A Day In The Life

Georgia was just a baby when I did a post that went through the ins and outs of a typical day for us so I thought it would be a good time to do another one. This blog is my family's scrapbook and I know I will appreciate looking back at what a typical day looked like at this exact time in our lives.

If you've been following along for a while you know that I get to be a SAHM on Thursdays. I absolutely love that about my job. I am able to have a career and provide for my family and still experience being at home with her. And she gets to spend her other days with her great-grandmothers. I truly have the best of both worlds.

On Thursdays GGH is my alarm clock so she decided 7a on the dot was wake up time (9 o'clock bedtime and no wake ups through the night-yahoo!).

Good morning angel baby!

We start off our day with a bottle and morning snuggles. I love this time when she's still sleepy but starting to rise. This particular morning she was not ready to get her day started so I just rocked her and she slept another 2 hours until 9a! I sat and held her the whole time. Babies don't keep. 

After our morning nap it was time for breakfast. Georgia Grace LOVES cooking. She seriously loves to be in the kitchen. I have learned to crack eggs with one hand and open cabinet doors with my toes just so she can be a part of meal prep. Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs, "O's", a mandarin orange and milk-yum! (She was upset in the picture because I put her in her high chair so I could transfer eggs from the skillet to her bowl-told you.) Also you can see Owen lurking in the background. He gets breakfast scraps :)

After breakfast I found Owen in one of his favorite spots. He loves looking out our living room windows.

After breakfast we got cleaned up and dressed for the day (she did at least, it was an all-day pajama day for me!). Most days when we stay home I keep her in footed jams but today we were taking her 15 month picture so she spruced up a bit. Mommy and baby selfie in her nursery as she's waving to the camera :)

I took some funny ones including this one that I posted to facebook. Loved the sweet comments from my family and friends! Everyone that knows her was not surprised by that picture ha!

We played in her nursery and in the living room for the rest of the morning until it was time for lunch and to see daddy.

We live close enough to Marcus's school that he can walk to work so he walks home during his lunch break too. What a sweet treat for us! I look forward to seeing him and his daughter and pup definitely do.

Lunch happened and I didn't take a picture. I ate leftover mexican casserole and she had some mac and cheese and veggie snacks. She wasn't very hungry after a late breakfast. 

By 1 o'clock she was ready for a nap. She normally doesn't sleep this much but she had her 15 month shots the day prior so I think that was some of it.

I absolutely love watching her sleep. And taking her picture while she's doing it.

(Thanks again Darcy for the adorable valentine pj's!)

From different angles.

I'm obsessed.

Breathing in these sweet moments.

When I finally pulled away from starring at my sleeping beauty, it was on to laundry. I don't have a laundry room, I have a laundry closet so my dining room serves a dual purpose. I like to dry my clothes for about 20 minutes and then let me air dry them to finish. My dad taught me that trick a long time ago and I still do it.

I lied when I said my dining room served  a dual purpose because actually it's a trifecta-dining room, laundry, and sewing room (My pantry cabinet is also in there so four purposes!). My machine has been acting up so I decided it was time for a good cleaning. Sure enough that fixed my problem.

My Mamaw Carolyn also stopped by to bring us all this fruit she bought for us! I am an Aldi produce snob and she knows it so she picks up some goodies for us when she makes a trip. She knows the way to my heart!

Marcus and cousin Keagen came home from school and headed out to get a haircut for Keagen. He got a 'bama bangs cut and it was so cute. His words:

"I never knew I could look this good!"

"I was at 100% and know I guess I'm at 150%."

So humble. So hilarious!

At 4:30 (a 3 1/2 hour nap!!) Georgia Grace woke up to see one of her favorite cousins!

She was so excited she started running in her crib!

Daddy, Keagen, and GGH played while I started supper. Keagen was on his way in the pit when I took this picture.

For dinner I fixed Taco Chili and Funfetti Gooey Cake Bars. I don't normally fix a dessert but I saw this recipe and had to try it! The taco chili was excellent. Marcus bragged and bragged on it. He has been so proud of me and my recent monthly menu planning project. That in itself motivates me. 

Keagen went home and daddy and Georgia were on their own while I slaved away in the kitchen. I heard a commotion and looked over and witnessed this all too familiar scene. She had got into Owen's dog food and Marcus was disciplining her (#reallife). She knows better but she just loves playing in it so much. Bless it she has a hard life! ;)

The finished product of the funfetti bars.

