Sweet Baby Breath

Ezra just cut his first tooth--Christmas Eve, Natalja discovered it. Any finger he can get a hold of goes straight to his mouth...and he has such a tight grip, see my finger turning reddish purple!

"Mine...get your own finger" I love this look he gets, furrowed eyebrows and all.

Holding Ben's hand..oh my, crazy difference, I do love how "manly" my kid's hands are!

I can't get enough of Ezra sucking his little fingers......so SO CUTE...yeah yeah, I know, it won't be so when he is older and still doing it...maybe we will be so fortunate to not have to break him of it! I just am so "in love" with this bebe....everything about him...his cute little fingers that are finally starting to look big like the other boys, his crazy long feet and toes, his skinny little (but very muscular) body, his "old man" balding head--seriously, he has this thick band of hair at the base of his head in the back, thinking about shaving it off!--and even his sweet baby breath! Am I just crazy or have other people thought that they're baby's breath was sweet smelling?

Adventures with new Lens!

Fast forward, I will get back to Christmas happenings later................
So Benjamin was my guinea pig the other day...Kenny got me a new lens for my camera! I'm so looking forward to achieving some awesome shots of my kiddos that are growing up way too fast but it's gonna take lots of practice since I really don't know what I am doing and it would be a shame to have a good camera wasted on me...so this will be a long journey, hope you will all hang on and enjoy the ride!

The day after I received my new zoom lens (Tamron AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3), I looked up this site that my friend Olivia turned me on to: http://www.mamarazzischool.com/ Now I have a new appreciation for my other lens--50mm, now that I am learning FINALLY use it! I feel mostly complete with my "kit" now (except for an external flash--but that is the next goal) and super siked about bribing the kiddos into as many photo ops as possible and still manage our life!

So that's that, hope you like and any feed back would be so LOVED!

**Ben insisted on picking out his own outfit...what happened to that cute lil' guy that let me dress him and do his hair any way I wanted, why does he need to become opinionated as he grows up, yikes!

Merry Christmas!

I was late getting to my Christmas Card and then when I did get to it, I wasn't very happy with it! These were the two pics I chose from....tough choice, they were both cute. The first one truly shows Elijah in the norm. My friend Olivia sent the cutest card this year, check out her blog-

http://www.oliviawagnerphoto.blogspot.com/ I'm jealous...she used the cutest paper and the boys look like they are straight out of a Gap ad, love,love LOVE IT!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating with family and friends far and near, remembering that our awesome God gave us the most wonderful gift of all, the birth of His only son Jesus.

This year we will be spending Christmas Eve at my Mom's house and then go to my Mother-in-Law's on New Years Eve for The Harrison Christmas. And as usual, spend Christmas Day at home just me Kenny and the kids, have brunch, play with gifts, snuggle up for a nap and try to see a movie at the theatre, then have dinner at the usual, China Buffet!

I miss going to my Grandparents in Branson , MO for Christmas--we use to try each year, all of us grandkids and fams but we have just gotten too large of a group. I love the overload of spending each holiday with as many family members as possible....my husband doesn't like that and although I'm sure kids would enjoy it, I would probably go insane dragging them everywhere....so I should just be thankful that at least we see small amounts of family through out the holiday season. And I am, really. I just miss the ones I don't see :(

Little Big Man

Oh my...I just could not decide which pics I liked best! He looked so cute in all of them...ah, sweet, sweet Ezra. He has gotten a bit more calm these past few weeks, I'm not sure why, perhaps it is because he is nearing that 4 month mark (the 27th). He is finally sleeping through the night in his bassinet (most nights anyway) and hopefully we will transition him to his crib soon! He is trying to sit up, it looks kinda like he is doing little abdominal crunches. He is also teething which isn't anything abnormal with my boys since Ben and Elijah cut their first teeth at 4 months. He is still kind of smallish but I have enjoyed that since we won't be having anymore babies...I can admire all of his little tiny features and embrace this stage that seems to disappear into thin air. When I hold Elijah, I'm saddened by how fast time flies and even more so when Ben runs up from behind me and throws his half adult sized arms around me! How did he grow up so suddenly? Boo hoo!

BLOG WITHDRAWLS!!!!!!

The past two weeks have been crazy busy. Elijah got sick--stomach flu--last wednesday and it lasted till this past tuesday! I'm so tired of puke and poop! Elijah has made me realize just how easy Benjamin has been these past 7 years! The only times we ever knew that Ben was sick was when we happened to find vomit in the sink or in the toilet...he was rarely sick and even then not really rocked by it! Elijah is a total different story! Whinny, clingy, energy drained (huge blessing---let me know if you are sick so I can bring him around--haha), no appetite and won't drink anything but water so he is very hard to keep hydrated and get his electrolytes up! He woke up most nights that week vomiting and screaming--sometimes 2-3x a night!

