pictures with see-tah

 

today we took the babies to sit on *see-tah's* lap. brian prepped me before we went in to not freak out if the line was long. he did not prep me for the "you're not going to make the cut before santa's lunch break" scenario. fortunately after L had her bottle, B took G to play in the soft play area. another providential break...*KayJo* happened by & offered to get G some Chik-Fil-A (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!) so that also killed some more time & staved off a potential meltdown.

we did indeed make the cut b/f santa took a few minutes to himself...the photographer only allowed one shot & you were out of there! so...the above is what we got. they both just look stunned, quite frankly. B didn't even have time to get both of G's shoes on as he was coming back. hahahahahaha!

*see-tah = santa
*KayJo = Kelly Jo
*Lucy's outfit courtesy of B. Kidd! :-)

just one picture

 

that was all i wanted just one shot. of me. with my babies. with their reindeer antlers on.

do you know how difficult it is to hold approx 46 pounds of wriggly babies? garrett decided not to look @ the camera, whipped his head around & his antlers caught my hair in the process. the above photo is the best we could do. and these, THESE, are the days of our lives.

it was fun listening to garrett talk about the reindeer. we walked up & he yelled so loudly, "hi, reindeer!" he really wanted to touch them & when we said no, we couldn't, he asked if he could hug them. :-) no, sweetie, we can't do that either. we had lunch @ wendy's after & he told all the people around us that he just "see reindeer!"

hope that you & yours are enjoying the magic of this christmas!

freestylin'

 

raining cats & dogs.
brian suggested b/f he left this AM that i push furniture to the side of the rooms & let G go all over the house on the little 4-wheeler he got for his birthday. mind you, i have to walk behind G & actually turn the handlebars. our little guy knows how to push the red button to make it go, but mastering turning handlebars? why that is for another day.

so we have a wreck of a downstairs but this monkey's had the time of his life this AM. i mean, look @ the smiles on his face!!! for some reason he loves inspecting the 4-wheeler - will just lay down on the floor & look it over. but the best part yet? the way he will freestyle on this thing - so far he rides a) the correct way, b) side saddle, c) standing w/ feet on feet rests, d) knees on the seat, e) feet on seat basically standing (RIGHT!) and f) the best one of all...laying his belly on the seat while grabbing the handlebars & holding his feet up in the air (so he becomes parallel to the ground) while pressing the 'GO' button!!! we couldn't help it - B & i were both just laughing so hard watching him do it today!

my baby loves

 

ah. i just LOVE them.

one of G's favorite things to do is pull the cushion out of the glider in his room. he proceeds to pile books in there & climb up to read. OR more likely, he jumps hard on the springs of the seat & rocks (yes @ the same time) the chair.

this AM he pulled the cushion out & climbed in w/ books while i was changing the bean's diaper. when i lifted her up he said, "mere, baby!" w/ his arms stretched out towards her. so i plopped her down so she could sit w/ him. he started reading christmas books to her.

i quickly grabbed my crappy little camera & fired off a few shots. the bottom left shot is blurry, but i can see the pride in our little man's face (i was praising him for reading to her).

we have a 12 days of christmas book that goes through the nativity scene. each time he'd turn the page, he'd make up a # & then say the name of the animal/people (ie, five doves). shocking @ times to see how much they absorb from what we read/say/do to/with them.

i'm thankful for my little loves. regardless of where this day is headed, i'm grateful that i had those two minutes with them this morning.

stats

 

lucy & garrett had their respective 4-month & 2-year well visits today. fortunately, my trooper of a hubby joined me. & of course, garrett was easily managed & well-behaved this go around...times b/f when i've had them both in there, i have literally left the ped's office sweating!!! (why do they make you wait in that little room for soooo very long & then not put any childproofing on their cabinet doors/drawers? THEN they also put a sign on the rubber gloves that says don't let your kids play w/ them. ha! hello, if you actually came in here w/in 5 minutes of sticking us in that tiny hot house maybe i wouldn't have to resort to making a chicken out of a rubber glove or letting my child wash his hands 5 times - b/c he finds handwashing to be quite entertaining - & splashing water on your computer! i'm just saying...)