I think I was suppose to make my balls of dough smaller on top because this is how they're suppose to look, the balls all melting together. Oh well, it didn't change the taste. You learn as you go!

I cleaned up the kitchen and then we decided we would take the dessert over to my Mamaw Carolyn's to share it with her. Georgia Grace hopped in her lap first thing for a snack. We visited and watched some ballgames and then headed back home around 9:15.

She fell semi asleep on the way home so I rocked her and gave her a bottle before putting her to bed at 10pm. I picked a perfect day to do a day in the life for her sleeping schedule! She's trying to make a liar out of me :)

After I put her down for bed, I take my shower, lay out my things for the next day, set out the camcorder for Film Friday, and feed Owen. An adorable clothing company called Georgia Grace (crazy cool!) released some of their Spring 2014 line last night and I fell in love with this top. I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I may have to. She needs a few pieces with her name in them! :)

I check social media and do my Jesus Reading (current-Love Does by Bob Goff). Always time well spent.

Bedtime. Tomorrow starts in approximately 6 1/2 hours.

So that's what a typical, very boring and very real day looks like at the Harrison Homeplace. Thanks for hanging with me and enduring the 26 iphone quality pictures! It was a fun day at home living life with the ones I love most.

Georgia is 15 Months Old!

I stopped doing monthly posts after her first birthday but I think it's time for a little return to tradition at the 15 month marker. A lot happens in 3 months of life! Plus I have dearly missed taking her picture in her rocker with her chalkboard every month so this gave me a great excuse to do it again except we created a "big girl" version.

Georgia-you are FIFTEEN months old!

• You weigh 20 pounds and are 30 inches tall. You are wearing 12 month clothing and a size 5 shoe. You wear size 3 diapers. You are petite and perfectly you!
• You vocabulary has really broadened in the last 3 months. You are saying around 15-20 words. You still have a lot of baby jabber too that is so precious to hear. One of the funniest things you do is when you go to leave a room, you point your finger at us and say "Right back" ha! And you've just started saying "Love you" but Aunt Shanna is the chosen one and is the only one that has heard that.
• For the past few months bath time has not been a happy time until last week. We gave you a bubble bath (using your baby soap) and you had a big time and there were no tears! We think your bath fear was related to your ears so hopefully we have turned the corner.

• Your new favorite expression is this huge squinty eye grin. You use it a lot and you're smart about using it to your advantage.
• You have 8 teeth: 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. You can eat pretty much anything now as long as it is small bites. You actually really love meat and it appears you will prefer the salty foods like your daddy. Sweets are kind of take it or leave it with you. You also love prunes, cheese (long time favorite), beans, carrots, and spaghetti.
• Bedtime is around 9p and on good nights you sleep until time for daddy to leave for work which is around 7:20a. Sleep has been somewhat disrupted over the past quarter but we're hoping that will resolve soon. We don't have much of a bedtime schedule right now but I know that will come with time. You are taking one big 2-2 1/2 hour nap every day.
• You continue to take a bottle but you can drink from a straw sippy so we are (very) gradually weaning you. You still have a bottle whenever you want one but we offer the sippy often so that it will become routine for you.
• You can tell us where eyes, nose, mouth, and ears (most of the time) are.  

• You are fast and into everything! You will run from daddy when he chases you, climb on anything you are big enough and you can create a mess in 1.243423 seconds flat. Your new trick is using Owen as a stepping stool by climbing on his back and then climbing up onto the couch.
• You love going to church and anywhere in public. You are quite the crowd pleaser with your parade-style wave and frequent "Hiddy" salutations.
• You are an excellent car rider. You love to travel and go places. You are quite the busy body but a good car ride calms and usually lulls you right to sleep. Traveling with you has been very easy.
• Your favorite toys-kitchen, table and chairs (you REALLY enjoy climbing on top of your table), baby and stroller, LeapFrog Shapes & Sharing Picnic Basket, my ink pens (ha!), plush monkey, inflatable castle ball pit and Laugh & Learn farm.

That is chalk on her nose and forehead after she decided to use the chalkboard as a hat :)

We are 1/4 of the way through year two of your life. How that is possible I have no idea! These days are so fleeting and we try to cherish every moment that we can. The good, the hard, the easy, the trying. I know we will miss them when this stage of life transitions into the next.