So because he was sick we were unable to witness Ben's latest Tae Kwan Do promotion test! Kenny took him and he earned his solid yellow belt! He is doing so well...he is so eager to excel that he has actually been practicing at home now---which also inspires Elijah to continue imitating Ben--too cute!

I absolutely love it when Ezra sucks on his fingers--probably will be eating those words when he is 2-3-4-5 and still doing it! None of my boys would take a pacifier and I tried to encourage the other two to suck their thumbs hoping they would learn to self-sooth but that never worked so it's nice to finally have one do so!

I LOVE my baby wrap....it's a must have for any new parent..wished I would have had one with the other two. I even got my mom to "wear" Ezra at her last visit (she came to play Trouble with Ben).

Another "Surprise" Pregnancy!

Ha..no, not me (cringe). My other sis, Christine, just announced that she is having #5....what is this some kind of contest? I'm competitive but this is not my kind of game! haha. Chrissy said they weren't trying to have another and actually felt like there were done with 4 but she is very excited nonetheless! She found out that her estimated due date is Aug 2nd (Elijah's bday). Well I'm glad they are happy, just a little shocked but I never believed her when she said she didn't want anymore because she is at her happiest when she is pregnant!

Thankksgiving Surprise!

Unfortunately I don't have a picture to go with this! We had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Natalja's last Sunday---first time ever not having it at Mom's or my Mother-in-Laws! Well, before we said grace Jason asked if anyone wanted to share a special thanks this year and a couple shared and then Jason whispered in Alexandra's ear to share hers...."I'm thankful for the baby in mommy's tummy!" I knew it......I knew they weren't done! About a year after Alex was born I told Tal that I just had this strong feeling that they would have two more and they would come after Alex was around 4 yrs old! Her due date is a few weeks before Alex's 4th bday! Well, I'm no prophetess...but I was right on....at least about there being one more. Oh and just for the record...I said that they would be about 2 yrs apart, one boy and one girl....either order, no strong feelings either way! Tal said this is it though! That would drastically change their car situation...they have a dodge Durango now that will seat 7. I'm so excited for them....now I have a reason to save all my baby clothes.....since we have gone through with the vasectomy--Kenny went back to work this past Monday but he said he is extremely sore!

Look-a-like(s)

Ezra--3 months

Ben--left Elijah--right at 3 months old

We basically keep reproducing the same child.....why mess with perfection, eh? haha . If only I could perfect their behavior!

My Diabetic Diet

During my pregnancy with Ezra I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and it was a blessing, really! For the first time ever I dropped all of my pregnancy weight and it happened 2 weeks after delivering Ezra! Not only that but I also only gained 23 lbs (I basically lost weight the last 6 weeks of pregnancy). With Ben I gained 44 lbs and with Elijah 35 lbs and I never fully recovered from them...so now my goal is hopefully get to my pre-parenthood weight! I don't usually like to share my weight (naturally, does any girl?) but I have been pleased with my unexpected changes and now feel Ike my goals really are possible. I now weigh 159 and wear a size 12, my goal is to get down to 135 (I will settle for 140) and wear a size 8...........I hope my body hasn't changed too much, I know I will never wear a size 6 again! I have pretty much plateaued since Ezra's 1 month checkup - he is now 3 months. Since he was born the plan was to stick to the diet and slowly but surely I have veered from that and polluted my body with sweet, delicious, tasty, sugary treats! Therefore the diet has stopped working wonders for me, Ugh! Guess I am gonna have to actually work at this, nothing comes easy, at least not for long! Well, I still refuse to buy a scale so I will just continue to weigh myself at Ezra's well check-ups...the next one is Dec 27. Some of you have asked for the diabetic diet plan that I followed so here it
is:

Breakfast---------- 1 Carb(dairy/milk) 2 Protein 2 Fat

ie: Cheese omelet(1 whole+ 1 egg white) with 1 oz cheese melted on top cooked in a little butter plus 1 cup of milk........turkey bacon/sausage are a good protein if you get tired of eggs

Morning Snack---- 1 Carb 1 Protein

ie: 2 tsp peanut butter with 4-6 low sodium crackers and water...or 1 cup light yogurt + 3 graham cracker squares....or 1 oz cheese (I liked string cheese sticks) with Kashi crackers

