At the mall

We met Garrett's friend Kelly and her mom Bonnie at the mall today for an impromptu playdate. Since Garrett also decided to take a nap on the way there, it lead to an impromptu SHOPPING SPREE for me--I bought this very cute dress for the Change of Watch this Saturday. It's actually MUCH cuter than the picture shows. Anyway, when Garrett woke up from his nap, he and Kelly decided we should ride the carousel (Garrett's first time!). The kids loved it. It made me nauseous . . . oh joys of the first trimester!! But oh well, that's the way it goes. Afterward they played at the little play area, and I missed the two of them giving each other a big smooch on the lips. We tried to recreate it, but whenever we would tell them "kiss" Garrett would emphatically say no and evade Kelly, who was all puckered up. Kelly would just give her loving to her mommy or me instead, she is too cute!! I captured the smooching face as she went whizzing by me to give her momma a kiss. We had a blast.

"Bubba!" Garrett says. No, its a horse, silly!

Go go go!!

Bonnie and Kelly

Garrett being Garrett

Kelly's smootchie face!

At the pool (from 1.10.08)

We went to the pool with the neighbors.

Buddies

I have a mommy friend who is also a Work-at-home mom, and she has started babysitting Garrett for me every week or so in the morning so I can get some things done. Her son, Corbin, it 2.5 and Garrett absolutely adores him. I love having him around someone who is slightly older than him because he can learn SO MUCH!! He comes home from their house with at least 2 new words (and usually a couple of new skills!!) every time. Thanks to Monica for the pictures!!

Our day started with the word

"Baby?"

The first thing Garrett wanted to know this AM was where Baby Logan was. He was sad when I told him Baby Logan was home with his mommy and daddy and Xander. "Xanser" he said. Later we were talking about another friend we were going to visit today and he said his name too--"Corrrrbin!" He is just getting so big. He is going to be a very loving big brother, without a doubt!!

Pictures with our fab neighbors!

Garrett LOVES our new neighbors, as I mentioned in the previous post . . . Some pictures demonstrating the enjoyment had by all.

The boys have taught Garrett to wrestle. Mark is his favorite target:

Randon the stunt man:

(Garrett really tries to ride the skateboard, which is hilarious in and of itself).

Attitude from my little guy (look how long the hair is!!)

Nayna, Nayna!!

Claire has this scooter that Garrett can actually stand on.
Here he is using it (he has learned to go already!!)

Nayna, Nayna!!

My son is officially in love with another woman! We have this awesome family that moved in next door from NC. They have four kids, from 13 to 4. Their oldest, named Dana, is such a blessing--she is always willing to help out with Garrett or around the house, and Garrett adores her. He runs whenever he sees/hears here, crying "Nayna, Nayna!!" . . . its absolutely adorable. All four of the kids seem to really enjoy them, and he LOVES them. I hope he doesn't drive them crazy, because he goes to play almost every day!!

The Shuman boys are over today--their mom had to go to work for the day. Its been INTERESTING having three kids under the age of two in the house!! But all in all, they've been great. There was even a point when all three of them were napping at the same time. Woot! Garrett LOVES having Logan around, he constantly says "baby, baby". He loves to give him kisses and "help" with various things . . . . he's gonna be a great big brother. Here's a few pics from today. Hoping to get a few of all three boys (Xander is not enamored with his brother at this moment, and is always on the go playing with the toys!)

Sharing my couch with Logan!

Kiss!!

Good napper!!

Park Playdate

Pics from New Years Eve

I finally downloaded what little was on the camera. Both pictures are from New Years Eve. We made Cheesecake in the AM. All little people should get to lick the beaters!! Garrett thought it was yummy. He would point to the cheesecake in the fridge and go "Yum, Pie!!" We went to the zoo with Daddy, and that is where the second picture is from. Garrett had a blast.

More pictures to come--we have a playdate today.

No new pictures . . .

