Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Cousins

"Aunt Jamie, why do you have a basketball under your shirt?" "It's not a basketball. That's your little cousin, Hayden."
"Really? Why is she hiding under there?"
"Hayden, come on out and play with me!"
"I don't think she can hear me, Mama."
"Hayden, this is your cousin, Garrett. I love you. We're going to be best buds when you decide to come out in a few months :)"

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Off to a GREAT Start

Today we made the long journey home to good ole Eastern North Carolina. I wanted to keep Garrett on schedule as much as possible so when he awoke at 4:15 am, we got up, got dressed, and hit the road. Garrett slept for the first half of the drive and continued to be quiet and content for another hour.
Then...it happened.
Justin was driving ahead of me in the Buick and his belt popped off (the Buick's belt, not Justin's belt) along with the tensioner-thingy. Anyway, we pulled over, called AAA, and waited for the toe truck. It was going to be at least an hour. GREAT. All that preparation and planning for nothing. Garrett WAS NOT happy!
We let Garrett crawl and roll around the inside of the Explorer to wear him out for the rest of the drive.
Then we walked him around to enjoy the beautiful scenery....
like this. VOMIT! GAG! GA-ROSS! *dry heave*
The toe truck finally arrived an hour and a half later. Poor old Buick...it's been good to us ever since we bought it from Mrs. Harrison 6 years ago. The Buick is the best kind of car...a "no car payment" car. We love those :)
"We'll meet up with you at Preferred Auto in K-town, good friend."
Little Man wore himself out from all the pretend driving he did with daddy in the front seat. He napped the rest of the trip and awoke just as we got in to Kinston.
It's so good to be home!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Yesterday I washed our Explorer inside and out. We've got our "big trip" coming up in a few days and the ride always seems more pleasant in a clean vehicle. I put Garrett in his stroller so he could watch me but he wasn't having that. He wanted to be right by me where all the action was.
(Please notice the tape holding the rear view mirror on...I obviously can't back out of a garage.)
When I started washing the outside, I tried keeping him in the cleaner part of the garage but he is too adventurous and curious and wouldn't stay put. He decided to inspect the lawn mower wheel and then immediately lick his hand...AAAAHHHH! Child, why must you torment me like that??
Before I could stop him, he found a nice soapy puddle to splash in.
Without hesitation, he crawled over and sat right in it.
Just look at those socks! Will I ever get them white again?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Fearless

I didn't know Garrett could even do this until yesterday morning when I left him in the living room for just a minute to run back in my bedroom and grab some dirty clothes. When I walked out of my bedroom, there he was just sitting in the hallway. I screamed his name out of fear and disbelieve and he just looked at me like, "yeah, so what?".

By the way, please don't call child services on me over my make shift baby gate. If we haven't sold our house before we get back from our month long stay in NC, we will be getting a proper baby gate for the top of the stairs. The chair seemed to be doing the trick but after that stunt he pulled yesterday morning, I can't be so sure!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Keeping Me On My Toes

This is Garrett's new hiding place.
Crawling is soo last week! Now he wants to stand.
This is what I have to do to keep him off the treadmill and,
yes, that is a Suzanne Summer's Thigh Master :)

"HEY MAMA! Look at all this fun stuff I found!"
"Umm, can I have this?"

Friday, March 6, 2009

Growing Up Too Fast

This is my itty bitty baby Garrett. Isn't he so sha-weet?!?! At this age, all in the world he wanted was to be in my arms 24/7.
Here he is in his crib with his itty bitty pants on. Oh, how I loved those little pants! They make me squeal and giggle! Now look at him. He's sitting up in his crib.
He's pulling himself up...
and chewing on the rail.
Last week we had to lower his crib. I knew it was just a matter of time before he would stand up and try to crawl out.
He's changing and growing so fast. It makes me a little bit sad. I think I'll go try those itty bitty pants on him again :)

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Yard Work

We had some pretty weather last week and decided to take advantage and spruce up the yard a little. Garrett enjoyed being outside even though he was in so much pain from teething.
"Mommy, I don't feel like smiling, okay?"
Justin showed Garrett how to lay mulch around the trees.
I put the camera down long enough to help rake up a few leaves.
(Justin, could you have stood any further away to take this picture??)
See this tree? I've always loved this tree because it's so pretty in the Summer and Fall. The leaves are always so vibrant and colorful. Justin, on the other hand, has always hated this tree. The previous owners planted it in the worst, most random place in the yard. Justin has threatened to cut it down so many times in the past 4 and a half years that we've lived here. I've always pleaded and begged for him not to cut it down. It feels like a sin to cut down a perfectly good tree! Well, I couldn't convince him to let the tree live any longer...his mind was made up.
Garrett watched as his daddy sawed the little tree down.
Then he yelled "TIMBER!!" as it fell to the ground.
Justin chopped the stump up to remove any evidence that a tree ever lived there.Then Garrett raked over it to smooth things out. Good job, Garrett! I don't know what we would do without you, buddy!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Happy Birthday Mrs. Marilyn!

In honor of my mother-in-law's birthday, I'm going to share the top 3 things I LOVE about her:
  1. She is a great listener and always makes me feel like she truly cares about what I'm saying...or what I'm complaining about :)
  2. She is hands down one of the best cooks I've ever known. I want all of her recipes and tips on how to cook them like she does!
  3. Her children are genetically gifted. She gave birth to a beautiful daughter and two of the smartest, best looking men on the face of the earth. I married one and Jamie got the other. (high five Jamie!!)

We love you, Mrs. Marilyn! I can't wait to move back closer to home so I can ring your door bell, leave Garrett in a basket on your porch, and drive away to park and sleep in my car for 2 days straight. Just kidding...I wouldn't torture you like that :)