Labor Day weekend and more

We had a pretty nice long weekend . . . we took Garrett to the beach on Saturday and had a blast. He has soo much fun playing in the sand. He'll wade out in the water and then fall face first, which rarely bothers him. This time he walked up and down the beach, holding my hand, along the surf line . . . checking out the scenery I guess. He found a little boy a few months younger than him to play with. And then he eats, and eats and eats. When he was finished with his cottage cheese, he put the lid back on. :-)

I worked all day Sunday and came home to Smoked Ribs and homemade chocolate ice cream . . . yummy, but VERY bad for my diet!!

On Monday, we helped my cousin, who is doing her post doc at UM, move some stuff into her cute little place--it was nice to see her and we sweated off the aforementioned ice cream and then some. Garrett just hung out in the backpack, which he is almost getting too big for, while we carried stuff in.

We spent the afternoon working in the yard and then Garrett and I went to a party at a friend's house. It was fun, but going anywhere that isn't babyproofed has taken on a nightmarish quality that only a mother can understand. It makes me never want to go anywhere again. And Garrett, being Garrett, did weird things I don't think a lot of babies would do. Like turning off the TV and turning on the radio. He does this at home too . . . he will hardly sit still to watch TV, but if he is board will turn on the radio and boogie for a while. It's hilarious. His other bizarre behavior, which he undoubtedly gets from your's truly, is sticking his hands in a glass for ice. Fine if it is my glass, not so fine if it is someone else's!!!

I realized his 15 month birthday came and went without me even realizing . . . the months don't seem like such a big deal now that he is over a year. He is growing by leaps and bounds, and getting to be more and more of a clever stinker every day. He can now match all of the balls in his hammer away boat to the proper color. He points at the fish on his wall and in the fish tank and proclaims "Ishie!!" He even did that to the turtles at our hosts house on Monday. His vocabulary is slowly increasing . . . now it is "ice", "shoes," "socks," "oes" (toes), "uck" (duck), bye, hi, mmmmmm, uhhuh, cheese . . . and of course, the staples, momma, dada, bubba and Haylee. He is becoming less descriminate in those last words. Lately any male doing what daddy does has become dada. Including my neighbor mowing his lawn and our host grilling outside on Monday . . . silly boy!! All dogs are bubba (not sure what that says about Princess Haylee!!). He will also hand his sippy to us when he is done with it.

Oh, and we FINALLY weaned. . . I am so happy to be done!! Garrett went a month nursing once every 3 days, something I didn't even think was possible. He finally decided enough was enough and shook his head at me. It's funny because many moms say "oh, it is so bittersweet," but I was just glad to be done. 15 months is a long time to nurse, I know a lot do it longer, but I am SO GLAD it is over!! My appetite has finally returned to normal, meaning I only eat 1/10th as much as Garrett does. His appetite, and his temper, are bigger than ever however . . . he is pretty funny when he doesn't get his way, its hard not to laugh at him when he throws a tantrum. He will also flail his hands and hit. . . as soon as you say no hitting, he makes a little coo and throws his arms around the offended party (usually myself or Aspen), and gives kisses. He's a real hoot!

Today, he got a shirt of mine out of the laundry and managed to put it on himself--arms through the arm holes and head through the head hole--of course, by the time I got the camera, he had taken it part way off and was running around holding it up so he wouldn't trip. This is the stage he was at in the picture. What you can't tell is that he is nakey baby underneath because he didn't want his diaper put back on!!

He has been sleeping through the night consistently for about 2-3 weeks now. Usually 12-13 hours--it's great! Naps are getting worse again, mostly because we are always running around somewhere or another.

In other news, I get my Discovery Toys "New Products" kit tomorrow--it has some of the fun new toys for the fall season in it--I am psyched!! Among the fun stuff is a new Do, Re, Me and You CD, which is always a big hit since the kiddo likes music so much!!!

Okay, now that I have written a book, I am going to bed. Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Labor Day!!