sweet boys

 

brian's parents bought their grandsons matching PJs this christmas - i found it very cute & clever. of course, we couldn't let christmas eve pass w/o taking a few shots of them in their new jammies together. cousin J is four & oh so patient with little garrett - it's quite sweet, as garrett was mostly fascinated w/ what J received for christmas & not what he (well, I) had unwrapped for him.

hope that each of you have enjoyed the amazing gift of family & friends this christmas season!

merry christmas, from the white house!

hope that you & yours will enjoy this christmas season! & we wish you all the best in 2009!

with love,
beth, brian & garrett

ho, ho, ho!

 

garrett LOVED his first visit with santa...he didn't cry - he smiled @ santa, it was so sweet! & we were able to capture this precious shot! merry christmas, everyone!

happy birthday, garrett!

a year ago today, mine & brian's lives were changed forever. Garrett DeArmon White came on the scene @ 12:26 PM, weighing in @ 7 pounds, 4 ounces, 20.5 inches long. i remember being so tired and so happy and so delirious with emotion. i remember thinking he was the most beautiful thing i'd ever seen in the entire world. and that i wanted to hold & love him forever.

every parent says it, but truly...where does the time go? you look at a year & wonder where your little tiny munchkin went...you know, the one you gave birth to in the hospital? the one you picked up out of his crib for midnight feedings those first few months...the one that snuggled on his boppy & slept contentedly there for an hour or two? it's too quick...the *little itty bitty* stage didn't last long enough.

while i am *sad* to be entering toddlerhood b/c it means my *baby* is not so much a baby anymore, i am amazed @ how he continues to develop. that he says "mmm, mmm, mmm" in response to us teaching him "ho, ho, ho" - that while he doesn't say the words, he does the same inflection. i'm amazed each time he eventually picks up on a new sign & does it back to me - like "eat" and "all done" this month. i crack up when he pulls his shirt up by the hem (exposing his large belly!) to play peek a boo with us. i laugh when we're talking to new or old friends & he leans into that person, sucks his thumb, wraps his other arm around them & lays his head on their shoulder. the things that make him laugh, make us laugh even harder. he is garrett. he's coming into his own. he's aggressive. he's very verbal. he is social & loves watching people. he is the joy of our day. we love you, little one...we've had so much fun celebrating your first birthday...remembering all that happened a year ago today...we look forward to all of the future celebrations we'll have with you & seeing you grow into a man of character and faith.
since garrett can't blow out the candle, well...mommy & daddy have to.

once we showed him how, he dove in!

cousin clay & garrett check out the loot!

garrett *helped* me open presents for about 3 minutes!

our little man on the day he was born.

our sweet pea the morning after his birth.

mommy snuggling into the new man in her life!

finally @ home...a family of 3!

laughter

 

i'm thankful that i have a husband who is above all a man of character, truth & loyalty. who is faithful to God, me & our son. i'm thankful that he helps to create a home filled with laughter & joy for me & for garrett. i'm thankful that despite my flaws, he continues to try & make our marriage better than it ever has been. thank you for giving so much in this last week, B. you know precisely what i mean. :-)

i'm thankful for a little boy who is the light of my days. even on the bad days; those days that are personally trying for me. that he's learned to *kiss* me & his stuffed monkey this week...even if it is with an open mouth & his tongue sticking out! i'm thankful for his cute little smile & giggles. that he loves being chased & squeals, @ what you can tell is the mere thought of it.

i'm thankful for dear friends...like the four who sat around our dining room table @ various times today. we're so blessed by your friendship...the ways you all love & care for us & garrett.

to all of our friends & family who we didn't celebrate with today, please know how grateful we are for the investment you've made in our lives. we look forward to seeing many of you in the month to come!

unwell

it's amazing how sad it is when your baby is sick. they can't tell you what's wrong. you often don't know what to do for their illness or how to comfort them. there's this prevailing sense that they're just *unwell*.

