our fun day

 

the monkey comes into sight & our bean lights up. smiles. reaches for him.

brian was off for MLK (though - bless him! - he did go in & work several hours). we went out for breakfast. & then later the weather was amazing. so we took a walk @ lunch; then after naps, we hit a local park. we parked @ the rec center & took a special "hike" around to the playground. garrett loved this b/c he got to "march" through the gravel, wet sandy mud, through a tunnel & past the water.

 

he ran like crazy & climbed. he went down slides. he's hard to slow down, but we did manage to get a few shots. i mean, are you kidding me? i love my little crew. it was so great to be together - just the 4 of us - today & spend some time playing (we did NO chores!) & having fun!

 

 

toboggan

 

reading before bed w/ daddy.

the kids were both so exhausted tonight.

but garrett doesn't pass on reading. especially getting to read w/ daddy. daddy's kind of a big deal around here. :)

b/f they sat down to read, the monkey had put on his new toboggan - lightin' mcqueen! - that he received for christmas. he wouldn't take it off until it was time to go to bed. his hair was still wet from his bath, but he was SWEATING under there b/c he'd been running around playing w/ it on too.

 

 

she adores him

 

i love it. he was making her laugh.

these days if Lucy starts to get upset, Garrett runs over & shakes his hands in her face & says, "doodoodoodoo, baby!" like it's a spell & he's casting it on her to get her to stop fussing. so sweet to see how he's responding to her now too...when she reaches over & touches him, he laughs. when they're sitting side by side & she's looking @ him, he'll get shy & won't look back @ her. so sweet!!! if i carry them both down the stairs, she stares @ him the entire way & will have the most giant open mouth smile on her face. i love how they're responding to one another.

our prayer really is that they will always enjoy the company of one another & any future little ones. i think we're off to a good start. :)

look! i've got toes.

 

lucy loo found her toesies today. but she's only interested if her feet aren't covered (hence no pj's from the waist down.)

she's intentionally reaching for everything around her. no more holding her on your lap while you're trying to eat.

garrett counted his toes today. he came up with 7.

BUT! garrett also counted to ten all alone today!

did i mention it? how much i love my job? :) ah, my babies.

special visitors

 

earlier this week my grandmother, aunt sybil & her son (david) came to see us. they were bringing my great aunt down to visit her daughter (who lives nearby). it was a nice surprise in our week. my kids always love having company - hands to care for them, people to play chase (with garrett!). since we don't live near either of our families, i'm always happy for the opportunity to have the kids be w/ them - even if it's just a short while. garrett's definitely @ the age where he remembers things about it all & talks about it afterwards!

mom maw, sybil & david - thank you for coming to stay w/ us & loving on mr garrett & miss lucy lynn while you were here!

(a little) snow day

 

this AM while lucy was sleeping, G & i stepped out to play in the little bit of snow that fell last night.

clearly, we are not equipped to dress for the snow, though. G did get some gloves for christmas, but they just hang on his little hands. no snow boots, well, because it basically NEVER snows here. so i put together a makeshift get-up...

he loved running around in the snow, even sliding down the little curb in the church parking lot. he liked marching & seeing his boot prints - & mine - in the snow; he would turn around & walk back on top of them. he didn't love it @ the end though - his hands WERE getting cold. so we only lasted about a half hour, but it was alot of fun!

sunshine

 

this little boy & his baby sister...they're my sunshine!

this AM, lucy was a fussy gussy...while i was holding her, G looked @ me & said, "sunshine noise!" see, when G was itty bitty & would fuss; & now @ L's naps & then @ night when we put them both to bed, i/we sing "you are my sunshine" to them. so..."sunshine noise!" to garrett was obvious when his little sister was having a hard moment. so i sang - to them both, as best i could w/ my cold! - & she got quiet & G gave me the biggest smile - an enormous ray of sunshine in my day!

then later in the AM, G was playing w/ his dr kit. he closed it up & walked away, saying "bye bye!" then he came back waving hello to me. i said, "hello, dr roy!" (our ped who G talks about all the time. G starts laughing so hard as i'm saying...) "how are you today? are you going to listen to my heart, dr roy? or take my temperature? i'm so happy to see you, dr roy!" he throws his head back & said, "oh beff!"

hahahahaha!!!

brian said, "oh beth" when we were driving from NC to TN over the holidays & G totally picked up on it. he says it quite frequently now & knows how hard we laugh @ him when he does. but the funniest thing is that he says it @ the right moments. his little sense of humor - LOVE him! :-)


garrett's also so proud when he *shares* with lucy - he often points it out to me when he's done it. :-) this AM the best way he could find to share with lucy was to just lay his pooh book & doodle pro on top of her! the other day he shared something w/ her & then immediately yelled "mice!" (his word for 'mine') - as if she had actually taken it from him in the first place.

lucy's 5 whole months old

 

during lucy's 5th month...she celebrated her first christmas! last christmas SHE was our *gift* to everyone...we didn't know she was a she, but we knew this holiday season our lives would be a bit more chaotic than they were then. baby #2 was on her way!

the bean's a crazy happy little girlie. she is seriously ticklish - the doctor was checking her belly when she had a little stomach bug & he barely brushed her tummy & she started giggling! she really loves kisses too. particularly kisses in her neck - she'll just smile & crunch her chubby cheek down on the kissed side.

