yin and yang

I am constantly amazed at how different my children are.  While I'm sure that this is not entirely attributable to their different sexes, it certainly appears to be a contributing factor in our case.  Harrison is all boy and has been since he was born.  He wasn't a particularly fussy baby but just very, very active.  That child does not sit still.  Even when he watches tv he is constantly moving.  Lately he has started throwing all the cushions off of the sofa (and I mean ALL the cushions) and diving into them, all while still focused on the tv.
Anne is exactly what I imagined a little girl would be.  She is sweet, and calm, and quiet.  She is very adaptable and I can take her anywhere.  She is just as sweet and calm after a sleepless day at daycare as she is after taking 3 naps on a Saturday.  She is the yin to Harrison's yang.
Since his comatose newborn days, I have slept in the bed with Harrison exactly twice.  Once he was sick and the other time we were traveling and didn't have anywhere else to put him.  It is not because I haven't tried.  About a year ago I was pregnant and tired and trying to get him to take a nap so I offered to sleep in his bed with him.  After 10 minutes of staring at and touch my face, he asked me to leave.  The one time he was sick and slept with us he woke up at 3:00am and asked to go back to his room.  Even he realizes that he needs complete peace and quiet in order to go to sleep.  Now, I'm certainly not complaining that he prefers to sleep alone in his bed but I have never understood when other parents talk about their children sleeping in their bed.  But, I can finally relate!
Like this morning, Anne occasionally wakes up around 5:30am and I find myself bringing her back to bed with us where she promptly curls up next to me and falls right back asleep.  Although I can't help but wonder whether I'm creating bad sleep habits, I really don't care!  I'm just enjoying it while it lasts :)

  Our little snuggle bug.

Bossy Boots Jr.

I recently read a quote by Tiny Fey (talking about her child) that said "if someone walks in on you while you're on the toilet then they are your boss and if they stay in the bathroom despite you asking them to leave then they are a high level boss."  Anyone with a toddler can relate to this quote!  Well, Harrison is a high level boss.  His bossiness has reached new extremes.  We are no longer allowed to walk on the stairs with him at the same time and he even makes me and Cabo use the back stairs.  He also loves to watch tv alone.  He orders us to "get away, please."  I've tried to teach him a nice way to tell someone to leave but I can't think of any.  I guess please will have to do for now.  Why do we put up with this?  Sometimes it's amusing but mostly because it is easier to use the back stairs then deal with the resulting temper tantrum.  Plus, as someone whose nickname was "bossy boots" in college, I know he comes by it honestly.

He doesn't sugercoat it

There are some days when Harrison makes me feel so great about myself.  Like the time I was eight months pregnant and he told me I looked like the swimsuit model in Vogue.  Today was not one of those times.  He likes to play a little game where he points at various things and I tell him what it is.  This morning he was pointing at my eyes, nose, mouth, etc.  He then pointed at my forehead.  I said "forehead." and he said, "no, THAT" and kept pointing at my head.  I said freckle?  And, he said "no, THAT."  I looked in the mirror and discovered that he was pointing at the wrinkle in the middle of my forehead.  So, Harrison learned a new word today and he practiced saying "wrinkle" all the way to school.

A Blessed Weekend

Harrison is, without a doubt, the most clumsy child that I have ever seen.  I am not exaggerating when I say that he can rarely walk a straight line without tripping or bumping into something.  This, coupled with the fact that he is also one of the most active and daring little boys I know, results in a LOT of bumps, and bangs, and bruises (and one emergency room visit).  So, imagine my delight when he had no visible bruises on Friday when I took he and Anne to get their photos made.  I even commented to Jamie on how wonderful, and rare, that was!  I was also excited because Anne was getting baptized on Sunday and I wanted to get some good family photos of us in our Sunday best and Harrison in his new tie and shirt bought for the occasion.  About 20 minutes before it was time to leave for the church we heard a loud bang come from Harrison's room.  Consequently, Harrison sported his very first shiner along with his new tie.  We didn't get the photos that I had imagined but they were pretty cute anyway. 

Anne was bruise free and cute as ever and didn't cry at all!  We were blessed to have all of the grandparents here for the occasions as well as Aunt Tracy and Ian.  

Our family

Today begins my attempt to record memories for my children, Harrison (3 years, 3 months) and Anne (8 months).  Too often I find myself thinking, "what was that cute thing that Harrison said the other day?" and "what day did Anne first do so-and-so?" 

This photo was taken on our trip to Blowing Rock, NC in October 2010.  This was the first vacation that we had taken as a family.  True, we have taken multiple trips to visit grandparents, friends, and aunts and uncles, but this marked the first time that we took a vacation with just the five of us (including Cabo, 4 years).  Although you can't see much of Anne here, I can promise that there will be many more to come!