Harrison's New Hobby

Harrison discovered something new today while I was cleaning the bathroom counters! I will have to keep the doors closed!

A good reminder for me...

Well, I just got back from church and after my long blog on how bad my day was I thought I needed to write about what the message was about because it was so fitting for me.

It was a very simple message (that's the best kind for me) and the man speaking (he wasn't our pastor, our pastor is in Africa on a mission trip) read Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

He was saying that "still" means to stop striving. I know I do that a lot everyday. Also he said that this verse was an imperative command from God - (You) Be still, and (you) know that I am God.

I know I spend way too many days rushing around and getting flustered when things aren't working out the way I think they should; or I get stressed out because I think I have too much to do and I don't see how it can all get done. God is commanding me to "BE STILL". He will work out all my problems and help me find time to get "it" all done if I will just let Him.

He had several other things to say too but this just really hit me and I thought someone else might benefit from it too!

Good night!

Smooth sailing no more!

So, last night I went down to Macon to have Harrison's 1 year old pictures taken at the Picture People. John and Amanda live there so they were able to go with me and help. Then we had dinner together. It sounds simple enough but it really wasn't!

First off the Picture People were in no hurry to take our picture. My appt. was at 6 pm so John and Amanda could come and help me after work. We waited for 30 minutes past our appt. time before they came and got us to get started. I figured we had about an hour before Harrison started getting sleepy. Then the ladies camera wasn't working right. As you can imagine Harrison was getting tired of us moving him all around, not letting him crawl and it was getting close to his bedtime. We finally finished and they said to come back in 15-20 min. to see the pictures on the computer. We came back and waited and waited and waited (at least 45 min). Finally I asked the lady who was helping someone else choose their pictures if I could at least start looking at my pictures and deciding which ones I wanted because I had an hour drive home. She immediately went and got someone (what were they doing this whole time - I don't know!!!) I choose the pictures as quickly as I could (which is not quick thing) and we finally left the mall at 8:45pm!!! We had not eaten (except Harrison) and we were all starving and tired. Harrison and I made it home around 11!

We did get some cute pictures and I got a trilogy framed for his first birthday, but the rest I decided to just order online.

I got into bed ready for a good night's sleep only to be awaken to screaming not once, not twice but 4 times in the middle of the night. Each episode lasting around 20-30 minutes of screaming before Harrison would finally go back to sleep. I decide he must be teething so I gave him tylenol around 3 or 4 (I don't remember it all has become a blur) and he slept until 8:15. He woke up perfectly happy, got up and started playing and smiling right away. Then I notice his left ear has crusty, yucky stuff all in it. I think "it can't be an infection because it is not draining, maybe he just had a lot of wax in his ear" I checked it again 2 hours later and sure enough his ear was draining yellow puss!

So, you may be asking yourself, didn't little Harrison just get tubes in his ears last month?!?!!? That is right - he did! However, these tubes do not prevent ear infections they just allow the infection to drain out through the tube. I am very thankful for the tubes because we do not have to go to the doctor and we can put the anitbiotic drops directly in his ear on the infection.

I am also very thankful that I had already filled the prescription (just in case) so we were able to start the antibiotic drops this morning. Hopefully this will clear everything up. We don't have to go to the doctor unless there is still drainage after 5 days. Please pray that there won't be and that Harrison will be able to sleep better tonight! Thankfully Mike is coming home tonight so he will be able to help out if we have another night like tonight.

Now, I am almost to the end of my venting, and I apologize for this long blog. Today I learned that if your child wakes up with an ear infection and you have had little to no uninterupted sleep the night before you should not go to the eye doctor!

I, of course did and proceeded to spill ALL (every last one) of Harrison's goldfish, puffs and crackers in the floor. Thankfully I was in the Target optical store so I was able to go buy Harrison some more crackers before my exam. Since he wasn't feeling well he cried during the last 10 min. of my exam (even though he was eating the cookies I bought him) Then he wanted me to hold him and he was able to get all of the cookies he had eaten all over my black shirt (not a good color shirt to wear when your child's ear and nose is draining and they have been eating cookies!).

