A Cool Place To Play

If Garrett is near the fridge any time I open one of the doors, I can count on him pushing my legs aside so he can scoot in and take a seat. If it's the freezer side, he'll usually grab something and try to open it or just throw it on the floor. Like a frozen fish stick he grabbed one day and sucked/chewed on it until it was a soggy, nasty mess. If the fridge side is open, he likes to play with all the condiments by rearranging them or just setting them on the kitchen floor.

Daddy always tells him, "It cost us money every time those doors open". I'd probably get spanked if daddy knew just how often I let Garrett entertain himself inside the fridge while I'm cooking or cleaning the kitchen.

You do what you gotta do, right?

Wordless Wednesday

Cascioli Pride

I know how much my son resembles his daddy and I'm totally okay with that. I mean, that is a big reason why I married him in the first place...I wanted his babies. Garrett has his daddy's blue eyes, his ears, feet, and sometimes I can even see Justin in Garrett's expressions. I can't tell you the times I've had strangers come up to us or pass by us in public and say things like, "There's no doubt who that baby's daddy is!" or "Wow, he looks just-like-his-daddy!" or "There aint no denying he's your son!" Isn't that sweet and special? It's all great and fine and dandy. HOWEVER, he is my baby too. It was no easy task carrying that little man around INSIDE OF MY BODY for nine months and then bringing him into this world by pushing him OUT OF MY BODY. I really don't think it's too much to ask that the little stinker at least look like he belongs to me!

So, I did a little searching and dug up some proof that Garrett is my biological child after all. You look at these photos and then try and tell me he doesn't look just like his mama!

Well, at least a little bit...right?

Seriously, how cute is this?

Ice Cream Etiquette and Germs-A-Plenty

Ice cream scooper...what's that? Ohhh! You're talking about that utensil used to scoop a serving of ice cream out of the carton to be placed in a bowl and eaten by an individual person. Yeah, umm, we don't do it like that at our house.

P.S. Don't be scared to come over and eat our food. We don't drink out of the milk carton and I don't lick the spoon while I cook. You just might want to bring your own ice cream :)

He'll Try ALMOST Anything

It's rare that Justin or I ever get to eat or drink anything in Garrett's presence without giving him a taste. He thinks he's entitled to whatever we have regardless if he's just eaten or not even hungry. He may not like everything we let him try but he will usually at least sample it. There is one thing that he just can't bring himself to try...coffee. Justin is one of those anytime-of-the-day coffee drinkers. He loves the stuff and he drinks it black. Yuck. I can tolerate the smell of it in the morning but I've never liked the taste. Anyway, whenever Garrett sees his daddy sipping from his mug, he'll walk over and act like he wants a sip. He put his lips up to the edge of the mug but as soon as his little nose gets a whiff of that strong brew, he changes his mind real quick.

See for yourself. His reaction makes me laugh so hard!

Sunny Day Sweepin' the Clouds Away...

He's naked.

He's naked in the sink.
He's naked in the sink watching Sesame Street.

You don't even know how entertaining this was to my child today. Justin unloaded the dishwasher while I cleaned the kitchen and got started on laundry. I feel an after lunch tradition coming on.

Visiting Carrollton, GA

Justin was scheduled to work at our old office in Carrollton this past Monday. I thought it would be fun to visit our old town (and Hobby Lobby) so Garrett and I joined him. EIGHT HOURS IS A LONG DRIVE TO MAKE WITH AN ACTIVE 14-MONTH-OLD! We took our time getting there for Garrett's sake. We were all relieved to finally check into our hotel and get in the bed. I figured since we had a king size bed we could all sleep together so I didn't bother setting up Garrett's pack-n-play. After thirty minutes of getting kicked in the face, ribs, and head, we were regretting that decision. I was so excited to see my old coworkers and friends! Dr. Brundrett treated us all to lunch at the Irish Pub, one of our favorite restaurants. I always have such a good time with them.

Before we left, I just had to drive by our old house. I teared right up as soon as I saw it. It seemed weird not to be able to pull into that driveway and go inside.

We had planned on leaving bright and early Tuesday morning to head back home but Justin ended up working on Tuesday so we got a late start on our 500 mile drive back to Hampstead. On top of that, Garrett picked up a virus so he had a fever and didn't feel good AT ALL. I think we've finally decided Garrett isn't cut out for these long road trips.

Over all, we had a great time and I'm glad we had the opportunity to visit our old home and a few of our favorite places.

Garrett's 1st Haircut

We've been debating for weeks whether or not we should cut Garrett's hair. As precious as those waves and curls are on the back of his head, all the scraggly long strands hanging in his face and over his ears were starting to drive me crazy! I tried trimming just the long strands but it only made it worse. So, since Justin was in need of a trim himself, we decided to take Garrett along so he could get his first real haircut.

