16 Weeks

Hello my heart.

As Christmas is just around the corner, I have been thinking about our first Christmas as a family and what I envision for our future.  Your Dad and I have had some discussions regarding holidays over the years we have been together.  My biggest request is not traveling.  I dreaded Christmas Day as a child because the minute we had breakfast and exchanged gifts we had to get out to visit other family.  I want to be home and snuggled up in pajamas, eating until our hearts are content, and play all day long.  We only have this time once...gonna make it big my love.

This week you received your first handmade Christmas ornament from your Great Great Great Aunt, Anna Mae.  Anna Mae is Ruby's Aunt.  She has made me a Christmas ornament for every year of my life and this year created one for you!  I know there are "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments out there and SOME of them are ok but nothing compares to this.  She will not be around forever as that is just a fact a life but I will cherish these tokens of her love always.

Tomorrow marks the first day of December and we will begin the 25 Days of Christmas.  We will do something Christmasy each day.  As you are so young it will not be much but this is one tradition I want to start with you.

Your first Christmas books...I have a list of more to give you but will wait for another year :)

In honor of this I want to tell you 25 things I love about you.

1.  Your thumbsucking.

2.  Your cheeks.
3.  Your nose.
4.  Your thighs.
5.  Your fingers.
6.  Your toes.
7.  Your eyes.
8.  Your birthmark.
9.  Your hands.
10.  Your belly.
11.  Your feet.

You can touch to bottom of the exerciser now!

12.  Your laugh.
13.  Your grunts.
14. Your cry.
15.  Your smile.
16.  Your pout.
17.  Your coos.
18.  Your playfulness.

19.  Your determination.

20.  Your strength.

21.  Your curiosity.

22.  Your innocence.
23.  Your sweetness.
24.  Your love.
25.  Just you.

Happy 16 weeks my growing boy.  I love you the mostest.

xoxo~
Momma

15 Weeks

Dear Harrison,

You have had a week of firsts...

Soooooo close now...

You met Lyndsey and Jamie.  Lyndsey is the youngest daughter of Lorraine.  Lorriane was our adopted mother while we lived in the UK.  And if I could chose a little sister Lyndsey would be it.  Jamie is her boyfriend.  We have been exploring Nashville by way of eating and shopping.  They are wonderful people and we are going to miss them.  Pretty sure they just need to move in.

You had your first big shopping trip.  We took Lyndsey and Jamie to Opry Mills.  You were an absolute trooper.  You loved all of the mirrors in Lyndsey's favorite store Forever 21.

You saw your first Christmas tree and Christmas lights at Opryland Hotel.  You had fallen asleep beforehand but once we were inside you woke.  So I grabbed you out of the stroller immediately for you to take it all in.  We then walked around outside to see the lights on all of the trees and the Nativity scene.  It was a great experience for us both my love.  I cannot wait to bring you again next holiday season.

You enjoyed your first Thanksgiving.  We went to Ruby's house, who by far cooks the best true holiday meal.  We had a massive feast, played board games, and just hand a nice time with our family and our extended family Jamie and Lyndsey.  They also had their first Thanksgiving and Lyndsey had her first experience of Black Friday shopping.  It was manic and pretty sure the next time I go out at midnight will be for gifts for you.

We will be spending our last few days with Lyndsey and Jamie.  Then next week we will begin decorating for Christmas as we never decorate before Thanksgiving.  You will love it once all the lights are up and twinkling around the house.

I have so much to be thankful for...

I am most thankful for you.

 I love you,
Momma

14 Weeks

Hi my little one...

We have had some wonderful time at home this last week.  We have had some brisk walks and our normal trip to the store but other than that it has been calm.  Calm is perfect this time of year.  We talk and laugh and play.  You help me workout. I sip tea and you drink milk.  We nap.  It is just perfection...

Doing crunches.

You discovered you can move this on your own.

Fresh from your bath.

This week your Godmother celebrated her birthday.  We were able to have some quality time with her over the past weekend.  She loves you so much.  I cannot explain to you how much it means to me to see you love her too.  You just laugh and laugh with her.

