Dudes

Hangin' out. Bruce and I showing Halen the ropes on chillin. Me showing the ropes on how to kill stuff.

Tybee Time!!!

We had a nice relaxing weekend on Tybee Island, thanks to Aunt Kelly and her family's beach house. Halen went swimming in the ocean, faceplanted in the sand on the beach, and flirted with all the ladies. He had his half-birthday on Saturday! He's now weighing in at 22 pounds and is 30 inches tall. Both figures are still off the charts for size. He's not far from the weight one, but he's the height of a 9 month old in the 95th%. Halen got a sweet air brushed shirt with a pirate ship on it. Dan had his first father's day. Halen was extra sweet to him and got him some shoes, kinda.

UTOH

We're in trouble, Halen instantly fell in love with this Baby Beamer. Maybe we'll buy him this one and then he'll buy Dan and I matching ones when he's a big pro sport man. That's fair right?

Teeth

Okay, here it is, the first picture I've been able to get of those teethers!!!

Pictures So Cute That They Must Be Shared

Look how cute my men are when they're sleeping.
Thanks to aunt boobie (Nicky) for the whale bib. Stay posted for pictures with the scary shark one from aunt Lisa! YUM.
If anyone needs some tennis lessons, Halen doesn't charge much, but he drools on the court alot.
Look who can stand up!

Where's That Red One Gonna Go???

Halen and I participated in a study last week at Emory University. It is a study on language and development. First they asked me lots of questions and I had to fill out tons of paperwork. Then they strapped Halen in a car seat and played a very boring set of noises for him. I and the other guy in the room had to be behind curtains. Halen wasn't into this study. The Ba ba ba and Da da da noises where boring him and he started screaming. The poor little guy was lonely. Oh, they had him hooked up to heart monitors to measure his reaction to the noises. They where just little stickers with wires clipped to them. He didn't mind. So then we moved on to the table where Halen sat in my lap and the study guy proceeded to play with Halen. He would show him a toy, then do what he wanted Halen to do with the toy, then put it down on the table, and see what Halen did. He was a rockstar!!! He did everything that he was supposed to do except for 2 things. They (there was another person observing through a one-sided mirror) where very impressed with his development. They said that they didn't expect him to do as well as he did at his age, that the study was aimed for a large age bracket, and he scored on the level as a baby much older than he is. I was surprised by how much he could do as well. I play with him every day, but I hadn't 'tested' him in this way before. They did things like show him a block and a cup, then hide the block under the cup, to see if he looks for it. Many babies at his age don't understand that once a thing is gone from view that they are not really gone from existance. So, if he looks for the block, then they know that he realizes that it's just hidden from sight. They score higher if they grab the cup one-handed by the handle than if they pick it up two handed. He went straight for the handle, picked it up with one hand and got the block with the other. Then he would show him different toys that made noises in different way. He would show him how to make the noise and then set it down. Halen would then grab the toy, bring it to his mouth for a little taste, then move it away from his mouth and shake it or press it to make the noise. Everything went to the mouth first. Then we got on the floor to see if Halen could sit, roll over, and stand flat-footed when balanced. Of course he did all that stuff with no problem. When a toy was placed out of his reach, he would squirm or roll to it.
After all that brain workout, Halen got some boobie and went to sleep. They then hooked sensors up behind his ears and played sounds. They measured his hearing ability this way. When a sound is made, the nerves behind the ear send a signal and these sensors read that. He hears well. While he was sleeping and being tested in this way, I peed in a cup, got some blood drawn, and took a hearing test of my own. There where several different tests. First I had to repeat muffled words. Next I had to repeat muffled words while background chatter was also being played. Then I had to repeat two different words that where played simultaneously, one into each ear. First I had to repeat the one I heard in the right ear, then left and then vice versa. Then I had to hear two sentences simultaneously and repeat the one I heard in the right ear, then a series where I repeated the one I heard in the left ear. this was fairly difficult, but I managed to get almost every single one right. They where also surprised by how well I did. I guess I'm a rockstar too.
Halen had to give a peepee sample as well. they put this ushaped sticker attached to a plastic bag around his cock and balls and waited for him to pee in it.
Halen then got a toy, a t-shirt, and $50!
We recently got asked to do another study too. Next week he's going to watch a puppet show while wearing a swim cap with brain sensors attached to it. we get a copy of his brain wave activity. i'll post it and you can all marvel at his genius level, because I'm sure it'll show that he's super highly advanced.
Oh, and the little guy is so close to crawling it's ridiculous. He's pushing up to his knees now. I think he'll be taking over the neighborhood by next week! Maybe he'll take his first real crawl for his daddy for father's day.

Guess Who's Cutting His First Tooth

bottom front left! I'll get a picture of it if I can. It's really hard to see, but you can feel it. That's why Halen was waking up and crying all through the night!!!