anyway! both the loves checked out very well. garrett got one shot & cried for 10 minutes; lucy got two shots & cried for 37 seconds. of course, G's turned into more whining & carrying on. & it was good that lucy did so well b/c the last time she got shots, she was still screaming bloody murder by the time i checked out.

they both did seem to be not themselves this afternoon, though. unrelated to the shots, i think, G graced me w/ his first public vomiting in target this afternoon, nice. not sure what brought it on & he was immediately ok. but i had to find a poor man to come clean up the floor. then i had to grab some wipes from three aisles down to get us all cleaned up. agh...the joys! :-)

stats...
the monkey - 30 pounds, 13 ounces (81%); 36.25" (90%)
the bean - 15 pounds, 4 ounces (74%); 25.75" (88%)

in thinking about their visit today, i am once again struck by how blessed we are. we have two very healthy kids. we have access to health care & vaccines for them. we have clean drinking water. we have more food than we sometimes know what to do with. i choose from a variety of foods when i consider what to feed G each day. we are rich beyond most of the world just in those facts alone. thank you, God, for all of these blessings!!!

G2

the little monkey man in our life turned 2 today. garrett is 2. brian remarked tonight that it seemed like he just got older today. is that possible? that in one day your baby looks, acts, talks like a big kid?

we celebrated today & we have more celebrating to come this weekend! but today...garrett & elmo invited their friends to come & spend a few hours playing, eating pizza & cupcakes & challenging moms & caregivers to keep them all in check. :-) despite a few minor meltdowns (those were from the moms!) ;-), it went very well & garrett had so much fun & was so excited that he probably only slept 30 minutes this afternoon! ha! so much for wearing him out, eh?

but in looking back @ this last year & garrett's life as a whole...for me, when i look back @ becoming a parent, i clearly associate the person who made that true for me - my G-man. having garrett so close to christmas, i remember being so completely overwhelmed that holiday - & the overwhelming sense came from the true meaning of christmas; the gift of our Savior. to know that the Father willingly gave up His Son...that a mother held her baby in poverty knowing that He was meant for more than a simple life. i could not imagine either. i remember crying one night as i was nursing garrett...i was so overcome w/ God's love for me; it was almost like the Spirit was breaking something in my heart. b/c as garrett's mom i knew in that moment, i would willingly die for him. i would give my life to ensure his. it was humbling to know that my Father loves me even more than that. it was humbling to know that as a daughter of Christ i am loved, accepted & treasured beyond anything i will ever feel on earth. that my love for garrett, as compared to God's love for me, PALES in comparison. i cannot even begin to imagine the depth of His grace & mercy towards me.

when we had garrett, w/ tears in her eyes, brian's mom said (& maybe i've blogged this b/f), "now you know how much i love you." & she's right. but now i also know a little more about how much God loves me. & it's awe-inspiring. i do not deserve it. nothing i can do merits it. but i am thankful for it & i am thankful that garrett's birth & his life are what God used to reveal those truths in my heart.

& oh how i am grateful for that little boy & the year we've had w/ him. he's amazed us both @ the way he's grown & developed - into a big brother & a big boy. this past month, we've just seen his use of words turn into sentences...the games he plays (chase! chase! daddy, chase!)...the way he mimics us & strangers (t'giving dinner a guy was asleep in a chair...the man gets up for a moment...garrett gets in the chair & lays back & closes his eyes while smiling/laughing & does his snoring noise - just like the man had been doing a few minutes earlier!)...

the things he remembers - stories, family, friends, toys, words - the way he can associate things now. we are grateful that he's easily morphed into lucy's big bro. while there have been a few meltdowns related to her arrival, he has for the most part graciously accepted her as part of our pack & willingly helps w/ her, talks to her, laughs @ her (he says "lips" whenver she spits up or slobbers & will go & take the edge of her bib & wipe her mouth off). he thinks it's funny when i let lucy kiss him on the cheek & he giggles & says "wet!" and wipes it off.

