Harris Family: 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Too Fast

Time flies by way too fast. The days are so long sometimes, but the weeks, months, and years just go so fast. It amazes me almost every day that I have 2 children, and one of them is 3 years old! How can I have a three year old...I swear I JUST graduated high school! Not the case though-it has been almost 7 years since I graduated. I officially just realized how old I really am! Three years ago though we brought this little guy home from the hospital.

He made us smile then, and he's still doing it today. He fills each day with laughter and DANCE. He brings a smile to my face when the day has been a hard one, and it seems like Halli hasn't stopped fussing. He makes me giggle when I should be disciplining him. I love how he snuggles with me after he wakes up in the morning, and afternoon naps. I love the way he can cheer Halli up-even when she is crying. I love how friendly and outgoing he is, and how he calls everyone a friend. He teaches me things each day like how to enjoy the little things like ladybugs and ducks. He shows me how to shake my thang and not care what dad thinks of us cause we're having fun. I love that he tells me his best friends are mom, dad, and Halli. I LOVE how much he loves me.

I could go on and on about how much I love him. I just wanted to say enjoy each moment. The good, and the bad. The happy, and sad. The hard, and the easy. I am trying to appreciate each day with Halli (even through the fussiness and crying) because I know that in a moment she will be 3 then 5 then 10. Live in the moment...live for today!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Carson's Birthday

Carson turned 3 years old yesterday, and Halli will be 6 months old tomorrow. These kids just grow like weeds! It is amazing how much they both have grown in the past few months. I was able to get home early from work yesterday so we could spend some time playing some games that Carson got for his birthday. He was so excited about presents and we just love seeing him get all excited about stuff. Besides games, Carson got new shoes and PJ's that he definitely needed. He also got a couple movies and a some toys. I think all the gifts got him ready for Christmas.

In other news, Halli started eating baby food and we discovered that she really likes squash. I even had a little (Its not bad). But i guess anything tastes better than that nasty formula. Halli has been rolling around like crazy and is attempting to crawl. She hasn't figured out what to do when she gets up on her hands and knees. I'm just surprised that she can lift those chubby legs up to get on her knees in the first place. She needs to give some of that chub to Carson... he's turning in to a little stick.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

What I'm grateful for most

Naturally this time of year my thoughts turn to all the things I am blessed with. Like many of you, my family is what I am most thankful for. This Thanksgiving we expected to spend it here in Kansas alone-trying things on our own for the first time. Sunday night I got off the phone with my parents and Ryan and I decided to leave right away and drive to Utah. It was totally a last second, spontaneous decision, and we had such a great time. We didn't tell my family we were coming so it was a total surprise when we showed up Monday morning on the door step. We surprised my mom, and then my dad and brother when they came home from school-theirs was by far the best reaction! We then surprised my sisters and soon to be brother-in-law Tuesday evening. They kind of expected something, but were still surprised to see us.

We had a wonderful week together with them! Carson and Halli loved all the attention and the fun games we got to play. They learned how to play duck-duck-goose, and both loved it. Halli loved bonking heads and running with me. Aubry also took some family photos for us the day we left. We went out later at night than we planned too, but they turned out really good for almost being dark! Thanks to her for getting us all together in a photo, and some of the kiddies together!

We drove back to Kansas Saturday night/Sunday morning and have enjoyed the week back here at home. We sure are looking forward to being in Michigan for 2 weeks during Christmas break! We'll get to see our family, and some of our best friends Jon and Becca. We are really excited to sleep in for a couple weeks too! Hope you all have an enjoyable season!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The beginning of the end

So tonight is the first night of letting Halli cry/scream herself to sleep. She fell asleep on her own without a peep, but then woke up an hour later and has been screaming for an hour so I'm trying hard to ignore it and focus on something else. So tonight is the beginning of the end of no sleep. I'm hoping we can start getting a good night sleep in the next couple of days. We have moved Halli's crib into Carson's room and Carson into our room for a couple days while we "transition". Hopefully she will learn in a few days and Ryan and I can have our room back to ourselves!
Yesterday was Halli's five month mark, and I was just looking back at the photos we have of her. It is amazing how much she has changed in such a short time. This photo was taken when she was 10 days old.

And this is a photo of her from Saturday. Her hair is a completely different color. Most of it has fallen out and regrown, but I miss that really dark hair. She still has that crazy curly afro thing going on with it though so that is pretty sweet.

