Family Portraits at 7 months

Harrison's daycare closes a little early on the last Friday of each month so I take the afternoon off to spend some time with him. In July, we used the time to have his 6 month photos taken and this month we decided to have family portraits taken. Michael hates siting for pictures, mostly because he has blink-a-lot-syndrome. Many a perfect picture has been ruined by his awesome blinking capabilities. To remedy this, he takes a dose of hold-my-eyes-wide-open-as-long-as-I-can, which usually just looks a little creepy. Thankfully, they managed to get a couple good shots of dear old dad... the photographer decided just to shoot below the head!

Grandma Dreslaine gifted Baby Boy Fein this lovely silver cup; once Harrison was born and we announced his name, she has his name engraved to read "Harrison Jay."

I know, super silly and posed (like my Easter Basket home photo) but it was totally cute

This kid totally knows he is super cute

Organic Garden Baby Food

Before Harrison was born, I decided to really make the effort to give my kid the best start in life that I could reasonably manage. For starters, I hate drinking water but while pregnant I guzzled the stuff. I wanted to breastfeed for as long as possible as studies show it is really the best food for infants; I had little choice but to pump and have been hauling my gear to work on the bus for the past 3 months with no intention of stopping any time soon even though it is totally inconvenient (I think I forgot to post about the time i forgot half the equipment at home and had to walk uphill 13 blocks to the nearest hospital in 90* weather to get what I needed!).

So when the time came to begin feeding Harrison solids, I wanted to feed him the best stuff possible, free of sugar, additives and preservatives. I purchased a book on making baby food at home (which is funny because practically every recipe says to chop, steam, puree and serve - viola!). All I needed was the ingredients which we found in Uncle John's organic garden last weekend. Their family often goes to Tahoe this time of year for a couple of weeks which also happens to be the time when much of the garden is in full bloom so they offer us access to whatever we will eat. So Team Fein (including Winston) went over to gather the goods. Actually the boys all lounged in the back yard, Winston eying the chickens with suspicion, while mom went to work. A pair of berry stained pants, muddy feet and an hour later, I emerged with a cornucopia! I picked blackberries, peas, heirloom tomatoes, sweet hot peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, a pumpkin and apples!




Harrison might have been taller than this zucchini but I best it weighs more than he does. Once Harrison was in bed for the night, I chopped, steamed, pureed and froze my way through the loot for the next 3 hours. I estimate I now have baby food to last the next couple of months. We bought a couple mangoes and used some of the tomatoes to make mango salsa which we ate throughout the week. Harrison ate zucchini this last week and seemed to really like it (again I sneak in some rice cereal into the puree). Next up for his taste buds is applesauce, then probably yellow squash and then pumpkin (which I also put a little cinnamon into - fancy!).

Puree in ice cube trays make the perfect serving size and I can thaw just what I need for the day

6 Month Stats, Sweet Potatoes

Michael took Harrison to the pediatrician last week and received some good news - he is definitely growing! Dr. Anderson was very impressed at how well he can sit up now, which he has been doing pretty reliably for the last 3 weeks or so; evidently he is ahead of his peers in the sitting up category. He can also roll over both ways so we can't leave him on any raised surfaces by himself; he has threatened to roll off the changing table a few times already.



Length: 27 1/4 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 16lbs. 13 oz. (35%)
Head Circumference: 17 1/8 inches (40%)

Did you read my "Monthly Milestones" post? At his 4 month check up, he was 24 inches long = 18th percentile and now he is at the 75th percentile! They actually had to measure him twice to confirm he grew 3.25" in two months! It must be all my fatty breastmilk.

Speaking of fatty... mommy has finally decided to eat healthier -- not dieting, just watching what I eat. I was drinking a Grande Almond nonfat steamed milk every morning as I reasoned I needed the calcium and liquids but decided to cut it out to save myself 240 calories. Since I did that, I also cut out the the muffin/scone/donut or other delicious baked good I would often consume along with it. I immediately lost two pounds! I am now just 5 pounds over my pre-baby weight although the fat seems to have redistributed to different parts of my body. I won't be one of those moms who say "child, I gained all this weight because of you!" It was all totally worth it to have Harrison is our lives.

Like watching him eat his first vegetable - now that's entertainment! He never really like the rice cereal so we skipped ahead to pureed sweet potatoes (with a little rice cereal mixed in!). Sweet potatoes has quickly become his favorite food. Like any baby, quite a bit ends up on his face, bib and hands but there was one meal where he didn't have a spot on his bib... almost every drop stayed in his mouth! Mommy was SO proud! It looks like this kid is going to love food just like his parents.

A little of this, a little of that

During our bonafide heat wave (we broke the record for the hottest day ever in Seattle), we met with Great Grandpa Hugh for dinner at some major chain restaurants because they have air conditioning, sorely needed as it was 108* in Kirkland (I could actually feel the 5* temperature increase when I left Seattle and arrived in Redmond). Grandpa Hugh can't get enough of his only great-grandchild and looks forward to our weekly dinner night together.

