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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! :-)

so sleepy

 

garrett's second birthday is just around the corner. i think for all mom's their kid's birthdays are filled with alot of emotion. it SUCH a joy to watch your child grow & develop into an independent toddler, but @ the same time, you *miss* the *babyness* of who they once were. & while i might have a new baby in the house already, it doesn't lessen the way i feel about my baby boy getting so bigger.

his language is EXPLODING (sometimes w/ words mommy & daddy aren't so happy he repeats, we're such terrible examples sometimes!). tonight when we left the park he told brian, "tank 'chu, daddy, park" (translated "thank you daddy for taking us to the park"). you can see how his mind puts cause & effect together now. all of those amazing things - you can nearly SEE their brains developing. it's one of the most incredible parts of parenting, i think.

but the moment i captured above is STILL one of my faves. he looks so *little* when he's sleeping. still my baby. still with his lovey crunched up close to his face. G has always been a great sleeper & while doesn't always nap from the 9-10AM timeframe anymore (he has *rest* time in his crib during what used to be his AM nap), this particular morning he was pooped & would NOT wake back up. he gets to have books in his bed for rest time & that AM he only wanted this fisher price catalog that had come in the mail the day before. elmo was on the cover & he carefully inspects every page, pointing out characters he knows - mainly mi mish (trans "mickey mouse"), pooh, minny (trans "handy manny") & tools, & of course...elmo!!!

i really would keep him this way for much, much longer...& i know...it DOES get better - but right now, i think my heart will burst b/c i just can't believe how much we love him. i love him! i love him! i love him!

lucy's 4 months old

 

every day we keep saying "she's getting so big!" or "look how chubby her cheeks are 'like this'!" 4 months ago this little baby girl came into our world & we are so grateful. her precious smile just lights up a room. earlier last week she started laughing. we've found multiple tickle spots (she holds her breath & swing her legs or pulls them up when you get her just right). when the monkey's in the room, it's all about big bro! she MUST see what he's doing...in the car when they're riding together, when we go to take her out she's generally peering over @ G.

lucy also found her voice this month & if she's awake & not being fed, she's talking - her voice is so sweet & she has quite the range of sound & explatives. she "sits" & holds toys now. moving them around, batting @ them. when she's "sitting" - either on our bed or in her car seat - she tries to pull forward & truly sit up. :-) she loves to play on her floor mat & this other toy that makes noise when she kicks it. incredible how fast it seems my little baby bean has grown. @ 14 weeks she started sleeping from 7PM-7AM!!!! woot woot!!! plus, both G & L go down @ the same time for their afternoon nap - rock my world.

garrett remains mostly ambivalent towards her. he sometimes wants to hold her, but still only for about 3 seconds b/f he tosses her back. friday night we rode to look @ "miss muss wights" (translated christmas lights) & i think he wanted her to sit beside him & see them b/c he kept saying "'mere baby" (translated, "come here, baby"). sometimes he tells her 'no' or 'hush' when she's crying. but he's a proud helper when it comes to putting dirty diapers away or throwing lucy's dirty clothes in the basket.

so happy 4 month birthday, lucy bean! we love you!!!

lucy's first thanksgiving

uhm, are you kidding me? CU.TEEEE.PIE

happy thanksgiving to our friends & family!

this little white party stayed home this t'giving...we were invited to spend the day with some dear friends who are really more like family. they were gracious to include us in their celebration & we really appreciated it! there were 9 adults & 8 kids, so it was a full house & so much fun.

we hope that whatever you did today, you were surrounded by family or friends that you love & are grateful for. blessings to all as we enter this holiday season!!!

our little monkey's DEFINITELY getting into making the *cheese* face. :-) but check out my H.O.T hubby...that's right, girls - he's AAAALLLLL mine!