Family picture

For the first time in nearly two years, all of the Harris adults were together without kids. We decided to commemorate the event by taking a picture - do you like our "prom pose" on the stairs? The last time we were together like this without the kids was at a wedding in January, 2007. Included in the picture are Ben's mom and dad (Mary and Allyn), Ben's sister Allyson (next to me) and her husband Chris, and then Ben's brother Greg (to Ben's left) and his wife Tisha. 

Keegan and sleeping family

I went to visit Keegan again today and was able to sit in on his PT session. Look at the boy stand! He is so funny - he stands and then figures out that he's standing and then he decides to sit. Here are a couple of pictures of him standing and playing with various hospital things.

Go Keeg!

And, as I am typing, this is what's happening in our master bedroom. Lainey has resisted napping alllllll day long, so go figure - when we all lay on the bed to catch up, Lainey decides to fall asleep. Ben and Reagan joined her for a little shut-eye.

A close-up shot - look at those rolls! Love to squeeze them!

Moving!

So, it's not the prettiest way to move, but the girl is on her way. So far the biggest motivators are remotes (What is it with remotes?? And cell phones? And cameras?), Reagan's toys (gross), and my day planner (a coveted possession). :)

The Elf on the Shelf

Lainey received an early gift from Santa - the elf on the shelf! The little elf flies to the North Pole to see Santa every single night and tells Santa if Lainey has been naughty or nice. And then by morningtime, the elf is back on "the shelf". Each morning he is in a new spot and keeps his eye on Laniey and her behavior all day long. Lainey is not supposed to touch the elf because if she does, he will lose some of his magic and his ability to fly back to see Santa. However, Lainey's elf sacrificed a little of his magic so that she could get to know him a little bit.

receiving the package and seeing if it was edible... (Santa delivered it to Dickey's BBQ during lunchtime.)

Oh what fun - a brightly colored box.

after the green box is removed...

Poor elf - he never had a chance.

The elf is playing possum, hoping he'll be left alone.

Thanksgiving, part two

Last night we went over to my mom's cousin Pam's house to celebrate a "leftover potluck". All of our leftovers had a home! And it was fun seeing my mom's side of the family, many of which I had not seen for many years. Thanks for hosting us, Pam and Mark!

Pam's son Luke (4), who is my second cousin. He was "cleaning" Wall-E with the hand towel from the bathroom. :)

family

watching the TV...

Lainey and Pam's 2-year-old, Nate (my second cousin, Lainey's third cousin, I think?)

Lainey and my Uncle Brian (my mom's brother)

Too bad y'all are related.

rocking, rocking, rocking

Lainey with her Emmy and Pops

Thanksgiving, part one

Lainey and Great Grandpa James

A VERY tired baby. She never, and I mean NEVER, falls asleep in my arms. Ever. Today was just too much though - she was wiped out!

I look a little wiped out myself.

Mashed-potato face...the girl LOVED her Thanksgiving dinner! We might have gone overboard but she gobbled up all of it.

three of five cousins - Ella, Cally, and Collin

our devoted videographer, capturing every moment

Oh, Yiyia's toys are fun. They are so much more entertaining than mine at home.

sharing the toys with Ella (sweet pic)

Tomorrow evening we're celebrating Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family! Lainey will only make a brief cameo, however, since it's an evening affair and this girl cannot stay up past her bedtime. The blessing and curse of an early bedtime - baby is in bed early, but evening outings and activities are limited because of it. Hopefully I can get a few pictures anyway!! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. :)

7 months old!

Lainey is 7 months old!!

Notable bullet points:

• Eating: Hm. She loves finger foods and things she can put in her mouth herself. She literally starts crying when I put her in her high chair and really lets it loose when I open a jar of baby food. And, she pushes and fights the spoon. I can sometimes get some on my finger for her to taste and then she might take it after that....as I've said before, she really loves the chunky, thick stuff like the Gerber mac 'n' cheese. She will also devour puffs (finally) and cheerios and bits of waffles and the toast that they make for babies. Like her mom, she loves her carbs. Sucking on fresh fruits and veggies is also fun - I love the "safe feeder". That's where we put all the fresh fruit and veggies.
• Favorites: baths, water, other kids, getting out of the house to see/do things, toys, yelling, babbling, screeching, feeding herself, bottles...
• Dislikes: getting her face and/or boogies wiped. She wants to be held after she awakens...she's slow to wake up. If you put her down after a nap or after she awakens in the morning, then she cries. So you hold her until she's warmed up a little and then she's fine.
• She has zero stranger anxiety. Will let anyone hold her but thoroughly checks out anyone new in her vicinity.
• Usually she's very cheerful, pleasant, and content (unless feeding her or wiping her face or wiping her nose). She still loves Reagan and we think they work together to conspire against us. We tell R. not to lick her, but R. just can't resist. L. tempts R. by putting her hands in Reagan's face and in front of her. So Reagan licks. And Lainey smiles. And, like a broken record, we tell Reagan "no" but the cycle starts again.
• She has her two bottom teeth, and they are sharp.
• She "rocks" on her hands and knees and then does a belly flop. Who knows when she'll crawl. It's just fun to see her progress!
• She likes to hold her bottle, but only for about 3 or 4 ounces. Then I think she gets tired. Those big muscles in her arms need a rest. :)
• Lainey is still very, very ticklish and lets out big belly laughs when tickled. It's really funny.

