First Pair of Shoes

On December 20th, we took Harrison to the downtown Seattle Nordstroms to fit him for his first official pair of walking shoes. Nordstroms, being Nordstroms, makes a to-do of the momentous occasion which is why I chose to give them our hard earned cash. When we arrived, poor Harrison had already been awake through a morning of meeting Santa, checking out the Macy’s window display, his first ride ever on a carousel, lunch and his first experience eating french fries (the first truly solid food has ever accepted) – all of this needs to be documented on another post. Our babe was extremely tired yet sweet as we arrived on the 3rd floor kid’s shoes department. His whole body was limp and his eyes were practically rolling back in his head but we decided to take a risk and force him to stay awake and fit him for shoes.

The sales woman was surprised he was already walking at 10 months and when she measured his foot he came back at size 3.5. To give him room to grow we wanted a pair of 4’s in which they only had four styles in that size. Here is the pair we deemed worthy:

Harrison had by this time perked up and, wearing his new shoes, began walking around to test them out. I videoed the whole thing which isn’t exciting enough to post but the sales woman took a Polaroid photo, placed it in a little card with the date and a handwritten note. Harrison was then presented with a blue balloon and a stuffed “Nordy,” which is the Nordstroms kids’ mascot.

Just then, dear old dad remembered his Nordie and his experiences buying shoes there with his mom. Dad says, “mom always let me walk out of the store wearing my new shoes. It always made me happy.” Naturally, Harrison left the store sporting his new Stride Rites while mom and dad wondered why we didn’t check the price tag before agreeing to buy them. Ha!

2009 Fein Christmas Card

We have enjoyed sending a Christmas Card every year and we hope you have enjoyed receiving them. We always like to write a little something on the back and I stress about picking out the perfect photo. This year I was sure we had obtained perfection! I loved the blue and brown template, was satisfied with the write up on the back and quote on the front and most of all, we had the perfect picture.

This year, I strayed from my standard card which is usually thick cardstock with a glossy finish. I like the new matte, smaller card however the material must be more absorbent because the dark colors turned out really dark which unfortunately ruined the finished card. I would have demanded a reprint except I would never have been able to get them out to all of you in time (they did refund my money though!). That said, I wanted to show you the original picture so you can admire it in it's full glory. Thank you to Oma's nephew Ricky for taking this picture over Thanksgiving.

Handmade Christmas Gifts

Christmas 2009 included some very cool handmade gifts. Uncle Jonathan sent Harrison wood blocks that he cut, sanded and finished himself. Thankfully, he even coated them with walnut oil which is used in cooking so Harrison managed to evade poisioning. In fact, that walnut oil must be pretty tasty stuff becuase Harrison actually doesn't put many things into his mouth compared to most babies. I wish I could say he built the structure below but that was my doing.

For my little niece, who is set to make her debut in less than 3 weeks, I made her a quilt. Since her parents have more ecelctic tastes that what most fabric stores provide in the baby flanel section, I picked out some trendy Amy Butler prints and followed one of her patterns. Since it uses rectengles and squares, it was a bit more challenging than the average quilt and I certainly learned a lot along the way. I even filled it with Eco friendly organic batting which her parents will appreciate.

My brother, the self made carpenter, also built the crib. The front piece is removable so they were able to sit in it to take this picture. I am very excited for my niece to arrive! I have several other projects in mind for her but there is so much going on right now they are on the back burner. I was also finishing a quilt for Harrison (to match the monkey curtains) when he arrived 2.5 weeks early - I should literally tie up those loose ends before I start anything new. Never enough hours in the day!

Abstract Chistmas

Harrison finger painted this Christmas Tree for us at school. Needless to say, we are certain we have a future Jackson Pollack on our hands.

Family Resemblance

While we were in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving, we noticed some pictures of Uncle Jonathan as an infant and remarked on the strong resemblance. PoPo scanned these two images and... viola! A side by side comparison. Our kiddo is also on the tall and skinny side which are not adjectives people would use to describe either of us however Uncle Jon is just that. Hmmmm... maybe my soon-to-be-born niece will look like me! Aunt Audrey, I hope that is not the case!

Waving Good Bye

Harrison recently learned how to wave "goodbye" however he almost never does it when you really want him to. Perhaps it is because we look at him expectantly and wave and repeat "by-bye, bye-bye" for a long while, hoping he will wave back... I think he just stares at us and thinks what is wrong with these people!

