as long as

it's hard to believe that garrett's been *in* the world as long as he was *in* my belly! despite not really leaving the house today (we're in a gas shortage here, people!) garrett & i found plenty to do & went in the backyard to play & i was struck by how big he looks in his little jeans & polo.

his new thing is "uh-oh!" - think he picked it up from clay last week when he as playing with garrett. sometimes it comes out "uh uh uh uh uh oh!" - it's so sweet! hope everyone's having a great week!

i love this boy

 

my nephew is a little man...and yet all fun, crazy boy! he has been here visiting this week with my mom & i've had so much fun. his personality is just so engaging & joyful! i love the time i get to spend with him...which isn't enough!

this week...i went for a run & clay accompanied me on his bike...we went to the soft play area @ the mall where he showed garrett how to scale the slides! (& garrett can do it now!)...yesterday we went to a park & he & i went on a 5-mile bike ride while mom & garrett waited for us back at the park...

last night i taught him how to play a dice game (Fill or Bust!) & if he starts running a dice game in his neighborhood later this month, don't go blaming me - the kid's a natural - naturally lucky with the dice, that is!...& today we went to another park for playgroup (clay & mom came along!) & C was so fabulous with G & the other little baby that was there - C is so fantastic with little ones, btw - he's totally entertained G this week & it's been a HUGE help & so neat to watch!...tonight it was more dice & then we made cupcakes!

quotes from clay this week:

"aunt beth, you don't weigh that much!" - in response to my saying i didn't think a balance beam @ the park would hold me.

"one day girls are going to want to dance with me. & that's fine. as long as they're sexy girls." - in response to me dancing with him in my kitchen tonight. i'm *still* laughing @ that one!

"you know the best part about being here aunt beth? my sister's not!...oh, and seeing garrett!" - hahahahaha! completely unprompted...i think he was happy to escape my 3-year-old niece for a few days on a special trip with grandmom to atlanta!

poor clay...aunt beth said he could lick the frosting spreader & then she mashed it on his face! :-( i offered to let him get me back & he wouldn't do it! ugh...his daddy would've NEVER passed on that offer when we were kids!

think that clay is a budding photographer! he took this picture of garrett earlier in the week...does it even look like him? he was laughing so hard @ clay!

so cute

 

this is just a really stinking cute picture of our little man...who is quite the messy eater & i just have to laugh @ every meal when we drag out a wash rag to wipe him down. (i think he looks so much like brian in this photo...not b/c brian's also a messy eater but b/c little G's eyes sparkle just like brian's!) G had his 9 month appointment this past week & he's 22 pounds/13 ounces & 29" long! let's just say, he doesn't miss a meal! in public now people ask me his age & say, "wow...you've got a little offensive lineman on your hands!" ha!

he loves clapping his hands. rolling his tongue around in his mouth feeling his 2 new front top teeth. he is working on signing "more". ah, i just love him!!! we're beyond blessed.

what's in your backyard

this weekend we were in nc. my brother & sister-in-law recently moved into a new home & i decided to go exploring in their yard...@ first only drawn out by some of the beautiful flowers/foliage the previous owner had left behind. but upon further inspection, i came across some amazing little (& not so little) creatures...brian & robyn have quite the little animal kingdom in their yard! the only shot i didn't successfully capture was that of a praying mantis. i reached up to grab a crepe myrtle branch & saw him sitting on the end of the bloom. his triangular head followed me around, so i took no chances in bringing him down within lens reach!

lee, i hope i've done you proud...i thought of you as i took these pics!

if you want to see some amazing photography of nature, check out http://fromthesehills.wordpress.com/. lee (the photographer) was my dorm mom my freshman, junior & senior years in sutton hall...we won't say how many years ago!

the heart of a rose

the heart of another

magnolia blossom

tiny purple bells

these guys are hard to catch in action...they simply don't stay still

a 6" long creepy caterpillar hanging on the butterfly bush

garrett's 9 months old today!

his first trip to the ER...just a case of hives!

oh my goodness...our little guy is all over the place! he's been crawling for about 6 weeks now (he is very, very fast!) & last week also started pulling up consistently & *cruising* @ the same time! tonight he even stood up on our bed all by himself!

he no longer likes diaper changes (how *do* you keep those little guys from twisting off the changing table?); he laughs like crazy @ things he thinks are funny - this applies mainly to brian's antics! (daddy's always get the biggest laughs); @ the gym, he *only* wants to be out w/ the big kids & doesn't like being in the *baby* room - are you kidding me?; he loves watching anything that huckleberry (yes, we still have that blessed animal) is doing + he chased our friend's cat around their house; he apparently loves fireworks, shoving his bottle out our friend brandy's hand in order to see jeff light them off on their driveway!; he had his first trip to an art museum & the ER - all within a 24 hour period (however, the events are unrelated!). we've also heard numerous times in the last month how garrett is chunking up! ;-) he was weighed in the ER sunday & is around 22 pounds.

happy birthday, little monkey man!

garrett was trying to crawl away from ansley! she wasn't having it!

kennedy had better luck!

cruising around the ottoman in our den.



garrett's first trip to the art museum in town.

today we had a picnic with daddy in the square close to his office.

mommy & garrett @ our picnic today.

look how big he's getting!

note that he's wearing a different outfit in these photos...there was a *blow out* mid-shoot!

brian finally got his wish

it's rare (as in maybe 4 times) that garrett will go to sleep in our arms. since he was an itty bitty we usually put him in his bed to sleep. since he's been big enough to know what's going on around him, he's not interested in sleeping if there's *anything* going on!

the few times garrett's *really* slept in someone's arms, they've been mine. brian's been dying for garrett to fall asleep on him, to ease his little man in that way! well...we've discovered that G has 3 teeth coming in @ once. no fun for the little guy @ all! tonight we put him down & he started screaming (so sad!). brian went up to comfort him...& garrett granted his daddy's wish!

nothing better than holding your sleeping baby in your arms, eh? brian remarked when he *finally* came back downstairs, "that's good stuff!"

it's in the everyday

i read a while back on another mom's blog that she tries to photograph the everyday moments that make up her life with her kids. in thinking about that, i've tried to capture some of those more simple moments with garrett. what i'm finding is that these everyday photos are the ones i love the most...that best reflect what it is i see in him & feel about him...my little baby monkey!

in the last month, he has fallen in love with being in the bath! while sitting up, he'll kick his legs so fast & furious that he'll scoot all the way from one of the tub to the next. he splashes like crazy & doesn't care in the least if all that water goes directly in his face!

today was not a particularly great day with our little guy. he's been fussy the past few days (some stomach issues going on there!). PLUS, he's (we *think*) starting into some separation issues with mommy! :-( making mine & brian's lives a tad more difficult as he's not done anything like that previously.

but this afternoon he was so happy in his bath that i had to grab my camera! (don't worry...brian was there supervising while i ran to get it.) i love these shots. i love his little rolls. i love the way his eyes look so big & he looks so innocent.