Needless to say I plan on taking a nap this afternoon - albeit a short nap I am sure because Harrison doesn't sleep well with an ear infection - it will be a much needed one none the less!

Rice Cereal

This morning I was trying to make an eye appointment for myself. This became a very difficult task because all the eye doctors in Georgia don't take my South Carolina insurance and it throughly confuses them when I try to explain our situation. Since they were all so confused I decided to just find a doctor in SC and go there next time I was up. This was also a lengthy process but I finally had success!

While I was on the phone Harrison was happily playing in his room or in the living room. I was checking on him frequently, but obviously not frequently enough! I walked into the living room to see how he was doing and he had found his box of rice cereal in a bag we had taken to SC this weekend and was shaking it all over the floor! He was having a GREAT time and would laugh as the rice flew up in the air when he shook the box and then fall all around him. He was also picking it up from the pile in front of him and throwing it all over everything. I was still on the phone so there was not much I could do except smile at how much fun he was having and take a few pictures. We cleaned most of it up with the Dust Buster (my new favorite household item - the one thing I think I would take with me now to a deserted island if Harrison was with me!) and then vaccuumed before the ants heard about the party we were having!

We have been in SC for the past few days. We had a great time visiting everyone. I left my camera at a friend's house and didn't get it back until the day we were leaving so I didn't get too many pictures. Harrison did get some pictures with his Grandma and Pap-Pap that he wanted to show everyone.

Mike and I looked at two houses this weekend. Neither of them are for us, but we are going to look again in 2 weeks when I go up again for Harrison's birthday. I think we are going to try to find a small house to rent or lease for a year or so. Then hopefully our house will have sold and we can look for another house then. It is very hard to look at houses when you are living in another state, so if we rent one in SC it will be much easier to look around while we are there!

On Saturday we went to dinner with mom, dad, grandma, John, Jessica and Mike's parents. We ate at a fish camp called Riverview in Greer - Grandma's treat!!!! It was very good and we all had a great time. We watched The Prestige with Mike's parents that night which is a pretty good movie if you haven't seen it yet.

Saturday I went to a diapers, wipers and swipers (gift cards) shower for my friend Julie. She got lots of great diapers, wipes and gift cards and a few other good things too! Mike got to go golfing and Harrison went grocery shopping with his Grams and then got to play with her and Great-grandma Hollifield.

Right before we left Harrison got his first birthday gift! Jackie, Mike, Stephanie, Jonathan and Perrin gave him a Little Tikes Basketball Goal!!! We opened it quickly before we left and Harrison threw the ball just not in the goal. We will have to practice. I will send a picture when he learns how! I know he is really going to love playing with that (and so will his daddy!)

We stopped by Mike's parents house before we headed down to GA and here are several pictures of what we did there.


Grandma and Harrison in the play house.

The results of swimming without a swimming diaper!

When Harrison needed a rest from swimming he would head to the side of the pool and hold on to the edge.

Don't look Amanda, I think that is a booger on his lip!

Swimming with my Pap-Pap!

Special Birthday

Happy Birthday Grammy!!!

Today is my Grammy's 92nd Birthday! I just want to wish her a wonderful day and let her know how much we love her and how special she is to us all!

Grammy has 2 children, 4 grandchildren (I am one of them), and one great-grandchild (Harrison)

Grammy I hope your day was very special. I love you and miss you very much.

Love,
Cassie

Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor Visit

Today we went back to have Harrison's tubes checked and to have his hearing tested. His tubes are still in there and they look great! There is no fluid in his ears and he passed his hearing test!

I was really impressed with how they did the hearing test for babies. I think being an audiologist might be a really neat job.

We went into the sound proof room. Harrison had to sit on the front of my lap so he wouldn't lean back and get too comfortable. I couldn't make any noise or turn to look at anything she did. She would make some static noises on each side of us. When he turned to look at the noise a TV screen would light up with a cartoon playing (no sound) or a puppet would light up and make some noise. I guess this was to let them know they had heard something. Then the TV screen in front of us would come on so he would look forward again. She did this several times on both sides and the noise was sometimes loud and sometimes very quiet.