Another Blog? Their Entry About The Quilt Is Better Than Mine.

This is the company i got the fabric for Halen's organic quilt from. They liked it so much when I sent pictures that they wrote a blog about it. How sweet. I meant to get on here today and write about thet tests Halen took yesterday. I don't feel like it now though. I guess you'll all have to wait on pins and needles till tomorrow.

Quilt

Well, here's the quilt. Halen likes it.

Touch those toes!

Sorry it's been so long. We had alot going on for a few days. I also had a plugged milk duct in my right boobie and I was cranky as hell. It hurt! Apparently my bra is too tight. I'm in constant denial that I need to go buy a bigger bra. I still think I'm part of the itty bitty titty committee or something.
I've been working on a quilt for Halen and it's moments away from being done. I'll post pictures when it is. I started a webshop on etsy to sell my crafts. it's kinda like ebay, but not an auction and it's only handmade items. it's a great site to check out in general. alot of the same people that sell things at youngblood are on there. alot of it is wholesale too. anyway, my page is www.crustychristy.etsy.com Right now there's only 5 things on there. I'm slowly adding more. I hope to sell baby quilts, but I don't know how I'm going to actually get them done because it takes fucking forever!
We took Halen and the dogs to the dog park. Halen loves dogs so much, we figured he'd go apeshit at the dog park. There was no one there! One other dog came and left while we where there and he wasn't interested in Halen. Oh well, the dogs got wore out for a little while.
Kelly and Frances had a bday party. Halen was the hit of the party, showing off his mobility with his walker. The dogs all got doggy frozen yogurt. Lucy fought another dog to try to get some more. She got put in time out.
Well, I'm gona go back to bed. I got up to let the crazy dogs out. In the morning, they school around me like sharks. It kinda drives me crazy. Halen is still asleep so I'm going to go join him.
There's another baby craft night tonight, my place, 6:30. Other people (non-reproducers) are allowed to come as long as they make stuff for the babies! Haha.
Later,
Christy

BIG DAY

Halen had two big things happen today. One, he was left in the YMCA day care with a stranger! I felt nauseous on the way to the Y and after we left him in there. He was fine when we left and fine when Dan went and got him half an hour later, but I couldn't do anything but think about him the whole time. I felt guilty the whole time I was swimming laps, like I should be swimming with Halen. It did feel good to swim laps though. Two, Halen went in the pool. He had fun. There was another baby there who was the same size as Halen. I thought he was probably just a little older (cause Halen is usually as big as the older kids), till his parents put him down and he was just standing there. He was seriously the same height at Halen, but walking and talking. He was 15 months. We sat them next to each other on the pool edge and laughed at them. Halen splashed and kicked like mad! He never got cold of upset by the water. In another month, he'll be old enough to start the parent and me swim class. We'll definetely be signing up for that. He is going to be a fish! It's awesome that you can leave the baby with someone while you workout, but it's hard on the mommy! It'll be easier when he's old enough to play with the other kids.
tonight is babie's pizza night. only 2 more hours. i'm starving!!!

picnic

we went on a picnic today. here are some pics.

a true pirate!

Here are a couple of the crafty t-shirts from craft night. The ladies couldn't make it. Halen was in a nasty mood at the end of the night and he let us know with this piratey glare. He's cute even when being mean.

Babies craft night

Halen and I hosted a mommy and baby party. It was a mad house! It was tons of fun though. We all made little shirts for our babies. Halen's is a pirate ship. All the babies are going to wear their shirts to pizza night on Tuesday. I'll post a picture of that when that happens.
Today is my first mother's day as a mommy. Dan made a deeee-licious breakfast. Halen is being extra cute and got me an excellent present of 2 hours on a new tattoo. I gotta figure out what to get now. I'm excited.
I like mothers day.

Avocado

Yummmm!

First trip to the Ocean

Momma, that's cold!!!


What is this stuff? It's kinda cool! It makes me want to sit up ALL BY MYSELF!!!!


HALEN WAS HERE!! 5-1-06

There are no words!

New Toy!

Halen woke up from his morning nap to his new exersaucer being all put together and ready to go. He loves it! He's very intently studying all the things to chew on and his new level of mobility is pretty exciting for him. He'll be at it for awhile, with the look of blue steel on his face, and then he looks up and smiles. We got a circus themed exersaucer, cause mommy likes the circus! it even has a circus tent that plays that amazing circus tune that we all know and love.

