Hello Dad!!

Byron was nice enough to let Harrison and I spend a couple of weeks in Utah with my family, while he stayed in California. We miss him a lot and I know he is anxious to see pics of his baby, so this is a quick blog to keep him updated on what his family is up to!!

Harrison was able to take his first plane ride!! I was a little nervous about how it would go, since I've had to fly with a baby alone before for work and it was VERY hard. But as you can see below, Harrison was a little angel on the plane (other than a couple of things that I will be too polite to mention in the blog...)

We had a great flight!!


It has been so fun for Harrison to spend time with my family a little bit. My sister Lisa came down from Portland at the last minute with her two boys when she heard I was coming, so Harrison is getting to know his cousins.

Asher and Ollie are really really cute, it is making me so excited for Harrison to grow up!! Harrison is only three and a half pounds lighter than his cousin Ollie, who just turned one!! This is a picture of the cousins, exhausted after a day of fun together!

Harrison has spent more time with his aunts and uncles, but I have not documented it well. Here he is with rock star Kendra who discovered that stroking his nose on either side causes him to lift that particular nostril in a look of disgust. It is adorable, but not yet photo documented. Way to go aunt Kendra!! (Strangely, he won't do it when I stroke his nose, so I'm guessing it's not ME that he's disgusted by...)


Also - I apologize for this picture, Kendra. I KNOW it doesn't do you justice, as you were even more stunning in some of the others that I took. But this one does make Harrison look the best, so there you have it!!

Here is Harrison with his Aunt Renee. He spent the day with the BYU student members of his family in Provo. He did seem very comfortable in that environment, and so far he has no problem with living the Honor Code, so we'll see...



I never realized just how chubby his cheeks are until I saw this picture. Way to go little Chipmunk!!

This is Harrison at a low-key family dinner, which is a pretty rambunctious event. He slept right through the whole thing. The chair he is sitting in is a family heirloom - ALL of the twelve children in our family have used that chair as infants!!!

Sadly, Harrison does not always sleep so soundly at night. So, I saw a side of myself on this trip that I did not know existed. My poor family fell victim to my wrath night after night as I shushed them mercilessly from 7:30 pm on, in hopes that Harrison would not wake up. I hated myself even as a did it, knowing that I have always been one of the loudest Harrison's myself (and that is saying a lot.) Please forgive me family!! Not only for the shushing, but also for the countless times in the past when I scoffed at your shushing and woke your children!!

Back to Harrison. This was a trip of firsts for him, as he also got to experience snow for the first time. (On a side note, I am SO glad I live in California. I have been freezing since I got here and the majority of my fluid intake has been hot chocolate.)

I didn't think to bring a winter hat for Harrison (nor do we actually own one), so my remarkably resourceful mom had one on hand that she had made. It fit him perfectly and saved him from freezing!! The one upside of the cold weather is that Harrison looked so adorable!!




Ready to face the elements (with a big blanket, of course). See that steely look of determination on his face?!

Here he is doing his impression of a puppy, slobber and all:




Harrison took a while to adjust after his trip here and he was so fussy for the first couple of days. Ever since then, he has been SO happy and is growing up so much - I'm hoping he doesn't quite roll over until we're back with you Byron!! He is talking a ton (not quite in English yet) but at least I know that although his looks came from Byron, he got something from my DNA. He talks a lot and pretty loudly, and has no problem interrupting people. He talks to himself in his crib and sometimes when he is lying alone I hear him laughing to himself.

I hope these pictures can tide you over for a bit, Byron! I'll try to take more today, as Harrison and I are going to actually venture INTO the snow for the first time!

And, so Byron can have the most up-to-date information on his baby, this is what Harrison is doing right this minute, thus allowing me to blog.