She has learned to do so much in such a short time too-things like rolling both ways-back to stomach, and stomach to back. I put her down in one spot on the floor and find her in a completely different place turned the opposite way somehow. Sitting on her own is another thing she is trying to accomplish. She is also working on getting up on all fours-I think she'll be crawling in the next month. Even though she is a high maintenance baby we sure have enjoyed having her in our lives!
Good news...at the moment she has stopped crying. Maybe I can sneak off to bed now and try to get some sleep before she wakes up again in a couple hours looking for someone to come comfort her and stick her binki in. Poor girl just doesn't know what she is in for the next couple of days...I guess it will be a rough week for all of us here. Just pray I can keep my sanity for a bit longer!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

New Favs

I just wanted to post my new favorite photos and videos of my little kiddies! Here they are...Carson is doing what he always does-DANCING!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Panda, Poop, and Pumpkins

So it has been a long couple weeks. We all happened to get sick a couple weeks ago, so we have gotten even less sleep than usual. We did manage to make it through Halloween. We carved pumpkins and made fun treats. Carson was a lion and Halli was a panda. Unfortunately most people mistook her for a cow. I had to correct them and say, "Yes, she is a cow... in a panda costume." So yeah, besides being sick and tired, the weather was great and we had fun trick-or-treating. Carson loaded up on candy...we are going to have to help him out with getting rid of all those goodies.

In other good news, Carson went poo poo in the big potty for the first time. Our previous bribe was that we would take him to see Wall-e, but since he took so stinkin long to git er done, we are going to take him to see Madagascar 2. He is pretty excited. Also, Carson has a new favorite song. Its "Love Lock Down" by Kanye West. Yeah, i guess he saw him perform on the Ellen show a couple weeks ago and started asking for it. Now every time i turn music on he asks for "luv luv down". I guess i will post yet another video or Carson dancing. I really dont know where he learned to shake it like that.
Halli is pretty much the same except fatter and louder. She has been talking a lot more too. She is a cutie.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we decided that we were going to follow a sign we saw for a pumpkin patch here in town. Carson was pretty excited to go pick out a pumpkin. When we pulled up, we found out that this pumpkin patch consisted of a large number of pumpkins sitting on crates... in a parking lot... in the middle of town. I was like, "Seriously? This is it?" I guess Kansas has a different definition of a pumpkin patch. So yeah, we were pretty bummed. But, the disappointment all went away when we noticed the large blow-up castle off to the side. Carson could have cared less about the idea of walking through a field to pick out a pumpkin because he was jumping in a huge inflated castle! Can life get better? I don't think so. Anyways, we ended up getting a couple pumpkins anyways, even though it wasn't the experience we were looking for. Sad to say, that was the most exciting thing that happened this weekend. I enjoy just being home with my children. They are so great... even though they can be little stinkers every once and a while. Work has been a little stressful lately because Boeing is on strike and that has affected us greatly. Many people in the company are on shortened work weeks and there is a potential round of lay-offs coming soon. It is stressful every day at work because there are many that are afraid to get laid off. I am blessed to be in a good position to continue working full weeks. Coming home to Tiffani and the kids just makes my stress go away. Ok, this is getting pretty long so i'm going to stop. Oh, check out the legs on Halli!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Fall is Here!

Fall is my favorite season. I just love the cool weather, the beautiful colors, and the fun things to do in the fall. I have been walking with the kids in the mornings, and we have all really enjoyed it. Carson always loves to be outside and ask all sorts of questions about what he sees. Halli is so happy when she is snuggled in her little baby bjorn and able to look around. And I just love being outside and getting a break for the craziness of the house. The other day we walked to the park and while Carson was playing I was just really appreciating the beauty of the earth. The sky was so blue and clear as can be, the wind was blowing ever so gently bringing the wonderful smell of leaves to my nose, and the way the sun was hitting dew in the grass made it shimmer. What a wonderful time-how could I not appreciate it!!!

We have been doing well. I have found somethings to do around the town that keep us busy during the week. We take a weekly trip to the library, go to cookie bookie (a nice book club for little kids where they read a book, eat cookies, and do crafts. We also get a free book each week we go which is awesome!!), Carson's swim "lessons", walks, and whatever else we find to do. I think this week I will try to take the kids to the zoo one morning. I know Carson will love it, and I'm sure Halli will be just fine as long as she is being carried around. I just hope it won't be too hard to do without Ryan. We'll see I guess.