Wow, Kale, Yum, Really

Halen is such a good eater! He even likes Kale! So far, he has had baby rice cereal, bananas, papaya, and kale. Booby is still his favorite. Like every good parent, I will now comment on his poop. It's changing. It's getting solider and stinkier. A diet of bananas and breast milk makes really nasty looking poop. I don't think I'll ever eat a banana again. I'm not looking forward to the Kale diaper.
Dan is on the couch snoring behind me. It's the weirdest snore ever, it sounds like when you're trying to start a car, but the engine never turns over. Halen is sleeping in his crib. The dogs are crashed out too. I guess it's bed time or something. It's only 10:18! We live on the wild side over here at the hawkins/harrison house.

Seriously

I've been meaning to write about the joys of motherhood for awhile now, but I'm enjoying life so much, that I can hardly find time for sitting in front of ye old computer!
So here's a short version of my story. I have lived a pretty adventurous life. I've rode my bike across 4 countries, hiked 250 miles straight, lived in several different major cities, taken countless road trips, camping trips, life adventures, etc. I even went to circus school for a year and flew on a flying trapeze (i'm not bragging, just leading up to the good stuff)! Up until I met the lovely Dan Harrison, one of my mottos was 'buried before married.' I had no desire for children or a husband or anything resembling a normal 'tied down' sort of life. Soon after spending time with Dan, I realized that a partnership can be a wonderful harmonious thing and that he'd make a great father, so we should get married and have kids. It went against all my future beliefs, but when you meet the right person, things just fall in line. So, we decide to get married and figured we'd have a kid sometime in the first couple of years of our marriage. A bit to our surprise, Halen gets conceieved immediately and we have a Costa Rican souvenir bun in the oven. I was pretty terrified at first, not knowing how my body would handle the pregnancy and most of all, the birth! Pregnancy certainly has it's ups and downs, but it's overall a fascinating experience. There's so much you never know about the process until you're there. It's stuff every pregnant woman goes through, yet you never learn about it. I was often left wondering why I didn't learn more about this in health class. If they can show you how to use a tampon, they should also tell you a bit about pregnancy and all it's quarks. I guess some crazy conservative somewhere decided that teaching about pregnancy might encourage it or something. Anyway, pregnancy is nuts! I didn't experience many of the food cravings, but I did experience the need to feed! Holy moly, I was hungry! Then I got heartburn regularly, always carrying my little bottle of Tums. Toward the end, I didn't want to do anything but have that baby. i just wanted to get that little kicker out of me so I could meet him face to face! While in utero, I sang songs to him, held flashlights to my belly to see if he'd respond, and told him lots of stories. When I finally started my labor, shopping with Maggie and Melanie in Target, I didn't know if it was just cramps or the real deal. Several hours later, I decided that it was real. I was already tired, but so excited that I couldn't imagine sleeping. I stayed up all night, going in to the hospital around 2am. Once there, I was hardly dialated, so I just walked around the room, squatting here and there, hanging on Dan, pooping every 2 minutes, throwing up a couple of times, biting Dan, and trying to deal with the pain. I was so exhausted I would fall asleep standing up, hanging on Dan, between contractions. Everyone finally talked me into an epidural so I could let my body rest and get ready for the pushing. It was a terrifying experience when that big ass needle was going into my spine, right as I was screaming from the pain of a contraction, but soon came some serious relief from the pain. I managed to sleep a couple of hours and felt much better. Then it was time to push. We won't go there! I'll just say that it was really hard, took too long, was pretty painful, but resulted in the happiest moment of my life. Each moment since has been happier, as I get to know this little bugger. He was so beautiful, slimy, cone-headed, and all. He was good at nursing right away. At first, there's no milk. It's just colustrum, which is stuff that they suck out and it lines their system as a protective coating. It's the first step in the development of their own immune system. When the milk comes in a few days later, it is insanely crazy! My boobs where enormous, lumpy, and hard as rocks. I was worried to death that they would stay that way. After about a day, they figure out the cycle and no longer get that big and that hard. Breastfeeding is amazing!!! I have never felt so much pride as when I am making milk for Halen. Of all my accomlishments, I feel like it is the most miraculous and amazing one. It makes me feel like a friggin super hero! Being Halen's mom has been the most amazing experience in my life so far. I sometimes wonder why I didn't do this sooner, but I know that I had all those other adventures to take care of first. They are part of me and I'm glad I did them.
Halen is awake now and I'm doing that magical nursing thing as I type. I'll wrap this up so I can hang out with the little angel. Basically, I used to not want kids, then I did but I thought I'd wait a little longer. Now I can't imagine how anyone can go through their life without this experience. If you've ever thought there was a slight possibility that you'd want kids, then do it! It's amazing! Also, Halen needs some playmates!
love,
momma christy

Big Day

Today is daddy's b-day and Halen's first try at solid foods. Halen gave Dan a shirt that says 'world's greatest daddy,' cause he is. we've been hanging out in the house overloading on sweets all day. Halen did real good eating his rice cereal, mixed with breast milk. He barely spit any out and he was opening his mouth for the spoon with every bite. we'll start giving him a little of that for about a week, and then we'll try bananas!!! I personally don't care for bananas, but Dan loves them and so do most kids. I look forward to letting him try some. We got video of Halen eating, but I don't know how to put video on the blog. Oh well.
christy

golfing anyone?

