Garrison's gonna...

be a BIG BROTHER!!! Yep, I'm preggers :) Looks like the little nugget will be almost exactly 2 years younger than Garrison. We are so excited about our growing family and can't wait to have another baby to love on!

So that's why I've been like the most horrible blogger ever...I'm EXHAUSTED! Seriously, this baby is sucking every ounce of energy out of me. I remember being tired with Garrison, but GEEZ! This seems to be so much worse. Oh well, it's TOTALLY worth it! And did I mention I've had morning sickness? YUCK is all I'm gonna say about that.

I don't think Garrison really has a clue what's going on because when I say that mama has a baby in her belly he looks down at his belly and looks a little confused. I mean, his belly is probably big enough to have a baby in it, but still :) I'm sure he'll figure it out sooner or later. I'm just so excited for him to have a new life long buddy. I know I'm going to love watching their relationship grow and take on a life of it's own. Too cool!!

So I've actually been updating a private blog post over the past few months to document this pregnancy. I'll be posting it soon!

What's new?!

So I took an unannounced blogging hiatus and now there's so much to update I don't even know where to begin! First, Garrison is great!! He is just such a cute and cool little person. He's talking up a storm now. Most things we don't know what he's saying, but he says it with such conviction! His favorite words are CAR, BALL, UH-OH, and of course MAMA and DADA.

He loves to watch Elmo, or Melmo if he says it :) He is totally obsessed with cars which is really funny when we are on the highway. He just keeps yelling "Car!" "Car!" He still loves balls, balloons, and just being outside. Things he hates...diaper changes, coming in from outside, and going to bed.

As for me, I started my part time job last month and am LOVING being with Garrison more. I think he can feel the difference and Bryan and I can also. He and I have been checking out different parks in the area and it's been so fun just being able to play with him during the week. We also love having leisurely mornings where we can just hang out. It's awesome!!

Here are some recent pics:

More pics to come!

Fall is here!!!

Ahhh...the weather today was AhhMAZING! To celebrate the nice weather, Garrison and I went to a playground and hung out for a while. It was so nice! No sweating or feeling uncomfortable...we loved it :) I am sooo ready for this change all the fall weather.

On an unrelated note, Garrison has 3 molars coming in!!! THREE! And he weighs 27 lbs. 11 oz. He is a quite the stocky boy!

Here's some pics of our boy with the many faces...

I think he was looking at Bryan in this pic...he looks shocked at whatever he's doing. Sadly, this is a look he gives Bryan quite often :)

Blue steel...

This one CRACKS me up!

Knives and other "baby" toys

So my kid likes playing with all kinds of things that are not your typical baby toys. I mean, he is seriously DRAWN to dangerous things. Let me explain...if I'm unloading the dishwasher I have to watch him like a hawk because it never fails that he immediately reaches for the knives. What the heck?! He also loves metals poles (specifically the one that goes to the steamer) and actually anything that is metal and heavy. Weird!!

He also loves batteries (apparently the taste is delicious), electrical prongs (of course they go in the mouth too...lovely!) and razors. Yes RAZORS. AND HE LOVES TO PUT THEM IN HIS MOUTH. It's like as soon as he get's his little hands on one, straight into the mouth it goes! Yesterday I had to jump out of the shower and chase after him when he grabbed Bryan's razor.
I mean, seriously?! Gone are the days of take a relaxing shower...atleast when Garrison is awake :) This kid is quite the handful!! We sure do love him though!

I'm sure this post may want you to call CPS on us...but I promise we really do keep him safe!! :)

Bath time!

Here are some pictures of our bathing cutie...

Smarty Pants

Well it turns out that Garrison is a pretty smart little kid. Almost everyday that I drop him off at school, his teacher tells me how smart he is! Did I mention that I love Ms. Olivia? She is seriously amazed at all the words he says and how he uses them. He's even putting words together ("Garrison fell down!") which apparently is quite advanced for his age. I know I'm totally bragging, but I think it's awesome! I mean, we really didn't have a clue since he's our first so it's nice to hear from someone who is around children his age all the time. Pretty neat!

