Ahh.. I just love this little retreat. It's the perfect place to come and spend some family time. This year my sweet cousin Macey come with us. I gotta say, I love her! I've said before but I'll say it again, she's more like a sister than a cousin, and she's one of those people that get along with pretty much anyone and is always on your side.
It was our family anniversary vacation and having a third adult there really helped it feel like a vacation. I still made dinner but not with kids climbing up my legs ;).
We arrived Friday evening (after my annual shopping trip at Natural Grocers in Couer D'Alene, my favorite grocery store). It was raining when we got there but it cleared up pretty quickly.
We love Auntie Macey!!
Checking out the water
She couldn't wait to get in and test it out.
This was when she fell in love with 'Big Water'
It used to scare her but not anymore.
The best toy ever! Also keeps birds off the dock apparently ;).
Always my happy boy
The Cabin
Lovin it!
Me and my little man
The next day we had Harrison's first kayak trip (which was kind of adorable and thus many pictures of it) and enjoyed the lake. Emerson was loving it (remember last year she would barely sit in the shallow part) and we all had fun trying to get better at the paddle board.
He really loved the oar ;)
Her hair looks so red!?
Last year I fell but this year it was smooth sailing!
This year has been full of new joys. We've had Harrison with us this year and he is a true joy. We have also been enjoying our new house and loving the space and the feeling of being settled. It has also kept us in town a little more and I love our family routine right now. It's very classic family-with-little-kids and far from exciting in some books but it's sweet to me and helps me remember these little years. I love watching Blake snuggle up and read books or doing puzzles with Harrison crawling around while I make dinner and how much time we get together on weekend. We do the farmer's market, run errands, a little window shopping and some chores. It's just sweet and simple. Just enjoying our littles together while they're little. Smiling to each other when they do something sweet and supporting each other when they're crazy or hard or naughty.
We also had a breakthrough moment this anniversary. We had a date night!! We've had a few alone moments before but this was an official, paid-babysitter-out-for-a-drink kind of evening. We put Harrison down (only for him to wake up after we left... best laid plans) and headed out.
It . Was. Glorious.
It was sweet to have a few moments with my husband having uninterrupted, dedicated time to chat with my husband. I know why we're in this journey together, but it was nice to connect and remind ourselves. <3 p="">
I think I say this every month but what a month! Harrison is fully on the move. He keeps me on my toes more than ever.
Harrison is really enjoying his freedom. He can pull himself up along the furniture/wall/cupboards etc, walk along it, let himself down. He can go almost anywhere he wants, and it obviously makes him happy. He has always been a fan of "standing" but now he's all about getting 'walked' around and practicing his steps.
I pretty much can't get over how adorable this kid is. Those eyes. Those lashes. Those smiles. He is just so sweet and happy and easy going. He is all of those things especially when I'm holding him ;) but also when I'm not (as long as he's not hungry or tired). My favorite thing that he does lately is when you're holding him he leans out and around until he catches your gaze and the he busts out a huge grin. He also does a sweet little peek-a-boo with his blanket and just started the 'so big' routine.
He babbles a ton and loves to play vocal games and mimic the sounds I make and when I mimic his. He still watches my mouth and tries to figure out what sounds I'm making.
He understands milk, mommy, daddy, Emerson (where is..), kiss, up, bite, diaper, and his own name. And probably a few others that I haven't made note of. He hasn't made any signs yet, but I'm also not very good about modeling them consistently.
We've taken some steps backwards in the sleeping department. He used to be pretty good about going to sleep on his own but now he really fights it. It's 100% my fault because I'm having issues with him growing up and I love to snuggle him up and nurse him to sleep. He also still needs to nurse in a quiet room or he doesn't eat and gets really cranky (yet will continue to not eat).. so since I'm in a quiet dark room anyway I *might* sometimes take the opportunity to lay down for a few while I feed him. He's still in his co-sleeper at night (until he crawls over to our bed between midnight and one) but at naps he's too quick to crawl toward the edge to leave him on our bed so I've been transferring him to his crib recently. He really hates waking up in there and really isn't about to fall asleep alone in it. We'll see where this goes. I'm not in any hurry to have him sleeping on his own or in his own room so I'm not too worried. Emerson was all about our bed until one day she just wasn't. So we'll see how it goes when I night wean him eventually. In the meantime.. I love snuggling up to my little guy as he snuggles his blankie.
He's finally starting to get more into food. He's really aware of when we're eating and watches our mouths. He will grab food in a lightening second but mostly wants to play with it. He apparently doesn't like avocado! I keep trying it but one taste and he's over it. Egg yolk, liver, coconut oil and veggies he can pick up and play with/chew on. He especially likes squash, pickles and cucumbers, however, he doesn't digest those and it just makes more work for me when I'm cleaning his diapers. He does really well being fed from a spoon, which Emerson wouldn't let me do. It's nice. In general, he's not a big eater, but he is coming along at least.
I thought pictures would be super hard since he's SO mobile but he's also so social that he would give me some time if I made him smile. There are a lot because... I just couldn't pick.