When my brother was little, my parents would take him to the Grifton Barber Shop for Mr. Jimmy Williams to cut his hair. I always loved going to watch him zip through TJ's shaggy hair with his clippers and brush the little hair clippings off of his client's shoulders with that huge brush. I thought it would be very nostalgic to take my little boy there for his first haircut.

I came prepared with a sucker to hopefully distract Garrett from this intimidating experience. Justin got his hair cut first so Garrett could watch and see that it wasn't scary. When it was Garrett's turn, Justin stood next to him to help hold him still. I stood back to capture the big moment and catch all the sweet, precious hair clippings falling from my baby's head to save for his baby book.

Garrett did pretty good for the first few minutes. Then he started to get a little overwhelmed with all the hands on him holding him down.
I thought for a minute we would have to stop and leave with only half of his hair cut but Mr. Jimmy's a pro and he was able to coax Garrett through the whole ordeal.

I was very proud of my little man. He did better than I expected and his new cut is SO stinkin cute! Justin and I can't help but smile at his big boy haircut. We walked into that barber shop with our baby and walked out with our little boy. (sniff, sniff)

She's a Teenager Today

Seven years ago, after only a few weeks of dating, Justin decided it was time I meet his mom and sister. I remember pulling up in their driveway when Justin looked at me and said, "My sister is really shy. Don't be offended if she doesn't speak to you." We got out of the car and walked up to the porch. All of a sudden the back door swung open and this confident little girl with beautiful long hair skipped out, put her hands on her hips and said, "I know who you are. You're Angie." I've loved her ever since.

When we first met, Sierra was 5-years-old...going on 25. That little girl would always tell it like it is. She'd roll her eyes and cross those arms...DIVA!

Three things I learned very early on about Sierra:

1. She hated food. At dinner time, there would be drama...you could count on it.
2. She loved to argue and that child wasn't backing down even if she knew she was wrong. I can hear her and Mrs. Marilyn now...oh boy!
3. She's a charmer. If she wanted something bad enough, she knew just how to get it...especially from her big brother's.

Justin and I spent many evenings over at their house while we were dating. We would play bored games, have a barbie fashion show, or just hang out in Sierra's room while she'd boss Justin around. The 16 years age difference between them didn't mean a thing to her. She was like a little mama ordering him around.
When we ate dinner at their house, Sierra would always sit right next to me. One evening, after only a few months of dating, Sierra looked over at my plate and loudly exclaimed, "WOW, you really were hungry." I wanted to die. I remember one night we were playing with Sierra and Justin, poor thing, had this huge zit on his forehead. Sierra looked at him and scolded, "Justin, mama says you shouldn't scratch mosquito bites or they will never heal." He and I were crying we were laughing so hard. She just kept this serious look on her face and kept saying, "I'm serious!"

When Justin and I moved to Georgia, I missed our visits over there so much. Justin and I always tried to see her when we came home for vacations and holidays. Every time we came home she seemed to have grown and mature so much.It seems like we just celebrated her 10th birthday.Now she's in the 8th grade taking high school algebra classes. Did I mention that she's smarter than me?Sierra is now an aunt.I am going to blink my eyes and Garrett will be begging for Aunt Sierra to come pick him up to take him out because she's cooler than me.
Sierra,

Happy 13th Birthday! We love you very much. You are growing up to be such a smart and talented girl. We are so proud of you!

Love,

Justin, Angie, and Garrett

Oh...one more thing...

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

This is for that comment you made about my big plate of food 7 years ago. Ok, now we're even.

Our Night With Sweet Cheeks

As much as we enjoy going out to eat with Corey and Jamie, the last time we all went out together we realized it was way more work than it was fun. We are so busy tending to our children, we find ourselves rushing and hurrying through the meal so we can just get our babies back home. For months now we've talked about how we should take turns keeping each other's kid so we could have a date night with our spouse every once and a while. Finally instead of just talking the talk, we actually did it. I told Jamie and Corey to pick a night this weekend to go out and Justin and I would keep Hayden for them.

Hayden is such a sweety pie. When she was first born, she looked exactly like Jamie. Then one day she morphed into Corey Harrison wrapped in these big, juicy, irresistible, squishy cheeks. Justin and I both loved squeezing on her last night. The only person who wasn't thrilled about Hayden's visit was Garrett. It's not that he doesn't love his cousin, he just didn't like watching his mama hug and love on another baby. He was very jealous. I told Justin, if we are ever going to have another baby, we need to keep her more often so Garrett can get use to it.

Hayden was no trouble at all. Her demands are simple...hold me, feed me, and get out of my way so I can see the TV.

We had lots of fun.

Hayden and I watched Garrett play outside for a bit.

Then Uncle Justin held Hayden so she could watch football.
My baby never would eat baby food for me. I couldn't get the spoon to Hayden's mouth fast enough! She's telling Uncle Justin all about her good meal.

If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.