Coffee Date Friday: Freakin' Weekend Edition

You guys. It's the freakin' weekend, and I am wooooorn out. I think all my hub's travel has finally caught up with me as well as having a *challenging* week with my littlest Lu. Whew. So. Let's make mine a venti with an extra shot as we catch up on our weekly (virtual) coffee date. 

How are YOU? What's new? Anything fun and exciting to share? Whelp. Just a few things I wanted to share from this week that are close to my heart: 

...that I loved having both my Momma and Momma "in law" in town a few days during the week/end last week. I am lucky to have these two amazing women in my life, and my kiddos' lives, and we had an awesome time together chatting, chatting, and chatting some more; playing with kiddos; and rooting on our favorite teeball players. I even got to sneak out for a little girlfriend time at the ol' Pure Barre studio. It was great, and I so appreciated their company and help. I am one lucky Momma. 

...that Harrison's first birthday invitations have been mailed and party planning/prepping is underway. How, how, HOW is this day so fast approaching?!

...that we enjoyed warmer temps and sunny skies this week, having ice cream for lunch in our cute little town center one day and enjoying backyard picnics outside others. Playing "Sly Fox" (thanks, Peppa Pig, for the fun game idea) and "What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?" in the front yard one afternoon and pushing babies in strollers during walks with friends another.  Climbing trees, smelling flowers, swinging and running and playing. We <3 Spring. 

...that last but not least, my baby boy turned 11 months old this week. Ohmyheart. He has it--that's for sure. Harrison is the only baby of my three that I've been home with full-time since birth. In many ways, it's been like being a first time momma as far as having to figure things out (nap schedules, feeding schedules, transitions, etc.). For that reason, I feel like I really know him better as a baby. It has challenged me as a momma. But. I also feel so proud when he and I accomplish new things together. We have been really struggling with self-feeding (that's another post for another day). But. At exactly 11 months old, he finally fed himself for the first time. I cried--I was so proud of him. He has done it a couple times since then but still prefers me to feed him. We'll keep working on it together. Regardless, I am so proud of the progress we've made. And when I feed him, he has a great appetite! Some of his favorites include banana bread and blueberry muffins, guacamole, yogurt, spaghetti, pizza, and bananas.  

Other things Harrison has accomplished over the last month? Well, he climbed our steep stairs for the first time at exactly 11 months. He continues to be really great at independent play. One of my favorite things to do is just sit quietly in the playroom, watching him play and explore and learn. He is also awesome at mimicking sounds and words. In addition to "dada" and "mama" (which he says all the time now!), he has said "up" and "ball." He is discovering new consonant sounds each day, and I love hearing his sweet voice. 

Harrison's personality is also starting to emerge: He is bashful and loving, headstrong and sweet. He can have a bit of a temper one minute and then be laughing like crazy the next. He loves to bury his little massive hands paws between his tummy and mine when I pick him up out of his crib each morning and will often shyly bury his face in my shoulder when meeting someone new. He has been SO snuggly this month: he will often spot me across the room and will stop what he's doing, crawl over, snuggle up against me, and suck his thumb for a few moments before returning to what he was doing. And yes, he now sucks his thumb regularly when tired. I'm not gonna lie: I love it. He is also (finally!) teething. He has little under-gum tooth nubs all over the bottom of his mouth, yet no teeth have broken through yet. Maybe by next month? 

He also has SEVERE separation anxiety. As in, I can be in the same room and if he can't see me, he will lose it. And let me tell you, he has the shrillest, loudest scream/cry of any baby I have ever met in my entire life. Pierces the ear drums. This is really hard and allows me very little time where I am not in direct eyesight of my littlest throughout the day. But I just soak it up and realize it won't be like this for long. And have I ever mentioned that his favorite place in the world is my left hip. I just may keep him there forever. <3

Harrison loves to throw balls, dance, cruise, stand independently, and play with the kitchen in the playroom. He is a superfast crawler and is thisclose to walking. He also jumps like crazy in the doorway jumper, which has been extremely helpful since my hub as been traveling so much this month--it means momma can take a shower while simultaneously watching baby. ;)

I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that my last baby will be 1 year old next month. Oh, how I adore this little boy:

So, that's that. We have no big plans this weekend, which I am thrilled about seeing as how we have lots and lots of busy weekends coming up over the next couple months. Aside from getting a long over-due haircut and color, planting a few pretty Spring blooms in our window boxes, and keeping the church nursery on Sunday, we are plan-free and quite happy about it! I hope yours is as relaxing or busy as you want it to be. :) Have a good one!

P.S. Until last night, I was STILL in first place in both of my March Madness brackets. Currently? I dropped to second to last place in both. Yikes! Hoping for a turn around this weekend so I can bring home the dolla, dolla bills, y'all. ;)