Halli is growing so fast, and learning new things everyday. I forget how fast they change. Wasn't that a wonderful talk President Monson gave today in Conference about change and appreciating each moment. That talk really touched my heart. Sometimes all I can think about is when Halli is older and can play with Carson so I can find some time to do things for myself. I know I will miss these moments that I have with her now though. Time goes by so fast, and I already miss the way Halli was last month. What great council! It is definitly something I will be working on in the coming weeks, days, and hours. We are well and happy-hope you all are too!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

New location

Things have been busy for us lately. We moved to a new apartment 2.5 weeks ago so we were busy packing and unpacking things for a while. We are getting to know the new area we are in, and really liking it. We love our new apartment-well as far as apartments can go. It is a bit bigger than our last one, has been better maintained, is less expensive, closer to Ryan's work, and it is on a golf course so we get free golfing anytime we want! We haven't been yet, but we are excited to find a babysitter and get out there! My parents bought us both golf clubs for our graduation gifts last year (THANKS!!!), but we haven't used them yet so we need to ASAP. I am really looking forward to going soon-I guess I need to buy a cute golf outfit first!
Halli is growing like a weed. She had a doctor appointment yesterday. At 3 and a half months she is weighing in at 14 pounds 8 ounces which is about the 80th percentile (or as the doctor said-robust), and she is 26 inches long which is off the charts. She is so long-not too lean, but definitely long!

Here is a photo of her that was taken on Sunday. I put a new dress on her and walked out to show Ryan and Carson and Carson said "Oh Halli, you are a princess" (Thanks for the cute dress Lois!) It was cute so I had to take a picture of her. I have also been wanting to post of photo of me, but all the pictures we have are of our children, but Ryan took one with Halli and I in her dress so I could show my "new" haircut. I actually got it cut the end of July, but haven't had any photos so here is my new/old cut. It has grown a bunch since but oh well.
Ryan is enjoying his job, and is expecting to start working a lot of overtime sometime next month. It will be hard for me, Carson, and Halli, but it will be nice to have some extra money for Christmas! We'll see just how much overtime it will be when it comes I guess. Speaking of Christmas-my sister Aubry got engaged on Sept 12 (her birthday) and is going to be getting married on December 20th. I am so excited and happy for her and Michael! They are so fun and great together.

Carson is doing ok these days. He has been throwing a lot of fits, and screaming at me a lot...I have tried to figure out the best way to discipline him (time outs, taking prized toys away, putting his blanket in time out, putting him in his room, locking myself in my room) but I just can't seem to find anything that works on him. I have also tried to reward and praise him for good behavior, but that seems to do nothing with the bad. If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. I am just hoping that the "terrible two's" will end when he turns three-or shortly after! On a happier note with him though, we did sign him up for some swimming "lessons" at the rec center here and he just loves it. We go twice a week and get to splash around for a while-he loves the water.

I am doing well. Some days are fantasticly fun, other days are deadly difficult, but we are enjoying life and the changing season. I have also been working on a project/business venture idea for the past week so, and I am really excited about it, and enjoy it alot! So look for some forth comming news and photos on my attempt to do something in my "spare" time.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Gas Prices

So we went to fill up our car today with gas, and I was just thinking how fast the gas prices went up this year. I was also wondering what prices are like around the country, so tell me what you are paying per gallon to fill up your tank. Today we paid $3.37 which I hear is pretty good-let me know!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Dad's new art blog!

Today I started on an art blog for my dad. You may have seen the old website which was linked below, but until the new site is functional, I thought it may be good to create a blog to more easily keep people posted about new art, shows, etc. Please give it a look if you get the chance and link it on your blog or website. Help us get the word out! Thanks and enjoy.... the link is called Watercolor Backroads. Thanks!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Air Show & Park Party

Two weeks ago we were sitting at home on Saturday and we decided to go to the park to play. Lucky for us some church was putting on a carnival thing at the park and they had tons of fun stuff to do. We all had a fun time being outside doing something out of the ordinary. It was a nice surprise! Carson was a little bit hesitant to get his face painted, so I got mine painted first then he was excited for it! He was also really really excited to see the fire trucks that were right next to the park. He has been wanting to get a close look of the fire trucks for a long time!