But I had to write to say how completely blown away I am by my kid these days. He is so darn grown up, its frightening! Today he was hollering at dinner, as a typical 1.5 year old would do, and we shushed him. So he learned to shush. He is saying SO MUCH these days, brocolli, puppies, keys, duck, bird, plane, car, truck, hat, up, no, nana, out, and more than I could possibly sit here and name . . . sometimes I swear he is starting to recognize letters. We got him these Usborn Flashcards of the letters, he loves to look at them during diaper changes and when dressing. Lately he has been asking to take a few books or some flashcards to bed with him for naps and night time. He loves to read and look at the flashcards. Tonight he grabbed six of them and ran to his crib--he couldn't wait to get in and read them. Then as I was leaving the room, he made a kissy face. So I gave him a kiss. Then he asked for another and another--kissed him between the bars, over the bars. He was still blowing kisses when I walked out.

We have new neighbors next door, a family of 4 kids ranging from 12 to 5. Garrett absolutely adores them, and them him. They homeschool, so they are outside most afternoons. Garrett runs over as soon as he sees them and just jumps right in. They are so great to him, sharing all their toys and watching over him. The oldest is going to be a lifesaver for me, she keeps offering to do anything from walking my dogs to babysitting to cleaning. THAT will come in handy as my tummy gets huge!

My mom left today, we had a nice visit. Garrett had way too much with her, she loves playing almost as much as he does!! Work has been incredibly busy, but is finally tailing off. Now maybe I can catch up on pictures. For right now, I better get back to cleaning the closet out (feeling a strong need to make room for #2, even though s/he won't be here for at least another 35 weeks!)

Global warming my butt.

Seriously, it is 35 degrees here. It is not supposed to be 35 degrees in Miami . . . it DID snow here in the 80s, if that happens again I am moving further south!! (IE, the Caribbean!!)

We've had a load of hot coacoa today, and are trying desperately to stay WARM. May we never have to return to places it actually gets this cold for more than a couple days a year!! :-)

Happy New Year, and the wisdom of my fav country artist!

Happy New year! We've been insanely busy here, I spent ALL of yesterday (from 6am to 1am, minus a pregnant woman nap and a break for a movie with Brad) working, despite the fact it was a university holiday. It's just the busy time at work . . .

So, no pictures. But I've been listening to my Brad Paisley CD I got for Christmas, and being the emotional hormonal wreck I am now, I have found so many amazing sentiments in his stuff :-)

My current favorites:
"It Did"
A single red rose and a table for two
A nice Chardonnay and an ocean view
Ships coming in and stars coming out
We sat and we talked ‘til the place closed down
Then we took a long walk down on the beach
Her in that white dress and her bare feet
We stopped and we watched the lighthouse light
I pulled her close and I held on tight and I said to myself
It doesn’t get better than this
No, it doesn’t get better than this
And it did, it did, oh it did

Fast forward to that next spring
We were looking for a preacher picking out rings
Family coming in and friends coming out
To that little white church on the outskirts of town
Me in that tux fighting butterflies
Tears of joy in my mamma’s eyes
Her daddy walking her down the aisle
He lifted that veil and I saw that smile
And I said to myself
It doesn’t get better than this
No, it doesn’t get better than this
But it did, it did, oh it did

Just when I start thinking it’s as good as it can get
This crazy life does something just to let me know
I haven’t seen anything yet

Nine months later nearly to the day
There we were flying down the interstate
Car weaving in, car weaving out
Through traffic running every red light in town
Delivery room and the doctor comes in
I’m right beside her, she’s squeezing my hand
One more push and a baby cries
Sweet little angel with his mamma’s eyes
And I said to myself
It doesn’t get better than this
No, it doesn’t get better than this
But it did, it did, oh it did
Yes it did

Plus:
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once"
:-)

My little words of wisdom for the day. I'll try to get more pictures soon. I sent Garrett to a friend's for the morning so I could CATCH UP on work!!

Another new addition!

And YES, this time it is a baby :-)

Apparently my husband is very, very good at this Natural Family Planning business . . . we went for a year and a half with no hormonal birth control without getting pregnant, and on our first cycle conceiving, we managed a hole in one, so to speak :-) We are super excited about our new addition, who's ETA is early September. We'll be seeing the same midwife who cared for us during Garrett's pregnancy, and shooting for another Home birth!!