Well, the other night we were testing out our new video camera and he gave us exactly what we had been waiting for:

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

This year, we packed up the family and headed to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving week. And by "family" I mean everything and everyone, including the dog. We were unable to find a place for Winston to stay so we decided it would be easiest to bring him along (we promptly ate our words once we started packing). When we arrived at SeaTac, we pulled up in front of a police officer who was actually a good friend and dorm mate in college. As we set out our 3 suitcases, travel kennel with dog, collapsible sleeping kennel, baby, car seat, stroller and 2 back packs the officer asked, "are you moving to Vegas??" And once we arrived in LV, we had to rent a minivan to haul us and all our stuff around. Sheesh!

We enjoyed two Thanksgiving dinners which seemingly fulfilled Michael's wildest dreams. On Wednesday, Michael christened grandpa Dale's enormous new grill with New York strip steaks and two whole rotisserie chickens. Perhaps unconventional for a turkey day but oh so delicious! Oma's friend's brought her 9 month old daughter over and they promptly taught Harrison how to climb stairs. I was a bit weary of this endeavor at first but little Mia could cruise up them like nobody's business and it didn't take Harrison too long to catch on, albeit hesitantly.

To wrap up the evening, we un-wrapped our Christmas gifts since we would be in Washington for the Christmas holiday. Grandpa and Oma got mom and dad a Flip video camera; not only can we record memories but now I will be able to post video to the blog! With walking just around the corner for Harrison, it came none too soon. Master Harrison was showered with gifts from his grandparents as well as his great-Aunt Sharon. As you can imagine, he was greatly intrigued with boxes and wrapping paper and hardly noticed the new clothes and toys. The toy he did seem to take some interest in were a set of maracas that play music, count to ten and name off colors with corresponding lights - all of which can also be played in Spanish or English. I now know without a doubt that amarillo means yellow.

Thursday we had more traditional Thanksgiving meal but just as delicious. PoPo made her best pumpkin cheesecake ever and Chyna made a tasty apple strudel. Grand Hart's son Burke and his wife Judy came over and we enjoyed chatting while watching Harrison play and Winston beg for food. We ended the evening with a new family tradition of a Christmas tree lighting and helping Harrison hang the first ornaments on the tree. Oma's nephew Ricky is an aspiring photographer so he took some faily portraits in the back year. Here are some favorites with another in our upcoming Christmas card. Enjoy!

Balance, Schmalance!

(Yikes! I typed this up and forgot all about it! I did want to preserve the original date even though it is posting 2 weeks later..)

Today, Harrison found that super sweet spot that keeps you upright, also know as "Balance." Up until today, he had been able to let go of the couch and stand for a few seconds without falling but never longer than maybe 10 seconds. When I arrived at school this evening, Miss Sylvia exclaimed in her sweet, Russian accented voice, "Harr-ee-son stand up today for long time!" and he did just that a minute later, balancing on his own two feet and even taking a toy out of Sylvia's hands (my little multi-tasker!).

At home, Harrison wasted no time practicing and showing off his new skills. Not only did he pull himself up using his toy box and stand without help, he proceeded to bend at the knees, pick up toys and stand upright again. Here's the real kicker: at some point, Harrison sat down (and refused to smile) as I took pictures; he got on his hands and knees and pushed off on both feet like a "downward dog" pose in yoga; the next thing I knew he was standing! Absolutely momentous - standing from the floor all by himself! And to think that 6 months ago he couldn't even roll over.

Are you all thinking what I am thinking? In no time at all he will be walking (and then running)! My mom said to me a few months ago that once they learn to walk and run, they start running away from you (sad!). Well, as long as he wants to run towards me some of the time I will be happy.

9 Month Stats & blah, blah, blah

Michael recently took Harrison for his nine month well baby check up which revealed he has grown to:

Length: 28 3/4 inches (60th percentile)
Weight: 20lbs. 0 oz. (40%)
Head Circumference: 17 5/8 inches (38%)

He has come a long way these past nine months Considering he was as small as 5 1/2 pounds, he has nearly quadrupled his weight (which my arms can attest to)! In fact, I suspect he may be going through a growth spurt because lately he has been demanding to eat very often, increased his intake of pureed foods and has been napping longer during the day at home on the weekend (although he still fights naps at day care). I tried to give him "puffs" which are puffed, flavored grains that will melt in this mouth and encourage chewing solids, however after sneaking one in his mouth he literally purses his lips if I bring them anywhere near him!

