We need to go on some walks around the neighborhood! :)

Kelley and Keegan

Little Keegan

a 7-month-old Keegan and a tiny baby Lainey

As most of you know, our little neighbor Keegan is struggling with some very big issues. For such a tiny guy, he has endured so much and has done so with strength, determination, and a smile. He has such a strong spirit and continues to endear himself to everyone who comes into contact with him. He is in the hospital again and still suffers from some serious GI distress. The doctors are scheduling new procedures and lab tests, hoping to find an answer to what is causing this little one to be so sick. Please keep Keegan and his mom and dad and doctors and grandparents and aunt in your heart, mind, and prayers. To Maddie and Gray, we are inspired by your strength and perseverance. We are here for you. :)

Going out for a jog...

cute baby in a hat

a happy smile

It's official!

Ben's campaign website is up and running. As many of you know, he's running for Plano City Council this spring. The election is May 9th. I am so proud of him and am looking forward to this experience and what the future may hold for him and us as a family. His website is www.votebenharris.com. Go Ben!

Weak stomachs, stay away

If you know Ben, then you know why this is amusing to me. Ben is absolutely terrified of anything gross baby-wise, like spit-up, throw-up, really awful diapers, etc. He literally gags and practically vomits himself. He has been this way for as long as I've known him, and to his friends and family members who have known him longer than me, I think they would agree with my statement. Anyway, Ben picked up Lainey after she had AGAIN dug into the moss of the ficus tree, and she vomited ALLLL over him. I think she must have swallowed a small piece of moss or something and gagged on it. Anyway, with camera in hand, I captured the moment because it was priceless. To his credit, Ben handled it with quite a sense of humor and with as much class as he could muster. :) Funny, funny. And a little gross...sorry.

oops

Bear crawl

Anytime Lainey is on a hard surface, she does this bear crawl. On carpet, she'll crawl with knees/hands, but on harder surfaces, she'll do this bear crawl. I think it's faster and it hurts to put her knees down. And look what this girl will do for shoes! She flies towards them. Hope this is not a sign of things to come...haha.

Books and Bottles

Lainey really loves pulling books from the bookshelf in Ben's office. I've removed all books from her eye-level downstairs, but it's not really easy to do that in Ben's office. So we keep that door closed most of the time. When she does make it into the office, however, she always, always, always grabs the red book titled Thrombosis and Thromboembolism, one of Ben's books for work. Only twice has she deviated from her favorite story and chosen Street Spanish I : The Best of Spanish Slang and Selling the Invisible (a marketing book).  Hmm... blood clots, Spanish slang, marketing. Interesting choices for an almost-9-month-old. 

holdin' my bottle...

Remembering Nash

This is going to be a difficult thing for me to post. There's no other way than to just start typing...my words probably won't be eloquent and in no way will they convey the sadness I feel for this family, and how much I wish that they didn't have to endure this tragedy. So here it goes.

A year ago today, my good friend Tracy and her husband Brad and their then 18-month-old son Tate welcomed Nash Adam Sievers into the world. I remember Tracy sharing pictures from that day and bringing Nash up to school shortly afterwards to introduce him to us. I was still pregnant at the time, and I remember looking at him and his brother and Tracy and wondering (1) how on earth I was going to take care of a newborn??? and (2) how this mom of two managed to stay so happy and smiling (I was sure I was going to be a complete exhausted mess!). Tracy was so helpful and caring when I had Lainey, offering advice and tips and I asked a lot of questions of her. Each and every one, she answered, usually with a smile or a laugh. Knowing Tracy, you know she loves being a mom.

Five and a half months later, Baby Nash passed away very suddenly and without warning from a rare heart condition. As you can imagine, this literally broke his parents' hearts and shattered their world. Nash's sudden passing caused sadness and many tears among so many people who know Brad and Tracy - and even people who didn't know them are affected by their loss. No one wants to see people they care about suffer such a painful and tragic experience, one that permanently changes your life and perspective.

This is a memorial bench outside of Tracy's school (my former school). It's a beautiful way to honor Nash.

Tracy and Brad are amazingly strong, faithful, and loving parents. Please keep this family in your prayers and thoughts as they grieve for their baby boy. If you want to learn more about Nash and the Sievers family, please visit their blog. I'm also attaching a link where you can see a video montage of Nash's life. :)

Even though I only met Nash a handful of times, there are certain things that I will always remember about him. He had an infectious smile. He cried a single tear when he sneezed. He loved his pacifier. He allowed Tracy to "help" him hold his bottle. He had a sweet little cry - quieter than my baby's. He was sweet and adorable, and loved the action around him. This all being said, my heart today goes out to Tracy, Brad, Tate, and their families as they cherish the memories of a sweet baby boy.

I cannot keep up with her.

Abby: Excuse me, Lainey? Please move away from the Ficus. Those little stringy things are not for eating and they are very messy. You know your mom does not do messy.

Lainey: Oh sorry, were you talking to me? Look how fun this is! I'm so glad I rediscovered this tree after you hid it behind the blue chair. Good try, Mom.

(That is a cute little foot there.)

Just reading my book...

Lately, and only lately, Lainey has shown an interest in books. She loves the books that are made of soft plastic, usually referred to as "water books" or "bubble books" (Thanks to Carmelita for giving her her first one!). She frequently sits and reads like this - in the carseat, on the floor, in her crib. She crosses her feet and opens the book. Her favorite ones for me to read to her are her Elmo book and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. And yes, it's obvious which ones she likes because I've tried some of my favorites and they do not hold her attention and she tries to squirm out of my arms!! :)

TOYS

Ben pushed Lainey around on this cute lion walker - she loved it!! Right now, she prefers sitting and riding to actually pushing it and trying to "walk" with it. This is what we did before bathtime tonight - zoom back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

sweet, giggly baby

Loving this rubber ducky. Out of the tub, in the tub, everywhere. She loves crawling with it over to the stairs and pushing it down through the railing so that it falls down to the lower level. Fun times.

Notice Reagan - totally disinterested.

"Hello, down there!"

This was so funny. She heard Ben's voice downstairs and crawled over to the landing to see where he was. This little one is into everything now...cords, electrical outlets, the fake greenery, books, bookcases, trashcans, basically anything that looks interesting. She is a mess. And yes, about 90% of it is stuff she shouldn't be playing with! We have to be pretty watchful of her actions and movements these days. Poor Reagan. She is not so thrilled about this moving, grabbing, squealing, attention-needing, toy-stealing, food-and-water-mess-making baby. The one bonus, according to Reagan, is the buffet that lands under Lainey's highchair on a daily basis. Yummy.