Thanks for checking in on our baby. We think she is pretty special, and we're thankful for every single day that we are able to spend with her. Also, thanks to everyone for being such a source of constant support to us. For that, we are grateful. :)

Yum, a pink duck.

She kept trying to catch the water, and she kept failing. It was pretty funny to see her little hands clasp together around the water stream only to find that she couldn't trap anything. But she didn't give up. You go, girl. :)

oooh, a "ripply" back (for all you Hagans out there... Aunt Sarah)

"Ooh! That's me! Man, I'm cute."

Sunday afternoon

We got together with our good friends last night to have pizza. It was crazy with all the kids running around - but Lainey was happily entertained the whole time. It was great! AND she ate well over there. Maybe I need to borrow some kids for mealtimes so they can distract her while I feed her. Any takers?? Haha.

Lainey and Avery (3) and Avery's very coveted microphones

all four - Dylan (18 mos.), Lainey, Avery, and Nolan (18 mos.)

take two (or more like "take 30" but this is the second best picture of the kids)

sweet Nolan

Messy baby picture

So, Lainey really isn't a fan of baby food. At all. In fact, I stress about it daily and really don't look forward to feeding her because all she does is cry, scream, and push away anything on a spoon. She will, however, eat mac 'n' cheese (baby food m'n'c that is). She is a fan of feeding herself what she can, but how much table food can I give an almost-7-month old? It's a battle, and I really think I'm over-stressing and over-thinking it, as usual. If anyone has any advice, let me know. It seems like we started out okay with foods but it's slowly gone downhill from there.
This picture was taken after an episode of mac 'n' cheese, and after I had wiped off her table. It was everywhere!!

Visiting Keegan

Ben and I went to visit Keegan today and were so happy to find him in good spirits! He's such a trooper. His strength amazes me. Despite being connected to machines and tubes, he has such a happy disposition. He is one tough little guy and his little 16-pound body has been through so much. The doctors are hopefully nearing a diagnosis, so this makes everyone thankful - especially his family. :)

Maddie, Keegan, me

Talking

I tried to capture Lainey's recent babblings on video... not sure how well this will turn out and it might not be as entertaining to y'all as it is to me. As always, she gets a little camera-shy at times and just stares at me. Here's a little glimpse of our chatty baby. She just started doing this within the past few days, and it just cracks us up. :)

Confessions

1. I truly love the snack foods I buy for Lainey. Especially the Gerber Biter Biscuits and the Arrowroot Cookies. Is that bad? That I snack on the foods I'm supposed to be giving to her to eat? I don't like the Puffs and I'm not really a fan of dry Cheerios (shocking knowing my love for all cereals), so she can have all of those. 

2. I would love to know what she's thinking when she's playing intently with a toy (or a sock) or when she stares out the window. 

3. I am obsessed with her little chubby feet and the tiny birthmark that is on her right foot. She kicks her feet all the time when she's excited and happy, and it just makes me laugh every single time. Never gets old. 

Lainey is sick again with an ear infection and a sore, red throat. She seems to be making improvements already, though, so I'm happy about that. Her second tooth is breaking through as well, so I'm sure that's not comfortable. 

And lastly, Happy Birthday to Bud and my Uncle Wayne! :)

Great-grandparent visit

Yesterday my cousin Kate, my dad, Lainey and I went to Oklahoma to visit my grandparents. Kate flew in from Houston yesterday morning and the four of us drove up to Norman, OK for lunch. And then we drove back, arriving home around 6. OF COURSE my camera battery dies while we were there, so I have no cute pictures of Lainey and her great-grandparents. I took these pics before realizing that my camera was about to die. I was so sad.

sitting in the chair (and refusing to look at the camera)

watching the Longhorns play

just playing on the floor

Pics of Keegan

Today I left Lainey with my mom and went to visit Keegan at the hospital. He was in a great mood, and I was so happy to see him. The top picture shows him hiding from the guitar players. They came in and sang some neat songs but Keeg got shy. :)

happy boy (after they left!)


more smiles...quite content in his "baby jail" (I think I got that term from his mom, Maddie.)

Keegan, come home soon. We miss you around here! The doctors are still trying to determine a diagnosis for his GI issues and fever. Hopefully Maddie and Gray will get some answers and a treatment plan next week. Please continue to keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. :)