Harrison can now sit up easily (at 6 months he was still tipping over and falling), crawl his funny peg-leg-looking crawl , pull himself up to standing using the couch and stand-push-walk his toy walker across the living room. Today he was in a couple predicaments where I wanted to grab him and sit him down because it was obvious he was going to eventually fall and each time he either gracefully slid down and landed softly on his bum or he would otherwise use his legs, feet, arms and hands to land without problem. He is learning to wave hello/goodbye and does so by turning his hand towards himself so that his fingers curl toward him instead of away. Clapping is also on the horizon as he is very good at bringing his hands together, he just doesn't yet recognize the idea of clapping over and over again. And at nine months just like 3 months, he still likes to explore things by touch, sun his fingers over things and dragging his nails making scratching sounds. He also continues to stick out his tongue, especially up and to the side (either side!) and he recently learned to stick out his lips like a duck which he did all last weekend.

Vocally, he still roars like a dinosaur and enjoys exploring his range of sounds. There is certainly a lot of babbling, although he makes the "dadadadada" sound a lot but does not associate it was daddy yet (he says it to me all the time as well as Michael).

I had read that it can be comforting to make a nap time ritual to help baby sleep, but as working parents we don't have time (even on the weekends) to read 2 books, rock and sing him to sleep just for a nap (and he only sleeps for 30-45 minutes at a time 3 times a day). One day I decided that when he gets fussy and tired, we go into his bedroom, turn off the lights and I hold him him upright (he will get mad if I lay him in my arms), sway back and forth and sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" three or four times softly to set the "nap" mood; I then give him a kiss and lay him down. Recently, he has really begun to recognize and dare I say embrace this ritual to the point that after the first verse he will lay his head on my shoulder/chest and nuzzle his face and stay there in a snuggle. Michael experienced it for the first time last weekend and the cute/sweet factor totally shocked him. It is one of the best parts of the day.

Another favorite part of the day is when I pick him up from day care. The door to his classroom sticks and makes a loud noise when opened. As soon as I open the door, he hears that noise and looks towards the door. There is a momentary pause as recognition fills his eyes and then his sweet smile lights up his face and he bounces up and down. It definitely makes my day, especially if I did not see him in the morning.

Everyday I get to spend with Harrison is a good day for me, even if he is cranky and not at his best. I have made peace with working 40 hours a week; it is not ideal as my time with him is limited to 1-2 hours day at best but at some point I realized I am going to work and I just have to deal and make the best of the time I can spend with him rather than mourn over the time lost. I will say without guilt that I enjoy my job, the company and the people I work with; I just wish I had the liberty to work a magical schedule so my work life balance would actually feel balanced. When Michael gets to work at home, he will make a PB&J sandwich and go visit Harrison at school for 20 minutes and I say - "Lucky!!"

Halloween Weekend

Team Fein enjoyed the Halloween Weekend with a visit from PoPo and Grand Hart (Winnie & Hart). After picking them up from the airport on Friday, we drove downtown to Raina's work to show off the amazing view of Seattle as well as show off Harrison to work friends. In the spirit of Halloween and getting as much mileage out of his little Dinosaur costume as possible, we dressed him and made the rounds on the 47th floor. He was oferred a lot of candy to which we mostly refused however my friend Ya-Wan offered a Fiber One bar and Harrison would not put it down for a second! He ended up playing with it the rest of the morning as we strolled around downtown.

This picture was taken on Sunday at the Ballard Locks in Seattle

After a stop at Brooks Brothers we passed lunched at Shucker's, an upscale oyster house at the Fairmont Hotel. This is the type of place that is covered in dark wood and chalk boards containing the daily specials and filled with business people having important meetings so it was pretty awesome to stroll in with a little dinosaur in my arms.

In the afternoon, PoPo, Harrison and I dropped by the Day Care for their Halloween party. Miss Ashley, the lead teacher, was dressed as a black sheep (a very impressive costume indeed) and she had two little girls that had identical white lamb costumes. It was seriously cute. There was another dinosaur as well but his costume looked a little more ferocious while Harrison looked a bit more cartoon like. Rounding out the bunch was a little monkey boy, complete with a tail!


Harrison crawled over to 6 month old Jazel and leaned over and seemed to give her a kiss! More likely he was just interested in her and at some point he tried to crawl over her and nearly knocked her over but if you just look at these three shots, it's totally adorable! We may have a ladies' man on our hands.