When we asked her and her husband to be your Godparents last New Years Eve it was a special moment.  They are two of the greatest people I know.  They love with their whole hearts.  They do not pass judgement.  They are fun.  They are always up for an adventure.  They are hard workers.  They are wise.  They are going to be amazing parents.  They are providers. They are do-gooders. They are crazy (the good kind of crazy) and they are my best friends.  If ever there comes a time that they are to fulfill a Godparent role and become your guardians I will know you are so loved.  Of course we all pray that never happens and you just marry their daughter :o)

We love Aunt Jess...

You are so lucky because you have many "Aunts".  They are pretty much the best "relative" there is.  They will listen to you one day when you do not feel comfortable talking to me and of course will tell me immediately.  It's what best friends do.  We love each others kids and love them as our own.  It's one of the best kinds of love.  Love that is given with no pretenses and no obligation.  You will learn one day that friends are the best things to invest in.  You will make poor choices in friendships along the way but once you find your core it will be wonderful.

This weekend you will meet some more special people from the UK and they are spending Thanksgiving with us.  We are very excited and are looking forward to the many adventures we have planned.  I will tell you about them next week.

I love you my sweet Harrison.  I am so glad you are mine.

xoxo~
M

3 Months

My dearest Harrison Thames,

Today marks three beautiful months of being your Momma.  People told your Dad that the first three months would be terrible and I could not disagree more.  I have loved every minute of them.  I absolutely cannot get enough of you.

I have never been so proud of something in my entire life.  I knew that would be the case the day when I met my child but you exceed all of my expectations.

Since your birth people have said...oh don't you just love being a mother?  Seriously?  Note to self to never say that to someone and of course I do.  Your Aunt Brooke (you know - your awesome photographer and my BFF) said that for one I would get all sorts of comments and advice leading up to your arrival and to just smile and nod and try not to punch them in the face.  She also said nothing anyone said could ever prepare me for motherhood.  There are so many emotions happening during pregnancy - excitement, joy, anticipation, fear, doubt, and just being scared to death.  All of these emotions are natural and beyond all of them no one on Earth can have the love and bond with you like I do.  That is the joy of being YOUR Momma.

Always remember my sweet Prince that you are my heart and my soul.

You are growing and changing each and every day...

You have went up a size in diapers and have switched to Infant formula...no more Newborn for you growing boy.  You have to be patient to feed you as to why you are about 100% fed by me.  I have no complaints. It is one of my favorite times of the day even when you spit up on me.  It's just a new accessory.

You are so close to rolling over.  I know I will leave the room and step to the kitchen and you will do it or you will do it in your sleep.  I cannot wait for this milestone and all of the fun that will come along with such a simple movement.

You have the sweetest little laugh.  It came out one day out of the blue.  I was waiting on your bottle to feed you and was pinching your legs and out it came.  It was a split second but such a glorious sound.

Your trust in me is overwhelming.  Depending on the situation your gaze does not leave mine - be it in the bath or in a strange place or with new people.  As you grow I hope you know you can always trust me.

You are mesmerized by your hands.  You do not miss an opportunity to look at them or eat them.  They are probably your favorite thing.  You also love touching my hands.  I am teaching you to "give me five" already.

You love to kick, kick, kick.  This is something I found that soothes you in the bath.  I take your legs and splash the water and say "kick, kick, kick"...works like a charm.  You also kick like crazy on your changing pad.  You are a strong kicker.

You love to look at yourself in the mirror.  You have one on your activity mat and you pull yourself closer and closer to the mirror.  You also like to hold conversations with yourself as well.  It is precious.

You love walks around the neighborhood with me and your Grand.  You enjoy taking in the sights and sounds.  Some of the time you fall asleep but if your Grand and I are in deep conversation you just listen.  You like to hear us talk and pretty sure besides our hair it took you awhile to realize we are not the same person.  She tries her best to take care of you like I do and fall our routine to a "T."

You are scared of loud noises - like sneezes, men playing jazz at outdoor malls, the vacuum cleaner, your Dad's singing, and a lot of other music.  Your musical taste is not currently to your Dad's liking but you have years to go through your musical phases.  You will probably go through them all.  Just praying it is not hardcore gansta rap...ha.

You travel well in small doses.  I do not think you are ready for any long journeys and I am not ready for us to spend the night away from home.  You are instantly settled in your home and in your own bed.  This is exactly how I feel about home.  That's why they say there is no place like it!

