Botanical Gardens

(October 16) I forgot to add our trip to the FW Botanical Gardens to our Fall Fun post.  Again it was a beautiful day so we wanted to spend it outdoors.  First we had brunch at the Garden's tea room, then we went to the Japanese garden where we fed the Koi.  Harlan LOVED the fish, he kept leaning over as far as he could so he could see the fish up close and he was laughing and smiling the whole time.  Then we walked around the rest of the gardens and took a break so Harlan could crawl around and enjoy the soft grass.  It was a wonderful day with the family!

             
                                                            Feeding the Koi:

Having fun crawling all over

He's anticipating the tickle monster....

Post tickle monster smile :-)

                   These next set of pictures melt mama's heart. He sure does love his Daddy!

great family outing!

Look at those dirty knees and feet, now that's a sign of a good time! 

Fall Fun

(October 2011) This October was so exciting and fun filled!  We had wonderful weather all month long and we took every opportunity to get out and enjoy it.  We started with the Nash Farm Fall Roundup with Granny and Grandpappy where we saw a petting zoo, barnyards, scarecrows, a pony ride, and baby pumpkins... just the right size for Harlan.  Once we gave him one, he kept wanting to roll it around and was saying BA, BA (aka ball).  The very next weekend we went to Hall's Pumpkin Farm in Colleyville, this time Papa came along.  Harlan got to drive all kinds of tractors and play with much bigger pumpkins.  For the last weekend in October we went out to Boo at the Zoo in Fort Worth.  We met our friends Amy, Matt and little Benjamin for a fun morning of seeing lots of animals.  Harlan was not feeling very good during this adventure, so I am looking forward to taking him back to see how he reacts to all of the animals.  Here are some of our favorite pictures from our Fall Fun...

Nash Farm:

Grandpappy, Granny, and Harlan

First Pony ride/sit

Lovin' all the orange balls

Hall's Pumpkin Farm:
           


                                                                      Tractor Heaven:

We had to let Harlan 'Ford' test drive the FORD!

Pickin' a pumpkin

Good times at the farm with Papa

Boo at the Zoo:

Harlan and his buddy Benjamin (they are 4 weeks apart)

Mama's and their boys... the boys are too interested in all the birds to say cheese

Lot's of birds!

Harlan loves watching the fish... we do this at the pet store too;-)

 I just love his boo-ty in this pic!

At the Playground... Ya know :-)

 (9/23/11)  Late September and it was finally cool enough to take Harlan to the playground for his first time.  So at 7 1/2 months old Harlan was ready to swing and slide and play!  He loved the swings and seemed to enjoy going down the slides with Daddy.  We are so fortunate that there are several parks within walking distance from our house and they all have baby swings.  We will be frequenting the playground this Fall!  (p.s. please excuse my Kris Kross throwback (title) I couldn't help myself!)

Just Hangin' out

Daddy making me go faster, I love it!

First slide... a little nervous...

Woo hoo! That was great!

After Betsey saw Harlan and Daddy going down the slide she decided she wanted to give it a try... lol!

Moving on to the big boy slide

Harlan's 6 month photo shoot

(8/13/11) I'm finally posting Harlan's 6 month pictures!  I have been a negligent blogger the past few months, but I plan on updating and catching up asap!   I must say I think these pictures are worth the wait ;)  Our very talented friend Venus was so sweet to take the pictures of Harlan for his 6 month birthday.  We did the photo shoot at the Grapevine train station, where there are lot's of cute buildings and photo ops.  Harlan did really good, smiling the entire time... it was actually difficult to get a serious look picture!  Thanks again Venus!!! Enjoy!

 

This is my favorite picture... don't you just want to kiss those cheeks!?!

Sweet tiny toes and fingers, such a neat idea for a picture

Workin' on the railroad

I call this his 'model' pose, lol!

Again... there's those lovable, squeezable cheeks

Love his blue eyes!

There's that serious face... still so cute (in his mama's opinion).

1/2 Year old

(8/10/11) Warning: Long Post!
We can't believe our little baby boy is 6 months old!  I remember being 6 months pregnant thinking he would never get here and now Harlan is halfway to being a 1 year old.  In 6 short months Harlan has completely changed our lives, our hearts, and our perspective... all for the better!
In 6 short months Harlan has accomplished so many things for such a little guy.  He has mastered rolling over from front to back and back to front.  In fact, he is not crawling yet, but he can roll across the living room floor to get where he wants to go or to grab his favorite toy.  He is almost sitting, he can sit on his own for about 30 seconds before toppling over, but we're sure it will be any day now.  Harlan started eating solid foods this month, and just like his parents, he LOVES his food.  He has become quite the chunky monkey. He babbles all the time and he and daddy like to get into screaming wars to see who can squeal louder.  We're pretty sure he says "hi" but he says it to everything so it may just be the sound he likes best.  He is still a great sleeper, sleeping an average of 11 hours at night and naps about 3 hours a day (usually broken down to 3 naps/day).  He is not on a rigid daytime schedule (no matter how hard Mommy tries) but he is pretty predictable and a very good baby! I thank God every day!

We started music class a few weeks ago and Harlan has so much fun singing and dancing and socializing with the other babies.  Rather than looking at mommy while we sing, he always wants to look around at the other kids and see what's going on.  He is a very curious baby.  It's even hard to get him to eat sometimes because he would rather know what's going on around him. He is such a social butterfly these days, giving smiles to anyone that wants to ooh and ahh over him. One exception is big bearded men, like Papa Carl, Uncle Billy and Grandpappy Michael (Sorry guys, I know he loves you deep down).  He will watch them from afar but as soon as they get close, Harlan cries out with the look of fear on his face.  I'm really hoping he gets over this pretty quick or I can already imagine what our Santa Clause pictures are going to look like! ;)

Some of Harlan's favorite things are:
* Jumping in his jumperoo
* Peek-a-boo stuffed owl
* Being with his dog, Betsey
* Splashing in the bath and his rubber ducky of course
* The Wheels on the Bus song
* Snuggling with mommy (ok that's mommy's favorite thing,   and I'm trying to soak up every minute of it while I can)
* Roughhousing with Daddy (aka being thrown in the air)
* Blowing raspberries
* Chewing on anything he can get into his mouth
* He has recently lost his interest in the TV, at 3 months we couldn't get his eyes away from it unless we turned it off and now he barely acknowledges it... I guess it was a phase, I hope!

These first six months have been such a blessing.  We can't wait to see what the future has in store!
(Professional 6 months pics coming soon)