We love you so much! More than you will ever know or comprehend. Our worlds revolve around what is best for you and what we can do to give you the best life possible. I pray for you everyday and thank God for allowing me to be your mother.

Happy 15 months, Georgia Grace Harrison! Let's take it a little slower these next 3 months shall we? :)

Week In Review

This week we...

...bonded with daddy (he's back 100% after being down with Type A flu last week). Marcus only had to work one day due to MLK and snow days so lots of tea parties, taking care of babydolls, and tickle fests went down this week. Her favorite thing to do in her nursery is completely clear her table off and remove the sink from her kitchen. She's our bull in a china shop!

Tea party in action. Her kitchen keeps her busy for a long time.

...woke up to snow and subzero temperatures. This was my view one morning leaving for work. It's been such a COLD winter. Nearly painful. I'm not wishing time away but I'll say that we will welcome spring with open arms!

...took a family trip for shopping and errand running. One of Marcus' snow days was on Thursday which was so nice. Our little snow bunny was all snuggled in ready for the outing. And to think I almost didn't buy her a snowsuit this year. We have worn it out.

...cured winter blues with a trip to Target to do a little spring shopping for my mini fashionista. I made a resolution that I wasn't going to buy anything for myself in January and February so I bypassed my section completely and went straight to the baby and shoes department where I found these little pieces of perfection! I may have let out a verbal "Eeek" when I seen them. Hope no one was close by. I also got her a swimsuit, dress (in mint, adding her monogram), and cardigan (pink). We've got a good start to her spring wardrobe.

...took 2 1/2 hour naps and completely missed the entire family outing. She slept through every store we went to so one of us sat in the car while the other went inside to get the goods. She woke up as we were coming home. I think she could tell how cold it was outside and didn't want any part of it.

...had an extra furry creature shack up with us. Yes, we had a mouse. We sat a trap but did not catch it and haven't heard it since so we think he's long gone. I hid in the bathroom of course.

(And I just realized my bony long fingers look extra creepy in this picture. Sorry about that :/ )

...had our biggest accomplishment by overcoming our fear of baths! Praise Jesus! This was the first tub bath we have given her since her surgery. I have to believe her fear of baths/water was all related to ear pain it caused. And now we don't have to worry about that. Marcus and I were so so so happy. I think we are overcoming the season.

It's been a really good week. Our baby is happier, we were blessed with some extra family time, and it's starting to feel like 2014 is going to be a fantastic year for us. Hope your week was equally as enjoyable!

Baby On Board: Tips For Air Travel With A Baby

We took our first flight with our 14 month old daughter a few weeks ago. Truth be told we had a very well-rounded flying experience which included TSA liquid inspections, an on-plane 1 hour delay, a near miss layover flight and through it all, a happy cooperative baby. Thank you sweet Jesus.

Leading up to our trip I became anxious thinking about all the things that I would have to pack and keep up with and all the random google searches this huge event would provoke. Flying with a baby for the first time is a HUGE deal. I definitely didn't want to be a mommy fail.

So I took to the internet to seek out any information that I could find to make the trip less stressful. The best resources I found was this TSA link and a Delta airlines article for traveling with babies. From these ever so clever links I learned that:

• Children up to 2 years of age can fly for free (already knew this but confirmation is always nice)
• Breastmilk, baby formula, or any type of baby food (whole milk in a bottle in our case) are exempt from the 3.4 ounce carry-on rule in reasonable quantities.
• Strollers and carseats fly for free and are not counted as a carry-on item
I was surprised and thrilled when I discovered how much airlines catered to their littlest travelers.


Packing
First things first. I had to make a packing list for Georgia Grace's main luggage items and carry-on luggage. There were several things that I knew I wanted at my finger tips just in case  but at the same time keeping in mind that carry-on real estate was a hot commodity.

Her carry-on backpack contained:

wipes

spoons (read: favorite toy)

changing pad

blanket

babydoll

container of puff snacks and cheerios

diapers

a book

cheese & crackers

diaper bag dispenser

extra footed jammies

(not pictured-Children's Motrin)

I think we used every item on this list at least once during our air travels. Important stuff!