When we came out they did a few other tests to his ears and she said everything looked really good. We have to go back in a year to have him do another hearing test using the headphones because she said that was more accurate.

They said by age one Harrison should be saying 1-3 words consistently. He says several things that we think are words but they are not always consistent. He will say them to us, but also say them when he is just playing and babbling ~ but I think he is close!

Here they are:
mama = baa baa (every now and then he will say mum mum)
dada = ga ga (sometimes da da)
ball = buh or vuh
go = go go or gee gee
dog = gee gee, gog or gee gog
yummy or mmm... = mum mum (I thought he was saying mama until I realized he was only saying it when he was eating. Now he says it to me when he is not around food but I am not sure if he means mama or if he is just asking for food! Who knows!!

I am sure he will be getting much better at talking soon! He is REALLY great at screaming just for fun or out of pure happiness (you can't miss us in a store or restaurant)!

Little Dragon

I have been trying to find a Halloween costume for Harrison. Last year he was a 4 week old cow. This year he will be a big 1 year old. I have looked at a lot of stores (costumes are really expensive to just wear one time) and also at two consignment sales. I found this one at Target. What do ya'll think about it for Harrison this year?!?!

Driving the Truck

Bye, bye!

Do you think anyone will realize I can't touch the pedals?!?!

The Road to Recovery

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Harrison. He has had two great days without any temperature! It is so nice to have him back to normal again!

Here's a funny story on the road to recovery...

Harrison is taking an antibiotic for the virus or whatever it was that was making him sick. For anyone who doesn't know, antibiotics cause many babies to be "loose". I give Harrison Culturel (excellent stuff that puts the good bacteria back into their systems). However, it had not started to work yet on Friday morning.

Friday morning I was getting up early to go to a consignment sale with my friend Julie (she has two boys - Max - 20 months, and Jake - 3 months). Everything was going smoothly. Harrison woke up around 6:30. We played until around 7:15 then I jumped in the shower. While I was in the shower, I put Harrison in his jumper (yes, he is a little too big but this way he can't get away!). When I got out of the shower I looked down at him (no glasses or contacts in yet and I am as blind as a bat) and I thought "Oh no Harrison spit up on the tray and is playing in it" Then I realized "His spit up is not usually brown..." You can imagine what was brown that he was playing with!! Then I looked down on the floor where I see much, much more "brown" that he is happily jumping up and down in! A lot happened very quickly from there. Contacts in, bath water on, Harrison out, clothes and diaper off, Harrison in (the tub), phone call to Mike telling him that I was REALLY wishing he was here to help me clean up poo (I can handle it in the diaper, but I can't stand it outside of one). I somehow got everything cleaned up, Harrison bathed, fed and dressed and got myself ready and dressed in about 45 minutes, which is a miracle with a crawling baby! We made it to the consignment sale with three babies, found some really great deals and got home before lunch! What an exciting day. Needless to say Harrison and I both took an afternoon nap. And thankfully the Culturel has worked since then!!

Sick Babies

He is asleep on my arm while I am typing this ~ very unusual!

I think one of the worst things in the world is when a baby is sick. They just look, feel and act so pitiful and I feel so helpless. Harrison hasn't been feeling well since Sun. evening. We went to the doctor yesterday and were sent to get his white blood cell count checked (so sad, they have to take blood from his arm) because he had had a fever of 104 for two days.

Today we had to go back because his fever had gotten up to 105.6! (scary! - Although I know this is just the way the body fights a virus or infections but it is still unnerving) His white blood cell count is in the normal range, but on the high end. Sooo.... he got another shot today of an anitbiotic and I am just praying he will feel better soon. He has wanted to do nothing today but sit with me or have me carry him around. I definitely don't mind doing this, but I want him to get back to being himself soon.

Please help me pray that he will be back to normal soon!

Monkey Cake

Mom,

This was my practice attempt at a monkey cake for Harrison's birthday.

What do you think?

You can see the picture I tried to copy from to the left.