it's so fun to walk around the block w/ him - who knew going .25 miles could actually take up to 30 minutes. he runs into many of our neighbor's yards & picks up their leaves or grabs their newspaper & hurls it onto their garage door or drops it @ their front door. sometimes he even rings their bell & runs - ha! brian had to stay around the other day to see if anyone came to the door so that he could apologize...fortunately for him, no one did. he has friends that he enjoys - many of them were her celebrating w/ us today - he talks about them when we're not together & says things they have done together or if he's been in *trouble* w/ them (for pushing or hitting) he remembers the discipline (it's standing in the corner in case you were wondering).

we LOVE that he's really into all the christmas decorations this year. his version "mih miss wights"...as we drive around he announces every house, then "more mih miss wights!"...then "mommy/daddy, more mih miss wights back here!" the other night we stayed up *late* (for our kids) & drove around & looked @ light...just for the joy of hearing that little boy yell from the back seat! it's sooooo fun!

so if you've read this far, you win a prize...alot of this is more for my own purposes...my scrapbooking is YEARS behind, so this helps me keep a good *diary* so to speak of what's going on in our lives.

happy birthday, garrett! we love you & are grateful that God put YOU in this family. we love you so much & wish you the happiest of years to come - who wouldn't LOVE to be 2? :-)

about a week old...our sweet pea!

@ one week...we were entirely smitten!

exactly one year ago today...he seems so small!

singing happy birthday to G today...he blew out both candles all by himself! where did he learn to do that?

lucy & garrett after their naps this afternoon. lucy had to wear some elmo today to support her big bro too!

elmo

 

i told a friend recently, "i am just so in love with my kids right now!!!" i mean, i can hardly stand it; all that i feel for them. if you had told me 3 years ago this is the place i'd be, i literally would've laughed in your face & just shaken my head - i wanted ZERO in my life to change. i had another friend say to me once, "beth, in 25 years, do you see you & brian around the christmas tree with your kids?" and i said, "yes, of course." her wise answer, "well then you have to actually have some!"

& i wanted to, i did. i just couldn't imagine giving up my life as it was. fortunately, God knew how to get the best of me...by simply *surprising* us with garrett! (& yes, i know, i know...how can it REALLY be a surprise?) & while i sometimes miss life the way it was (& it's pretty much all selfish stuff), i can't imagine that STILL being my life now. i look @ brian & our kids & am just so grateful & humbled for the ways God has used becoming a mother to change me. oh, don't get me wrong...i have so much left to work... but becoming a parent alongside brian & being given the privilege to raise garrett & lucy has just marked my heart in a way that - i believe - nothing else ever could.

so tomorrow, the little suprise that gave me great pause & trepidation, that turned my world on its head...well, tomorrow that little surprise turns 2. i'll blog even more about him tomorrow, and i really only wanted to blog this AM to talk about something he said today. so here's how it went while getting him out of his seat after breakfast:

me: garrett, say thank you for the food.
garrett: thanks, elmo!
me: no, garrett, tell mommy thank you for the food.
garrett: thank you food, elmo! (hahahahaha)

right, my two year old made a joke & laughed in my face. :-)

roll tide?

 

this weekend, uncle chip, aunt sharon & kyle were all in town for the SEC Championship game. yes, much to brian's chagrin, kyle DID teach garrett how to say "roll tide!" no doubt for years we will certainly be undoing all the damage that has definitively done. ;-)

i probably can't put into words how much i adore my aunt & uncle...their lives have been lived in service to Christ. they have a marriage that humbles me. they have two of the most incredible kids - kyle & katie - who in reality aren't kids in anymore; they're both in college. it was great to be with them, even though this visit was a short one - i would never trade the time we have together. to all 3 of you, thanks for making us a part of your weekend!

the pics above...aunt sharon & i were talking & lucy just calmly fell right to sleep!...kyle pulled some elmo video up on his blackberry for garrett to watch (i love that G's hand is resting on kyle's arm)...garrett & lucy getting some love! :-)