Garrett is 19 months old now, which is amazing to even think about. The pictures I posted the other day are from our past few playdates to the park and Pinecrest Gardens. I love living in FL, where else can you play at the Splash Park in December?? It has actually been unseasonably warm here, in the 80s. But we have been enjoying it. Yesterday, we took Garrett Kayaking for the first time. It was a blast, although he would not let me use the paddle so Brad had to do all the work! He would lean over the edge and play in the water as we skimmed along. Silly little man!

Last night we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by a nice dinner at the Melting Pot, sans Garrett. Oh MY GOSH. That food was to DIE for, it was so fabulous! We really enjoyed our night out, and are hoping to catch a movie alone on new years before we have to get back to life . . . the holidays sure have been fun this year!

Playdate Pics

Christmas Pictures!

Finally getting around to uploading Christmas pictures! Things have been non-stop since Christmas morning . . . work is extremely busy, and Garrett is keeping me running EVERYWHERE these days!!

Anyway, Christmas was a blast. Garrett wasn't in a big hurry AT ALL to open his gifts. In fact, after he helped Brad and I open a few, we would ask him if he would like to open another present and he would say "no!" and go back to playing.

On Christmas Eve, we opened one present from Brad and I for him, a fun book about tickle monsters. That book set the tone for the holidays--he LOVED it! It has finger puppets with it . . . when Garrett put the finger puppets on, he could tickle us with a single touch! He thought it was HILARIOUS!! :-)

On Christmas morning, Garrett just looked at the tree, a little shy to go for the booty. He was excited by the colorful, personalized chair Santa brought him. His trike was under the tree too, but he wasn't that thrilled about it since he has been using it for several days (he REALLY loves it though, he is either pushing it or riding it everywhere!). He loves his car from Grandma Becky, too, he loves to sit in it and ride it around, especially in the house. The train from Grandma and Grandma Compton was also a big hit, but he could care less about the aquadoodle mat right now . . . in time! I didn't take a ton of pictures, we just enjoyed the day (also, the camera battery died, which contributed to the lack of pictures!!) In the end, it took us until 3pm, when we went over to the Shumans house for dinner. All in all, a very good day!

Our little reindeer family. Thanks Grandma and Dave!

The tree after Santa visited!

Opening presents with mommy!

"oohh, pretty!"

My trike!! Yay!

Finally, a seat just for me!

Helping Xander with his drink at Christmas dinner.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a blessed new year!!

The Compton Family :-)

Busy week

I am so glad Friday is almost here . . . it will be nice to have Brad around to help for an entire day! I will work one day this weekend, so it will go by too quickly, as usual. But at least it is something!

We've had a busy week. On top of work, we've had 2 playdates and a ton of errands to run, plus volunteering in our community. Garrett has loved the running around bit of things . . . he doesn't seem to enjoy being in the house for even a short while these days. So we have been outside more than we have been in. Today we spent a ton of time in the back yard watching the birds. Winter has arrived in south Florida--we have had a multitude of wading birds every morning. Today it was a blue heron, 2 egrets, AND a Stork. We haven't had a stork here before, so that was exciting.

Tomorrow, I must make a dreaded run to the post office. Yuck!!

Only 4 days until Christmas. Not at all sure how that happened. It shocks me to see where Garrett was a year ago--he wasn't even really crawling yet! How he can say so much . . . his new absolute favorite is "No, no, no!" He also insists on speaking to whoever on my cell phone. Thank goodness for those unlimited mobile to mobile minutes! Now, for the pictures.

My Gym on Monday:
Garrett in the ball pit

Garrett with Baby Logan (getting SO big!)

The "hot air balloon" ride. . . too fun!

Then we went to Chucky Cheese--Garrett and Xander loved this jeep ride!! Check out their faces!

Our playgroup's Christmas Party (on my birthday!)So many crazy babies! (Garrett is in the middle!)

I think this picture is from last Sunday, our first day home . . .
Note that he is on the phone :-)