So this morning we were all hanging out and I had a napkin that I needed to throw away. Garrison picked it up and I told him that it was trash, thinking that he would put it down. Well he didn't...instead he went over to the pantry, opened the door and put the napkin in the trash can. He is a smart kid!! So I guess he not only got Bryan's looks, but his brains too...maybe we have another scientist on our hands!

Here's some recent pics:

Sitting at the table like a big boy...

Sometimes he likes to not only eat his food, but shampoo with it too!

Our kid has the best morning hair. I mean seriously!

Eatin' cake for Aunt Julie's birthday...

One of his favorite toys. Yes, a swiffer...

Garrison and Flip...

Awww!

Flip was so good with him!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

One step closer...

to being with my baby more!! So I put in my notice at my current job this week (which was totally nerve wracking!) and it went well. They are of course sad to see me go, but understand that it's not personal. But I still feel like I broke up with someone...so hard!

I'll be starting my new position next month and am so excited! I mean, financially it's COMPLETELY scary, but it's totally worth it to be able to spend more time raising Garrison. Money just doesn't compare to time with him....so very precious! And kids are only young for so long, ya know? I just don't want to live with any regrets and am SO glad I am taking this step :)

I'll post some recent pics of the little guy this week!

Life is good...

Over the past few days I've just been in so much gratitude for where my life is today. I feel like God just continues to "hook me up!" Now this isn't without it's fair share of pain and fear and heartache. But through all that comes the light on the other side.

This is an awesome song that kind of sums up how I'm feeling...



I hope that your day is filled with joy too :)

A blessing AND a curse

On Monday I got the new codes for the Web Monitoring system in Garrison's new class and I can't stop watching him!! Now I have to admit that this happened before when he was much younger and so I stopped watching all together. It just made me miss him so much! And now that he's a mover and a shaker it's so much more fun to watch him. I can barely get anything done at work! Ok, it's not that bad...but seriously, I am obsessed!
So even though I'm totally for web monitoring, it is a curse too! I guess I must exercise some restraint...

I hope everyone is having an amazing day!!!

A new face

Garrison has started making this face and we think it's so funny! What a little cutie...

Movin' on up!

Well Garrison moved into his THIRD classroom at his daycare. He is really movin' on up! FIrst it was the itty bitty baby room, then when he was 9 months old he moved to the next room that had lots more room to play, and now he's in a room with 1-2 year olds. I met with his teacher this morning and she told me about all the cool things they do. First of all, they have a much more structured schedule, which I think will be really good for Garrison. Here's what his day will look like:

7:30-8:30 - Free play

8:30-9 - Breakfast

9-9:30 - Play outside on the playground...G LOVES it out there! That a post in and of itself :)

9:30 - All the kids come inside and line up (yes, apparently my 1 year old can line up!!). Then the Ms. Olivia washes each child's hands and face.

10 - 11 - Circle time...singing songs, learning shapes, colors, ABC's & 123's

11 - 12 - Lunch

12 - 3 - Naptime/quiet time (G now sleeps on a cot instead of a crib and he's doing GREAT!)

3 - 3:30 - Snack

3:30 - 5:30 - More learning and playing

Here is a little snipit of his 1st day's "Daily Report"....

Apparently he was very ready for this transition because he is adjusting very well :) And his new head teacher, Ms. Olivia, just couldn't love her job anymore than she does! She is just wonderful with her kiddos and they learn so much!

So even though I'm not thrilled about him being at daycare so much, I do love the environment he's in. And it helps that he's happy every day when we pick him up :)

One year ago today...

I went back to work. I can't believe it's already been a year!!! Being a workin' mama has been the hardest job(s!) I've ever had. It is so tough being away from my baby all day. And recently I'm really not sure I'm doing the right thing. I am just feeling like I am not raising him. I don't get to spend enough time with him to really parent him the way I want to. It is seriously heartbreaking.

SO we are exploring our options and there may be some changes happening soon. I just know that I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for not being there for him the way I feel I need to be.