while we were in charlotte she finally started bearing weight on her feet. up until this point our snuggly little bean would just drop to her knees on your lap. she had no interest in even trying...even in the exersaucer, she would just push her toes *behind* her & sort of hang there.

this month she's also discovered when you leave the room. lucy no likey! whereas G pretty much never cared. she DEFINITELY cares. we HEAR how much she cares! she likes being able to see the crew. when i'm feeding her & B or G are in the room, it's CRAZY how she will turn to see the action. this morning in fact, she pushed the bottle out of her mouth, fixed her eyes on B (while smiling) & refused to eat until he came over & kissed her - then she happily turned back towards me for the bottle - HA! that little girl...

lucy's started really *playing* with her toys, hanging onto & reaching out well for objects. she loves mashing her hands together & sort of inspecting them...she's often holding her right pointer finger in her left hand.

she also loves her big bro! garrett's really starting to get a kick out of entertaining her. he will bring her toys, help change her diaper (he is great @ undoing tabs!), he loves to get her up & help put her down for bed. she loves when we sing to her...garrett's become a big fan of the singing too. he loves to *show* her things & *tell* her about them.

it's more than a joy to watch her grow! i already feel like she's so big & that once again time is going too quickly.

grumps

 

for the most part, G wakes up pretty happy from his afternoon nap. on the days he wakes up b/f 4, we usually go in to find him bouncing like tigger in his bed or lying on his back swinging his legs in the air from side to side.

but today i was shooting lucy's 5 month pic (a few days late!) in her room & i could hear him talking/whining from his room. when lucy & i went in to get him up, i asked G to show L his bed & put her in his crib beside him. but that little monkey wasn't happy. @ all. about anything. no idea what his grumpy trouble was but he was simply ill. poor baby. he didn't care that L was laying there w/ him. but he just didn't want to get glad.

all week, though, he & L have been spectacular w/ afternoon naps. i am still suffering through a nasty cold/sinus/yuck thing & have needed two days of naps myself! so i can't complain about one irregular afternoon of sleep...or level of crankiness! more than anything...i had to laugh. these two have made me smile so much this week - despite MY own crankiness! :-)

christmas'd

 

felt like we christmas'd for a week this year. which i suppose we nearly did...by the time we did christmas here, then in NC w/ my family & then in TN w/ brian's family. & in reality, not all of the decorations are down in our house...G's still wanting to read christmas books & see christmas movies (DD's as he refers to them - for "DVD").

& while christmas is rarely made up of anything it's portrayed as in movies or songs or stories to be...this christmas i just felt extreme peace & calm that i know comes from christ alone. on christmas eve, we sat in church & were reminded to seek our savior. to know the child that was born & placed in a manager. & we were challenged as we move forward into a new year, that we begin to look more like Him...just as a child resembles their parent.

our christmas day here, w/ our babies...was just special. special b/c our lucy lynn was here. last christmas we knew she was coming, but i couldn't wrap my head around what having 2 babies by the tree would be like. now we can't imagine this SWEET little girl NOT being wrapped around our hearts. we are ridiculously blessed...ridiculously so. christmas day night, i didn't even want them to go to bed...i did NOT want our special day to end! i am also thankful that we were able to then share in the season w/ both our families. lucy & garrett LOVED being around their big cousins & G just played his heart out (despite a nasty upper respiratory & ear infection!).

thank you, God, for the gift of your Son. & for the gift of our earthly family!

(shot above taken just b/f we headed out to christmas dinner...chinese! brian & i have done that every christmas day that we've been in atlanta, even b/f kids - so fun!)

he's doing just fine

 

if you knew brian & i 7 years ago, you know that we turned into "dog people" (ok, i did). you know, those people who obnoxiously ;-) think of their pet as their child & talk about the pet, photograph the pet, send pictures of their pet to their parents who really are just thinking "when the H*&^ are you going to give me a REAL grandchild already?". right, we were them - or i was them, rather. & then we had a real kid. right. poor huckleberry got pushed to the side.

after G was born & i was working, it seemed ok w/ H. once i came home, though, i was done w/ him. i know, it's HORRIBLE. i used to never believe it when people said that after kids, their pet started playing second fiddle. i also used to never believe that having a baby would change you from the inside out in ways that are nearly unspeakable b/c they are so deep & raw that you are literally NEVER the same again.

so...after much deliberation b/w brian & me...we decided our 95-pound first born doggie should go. but only to someone we knew would love & care about him the way we...well, the way we USED to. :-) my parents live on a few acres & i called my dad & basically begged him to let H come live w/ him! it was perfect timing...so in april, H relocated & became a carolina coonhound! he loves chasing the deer, squirrels & all types of "varmit" that wander through my parent's yard. they have invisible fencing, so he has his run of the entire place...which you would think would help in the *exercise* department but he's actually fat & happy - probably put on 15 pounds (@ least!). & my parents other dog, sophie, finally accepted him - H finally learned that she's the boss - & they've been happily sharing the territory ever since.

this trip G LOVED being able to run around w/ "huppur-bur-ee" (as G calls him). in the photo above, we were going up to the road to check the mail & huck is waiting well b/f the line (since he doesn't want to get *shocked* for going too far!). he really is SUCH a gorgeous dog & i am so glad that he's adjusted to being treated so royally @ my parent's! (you think we spoiled him? you should meet my dad!!!)