Also it should be noted that this bag counted as her diaper bag so I was still able to have my own carry-on bag.

I was also allowed to bring on a cooler of her "food" which included three milk bottles, slices of cheese (her favorite food), and bags of apple slices (I stocked up on the McDonald's bags). I put a small bed of ice in the bottom and everything stayed nice and cool.

TSA Inspections

I was probably the most anxious about this part. Thankfully we all passed through security without any problems. However, we were required to do special security testing of the milk bottles. 



The Nashville airport procedure involved taking each of our milk bottles and putting them in the big black box seen in the left of the picture. The bottle stayed in for about 15 seconds until we heard a beep. The bottle was removed and put back into the cooler until all three bottles had been scanned successfully with no signs of hazardous substances.

The procedure was completely different in Jackson Hole. I had to remove the caps from the bottles and the TSA officer waved a small strip of paper that he had put a drop of clear liquid on over the milk. Curious me asked him what he was actually testing for and his reply was "anything that could blow the plane up". Well okay then.

We passed in both airports and were able to keep all of our carry-on goodies. Hallelujah!

Another perk of traveling with a baby (if you're coach passengers like ourselves) is you are allowed to preboard. That was especially nice considering all the paraphernalia we had in tow.

Our mini passenger on her first ever plane ride. She knocked it out of the park on our way to Wyoming. She is such the traveler. And yes, she traveled in style in her cupcake footed pajamas. Comfort AND fashion. :) 

She didn't pay attention to the takeoff and landing, made friends with the passengers all around us, and had fun jumping from lap to lap. Since there were three of us adults we took up one whole side of the plane which made it easier to corale her and give her a new person to play with periodically.

Here's a tip on how to keep your baby busy on a long flight. It's called the #tapetrick (Thanks IG!). All you do is cut painters tape into strips and attach them to the tray in front of you-instant game of ripping the tape off over and over again. Georgia Grace was probably starting to age out of this trick but it still provided 5-10 minutes of entertainment at a time. I think 6-12 months would be the perfect age. So easy and low maintenance!

Our first flying experience with a baby was a success. I'm glad I didn't let fear rob me of a wonderful trip and a multitude of memories we will never forget.

Five On Friday

Is it just me or has this felt like a super duper long week?

It's probably just me considering the eventful week we have had. I feel like we are limping across the finish line to Friday.

I think I jinxed this week when I sat down and planned out our meals. It seems like everytime I do that our schedule gets turned upside down and I don't get a chance to cook one time. I loathe changes in schedule. It's probably my biggest pet peeve.

So the question is could this be a sign for me to stay out of the kitchen? Maybe so :)

One

Sweet girl is doing so well. There's nothing much to report because she seems really normal. No drainage and lots of energy. I think she drug out every toy she owns last night and played hard. But Owen was her favorite toy of course. He puts up with a lot, such a good dog.

Two

This was the text I received from Marcus after getting the news he has Type A flu. He went to the doctor yesterday after being sick since Tuesday. He has felt down right horrible. He has stayed with grandmomma two nights this week so I've been doing the single mom thing quite a bit. Don't like it one bit. We both really miss him. The good news is there is no school Monday (Update-and no school today, another snow day! Beautiful timing) so he will get an extra day to rest and recover. I'm praying he gets well and GGH and I can avoid the plague. I think I've finally talked him into getting vaccinated though...

Three

I love when people love my daughter and she has been loved well through her procedure. We have received several phone calls, texts, messages, prayers, a sweet book from our pastor and of course, food. I was so thankful for all of these things.

And then I checked the mail on Wednesday and found a package from Darcy. It was a get well box full of things to help Georgia Grace make a full recovery and a personal note with each item. PJs for comfort, a Minnie straw sippy to practice our new skills, bath letters to hopefully change her feelings toward that particular event and so on. Seriously one of the most thoughtful and intentional gifts I've ever received. So thankful for her friendship and heart of gold!

Four

Marcus received his Masters diploma in the mail last week. And I submitted his application for a school principal program yesterday. I'm blessed with such a smart & ambitious husband.

Five

Poor daddy was quarantined to grandmomma's house so that called for a facetime date. He received tons of "da-das", phone kisses, and big theatrical jabber stories last night. Hopefully this is our last night of separation. It's not "home" without him.

TGIF times a thousand! Is it spring yet?