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Six Months

So I am a little behind on this post but here it goes.

Mom and I were sick for nearly three weeks after Thanksgiving so our Holiday season seemed to be very fragmented. We couldn't believe that it has been (over) four weeks already, this month has flown by. I know I have said that your development has been unbelievable before, but this month it is like none other. You are an entirely new baby.



You got a double ear infection, but after we figured out what it was and the antibiotics kicked in, you have been like a new baby. You are talking like crazy and you still just want to stand up all the time. You are starting to reach for everything, EVERYTHING, especially when mom and I are eating. Which is rather funny because you still won't eat the food that your mother has been making, not even the apple sauce!



We have started giving you water out of a "big boy" glass and you love it. Watching your face is priceless, you get really excited and your arms flutter and if the glass has ice in it, your face gets a shocked look on it once the ice hits your mouth.



We had Christmas at Great Grandma and Grandpa's and you held center stage. You were all about talking and showing of your new found drinking skills. We had a ton of fun, despite your sleep patterns nearly giving mom an ulcer.



You are fascinated by anything and everything that moves. You literally get excited by everything from the dog and his collar to the ceiling fan. I wish that I had your sense of wonder, it is such fun watching your arms flutter and your eyes get huge every time you see something that moves or shines.

I could probably go on and on, but I just want to say that if you are this much fun now, I cannot wait to see what the next few months hold...now, only if you would eat your food so we could cut back on these feedings, but hey, your still so damn cute that we can't help but laugh.

Yummy Foot

A Sure Sign of Trouble

"So when do you want to have our next baby"

"Uh, why don't we get through this whole teething thing first, then we can talk about it...in like 16 months"

"But we make such cute babies"

"We made A cute baby, what if he got all the good genes? The next one is screwed"

A Digression

When I started this, I wanted to of course keep everyone updated on Harrison, his development, his life, and of course our life as a family. However, I also wanted to be able to provide context for his life. Provide snapshots of the times in which he was raised and what was important, defining etc. All that to say that this is one of those context posts, one in which has little to do with Harrison but rather the "news" of the day. A little rant/digression to get my writing fix in, so indulge me a little if you a will.

The Mitchell Report, a report detailing the extent of steroid use in baseball, came out yesterday and it has been greeted with great surprise, evaluation, summarization, explanation, etc. The Mitchell Report, as the former Commissioner of Baseball Fay Vincent has noted, may be the biggest "scandal" since the Black Sox scandal of 1919. I use the word "scandal" in quotes, because for a scandal this sure has taken its sweet time to develop. The report has been 20 months in the making and probably a decade or longer in actual development.

The big news has been the names of players implicated in the steroids probe, most notably Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Clemens being one of the premier pitchers of his or any other time. A multiple Cy Young winner and one the game's highest profile players is one of the named players who stands to lose the most.

The report, in my humble opinion will have little effect on the way die hard or casual fans view the game. I say this because I think in many ways fans are apathetic to this type of news. We have seen grown men continue to grow when all of science says that they should have stopped. We have seen middle age men hit their peaks when many before them were contemplating retirement. Fans have been suspicious but we have watched because as fans, that's what we do. Momentary suspension of belief is critical as a fan, the opportunity to see seemingly ordinary men accomplish un-ordinary feats is part of being a fan, the specialness of sports. So as fans we have turned an eye, knowing that something wasn't quite right, but knowing that we were loving what we were seeing.

The owners, the Commissioner, the players, the union, everyone is complicit in this scandal. Everyone knew that money, and big money was to be made by closing their eyes and pretending that everything was normal, that drugs in baseball didn't exist. And that is why this report as a revelation is hard to swallow. Everyone knew about the problems, but everyone pretended not to know. Nobody wanted to know, nobody, not owners who were selling seats, not players who were making huge contracts, not fans who were witnessing history, and not the Commissioner, who was expanding the game nationally and internationally, wanted to know the truth.

The Mitchell report will serve a purpose. It will force everyone from underneath their eyelids and make them see the world as it really is. It will make fans suspect everything, it will make the parties involved implement policies to help "rid" the sport of illegal drugs, but it will be done in a false light. A light that should have been forced many years ago when the problem was at its peak.

As a parent and as a fan my views of baseball will change little. I will still extol the virtues of America's pastime, explain to Harrison that baseball, in its purest form is a great game, a game that is splendid because of its simplicity. A man with a bat, facing another man with a ball. Nine men playing a game for pay, that you or I would play for free. And yeah, something rotten once happened to the game and many players took advantage of a don't ask don't tell policy, but the game - THE GAME, is still a great game, and one that will continue to grow and prosper, despite what these men tried to do to it.

Santa Baby

Ever wonder what would happen if you left a new mother home alone with a six month old baby and a Santa costume? Here are the results

No Mas!