Lunch-------------- Carb(2 bread, 1 fruit, 1 dairy, 1 veggie) 2 Protein 1 Fat

ie: Sandwich with 2 slices 100% whole wheat bread, 1oz lunch meat, 1 slice of cheese( I liked provolone) ,1 tsp mayo (mustard is free) 1 cup raw carrots, 1apple and ice tea/water......or a chef's salad with a whole wheat roll 15 grapes and milk/water

Afternoon Snack-- 1 Protein 1 Fruit

ie: 2 tsp peanut butter and an apple....or 1/2 c. cottage cheese and peaches (1/2 c. if canned)...or a handful of almonds and an orange

Dinner-------------- Carb(2 bread, 1 fruit, 1 milk, 1 veggie) 2 Protein 1 Fat

ie: 1 Chicken breast, small baked potato with 1 tsp. butter and 1T. light sour cream, 1/2-1 c. cooked broccoli, 1 small dinner roll, 1 med banana, 1 c. milk.....or 1/2 c.cooked spaghetti with 2/3 c. spaghetti sauce with ground turkey, 1 oz fresh grated Parmesan cheese + small side salad and fat free dressing, 3/4 c. mandarin oranges, milk/water/decaf coffee/tea

Evening Snack----- 1 Carb 1 Protein

ie: same as afternoon snack.....sometimes I ate 2/3c. Kashi cereal with 1c. skim milk...and sometimes even 1 scoop vanilla bean ice cream with a little drizzle of melted peanut butter! I warn you though...it is hard to eat only 1 scoop, it is almost torture!

ONCE YOU GET THE HANG OF THE COMBOS AND THE TIMING--EAT EVERY 2-3 HOURS--IT'S A CINCH!

Kenny is getting "fixed"

Kenny is scheduled to have his vasectomy Thursday(tomorrow)! We went to his consultation last Friday and the doctor decided it would be in Kenny's best interest to have the surgery performed at the hospital under anesthesia instead of the office....I will spare you all the details..ha! I'm glad for Kenny because he was nervous, naturally, and this way he can sleep through it but I'm bummed that it is gonna cost more now! Oh well, it would cost us more to have another unexpected pregnancy (we just paid off the hospital bill on Elijah and now we are working out payment plans for Ezra). I'm happy that we are doing this but I do have to say that the finality of it caused me to be a little emotional! I really, really know that we are done having kids but permanent is permanent! The nurse told Kenny to be ready for a recliner, remote and bag of frozen peas for 3 days! Lucky him...three days of rest.....when I bore his children did I get 3 full days of rest? I'm sure that comment will be up for debate!

My Mom

My mom usually stops by for a visit on Mondays after her class (around noon) and stays long enough to enjoy a board game with Benjamin after she pics him up from school at 2:35. I really enjoy spending time with her and I love seeing her with the boys. There is just something so special about witnessing the relationship between a grandparent and your kids. It is sobering really and usually allows me to see past all the hardships of being the day -to-day responsible parent! The kids look forward to their time with Nonnie so much...Elijah is ecstatic when she comes through the door and Ben is always expectant the moment he walks out of the school. I can't wait to see how her relationship with Ezra blossoms. The times she hasn't been able to be here is a BIG disappointment to Ben and to the rest of us, including her! I am so proud of her accomplishments! She is well on her way to becoming a great Surgical Technologist....she is living out her dream. The last two weeks have left her looking forward to the rest of her clinicals, she has already assisted in several surgeries and now she no longer speaks English but rather "medical textbook"! I'm so excited for her, to see her enjoying her new found passion.

Halloween

I know that I am late getting these posted and truth be told, I actually took some of these three days after Halloween...I just didn't capture too many good shots as we were trick-or-treating!
These are some of my favorites, enjoy!


Arrrr!

Kenny can always get him to smile :)

I can fly, I think I can, I think I can!

Ezra--2 months old!

wow..2 months old already! He now weighs 9lbs 13oz and is 23 3/8" long.

the Harrison Girls

My sister, Natalja, met me at Sam's Club this afternoon to pick up some bulk items and so afterwards she stopped by to visit. I love when we get to spend time together...I love my sisters so much I don't know what I would ever do without them, they really are some of my favorite people! I adore how smitten Tal is with my boys, maybe she's so taken with them because she doesn't have boys or maybe she really is just drawn to each of their personalities...either way it brings me a lot of satisfaction. I think we all take it as a compliment when people genuinely like our kids! These are my sister's beautiful daughters, they are also my husband's brother's daughters. That's right...my sister married Kenny's brother and they have these four gorgeous jewels--Isabell-9, Jacqueline-7, Abigail-5, and Alexandra-3!

A Trio of Harrison Boys

Cute Look-a-Likes! I just want to eat them up when they're like this!