that's been the story of our lives this past week & a half. garrett started in on a virus last tuesday...brian picked it up by thursday...they both got over that & were coughing & snotty by monday. they're *still* coughing & snotty on friday.

fortunately, i managed to avoid it. but garrett's been overly fussy & clingy. in ways that - through caring for him & for brian, even, last week - have pushed me to my outer limits. i just don't know what to do sometimes. i feel incompetent & frustrated. not so much w/ garrett as w/ myself for not knowing what to do to make it all better.

i try to remember...i'm still new @ *this*. i've tried to equate my feelings of inadequacy to the ones i felt early on in my career...that i no longer felt after 10 years of being a professional...but that now, as a parent, i'm starting over. this is a new phase in my life. so these feelings are natural, right? thank goodness for several sweet friends who in the last week have helped me step back, try not to take it so seriously, stop being so hard on myself & offered their own life experiences as moms & human beings to help me through. susan s, KJ, stephanie & lee...you rock my world, thank you for listening & encouraging.

this photo was an attempt @ humoring myself one afternoon. after garrett's bath, i toweled off his hair vigorously to see if it would stand up. it did! :-)

happy (belated) 11 month birthday, little dude!

gare bear was 11 months old on november 8. we've been delayed in posting our pics b/c a virus of epic proportion hit the white house this week. garrett & brian were both down & out much of the week. the little guy's still trying to recover but i really hope we're on the mend!

can't believe that we're getting so close to g's first birthday. but in the last month he celebrated his first halloween (as a monkey!), attended his first neighborhood bash, went to our 10-year college reunion with us, hit his cousin jackson's 4th birthday party, really started shaking his head "no-no" & definitively signing "more"; he's starting to let go of cruising & taking some *lunging* steps @ us.

his biggest feat in the last month? climbing the bin of books in our bedroom to then STAND on our TV table & bang the top of the television...i was in our bathroom & thought "that doesn't sound right!" i came around the corner to see him lift the second leg onto the table. we've got a climber, people!!!

his monthly monkey picture was once again a challenge this month - even w/ brian here helping me...these pics kind of show the progression of me chasing him around all angles of our bed & brian trying to get him back into place - holy moly - baby on the move!!!

falling leaves

 

i told him he wouldn't like the taste of that leaf, but he had to go on & taste it anyway! geeessshhh...kids!!! :-)

happy fall, everyone!

 

denise tagged me today!
i had to blog about the 4th photo found in the 4th file. the way picasa organizes it, it was a very old folder for me. it's new year's eve last year. we had just given garrett a bath & were settling in for the night. he looks so small here & it makes me sad...i yearn for the days when he was so tiny & i was nursing & he loved being on the boppy & talked to (ie, stayed relatively still!). why are babies only tee-tiny for such a short, short period of time?

can you tell i have the baby itch? :-)

happy halloween, little monkey!

no surprise, right? that our little monkey dressed as a monkey for halloween! thanks for the tip, beth, on the old navy costume - it was perfect! we thought he would hate having the headpiece on, but no problem! the pants didn't want to stay strapped around his feet, though.

tonight we went out for about an hour & saw some other friends trick or treating & then visited the homes of some others. garrett loves being around people, so i think seeing all the kids & pets out was the highlight of his first halloween!

in the stroller, all ready to go!

garrett's first official trick or treat @ ed & linda's house!

ed & linda are wonderful neighbors & friends (more like family!). linda was garrett's nanny for a few months when i went back to work.

garrett with bret tenny...bret & his wife (linda - we missed you tonight!) are ROCK STAR parents - we want to be just like them (& have our kids grow up to be just like theirs!).

garrett & daddy @ the lammers house.

garrett was getting so tired by the end of the night!

happy birthday, brian!

happy 32nd birthday, brian!