We have been trying to get Harrison to eat rice cereal, then we moved on to oatmeal, and now we are trying real food. We wanted to try and make our own baby food mainly because we thought it would be good for him to eat "real" food and not the processed baby food, but also we thought the real textures of the foods would maybe help him develop a less choosy palate. Unfortunately the little man likes his new foods as much as a stick to the eye. We first tried squash and now pears.

The little monster ( I use the term lovingly) will actually close his mouth and shake his head and scream until we give up. Sunday mom was at work and got a piece of advice from a coworker to let him try and eat it himself. So I tried it...and as the video below will show you, it didn't quite work out. But what you can't see, because of my sweet camera skills, is that that he actually makes himself gag, not because he actually tried it, no, but because he just looked at it. If it weren't so funny it would be maddening.

Oh Christmas Tree

Yesterday we went and picked out our Christmas Tree with Harrison. It was a cold and rainy day, fortunately the rain held off until we we were done. Harrison wasn't a huge fan of being in his snow suit and more importantly being in his snow suit and his car seat at the same time. Santa happened to be making an appearance at the nursery so we were able to take a photo with Harrison sitting on Santa's lap. It was actually pretty cute we weren't sure how he would react, especially since he had been fussy the whole time we were there, but he just sat there, almost in a daze, I am not sure if he was scared or confused at the big man holding him. Either way we got a pretty good picture of his first Santa visit.

I have put up some pictures here with shots from getting the tree and decorating it.

Quotes

I won't name names but I received this in an email after posting pictures of Harrison:

"Not because I'm his favorite aunt or anything, but I think he's a really beautiful baby."

On our way to do our Christmas Shopping:

Liz: "This is like a date" Me: "I hardly call going to the grocery/Target a date" Liz: Considering our social life the last 5 months I would call this a date!"

Getting Ready for Christmas

More Pictures Here

I Only Hope

This week is Jimmy V week on all ESPN outlets. Liz and I were talking about Jimmy V yesterday as we were watching college football and she asked me who he was. Most people know him as the coach of the NC State team that made a run in the NCAA's and won a National Championship in 1983. So, as I told her about this, I googled his speech at the ESPY's and found it on YouTube. As we watched and I laughed and cried, we got to the end and simply said, That is Jim Valvano.

I kept thinking about the video throughout the day and just thought that I can only hope that Harrison is able to live his life this way. To be able to live with passion and how to live with love. If he can find a way to live this way, then no matter what, his life will be a success.

Take a moment and watch the video, watch all the way to end, and visit the V foundation...and if we can live our lives to Laugh, Think and Cry everyday, we will have full life.

Happy Thanksgiving

Five Months

Five months, your mother and I were talking on our first date since you were born tonight, and she told me that she looked at you today in the rear view mirror and saw a little boy, not a baby, and that made her sad. I must admit I am sad too, but also very excited to see you grow into a little man.

You are becoming more aware of touch now. You like your Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy book and others that allow you to touch and feel things. You love petting Riley and grabbing his fur, which being the good dog that he is, he just sits there and lets you tug at him. You and he seem to be getting along much better now. You are completely aware of where he is, and trying to feed you as he walks around your room is just one of our new challenges as you are starting to become more active. Riley still thinks you are a big lollipop that he can lick at will and still seems to think you are a big toy, especially when you are on the floor kicking. Along with your new found love of petting your dog, you like to grab our faces. It is one of the best things when you stand up after eating and look at us and just pet or grab our cheeks like they exist only for your amusement.

Another interesting thing about month five is that you are starting to figure out to scream. You just sit in your crib and talk and then let out piercing screams, when we walk in you just look at us and giggle like you were testing us.

One of the strangest things is that you love to stand up, but you still don't like to be on your stomach. You seem to have forgotten how to roll over on your own and you are more interested in sucking on your hands than you are pushing yourself over.

Finally, we have started you on Rice cereal, and it is good to see that you inherited your mother's and my stubbornness. For the first few times you loved the stuff, now you purse your lips and won't open them until you finally scream and we are able to sneak a spoonful into your mouth, between breaths and screams. We keep trying and you keep resisting, it's pretty much how I imagine you being a teenager will be like.

We are excited more and more as we see your skills coming along, I still think I can get you on skates by 18 months, but your mom thinks I may be a little crazy! Either way we are having a wonderful time watching you develop and even though you are slowly becoming a little boy with each day, you will always be our little baby.

Who are You

One of my favorite TV shows is Scrubs, and the episode tonight was talking about knowing who you are and knowing your heritage. One of the characters is a Latina women who has had a child and is worried about passing along her heritage to her daughter.

