Our kid is weird

There are so many things Harrison does that are just plain weird. We usually pull out the camera, snap the photo, and then try to decide who he gets it from. I will say, I always had an infinity for dressing up! So I think these shots come straight from the Gapinski side of the family.

In Brian's Browns shirt

His homage to Kenny Chesney, he loves this cowboy hat

I don't know. This is what we're talking about.


And sometimes, clothes just don't let him really express himself.
So he takes a more natural approach.

Toronto and Detroit

In the beginning of November, Harrison and I went to visit friends in Detroit and then over to Toronto. Harrison was an angel on the trip and truly enjoying visiting with Ryan and Teresa in Toronto and with Jill Osmon, my dear friend, in Detroit. And it was there in Detroit that Harrison learned two valuable things. Mr. and Mrs. Osmon taught Harrison to give "knuckles" (aka a terrorist fist jab.) He also learned that putting on a University of Michigan hat to amuse the Osmons would make his dad, a Buckeye fan, very unhappy! But Harrison LOVES hats. I can't tell you how many times he puts a ball cap on and walks around for hours refusing to take it off.

It was also right after this trip that we discovered that we are expecting our next child!! I'm due the middle of July and we are excited to add another precious child to our family. Harrison remains neutral on the subject, but we think he'll really like having a sibling.

Halloween!

What I did this summer

There are always big events you want to share (birthdays, first steps, etc.) but sometimes its the little things that give you a better perspective. So, I decided that Harrison had to put together a presentation of his summer time activities. I am, of course, ignoring the fact that he bangs on the computer keys (thus wouldn't be able to type all this out). We didn't get everything on camera but I hope you will enjoy Harrison's pictorial of summer 2009.

Reading "boots" with mommy. He would spend hours doing this if you let him. I think Oma has something to do with that!

Sharing his sippy cup with Ben Carson at the State Fair. They are best buds.

We got new bikes!!! So we went riding a lot this summer.

The patio and in the dirt is where Harrison thrives. He always pulled the dirt out of the tomato plant pots and played with it forever. We spent most of the summer out on the patio playing with everything we could get our hands on.

Corn on the cob!

Next to his books, Harrison loves his cousins the most. They fuss over him and he loves all the attention they give him. He'll play basketball with Gavin (I believe Gavin taught Harrison to say 'basketball', actually) and play dolls with Kendall.

It is pure joy to see these kids play together so happily.

It was a great summer!!!!

Oh the silly things we do!

At 14 mo. Harrison has developed so much personality. He definitely likes to entertain us; as Aunt Amanda says, he is the son of two theatre majors, so that's not surprising.

Now that it's mum season I get to be home with Harrison 3 days a week. It's great fun -- he helps clean up the house, we go on bike rides, and I get to see what he finds interesting.

Here's a video of him from Friday afternoon. I can't say it's the most intelligent thing he's ever done but it was certainly entertaining. Enjoy!

Camping and Columbus with Grandpa and Grandma

Over the Fourth weekend we went camping at Deer Creek State Park. Harrison loves camping because he gets to be outside 24 hours a day. We, the parents, aren't too sure. It's a lot of work to keep an eye on our little adventurer and putting him to sleep in a tent isn't exactly easy either. Thankfully this time we had grandma and grandpa with us. We went fishing and this pesky fish kept messing with our bait. So we brought the pros in. Grandma promptly caught the fish for us and gave Harrison his first upclose with a fish.

We also went to the Columbus Zoo. It is fabulous, if you are ever nearby, we would highly recommend it. We didn't get through it all but we loved the manatees, the orangutans, and Harrison really loved the birds. It seems silly but that's what he loved the most.
Harrison got to ride the carousel with grandpa and grandma - I think they

all really liked it!

This one's for Opa --

Opa loves getting pictures of his kids and grandkids smelling the flowers.

Well this is a replica of the stinkiest flower in the world! The real

version wasn't blooming but Harrison liked the plastic version just the same!

Watching the geese -- probably Harrison's favorite part of the zoo

and something we could just as easily do at home, but whatever, he loved it!

This orangutan was AMAZING! It came down and sat right by the glass.

It would make faces and play peek-a-boo with Harrison. It was the

coolest thing I have ever experienced at zoo. Harrison just shrieked and laughed.

It was really incredible to see the two actually interacting with each other.

Harrison with the alligators.

Then it was time to go home. We certainly were tired after a long day at the zoo.

But we had to stop at an old familar place for some dinner.

It was Harrison's first time and he loved it as much as his mom, dad, Uncle Nick, and nuclear

family does.

It was a great trip to Ohio.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Even though we've been terribly busy at work, we can't skip over the single most important day, thus far, of Harrison's life. His first birthday was a wonderful event! I've always loved birthdays; and you think back when you were a kid and nothing was better than your birthday. Well being a parent on your child's birthday IS better. The day Harrison was born was so monumental in my own life, I wanted to celebrate with everyone we knew. So we did.
We had a big party on Saturday celebrating with our family and friends. Jill Osmon, my best friend from college, came down for the weekend and met Harrison for the first time. Needless to say, we put Jill to work for the party - she was a fabulous help! She also taught Harrison to give kisses, which he does all the time now. Thanks Jill for both!!! Grandma and Grandpa came down from Akron and my family was almost all there. We were bummed Aunt La and Aunt Stephanie couldn't be there but we understood they wanted to be.
So here are a few highlights -- both Brian and I were too busy entertaining and soaking it all in we didn't get too many pictures but our friends did. Once we get more we will be sure to fill everyone in on the party's festivities and the who's who list of guests!

Harrison with his red wagon from Grandma and his dog from Kate

Cake!!!!