Last Saturday there was an air show at this small airport by our apartment so Ryan took Carson over there and check it out. They had a fun time-Carson is still talking about it. He just loved seeing all the airplanes and helicopters. Ryan bought him a little toy airplane while they were there and it is his new favorite toy. He has also been telling me frequently that daddy works on airplanes-he seems proud of it somehow. It is just fun to see the things that mean so much to him. Carson just loved this little plane he got to sit in-too bad something like that would cost hundreds of dollars. It would be a way fun toy to get!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Carson

So I did I post about Halli last week, and I thought I should do one about Carson too. Plus my sister Aubry took a ton of great photos of Carson while we were on vacation I just had to share some of them. I really appreciate her taking so many shots of my children because I never remember to. Carson had a lot of fun on our vacation-some of the highlights for him were swimming numerous times, riding a horse, going to a parade (although I found it rather dull), hanging out with my family, getting to see Jenny (Ryan's sister), eating lots of sugar, cooking with grandma, and always having someone to do something with. He sure loved all the attention he got when he was there. And yes, he had a hard time adjusting back to just my attention-he threw lots of fits. He is doing much better now though and has been really helpful the past couple of days.

He grows and changes so much. I don't realize or recognize it, but so much changes in him each week and month. He still enjoys drawing and playing ball. Those are probably his two favorite things to do. Any game we come up that involves a ball he absolutely loves.
He is getting freckles...our children will all the covered in freckles because we both are. As you can tell from the photos he has one in his eyebrow. This has just come since moving here! I can't believe how fast they just pop up. He only has a handful now, but I know he'll be getting more and more as time goes on.
He is so much fun and brings so much joy and happiness to our lives. I really do look forward to spending each day with him and waiting to see what things he will come up with to say and do each day. He has a fun imagination!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Gettin' Jiggy With It

Carson was back to groovin' on vacation. I got a couple videos of him dancing, but I think this is the best one. He sure can make me laugh. Who knew anyone could dance so great to backstreet boys. ENJOY!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Halli's 2 months!

So we have a lot to post from our vacation, but I thought I would just start with some news with Halli. She is two months old already as of the 10th! The sleepless nights have seemed to pass, and she is more content with life now. She had a really rough start and seemed to be really colicky, but while I was on vacation I talked with a family friend and she told me that going off dairy really helped her colicky baby out so i tried it and went completely off dairy. The outcome-Halli is a new child!!! She is much happier and instead of crying and fussing all the time she smiles, talks, and is pretty content to just relax and lay on the floor at times! Between that and a couple of blessings she received she has improved so much! Needless to say life is going much smoother for all of us. Just a side note-I never realized how much dairy is in different foods. I am not eating any so I have to look at labels before I eat things and I am on a serious diet now! It basically cuts out all desserts, unhealthy quick meals, and chocolate so I should be dropping this baby weight in no time now :)!!

Halli is also sleeping through the night really well. She has been going to bed sometime between 7 and 9, and sleeps until about 5. She eats, goes back to sleep for a couple hours, and gets up for the day around 8. It has been a great blessing that she has been a great sleeper. I really don't function without sleep so I am glad she does so well!

She started really coming to life a couple weeks ago. She has begun "talking" to us, and smiling all the time. I can usually get a smile out of her pretty quick. Her hair is still really curly, but I am thinking her dark hair may be on its way out. The roots of her hair are a lighter more blonde color-so we'll see in the next couple of months if her hair will be changing color.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Ryan's Flashback Tunes: Mix #1

So a while back I decided that Tiff and I should dig up some of the memorable tunes that we remembered from high school. When we got searching, however, we found more and more songs. I decided that this would have to be done in numbered mixes of only a few songs at a time. Here are a few songs that brought back some memories... yeah, not necessarily good ones... just memories. Enjoy!


Crossroads-Bone Thugs

Jumper-Third Eye Blind

The Freshman-Verve Pipe

Champagne Supernova-Oasis

Good Riddance-Green Day

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Sleepin Like a Cowboy

Ok, so these pictures are a little old but i have been meaning to post them. Since i am home all alone, i have plenty of time to do things like adding to the blog. So one day we were playing cowboy. I was the horse and he was the cowboy. All he really wanted to do was have me buck him off onto the floor or the bed. Then he decided that he was going to be the horse and i was to be the cowboy.... yeah, i guess we made it work. After crawling around for a while we decided to take a nap. A cowboy nap. I had to show Carson how cowboys sleep. He thought it was pretty cool. Unfortunately he didnt let me take a nap. I also threw on a picture of Carson holding Halli. She really didnt mind being held like that. Also a pic of me and Halli. I just miss my kids! Anywho, this post is kinda random, but whatever.