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!

garrett is 10 months old!

i feel like every month is just flying by now...that we're just simply *too* close to his first birthday! (which i have already started planning!) garrett was 10 months old yesterday!

this month we had a trip to NC to see beth's family, numerous outings to the park, a visit from grandmom & clay while brian was in CA. garrett started saying "uh oh!" & "Hu" which is short for Huck (our dog) - he says it every time huck barks or scratches @ the door, when he points to huck! he plays little games with us, like peek a boo. he loves to fly around here in his walker - chasing us or being chased by us! he loves the animals in the murals in his room now - we point to each one when he wakes us & say what animal it is & the sound it makes (he especially loves brian's pig noise!).

he also discovered that he can *look* under a door, as well as stick his hand under some - like from the main bathroom into the potty room! ha...despite being moderately disturbing, it's pretty funny to see those little fingers trying to figure out where you went & get into where you are! garrett's also cruising around *everything* in full effect...plus, every now & then he simply stands on his own!

clay, garrett & emma...this was like wrangling cats! it's the best pic i got of them all weekend!

garrett with grandmom & papa.

@ a local pumpkin patch (practicing for our *real* pumpkin patch visit on monday!).



one set of garrett's halloween PJs...he's a spider baby!

this picture was nearly impossible to take - he is FAST!

i can't believe i got one that's *remotely* good!

i love fall

i love fall. it's pretty much always been my favorite season. i love the crisp feeling in the air. i love pumpkins. i like halloween. i like apples. i love festivals. i love pie. i love the cool nights. i HEART the amazing afternoon weather, particularly in the south - the right mix of sunshine & cool breeze, with the leaves starting to find a tint of orange, red or yellow. & this year, i love fall even more b/c i see it with garrett. he will be ten months old tomorrow. & as each day passes, i love & enjoy him more. we've spent so many days @ the many parks around our house in the last few weeks! this afternoon we hit another one...he loved swinging, climbing through the giant tunnels & then i just threw down a blanket & he played with toys & watched the bigger kids.

today. i love where i am in my life right now. & although, there are surely days where i miss all that my old job offered me...i wouldn't pass on what this time is offering me today. this afternoon - what it gave me. moments with my son. my sweet, beautiful little man. as we contemplate a second child, i realize that the alone time i have with garrett now will subside when baby #2 one day arrives. i realize that my time with baby #2 will also never really be this way...he/she will (almost) always have garrett & any subsequent siblings along. so in this season, i'm also grateful. for the days of solitude i have with garrett. my (not so little) baby!

getting so big

today we had a play date @ our friend kelly's house! chase was born a few days before garrett, so it's been fun to sort of see how the boys are developing alongside one another!

the photos above were taken today (the boys @ almost 10 months)...the photo below taken @ around 1.5 months! oh my...i think garrett's finally gaining on chase in terms of weight! they're so much fun now!