During the heat wave, Harrison (and Winston) slept in our bedroom since it had the AC unit. We ate picnic like dinners on the bed and once the boys were asleep in their play yard or kennel, mom and dad popped open the laptop and watched some downloaded tv show and movies. One night, we found Harrison sleeping on his side for the first time ever! He recently got pretty good at rolling over front to back and back to front so he rolled himself onto his side to sleep.

On Sunday 8/2, we went to Uncle John, Aunt Shivonne and cousin Gillian's house for a "casual" Sunday meal. John (a chef at heart) took the opportunity to smoke and BBQ some baby back ribs and let me tell you, these are the best you will ever have! They also have a giant garden of flowers, fruits and vegetables so Gillian and I picked blackberries and marionberries to accompany the ice cream for dessert.

"Auntie Bon Bon" captured Harrison's attention with this flower; I have never noticed him pay any attention to flowers before.

They also have several chickens in the back to provide fresh eggs. I was holding Harrison so he could stand on the deck and look and one of those sneaky suckers came over and suddenly turned her neck and pecked his toes! He barely flinched but Gillian says that they will peck at ladies painted toes because they looks like berries. From then on mom and baby kept their toes away from the hen pecking.

The last weekend in July brings about "Seafair" which is a huge celebration of all things sea related in the Puget Sound. There is a big parade, marathon, a "pirate ship" that lands and shoots a canon with a huge boom. My two favorite parts are:

(1) the Navy's aerial stunt team the "Blue Angles" which spend weekdays practicing before the big events on Saturday and Sunday. Not only are they super cool, but the view from the 47th floor of my office building is nearly unbeatable. A couple years ago one of the planes buzzed really close and I could clearly see the pilots face in the cockpit.

(2) The parade of ships through Elliot Bay. A bunch of Navy, Coast Guard and fire boats form a line and sail through Elliot Bay which I watch from the vantage point of my office (there is some loss of productivity by everyone on the floor on these days!). Usually there are maybe 20 ships including aircraft carriers and a nuclear submarine and the seaman stand on deck in their uniforms standing at salute throughout the parade. This year most of them must have been out on deployment because there were only 4 navy ships, a couple of coast guard ships and 4 fire boats. I think the fire boats are fun and still enjoyed watching the water spray... it reminds me of water parks in the kiddie pool.

The large boats at dock and cutting through the middle are ferries. The actual parade forms a big C shape in the image above.

What better way for a dog and dog's-best-friend to beat the heat then to hang out in the slew at Marymoor Dog Park. We stayed about an hour so Winston could run off some energy (he spent 22 hours a day in our bedroom during the heat) and then we left because even at 10am it was getting too hot to have the baby outside.

Writing this two or so weeks later, I must say that we are glad it is cloudy and rainy, a much needed reprieve! The heat did spur me to tackle my project to make some heavy drapes in an effort to keep the house cool. I finished the kitchen drapes but still need to work on the living room which will take me a whole weekend. Those projects will have to be a separate post.

Ode: "Harrison J at Six Months"

This poem was written by Opa aka "Grand Hart" (a new self chosen moniker). Edivently the newest photos of Harrison have provided a muse for the poet:

I believe that I can tell by looks

without I.Q. tests and psychology books

who is or will be intellectually hot

and who is a lump and will not.

It is clear, Harrison has it,

I'm done with the baby bit

he says, I need to eat,

I'm a boy and I need a treat.

This boy will be in haste

and develop expensive taste.

His alert and enterprising looks

call at least for the Brothers Brooks,

or he could shop like Winston Churchill--

only if he can send Michael the bill--

at Turnbull&Asser on Jermyn Street

for ties and shirts. O life is sweet!

Take care, Harrison, eat and drink a lot

Under no circumstances stay a tot.

I forgot, for a suit go best to Saville Row.

Best wishes and hurry up! Grow, grow, grow!

With love and kisses

Grand-Hart

6 Month Photo Shoot

Perhaps I am a bit biased but I must say that my son is SO incredibly cute! Last Friday I took him back to Sears to have his 6 month(!) photos taken and was pretty happy with the results, especially becuse he did not take a planned nap directly before; he managed to hold it together for about 15 minutes before he began melting down. Since I practiced some monetary restrait and did not purchase the entire shoot on CD, I pulled these proofs off of the website so the quality is poor but you get the idea. I ordered the first 4 and threw in the last one for your viewing pleasure. Harrison cannot walk yet by any means but he loves to stand holding our hands.

Isn't he styling in his little Baby GAP striped button down? Thanks to Ali, Justin and Hudson our little dude looks like a "Mini-Mike."

You will also notice in photo #3 that one of his feet looks a bit purple. When I picked him up from "school" one of the girls excitedly told me how they painted his hands and feet to make pictures - just imagine my enthusiasm. There was actually purple paint under his toenails but thankfully you can't see it here. I had actually hoped to get some shots of him on his back holding his feet, but he wouldn't comply which was probably for the best - I don't really want close ups of purple toes.

My little boy is growing up! (sniff, sniff)