Saturday evening, I lost track of time and before we knew it the time was 6:15 and we had not taken Harrison around to the neighbors yet for his first trick-or-treat. Mom, dad and baby as well as PoPo in tow with the camera went to three houses but alas he begin crying and whining at each stop because he was so tired. It was a short trick-or-treat but we had fun nonetheless and got 3 or 4 pieces of candy out of the deal.

On Sunday, we visited the Ballard Locks (the ship canal that connects the Puget Sound and Lake Union) and had brunch at Anthony's in Kirkland. Not much to tell in terms of a story but here are some of my favorite pictures.

One Tooth, Two Teeth

Harrison got a cold over the weekend so I took Monday off to take him to the doctor. Not only was the poor guy sick, but we thought it prudent and convenient to give him his seasonal flu shot as well as the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine; anyone with kids knows that getting vaccines leaves them a little grumpy for the rest of the day.

Strangely enough, we went home and he was in good spirits despite the runny nose and the projectile snot each time he sneezed. Late in the afternoon, I put him down for a nap around 4pm and he cried and cried and cried. In fact, he didn't fall asleep until just after 5pm and only slept for 30 minutes. He sounded livid through the baby monitor and felt bad for the little guy.

I picked him up out of his crib and took him into the kitchen for some dinner and he was happy enough to sit in his high chair. He eagerly ate his favorite, pureed pumpkin and opened his mouth wide... so wide that I could see a new tooth poking out of his bottom gums! It turns out that he had been teething and cut a tooth during his nap! Since we had just been to the pediatrician, I know it wasn't there in the morning I sure felt bad when I realized I had let him wail that whole hour.

The next night, dad said he thought there were two teeth and indeed there were! He got his two bottom front teeth in 24 hours. Here is a not so great photo... he wouldn't sit still while we tried to pry his mouth open. It's teeny tiny so you may have to look really hard:


Grandma Nancy sent a cute Halloween Beanie and Bib and let me tell you, he sure looked like a chubby pumpkin in that beanie!

Love this one!

Crawling & Standing up!

As referenced on an earlier post, Harrison has learned to crawl and even though his "form" is not yet perfected, he is able to really cruise when he sets his mind to it. He still prefers to crawl on one knee with the opposite foot flat to the ground pushing off, but hey, whatever works! We seem to see progress almost daily. Last week I put him on his bedroom floor and walked down the hall out of his sight and called his name. A few seconds later, his little face peeked around the corner of his door frame looking for me (I really wish I had a picture of that!) and then he crawled down to see me in a matter of 10 seconds.

Harrison loves to stand as well. He can pull himself up using the couch, a chair or the toy box and sometimes will let go and manage to stand all by himself for a few seconds. His balance and stability are great as he manages to jump up and down (while holding onto something) and bend down to pick up and toy and stand back up with it. Here are a few rather meager pictures:

Like Father, Like Son

In early October, Michael finished building the deck, bought some teak furniture off of Craig's list and bought a big Weber grill. We were eager to que up some food despite the wind storm brewing so we sat together as family and enjoyed the deck together. Many people say Harrison looks like his momma, but can't you see the resemblance?

It's Alive!

aaaaarrrrrgggg

I love that he made that funny face in the first picture because he looks like a perfect little monster! He even made these silly moans and growls while taking picture and sounded much like a mummy. Or maybe it was more like mommy, stop taking pictures!

Harrison actually does make lots of great noises including a little roar that sounds much like what we imagine a dinosaur would have sounded like. Therefore we call him our little "saurous." In honor of his saurousness, I bought him a dinosaur costume for Halloween. After the fact I realized that it is probably a dragon costume but I think it will do. PoPo and Hart are coming for a 3 day Halloween weekend and I can't wait to dress him up! PoPo already sent him a little jack-o-lantern Halloween bucket too. We won't actually go door-to-door but I need to find something to do where he can wear his costume for awhile. Hopefully these pictures get you in the mood for Halloween!

Bumps & Bruises

Everyone says that your kid will get bumps and bruises while growing up - it's just a part of life. Before Harrison was born, Michael said that our little boy will inevitably come home with a broken arm one day because that's just how it is - and I should accept it. Well, I say NAY! Why do I have to accept the fact that my child that I protected for 10 months in the womb and many more outside will one day be injured? I didn't drink caffeine, stood up wind from smokers, avoided wine during Michael's 30th birthday eleven course dinner and wine pairing, swore off lunch meat and sushi and drank gallons upon gallons of water against my own will... all in an attempt to ensure my kid was healthy. So No, I don't like the idea of anything hurtful happening to Harrison.