garrett & i are wishing you all the best on your very, very special day. you are an incredible man & i am beyond blessed to call you my husband. you are probably the kindest person i know & while i do believe in the fall of man, sometimes i wonder if it somehow missed you? :-) you love people in ways that i fail to do. you are a loyal & tender friend, husband, son & father. you want to see the best in the world & in those around you. you show others unconditional acceptance without judgment. you're one of those people that others are lucky to know because you bring such a beautiful light into their world.

so, thank you (for more than 14 years!) for loving me in spite of myself. thank you for the sense of humor you bring to our life together. thank you for the time you have taken to love our son & be a great dad to him. thank you for setting an example for me of how to be a better human being! thank you for giving so much of yourself to our families & friends.

i love you & am praying that the year to come will be an amazing one for you! all my love...

PS...i've posted some pictures that sort of celebrate who you are...the goofy & fun-loving parts of your personality! hope you (& everyone else!) will get a kick out of these!

top photo: 10 year college reunion @ milligan this past weekend.

mother's day 2007 with your mom, michael, julie & jackson...we had just told your fam we were pregnant!

THE PUNISHER!!!! your birthday last year as you were heading out to play paintball with the boys!

you & dustin laughing @ who knows what one night @ pure.

your rally cap @ the cubs vs. braves game in chicago last summer! didn't work...

one night @ dinner in costa rica. nov 2006

camping with dustin & kelly jo...just a note of self-improvement: contribute more around camp. :-) fall 2006

@ the windham's for t'giving dinner. nov 2006

brian & some of the girls from his old job! this makes me giggle!

we had just found out we were pregnant! it was our secret still! april 2007

you & your bro being crazy @ jackson's birthday party this past weekend.

dear friends

it's not often in life that you come upon people you find so genuine, so real that you are overwhelmed by their friendship, their light. brian & i have been blessed...a few times...to encounter these relationships, to count these people as our dearest & best friends.

dustin & kelly jo are two of those people. they stand out. they are different. they are different from us in ways that challenge us. they are similar to us in ways that hold us accountable & give us the reality checks we so desperately need.

and i don't think that often enough we publicly (or privately, for that matter) praise our friends, so i just wanted to take a second to do that!

the past year or so has been tough for us with brian's job. the funny thing is...we were in TX - w/ D & KJ, visiting both their families - when this opportunity presented itself in our lives. they've literally lived this journey with us every step of the way. tonight was a hard night for brian - a night that was raw with emotion & challenge, work wise. we were out w/ D & KJ & they watched B experience this & then encouraged him & counseled him in ways that showed their support, in ways that really mattered. it made me think of the following passage from ecclesiastes 4...

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

i couldn't even begin to outline here all the ways that God providentially put these 2 INCREDIBLE people in our lives. i can't begin to list the amazing ways they have loved & supported us through so many changes. how they have loved garrett & walked with us through becoming parents, despite not being parents themselves!

so to dustin & kelly jo...thank you for simply being who you are. two beautiful people who are gifts to our family. you are a credit to your people. ;-) we love you both - words could never express! thank you for tonight - as always - for the fellowship, for the laughter, for the honesty. we're better people b/c you are our friends.

a day off with daddy

garrett & i were so happy that brian had columbus day off & we could head up to the foothills for our *true* pumpkin patch experience! it's always fun to have an extended weekend together! plus, we missed brian on sunday since he was able to go away with a group of guys for a mountain biking experience in TN! brian's been working *very* hard & it was good to see him take some time for himself that day.

so here's a visual recap of our time at the pumpkin patch...

much of the time, baby G was more interested in the cool mulch than the cool pumpkins!

garrett's *definitely* a people watcher!

his head looks like a little punkin'!

what did you say, daddy?

what is going on here????

sweet, sweet, sweet! daddy & garrett

my parents stuck me in this wheelbarrow to try & contain me...

but i think i can escape!

if i could just see inside this thing...

mommy & garrett

garrett loved being up on this tractor!

peeking out from behind the wheel!

finally...someone can actually take a decent picture of the 3 of us!