This is something that has been an issue for me personally for a while. If anyone who is reading this isn't family (there might be a few right :) I was adopted from South America when I was a young child. Unfortunately, mostly due to my own neglect, I haven't done a good job of keeping a firm understanding of my heritage and background. For many reasons I was fine with that when I was growing up, but now that I have a child I feel like I have failed. Not that I am failing, or will fail, Harrison, though I feel that I am, but mostly that I have failed my birth parents. I don't remember anything about them, and that hurts, but the fact that I don't know anything them, about where I come from, and can't share that with my son so he can pass it on, hurts the most.

The answer is probably easy, study, learn, speak Spanish, but for some reason reading Este No Es Mi Dinosaurio, doesn't seem to cut it. So how do we pass along our heritage to our kids. How do we learn to appreciate who we are, while letting our kids learn and appreciate it on their own so they take pride and at least know where they come from?

Team Work

It is kind of funny that I am writing this post tonight, because when Liz gets home tonight, I am going to hear about how I might have done Harrison irreparable harm because I failed to follow the schedule that she has painstakingly got him on over the last week. But anyhow, one of the coolest things that I have seen as we have become parents is that we are becoming a better team. We still have our "moments" but being a parent has brought us closer.

It is fun coming home from work and playing on the floor and getting set up for bed and bath time. It is fun heading to lunch, one carrying the baby, the other the diaper bag, or going for a walk, one with a stroller and one with a leash. Liz still does the lion's share of the work, but when we click, we click, and that is what has made this whole experience fun. Our ability to enjoy each other more as we enjoy watching Harrison grow up.

Now, talk to me tomorrow after our "discussion" tonight! :)

Trick or Treat

This Kid is Going to be Just Fine

When I picked up H from his sitters he was giggling and laughing when I first put him in his seat, but once I started driving he started crying and screaming. So, I did what I normally do, I sang to him, tried talking to him, even blew bubble sounds, and got nothing. Well, going down a wet highway with a screaming baby is about the last thing on my fun list, so I finally dipped into the iPod. I threw the first thing on which happened to be Wilco. He stopped crying right away. I thought he was asleep but when we got home little man was just hanging out in the backseat, listening to music.

First Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, now Wilco. Yup, little man will be just fine!

Milk Breath Moments

On the days that Liz works H and I are usually in survival mode. In the mornings it is a race to get out the door, backpack, computer bag, and milk cooler in tow. In the evening it is a race against traffic and time to get home so we can have a few minutes before bath and bedtime to hang out. Usually it is a hurried ten minutes as I get everything out and ready, as we talk and tell each other about our respective days. For some reason his always sound better than mine! Usually, I feed him and spend a quite minute or two as he falls asleep, rocking in the chair, then I put him down and go play a little NCAA Football, check email, or catch up on news and PTI, trying to get a few quite moments before Liz gets home.

I don't know if it was the cold, damp, Indiana fall day, the lack of sleep from last night, or what, but tonight we just sat and rocked away for much longer than usual. I couldn't put him down. I just sat there holding him, his arm splayed across my chest, his deep baby breaths, Mozart playing softly in the room, and we just sat there. The quite house, dark, heating up as the furnace kicked in for one of the first times this fall, and his sweet milk breath, warming my neck.

Milk breath moments

Possibly The Cutest Kid at the Pumpkin Patch

See all the pictures here

Four Months

We can probably say with certainty that this last month has been the best yet, well, until the last week or so anyway. I made the comment to mommy a few weeks ago that you are starting to be fun! Don't get me wrong, the first few months were good, but I equate them more to survival than anything else. Now, you are starting to laugh and giggle so much more. You know who we are and you smile all the time. You also laugh great big belly laughs when you are a happy boy. You can pick things up and hold them in your hands, not for very long, but you are getting better with each day. We are still finding out how to soothe you, but mommy knows that you like it when she "eats little baby belly's"! You also have a new cry now, which we haven't heard until the last few weeks. It is almost like a laugh and a cry. You pucker your little mouth like you are saying "ma ma" and you make a funny little noise, almost like a moose call or something. It is quickly followed by a whine. It is funny and momma is convinced you are calling out for her specifically.

The last week or so has been a little bit of a test. You are starting to teeth and you seem to be the crankiest little thing you have ever been. It is not your fault of course, but you seem to not know whether you are tired, hungry, or both. The good news is the doctor thinks you are ready to get started on baby cereal, and mom is convinced that this weekend will be your first shot, especially if you are still as cranky as you have been the last few days.

You went to the doctor this week and you are certainly growing, though it seems you are growing up and not out. You are only 13 lbs and 6 oz, which is the 25th percentile for weight, but you are 25.5 inches which is the 75th percentile for height.

All in all this has been a great fourth month. Mommy and I are so lucky to have you and are really getting excited for the holidays to come so we can spend them with our little man!

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Our new pictures are up and you can see them here