Garrett is 3!!! (And I am WAY behind!)

I'm really behind on my blog here lately. Work has been incredibly insane. Brad's mom was here for Garrett's birthday for 9 days-we had a great visit.

Mostly, I can't believe my little baby is 3 years old. He talks like a big boy, is able to put his clothes on with little help, and is riding the new bike he got for his birthday already! I PROMISE to post more pictures and bring everyone up to date on the going-ons here sometime in the week to come. Until then, enjoy this picture of Garrett (with his new haircut) playing with his balloons on at his birthday party last Sunday.

Office Slumber Party

We are FINALLY getting some much-needed rain around here. It has been a long while since we've had any sort of storm at bed time, and Garrett had a hard time staying asleep with the thunder, wind and rain. He got a kick out of my explanation of thunder--angels having accidents in their cars. I don't think the whole bowling analogy would have done a thing for him. But he just couldn't stay asleep in his own room through it. Since I had a ton of work to do, I gave him the choice of sleeping on the office floor or curling up with Daddy. He took the office floor and crashed while I worked. Sweet boy :-)

Summer is 8 months old!

Baby girl is 8 months old today. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She's still a midget compared to most of the other babies her age, but then Garrett was the same way and look at him now! She continues to be (knock on wood!) excellent--she did great on our trip to Key West this past weekend (which I hope to post about as soon as I get some free time) and sleeps from 6p-7a pretty regularly. She's still nursing like a champ, but LOVES her solid foods. She eats cheerios like they are going out of style and is basically on table food . . . whatever we eat (as long as it is appropriate for her age) , I make a spice-less version for her and grind it up in the processor. She still has zip in the tooth department, but that really isn't a surprise either since G was 11 months when his came. She scoots everywhere and is pushing up a lot but not pulling up or crawling--THANK GOD, because I am still not quiet ready for all that :-)

Pork chops and peas

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My sweet Garrett will be 3 in 10 days. I can NOT believe that. He is such an amazing kid, speed and wildness and a ridiculously sweet streak all thrown in to one. Rather than inviting our friends to his party, we've decide to let him pick his a few friends to invite over because he loves playing with his friends more than anything--things just aren't as much fun if there aren't friends around to share it with. He told me today he wanted to invite "Xander, Mark, Randon, and ASPEN" to his party. :-) I told him Aspen would be there no matter what. He really missed the dogs while we were away. He is loving to sing and dance lately, and informed me last week that he wants to play soccer. When I've asked him about it before he has said no, but now he says he wants to. How can one little boy be so all over the board--singing, dancing, sports, cars and babydolls, lol!!!!

Kneading home-made playdough during our playdate this morning.

At the pool

We went to the pool today with some of our friends from playgroup . . . Summer spent half the time chilling in her stroller, munching on cheerios, and the other half in the water having an excellent time. Garrett just had a blast--he loves having his friends around. Social little man!

Garrett is in the center at the top . . . :-)
Love my playgroup mommies!

Backyard Paradise

Our yard has really taken off in the past year or so. Brad put in a garden for us about a month ago, and it has really taken off. We have some baby peppers and tomatoes already, and the promise of lots of fresh grown fruits and veggies in the next few months. I LOVE our hammock, even though we don't get to use it as often as I would like. Since my mom got Garrett his sand and water table, I get to lounge in it a little more while Garrett plays. Its a small yard, but its ours and we love it!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mommies out there--both friends and family, and especially Grandma Becky, Grandma Sherry, Nana, and Adina! I took some pictures of the kids a few days ago to give to the Grandmas for Mothers Day . . . here's what I ended up with.

And a few out takes:

A pirates says . . . ARGH!

"Cheese" . . . what a goof!

Cheerios girl

Summer went through a fairly large container of Gerber Puffs in short order, so I decided to try Cheerios and see if she did alright on them. I was a little worried about her choking, because I can't remember when I started Garrett on cheerios. Apparently I didn't need to worry--she scarfed down everything on her tray and then some. I swear, I don't know where she puts all that food, she still a skinny little bean pole. All she does is eat!!!

Swimming Lessons

Garrett is in to his 3rd week of swimming lessons. He seems to be enjoying it, but gets genuinely offended if you ask him to jump in. Its bizarre, because last year at this time he was jumping in the pool ALL THE TIME with the neighbor kids. He says "If I jump, I will just sink!" If I tell him Mr. Camillo (his teacher) will catch him, he says "No, he just won't!" and there is no convincing him otherwise. Other than that, he really enjoys it and is learning how to hold the kick board, float, and a whole bunch of other things. He's already improving, so I'm really glad we signed him up. Its nice for me too, because I can pop Summer in child care for the 45 minutes and either swim or do some work by the pool. I could go inside and work out too, but I love watching to see what they are up to!

Garrett's class