And I hate even posting something like this because it is such a controversial issue. But I really believe that it is a very personal one and there are many "right" answers out there depending on the people involved, circumstances, that sort of thing. I'm not saying that working full time is the wrong thing to do. I just feel like it's not exactly right for me. Ideally, I'd love to work part time. Still get my adult/me time but also have lots more time with Garrison. I'm praying that God will guide us in this decision and make thing possible. He does know my heart though, so I have a good feeling :)

Anyways! Enough about that. Here are some cute pics of me and my boy today and 1 year ago...

August 11, 2009:
He's so itty bitty!

I'll keep ya posted!

My son is weird

So Garrison is a weird little eater. He LOVES fruits and vegetable and turns his nose up to "normal" kid food. I'm talking chicken nuggets and hamburgers people! That is wierd!! I mean I really shouldn't be complaining because it is really AWESOME that he loves healthy food but it's seriously shocking when he picks around the "yummy" food for the veggies.

Another "weird" food thing about G is that he likes the hot and spicy Cheez-It's! I was eating them one day and he was hovering and so I gave him one thinking he would hate it and leave them alone, but NO...he kept coming back for more! I guess all those jalepenos I ate while pregnant with him gave him the taste for spicy foods :)

Here are some pics of my funny food eater...

"Give me more mama"...

Just a cute pic of my cutie...

Birthdays!

Well today I turn the big 3-0 and strangely I am totally okay with it. Who would have ever thought?! I guess now that I'm old enough to turn thirty, I realize it's not really old at all. Besides, I am quite comfortable with myself these days, so the number doesn't really matter all that much. And man am I happy I can say that. I really thought I would be bummed when I turned 30, but it's actually quite the opposite! I am really enjoying celebrating a "big" birthday. It kind of gave me permission to make a big deal about it! Love it! And I am feeling quite loved by everyone in my life. I really have some AMAZINGLY wonderful family and friends. God has certainly hooked me up for the first 30 years....I wonder what He has in store for the next 30?!

Other than my birthday, we went to my friend Lisa's son's birthday party last weekend. They had a big sha-bang (I'm allowed to say things like that because I'm in my thirties now) complete with a petting zoo and pony rides. Let me tell you, it was FUN! Garrison loved all the animals and Bryan and I enjoyed seeing all our friends. Here are a couple pics that Lisa took:
I absolutely LOVE this one. Couldn't you just eat him up?!?!

Photobucket??

Okay, what the heck is this Photobucket thing on my blog?? It just popped up there recently and I have no idea where it came from! Has anyone else experienced this? Help!!

The kid loves balls!

Garrison loves balls. I think we've been over this before. I mean, his 3rd word was ball. Mama, Dada, then Ball. He literally wakes up and the first thing he says is Ball. What can I say? The kid loves them! Well my friend, Kathleen, has a son that loves balls just as much so she knew that Garrison would LOVE this toy for his birthday...

I just love how excited he gets when they pop out! My boy is so cute :)

Oh no you didn't!

*Disclaimer: this is not a post to read for the squeamish*

Well, we had our first BIG nasty accident today. Not the kind involving blood or bumps...the other kind of YUCKY. I'm sure you'll see where this is going soon. So we went to a birthday party today for Garrison's buddy, Will, and I guess the corn dogs and cupcakes where a bit much for his tummy. When we got home I started the bath and stripped him down and let him run around naked (as usual) for a few minutes. Well it started in the bathroom where he crouched down and peed and left a few pellets but oh no, it did not stop there as I thought it would. He then ran into the livingroom on the CARPET and left a nice runny puddle that he then ran through. GROSS!!! Thankfully, I got the job of cleaning the boy and Bryan got the job of cleaning the carpet. What an amazing hubby!

I could seriously do WITHOUT this kind of accident EVER. AGAIN.

Out in the country

Several times a year we get to take a trip out to Anahuac to the family house where my MIL grew up. It's so beautiful and peaceful and just perfect for kids. Here are a bunch of pics from our last trip over 4th of July weekend..,

Garrison LOVES his cousin Perry! She is so great with him...

Chunky monkey!

One of his favorite toys...a water bottle!

Happy boy...

"Hey!"

Our All-American boy with his football riding around in a little red wagon...

Cuteness...

More cuteness...

His new thing is to point at things and say "This?"

More pictures from the rest of the weekend coming soon...