You love to look at ceiling fans and lights.  We will be taking you to Opryland Hotel during the week of Thanksgiving and I cannot wait to see your reaction to all of the Christmas lights.  You might be on sensory overload and fall asleep.  That's ok if you do.  We have many years to go and see the lights.  It is one of my favorite memories of my childhood - taking in the lights while drinking hot chocolate.

You definitely like the camera and the camera likes you.  I take at least one a day and you have even taking one of yourself.  I am certain this will continue once you know how to work the iPod or iPad on your own.  What a treat it will be to find little silly photos of you.

You love to be naked.  At first you were not a fan but you were cold since you were not inside my belly staying warm and you have to regulate your temperature on your own.  I am sure once you can take off your own clothes we will have a little streaker running through the house.

You are such a strong boy.  When I carry you you already sit nicely on my side and hold on to my arm like you just know how it is done.  The best is when both arms go around my neck.  Oh, you are going to give the best hugs.

I could go on and on about all of the little things that you do and all of the things I love and hope and dream for you but I will end with simply -

I love you.  I love you. I love you.

Always...

Momma

{View more of Harrison's 3 month photo session here.}

12 Weeks (3 days late...)

Dear Harrison,

We have been very busy my sweet boy.  We began last week with preparations for the arrival of our friends from the UK, Pip and Jill.  I worked with Jill when we lived in the UK and Dad worked with Pip at a local pub.  So there was cleaning, shopping, etc for this.  Before their arrival we early voted as well.

The night that Pip and Jill arrived was Halloween.  I picked them up from the airport and we went straight back home to dress for the evening.  I made you an outfit but you just wore it around the house that day.  Next year we will take you trick or treating to homes of people we know and will be excited to see you all dressed up!

The following day we took Pip and Jill to Cracker Barrel, Target, Cowboy boot shopping, and picked up a few last minute items for Friday night...that evening we went to dinner and to the Honky Tonks in downtown Nashville.  We called it a early night as Friday was going to be a full day.

On Friday, we had a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Dinner Party.  This is Mexican holiday and also celebrated by many in the world but it is called All Saints Day.  On this day it is believed that loved ones visit the earth for the evening.  We invited our nearest and dearest on this night.  We asked for participation if possible.  Traditional dress is one of the greatest things about this holiday and the reason I wanted to have this party.  We love any reason for dressing up!!!  We decorated the house with Mexican flare complete with an offerenda where a loved one of choice was honored and cooked a spread of Mexican food.  Everything was lit by candle light so pics were harder to come by but the images will always be with me and we can recreate for you one day.

I think the night was a success...I cannot wait to throw parties for you!

You helped with the prep :)

The Ladies

Yes this is your Momma and Dad.
You did not see us like this...but one day you can look at pics.  I did not want to scare you.

Momma and Aunt BK (thank you for documenting the night...)

Pip and Jill

The Group

Missy won the Sugar Skull painting contest.

Saturday we woke bright a early to go to Knoxville to the UT game. It was an early game for we did not tailgate.  The game was exciting (too much for who we were playing)  UT came out with a win, Pip and Jill witnessed their first American football game, Reme was also in attendance and afterwards celebrated on The Strip.  

Sunday Pip and Jill left to go back home.  You and I took them to the airport and then we had another adventure in store.  We went to H&M in Huntsville, AL with Barb and Carol.  It was an adventure to say the least.  We started with dropping off their pup at their mom's, picked up a prescription and were on the way.  The drive is approximately an hour and 45 minutes.  We had gotten about 30 minutes into our journey and the tire pressure in Carol's car started to drop...the next exit was 7 miles.  That doesn't seem too far but it is when you are worried about having a blowout.  It was 26 psi and by the time we hit the exit it was 11 psi.  We found a gentleman at a truck stop to change it.  The spare was not a full size so we then drove back to Franklin to swap cars with Carol's boyfriend John.  It was close to your eating time now so we pulled into a parking lot to get us from food and I fed you.  We made it on the road at 1245am...it was smooth sailing to our destination and shopping was great. You were amazing the whole day.  You cried out a few times in dislike of the music.  It was quite humorous.  We had coffee and I fed you before we headed back home.  What a whirlwind weekend...

We now have 12 days until another set of special visitors arrive.  We have time to rest and prepare for that week.  We need much rest indeed my heart.

Until then we will just be loving you as always...

xoxo~
M