Perhaps it really is all a part of life. If so, I think life has a very tricky way of making me comfortable with this notion by slowly integrating wounds into everyday life. Babies are born with long, jagged fingernails and for whatever reason, the nurses don't cut them at the hospital. It took mere minutes for an un-mittened hand to quickly claw red marks into his perfect little face. Then there was the first time I trimmed Harrison's fingernails and I clipped the top of his finger! It didn't bleed per se, but you could see the redness of blood just under the remaining skin. Needless to say I was devastated; Harrison didn't even cry or let on he felt anything during that episode.

Aside from the perpetual claw marks on his face, he has escaped life relatively unscathed thus far aside from some big bumps. As he was learning to sit up (and stay up) he fell backwards and bumped his head several times. We came to recognize the BONK of his head on the floor that reverberated throughout our little house, followed by the short cry of shock and then the banshee howl of the injured. He always proved to be fine with a little TLC from mom or dad. I once put him in his jumperoo bouncer when his foot got stuck and he suddenly started wailing. When I tried to pick him up, he was stuck in the cloth seat, tangled in his feet. I could not get him out but I could not put him down because it would put more painful pressure on the stuck extremity (dad came to the rescue). I felt awful because I, his loving, caring, over protective mother had hurt him.

Lately he has progressed to more concerning situations. He pulled himself up on a swing at school and fell forward and hit his head on the bar - twice! He had a big knot on his eyebrow but went away a day later. A couple nights ago he lost his balance sitting in the bath tub and slipped onto his back underwater. Michael and I were right there and dad fished him out. He was only under 2 seconds and I think he held his breath (I hear it is reflexive in infants) as he didn't really cough up any water. No harm done other than the fright it caused him. But the half second it took Michael to get a grip on his slippery little body was a bit of torture for me, looking on.

I guess with the natural progression of his life and age, he will gradually move from little bumps and bruises to bigger scrapes, cuts and burns. Evidently this is how I will come to terms with it, slowly and imperceptibly throughout days, months, years.

With that logic, you would think that I, as an adult, would be impervious to pain inflicted upon myself. That said, let me tell you about Monday night. Harrison has been waking up a lot at night (that's a whole other post) and at 4am I had to feed him for the 3rd time that night to get him to fall back asleep (yeah, we are working on that). With crying baby in arm, I turned off the light in the kitchen and moved into the living room when I suddenly find myself face down on the floor with pain in my legs. It took an additional moment to register that I had walked into, toppled over and fallen on top of the new, metal baby gate. I fell onto Harrison although I instinctively braced my body away from him so as not to crush him; he did knock the back of his head on the gate but he only cried for a few seconds when dad came to the rescue and calmed him down so I know he wasn't really hurt. Mom on the other hand... I have 8-10 large black and blue bruises all over my knees and shins.

The day after I drafted this post, Michael was changing Harrison on the changing table on top of the dresser. The area is partitioned off with matching wood to keep the changing pad in place. Harrison was sitting on top when he leaned forward, lost balance and hit his cheek bone, just under the eye, on the partition. We were sure he would end up with a black eye but he instead has a bit of a discolored raspberry as you can see below. I made sure he was ok, kissed him and then bid them goodbye on my way to work. I guess I am getting used to the idea of boo-boos after all.

Tales from the Cell Phone

It's happened again! I managed to download some pictures from my cell phone. They aren't the best pictures but they do capture some important moments.

Harrison's first trip on an airplane (to Las Vegas)
Yes that is mommy's Starbucks in his car seat

Harrison & Michael visit mommy at work on Friday, July 3rd and have lunch in Chinatown

Above and below: at Brewfest, Father's Day

Harrison at day care, one of the hottest days of the year

First time in a shopping cart, early September

9/4 First taste of peas!

First time at El Torreador in a high chair

8/16/09 First time in a restaurant high chair, King's Chinese Restaurant, Bellevue

Dad and Son at the Dog Park, October 4

Above: dad and "uncle" Aaron at the UW vs. USC football game where the dawgs miraculously won!

Below: baby dressed for the game (but cheered them on from home with mom!)