We all just got back from a quick trip to asheville, NC. Halen got to meet aunts and uncles, cousins, and a grandma! He was getting passed around like a hot potato! He wants to tell you all that it was lovely to meet you and thanks for letting us visit! We ate three times at Rosetta's kitchen! they have some of the best vegan food in the world! i wish it was my kitchen and all that yummy goodness came out of it to my lazy bones. today we're back to the grind, well daddy is. Halen and I are just hanging out. He's about to nurse while i get my morning fix of E.R. on the way back to town, we stopped at the outlets and got halen some new threads, this crazy adorable hat included.
tonight Halen is going to his first hockey game!!! GO THRASHERS!

Trick photography?

several people have asked if the 'new trick' post is trick photography. absolutely not! Halen is just very strong and talented. I guess he has some of my circus genes. it must be those handstands i did while pregnant!

Sweet Dreams

ever wondered what he's thinking?

New Trick

Never underestimate the power of the finger in the mouth!!!

HARD AT PLAY

sleepy boy

who's a happy baby?

Look at that boy! He's so friggin cute and happy. We must be doing something right cause he's the biggest baby ever, completely off the growth charts. He's 12 weeks old now, almost 3 months! He had his first celebrity run in last night at Harmony. Andre 3000 was there. Halen was just like, 'whatever mom, it's just some dude. can you pick me up now?' he's so wonderful. we're all so happy. see ya soon.
christy

New Record

Halen just sneezed 7 times straight! He's very pleased with himself.

anyone for a doobie?

Ladies Man!

Our niece and Halen's cousin Kayla came to visit us for a few days. We had a fun filled time, going to Fernbank's chocolate exhibit and the new aquarium. Halen slept through most of the fun, but was happy and fascinated when awake. He's getting so big, over 15 pounds now!
We're all feeling much better now too. Halen having a cold was rough on me. I didn't sleep for days. Things are better now. I gotta go now. He's waking up and it's time for him to eat.
Christy

Sick

Halen's first plane ride
We are all officially now sick. I am getting over it, Halen is getting over the hump, and Christy is just starting to get it. There is lots of phlem flying around over here. That is really just about it.

Will you please be my valentine?

with the dogs

here's a couple of pics of Halen hanging out with the dogs. sorry it's been so long. i keep meaning to get on here and write a long post about how wonderful it is to be a mother, but i just can't find the right words or the time. i will though. i have to talk all of you friends of ours into having kids of your own soon.
Later,
mommy

He's a big boy!

Last night we met up with a couple of other babies. One of them was a cute boy who is 3.5 months old! Guess what? He and Halen are the same size. Halen's hands where even bigger than his. It was cute. We forgot our camera, but pictures where taken. I'll try to hunt one down and post it.
Love,
Momma

Mom!!! You're embaressing me!

Ha ha. He's only a month old and I'm already embaressing the boy. Look at how cute he is in the bath with the rubber ducky. I love him!

party and checkup

Halen had a little party last night in his honor. He's a big one month old. He met a girl (and tried to eat her). We had a Dr. appointment this morning. He's 11lbs. 13 oz. and 22.5 inches long. He's growing well. He's in the 90th percentile for weight and height. We're very proud!

One Month

Today is Halen's one month birthday. He is very excited about it and so are we. It has been a crazy month as well as the best.

4 WEEKS!

Well, our little bugger is 4 weeks old today! In those 4 weeks, the longest stretch of sleep I have gotten is 3 hours, yet I am happier than I've ever been. I feel so lucky to be his mom and have him in my life. I am also lucky to have his dad in my life (even if he has done nothing today but play playstation). I love my boys and our life. Here's a cute picture of him sleeping on his 4weekday.

big boy

I can't believe he's 3 weeks old! He's really growing up. He's already practicing being a teenager, with a bit of baby acne. I call him pizza face. He has learned how to blow spit bubbles too. Next, the pythagorean theorem. I'm sure I didn't spell any of that right. Momma isn't the genius that Halen is. We're very happy here, still a bit tired, but happy nonetheless. Come visit us anytime, just bring food with you when you do. Ha ha. here is a picture of the little guy just starting to pitch a fit about all those lights flashing in his face. He's still a handsome devil, even when he's mad.
oh, and we got another dog! Lucy is her name. Pictures of her soon! she's gone to the pet store with daddy.
later
momma

Happy New Year

Halen said good bye to 2005 in style, and then passed out. Happy New Years.